checklist for "funemployment".

next week is my final week of consulting in atlanta. i've been on the road, traveling to atlanta every week for the past year and 8 months. i've been very lucky to work here and am really going to miss all of my atlanta peeps. (understatement)

being a contractor, i do not yet have something lined up for my next job. and that is actually perfectly fine with me. i've put aside money for just this purpose, so all the bills will be taken care of with some wiggle room and i can have a little bit of "me" time. i'm hoping it won't be longer than a month, but we'll see how much time it takes.

sounds great, right? i'll probably be bored to tears in a matter of days.

my biggest concern is that i will have no people to like . . be around. though i like my alone time and appreciate a good night (or 5) in, i get all mopey if i don't get to be around and interact face-to-face with other humans. and i only know 2 people in DC so far, so i need to find some people. on the double! maybe i could start going to protests. there seem to be plenty of those going on these days. i could get all photojournalist on them! it's an idea anyway.

speaking of ideas, there are many things that i plan to do with my "funemployment" time. the list includes but is not limited to:

• photo excursions in DC.
• learning how to be a proper strobist.
  
• cooking up some good meals like this and this!
• sewing projects.
• maybe a picnic or 2 on the national mall?
• eating my sammiches.
• perhaps delving into my resin jewelry project again.
• continuing to get "shredded".
• naps.
  
• going through my "craftiness" email folder and actually DOING some of that fun stuff i always want to do.
• savor the time.
  

so it's a big list, but i might have a lot of time. i'll let you know how it goes.

Read more...

who's keeping score? I AM.

today, in summary:

• woke up and ate cinnamon rolls and scrambled eggs (with dill mmm) with jesse: +
  
• 30 day shred and an hour on the elliptical: +
• went all the way to Cleveland Park - eyeglasses place was closed: -
  
• Giant Foods was out of The Dressing: -
• favorite fro-yo at YogiBerry: +
• flight was 45 minutes delayed: -
• but i was upgraded to first class: +
• fell asleep on the plane, and will probably not sleep tonight: -
• arrived in atlanta, pulling into the T terminal (YEAAHH!!!): +
• dropped credit card in puddle whilst paying for parking: -
• weak veggie wrap from Publix with 2 weak pieces of muenster cheese: -
• cinnamon twist donut: +
• forgot to make my reservation at the hotel this week (and next): -
• got a room anyway and now have a full belly: +
• more Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War: +

FINAL SCORE: +1. survey says? WIN.

Read more...

popsicle day.

Question: What is a guaranteed mood-improver?

Answer: POPSICLE DAY AT WORK, OF COURSE!!!!

FruitFull bars are the best!!


sadly, this will be my last Popsicle Day in atlanta. booooo. i will miss it, among many other things. the end. OR IS IT? (suspense ending)

Read more...

your life . . on the internet.

the phenomenon of reading about someone's life on the internet still baffles me. it mostly baffles me when i actually know the person in real life. because lately i'm discovering that the internet personality seems like a completely DIFFERENT person than the one that i actually know.

through this medium, you can portray yourself as anyone you want to be. or rather, only show the sides of you that you want others to see. and that does make sense . . you are putting yourself out there for all the world to scrutinize. "dress for the job you want, not the one you have"? it's not like the old livejournal days where you had "friends only" posts and could selectively filter who sees the information you're willing to share.

i am guilty of this too. back in the more "filtered" days of journaling (pre-blogging, the dark ages), that was my immediate outlet when i wanted to get something off my chest, when i was upset, or needed an ear or an ego-boost. this is not the place for that. i think of this somewhat newly created blog as more of a scrapbook of my life - highlighting the parts i want to remember and savor (in with the positive). not where i whine, search for sympathy, or passive aggressively attack someone who annoys or has hurt me (out with the negative).

i've been reading lots of blogs lately that are all about couples.

like:
"WE are so happy!"
"WE are getting married!"
"WE are having a baby!"

. . most of which are written from the XX chromosome side of the coin. surprise. knowing what i know now, i have to wonder - is your life REALLY that great? are you REALLY that happy? do you REALLY think you have something that unique? i don't buy it. especially when i know your "partner" does not reciprocate your enthusiasm. sorrrryyyy.

as i said before, bringing forth the positive and all that, i get that. but sometimes i just want to reach right through my google reader page and shake people. instead i just stop "following" them and save myself the annoyance.

that being said, i don't typically blog about my relationship problems. but i don't sit here and profess that it's the most amazing, strong relationship that none will put asunder either. i probably would have done that during the first 6 months of most any relationship i've ever had . . whose relationship isn't amazing during that time? you don't know everything about each other yet. ha.

maybe i'm just feeling bitter or jealous or unfulfilled in some way. regardless, i guess this is the contribution that completely contradicts paragraph 3 of this-a-here post. here is my cynical-realist-brash-rolling-my-eyes side (the one that turns people off) for all to see. i just had to say it SOMEwhere. where many people will come and read it anonymously and not say anything, you damn stalkers. it's ok, i'm guilty of that too. at least my mom tells me when she reads my blog.

el fin.

Read more...

i like making purchases: exhibits A-B

lately i have been stimulating the economy, all on my own. you're welcome. my american express statement is getting out of control, but while i still have a good-paying job, i intend to take advantage of making such frivolous purchases and enjoying the heck out of them.

as evidence of these acquisitions, i shall highlight 2 of them here. get ready.

exhibit A: the boyfriend tee (from Target! only $8!).


i have this shirt in at least 4 different colors. i have a big thing for v-necks right now, what can i say? and they are only $8. come on. strangely, i cannot find a link to these tee's on Target's website. dang it.

moving on.

exhibit B: the incognito chunky knit cowl (from Happiknits on Etsy!)


isn't it fantastic? and it came wrapped up like a present, in wrapping paper and everything. i love it.



i'm a huge advocate of all things Etsy. i've had nothing but good experiences. it's handmade goodness. o-mazing!

alright, enough shenanigans. i've got work to do. el fin.

Read more...

i already miss home.

the first time i moved out of florida for an extended period of time (a year and a half stint in wisconsin), i didn't miss home at all. i scoffed at all things florida and put on 2 pairs of gloves, my down coat, and newly acquired boots and faced -19º weather with a smile on my face*.

due to economic circumstances beyond my control (read: i couldn't sell my house in west palm beach - bubble, burst, etc.), i moved back. i returned to my little house on december 1st of 2006, driving my little hatchback towing a not-so-little trailer behind me. i was chased out of the midwest by a NASTY snowstorm. it was literally on my heels as i left - my windshield wipers froze and the motor died as i was leaving town. had to get it fixed on the side of the road somewhere in indiana. when i arrived back home 2 days later, i could wear a tank top. i had forgotten what that was like . . a tank top. in december. immediately the relief of being home washed over me.

thus i learned the lesson of not taking my homestate for granted.

i moved away again a little over a year ago now. this time, it was much harder to leave, as i knew what (and who) i was leaving.

my last visit home was so spectacular that i'm already nostalgic for the place, the people, the fun. my parents still live in the house in which i grew up. on the same street, with the same empty, overgrown lots, filled with the same palmetto scrub and pine trees that have been there since the A Land Remembered days. can't you just picture Zech riding Ishmael through there?

ahh the spectacular sunsets of post-thunderstorm afternoons. the air is so thick, sometimes you feel like you're swimming through it. humid or no, it's what i call home. and i like it.



*ok, not exactly true. it was more like with the most pained, terrified look on my completely frozen face. have you ever felt your NOSE HAIRS freeze?! i mean, come on.

Read more...

a "sunday girl" no more.

an ex-boyfriend of mine used to call me a "sunday girl". this is because sunday would roll around and i'd get all sad and mopey knowing that the weekend was almost over. this is a ridiculous way to spend a sunday, mind you. being a sunday girl actually characterized much of who i was at the time . . i would spend too much time worrying about things that had yet to come to pass. pretty wasteful kind of existence.

i can't say that i've completely dispensed with the needless worry, but i have made progress. i actually very much enjoy sundays now. it's true! this attitude also applied to fun things; things that were awesome and that i had been planning. once the event arrived and took place, i would sink into mope-ism because all the fun was over.

well, i am happy to report that the big, awesome, 30th birthday party with the giant inflatable slip-n-slide (heretofore known as "GISNS") was an incredible exception to this rule! i planned and plotted. made spreadsheets for guests and menus. discussed these items at length with my planner partner in crime, meredith (who willingly obliges any sort of planning endeavor). i double and triple-checked the delivery date and time of the GISNS. i even DREAMED about my party several nights running! i was so excited!!!

and then . . the party . . happened.

and it was so much more fun than i could have ever imagined. the people i loved most were all there, gathered around me to indulge in the fun. and indulge we did. my 3 year old nephew was there with his daddy, my friends, new friends, and family friends who have been with us through thick and thin. my 56 year old momma even got in on the slip-n-slide action!!! it was seriously amazing and i cannot think of a better way to hit 30.

one of my favorite photos from the party (by jesse) - my mom and i together on the GISNS!! this is sheer happiness, friends.


momma, brother, and me - slip-n-slidin' is for families! my dad thought he'd sit it out though . . didn't want to mess up his bionic knee.


and the "dream come true" photo . . the one i'd been scheming about taking the whole time. thanks for playing photographer diddy!!


and of course, a collage. because we all know that's how i do (click for bigger).


and after the party was over? i am still just so happy that it happened and we all enjoyed it. complete satisfaction. there is not one moment of mope to be found here. hey, i think i'm growing!

hello, 30, it's nice to meet you. goodbye, sunday girl. i won't miss you.

Read more...