Keep on Dreamin'

I'm not sure how many times a day I listen to "Even If It Breaks Your Heart," but for some reason tonight it really made me think about things. The 1st time I heard EYB sing that song was the night after I had lost my job at the dance studio. That was a year and a half ago. I remember being so confused and lost that night. I was devastated. I loved what i was doing and then the unknown was scary. Luckily I had another job as well so I wasn't too worried about money, but it definitely wasn't what I was use to. I remember talking to Mike that night about life in general and he told me things would work out.  I'm pretty sure I laughed at him and said thanks. I try to be optimistic about things (at least act optimistic) but I am really not that way at all. So I started looking for jobs, I worked more hours at what job I did have and somehow made it all work but it wasn't what I wanted to do for a career. Honstly, at that moment I had no idea what I wanted to do which made it even harder to apply for jobs. I was frustrated a lot. Little did I know that things would eventually work out. By pure luck and a great friend I got an awesome job that I love. I've been at Compass for a year. It's crazy to think it has been that long, it really seems like just yesterday. Not only did I get a really good raise and a promotion at during my annual review, we just hired someone to assist me that I get to manage. I've been working a lot and at times that isn't the most fun. But at the end of the day, I love what I do and I love the people I work for. I guess "Keep On Dreamin' Even If It Breaks Your Heart" had more meaning that night than I thought. Crazy how things work out...and even though everything else in my life isn't all that great, it's nice to have a job that I can go to and somewhat escape everything else.

Sometimes I need to be reminded of why I feel in love with my favorite band in the beginning. Last night was one of those nights where everything turned out to be perfect. I had not seen an EYB show in 8 months. Anyone reading this blog knows that is a long time for me to go without seeing a show, especially when I saw them 2 or 3 times a week less than 5 years ago. I am not a fan of festivals, mostly because they are always so crowded. When you haven't seen your favorite band in awhile though, a festival will do. So last night I got ready and was going to meet up with Dawn and her mom in Mesquite for MMC and EYB. Right as I got to Mesquite, it started hailing. So I sat in a hail storm on the highway for about 20 minutes. Not the most fun thing I've ever done. I finally made it off the highway and the road I needed to be on was covered in water...and in my car was not fun. So I stopped at Taco Bueno and sat in my car until the rain stopped. Thanks to the rain, parking was a disaster and many of the parking lots were closed due to cars being stuck in the mud. So I called Dawn and met up with her and we road together.


The rain had stopped and it didn't look like weather was going to be an issue anymore so we road a shuttle to the show. Once we got off the bus, we saw Mike and went to say hi. It was really good to see him, I missed them a lot. Unfortunately, Mike said they didn't know if the show was going to happen because all of their equipment got wet. So we said our goodbyes and went to wait and see what was going to happen.MMC started packing up all of their stuff and didn't play and lots of people were trying to "dry" the stage off so the boys could play.

I hope all of the equipment is okay and nothing was ruined, but I am very happy for the rain because the boys ended up playing a full band acoustic show! Dawn and I got to stand up at the front and it was a lot of fun since we don't get to do that very often anymore. The crowd was great and there wasn't any pushing or shoving like at most festivals. They played the normal songs, plus a few new ones. "The Fight" is one of my new favorites and it was awesome acoustic. The boys were a little confused as to why we knew the words since the EP doesn't come out until Tuesday. haha. Just one of those nights that didn't start out very well, but ended up better than I could have expected.

Other random things from the weekend...

~Friday I went to my sister's senior fashion show at TWU. It was fun and I am very proud of her. She will graduate in December and then I think she is going to get her Masters.












~Kelly was in town so I met her and Sarah for drinks/lunch yesterday. It was so good to see her...and her new engagement ring!! I wish she lived closer, but it's okay since it gives me an excuse to go to Austin.

~ Baruch this morning with Melish, Debbie, and Tisha was fun...and even got to see Jocelyn for a minute. It's always fun to see people I don't get to see very often.

Life has been crazy lately which means less time to blog! I'm not sure anyone actually reads this anymore but here is a little update in a very random order...

~My job is going great. I am crazy busy at work which is nice but it has been a little overwhelming. I can't believe I have already been there over a month!

~I went to look at apartments. Hopefully I can get out of my lease and transfer to the apartments downtown that are managed by the same company of the apartments I live in now. I love my apartment and where I live, but I really would like to be closer to work. Moving downtown scares me a little, but it has been one of those things I've always wanted to do. I figure, now is as good as any. Oh and if you want to look at the apartments I'm considering it is www.northenddallas.com!

~I went to Austin this past weekend to see Kelly and had a great time. We shopped, ate, shopped, went to see Jerry Jeff with my parents,hung out with Shane (Kelly's boyfriend) and shopped and ate some more! I needed a weekend away and I couldn't have asked for anything better.

~Sometime in the last few weeks Erica decided she was getting married in a year instaed of 2 so we have been wedding planning a lot lately! It has been lots of fun and I get to take her and brandon's engagement pics in 2 weeks!!

~I got sick a few weeks ago and had a minor concussion from knocking myself out on a shelf. I actually was bad enough I went to the doctor and stayed home from work. Oh and I lost 5 pounds. So I guess it wasn't that horrible of a situation.

~I went shopping with my stepmom and stepsis because I needed new work clothes! It is so nice to have a personal shopper in the family. She is good at what she does. I think everything she picked out for me fit and was cute. Very little of what I picked out fit or was cute. It was a little annoying but nice all at the same time!

~I've been doing really well with my diet and exercising. It has been hard working with Erica because we go to lunch a lot (I pretty much stopped eating out except once or twice a week) but I take my lunch 4 days a week and then try and eat healthy wherever we go. I've finally gotten back on a workout schedule as well. When I worked from home and only worked part time it was easy, but I finally have it figured out! I am still nowhere near where I would like to be, but I'm getting closer. 

~I spent 2 weekends hanging out with Mel, Aaron, and their friends. I had a great time and missed seeing her. They moved in to a new house in McKinney so now that I know where they live hopefully I can visit more. 

~ I got to spend some time with my grandparents by themselves on Friday night and it was great. That doesen't happen very much at all. That is one thing I miss about living in Burleson, but it's nice to still be close enough to visit. I did miss Dylan but I saw him when I went to pick up Ginger on my way home from Austin.

~I got to go see Abby 2 weekends ago and she is getting so big! She is starting to crawl and laugh and it is so cute. I of course took pictures and they turned out pretty good. I wish I had more time to see her and Scout, but I'm glad that don't live too far away.

That is really about it. Erica's birthday is this weekend so I'm sure we will do something and then some wedding planning the next few weekends! Hopefully I will have some time to do some photoshoots as well. Oh and I updated my photography site www.jamieburnsphotography.com if you wanna go take a look!

Just a few random updates from the last few weeks...


~I made it through my first week at my new job. So far, I love it. The people I work with are great and it is nice to work with one of my closest friends. This week I'm actually starting on several projects and can't wait to see how everything turns out! The only thing that I am not enjoying is the drive. I got spoiled working from home. It is 16 miles to the office from my apartment. It takes about 40 min in the morning and I don't really mind that. It's the hour home that is killing me. My lease is up the end of June and I will be looking for somewhere else a little closer. There is a property pretty close to my work that is managed by the same apartment management company that manages the apartment I live in now, so there is a chance they will let me break my lease if I decide to move there. It's in Addison and about 5 miles from my office, so we will see what happens.

~My parents came to visit yesterday and took me to lunch. As much as I love living by myself, I kinda miss living at home. And well they missed Ginger! :)

~ I finally got my Aggie t-shirt quilt from my mom. I love it! :)

~Friday night I went out in Dallas with some of my neighbors. We all had a great time. It's been nice to just go out with friends because lately I haven't done much.

~Saturday morning I went to breakfast at my apartment complex office and then Meredith and I spent most of the afternoon at the office watching basketball and chick flicks! :)

~Saturday night I went to Hat Tricks to see Sean McConnell. I'm not the biggest fan of Hat Tricks, but its less than a mile from my apartments so I try and go if there is someone I really want to see. I absolutely hate going to shows by myself, but when nobody will go with me I have no choice if I really want to go. I've seen Sean at Hat Tricks 4 times in the last few months and every time I've gone by myself. I decided I could do it again and planned on going by myself because I really needed to go see some live music. Luckily, Samantha posted that she was thinking about going so we met up and we had a great time. The only think worth complaining about was the crowd. I have never seen it so crowded, but I guess that is good for Sean.

~ Today's Valentine's day. I've always been indifferent about the holiday. I've never had a boyfriend on Valentine's, so to be honest I don't really think about it much. However, as I've gotten older and a lot of my closest friends have gotten engaged/married/or are in a serious relationship, it is something that I think about more. Maybe one day, but for now I'll spend my evening with Ginger! :)

Frustrated

I haven't really lost any weight in the last few months. Partly that was because I didn't stick to eating as healthy as I should have during the holidays, so I get not losing any weight. I didn't gain any either, so I was happy. In January I started eating better and exercising. I haven't lost a pound. As a matter of fact, I've actually gained a little. I'm frustrated and I don't know what else I can do. Last year I lost 40 pounds, so my goal was to lose another 20 this year and just maintain it. At this rate, it's never going to happen. Ugh.

NEW JOB!!!!!!!!

So I have a new job, I start Feb. 7. It's full time, with benefits. I haven't quit Hilton yet, I'm going to work on the weekends for most of February and will probably give my 2 weeks after I officially start my new job. I really don't know much about what I'll be doing other than my title is Executive Assistant. My friend Erica works there and called me on Tuesday at lunch and asked if I would be interested in the position. The company she works for is growing and they need an assistant so since she has been helping me look for jobs for the past 2 years she thought it would be a good job for me. I told her I was interested, then a few hours later I had a job offer...via text message.  Random how things work out, but I'm very excited!

2010

Like most of my blogs lately, I sit down to write them and then never finish writing. My mom always makes a family scrapbook for the family and Lacey, Ashley, Dylan, and I all have our own pages so I'll just post what I wrote for my mom and add the things I didn't include that were important. For the most part, it pretty much covers the year...

2010 was an eventful year for me. I started out the year living with my parents and working for Granddad at the Vet Clinic. For some reason I decided that I needed to move out and live on my own so in April Ginger and I moved to Lewisville where I worked at LC Dance Center as a dance instructor and as a Reservation Coordinator for Hilton. I had such a great time teaching dance and spending time with my girls, but unfortunately that didn’t work out for long. I’m still working for Hilton, but I did get a promotion to Customer Service Coordinator in September. I get to make my own schedule and work from home which has its advantages! It is nice to be able to work in my pajamas and be able to play with Ginger during the day. I am still looking for a full time job, who knows I may just move back in with my parents who were very sad when I took Ginger away from them.  I finally designed a photography website (www.jamieburnsphotography.com) and photographed my 1^st wedding! My 2 favorite people to photograph this year have been Abigail, my precious niece who was born in June and my "cousin" Scout who was born in October.  I absolutely love them and go see them as often as I can! Lacey got married in January and even though it was planned in a week it was perfect. All that mattered was that my great grandmother was there to see it! She passed away in November, and although it was very hard on all the family I know she is in a better place. I didn’t take as many trips this years as I normally do but in February I went to New York with Dawn, Deidre, and Susanna to see EYB, Pat Green, and Reckless Kelly. That was an amazing trip that almost didn’t happen thanks to a little blizzard! After it finally stopped snowing we had a great time and I got to go to a Broadway Show, Yankee Stadium, Central Park, and Times Square.  I went to Austin in March and in May and spent most of my time there hanging out with Kelly, shopping, eating, listening to music, and walking around downtown. I also spent a weekend at the Beach House in Aransas Pass where I did absolutely nothing and went to College Station to an Aggie game with my parents in October. Most of my weekdays are spent in Lewisville working and my weekends are spent in Burleson with my parents, grandparents, and Dylan! Nothing has really changed much other than where I live, I still spend most of my time with my family and friends listening to live music or watching sports!  I didn't have any plans for NYE so  I decided I would go to Austin with Kelly and did absolutely nothing. When did we grow up and become boring? Even though we didn't do much, it was a great weekend just hanging out in Austin. 

I don't usually make new years resolutions, not because I think they are pointless, just because I don't. I always have a long list of things I would like to achieve/accomplish...it doesn't really change just because it is a new year. I am really hopeful that I will find a job soon and figure out my whole living situation. I love living in Lewisville, but I'm not sure I'll stay here unless I have a full time job. My lease is until June, so I have some time. The other thing is I would like loose another 20-30lbs. I lost 40lbs last year. I was originally loosing weight for Lacey's wedding. When that happend in a week that goal was no longer achievable but I just kept doing what I was doing. Really didn't have any goals set and somehow lost the weight. Partially that was because I was dancing. The other part is because I don't eat out much and I quit drinking dr pepper. It's amazing what happens when you don't have money to eat out! :) 

I hope everyone has a great 2011 and that I get to see all of you soon! :) 

And just for fun, here are some of my fav pics from the year...