QUARTERLY REPORT

When I was writing the year in review, I realized that I was having a pretty hard time remembering what the hell I was up to 12 months ago.  Which may be sign of a bigger problem, but in any case, makes me want to write stuff down more.  Anyway.

So things have been going pretty okay.  The 4-10's schedule has absolutely changed my life.  I feel like I actually get to decompress.  AND do the dishes.

Because of the extended weekends, we are going out to do stuff more often, like just spend the day out and about, go to a movie on Friday night, go out for drinks.  And it's exausting.  But fun.

Also, I went 4 weeks without doing any laundry.  Thank god I have a lot of clothes.  And plenty of underwear.

I've been living by a 'Wear it or GET RID OF IT' policy, and it's helped with the stuffed closet.  Also, lets be honest here, the compliments have been lovely.  I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm shallow like that.  (Hhhheeeeyyyyy.) But now, like NOW people, I'm ready to fill the 'ol closet back up.

I had been wondering how the lifestyle industries were going to react to the new normal that we've all been dealing with.  Apparently, they've decided to only offer things that I lust over and dream of and REALLY REALLY REALLY want to take home.

Well played, merchants of the world, well played indeed.

So the going out to do things bit.  B took me to do Disney 'his way', which involved tasty food and slow walking.  He took me to have coffee at the coffee bar at the Poli, which has a great little 'bar' area looking out at the fountains and the monorail stop. Nice.  Then, a yummers sandwich lunch at the Magic Kingdom, followed by me wanting to kill a small child (or myself at the end of it) so we took tea at the Grand Floridian, and wiled away the afternoon writing a Lifetime Movie of the Week plot for our server's backstory.  Good times.

Been meeting the peeps for drinks, or burgers or even just to shoot the breeze and it's been pretty fun.  

Just a regular Tuesday night.  With a GIANT beer.

Went to Miami for work, managed to make it through without out throwing up, getting a migraine, or both, which is good for me.  There's a first time for everything I guess.

 

 

  Ahhh, Miami.  Pretty people, pretty buildings.  Tried to get the guys to just leave me at Lincoln Road for the day, but more reasonable heads prevailed.

I've been working through some personal goals at work, namely to actually design more and type less.  It's a bit rocky, but good.  And let me tell you drawing a 2 point perspective is NOTHING like riding a bike.  I'm a little really rusty.  But I bought an actual sketchbook, and have managed to actually draw in it (twice), not just take notes.  Baby steps, people.

Been doing a bit of work on the side, as well.  The Winner has a new title, and (officially) her own office now, so I did a bit of a renovation on it.  It turned out lovely, but I just hope it's not so nice that she never comes home...

BEFORE
(Sort of.  Just imagine 2 of these cubicles in the room below.)

 

AFTER
(The people she works with lost their shit a bit over the new digs, and she is no longer on the waiting list for new 'office' furniture.  Her boss said she didn't need it.  We did TOO good of a job.)

In other news, I've been cooking like a fiend, and have finally, 6 weeks into the year, reached a plateau in my desire to put home-cooked food on the table.  We've had pasta and sauce, and homemade pizza 3 times in 3 weeks.  Gouloush is this weeks meal du jour.  The epitome of lazy, but still yum.  I guess that's February for ya.  But I'll be making scratch clam chowder for the first time this evening, so it's not all bad.  We'll see how that goes.

The weather has been just downright stupid, which is why, on March 1st, I'm making homemade soup, and sitting here in the living room with flannel pants, angora socks and a fleece blanket wrapped around my shoulders.  Two mere nights ago, we were enjoying the back porch at Bahama Breeze, and it was not too chilly at all.  What's up with that Mother Nature?  Hmmmm?  Really.  Can we just pick something and stick with it for more than 3 days already.

All of this 'cold' weather has allowed me the joy of purchasing and wearing my new favorite ridiculous at home outfit accessory: leg sweaters.

No I am not kidding. Grey Cable-Knit Thigh-high Socks. FABULOUS I tell ya.

And that's all the news that's fit to print.  Later, gators.

COZY IN MY HOUSE.

I just spent the last hour listening to this, mesmerized:

House on Loon Lake

Absolutely UH.MAY.ZING. Seriously, it's worth listening to, and make sure you listen all the way to the end...WOW.

So it's raining out, I've got the windows open, the house is (relatively) clean, and I'm able to spend the day just relaxing on the couch reading some magazines. And listening to radio shows.

Life is good. Just wanted to share.

ISN'T SHE PRETTY!

Say hello the latest addition to our little family:

She just got her new clothes today, courtesy of StudioJK at Etsy.  Isn't it great!  

I love her so much!  And I love B for getting her for me!  Best. Gift. Ever.

But now my roomates think that I will turn into a hermit and never leave the house.

Like I left the house so much before?  Seriously.  Come on now.  I'm not a partier, and never will be.  I just need some time to myself to shake off 6 months of stress at work and so I don't kill both of you with my bare hands.

So chill.

'STAY-CATION'

Ah, July 2008. The time of the Stay-cation.

Like the rest of the country, we're not going anywhere for our time off. Luckily we live in vactionland and there's lots here to keep us busy.

B is taking the same amount of time off that I am.

We have an agreement of 2 days doing whatever each of us wants to do, seperately. Then we can hang out together for the rest of the week. Otherwise we'd kill each other. Don't be horrified, we just like to keep it real.

So for the next two days, I'm hanging out at the house, taking a bit of a weekend and keeping to myself. So far, it's 2pm and I'm still in bed, watching TV and surfing the internet.

Bliss.

We've both made lists of stuff to get done this week, but I'm not gonna sweat it. I just need to rest and relax and have a good time. Which no matter what's on the aforementioned list, I fully plan on doing.

FREAKED OUT AGAIN!

So I'm going back and tagging all the old posts, and came across the one with the color quiz. And it's accurate as hell, again:

Your Existing Situation
Active, outgoing, and restless. Feels frustrated by the slowness with which events develop along the desired lines. This leads to irritability, changeability, and lack of persistence when pursuing a given objective.

Your Stress Sources
Wants freedom to follow her own convictions and principles, to achieve respect as an individual in her own right. Desires to avail herself of every possible opportunity without having to submit to limitations or restrictions.

Your Restrained Characteristics
Remains emotionally unattached even when involved in a close relationship.

Feels that she is receiving less than her share and that there is no one on whom she can rely for sympathy and understanding. Pent-up emotions and a certain egocentricity make her quick to take offense, but she realizes that she has to make the best of things as they are.

Your Desired Objective
Unwilling to participate and wishes to avoid all forms of stimulation. Has had to put up with too much of a tiring or exhausting nature and now desires protection and noninvolvement

Your Actual Problem
Fears that her independence will be threatened or severely restricted unless she protects herself from outside influence. Does not want to be bothered.

Your Actual Problem #2
The unsatisfied desire to be respected, to stand out from amongst her friends, is causing some anxiety. As a result, normal gregariousness is suppressed and she refuses to allow herself to become involved, or to participate with others in their ordinary activities.

Here's the original post to compare and contrast. Freakin' weird.

HANDMADE HEAVEN

I have become obsessed with ESTY again. Not so much with the selling, but totally with the buying. I've spent lunches the last week just shopping on ETSY. And the vintage stores! GAH! So much goodness.

I think I do so much sourcing and trending and just plain 'ole shopping, that I just get tired of everything that's out there. It all just seems the same anymore. Nothing new or original. It's all LeTired. Somebody actually took the time to craft/ source the stuff on ETSY. And it's mostly one of a kind, which is quite nice.

I highly recommend the Pounce feature. I've clicked it about 357 times in the last 45 minutes.

This all raises a very important question. How to we feel about toilet graphics? Yes? No? Not on your life?

STOOPID TIME CHANGE

No, really...why do we do this? Because it totally sucks.

Needless to say, I am LeTired. I should TOTALLY be sitting on the sofa, about to nod off whilst watching some random-ass documentary on the history channel. I should be wrapped in a blanket with warm fuzzy socks on, about to nod off.

Instead, I'm sitting at my desk, with cold feets, about to nod off.

And it's only Monday. It's only noon on Monday.

Sigh.

Nothing else to report.

MOVING EVER FORWARD, BUT WITH MORE NAPS NOW

It's funny when I go back and read that last post, and then remember what happened shortly after that. I should have seen it coming.

I had myself so stressed out about work and home and work, and especially work and was so exhausted that my body simply decided to stop functioning. I went to the ER at 2am on a Saturday night because I was in so much pain I couldn't sleep. Or sit. Or stand. Or walk. Or think. Me. Going to the hospital. She who hadn't been to the doctor in almost 15years went to the ER. (It's a nice shiny new ER wing. They had flat screen TV's in all the rooms. B was able to watch Sanford and Son's so he was able to stay awake and alert.)

They got me all fixed up after about 4 hours (and 3 g's) but I was too weak to go to work the next Monday.

Which really freaked me out.

I've always had a bit of a physical reaction to stress and environment, but it's never manifested itself into such a drastic form. It really freaked the people out at work, too.

So now, I leave it there, and live in a much sillier world at home. It's officially a house of silly now. It's also a house with fresh flowers, new books and magazines to read, and lot of nice comforting baked goods on the weekends. I try and cook at least once a week, and I'm THIS CLOSE to picking up the embroideries again. There are more afternoon naps on Saturdays. Also, there are more little treats to myself, like make-up and jewelry and organic soda. (And these mad yummy jordan almonds from Fresh Market that I've become addicted to. But thats a post for another time.)

Life's been just as crazy and hectic as it ever has been, but I can't let it bother me any more. And I no longer let those people I am around all day affect my mood. Just because they treat every minute issue with the same level of passion as the important ones doesn't mean that I have to. Or can. I can't LET myself do that anymore, 'cause it's too damn hard to maintain. I choose my battles now. And I laugh more at work. And let the sarcasm fly. And try to just let the world ebb and flow around me, getting my feet wet when I should, and keeping dry when I can.

Life's too short for it to be any other way.

LIFE ROLLS ON - EVEN WHEN I'M TOO TIRED TO NOTICE

The title pretty much says it all. Since the last post, life and work has zoomed by. I'm 29 now.

Too much has happened to sum it all up in a paragraph, but it's been good, and it's been bad. Mostly it's just been.

I'm still trying to hold everything together, and there are times when I accomplish that better than others. Work has been CRAZY and exhausting, and even fun sometimes and it's starting to be rewarding in ways I could never imagine. Next week is my first anniversary, and there were times (even very recently) that I wasn't sure I would make a year. I wish I could share with you all what I've been working on, because I'm hella proud of what we've done.

Life at home has been good and bad and exhausting, much like work. I try more and more each weekend to make it more of a refuge and take the time to just relax and let life be, but sometimes it's just too hard to keep it all together. It's getting better, and since I live with my two best friends it's always a laugh. Well, almost always. Sometimes it's just smelly. (B, I'm looking at you. With love, but still, I'm looking at you.)

Anywayse, I've got a couple of WIFW's lined up and ready to go. Hell, I may even post them one day. (I wouldn't hold my breath, though.) My motto has been lately, "When life gives you really annoying and aggravating lemons, go shopping". And I've been finding some really cool stuff that I know you guys will get a kick out of.

I miss everybody, and wish we could see each other more often. And hey, thanks for all the birthday wishes! I had forgot it was coming up until B asked what I wanted to do. So thanks for the email reminders, phone calls and gifts! (and PS - I got a new email addy so I can check in on my lunch minute hour. Just click on the link to the right...)

Keep a look-out for a new Audiophilia playlist, and some new WIFW posts.

Peace, Love, and Hair Grease! I love you all!!!

YEA VACATION.

This morning, I slept in until 10 o'clock.

Let's have a moment of silence for how awesome that is.

Okay, moment of silence over. Convieniently , I HAVE to take off the next two weeks. Company policy. Isn't that WONDERFUL! (I'm saying that without the slightest bit of sarcasm. It's truly one of the most wonderful things that's ever happened to me.)

Not that I don't like the job. I actually REALLY like the job. And I suppose that late next week, I'll even miss it and the people I work with a little bit. But it's so nice to just be able to see the actual daylight that I just might pass out out of sheer delight.

I went food shopping today, and I plan on cooking up a storm. And baking up a...well, a storm. And getting more than 6 hours of sleep a night. I also plan on driving less than 130 miles a day. Huzzah! Double Huzzah!

I'm going to try and get the ole' homestead put back together as well. They're may even be some new furniture and a new wall color involved. Heck, I might even do some new artwork with my own little hands. We'll see. Like the woman in the pic, I'm sorta happy about having nothing more pressing to do than Hoover the floor occasionally. Sigh.

Happy Christmas everybody!

THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED SINCE MY LAST POST

-We ate some candy and watched some really good horror flicks
-We ate some turkey
-We put up the Christmas tree
-We signed the lease for yet another year, so yea! for having a place to live
-I got the worst migraine of my life while traveling for work, so bad that even a twinge of a headache scares me now
-I read three, count 'em three, actual books that tell a story, not ones with just pictures
-I got the crud, had to call out of work, then was told to leave early from work 'cause I looked scary, then celebrated getting over the crud by giving it to my beloved
-I got a new cell phone, which is disappointing 'cause I only just learned to use the one I've had for the last 2 years
-I saw the pacific, walked down Rodeo, ate: donuts, chicken & waffles, and cioppino, oh, and saw some friends get hitched in Los Angeles
-I WENT TO IKEA, BITCHES
-I put 3000 miles on my car
-I ate ALOT of take-out
-I pseudo-authorized somebody to purchase a certain something
-I voted

It's been a busy six weeks.

TIMES, THEY ARE A CHANGIN' (BACK TO NORMAL)

Well. I'm posting this from my dining room. We've decided to join the future and go wireless. So now, when we've got peeps with wi-fi, we can hook 'em up. Oh, and like work on the internet in the dining room of all places. It's pretty awesome. We're regretting not doing it this way from the start.

We really did it because my sister Rach is now living with us. Which, when I originally said yes to her, I had horriffic flashbacks to when we both lived at home and REALLY didn't get along. shudder

But, you know what? It works. It's actually been sorta fun. It's nice to have another girl around on a constant basis. B just keeps muttering..."Oh God. There's two of them now..." with a look of horror on his face.

He'll get used to it.

In other news, I survived my first yearly corporate presentation at work, and now I can get on with my life. Hopefully things will get back to some semblance of normalacy and my life will consist of more than sleeping, driving and working in a constant 20 hour cycle.

I'm really behind on my custom orders for Etsy, and I feel like a total jerk. The past month has been a rollercoaster what with Rachel moving in and prepping for that damn presentation that I just haven't had the energy to do what I would have liked on these pieces.

I also came across an email (which I had just checked for the first time in like 3 weeks) for a call for entries for a SCAD affliated Small Works show here in O-Town. Due the end of October, and it's being held at a gallery that I've actually been to, so I'm going to try and get a couple more canvases done by then. I've gotten some good ones lined up so we'll see.

I've missed the entire summer. The leaves are already starting to change, and we're getting cooler mornings. And there's so much fun stuff to be done. I love this place in the fall.

Ahhh. It feels good to be back.

TRÈS SOMNOLENT

Tired. Carnky.

Exausted. That is all.

INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT!

I can think of many other things I would like to come across at 5am than a 3" golden lizard on the wall above the terlet in my bathroom. Especially when I am sans culottes and groggy from just waking up.

THANK GOD B was still here. My fearless defender tried talking to the little guy (who presumably had set up a comfy little home for the past week or so, as evidenced by the 'black marks' I have been finding on the walls...), but he just wouldn't listen, so B resorted to the Raid Max.

B kept saying as I was finished getting ready, "Whoa, he's messed up now", "He's freakin' out now!" which makes me a little sad. He finally caught him and took him outside, but I doubt he's still living. Even I was feeling a little heady from the spray.

RIP 'little lizzard'. BUT STAY OUT OF MY HOUSE!

RANDOMNESS IS SOMETIMES CONSIDERED A PATTERN

It has been a LONG, long week. But now it's over and the shopping/eating/sleeping/magazine reading/tv watching can begin. Oh, and I may actually see Bri for more than 1 hour and 45 minutes at a time, which hasn't been happening alot lately.

I think my body has finally adapted to this schedule. It seems to be easier to function at 4:30 in the morning than it did 3 months ago. It's been pretty random lately, though. Sometimes I'll be home by 6 and asleep at 8. Or I'll get home at 7 and can't get to sleep til 10:30. But I still wake up at 4:30. Weird.

Other than work, not much else has been going on. Met up with some more internet buddies last weekend and had a fantastic time as per usual. (ps - Three-year-olds are adorable when they are as intelligent and well spoken as these guys' kids are. When was the last time you heard a kid that age use 'startled' in context? B just charmed the pants off of them. And I got a big heart sticker to take home with me. Cuties.)

Oh, what else. Finally got a new DVD player. Go Target for having the one we wanted in stock. The SATC marathon can resume. Now we just gotta work on getting that new big-ass LCD TV...

Started cooking dinner at home again after a bit of a lapse. I actually don't want to eat out anymore if I don't have to. So I guess that's a good thing? I'm sure it won't last long...

I've got a bunch of pics of stuff I've been lovin' to post, but that'll have to wait till later, 'cause B's Dad dropped off the 2 tapes of recordings of the new season of Deadwood that's begging to be watched. Three cheers for foul language and mealy-mouthed whores!

BLAH BLAH BLAH

Well, now that I've waited a sufficient amount of time between posts, now that no one even checks this page anymore, I can post again.

The sad thing is, I don't have the energy required to post about the magical dinner B and I had at Bistro de Paris on Friday night, or about the fact that B is in fact the silliest shopping buddy a girl could have (case in point: I hold up what I think is a cute jacket, he stops in mid sentence to ask where the rest of the coat is, then goes back to his story. Swoon.)

TRUDGING ALONG

Well. It's been a month now since I've been employed.

And the paycheck has been nice. The creative stimulation and output has been a gift. But the lack of sleep needs to be fixed. I need to get better at leaving it all behind when I leave for the night or the weekend. A couple of nights last week, I didn't get to sleep until almost midnight 'cause I couldn't shut my brain off, and the 4 hours of sleep are leaving me ragged.

BUT. It's nice to actually have a life now. We go out together every Friday night for a drink, which usually melds into dinner. And then I get to go out and do somethng for me on Saturdays. Of course, Sunday = tea, paper, nascar, laundry. And maybe a little internet. Only a little.

Something is still lacking though. On weekdays, I'm usually asleep by 8:30pm wheather I want to be or not. So the week is usually one big long day, with 4 little naps to break it up. There's just no time left over after dinner, and certainly no time in the morning.

I remember Stac and I having a conversation awhile back about having it all, weather it was possible to do. The good job, the good relationship, the nice stuff, the time to enjoy it. B and I seem to be running ourselves ragged just to make sure one of us physcially pays the bills, gets to the grocery store, we find something to eat at night, and the house ends up being a mess all the damn time. Which I completely despise coming home to every night, but I can't really do anything about that. There's just no time.

Everybody keeps asking if we'll move closer to the coast to be closer to the job. The thing is, I don't want to move just to save 40 minutes a day. Wow. When I write it out like that, the drive dosen't seem so bad. I'd only save 40 minutes a day. Hmm. I like where we live, how convienent it is to everything. Just not that convienent to work. I like how nice the apartment and neighborhood are compared to where it would be more convientent to live.

Anyway, we've got to come up with a plan to fix some of this stuff. Maybe we just need a cleaning lady. Or more mojitos. We'll figure it out.

But stay with me. I'm gonna try to make posting and sewing more of a priority. Cause I need it.

WHERE HAVE ALL THE SIGNALS GONE?

Where have all the turn signals gone? Why dosen't anyone use them anymore?

Why is it considered rude to pass a car and only drive 80mph while doing it? (I don't like going over 80 mph. Please don't flash your high beams at me if I'm passing a car at that speed and you don't like it. The speed limit is only 65mph anyway.)

Why is is okay for a semi to drive 50mph in the fast lane?

How is it okay for HP's to drive faster than anybody else?

Why?

In a related note, I'd like to invent a system that automatically makes a blueberry glazed doughnut appear on my dashboard everytime I pay a toll with my Sunpass.

I'm totally serious.

No, really.

TOO MANY CHOICES

So B and I want to start going out to eat again.

We've already re-instigated the fondly remembered 'Friday-Night-Beer-and-Wings-at-an-actual-bar' rule, but I, for one, miss wearing pretty going-out clothes and going out at night. For dinner. And being all rah-sha-sha.

While B misses wearing pretty going-out clothes too (I'm sure), I think he's more into the being served good food and drink by someone other than me. And you know, that whole going out at night thing...

But there are too many restaurants to choose from in this city. And too many of them are good!

Also, I want to actually go to the movie theater and see Art School Confidential. Now to decide Enzian, or AMC. Hmmm. What to do, what to do.

UM, OKAY, NOW WHAT DO I DO

So we've reached the hurry up and wait portion of the program. Went on a second interview on Thursday afternoon and got to know everybody and the company a little bit better. It was really cool. Tres cool. Should know something within the next week or so.

Had a FANTASTIC time in Skevannah over the weekend. Savannah just seemed so small somehow. I guess that means I've finally settled in here, right?

Can't wait till November to see everybody again. Or maybe Halloween? I didn't even think about that...

B's off work until Friday morning, so I expect to see alot of his back as he types away on the interweb. Actually, we're not doing a damn thing, just enjoying being home.