On living back at home.

(Well I am official and have an iphone quality badge to prove it. I do feel invincible with this pass though. You show me a door I can’t wave my way into and I will prove you wrong.)

Sunday afternoon Jordan and I drove our little cars to Midland so I could start my new job the next morning…and then he went back to Lubbock. We are learning to master the living apart thing, as well as the moving a lot…thing. (I need to work on my vocabulary skills.)

At the moment our home dynamic is rare consisting of my parents, brother, sister-in-law, unborn niece, 4 dogs and me. We, and many other people who we told of this living arrangement, were worried. Luckily, E! or A&E would be disappointed if they came to record our reality and for that I am so thankful. Normal is perfect. On a note of thankfulness, Ry and Samantha are finally having luck in the home market! So fingers crossed and prayers said for them.

As for me, I will be squatting with my parents until Jordan and Lemon get here…so thank you Midland for the welcome back. You have been good to me so far.

Happy Wednesday and may your towns be treating you pretty nice as well.

Today I…

• am just bursting with joy over the fact that my brother and sister-in-law are going to HAVE A BABY IN OCTOBER!!! I can’t even stand how excited I am for them!!! Watch out Etsy, you won’t know what hit you when I get to spending my hard-earned on beautiful things for my future lil.  
• have a mind is full of thoughts about babies, crazy dogs, car trips and family.
• will be in Midland in a of handful of hours.
• am listening to Eisley and Dispatch and loving it.
• am thinking of my upcoming trip to Florida and the amount of sundresses, TOMS, wedges, and shorts I need to pack.
• am wearing new boots. Thank you Dillard’s for your bountiful 65% off sale which made my dream of owning Steve Madden motorcycle boots a reality.
• am remembering this time last year I was living in Austin and preparing my mind for the chaos that is SXSW. Beautiful and stressful chaos. This was also when Cassie told me that hair feathers were unprofessional. Both a sad and true statement.
• am wishing on every wishing stone I can find that Tenacious D will be at ACL this year since they will be at SXSW.
• remembered why I hate Dicky’s bbq. But thanks Madewell for getting me the goods anyway.
• have started to realize how much I rely on instant gratification. I am finding it more difficult to wait for things then I used to. I want to know now where we will be in a year, I want to know now what job Jordan will have when he graduates, I want my future lil to be here now, I want an oompa loompa now…just call me Varuca Salt.

• am thankful for coffee on cold days and the 12 snowflakes I saw while driving to work.
• am still so happy to have Lauren home.
• praying hard for Tanis’ little nephew who will have kidney surgery in the next few months.
• hope that you have a wonderful Friday, Friday!

Thankful Thursday. Thankful March.

 This is the only image I could think  of to describe just HOW EXCITED, yes I over use this word, I am about the happenings of March. What better way to depict my joy than with a dancing cupcake child?

My reasons for thankfulness are as follows:

1. One of my most favorite people in the whole WORLD is finally coming home from South Korea on Saturday!!!!!!!!! Lauren has been teaching, exploring, and instagraming for the past 3 1/2 million months in Seoul. I am so proud of her for taking this trip and for the difference she has made in the lives of those around her. My heart has been a little broken since she has been gone and I know there are so so many people who are ready for her to be home. Prayers for a safe journey!

2. This month I will go on my first Parnell Family vacation to Florida. This will be my first time to the State of Dexter and I can hardly wait. Beaches, Grandparent time, HARRY POTTER WORLD, good food, Harry Potter World and Harry Potter World are just a few of the things that I am looking forward to while we are there. I have dreaming of going to HPW (if you will) since I first heard they were building it a couple of years ago. This photo is not far from how I looked when I watched the first promotional video of all wonders that the park would offer. I have already warned Jordan that I would probably cry when we got there. He has been informed…so that eliminates the desire to mock me right? I think so too.

3. We love St. Patrick’s Day in this family. We have decided to celebrate St. Patty’s in a big way rather than Valentine’s last month. Green>Red & Pink.

4. Jordan and I get to go to Austin TWICE this month. Count them: 1,2! We have so missed Austin and we are beyond pumped to get to be there in a few weeks. The first time is to go see Young the Giant at Stubbs with my cousin and her husband (a trip we have been looking forward to since November). The second time is for a leadership conference that Jordan is going to be a part of and I am helping set up for.

5. (This is a thankful from Lems) She gets to spend a week with my parents in Midland while we are in Florida. This means lots of outside time, wrestling with Linus and Toby, and some running around with my brother and Samantha’s dogs when they come visit. If Lems could understand what was  going on she would probably cry with joy too.
Finally, a quick shout out to last month. God has been so good to our family. His love for us has been so evident in each blessing and each trial. There is so much more that I want to tell about February, but it is still being processed. God is faithful and more than good.

Happy Thursday!

Thankful thanksgiving.

I love thanksgiving.

For the past 3 years I have been able to take part in a wonderful Parnell tradition. Super Thanksgiving with the Crawfords and their family/extended family (Super is not part of the actual title, but I feel it is appropriate considering how many people are there. And in fact each of them are super.) I love this family, I love that I they are so welcoming to newbies in their home, I love that we sing before we feast, I love when their Gran makes her way to the living-room to cheer on her Cowboys,  I love all the sweaty headed babies that run around, I love how happy this tradition makes my husband, I love the abundance of food there is to enjoy (oh, and seconds/thirds/fourths.)

I am thankful for my in-laws and being continually welcomed into this extended family.

Later that evening we were invited to spend some of the holiday with Jordan’s good friend JC, his wife Karissa, and his family. His family is the epitome of  the word hospitality. I was so happy to eat an amazing Filipino noodle dish (Pancit) that I can’t get enough of and getting a hug from his sweet Lola.

We are thankful to have friends like JC and Karissa.

Friday morning we left for Midland to see my family and my parent’s new house. They just moved in about a week ago and I could not be more happy for them. They love the new space and my mom is being super spoiled by her humango bathroom and closet (and their garbage disposal and dishwasher, which they are still deciding if they will make use of these two things or not.) This was also a great  trip for Lems because she got to spend time with her cousins Squints and Joey. These three looked ready for Christmas in their sweaters and onesie PJs (complete with a butt flap.) My parents also gave us some of their old furniture to re-create and make our own (along with an old typewriter, roller skates, and a Vacancy sign. Jordan was in Heaven. I am so glad that we have the same taste in vintage pieces.)

I love my family and am beyond thankful to call them mine.

Lastly, in exactly 4 days Jordan will be home for good! Yay husband!

I am thankful for my out of this world best-friend-British-Guard-impersinating-husband.

~HAPPY DECEMBER TO YOU ALL!!~

Start as Kelly Kapowski and turn to the Black Swan

Happy Halloween (yesterday) to all! I am usually not that into this holiday, in the past I have used it to prepare my mind for christmas by watching Elf, but this year I was pretty excited to get dressed up in something other than a Christmas sweater. As I was thinking about what I wanted be this year THE greatest idea came to me…Kelly Kapowski. In elementary when we would play Saved By The Bell I always wanted to be Kelly but was the permanent Jessie. Bummer. Jessie was such a buzz kill to me and my 3rd grade self. Now that I am at a very mature age of 23 and I am allowed to choose who I want to pretend as, I was going to be Kelly. More specifically “Prom Queen of 1991 Kelly.”  I made up that title but it seemed believable.

Yesterday after work I went home, put on my dress, ratted up my hair (which I do not understand how people do that on a normal basis, I cringed while sliding that comb down my hair) then doused my head in hairspray. Lemon was not a fan of the hairspray. It made her sneeze 7 times. Seven! When I left the house I felt like this:

But sadly I really kind of looked like this:

I got to  Letice’s house and her husband told me I looked like a skanky Black Swan, but that it suited me. I had obviously missed the Kelly Kapowski mark in a big way. But, I let this be a positive criticism and went with it instead. I smoothed out that teased mess of hair into a bun, watched some youtube of the movie to better acquaint myself with the character, and created some makeshift ballet slippers. And got this:

The glory of a psychotic ballet dancer. Perhaps I will make Kelly Kapowski happen next year. One could only be so lucky.

I hope that you had a great Halloween and that your costume attempts were much more successful than mine.

New stuff…in bullets

• Last weekend Jordan and I went to Lubbock and found A PLACE TO LIVE! Yay! This is very exciting because I will be moving there so soon. My last official day at work is on Sept 23rd and I can’t even belive that it is all coming to a close so quickly. Pictures of our rockin new place will be posted soon enough. My hope is that I can make some renovations to this place…specifically the 70s inspired wall paper. Other than that, I am pumped about moving in.
• It is Jordan’s birthday week (which he hates that I have devoted this entires week to his birthday {insert evil laugh}) and we are both waiting and waiting for Friday when we get to go to ACL! AH! Hello Cold Play and many other delightful bits of sweet musical goodness.
• So I am thinking of a number between 1-3…winner gets to help me finish packing up the apartment. (I was thinking of 2. If that is you, get your cute self to Austin.) In return for your help I can give you lots of pats on the back or applause. Whatever you prefer.
• I miss Lemon. The overwhelming amount of packed boxes of doom were causing her anxiety. So she is staying with Jordan’s family in Lubbock until I can get there. At first I thought I would be relieved that she would be out-of-the-way for a bit, but life is a little gloomy without that Lemon around. When we got back from Lubbock I immediately went and crashed in bed…I waited to hear her to sprint full speed, making a giant leap towards the bed and land dangerously close to my head…But no puppy ran towards me   Call me dramatic. I am well aware.
• I have discovered a new love. Frisbee Golf. I have played 1 1/4 times and have had a total score of 115. Yes, that is very bad. But, I am up for more practice rounds and with it being free to play (rare in Austin) I am fully willing to improve my game.

With all that is going on amidst the insanity surrounding moving/job transition/and everyday life I have found peace and encouragement in the people and things around me. Lunch today with my friend Alyssa, the amazing people who I work with, my great friends, my top-notch husband, and these words:

I hope that your week has been amazing and that you have a great rest of the day.

Thankfuls+favorites+news.

It has been way too long since I have written anything and my hope is to get a lot covered in one post. So apologies if it is really long.

First I have news...For those of you who may not know, Jordan and I will be moving back to Lubbock. He got an amazing internship with the Bridge of Lubbock and will be finishing up his last semester of grad school and then working there for a semester, followed by graduation in May! So proud of that husband of mine who will be graduating with 2 masters in May The other news is that I just recently got a job in Lubbock! I will be moving and start in October…so prayers for a smooth transition from the job I currently have to my new one and for the move.

Thankfuls:

1. See all of the above. I can’t believe how things are working out for us. Prayers answered in so many ways.

2. The people that I work with in Austin. I have learned so much from them professionally and have been so fortunate to call them my friends too.

3. The Lake. I went last weekend for my friends birthday and for the first time in a really long time I did not mind the 1007624987 degree weather. Bring on the heat Texas!

4. Sleep.

5. Prayer. Answered and unanswered. My mom took this a photo of us praying around Tanis before her wedding and it is one of my most favorite pictures from the wedding:

Current Favorites:

(Looking forward to getting to see them (and all of our favorite Lubbock people) more once we move to town. Except for Lauren, because she is going over seas for a year! My little globe trotter.)

(As I have mentioned before, in a previous post, I have some serious problems with painting my own nails. But this is a magical bottle. I was successful and did not have to remove it immediately after finishing. The color is called mocachino. Target. Go. Now.)

(A picture of my parents on their wedding day.)

(Lemon’s new favorite place to sleep. We looked all over for her one day and there she was curled up between the couch and wall. It makes me laugh every time I see her walk over there. This dog puts up with a lot living with us, (between dresses I force her to wear, Jordan always wrapping her head up in a sheet to look like a nun, and our inability to call her by her real name) so I think this is her place to escape. Recently, in honor of the 5th season of Dexter, we tried to change her name to Lumen. We figured it was an easy enough switch but she didn’t seem to like the idea. However, if she had been okay with a  name change then the blog name would have to be changed as well, and Daily Lumens just sounds ridiculous. )

I hope your Thursday has been wonderful and may you think of your 5 thankfuls too.

Weekend Update

After having such an intense week at work I felt like I should have an incredibly relaxing weekend. So I took to the most basic form of R&R and slept…a lot.

• Friday: When I finally left work I got to spend time in Cedar Park. Yay for popcorn, babies, and cookies and cream milk straws.

(Boston Burrito.)

(Heidi was very excited to be the first to serve me air-popped popcorn)

(I was also very excited about my first go at air popped corn AND a cookies and cream milk straw. Oh and my outfit of choice on Friday got many interesting comments. My favorite was being called Debby Gibson/Tiffany and having our secretaries sing 80′s hit to me all day. I love my office.)

• Saturday I slept until 11:30, Jordan and I made a trip to HEB to buy pancake materials, ate, then Lems and I took a nap from 2-5:30. I mean really? Around 7:30 I finally got cleaned up and went out with Heidi, which was amazing.

(Oh and Lems got a new dress. Yes, judge all you want but I put clothes on my dog.)

• Sunday is the usual church, cleaning, Jordan doing lots of homework, and me watching lots of episodes of the Hills (Oh I hate that Spencer.)

Now, I understand that this is the most lame post ever. But I have to say that I am so looking forward to the upcoming couple weeks! My best friend Tanis is getting married on Aug 20th and I will be going home and taking part in all things bridesmaid. So many shower/wedding updates will be coming soon!

Hope your weekend was amazing.

Thursday Thankfuls.

I can not even begin to express to you the insanity of the week that I have had so far. Work has been abnormally crazy, my alarm has begun a full out attack on me, and Lemon has developed a super sniffing nose that requires her to linger on every single thing that has any bit of scent. Needless to say, I have been craving some calm/me time. However, I am determined to not be overwhelmed at every moment of each day. So I have decided to stop at least once a week and physically write/type what I am thankful for. In doing so, here is a list of my current thankfuls:

1. My wonderful brother in law coming to town. Jacob and Jordan got to spend a couple days together of brotherly bonding this week by going to a concert, talking about the future (ex: discussing in length the future pizza place they want to open, called “Slice of Life”  and the detailed “Man V. Food” type challenges that they will offer), watching shows about epic battles/ Hell’s Kitchen, and exploring Austin through the lens of Instagram.

(The wall at Rounders, a new pizza place we have come to love)

(Action shot at its best)

(The Sniffing Diva.)

2. A new office. I have to say that I work with some of the greatest people on the planet. I could devote an entire post to the folks in my office, they are just that cool. Before the big move on Monday, there was a constant 4 people sharing 1 office. Our VP (Alexis) and I shared a desk, Cassie (of classiecassie on my side bar) had her own desk, and Kim (intern extraordinaire) had a baby sized desk. Recently, we brought on a new girl to take care of finances…desk space was obviously limited. Thankfully, there was an opening in an office just down the hall so Alexis and I got moved. I miss the  random moments of office yoga, celeb gossip, and other girl type chatter but I have loved being in this new space.

3. A moment of calm which is being spent blogging and listening to my Decemberists pandora station.

4. A Skype date with Lauren Sportsman, as well as finishing her care package which will be sent to Colorado asap.

5. Short hair, new shoes, and scoring the best blue pen in the office.

Okay, peace time over. Back to the insanity that is my job right now. I hope your Thursday has been happy and that you have found a moment of peace in your own crazy.

Weekend Update

The 5 things I  learned this weekend:

1) Harry Potter is good at the IMAX and is great at the Alamo:

(Cheese burgers and  Butterbeer make the Alamo a perfect place to see HP. Awkward movie moment: Jordan and I being the ONLY people in the theater who burst out into fits of laughter when Voldemort hugs Malfoy.)

2) Blockbuster is an incredibly sad place. I remember going to rent movies growing up and it being the highlight of my week (that and T.G.I.F.). Jordan and I went Saturday night to rent the next season of Dexter and it was just depressing. Even though I am a lover of netflix, I do miss the anticipation, anxiety and excitement that comes from renting the perfect movie… Oh, the advancements of technology (we are in a love hate relationship). I have a good feeling that I am going to be one of those crotchety old people who starts every sentence with the words “Back in my day…” 3) I am a self professed soap opera lover. My story of choice is All My Children, and yes I was grief stricken when I found out that it was being canceled. Jordan and I recently canceled our cable and I have been unable to watch my show, thankfully they show it online (technology love). I was about 20 something episodes behind and really needed to catch up, so the best alternative was to just listen to the shows while I worked. While I am normally swept up in the drama of the show, simply listening to it is just hilarious. More specifically listening to the drunken rants of JR  are  incredibly entertaining. 4) I have rediscovered my lost love for the show “The Hills” thanks to Netflix. As my friend Cassie explains it, “It is nice to have time when you can take your brain out for a bit.” This is true, because there is zero thinking involved in this show…which is perfect. 5) Cinnamon Roll Pancakes are freaking amazing. Google a recipe and get to making them. I hope you had as great of a weekend as Lemon did: