Geeking Out

Happy Easter everyone! I hope you’ve all been stuffed silly with delicious food and exhausted from family functions. I am for sure – now I get four hours to try and stay awake at the gym while 3 people workout. Yep. Three people currently in the gym right now. I wonder if I lay down in the break room for a while that anyone would notice… I’ll think about it. Oh just kidding – now there are four people here. This could be a rough day. I already finished my book – number 11 on the year – and haven’t fully committed to a new book yet. I’m thinking I need to read a classic… switch it up a bit before my next book club book gets here.

Let’s see – where to begin… ah yes. Week one of D2D4 training. Pretty easy week – three miles on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday and then four miles on Saturday. Well Monday I failed to get up early to get it done – so I was planning on doing it in between work and work. That run was the worst run ever. Seriously – ever. It started out with me getting on the ONE treadmill (I HATE RUNNING ON TREADMILLS) with no hook up for my headphones, as well as my ipod being dead. So I ran in complete silence – other than the hum of the other cardio equipment, rave music barely audible through the speakers, and my own labored breathing. It wasn’t pretty. I did one mile on the treadmill – embarrassing – and then my last two on the elliptical. Not quite the same – I know it, you know it – but I got it done. So yay for me – three miles down for the week! Then I did something stupid – I counted up the total mileage I’d be running for the next 10 weeks, assuming I ran each time I was supposed to. After 10 weeks – including the actual race – total mileage would be 194.4 miles. Kill me now. I ran outside on Thursday and it felt AWESOME. The music helped – fully charged ipods are very helpful – and I felt really good after that three miler. Saturdays are for LSD – long slow days, if you will – so being scheduled for 2 of 3 jobs on Saturday, it was either going to be done bright and early, or later that night. We opted for a 5:30 am 4-mile run around West Des Moines. A quick loop – with good weather and good conversation. Oh and I had a dead ipod. So that’s fun. And it started sprinkling about halfway through, but didn’t feel too bad. Once we were done, I felt good. I didn’t want to die and I wasn’t too sore. So hooray! After runs like that, I don’t hate the fact that I run. On days where I have to run like 26 miles in a week and I have just run 11 – those are the days I’m dreading. But I’ve got  few easy weeks ahead so that’s helpful.

Lots of working this week – double shifts on Monday and Friday (woo hoo 13 hour days) and then another 8 hours on Saturday. Boring boring – blah blah I know. But I have to take a little rest to get into the exciting and fun things!

Book club was Wednesday! I hosted – and it was so fun, as usual. Tuesday night I prepped for it – lots of prep to do. I made Blood Red Sangria – fitting for all the crazy that went along with our book. Pretty easy recipe, I think I still have a glass or so left in the fridge… may need to drink that some night this week. I made some Frosted Animal Cracker Truffles… so delicious. Definitely not the prettiest things ever… but they sure tasted good. Frosted animal crackers, cream cheese frosting, and vanilla almond bark on top. SO GOOD. I’d never made truffles before but I think I’ll make them again. I’ve eaten them when people have used Oreos and loved those – pretty sure you could use about any cookie and make it delish. We had some BBQ Chicken Tortilla Pinwheels too – had those for some leftovers for lunch on Friday – chicken, BBQ sauce, cream cheese and shredded cheese. Easy as pie. Speaking of pie – I should bake one of those… eek. Maybe next weekend… that could be my project. New recipes for lunch and dinner on Saturday, a pie for dessert, and a breakfast meal on Sunday. Now that I said it – I have to do it. It’s out there and people can read it. Now I’m sunk. Looks like I’ll be spending some time on Pinterest later today to find some recipes… woops – just realized I’m totally off topic. Book club. Gone Girl. Friendly chats! Our next book is a mental palate cleanse – Girls in White Dresses. It seems pretty fitting for our lives as of late – friends getting married, having showers, getting engaged, etc. And then the back story of what’s going on with those who are NOT in those positions. I’m pretty excited to start it.

What else this week… ah yes – ran into a couple new/old friends while out on Saturday night. One of those “we used to be friends, then grew up and grew apart, then it’s a small world and now we’re friends again” things. That’s one thing I am really enjoying with my life right now. While still deepening the relationships I have already, I’m also renewing friendships with people whom I haven’t really been friends with for years. It’s great to get out of your comfort zone of your usual group of friends, and make new ones. Plus then you can mix in old friends with new friends, and then everyone has new friends. I know I’ve said this before – but I LOVE my friends. Always there for me – no matter what. No matter which dumb ass thing I’ve decided to do, or which steps I’m taking – they’re behind me one hundred percent. Love you all. Speaking of friends… two of my friends have gotten engaged this week (yes this week – roughly within 48 hours of each other) and I’m very happy for them. With that being said, if my friends call me out of the blue, I’m going to know you’re engaged. It’s so rare to have my phone ring – unless it’s my parents – so I get excited when my phone rings. And then you tell me you’re engaged. Yaaaaaaaaaaay. (I’m holding up my sarcasm sign here.) Not really – I really am super happy for everyone getting engaged and things – but then I also feel like “I like my cat and drink wine. Do I still win at life?” I’m going with yes on that one.

So I hope you’ve all guessed by reading some of these posts, I love books. I love all things books and reading. The quotes that come from them, the feeling of cracking open the binding of a brand new hardcover, the smell (yes, the smell – go to a library, open it up and take a big whiff. That right there is sheer happiness. If you could bottle that into a WallFlower scent I would be in HEAVEN), and the emotion. I love it all. I love decorating with books, I love an organized book shelf, I love libraries. It completely boggles my mind when people say they don’t like to read or they just don’t read. I honestly could not imagine my life without books. If that makes me a geek – so be it. Reading is an escape for me. Some people run, some people shop – I read to escape. If I have a bad day – you can bet your ass my nose is in a book. If I have a great day – I’ll go back to said book to heighten my mood even more. I love thinking like the characters and analyzing the authors. I love TALKING about books. I’m so glad my book club has gotten off the ground – it’s always something I’d wanted to do, and I’m glad it’s finally working out for me. I found a quote on Pinterest (duh) from Simon Pegg that summed up the geek idea pretty well: “Being a geek means never having to play it cool about how much you like something.” Being a geek is so great. I love it.

I forgot one thing I did this week – I watched The Perks of Being a Wallflower. This was our first book club book, and I LOVED the book. So I knew I wanted to see the movie – to see how it held up against the book. I have a rule where I never see the movie before the book, because the book is always better. Except for Nicholas Sparks’ The Lucky One – I watched the movie first so when I read the book I could picture Zac Effron as the lead character :) Back to the movie though – I haven’t really LOVED a movie in a long time. I watch movies for enjoyment, but don’t really feel a strong pull. Sure, I love me a good rom com that brings a tear to my eye – but it’s not one that I will remember forever or will really register with me. This was a different story. I was so caught up in it I couldn’t do anything else. I couldn’t hold a conversation, send a text – nothing. I was so immersed in the story that I was completely numb to the world around me. I was nearly in tears by the end because of how amazing it was. So my quote for the week comes from this book/movie combination. Also – both come HIGHLY recommended from me. Read the book, then watch the movie. And let me know if it registered as strongly with you as it did with me. That’s your assignment, readers. I don’t expect a paper – but your thoughts would be nice :)

“I can see it. This one moment when you know you’re not a sad story. You are alive, and you stand up and see the lights on the buildings and everything that makes you wonder. And you’re listening to that song and that drive with the people you love most in this world. And in this moment I swear, we are infinite.”

I’m nearly in tears rereading this quote – I love it so much. This really is happiness. Everything that matters is where you are and with you – and nothing else matters. We are infinite.

To infinity and beyond,

S

Sunday Funday... Kinda

Once again, the weekend has gone far too quickly. I’m down to my last 3.5 hours of work for the week… until I start again tomorrow for a 13 hour day. Happy Monday to me right? Not. One of these days I’ll have a full weekend where nothing else is going on – it will feel nice to relax and refuel. But this weekend wasn’t it, and next weekend won’t be either. But someday – it will be for real.

So I finally have internet in my apartment! Now I don’t have to sit and waste my 3G on my phone while I sit around on Pinterest looking for recipes and DIY activities – I can do that via my computer J I’ve also been watching some of my shows on Hulu and Netflix – Chopped and Glee. The necessities obviously. Plus the wireless is great so I can sit in bed with my computer and a glass of wine… basically I’m saying this so you’re all jealous. Not that you don’t already do it – I’m just saying. It’s pretty awesome. Once I got my internet all set up I was stoked to go out and pick up a router and an HDMI cord so I could hook my computer up to my TV and watch my shows and movies through the TV. Well as I thought more about it… I realized my two-in-one combo with DVD player and TV is too old to even know what an HDMI hookup is. So. That’s depressing. Something more depressing – buying a new TV. So I’ve got my research and work cut out for me – because I’d rather spend my money on multiple things rather than one big item. I want my bang for my buck, but would rather have it gifted to me. Sooooo if anyone is getting rid of a TV in good shape… let me know J Or just offer up some ideas for where to get me a good TV that I don’t have to pay an arm and a leg for. Mk thanks J

I’m going to admit something here – I’m not really proud of it… but it happens. More than it probably should. This week I threw a temper tantrum. Full out tantrum, like a three year old. No real reason for it either – those are usually how they go too. Back story: I ordered a shelving unit for my bathroom from Amazon so I could get the free 2-day shipping for being a Prime member (don’t let me forget to cancel it so I don’t get billed $80 for having that) and have the shelf here so I could have plenty of time to put it together and organized before the weekend. Apparently I need to sign for the package – so I didn’t get it. My plan was to pick it up after work on Thursday and still have time to put it together. Wrong again. UPS didn’t leave a notice saying they “missed me” so I called all over town trying to figure out where it was. I yelled at an automated system – “I want to know where my package is so I can pick it up” and heard “I’m sorry – I didn’t understand you” from the snarky automated system lady. I didn’t really appreciate it. So rather than putting the rest of my apartment away, I decided to get in bed at 6:30 with leftover dinner, a glass of wine, animal crackers, Toby, and rerun episodes of Glee. So there. I showed life what’s up. Finally received my “missed you” notice from UPS and called Saturday morning to pick it up at the post office. Turns out – UPS has their own office – and I should “probably call their office” (as per the rude man from the post office) to pick it up. I call UPS – they’re only open Monday through Friday. Which is stellar – seeing as it’s Saturday morning. So then I have to get it stopped so it doesn’t try and deliver it to me on Monday when I’m not there (again) and then I’ll pick it up on Tuesday. I’m just annoyed at this point – again. Clearly life didn’t care that I needed to organize my bathroom. Rude. Thanks life – I owe you one.

I also did something very stupid this week. Something I swore I’d NEVER do again. EVER. I signed up for the Dam to Dam 20K. The non-refundable, now-you’re-stuck-with-it race on June 1^st. Awesome. Let’s keep in mind that I really haven’t run since last May – before the last D2D that I had to drop out of on account of my brain had a mild tantrum. So that’s cool. I mean it’s not like I haven’t worked out at all since then, but still. I hate running, I don’t know why I do it – but I am. Plus, another friend of mine – she who shall not be named – has been blogging about her progress training for a half-marathon so I really didn’t want to be a big baby about running. So there you have it. I am an idiot – again – and will be running four days a week for the next 10 weeks. Prepare yourselves for the bitching and moaning that will happen after my long runs. At least this year (hopefully) I won’t have any weddings or bachelorette parties coinciding with the race. Puke. Now I just have to schedule my long, weekend runs with my work schedule and other activities. I’m annoyed already. Training starts tomorrow – 3 miles here I come!

After my semi-productive morning yesterday, followed by a 5 hour shift at job 1 of 3, I had a sushi and wine date with my favorite brunette last night J We tried out a new-ish sushi place (kind of a sketch area… but eh – why not) and drank some moscato while we prepped for our friends’ opening night performance of their new band. The sushi was pretty decent – I think the next time I’ll actually eat in-house so I can pick up on the ambiance of the place. And maybe take in a sake bomb or two J We headed to Jeanie’s Bottle after we’d finished getting ready – and playing with her new ADORABLE black lab puppy… I could have stuck her in my purse and taken her home with me she’s so stinkin cute. We arrived in time to hear most of their opening act – Kick! Who is a great band from a smaller town west of here, made up of 18-19 year olds. They rock. They were so fun to watch – so much energy. Probably because they were just graduating high school and still had enough energy to get crazy like that – if I’d jumped around for an hour I’d be exhausted and need a nap. But they stayed out during our friends’ performance and cheered them on. Our friends’ show was so great – I’m so happy for them to have such a great first show. They covered awesome songs, got us all up and dancing, and made me lose my voice a little. Props to you, Ardmore Road – I’ll be seeing you again J

After a longer night than anticipated, I woke up this morning needing some coffee before our “girls day” full of lunch and pedicures with my mama and sister. I also brought my laundry over because I haven’t figured out exactly where the laundry room is in my building yet… maybe I should figure that out. Plus I didn’t have enough quarters. So there’s that. I got requests for coffee and came home to have everyone up and moving. We had planned to get going by 10 am – well instead we watched at least an hour’s worth of random YouTube videos (sloth crossing the road, multiple “Harlem Shake” videos, puppy GIFs, and Jeff Gordon scaring the crap out of a salesman) and hung out in time to get to the nail salon by noon. And before that we obviously had to watch Anjelah Johnson’s “Beautiful Nail” (just one?) so we’d be prepared for “Tammy” to do our nails and make fun of us. I had minor surgery done on my toe – I don’t know what she was digging for but good lord. Take it down a notch. Then when we were done, they tried to send us out of there wearing those foam flippie floppies. No thanks Tammy – there’s snow on the ground. Not happening. So I risked messing up my new pedicure to put socks and boots on. Wasn’t about to freeze my toes off. I need those to help me run a million miles. Yuck.

The rest of my night – after my work shift – includes finishing my laundry (that my awesome sister is folding for me) and hitting up the grocery store to prep for book club this week. I’ve got an interesting menu (hopefully) for the girls and need to get all my materials so it all works out as planned. Fingers crossed my Suzy Homemaker skillz (yea skillz – watch out Martha Stewart) pull through for me and it’s not all a bust.

I was torn this week on quotes… so I’m going to use both. The first… just something to get you through the day – whether it be a good or bad day. Just remember:

“Life is better when you’re laughing.”

Laugh with friends, laugh at stupid videos, laugh at yourself. Laughter truly is the best medicine.

The second, really does impact how the rest of your day goes. I really hadn’t thought about it like this before, but Volaire is correct:

“The most important decision you make is to be in a good mood.”

No matter what happens during the day – remind yourself that you are going to be in a good mood. The minute you wake up and think “I hate today, today is stupid, I don’t want to do anything” is an awful day. And even the smallest, most insignificant things will piss you off even more. If you started your day off with “I’m going to be in a good mood” and shitty stuff happens to you – you’re just going to let it roll off your shoulders and move on. Holding grudges and not letting things go doesn’t help you at all. Plus it’s going to make everyone around you just as grouchy. And you don’t want to be THAT person who ruins the moods of everyone around them. That sucks. And we all know people who do that. Don’t be that person. Just don’t do it.

The moral of the story today kids – laugh and decide to be in a good mood. The laughter is guaranteed to improve your mood as well… so there you go – two birds with one stone J

In love and laughter,

S

So Much More Room for Activities!

Again – I am SO far behind on this damn thing. But to be fair – I have been really busy. And I know I saw that quite often – but for realz. I’ve been busy. Since my last entry, I have worked, worked, baked some cookies, moved into a new place (WOOP WOOP) and roadtripped to Chicago to see friends for St Pats. So I wasn’t lying when I said I’ve been busy. So the work stuff is boring – but I can definitely talk about all the fun stuff I’ve done J

I baked a batch of cookies a couple weeks ago – on a whim, for no real reason. Other than I wanted to bake something. So I consulted my trusty “Recipes” board on Pinterest to find something to make. I wasn’t feeling cupcakes – so much work. But I figured an easy cookie recipe should do it. I found a recipe for Apple Cider Caramel Cookies. On my pin it said “these taste just like Caramel Apple Suckers!” so I knew that I’d love them. It was a pretty easy recipe, however I had to veer from Super Target to an actual grocery store for the Apple Cider mix. Ah well – I’ll learn someday that Target doesn’t have EVERYTHING you could possibly want. (JK it totally does. And everything you will never need. And stuff that you don’t even know what it is but you buy it anyway.) Anyway – sorry, got sidetracked by Target – story of my life. So these cookies seemed pretty fool proof. There really should be no way I mess these up. Mix the dough, unwrap a caramel, put it in the middle of the dough, roll it into a ball – bake for 20 minutes. Got the cookies in the oven and about halfway through the cook time, I turned the light on to see what they look like. Well they seemed to be spreading more than I had anticipated, and the caramel didn’t look like it had melted. I thought about scrapping the whole deal right then – but I decided to wait it out and see how they looked when they were done. (Cut to 10 minutes later when the timer goes off…) I am actually dreading this moment. But I take them out of the oven, let them cool for a while, taste one – BOOM. Success! They were delicious – and they did taste exactly like caramel apple suckers. Pretty proud of myself on that one. I took them to work the next day and everyone ate them. At least they were out of my possession so I didn’t snarf them down like I’d never eaten before.

Now let’s get to the real exciting stuff – I HAVE MY OWN PLACE TO LIVE! Well I mean I share it with Toby the lion cub, but he doesn’t pay rent or clean so he’s basically worthless. He is a pretty great cuddler though so I’ll give him that. Anyway – my new place is fantastic. It’s a loft-style apartment – basically it’s a glorified studio apartment that actually has a “bedroom.” But it has tall ceilings and visible piping, and it’s so cute. I love it. I moved everything in last weekend and have yet to put it all away. I didn’t realize just how much stuff I had. And I don’t have the storage I had in my last place other than in my closet… so this could be fun. Once I get rid of all the boxes around the place though I think I’ll feel better about it. And once I decorate. Then it will actually feel like someone lives there. And I’ve already had my first glass of wine there so it’s basically home J I’m hosting our book club meeting next week so it can be a mini “housewarming” party with my book lovers. Along with that – I have my own little library. My bookshelf full of books, my comfy chair, and a little table to hold a lamp and a glass of wine or coffee. Don’t even act like you’re not impressed. And I obviously know you’re jealous. Don’t worry – I’ll allow visitors soon J

Speaking of books – and again a little off topic – I finished our book club read today. What a RIDICULOUS book. We read Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn – her 3^rd book I’ve read in 2013 – and it is a complete mind-F. (again – not using profanity like THAT). It was pretty screwed up at the beginning, but as I hit Part 2 – whoa. Ridiculous. I think EVERYONE should read this book – yet another reason why I love “weird” things. And this one is hella weird.

Back to my list of fun things – let’s wrap this up with St Pats. First off – any excuse to head to Chicago is a good excuse. Not even an excuse – just an awesome idea. Chicago is quite possibly my most favorite city EVER. Yes I realize it’s a solid 6 hours away and only in Illinois… but it’s fantastic. The first time I visited was my sophomore year of college. We went in February – and it was miserable outside. I was hungover, it was snowing/raining, and it was cold. I was in no mood to walk Michigan Avenue and check out the sites. But once we hit the city – I was in love. It was gorgeous and ridiculous all at once. I loved it. I didn’t care how cold it was, I didn’t care that my brain was oozing out my ears. I took in all the sites and relished in the wind of the Windy City (see what I did there?) After that quick trip I knew that I’d come back. I visited with my family a couple times since then, and a friend of mine moved out there for a few years so I spent a few long weekends with her. Took in a hockey game, a bar crawl in Wrigleyville, and lots of shopping. And every time I go back – I fall in love with it even more. This trip for St Pats was no different. The best part was I got to see a lot of college friends I hadn’t seen for a while. Friday night we stayed in and had a throwback house party – grilling, card games, beers, shots, late night movie watching – just like the good ol’ days in Ames. Saturday morning we got up and headed to the station to catch the train into the city. After a few brief hiccups (debating on outerwear, the lack of purse space for travel cocktails, a towed vehicle, etc.) we finally made it. The train ride was pretty fun and we were not the most ridiculous looking people on it. That people watching trip was fantastic – I love how people get so into holidays. We did the same – with our temporary neck tattoos and matching “Kiss Me I’m Iowish” shirts. But once we were off the train (and took a potty break) we were off to the Windy City. Again – terrible weather. It was cold and windy, and I didn’t even care. We saw the skyline, the river that had been dyed green, the ass hole drivers, and the street where Batman was filmed. Again – I was in love. Chicago and I will always have a love affair – long distance I’m sure. But still – love. And spending time with my loves there made it even better.

Each time I move toward the closing portion of my blog, it makes me think of Jerry Springer. Yes I watch that show – and I can’t get enough of it. Anyway – the end of his show when he does the Thought of the Day. I hope I provide a little more insight than Jerry, and maybe some entertainment – not quite as much as that one though… but you get the idea. So my words of wisdom today come from an unknown author, but borrowed from The Chive’s website…

“What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it.”

This struck me as important because I’ve had days lately where laying around and doing nothing, feels like something I shouldn’t be doing. But then part of me thinks – why the hell not? A day off, relaxing and reading a book can almost be a better day than one where you’ve packed 11 activities into 24 hours and you can’t really sit down and enjoy any activity. Which brings me to another quip for some “words of wisdom.” After a hard couple weeks at work a couple years ago, I received a gift from a friend of mine to make me happy. It was a sign saying “Do one thing every day that makes you happy.” How perfect. Even if you have a shitty day – work sucks, your car is iced over, you forget your coffee at home – if you can do one thing that day to make you happy (start a new book, write a blog entry, work out, eat some chocolate, talk to a friend, etc.) then you will be much better off. It may not be the happiest day of your life, but if you’re alive and happy – well, then isn’t that what it’s all about?

Don’t worry, be happy…

S

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