The aroma of coffee has filled the apartment which has taken me back to another time. Whether at the bookstore or or walking down a hallway, the scent of coffee instantly makes me think of my grandma. When mom and dad would be away on business or leisure, to grandmother’s house we’d go.

My grandma was really more like a second mother to me. We were close as could be. I remember she would french braid my hair for me the night before school so it would be all ready to go. She could get the braids so tight that I could leave it that way for days, not a hair out of place. There isn’t a day goes by that I don’t think of her. Would she be proud of me today? I think so. Here dying words to me were “just be happy,” and a day or so later she left this world. I’ve made a point to be happy ever since.

Bless that woman. I can honestly say she is the only person in this world who has never judged me. Teach me right from wrong - yes. Pass judgement - never. I miss her so much. Several years have gone by since her passing, but I constantly feel her presence. I see her in a majestic mountain or sparkling body of water, a faint rainbow or blossoming flower. For those brief moments I lightly close my eyes and smile saying “Hi grandma, I miss you so much.”

All of that from a pot of coffee.

Happy Labor Day! I just wanted to pop in and mention how excited I am for tonight. There are two big premieres that I have been waiting for all summer! Is anybody else dying to find out what those scandalous Upper East Siders have been up to all summer?

I’ve always been more of a Blair fan than Serena. Serena’s character is just so whiny and pathetic. I wish they would focus on some more positive things in her life for a change. Moving on.

When we left Gossip Girl in last season’s finale, Blair was boarding a plane, Serena and Nate were hooking up, and Chuck was chasing after some of the help. If you’ve seen the previews for tonight’s episode than you know Serena’s been rolling around in the sheets (and sand!) with a few different suitors. Will she settle on just one?

Nate has been shacking up with a mysterious older woman. Personally I hope it doesn’t last. I never liked him and Blair together, but I also don’t think I’ll like the whole older woman card.

Finally we get to Chuck. Oh that secret romantic but still slightly evil Chuck. I love him! He and Blair are my two favorite bad-boy and bad-girl characters to route for. Will the try to rekindle the blossoming romance that started before at the beginning of summer? We won’t know until the big premiere tonight at 7 p.m. CST on the CW!

Following everybody’s favorite gossip queen is my favorite show ever One Tree Hill. The show’s creators and actors have been keeping pretty tight lipped on what tonight will bring. I’ve been wanting to know all summer how Lucas called to hop a plane to Vegas to get married.

As far as Lindsey goes, I’m not a fan. I never could get use to the idea of her and Lucas being together. I suppose if him and Brooke were to get hitched I would adapt to them as a couple again now that they are out of the high school drama. I must confess however I really want Peyton to be on the other end of the line when Lucas calls. It doesn’t seem like the stars have ever properly aligned for them in the sky, so maybe this season is their opportunity. Besides - who doesn’t love Lucas and Peyton together? Immediately following Gossip Girl you can tune in to One Tree Hill on the CW at 8 p.m. CST.

Last but not least we can’t forget about the most anticipated ‘new’ series of the season 90210 version 2.0. As I’m a die-hard devotee to the original, I am a bit skeptical as to whether or not the new class of West Beverly can live up to it’s predecessor.

To prepare for the big premiere, I’ve been watching Soapnet’s 90210 marathon to relive all dramatic moments of the gang. Ten years of most of the original cast is a force hard to be messed with. While version 2.0 is bringing back Brenda and Kelly as a play director and high school counselor, will that be enough to quench the thirst of devotees like myself? And what about Donna? I still can’t believe they network wasn’t going to pay her as much as Jennie Garth and Shannon Doherty. She is every bit deserving as her fellow former castmates. Come on CW! Donna Martin graduates!

In any event, we should have a pretty good idea after tomorrow’s two hour premiere tomorrow night at 7 p.m. on the CW. The new cast certainly has their work cut out for them, but if the bomb at least we can still dig our teeth into Brenda and Kelly!

I had planned on returning to work today after my visit to the doc for suture removal, but it turned out my boss had someone covering for me which gave me one more day off. What is interesting is that in my work restrictions I’m suppose to be off my feet 90% of the time for the next three weeks. I freaked out a little bit because my job has me on my feet at least 50% of the time minimum. How am I suppose to get my work done?

Fortunately it sounds like my boss got something worked out to where a part-time employee is going to double up at my site and do all of the outdoor portions of my job. I’m not crazy about being around somebody 24/7, but I am ready to get back to work so I shall take it with a grain of salt. After all - the way things are looking I will only be at my job for four more months.

What - you say?! Four more months? Where are you going dear wallflower?! I’m getting to that. If you’ve been following my 365 days project or happen to notice it while on Flickr, perhaps my photo for day three got you curious.

Being I live in South Tulsa, it is rare that I am near downtown much less anywhere past that. Having said that, one can assume I don’t know the area horribly well…or more like not at all. My very important meeting I went to yesterday was somewhere in that area I circled. I found the street map blowing around outside at work one afternoon and just knew it would come in handy one day

The meeting I attended was to meet with an adviser at OSU. I haven’t gotten the official letter yet, but according to the adviser I met with I’ve been accepted to the university. Yup - I’m going back to school! I already have one degree, but I can’t say I’ve ever actually used it. It is only an associate’s after all. I am going to tackle the obstacles to try and make my lifelong dream come true of being and elementary school teacher.

The requirements here are much more demanding than my home state where all of my college was done in the past, so I am going to have to give it 150% to make the grades I will need. I’m talking the whole nine yards, complete dedication to my studies and little time for much else. For someone who’s never taken a chemistry class in her life and suddenly has to, I’m freaking out a little bit. Let’s not forget Spanish I-III to meet the foreign language requirement in the state of Oklahoma. I know I can do it though. I must do it. If I have to spend ever extra moment with a tutor to get through those icky courses, then so be it! Life is too short to spend it doing something you are not passionate about. It’s time to grab the dream.

I’ll let that sink in for awhile and share with you my latest guilty pleasure. Now it’s not that I didn’t like her before, but in my time recovering from surgery I finally managed to discover the world of Martha Stewart. Did you know that in addition to the Martha Stewart Show there is an entirely different show she does all about crafts? It was love at first sight! Ms. Stewart even has a great craft line now that I could only dream of owning a quarter of the goodies.

With everything that’s been happening and in the works - surgery, a planned October move, returning to university, and my new BFF Martha, I’m afraid my head is spinning a bit from all the excitement.  Rather than getting overwhelmed I am trying to tie it all up in a pretty purple bow to be unraveled in the coming months. What can I say other than I’m excited, and I feel good about this. I really do. I pray that this feeling is a sort of premonition into what’s to come and my fingers are crossed tightly. If any of this is in any way an indirect result of my not smoking for over two weeks now, I promise I’ll never smoke again!

My days of sitting at home are nearing an end. I am due to get my stitches removed the day after tomorrow and then I assume I will be allowed to resume working. I don’t know if my knee is where it needs to be, but I know that I am ready to get back into a routine of sorts. I’ve been functioning purely off my creative juices flowing and thank goodness for that.

Having a good week out of the office let me get to things I have been putting off for lord knows how long. There were so many things I wanted to do that I actually had a list of lists containing a million and one things on my agenda. Lucky for me a lot of it didn’t matter if I was refined to the chair or bed so I made some mad progress.

In the middle of my tackling the lists I began designing on some plain canvas bags for shopping. The cost is about the same as the dollar bags at the market, so I figured why not personalize mine and my desire to do good for the earth? Who doesn’t love recycling? I hope to complete all six of them over the next month or so which I will share upon their completion.

Also on the mountain high list of projects involved some sorting and organizing of my craft supplies. I don’t have much to work with right now money wise having been out of work, but I’ve got a good start on my scrapbooking supplies being organized in the perfect sized drawers from the good people at rubber made. Once I get moved I am hoping to section of a corner in the living area for all things arts and crafts.

Last but not least I finally got around to starting my very own 365 days project. I have vowed to take a photo every day for a year sharing something from my day. I had to be realistic about not getting them uploading everyday because I just don’t always have the time. In the very least I have set a goal to upload a batch per week if not more frequently. The photo in this post is my day two photo showing a brochure from the salon and spa I was at for my scheduled hair cut. How a wish there were a facial involved.

I have a few other things cooking on the back burner right now that I’m not going to get into just yet, but hope to learn more about after tomorrow. No matter how you look at it, this girl has always got plans forming in her head and is excited to see them thrown into action. I’m a daydreaming for life

I picked up a few swatches from Home Dep the other day. Right now I’m just in the experimental stage, but I was hoping to get some opinions. Please click on through to put in your two cents.

I’ve had this pillow for several years. I found it while my mother and I went on a short road trip to a bedding store about forty miles east of my hometown. I was naturally drawn to it because of the flutterbys, but now I’m liking it even more.

The bedspread I am likely going to be using in my bedroom at the new place is the shade of green you see on the top left of the pillow. Like the pillow it is also satin and oh-so-soft! I normally wouldn’t pair green and blue together as it isn’t one of my favorite combinations, but this pillow makes an exception.

My vision for the new bedroom includes the solid green bedspread with a few blue accents and brown. I’ve always wanted to do something with a mocha brown, and I think this may be it. I am hoping to paint the walls of the bedroom, but if for some reason I can’t I will have to find another way to incorporate the brown.

As for other accents I am brainstorming on some green living friendly pieces. With all of the stuff I have laying around I know I can make something interesting and attractive for the bedroom. It falls right into place in my recent quest to work more on green living and producing less waste. Think Earth and the elements. I will try out some natural materials like sticks and stones, grasses and pressed flowers.

I think the end of the result of the room with have an earthly feel, but the satins will also make it feel a bit luxurious. I’m excited to have a new project to work on, and an earth pallet shouldn’t be too difficult to work with. What’s your favorite thing about redecorating?

There’s a great deal of things one can do while they are healing up from surgery. Laying in bed with their favorite purple jersey sheets and a soft comforter is one of them.

The doctor was able to fix the problem and also did end up finding another tear in the meniscus. I suppose I wasn’t horribly surprised. It was more than anything odd that it didn’t show up on the initial MRI. Now water under the bridge and I can get on my way back to normalcy.

I’ve been as active as I can be which has slowed down some since my familia departed yesterday morning. It’s easier to get around when you’ve got a driver and helper for the things that normally require little to no effort.

I finally was allowed to remove the post surgery dressing which was a relief more than anything. My wounds were draining quite a bit and bleed right through to the outter bandage, something I found quite gross. I’ve got all the yuck cleaned up now with fresh bandaids over the three wounds. I will get my stitches out a week from tomorrow.

I’ve doing my very best to try to look at this time out of work as a sort of vacation. Granted I can’t do a lot of things still, but I’m getting closer every day to where I want to be. I’ve been reading piles and piles of magazines of which I end up tearing out the pages of things I like and/or want to try. The pages end up in a notebook which has become my new method for remembering things I otherwise tend to forget. I must admit to feeling this little burst of excitement when I actually find something I had pasted in the notebook and remembered to pick up. Life’s little joys

I’ve got the house all opened up today with fresh air filtering in and out. The weather has been absolutely amazing with the below average temps making the A/C an unnecessary expense. I love listening to the simple sounds of nature while everyone is away at work. Unfortunately I can also hear the occasion vehicle going loudly down Riverside Dr. and can’t help but wonder why they didn’t get them memo that there is nothing cool about a vehicle that sounds as though the muffler has swallowed itself. Mmmkay?

Maybe by tomorrow I’ll have had an adventure within the walls of my house that will have some comical value worth sharing. I’m afraid today the most exciting it gets is wobbling to the mailbox without crutches thank you very much! Click on through to see the coverage of my exciting post surgery life

Today Shai shared a post that was particularly eye opening. A service which forms a tag cloud from your blog can be somewhat of a surprise. It was interesting to see what tags it pulled from my blog. I don’t think it sums up very well what my blog is all about, but then again I could be wrong. ‘Poking’ anybody?

Tomorrow will be my last day of work for awhile. My surgery is on Friday and then I’ll be out of order for a bit. It will be so nice to have my parents driving in to keep my spirits up. Hopefully I can drive them past the new digs once I’m bouncing around on my crutches.

In light of the fact that you aren’t suppose to smoke for two hours before surgery I decided it was a good opportunity to try and kick the habit. I haven’t smoked since Monday which for me is major. I have had this nasty habit for thirteen years now, and I would really like to try to reclaim my health before it is too late. In other words, if I seem a bit cranky please forgive me while I am continuing my battle with both trying to get in shape and to quit smoking. It is so much easier said than done.

So what’s going on with you?

After much contemplation and changing my mind I’ve decided that when my lease is up in October that I will be moving to a new place. I’ve thrown out the idea of going to New Mexico after being let down over and over again. I love the city I live in now and decided it’s not worth throwing away for someone who doesn’t have their heart in the right place.

Come the end of October I will be skipping away from the community I currently reside in to one that suits me far more. I found the new digs just yesterday afternoon which is less than half a mile from here. The new community is very secluded nestled back in a wooded park away from chaos.

The population of the community is a nicer mix of working professionals and some respectable college students, a far cry from the frat party dormitory feel of where I am now. There are two pools, a fitness center, park , sports courts and fishing pond much to my delight. It’s what I would call country living in the city.

I put down a deposit to secure the new apartment so nobody else can snatch it up before my lease is up. The apartment is quit a bit larger than the shoe box I live in now complete with vaulted ceilings and a fireplace.

I think it is going to be a much better fit for the kid and I as we are well out of the party 24/7 period in life. I have grown so tired of not being able to get any sleep, and the general atmosphere of uppity attitudes. I’m just a girl trying to take care of myself and the pup with the least amount of negativity around.

While it may seem a ways away, I will be moving in a little over two months. Now that I will actually have some square footage to work with, I need to start a hunt for a couch and chair. The futon which has been out on loan from an old neighbor will be return to him, and I will at last have a proper place to sit.

I’m going to have to use what little savings I have to finance the move, so I need to find some nice yet affordable furniture. It kills me that we don’t have an IKEA here, but I could always order it online. What places to you use to purchase furniture from? Do you have a secret gem of a store for me to check out?

Awhile back I was checking out products over at VistaPrint who sell everything from business cards to stamps, to letterheads and pens. I knew that you could get free business cards from them so I figured “hey - why not?” While I don’t exactly run a business or run around promoting my blog other than the pings from new posts, I like something free as much as the next person.

While the free version of business card designs are somewhat limited, there are a number of designs available for the premium cards. I just went with a funky and cute design since it was just to get an idea of what their products are like and I hadn’t planned on handing them out in the first place.

Fun Business Card

VistaPrint also was offering a few other free products which I took advantage of including a rubber stamp with my return address and a pen with my domain, tag line and email address on the side.

Wallflower paraphernalia

For those of you who haven’t ordered from VistaPrint before you are probably wondering what the catch is. There really isn’t one. You only pay for S&H and the products are yours for free! On the back side of the business cards it has a small VistaPrint advertisement which comes off if you upgrade to the reasonable priced premium business cards that come in a sleek glossy finish.

There are tons of products available for free, and if you run a business they’ve got your covered for brochures and fliers as well. VistaPrint even offers logo designing now which makes in a convenient one-stop shop for your advertising and marketing needs. Now that I’ve got all these free goodies I have only one question….does anybody want my card? LOL!