Pages

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Blog #105: Lately

Have you heard this song yet?
How about this one?

I'm in love with both songs and both of their beautiful female artists. (In a very heterosexual way, of course.) (Not that there would be anything wrong with the other way.) (I was just clarifying that my particular girl love happens to be platonic.) (Except maybe for how I feel about Kate Middleton. I don't know the right word for that infatuation.)

And now a list:
1. GO CHIEFS!!!
I went to visit best friend in STL and was thrilled to be able to cheer the Chiefs to victory over the Faiders with her.
2. Got some awesome products I ordered from Birchbox today! Ask me about Birchbox. It's awesome.
3. My boss's big charity event for Community Linc (provides housing for homeless/transitioning families), The Rent Party, was a hit!
4. Fall is the best season.
5. If I were to try my hand at fashion blogging, I would use a picture like this, and I would tell you that my shirt & vest were on sale at Old Navy, my jeans are Target from a few months back, and my boots are Steve Madden and yes, they are wonderful.

Friday, October 21, 2011

Blog #104: Singledom PERKS

As I sat in my bed last night solving logic puzzles on my iPad and eating microwave scalloped potatoes out of their serving dish, it occurred to me that I have been taking my singlehood for granted.

Seriously. I was eating cheesy carbs in bed and doing puzzles. I call that winning, but something tells me that wouldn't fly in a marriage. Or maybe it would. If you know a guy who doesn't mind bringing potatoes into the bedroom (to eat, pervs) let me know.

As if that isn't enough to convince you and me that being single is awesome (because that's what I'm going for here - for both of us) here are a few more perks of singledom:

1. I'm about to have my Master's Degree. Okay. I know there are plenty of happily married individuals with growing families that do this. I know myself, though. I'm very much 100% or 0% about most things. While it's not necessarily a strength, it still means that I would probably not have given up my time and energy to grad school if I were involved in a serious relationship (the one last year was well after grad school began).  It exhausts and stresses me out now, so I can only imagine managing a marriage or family on top of that. Kudos to you super men/women that do it.

2. Autonomy. If I'm not at work/internship/school, my time is MINE. I get to decide how I spend it. I get real stingy with my time because I don't have a luxury of it at the moment. And that's okay, because I haven't committed it to belong to anyone else (like you do in a marriage) so I can make plans at the last minute without checking with anyone or sit at home and drink wine and catch up on my DVR (which I like to call "Friday").

3.Weird eating habits. This actually might be more of a function of being single than a perk - but I don't mind it. Between work/internship/class I eat at weird times and not always normal things. Microwave scalloped potatoes isn't a normal evening snack but it was what I had on hand that was easy.

4. My space (not MySpace) is my space (not MySpace). I kind of like living alone. I get the whole closet to myself, don't have to fight with anyone over what shows to record on the DVR, and am in charge of whether (I originally typed "weather" here. I am NOT in charge of the weather, but that would be awesome.) I have a nice quiet evening with a book and a glass of wine (no noisy TV in the background) or if I want to watch Sunday Night Football and scream at the TV. I clean up when it suits me. I have my nephews or friends over when I feel like it.

5. Money. That's a big deal and it's one of the bigger reasons marriages that don't work, don't work. I like that I get to decide what I buy and when and am not quite ready to share that kind of decision with someone else. I'm sure when I meet the right person that will be something I will get to, but for now I really enjoy the freedom.

There you have it, 5 good reasons to stay single for awhile if you're single. I know the benefits of a fulfilling relationship and marriage reach far and long, but that doesn't mean that growth and happiness can't happen in the single life too.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Blog #103: 3 notes.

Just a few things:
1. Yesterday I got to work before 7am and then was at Solace House until after 10pm. I am not complaining because my job is not hard and Solace House is super fulfilling, I just can't help but wonder what life will be like when I only have one job/major obligation. Again, I fully acknowledge that grad school was a choice I made and an amazing opportunity that I had that is a blessing rather than a burden and that there are people out there who have it much more difficult than me. I am still SO glad I am pursuing this degree. I just want to be irrationally whiny for a brief second about how tired I am all the time and how jealous I get when other people talk about doing fun stuff after work and I go do more work after work. Now I'm done and back to embracing an attitude of gratefulness about it all. If push came to shove and someone put a gun to my head and asked me to choose between just job or job + Solace House, I would continue to choose my work at Solace House every time. Carry on.

2. Lenny's Sub Shop in Lenexa is one of my favorite places for lunch. I had been obsessed with their roast beef sandwich but yesterday I discovered their chicken salad kaiser sandwich and I will now proceed to eat that every day with some baked chips and if I'm feeling indulgent, a giant chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin cookie. Throw some lettuce/tomato/pickle on that thing and it's perfect.

3. On Monday night I watched The Sing Off "with" my BFF. The "with" is in quotes because due to her remote location we used DVR technology to synchronize our watching and texting to communicate our thoughts on each performance. Here's a tiny taste of what it was like. We were talking about the all girl group, Delilah here:
Full disclosure: I'm mostly sharing this because I wanted more people to laugh at me for using the term "girl boner"

Monday, October 17, 2011

Blog #102: The Year of the New

Can you believe that we're already halfway through October? There's only like 10 weeks left in 2011. 2011 started off kind of rocky for me with the whole having my heart ripped out of my chest and blown up into a million pieces and then totaling my car thing. However, it made a pretty quick turn for the better and I embraced a lot of new things this year. It's technically a little early for a "year in review" but I'm proud of all the "new" so far in 2011 and I feel like sharing.

1. New office
January 21, 2011

2. New Car
February 2011 
3. Also in February 2011, I got my iPhone. Totally revolutionized my life.

4. I went gallivanting to do some wine tasting in Washington, and developed some new sophisticated tastes.
April 2011

5. My mom got a major promotion, possibly opening up opportunities in a new city for me. We'll see. I went to visit.
May 2011

6. I went to my first country concert. It says Kenny Chesney but I was there to see the Zac Brown Band. ZBB didn't sing "Cold Hearted" but I loved them anyway.
July 2011

7. Kansas City finally got a Trader Joe's giving me a new place to get groceries.



8. I jumped out of an airplane. That was new.

September 17, 2011
9. I went on a business trip. My first one ever. And I got picked up by a limo.

10. There's more to come in the next 10 weeks. 2011 has definitely been the year of the new.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Blog #101: Adventures in Conversation

I have an identity crisis almost every time someone asks me what I do for a living. It's not an easy answer because my pride won't allow me to just say "assistant" because I know I am only in this role because it works while I'm in grad school and I always feel like I need to clarify that. But that always invites more questions and small talk that neither me nor the asker (who is probably just being polite) is interested in going through. By saying, "assistant while I finish grad school" I end up being asked the following questions immediately:

1. Oh, where are you going to school?
2. What are you studying?
3.Oh, how much longer do you have?
4.  So what do you want to do with that?

Three out of those four questions are really easy. Number 4, however, is tricky. And again I have to choose between something that will invite further questions or a simpler, less impressive answer that will end the torture conversation. Yesterday was a big day for that for me, and both of the major offenders were men in their mid to late 40's who appeared to also be hitting on me. (Side note: perhaps I should start rethinking my skin care routine.)

The first of these conversations took place at the conference I attended in Denver.  Thankfully, I'd forgotten my business cards so I could honestly say no when the guy asked. He was really harmless though, and I had an easy excuse to get away.

The worst was this guy that practically followed me around the grocery store last night trying to make conversation. He was there with his daughter who was sprinting all over the place, but he made sure to mention his EX wife and divorce as obviously as possible. I was tempted to mention a "live in boyfriend" as a means of discouraging him since I obviously wasn't wearing a ring or anything... but then I figured the fact that my cart held four individual sized "just add water" microwave desserts, a People Magazine, and a pack of Midol would give me away as I turned down the cat food aisle.

Not only is the situation uncomfortable enough as it is, but it also sends me into the tailspin of uncertainty I had thus far been able to avoid by embarking on the business trip. However, I return to Kansas City, and there reality is - waiting to meet me in the form of a mid life crisis..

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Blog #100: Purple Corduroy, Then & Now

Yes, this is my #100 blog on NST! Not my 100th blog ever though. I've been a fickle blogger on many different platforms. I figure I'll celebrate by writing about something frivolous and silly to lower expectations of meaningful posts so that I can blow you away with those later.

I don't have a picture handy of the purple corduroy overalls I wore constantly in the 5th and 6th grade with the same purple & pink striped shirt every time, but boy were they wonderful. I wore that outfit at least once a week and with the same brown Doc Marten style boots (but not real Docs...the budget friendly kind.) I was a fashionista from early on in my dressing life, obviously.

One time, before I realized how terrible I am at the sport, I did a basketball league at my elementary school and forgot to bring a change of clothes. So, when my mom came to watch me play, she saw me running up and down the court in what else? My purple corduroy overalls. One of my many proud, shining moments in sports.

I bring this up because I have discovered a grown up version of my purple overalls, and I love them:

Gap corduroy leggings in aubergine (a really fancy way to say deep/dark purple). I got the petite size so that they would hit just above my ankle and look great with pumps OR boots. I'm rocking them today with brown pumps, khaki blazer, and turquoise striped long knit shirt. I'm glad that 15 years later, I can incorporate purple corduroy into a grown up look. Bonus: super comfy. Maybe even comfy enough to play basketball while wearing them... but you won't see me trying.

What was your favorite outfit as a kid? 

Monday, October 3, 2011

Blog #99: Sad Bearcat

I am so not ready to talk about the Pitt State game.

I'm not sure if I'll ever get there.

And because of that, I'm not even feeling up to talking about the Chiefs victory.

So, instead let me tell you this story from high school, that I feel is the perfect illustration to how I interact with the opposite sex.

My junior year of high school, my BFF and I had a double date of sorts with a pair of guy friends in whom each of us had our own interest. When I say "double date", I mean that we met them at the local Subway after one of my cross country meets, got our own sandwiches (I probably bought Cate's. I always did as long as she asked for hers to be cut in the "u-gauge" style.) and then sat at the table with the guys. So we were chatting it up and I had zoned out a bit and I guess they were talking about pick up lines.

So, the guy who I was there with turns to me, and illustrated that the distance from one shoulder to my neck, was the same as the distance from my neck to my other shoulder, where he then rested his hand. ("Did you know the distance from here to here, is the same as the distance from here to here?")

Failing to realize his arm was now around my back, I responded, "Well, DUH!"

And that's pretty much how almost every interaction with a male in my life outside my family has gone since then.