This is how I feel at work.

oh, and this is me learning to use my panoramic camera feature. My cube. And judgmental co-worker.

Fall goals

Hi pretties,

I'm inspired. I'm inspired to make some goals for this Fall. Fall is awesome for a million reasons that I probably don't have to remind you of. And why not make it better by doing some awesome stuff that's gonna make me happy?

This is the blog that inspired me. And these are my goals:

1. Come up with an idea for/Work on a homemade Christmas gift for someone
2. Decorate my bedroom
3. Always be in the middle of a book, or have a next one to read in mind
4. Use the crock pot at least one more time before Thanksgiving
5. Paint my nails, and keep them looking non-ugly

Okay - those are good, right?! It's hard to come up with things like this because I can come up with a million things I want to do all the time, but that's the nice thing about limiting to-do lists to a small number.

My cousin and her friend Ryan were in town for a few days, staying at our apartment. It was such a great time, and it's fun to see Chicago with touristy eyes every now and again. Ryan took this picture from the Hancock building, and I'm going to share it b/c it's just super lovely.


Bye!

Alone time

So, I don't live alone. Never have. HOWEVER, I found many things on this list (32 Embarrassing Things You Do When You Live Alone) to be true of me when I am alone for an extended period of time. Whether it's several hours or weeks, I will certainly acquire some of these habits! I picked some of my personal favorites to share with you ;)

4. Realizing how many meals can be successfully eaten in bed, and not considering the repercussions until you are literally sleeping on a pile of crumbs.

6. Having brief existential crises over how lazy one person can actually get, because it seems like the toe-grabbing thing must be near the top of that category.

9. Beyond just singing in the shower, conducting full-scale operas while washing up with multiple voices, rich instrumentals, and out-of-nowhere guitar solos.

10. Dancing seductively in front of the mirror at length and marveling about how eminently bangable you are.

12. Crying for basically no other reason than it feels really sweet to cry, or maybe you saw something really moving and emotional and profound, like a Snuggle commercial.

13. Getting drunk by yourself whilst browsing the internet and laughing maniacally at your computer screen.

15. Rearranging things in your apartment because you feel that you could always have things placed in a slightly more sensical order, even though it always winds up looking exactly the same.

16. Allowing your eating schedule to become so backwards as to border on the surreal. “Oh, it’s 2:30 AM, time for breakfast! I don’t want to miss the lunch hour at 10 AM, followed by a snack-dinner that stretches on for two hours in the late afternoon.”

23. Remaining in the same pajamas for such an extended period of time that you think the fabric might actually be adhering permanently to your skin.

25. Getting into bouts of cleaning/organizing that seem to put into question your mental health.

26. Having to answer the door when you are in full “hermit” mode and have therefore not seen the business end of a brush or clean shirt in a few days.

30. Constantly thinking of all the magical things you could do with this space you have all to yourself, including painting an accent wall, none of which you ever do.


Haha guess that turned into my top 12 from somebody else's top 32 list. But seriously, I'm not sure I'd come out sane if I live alone for too long.

Snacking

I love food. I really do. I love healthy food, even! The problem is: I'm a bit lazy. I typically don't think far enough in advance to prepare foods, and when I do, I brush it off. This means I typically end up eating crap food, and spending way too much money on snacks/lunches at work.

Well, I'm sorting out ways to remedy this. First things first, I think I need to stock pile a few treats at work. All that takes is one day of motivation to stock up for weeks of snack attacks, I certainly should be able to pull it off. With the help of the internet, my stomach, and my taste buds, I'm compiling a good list of foods to keep at my desk/work fridge:

1. Fruits! (You knew that would make the cut).
2. Veggies! (Fruit's nerdier, better-for-you cousin)
3. Trail mix/nuts
4. String cheese/cheese wedges
5. Cottage cheese
6. Cereal
7. Peanut butter
8. Pretzels/crackers (whole wheat/multi grain)
9. Greek yogurt
10. Bars (Kashi, Luna, etc)
11. Tea (right, right not a food, but it give my mouth something to do when I'm looking to bored eat)
12. Oatmeal
13. Dark chocolate

Hmm, I need to find some frozen treats to keep in the freezer here. Always nice to have something that won't go bad anytime soon.

Getting crafty

The weather's getting cooler. And I'm ready to get crafty. Some things I'd like get checked off my pinterest list ;)



Cutest storage for make up brushes :)



Baskets on the wall in my closet!

Tickets in a frame

Deep picture ledge

I'd like to hang this on a wall somewhere.



Homemade whitening for zee teeth



Majestic.

Saving

If you are like me, and you don't have an unlimited amount of money/jewels/gold egg-laying geese, then you probably like to (need to?) save moolah.

Saving money can be so tricky. I am constantly making budgets, and picking apart my bank statements ("how did we spend $xx at Walgreens?!" is something you'll hear a lot from me). I'm starting to think that for me, saving money doesn't involve micro-managing my finances. I know people who are able to do this, they know that they have a certain amount of money to spend each week on groceries, going out, clothes, etc. and they always hit that number on the nose. Guess what? That doesn't work for everybody. It's clear to me that my attitude on money is equally influenced by my mom and dad. My mom's known for being pretty frugal, and my dad is a bit more "live in the moment" kind of spender. He won't even think twice before taking me and my friends out to a nice dinner that would take me a month (or 2...or 3) to save up for.

I like that my parents are different with money, because I have aspects of both of them. I love to save & find deals, and I also make sure to save enough that I can occasionally splurge. But now I'm interested in ways other than budgeting to save. I would like to share some of my thoughts :)

• Use the freezer! Oh my god, my biggest expense right now is food (going out, ordering in, groceries, buying lunch at work, snacks, etc.) When we cook food and freeze it for later, we save SO MUCH. First of all, we're not wasting food. And second, when we're so lazy that we want to order out...we just scamper to the freezer and re heat whatever concoctions we can find. The freezer is my friend.
• DE-CLUTTER. Staying organized and knowing where things are means using the things you already have and not buying excess. For me, this applies to almost everythings (clothes, medicine, food, makeup, dishes, etc.) I love how good it feels to get rid of things that I don't use anymore. And on the bonus side - if I get rid of a bunch of clothes, I don't feel guilty about adding 1 or 2 new things to my closet :)
• Make a list when shopping - groceries and otherwise. Try really hard not to stray. This is most difficult for me at Target. Sometimes I won't allow myself to walk in certain areas where my will power is lowest. That usually means I don't go anywhere near the clothing section at Target - IT IS MY KRYPTONITE.
• Direct Deposit! I love that my employer allows me to split up my direct deposit into different bank accounts. That way, I can have a certain percentage of all my paychecks automatically go into a secret savings account that I try not to get into. Whenever I am the middle man in a monetary transaction...some of it always gets spent in the process, haha. So it's better to keep me out - which is why I love my auto direct deposit :)

That's all I've got for now - coffee time :D




the continued

As it turns out, I did have a cold when I wrote that last post. And I am still sick. I missed a day and a half of work - and realized it's not very fun to sit at home being sick, even though I am missing work. I think I'd rather be healthy and at work, than bumming around my apartment feeling like poop.

There's something that has really been rubbing me the wrong way lately, and I kind of need to vent. It's the way people are always complaining about the weekend. In that way where people say, "the weekend was so short!" "I can't wait for the weekend!" "this weekend went by way too fast" or "Ugh, it's Monday already" or even worse "It's Sunday already, that means tomorrow is Monday" grumble grumble.

Really, people?! You're only happy 1 or 2 days out of the whole week? How miserable it must be to be you, and THANK YOU for finding a way to complain about each and every day of the week.

Each and every week it's the same cycle at work:
Monday, "ARRGG, It's Monday! Where did the weekend go?! I hate Monday!"
Tuesday, "UUUgghh, this week is going by SO SLOW. It's only TUESDAY!"
Wednesday, "Could this week be dragging any more?! I can't wait til this weekend!"
Thursday, "I hate today, but AT LEAST TOMORROW IS FRIDAY"
Friday, "It's Friday, I'm tired. But hey, it's FRIDAY! I better find something else to bitch about"

I'm not kidding. It's the same thing every week. And I think it was this combination of people complaining at work + people complaining on Facebook + people complaining everywhere else in life that kind of made me re-evaluate my own attitude. I think I was one of those people, "living for the weekend" for a big chunk of my life. I can think of 3 things that helped me get over that: 1. Growing up/coming to terms with the fact that I don't want to be miserable for the majority of my life, 2. Listening to people bitch all the time, and 3. Moving in with my girlfriend. Living with Amanda is awesome, and the fact that we get to hang out/go on adventures whenever we want to makes me excited every day. Yeah yeah, cheesy, but it's true. And it's been really important for me. Even if it's as simple as cooking dinner together and watching a movie on a Tuesday night.

Anyway, it feels good to vent. I underderstant that people get excited about the weekend, and I think that's pretty regular. Of course it's awesome to have a break from work! But really - being miserable for the rest of the week just seems sad. And I'm getting sick of hearing people complain about it.

Rant over.

Happy Friday! (haha)

ideas

I have an ongiong "blog idea" list on my computer. I read so many blogs that get me excited about making mine better, but I never get around to it. I really want to do more food-related stuff on here! I don't cook too often, but enough to have a once a week food post. Plus, I LOVE FOOD BLOGS.

I also really love crafty blogs, and I think I could try to be a bit more crafty.

My brain is fuzzy today - I think I've caught a cold :( Last night I kept waking up from a sore throat. It's been so long since I've been sick, I hope it's just a one day thing! The good news: I have leftover chicken pot pie for lunch today. I can't wait.

today is this day

I have a conglomerate of 6 mosquito bites on my right calf today. Gross. Despite that, it's a good day. I'm starting to get excited for Fall. No a.c. and sleeping with the windows open is one of those little things that makes me love the changing weather. LOVE.

I'm starting to brainstorm cooler weather related adventures, and that's making me feel better about the upcoming winter (shhh). Fires in my mom's back yard , apple picking, dates at cozy hookah bars with a couple glasses of wine, bed & breakfast weekends away from the city (last year's trip was so amazing, we might go back to the same place), lots of movies and blankets and hot tea, making new soups and re-creating old favorites. Everything in the fall has such a cozy feel to it. Plus - I like scarves and jackets a lot. Oh, and football season!! Haha I've got my Goodwill purchased child-sized Bears jersey that needs to be dusted off and strutted around the apartment in.

Paul McCartney and baby love Fall, too!

This Fall/Winter I absolutely want to experiment with some of my crafty Pins!

In news that is exciting to nobody except me: I'm getting an iPhone soon. Eeee! I will finally join the ranks of the yuppies instagraming blurry pictures while ironically listening to Gotye on the red line! Seriously - get ready for me to instagram the shit out of stupid things. I've been going back and forth debating on the iPhone 5 or 4 (first world problems). What it all boils down to is I'd rather get the iPhone 4 as a free upgrade, even though it comes with lame headphones and is a half inch shorter than the 5. Oh well. Any phone is better than my current p.o.s. :)

Let me leave you with a craft I have in mind:

Welcome, September

I'm not even mad that it's September. In my mind August/September/October all kind of blend together as a coming of Fall time. Right now I'm pretty okay with that. Ask me again once winter comes though. Ugh.

Anywho, I spent my long Labor day weekend in southern Illinois with my mom/grandparents/aunt/2cousins. It was fun! A nice way to celebrate the end of Summer. And I was really excited to get home as well. Yesterday I finally spilled the beans to Amanda about her birthday present, she is psyched! As am I of course. This week seems pretty promising overall.

Today! Making shrimp tacos from scratch, and possibly watching The Artist.
Wednesday! I'd really like to cook these vegan burgers that a friend gave me the recipe for. Also, I'm thinking Wednesday is the day we finally talk about decorating our bedroom (we have yet to put up anything on the walls). I also need to sort thru my kazillion amounts of clothes to get rid of a few things.
Thursday! Patrick (an old roommate of Amanda's) is coming over with a few of his home brewed beers. We are going to have a tasting party so he can try our 2 brews as well :)
Friday! Meeting up with Brittny downtown after work. Fun times to be had! Hopefully not over-indulging in any end of the work week activities so that I am in top form for Saturday.
Saturday! Heading to Wisconsin for sky diving and other adventures to celebrate Amanda's bday. Woo!
Sunday! Reeeeeeelaxing :)

I'm really going to do my best to cook this week. Homemade meals are the best. And I just love having leftovers to bring to work. Speaking of which...I'm off to eat some lunch.

A letter (to myself)

Dear Leah,

I'm not going to beat around the bush here - it's time for me to just come out and say it: you're getting a little pudgy. Especially around that middle area. I know you are aware of the situation, and I think now is a great time to take action! You know maybe some exercise, better eating habits, or even just cut back on the smoking/beers. It's time to lose some of those squishy bits.

Love,
Leah


Okay in all seriousness - I need to do something to get healthier!

I really have gotten squishy and I don't like it at all. Someone recommended that I try the "from couch to 5k" plan. Maybe I will! I'd like to be able to run a 5k sometime in October. I think that's a pretty realistic goal, don't you? I wonder if I could get there on 3 workouts a week. Shall we find out?

Saw this picture. Let's find out if it's true ;)

Desktop

I have finally organized the files/folders on my work computer. It was getting out of hand there for a while. I even gave myself a new wallpaper as a reward ;)




Okay this is embarassing I guess.

Dearest internet world

Coming back to work from vacation is difficult. Went to Door County, Wisconsin Saturday morning (early! Left at 7:45 a.m.!) Came back on Tuesday night around 11 pm. Thankfully I've only got to work a short week, but damn....it ain't easy. I knew when I left work last Friday that I would have a ton of stuff to catch up on when I came back, but really I didn't care. You know, with vacation on the brain, haha. But now...OOOOOOhhhhhhh now. My to do list is out of control and I just keep avoiding it all! *cough* writing a blog entry *cough*.

Anywho - I've got myself a somewhat reasonable to do list, and I am posting it here. As a "fun" thing to do! You better believe I'll be checking things off as I go. Yay, list!

11:15-12:15
work! (begin working on scary pile)
12:15-12:45
lunch!
12:45-1:30
donate blood!
1:30-3:00
work! (continue working on scary pile)
3:00-3:15
break! (go to market, pick up supplies for tonight)
3:15-4:15
work! (again...scary pile)
4:15-4:45
plan top secret birthday adventure for Amanda :}

Woo!

Unrelated

Butterflies

Inexplicably, I can't stop smiling today. Despite the fact that I woke up late, and didn't have time to wash my stinky hair. I'm just in a really good mood. Spent the night in the burbs last night with my mom and brother. My littlest baby brother is en route to his new apartment in DC today! He's got himself a nice job lined up, and he seems pretty happy (with a side of nervousness).

In some ways, I feel nostalgic thinking about that feeling I had after graduating college - like the world was at my fingertips (corny, I know). But it's true. And at the same time everything seemed ridiculously far away and unattainable. College really does prepare you for all sorts of scenarios, but it didn't really prepare me on how to get to those scenarios, haha.

Of course, my brother is in a totally different boat than I was. He had his job lined up before he even graduated! How does a senior in college have that much forward thinking?! I know I certainly didn't. When I graduated, I ran away to Australia. As we all do at some point.  I'd had a nasty break up towards the end of my senior year, I had absolutely NO idea of what I wanted to do as far as jobs go. So when a friend asked if I wanted to take a 5 month adventure to Australia with her, of course I said yes! And you know what? It was awesome and unforgettable. There were so many days when I was there that I just appreciated. I appreciated the fact that I was able to be there. I appreciated the people I'd met, and the beautiful things I got to see. I appreciated my dad giving me some frequent flyer miles to take the edge off the cost of the plane ticket. I appreciated the 3 bedroom, penthouse apartment that I shared with 9 people in downtown Sydney. God, I've never felt so appreciative so many consecutive days in a row! It was awesome.

this is how I look when I'm pretending to be brave. and not think about falling to my death.



the view from my Sydney apartment.


I don't know how I went off on that tangent, but anyway, I'm happy for my brother. He's graduated. He's smart as pants. And he's making twice as much as I am in his first job out of college! Haha, none of that surprises me though.

That reminds me, I should probably get back to work now ;)

Oh - the icing on my good morning cake! My lovely girlfriend telling me that my text this morning gave her butterflies. Gah, I love the crap out of that girl.

Weird

Do you ever have days where you just can't get...comfortable? Physically/mentally. I certainly am having a day like that. My littlest heart won't stop racing, and my eyeballs are seeing bright purple lines from staring at computers all morning. My head feels sort of detached and loopy. Maybe it's this heat that's getting to me! I don't know, but I sure don't like it. Perhaps chugging a cup of hot coffee on an empty stomach when it's 100 degrees outside isn't my best idea. Shocking, I know!

Hello

I would like to share a timeline of my day with you. Please read if you are interested.
- Getting ready for work & watching the news: non stop coverage of a runaway dog. Helicopter footage and comentary. No weather or traffic today! (Don't worry, they caught the dog).
- Late to work due to runaway dog coverage
- Newly died hair is a little bit too dark, me thinks.
- ANDY GRIFFITH HAS PASSED AWAY :(
- Cancelled doctor appointment b/c well, I feel fine thank you!
- Found out that we are NOT getting out of work early today, as previously thought. Ef that.

That's all for now. Stay tuned.
Also, I am going to look for recipes for grilled chicken as tomorrow is the 4th of July and grilling seems appropriate.
Bye!

Observations

I'm reading this book at the moment. It's called Cosmic Consciousness, and if I had to sum up what it's about so far I'd say it's about the evolution of consciousness. Basically, the author is suggesting that there's no reason to believe that our consciousness has/is/ever will stop evolving. I think it's super interesting, and I get excited reading it. It is certainly not an quick read - in fact it reads kind of like a philosophy book with lots of "if this means this, then this logically means this, which in turn would imply that this means this!". I'm still at the beginning of the book, and I can't wait to see how I'm feeling once I reach the end.

Anywho - on one of my favorite bloggy sites, I came across this article: Self Absorbed is the New Normal. In some ways it blends in nicely with the book I'm reading. I think that the increased focus on self awareness has brought about a wave of self absorbed, egotistical, close-minded folks. Of course, that's a sweeping generalization, but I do think it's the product of our current culture.

I'm going to the post office at lunch today :\ wish me luck!

Update cupcake

Just kidding about the cupcake. (Sorry!)

Last week's trip: success!! It was wonderful. Somehow the perfect combination of adventures and relaxation was acheived. Friday night after work (and after rush hour died down) we drove to Indianapolis to visit with Sunny. Was a quick visit, but still nice. Saturday: Nashville! So so so much fun, and so exhausting! We wanted to take it all in (especially since Amanda had never been there before), so we saw tons of live music and did lots of exploring of the city. Sunday early afternoon may have been even better, though. We went back downtown and walked around, occasionally stopping to listen to live music and grab a beer/snack. The weather was beautiful, and nothing beats good live music.

Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday morning were spend camping :} It was lovely. We camped out right along the shore of Kentucky lake. Rented some kayaks, hiked, played frisbee, made fires, told scary stories (seriously), and just fucking loved it all. I really need to start putting pictures on facebook, I've gotten so bad at that!

So last week I only worked on Thursday and Friday. I could get used to that, haha. Yesterday, of course, was Chicago pride parade! Mass groups of happy people are always a good time. Mass consumption of alcohol and no water is not a good time. I am feeling the brunt of that decision today. I fell asleep sitting up on the bus this morning, and when the driver made a sudden stop I was not prepared. I fell into the lap of the guy next to me who was playing words with friends on his phone. Yikes! That was the first of many examples today that have demonstrated how tired I am, haha.

Something awesome I'm looking forward to tonight? Watching River Monsters at home, and then going to bed early. Hell yeah.

This:

Health? part 2

Oh my god. Just returned from lunch outside and it is incredible out there. Sun! Warmth! Human smiles aplenty! Today is a day where I drink lemonade at my desk because it tastes like the sun is in my mouth. The beginning of this week was rough (i.e. anxiety, stress, panic attack, me generally being angry and tired all of the time). But no more! I'm not sure what brought on all of the negativity, maybe it was Venus crossing in front of the sun. Yeah, that's probably it.

The coffee shop I frequent is on the first floor of my office building. There are 2 employees - 1 middle aged guy who seems to be the owner, and a very unpleasant 16/17 year old girl. I have never seen either of them smile. Despite the buttheads who work there, I go to this coffee shop nearly every day. And I get the same thing every single time: a medium coffee. Sometimes if I am hungry and rich I will buy a muffin. Anyway, the point of the story is that I am a regular now, and they get my coffee ready for me before I'm even at the front of the line! I love it.

Angsty girl was at the cash register when I arrived this morning, and the woman in front of me in line approaches her. Angsty says, "hello" but never looks up from the register. She is pushing buttons, and seems to be having issues with something. 10 seconds pass and she keeps pushing buttons, never looking up. The woman in line finally says, "I'll have a large coffee please". Angsty says nothing, just pushes buttons. Face: expressionless. The owner man, also behind the counter, is leaning against the wall watching the events transpire. I am embarassed for everyone involved. Finally, owner man walks over and asks the lady, "what do you want?" She says, "a large coffee" and he begins to pour it for her. He hands her the coffee, and reaches in front of angsty girl to push some buttons on the cash register. She says nothing. Without ever looking up, she holds her hand out for payment of the coffee. The woman hands her a credit card. Angsty swipes the credit card and hands it back. SHE NEVER LOOKED AT THE CUSTOMER. NOT ONCE. Like I said, despite the fact that I was in no way involved, I was mortified and embarassed.

My negative feelings subsided when I saw the owner man get my coffee and set it on the counter before I got to the front of the line. Angstly finally looked up, and as soon as she saw me she rang up a medium coffee on the register. I felt pretty cool. But still a little mad at these rude people. How does such an unpleasant pair of people get a job in an industry that thrives on positive customer interactions? I am inspired now to look this place up on Yelp....

*10 minutes later

They are not on Yelp - gah! But I did read all of the reviews of their other locations, haha. Toooootally not a waste of time ;)

Work is calling me. Bye!

Monday

This is the first Monday I've had to work in a while - it's not my favorite. Thanks to NATO and Memorial Day for giving me the last 2 Mondays off work. I suppose the 4 day weeks and the 3 day weekends had to end sometime.

I have a camping trip planned near the end of this month, which has the fixins to be awesome. Heading out on Friday night, staying with friends in Indianapolis, then driving down to Nashville, TN on Saturday for good times and live music. Sunday and Monday camping out near Kentucky Lake! We may stop in southern Illinois to visit my grandparents on our way home Tuesday night. Anyway, I think it sounds like a ball of fun and can't wait for the next 2 weekends to pass :) Though I am nervous about asking my boss for the time off. I have been putting that off. Shh, don't talk about it.

Amanda and I are trying some detox this week. No beers til Friday AND waking up to go for a run on Tuesday and Thursday. Haha, this should be interesting. We both want to be healthier, but we are terrible at acting on it! I see so many people out running in the mornings while I'm on my way to the bus stop, and I've felt so jealous of them. Finally, I realized I didn't need to be jealous anymore because I too could chooise to be a morning runner! Getting out of bed at 5:15 will not be easy, but it's certainly not impossible. As for the no beer rule, I figure that can't hurt, right? Several nights a week when we get home from work, Amanda and I will have a beer. Especially since it's getting warm outside, it's really lovely to have a beer on the balcony and talk for a while. But we don't need the beers, so why waste the money and the calories? We aren't drinking to get drunk, it's just become a bit of a habit. I think the no beer rule will help with the waking early, and the being healthier thing so we're going to give it a shot! Please wish us luck, haha.

Exciting news from yesterday: the baby birds from the nest on our balcony are growing up! One left the nest yesterday afternoon, and the three roomies (Amanda/Molly/Me) eagerly watched from the window as his adults tweeted encouraging words and would occasionally regurgitate food into his mouth. We named him Olivander. I think there are 2 other babies in the nest, so we may see some more "coming of age" action soon.

Okay, I've been putting it off long enough - time to get to work. Bye!

Even though I see this view everyday, it seemed extra nice today :)

It's that time again

End of the work week, it is Friday folks! All week I've been enjoying the weather, and the smell of Summer is slowly creeping in. It will be so refreshing to not wear a jacket (and scarf) to work anymore! And with the tip of Summer on the horizon I can't help but create this seriously lengthy "summer bucket list" in my head. There are just about a million things I want to do this summer, and I really hope I get to them all!

Next week I will start experimenting with working out (at the gym in my office building) during lunch. I know a few people who do this, and I think it's a really great idea. I can always eat my lunch at my desk afterwards AND it might deter me from smoking during the day :) I notice such a big difference in my lung capacity when I walk/run after (or during) smoking. Even this morning-- I chose not to have a cigarette on my walk to the bus stop, and was able to make the quick sprint down the block and across the street so I didn't miss the light. Because of this I caught a bus that I wouldn't have otherwise, and I wasn't late to work! See how that works?!

On Tuesday this week I went to a *free* reading at a bar in my neighborhood. There were 6 or 7 people who read stories about their lives. Some of them were funny, some were a bit more serious, but they were all so interesting. A lot of the stories were about weird or crummy jobs, which I can relate to, haha. Not this one necessarily, but some of my past jobs have been interesting for sure. Anyway, I went to this reading by myself because nobody was available so last minute. It turned out to be really fun to take myself on this little date :) I met a friend, drank a beer, listened to some stories, and had a lovely walk home on a warm night. Apparently this story thing happens on the 2nd Tuesday of every month, so I'd like to check it out again in June!

I'm about to head off to a meeting, but before I do I want to share some of my summer bucket list items with you!
- Go kayaking
- Camping
- Take a road trip
- Go to the beach (a lot)
- Ride my back around Andersonville (and possibly beyond, if I get brave)
- Baseball games!
- 6 flags
- Have some poker nights at our apartment
- Take a class (this one might be a fall thing, we'll see)
- Run a 5K
- Go to free/cheap concerts as much as possible
- Go to lots of neighborhood festivals
- Brew my own beer!

Alrighty, my coffee and I are outtie 9000. Cheers!

Meditation

I've always been intrigued (and intimidated) by the thought of meditation. Maybe it's because I associate introspection with anxiety and impending doom (haha?), but I would like to change that! For this reason I've added meditation to my summer bucket list. I often hear my own inner voice as critical, nagging, and overly analytical. What I'd like to gain from meditation is a more positive relationship with...myself I guess.

I am also very interested in meditation with my Amanda. It seems like it would be an insightful and intimate way to spend time together.

Okay, that is all for now :)

Coffee

I might have an emotional dependency to coffee. Haiku:

Elixir, so brown
I kiss you and consume you
Happy til you're gone.

Oh, hello!

This week flew by. Holy bananas. I love when they do that! After work today I'm heading down to southern Illinois with my mama to hang out with the fam for the weekend. I'm going to meet my cousin's new baby which is pretty exciting. I love babies when you can return them to their owners as needed ;)

I discovered a dive-y mexican restaurant by my apartment yesterday, and picked up some foods for dinner. Guess what? It was delicious. It's safe to assume that I will be a regular there. I'm looking forward to (hopefully) finding more places like this.

I have fallen off the vegan/vegetarian wagon SO SO SO HARD the last few weeks. I tend to have this "all or nothing" attitude about some things, and once I messed up I just went all out. And the silly thing is that I feel so much healthier and better when I don't eat meat, so it doesn't even make sense to start eating it again. I noticed myself looking healthier, and having more energy - even sleeping better, when I cut out animal products. I must do it again!

Sidebar: I can't express how much anger I have for the people who are writing blogs/posting things like this. Ignorance is rampant, and everyone's entitled to their own opinion, but I struggle to sympathize with these kinds of people. Victim mentality isn't flattering on anybody. Someone I am friends with on Facebook is constantly posting these types of ignorant blogs/articles, and it makes me sick. When I think about getting involved in a stupid Facebook discussion with him, this silly (but appropriate) saying goes through my head: Don't wrestle with a pig, because you'll both get dirty - but the pig will like it.

Haha I don't use that saying nearly enough.

over the weekend...

we moved in :) Yes, that's right ladies and gents I am now a resident of Chicago. I have keys, I have an address, and the cable/internet is in my name. Damn, I am a grown ass woman! Haha, that's what I'd like you to believe anyway. Maybe once you see my riding to the bus stop on my razor scooter you'll change your mind.

Moving is such a massive pain in the ass - I do not want to do it again any time soon. Packing is just the tip of the iceberg. And even though I've moved A LOT in my life, none of those moves are really comparable to the time you move out of your parent's house for good.

I can't wait til we are settled into the apartment for good, so we can finally just...breathe and hang out, haha. Molly is really good at decorating which is nice. And it's been fun to go through all of our things to make a very complete kitchen. Ahhh I wish I could just take this whole week off work to hang out at my new home :) But on the other hand I suppose it's keeping me sane to get out of that mess for a while.

I think I got a bit spoiled, as far as work commutes go, when I was staying at Amanda's old apartment. Getting to work was super quick and easy (about 20-30 mins and the bus would drop me off right in front of my building!). So this morning on my first commute to work from Andersonville I was kinda bummed. But then I remembered it was better than coming from the burbs, so that cheered me up ;) I decided to make a map, because I like doing weird things like that to demonstrate my travels to you:

Okay, I'm a nerd. I need to use my powers for good now. Later taters!

Moving in day is OH SO CLOSE!

Ahhhhhh the excitement is building! I can't friggin WAIT to move in to my new apartment! To unpack, decorate, drink beers on the balcony, make dinners in my own kitchen, figure out how to commute to and from work, arrange furniture, put things on the walls, attempt to fix our hideous bathroom!! THE TIME IS COMING.

In light of this, I thought I'd share some pics I took last weekend when we went to go pick up our keys :)

This is the living room, where we will live. There is a fake fireplace with fake wood!

This is a bit of the kitchen. The open door on the right is my  (our) bedroom!

This is Amanda measuring Molly. She is a midget. This is in our "guest bedroom".

Dining room (we will dine in here). 

 I quickly realized that it's so hard to take pictures of an apartment, even though I thought I was far enough back I was really just capturing a very small corner of the rooms. Oh well. You will have to come visit. The bedrooms are rather small, but the other/main living area rooms are pretty nice sized :)

Blorrrrf I'm so excited to move in! Not so excited to pack and physically move things!

Naked

I'm pretty into my beverage this morning, it says Naked on it. It is a really ugly greenish brown color, but it tastes delicious. Hahaha, I just noticed on the bottle it says, "looks weird, tastes amazing". It's true. I think it kinda tastes like mango/apple/pineapple juice. But it has lots of good crap in it, which I like. Spirulina, broccoli, spinach, wheat grass, ginger, banana, kiwi, apples, and even more things than that! Whoop. Jeez, it sounds like I work for them (I don't). I'm just happy with my drink this morning.

In case you forgot, I am a huge nerd

I made this chart to demonstrate how many claims I have to work on at a given time. I use Microsoft Excel a lot so this was only natural. Nerdiness+procrastination=this chart. Now keep in mind, that even if it sometimes looks like I'm not doing anything, I get lots of transfers. So the number will go up (I don't like that).

My a.d.d. has really hit it's stride this afternoon. I mean, this morning was bad enough, but coupled with an extremely full belly, I am just a big stinky blob at the moment. This morning was discouraging with mistakes I made last week biting me in the buns. And unfortunately I can't think of one thing long enough to figure out what to...wait what was I talking about? No, I'm not even kidding. I have a bottle of 5 hour energy in my desk. But what sounds less appealing than that? Probably nothing. And I'd totes go for more coffee if I hadn't just scarfed a 12 inch sandwich from subway into my face. With a bag of chips. *burp*

The good news: I got my sh*t together enough to finally order checks for my new checking account. I've never really had much reason to have checks in the past, but now that I'll be paying rent and bills and other such adult things, IT IS TIME.

I need to zone out now. My brain and body are succumbing to my food coma.

Byyyyyyyeeeeeeee...

Mockingjay

How can I be expected to work when I am 60 pages from finishing the last of the Hunger Games books?!?

The movie is coming out soon, yesssss.

Last night - had the last of my testing for my brain stuff. Head MRI. Worst thing ever. If you've had an MRI before please join my support group. That thing was terrifying, setting off all of my body's natural reactions to panic. The sounds that machine made were like tornado sirens/car alarms/scary alarms blaring in my ears for 45 minutes straight. Not moving. Feeling claustrophobic in a tube where I couldn't have moved even if I'd wanted to.

I counted to 100 so many times. Sometimes I forgot how to count. Sometimes I could feel the magnets pulling on me, did not like that. The only thing that kept me from screaming was knowing they'd just have to start over & do it again from the beginning. When I thought they were almost done, that they HAD to be done, a voice came over this speaker that said, "Okay, we're almost 1/3 of the way done."

I almost lost my shit.

20 minutes later they pulled me out, told me I still couldn't move, and injected some stuff into my arm. A dye I think. And then what happened? THEY PUT ME BACK IN.

Haha oh what a night. When it was all over I was shaking and my eyes were bloodshot, and I cried (just a bit) in my car. It was mostly hyperventilating. I AM SO BRAVE.

Anyway, I slept like a rock last night. So that's good. I am turning 26 in 3 days - whaaaaaat?

Uuuuugly!

Today, I look special.

I am having a "72 hour ambulatory EEG" done (on my head). There are 26 electrodes stuck to my scalp, and 2 heart rate monitors stuck to my back. This means lots of wires. And this also means I get to wear a really sexy fanny pack containing a power source to all the madness, and a recording device. All of this is connected to me all the time. No showering. Limited cell phone use. No chewing gum (wtf). And NO SCRATCHING MY HEAD. Haha that last one is the worst.

To keep all the electrodes in place, my head is wrapped in white bandages and tape. This is very warm and ugly. So to cover all of this I have a winter cap on. My head is a hybrid between a cone head and a smurf hat. The cone shape comes from the amplifier box that they attached under the bandages on top of my head.

I can't wait til Sunday when I can remove this shizzay!

I think it was very brave of me to come to work today. If I feel inclined I might post a picture later, so you can see just how bad I look.

I've been telling people that I've had a brain transplant. Another story I have is that scientists are trying to figure out how to harness my immense intelligence.

Blarf. The real reason is kinda boring and dumb.

I look a bit like this sad child:


...I've been making the same face too...

Happiest animals...ever.

Oh boy, came across this today. And yes, it has made my day today. I strongly recommend checking out these happy animals if you're happy, sad, confused, hungry, or really any other emotion. The captions are pretty spectacular as well. Thanks buzzfeed!

Some of my personal favorites:

Secret To Happiness: Strong sense of self worth. 
Favorite Thing: Looking smug.

Secret To Happiness: Hard work; simple, old-fashioned, American values. 
Favorite Thing: Being a homeowner.

Secret To Happiness: Stopping to smell the roses; stopping to smell everything else. 
Favorite Thing: Smelling things.

Secret To Happiness: Ability to blow water out of nose; having no particular place to be. 
Favorite Thing: Hurrying anyway.

I am insane.

I am seriously insane. Someone needs to crack open my head and fix me because I clearly can't fix myself. Argggg repercussions of my stupid actions leave me feeling uneasy. Today I am a mess, last night I was a HOT mess.

This is the week

No more excuses. This is the week. I SWEAR. This will be the week I file my taxes.

And...well, I don't want to get too ahead of myself here, but I think that next week will be the week I finally crochet something. Yes. I can do that.

Other things on my short-term bucket list?

- use up some of my Groupon's that will be expiring soon! These are fun things, I just keep forgetting to make appointments. Tsk tsk.

- start running again

- upload pictures, and hopefully find my camera sd card :( wherrrrrre is it?

Okay bye - back to work folks.

MetboLISM

Read an article with a few interesting tips for keeping your metabolism up! And I wanted to share some that I think I can work on/incorporate into my life. Since I (unfortunately) spend A LOT of time sitting, I do like to think of ways that I can keep my body busy and somewhat healthy. Here's a few tips that stuck out to me:

- Stay hydrated: drink lots and lots of water!
- Cut back on the after work drinks: the hangover you have next day slows your metabolism waaaaaay down.
- Drink Kombucha, Oolong, and Green teas (I've never had the first 2, but it probably wouldn't kill me to replace coffee with tea every now and again).
- Do more weight training, even light weights
- Get plenty of Vitamins B&C
- Avoid high fructose corn syrup!!!! Ew that stuff really grosses me out.
- Eat spicy foods (not a problem for me, I lurve spicy!)
- Add ginger to some meals - Okay, I'm not crazy about ginger typically, but I think if it were cooked up in some stir fry I could give it a go.

7 Days

The past week has been pretty incredible. I am one very lucky duck. Also, one very busy duck! Things are changing, quickly, but I like it. I am seeing the beauty in staying busy, despite my natural inclination to be a lazy face. In the last 7 days I've gone to hot yoga twice (sore/happy muscles today!), a hockey game (Chicago Wolves vs. Grand Rapids Griffins), apartment hunting twice, spent time at home with my mom, FINALLY tried a new/awesome vegan restaurant with Brittny (Native Foods Cafe), and can't forget this - got the promotion I applied for!

I have been stressin about losing my health insurance when I turn 26. Typically that is the absolute last cutoff date for being a dependent via your parent's insurance provider. With the way this new job at work will work out I will officially be on their payroll March 5. That is only 5 days from turning 26! I do like to cut things close, haha.



Well, it's lunch time. And I really want to be reading The Hunger Games. I just started it last night, and it seems good so far! I can tell already that it will be a super quick, and hopefully interesting read. I will post more about the apartment later, once we've made an official decision!

Baiiiiii

update:

I got the promotion :)
Will give more info later. I am so excited!
Plus, my boss brought us muffins today. Whoop!

Fever!

I had a slight flu situation this weekend. Left work early on Friday, and then stayed in bed for about 21 hours straight. So glad I had a panda to tend to me. I was such a baby, haha. She actually surprised me with her care giving abilities. Even though I felt like crap, at least I had someone tending to all of my needs! Isn't that what we all want when we're sick? Yes. Even if that need is, "I am vomiting in your bed, DON'T LOOK AT ME!"

Anywho, interviewed for a "promotion" at work today. I use the term loosely, because the woman interviewing (my current boss) didn't know if there was a pay increase or not. Weird. It would be AWESOME to get the position though because it would include benefits, and I'd get vacation days. Trying not to get my hopes up too much because I know quite a few people applied...and we're all equally qualified. Unfortunately I think leaving early last Friday, and leaving early last Thursday (dentist) will count against me. Oh well, I guess I'll know for sure tomorrow.

In other news....I might be moving to the city in a couple of weeks! The city as in Chicago ;)Amanda's friend Molly, Amanda, and myself might move into an apartment in Andersonville in April. I am actually really excited! Mainly b/c I love Molly and Amanda A LOT. And I'm ready to unpack my bags somewhere. It's ridiculous going back and forth from Burr Ridge to Lakeview - not really living in one place. I hate it. I just feel so unsettled all the time. I've always said (okay by always I mean like for the past few years) that if I move to Chicago I want to live in Andersonville. So when Molly and Amanda both said that's where they wanted to go I was psyched! I am a bit nervous about moving in with someone I'm dating, but I guess that's to be expected. I practically live with her anyway, and we make it work :) Gotta save them dolla billz now!! (Yikes)

Okay bye :P

Fact: I am working out after work

Yes...please.

  

Sup, bra?

Chello. I'm here.

Tried "power yoga" for the first time EVER last night. Damn...it's difficult! The only experience I've ever had with yoga was in high school gym class. Apparently that didn't prepare me for this. I bought a groupon for 20 yoga classes (only $40!) Probably one of the best Groupon deals I've ever bought. Problem is that it's almost impossible to fit into the schedule b/c there are so many people who are trying to go now.

Anyway, an hour of this yoga and I'm definitely feeling it today. I have NEVER sweat so much at one time as I did last night. They turn up the temperature to around 100 degrees for the whole session. The purpose of this is to open your pores and help your body to detox via sweat. The heat also makes your muscles a little bit more flexible so you can stretch farther with lower risk of pulling something. And since it's so damn hot your heart beats faster, so you get a cardio workout! I'm diggin it.

I felt like I was going to pass out a couple of times, but the nice thing was that everyone was kind of in their own head, so it didn't matter if you needed to just sit or lay for a while. I think I could totally get on board with this yoga thing. An added bonus is that there's also a focus on meditation/relaxation/mind over body thinking.

Thanks for getting me to the gym, Groupon!

Back from Michigan

ThePanda and I went to Michigan this past weekend (maybe I already mentioned that? I've been pretty excited). Stayed at a bed & breakfast in Union Pier, and it as fantastic! It was everything I really wanted it to be, but didn't really expect it to be. You know how you get your hopes up over something and then it kinda lets you down. That's what I thought might happen here, but this was actually a really wonderful weekend.

The "inn" was adorable; we had our own little fire place in the room, there were lots of games in the big living room of the main house. We played checkers and a couple other games. They had fresh baked cookies for us to eat until we exploded. And breakfast both mornings was incredible. Waffles, eggs, coffee, orange juice, hash browns, fruits, and other yums. Of course the hot tub was also a plus :) Pretty splendid sitting outside in the hot Jacuzzi with snow falling around you.

mini fire place in our room @ the b&b. cute deluxe.

We decided to do this lil vacay because of a Living Social deal (kinda like Groupon). And it came with a free dinner out at a restaurant one night, and a free wine tasting! The last morning we were there, we walked down to the beach, which was snowy, but not unpleasant b/c it was a pretty warm day. One things I really liked about this weekend? No tv :)

Thepanda carefully contemplates her next move in giant checkers.

I wish I had my camera on me so I could post more pictures right now, but all I have are my phone pics. I'm still floating on my good mood, I didn't even hate getting up for work this morning. PLUS IT'S ALMOST 60 DEGREES OUTSIDE RIGHT NOW. It's lunch time and you better believe I'm about to get my booty out the door here in a minute.

Groupon sent me another $5 credit to use on one of their Groupon now deals. Thanksssss! Free lunch for Leah!

I'm a happy camper today. Even my crap-tacular co workers can't bum me out.

Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.
-Epicurus

Burpus

Hi my babies,
Don't ask why, but I keep writing all these posts and then not finishing them. Thus, they are forever destined to live in the blogger.com limbo. Maybe not forever, I might jump on it.

You ever have one of those days where things just...start out badly? Like one thing after another keeps going wrong, and before you even have a chance to settle into the day, you already feel drained/destined to be in a crummy mood.

Today is that day for me. I woke up late, rushed around trying to get ready and forgot to do a zillion things at home. While trying to get to the train station, I was stressed to the max...only to discover that the train was running 10 mins late. Forgot my badge to get into my office, forgot breakfast & lunch. And 3 of my coworkers came into work past 8:30, oh but don't worry they'll get paid for being here at 8. Ugh. Irritating.

My love for Liz Lemon is an infinity symbol. 8..sideways.

I need to slip out of this crappy attitude because it's really no fun for me, or anyone in contact with me. What makes me happy at work? Let's see...
- Yummy coffee
- Gchat
- Pinterest
- Snacks
- Buying Groupons
- Doing things that make the time fly by
- Texting with people I like
- Thinking of fun things to do during the next week
- Apartment hunting

Rut Roh

I bought my first...wait for it...full coverage bra this past weekend. Does that mean I am getting old?!? Too much information? Probably. I'm sorry.

Dave & Busters date yesterday ;) So fun! I used my credit card points to get a gift card. Zombie games, Skee ball, pool, basketball, Ms. Pacman, tall beers, and my favorite girl. How friggin lucky am I? <3

Having a 3 day weekend was grrrrrreat! It really did seem so long. I was really lazy during the day, but guess what? IT WAS AWESOME. And you know what? Only 4 days of work this week - whoop whoop!

This post was written in an effort to get my stinky self out of this weird pseudo-Monday-morning funk I am in. Yeah, I'm kind of a grumpus today. What is it about seeing pictures of exes that puts me in such a weird mood?! I'm a strange strange cookie...At least Dwight can give us some answers.

Texas

Today I wrote a poem about Texas. It was therapeutic I guess. The poem doesn't make any sense, really. I had a dream about Texas several months ago. Last night was awful, I would do almost anything to get it out of my head. I'd even write a strange poem about Texas. I'll share it with you:

He hates Texas.

You wouldn't know it to look at him.

There is no bumper sticker on his car,

or flag in his yard.

Only the way he thinks.

And the way he thinks,

is that he hates Texas.

Carl - that is his name.

He has a mother and a father,

they live in Texas.

That's not why he hates it.

He loves his family,

he even has a job!

In Texas.

Yes, Carl lives in Texas.

He lives in Amarillo.

He hates big things,

and he really likes small things.

That's not right in Texas.

One day he walks to his car

after work. Piles himself inside.

The ignition turns, he wonders

what it's like in Vermont this time

of year.

Muscle memory,

checking mirrors and looking for cars.

He sees the car

that will hit him in less than a second.

Metal and glass, his car bends

in a way that was not intended

by the manufacturer.

He is a real live crash test dummy.

His head. Snaps to the side.

And hits that little plastic piece

that connects the seat belt to the car.

Glass is falling all around him,

like snow flakes falling on a nighttime lake.

Carl is not dead. He knows this is bad,

but he can't feel a single thing.

His senses are turned off!

Thank God, because this would hurt.

But then, blood in his mouth

And he can feel every single piece

of glass that is resting on his body,

poking into his body.

And his head.

He knows his head will never be the same.

15 months go by,

and Carl has a scar on his face,

in the shape of Texas.