Springtime! Kinda...

WOW!

The weather is amazing! It's windy...but the sun is shining and it's in the 70's. It's like God giving us a present after 2 weeks of snow and cold and stressful newscasts.

I'm not sure I'm ready for that "spring feeling" yet. I'm sure we haven't seen the last of winter...this is the Ozarks, after all.

Since I just enjoyed the weather with a jog and I look more like a bum than usual, here's a picture of my favorite little bear:

Cash is so happy the snow is gone. He just wasn't sure what to think of it. Plus, it's nice to be able to take him on walks. (or "W's" as we call them when we don't actually want to take him on one)

Isn't his haircut hideous? If my poochie were a child, he'd be the kid with a chunk cut out of his bangs on school picture day.
Cocker Spaniels are so...very...hairy! So Mike and I have been cutting his hair ourselves with a pair of my dad's old hair clippers.

We try to tell Cash it's a spa day.

This last time, Spa Le Winchel didn't produce a happy customer and we all ended up getting irritated with each other.

The 3 of us have a very complicated family dynamic.

So it's probably off to the groomer's soon. I'm kind of embarrassed to take that hot mess in there. Yesterday I spent too much time telling Cash he's cuter than the Cocker Spaniel who won his group at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. That's not weird is it?

I'm so glad tomorrow is Friday! This weekend, we are headed to the Sertoma Chili Cookoff and to see Machine Gun Symphony. They're an 80's rock cover band. They literally sing 75% of my favorite songs at every concert.

I will try to take pictures! That's another reason I fell out of my blog habit. I'm so bad at remembering to take pictures.

Hope everyone has a chance to enjoy this awesome weather!

Nothing to Show But This Brand New Tattoo...

I high school, I would have probably been voted "Least Likely to be Covered in Tattoos."

Now look at me. My dad really doesn't understand them. I think my mom was on board until I got the leopard spots around the horseshoe. (That's a new one.) But I absolutely love them...

At 19 I got my first tattoo in Columbia when I was a freshman in college. The Kanji symbol for "eternity" on my hip. It's slightly lame. I wanted a tattoo because I was an angsty kid who had just broken up with her first boyfriend, and I wanted to be a badass.
So I got $60 of my parents money from an ATM on campus and walked downtown with my friend Robert.
I picked eternity because in Bible study, someone had said something like, "live your life in the light of eternity." Perspective and such. Aaand the lame-o-meter climbed from "slightly" to "very" after I typed that.

Then came the rest....a creeping addiction. Tats are not cheap. (good ones, anyway)

With my first few, I thought they all had to have some deep meaning. Now, not so much. It's basically permanent jewelry!
I like the way my tattoos make me look, I like the vibe it gives me, I like the experience, (yes it hurts!)

I do have some rules for myself: I don't spend "bill money" on tattoos; and I make myself think about it...for awhile before I get one. I don't have one certain "guy" I go to. I think I probably miss out on discounts by not staying loyal, but this way every piece has a different story.

I prefer not to debate religious do's and don't's when it comes to this. I'm not a Bible scholar...and I know where my heart is with God.

I'm eventually going to have a half-sleeve on my left arm. I'm going for a country/rock 'n roll/vintage theme:

Roses, guns, leopard, favorite-song-inspired, cameos, paisley print...

I want to get at least one more piece done before the wedding. Lucky for me, I'm marrying a guy who thinks my tats are pretty hot! (and I think the same about his!)

Speaking of wedding..3 months?!?!?

It's been such a long time...

Since I've done a blog post.

When it's been a long time since I've done something, I like to announce it in song...to the tune of "Long Time" by Boston.

I notice my last post correlates with the start of my current job. Which can be quite draining. So I'm just going to say I've taken a break from blogging.

I also think I haven't been on here because...I don't know...I guess I assume my life is kinda boring. I would like to write about stuff other than myself too!

So...on to writing about myself (HA!)

I am absolutely loving my new job! I have adjusted to working overnights (11 p.m. to 7 a.m.) pretty well. Though my life is a routine-fest now. In bed by 2:30 p.m! And passed out by 7 p.m. on Friday.
I love writing and putting together a show...I really want to keep learning and making our show better.
2 weeks of blizzard-ing is wearing on me, though. I will be so ready for a vacation in May...which brings me to...

Wedding! Or: "effin' wedding." I should probably be getting my tail in gear. We have the place, food, and invitations. We still need someone to marry us, decoration plans, dancing plans, someone to operate our music playlist, and (maybe) a photographer.
Honeymoon plans haven't been decided yet...either road trip, or going to the beach somewhere on the East Coast. Depending on how much debt we want to get into!

Oh! and my family got us our wedding present early for Christmas! A red Kitchenaid stand mixer with a pasta attachment! And, yes... I have used it! And it's fantastic.

In fact, for Valentine's day I'm planning on making homemade ravioli and a red velvet cake.

I also signed up for twitter this morning. And I am evidently not savvy enough to figure it out. I mainly want to use it to follow local news so I can be as in the know as possible. Apparently all the hip, cool, rad kids are doing it. My ID is tatgalqueencity. I now realize it would have made more sense the other way around. Oh well.

AAaaand my dog is still adorable.