My Wish List

So my sweet friend and former roommate, Stacey, made a wish list on her blog...you should definitely read hers because she always has yum-o recipes as well as lots of creative, thrifty ideas...I miss her and her creative self!  So anywhoo, reading her blog got me to thinking of what my "wish list" is...so here goes!

1. A pet. More specifically, a D-O-G. Literally, I love any dog I ever meet. I also have my own way of speaking to them...just ask Elizabeth Butler about my "Daisy-voice". I can't help it...maybe Cesar the dog whisperer should hire me because I just love those furry creatures so much. Although, I'm not too crazy about little yippy dogs. But I have been pleasantly surprised by some little dogs, like the ones Brian's parents have--they stopped barking at me once I started coming around more often =). Unfortunately, our apartment complex has a ten pound weight limit for pets...whhhhat? I mean, I know cats fatter than that! Although I saw someone carrying around a lab puppy a few days ago...I often wonder if I could successful hide a dog, but then my "must follow rules" side kicks in and I can't carry through! I do have a friend (of a friend...) who has two lab puppies...he's single, and deploying in September with Brian--I'm going to try and snag a year-long puppy babysitting job ;) I mean, what else is he going to do with them? Might as well leave them with someone who is as obsessed with dogs as me! My parents for years wouldn't let us get dogs...honestly, a good decision-we were too young to really take responsibility. BUT, the Christmas that I was in 7th grade, Clay opened the present with the leashes, Emily got the dog bowls, and I got the collars. OH. MY. GOSH. I'm pretty sure that's the best present I've ever gotten! We were beyond estactic. We even got to go pick them out! I don't know if they were originally free, but after the owners saw how excited we were, we left with two puppies, Cheyenne and Sierra, free of charge! See, my over-excitedness can be good for something! :) We tried to talk Mom and Dad into letting us get 3, you know, one for each of us...they shot us down. Again: good idea parents.

2. Paint. Yes, I terribly want to paint my walls! You know those Sherwin Williams commercials that use the color samples to create cool things, like trees, flowers, and hot air balloons? I literally drool every time I see one of them. I'm that desperate. Army housing = white walls, as does apartment complexes. I could probably paint in our apartment, but I'd have to paint it back the strange fleshy color it is now. And the wall is not smooth; it's got little rounded bumps all over it, which I think paint would only draw more attention to...needless to say, if you paint your walls, I'm going to live vicariously through them...Like Kaitlin's gray walls...slightly obsessed. We have some friends that are probably going to buy a house here in El Paso, and I don't think they realize how much free labor I'm going to give them...I'm itching for a project! And thanks to the DIY Network, I have lots of inspiration as well as handy tricks...

3. A J-O-B. Hahahahaha! Somedays (like today) I'm feeling optimistic and silly, therefore I can joke about this! Others, not so much. Patience, patience! Although I've been subbing, and it reminds me of why I love being with teenagers and education! I was in an English class today and my mind was spinning with ideas as I browsed through the literature book reminiscing about all that we read in AP English way back in the day! Found some excerpts from some of my favorites...To Kill a Mockingbird, for one! I almost wish I had gotten my English minor. I actually think I did (I took waaaay more hours than needed), I just didn't declare it!

4. Patience. I can be a little impatient with myself. For example: when cooking, I want it to be done now, which usually means I rush through, make a distatrous mess, and something isn't quite right! (especially when baking...). Also, patience with the job search. I think I need to be a little easier on myself; we haven't been here that long, I'm still trying to get my Texas certification figured out (and funded...ha!), as well as try to decide exactly what kind of job I'm looking for. As I've job searched, I started to think that maybe being in a middle/high school isn't exactly what's best. Let's be honest: they have a multitude of Spanish teachers here, most of whom are native speakers, soooo, we'll see :) I'm looking into some ESL jobs and thinking about trying some private schools as well-should be interesting!

5. A vacation. After being on a honeymoon, I think everyone should be entitled to a weeklong (or more!)vacay every year! Unfortunately, Brian's going to be gone for the entire month of May (as well as all of June), so there goes an anniversary trip for this year! We've tried to work it in for March/April, but unfortunately, every weekend has a conflict of some sort-mostly due to dear-ole-Army...and things called "Staff Duty". We do get 2 weeks of block leave in August, so we're hoping to squeeze in some time just for us! The deployment seems to be speeding towards us-kind of frightening! With the impending deployment the guys have been super busy and in the field a lot. Honestly, I'm thankful they're getting all of this training time--it makes me confident in their abilities!

6. An (extremely) basic sewing machine. Seriously, I need the definition of basic for a sewing machine. You know, to try my hand at making curtains and such. I have dreams of making a quilt, but I need to be honest with myself: this will probably never happen! Goes back to my patience issue...and the fact that I seriously cannot cut/draw a straight line! Kindergarten failed me.

7. For Glee to stop taking random breaks during the season. Seriously, it's starting to annoy me. Also, if it could just run all year round, that'd be grrrreat.

8. One last thing: a visit home...which I'm getting April, and I'm so excited! Although, I'm a little "Starkville-sick" too-I just love that town and all the people in it! Especially this little fam...Joseph's 3rd birthday was this weekend...growing up too fast! I would seriously steal these kids if I didn't adore their parents so much ;)
Well, ta-da! A list. I'm sure I could think of more things, but this is all that's coming to mind as of now, and you're probably tired of hearing of my selfish wants! I don't need any of these things (well, except for patience...), but they'd be fun!

Also, tomato lovers...check this recipe out. When Jill posted this, I literally wanted to eat them off the screen. It prompted me to buy Roma tomatoes today at the grocery store, and I plan on having girls over to eat them since Brian is in the "tomater-hater" group :)

Love. Miss. The southwest is ballin' since it's been 80 degrees all week with a steady breeze! See? You want to visit ;) Also, this turned into the "blog shout-out" post. You guys are so inspirational =)