Very long couple of days...

In addition to my full-time job, and my classes...and my part-time job..I've been working out at the Old House a bit the last couple of days. I'm not going to go into it a lot right now because, as I've said, it's been a very long day and my bed is calling my name, but I promise you will have a much more detailed update very soon!

So to summarize..

We've mostly been doing a lot of painting this week..

Staying at the house long after the sun has decided to sleep

But I really think it's coming together, don't you?

You may have also noticed that my blog got a bit of a makeover as well. Nothing has changed really, except the look. You can still follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, or Twitter using the icons on the right hand side >

Or if you would prefer, you can get email updates when I post (also on the right > over there >>)

And now...

Goodnight :)

How to stay updated..

So I know I haven't posted in a couple of days. Obviously the reason for this is because I'm working two jobs right now, and barely have enough time to sleep. My last day as an insurance agent is February 6th, at which point I will go back down to one job, and have much more time for writing, and photographing, and working on the Old House. (All of which I will share with you here)

In the meantime though, since I'm unable to write very much, feel free to follow me on Twitter, and for little snippets of my day, check me out on Instagram. (Links to both are located on the right side bar)
And of course, if you're addicted to Pinterest I have one of those as well.

Sleep? What?

Since I'm going to be working two jobs over the next week, I am literally going to get almost no sleep at all. This is how my week is looking:
Monday night, I get home at 10pm from job#1, and the next morning (Tuesday) I have to leave my house by 5:20 in order to get to job#2 by 6am. I work there until 10am, then drive back to job#1 in order to work 12:30-9pm again. Wednesday I work at job#2 from 7am until 11am. Then back to job#1 for another 12:30-9pm.
Fortunately, Tuesday and Wednesday are the only days when I have to do both jobs, but still. I pretty much require 9-10 hours of sleep a night.(crazy I know) Not to mention it's a good 3 1/2-4 hours of driving each of those days since my jobs are in opposite directions.

But oh well. It's only for a week. After this week, I'll only have Mon-Wed at job#1 before leaving for good, and only having to work at my new job.
And I'm still excited about how short my drive will be once I'm living at the Old House.
Things are finally moving in the right direction.

And on that lovely note. Time for bed.

Goodnight :)

Complain complain, and blah blah blah

Yesterday I got sent home from work because I'd lost my voice. It's much better now, but yesterday I sounded horrible. Unfortunately there isn't really anything that I can do at work with no voice, considering the fact that I just take phone calls all day. So shortly after arriving at work, I was off again.
Since I felt completely fine (other than a slight sore throat) I decided that I was not going to waste my day off. So I drove to my old college to visit my boyfriend, and my friends who still attend there.
Boy do I miss being at school. I had forgotten what it felt like to be so carefree. We just hung out in the dorms, went to dinner, and then I went to watch everyone play an intramural basketball game.
As I sat on the floor of the gym, and looked around at all the people playing, and running, or just sitting in the cafe, and the lounges talking and watching tv, I had the crushing feeling that my life will never be like that again. All the memories of living on campus and living that life every day came rushing back, and it made me incredibly sad.
I just want that life again so badly. I want to be able to see my friends every day, and spend time with them, even if we're just sitting around doing nothing. I am just so miserable working 8 1/2 hours a day, and hour and a half away from all the people I want to be spending my time with. I don't even get out of work early enough that I'm able to see anyone during the week. I know this is what life is, but it just feels a little unfair that I wasn't able to stay at college for my full 4 years. I would just like to be able to have that time like all of my friends do.

Some day I'm going to go back to school. Or at least find a job that will make me happy, and allow me enough free time to be able to see my friends, and my boyfriend, and give me a little bit of time to have hobbies. I just need work to not be the only thing in my life.

Bye Bye Buddy

So first thing this morning, I said goodbye to another of my little guys. By this time, he should be all settled in to his new home, and getting used to his new name, Thor.

Boy don't I look cute? (sarcasm) I'm only dressed in these rags because I was on my way out to the Old House to work.
I don't have much of an update from the Old House today. We just spent the day putting Spar Varnish on the undersides of the floor boards in order to keep the moisture out.

Keep in mind that these are the undersides and won't actually be seen

But let me tell you, it was a beautiful day out. It was warm, with some sun, and a slight breeze. Very relaxing. I took a walk around the property a little bit, and I thought I would share some photos of the grounds.

Back in the pasture

The creek that runs up the side of the property

The backyard. Plus a water pipe that hasn't made it in the ground yet

I am a Robot

Every day, I wake up at the same time. I walk the dog, fill the wood furnace, shower, and go to work. I sit at my desk for 8 1/2 hours and take the same exact call 60 times in a row. I work until 9:00pm  drive 45 minutes home, walk the dog, fill the wood furnace, and go to bed.

This is my life.

I work, I sleep, I work, I sleep.

Some people have suggested what they believe to be a simple fix. "Why don't you just wake up earlier and do something you enjoy." "Get a hobby or something."
Easier said than done. I actually do have a couple hobbies. I'm just too drained from work to do anything when I get home other than sit in bed, drink some tea, jot down a few of my thoughts here, and then go to sleep.
I do not wake up early, and the reason for this is because I'm 21. Still practically a teenager, I haven't become a morning person yet. Considering the fact that I don't get home from work until 10 or 10:30 makes me feel like it's okay to sleep until 10 the next morning.

I wouldn't mind my routine as much if my work day weren't so repetitive.
You know when you call in to your insurance company because your premium increased, and you're upset about it, and all you want to do is yell at someone (it's okay to admit it. We've all felt this way)
I'm the person on the other line who takes the blame, apologizes for something I have no control over, and then does the best I can to save you money . But what you don't know, is that as soon as I hang up the phone with you, another call comes in, and I start the whole process over again.

This is why I am a robot. I say the same sentences over and over like I'm programmed to respond with only select phrases.

I need a job with projects. I need to be able to have a project that I can work on, think about, be creative with, and then when it's over, I can start a new project.

This is why I need to be a wedding planner. One wedding after another, but each is different, and each allows me to be creative and spend time working on something that is going to make someone's day beautiful.

The Old House

So as promised, I'm going to start posting photos of the Old House (vacant home previously mentioned here)

The Old House is a 200 year old, solid brick home that's owned by my family, and currently (for the last 12 years) under restoration.

Not very pretty yet, but trust me, it's going to be gorgeous someday....someday.

So far we've 

• Lowered the once brick basement floor by 2 feet, and turned it into a concrete floor. 
• Replaced all the windows with old fashioned glass and frames
• Replaced the roof (though it's going to need to be done again soon)
• Put in a tile floor in the bathroom, as well as replacing the toilet and shower
• Framed out a new wall (we're putting in a second bathroom upstairs)
• Plastered ALL of the walls
• Put in a fireplace in the kitchen (something that was originally there for baking and such)

I could go on forever listing all of the projects we have going, but the main thing we're working on right now is the floors.

We have the entire living room floor ripped up right now. 

My Uncle is putting down the sub-flooring today, and then we're going to put the original floor boards on top

I'm excited about the floors. We're trying to restore them the best we can, and use as many original materials 

We're not sure exactly how they're going to turn out yet, they may be dark, or they may be light..but either way, I think the character that old wood floors have is very pretty. Check out some of these beautiful old floors. I hope ours turn out just as well.