Happy Birthday America!

Happy 4th!

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Friday! Friday! Friday!

Thank goodness it's Friday indeed!

Lots of ups and downs for me this week, (mostly professionally) and I'm looking forward to some time off. Although for me it will just be a regular two day weekend seeing as how I work at the Bookstore on Saturday!

I really enjoyed Amber's post yesterday about Canada Day. I considered doing something similar about the 4th of July but don't feel like I have the mental brain power for it! I will say that I've had the words to You're A Grand Old Flag stuck in my head all week and am kinda proud I still remember all the words! Well...to the chorus at least!

Anybody have fun plans for July 4th? Looking forward to the long weekend?

July

As I was walking to my car this morning, it dawned on me that today is July 1st.

!!!!

Six months of this year are already gone! Flown right past in a blink. At first I was discouraged thinking that this year has been a waste. I've accomplished nothing and wah, wah, wah. The temp job ending is still getting to me obviously :) After about a minute of self-pity, I realized it wasn't as pathetic as I thought.

Do I have a full time, permanent job? No.

Am I now back living at home with my mother? Yes.

Are both of those things pathetic? Kinda....yes.

Even with my life being in a time of setbacks, I feel like I've accomplished a few good things in the first half of the year. Most of them are small like getting my car registration paid for the next two years and buying a year's supply of contacts. In the overall scheme of life those things don't matter. In the day to day that I'm currently battling, they are huge! Two less things I have to think and worry about.

I've also managed to get my life more organized thanks to my new obsession with Huggable Hangers. My closet now only contains clothes that fit me and I wear! I've made at least 2 trips to the Salvation Army and plan on more!

Besides the car registration, I've also had my car inspected and had some work done to it.

I've read 5 books! This actually makes me sad because there was a time where I'd read 5 books in 2 months not 6. I'm making more time to read though so I think this number will start to go up!

Also, I started this blog! It's about a month old now and still going strong! I've pretty much capped out at 11 followers but I'll take them and give them as good a time as possible!

All in all pretty boring stuff but one thing I've learned is that life is about the little stuff. If you can accomplish something that makes your day go smoother then it's a wonderful thing!

Here's to the next six months!

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Odds and Ends

Some random thoughts I've had in my head:

-I love making .41 in change. One of each coin :)

-I never knew what those 13.1/26.2 stickers on cars were about but now I do! Thanks all you bloggers who run marathons and half-marathons!

-I've been very moody the past few days. I don't know exactly where the anger is coming from but the smallest things are setting me off. I'm getting pretty good at

apologizing to Pants for being grouchy.

-I found out on Tuesday that the temp job I've had for the past 3 months, and I thought was going through the end of the summer, is actually ending on July 9th. This hasn't helped my anger and has thrown a little depression into the mix.

-I've been having weird dreams. One night my dreams were starring Kris Kristofferson. Yes, he is the man who starred in A Star Is Born with Babs. This dream also had Lavar Burton and a crazy elevator. Last night my dream had Eric from True Blood. Or maybe it was Alexandar Skarsgard. Not sure...I wasn't being bitten on the neck or anywhere else for that matter so I don't think he was a vampire.

-I recently found DailySquee.com and signed up for their newsletter. Expect tiny cute baby animals more often. Maybe I will make it a thing! Anyway---excited, get it!

-I want to try macarons! Anyone know a good place near D.C. to eat them?

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Traffic

Traffic.

I could go ON and ON and ON and ON and ON and I think you get the point. Living in the suburbs of a large, metro city, I've dealt with traffic my whole life. It takes 20 minutes minimum to get anywhere. Depending on the time of day a trip that would normally take 20 minutes will take and hour and a half. It is life as I know it. Most days I deal just fine.

When I first had the idea for this post it was supposed to be about how traffic is the time I get my best ideas! How an awful, stressful time can give birth to such creativity! Blah blah blah! Well this morning I had to deal with Douchebag in black truck and Obnoxious Bitch in Mustang. I hate traffic! It makes me sweat (no air conditioning). Every radio station is awful. People are rude, inconsiderate jerks! It takes me an hour to get home. Hate!

I'm done.

I really do get an immense amount of ideas during those interminable drives. Too bad I can't do anything about them since texting is illegal. Blergh!

Now back to your regularly scheduled blog.

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My Life in France-Julia Child

Here's a little description from Goodreads:

"In her own words, here is the story of Julia Child's years in France, where she fell in love with French food and found her "true calling." Filled with the black-and-white photographs that her husband Paul loved to take when he was not battling bureaucrats, as well as family snapshots, this memoir is laced with stories about the French character, particularly in the world of food, and the way of life that Julia embraced so whole-heartedly. Above all, she reveals the kind of spirit and determination, the sheer love of cooking, and the drive to share that with her fellow Americans that made her the extraordinary success she became."

This book was an eye-opener for me. I'll admit that I knew little to nothing about Julia Child when I started. Well...as much as you learn from watching Julie and Julia, which I had just done. I have vague memories of watching her on tv as a kid. She always seemed a little oblivious to me but I certainly wasn't of an age to care too much about how to bake bread or casseroles. I know regret that I don't have the chance to watch those episodes again!

This book covers the period of time that Julia and her husband Paul Child spent in France during the late forties and into the fifties and sixties. It's always a delight to me to find out about a person you never though much of and discover how interesting they can be! I thoroughly enjoyed reading about her lust of life and her desire to never take the easy path. She enjoyed the unvarnished version of Paris and hated the big, glossy hotels and houses. She and Paul travelled all over and found such delight in a picnic on the side of the road. I found myself questioning whether I would ever be able to live the same sort of life. With that must zest and endless appetite! I love the fact that she didn't find her true calling until much later in her life. I felt that there is hope for anyone as long as you keep your eyes open to the possibilities around you.

The relationship between Paul and Julia was one of the best parts of the book. They really worked as a team and supported each others passions. All in all this was an extremely pleasant and informative look into the life of someone I previously knew nothing about but I'm glad I finally do. I only wish there were more!

Guest Post

Today I am guest posting over at Becky's blog Love Everyday Life!

I volunteered to guest post AGES and AGES ago but she didn't need my blog until today! I started the post before I officially began my blog. It was a way for me to talk out whether or not I wanted to even go down this road.

I think my choice was obvious ;)

I hope you enjoy it!

Moms

My mom just responded to something I told her by saying, "Well that is magically delicious!"

Moms--good for so many things, especially one-liners ;)

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Blood Drive

You know how we're all supposed to be good people? Try and do things for our fellow man and help others in need. Well I volunteered for something but I'm not so sure it's gonna be pretty.

You see, I volunteered...to give blood. Cue the mwhahahahahahas!

Seriously. I'm not excited about this. It saves lives blah, blah, blah! It's just that needles and I have a history and it's not pretty.

Like most people my age, I've had my wisdom teeth out. I think three if not ALL of the teeth were impacted which basically means they were growing in sideways. The dentist or oral surgeon or whatever said that he HIGHLY recommended I have anaesthesia. They were going to have to drill my teeth into bits to more easily remove them and according to that guy, I wouldn't want to be awake for it. I'd have to agree. So there I am, sitting in the operating chair, minding my own business, just waiting to get a needle and drip hooked to me.

I tell the nurse, "I have bad veins. Whenever I've had to give a blood sample, they can't get the veins to come up." She assures me that that won't be a problem.

"He's a professional! He always gets the vein."

He's slapping and flicking and hitting my arms. Nothing.

Prick one. Prick two. Prick three! I only wish I was talking about guys here!

"Let's switch to your other arm."

Prick four! Pricks five and six!

"I didn't want to have to do this but I'm going to try and use the vein in your wrist or hand. They are much harder to get to but nothing else is working."

At this point I'm crying or holding back tears. Mom had been called into the room to hold my hand. I'm not afraid of needles or blood but I'd been sitting in this chair for a good 30 minutes to an hour while some guy hits my arms and stabs me with a needle. Repeatedly. I'm starting to bruise. I just wanted those damn teeth out!

As you might've guessed the wrist/hand vein didn't work either. At this point I got some hilarious, (at least to me) news. He's gonna write me a prescription for a Valium. Just one. I'm to take it an hour before my new, rescheduled appointment. Apparently it helps plump up your blood vessels. I'm to wear socks and shoes. (I was in flip-flops. The easier to take off when I was drugged up and trying to go to sleep afterwards.) Warm clothes. I'll be the first appointment. They'll turn the heat up in the operating room. Whatever they can to get those blood veins plumped up!

I come back a week or so later. Valium swallowed down and sweatpants on. Prick one...it goes in! It hurts though, it's very uncomfortable. Actually, it really hurts.

"Ok we'll try again!"

Prick two in the other arm. Success! Thank Jesus because I was seriously about to start crying again!

The story pretty much ends there. I had my teeth out, slept for hours on end intermittently being woken up by my mother to take my pain pills. (I had Vicodin that time! I have a story about that too ;).)

My long and winding and winded point is: my veins hate needles. And I'm giving blood tomorrow afternoon.

I just keep telling myself: It saves lives It saves lives It saves lives AND you'll be able to finally find out your blood type!

Wish me luck!

It's the little things

I'm sitting at work in front of my new computer monitor.

"So what?", you may ask. Well not 20 minutes ago I was sitting in front of a behemoth. A monitor so large I felt like I was in 5th grade again. I'd gotten accustomed to it and didn't expect an upgrade. I am just a temp after all and the monitor worked fine. One of the IT guys was upgrading a co-workers computer and walked by and literally said, "Whoa! You need a flat screen!"

So now I have a flat screen. It's glorious! Technology! Win! I feel like I have a second desk, there is so much room now! The screen is bigger too. I find this hilarious since my previous monitor itself was a good foot long but the actual screen was puny. Amazing what a little change can do :) Especially when it's unexpected!

Here's another hydrangea for your weekend! Hopefully I'll have some more of my Netflix Challenge to share with you!

Is it worth it?

Part of the reason I started this blog was because I had been reading other blogs and was so amazed by them and they got all the idea juices flowing in my brain with what I would do I if had my own.

Everything is always better in your head.

In reality I feel like I'm failing on the blog front! I keep finding new blogs and they are so fantastic. Well written with a cohesive style and point of view. Did I mention well written. I always had illusions of grandeur when it came to writing. In my head, (there I go with that pesky head again) I sounded intelligent and had plots and characters and stories! On paper I was long-winded, blabbering on and on with no definitive point. Very discouraging. Writing got lumped into being crafty for me. (see a story about that here.) It was something that I wanted to be good at but wasn't. So why would I decide to start doing something where I have to write everyday?

Maybe I would feel more confident if I had a sort of schtick. I watched Julie and Julia over the weekend, (post coming Friday) and it's really got me thinking. I don't have a purpose with my blog.

I'm not cooking my way through The Art of French Cooking.

I'm not running a marathon.

I'm not renovating my house.

I'm not pregnant.

I'm not planning a wedding.

In short, I'm not doing anything exciting! It's just me. Is that enough for people? I don't plan on quitting, not just yet. It's like Becky and her running. I don't hate blogging. I just need to work myself up to feeling like I'm doing a good job. Whenever you start anything new it's like that, right? You have to start somewhere and if nothing else I'm becoming a more focused person.

Someday I'll have a house to redo.

And be pregnant.

Then have a baby.

Not so sure about the marathon and the wedding.

When all those things happen I'll have the perfect platform to share my experiences with the world!

Whether it cares or not!

Plans

This is so beautiful

Today is Tuesday. I wish is was Thursday. Then I'd have my paycheck and could mark some things off my list. For instance:

-buy more Huggable Hangers

-buy a rake

-buy a shovel

-buy some spraypaint that's formulated for plastic (this goes with the rake/shovel, you'll hear more about this later)

-pay my phone bill :x

-get my car inspected!

-get my oil changed

I'm pretty sure the list could go on but those are the most pressing things. All kind of boring but still...they are on a list! A list people! Which means they must get crossed off! I can't do that until I get paid SO...I wish it was Thursday.

Anyone have a suggestion of the best place to buy a rake/shovel? I know Home Depot, Lowe's, etc but is one place cheaper then another? Also, a good brand or make you prefer? It doesn't need to be fancy but I've never bought any outdoor equipment before! It will be an adventure in lawncare! :)

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Odds and Ends

I've decided to make the Odds and Ends post a recurring one. It will be my chance to cover any little tidbits that need some screen time!

-New layout! Blogger got fancy overnight it seems :) I'm working with a friend to make the blog a little more personalized but I like having the option to spruce it up a bit before then! I hope the layout works. I like the 3 column set-up but feel that now the middle is a little too scrunched :/ Any opinions? I'm sure I'll keep fiddling with it!

-I've recently found quite a few crafty sites and they've inspired me! I don't know what I'll work on next but here are the links so you can check them out for yourself! Once I make a choice, I'll be sure to post all the gory details.

-Dollar Store Crafts

-P.S. I Made This

-Can I just say how ready I am for the weekend? The sad thing is, I don't even look forward to it since I work 6 days a week. (One day at the bookstore and 5 at my temp job.) This weekend I have Sunday off so I'm looking forward to just staying home and not spending any money!

-I am desperate for a good source of pictures! Beautiful, fun, quirky, any and all kinds. I want to make each post a little more interesting and have the darnedest time finding anything good when I do a Google search! You'd think typing in, "child looking at night sky" would get you something good but NO! Any resources would be greatly appreciated and I'll make sure and add photo credits!

This is what I got with 'child looking at night sky'. Not awful just kind science musuemy. Bleh.

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Forgetfulness

I had this whole post started in my head about traffic and time to think, blah blah blah. I was working on it when I realized my direct deposit wasn't showing up.

Cut to me realizing I never submitted my time sheet last week!

You see, I've been working with a temp agency in the hopes of finding a permanent job. They've placed me at a longish term position. It is lasting for 12 weeks and I love it here! I'm required to submit my time sheet electronically every week for the previous weeks work and then I get paid the following Thursday.

The worst part is...I've done this before! I even wrote myself a note to remind me NOT to forget!

Last Friday I had to cover at the front desk so I wasn't at my computer to SEEEE my note. It's nice having consistency and work week in and week out but I HATE having to remember the time sheet! You plan on that money, you count on it being there. You tell people you can help them. Not to mention bills! I'm all out of whack now.

I'm trying to see the silver lining. Next Friday I'll get TWO paychecks! Now I just need to make it through to NEXT Friday.

Oh and don't worry your pretty little heads...that traffic post is still happening!

DIY - Bathroom shelf

A little back story for you. My mother is crafty...or at least she was while I was growing up. And she was one of those crafty types that would've made money off of it if things like Etsy had existed. She is also someone who has control issues with how things need to be done.

For example: We were stenciling flowers onto my bedroom wall and this basically devolved into Mom not liking the practice flowers I did so she stenciled all the flowers herself. That way she knew it was done right, you see! I developed a bit of a complex about things like this. That may sound a little bitter but it's quite funny to me now and I find myself doing those sort of things too. Especially when it comes to making the bed! Pants tries to help out but he doesn't even bother with the bed since he knows I'll just take it all apart and do it myself anyway. I offer up this story to showcase the fact that I am NOT a crafty person. As a kid it was hard for me to care when everything Mom did was so much better. I can't sew or paint very well and don't usually attempt crafty projects.

Well all that changed this weekend! I bought myself a can of glossy white spray paint and got down to business! As previously mentioned, I had a little shelf in my bathroom that was dated and I thought would be an easy update.

Here is where our journey begins:

According to my Mom it's from Home Interiors and was purchased somewhere in the 90's. The bronzed metal finish wasn't the most awful thing I'd ever seen but it most certainly subscribed to a certain design aesthetic that I don't follow.

I started out by ripping some pages out of an old magazine laying around the house. Why yes, yes that IS the issue of US Weekly featuring Sandra Bullock's marital woes. I'm sure she wouldnt've minded me ripping out the pages and spraypainting them ;)

I pretty much just followed the directions on the can. It said to wait a minute between coats but I don't think I was that patient. It supposedly came with some nozzle that could be turned this way and that depending on what you were spraying but I just left it the way it came. From what I could tell, there was pretty good coverage with just a once over but I wanted it to be very white and very glossy so I sprayed it a few times.

Only issue was that everytime I thought I was done and attempted to pick it up to move inside, I would see a new spot that hadn't been hit! With all the scroll-y bits I figured this would happen once but not 3 times! Eventually I just held it by a section that was dry to the touch and went to town on all the parts I couldn't hit before.

Here is the finished product:

Overall I don't know that it made a HUUUUGE difference but it certainly didn't hurt anything. I've already got a couple more projects lined up too! Stay tuned!

Odds and Ends

We'll start out the week with a little update from the weekend, yes? Here goes!

-I set some goals for myself last week and I'm happy to report I accomplished all of them! Stay tuned for a post about my foray into DIY!

-I dropped off 2 trash bags of clothes and a box full of other knickknacks at the Salvation Army before the weekend even started! I also bought some more Huggable Hangers and made Pants clean out his clothes trunk a little...which means we now have two MORE trash bags for the thrift! Ugh, but good :)

-While I wasn't able to get ALL the bags of books out of the house and to the UBS, I managed to haul two of those blue IKEA bags full of books! I think I will take another trip some night this week.

-I also installed SnowLeopard on my computer and am happy to report that everything went off without a hitch! My Magic Mouse now has all the bells and whistles and my computer is as up to date as it can be. Here's hoping it can hold on a few more years for me. We've had a good run so far!

I was very proud of myself for setting goals and then being able to cross each one off the list. In some cases the 'big picture' doesn't need to be quite so BIG. Sometimes cleaning out your closet should be enough.

Also a little update on the second part of my finales post. I finished Castle, Chuck, and Modern Family so all that leaves is the season finale of Glee tomorrow night and I can post! Remember those excited pants I mentioned? They better be washed and ready!

As you can see I had QUITE a full weekend! I even vacuumed and did laundry! Anyone else have such a full weekend?

Update

Just a little update before the start of the weekend! I've already accomplished one of my projects for the week!

-On Wednesday night I took a load to the local Salvation Army store!

-This might be a cheat but Pants took part of the load of books in for trade last night. My plan is to take as much as I can tonight and see if another trip will be needed or not.

-Also I invested in the Mac Box Set in an attempt to update my current OS from Tiger to Snow Leopard. I'll try installing it tonight and see how things go! Hopefully my Magic Mouse will be all that I hope and more!

That means one and a half things can be crossed off the list! Hooray!

I plan on doing my DIY project on Sunday. My friend B is stopping by so that I can lend her the Sookie Stackhouse books by Charlaine Harris that the TV show True Blood is based on. I highly, highly recommend both! The show is MUCH more graphic and takes the story to a different level. I'd say to only watch if you think you have the stomach for it. It's HBO in every sense of the channel.

Also, I bought this ring last night at Forever21...$5.80! I love it! It's almost as big as my finger :)

It's much sparklier in person :)

Perception

Remember when you were a kid and everything seemed enormous? That maple tree went all the way to the sky! The backseat of your parent's car was like a bed! Those hills were as tall as mountains and the size XL shirt was bigger then you could EVER imagine wearing.

Over the weekend I bought some new underwear. Yes, yes TMI! These underwear were the next size up because the last ones just weren't cutting the mustard. I brought them home and took them out of the package and I thought, "No WAY is my behind that gigantic! These will never fit."

Oh butt (<---see what I did there?!) they did! I've really got that much junk in my trunk.

Hills are surmountable.

When I lay in the backseat of the car my legs get all bent up.

The XL underwear aren't so enormous anymore.

Being a grown-up isn't nearly as awe-inspiring as being a kid.

Projects

To keep the motivation from my closet going, I decided to set forth some projects for myself this week!

1) Clear out the bags of books cluttering up our living space.

2) Try out some DIY. I've got a little shelf in our bathroom that has literally been in the house as long as I can remember (and I've lived in this house off and on since 2nd grade!). It needs a little love and I bought a can of glossy, white spray paint this weekend that's calling out to it! I'll take before and afters :) I might just start spray painting everything! Mwhahaha!

3) Take a load to the thrift store. I've already got a pile of stuff I want to donate, it just needs to make it out of the house and into the car.

I'm gonna stop my list there. Much more could be added but I'm hoping to actually accomplish everything by the end of the week!

Improvisation

My best, most dear friend Becky informed me that since this here blog is so new I needed to do a introduction of sorts. Talking about who I am and such. I'm hoping that over time that will come through in the subjects I choose to talk about but I've got a little story that I think gives a snapshot of what my life is right now.

Earlier this afternoon I went up to the kitchen in my Mom's house to make some tea. (Teavana's Weight to Go.) I found her making deviled eggs and immediately regretted my timing. As usually happens when we are in the same room for more then 2 minutes, we started chatting and the next thing I know she asking me to make the vanilla pudding in the box on the counter. Now since she's letting Pants and I, (you'll be hearing about him a lot I'm sure) stay here rent free, I try to do the little she asks of me. Pudding was the least I could do. She was getting ready to go to my brother's townhouse for a cookout and the pudding was part of her master plan.

"How does this sound? I cut the top off the shortcake, make a tunnel for the pudding, put the top back on and cover it in berries?" She says.

I was NOT convinced of the soundness of this plan. Visions of soggy shortcake filled my head but I was game if she was! The top of the cake was also not convinced of the soundness of this plan and promptly fell apart as soon as she started cutting. The pudding tunnel was on Team Cake Top and didn't co-operate either. We ended up with a plate full of shortcake chunks.

"Make a trifle!" I say.

"What's a trifle?" she says.

Trifle

Down went the shortcake. Then the pudding with cut-up strawberries mixed in. Then blueberries. More shortcake. Cool Whip topping with more strawberries and blueberries. We ended up with this:

According to Mom it's "Very Happy Birthday America! Like those flag cakes from Family Circle only ours is better. It's very modernist...like Andy Warhol!"

Improvising. When the master plan doesn't work out, what can you do with what you've got. That is my day to day right now. Taking it as it comes, using what I've got to try and make a happy life.

Maybe along the way I end up with an Andy Warhol flag cake...life could certainly be worse :)