Ready to Set "Sale"

Garage Sales are from Satan. I hate them, and yet for some reason, still unkown to me, I signed on to contribute to and work a garage sale. It was the largest garage sale I've ever been apart of in terms of merchandise and profit. For those of you who remember the big GATA garage sale at my house a few years ago, you can imagine how big this one was.

It was a "four family" garage sale and let me just tell you that only crazy people have garage sales in July. 102 degrees in good ole' Abilene yesterday and 97 today. Oh yes, we had a Friday and Saturday sale. Was it worth my time you ask? Basically, with the money I made and the time I spent, I figured that I made about $5.25 an hour. Now, I'm not complaining about the money...it's more than I started out with. I'm merely wanting to state how tiring and high maintenance garage sales can be. And I only worked Friday and Saturday. The other people involved worked on it all week. CRAZY!

Other news...hum...not really a whole lot going on right now. I got to see my friend Jamie last night and meet her fiance for the first time. They're getting married in two weeks, so I'm glad I got to meet him before they said "I do." Super nice guy and they make a cute couple! We went to Buffalo Wild Wings which is one of mine and Jamie's old "rest stops." Fun times. I'll be traveling west the next two weekends. Going to visit my pals in Lubbock next weekend and then the following weekend I'll be traveling to Jamie's wedding. And, other than my weekend trips, nothing else is very exciting in my life. Sad? Maybe. But, I'm enjoying the break because in a few weeks...it will be crazy again.

So, my friends...my basic message is this: Don't host a garage sale in July and Don't host a garage sale in July...or August for that matter. Simple.

Random Information

Just a little bit of random information...I've recently been harassed for not updating my blog, so here's a few tidbits.

I've joined the craze of..........MySpace. It's actually quite interesting. I haven't quite figured out every detail of this new adventure of mine, but I'm learning. Within the last 24 hours, I've got 20 friends on my page. So interesting!

This weekend I'm going to see three of my best friends. I'm so excited! It's been a long time since I've seen two of them and I'm totally pumped!

Searching for jobs can be both gratifying and exhausting. Job interviews can be exhausting and scary. My current job ends in September, so I thought I'd get a head start on the job search and apply for positions this summer. Within the last two weeks I've had 2 inteviews and have two more this week. I'm interviewing in places from Malibu to Massachusetts, including Dallas and Abilene. Which one do I really want? Who knows!? Basically, it's a God thing now.

My sister and mother have spent the last three days at my house. They're here for Passport, which is orientation in my alma mater's terms. I can't believe that my sister will be a freshman in college in less than 6 weeks. Seriously! For the first time in over six years, my siblings and I will live in the same town. And, for all practical purposes, my parents will too!

My cousin just had her second child this morning. A baby girl, Jadyn Lynn. I haven't seen her yet, but my aunt and uncle say she has a full head of hair, has beautiful eyes and is perfectly healthy. I can't wait to go visit them. Basically, since neither of my siblings have children(and won't for awhile) I treat my cousin's kids as if they were my nieces and nephews. I am now the proud aunt of Camden Micheal and Jadyn Lynn. PRECIOUS!

4th of July is exactly one week from today. At the exact moment I'm writing this, in one week I'll be watching spectacular fireworks in Abilene. 4th of July is my 2nd favorite holiday, next to only Christmas. LOVE IT! This will actually be the first time in my life I have spent the 4th outside of Van, away from my family. I plan on swimming all day and watching the show at night. LOVE FIREWORKS!!!!

So, that's really all I've got. I really am going to try to update my blog more often. However, the summer isn't exactly full of worthy posts! Have a great week!

This is Me Emotional

The last few weeks have been emotional for me. Not all sad moments, some have been really exciting, but even a few of the exciting moments have caused me to tear up. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with the lack of sleep I'm getting. Things tend to bother me more when I'm tired. Plus, I'm coming off of an adrenaline rush from the entire school year. We spent the year going 90 to nothin', barely had time to stop and now that the school year is over, things are calm and quiet. No adrenaline flowing here.

I guess my emotional state really began in late March(see last post) but I didn't have time to deal with it, so maybe things are catching-up with me. Anyway, I guess I actually realized I was emotional a few weeks ago when one of my best friends told me she was pregnant. I cried right along with her...not only because she was crying, but because this is something she and her husband have wanted for almost three years. It was an exciting moment and I'm thrilled for them. I really feel like I'm going to be an aunt!

The next two reasons for crying are actually stupid when I think about it. Several of you have posted entries on the Grey's Anatomy season finale. Well, the really emotional episdode for me actually came two episodes before the finale when the pregnant mom was in a car accident with her family. The mom dies, baby lives and the father is left holding the infant's hand in the incubator. Now, this episode came the week after my friend told me she was pregnant, so of course, all I could think about was, what if this happens to my friend!? Then, two weeks later came the season finale. I didn't cry during the finale, but I probably could have. Hello!? I was just able to accept the fact that Dr. Shephard was going to stay with Addison for this season and Meredith would be with the vet. But no, they mess with our heads, have sex in the OR, and then leave us hanging until next season where she'll probably choose to go home with the vet. Wow. The next stupid emotional moment came last Thursday when I said good-bye to four long-time friends. Karen, Jack, Will and Grace. I've watched them since the beginning. For eight seasons now I've been a devoted watcher and all I have to show for it is re-runs on Lifetime. Will & Grace has been one of my all-time favorite shows and there will never be a new one again.

Now, for what is causing me to be emotional this week. My sister will graduate from high school Thursday night. I remember it like it was yesterday seeing her a few hours after she was born in the hospital. I remember the first day she came home. I remember her begging me to play Barbies with her. I remember teaching her how to play tennis. As I sit here, I'm overwhelmed by a flood of memories. Summers spent swimming and laughing, Christmas mornings in our pajamas, trips we've taken. She and I are different in so many ways, but very much the same. She is truly one of my best friends and I am so proud of who she has become. She's an amazing young woman. She's strong, courageous, witty, bold, intelligent and sassy. She has flawless fashion sense and a heart of gold. I am blessed to have her in my life. She'll be moving to Abilene in August and will begin a new chapter in her life. For the first time in seven years, all three Ellison children will once again live in the same town. So, here's to my little sister. May she continue to grow in the Lord, experience the wonders of college and live life to the fullest.

An end in sight...

My three months of rest and relaxation begins in four days. I'm tired. I'm ready for my head to stop hurting. I'm ready to breathe. I'm ready to get a decent nights sleep.

The insanity will end on Saturday. My last event for the semester will end Friday evening, or actually Saturday morning, around midnight. There are 2800 people coming to this event and it has been, by far, the most labor and mind intensive so far this year. I'll write about this event next week when I'm in a more positive mood because it has the potential to be an absolutely amazing evening. We shall see...

My Great Return

I've received several emails from friends wondering if I'm still alive. The answer is yes...I'm still alive, barely, but I'm still here. I've been out of the blogging world for over a month now, which means I haven't updated mine and I really haven't checked anyone elses. If something major has happened to you in the last month, I probably don't know about it unless you have called or emailed me directly.

Below is a small update on my life. For those of you who don't want to read the entire entry, it won't bother me at all. This just saves me a lot of time when it comes to updating my friends. And, for those of you who have asked about my dating life, if you really want to know, you'll have to call or email me. I'm not posting that on my blog.

Ok...I'll start on a low note, but I promise it will pick-up.
On Thursday, March 30th, Dr. Stephen Carter was brought to campus as one of our Centennial Speakers. Interesting man...a little high maintenance, but he spoke well and brought a nice size crowd to campus. I was with Dr. Carter from 7:30am until 2:30pm that day, but my thoughts were at home...my home in Van.

On March 30, 2006 I lost one of the most important men in my life. My grandfather, the only grandfather I had left, passed away early that Thursday morning. For those of you who were GATA officers with me, we went to his house on Lake Conroe for our officer retreats.

It was and has been one of the most difficult things I've experienced in my life. I say one of the most difficult because six years ago I lost my other grandfather. It was heartbreaking and my family still hurts. Death is never easy, and as much comfort as you get in knowing that they are in a better place, it's still difficult. It's funny how people handle things like death...people handle trama in so many different ways. I haven't quite grasped the fact that he's gone. I haven't dealt with his death and I dread the day that it all crashes down on me. He was a rock and the patriarch of our family. He loved life, his family, singing, sports and God. What a giant man.

I went home for the funeral and stayed all weekend, only to return on April 3rd with a very full week in front of me. One of my favorite events up to this point took place on Saturday, April 8th. Robin Roberts from Good Morning America came to campus as one of our Centennial Speakers. AMAZING! Hands-down one of the best speakers I've ever heard. She's dynamic, energetic, hilarious, smart and down-to-earth all rolled up in one neat person. The event went extremely well...a little over 800 people were in attendance, which makes it one of the largest events I've planned during the Centennial so far. Robin was spectacular and spending the day with her was fabulous! After the event Saturday night, I mentioned to Robin that I was going to be in New York that week and was hoping to stop by GMA. Sunday morning when I picked her up from her hotel, she handed me a piece of paper with her assistants name and number on it and told me to call her and she'd get me into Good Morning America...which leads me to my next paragraph!

I spent March 12-15 in New York City. My mom, grandmother, sister and I went for Jessi's senior trip. Too fun! We did all of the tourist stuff, i.e., Empire State Building, Time Square, China Town, etc. However, the three highlights of my trip were the two Broadway shows we saw and being on Good Morning America!

We went to see Phantom of the Opera...FABULOUS...and Mama Mia...EXCELLENT! Both shows were sold out, so the theatres were packed. They were spectacular shows! Friday morning we headed to Time Square at 6:30. We arrived outside of the ABC studios around 6:40am and were immediately taken inside to the main studio. We spent the next two hours watching the news cast from "behind the scenes" following around the reporters, watching the monitors and even sitting on the GMA benches where their celebrity guests sit! Robin came over to find us, gave me a hug, talked to my family, introduced us to Diane Sawyer, Bill and Mike and then her assistant took us over to be in two seperate tv shots. Friday morning we were on the front row during the weather and front row behind their guest singers! It was too fun! We had an amazing time...completely exhausted when we got back, but it was well worth it.

This week I'm playing catch-up and getting ready for my seven days of hell. Thursday I have a Centennial Speaker on campus all day, Saturday we have a Philharmonic event for over 2,000 people and next Tuesday we have John Maxwell, the author and leadership expert, coming to campus as our last Centennial speaker. When is summer going to get here?!

So, that's a brief...well, not so brief...run-down on my life over the last month. It's been insane but awesome at the same time. May 13th marks the end of the school year and it can't get here fast enough! I hope you are all doing well, and know that I miss you and promise to catch up when things slow down. All my love...