back again

since my last post, i've had several meltdowns (all house-related), suffered several mind-numbing msu losses, missed my niece's 2nd birthday, gotten riled up countless times about prop 26 in MS, and acquired a short-lived tenant in the form of a lizard. he scurried in one friday afternoon, and was found last thursday evening in my sink. gross.

life has not been kind to my blogging schedule. i vow to do better. first on my list is my opinion on prop 26 this nov. 8.

for now, it's back to the daily grind.

whoooooosh

that's the sound of my life moments these past 2 months, just breezing by while i've barely had time to breathe. i went to vegas one weekend, i went to new orleans and jackson for weddings, with a side trip to golden, MS, to see 2 very special friends, all while squatting in a friend's house (alone) and working, and then i moved back to the new home and the lawyer (new blog nickname) and started a new job.

it was a busy july.

then my sister got married. and then my mom came and stayed with us for 8 days. that really upped it a "busy summer" in general.

so, my blog has sat unattended in the internet from pre-vegas to labor day weekend. but the dust is starting to settle here, so hopefully my blog will return to its regular posting routine. and that dust settling business? i mean that literally. this house is all wood and dust is everywhere. but that's a separate story.

i plan to upload camera photos from the past 2 months tonight, so pictures are forthcoming, if blogger cooperates. meanwhile, i intend to finish today's tasks of roxy bathing, elliptical training, ceiling cleaning (see above) and picture hanging before dinner.

and so, i bid you adieu, dear faithful readers (or those i have left), and shall return on the morrow with picture posts and new-life-chapter stories.

drowning in monotony

that title is not really true, but it feels that way. while i am on hold for MDES, thought i'd catch y'all up and explain my lackluster blogging in list form, because it makes me happy.

1. it's hot. and humid. it's mississippi.
2. i'm getting bogged down with life. work, working out, keeping up with life and the uncertainty that lays before us consume most of my time.
3. we started watching weeds. it's eating my life. i actually went on hiatus last week - it got that bad. plus, i'm a little upset with nancy at the moment, and felt i needed a break to regroup.
4. did i mention uncertainty? job uncertainty is not a good feeling. but it's allowing me to choose God over fear and stress every day, even though i must willingly turn my mind from the "what ifs" that abound hourly.
5. my summer schedule is jam-packed. i'll just give a quick rundown, in order of this weekend to august 13. hometown (shower for sister), hometown (party for sister), two free weekends, vegas (bach party for sister), nola (wedding), jackson (wedding), one free weekend and then sister's wedding here in smalltown. too bad we have to be out of our current home before august 1. yes, that is six events in the next nine weeks. in between that, we must move and find employment. did i mention my mother moved too? life is changing, and fast. i can barely keep up.

i hope i don't get pregnant anytime soon either. wouldn't that be awesome? then i'd be unemployed, homeless and knocked up at the end of the summer.

oh, baby

i know what you're thinking. and you're wrong. heehee.

yesterday was my deadline day for year-end reports, w2s, and all ugly things tax-related. so, after about 4 hours of sleep and 9 hours of stressful work day, the law student and i had dinner. my highly dramatized drinking-binge consisted of one beer, sipped slowly. to more completely round out my meal and my day, i needed ice cream, so we drove over to the gas station that has a little freezer full of bluebell pints.

i spent what is possibly too long picking out flavors and ended up in line behind 3 young frat boys, all who can grow more facial hair than my 30-year-old husband, who were all buying cigarettes. as the last one was carded, the clerk asked for his birthday.

"twelve eleven ninety-one."

what?

i asked the cashier to be sure i heard him correctly. i had.

i still think of myself as college-age. insert denial here. hearing that kid's birthday, coupled with the 3 gray hairs i had yanked out earlier that morning, was just another rude reminder that i am, in fact, NOT, no matter how young i look or feel.

thanks, life.

p.s. to the scruffy dude with glasses and mismatched clothes who didn't hold the door open for me? you're rude and your clothes are ugly and you need to shave.

new blog!

i want to move to dallas to be friends with these people.

aren't they fun? i may start living vicariously through them.
like taking perfect artsy pictures of us being goofy and being more candid
and witty than i thought possible.

it could work.

note to self: become a picture-taking person.
2nd note to self: get a new camera. snap with abandon.
3rd note to self: convince the law student to go along with it.

perk: being able to see my sissy as well.

that's her.

those are her dogs.
her boyfriend loves them.
like his own children.

plus, dallas would be waaaaay cool.

speaking of, the law student (yes, i'm reverting back to the original name. for now.),
he did get some substantial job leads yesterday.

yay!

by substantial, i mean job leads that did not include such phrases as:

"we're not hiring, but please send us your resume."
"i don't know if he's looking for anyone right now, but email your resume."
"i may know someone. email me your resume."

yay!

sadly, they are not in dallas.
or ashville.
or nashville.
or anywhere really happenin'.

poot.

but more yay than poot.

epic PASS

as most of you already know,

he PASSED!!!!!!!!!!!

SQUEAL!

my retirement party will commence within the year. ha. kidding, student loan holder, kidding.

so, as is required, he has a new name here on ze blog: the esquire. and since so many of you whom i texted "he's an esquire!" responded with "yay! what's that mean?," i have looked it up for you. my favorite part of this definition comes from wikipedia: a term of British origin (ultimately from Latin scutarius in the sense of shield bearer via Old French "esquier"). An unofficial title of respect, having no precise significance, it is used to denote a high but indeterminate social status.

hahaha.

but really. basically, it was used way back when to denote a particular status (or non-status, as the case seems to be) in the english hierarchical system, and has since been adopted by the legal community here in the states.

back to the man of the hour. i couldn't be more proud. law school is no cake walk. i know--i edited many a paper, endured many a lonely night while the law student was at the library, and listened to countless recitations of cases and laws on the nights before exams. talk about your pillow talk. but all the way through, i never doubted he could do it. he moved to LA after only one semester of college to be an actor, and had a good degree of success and supported himself. after 5 years of acting, the man moved back home and finished his undergrad in two years. he studied for the LSAT by himself with enormous discipline and drive. he tutored undergrad students all through law school. he wrote papers, studied relentlessly, passed his exams and even graduated with honors. no small feat. he may have complained, he may have worried, he may have doubted, but he never quit. and now, with the bar exam successfully behind him, we're both ready for the next chapter. and even though the "right now" seems so uncertain, we know the Lord goes before us and makes a way, and His provision these past three years were not in vain.

**i would also like to add that the esquire is now following my blog. finally.

untitled monday post

first and foremost, i would like to publicly thank my new followers, katie and jessica. new followers always make me happy. seriously, if you're secretly stalking me, be brave and publicly follow me. i love to know who finds me mildly entertaining. come out, come out, whoever you are!

me and jess, some years ago--reuniting soon!

so, goings-on with the langs: msu football, miami dolphin football, mother-in-law's birthday (and getting to see sweet niece olivia-bonus!), new small group, the swearing off of hard liquor (or at least whiskey), baby showers, visiting old friends and of course, waiting out the bar exam results. we get them thursday! thank you for all of your prayers and thoughts. i'm more than certain the law graduate passed, but it's nice to know for sure. i'll keep you updated.

i think back about him studying for the LSAT. he was so disciplined! then, he graduated and we got married the next weekend. i quit my job, because who wants to work the week of their wedding, and then after their honeymoon? and then, we just had to get up here to small town, so we packed up our horse trailer (yes, horse trailer) and moved completely in 24 hours. that was when we discovered this town does not sell cold beer. rebels, and hot beer? oy vey.

it was exciting and a bit scary here at first, trying to find jobs and our little niche. if you were my friend then, you heard all about it. but life puttered along here and picked up speed. we found jobs, friends and a church, and all the little secret things i love about this town. and life just sort of happened. the last three years have been great and i think we've both learned a lot--wow, just thinking about it is kind of cool! and now, at the beginning of our 4th football season here (can you tell i'm a happily converted sports fan?), we are waiting. waiting for bar exam results. waiting for a job offer. hell, even an interview would be nice. waiting for...what? i hesitate to say waiting for our life to start, because it already has. three years of school, growing, new friends, life routines, work. all these things happened, and were good, and are valuable and memorable. so while we wait, and i feel like the big door of life is almost open and i too often get caught up in the whirlwind of our future, i struggle to remember that today counts, too. we are not in limbo, we are in motion, and we have two hands and two feet to do the work of the gospel. "waiting for a job offer and subsequent new life direction" is no excuse to be idle. i'm trying to think of this as a time to sow, and to be still, and to learn and prepare.

i've mentioned we are reading the bible all the way through, haven't i? i love it. we get up early, which i hate, and pray together, and then read the chapters for the day, and then pray again. and as much as it physically pains me to get up earlier than i would like, i really crave that time with the law graduate to pray together and be in the Word together. granted, we are a week behind because of football weekends and a certain sleepyhead, but i'm glad we are doing this together. it's hard to stay mad at someone when you have to hold hands and pray with them every day.

hope this monday finds you all well. i'll be back later!

this time of year

september, you are finally here. i'm so glad. there's something nostalgic about the advent of fall--the smell, the colors, the feeling, and of course, football. y'all may know i'm a sucker for nostalgia anyway, but fall really reminds me of college, and all the memories come flooding back. it seems like such a golden time and now it's slipping away faster and faster. meanwhile, while technically i'm an adult, i don't always feel like one. i definitely don't look like one. i kind of feel like i'm in a weird sort of limbo as far as adulthood, like it won't really set in until i have children or something. but anyway, here is the quintessential football/fall song, from one of my favorite bands, better than ezra, who i always managed to miss when they came to town. i miss college.

"This Time Of Year"

Well, there's a feeling in the air
Just like a Friday afternoon.
Yeah, you can go there if you want
Though it fades too soon.

So go on, let it be.
If there's a feeling coming over me,
Seems like it's always understood this time of year.

Well, I know there's a reason to change.
Well, I know there's a time for us.
You think about the good times
And you live with all the bad.
You can feel it in the air,
Feeling right this time of year.

Well, there's a football in the air,
Across a leaf blown field.
Yeah, and there's your first car on the road,
And the girl you'd steal.

So go on with yourself
If there's a feeling that there's something else.
Seems like it's always understood
This time of year.

Well, I know there's a reason to change.
Well, I know there's a time for us.
You think about the good times
And you live with all the bad.
You can feel it in the air,
Feeling right this time of year.

Well, there's a feeling in the air
Just like a Friday afternoon.
Yeah, you can go there if you want
Though it fades too soon.

So go on, let it be.
If there's a feeling coming over me,
Seems like it's always understood this time of year.

Well, I know there's a reason to change.
Well, I know there's a time for us.
You think about the good times
And you live with all the bad.
You can feel it in the air,
Feeling right this time of year.