Baby Cactus Plant // Close Call!

So yesterday was certainly an interesting day! First, let me tell you the good bits!

I work in a public library in a small but packed neighborhood. And let me tell you. As much as I love love love my job, it can be trying. These kids aren’t bad kids, but they’re left to do as they please pretty much 24/7. Kids as young as 6 years old will be in the library shouting and playing computer games and getting into fights for HOURS at a time. Needless to say, it was a long summer for me!

Yesterday marked the first day of “Back To School!” Right on time, if you were to ask me. Like I said, I love my job, but I was getting burned out more quickly than I usually do at any place I’ve worked. A few months of a break is much needed! Hang in there, teachers! I know you feel the exact opposite!

Another neat thing that happened was, in our daily mail at the library, we got a little box for someone who had quit AGES ago.

It seemed like just a little freebie from a company (and the lady HAD been gone for a really long time), so I opened it up. I was expecting it to be a lighter or something (it was from a natural tobacco company), but to my surprise, I found this:

A little cactus in a keychain! I was so excited because I’ve wanted to start keeping cacti and succulents and such, but haven’t gotten around to going out and buying any! So now I’ve got a free start.

There’s a closeup of the little fella! I think it’s actually a succulent, but not a cactus? I’m not sure. I’ve tried to identify it online, but haven’t found anything that looks quite like this! The pictures aren’t great, seeing as I took them on my phone at work, but if you know what this little guy is, could you let me know? I’m excited to raise it and eventually re-pot him into a new home in my window!

♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣♣

Now for the not-so-great parts!

Yesterday, at random, my left leg became swollen and tight-feeling. Like it was firm after running or as if I was having an allergic reaction. Of course, these are the main symptoms of a blood clot in the leg.

After hemming and hawing for a while, I finally got my boyfriend to take me to the doctor– and they said they had no idea what it was! Auughh. But they didn’t seem concerned (and checked if I was pregnant– I’m not). So I went home and eventually recovered. It took 7 hours for the swelling to completely subside. It was very bizarre.

And it made me think. If it really were a blood clot, I could have died. And I was overwhelmed with a feeling of sadness about being parted from my boyfriend, should I pass away. A silly thing to think about when you may or may not be in mortal danger, but there you have it. I thought I’d be panicked (I was at first), but I just felt sad.

Sorry for the depressing bits, here. In the end, I’m completely fine (I think?!) and I live to see another day. But possibly facing your own mortality has a way of making you think about what or who it is you really care about!

Always a Bridesmaid!

It seems like so many people are getting hitched these days, and I LOOOVE it! I’m 24, and so all my friends from school are just starting to get married, which is awesome for two reasons. A.) Because they’ve found the love of their lives and I’m overwhelmingly happy for them (I mean it, I could cry just thinking about us as kids and now seeing them all grown up and getting married), and B.) Because I get to wear a pretty outfit to the wedding, heheh!

My oldest and dearest friend, Mel, is getting married this November and I just picked out my bridesmaid dress over the weekend. She gave us two stipulations: it has to be in the David’s Bridal color “marine,” and we have to have matching shoes. Aside from that, we’re free to choose whichever dress we like!

Now, Mel still lives in my home town down in Virginia, and I’m living in Pittsburgh. That means I had to go it alone (well, not quite alone. My boyfriend came with me to tell me everything looks nice, haha!). I had four dresses in mind and went with my very favorite:

Sweetheart Ruched Dress with Full Skirt by David’s Bridal

Of COURSE I zeroed in on the only dress with a 50’s silhouette! I was really worried about my bust not fitting into the dress properly, but it actually looked great! And, to my surprise, I was 3 sizes smaller than the last time I was a bridesmaid! All my work is paying off! I hope it still fits (one way or another) when I wear it this November.

What I’m MOST excited about, though, are the shoes! I’ve never worn heels in my life. Really. No, REALLY. I’ve always been a flats and boots kind of gal. So, imagine my surprise when I tried on a pair of 4″ heel and they were both really easy to walk in AND really comfortable! Who knew! A whole new world is open to me now! Here’s what I got:

Satin Peep-toe Platform Heels by David’s Bridal

So cute!!

I’m actually going to a wedding this weekend as well. This time it’ll be my boyfriend’s childhood friend, Andy. Here’s what I’ll be wearing:

Sincerely Mint Dress by Modcloth

Apparently I got the last one, too! Score! Not exaaaactly how I’m going to style it yet. We’ll see! Maybe with a white cardigan, a pink tie and pink shoes?? Hmm.

Anyway, sorry for being so inactive lately. I’ve been a busy bee! Ahhhh!

Busy busy // Meet Babs!

Being an introvert can be tough sometimes, don’t you think? My plate is so full lately that I didn’t have any time to rest last week until yesterday!

Even then, I still had to clean the whole house while my boyfriend was at work. I don’t mind that, though. Somehow tidying up helps close up the battle wounds that socializing inflicts on me. I have even more socializing to do tonight, then a safety committee meeting tomorrow at a library I’ve never been to. Ahhhh. And if you know anything about Pittsburgh, having to drive to  new place can be STRESS.FUL. The roads here are a horror beyond horror to this native Virginian.

Because I’ve been so busy with this and that, I don’t have any good content to post at the moment, but I DO have this rad action shot of my rat, Babs.

I captured this shot as a fluke while trying to coax her out of her box to clean her cage. She hates being put in her carrier while having her house done. This is what she looked like before being bribed with Yogis:

She must have known what was coming. But then she’s always so happy afterward in her clean house! What a little brat.

She lived with her sister, Dinah, up until about three weeks ago. Dinah had a tumor that grew so rapidly that by the time I got her to a vet, it was recommended that I have her put down. It’s so sad; I really blamed myself somehow. But I knew it was the best thing for her to be put to sleep. Sigh… Babs has gotten used to it as well and only seemed depressed for a couple of days. With lots of attention, she’s as chipper as ever.

Maybe I’ll do more posts about her soon. She IS my baby, after all!

Inmates and Injuries

Dude. Anyone watching Orange is the New Black? Oh my goodness, what a good show. I hadn’t given it any thought at first, but then Netflix played a trailer of it after the new season of Arrested Development and I knew I had to watch it! As you may have heard, the cast of characters is brilliant. Everyone is so fleshed out and has their own backstory that you get to see bits and pieces of.

What I enjoy is that it’s a drama/comedy (dramedy?) that centers on women, but doesn’t center on women’s feelings about men. One of the problems with shows and movies with female protagonists is that they often have their man-problems as the main plot point. Which blows. We ladies got more on our minds than fellas (or romantic interests in general, of course).

This one has some romantic bits, but those bits really are very much side-plots with the women dealing with prison-life at the forefront. Good stuff! And very funny too! And cute! And just watch it, okay!

♣♣♣♣♣

On the not-so-rad side, I got a call from my brother in Virginia the other night (which already told me something was up, because he NEVER calls on the phone). In his words, “Dad has a boo-boo.”

Apparently, he was cutting branches off a tree and fell off a ladder. He broke one of his ankles and feet, and sprained the other ankle. Like, the bone is sticking out of the leg. Ugh. He’s alright, but has to have surgery soon to set the bone and fix all the foot bone bits. Please send good vibes towards Virginia for my dad!