Forgetfulness - Housesitting Edition

I don't typically consider myself a forgetful person, but for some reason whenever I housesit my brain shuts down during the packing process.

It could have something to do with the fact that I usually "pack" in a 5 minute period of time.

Whatever the reason, I've forgotten some fairly important things.

(PS - That's Missy in the picture above. She likes to survey her empire (aka: yard) when she gets the paper in the morning)

Shoes: Once during the summer, I moved into a house wearing flip flops. I had all my work clothes for the next couple of days, but I had neglected to bring work shoes. That resulted in a trip home at midnight to grab shoes for the duration of the trip.

Makeup: Kind of a necessity for me during the work week. Luckily the absence of said make up was discovered on a Saturday, so I was able to retrieve it prior to Sunday. Hooray!

Socks: Not the end of the world, but my feet were fairly cold for a day.

Mousse: This resulted in a pony tail day.

Shampoo/conditioner: Another pony tail day.

Tights: Again, not the end of the world. Just another one of those, "Seriously, Emily!" moments.

Underwear: that was an interesting day.

Hair dryer: I woke up, took a shower, went to grab my dryer - discovered I'm a loser who forgot something important. I don't like going to work with wet hair, so I finished getting ready then drove across town to my place to get the hair dryer and finish the hair process.
I still got to work early. BOOM!

There have been many, many more items that I have forgotten, but most of them were little things that don't really make a difference in the getting-ready process (earrings, iPad, etc...)

This has nothing to do with anything I just said, but I hope you all have a fantastic Thanksgiving filled with family, friends, and food! I expect to see many, many delicious food photos in the next week.

Side note: I'm glad that the trees still look like this. I will never get tired of these colors.

Happy Things

There are a few things that always make me happy. Like, when they happen, I just want to freeze time and soak in the moment.

Well, two of those things happened on the same day for me,

and it was almost too much to handle.

First came the car wash.

It had been a long day. A very long day. It was 10:00 at night (still 105 outside), and I still had to go to the house where I was staying, feed a dog, water a bunch of plants, and respond to some messages. Not the worst thing in the world, but for some reason, I just wanted to collapse on the couch and watch one of my guilty pleasures (read: The Real Housewives of NJ). But as I was pumping gas, I thought, "Duh." (OK, I think that a lot, but this time it was more of a "eureka!" type of duh).

A car wash.

That's what I/my car needed.

Aren't they just the best? They're so refreshing.

OK, so after I left the car wash and was pleasantly singing along to the radio with my new found zest for the evening, I remembered that I still had to bake cookies for something that was taking place the next day.

I love baking cookies, but I still just wanted to collapse on a couch and watch The Real Housewives of NJ. (I know, I know. Feel free to judge. I know it's ridiculous)

I finally snapped out of my inner pity party and got down to business.

This might sound really stupid, but I love the form of packed brown sugar. It always just looks happy, and it means that wonderful things are being created.

Also, when you get to smash it up, well, that's fun, too.

Like I said, it might sound really stupid, but it's a small joys.

What are your small joys?

To Whom It May Concern

Dear Oklahoma City,

I think you're great. I really do.

But, I've been thinking about it, and I think you need an efficient mode of public transportation. I realize that will be a tall order because you're spread all over the place, but you have to start somewhere, right? I mean, we have the Thunder now, and we need to keep up with the growth, so it makes sense, right OKC? Just think, one day you could have a system that looks like this:

Dear Rex and Gypsy,

It's really fun getting to watch you while your parents are out of town. You're some of the cutest pups ever, and I'm not just saying that because you're my doggy siblings.

I know that you love sleeping on the bed, but sometimes you make it really difficult to move during the night. Maybe you could just scoot over a bit? Think about it.

Dear New Glasses,

I'm kind of still obsessed with you. I still feel like I'm betraying my old pair, but we've reached a mutual understanding, and it's time to move on. Even if my co-workers don't like you, you're still my favorite.

Dear Pools,

I don't know where I'd be without you. You're kind of my favorite. Thanks for being you.

Sincerely,

Emily

Highs / Lows

High: I've been house sitting a lot lately. This is always fun, because basically it means that I get to live vicariously through another family that has a bigger house than I do. It also helps if they have a pool.

Low: Since I pack as sparingly as possible when I house sit, I have basically been cycling through the same 2 necklaces, 2 pairs of earrings, and 5 dresses since July 6th. (Don't worry, I wash the dresses). However, I am looking forward to the end of August when I can move back home and start incorporating more into my wardrobe.

High: The Olympics took place. It was an exciting time that included, but was not limited to, the Fab Five's win, Team USA's gold in Basketball, Lochte's tweets, Missy Franklin's all-american-ness, and Mustafina's face. She will cut you.

Low: The Olympics ended. It's true. All good things must come to an end, I suppose. However, the silver lining in this is that in two years they will be back again. And they'll be in Russia!

High: It's SHARK WEEK. An entire week that is devoted to one of my favorite apex predators. Now we just need a saltwater crocodile week (hello, death roll), and a komodo dragon week. (I would also accept a Big Cat Week, which I think might already exist, and a Snake Week, even though I'd have to close my eyes a lot for that)

Low: I didn't go cage diving with Great Whites this year. Maybe next year.

Living In Someone Else's House

Otherwise known as "house-sitting," living in someone else's house might seem very strange to some of you at first. If I think about it too much, it is fairly strange, but living in someone else's house has its benefits, too.

I somehow got into house sitting when I moved to OK several years ago. It is fairly crazy to think about the amount of time I've spent in the homes of people who aren't family members, but I'm not complaining.
If I think of each house sitting job as a vacation, I'm on vacation 10 weeks of the summer.


I know I'm not supposed to have favorites, but Nick the dog is one of the best puppies ever. Granted, one time he opened the door and came into the house in the middle of the night and stood next to the bed and I thought he was a murderer who had broken into the house, but other than that, he's the best.


What's that? You want to see pictures of Nick and my house sitting job? OK.

Isn't he the cutest? He watches Downton Abbey with me, and everything.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to start re-packing for my next house sitting job.