Good Choices, Bad at Blogging, and the Cutest Puppy Ever

Life has been a little more than hectic lately. In case you missed the part that I got back with my ex... that happened. Things unfolded beautifully and I was able to congratulate him on 5 months of sobriety on December 1st.

Since he and I have been involved, we have moved in and adopted a puppy. She's the cutest and don't argue with me cause you'll never change my mind.

We also went house hunting and found a new home that we love. Apparently, we close on it in about two weeks. This is super exciting as it has both a yard for pupper and room for my office. We also get to decorate and make it into our home as a symbol of our fresh start.

Not more than 48 hours ago, we received a call from a lady who may be interested in purchasing our current house--how amazing!

I should be finished with Sobriety Court sometime around the middle of the month and we have decided to return to Europe in the middle of March. We are terribly excited about this trip and it will be excellent to exercise my writing ability abroad in exchange for accommodations and activities.

Jeremiah's shop is expanding at a rapid pace, and he is on-track with another business venture set to launch in early 2019.

The biggest complaint I have is about his snoring and the puppy's need to eat my favorite blanket. This baffles me because those aren't really complaints at all. I know he loves me because he tells me all the time in the most sincere ways and I know that the pup was a great choice as she is basically an Allie reincarnate.

What I'm trying to say is that I feel secure, loved, stable and content. I am happy with myself and look forward to what 2019 will bring.

Oh, and, we are officially having our families over for Christmas at the new house. It will be a mad dash to prepare and decorate but I think we can do it--we've done crazier shit, that's for sure.

A Love Story Part II

The Consequence

I feel like I should take a minute to talk about your consequence. This wasn't the first or second time it happened, and you probably should have had far more of these. But, you didn't. Apparently, the first two times didn't teach you anything. 

So, this consequence put you into another institution for 10 or 11 days--I don't really recall. During that time you came to what you thought were realizations about your life and wondered if this was just how it had to be.

You arrived back to your place and went on a couple errands with your mom. She was scared of the future and so was I. 

We were told by your attorney that there was a special court for people like you and you weren't thrilled about the prospect of all the work involved. In fact, you tried to weasel your way out by opting for house arrest. Your mom, attorney, and I wouldn't let that happen. 

This program would be intense but it was doable and probably something we needed.

The Waiting

Having no job and no prospects, you went back to the hotel where you had previously worked. For a while this was good. Eventually, it drove you crazy for lack of a schedule, no way to move up, and no possible way to make more money. 

During this waiting period, a few important things happened: you found a great friend in Texas who wound up being one of your favorite people and almost our entire hometown flooded. It was trying, but your parents lucked out and did not have any damage.

After your roommate quit paying rent and you kicked him out, you found another winner to take over his place. This one bailed before he even moved in and it was decided you'd move back home. 

Moving back home was difficult at first. Your medicine was still a little off, probably still suffering from post-acute withdrawal syndrome, and it hurt your pride. To say things were rocky with your siblings would be an understatement, and it was hard living under a roof that wasn't yours after so long. 

Eventually, things mostly normalized and you got used to being there. 

The Facebook Post

This is worth mentioning because, at some point in time, there was a Facebook post wanting female friends. I'm assuming some people thought this post was funny or a joke but you didn't care. This is how you re-met your best friend. 

You and she had known each other for a long time--since The Bulldog days--but never had been close. She messaged you her number and (surprise!) you texted her. 

Y'all don't see eye-to-eye on everything all the time, but there is always some sort of shenanigan going on and lots of giggles. You two are each other's go-to girls, you vent and you laugh, you bitch about men, work, and school; there is just a certain level of understanding between y'all. 

July 11, 2017

This is the day you pled into that special court program. Soon, you'd start counseling and we'd start coming together again. Actually, as we began our new relationship, the relationship with your family also began growing and mending.

There was counseling, support groups, court sessions twice a month, one mandatory garden day per month, fees, probation, case management, more community service, curfews, and drug screens. We started to get busy. Oh, and for 45 days of all this, we had no license.

Oddly enough, the busier we got, the happier we got. Things started to shift, and soon they'd be looking up.

A Love Story Part I

The Beginning

When I first met you, I was unimpressed. You were a dorky teenager that tried too hard. Smart, and a smartass. I never knew if you were unsure of yourself, or actually confident... sometimes you were just a cocky S-O-B.

You began to get older, and you met other people. We grew apart but I was still excited for you. Something told me these relationships wouldn't work out--that didn't really matter, you were going places. But this story isn't about the other ones. It's about us...

The Slow Change

You ended up with multiple restaurant jobs and somehow always made ends meet. You moved up to bartending and started making relatively good money. At this point, you seemed to be a different person, one that I didn't really know. A person I couldn't stand to be around. You grew to be unhappy and obsessively thought about all the wrong things while poisoning yourself slowly. We didn't talk much anymore and you certainly had no friends left.

I knew you were ill, but I couldn't get you to change. Your sweet parents were devastated and things looked grim.

Relief... For a Bit

Sometime during our story, you decided to find the cure for your sickness. I actually started liking you again. Then you trusted the wrong information and made a life-changing decision.

Your dormant sickness was back with a vengeance. Things got much worse over a short period of time. It was frightening to everyone around.

It was found that the first sickness actually went along with a second disorder which you thought you had for years.

The office you were working at closed. Being at a loss, and feeling like you had nowhere to turn, you began to plan the end of your life. I knew about the plan, but couldn't tell you any different. There was nothing for me to do; my hands were tied. We weren't even that close anymore so I couldn't even offer insight.

Dumb Luck

You went on with the attempt on your life, emotionally wrecking the few people that remained close. It's a fluke you're still here, and I will forever be grateful for the person that stopped you. Honestly, I didn't know if you would ever forgive the person I was so thankful to.

I didn't see you for about a week because you went away to a hospital. You said it was pretty awful, but you didn't call me. I still hoped I'd have you back soon.

You were released and things were again better, if only slightly. Long story short, after a few months of having your own place and still being a crazy asshole, you had another consequence. A major one.
This was a game-changer. Your life as you knew it was over.

Ours was just beginning.

Green Tea and Kale

Okay, so Maybe Not a Ton of Kale, 

...but I guess I've subconsciously decided to attempt being healthy again. I've developed an addiction to Lipton Diet Green Tea (yes, it HAS to be diet) and cut out pretty much all of my energy drinks. To be honest, besides the fact they're terrible for you, I think it was messing with my meds. And oddly enough, making me less focused.

I knew I'd feel better but I didn't know I'd feel THIS good. And then... I've downloaded two meditation apps. I try to meditate daily but still don't find myself getting much out of it. So, I decided to do something different. Not gonna lie, those apps are bomb. One has more free content than the other but I'll still keep both.

Give me a week-- I'll be a hippie.

Totally kidding. But I am excited that healthier choices have been coming easily to me. I'm excited about them because I feel a bit better and have been insanely productive.

OH! And... I bought Morning Star Veggie Patties. I had a hard time finding them because I don't shop at that Super 1 too often (and I generally don't buy veggie patties.) This is exciting because its something out of the ordinary for me and can be a quick and easy meal.

Instead of me picking up my beloved french fries on my way home from work. It's also a lot cheaper, yay me!

In Other News

Well, no news is good news, right? It seems like everything is always crazy busy and I play catch up more than I'd like. Going to the camp for Memorial Day weekend provided me with exactly what I needed.

I was able to enjoy my family (all but my brother,) fish, be on the water, and actually get a full 8 hours of sleep. Of course, I couldn't go ALL weekend without some type of work, so one article did get done.

The last night I was there, right before I went to bed, I checked this site. I was mainly looking to see if there were any new comments. I was pleasantly surprised to find that there was one. On my very first post. 

He basically told me that he had been the one to order several of the posts I didn't get paid for. We chatted for a bit in Hangouts and he sent me everything I needed to report the guy. I emailed the site, sent a million screenshots along with his username, and they told me he had been banned. 

I still didn't get paid for it, and its highly unlikely I ever will, but I did get a small sense of satisfaction. 

The Last Few Notes

There are still so many great things happening in my life. It always amazes me and keeps me in an attitude of gratitude every time something crosses my mind. I get the chance to rebuild things with my sister, get to know my future brother-in-law (I hope) and really feel like I add value to the world around me.

It is amazing to be in a place where I'm unashamed of who I am, what I believe, or how I feel. To get to look forward to what lies ahead and what plot twists are in store. I don't think I've ever experienced this level of satisfaction in my life and I hope that you get to do the same. 

I'm not good at wrapping these things up... so, until next time.

I'm grateful but...

I'm grateful but... I don't have a new car.
I'm grateful but... I don't have a degree
I'm grateful but... that dude didn't pay me

See where I'm going with this? I want a lot of crap. Most of it is materialistic or in forms of financial gain.

There isn't anything wrong with that, especially if I'm willing to work for it.

Some things are out of my control. I have to keep that in mind, too. That guy not paying me? I can't do anything about it but put my own spin and positivity on it.

I was aggravated at first, but I was quick to see my part. I also started this blog. It's not big yet, but it will be.

It makes it easier to market myself to potential clients for quick jobs. And it gives me a fun outlet.

As far as the car thing goes, well, my car runs and is paid off. So I don't have to carry full insurance. I also have AC which is imperative for surviving Louisiana summers.

And the degree? It's coming. But I'm doing it my way, accomplishing every thing I can along the way.

In the meantime, I'll be grateful. Truly grateful for everything that goes right in my life on a daily basis.

Proof!!!

In case you don't believe at least SOME of the work was published... here are some screenshots. If you go back and look at some of the descriptions I posted, these are included.

 

Gotta love stolen work. 

All These New Posts

I've said it before, I'm saying it again... I'm only posting because I didn't get paid and don't believe I will. If, on the off chance, you got to this blog because you searched on Hemmingway or another app/extension, please contact me. I actually don't even mind if you use my work this go-round. Just stop using whoever sold it to you because they are ripping people like me off.

I work hard. The entire week that I wrote for this fella, I slept around 4 hours a night because I was pulling double duty at my other job and have a ton of obligations during the week. I also put off writing for another company which prevented me from making money for bills.

Was I naive? Yes.

I know it's unlikely I'll see anything from this, or that anyone reads it, or that I'll ever see a tenth of what is owed, but it's worth a shot.

And if you've just run across my blog randomly and like what you see, let me know that too. Always down for extra work and I enjoy writing.

Oh, and if you're a writer... don't trust anyone. If you communicate on a certain site, keep it to that site. I'm sure I don't have to say it, but I'm saying it for those people who are like me and lured by attractive clients, money per word, and the like.

Anyway, I might actually give this blogging thing a shot... It's kinda fun. Somewhat like talking to yourself but having the potential for other people to hear your thoughts.