I went on a date?

So I went on a date last night. Kind of. It was more like a double date +1. He asked me if it was considered a date and I said probably not if we're not sure and then he asked me out on a real date. So there's that. We met on a popular dating app. I'm sure you can guess which one. We've been talking for a like a week or something and met last night for beers. My friend Emily generously offered to have him meet up with me, her, and her man friend so that it wouldn't be all formal and possibly awkward. I told him to feel free to bring his roommate as a wingman, so he did. He was nice also. They're police officers. So...yum. That is all. KBYE!

Blogmopolitan!

 

 

 

Linkin up with Erin! I'm pretty computer illiterate and couldn't figure out how to make it look all pretty...so now I'm all irritated. BYE!

My 9-5

I've only had a 9-5 for about 2.5 months now...well it's actually 8:30-5:00 if we're getting technical (we aren't). Before I moved to North Carolina, I worked in a nursery at a daycare and didn't have set hours nor did I work 40 hours a week. I loved my job but I was craving something different. I wanted a "career job"...something professional...a salary. Well, I've mentioned before (I think?) that I took over my sister's job when she moved to Florida. I never thought in a million years that I'd be working in real estate. But I love my job.

So what exactly is it that I do? Well, I work for an amazing real estate team as the "new construction listing manager." I work exclusively with new construction homes, from the time they are just a foundation all the way to completion. I keep track and update pictures of the houses as they go from framing to sheetrock to trim & paint, etc. It's important to have up to date pictures in the MLS (multiple listing service) so that agents can see how much of a house is actually there so they can show it to clients.

I fell in love with this house...can you blame me?!

Probably the most important part of my job is actually putting listings into the MLS. When our agents get a listing, they bring me the folder they've put together and I put it into MLS and make it active...meaning the house is on the market. It's a lot of data entry. Very important to be accurate with this part. If I accidentally put somewhere that there is going to be hardwood floors in a master bedroom and it was going to be carpet...the builder is going to be buying hardwood floors and I'll be in big trouble. Not good.

You know when you drive by a house that's for sale...and there's a box somewhere with brochures in it? I make those. Once I get the special features (what kind of hardware/countertops/appliances/etc.) of a house from the builder or the agent, I can put together a brochure to best advertise the home.

Those are the biggest parts of my job, but of course there are many other smaller things I do on a daily basis. Some days are crazy busy and some days I'm scrounging for things to do. But all in all I really love it :)

Me with some of our agents

Some things I learned in college

Nadine's post about the things she learned in college got me feeling all sorts of nostalgic...so I decided to share some things that I learned in my years at the University of Northern Iowa.

If you eat entire boxes of Kraft macaroni and cheese and whole bags of cheesy rice for meals...you will gain weight

It's perfectly ok to kiss lots of boys. As long as you don't sleep with all of them

On the same subject...flat out telling guys that you're not going to have sex with them is a great way to weed out the guys that just want some ass (read: 99% of them)

It's ok to spend your college years being carefree...once you graduate you have way more responsibilities and worries

College is probably where you're going to meet your lifelong friends, at least it's where I met mine

 

Go on at least one wild Spring break. South Padre, Cancun, Panama City Beach...everyone should experience it once

 

 

 

Call your parents. They want to know what you're up to

 

It's ok if you don't know what you want to do with your life. You probably still won't know when you're 25 (or maybe that's just me)

 

Skipping class every once in awhile is not a big deal...as long as you don't make it a habit

 

It's always better to go to house parties...not have them. Your house will be trashed and people will steal and/or break your things

 

As fun as going out to parties and bars is...it's also fun and important to stay in and watch chick flicks with your room mates in your underwear

 

Also staying in alone binge watching seasons of Friends is good for the soul

 

If you work at a place that serves food, take home as many boxes of leftovers as you can and give them to your male neighbors. They will appreciate it!

 

If you do your hair and make-up and actually put effort into your outfit to go to class...you're the weird one

 

Finding the building and classroom your class is in before the first day is actually very helpful

 

You'll meet so many new people...what you gut tells you about them is usually right

 

Ahh...College

 



 







Confessions!

Humpday!! That means I get to get some things off my chest. Which is always nice. Yay for confessions!



....today was my first real day at my new job, by myself. my sister's been training me for the past two weeks and now it's the real deal! i didn't really get to work much today because i had a meeting this morning and a class this afternoon. so we'll see how tomorrow goes!

....allergies blow. I'm over this pollen shit.

....I'm really liking the whole 'business casual' thing.

....I've still been slacking with my eating and working out. I'm planning on buying my gym membership after i get paid on Friday. i really need to start planning meals better.

....my sister is moving to florida on Friday. i don't want her to go :(

....I've gotten attached to my sister's dog since I've been in NC and I'm also sad to see him go :(

confess sesh

 ....first of all, i am so overwhelmed with my new job i don't know how to feel about it. it's just so.much.info. to learn. it's only my second day but i just don't feel like i'm getting it as fast as i'd like. my confidence is dwindling...

....i hate wearing thongs. i do. does this mean i'm getting old? 

....traffic pisses me off. maybe tomorrow i'll have my sister count how many swear words i use on our commute to work.

....i still haven't unpacked everything from my move

....this isn't really a confession, but...i'm happy with my decision to move back to north carolina. as i drove away from everything i've known for 2 years sobbing, i looked up and said "please just let me be doing the right thing" and now i know i have. 

....i'm going to dinner at a mexican restaurant for my cousin's birthday tomorrow and i'm planning on having a few margaritas...and i'm not sure if the amount of excitement i feel about this is normal

....i haven't really worked out since last thursday. this makes me really unhappy but i just really honestly haven't had time. i hate when people say that but i get it now. i'm looking forward to when things calm down with my job and i can start a routine and such.

 

Changes

So my life...is about to drastically change. I'm moving to Raleigh, North Carolina in a week. Holy shit. A week...I can't believe it's so close. I only have 4 days of work left and am leaving in 8 days. I've been waiting so long to get back to NC and now that it's happening I have so many mixed emotions.

First of all...I'm so excited! I've managed to snag a great job as a new construction listing coordinator at a great real estate company (mostly thanks to my sister!) I start either the day after or two days after I get there...no time to relax! I'm super excited for this opportunity and to get started working but I'm also really nervous...it's going to be stressful and I have a lot to learn. But I'm going in confident that I'm more than capable!

For my job...I pretty much need to buy a whole new wardrobe. I'm really freaking excited about it. I've worn yoga pants and t-shirts to work for the past two years which has been nice (and comfy!) but I'm excited to have nice clothes and dress up and look nice for work everyday. And I'm excited I'll finally be able to afford to go shopping. I haven't been able to afford to shop for myself in years. I've been pinning like crazy. Here's some of my favs. Here's my Pinterest board if you want to see more!

I'm going to be living with my mom for awhile. I'm ok with it. I'm so happy and appreciative that she's letting me live with her rent free. I'm going to save as much money as I can while I don't have rent to pay!

The only thing I'm sad/not looking forward to is leaving Rayce. I've been with him almost everyday for 2 years and now we're just going to be apart. We haven't really talked about it. We've been going on like normal since I decided to move. Nothing's different. We haven't talked about what's going to happen when I leave. Are we just breaking up? Are we still going to talk everyday? Should we not talk for awhile? I don't know and I'm afraid to talk about it and he obviously is too. Our relationship has been changing for the past few months. At least I think it has. A lot of the time I feel like we're just roommates/friends. I also feel like neither one of us has made the effort to do something about it because we've known that I'm leaving anyways. And he doesn't want to move so...I don't know. It's complicated. I love him so much....I guess we just aren't meant to be together.

So many feelings and emotions lately. It's exhausting. I've not been sleeping very well a lot of nights. My brain doesn't shut off. I lay in bed and I can't stop thinking about all of this. About a new job, finding new friends, living with my mom again, not being with Rayce...it just does. not. stop.

I'm so ready to focus on building a career with this company and just "doing me" as they say. Whatever that means. All I know is that I'm going to focus on work and make time to continue working out. The rest will fall into place. At least that's what I'm counting on.

Phew...brain dump.

don't know the last time i wrote...here's some confessions!

...this is my first time linking up for humpday confessions

....i just got done with a facetime interview. i always get so worked up and nervous for interviews and then they never ask me any questions (which I'm totally fine with...less chance for me to say something dumb) i'm facetiming with the head honcho of the company on friday...crossing my fingers!

...i get the nervous poops. i pooped 3 times this morning before my interview. too much info? #sorrynotsorry

...it's starting to get more real as it gets closer to the time I move...just over 2 weeks until i'm back in north carolina.

...we've been getting ready to move out of the duplex we've lived in for 2 years. i'm embarrassed by how disgusting it was. I need to be better at cleaning...

....i have one more episode of breaking bad to watch and I'm probably going to cry when it's over

 

....i know everyone is complaining about winter lasting FOREVER...but i'm also going to complain. at least it's been staying mostly about freezing here in iowa...can't wait for the north carolina weather!

 

 

....two of my best friends popped out babies in the last two weeks. i'd be lying if i said i wasn't jealous. (and also so so so happy for them of course!)

 

....i could literally live off of only carbs

for real though

 



Sunday Social

 

Linking up with Neely for Sunday Social!

 

Top 3 favorite kinds of food:

Smoothies, pasty (meat and potatoes in a pie crust) and sweet potatoes

 

First 3 things you do in the morning:

Hit snooze, pee, get dressed/ready for the day

 

Last 3 things you do at night:

Usually watch an episode of Friends, play a trivia game for a few minutes with Rayce on my phone, kiss Rayce goodnight

3 TV shows you NEVER miss:

The Bachelor, Sons of Anarchy (can't wait for the next season!) and the Real World. Quality TV right there.

3 places you want to visit:

Croatia

 

Hawaii

 

Greece

Pretty much anywhere tropical

 

3 people you can always count on:

Rayce, my mom, my sister

 

Past relationships

So this post Samantha wrote has inspired me to write. I love it and you should probably go read it. I agree with everything she said.

My dating history is kind of embarrassing. I'm not going to change names mostly because I don't give a shit. And also, no one that reads this is going to know who I'm talking about anyways.

First there was Shea. My first everything. We date from the time I was 14 to 16. I feel like it was a pretty normal high school relationship. But like Samantha talked about, you shouldn't negatively change yourself for anyone. I definitely did with Shea. I can't even tell you how many fights I got in with my best friends because I would ditch them to hang out with Shea (and his loser friends.) My parents and all my friends told me that he was no good. Why don't we listen to the people that know us and want the best for us? I would have gone through so much less bullshit if I had. With Shea I smoked weed, snuck out, and put myself in some situations that could have turned badly. He broke my heart when we broke up but now I thank God for it!

Next was Nick. Ohhhh, Nick. I've never been treated so badly by a man boy my whole life. I stayed with him for a year and I have no idea why. He was just plain mean to me. Again, like with Shea...my life revolved around him. I'd go to his house pretty much every day after school to just hang out with him or do stuff with his friends...never mine. I don't think he hung out with my friends once. I didn't even go to my prom because he told me he'd break up with me if I did. That is so embarrassing. I can't believe I stood for that. We fought all the time. He cheated on me with at least 3 different girls (one of them my best friend at the time). He threw all my CD's out the window of my car because he didn't like my music. He threw all my stuff I had at his house out onto the grass and called me a cunt because I stayed late one night babysitting. I finally broke up with him and I broke his heart. Apparently he "didn't know what he had until it was gone." Too bad so sad. For months and months after we broke up he was in a deep deep depression drinking very heavily. He would call me hammered drunk while he was driving and tell me he was going to kill himself because he couldn't live without me. There were times when I'd call his parents and have them check on him because when he was blacked out drunk he told me he had a gun. Even though he hurt me so much I couldn't just let him continue that life. I tried so hard to help him be ok. He finally moved on to other girls. He got married in May of 2012 (and made out with someone that wasn't his wife at his wedding reception) and that Christmas he asked me if he could come visit me in North Carolina. Umm...no. He obviously hadn't changed.

I was single for the first 3 years of college which was great for awhile. I had a lot of fun. I dated Chris on and off for a couple of months. It wasn't anything too serious, we lived 4 floors apart in our dorm. We hung out a lot but never really went on dates or anything. He switched colleges after my freshman year and I was very sad but it wasn't a monumental relationship.

Then Alex my senior year. I knew he was no good for me the whole time. I think I stayed with him for a year because I knew I was moving to NC when I graduated and just wanted to be with someone. He is a veteran and went through a lot of really awful things while he was on tour in Iraq. He would never admit it but I think he was going through PTSD. Bad. He drank a lot and wasn't always very nice when he was drunk. I hated going out all the time yet I went out with him and his friends (this was a pattern for me apparently) every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. I pretty much went with because I thought he'd cheat on me if I wasn't around and to babysit him because he did a lot of dumb shit when he was drunk.

Rayce is so different from all these guys. He's never once been mean to me. He's responsible and doesn't like to go out and drink all the time. He takes me out and does nice things for me. He encourages me to go out with my girlfriends. He wants the same things in life as me. I am totally my full self around him. He get's me. He's the type of guy I should have been looking for the whole time. Maybe I just needed to date some guys that were bad for me to realize what I really needed.

This turned out to be a lot longer than I thought. Basically my past with guys has shown me what I will not stand for in a relationship. I won't stand for disrespect, immaturity, heavy drinking/any drugs, dishonesty, or cheating. I wasted a lot of time on bad apples...but don't most people? Or is it just me?