Celtic Woman!

Yes, I'm Irish, and Scottish by default I think. Today, being St. Patrick's Day, and also having heard a TON of Celtic music on the radio all day, I decided I would like to pay tribute to my Irish heritage.

There are a few things that I am noted for, and now that I think about it, some of them are a bit stereotypically Irish. One that is a double edged sword- my temper. I don't go around being mad all of the time, but if you push me you best be prepared. Enough said.

I also have a strange fascination and appreciation for bagpipes. This MUST be hereditary because I'm not sure I would have this view if I weren't in my blood.

My last name is of Irish origin, Gorman, formerly O'Gorman, but it was dropped after one of the many large battles hundreds of years ago when the O'Gormans and the MacGormans got mixed up for a few decades, dropped their prefixes for fear of persecution from the "other" side (forgive me, but I don't remember whom we were fighting then) and then couldn't remember who was who so some of us just gave up. There are some that re-adopted the prefixes, but were mistaken and picked the wrong one, which makes family history a bit difficult.


My first name is a flower that originates and is prevalent in Ireland and England.

I strangely like rain. Which is probably why I prefer the Northwest to most other places I have lived. I have gone back to other places I once lived and realized that it wasn't as good as I thought, or perhaps it was but I have adjusted quite nicely to where I am now.

So there you go, a few random facts about me. Happy St. Patrick's Day to all!

The Problem Is...

... that I can't really decide what I want to do for the rest of my life. There are so many interesting things out there that I could see myself doing, and I can't settle on a single one! I have so many interests, which some would say make you well rounded, and I am fairly well-read, but I would like to argue that this has handicapped me a bit. Does this make sense?

Well, even if it doesn't, it still doesn't help me decide what I am doing. I am afraid of being bored and average because I have really never been either. Ok, I have been bored, but in a different sense. The point is, I need a little direction because I am going full force into the unknown, unplanned, unscheduled and unresearched.

I guess all we can do is keep going and just try to find some comfort in the fact that we are not alone and completely aimless; that there is a plan for each one of us, even though we don't always know what that plan is. Forgive my little freak out. Maybe I will take a few days off and find more interesting things that I may add to my list of possibilities.

A Few of My Favorite Things

In the spirit of it being a fabulous week, I decided to use a bit of my time and think about what I love and what I love to do and share those. Hopefully you will reflect on the things that make you happy, too. ** Note- these are not in any specific order**

MUSIC: This is probably my most favorite thing in the whole world...
1. Coldplay- Parachutes
2. Jimmy Eat World- Clarity and Bleed American... it's a tie.

3. Smashing Pumpkins- specifically the songs "33" and "Stand Inside Your Love"

4. Mason Jennings- Use Your Voice

5. Silversun Pickups- Carnavas

... so take a fun drive and just listen to some of this music and tell me you don't feel wonderful when you get home. Now when I hear them I am instantly in a great mood.

MOVIES: Sometimes it's better to watch the same movie that you love rather than find new ones.

1. The Princess Bride

2. Empire Records

3. The Wizard Of Oz (I have been Dorothy for Halloween many times)

4. The Red Shoes

5. The Labrynth ... yeah, the one with one Mr. David Bowie

FOOD: What could be better?

1. Chocolate Mousse
2. Cinnabon

3. baby green peas- steamed but not mushy

4. Spumoni Ice Cream

5. tater-tot caserole, but only my mom's... a little WT, but who isn't?

PEOPLE:

1. Forest Encell

2. Billy Corgan
3. Ruth and Naomi... of biblical fame.

4. My Mom

5. Gordon B. Hinckley

FLOWERS: No explanation needed

1. Gerbera Daisies- the bright neon shades, not the pastel ones

2. Roses- the yellowish-orange ones with the bright pink/orange tips

3. Daffodils

4. Tulips

5. Purple Heathers

MISC: For things without a specific category

1. Driving by myself or with 1 guest long distances with no scheduled time to be any place.

2. Taking cat naps with Elliot.

3. Baking and decorating holiday treats.

4. Shoes... good thing I work where I do...

5. photos and taking new photos... and black and white photos

6. Trees

7. being so exhausted you fall asleep the second your head hits the pillow!

Dreiundzwanzig!

It sounds better out loud than it looks spelled out, in my opinion. And it definitely sounds better auf Deutsch than English; mostly because I can trick myself into thinking that it's a smaller number.

Tomorrow I turn 23. That seems SO OLD to me, even though I know it's not incredibly old at all... especially by comparison. Here are my 23 year old birthday presents so far (and I'm not even 23):
1. tickets to the ballet
2. tickets to Foo Fighters
3. needing glasses to read, work at the computer and drive
4. creaking ankle and knees that pop every time I bend them
5. increasingly severe allergies to pollen, mold, and dust

That's two for the good and three for the bad...
But it's not as bad as I make it out to be. Glasses are cute, I am eating cake and ice cream for whatever meals I want this week (which I will get sick of real quick so it will only be two or three meals), and I have an excuse for not doing yard work.

Also, I have decided that it is my birthday week. I have one week to celebrate however I want and I will continue this tradition as long as I live. One singular day will never be enough, especially when one's birthday almost always falls on a weekday. I think it is an adoptable tradition and I encourage everyone else to do it too.

Laughing Out Loud

I'm the kind of person that if I find something funny or if someone makes me laugh I cannot contain it... I MUST laugh out loud. There is nothing harder for me to do than to stifle giggles and this has caused some embarassment. This also has caused many instances of uncontrolable infectious laughter that spreads like wildfire in a windstorm to those around me. I like to think that it is one of my best attributes.

Well, anyhow, this morning on my way to work I was listening to a particular radio show (that I listen to most mornings) and found a couple of comments made to be quite hilarious... so I proceeded to laugh out loud to myself while driving. I stopped at a light while still laughing and looked over to my left at the car next to me. There was a lady in her car laughing out loud at something as well and we caught each others' eye at the same moment. I think we both felt silly at being caught laughing out loud whilst being alone, but then I think we both realized at the same time that this instance was pretty funny in itself and both started laughing after a quick second pause about that. It made my day. I kept giggling and then I wondered if perhaps we had been laughing at the same comments on the radio. I kind of wish that I had rolled down my window to see.

The world is good and it's the small moments that make life so valuable and wonderful. I hope everyone has a fun/silly/wonderful moment that they can laugh about today.

Excited About Life.. and Lysol

I've been feeling pretty down lately, and negative. Who knows why, there are probably a few reasons. But that was all replaced today with excitement and anticipation for the coming months. I don't know why, but music always puts me in a good mood and knowing that there are wonderful concerts in my future has made me the happiest girl in the world.

First of all, I have been a huge Foo Fighters fan for a while, but have never had the opportunity to see them in concert. It seems like every time they come to town I'm not here... or something comes up and I can't go. But, YAY! Brian, being so wonderful, got me tickets for their upcoming show in July. It's not for a while, but I am psyched to finally be able to see them live! Second... Jimmy Eat World is coming in April! Another superb band that I have LOVED for quite a long time but also never gotten to see. Finally, this Friday I am going to the ballet, which isn't really all about music, but I know it will feature fabulous French compositions as well as others. Plus, this time I think I will enjoy the dancers more because I know how hard it really is to execute movements and still look perfectly poised and energetic.

By the way, ballet is going well. I'm not great at it and I definitely mess up a lot towards the end of class when I get tired. I am going to keep taking classes though... my calves look great!

Also, I am thankful for the creators of Lysol and also of Clorox wipes. I completely disinfected my office this morning, which has also contributed to my good mood, in order to protect myself from the rampant cold and flu germs going around. I am contemplating wearing a protective mask as well. I hate being sick and I am finally over the cold I had since the begining of December. Hey, did you know that Lysol makes purse-sized disinfectant sprays? I may buy one for everyone I come into contact with regularly... for your protection as well as mine.

Cleaning 'Cause I Just Can't Stop

Have you ever cleaned because you just got the whim to do it? And often it's not a whim but an odd compulsion that I cannot ignore. I do this all of the time, and it's never in a conspicuous place that probably needs to be cleaned, but the hidden areas that I notice randomly that need some reorganizing or vaccuuming... and I ignore it until I have a complete freak-out about it and clean until my legs are stiff and I've got 3 trash-bags full of junk to get rid of from said area.

This happened to me last night. I needed, I emphasize NEEDED, to go to bed early because I was supposed to get up before the crack of dawn, but as I sat in my cozy bed trying to get comfortable I looked to the corner of my room. In said corner a stack of books and magazines that no longer fit on the bookshelves along with various other random things sat like jagged but stable pillars and columns from ancient ruins. I rolled over and watched a few minutes of television before setting the sleep timer for 10 minutes, ignoring the corner. Drowsiness came in waves and soon I realized that the television had turned itself off, as I had programmed it to earlier.

And then I was awake. WIDE awake.

I had lost all feelings of comfort and sleep, and slowly a voice whispered in my ear,"What about that corner? Are you going to let it just sit there? You should get up and just straighten it out a bit so you can sleep better." I ignored the voice. I defied the voice. Yet the voice persisted. I did not give in, I would not give in... but maybe I would sleep better if I just moved a few things around, right? Much tossing and turning ensued as I fought my hardest to ignore the call of the ruins in the corner. In the end, the voice won.

So I got up and turned on the lights, fumbled downstairs to get a trashbag or two, and returned to the corner in my room. I sat and began sorting the books into various piles depending on topic and size, and then stacking them up in a Rubbermaid tub that is my make-shift book repository until I move into a house with bookshelf-lined walls in almost every room. I riffled through the magazines, making a pile for the good ones I wanted to keep and tossing the old abused ones into a pile for recycling. I found old receipts, a few broken barrets, old pictures, wedding and shower invitations stuck between books that I had intended to save, along with random bits of stuff that I wasn't sure how had gotten into the corner and escaped the trash the first time around. I found my journal from last year and of course had to read through bits of that before finding a home for it in aforementioned tub.

Two and a half hours passed swiftly before I finished deconstructing the pillars of random items. I stood up and my legs buckled slightly beneath me from lack of use or movement and I felt tired and heavy. I slumped into bed and pulled the covers over my head. The little voice returned and said,"Don't you feel better now that it's all cleaned up?".

And I replied,"Yes".
I have said it before and I will say it again, where does it all come from?

PS. I secretly love cleaning. And kitchen gadgets.