Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Keep on..

I'm currently at home, doubled over with cramps, and with plenty of time to think. I tend to get myself stuck in ruts. I like routine. I like to know what is going to happen. (I will constantly harass you to tell me the ending of the movie as we watch it if you've seen it before-my husband knows this all too well). So because of my love of knowing what is to be expected, I get myself stuck. I know that I have gotten way too comfortable with this "summer vacation" thing. It is time to get a job. I kept making up excuses to myself but it is time to face the truth. I do best when I am given a challenge to excel at. Sitting at home and binging on television is hardly an appropriate challenge. I have discovered quite a few quality shows that had previously escaped me but it isn't going to pay the bills. The truth is, it's scary. Going back to school only made me a little bit nervous because I had been taking classes on and off before I signed up full time. Writing up a resume, a cover letter (which I have never done before), interviewing, and starting at a new place can feel pretty terrifying. For years, I worked at the same company. It was not my passion but I was good at it. I was dedicated. I thrived at coming up with solutions and proving my worth. I guess now it is time I put the dedication into something unfamiliar. It is exciting and slightly intimidating to try to begin anew.

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Today I woke up slightly hopeful for a good day and then around 11 my cat threw up a hairball in bed. The worst is when you know it is coming and are powerless to stop it as for some reason cats enjoy making a mess primarily in highly inconvenient places. I did my best to throw a towel down but it was too late. I now sit on a bare mattress, after furiously scrubbing, waiting for the sheets that are currently in the wash. The aforementioned cat? She is happily wagging her little tail and I can't even be mad at her.

While I wait for the wash, I thought I'd look up some costume ideas for Halloween. I know it is over a month away but I'm excited to start celebrating my favorite time of the year. I love the fall and winter months. It includes lots of family, friends, traditions (old and new), decorations, warm meals, long hours in the kitchen and on the couch together. This Halloween lands on Saturday. I have thought up a few ideas, including some super heroes, but ultimately I keep coming back to those women in the late 1600s who were accused of being witches. I am glad to see that more women are empowering themselves and each other nowadays. I'd like to dress up as one of those women from the 17th century. Witch doesn't have to have a negative connotation to it. It can simply mean someone who is empowering themselves to lead their best life.


Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Wow, I didn't realize that the whole weekend went by without me writing another post. It was a blur of good food, scary movies, and wine.

It's Tuesday now. I've been up since 5. The weather continues to be unbearably hot for September but at least we got some rain today. It has been raining pretty steadily all morning. It made the fresh batch of hot coffee all the more appealing. A big pile of laundry sits, waiting to be folded. I sit, waiting for the coffee to kick in.

Friday, September 11, 2015

Quitter

Why is it so hard to stick to something? I am not even going to attempt to write up an extra post for yesterday. It's been a miserably hot week where all I want to do is lay in bed watching Netflix. I was actually pretty proud of myself for cooking dinner. I didn't just chop up veggies, I actually turned the oven on to bake some zucchini and corn and used the stove to make Mexican rice. On a day where it is 90+ degrees, that is a miraculous feat. I also made a vegan caesar salad with the dressing from scratch but that was easy since it offered up plenty of times to stick my head in the cool fridge.

It is now Friday and I am forcing myself to not quit on my writing/photography goal. Sometimes it feels like George just gets me.

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Summer Rain

For a brief moment this early evening, we got a little thunder and some rain. It felt so good to open up all the windows and feel the air instantly start to cool off a few degrees. With the overcast sky, it looked like fall had come early but the temperature begged to differ.

Here we go again..

It's going to be another day of playing catch up. I meant to write a post last night but the crazy heat made it impossible to get anything done. Even dinner seemed unattainable. I almost said yes to take-out but couldn't justify it with a fridge full of groceries. Thankfully, I had the perfect amount of ingredients for vegan ceviche. No cooking necessary. A big bowl of cold ceviche and a cup of chilled chardonnay was the ideal dinner to have on a hot summer night.

Monday, September 7, 2015

Labor Day

Today felt like one of those true last days of summer days. I had a leisurely breakfast at home with my husband before meeting up with my best friends. It's always great to get some quality best friend time. We attempted to start our afternoon with a movie but the projector didn't work. In the end it was fine because we still managed to grab some Starbucks, visit the new baby, go to the mall, enjoy a delicious meal, stop off at Ikea and finish the night out with Pinkberry.

Now I am back home. I am wide awake while my husband quietly sleeps next to me and our cat wanders around the backyard. A lime popsicle and netflix await me so I'll say goodnight. 

Better late..

Day 3 and already I am late on last night's post. I had intended to write a little before I went to bed but I fell asleep halfway through a scary movie and so here I am early this morning.

It's Labor Day! I am not currently working but I like that my loved ones have the day off. I'll take all the extra time I can get with them. Long weekends are the best. There is the promise of fresh brewed coffee and someone to share it with. Later today I'll get to see my best friends and enjoy a day out with them. It's been a great couple of days. I don't want it to end.

This might be my shortest entry to date but I am eager to cook some breakfast and brew some coffee before the day gets too hot.

Saturday, September 5, 2015

Brunch

Weekend mornings are my favorite. There is no alarm going off to wake us, no place we need to be, and there is usually the promise of brunch-yes, even on a Saturday.

This morning we awoke hungry and after opening the fridge we realized we were in desperate need of groceries. Buying groceries when hungry is never a good idea so we stopped off to grab a bite to eat.

A vegan meal and coffee was all I needed. I was not disappointed.

Friday, September 4, 2015

September

So...it's been a few months. Since I've last written on here, I got married, enjoyed a quick weekend honeymoon at vegan beerfest with my husband, finished a semester in school, enjoyed having the summer off, and accomplished a few home improvement projects.

For reasons I don't wish to get into, I will be taking a semester off before going back to school in the spring. That means that I am now left with 5 months of unscheduled time. I do plan on getting a job in the meantime.  What I have to come to the realization of, during my summer off, is that I do not do well with idleness. The days go by in a blur. I laughed one afternoon when I couldn't remember what day it was. I felt like Violet Crawley in Downton Abbey, as all my days felt like weekends.

Here I am now, determined to change that. I have heard other bloggers, you tubers, telecommuters, mention that it can be quite the struggle to work from home. Oftentimes they recommend getting dressed in the morning as if you are going in to the office because it can be a slippery slope staying in your pajamas all day. I now see their point. They recommend you set aside specific times of the day when you will be in work mode, when you will take breaks, go to lunch, and end your work day. They set a schedule and try to stick with it.

It might seem odd to start this schedule on a Friday but I fear that if I wait until Monday, the momentum will be gone. This morning I got up early. I heated up some breakfast and made some coffee. It felt like a good way to start the day.

I picked up a dry erase calendar, which I haven't been using, and have now marked it off to remind myself to write and photograph daily. It is where I will check off the task as I complete it.

I get down on myself for not being great. I get frustrated when I feel like my writing isn't up to par or when I can't get a photograph just the way I pictured it in my head. But I know I cannot possibly get better if I do not keep practicing.

For now, my goal will be to write daily. I will keep track of it here. I will also take at least one photograph with my camera, not my phone. The photos I probably won't post on here but this felt like the right space for my daily writing.

Entry #1: completed.
Now off I go to work on the photograph...