I am 27 whole years old. My nephew is officially 2 and a half years old. His birthday is February 28th which means my birthday is his half birthday and his birthday is my half birthday. And you know what? He's going to think that's cool in the same way I do when he gets a little older. My niece will probably roll her eyes every time either of us mention it, but that's cool. I never realized I could love two people the same amount but in such different ways.
Anyway.
I love my birthday. I like to do as many things as possible in the name of my birthday and this year has been fantastic so far. My sister took me out to dinner on Sunday night. My favorite nurse baked an apple pie in honor of my birthday and brought it yesterday. I've gotten a bunch of emails and myspace comments wishing me a happy day. K and I went to Coldstone before I had to go to class and he had to go to work (hint: go to www.coldstonecreamery.com and sign up for their club thing and you get a coupon for a free medium sized ice cream during your birthday month). I went to my first class and I think I am really going to like it. In any case, it feels amazing to be back in school. I'm so excited that my teacher said we need to read the newspaper and watch or listen to the news every day because now I have a real reason and get to participate in discussions with a wide variety of people. Later on K and I are going out for some Indian food.
So I've been thinking about some stuff I want to work on, and here's my rough list of goals. I want to make some of them a little more specific, but I think this is a pretty good list:
-set up an apartment cleaning schedule to make it more of a habit
-only eat out occassionaly
-weekly bubble baths
-weekly journal entries
-find one new cool place in San Antonio a month (make a list of some places to find too)
-eat healthier
-work out 3 times a week
-try one new recipe a week
-set up automatic deposit into separate savings account
-take one trip by myself
-take one trip with K
-have people over six times during the year (movie nights or something)
-organize my closet
-revamp my blog and think about trying to get more readers
-be in school with a degree plan and estimated date of graduation
-have 2 Auntie and Niece days
-have 2 auntie and Nephew days
-celebrate two year anniversary with K on time (at least within the month)
-lose weight to be healthier
I want to make a big list of goals to cross of during my lifetime, but I haven't given it much thought. I do realize that I love making lists and for a little bit kind of strayed away from it. But lists are really fantastic. One of the ways I know that K is a very good fit for me is because he sometimes adds things to the lists I jot down when I'm not looking. The latest one says "Love my boyfriend." Like I need to put that on a list of things to do. :)
27 isn't very old in the grand scheme of life, but it's the oldest I've ever been. And so far, this year is off to a great start. Please excuse me while I go take a birthday nap.
ps. Special thanks goes to my Splendid friend Splenda/Kate for her goal suggestions. Other people had helpful things to say too, but she really took charge of the situation. Thanks Kate!
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Friday, August 24, 2007
five bands i FREAKING LOVE
1. Plumb
2. Dave Matthews Band (and anything Dave Matthews attaches his name to)
3. Jimmy Eat world
4. Jars of Clay
5. Tegan and Sara
2. Dave Matthews Band (and anything Dave Matthews attaches his name to)
3. Jimmy Eat world
4. Jars of Clay
5. Tegan and Sara
Thursday, August 23, 2007
thinking on a thursday
Lately I've been taking stock of where my life is at and deciding what I like and what I don't. I realize the typical person does this in December to get ready to make New Year's resolutions, but I always feel like it's more of a fresh year in August because that's when my birthday is. I love my birthday. I don't anticipate that ever really changing. I don't expect EVERYONE to make a big deal out of it, but as long as I get to do something to mark the occassion, I'm a happy girl.
I've been trying to think of some small goals that I can meet relatively quickly, some medium goals that will instigate some life changes, and some long term goals that may take working on all year to accomplish. The point isn't so much to be able to cross every thing off my list but to try. In the past I've discovered that a goal that sounds great at the beginning isn't entirely feasible and other ideas may pop up as I go along.
I like who I am and how I look, for the most part. Both need improvements though and that's what I'm thinking about these days.
I've been trying to think of some small goals that I can meet relatively quickly, some medium goals that will instigate some life changes, and some long term goals that may take working on all year to accomplish. The point isn't so much to be able to cross every thing off my list but to try. In the past I've discovered that a goal that sounds great at the beginning isn't entirely feasible and other ideas may pop up as I go along.
I like who I am and how I look, for the most part. Both need improvements though and that's what I'm thinking about these days.
wednesday whats, trial entry (even though it's thursday)
I'm changing some things up and I would like to know what you think. Please comment or email me and tell me what you like and what you don't like. You can always comment anonymously if you're afraid to say who you're are, I don't mind!
What I'm listening to:
What I'm listening to:
What I'm watching:
What I'm checking out on the internet:
www.popgadget.net because women need their own LifeHacker-ish site.
www.notmartha.com because I feel inspired to do crafty things but need some ideas.
www.tigersandstrawberries.com because I love Chinese food and want to buy a wok and learn how to use it soon.
What else is making me happy:
my birthday is next week and I have fantastic plans!
K got a car!
Mike just gave me a bunch of new music and I am happily overloaded with really listening to new albums!
exchanging recipes with coworkers.
text messages.
it's technically thursday, but it's cool
I want to do a new thing for Wednesdays but I was working on it earlier and it's going to take a lot more time than I realized, at least at first. I might finish that particular draft later on, but in the meantime, here's a list of happy things:
...I had the best day with K today. He came over before I had to go to work and we had lunch and after we were both off tonight, we met for some beers and then some burgers. Then I found a note he left for me, and I just really love him.
...work is going super well.
...my birthday is next week!
...school starts next week, on my birthday!
...the hurricanes have not brought too much flooding to my area of Texas which is a relief. The water was getting a little crazy there for awhile.
...there's bats that live in the parking garage where I work. It's gross and cool at the exact same time.
...my little love of music revival is way fun and it's also affecting people around me in a great way.
...I have a Regina Spektor song stuck in my head and it's lovely.
...Mike gave me a ton of new albums!
...my nails have been growing super fast lately.
...I am still getting compliments on my haircut. I will post a picture soon.
...watching National Treasure was great because it was a cool movie and the characters were all super big nerds.
...nerds can be cool.
...beer can be cool too. Getting a beer buzz is great because it doesn't take much and it goes away before any damage is really inflicted.
...I've got some new friends that I can hang out with and be real with. Awesome.
...I'm having fun rethinking various habits in my life. Stopping to evaluate so many things has made me feel really free.
...I'm excited about writing more blogs about different stuff I've been thinking about!
...I had the best day with K today. He came over before I had to go to work and we had lunch and after we were both off tonight, we met for some beers and then some burgers. Then I found a note he left for me, and I just really love him.
...work is going super well.
...my birthday is next week!
...school starts next week, on my birthday!
...the hurricanes have not brought too much flooding to my area of Texas which is a relief. The water was getting a little crazy there for awhile.
...there's bats that live in the parking garage where I work. It's gross and cool at the exact same time.
...my little love of music revival is way fun and it's also affecting people around me in a great way.
...I have a Regina Spektor song stuck in my head and it's lovely.
...Mike gave me a ton of new albums!
...my nails have been growing super fast lately.
...I am still getting compliments on my haircut. I will post a picture soon.
...watching National Treasure was great because it was a cool movie and the characters were all super big nerds.
...nerds can be cool.
...beer can be cool too. Getting a beer buzz is great because it doesn't take much and it goes away before any damage is really inflicted.
...I've got some new friends that I can hang out with and be real with. Awesome.
...I'm having fun rethinking various habits in my life. Stopping to evaluate so many things has made me feel really free.
...I'm excited about writing more blogs about different stuff I've been thinking about!
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
a bunch of rambling started by listening to a dave matthews cd
I jumped on the Dave Matthews Band bandwagon considerably after everyone else did. I fell in love with the song "Crash Into Me" upon first listen. It has all the criteria of a song for me to love. Acoustic guitar, lyrics that are deep and simple at the same time, and a crescendo that resolves itself in a lovely way. The first album I really had was Everyday which is possibly a blasphemous fact to most DMB fans. But I also had the whole Lillywhite album downloaded off of Napster before Busted Stuff became a reality.
My friend Rebecca introduced me to the Live at Luther College album one night while a carload of us were headed to Santa Cruz and I realized there was a lot about Dave Matthews I didn't know yet. I absolutely adore that album, the second disc especially. It is on my list of perfect driving albums. It's also perfect for the beach and for listening to while writing (academic OR personal). Someone borrowed it from me and never gave it back, but I will be remedying that soon enough.
A few years back when I was living in Northern California, my friend Tina and I decided on a complete whim to go to Southern California to visit some friends. It was a crazy trip with us taking turns driving like madwomen to get to Riverside, staying on couches in Dan's parent's living room, and hanging out. Dan was playing in a band that happened to be opening for Tim Reynolds in San Juan Capistrano and so we just went to that too. I got my industrial ear piercing practically on the way to that show which was not the best of ideas but it is the only piercing I still have jewelry in, so obviously it wasn't a waste in the end.
It turns out that Tim Reynolds by himself is kind of weird. He's a small man and just a little odd. Breathtakingly talented, but most of his solo music is not acoustic. He annoyed actually that a lot of the people there wanted him to play songs like Stream and he explained (growled) that's how he plays with Dave Matthews, but for his solo work, he prefers the electric guitars and synthesizers he was using. It was weird but I could see the talent although I was disappointed it wasn't more of the acoustic stuff I knew him for.
Tina and I drove him from the venue, slept, and then met up a few hours later to go see Dave Matthews Band. Then we got to see them AGAIN the next night. They played a couple of the same songs both nights, but they basically had two set lists. It was truly fantastic. Later when we talked about it trying to decide which night we would have gone to if we could only get tickets for one night, neither of us could decide. If I had the time, money, and opportunity, I'd go see them two nights in a row again for sure.
K said Starbucks just started carrying two Dave Matthews cds and he wanted to get them. When he told me he got one and it was live, I was curious, and then when he said it was with Tim Reynolds, I asked him to immediately bring it over so I could listen to it/rip it. When we put it in my cd player in my truck, happiness immediately washed over me. I looked at the songs and got a little more excited because most of my favorite DMB songs are on there and it seemed like there were a few of Tim by himself as opposed to the one on Live at Luther College. I have loved listening to it and hearing the little nuggets of conversation Dave offers through the songs. It is a truly fantastic set of discs and not just because my boyfriend effectively gave them to me.
I've been thinking about music a lot lately. For a fairly significant portion of time, it seemed like music surrounded my life. Most of my friends were in bands, I worked at a music store, and I did grassroots marketing for a record label. I worked for a band for awhile and loved knowing what was new, what was hot, and what was coming around the corner. That passion has waned over the past couple of years especially beause I've moved on to other things. I was cut off from my supply of free new music through changing jobs and whatnot and my friends have changed over the years as well. Ever since I started thinking about how this happened and whether or not it was okay, I've had songs stuck in my head.
Getting a chance to listen to this new set of cds came at the perfect time. It has revived my love of the acoustic guitar. I still don't have the cash to fund my music habit in the way I would like. In any case though, my iPod will be getting a lot more use as I rediscover other artists I haven't heard in awhile and enjoy all the new music Mike just brought me today.
It's not bad to change the focus of where your life is it. But sometimes it is really lovely to pick up a habit from the past, dust it off, and put it through some speakers. :)
My friend Rebecca introduced me to the Live at Luther College album one night while a carload of us were headed to Santa Cruz and I realized there was a lot about Dave Matthews I didn't know yet. I absolutely adore that album, the second disc especially. It is on my list of perfect driving albums. It's also perfect for the beach and for listening to while writing (academic OR personal). Someone borrowed it from me and never gave it back, but I will be remedying that soon enough.
A few years back when I was living in Northern California, my friend Tina and I decided on a complete whim to go to Southern California to visit some friends. It was a crazy trip with us taking turns driving like madwomen to get to Riverside, staying on couches in Dan's parent's living room, and hanging out. Dan was playing in a band that happened to be opening for Tim Reynolds in San Juan Capistrano and so we just went to that too. I got my industrial ear piercing practically on the way to that show which was not the best of ideas but it is the only piercing I still have jewelry in, so obviously it wasn't a waste in the end.
It turns out that Tim Reynolds by himself is kind of weird. He's a small man and just a little odd. Breathtakingly talented, but most of his solo music is not acoustic. He annoyed actually that a lot of the people there wanted him to play songs like Stream and he explained (growled) that's how he plays with Dave Matthews, but for his solo work, he prefers the electric guitars and synthesizers he was using. It was weird but I could see the talent although I was disappointed it wasn't more of the acoustic stuff I knew him for.
Tina and I drove him from the venue, slept, and then met up a few hours later to go see Dave Matthews Band. Then we got to see them AGAIN the next night. They played a couple of the same songs both nights, but they basically had two set lists. It was truly fantastic. Later when we talked about it trying to decide which night we would have gone to if we could only get tickets for one night, neither of us could decide. If I had the time, money, and opportunity, I'd go see them two nights in a row again for sure.
K said Starbucks just started carrying two Dave Matthews cds and he wanted to get them. When he told me he got one and it was live, I was curious, and then when he said it was with Tim Reynolds, I asked him to immediately bring it over so I could listen to it/rip it. When we put it in my cd player in my truck, happiness immediately washed over me. I looked at the songs and got a little more excited because most of my favorite DMB songs are on there and it seemed like there were a few of Tim by himself as opposed to the one on Live at Luther College. I have loved listening to it and hearing the little nuggets of conversation Dave offers through the songs. It is a truly fantastic set of discs and not just because my boyfriend effectively gave them to me.
I've been thinking about music a lot lately. For a fairly significant portion of time, it seemed like music surrounded my life. Most of my friends were in bands, I worked at a music store, and I did grassroots marketing for a record label. I worked for a band for awhile and loved knowing what was new, what was hot, and what was coming around the corner. That passion has waned over the past couple of years especially beause I've moved on to other things. I was cut off from my supply of free new music through changing jobs and whatnot and my friends have changed over the years as well. Ever since I started thinking about how this happened and whether or not it was okay, I've had songs stuck in my head.
Getting a chance to listen to this new set of cds came at the perfect time. It has revived my love of the acoustic guitar. I still don't have the cash to fund my music habit in the way I would like. In any case though, my iPod will be getting a lot more use as I rediscover other artists I haven't heard in awhile and enjoy all the new music Mike just brought me today.
It's not bad to change the focus of where your life is it. But sometimes it is really lovely to pick up a habit from the past, dust it off, and put it through some speakers. :)
Saturday, August 18, 2007
...
I have a lot on my mind these days, too much to be able to properly write. As I sort some stuff out, please continue to be patient.
Also, I'm making a list of goals for myself for the year (my birthday is coming up) and was wondering if anyone had any suggestions? Any idea is a good one because I want to have some small things on my list and some things that might just take all year to accomplish. An idea you have of something you think I should accomplish or you yourself are working on might fit on my list perfectly or inspire a new idea too. You can post it in the comments anonymously or email me. Please do!
I'll be back to posting regularly soon. I just needed a little break. Thanks for still checking to see if I've posted anything new!
Also, I'm making a list of goals for myself for the year (my birthday is coming up) and was wondering if anyone had any suggestions? Any idea is a good one because I want to have some small things on my list and some things that might just take all year to accomplish. An idea you have of something you think I should accomplish or you yourself are working on might fit on my list perfectly or inspire a new idea too. You can post it in the comments anonymously or email me. Please do!
I'll be back to posting regularly soon. I just needed a little break. Thanks for still checking to see if I've posted anything new!
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
while i'm waiting for my room to cool down...
Even when he is part of the turmoil I am trying to sort out in my mind, just sitting and talking with K makes my heart calmer. There is something about the way he loves me and believes in me, just in general, that is a great comfort even when all we are talking about is whether or not it's okay for girls to fart in public and the difference between chicken nuggets, strips, and pieces. When he takes my hand to trace my fingers with his own or plays with my hair, something in me knows what we have is very good and I just understand this again without having to really think about it.
I think there are times for making lists and seeing pros and cons right in front of you. But I think there are other times for just trusting a feeling you've got deep inside you.
I think there are times for making lists and seeing pros and cons right in front of you. But I think there are other times for just trusting a feeling you've got deep inside you.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
wednesday wonders
Happiness abounds!
...this weekend was seriously fantastic and better than I had even thought it would be. My boyfriend rocks.
...before I went on my mini-vacation, I got to hang out with my grandmother.
...now that I'm back from my mini-vacation, I get to hang out with Splenda AND her husband!
...today is the first day of August. Also, it is the first day of my birthday month.
...I get to make a list of goals for the year.
...today I went to the local community college, talked to an advisor, and got registered for the fall.
...I got a tour of the campus from my friend Splenda as she hung out with me waiting the two hours it took to actually get to see an advisor.
...my niece told my mom she had a new best friend. My mom asked what her name was and my niece said "Um, I don't know. I'll ask her tomorrow." I love three year olds.
...I've been reading lots of books lately.
...I've been seeing some good movies lately too.
...today a new girl at my old Starbucks gave me a free drink. I don't exactly know why, but why is anyone going to look a gift soy chai latte in the mouth?
...I renewed my lease on my apartment which means I don't have to move for nine more months.
...my new job is going very well.
...I have not broken my new to me phone.
...seriously, the fireflies we saw on Sunday were amazing! I don't think I ever saw them in California.
...almond M&Ms are fantastic.
...peach preserves.
...long walks with my man. It doesn't happen a lot, but hopefully this is a trend that will continue.
...I know I already said this, but I'm taking classes this fall. Yay for Melissa!
...my birthday falls on a Tuesday this year. That means I will hear it mentioned with new releases of books, dvds, and music. I love it when my birthday falls on a Tuesday or a Friday.
...I don't know exactly what K is going to get me for my birthday, but I already know it will be fantastic.
...having cheap good frozen pizza in my freezer.
...emailing one of my California friends while at work. I miss having an email buddy and I've missed her a lot lately so it's nice to meet two needs with one electronic stone.
...my friend Splenda has this fantastic way of making great points in a gentle way. I am so glad I get to hang out with her in person for awhile.
...I'm just happy.
...this weekend was seriously fantastic and better than I had even thought it would be. My boyfriend rocks.
...before I went on my mini-vacation, I got to hang out with my grandmother.
...now that I'm back from my mini-vacation, I get to hang out with Splenda AND her husband!
...today is the first day of August. Also, it is the first day of my birthday month.
...I get to make a list of goals for the year.
...today I went to the local community college, talked to an advisor, and got registered for the fall.
...I got a tour of the campus from my friend Splenda as she hung out with me waiting the two hours it took to actually get to see an advisor.
...my niece told my mom she had a new best friend. My mom asked what her name was and my niece said "Um, I don't know. I'll ask her tomorrow." I love three year olds.
...I've been reading lots of books lately.
...I've been seeing some good movies lately too.
...today a new girl at my old Starbucks gave me a free drink. I don't exactly know why, but why is anyone going to look a gift soy chai latte in the mouth?
...I renewed my lease on my apartment which means I don't have to move for nine more months.
...my new job is going very well.
...I have not broken my new to me phone.
...seriously, the fireflies we saw on Sunday were amazing! I don't think I ever saw them in California.
...almond M&Ms are fantastic.
...peach preserves.
...long walks with my man. It doesn't happen a lot, but hopefully this is a trend that will continue.
...I know I already said this, but I'm taking classes this fall. Yay for Melissa!
...my birthday falls on a Tuesday this year. That means I will hear it mentioned with new releases of books, dvds, and music. I love it when my birthday falls on a Tuesday or a Friday.
...I don't know exactly what K is going to get me for my birthday, but I already know it will be fantastic.
...having cheap good frozen pizza in my freezer.
...emailing one of my California friends while at work. I miss having an email buddy and I've missed her a lot lately so it's nice to meet two needs with one electronic stone.
...my friend Splenda has this fantastic way of making great points in a gentle way. I am so glad I get to hang out with her in person for awhile.
...I'm just happy.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)