A Gem of Entertainment

Hmm just spent a solid 45 minutes falling head over heels in love with How About Orange. In the DIY section I found about 62 projects I want to make. Sigh. Perhaps when I am a stay at home mom who has a fulfilling career owning a dance studio and no children? Anyways check it. You'll love it as much as me. I promise.

Till DC Do We Part.

At the start of August I reached my 2 years in DC. eep! Who would have ever thought I would have survived (and we can say kinda-sorta-thrived if we are being generous) for two years here! I have done a ton in my time here in DC and honestly if you would have asked me two years ago if I thought I would be sitting in my own lovely bed, with just my things surrounding me, thinking about my job I have been at since I moved here, I would have laughed at you. Very very hard. And probably cried at the thought. There have been a lot of times in the last two years that I have been scared out of my mind. Times where I didn't know what was going to come next. Times where I had to make some choices. Times where I didn't have choices. Times where I loved being here. And times when I still just don't.


But for better or worse. I am here. And somehow doing okay at taking care of myself. I do have to say I would not be here for sure if it wasn't for both my worlds of friends in DC and Seattle/Idaho who have kept me laughing and looking forward.


In a few weeks I will also hit my one year in my current apartment. Most of you know the situation with the apartment and that ideally I would like my own place sometime in the near future. But it is a wonderful, adorable apartment, and I can say for being the first apartment that I have picked to live in entirely on my own...it has worked out well.

I also am just about to cross my two year mark at world. Yea that's right! Who's wearin' big girl pants now!

(Ok well maybe they are like dress-up big girl pants...but still)


All of these "anniversaries" correspond with some pretty personal "anniversaries". And I promised myself that while this is a public forum and I am letting anyone read this. I would not shy away from at least recognizing some of these personal and emotional things, just to preserve them along with all my other memories over the past couple of years. So to put it out there for myself: this all coordinates with the ending of a long-term relationship that spurred both of these other "anniversaries". Again, if you asked me what my life would look like two years ago, where I am living now, what I am doing, well it would not have been anywhere close to what I thought. I say that recognizing that some of the best things have come to me in the last two years, even if not planned or anticipated. And also some pretty tough things have happened. But it is all about the journey, right?

But for the grand finale!!!!




The last and final, really really reallyreallyreallyreally BIG anniversary is.............


The Blog turned 2 on 8/30!!!! Happy Belated Birthday TFWDC!! Hopefully this is some blogging motivation to make the time to really start documenting again. But to all my readers, family and friends....Thanks for keeping me wanting to blog for two years! I love the written record of my life here and I love sharing it with you all!

                                                           image courtesy of: http://whipup.net/tag/card/

This card is a must-make for me! I love a good pennant/bunting and the miniature on a card. Dar-ling. Ps...someones BIRTHDAY is coming up!!!! 2 word to guess: Peanut and Love.

Anyways.

Pretty Sure the Universe Wanted me to Read This

Via: Seth Godin's Blog. Visit it. It's good.

Hair Magic.

Ok I couldn't resist anymore. I went for a walk this evening to do some thinking and to pick up some hair spray and I finally broke down when I saw these in stock for the first time in months:

So they came home with me. They live up to all the hype I have made in my head. I love them! Just two holds my entire bundle of ultra fine/slippery locks in a casual bun/mass of hair. Hopefully I can keep track of them unlike bobby pins. I seem to go through bobby pins like a high school boy drinks a gallon milk. For the price I need to have these on tracking devices!

Charlotte's Web

So a few weeks ago I started noticing this very large spider web being spun right outside my window. The spider (we shall call him Charlotte. Yes, HIM.) was using my window screen and the old clothes line that is outside my window to create his web of mastery. Well I thought that a good rain would wash him down the spout (itsy bitsy spider). I was wrong. Rain came, rain went. Charlotte stayed.

The web grew, and grew, and grew. At last Charlotte started catching icky things in his web and was making one of those nasty looking balls of bug devastation and web. I couldn't take looking at it every morning when I was doing my hair and make-up.

Finally I made up my mind that Charlotte was not welcome outside my window.

I looked around my room for something disposable that I could wipe the web down with and then throw out the window so it would land near the garbage piles that are two floors down from my window. Q-tip. Too-short (spider could jump and land on my hand. ew.)  Hanger. Plastic. Not something I want to sacrifice to the spider disposal efforts. Paper. Too flimsy. Spider would win.

So we tried blowing Charlotte and his ball of ick away with my hair dryer. I think Charlotte liked it. He leaned into to it....not away.

Finally! A brown paper bag that had carried a bottle of wine home one evening. Perfect.

I scraped web, Charlotte, and the ball of ick onto the bag (kind of how the swirl cotton candy around those cones). Panicked as Charlotte started to get all frantic and screamed. Launching the paper bag out the window and down to land on the neighbors window sill below. Crap. Oops.

So now the neighbors get Charlotte.

End of story....


or not.

Next day I come home to an open window...with no screen.

All my jostling had loosened my screen and during the day it fell down to the trash piles. Serves me right for trying to rid my window of Charlotte. The universe taking revenge. Anyways. After a few nails, dirt on my hands and some inappropriate words of frustration. The screen is back in place. Charlotte I believe is still getting to know the neighbors below me and all is good and right in the world.

P.S.: Charlotte really think about that "you are what you eat" saying.

The Good and Bad of it All.

What Andrea did today that was bad:

• Slept way way way too much
• Wore flip flops all day when she knows it will make her back and knees hurt
• Drank her calories with her first pumpkin spice latte of the season
• Bought way way way too many clothes

Andrea did today that was good:

• Got lots and lots of sleep
• Wore a sundress and flip flops for probably one of the last times this year
• Had her first delish pumpkin spice latte of the season
• Bought some new clothes that I can't wait to wear!

What Andrea purchased:

       Target:

•        The usual makeup, shampoo/conditioner, more beauty stuff, new black flats that have a big poufy flower on the toe, long purple tunicish shirt to be paired with other purchase today or black leggings.

      Gap

•       Hottness blue plaid skirt, white ruffle tank to go with skirt, grey cardigan to get with said skirt and tank. Grey long shirt that should look great with either jeans or black pants. Also purchased slacks on an impulse on the way to check out. Must return.

       Old Navy

•        Pink button down, two camis and pair of skinny jeans that we are still feeling a bit scared to wear in public. Not sure if I have lost enough weight to really pull them off.

        Barnes and Noble

•         Book three in the bride quarter series by Nora Roberts. These are my total guilty pleasures right now. Mallory gave me the first two as a thank you after her trip to DC (Thanks Mal! I demolished them within days of starting!) The fourth book doesn't release for a few more months but if you want a nonsense read to get your mind off real life...these are them!

So yes I spent entirely too much money today but I think my clothing purchases are things I will wear a lot and well needed. (Retail therapy also helps me de-stress too :) )

My Saturday was very enjoyable with my first trip to Baked and Wired (yum!), slept (some more), cooked some healthy food (something besides my microwave or mac n' cheese dinners) and watched some college football. (Sad day UW. YAY Idaho!)

I am nowhere even emotionally ready for tomorrow. But I guess after all the money I spent this weekend I need to go to work to pay for it all. Hopefully this is the week things really slow down for me. I could use a solid week of leaving the office at 6 and getting to come home and do things I enjoy!

Hope all you lovely readers had a fabulous weekend!

If I Had the Time

Catching up reading my favorite blogs and came across this posting at MansionMogul . Brooke is such a creative person and I am so impressed with her baking, crafting, homemaking, photograpahy and all around awesomness. Anyways to make my own list of things I would love to do in the next few weeks:

1) Bake something incredible and new (I really want to make a two tiered cake with different colored fondant polka dots and make a cute little pennant banner to hang over the top of the cake)
2) Spend a weekend afternoon laying in a park with a good book, cheese, baguette, savory cured meat and good company and enjoy that lack of humidity and sunshine.
3) Scrapbook. I have a million photos accumulating and no time to do anything with them!
4) Go explore Great Falls some weekend while the weather is perfect!
5) Make homemade mac n' cheese
6) Get a pedicure and a massage
7) Plan a dinner or brunch with friends
8) Get custard and the dairy godmother. There are some good flavors on the agenda!

Do you ever?

Get that feeling that something big is brewing and you are just like a sitting duck waiting for it to come at you. Not necessarily in a bad way but just that there is change, commotion, rustling in your life?

I may be crazy but I get flutters in my stomach, start anticipating and getting anxious/nervous about whatever "it" is. And then wait.

Well that is where I am. I just feel like something is changing or moving or going to jump out and attack me (or not). Case in point: I am ansty pansty right now, hence this insomniacesque post.


Anyways, I will let you know what comes my way. If anything.

Week recap and weekend plans:

Monday: Super stressful and all around bad day. Somehow we survived. I also went to bed at like 10:30 Sunday, Monday, Tuesday night, and oddly it made me MORE tired the next day! How does that work?
Tuesday: Busy busy busy. I am not sure when things with work are ever going to slow down again. Maybe I don't want them to. I love being busy but I am really run down.
Wednesday: I looked forward to Top Chef allll day. A somewhat disappointing and sad ending (seeing angelo cry and lull around in bed asking for his doctor's permission to cook was pretty funny). Watched the finale in good company, combined with some good food and had a general all around fabulous evening.
Today a whirlwind where I still just feel like I am ten steps behind on everything. I worked late and then treated myself to a big bowl of my favorite guilty pleasure food and a bad/amazing chick flick. Yes I just finished mopping up my tears from watching Letters To Juliet. How awesome am I?

Pretty awesome.

I need to set aside a lot of time this weekend to getting my life organized and getting a game plan in life for my ADPi position. some craft time may be necessary as I have 9056 and 1 projects in my head and really need to start using some of the supplies I have stock piling in my shoebox room.

Hopefully sometime to catch up on a blog about Erica's visit AND my trip home to see the little man and the family!

Where o Where Does the Time Go?

I swear that the days, hours, weeks and months are just being swallowed by my own personal black hole right now. I know that I am working a lot. And that no matter how hard I try I bring my work home with me emotionally which I know has started to wear on me (and the other people in my life). But I have to say I honestly don't know how when I was working full-time in the previous chapter of my life, pre-fauxdivorce, how I managed to cook real meals, blog frequently, run errands after work, clean, do laundry at least once a week, and manage to squeeze a work in everyone and awhile. Right now I luckily get fed a real meal (thanks friends), consider my walk to work my "workout", instantly enter a comatose state the minute I sit on the couch, and every once in awhile get around to cleaning my room, and very  very very rarely write a post. How is that possible? Yes I work longer hours right now, but I live closer to work, and yet the hours just slip away from me through the day. I can say this all makes me understand that it is imperative to surround yourself and spend time with the people you love and make you happy in your spare time!!

Amidst the craziness I still have had some great adventures in the past few weeks. I managed to spend an extravagant amount of money to fly home and visit my family (and get to spend time with my ADORABLE nephew) which was such an amazing trip! Erica came to visit me and we had a fun laid back visit. For work I have had the opportunity to visit our Detroit office as well as one of our client site in Cleveland. I made my first batch of potato salad solo. Erin and I have managed to see each other TWICE in 4 weeks which has been so nice to have a set girls-night and setting aside time to just be friend time. (stay tuned for her amazing birthday gift to me!) And have managed squeezing in some good reading while on flights and making it part of my bedtime ritual.

I am playing with the ideal of alternating one goal for each month that I try to integrate into every day. I was trying to read before bed every night since it is supposed to be more calming and stress reducing that browsing the Internet. I would like to try to go to bed earlier more consistently. Pack my lunch more frequently. Go for walks after work (or on my lunch break), cook ACTUALLY cook more. Maybe this will be my new attempt at a 25 before 25? Any thoughts? Or maybe just incorporate it into my 25b425? Any ideas for the big 25 list? (yes very very very delayed 25 before 25, BUT at least it is being addressed :))

Anyways....thank you fabulous readers for sticking with me through this spotty posting. Hopefully it will improve. Happy Wednesday All!

Chipotle

I discovered that I am not the only one who sleeps like this at night:

It runs in the family. Nicole and Wyatt do it too.