Month: March 2012

Happy

/ pictures, positivity

TGIF

The past few weeks have been really good. Just… lots of neat things happening to make me smile.

one

Remember a long time ago when I was talking about a life-changing decision? And kind of freaking out about it? Well, after much thought, I’ve decided to start Yoga Teacher Training. I love working for the yoga studio, and I love yoga, and I was given some great gifts from Moksha for this training to be possible. But the rub was that I’d be in Group 2, which has classes on Tuesday. You know what that means. I can’t work full time for the next five months. So that was one thing holding me back. (Not that I am working full time anyway.) Being freelance, work comes and goes. Sometimes I am honestly buried and overwhelmed. And sometimes, there is… nothing. I actually like the flexibility being freelance affords me. But I knew that making this decision could close the door to full time work for a while. I had to make sure we’d be OK with that.

The support I’ve gotten from friends and family has been OVERWHELMING. I am so blessed to have people who believe in me, even when I’m doubting myself. And I know this journeyis going to be amazing! So I’m loving and basking in it. I know this is going to be amazing.

two

If you follow my Twitter, you know that I’ve been craving cake for the past six to eight weeks. My friend Andy took note of that and got a cake delivered to my house!

(Sorry for the image quality. I was too anxious to start eating to worry about getting excellent shots!)


smiley face!


lemon with fresh strawberries

So yea. Boy did I get cake! MY FRIENDS ARE AWESOME!

three

Thursday, In the Office
in the office
GREAT hair day, don’t you think?

Right after Disney, I had the pleasure of working in two offices that were just great. It’s something nice when you walk into a workplace and you feel calm and like your work means something. Every single day was a good day at those places. (And you know that doesn’t happen often. Or maybe I just got used to BAD DAYS every day at former places of work.) So, not only did I get to work in nice places, but the extra/unexpected income was a nice bonus.

four

So I got these boots:

They are the Queen Boots. I already have the black pair and I LOVE LOVE LOVE those boots so much you guys. But I recently got a gorgeous brown sweater and well, we know better than to wear black boots with a brown sweater, right? These had been on my wish list for a while, and they were on sale, so it was a no-brainer, really. Because basically, WantedShoes has the best boots ever. (And those are not affiliate links or anything. I really do love them that much.)

five

Other good things:
a. I won a bunch of giveaways
b. listening to Ginger Doss and Bekah Kelso
c. The Hunger Games movie comes out in 14 days
d. …and I get to see s00j in 15 days!
e. Adam just brought me JAMMIE DODGERS! Oh yeah!!! 😀


Source: sonicola.tumblr.com via Ronni on Pinterest

Linking up with:

Mrs Stephanie T friday favorite things | finding joy

17 Comments

11 Things

/ meme, pictures, ronni, survey, videos

I’ve seen this meme going around, and I’ve finally been for it by the lovely Courtney of Baxtron Life. So, let’s get this thing going, shall we?

RULES
1. Post these rules.
2. Post a photo of yourself and 11 random things.
3. Answer the questions set for you in the original post.
4. Create 11 new questions.
5. Tag a few people, let them know.

Hi!
photo of me

11 RANDOM THINGS
1. I am 100% completely DONE with winter. Wait, this isn’t so random, is it? Still. I’m ready for spring.

2. Every time I sing, Crookshanks either climbs on my lap or he stares at me, purring like a maniac. He apparently doesn’t mind that I’m kinda tone deaf.

3. I’m currently “singing” The Wind Beneath My Wings. Yup.

4. I used to hate it when Charla (my BFF from junior high and high school) would start singing Wind Beneath My Wings when we were talking on the phone. She also used to sing a Donna Summer song that drove me nuts. I can still hear her singing I’m going crazy just to let you know… in my ear just like it was yesterday.

Here’s a link to the video (Google + YouTube = YOU CAN FIND ANYTHING!):

5. I totally just posted a link to that video on Charla’s Facebook wall.

6. Now I’m singing this along with the video. It’s a fun song to sing. I get it now, Charla.

7. Here is a picture of Charla with Ricky Luna:

MMC in Cleveland 1993

8. If you’ve been reading my blog for at least a year and don’t know who Ricky Luna is, shame on you. For those of you who don’t know, check out this post to learn more.

9. Speaking of MMC, I can get lost in a YouTube MMC spiral for hours.

10. I wanted to be a Mouseketeer on the 90s MMC in the worst way. There’s no way you’re surprised by this.

11. I am meticulous about tagging all my mp3s in iTunes. I hate when there are blank spaces (like missing album names or artists), I hate when the genre is wrong, I hate when there are 14 different spellings for the same artist. I will go on amazon and download proper album artwork. I’ve spent many happy hours organizing my mp3s.

11 QUESTIONS FOR ME
1. You just won a trip, all expenses paid — you have to choose the destination now, where will you go? Who will you take? Why?
BAHAHAHAHA. OK if you’ve only been reading my blog for two seconds you should know the answer to this! Actually, I have many places but the first thing I’d do is plan an EPIC Disney World vacation with all my favorite people in the world. Two weeks, we’d take over the Polynesian or Port Orleans French Quarter. I’d take Adam, my mom, Aidan, Chris, Matt, Rosa, Richard, Aimzy, Charla & her kiddos, Amy R, (I’d invite Jen but I know she wouldn’t want to come), Seanan, s00j, Ryan (but I’d have him avoid it’s a small world–he got stuck on it for hours when he was a kid so he’s had enough of that for a lifetime), Vixy, Amy V, Deborah (and Jeff if he wanted), Adam’s mom and dad, Cassidy, Lola… am I missing anyone? Consider yourself invited if so.

2. Dark, Milk or White Chocolate?
Well, definitely not white chocolate. It’s a toss up between dark or milk. It’ll depend on how sweet I want it. But dark is winning. Which is funny because when I was little, I thought dark chocolate was pointless and disgusting. Now I love it.

3. Have you ever succeeded in giving up something that was bad for you? What was it?
Not really. 🙁

4. You have four ingredients: eggs, milk, cheese and bread. What is the most creative thing you can make?
Scrambled eggs with cheese, and toast on the side.

5. Zoo, Aquarium or Circus?
Zoo or aquarium. Better yet, zoos with aquariums included!

6. If there were no other factors to consider except for pure joy’s sake, how many children would you want to have?
MAYBE one more.

7. Do you wear glasses or contacts?
Yes.

8. Have you ever been in a bad accident?
No. I’ve been in a scary accident (totally Charla’s fault), but not very bad.

9. How many pets have you had / do you have? What kind? What are their names?
I currently have three cats. Crookshanks, Helena, and Fi.

Three Cats
not my best but probably the only time
they’ll all get close enough to be in one shot

10. What is the funniest joke you have heard lately?
*shrug* Can’t remember.

11. I like the dream car question, so if you could have any new car of your choosing what would it be?


audi tt roadster, $47,500

MY 11 QUESTIONS
1. What is your favorite word?
2. What is the first thing you do when you get up in the morning?
3. What is your favorite scent?
4. Would you rather have the perfect body and your current face, or the perfect face and your current body?
5. What is your guilty pleasure?
6. If it didn’t cause any bad consequences (weight gain, high cholesterol, etc.) what is the one thing you’d eat tons of?
7. What is one thing you would eliminate from the world if you could?
8. Would you rather sky dive or go mountain climbing?
9. What is one talent you wish you had?
10. What is one song that makes you want to rip out your eardrums?
11. Are you a PC or a Mac?

… and I tag Mandi, Jenn, Adam, Firinel, and Lauren! Anyone else want to join in? Go for it. Comment and let me know so I can go read your answers. 🙂

(If Charla had a blog, I’d totally tag her, too.)

4 Comments

Cranky Lady/Adventures in Shopping

/ grrr!, living in chicago, pictures, shopping, wtf

Grarrrrr!

Once upon a time, I loved, absolutely loved going to a store, any story (except maybe grocery) and shopping. I loved browsing the aisles, picking out new things, taking that bag after the transaction was completed. YAY shiny new things for me! Or for Aidan! Going to the mall was an OCCASION. All those shiny stores full of shiny new things under one shiny roof! Someone hold me!

It’s not so much fun anymore. My patience has run the eff out.

I went to the mall to do some shopping for fun, and also get some errands taken care of at the attached Target. (Yes, this mall has a Target as an anchor store, which is kind of brilliant if you ask me. The other anchor is Kohl’s.) I don’t know WHY I thought going to the mall on a Sunday evening would be a good idea. It wasn’t. People were walking like turtles (and spread out, of course), and by the time I’d finally get around them, wild children would be all over the place, and I’d be scared of tripping over one or more of them. Entire huge families would bunch up and block entryways and aisles. And for some inexplicable reason, every few yards there were trash receptacles IN THE MIDDLE OF THE AISLES. Not off to the sides, but right in the middle. For people to trip over. REAL SMART. Not. I’d started off excited and looking forward to finding some treasures, but after a few stores, my patience was gone. I had to get OUT of the mall and into the Target, where things were just a little bit better (except in the toy aisle. Aye Dios Mio.).

People, do you think it’s too much to ask that parents keep their children in check in stores? I spend more time dodging random unwatched kids who are running and screaming and laughing than I do waiting to check out! This is not just in the toy aisle, by the way. Seems like no matter where I go, there are rogue children running all over the place.

WHY? I was never allowed to go running all wild and crazy through a store when I was a kid. In fact, the first time my parents let me and my sister go to the toy aisle without them was a BIG FREAKING DEAL and we knew we’d better not screw it up or we’d never be allowed to do it again!

I know this is me, but when I am browsing, I like to be alone. I don’t want to share that space with anyone else. So how come, every single time I find a deserted aisle and start to browse, some random kids come bouncing right over to where I am, followed by a mom who looks like she’s going to run me the hell over if I don’t move RIGHT NOW, and they seem to have an urgent need for the exact thing I was looking at/researching/browsing? GO AWAY I yell in my mind. I was looking at these spaghetti noodles FIRST! Of course I don’t say that, and I move aside to make room and I’m polite and everything. But inside, I am irritated and frustrated and impatient.

I’m honestly thisclose to just… buying everything online from now on. Ordering my groceries from PeaPod or something like that. Adam typically goes to the store for groceries, but he only goes to Aldi, and there are certain things that I only like the name brand of. But going to the store, dealing with other people? It stresses me out anymore. I don’t even care to clothes shop anymore. I walk into a store, see all the choices on the racks, and I get overwhelmed. That happened to me tonight in Forever 21. And Aeropostale. (I’m pretty sure I’ve outgrown Aeropostale anyway.) I pretty much turned around and left. (I DON’T freak out in Old Navy, funnily enough, but that’s because their merchandise is laid out in a way that MAKES SENSE.)

So there you have it. I don’t enjoy shopping anymore. 🙁 Well, that’s not necessarily true. I still enjoy the act of acquiring new things, but I don’t like going to a brick and mortar store (unless it’s a book store or Old Navy) and dealing with other customers and their wild, screaming children. I don’t know if people are just more irritating in general, or if I’m just more crabby about it. At any rate, I’d much rather do it online. Or better yet, indie. Sometimes the shipping costs are worth my sanity. Plus I love to get packages in the mail.

6 Comments

This Girl Will Write Again

/ commercial break, writing

I miss writing. I miss it so much that I’m considering seeking writing help. I mean, I blog and that’s a form of writing, and those who have emailed with me know that I can certainly go on and on in a message. But writing fiction? Making up stories? I miss that and want to do it again.

I started writing when I was in sixth grade. I was eleven years old. I’d gotten this Michael Jackson notebook. He was wearing the yellow vest and white pants. You remember that picture, right? (It’s one of my favorites of him.) If not, here is a refresher:


[via]

Anyway, I declared “I’m going to write a story!” And I did. I sat at the end table and wrote a story about some of my classmates and me getting trapped in a haunted house.

I wish it was that simple for me again.

I have friend who are New York Times best-selling authors who write stuff just for themselves on the side. For fun! These days, it’s hard enough for me to get motivated to work on any projects I have floating around in my brain (and I have a lot, believe me), let alone do something just for fun!

I keep telling myself that I don’t have to try to get published, or that I don’t have to be perfect on the first draft even if I WERE trying to write to get published. I came so close to my dream years ago, when I wrote a novel in six months that I LOVED (and still do love, to be honest!). I worked on it every single second I could. When I wasn’t working on it, I was thinking about it. It consumed me and it FELT SO GOOD. I knew that was the one and that it was finally time to start pursuing publication for real.

That novel got me representation by a very well-respected agent. It didn’t sell, though, so it never got published. My confidence took quite a blow and it hasn’t quite recovered. And that makes me wonder if seeking help would get me back on track. I have no discipline or structure, and I need that. I don’t think I’m going to do it on my own.

It’s definitely something to think about.

[This is a sponsored post. That means I have been compensated for writing it.
But rest assured. This story is true and heartfelt. I am determined to be a writer again.]

4 Comments