Three months later...

A couple of days ago, I was writing the date on something totally unimportant when I realized I'd been in Austin for over three months. How did that happen? I feel like I was just moving into our new home in the middle of May, then I blinked and here I am getting ready to celebrate Labor Day. The summer might be almost gone, but it has left me with a few discoveries that were made during these first three months back in the Lonestar State.

• It is possible to have a job that you truly love; a job that certainly doesn't DEFINE who you are, but one that compliments you as a person. Already, the few months I've been with (or back with) Emler Swim School have reminded me that I have something worth giving and it's not about the time I spend at work but what I do while I'm there that counts.
• Texas blows the term "summer heat" out of the water. Welcome back.
• Deer seem to really love Austin. I've seen more of them here than anywhere else I've lived.
• Old friends from college can survive a brief stint in Oklahoma...or India. Being back within a couple of hours from my college girls has been one of the highlights of living here. I love that even after almost eight years, we can get together and pick up where we left off. Time doesn't really seem to exist when you've got a Fam. :)
• All of the hours and energy spent at work have somehow managed to calm some of my quirky little habits. I don't feel the need to obsessively clean the apartment...the dishes can wait. I am a lot less worrisome and plan-oriented. And I stay so busy at work that I find myself much more flexible and easy-going, quite the opposite of the "Fire & Brimstone" girl that Grant has known in the past.
• I like going to the movies alone. It relaxes me.
• I know better now than to let my brother-in-law borrow my camera for a trip to Alaska...or any trip for that matter. A "small drop of water" means that he most likely dropped it in a lake while kayaking.
• I've been complimented a lot lately on two things that have always seemed a little laughable to me: my dancing and my hair.
• It's more than ok for me to spend time alone and enjoy it. I've come to welcome it lately.
• I'm bad at decorating my home. I have two large picture collage frames on the wall that have been completely empty for some time now.
• I am a big fan of the fish burrito at Wahoo's on 6th.