It seems like I haven't had a second to collect my thoughts for a coherent post lately. And I think today will be the only day that I have the time and mind-space to do so this week.
Last week was work-busy and life-busy as we had all sorts of things going on (in both departments). At work I found out that I will be taking over partial duties and my job is being hybridized to include this partial job, along with completely new duties that have yet to be hammered out so I'm not 100% clear on what I'll be doing going forward other than what I'm already doing. On that note, we decided that since I'll be taking on more at work, some of my other duties should be handled by someone other than me and that I can just manage those duties through another admin. I'm now actively looking for someone to take over these duties permanently, so it's nice to know that soon I'll have a more manageable To Do list at work... once we find and hire the right person! Not only is that going on but I've got 3 BIG meetings this week, 1 big one to plan at the end of the month, and 2 relatively large conference to plan, coordinate, etc later this summer (but that I know if I don't start now I'll be behind when they come around).
At home we've got the dog, upcoming travel and camping trips and concerts to prepare for and the usual diet-exercise routine that takes up our time.
This past Friday I took my good friend Mark to lunch before I made him sit through 4 hours of boredom and trivia while I sweated and clenched my jaw in pain- he was a trooper. He also photo- documented most of the afternoon, which was awesome. What was I doing for 4 hours? I'll show you later tonight via Mark's awesome photo diary of the day.
Saturday was awesome since we got to sleep in. BF went to the gym while I thoroughly cleaned the whole house. I cannot tell you how much I LOVE a clean house. Even if it wasn't that messy to begin with, just knowing it's all freshly washed and waxed and dusted and vacuumed is amazing. We had a lazy day and hung out watching movies and playing with the dog the rest of the day.
Oh, then there was Sunday. It wasn't a bad day, it was just that we had to get up the same time we do for WORK. But for good reason. BF's little sister graduated from Linfield with her BSN! So awesome. So we packed up for the day, dropped Rudy off at my parents' house, picked up BF's sister's BF and headed to McMinnville. The forecast was sunny and warm so I wore a sundress and sweater and called it good. The graduation was outside and although the weather was ok, it was a little too cold and I ended up walking back to the car and grabbing our picnic blanket from the back and wrapping myself in it.
You guys, graduations are boring. Everyone and their mom has some sort of speech to give and they all allude to how they know we hate having to sit through them, but they continue to talk... and talk and talk and talk. Really all we want to see is our friend/sibling/family member, etc walk across the stage and get their hard earned degree. It's even longer for a BSN because after the graduation ceremony there's a pinning ceremony where you watch the BSN Recipients get their nursing pins- which is AWESOME, but also means MORE lame speeches and more time sitting and wondering when you'll eat next and if your foot always falls asleep when your legs are crossed or if you never noticed because you never sit for this long and maybe you'll die like this because this dang speech keeps going and did anyone ever actually die from boredom?
I digress. Anyway, we are so proud of BF's little sister who is applying for a few jobs and a few hospital internships in the Portland area so fingers crossed for her! She'll make a great nurse.
We did get to go out for a lovely lunch and I had a western omlette that about killed me it was so great- why don't I make awesome omlettes at home like that?
Sunday night we had dinner at my parents' house since my sister just moved back from Colorado (yay!). We had bbq ribs, pasta salad, corn on the cob and grilled veggies. I could hardly move afterwards so I took a food coma nap on the couch.
Yesterday was Memorial Day and we did pretty much nothing. We did go to BF's parents' house for an awesome steak dinner and watched the Da Vinci Code. And of course I ran to REI with my 20% coupon and bought BF and I a new tent (click here if you want to see it in all of it's glory!).
So that was my weekend in a pretty big nutshell.
I'm around but I'm not sure what this week's going to look like once things start going today so who knows when you'll hear from me again...
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Music So Good You Can't NOT Listen to It
It feels like genuinely good art, music, films, etc are few and far between these days. I sometimes wax poetic about my middle and high school days when I would buy a album and listen to the whole thing, start to finish, for days on end until I knew every line in every song. Fond memories of the days when I could listen to an entire album without skipping a single song are recurrent in my mind these days because I'm not sure why I compulsively hit the forward button on my iPod and skip a song (or multiple) on most albums. It begs the questions- 1) Are bands losing sight of what good music is and what makes up a complete album? 2) Have we become so ADD that we cannot wait it out and see if a song it good?
No and No are my answers. It seems that while the answers in some band's and people's cases may be Yes, in general no. This revelation came to me a couple weeks ago when the Foo Fighters released their newest album, Wasting Light.
I can't even begin to describe how this album made me feel; song after song I was lifted closer and closer to my utopian remembrance of what a "good album" is. I didn't skip any songs; I find each one has it's own likeability and qualities that make them listenable.
I should stop here and say that if you aren't a fan of this type of music, you probably won't get what I'm saying or like the album at all. So there's my caveat.
But really, this album brought me back to all that is good in my mind. There are a range of songs on here, from the throaty yells and driving tempos that Dave Grohl is famous for to the melodious ballads you want to slow dance to with your prom date. Seriously, it gives me those fuzzy-framed flashbacks when I listen to it. The lyrics are genuine and unpretentious and relatable. The music pulls you in and makes you feel the lyrics. Also, you can sing along to most of the songs, even if you are a little tone deaf.
So despite being INSANELY busy at work and in life right now, I'm enjoying this album daily.
No and No are my answers. It seems that while the answers in some band's and people's cases may be Yes, in general no. This revelation came to me a couple weeks ago when the Foo Fighters released their newest album, Wasting Light.
I can't even begin to describe how this album made me feel; song after song I was lifted closer and closer to my utopian remembrance of what a "good album" is. I didn't skip any songs; I find each one has it's own likeability and qualities that make them listenable.
I should stop here and say that if you aren't a fan of this type of music, you probably won't get what I'm saying or like the album at all. So there's my caveat.
But really, this album brought me back to all that is good in my mind. There are a range of songs on here, from the throaty yells and driving tempos that Dave Grohl is famous for to the melodious ballads you want to slow dance to with your prom date. Seriously, it gives me those fuzzy-framed flashbacks when I listen to it. The lyrics are genuine and unpretentious and relatable. The music pulls you in and makes you feel the lyrics. Also, you can sing along to most of the songs, even if you are a little tone deaf.
So despite being INSANELY busy at work and in life right now, I'm enjoying this album daily.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
It's Finally Here!
Spring has finally decided to arrive in Oregon and it is beautiful. Last week I was freezing and cold and wet and this week I'm wearing skirts and sandals- huzzah!
I'm having a difficult time working and staying inside; but I'm also still having a difficult time with allergies so I'm torn about being outdoors. As of yesterday I have a lovely rash on my face that looks like little pimples. It's awesome... but I'm not going to complain becuase it's in the 70's! And I don't have to wear a coat! And I can open the windows and get fresh air in the house!
This week has gone by pretty fast (can't believe it's Thursday!) and I'm hoping the weekend isn't so fast so I can enjoy it. It's my month to plan BF's and my date so we are having it this Saturday. I would tell you what it is but then it will spoil the surprise for BF.
I also get to see my lovely friend Dani this week! She lives in Utah so we don't get to see each other or talk as often as we'd like to. I'm excited to see what she's been up to and how her travels to Brazil were.
I'm off to plan some outdoor adventures!
I'm having a difficult time working and staying inside; but I'm also still having a difficult time with allergies so I'm torn about being outdoors. As of yesterday I have a lovely rash on my face that looks like little pimples. It's awesome... but I'm not going to complain becuase it's in the 70's! And I don't have to wear a coat! And I can open the windows and get fresh air in the house!
This week has gone by pretty fast (can't believe it's Thursday!) and I'm hoping the weekend isn't so fast so I can enjoy it. It's my month to plan BF's and my date so we are having it this Saturday. I would tell you what it is but then it will spoil the surprise for BF.
I also get to see my lovely friend Dani this week! She lives in Utah so we don't get to see each other or talk as often as we'd like to. I'm excited to see what she's been up to and how her travels to Brazil were.
I'm off to plan some outdoor adventures!
Monday, May 16, 2011
Update
There are SO MANY things going on I don't even know where to start. I guess I'll make a list:
1. My allergies are trying to kill me. Seriously. They are SO BAD this year I have an almost constant sinus headache/itchy nose/runny nose/etc. The Zyrtec is not working so I'm going to switch back to the Claritin. We'll see what happens. I'm doing the Neti pot, but that doesn't help with the itchy eyes and eczema. I need a bubble to live in for a while.
2. Last week we had meetings for work, most of which I facilitated/ran so it was a BUSY week. I didn't get much sleep so on Friday I woke up and felt like death and only worked at the office for 3 hours before coming home with my laptop and taking a nap while somewhat monitoring work email. Hey, it still counts as work if I'm responding to emails. I still feel like I'm catching up on sleep.
3. I have about a bajillion meetings coming up that I need to plan and organize. I should just be a meeting planner, really. Who knows when I'm going to have time to get this done. It'll get done, it just may be closer to the actual meeting dates than I would like.
4. I'm trying to get organized for the garage sale. The more I think about it, the more I tempted to just dump it all off at Goodwill. Is it worth spending a day sitting outside selling and haggling over stuff? Maybe, maybe not.
5. Purging forgotten areas of the house. Each day or two I find a new place in the house to organize. I've been neglecting the hall closet and extra bathroom because I have a couple boxes of beauty products that I don't use and that I just need to get rid of- but I don't want to sit and go through them all, and I NEED to. Do I need 50 shades of nail polish? No because really I only use the same 4 colors regularly if I have my fingers/toes done at all. Seriously, it all needs to go.
6. Still having crazy dreams. The last one involved an alligator playing with one of Rudy's chew toys.
So now that those are out of the way...
What's going on with our crap weather? Where the heck is Spring? I feel completely jipped, this is March weather, not middle of May weather. I demand a refund!
Still daydreaming about camping and hiking until it dries out and we can get outside.
1. My allergies are trying to kill me. Seriously. They are SO BAD this year I have an almost constant sinus headache/itchy nose/runny nose/etc. The Zyrtec is not working so I'm going to switch back to the Claritin. We'll see what happens. I'm doing the Neti pot, but that doesn't help with the itchy eyes and eczema. I need a bubble to live in for a while.
2. Last week we had meetings for work, most of which I facilitated/ran so it was a BUSY week. I didn't get much sleep so on Friday I woke up and felt like death and only worked at the office for 3 hours before coming home with my laptop and taking a nap while somewhat monitoring work email. Hey, it still counts as work if I'm responding to emails. I still feel like I'm catching up on sleep.
3. I have about a bajillion meetings coming up that I need to plan and organize. I should just be a meeting planner, really. Who knows when I'm going to have time to get this done. It'll get done, it just may be closer to the actual meeting dates than I would like.
4. I'm trying to get organized for the garage sale. The more I think about it, the more I tempted to just dump it all off at Goodwill. Is it worth spending a day sitting outside selling and haggling over stuff? Maybe, maybe not.
5. Purging forgotten areas of the house. Each day or two I find a new place in the house to organize. I've been neglecting the hall closet and extra bathroom because I have a couple boxes of beauty products that I don't use and that I just need to get rid of- but I don't want to sit and go through them all, and I NEED to. Do I need 50 shades of nail polish? No because really I only use the same 4 colors regularly if I have my fingers/toes done at all. Seriously, it all needs to go.
6. Still having crazy dreams. The last one involved an alligator playing with one of Rudy's chew toys.
So now that those are out of the way...
What's going on with our crap weather? Where the heck is Spring? I feel completely jipped, this is March weather, not middle of May weather. I demand a refund!
Still daydreaming about camping and hiking until it dries out and we can get outside.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Apparently I'm Great With a Sword
I've been having some strange dreams lately, an no, I'm not eating before I go to bed.
I have a past of strange, vivid dreams and even dreams that almost exactly lay out a future day or event that I will live. I've gotten used to it, but I've gone through a pretty long run without these dreams.
I woke up on Saturday after having quite the gruesome dream involving myself, a sword and a nasty ex relative of mine. Here's what happened (WARNING, it's violent):
For some reason my mom and I went back to NY to visit family. We were staying in what was supposed to be my grandparents house (but it's not because it looked nothing like it). Anyway, we took my grandparents out for dinner and shopping and when we returned we noticed that the house and been broken into and a few things stolen. We were in the process of cleaning it all up when my mom, grandma and I heard a noise coming from the other end of the house. I walked through the mostly dark living room and started entering a hallway when I noticed this figure slowly walking towards me. The figure came into the dim light of the living room and I recognized a former uncle of mine (not blood related, but related by marriage, and then they got a divorce). As he was moving towards me I noticed that he had a fire poker in his hand from the fireplace set. I turned and ran as fast as I could to the kitchen and yelled for my mom and grandma to run outside and call for help. Quickly I grabbed at the knife block for any available knife and headed back to the living room. On the way I noticed a decorative sword on a plaque and heaved it off of it's setting just in case I needed more than the kitchen knife (Let's pause here- a decorative sword at one of my relatives' house is really not out of place if you know them). I reached where the man stood waiting for me and waited for him to do something, anything. I few seconds passed as he looked at me creepily and then he swung the poker in my direction. He missed and I took the opportunity to jab at him with the kitchen knife. I realized in that second that the sword would serve me better, so I let the knife fall and began swinging away with the dull sword. I knicked the man a couple times and finally landed a good blow across his chest. As he was reacting I drew the blade across his neck. The cut was shallow, my mind screamed at me to finish him before he could finish me so I did. I plunged the sword directly into his throat and wrenched it sideways. His eyes bulged and flashed wildly around for a second before he fell to the ground. I ran back to the kitchen and out the back door to find my mom and grandma. Then I woke up.
Here's what I find so odd about this dream:
1. I haven't thought of this uncle in ages. Since he's no longer part of the family we don't talk to him or even about him.
2. Usually in dreams I don't feel so in control or capable of doing much. It's that slow dream-run and weak punches that are the norm in my dreams so running so quickly and landing such effective, powerful strikes against someone felt strange. Good, but still foreign.
3. It's so violent. I don't watch a lot of violent or scary films and I definitely don't have a lot (or really any) violence in my life.
Of course, when things are odd I try to research them. A lot of times "they" say that objects and events in your dreams are symbolic so I looked up a couple of the key objects online and in my dream dictionary and here is what I found:
A). Sword- To dream that you are wielding a sword, represents your strength, ambition, competitive nature decisiveness and willpower. You are looking to hold a position of prestige, authority, and distinction. Alternatively, the sword may be seen as a phallic symbol and thus represent masculine power. (taken from DreamMoods.com)
B). Killing- To dream that you kill someone, indicates that you are on the verge of losing your temper and self-control. Consider the person you have killed and ask yourself if you feel any rage towards him or her in your waking life. Your dream may be expressing some hidden anger. Alternatively, you may be trying to kill an aspect of yourself that is represented by the person killed. Identify the characteristics of this person and ask yourself which of these qualities you are trying to put an end to.
I also looked this one up in my dream dictionary and it said close to the same thing.
I'm pondering over this and I have no idea.
I have a past of strange, vivid dreams and even dreams that almost exactly lay out a future day or event that I will live. I've gotten used to it, but I've gone through a pretty long run without these dreams.
I woke up on Saturday after having quite the gruesome dream involving myself, a sword and a nasty ex relative of mine. Here's what happened (WARNING, it's violent):
For some reason my mom and I went back to NY to visit family. We were staying in what was supposed to be my grandparents house (but it's not because it looked nothing like it). Anyway, we took my grandparents out for dinner and shopping and when we returned we noticed that the house and been broken into and a few things stolen. We were in the process of cleaning it all up when my mom, grandma and I heard a noise coming from the other end of the house. I walked through the mostly dark living room and started entering a hallway when I noticed this figure slowly walking towards me. The figure came into the dim light of the living room and I recognized a former uncle of mine (not blood related, but related by marriage, and then they got a divorce). As he was moving towards me I noticed that he had a fire poker in his hand from the fireplace set. I turned and ran as fast as I could to the kitchen and yelled for my mom and grandma to run outside and call for help. Quickly I grabbed at the knife block for any available knife and headed back to the living room. On the way I noticed a decorative sword on a plaque and heaved it off of it's setting just in case I needed more than the kitchen knife (Let's pause here- a decorative sword at one of my relatives' house is really not out of place if you know them). I reached where the man stood waiting for me and waited for him to do something, anything. I few seconds passed as he looked at me creepily and then he swung the poker in my direction. He missed and I took the opportunity to jab at him with the kitchen knife. I realized in that second that the sword would serve me better, so I let the knife fall and began swinging away with the dull sword. I knicked the man a couple times and finally landed a good blow across his chest. As he was reacting I drew the blade across his neck. The cut was shallow, my mind screamed at me to finish him before he could finish me so I did. I plunged the sword directly into his throat and wrenched it sideways. His eyes bulged and flashed wildly around for a second before he fell to the ground. I ran back to the kitchen and out the back door to find my mom and grandma. Then I woke up.
Here's what I find so odd about this dream:
1. I haven't thought of this uncle in ages. Since he's no longer part of the family we don't talk to him or even about him.
2. Usually in dreams I don't feel so in control or capable of doing much. It's that slow dream-run and weak punches that are the norm in my dreams so running so quickly and landing such effective, powerful strikes against someone felt strange. Good, but still foreign.
3. It's so violent. I don't watch a lot of violent or scary films and I definitely don't have a lot (or really any) violence in my life.
Of course, when things are odd I try to research them. A lot of times "they" say that objects and events in your dreams are symbolic so I looked up a couple of the key objects online and in my dream dictionary and here is what I found:
A). Sword- To dream that you are wielding a sword, represents your strength, ambition, competitive nature decisiveness and willpower. You are looking to hold a position of prestige, authority, and distinction. Alternatively, the sword may be seen as a phallic symbol and thus represent masculine power. (taken from DreamMoods.com)
B). Killing- To dream that you kill someone, indicates that you are on the verge of losing your temper and self-control. Consider the person you have killed and ask yourself if you feel any rage towards him or her in your waking life. Your dream may be expressing some hidden anger. Alternatively, you may be trying to kill an aspect of yourself that is represented by the person killed. Identify the characteristics of this person and ask yourself which of these qualities you are trying to put an end to.
I also looked this one up in my dream dictionary and it said close to the same thing.
I'm pondering over this and I have no idea.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
I've Got a Fever...
.. and the only prescription is more cowbell... or getting outdoors. Either way. Some call it Spring Fever.
Oh you guys, with everything that's been going on, I just want to take a week off of work and go hiking and camping. The weather's starting to get nice and I'm visitng REI.com and the brick and mortar REI by our house as often as possible. I currently have my REI wish list open in another tab. If I bought everything at once from my wish list without coupons or using my dividend it would cost me a whopping $1,084.40. I'm glad I don't have their credit card because boy howdy would I spend that, no joke.
A HUGE "Thank You" goes out to a wonderful friend who sent me an REI giftcard for my birthday/thank you gift so I used it towards the purchase of some new Keen hiking boots (click here if you want to see which ones). I like 'em lightweight and these babies are perfect. I've already been wearing them on long walks with the puppy and BF to break them in.
The weather has been downright pleasant, but today took a turn back toward winter (rain, wind, cooler temps) which has put me in a bad mood. I'm so over it, I would do almost anything for some sun and NO RAIN.
After cleaning out old stuff from storage I realized that I had some items that I didn't want to donate, but that I no longer need so I'm planning on having a garage sale in combination with my parents- as they, too, have an abundance of nicer but not needed items. I'm planning on using the earnings from that towards the purchase of a new tent and some new camping/hiking/backpacking supplies.
I don't know if I can hold out until then, but I'm feeling sort of torn because this kinda goes against my "nothing new" challenge... but then again, it's for camping/hiking/backpacking experiences that we will have as a family (BF, Rudy, parents, etc).
Quite the conundrum (not really).
Keeping my fingers crossed that the forecast is wrong and that we get more days like yesterday in the coming week!
Oh you guys, with everything that's been going on, I just want to take a week off of work and go hiking and camping. The weather's starting to get nice and I'm visitng REI.com and the brick and mortar REI by our house as often as possible. I currently have my REI wish list open in another tab. If I bought everything at once from my wish list without coupons or using my dividend it would cost me a whopping $1,084.40. I'm glad I don't have their credit card because boy howdy would I spend that, no joke.
A HUGE "Thank You" goes out to a wonderful friend who sent me an REI giftcard for my birthday/thank you gift so I used it towards the purchase of some new Keen hiking boots (click here if you want to see which ones). I like 'em lightweight and these babies are perfect. I've already been wearing them on long walks with the puppy and BF to break them in.
The weather has been downright pleasant, but today took a turn back toward winter (rain, wind, cooler temps) which has put me in a bad mood. I'm so over it, I would do almost anything for some sun and NO RAIN.
After cleaning out old stuff from storage I realized that I had some items that I didn't want to donate, but that I no longer need so I'm planning on having a garage sale in combination with my parents- as they, too, have an abundance of nicer but not needed items. I'm planning on using the earnings from that towards the purchase of a new tent and some new camping/hiking/backpacking supplies.
I don't know if I can hold out until then, but I'm feeling sort of torn because this kinda goes against my "nothing new" challenge... but then again, it's for camping/hiking/backpacking experiences that we will have as a family (BF, Rudy, parents, etc).
Quite the conundrum (not really).
Keeping my fingers crossed that the forecast is wrong and that we get more days like yesterday in the coming week!
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