It's that time of year again

I absolutely love Christmas time. I get to give presents - and receive some, too :) - wrap presents, eat lots of food, and just veg out with my family for a few days.

I'm definitely ending the year on a good note. Can you believe that in the span of this year alone, I graduated college, moved downtown, had real legit jobs (as short as they may have been, they were still legit!), spent two weeks in Spain, got a puppy, took on two internships, accepted a job from one of them and am freelancing my personal assistant skills?! Life is definitely going my way right now.

It hasn't all been easy, though - I had to say goodbye to a few very important people in my life. I had to deal with some relationships that took a little bit of a toll on me. And I had to kind of "find" my spot here in Fort Worth when I could no longer rely on the TCU campus to do that for me. There was a lot of changing, some tears, some goodbyes, but now look at me! I'm stronger than ever and here I am, finally feeling at home. It's the perfect way to welcome the Christmas break.

And let's not forget my birthday the day after Christmas! Ahh, yes, it's been a good year :)

 In Mexico on our spring break cruise!

Graduation!

Playing in the fountain for the last time

 Spain!

 Spain!

 Spain!

 Lady Gaga concert!

Visiting the Arch in St. Louis

 The Kate Reed Designs studio - new letterpress!

 Visiting Amy in Montana!

 Yellowstone National Park

 My new puppy - Paris :)

 Paris in her Halloween costume 

Thanksgiving at the Bandy's 

 Christmas 2010

Life is good today

For the past few weeks, I've been thinking about next semester. Or rather, the lack of next semester. Up until this morning, I had no idea what I was going to do. Sure, I had ideas and a bunch of "maybes" but nothing planned, yet; nothing set in stone.

But this morning came along and everything changed. Okay, maybe not EVERYTHING, and god knows I am still a little lost about the future, but at least I have half of it decided. Because this morning, Kara talked to me about hiring me on starting in January. That's right, I will officially be an employee for Kate Reed!

So why, you may ask, am I still only half decided about what's next? It's because, for now, Kate Reed is only part time. Since I'm going to London for a week in March, I need a job that will allow me to take off. What I'm thinking is getting a nanny job for the semester, and I have a few leads for that - one of which Kara gave me this morning!

So here's to a good day and having some sort of plans (and some sort of payment!). Life is good today. Yes, life is good today.

Poor Puppy :(

My poor little Paris and I had a rough night last night.

She's always been a little sickly since I got her. Note, the little sickly. She eats, she plays, she loves. But she has always had a problem digesting food well. She always had diarrhea at least once a day - normally right before bedtime. At times it looked like it was getting better, and I was relieved. Unfortunately, it started getting worse again these past few days. And it didn't help that she threw up more than you could ever have thought would fit inside her little stomach.

After last night and this morning, I called the vet and took her in. They said that she could have something wrong with her colon or small intestine - the most common reason for chronicle diarrhea. But in order to do tests and diagnose her, they have to keep her for a couple of days. I'm gonna be awfully lonely :(

However, they literally just called me and said that they are 95% sure they found the problem - she has coccidia. This is a parasitic disease that is in the small intestine. It's very common in puppies because of their underdeveloped immune system. Some other causes are stressors such as new owners, travel and weather changes. According to Wikipedia, symptoms in young dogs are universal: at some point around 2-3 months of age, an infected dog develops persistently loose stools and diarrhea.Other symptoms may include poor appetite, vomiting, and dehydration. Coccidia infection is so common that any pup under 4 months old with these symptoms can almost surely be assumed to have coccidiosis.

The good news: it's easily treated by relatively inexpensive drugs. The bad news: they want to still keep her for a few days to insure that's what it is.

So the next couple of days are going to be quiet around the apartment, but I'm so relieved that she's getting treated and will be back home soon :)

Dance class?

So I've been doing a lot of sitting around at home lately. It's a hard thing to get used to since I've spent the last 22 years running from one activity to another with barely any breathing room. I get bored, I watch way too much tv, and I feel my muscles getting lazy. Yes, I have Paris to go on walks with and take to the dog park, and yes, she does definitely wear me out sometimes, but it's just not the same.

So while I was sitting at home, I was thinking of something I could do and here's a little idea I've been playing with:

Tap dance classes.

Here's what I'm thinking: I took 15 years of dance. FIFTEEN years! And in all of those 15 years, tap was always my favorite. I did my first dance solo via a tap dance. Amy and I did a tap duet. My last year, I was the Riverdance soloist (one of the most experienced dances in the whole school and something I had been striving for for as long as I can remember). I love tap dancing.

I had been thinking about joining a gym, but this just sounds like so much more fun! And why not? It's still an amazing workout, my legs will get strong and toned again, I'll be doing something I love, and I'll meet new people! Most importantly, I'll be dance again. And that makes me extremely happy.

So what do you think? Is it something you think I should look into? Let me know :)

Hellooo fall

First and foremost, I absolutely LOVE this weather! Fall is by far my favorite time of year and I'm so glad it's finally here! It's so beautiful outside! I love cooler weather (See, Amy? I said cooler and not cold because I know it's way colder where you are!) And thankfully, Momo came to Fort Worth for a day and we went grown up/winter clothes shopping! Yesss! What perfect zoo weather :)

Paris also adores the cooler weather, too (she's the new dog park favorite). Sometimes a little too much because she could spend all day outside and I cannot. It makes me want a yard so stinkin badly. Or at least to live on the first floor so Paris and I didn't have to walk down three stories of stairs to get to the yard. Sometimes she doesn't hold it all the way down :-/ the pee pads on the balcony were definitely a good idea in theory and sometimes in practice (it works whens she pees right on it. Not so much when she poops not on it. Gross) but it's just not fair for her or for me. But I'm here until May, so I better get used to it, huh? Maybe I can train her to pee on the pads on the balcony and poop outside in the yard. That'd be best. At least now I have her on a regular eating schedule, so I'll definitely have to pay attention to when she eats and when she needs to poop so I can take her down. At least the accidents inside have decreased SO much!

Now back to what this post is about: It's the middle of the semester and I'm still doing the internship thing. Not much has changed except now I need to start looking for legit (aka: paying) jobs again. Awesome. So if you have any leads and such, please share!

Not much else to say. My life is extremely boring these days (except for Paris who wears me out sometimes). Now I leave you with these halloween pictures:

 carving pumpkins!

 Paris helped out, too

 isn't she so cute as a bat?!

 my scary pumpkin!

Amanda's snow white, Catie's spider and my scary

Update...

It's been a crazy past few days. And because of it, I'm exhausted, so I'll make this quick:

• I picked up Paris (my adorable little american eskimo puppy) on Saturday. She's so stinkin cute! I absolutely adore her. But you know what? I'll adore her EVEN MORE when she's finally housetrained. I tell you what, it's exhausting! Once I think she's just starting to get the hang of it, she proves she doesn't. But of course, sometimes she'll have so many accidents inside (and RIGHT after we went outside. RIGHT. AFTER) then she'll go right outside and use her potty patch. She does, however, love her crate and her toys. I tell you what, if she were just be done housetraining, I'd have the best puppy ever! And please, feel free to come see her! I would say I'd come to you, but I feel a lot less guilty when I'm cleaning up poop from my carpet and not yours.

• I love Kate Reed. I. LOVE. IT. It's fun, I get to be creative, I'm learning an industry I never really ever thought of. Let me say again that I love it. And they seem to like me back, so that's promising :)

• Nothing to report on "the other" except that he says I need to network some more for full time positions. So I guess I'll get started on that again soon...though the thought of it makes me sick. I hate that process. It's tiring, disheartening, and just plain frustrating.

• As for my personal life...well, that should probably stay personal. All I'll say is this: some people exhaust me (yes, I realize I've used that word multiple times in this post, but honestly, I'm too exhausted to even think of another word). Some people think they "know me" but they don't. Some people just want to play mind games and I really hate those. And some people don't understand that I don't want anything more than just your friendship. I mean, really, I make a good friend. I promise. Please stop trying to complicate things.

On that note, I'm off to bed. This little cotton ball wakes me up a couple of times a night to potty and doesn't quite understand the concept of sleeping till the alarm goes off. Hopefully that'll come soon. Goodnight

Love Love Love

There's just no other way to say it: I love my Kate Reed Designs internship.

This morning, I wrote emails, looked up descriptions and designs on etsy.com, and help put samples together. I cannot wait to get started on our new letter press (check out the Kate Reed blog) and get some designs going. I have some Christmas card ideas and am still thinking about doing something for sororities (let me know if you have any ideas or suggestions!).

Speaking of the letter press, who knew how cool it would be?! Letter pressing is like a lost art, and I can kinda see why. It's very tedious. You have to get just the right about of ink, the right color for ink, AND make sure you place the paper in the right place every time. You can only do one card at a time, you know. And when someone wants a set of, say, 10, you have to do it TEN times and it all has to be exactly the same. It's very much a trial and error art. But it's so freaking cool! I can't wait to really get down and dirty with it.

Also nice thing to hear: them saying they need to set aside some of the budget so they can hire me on at the end of the internship. I can't even tell you how exciting that is to me! It makes me want to buckle down and really show them that they can hire me and never EVER regret it. I hope I can do that. Like I said, give me any ideas or suggestions and I'll make some design templates! You could be helping me out :)

As for "the other"...let's just say that there's definitely a lack of communication, which is sometimes annoying. Okay, ALWAYS annoying. But, I am just an intern, so I can't expect much more...right?

But on a good note, I get my adorable puppy next week! I can't wait! :)

Honeymoon stage is over

...as the title would suggest, the exciting, exhilarating feeling of interning is gone. Don't get me wrong, I still love both of them and am 100 thousand times happier than I was, it's just...a little boring now. Or at least today was.

Not only did I literally sit at my desk playing on my phone for an hour and a half, but when I did get something to do, it was going through emails and deleting them. Awesome.

At least I get to learn the art of the letter press tomorrow. Hopefully that'll provide some stories to tell :)

And on a good note, I leave for Montana in THREE days!!

Thank goodness for my little brother...

...or else I wouldn't know how to hold my own in the "the other" office. These boys are SO much fun - shooting each other with nerf guns, playing ping pong and even the random yoga session in the middle of the floor! They tell funny jokes, make funny noises, and do, well, funny boy things.  Like I said, good thing I have a little brother to give me plenty of practice on handling/playing along with these things.

Don't get me wrong - this is a legit place and they definitely get things done. I am a little nervous that I won't deliver. Take it one day at a time, right? At least I made a good first impression for these boys :)

Kate Reed is still going amazing. I have a lot of creative freedom and can design just about anything I want. I have some ideas :)

And I'm learning so much about the printing industry! Who knew there was such a difference between digital printing, screen printing and letter press? Heck, who even knew there WAS a difference? I sure didn't. And we're getting our own letter press, so go ahead and add that to my list of skills. Can press my own paper? Check and check.

I love not being treated like the typical intern. I don't do any bitch work (okay, maybe I will a little, but come on, I AM an intern after all) and I get a good laugh every day. Something tells me that these next four months will be life changing for me - not only in my career but in learning new industries, making new friends, and teaching me some things I didn't know about myself. 

And since I have a MUCH better schedule (don't go in till 9:30, get home at 5 and NO weekends), that gives me time to...

Train a puppy!

If I can ever decide which one I want. It seems like I get my heart set on one and then something goes wrong. It's a little disheartening, but I'm sure (god, I hope) it'll be well worth the wait.

So, dear blogger, let's make a toast. A toast to good jobs (or unpaid internships, whatev), a good schedule, and the future. Because it's never felt brighter than it feels now.

Change is good

Dear bloggers,

I am proud to announce that in the past couple of days, my life has changed. Now, I know you're thinking "mandaaa, you've been talking about the changes you want to make for a week or so" but that was all talk. That was all planning. THIS, my friends, is action. This goes beyond the dream of change and the planning of change. This actual change - and all in the past two days!

Now that you're all in suspense, I'll let you in on the good news:

1. I put in my two weeks notice at the office. And it went surprisingly well. I talked to my boss about what was going on (the cliff's notes version, at least. Aaand I did leave out just how much I hated it there - no need to go into that). She gave me a hug, told me she'd miss me, but was really excited for me because she knows this is a dream of mine (which she did know - we spent two weeks sharing a bed in St. Louis, so needless to say, we got to know a little bit about each other). Not only that, but she went ahead and took me off the schedule (there are new people who need the hours and since I'm not part of the team anymore, I'm not really considered. I understand. No hard feelings). So basically, I'm done. I don't ever have to drive back to the office ever again nor walk around a sam's club randomly talking to people (no offense to sam's club. I loved making new friends with the sample ladies). Yes, that means I don't get paid for two extra weeks, but I'm actually okay with that. So that means a few days off (a few much deserved and needed days off) to sleep some, run errands, actually see the people I call my friends. That is until...

2. My internship starts! After no contact for a week or so, I heard back from a company with an internship and they wanted an interview (flashback to the last post). I met them, talked to them, and just fell in love with the job. It's for Kate Reed designs. What they do is design stationary, notecards, things like that. The position is 1/3 design and working with the art director (who is a young TCU grad, so we have a lot in common), 1/3 social media (facebook, twitter, blogs, etc. - you know, my expertise) and 1/3 regular intern work (ie: stuffing envelopes, running errands, things like that). They only wanted one intern and they picked ME! Not only does it have the possibility of a full time position at the end of it, but it's what I want to do in a little bit different environment. I start Wednesday :)

Things seem to be falling into place (knock on wood) and for the first time in a long time, I can't wait to see what else happens! Here's hoping they keep working out for me because it's a good feeling when you wake up happy and knowing it's going to be a good day. I've missed that feeling. I'm glad it's back.

Round Two

I got some good news today: I finally heard back from an internship that I reeeally wanted. I've been emailing back and forth with the art director, sent her some of my best ad designs, and gave her the reassurance of how much I wanted this. A week and a half of nothing...and I hear something. They want to bring me in. They want to bring me in. They want to get to know ME. How exciting :)

Wish me luck, my dear bloggers!

The quest is on

•Starting over from scratch
or
•Being unhappy, pretending not to be, and still doing the same thing over and over and over.

I pick starting over from scratch.

Thus, I am in search of an advertising/design/marketing internship. Yes, you heard me: the dreaded internship. That means many, many hours of "bitch work," time and dedication I would give to a real job, and all for zero pay. But (there's always a bright side, right?) I gain the experience I don't have yet, I get to see the inside workings of agencies, and I'll (hopefully) make amazing connections that can help me at the end of the semester when I try (yet again) to find a full time job.

So the search begins. One interview down, one email full of design samples, and hopefully more to come. The only bad thing? Income. Say I get an internship - do I find another part time job? Do I live off Dickse Dust (title compliments of Catie Kuisis) for a few months? And what if I get two internships that work out? Then what? Do I work those out? Maybe doing the nanny thing part time along with one or two internships? 

There is one thing I do know: I do NOT want to keep my current job (yes, there are some perks such as traveling to Texarkana which would mean two weeks at home. aka: my own bed, full parent attention and homecooked meals). Every day that I drive to Dallas is another day closer to when I get to quit. All I'm waiting for is one little internship offer.

Dear blogger, this is a complicated time (tack on other complications in different areas of my life, also) and trying to figure it all out is beyond hard. I have to consider my future, my feelings, and (as hard and confusing as it is) trying to figure out what's going on in other people's minds.

All I know is this: I'll take it one day at a time, keep looking, and keep living. And the best way I can think of is by surrounding myself with the people I love and who make me happy. Laughing is the best medicine, you know :)

My own welcome party to the blogging world

Hello bloggers! Guess what, I'm one of you now!

I've always wanted to start a blog, but didn't feel like I had much to write about. That is, until I graduated TCU and started my career journey. You know, it's a lot harder than anyone every let on. Actually, it sucks.

All of the internships I had, all of the hopes that part time jobs would turn full time, all of the hours I put in my first real job, and still here I am, sitting in my new grownup apartment with my new grownup diploma not happy and still not knowing what to do. You should know, being unhappy is a new feeling for me. I'm that girl who never has a bad day. I try very hard to always see the glass as half full and constantly look for the silver lining because I always believed it was there. I'm the eternal optimist, but unfortunately, I blame that outlook for some of the unhappiness I'm feeling. I've learned in these past couple of months that finding my niche in life isn't as easy as putting a smile on, wearing my cute new "young and professional yet still trendy" wardrobe and thinking happy thoughts. It's tiring, it's emotional, and it's just plain hard sometimes.


I picked my first major (English) because it made me happy. I picked my second major (Advertising/Public Relations) because I'm not disillusioned enough to think I can get through with my lifestyle on a restricted income (hellooo, I happen to be Burberry's BIGGEST fan, in case you didn't know). Turns out, I'm rather good at being creative. Turns out, it made me happy, too. Now, if only the advertising agencies could see that. All they see is a bad economy, my lack of real world experience and a multitude of recent college grads looking for the same thing I am. Now, not to toot my own horn, but I happen to think I have the ability and talent to stand above the rest (okay: toot toot)...or at least add some sort of competition for the rest. But even with all things considered, here I am stuck in a marketing job (which, by the way, really isn't as similar to advertising as I had initially thought) and looking for something else - something better, more fit to me and my skills/passions.


So, in conclusion, dear blogger, this is my outlet. Get ready for the ride of your life because through all of my job interviews, resume updates and internet searches, I'll be including you all in for the stories, good and bad, as I try to find my place in this crazy world.