happy friday!

i dont think that theres ever been a time in my life where i have been as happy about a day being friday as i am today. i am in a completely out of character TGIF mode right now. im sure youre all wondering to yourselves right now, "why on earth is victoria so happy?". well let me tell you why...

first of all, SCHOOL WEEK IS OVER!!!! (you can read a more detailed description of school week here). and it wasnt even that bad. james was able to carpool with some coworkers that live near downtown la (maybe twenty minutes each way), so while i did have to drop him off and pick him up, i didnt have to go all the way to whittier and back ten times this week.

but the big news here is that this weeks schooling came with a big, fat RAISE. and not an obligatory 20 cent "cost of living" raise like i just got from joanns, but a signifigant, life-altering, maybe-alice-wont-have-to-live-in-the-living-room-anymore kind of raise. so far this year has been our toughest financially (though its not like weve really ever done that great in the past), and we (but especially i) are so, so thankful that this raise is finally here. 

now all this is pretty freaking fantastic, but it gets even better!!!

this morning actually got off to a really weird start. alice didnt really stay asleep while i dropped james off, so instead of getting to spend an hour or so in the car playing animal crossing and listening to kevin and bean while waiting for her to wake up at a fairly decent hour, alice was up and politely asking for breakfast by 6:30. so i fed her a really sleepy breakfast, got her dressed and we sleepily watched cartoons until she took a really weird nap at around 10. 

at which point i noticed that the lighting in my bedroom was really good for portraits and i was able to finally take an attractive headshot for blog-related things (ive seriously been working on this for, i dont know, three months?):

THEN james had a half day today, so after i picked him up we went to in-n-out for a celebratory lunch. because we needed it. we ALL needed it. 

but were not even to the best part yet: 

yesterday james told me he had an early anniversary surprise (our 3rd anniversary is next wednesday). 

he asked what i was doing today at 2, because HE HAD BOOKED ME A HAIR APPOINTMENT WITH MY FAVORITE STYLIST. not gave me gift certificate, or money for it, or permission to spend the extra money on myself (because honestly i wont let myself do it under normal circumstances), he CALLED MY FAVORITE STYLIST AND BOOKED AN ACTUAL APPOINTMENT. when he knew i didnt have plans and he would be home. 

and so i got a haircut this afternoon. and its fantastic. for the first time in MONTHS my hair looks normal and healthy and, you know, like i have an actual haircut and havent spent the past year ignoring it:

this is by far the sweetest, most thoughtful gift james has gotten me, probably ever. i cant even get over how nice today has been. and to top it all off, alice put herself to bed. at bed time. 

this has been a tough week, but after today, it doesnt even matter anymore. heck, i dont even care that its literally 400 degrees in our apartment right now. im ready for this holiday weekend. and for september. actually im really excited for september. 

stay tuned for tomorrow when i talk about why im so dang excited for september.