Reflect, Update, and Restore

On the last day of the month of February, I think this seems like a good time to reflect and look back on 2013 thus far. I started this journey on my birthday (December 2^nd for those of you who are putting dates in your calendar – my favorite color is pink and I like books J) and feel that in the last three months, I’ve crossed some major bridges. I haven’t “completed” as many tasks as I wanted, but I’ve made some steps in the right direction – the planning phase. Plus I’ve worked on a few of them, most that I can’t complete in just one day, and will continue to work on throughout the rest of the year.

So – let’s get back to the Officially Official List for 2013. Starting from the beginning…

1)      Get my spin certification (finally) – better get my ass back to spin class… baby steps

2)      Carve a pumpkin – better wait till Halloween so it’s not creepy

3)      Build a snowman – with all the snow we’ve had lately, there’s no excuse that this isn’t done

4)      Go ice skating – again, no excuse

5)      Read 40 books in a year (start there and read more if I can) – I’ve read 7 thus far, only 43 more to go!

6)      Do a wine tasting – or five – in the planning stages

7)      Start a new tradition – in the planning stages (does book club count since it’s not technically “new?”)

8)      Learn to play tennis – better wait till spring… but I’ve got a few willing teachers J

9)      Learn to golf – again, let’s wait till spring

10)   Skydive – eek this needs to be a summer trip J

11)   Send out birthday and Christmas cards – didn’t make it for 2012… but 2013 is my year… they may be late but I’ll get them out!

12)   Send out handwritten “thank you” cards – baby steps… I’ll do my best everyone!

13)   Become a yoga enthusiast – this is happening. I LOVE YOGA!!

14)   Shop local – I’ve been going to smaller retail shops around, I’ve got a list of new places to go J

15)   Take a cooking class – planning stages…

16)   Learn to bake. Period. Cookies, cakes, pies, etc. – this one will take some work… but I’ve got pie pans headed my way so there’s a start!

17)   Cook a Thanksgiving meal – turkey and all – reading this makes me sweat and cry a little. Terrifying.

18)   Attend a book banning rally/meeting and voice my opinion – haven’t heard of any… but my eyes are open

19)   Do the splits – maybe after another month of yoga J

20)   Find my favorites – food, song, artist, restaurant – testing out lots of new places… no official favorites yet

21)   Attend an art exhibit – keeping my eyes open as well, nothing has caught my eye but I’m sure it will

22)   Go camping and hiking – brrrrr too cold to do this now. But after reading last month’s book club book, a hike seems fairly appropriate

23)   Learn how to sew – so many projects, so little time. And I need to make sure my sewing machine works…

24)   Get a tattoo – I’ve looked at a few… nothing I absolutely NEED right now…

25)   Road trip to see friends – a work in progress J upcoming trip to Chicago soon!!

26)   Write fan mail – I’ve gotta do this. What a nerd.

27)   Learn how to grill more than hotdogs – I’ll wait till spring and summer… last thing I want to do right now is sit on the deck in the SNOW, grilling. Ick.

28)   Reconnect with old friends – this is one of my favorites – and a work in progress J

29)   See Chelsea Handler – I better start tweeting at this bitch. Make her read my blog and she’ll love me immediately.

30)   Assist in the adoption process at the ARL – better get back in there… and not form bonds with any of the puppies because they’ll be adopted out from under my nose and I’ll cry L

31)   Complete DIY projects – a few upcoming projects in mind………… surprises of course J

32)   Daily random acts of kindness – buying someone’s coffee, holding the door open for someone, helping without being asked… a work in progress

33)   Smile, laugh and learn something new every day – I’m hoping this is happening… I guess I don’t notice it all the time, but I’m smiling and laughing and learning plenty – let’s hope it’s every day!

34)   Become a cook – work in progress… I’ve been having anxiety watching Chopped lately so maybe those shows will inspire me to get at it

35)   Go to the State Fair – my mom just got her pre-ordered tickets in the mail! Plus they just posted the acts for the Grand Stand… my man Dierks will be back to Iowa in August J

36)   Participate in Norwegian baking traditions during the holidays – wait till holiday time…. J

37)   Volunteer – lots and lots of it… your time is worth a lot to someone

38)   Make my bed every day – I’m doing better than I thought I would do with this… I’ve slacked a couple days but I’m getting better. Also – I’ve read in multiple places, that a messy bed is actually cleaner than a made bed. So there.

39)   Do 12 races – yeah… about that. I gotta start running again. And just sign up for these bad boys.

40)   Buy a car – looking… but Little Red is still doing her part and running like a champ, even through this weather

41)   Enjoy a spa day – I cannot WAIT to have this day J

42)   Get organized (in all aspects of life) – slowly but surely. I’m a messy/organized person. I know where everything is… but other people think I’m a damn mess.

43)   Buy myself something sparkly – I bet a car comes before something sparkly… but it can’t hurt to look J

44)   Read and watch the classics (list to come) – I forgot about this list… HOWEVER thanks to a friend of mine who LOVES the classics, I have purchased a few!

45)   Host a dinner party or two – once I’m in this new place – it’s totally happening.

46)   Attend showers, weddings, parties for my friends – I love this part too J I love being a part of someone’s special day

47)   Keep a plant alive – I hope I can do this… with this new place maybe I’ll buy myself a love fern… see if I can keep it alive… and make sure Toby doesn’t eat it

48)   Be spontaneous – I’m sure I could be MORE spontaneous… I’ll work on it

49)   Go to shows and sporting events – locally famous or a little more famous – lots of concert attending planned, so ready for the rest of them

50)   Go to the Fleur Cinema by myself – with wine, cheesecake, and an Indie film – I’ve got one that I absolutely NEED to see there… not an Indie but it’s a true mind F. (I’m not spelling that word out – there are people who read this who wouldn’t appreciate the f-bomb.)

So there’s a quick look at “The List” as an update… now I can get back to the real fun I’ve had since my last posting J

Let’s see… we had our third book club meeting J As usual – it was fantastic. Another small group, which is awesome. A great book, great food, great conversation – I am SO GLAD this is finally working out. I’ve wanted to either start or just become a part of a book club since I knew what a book club was. I’m glad I’ve found a group of girls who loves it as much as I do J A week ago I also made a trip up to Ames to see Dierks Bently, Miranda Lambert and Lee Brice at Hilton. Despite the weather and the roads, it wasn’t a terrible drive and it was absolutely worth it. I made new friends, got to see old friends, and enjoyed a FANTASTIC concert. Worth every penny. Plus I got to wear my cowboy boots again and I’d just been waiting for something to come up where I got to wear them again. In another couple months I’ll get to wear them again for a road trip to Omaha for Jason Aldean – get excited for all THAT once I’m back. Let’s see… what else. Oh yes – I attended a 1^st birthday party for little Miss Harper. She was running around and making a “cheers” with people (must have learned that from her dad) with her sippy cup. Such a little monster. Can’t wait till they move back to Iowa so we can see them even more! We had a going away party for our doctor who’s leaving, that was a sad day. He’s so great – everyone will miss him. I suppose it’s worth it to him though – to be back in his wife’s hometown, back with her all the time, and getting paid better. No real problem there – other than we will miss him.

I took a restoring yoga class last Sunday – thinking it would be a good way to close out my week and start a new one. Well – I was right. This yoga stuff has really gotten into my head. I wasn’t sure what to expect – I didn’t know if it was going to be a hard ass workout that left me wanting to vomit when I was done, or if it would be a lot of stretching and relaxing. The latter was correct – and it was just what I needed. It was more of a mental restoring session – kind of a detox for mind, body and soul. It may sound a little corny – but really, that’s what it was. Anything negative feeling or thought I had was let out during that hour. I restored myself back to “normal” so I could be the best I could be. We did a lot of deep breaths in and out, and our instructor said “breathe in – I love. Breathe out – I am loved.” After a few rounds of this, tears started streaming down my face. It wasn’t a sad cry – just a relaxing cry. Something I needed – something that needed to be done to cleanse myself from any negativity. After a rough week at work I’ll for sure head to that class again.

Well I’ve brought this up and down; exciting to calming and restorative, and I think that’s pretty accurate with how my day has been going as well. Slow in the morning, then crazy busy, and back down to a relaxing evening (after I nearly busted my shoulders in kickboxing tonight). I’ve got an hour and 23 minutes left of work and a great book to read, so I’m going to end with a quick quote and some “food for thought.” This comes in two parts… the first –

“The future is exciting.”

I don’t know an author, but I love the quote. You don’t know what will happen in the future, and that’s the fun of it. Not knowing what your future holds, that in itself is enough to give me butterflies. The second is a manifesto, if you will, for 2013. I think this fits perfectly with my “year of doing” for the year as well:

“Simplify. Be Inspired. Be Original. Work Hard. Enjoy.”

Again, no author – but I love this. Kind of an updated “don’t sweat the small stuff” for those of us in our mid-twenties. Don’t worry about what other people are doing and a whole bunch of other crap. Worry about you, and grow that way. Simplify your life, be inspired by someone or something. Be original and work hard at your originality. Enjoy your life. Don’t work so hard that you can’t enjoy it. There’s my psychoanalysis and therapy session for the evening. Enjoy the rest of the week and make your weekend memorable and worthwhile.

Simplify and Enjoy,

S

An Empty DVR makes for a Happy Lady

As I sit watching the World Golf Championship Match Play, I ask myself - Self: is it spring time yet? I'm sick of this weather already - and we still have a solid month of crap weather to go. I realize I've lived in Iowa my entire life and I've dealt with Iowa weather my entire life, but come on now. If it's going to snow - just snow. Don't have 4 blizzards throughout the year and then go between negative 15 degrees and 40 degrees within a week. It's exhausting. And mostly I just have a hard time deciding what shoes and coat to wear. You try and put your boots away for flats with no socks, and two days later you need a scarf and gloves and a heavy coat with a sweatshirt on top of your work clothes, paired with some tall socks and boots. And maybe some long underwear. Which leads to an interesting question which our doctor asked today: "How do your pants stay up when you have on long underwear?" Apparently our Hawaiian-born doctor isn't quite used to wearing long underwear underneath his jeans and he was having an issue as he did rounds on a patient yesterday. "I about lots my pants and had to shimmy them back up before I walked inside! How embarrassing!" We're really going to miss him :( This is also the same doctor who has a pen fetish (maybe "fetish" isn't the correct term... he doesn't do anything WEIRD with the pens, he just collects them) and spends a TON of money on them, and got all of us in the office a pen (found out mine is roughly $70 more than I'd spend on a pen for myself) and bought us fancy planners as a going away present FROM him. You're leaving dude... shouldn't WE be getting you something? He also brought us some alcohol that he can't pack and take with him. He said "well I don't drink and they can't pack it, and I knew you guys drank so I figured I'd bring it for you!" He's so sweet. Too bad it's basically a bottle of Chinese MOONSHINE. 53% alcohol sounds like a terrible idea. Take a shot of that and I'll see you next week. Yowsa.

Back to my complaining about the weather... I wasn't watching golf because I LIKE watching golf. I think it's incredibly boring and would much prefer watching one of my ridiculous shows, but I'll share the TV with my dad, seeing as it is his house. I'll be nice and not bratty about it. Anyway - I suggested that once it gets warm enough to be outside, that he and I head out to the driving range and I finally learn to golf. It is a lifetime sport to play, however I have a feeling that my competitiveness and occasional rage will turn me into Happy Gilmore after three holes and I'll go throwing clubs all over the green and screaming at people. Maybe I should stick with mini golf... let's see how this goes. I've got a while to control my level of zen so I don't scare the old retired dudes just out there for a good time. That wouldn't be very nice.

So - goals for the spring. Learn to play golf and learn to play tennis. I've got the basics of tennis, however I have ZERO control. Sure I've got a great, hard serve - but 2/3 of the time it goes either sailing over the fence into a different court or straight into the net. That's what happens. Zero control. Maybe some day I'll be just good enough at most things, so I can hang in the big leagues. I know just enough about a lot of things to make me smarter than I seem... been working on that for years.

BOOK CLUB IS TOMORROW! I'm so excited for these meetings - I wish they were more than once a month. We'll have another small group - which I love. Maybe it's better than having a big group of people who are partially interested. A small group of girls who all love to read and talk and drink wine and snack - that's where it's at. I know what the next book is... but I'll keep it a secret until the big reveal tomorrow! Going along with books... I'm 7 books in for 2013! I have 33 more to read by December 31 and I should be good to go. I've had a couple book hangovers... and last night when I tried to start The Scarlet Letter (I almost said "Easy A" with one of my girl crushes Emma Stone - similar but not quite the same) I got sidetracked listening to "Fergalicious" on the radio at work. I couldn't concentrate when I was totally rocking out and singing each word like it was my JAM.  I'll start again when I'm a little more awake and not so ADHD.

This weekend I got to try out some new food and places - delicious to both places. First was a dessert  trip to Creme Cupcakes over on Ingersoll. It was seriously delicious. A place to have dessert AND cocktails... I'm  not positive of the downside there...?  I honestly don't even remember what I ate, panne cotta something... and oh em gee. IT WAS GLORIOUS. Some slivered almonds and raspberries... it was amazing. And a Honey Mimosa... glorious. You can't really go wrong with a mimosa... and by putting some honey in it - yowsa. It's so good but I think I could only go there occasionally... so rich and delicious. After dessert, naturally you should go to dinner, right? So after a rich dessert, we took a trip to Sakari Sushi. I'm still a little nervous about sushi - and am not completely ready for a complete slab of raw fish... so I let someone else choose what I eat. Good idea? Probably not. Did I let it happen? Sure - why not. After a sake bomb - because you can't just NOT have a sake bomb while you're waiting for sushi - we got some SCALDING HOT spring rolls. I burnt the top of my mouth and immediately had blisters next to my teeth. It was so good - I didn't even care. We got our two rolls... and I was immediately terrified. I don't remember what was in the rolls or what they were called... but here I went. My chopstick usage wasn't all that great, but much improved from my previous week's sushi. I ate them like a champ, and actually loved both. I'll definitely be making a trip back - maybe not on the Friday after a major romantic "holiday." Lots and lots of people - I wasn't terribly in the mood for all the crazy at that point. I headed home for an early to bed evening, with a full belly of dessert and sushi. Together, those don't make your stomach feel the best the next day, but that night - totally worth it.

I spent Saturday night hanging out in sweatpants, catching up on my DVR shows. My parents kept trying to get me to go out to dinner - "do you want to go with us to Outback Steakhouse? What if we just got salads at Ruby Tuesday? Now we're going to Mama Lacona's... do you want to go?" No thanks... I've already taken off real pants and taken off my bra and once those are off - there's no going back. Especially after walking around in boots and skinny jeans all day. There's no contest. After clearing out the DVR I turned on the Food Network - duh - and nearly started crying watching the Worst Chefs in America. Thanks hormones - make me feel like my life is REALLY together while I start bawling watching a show about people who can't cook for shit. It was the finale and I was really getting into it - give me a break. (I'm currently watching Chopped and getting anxiety - it's the final, dessert round and I have no idea what I'd make with all that junk. Mostly I don't know what half this stuff is.) Anyway - I got sidetracked again. Food Network, night in, a night cuddling with my fat kitten - loved it. It's nice to have a night in where you don't have to worry about putting make up on, doing your hair, and wearing something cute. Although I did have cute sweats - little penguins hanging out on them :) And as I read earlier this week in regards to hair do's - "ponytails are the sweatpants of hairstyles." Amen to THAT.

To round out my weekend - I got to close up the gym on Sunday night. The usual groups came in, the usual questions asked, and the usuals stayed right up until close. I got a nice compliment from one of our members regarding my weight which put me in a good mood to go home. Looks like this working out really does work - who knew! After a long day at work yesterday, I got to go for ANOTHER shift at the gym. But my night was made after I'd been there a mere hour. One of my favorite members walked in looking freezing cold - makes sense though seeing as the wind was blowing quite nicely and the door was starting to frost over. I asked him if he was blowing away out there (generic weather question to ask everyone who comes in to work out) and his response was "Oh my gosh yes - I feel like that Carrie Underwood song!" Night - MADE. That's sure one way to say it. How fantastic. Even if the rest of my night sucked, that was sure hilarious.

I'd love to write more this evening, however there's a Chopped marathon on Food Network and I can't concentrate on two things at once this evening. So I'll quickly give you a nice quote for the evening... here's a little Bob Marley for you - because you can never go wrong with a little Marley in your life

"Open your eyes, look within. Are you happy with the life you're living?"

A little introspection for you before you head to bed tonight - are you happy with your life? What would you change? Are you willing to make a change to make your life what you really want? That's a rhetorical question... but definitely something to think about. I've done a lot of thinking lately about my life - so I'd like to pay it forward and have you think the same question.

Mind your P's and Q's...

Sara

Wine and Socks

I had an entire post written out, bullet pointed topics and all – and I’m just not feeling it tonight. I know it’s been forever since I’ve written, and usually I can come up with little quips about everything I’d done leading up to the post… and I’m just not feeling it. Maybe it’s because I waited too long and it’s not fresh in my mind, or if I feel like I’d bore you all with all the AWESOMENESS that I’ve completed throughout the last couple weeks. I’ll go with all the awesomeness. Because I’ll be honest – there was a ton of it. Let’s just go with a brief overview:

·         Groundhogs Day Shenanigans

o   Go kart racing at 3 am

o   Dance parties at 3 am

o   Explosion that shook the foundation

o   Man things (ie. Shooting guns and touring beer factories)

o   Cards Against Humanity – we’re all terrible people

·         Coffee and wine dates

o   I have amazing friends

o   I like making new-old friends

o   I love coffee (duh)

o   I love wine (another duh)

·         Birthday Shenanigans

o   SUSHI = one of my new faves

o   Popcorn fights

o   Stripper songs at the bar

o   Dance party at the Beaver Tap (yeesh)

·         Baconfest

o   Too. Much. Bacon.

o   Nap immediately following.

o   You might become a vegetarian for a while.

·         Denim Shenanigans

o   Do I really need to explain this?

o   So much denim, so little time

o   Kelly Kapowski and 90s grunge

And that’s about it. I could go into detail but I think the bullet points help. And with all this ridiculousness I think I’ve made myself sick – so good work me on that. Still feeling a little rough on this Valentine’s Day… but hopefully it will get better. Yes – today is Valentine’s Day, and I am working job number two. Not that worried about it – it was either I sit here writing my blog, or I sit at home clearing out my DVR queue (what a weird word) to make room for more Hoarders and My Strange Addiction. I’d prefer the latter, but it looks like I’ll entertain the rest of you with my hilarity. You’re welcome, world. As a quick sidenote - my mom just stopped by work to drop off my Valentine's Day gift... a bottle of wine and a package of new socks. That's love right there.

It’s been an interesting couple of weeks (see above) but then I’ve also had a lot of new and different conversations during that time as well. Some good, none bad, and some that still have me thinking “what the f.” (I’d swear but I don’t use profanity. Lolz.) As seen above, I love my friends. They are there for me no matter what. They may tell me I’m a dumb ass (that’s not a swear word – it’s a donkey) or tell me to get my shit together (no excuse for that one) but they’re always honest with  me. I’d rather have it that way than sugar coat everything and then be upset when all I’d really wanted is their honest opinions on decisions. Sure – I may not take their advice and I may toss away their opinion… but isn’t that how any conversation goes? Maybe it’s one of those things that you want to hear what you want to hear, but you want to hear what someone else has to say… to see if your opinion is “right.” Does that make sense? The group of people I choose to surround myself with, are people whom I do usually take their advice and opinions to heart. Sometimes it’s hard to hear – but other times it’s exactly what I need. I may have just talked in a complete circle right there……….. but I think it makes sense. A lot of what I get is “I can’t tell you what to do, and I will support you in your decision. Just make sure you think everything all the way through and be careful.” It would be nice to see what the future holds though, wouldn’t it? That way you could see which path you chose and see how it changes your life. Like one of those “choose your own adventure books.” I suppose that’s life though isn’t it? Except you can’t skip ahead to see which ending you’d like the best. You just have to keep making your own choices, and wait for the ending. ß That was quite philosophical – I’m impressed. Also not surprised that I compared life’s journey to a book… go figure.

Speaking of books – and changing topics – I “like” Book Riot on Facebook. It’s super nerdy and super AWESOME because they have everything BOOK on there. They wish authors “happy birthday,” they have “top 10 lists” of anything from the best library scenes to quotes about books, and the best I’ve seen – DIY projects having to do with books. My latest DIY (maybe) that I want to do is make a headboard for my bed – made out of old book covers. I nearly fell over when I saw it. How fantastically PERFECT for me. If I decide against the headboard, I could always do some table decorations or wall décor as well. Basically – I’m having books all over my house – FOREVER.

Quite the random entry tonight… sorry I’m not sorry.

I promise I will try and keep up from now on – and I need to start marking things off the officially, official LIST. Next entry I’ll go through and see what I’ve accomplished in a month and a half and see what I need to do to step up my game.

Now comes that time of the night that we’re all waiting for… the quote. This brought to you by the ever intelligent Emily Dickinson…

“Dwell in possibility…”

The “what-ifs” in life are sometimes the best things.  So – dwell in possibility. See what happens when those “what-ifs” become real.

Love and best dishes… I mean wishes (sorry Paula – didn’t mean to take your line)

Sara