Ch-ch-ch-ch Chaaaanges!! 2014 Edition

Happy New Year!!
It's Resolution (NYR) time!!

So far, the plan for being more awesome than last year includes (but is not limited to):

- January trip to Florida! Woop Woop!!
- March/April trip to wherever my bff Harms and her hubby are on their sailing adventure!
- May trip to NYC for fleet week with Mattycakes!!!!! Say whaaa?! :-)
- October girls trip to Hawaii!

At least 3 out of 4 of these trips are definitely happening in 2014. I'm SO excited!!

NYR #2 - Wash all dishes within 24 hours.

I'm dead serious. You wouldn't think this is NYR material, but let me assure you, it is. Since I don't have a dishwasher, this one takes some serious discipline and willpower on my part. I hate doing dishes. I mean, you could use it as a form of torture, I hate it so much. It's weird though - I'm actually really good at doing them and laying on the guilt when living with roommates, but when it's just me, forget it. I'll wait until every single piece of silverware is dirty before doing the dishes, and even then, most of the time I'll just wash what I need. So this year I'm committed to keeping my sink empty and clean.


NYR #3 - Make an actual effort with the online dating thing.

So... online dating is actually a lot of work and doesn't really work if you don't, you know, log in once in a while...


NYR #4 - Eat out less and cook more (and bring lunch!).

There's a Wendy's about 5 blocks from my apartment, which means it's just too damn convenient to grab a Jr. bacon cheeseburger and chocolate frosty gut bomb for dinner when I'm not in the mood to cook. And not surprisingly, the food carts near the office call to me on the daily. So this is a two part resolution:
1) I'm renewing my cost saving measure of doing food carts only once a week, and 2) making an honest effort to cook regularly using more whole foods and less of the processed junk (goodbye instant mashed potatoes. I'll miss you). I'm even thinking about joining one of those grocery delivery services where they send you the ingredients for a few meals a week (like Blue Apron) to limit the excruciating decision making process I have such a hard time with anyway. For someone like me, this may actually be a brilliant plan...

NYR #4.5 - Drink more water and get more sleep.

 

I'm tired, like, all the time. Most likely because I don't take care of myself the way that I should. So I figure if I start with the basics of water, whole foods, and sleep, I'll feel a lot better (mentally, physically and emotionally) and probably, eventually, look better as a result.

*fingers crossed*

  

NYR #5 - Be more active.

Obviously going to the gym 3x a week or training for a 5k would be awesome and I would so love to be that person, but I know I never will. Sure, maybe for a week or so. But in the end, the big boobs and bad knees kill that dream dead. So instead I'm committing to at least moving daily, whether that's a 30+ minute walk with the dog, yoga at home, or biking to/from work. And then perhaps at some point I'll actually utilize the TRX I bought back in March (I've used it once)... and maybe add a kettle-bell to my at home "gym" collection and work on strength training.
Baby steps.

 

NYR #6 - Meet new (single) people.

I'm a social butterfly. I like going out and making new friends. But being social can be unbelievably exhausting, and lately I've fallen into a funk and have become a bit of a social recluse. Also, it seems 95% of my friends are in relationships. Not that I mind a whole lot, but it's just kind of a bummer to be the 3rd or 5th wheel ALL THE TIME. It gets old. So my goal for 2014 is to join (and actually attend) some of those meetup groups and perhaps if I put myself out there, I'll get something in return.

NYR #7 - Pay off Credit Card debt

Ugh. You'd think I'd have this one figured out by now. I did actually pay off all of my CC's back in April 2012 (I drained my entire savings for it, and it was terrifying), but then my roommate moved out leaving me with the entire rent payment for 4 months, I finally fixed the 2 year old hit-&-run dent in my car, then I moved to Portland, bought a pretty yellow bicycle, started allergy treatments for Bandit, did more car repairs/maintenance, etc. etc. and not surprisingly my balance creeped back up to where it was 3 years ago. So it's back to the 0% APR for 18 months payment plan. Thank GOD for balance transfer offers. :-) 

The challenge now is to not put anything back on the cards that I don't intend to pay in full...

NYR #8 - Emergency Savings

My savings habits have never been stellar. There always seems to be some stupid reason I need to dip into my savings (or not so stupid reasons - like paying for plane tickets!). But after this past year's furlough fiasco, I've realized exactly how important it is to have a substantial emergency savings. My goal is to have at least 2 month's pay in savings by the end of the year.

Whew!! That's a lot... but not really.

Bring on the new year!

slr

Street lights blink a bright red and green...

For the past 4 or 5 years my sister, mom, and I have done a "Jewish Christmas" of sorts. We of course do the usual bacon and eggs breakfast with my nephew, but then after he leaves with his Dad, we go see a movie and do Chinese for dinner (and then I head over to my best friend's house for more celebration and even more food!) As much as I wish we had a big, crazy family with obnoxious relatives and traditions, I really like the low-key, no stress tradition we've started. And since it's just the three of us, it really suits us just fine.

 

We saw The Secret Life of Walter Mitty this year in the most ghetto theater ever. No joke. I was afraid of contracting an STD from the seat (I wish I'd had a black light), but the movie was really cute, and surprisingly inspiring.

 

My family doesn't really exchange gifts anymore either, although it's been difficult to get everyone (namely mom) out of the guilt-driven habit. Don't get me wrong, I love getting and giving gifts - there's a wonderful satisfaction that comes from giving the perfect gift - but the obligatory gift giving tradition of I-got-so-and-so-something-so-now-I-have-to-get-these-six-other-people-something-too and the you-got-me-something-so-now-I-have-to-get-you-something kind of takes all the joy out of it. The gifts I like to give are the random and spontaneously found OMG-this-would-be-perfect-for-so-and-so! gifts. And besides, I'd much rather go out and DO something fun and make memories with those people than give and get more stuff that, although we may love, neither of us really has room for...

 

Although there are exceptions to this rule.

 

Like an awesome Seahawks jersey. :-)

(Thanks Leland!!)

 

 



The bitter taste of furlough...

Confirmation came last week that my office, along with quite a few thousand other DOD employees, will take 11 furlough days, 1 day a week, starting July 8th. That's a 20% pay cut for 3 months... during the time of year when outdoor concerts, happy hours, road trips, weddings, and long anticipated vacations require additional funds, not less.

With this rather unsettling, but not altogether surprising news (as if Congress and Obama were going to spontaneously get their act together and protect those hard working, middle class citizens that have done NOTHING to deserve this fate... HA!), I've found myself rather bitter about my decision to leave my job in WW, a job that I was DAMN good at, with an awesome boss and an office that is NOT getting furloughed, all for the opportunity to do something and live somewhere different.

Yeah. Genius move on my part.

But the more accepting I become of this situation, the more I'm actually looking forward to the silver lining of 4-day weekends and the occasional mid-week day off. More time to focus on my health and fitness or do fun painting projects I've been wanting to do for months. More time to read the foot-tall stack of books on my nightstand or go exploring the many parks in the city with the Bandido.

OR more time to focus on my skinny wrap business so I won't have to worry or even think about the 20% pay cut. :-)

But until I can guarantee that my shopaholic syndrome and fear of missing out won't completely cripple my finances come July, or that my wrap business will be able to bridge the gap between stingy and comfortable, I'll be preparing for the worst, cutting coupons and socking away every extra penny I have to help cushion the blow.

Who knows - maybe this is all just a big show of political bravado and all my contingiency plans and worries will be for nothing.

But probably not.

Poo. Crap. Duece.

**Disclaimer - if you're a wuss about natural bodily functions, well... then I'm not exactly sure how we're friends.**

Poop.



This is actually a label I made (thanks to my Mr. Labelmaker) and have displayed on my desk at work. Poop is funny!

Why is it so taboo to talk about poop?

It's just poop! We all do it. Can't really avoid it (unless you live on sugar water, in which case, you have other, more serious issues. Like you're probably a diabetic. Or a butterfly).

Some folks will wait until the bathroom is completely empty before letting one go (for fear the super judgemental people in this world will...what? Judge you? *gasp!*).

Or what about the people that avoid pooping in public restrooms altogether and will instead go all the way home to do it in private. What if you're out somewhere and you REALLY have to go and you're nowhere near a safe, private toilet, and there's a line for the restroom 20+ people deep and there's no way you can get in and out without anyone seeing or hearing you? What then?

What about the phantom poopers who are never seen going to the bathroom EVER, but will leave a little gift for the next user. Those are the BEST.

But then there are those incredibly uninhibited poopers that just don't give a flying rat's ass. All conversations with these people eventually digress to talking about poop. Individuals that actually have classifications for the different "types" of poops.

For example:

- The Holy Sh*t - a poo that is SO big you just have to take a picture for documentation and gloating purposes (usually these people send this photo off in a text to their friends, beaming with a sense of accomplishment).

- The No-Wiper - On the last day of summer vacation, after you've had your last "real" meal (before the school cafeteria sludge begins) - the planets align and everything comes out solid and you're left completely wipe free.

The rarest kind are the battle sh*tters that actually revel in the thrill of making everyone else gag from the sound and smell of their triumph on the porcelain throne.

Admit it - you wish you had someone to battle against.

;-)

-slr

Fond memories

I've found myself thinking about my grandma today (for no specific reason), and what an incredibly amazing woman she was. I'm always telling people that her favorite saying was "If you rest, you rust." Wiser words were never spoken and I can only hope that when I'm old and wrinkly that I'm even half as determined and full of life as she was when she passed away more than 15 years ago.

Some of my favorite memories are of bringing stray or wounded animals home with me and taking them to her to fix them up (mom and I lived right next door. It was like the best thing ever). She was a Registered Nurse during one of the wars (not sure which - she was old and I was young so at the time I thought it was probably one or both of the World Wars), so for me as a 6 or 7 year old that meant that she could fix anyone or anything that was sick. And all those animals (Mostly cats. There was one squirrel) would then hang around after she had done her medicinal magic (which usually consisted of a little H2O2 on a cotton ball to whatever ailed them (because that shiz cures EVERYTHING!) and a little TLC.) The best part is they would trail behind her when she walked down the street to a friend's house and wait for her in the yard until she came out. On days when I wanted MY cats to do the same thing (who, btw, absolutely LOVED her and only tolerated me), I would drag one of my 2-4 cats down the street on a leash hoping they would finally see that I was just as cool as she was. After a few years of that, I eventually gave up the hopes and dreams of having a harem of felines willingly following me everywhere like my grandmother and the Egyptians.

She would also get me ready for school every day. She would sing me awake and make me toasted PBJ sandwiches cut into quarters for breakfast EVERY morning. And then she would walk me to the bus stop (her harem stayed behind so as not to encourage me and my fragile psyche). She would wait with me and my friends until we were picked up for school, and then of course she would be there in the afternoon to pick me up.

Every. Day.

She was also the reason I made it through 10 years of piano lessons as a kid.

My grandma taught herself how to play the piano as a kid using her lunch money to buy sheet music. She was so good that she could play ANYTHING on the piano (or the organ) after listening to it just once (seriously. Anything) and I always insisted that she play something before and after I practiced (I always practiced at her house because I couldn't be trusted to do it at home. Hello? I was 7). I was mesmerized watching her fingers glide over the keys with the most amazing precision, just barely touching each one as she played. One of my favorites was this little gem...

I cry when I hear this song. I can see her at the piano and hear her singing the words (in her shaky old lady voice) and I think of how lucky I was to have her (living right next door!) for as long as I did.

The Great Bandido!

I had such a wonderful weekend in the Dub Dub - filled with the bestest of friends, side-splitting laughs, some very tasty fried pickles, Whitman baseball, crazy hair salon antics, my favoritest 1-year-old (who is now walking!!), and of course, LOTS of wine. 9 bottles to be exact. :-)

I also left the Bandido in Walla Walla to spend a few weeks with my friend, Kent, until I'm there again next month... just because he missed him oh so much. LOL! It's so cute that he has a little bromance with my dog.

I can't really blame him, though. He really is just about the best dog ever.



I mean just LOOK at what he puts up with!!!

The budding bromance of Kent and Bandit...

Just before last Memorial Day weekend last year I was panicked looking for a dog sitter - mine had double booked herself and the kennel was full, and I was leaving for AZ in two days! Kent, being the gracious and talented eavesdropper that he is, overheard me and said he was going camping, but that he would take him only as long as he wasn't a whiney, wimp of a dog.

Although Bandit didn't do so well with the first impressions (he doesn't like to be watched while he drinks and made Kent sit in the truck with the door closed), he quickly won Kent over...

During one of their morning walks, Bandit was bounding through the field and trees, chasing a rabbit or squirrel or the whatever, got distracted and caught his ear on a barbed wire fence (Kent texted me a picture and I just about died laughing. Bandit was getting a "this is not your backyard camping trip" education). It was a big enough gouge that Kent decided it needed "minor surgery" (aka cut it off with his pocket knife). Of course Bandit's like "Dude, that kinda hurts, but it's cool, cuz we're camping!!" at which point Kent was like "Alright, I guess this dog is kinda cool".

And then there was the Gracie incident... Kent's mom, Joyce, has a Spaniel of sorts, Gracie, and they were all on this camping trip too. Well, Gracie is a runner. If she's let off lease, she'll bolt and be all like "See ya suckers!" Well, at some point during the weekend, Gracie found her moment and took off, with Kent and Bandit running after her. At one point Kent stopped, looked Bandit right in the eye, told him to "go get 'er!" and Bandit all but saluted Kent, more than happy to do his part retrieving his new girlfriend. According to the story, he rounded Gracie up like cattle, blocking her way if she tried to move, and wouldn't let her go anywhere until his favoritest person ever, Kent, got there. :-)

And then Kent leashed Gracie to Bandit for the rest of the weekend, and she was mortified.

Kent also taught him how to jump off the dock into the lake like a real dog (as opposed to slowly and awkwardly falling in) and to not bark or whine while left alone in the the truck bed.

And they discovered the endless entertainment factor that comes with his weird fettish for towels (he'll gently take it right off your head, drag it a few yards away, and then roll around with it) and chasing flashlights.

Needless to say, I'm fairly certain Kent and Bandit will have a blast together. I will definitely miss him, but I'm excited to take advantage of this dog-free freedom!

Happy hour anyone?

The 90's are very much alive...

I've moved to the land of Portlandia! The City of Roses! The weed capital of the USA!
Not that I can actually enjoy that fact since I no longer live in WA...
Even though it would definitely take the edge off of my "damn state income taxes" bitterness...

Whatever.

My new home is growing on me. The problem is, for as long as I've talked and hoped for an escape from ol' Walla Walla - for bigger and better adventures and opportunities - now that it's finally happened, I'm quite homesick for the sleepy little town I've called home for the past 10 years. :-(

Since moving here almost 2 months ago (it's only been TWO MONTHS?! It feels like SO much longer) I've realized that sometime during those 10 years in the Dub Dub, I turned into a small town girl. I listen to country music, wear shit kickers, and really like to shoot guns (not at animals). I consider a night drinking cheap beer around a huge bonfire out in the middle of nowhere, singing along to a friend on the guitar, while launching potatoes at a dozer from a homemade potato gun an AWESOME Saturday night. So living in Portland feels kinda surreal - I still feel like I'm just here visiting, even though I've been living in my SUPER cute studio apartment for about a month now. (Pictures coming soon!) I'm sure I'll get there, it's just going to take me a while to adjust to the new pace of life.

Aside from actually going outside with the dog whenever he needs to do his thing, and then waiting for what seems like eternity for him to FINALLY settle on just the right smelling spot to drop a deuce (I miss my fenced in yard)...

One of the biggest things I've noticed since being here is that I don't know how to date!! I'm a small town girl trying to adjust back to big town living and finding it all just a little... lonely.

So, I never really dated in high school or college - I was just too innocent and naive back then. And the dating scene in WW is quite limited and very heavily populated with farmers (whom I fully respect - they work their asses off - I just haven't met one that I wanted to date). So during my 29 years of life, including the 6 years of my no-longer-a-Whittie Walla Walla residency, I didn't really pursue many romantic relationships. So now that I'm actually mature enough to handle a relationship (although that fact is still debatable), and live in a city with plenty of options, I have no clue what to do!

I'm working on it, though. Slowly... I signed up for a sweet kickball league last week (SO excited for that!), and have joined a few Meet Up groups. I'm also planning a date with a bottle of red wine and my keyboard sometime soon to fill out my online dating profile.

Although that activity might actually require a few best friends as reinforcements... :-)

Hello, girls weekend???

I know finding my niche after a huge move like this isn't going to happen over night, but damn I wish I could just bypass the awkward my-dog-has-more-friends-than-I-do transition phase and get to the having a blast, plans every night, no time to be lonely stage.

It's time for the social butterfly to spread her wings!

-slr