31 July 2009

bullets

this week i:

  • had a dream i was in a triathalon with my new bike. i was going soo fast. it was awesome.

  • actually was riding so fast on the wednesday night bike ride and it was awesome to be flying down butterworth with a bunch of bikers behind me.

  • saw a tiny baby bunny on one of my runs. i wanted to scoop it up and carry it home and feed it carrots.

  • took one day off of running since i'm experiencing what i can only imagine is training burn out. i just didn't want to go. was feeling fine. i honored my not wanting to go and got back at it the next day. still feeling a little "meh" about training, but i'm just going with the flow. next race is a 1/2 marathon on August 15.

  • saw a man mowing his lawn wearing only a speedo and a straw hat.

  • made two actual dinners! delish pizza with garlic/olive oil for sauce, red pepper, artichokes and black olives last night. tuesday night was burrito night, complete with guacamole!

  • have been looking forward to the grand rapids electronic music festival tomorrow night on Rosa Parks Circle.

  • thought of a fun book idea earlier in the week. the fact that i'm still thinking about it so many days later is a sign i should flesh it out and see how the story materializes.

28 July 2009

on friends and gratitude

Late last night R & I picked up my friend A from the airport. Her flights got all screwy, which meant she was coming in a lot later than she thought she would. I was the back up plan and was happy to be able to act as airport shuttle, even though it was about my bed time. These are the things we do for friends.

There are other little and quite monumental things we do for friends. I must say I've got two pretty awesome friends in A & R.

The two people I shared the car with last night witnessed one of my all-time embarrassing moments. While I've had conversations with both of them in which I've painfully relived the moment, this was the first time we were all in the same place and it was briefly discussed. Laughter ensued. It's a lot less cringe worthy now, although I doubt it will ever be a cringe-free memory. The three of us are bonded for life in this really odd way. I'm grateful that they're both so cool and made me feel like I wasn't the biggest reject ever for what happened. Oh, and don't even ask what it was. Now that I've had my own in real life postsecret moment, there's absolutely no need to say more.

True friends. We witness each other's lives, reflecting back the goodness. Hoping for the best, there for each other if it's the worst. We can laugh. We can cry. We can be ourselves with the people we call true friends. I am blessed to have such amazing friends in my life, I am thankful for each and every one of you.

21 July 2009

hot/not

since it's been a while...

hot: getting flowers for no particular reason.

not: seeing two exes in a span of 24 hours.

hot: knowing that i'm far happier today without either of them. and managing to not talk to or make eye contact with either of them.

hot: having a whole world of bikes to choose from as i shop for a new one.

not: having a whole world of bikes to choose from. i'm a little overwhelmed and just want my bike back!

hot: homemade chocolate cake and buttercream frosting.

hot: talking about something earlier in the day and then having someone or something come across your path that directly relates to what you were talking about. happened on saturday. had been talking about wanting to learn how to remix music, sequence beats, etc and later on that evening someone i met does just what i want to learn and is willing to show me a few things.

hot: being "taken", not single, in a relationship, someone's girlfriend. wow!

not: feeling like i have ADD sometimes.

hot: having great friends that fill my life and social calendar with fun things to do.

not: having so much fun that some of the "getting my life in order" stuff falls by the wayside requiring me to play catch up on all that stuff.

hot: having vegetarian burritos at two different local authentic mexican places over the weekend. maggie's kitchen on saturday. sunday was a place on burton that gives maggie's a very close run for the burrito money.

not: having to play "don't ask don't tell" about whether or not the beans in these tasty burritos contained lard.

hot: having someone to do the NYC Century Ride with in September.

not: not knowing if i'll find a bike in time. and not wanting to settle just so i have a bike.

hot: vacation time.

not: having to hope that the weather will be hot enough to properly enjoy the beach.

10 July 2009

delish dish

I've made eggrolls before. See:
I was over at my friend M's house last night while our other friend was finishing up making her own eggrolls. I didn't get to have any because they were meat containers - but what I did get to have was oh so delicious.  We took snickers and wrapped it up in the egg roll wrapper and threw the package into the deep fryer! OMG! Sinfully delicious.

My take away from last night's experience: a yen to make my own egg rolls again AND to try frying them! The last time I made mine, I baked them, which was probably more healthy, but I somehow don't think a candy bar baked in an eggroll wrapper will come out the same as if it were fried, so I might as well fry up the egg rolls too!

What's for dinner? I wish I had that plate of egg rolls right now!

08 July 2009

Full Moon?

When shit has gone all sideways and out of control, I often ask, "is it a full moon or something?" Well, kittens, today has already had all kinds of sideways, crazy, heart-attacky-ness AND it is a full moon. Or it was as of 9:23 p.m. GMT last night. The full moon is no joke and I believe it's power to invoke a crazy situation or two has just been proven, at least in my life. Judging by my friend K's recent blog post, she may agree!

First thing this morning: brought the VW into my dealer to have them tighten up a rattly something or other that they've fixed with ease before. That same exact noise this morning turned out to be a serious need for a power steering pump! And apparently I'm rather lucky I brought it in when I did because the power steering pump could have exploded (not really, but really bad things could have happened resulting in some sort of automotive disaster!). Feeling really lucky about the prospect of handing over my check book when I get my car back sometime in the next 24-36 hours. They also will do my front brakes, something they've been reminding me of the last few times I've been in.

Does the full moon have the power for good, say to help me win tonight's Lotto?

So then...I get into work via the dealer's shuttle driver to find out that the ad I've been working on has a certain similarity to something within another company's current ad campaign. I don't watch TV. I had never even seen the ad in question. Spent rest of morning and afternoon tweaking the ad with our designer. Ad has been finalized, but not without severe anxiety! My heart literally felt like there was an invisible hand clutching it VERY tightly. I don't like that invisible hand, it has quite a grip. I don't want it to return or ever have to shake hands with it!

The calm has returned. I'm hoping it stays. I don't need any more Full Moon Maddness!

How's your day so far? Anything out of the ordinary you'd like to blame on the full moon?

07 July 2009

food confessions

This might not be pretty...

I bought a small tub of Cool Whip for strawberry shortcake over the weekend. It was actually Friday, which may help lessen the pointy-ness of judgement fingers. I made two actual shortcakes for desserts and somehow the tub is almost gone. I've been dipping pretzels in it. Chunks of fruit may have been dipped in. And, yeah, I've eaten a spoonful or two. As an aside, I'm not particularly fond of the fact that the English language uses the word "tub" in reference or proximity to any food item.
Guacamole. I've been eating it like it's my job. I make a little batch using only 1/2 an avocado at a time so as to not completely go overboard. But that tend to mean I'm eating it two nights in a row. Avocado is a vegetable and they're actually considered to be good for you, but I still feel like I'm somehow doing something wrong - like just realizing that an actual "serving" is 1/5 the avocado, not 1/2! Oops, my bad. But it's soo good!

I'm getting better about eating the fresh produce I buy. It didn't use to be such a good thing. Every now and then I have to put myself on produce restriction though. I find having an actual plan for what I'm going to do with what I'm buying and when this event will take place. Without the what and when - produce goes bad at my house.

Am I the only one that can eat the same thing for breakfast or dinner repetitively? I'll get on kicks and eat the same thing (English muffin egg & cheese sandwiches, cereal, nachos, quesadillas are a few that come to mind) a few times a week for a while. Maybe that's something that happens to those of us who live alone?! I wouldn't subject a guest or family to the same thing a few times a week.

Butter not margarine

Silk not milk

Heinz is the only company that can make ketchup. I'm serious. I believe I'd be able to taste the difference in a blind ketchup taste test. Take the Ketchup Challenge.

It's been over six months since I quit Diet Coke and I still miss it.

If I ever ate meat again, as many of you already know, I'd be angling for a rack of bbq ribs.

Anyone else have any food confessions they want to make?




02 July 2009

Thursday that's really a Friday

This day is a little off, what with the holiday weekend just a few hours away. I've been a day ahead of the calendar all week. "It totally feels like Friday...". The following ought to give you a taste of how the day's going:


I'm operating on very little sleep and becoming an expert at alleviating the toll of sleep deprivation during the work day. The weekend outlook involves sleep. and then maybe a little more sleep.


*****


My feet/shoes decided to rebel against me on the way out of the building for lunch. I went down like a bowling pin. I even did the little spin that sometimes happens when the ball hits the pin just right. Knee is currently developing a ripe bruise. Left hand feels the sting of hitting the river rock-like pavement. Right foot + river rock = abrasion. The only saving grace of the whole deal is that I did not rip my favorite pair of jeans.


*****


On the way to lunch today we discussed the different breads available at restaurants and how it would be fantastic to have a progressive meal that just involved bread. First stop Logan's for yeast rolls. Second stop: Red Lobster for cheddar biscuits (while I've never had them, what could be more fantastic than a baked marriage of cheese and biscuit?!) Third stop: Johnny Carino's for their warm bread and dipping oil. What's curious about this list is that all the restaurants are chains and that the bread is probably the best part of the collected menus. Just saying.


*****


My co-workers and I joked around all day about working on a 4th of July musical called - "Continental Congress - the musical". It was going to be what would spring us from work early. "Gotta go rehearse...." Turns out we didn't have to resort to that. We entertained ourselves most of the day and before you knew it, it was time to go home.


*****

Long weekend! I'm so psyched for three days off. People have been letting off fireworks for days now. I'm sure it will be quite the show on Saturday. I may have to dig out the sparklers. I just realized that this the holiday that celebrates our independence from Great Britain also marks my official independence from the ex. I had never made that connection until now. Very happy to be where I am today. Very happy to be independent! What are you doing to celebrate our Independence?