Friday, December 28, 2012

Trip & Fav

Going road tripping tomorrow - woohoo!  See y'all on the flip side!



This is one of my very favorites from Sarah McLachlan.  FAB cover of the XTC song.  
Wish she'd sing it in concert, but she never does because it wrecks her voice..sniff, sniff


Sunday, December 23, 2012

Happy Holidays!

Some of my favs...

Nobody does this better than Lena


One of my fav songs


Loreena McKennitt is the perfect person for this song


Wheeeee!


Great version by Emilie-Claire Barlow


This is part of my subconscious now.  Always played at my house growing up.


Love it


Saturday, December 22, 2012

Reporting From Hell

I know, what a negative way to start out...but funny, right?

Today I got to see my uncle, aunts, and cousins that I haven't seen in forever, so that was cool! Got to meet my cousin's baby girl - what a cutie! We mostly watch movies when we come up here.  My uncle has a fierce movie collection.  Saw Flight (good!) and The Campaign (hilarious)....best movies we watched.  Nothing too eventful. Dang, this is going to be the most boring report ever. Lol

Surprised to be making a post, but I'm sitting in my hotel room feeling a bit restless and bored.  I do love a good hotel room. Fluffy duvets make me happy. Hotels are one of the many reasons I love to travel....they make me oddly excited.  Okay, that sounded weird...moving on..

Maybe I'll write tonight. I have two books in my head that have been rolling around for forever. I have to be in the mood to write though. One's a quirky illustrated children's book that would also be geared toward adults and the other is a fantasy/mystery.  I have too many freaking hobbies that I have trouble getting things done. Need to consolidate my hobbies ... Or maybe rank them?  Man, I'm a nerd but I'm guessing you guys already figured that one out.  ; )

Going shopping tomorrow, hopefully Hobby Lobby. They're the best place to get frames. They often have big sales and a large variety. Ordered some prints a bit ago and got size happy...so I'm having trouble finding frames large enough or in odd sizes for them...gah!

Love this song...was also in a movie I watched today.




Thursday, December 20, 2012

Where Country Music Goes to Die


Leaving tomorrow am to ride with the family to Branson, MO to see family.  Branson is one of my many ideas for what hell could look like.  My apologies to any of you guys that love it...that city and I just don't jive.  My grandfather moved there when I was a teenager, and I remember him telling me how much I'd love it there.  He said this to a girl with (at the time) multiple piercings, who wore mostly dark clothes or thrift store finds, and who had jacked-up hair.  Bless him.

Papaw was a sweetie.  He loved some country and bluegrass music.  The main rule at his house was that you didn't touch the thermostat or change the TV station from TNN.  That's The Nashville Network for all those not in the know or for the young'ins.  So I've seen plenty of Hee Haw and Grand Ole Opry.  God, help me.  I still have a soft spot for Dolly Parton & Reba McIntyre from those days though! 

SO glad I'm not driving there because I hate driving when there's ice on the road.  I turn into a grandma.  Hydroplaned (is that what it's called for ice??)  once and it scared me for life.  Mountains + ice = me, terrified

Since I'm on the topic of driving, I'll share with you a pet peeve of mine --  People that don't use their freaking blinkers!  It's a basic form of driver communication and common courtesy.  Get with it people!  If I wasn't afraid of getting shot, I would soooo have this bumper sticker on my car...


Rec

Most meditation I do is self-guided, but sometimes I feel like or need to listen to a cd.  If you're like me and have trouble finding a meditation cd that fits, I highly recommend Cynthia Sue Larson's Aura Healing Meditation.

Issues I usually have with finding a good meditation are the speaker's voice, how quickly they talk, and/or what they actually say.  Cynthia has a soothing, positive voice, she speaks at the perfect pace for me, and I agree with pretty much all the information she conveys during the meditations.  It involves a lot of grounding (which I feel is really important for removing negative energy, amongst other things) and the use of white light for healing and positivity.

Check her out!  She has an article with some of the meditations on her site if you're interested.

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Do I deliver or what?



Introspection

 
 
There's always something swishing around in my brain, but I've been feeling more introspective than usual recently.  I've been told that I am one of those "can't see the forest for the trees" kind of people.  I can't help it -- I love details.  Just the way I'm wired.  I can see the forest when I really want to but it's just not as fun.  ha

Getting to the point...what do I want?  where do I want to be?  This year has been umm..interesting.  Work was just odd and stressful in ways that I can't even get into.  Grad school took up every day of almost every week from the start of school to the finish.  There were a lot of other changes that have and are ongoing too.  I tend to lose my focus when there's so much going on and I'm stressed.  I guess that's natural, but I forget to stop, reflect, and examine..and that's not working for me.

I need to meditate regularly.  Let me stop for a minute and say that the thing that bugs me the most about where I live is the lack of diversity, especially in thought.  I keep a lot of my thoughts, beliefs, and experiences to myself because I am not in the norm here and am very much a live and let live kind of person.  Some people aren't, and I don't feel like dealing with them if I talk about something that pings on their radar.  It's just hard to find like-minded people here.  My point with this is that in the past that when I've held it in, I let some of my practices (like meditation) fade.

Anyway, my goal is to start meditating every day again to help with clarity and being grounded.  I graduate at the end of this coming summer, and I don't want to receive my diploma and then think What next?  I want to know, have a plan.  A good plan, in a not so great situation, makes me feel better...at least I can look forward to exciting things in the future.  I so adore my friends and will miss them terribly, but I need to start really thinking and planning where I want to go and when.  I have a short list of cities that I'm thinking about.  I need to go on road trips to really check them out.  I need to save money for said road trips.  Heck, I need a budget for all this in general.  I can be so airy fairy, gah.  See, I really do need to be more grounded!

I'll stop here.  If I keep rolling with it, it tends to bum me out.

Promise the next post won't be so heavy.  Maybe I can find you guys some talking cats or other such silliness. ha!

Monday, December 17, 2012

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Aww



I love my friends.  They make me smile, snort with laughter, 
and get the warm fuzzies.

Smoochies, guys!!

Friday, December 14, 2012

Wheeee!

For most of today I've been helping set up and decorate for a party and have been cooking like crazy.  I made a gazillion super mini pecan pies, and some of them didn't come out of the pan properly...so we *had* to eat those of course.  No proper Southern lady would serve her guests imperfect pecan pie.  So, yeah, I'm hyppppped up on sugar now.  See below for a visual of my present mania...  (just imagine with me that it says pie instead of cake)

 
(image from the awesomeness that is Hyperbole & a Half)

I've been trying not to eat too much sugar, so when I do..wham!!  Making some tea and about to start cleaning with the Ramones.  At least I can make this hyperactivity work for me  


Thursday, December 13, 2012

Funny Chickens



This vid makes me lolololol     NSFW, btw

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Oh, Sarah

 
If you know me pretty well, you know my favorite album is Fumbling Towards Ecstasy by Sarah McLachlan.  From around my first listen, I became a huge Sarah fan.  I mean, I am a fan club member with a real card and everythin'!  ..Don't judge me, internet!!  Cool is not an adjective I used in my Blogger profile, so you were forewarned!

As I was saying -- because I am a Sarah M VIP fan, I received an email with a first listen of her new holiday song today.  With itchy fingers, I clicked play on the video....ohhh, guys...ohh, dear....I cringed.  Bad..bad...bad.  I haven't liked her newer albums that much, but this song...geez.  I was too sad to finish the video.  If any of you guys watch it, and the song becomes fabulous at some point, let me know!   Or if you think it's the bees knees and I'm off in crazy town, let me know that too!

  

Perky & Sassy




Monday, December 10, 2012

Gold Star #2



No work, no school but yet I was up before 7am again this morning!  ..blargh..  I'm usually such a good sleeper..what the heck's going on?  Maybe I'm in shock from my stress level plummeting from 4,230,789.54 to 1.4.  I know, I know...what a measly thing to complain about...but I love my sleep, guys.   Keeps me more on the perky side.   

*ahem, moving on*


Things to do today
  • Figure out what parts I need for a stereo.  A friend gave me a sweet stereo system that her ex-husband left behind (will be clearing this sucker of bad juju...lol).  It came with the power cord but all other cables and wires are missing.  Should be interesting
  • Decide what I'll be making for a work party on Saturday.  We usually don't have enough desserts, so that's what I'm going to bring.  I saw an interesting red velvet trifle in a magazine that I may make...it being all red and festive, and what not.  I may make peanut brittle also?  or cranberry ginger cake? amaretto soaked cherries dipped in white chocolate?  I was told not to bring anything weird. LOL  I take that as a compliment when people tell me that..haha.  (Yes, I've been told that multiple times...)  What's so weird about Indian spice cookies or Scandinavian cardamom bread?  ...come on people, step outside that box!
  • Mop.  How I loathe to mop.  I've put it off for too long, so I need to do it today...  I have a Roomba (vacuum robot) that I love to pieces, but I so don't want to spring for the mop version.  $500 - heck no!  I'm low on my cleaning supplies...so I need to go to the dreaded Wal-mart. Eh, geez...crowds, buggies in the middle of the aisle, screaming children running into me....good times
  • Read!  I hope it's rainy all day because I love to read when it rains.  Hot tea, candles lit, a blanket, and a good book = awesomeness 

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Various Bits


Funny Glen


Love watching artists work


A fav

Friday, December 7, 2012

Last Day!

Today's my last day of work for the year - woohoo!!  Wrapping up some things and hopefully heading home early.

Looking forward to this weekend!  Tonight especially because it's a girls' night! Haven't been able to have one really since classes started, so long overdue.  Ahh, Saturday will be sleeping in, reading (The Winter Sea, Arcadia & Dragonfly and Amber, I'm talking to you), and drinking tea.  Sunday, two good friends are coming over, and we are going to do some redecorating.  Hmm...may make some yummy treats on Saturday for us to nosh on.  What to make...what to make...  That is why I love Pinterest!  I only have 50 billion pins with recipes...




Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Tu me fais rire, Henri!



No one ever dresses as crippling self-doubt   ...ah hahaha.  I wish there 
were more than 3 videos from this guy.

Funny Gal


I need to go on a road trip with this girlie STAT!  (Start at 6:41)


Sunday, December 2, 2012

Coffee & Tunes

I think every time that I'm up this early on a non-work day I should get an award.  ..or at least a gold star, come on!

Coffee in hand that is so strong that the spoon stands up by itself...ahhh, the best kind.

On the rotation this morning so far... 







Have a good Sunday, all!  Hope you guys are more of a morning person than I am!

Saturday, December 1, 2012

The E Word


I've decided that I want to become an exercise fanatic.  ...Okay, not a fanatic, but to become one of those people that feels the need...the pull...to do it every day.  Stress relief and weight loss -- 2 birds, 1 stone!!  I love when I can do that.  More bang for my buck!

For inspiration on my quest, I turned to Youtube.  I mostly got inspiration to giggle, but that's good for the stomach muscles, right???



Thursday, November 29, 2012

Heck, yeahhh!



Guess what everybody?  Statistics = Done.  Financial Accounting = Done.  Managerial Accounting = Done.  This gal is finished with the semester!!!  So classic 80s & 90s dance moves are being BUSTED to the song above playing in my head.  Ohh, yeaaah

Feel free to click play and dance around in celebration with me!

(hopefully I'll still be dancing when grades are posted........eep)

Sing it, girl!

Working on my homework and listening to Patty.  This is my favorite song of hers, from my favorite album of hers, Living with Ghosts.  Get it if you don't have it!  It's awesome stuff.


"V"


This dude gets it.  He's a favorite.


V  by Matthew Dickman

The skinny girl walking arm-in-arm
with her little sister
is wearing a shirt that says
TALK NERDY TO ME
and I want to,
I want to put my bag of groceries down
beside the fire hydrant
and whisper something in her ear about long division.
I want to stand behind her and run
a single finger down her spine
while she tells me about all her correlatives.

(Continue - NSFW)

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Good Stuff



I have a lot to be thankful for but the one I want to talk about here is the end of this semester.  By the time I finish my degree, I'm guessing you all will be thinking Thank God, she'll shut up about it now!  But until then.....

You may ask...What is so bad about the program I am in?  Well, there is this one crazy professor.  By crazy, I mean legitimately off her rocker.  If you're thinking it's not good to make fun of mental illness, I'm with you.  I have down periods, I understand fully.  ..But this lady is mean.  The guys in my group and I have decided that she has voodoo dolls of every one in the class and for funsies she sits around poking pins at random and laughing.  Bad stuff.

Good stuff = this semester ends November 29!   So I'm making a list of all the things I will do from November 30 through the end of December that I haven't been able to do since my classes started.  I'm getting my hobbies back with reckless abandon!


Fun, exciting things to do over the 
next month that I'm thankful for
    • Reading, reading, and more reading!!  All I've really been able to read for awhile have been textbooks, so I have stacks of books just waiting for me.  I also have some that I've been dying to read that I don't have yet.  I'm excited!
    • Music.  I listen to music all the time, but I like to be more interactive.  I grew up playing piano, but haven't had one in eons...and am afraid I don't remember crap.  Actually, I know I don't.  I wonder how cheaply you can buy a piano.  I'm a bit of a snob when it comes to keyboards (for me personally).  They don't have the same tone and definitely not the same key feel as the real deal to me.  (Nerd alert!)  Awhile ago, I bought a cheap acoustic guitar to teach  myself how to play, but I haven't had the time.  I don't seem to feel the same connection to it that I have with the piano, though...but the acoustic guitar does sound beautiful.  Hey, I already have it and it's more portable so it's somewhere to start!  It would be a good outlet for stress when classes resume...
    • Redecorating.  I have a good friend (Hey, CoCo!!) that is a master, a maestro, of interior design and creativity in general.  She and I are going to be doing some magic at my place.  Wheeee!  I bought some beautiful prints from a very talented illustrator named Ekaterina Koroleva, and I'm excited to be getting them in the mail soon.  She does such gorgeous work, especially her female portraits.  One of the portraits I bought is the image at the top of this post.  If you're interested, check out her website.  She's a sweetie, too!
    • Socializing.  Hey, guys, I can have a life again! Let's do something!! So some fun events, parties, and what have you are coming up.  Crazy, story-making kind of stuff!  Do you have some sparkly heels ready to be worn? 'Cause this girl does!  I don't have them with me to get a picture, so I'm just including a pic of a pair that I'd love to own!  Rowr 


Have a lovely Thanksgiving, all!


Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Crabby


If someone ever tells you can always go home, just say no.  The anti-drug movement can't hog the phrase.  Just. Say. No.  I'm not talking for a couple of days, that's doable.  But a week, nay-nay.  Is it Thanksgiving yetttt???

This makes me and/or my family sound horrible...but it's just that family dynamic that always comes out.  I'm sure it happens to almost all of us.  I'm an independent, freedom-loving, strong-willed girlie, and I don't like being smooshed into a box of any sort. I love 'em to death, but I'm reaching my limit, guys.

Yes, we're talking about the state of crabbiness tonight.  Because that's what I am.  Crabby.  C-R-A-B-B-Y.  (and redundant seems applicable as well)  To be fair to myself, I'm still recovering from surgery, not smoking, wrapping up assignments for classes (will that hell ever end???), and have a few other things going on. 

There is a bright side -- I found a picture of a crab (see above) that seems befitting of my present state.  He seems a little lost or confused perhaps, but in a comical way.  Anywhoo, I'm sure he could pinch the hell out of you if he felt the need.  Maybe that's what I need...yesssss....some pinchers!!!  That will make everything better.

ps - no pain medicine was involved in this entry.  sometimes being weird is good for the soul  =)

Monday, November 19, 2012

Glimpses

Finally got my new phone, so I'm checking out the camera possibilities.


Here's my day in random bits and pieces 

 In case you were wondering...the closest Trader Joe's is in Nashville.  Heart 'em.


I can't be a true, crazy cat lady without two pics in one week, right?

See below for the remainder of the shots...

Looking Up


Doing better today!  Yay!  Still on the drugs but less of them.

Trying to be productive while on break. A good list makes my heart sing, so let's add one of those bad boys --

Things to do (or not) today
  • Keep not smoking.  Yes, I quit smoking at the same time I got my wisdom teeth out.  You can't smoke anyway for fear of the dreaded dry socket, so why not kill two birds with one stone, right?  Hmmm.  Note to self:  look up masochist in the dictionary again
  • Get at least two assignments done today, aim for three
  • Wander around in the country...exercise/meditation (2 birds, 1 stone!!) 
  • Practice taking pics with my new phone (wheeee!)
  • Drink more water
  • Organize car (not feeling this one any more as I type it out...uh oh, lol)

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Sweetie



Best. Nurse. Evaaa.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Break



I'm leaving tomorrow after work to drive to south MS to be with my family for the holidays. I have my phone loaded with music & podcasts for the trip, so I'm ready!!  ...Okay, well...have I packed though? Of course not.

On Friday, I'll be getting my wisdom teeth taken out in Hburg.  Thought I'd start off my holiday break with a bang, you know?  Sooo *hopefully*, I won't be posting any time soon.  Aleve is about the hardest drug I take..so I'm sure I won't be used to whatever they're going to hook me up with.  Some people need a phone block for drunk dialing.  Me?  No real problem with that....Youtube, Pinterest, and other online lovelies will likely lure me back online early though.  If I do end up posting some cracked out entries, I'll make sure to leave them up so you guys can giggle at me (or snicker, if you prefer).

Monday, November 12, 2012

Girls Are Funny


Too true  (NSFW, btw)

Love this series!

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Poetry by She Was


 

Mid-February


I wish you could hear how quiet it is here. The last of summer’s nights. The shh shh shh of the wind in the eucalyptus leaves. The snap of dry grass and twigs under the dog’s paws. Cicadas. It’s another kind of song. I wish you could see how dark the night sky is. Here. The stars. The sky full and rich, hangs velvet curtain low. After the rush of stories and words and sorrow and music and a thumping beat. This is all I want. I don’t seek the grit, the dirt, the tarnish of before. More than anything this stillness. This alive. This quiet. This solitude. This alone. I think sadness stains skin and teeth and bones and tongue and eyelids and fingertips. I think it soaks and seeps and bleaches strong.  There are so many descriptions, dark and bruised and melancholy. I think of cherries and blueberries and the tart sweetness of my tongue. My purple blue stained fingers. And always we must do something to clean the stain, to cleanse and to make fresh and bright and shiny. Like happiness is an imperative. I can listen to the song without singing, I’ll take the imperfect sweet, I’ll wear the stain. More than anything this alone. This dark heavy with stars. To make my own.

Beautiful prose-poetry from SheWas, anonymous poet blogger


De-stressing




Jumping around to this in my apartment like a weirdo.  Music makes everything better.

Whirring Down


Beep. Beepity. Beep. Beep.  I've been doing stats and accounting assignments all day, and I still have work left to do!  I feel like a robot.  I'm so sick of ANOVAS, formulas, and reports that I'm adding them to my curse word list.  I'm talking the really bad words like Voldemort, those that you dare not speak of. Mind you, this comes from a woman that can curse like a m***** f****** sailor when so inclined.  So my list is short, people --


Mel's Official Bad Curse Word List
  • any slur word
  • t-test
  • ANOVA
  • (insert word here) formula
  • EAA
  • a certain c-word (not class related, just can't stand it)

I'm usually a pretty perky person, but I'm sorry this is what you're getting tonight, folks!  Actually, now that I've written this out, I'm feeling a bit less "off with their heads!"  heh!  Ehh, geez...

Sleep, here I comeeee

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Robert Bly




More talk of poetry today.

One of Robert Bly's poems is a favorite of mine for a simple reason - it conveys how I feel during snowy, winter nights...

The crunch of snow beneath your boots.  The smell of it in the air.  The flush on your cheeks.  The blanket of white.  The stillness and quietness it brings to everything around you.  Those nights have a beautiful, otherworldly quality to them.

So maybe I romanticize snow.  Maybe it's because I live in the South and hence, don't see much of it. But for whatever reason, I love it. (As you can glean from an earlier post, I love rain too!)  What is it with me and precipitation?

Onto the good stuff...


Driving to Town Late to Mail a Letter

It is a cold and snowy night. The main street is deserted.
The only things moving are swirls of snow.
As I lift the mailbox door, I feel its cold iron.
There is a privacy I love in this snowy night.
Driving around, I will waste more time.


In my mind when I read it, I'm walking from my home to the mailbox.  Why take out the fun part of experiencing your surroundings first hand, not in a car through metal and glass?  Is it sacrilegious to take only parts of a poem that I like?  lol  I tend to do that with all kinds of things though.  Take only what feels right/true and disregard the rest. ..I guess Robert Bly not only wants to be separated from people in this poem, but also from the world in a sense.  Otherwise, why the car?

Since I included the whole poem, I'll link to where you can buy his book Silence in the Snowy Fields. It's a great read.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Umm...yeah

I can now be lumped into a group with pre-teens and soccer moms.  I've fought it for awhile now.   I didn't want to like him.  I've heard about those misogynistic ways of his.  But that voice.  Geez... I was driving back from lunch today when Hold On came on the radio.  I couldn't help but enjoy it.  



Now, where did I leave my glass of wine?

Monday, November 5, 2012

A Poetic Frame of Mind

Rainy days are the perfect environment for poetry to me.  In honor of a beloved drizzly, cool day in the Delta...


I used to write poetry all the time.  Now, not so much.  It seems to come in cycles really.  Dreams are like that for me also.  I'll remember my dreams almost every night for months on end, then *poof*, nothing. Odd, huh?

I was in south MS for a wedding recently and got to visit my great aunt. (Shout out to Aunt Re!  Love her!) She and I are close and talk about the oddest, most random things.  Anyway, she reminded me of some poems of mine that I had given her eons ago.  I have most of my poems in a journal of some sort, but I don't remember these two.  Ahhh, how old poetry can make you simultaneously giggle, groan, and smile!  haha

I know it's a cop out not to include them here after mentioning them, but I don't think I'm brave enough. heh  Maybe in the future...

I've been feeling the urge to write poetry again actually.  We'll see.  It's never light going.

Have a happy, rainy night, all!

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Organizing

Posting two days in a row - am I rocking it or what?!  Want to know my inspiration?  It's cleaning and organizing my apartment.  God, I hate cleaning, and procrastinating is so much more fun!

Searching the web for organizational tips counts though, right?  Real Simple seems to have the best information if you're curious, but I think I need the kind of help only an Idiot's Guide can provide.  lol  So that's on my to-buy list...

It's moments like this when I want to become a minimalist. . . .

Okay, enough blathering about...I'm off to be a functioning, cleaning adult now

ps - Drawing above is from Hyperbole and a Half.  That woman makes me laugh like no one else.  Check out her blog!

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Autumnal


I've deleted my old posts to start fresh.  Things change, you change...so TADA!  A new first post

Now, onto said theme of this post...fall.  How I adore autumn!  It'd be the perfect time of year to travel the US to see nature, if it weren't for having to work.  Drat!!   (Kidding, karmic gods...I love having a job and my awesome coworkers.  Man, I can get off a train of thought with lightning speed.  ..But there is something beautiful and happy about going with the flow.  You never know where you'll end up, and that excites me.)



Anywhoo, a list of things to love about autumn
      • The changing colors of the leaves
      • The smell in the wind.  It's uniquely fall..rain, chimney smoke, decaying leaves.  It makes me smile.
      • Cooler weather - which in the South is always a good thing
      • Which leads to wearing sweaters, scarfs, and other such coziness
      • Drinking hot tea and apple cider -- I dig being warm & fuzzy (see above)
      • Looking forward to long breaks off from work for Thanksgiving & Christmas
      • The process of selecting just the right gifts for family and friends for Christmas