anywhere is…. – Page 59 – my scramblings & ramblings

Stuff I Like Today

9 January 2012 / dork, meme, miscellany monday, pictures, positivity, ronni, Uncategorized

one.
Listening to my “Eleventied™” mix on my iPod.
This is the playlist that consists of all my favorite songs.
Some examples?
a. Anywhere Is by Enya (DUH)
b. Soul Man by Kid N Play
c. Cry Little Sister (Theme from The Lost Boys)
d. Addicted by Kelly Clarkson
e. Helena Beat by Foster the People.
f. We Belong by Pat Benetar
g. I Can’t Dance by Genesis
38 songs. 2.7 hours of listening AWESOME for moi.
Hey, I never said I was cool.

two.
Long, hot baths with a Lush bath bomb.
Especially the Dragon’s Egg bomb.
The bath bomb that keeps on giving.
It’s one of the slow release ones. It smells amazing.
It crackles!
AND IT HAS GLITTER.
It turns the water the most gorgeous, sparkly orange.
I love it.

three.
Demi Lovato is on the cover of my latest issue of Seventeen!
Don’t ask why I still read Seventeen.
Actually, I’ll tell you why.
I hope to be a YA author one day.
And I feel like Seventeen will give me some insight.
Or at least tell me what to avoid in my writing.

four.
Remembering that a year ago, Adam and I were at Disney World.
We’d eaten so much at Liberty Tree Tavern that we had to go into
The Hall of Presidents because we were too stuffed to move!
We’d eaten ourselves stupid.
I regret nothing.
And we get to do it again next month!

five.
My awesome houseguest is en route to my place RIGHT NOW!
She and her boyfriend are staying with us all week.
I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE HER!

six.
Beef and noodles in the Crock-Pot.
It smells DELICIOUS.
Dinner is going to be great.
Yum.

seven.
Just getting word that
Make It Or Break It
returns to ABC Family March 26.
WooooooHooooo!
YAY gymnastics!!!

eight.
Feeling like myself again.
The fatigue has eased up.
My appetite is coming back.
I’m ready to do yoga again,
and I’m planning to go back tomorrow.

nine.
Not only did I have the most amazing brunch at
Bleeding Heart Bakery & Cafe,
but I found out some awesome news about a couple of my friends. 😀
I’m so happy for them!

[via]

ten.
My Disney Imagination candle.
It makes the place smell like
DISNEY!
and HAPPINESS.

What stuff do you like today?

Linking up with:

18 Comments

Decorating Sense

8 January 2012 / dork, pictures, ronni, Uncategorized

We interrupt this blog for a test of the dorkilicious dorkity dork system.

This is only a test.

One of the chores I hate the most is putting away my Christmas decorations. For one thing, it’s work, which sucks, but another thing, I’m packing away all my pretty things for another many months. See, I have a little secret.

I cannot decorate worth a damn.

No. Seriously. I really suck at it. Adam did most of the decorating that’s in our apartment. He did most of the painting, he hangs the art, he deals with the furniture. My contributions? Calendars and dolls, and my little corner with the desk. The only time I do halfway OK with decorating? Christmas. And that doesn’t get to stay up all year. It doesn’t matter that I play on Pinterest all the time, or that I am addicted to watching HGTV. I still have no decorating sense. Or class.

Just last night, I was watching a show on HGTV with my friend Jen. These rich people in Texas or somewhere–their entire first floor flooded while they were on vacation, so they called in this designer. Their tastes were definitely above mine. The leopard print carpet on the stairs? I totally would slide down that on my butt. The big horse statue/sculpture thingy? I’d climb on it and take a picture. I told Jen that if/when I ever became super, duper rich, my house would NOT look like that ’cause it’s just like me. I’d hope I wouldn’t be obvious “new money,” but that old, rich, dark stuff is not my favorite.

so not my style
[via]

Another thing I don’t get is people’s obsession with “outdated” this and that. I couldn’t care less if my appliances are stainless steel or not. If they’re functional (and the stove is gas), then I’m good to go. Granite countertops? Not necessary. I mean, yes, all that stuff is really pretty and it would be nice to have, but it’s not a deal breaker for me if I don’t have it. (And I don’t.)

When I watch those shows and I watch how picky people get over things, I kinda want to giggle. Adam and I have a pretty big apartment by Chicago’s standards, especially for what we’re paying. But it’s not *gigantic* or anything. It was hard for me to downsize, and we still struggle with storage space. I once lived in a 2300 square foot house, then I lived in a 450 square foot two bedroom apartment alone before moving here. I’m also a pack rat. Poor Adam. The sheer amount of STUFF that came with me overwhelmed him greatly. Poor guy. But we got it under control (sort of).

We don’t plan on moving for a while, but if we did, here are my must haves:

two bedrooms
two bathrooms
bathtub
air conditioning (this is more for Adam’s sake than my sake)
dishwasher
gas stove
storage
cat friendly
close to public transporation

Here are my “nice-to-haves”:

hardwood flooring
walk-in closets
basement
laundry
porch or stoop
close to downtown

And this list is my “it’d be cool if it was there but if not, I’ll be fine, and I’m certainly not going to pursue it” stuff:

stainless steel appliances
granite countertops
master bedroom that has its own bathroom
Jacuzzi soaking tub in that master bathroom
courtyard

So there you have it. I’d like to think I’m easy to please when it comes to living spaces, but I don’t know. I haven’t actually seriously looked for a place to live since 2006. And moving’s such a pain in the butt that I’m OK not looking for now. It’s when I watch endless House Hunters and House Hunters International marathons that I get like this, you know. Will I stop watching them? NOPE. THANK YOU.

this is more like it
[via]

And that was a random insight into my dorkiness. It really wasn’t a test. I just didn’t want you to panic.

You’re welcome.

7 Comments

Feeling Just A Little Bit Off…

6 January 2012 / books, pictures, ronni, sick

I haven’t been feeling well the past several days. Although, if I want to be honest, I haven’t been feeling 100% since Atlanta. I’ve been way more tired than usual–I can sleep all day and all night if I’d let myself, only venturing out of bed to use the bathroom and grab a small bite to eat (my appetite hasn’t been all that great). Nausea hits at the most random times (like this evening in Trader Joe’s). I think it’s either iron-deficiency anemia or my gastritis is back. BOO.

THIS NEEDS TO STOP!!I’m ready to feel better again! I have stuff to do, people to see, *awesome* house guests staying with us next week. So here’s what we’re doing:

1. Loading me up with iron-rich foods, such as spinach and Cream of Wheat.
2. Loading me up with lots of fluids: water, orange juice, etc.
3. Getting me loads of rest.

Plus, I want to get back to yoga, I need to clean, take down the Christmas decorations, and get groceries. NO MORE TIME TO BE SICK, RONICA.

I will beat this thing.

Adam thinks it’s my SAD coming back. I tend to get really down in the winter…but it usually doesn’t kick in until February or so. But I’m pretty convinced this is just physical. At least for now. My mind is fine, and I’m still interested in doing things I like. Just the thought of actually doing them makes me feel overwhelmed and I just want to go back to sleep. So it’s not that I’m not interested, I’m just too tired.

At any rate, I am confident I will have this thing beat by Sunday.

Well, OK. I’m HOPING REALLY HARD.

One thing I have been doing in all my downtime is rereading a bunch of books. I decided to reread ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS. This book got a LOT of hype when it first came out. Me? I was just excited to read a contemporary book by a debut author. As most of you know, I tend to stick to YA books, and the YA market is SATURATED with paranormal. Now, I do like paranormal from time to time, but I LOVE contemporary. Contemporary YA is where my heart lives. Deb Caletti, Sarah Dessen, Laurie Halse Anderson, Susane Colasanti are just a few of the authors I love. (And I’ve met three of them!)

Anyway, I read ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS several months ago, and I liked it enough. But this second time around? I am in LOVE. A love story about a girl who gets sent to an American boarding school in France? Yes, please! The characters are so three dimensional. The setting is PARIS. It has a boarding school. And food! And hot guys. WHAT’S NOT TO LOVE?

So am I recommending this book? YES! And I might just order a copy just to make notes in the margins. Stephanie Perkins did the damn thing. Today I ordered LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR and I can’t wait to read it.

YOU SHOULD READ THESE BOOKS, TOO!

Then we can like, talk about them and stuff.

Now that the new year is here, I’ve decided to read new books again. I have a huge stack of them in my apartment (so I really didn’t need to buy LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR, but dammit, I wanted it), so while I wait for my delivery, I am reading WITHERING TIGHTS by Louise Rennison. It’s a cute book so far (I’m almost done!), but it’s not as funny or engaging as the Georgia Nicholson books. Still enjoyable, though, so I’m not complaining. I’m also reading RADIANT SHADOWS, the last book in the Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr. YES I’m reading two books at once, what?

So there is that. And I am obviously well enough to be blogging. And I added Aidan’s birth story to my blog. (You should go read it!) So that means I will be 100% soon, right? Right? My energy will come crashing back and I’ll be so happy I will DANCE. I mean, we’re having amazing weather, and I want to enjoy it! Plus, I DEFINITELY need to be ready for Disney World. And I miss using my exercise bike. Plus yoga. And you know, not sleeping all day.

OK then. That’s all for now. Ta ta!

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.
That means if you buy any of those books, I’ll get a lil somethin’ somethin’.
But trust me, I will not steer you wrong just to make a buck. Just sayin’.
Also, books were purchased or borrowed from the library.
Because that’s how I roll.

12 Comments

Quiet Around These Parts

2 January 2012 / aidan, pictures

Aidan is back in Ohio now. He flew out this evening. Some goodbyes are a lot harder than others. For example, over the summer, he cried as he was getting on the plane. That made ME cry. But tonight? The pilot took him to the plane, which Aidan always loves. And we’d laughed our fool heads off during dinner, because he and I are silly and wacky like that and I know for sure that Adam often looks at us like “What the hell?”

aidan’s dinner.
a rather large slice of pizza.

Tonight’s goodbye was a little bit easier. There were no tears, just lots of hugs and cuddles. It’s always hard for me, though, not to have my little boy with me all the time. At the time when his dad asked for residency, I didn’t belive I was in shape to be a good mom, plus I didn’t want to screw up Aidan’s life and his routine any more than I already had. But now, I want him here with me…but I don’t want to uproot his life. He’s doing well there. He loves school (and he is KICKING BUTT at it if I do say so myself), he’s got his friends, he’s got a life there. And he gets to spend all his vacations in a cool city.

Still. Sometimes I miss kissing that little face so much it aches. I love hearing him laugh. (He’s got the cutest laugh.) And let’s not go there with the guilt.

So, for now, Adam and I will go back to our quiet little life here. And I’ll go back to counting the days until Aidan’s next visit.

8 Comments

2011: A Year in Pictures

1 January 2012 / pictures, recap, reflection, year-in-review

I was totally supposed to post this before my “Looking Ahead” post *points to post below this one* but I forgot that I had the Looking Ahead post scheduled already. So it posted and it took me a while to realize it had posted, and I wasn’t about to UNpost it because let’s face it, it’s a perfectly fine post.

And I used post WAY too many times in that last paragraph!

So, this one is a bit out of order, but I worked so hard on it that I decided not to trash it. So, without further ado, here is 2011 (and maybe a tiny bit of 2012) represented in pictures.