I am behind. I know I need to write about my Seattle adventures (including a bona fide celebrity spotting, followed immediately by actually chatting with said celebrity–I KNOW!) and there are a couple of other Big Things I’d like to discuss.
However, this morning I am just thrilled and excited that I am now officially working full time! Huzzah!
I never thought I’d be so excited to wake up at 6:45 am.
(And yes, I do realize that the jerking around from full-time employee, to laid off, to part-time employee, and now back to full-time in less than three weeks is, well, jerky. And frustrating. I realize that, but today I’m just excited that I’m working.)
What is fantastic about your Thursday?
xox
Filed under: All about me
There is one good thing about being dropped down to working part time. I can still work a “full week” and go on vacation. Handsome is taking me up to Seattle and I can’t tell you how excited I am.
(Hint: SUPER excited)
I have a good-sized list of things I want to see and do and I’ll be sure to take lots of pics, like always. Hope you have a fantastic weekend!
Do you have those days? You know, the really hard ones where nothing seems to be going right and everything is a mess and you’re one, big, spectacular failure? I have them in spades.
I hope someday somebody wants to hold you for 20 minutes straight and that’s all they do. They don’t pull away. They don’t look at your face. They don’t try to kiss you. All they do is wrap you up in their arms and hold on tight, without an ounce of selfishness in it.
I’ve been trying not to eat my feelings, so I decided to watch a movie about pie instead of actually make–and then devour–pie. It helped, I guess. I didn’t polish off a Failure Cream Pie and a Quasi-Unemployed Rhubarb Pie…but now I am dying to try something with an oatmeal-brown sugar crust.
And I still need a hug.
After yesterday’s post questioning and attempting to define Love, I had several concerned emails and texts wondering if everything is okay.
Things are okay with Handsome & I. Sure, I’d love to understand him better, to understand me better, and to understand us and how we fit together more fully, but that wasn’t necessarily what prompted me to write about love.
My little sister got married yesterday; Liesl is only 18 months younger than me and one of my favorite people on the planet. I am thrilled for Liesl and her new husband; the ceremony was simple and sweet and the entire day’s events were centered around their commitments to each other. It was beautiful.
All my siblings are now married, and many of them had insanely short courtships…and I really would like to understand how they got from where I am (dating) to where they are (married) so quickly. I really cannot fathom the kind of love they found so quickly with their now-spouses. I love my sib-in-laws, they are fantastic and I am thrilled they are part of my family. But, despite having an identical twin, this is one of those cases where I am convinced I must be adopted. My brothers and sisters all “get” something, and have gotten it for several years now, that I just…I just don’t.
And like so many sage wisdom seekers who have gone before me, when I don’t “get” something I ask the Internet.
**We have a family tradition to wear black to all major functions, including weddings. It’s classy, and easy, and I never mind the excuse to buy another lovely black dress I know I’ll wear again and again. Because we all match each other, and are typically the only people who show up in head-to-toe black, we look like a wedding party without having to don pouffy pink silk or teal taffeta. And due to the overabundance of blonde hair and fair skin, very few people would mistake us for Mafia wedding crashers.
Filed under: Love 101
Is there such a thing as true love? Or is that for the fairy tales–stories of armored knights and beautiful maidens with impractical outfits?
Is there such a thing as love at first sight? Does that exist anymore? Does that lust love at first sight last longer than the tabloid papers deem it “newsworthy”?
What about soul mates? Is there really such a thing as someone who compliments you to completion? Or is that for Hollywood and bad romance fiction writers.
Where does real love actually exist? Or doesn’t it?
Admittedly, I am biased and jaded when it comes to love. I don’t believe in a “one true love”. I think love at first sight is just hormones–or indigestion–and it shouldn’t surprise a single one of you that my only sole mate has a 4″ stiletto heel.
I don’t think that two people can fall hopelessly, romantically, deeply and irrationally in love. Mmm, perhaps that is a mis-statement. I don’t think I can fall hopelessly, romantically, deeply and irrationally in love. I’m not so big on falling. I am not saying that you are not completely forever in love with your spouse, or your significant other, or your child, or your pet, or whatever. I have a difficult time arguing about love because it is so deeply personal.
For me, love is a process; a messy, inconsistent, lengthy, scary, definitively undefinable process. Sometimes it is hard, an actual struggle. Sometimes I have to sit myself down and have a little internal argument about why I should or should not care about this person or that person. I wish I could say this is a rare occurrence, but really it’s more a personality clash and a responsibility thing that continues to lollygag about in my “should” folder. I don’t think I can explain it better than that. Sometimes love is easy-peasy; like with happy babies and puppies and fictional men. Most of the time, however, love is somewhere in-between. You have your easy-peasy days, and a couple of hard days all mixed up on an emotional ferris wheel–slow and steady–or one of those cork-screw roller coasters that is fantastically exciting but sometimes leaves you with a bit of throw-up in your mouth.
What am I getting at…I don’t know. I’m just trying to understand. True Love…what does that even mean? To me, there is only one kind of love that is worth it’s weight in Belgian chocolate–the good kind, not that Nabisco knock-off crap–unconditional love seems so omniscient and far-reaching, it’s the nirvana of love ascension. Unconditional love is Gandhi and Mother Teresa and Jesus Christ and Barney (cue lightening for lumping the annoying purple dinosaur in with Mother Teresa, et al), unconditional love is something that seems so completely effortless.
Here’s the kicker: I think unconditional love is kind of a bitch. It’s inconvenient and painful and requires an inordinate amount of patience and compromise and “not sweating the small stuff” and all those good qualities that are so impossible to master without complaint or full blown mutiny. It is not effortless. It doesn’t necessarily come naturally, either. Unconditional love is a choice, a daily choice. It is not a fairy tale, or a Hollywood movie, or a cheesy novel–it is an infinite commitment. It is knowing that the person you are choosing to love will make mistakes, they will say and do things that cause pain–sometimes to colossal extent–and sometimes it will be on purpose, and even when all that happens again and again, you still choose to love them.
Choosing to love someone regardless of circumstance or other uncontrollable factors has got to be the scariest decision I’ve ever made. What if they don’t love you back? Or, gulp, what if they do? Then what? Is your relationship suddenly all sparkles and unicorns and puffy pink hearts? Or is it still a choice you both have to make every single day?
Which is harder; loving someone unconditionally, or loving them forever? Which is more important?
And when will Jodi Picoult or Nora Roberts write a bad novel on the subject that will be made into an even worse movie so we can finally understand how this is supposed to work.
This weekend I saw a moose. No, that’s actually not correct. This weekend, I saw three mooses, meece, moosen, moose…a Momma Moose and her two baby Moosen.
Momma Moose was perhaps 20 feet off the road the first time I saw her–I’ve never seen a Moose before and I actually thought it was a deer when we first drove past. But logic quickly took over and told me deer are not dark blackish-brown. Must have been a mule. Wait. A Mule? Like, a donkey? No, it wasn’t a mule. Suddenly, it dawned on me that this was my first moose siting. I actually squealed!
“MOOSEN! It’s a MOOSEN!” (If you have ever heard the Brian Regan skit about school and “moosen” you’ll understand where this came from.)
Momma Moose was very careful to keep her two babies hidden from view–they were small and light brown and quite cute. Like an idiot, I made Handsome slow down so I could take a few pictures. Clearly, this is not the best idea whilst there is a Momma Moose with a couple of baby Moosen around. I don’t have any crazy Moose-attack stories, thank heavens, but I’m still excited about my Moose siting.
***** ***** *****
I also went to a Monastery over the weekend–I didn’t even know there was a monastery in Utah.
Tucked away in northern Utah, 20 minutes off of state route 167 in Huntsville these monks work and pray and chant and make creamed honey and delicious jam. I’m sure they do more than that–but in my short visit that was all I experienced. I took quite a few pictures here–but I somehow feel funny posting them all over the internet.
I browsed the bookstore and picked up some of their famous honey, listened to their chanting in the church, and was generally impressed by their very dedicated way of life.
***** ***** *****
I went mountain biking for the first time on Saturday and I have the palm-sized bruise on my calf to prove it. This was the result of my flying head-over-handle bars and simultaneously catching my left calf on something pokey–like a spoke or a chain do-hickey or something.
By Sunday afternoon I was still sore and the bruise was blossoming into something quite nasty-looking, I will refrain from posting pictures because they even creep me out. Today my purpley-black bruise is considerably lightened and not nearly so painful due to some home-remedy action. Vinegar, the wonder-drug. Yesterday afternoon I soaked a small washcloth in white distilled vinegar and held it in place on my calf with a few layers of plastic wrap. It smelled badly, but after a few hours my bruise looked much much better. Vinegar…who knew?
The last twenty-four hours have been a crazy roller-coaster for me. CrAzY! (Not the craziest twenty-four hours of my life, but even so, it’s been nuts.)
In the last twenty-four hours
- I have been laid off from my 3-week-old job due to massive budget cuts.
- I have scheduled two interviews with companies who have expressed interest in me in the last few months.
- I have been hired on part-time until the middle of July with–get this–the same company that laid me off.
- That’s right, you heard me. I was laid off at 8:00 am, and re-hired at 4:30 pm.
- Somewhere in the middle there, in a fit of “what on earth am I going to do!” I completely re-did my dining room for under $12.00.
- My dining room is now bright orange, sunshine yellow and hot pink.
- My only purchases were a can of yellow spray paint, a roll of pink polka-dot ribbon, $5.00 in fresh daisies and a 6-pack of hot pink pansies.
- I am still shocked at how many items I had floating around my apartment in bright orange, sunshine yellow and hot pink.
- I am also shocked at how many different types of bright-colored fabric I had in my stash. We’re talking new white and orange polka-dot table-runner, pink retro-ish print centerpiece fabric, stripey fabric for chair cushions and a few other scraps that have been taped inside frames or stapled around artist canvases.
- I kind of love it.
Bright orange, hot pink, and sunshine yellow are somehow calming to me in the 9-5 crazy-storm I’m somehow in the middle of again. I don’t think I’ll keep it forever–but for $12.00 it has been a fantastic distraction.
Filed under: New Hobby
It has been a month or two since I completed my chalkboard-message center and hung it on the wall in the kitchen. I can hardly believe how much I have used that thing! I keep a running grocery shopping list all week in one, easy-to-see place instead of the 5-million post-its, multiple envelopes and bits of scrap paper system I had been using previously.
In my kitchen–like many of yours–counter space is at a premium. The 24-inch space in between the refrigerator and the stove is my primary work station and it fills up quickly with mixing bowls, flour and sugar bins, and a cutting board. My recipe box has a slot on the top to keep a recipe card standing at attention, ready to be referred to…however due to lack of counter-space I rarely take advantage of this super-high-tech feature. More often than not I prop the recipe card on the top of the sugar bin, or nestle it among the basket of fresh fruit; and undoubtedly it slips and I pick it up with grimy fingers, leaving smudges.
You can see where this is going, right?
In the comments of my chalkboard tutorial, many of you asked if you could make a magnetic chalkboard. I am pleased to announce that yes, you can. However, because I already had a large swath of chalkboard in my kitchen, I opted to simply make a magnetic message board instead. This project has been completed and hung above my primary work station for a little more than a week and I am shocked at how much I use this already! Whip It Up–I’m totally ready for you!
I am asking forgiveness in advance, I didn’t take a single photo until the whole thing was done, don’t be mad, ok? I will still give you detailed step-by-step instructions so you can replicate and reap the benefits of a giant, shiny-magnetic recipe holder.
How to make a magnetic message center:
Materials Needed:
- Sturdy wooden tray, in a large-ish size (mine is about 14″ x 24″)
- Spray paint in your color of choice, spray primer, sandpaper
- Piece of sheet metal, cut 1/4″ smaller than tray bottom
- 1/4″ – 1/2″ ribbon
- Tacky glue
- Heavy books, weights, etc.
- Picture hanger, nails, hammer
- Magnets
Step 1: Scour thrift stores or craft stores to find a large-ish wooden tray.
Step 2: Measure the inside of the bottom of the tray and subtract 1/4″ on both the width and length. Memorize these measurements (or, ya know, write them down). Go to your home improvement center of choice and find the aisle with the steel sheet metal. This comes in a variety of sizes, finishes and textures. You will want the smallest piece that fits your measurements in a smooth finish.
Step 3: If you have tin-snips, you can take this home and snip away. If not, track down a helpful employee and ask if they will cut the metal to your specifications. (This is easier when you go on a slow, weekday evening as opposed to say, a Saturday morning.)
Step 4: Sand down the tray, removing any excess paint or schmutz. Wipe away the residue with a clean cloth.
Step 5: Prime the wood with a spray primer, I used Krylon Primer in gray, and wait for it to dry. You don’t need to paint the bottom of the tray, it will be covered with the piece of steel.
Step 6: Spray paint the tray in your color of choice, let dry for a few minutes and add a second coat. (Follow the instructions on the can of paint.) I chose the same fire-engine red I used on my chalkboard, seeing as how they’re in the same room I didn’t want them to clash.
Step 7: After the paint is completely dry, you need to carefully spread copious amounts of glue on one side of the piece of steel. Spread it around with your fingers or a paintbrush. Let sit a minute or two until it’s tacky and carefully position it on the bottom of your tray, pressing really hard to keep it flat.
Step 8: Stack as much heavy stuff as possible onto the tray to keep the steel flat and air-bubble-free while it’s drying. I used a bunch of outdated magazines, and heavy books on top of that (don’t want to get tacky glue on my beautiful hardbacks!) and even a couple of 5-pound dumbells. Let dry overnight.
Step 9: Measure and trim the ribbon to cover the seam between the edge of the tray and the edge of the stainless steel. Miter the corners by snipping the ribbon at a 45-degree angle for a cleaner finish. Use hot glue or tacky glue to glue it into place, you may also need to stack heavy items on top of this to prevent puckering or bubbling.
Step 10: After everything is completely dry, you need to screw a picture hanger on the back of the tray, making sure it’s centered. I also used a couple of spare rubber sticker-feet that are used to prevent cabinets from slamming shut to buffer the bright red tray from my beige-ish wall.
Step 11: Fill this baby up with the recipes you want to try this week and be amazed at how your tray-slash-recipe-holder-slash-message-center will become indispensable overnight! (The hibiscus flower is a magnet that I picked up on my last trip to Hawaii. You could definitely paint or even decoupage some kind of ornamentation onto the stainless steel if you wanted to.)
Adding up the receipts:
- Tray: $2.00
- Paint & Primer: about $1.50 (left over from another project)
- Sheet metal: $5.47
- Ribbon: $0.97
- Mini Magnets: $1.37
Total Cost: $11.41
Last year, about this time, I could count the times I had cooked a “real” meal on approximately seven fingers. I hated cooking and felt I was terrible at it. And then came Whip It Up–a recipe challenge that I absolutely fell in love with. I tried several new recipies, learned a ton about cooking, baking, and grocery shopping and now feel completely confident in the kitchen. I even busted out my KitchenAid Mixer, which, I’m sorry to say, had been sitting in it’s box for over five years. I know. You may shun me. Last year’s Whip It Up recipe’s included:
- Salsa Padre
- Lemon Madeleines
- Apple Pie
- Tin Foil Dinners (over a camp fire, no less)
- Roasted Potatoes with Artichoke Hearts
- Lemon Bars
- Garlic-Lime Chicken with Cafe Rio’s Cilantro Rice
- Aloha Sweet-n-Sour Chicken with Coconut Rice
- Key Lime Pie-Cakes (one of my all-time favorite desserts)
- Cafe Rio’s Pork Barbacoa Salad with Tomatillo Dressing
I feel like I have moved up in the cooking world. I have a cooking blog that I *try* to update on a semi-regular basis. I take pictures of every recipe I try–even the bad ones. (I am made fun of this all the time, I got over it.) I am currently reading Julia Child’s book, “My Life in France“, and absolutely loving how she talks about cooking and food. And over the weekend I saw a preview for the upcoming movie “Julie & Julia” which is about, Julie, a regular non-cook who decides to cook her way through Julia Child’s recipe book. Oh my goodness, I am so incredibly excited for this! I might have peed a little during the preview. Seriously. (Shhh, don’t tell anyone.)
At any rate, blogs and books and new movies aside, Whip It Up is back this summer and I for one can’t WAIT to get started! If you want to participate–and I highly recommend that you do–simply email your URL and your intent to whip to whippingitup[at]gmail[dot]com and you’ll be all set!
Millions of thank-you’s in advance to Erin and Julie, this year’s fearless Whip It Up hosts!
Filed under: Nine to Five
It has officially been over two weeks at my new job and I can hardly explain how much I love it. This, of course, is in direct proportion to how much I hated-slash-was miserable at my previous job.
New Job is in a completely new industry, and I am FINALLY out of sales!
Let me take a moment to let that sink in.
I. Am. No Longer. In Sales.
Now, if you’ll excuse me I need to do yet another happy dance because managing to graduate out of the “Sales Monkey / Sales Drone” job title is, by far, the most important thing I’ve done for my career in several years.
I could go on and on about how my new position is both challenging and rewarding, with a variety of tasks and responsibilities and the promise of a raise at the end of the month. I know. I could go on and on about how a work week has never gone so fast, but instead I’ll just leave you with a quick before and after that should explain everything.
This is my old office. I wish I was kidding or exaggerating, but I worked in under these conditions for weeks and weeks. Ugh, I really don’t miss this place.
This is my new office, an office with a door that locks and two fancy desks (you can’t see the other) and a storage closet. I have a giant dual-screen capability, a fancy wireless headset for my phone and full reign to decorate as I please. I’m a little curious how the mustard-yellow and purple combo will work out with any kind of decor–thoughts? Suggestions? I haven’t had an office of my own in several years, and now I don’t feel like I am qualified to decorate my new space. I really do need help here. I can use a staple-gun like nobody’s business, but when it comes to cosmetic additions….um, I’m lost. Please help!
**Ok, for any of you keeping track, this is perhaps my fourth job in the last two-and-a-half years. Believe me, I’m aware. Please just be excited for me and let me deal with explaining the constant job-hopping to head hunters and interviewers, mmmkay?
