Pants Are Dumb... and other thoughts

Last night my plan was to hurry home from work, throw on my running shoes, get fit, and shower.  All this before meeting up with a fellow for drinks and chats.

The last part of the evening went according to plan.  The part where I was productive and ran a bunch of miles did not.

Instead of getting out there on the open road and burning off second lunch, I came home, immediately relieved myself of pants, cracked open a beer, plopped myself on the couch and watched The Killing.

Oh yeah and when I finished the beer I straightened my hair (sans pants and in front of the T.V.... obvi).

All of this was a genius use of my time.  Possibly Absolutely the highlight of my week.  And I'm not at all ashamed to admit that.

At one point during the "highlight of my week", the part where I started talking to the television to be exact, I found myself uncontrollably laughing to/at myself.  I realized how ridiculous I would look to a fly on the wall -- or, more realistically, my neighbors.  (I'm not always the best about closing the blinds when engaging in pants-free living.)

An aside: This raises the age-old question, "Are you ever really living while wearing pants?"  The answer, as you might already have guessed, is "No.  Not fully... Unless they're hot pink." See venn diagram (based on another pants related venn diagram) below for further clarification:

Back to the business at hand.

My delight with the situation suddenly turned into feelings of deep gratitude.  For what?  I guess it's sort of in line with what I posted about yesterday.  Needing to just chill out and enjoy what's happening now.  It's lovely little moments like these that help me acknowledge and appreciate my extremely limited responsibilities and the great amount of freedoms I have as a result.  Sitting around half dressed drinking beer in my apartment might seem like a silly example but I have a feeling it's nonsense like that that I will be missing 10 years down the road.

Actually let's be honest here... as soon as this evening I'll be missing the sweet relaxation of last night.  Tonight it's all pants, all the time for Amanda.  A dear friend of mine is arriving in a matter of hours and so fun-times-in-public-places must ensue (damn social convention and your insistence on constricting waist-bands).

This isn't to say that the weekend won't be equi-glorious to last night.  It will be just a different type of glorious.

And with that I am shockingly out of words.  Off I go so start my 3 day respite from work!!

Update?

So I am going to make a concerted effort to turn a little more inward.  Things have been hectic (I know, I know, what else is new with you?).  Hopefully more blogging will be a byproduct.

The Sunday before last I started thinking about the week I had ahead and realized that I did not have a single free second.  So what did I do?  I canceled every plan I had made so that I could take care of myself.

By noon the next day I had filled all of my new found free time with even more plans.

I feel torn between wanting to get out, socialize, and have fun and wanting to sleep, clean, and make my environment pleasant.

The past couple of weeks have been somewhat emotionally tumultuous -- as was evidenced by my all out sob fest in the middle of the San Diego airport Monday morning.  AGH.  Public displays of emotional instability.  Always fun!  (God Bless my mother who was on the phone for most of it).

Nothing in particular is wrong.  It all goes back to my impatience.  Goal setting and then wanting to fast forward to the goal obtaining.  The particular problem with my latest goals is that I can't quite figure out the path to get me to them.  So it's frustrating.

I think my newest goal should be "cut it out with your stupid goals".  I'm tired of always striving - never being satisfied.  I need to sit back and enjoy instead of constantly working for something other than what I've got going on right now.  Life changes and evolves naturally without me constantly poking and prodding at it (seemingly in vain). 

Now that's not to say there aren't some things that I could... or rather should... be working toward changing.  Namely, the state of affairs in my pocketbook and car disrepair.  Maybe with increased inner calm those won't seem as daunting?  Who knows.

One thing I've noticed in these past few weeks where I've been fairly restless, there have been certain things, namely photography, photo editing, and choir practice, that have centered me and brought me joy.  It's been nice reminding myself of an outlet worthy of my energy that rewards my efforts.

This ramble was not suppose to be this long.  All I had meant to write was "Hey... gonna try and be better about this writing thing -- it's sort of important to me.  In the meantime, enjoy the Dr. Dog song I've been listening to all day".

So yeah... Gonna be better about writing.  And enjoy Dr. Dog.

30 Days. 30 Pictures.

I really meant to do April photo-a-day.  Alas I did not.  But that doesn't mean I didn't take pictures.  Here are 30 snapshots from 30 days worth of April

Happy First Day of the Month Before the Month In Which Summer Starts!

Monday Musings

Last week was one of those "Am I losing my mind?" sort of weeks.  Please readers tell me you know the kind of week I'm referring to.  One of those 7 days where my brain was thinking crazy thoughts, my mouth was speaking even crazier words, and all I could do to not self-destruct was keep busy, busy, BUSY.

An aside: Maybe it's something in the water?  From what I've heard I'm not the only Seattle-ite experiencing temporary insanity.

Anyway, luckily for me, on Thursday night I flew down to California to see my family and had the chance to briefly visit one of my best friends and her fiance.  The trip definitely helped with the "crazies" and I like to think that I woke up feeling a little more "zen" today, or at least dedicated to the pursuit of chilling the "eff" out.

Here are a few pictures of the sunnier times I had over the weekend.  It was filled with plenty palm tree sightings, a hillside hike, a cute dog, well dressed family members, and happy cows (they're happy because they're from California, DUH).

Now that I'm back in Seattle I am making an effort to calm down and enjoy life more than I had been last week.  Initially, to usher this calmness into my life, I pledged that after work I would go straight home, run a few miles, hit up a yoga class, then clean my room while singing along to some sweet tunes before turning in and enjoying the wonder that is my newly luxurious bed (yeah, I still cant get over my memory foam, nbd).

As the day has dragged on progressed (and I realized my paycheck is already waiting for me in my checking account) I have changed my tune and decided that what I really need is to socialize while wearing a cute outfit heavily featuring my new hot pink jeans.  So change of plans... fancy cocktails, sushi, my favorite wedges, and brightly colored pants have taken the place of my original evening of health and wellness.  Room cleaning and long distance running can wait!   

Another aside:  Yes, I am always in the state of needing to clean my room.  It seems as if a tornado hits weekly when I'm not looking.  I of course have nothing to do with its recurring state of disarray.

One thing that doesn't have to wait is listening to the aforementioned sweet tunes.  I'm pretty sure I'll be blasting this playlist while deciding exactly which lipstick pairs best with neon pink legs.

Polite Dance Song - the bird and the bee
Eyeoneye - Andrew Bird
All Day Day Light - The Morning Benders
Cannons - Youth Lagoon
Birthday - the bird and the bee
Boyfriend - Best Coast
Salsaness - Radiation City
Heard It On The Radio - the bird and the bee
Young Adult Friction - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

Tricky Tricky

Sometimes, when she won't come over on her own accord, I like to lure my coworker (Maggie the dog) over to my desk with a treat and then snatch her up and make her take pictures with me.  

I'm pretty sure that she's grown hip to my tricks but the treats continue to prove to be too delicious to pass up... and I think that secretly she finds the cuddles delicious as well.

Joy In A Box

Alleluia!  Oh happiest of days! These were waiting for me at my desk yesterday...

It being the week after Easter, Peep prices are at a discounted low and those in the "Amanda inner-circle" (very important and very exclusive, obviously) know that the way to my heart is by stocking up on my behalf!  (Hot tip: The chicks are far preferable to the bunnies and if pink is not available then yellow is my color of choice... seriously people, not much time left, get out there and buy me some!!!)

  Anyway,  after squealing with glee and thanking my gift-giver, I popped a batch into the freezer.  All Peep lovers know that Peeps are even more enjoyable when they're stale but only true connoisseurs (aka weirdo fanatics) know that frozen peeps mimic some of the texture of a stale Peep but have an extra chilly bonus.  Say it with me now - "Nom-nom-dot-com".   The first frozen batch has already been scarfed and, surprisingly enough, not all the scarfing was done by me!

My co-worker Heidi had never had a Peep until yesterday.  I repeat, this woman had made it to her late forties without ever eating a Peep!!!  What sort of sad and sorry existence is that?  It most certainly was not one that I could stand for, I'll tell you that much.  And so, as would be expected of me, I came to the rescue and the situation has been rectified.  Heidi finally tasted the magic that is processed sugar fluffs coated in more sugar and shaped like baby chickens!  Huzzah!

 I typically don't like to force Peeps on anyone.  My fear in introducing people to my favorite sweet comes from the fact that Peeps are one of this world's "divisive foods".  The "divisive foods" are those foods that you either love to the point that marriage is a real consideration or you hate to the point that just seeing them is day-ruining.  I'm telling you, Peeps are right up there with the likes of cilantro, pickles, olives, and candy corn (eeewww, candy corn, seriously eewwww!). 

 Very little hurts my heart more than being exposed to Peep-hate. but luckily for me (and my tender heart) the good feeling I had about Heidi was spot on.  After a little encouragement she tried the sugary goodness and not only did she enjoy it but she was quite eager to get her hands on more.  And more I have given her and more I will continue to give!  By the time the stores have finally run out of Easter Peeps she'll be borderline diabetic... and it's all because of me!

It's days like this that I feel satisfied... like I really made a difference.  Time to sign off so I can free my hands and commence patting myself on the back.

Good Things...A Mainly Pictoral Exploration

After a few days... okay, a few weeks, months, and maybe even years of me going "W-T-EFFFF?" I was planning on titling this entry "Dudes Be Dumb" and elaborating on this statement.  For the sake of time and my sanity I decided to save my breath and instead post on a few good things that have been going on as of late...

1.  This past weekend was almost impossibly beautiful... like I could be brought to tears just reminiscing over the sun and warmth!

I was dog sitting in South Seattle and on Saturday morning decided to grab my camera and explore nearby Georgetown.Unfortunately my camera was without its SD card (wretch! blast!) and so my iPhone had to suffice. Luckily I had just downloaded a bundle of new photo apps and so this was the perfect opportunity to play around and pretend like I'm artistically gifted (side note: I really need to learn how to use my DSLR and stop relying on cool photo editing software... but that's for another time).  Here's a glimpse at my sunny (and industrial) explorations...

 

The Corson Building. I have yet to eat there ($$$$) but was charmed when I stumbled upon in my wanderings.

... Oh the humanity!

Apparently heaven is a place on earth and it's called Useful Vintage Goods in Georgetown, Seattle.  I could have stayed in there all day basking in the splendor of the hopelessly unaffordable found objects.

Came across the Georgetown Trailer Park Market.  Like a flea market... ... ... but in trailers.  Rest assured, I'll be back!

2.   After a stellar Saturday the weekend just kept getting better.  Easter Sunday looked a little something like this...

7 AM

10 AM

11 AM - 12 PM

1 PM

After 1 PM the photos stopped.  Mimosa + Bloody Mary = Extended lunch time nap (on my new memory foam mattress topper).  Basically I was a happy camper.

I have more "good things" to post but this is getting a little lengthy, I am getting hungry, and I want to save something to post another time!

I hope my billions of trillions of zillions of readers also had a splendidly sunny weekend filled with sandal wearing, naps, walks, friends, and foods!

I'm going to leave you with the lead track from my newest impulse iTunes purchase... yeah, that's right I bought Fleetwood Mac's Rumours... what about it?