31 July 2012

Life is too deep for words. so don’t try to describe it - just live it.

Another month has come and gone. I am pretty sure I say it every month, but seriously---2012 needs to slow its self down.

July was ridiculously busy even though I don't feel like I accomplished much. Most of that though was because of work and since my job is kind of like Fight Club, I must obey the first rule of Fight Club--> You don't talk about Fight Club. I am definitely looking forward to a quiet or at least less stressful August.

July wasn't all business and no fun though.

I've been having a heck of a lot of fun with my jewelry and have even had some custom orders. It's a great feeling when someone really loves something you create and asks for a piece made just for them.


Went to see Magic Mike.....twice. I mean come on, how could this movie not be part of the highlight reel for the month?


Running, while not spectacular, wasn't so bad. I'm still trying to adjust to the heat and to not really having a goal. It was a little disappointing that I didn't manage to run my first 5k as I had originally planned, but it's cool. I still love it which makes it all worth it.


But my favorite part of the month has been being able to catch up on some Tigers baseball. I simply adore this team whether they are winning or losing (someday I'll get it together enough to put a proper post together about that).

Looking ahead to August, there are some pretty good things on the schedule. Girls night out with the TC Beach Bums. A friends wedding. Some home improvement projects. And who knows what else!

30 July 2012

Music Monday: Emiliana Torrini

I have a ridiculous girl crush on Emiliana Torrini right now. I am completely in love with her sound and style. Here are a few of my favorite songs from her album Me and Armini.

Jungle Drum is my unofficial summer theme song. It's a fun song to shake your tail feather to.

Big Jumps

Me and Armini

28 July 2012

This Week In Photos

My parents left for vacation this week, so I've been annoying my brother by hanging out at their house to watch some baseball and the Olympics (I don't have cable or an antenna to watch either at home). I've also been using the change of location to put together some ideas for some future posts.

Below are some of the photos I've snapped while handing out around my parents house.

I've been using the change in location to work out some ideas for future blog posts.


Lots of fun details tucked around every corner.

My brother's song books, amps, guitars and strings are all over the house.
  The weather has been crazy this week. Lots of clouds. Lots of storms and even some hail.


Running with the Devil

In the spirit of full disclosure, I really, REALLY wanted to skip this weeks post.

Now, I know I'm not falling out of love with running. Quite the contrary. I still love it and need it and crave (awkward word choice) it, but actually doing it has been another story.

Since deciding some of the lingering aches and pains that just won't go away are from over doing it and keeping myself to 3 runs a week, it's been terrible. It's been a struggle to get out there because I keep telling myself, "Well, I can just do it tomorrow". And to make matters worse, I'm completely stressed out and frustrated at work (which translates to my need of sleep increases by monstrous proportions), it's either been crazy hot and muggy (on each of my runs this week I thought I was going to pass out it was so hot and muggy and gross) or we've had thunderstorms (not getting caught in another one of those again). But really, those are just a bunch of lame excuses, right?!

It's pretty safe to say I've lost my motivation and as much as I don't want to admit that I've made yet another mistake with all this running business by ditching the C25k program, I think that has a lot to do with it. Yes---I love running just to RUN. None of this is to lose weight. I'm not trying to drop dress sizes. I'm not trying to win races. I'm not try to impress anyone.

But then why am I doing it? That is the biggest and sadly unanswered question of all. Because I love it?  Yeah, that part of it. But is that enough because right now it's not enough....by a long shot! And now that I see it actually written down, seems totally ridiculous. I also think part of my issue with it is that some of the "novelty" of running has warn off as had the support from friends and family. I'm not saying they have totally flipped sides and are now say I can't do it--that isn't it at all. Now that it's become a part of who I am (I am not at a place where I feel like I can say "Yeah, I'm totally a runner" without feeling like a poser), it's not that big of a deal and not hearing the "hey, great job this morning!" or "keep up the good work" has been tough. And admitting that, even tougher.

Starting tomorrow I'm going back to a structured training program. I'm not exactly how it's totally going to work but I'm going to pick up where I left off with the C25k program. I'm going to use that as a starting point and work my way up to a 10k program. It seems over the top and maybe a little too adventurous but I'm hoping it helps to get me back on track because right now, me trying to do this on my own isn't working.


27 July 2012

Things I Pondered When I Should Have Been Doing Other Stuff

Happy opening day of the Olympics!


I shall not be watching this evenings opening ceremony as the Tiger's are playing Toronto. I've taking over the television at my parents house (I don't have cable) since they are on vacation.  

  • Speaking of the Tigers, it's been quite a bit of fun to see them have a pretty good season this year. At the time of this posting, they are a half game game out of first place in the Central Division. For this long time fan, it's good to see them doing so well consistently.
  • Having a short work week totally messes with my head. It didn't dawn on me until almost 5pm this afternoon that today was actually Friday and I have the next two days off from work. Weird, I know!
  • I desperately want a pair of yellow jeans. I'm quite certain I would make them look good. Really, really good.
  • For whatever reason, people think it is quite amusing when I said "I'd climb *a certain baseball player* like a tree". 
  • Ya'll remember Close-Up toothpaste? I used to beg my mom to let me use that kind of toothpaste as a kid because of the fabulously happy couple in the commercials. Well, I bought some this last week for sentimental reasons and it's kind of gross. Apparently it is supposed to be cinnamon flavored toothpaste. Ummm.....no. It's not. It's just goopey and really red. And doesn't taste the least bit like cinnamon. 

26 July 2012

One is rated by others as he rates himself.


Gosh darn it I love this link-up!

I missed last week because of a ridiculously full schedule, but I'm happy to be able to participate this week.

Disclaimer: This may or may not end up making much sense. I have written and re-written and then wrote again what is below. Tonight is one of those nights when you know what you want to say but can't get your brain to get it together enough to form a relatively coherent paragraph. I'm blaming it on Tigers baseball.

I've spent a large majority of my life trying to figure out how to "fix" or "change" myself. Even though I've always liked myself, I still felt like I needed change because I never quite fit into the mold that friends, family, society had set out for me. I've always been a "color outside of the box and hope no one gets mad at me" kind of girl. Ridiculous, right?

I think I said it before, but I've never felt such a huge sense of freedom like this before. I've never felt like I could participate in a community where all you needed to be was yourself. Participating in this project/link-up has made me see myself in such a different light. It's hard to believe sometimes that I've not always had such a strong sense of self. It's hard to believe that I always thought I would be better off if I could "just be" like everyone else wanted me to be.


But that's not who I am. I wasn't meant to fit into any sort of mold. I'm not sure who exactly the mold was made for, but it sure as hell wasn't this girl.

As I continue to grow as a person, learn more about how strong I am and love who I am and am becoming, I am embracing each step with everything I've got.






   



23 July 2012

Men are respectable only as they respect.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson
I've been doing a lot of "free writing" lately. Just letting my pen glide across the page without letting my internal editor know what is going on. This is the first in what I am sure is going to be a new series, where I share some of what has come out of those sessions. Some topics may be kind of heavy, "controversial" or pretty polarizing topics and some might just be down right ridiculous.  Who knows, but that's kind of the point. It's just me, unedited and (sadly) unfiltered.



For most of my adult life, I have subscribed to the rule that I'll talk about almost anything except for two things:

Politics & Religion.

It only takes a few instances of people rolling their eyes at you in disgust and telling you that "you are wrong" or "stupid" or are "such an idiot", "not as intelligent or as smart" as they thought you were or my personal favorite that they "just don't have a place in their lives for people like you" before you don't even try anymore. But today I am (kind of) throwing caution to the wind.

Despite what I have "learned" from others on the subject, what I believe (specifically) isn't really all the imporant as to who I am as a person just as what you believe (specifically) isn't going to make me think any less or any more of you as a person.

Republican. Democrat. Liberal. Conservative. Socialist Christian. Muslim. Atheist. Agnostic. Buddhist. Hindi. Jewish. Mormon. 

None of the above really matters, because for me, it's all about respect, understanding and acceptance.

I was only 5 or 6 when I adopted my current beliefs about religion (if you are old/young enough to believe in something, you are old/young enough to not believe in something). It was during a bible school lesson while the teacher was telling us that God was always watching us, to which I responded "Oh....so you mean like Santa Claus". After a back and forth with the teacher, me being told I was wrong and me not understanding why I was being told I was wrong, the teacher ended the conversation by saying "Because Santa Claus isn't real". That was an awesome day in my young life.

As for politics, I had my first "debate" during the third grade (I would have been 8 going on 9) when George Bush was running against Michael Dukakis. I don't remember the specifics of what was said, but I remember it having to do with something Dukakis had done or said and my friend at the time didn't feel was right. My argument on the subject was that at least he told the truth--why wouldn't you want the President to be someone who told the truth? But that didn't matter and was promptly made fun of for "supporting a loser" when he lost the election.

Those two instances quite early on in life taught me a very valuable less about both topics and that was to simply stay out of the way of any conversation or debate about either. It taught me that for some (not all), anything before that moment of revealing what you believe no longer matters. I have lost more friends  (although one could argue that if we had really been friends we'd still be friends) than I can to admit because we didn't see eye to eye. And each time one of them walked away from me for the last time, it stung and made me question whether is was really worth holding tight to what I feel is the right way for me to live my life or if I should just give up and give in to what everyone else believes.

So why bring it up now?

Anger. Frustration. Sadness. Worry. A belief that this would be a much more peaceful world if we could all just get along.

Anger that some feel it's absolutely acceptable to tell me that I'm "going to burn" because I'm a non-believer or that I'm in the "wrong" for believing that we as human beings deserve to make choices for ourselves. Frustrated because I've been told I support "murder" because I'm pro-choice and believe in health care reform. Saddened that I trusted people who turned their backs on me the minute they found out we were "different". Worried because posting this scares the crap out of me but fully believe that it's no longer time to be silent and that sometimes turning the other cheek really isn't fair.

But it's not about me. I've grown a pretty thick skin. I get it. I'm the crazy liberal, who doesn't believe in God, wants everyone to be able to marry whoever they fall in love with. I want everyone to have access to affordable healthcare and not worry about if they go to the doctor whether or not they'll be able to make a house payment. I want women to be able to make their own medical decisions with their doctors and not have to be subjected to unwarranted and unnecessary invasive procedures.

And really it's more than all of that. I'm tired. I am tired of the hate. I'm tired of the disrespect. The inability of some to look past themselves and to think about what it would feel like for someone to hurl those same words they throw (at people like me) back at them. I'm tired of the Facebook posts. The tweets and retweets on Twitter saying that I am (or again people like me) wrong for posting what I believe (or don't believe) because they don't fall inline with the norm (what is the norm anyway?!).

It's a pipe dream and an idealized notion of what could be. I know that I have my head in the clouds. I just want to live in a world where we accept one another for who we are as people. Deep down inside, whether you are Republican, Democrat, Liberal, Conservative, Socialist, Christian, Muslim, Atheist, Agnostic, Buddhist, Hindi, Jewish or Mormon doesn't make a difference. What makes a difference is how we treat each other. Love and respect one another. 

Music Monday: Guilty Pleasures

What better way to start off a Monday than with a bunch of ridiculous songs that we all love but don't really to admit to singing along at when they come on the radio or at a wedding reception or when they come on your iPod/MP3 player when no one is around, making you dance like you're life depended on it.

Or is that just me?

Baby Got Back-Sir Mix-a-Log
I woke up with this song stuck in my head this morning. I don't know why  and that kind of scares me.  


Ice Ice Baby-Vanilla Ice
A friend from work and I busted these lyrics out for another friends 4 (or maybe she's 5) year old daughter. She was far from impressed.


I'm Too Sexy-Right Said Fred
Oh, this brings back middle schools memories of trying to walk like we were models on the catwalk.


Never Gonna Give You Up-Rick Astley
No Rick, I'm never gonna give you up. Man I love this song.

22 July 2012

DIY: Composition Notebook Re-do

I have more composition notebooks than I know what to do with. Because they are really inexpensive and can be used for anything that requires a pen and some paper, I have quite the collection. They pretty much get used for everything: running log, recipes, journals, story ideas, working out blog posts, photography stuff, work, phone messages, etc.

The problem with composition notebooks though is that they aren't very pretty. Sure, Target occasionally sells them with designs and different colors but they are rarely the ones you can by for $0.99 and are most definitely not the ones I can by at my local shop. For me, the closest Target is 45 minutes away. 

I decided to jazz up one of the plain black and white marble notebooks I had laying around the house because my current "Hey, that'd made a great blog post!" notebook is getting ready to be retired.

This project was super simple and the possibilities are endless with what you can do with it. I may even need to take a trip to the store tomorrow to pick up a few more notebooks to do this again!

Before we continue, I shall apologize that the photos are not the best. I didn't realize until after I had started the project that my camera battery was totally dead, so these were taken with my iPhone. Whoops!

Supplies:
  • Composition Notebook
  • Spray Paint
  • Washi Tape
  • Clear Acrylic Matte Sealer (optional)
     
In a well ventilated area, pray both sides of the notebook with the paint, making sure to wait until the first side if dry before flipping the notebook over to do the second side (trust me--made that mistake on my own, it was a bit messy). For this notebook, it's a bit hard to tell in the photos, but I used a metallic silver. Don't worry about getting the edges of the paper. I lightly sprayed the edges of my notebook so the edges of the pages are also silver.
     
When the paint has dried on both sides of the notebook, cover the binding with washi tape, trimming away any excess hanging over the edge.
     
 Once I had all the washi tape where I wanted it, I did spray everything with the acrylic sealer. This helped to keep some of the extra paint residue from wiping off all over myself and also helped to secure the washi tape around the edges.
Once everything is dry, you are ready to start writing!

Like I said, this is such a versatile project, the sky is really the limit. I think the next time I'm going to use white paint and then use a paint pen to draw a design on the notebook.

If anyone else gives this a try, I'd love to see what ya'll come up with!

This Week In Photos

                      

Sunday: Free writing a blog post //Monday: Sunrise over the lake //Tuesday: Fifty Shames of Earl Grey  = a good read //Wednesday: Textures //Thursday:  Sadie avoiding having her picture taken //Friday: T. G. I. Freaking. F. //Saturday: Red sky at night, sailors delight

21 July 2012

Running with the Devil


Holy busy week, Batman.

Between work and home and helping out a friend, it was a bit of a struggle trying to balance everyday life and my morning runs this week.

Why?

Because I'm flippin' exhausted. Being up late and getting up early just do not mix (when did I get old?!). Shoot, I even slept through THREE alarms yesterday.

THREE of them! Who does that?

This week reminded me though how much I need to run to get rid of stress and tension. I slept terrible. Ate crap and drank a lot of beer (some had fruit in it but I'm not sure that counts as being healthy). 'Twas not a stellar week. I suppose everyone needs a reminder every once in a while about why they do things, but I'm not so certain it needs to be quite so "in your face". I can only imagine how annoying I was to work with this week. Super bitch comes to mind. :/

Despite all of that though, I made some pretty great strides (no pun intended). I'm now able to consistently run my first mile a)without cursing the running gods and b)without walking.....at all! Still some dancing involved (you're welcome morning commuters for the free entertainment!) but no walking. On Monday, I managed to complete two miles of just running, no walking intervals. I was and still am pretty pumped about that! I mean, I knew it was possible I didn't exactly think it was probable let alone something I could actually say that I did. I'm still not quite ready to sign myself up for another 5K, but that will come in time. Running is turning into much more of a mental challenge than I was anticipating. Thankfully though, I am learning that sometimes it's best to let things happen on their own time and not try to push it too quickly, too soon.

It sounds totally lame and cliche, but it really does seem like only yesterday I went out for day 1 of the C25k program to test my repaired Achilles tendon and foot. I kind of what to send McDreamy (seriously, he and Patrick Dempsey could be cousins or something) a "Thank You" card, but that seems a bit weird. Especially this far away from my surgery date. But considering a year ago I was barely able to hobble around on my crutches to now being able to actually call myself a runner (I've decided that one can officially call themselves a runner when they don't mind going out and about in compression, a.k.a. spandex,  shorts and tank top--it's a sexy look, you should try it some time), it's a pretty big deal.

I'm really proud of myself for all that I've managed to accomplish over the last 12 weeks. Running has helped me to learn so much more about myself, both physically, mental and most importantly emotionally.   I can't wait to look back in the 12 weeks to see just how much farther I've been able to push myself.

This new journey has only just begun and I have a lot further to travel.


Be True To Oneself

20 July 2012

Things I Pondered When I Should Have Been Doing Other Stuff

  • So....I'm still confused by a lady at work telling me that I look like a girl "who enjoys sticking singles in (male) strippers shorts". Do I? Do I really look like a girl who frequents male strip clubs?! Weird. 
  • Weirdest of all she told me that before I saw Magic Mike......twice. 
  • After a crazy work at work, I plan on spending my weekend reading books for work. And I'm looking forward to it. Does that mean I'm actually an adult who has found a career path?!
  • The dates for my trip to the Dominican Republic have been set and the deposit shall be made any day now. I am SO EXCITED!! And yes I totally started a countdown......243 days and counting.
  • I'm trying to decide what I should do with all these short stories and scenes and character "profiles" I have been writing lately. I don't necessarily want them to be lost to boxes of notebooks but they don't really fit together to form one cohesive story.
  • I think I might take myself to see the new Batman movie this weekend, mainly because Tom Hardy is playing Bane. Ever since he played Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights, that man has made me swoon no matter how evil his character may be. 

18 July 2012

Good morning, Sunshine!

I really hope I'm not mucking up the fact that Amanda at The Year of Me picked little 'ole me for the Sunshine Blogger Award but am not, posting this in the morning. Rules were meant to be broken, though right?! ;)

Seriously though, a big thank you to Amanda for this. It's quite a bit of fun (and even a little flattering).

Rules of Engagement:

  1. Include the award log either in your acceptance post or somewhere on your blog. 
  2. Answer 10 questions about yourself. 
  3. Pass the award on to 10-12 other deserving bloggers.
  4. Add a link on your post to all of the talented winners and comment on their page to let them know they've been deemed amazing. 
  5. Thank the brilliant soul that recognized your talent and bestowed this wonderful award on you...and of course link back to them as well. 
And just when you thought you knew everything about me...

1. What would you most like to change about yourself?
This is actually quite simple. I wish I were a natural red head. Seriously---this having to touch up the color every 4-6 weeks is getting a wee bit expensive. Oh AND I wish I could walk in heels without feeling like a weeble who is about to totally wobble over.

2. What is your theme song?
Hahahahaha......you want me to pick just one?! Come on now.....I have multiple "This is my soundtrack!" playlists on my iPod and iPhone, but if you're going to make me go with just one, it'd have to be Crazy by Alana Davis. Like the lyric says, "I'm not completely insane....maybe just a little bit crazy."

3. One part of your life, a memory, action, etc. that you wish you could surgically remove from your brain?
The perm I had in the eighth grade. Eeesh. That was terrible.

4. What generation do you wish you had been a part of?
I would have LOVED to have lived during the sixties.

5. What was your favorite childhood toy?
Definite toss up between my Sit-n-Spin and my GlowWorm.

6. What is your favorite housecleaning chore?
Picking up the phone to call a cleaning service although I suppose vacuuming isn't so bad.

7. Do you Twitter?
Absolutely! and I love it. Look me up @meglmy

8. Any goals?
So many goals. So little time. Passing my PHR exam in December. Completing a marathon before  my 35th birthday. Finishing the manuscript I started all those years ago.

9. Do you really drink margaritas all the time?
Oh no. I had an unfortunate run-in with tequila during my first trip to Mexico and haven't been able to have a margarita since!

10. What is the ugliest car you've ever driven and were embarrassed to be seen in?
I don't remember the year, but it was an Oldsmobile Ferenzia (spelling may or may not be correct). It was a lovely shade of orange. I loved that dang car. 


Those who light up my life: 
Unabashedly Me
Apples and Glue
The Pretty Pinhead
Lori Prima
Living in the Right Turn Lane
Bassabilty
Kimberly's Quest



Thanks for reading!

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