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Thinky Thoughts

Thinking

This winter’s been a weird one. Up until this point, the weather has been scarily mild (not complaining AT ALL), but I still haven’t had much desire to go outside. And right now, even though I am fully dressed, I’m really cold.

Which is good because I will be GOOD and ready for Disney World and warm Florida temperatures. We leave at (as Seanan would say) Oh God WHY o’clock in the morning for the airport, flight takes off at 6am, and I’m hoping to be in Magic Kingdom no later than noon! This means I’ll be consuming lots of energy shots once we land in Orlando so I can be good and awake.

I am so in need of warm sun on my skin. Warm sun PERIOD. I still have loads of stuff to do before the trip, but that’s cool. It’s stuff to keep me busy until we’re there.

In yoga, we talk a lot about seeing the light in people. And I start to think about the light in people who do really bad things. Like the father who blew himself and his two sons up in his house. Or the teenager who killed her nine year old neighbor. And I wonder about their lights. Do they have a light? Has it dimmed? Am I being judgemental by even wondering about it?

This is why I avoid the news. I know that if something super important goes down, I will find out about it. But I tend to stay away from watching CNN, local news, all that stuff.

I know that’s part of why I love Disney World so much. I go there, and I’m pretty much cut off. I’m in this happy fantasy world, and life is awesome. There’s music and rides and happy people and Mickey Mouse and desserts. Oh yes, desserts. And bright colors and flowers and princesses and sunshine. Did I mention that I’m ready for sunshine?

I had a lot of stuff on my mind, but it’s all escaping me right now. I’ve been dealing with random stomach pains and my appetite’s not been so good. Trying to turn my sleeping schedule into a normal one is a 1/2 step forward, 99 steps back operation. I’m just naturally a night owl, and playing the Sims 3 from 9pm until 4am just encourages it.

I worry all the time. I worry about Aidan. I worry about my mom. I worry about money. I worry that I’m wasting my life/time/talents. I worry about death and dying. I worry that I’ll never succeed at anything (especially in Chicago, where competition is fierce and I’m really starting to question if I am cut out for it).

Am I weird?

Wait, don’t answer that. I know I’m weird.

I love this cat more than any other cat alive.

I Love This Cat

Don’t get me wrong. I love Helena and Crookshanks, but Fi is my favorite. Shhh, don’t tell any of them I said that.

I wish my blog had more readers. I mean, I write stuff, I want people to read it! I have some envy for the blogs that have 1000+ followers. I know, it’s silly. It shouldn’t be a popularity contest. I tell myself I’d rather have a smaller following of quality people who comment and interact with me, but I’d honestly like a large following of quality people who comment and interact with me. Hmm, but then again, a larger following = a bigger chance for trolls. I’ve had that. Don’t want that again.

These are just the thoughts flipping around in my brain these days.

Thinking


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If You Looked…

Hi!

If you looked into my home you would see lots and lots and lots and lots of books.

If you looked into my work office you would see the same thing, because I work from home.

If you looked into my work email you’d see a lot of stuff from Moksha and assignments from Loyola University Chicago.

If you looked into my personal email you’d see lots of emails from Jen and Amy, a lot of shopping deal emails, website and blog stuff, Live Journal comment notifications…

If you looked into my phone you would find a TON of games (especially word games), pictures, pages of apps, text messages, voice mails, etc.

If you looked into my head you’d see my crazy. What, you thought I was letting you see it all on this here blog? HA, please. I’ve been SPARING you the worst of it! *evil laugh* But you’d see my worries, what annoys me, writing ideas, blog ideas, seriously fanciful daydreams, gymnastics moves, and yoga poses.

If you looked into my heart you’d find how much I love my friends and family, and how much more I wish I could do for all of them, see them more often, give them more time, energy, and love. And things. I love to give things.

I snagged this from here. Original source here at The Shine Project.

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February = AWESOME

I am determined that February will be awesome. For one thing, it’s a red and pink month. I don’t have synesthesia, but months have always had colors for me. January is blue and grey. March is green. And February is red and pink. Probably has more to do with the seasonal decorations than anything special my brain is doing.

But ANYWAY. February is going to be made of awesome because I SAID SO. I’m already one book ahead on my 2012 Reading Challenge, and today, I got back on my exercise bike after not using the poor thing for months. I just don’t want to be one of those people whose exercise equipment becomes a coat hanger.

Pre Workout
pre-workout myspace angle pic

I really do need to be committed to taking better care of myself. I got the bike because I know myself. Even if I paid $1,000/month for a gym membership, I’d never go. Part of the reason is that I had a bad experience with a gym. I am pretty sure the events are unrelated, but the last time I worked out really hard in a gym (January 2000), I caught a terrible round of the flu that night. I was sick for two weeks. IT SUCKED. Every time I think of a gym, I get scared that I’ll catch the flu if I go.

So, I figure it’s better for me to workout at home. For one thing, the bike is RIGHT THERE taunting me like “Dude. You’ve been on the couch for four hours. Get over here and get your workout on.”

Not only that, but I get FREE UNLIMITED YOGA at Moksha. It’s a seven minute walk from my apartment. I need to be going to a class at least three times every week. EVERY WEEK.

(I also have yoga DVDs here.)

There really is no excuse.

So today, February 1, 2012, I commit to being more physically active. No matter how much winter makes me want to hibernate. Otherwise, I’ll never be able to do this:

So, this has been the week of GETTING STUFF DONE. I used to rave about iProcrastinate, but Producteev is so much better. It has a reminder function. I can sync my tasks between the computer, the net, and my phone. It sends me emails when stuff is coming up due, and if I’ve forgotten something, it sends an email for that, too. And I can mark things as “done” in the email, send it on, and it’ll update everywhere. It really keeps me organized. Cloud software RULES.

Disney World in less than two weeks! That is AWESOME, y’all. I was going through a friend’s Disney pix and working myself all up. It’s a short trip–four days/three nights–but we’ll make the best of it. I guess I’m kind of in denial. I never pack or anything until very late the night before. I don’t know why I have to act like that. I *am* excited. Can’t wait to see Mickey and the gang and eat good food and just be cut off from the world.

I have a lot of prep to do for Disney. Like making a packing list. Checking in to our hotel. Asking Adam if he wants to pre-order the Photopass CD. Making arrangements for the kitty cats. A bunch of other stuff that escapes me right now. I can’t believe how chill I am. I used to freak out, making spreadsheets and all sorts of things for trips. Now I’m just like “Whatever. It’ll be good.”

When I get back from Disney, I need to work on Making More Money. I don’t like pinching pennies. And pennies don’t like to be pinched. It hurts them.

But I’m not going to worry about that now.

I’m sure I had some other stuff to write about, but I can’t remember any of it. So I’ll go for now.

‘Til next time.

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Linky Party Reveal!

Photobucket

I was paired up with Lesley from My Lively Mind.

my lively mind

This was such a great idea! I had fun shopping for Lesley, and I’m REALLY hoping she gets her package today. If you remember, the first day I went to mail it, I had to leave the post office due to an emergency there. I mailed it early Friday, though. Let’s hope Chicago mail DOESN’T live up to its reputation and actually gets something to someone on time for once.

Anyway.

I got my package from Lesley last week. Here’s what was in it:

Linky Party Swag

shower cap, notecards, lavender sachets, tea, pens, and jelly beans! 🙂

The lavender smells so good, you guys, and you all know about my obsession with pens and stationery, right? If not, then now you do. It’s perfect.

Thanks so much Casey, Danielle, and Alycia for hosting this! 🙂 It was a lot of fun.

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Let’s Talk About Food

Note: Check out my site’s new look. What do you think? I’m pretty happy with it. It took a lot work and research to finally find a theme that I was able to customize without paying an arm and a leg, and without too much trouble. So, YAY.

Tonight, Adam and I went to Eleven City Diner for dinner. This is what I had:

Dinner at Eleven City Diner

Mmm, so good.

In 2008, Adam and I ate there for our post-elopement celebration. They brought us their special Eleven City French Toast: fresh baked challah with strawberries, bananas, and toasted coconut. Good times. (Even though I don’t like bananas or coconut–but it really was nice of them to do that for us.) Chicago has no shortage of good diners, and Adam and I love a good diner run.

If you’ve been following my twitter feed, you’ll know that I’ve been having the most random cravings. Cake. Cupcakes. Sushi. BBQ beef. Beef & noodles. Turkey & cheese sandwiches with mustard (and tortilla chips). Hmm, maybe they aren’t so random. They’re actually pretty predictable, because food wise? I’m pretty predictable.

I’ve gotten intense cravings for as long as I can remember. My first serious boyfriend never craved anything, which bode well when choosing a place to go eat. I ate anywhere I wanted because he never got a taste for anything particular. He’d just eat whatever was there. When he and I parted ways and I got with my second serious boyfriend, it was a shock for me to suggest a restaurant and for him to say he wasn’t in the mood for it.

My intense cravings can really make dinner challenging. Adam and I tend to be on our own for the other meals and snacks, but when it comes to dinner, he likes to make a nice, hearty meal and he likes for me to enjoy them. But not only do I have intense cravings, I also have a finicky appetite. I will get hooked on something and eat it every day for two weeks straight. Some foods I’ll never get tired of, like spaghetti, or turkey & cheese sandwiches with mustard, Whatchamacallit bars, spinach. Or I will unexplicably go off a food and not want anything to do with it for several months. (Ask Adam about the time I went off chicken. He hated life.)

We also have different ideas of dinner. I can eat a plate of rice and spinach and be perfectly happy, or a turkey sandwich will satisfy me. Adam says “that’s not a dinner” and says that we need meat, starch, and veggies. I’m talking beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, and green beans or something like that. It doesn’t matter if it’s the dead of summer and it’s 95F out, and if I say it’s too “heavy” or something, he goes “What does that even mean?” He tells me to never become a vegetarian or a vegan because feeding me is already hard enough, that I don’t like enough veggies. But I don’t think that’s the hard part. I think the hard part is us not having compatible tastes all the time.

YUM!
this is what Adam considers a true dinner

I know that he’s had to adapt a lot of his eating habits because mine are so weird. For example, he never buys onions because he knows I don’t like them, but on the rare occasion I do cook (it happens, it really does), I show him how I can make stuff taste yummy without using the vile things. [1. To be fair, I like what onions do to food. I just don’t like THEM.] He knows that texture is a HUGE part of my eating experience, and the wrong texture will ruin a meal for me. [2. It’s why I don’t like oatmeal. I hate the way it feels in my mouth. It’s also why I can’t eat mushrooms, and one of the number one reasons onions turn me off so.] Toss in other weird food issues, and I don’t see how he puts up with it. I’ve told him he shouldn’t feel responsible for making sure I eat because I do have these hang-ups, but he said he LIKES to make sure I’m well fed and enjoying my meals.

A few months ago, I went to an Intro to Ayurveda workshop at Moksha, given by John Joseph Immel. Ayurveda is when you can manage your health by eating based on your dosha. There are three doshas–Vata, Pitta, and Kapha–and you’re to favor certain foods based on these doshas. It was interesting. A lot of it is stuff that’s inherent, but we kind of tamp it down in the name of convenience. But hear me out. If you’re feeling hot, don’t go eating peppers. Eat something cooling, like fruit. If you’re sick, get some rest, which not only means overall, but also, by giving your digestive system a rest. Eat foods that are nourishing, comforting, and easy-to-digest. See, makes perfect sense, right? Ayurveda isn’t some woo woo crazy thing. It’s listening to your body and eating accordingly. I wonder what Adam’s dosha is, now that I think about it?

Fruit Salad!
anyone else got the wiggles fruit
salad song stuck in their head now?
just me? ok then.

Going into our fourth year of marriage, I know Adam is still trying to figure out how to keep me nourished and happy. God bless him for his patience.

Hey, be sure to stop by tomorrow for the Twitter linky hop thingy that I host with Krista from Army Wife Style and Annie from Letters To Mo. I will also be revealing what I received in the 2012 gift exchange and link party!


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Miscellany Monday @
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