It's Almost Christmas...

                          

Alright y'all. Grab your drink of choice and get to chuggin'.

A lot of you (there are around 4 people who read this, so I'd say 3 of you) might be thinking "Whaaa? Christmas is the most magical time of the year!" to which I would reply, "True. But it is also the most stressful time of the year."

Have you purchased all of the presents? Have you wrapped all of these presents? Have you figured out whether or not you really need to get presents for your second cousin's new fiance and his family? Have you decided how much wine is too much wine at Christmas dinner? There are tons of things to consider before any hall decking or bell jingling can begin!

I love waking up on Christmas morning and being with my family. I love the feeling I get when one of them opens a present I bought them and they genuinely love it. And in the interest of full disclosure, I love opening presents. But there's a lot of stuff about Christmas that gives me anxiety. What size shoes does dad wear? How many seasons of West Wing does mom already own? Would grandma really want this light-up magnifying glass? Should I buy something for my co-worker? Shit, she bought something for me so I guess I have to go out and buy something for her. What do I say to the friend who gave me this God awful peppermint scented air-freshener that gives me a migraine? "Thanks" just doesn't seem appropriate. And it's the same anxiety every... single... year...

I need to learn to relax and really focus on the reason of the season. Church would be a relaxing place for me right now. If only I weren't so lazy...

                                                             
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This Christmas, I'm going to put an end to my Grinchy ways and just relax! I'm so lucky to have such a great family - so I'm going to bask in their glorious company, and not let the stresses of the season get me down.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a mild hangover.

Let it Snow...

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I was out with Kristen last night and when we left the bar... it was snowing...! There's something about the first real snow of the season that uplifts you and makes you feel like everything is possible.


Then, after a day of it, it makes you feel like everything except leaving your house is possible and staying in bed and ordering Chinese food while watching House Hunters with kitty is inevitable.


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Hope everyone is staying warm and toasty, and that all of our loved ones are happy and healthy tonight.

Karma at its Finest

Subconsciously Speaking...

I made an amazing discovery today. It's fascinating to me but nobody else seems to give a rat's ass. So what am I going to do? Share it with all'a'ya'all. That's right.

For the last several months, I've noticed that I always hiccup just once after eating. I always assumed it was my version of a belch. But today I had a spare minute after lunch so I decided to Google this and see what the real reason was. The answer, my friends, was shocking. It's because I inhale too much air while I eat, because I eat too quickly. This made me realize that I usually am the first person finished with my meals... and I always get so sad when I realize that my food is gone before everyone else's. I look at their happy faces while they're nomming away at their meal and wish I hadn't nommed so quickly.


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This got me thinking - what other things do I regularly do that I never pay attention to? Here's what I came up with:

-I always put my right shoe on first.
-While blow drying my hair I always do my left side first
-I use both hands when using utensils
-I cross my fingers while I type
-I move my lips while I'm writing with a pen... but not a pencil...


Doesn't seem like much - or that blogworthy for that matter - but it made me wonder about what other people do subconsciously.

What do you guys do?

Murtaugh List

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I shouldn't like the show How I Met Your Mother. The premise is annoying and some of the actors on the show are fairly questionable. But I don't like it. I LOVE IT.

One of the episodes gave me an amazing idea - the main character (Ted) tells how he's created something called a Murtaugh List. As you all (should) know, Detective Murtaugh was Danny Glover's character in the Lethal Weapon series of movies. His famous catch phrase was "I'm gettin' too old for this shit".


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So the Murtaugh List, of course, is a list of things you're gettin' too old for. And it doesn't really have as much to do with your actual age, but more with your personal maturity level. For example, I'm too old to consider Ramen Noodles a meal. I'm too old to consider US Weekly a credible news source. I'm too old to find anything about Miley Cyrus appealing whatsoever. I'm too old to buy my makeup from a grocery store. Things like that.


I decided yesterday that I'm gettin' too old for Thanksgiving Eve (or as the elegant folks call it, Skanksgiving). Here's why:

This past Wednesday night, I struggled with whether or not I was going to go out. My friend Kristen and I were trying to figure out our logistics when I thought to myself, "Hey - it's the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and everybody is going out. Don't be lame." So I put on my version of a Skanksgiving-appropriate outfit (a red tank-top and jeans) and was ready to hit the town. I looked outside and noticed it was pouring down rain so I had no choice but to don my non-skanky trench coat. My friend Lindsay came over and met me at my place so we could ride together, and since we had called a cab to drive us out, we each downed a glass of white wine. The cab arrived and we ran through the rain to meet it. On the way I accidentally stomped in a huge puddle and ruined my brand new suede heels. But the night was still young, so I decided to shake that off. The cab cost us $40.00 to take us downtown and by the time we got there (at 10:30 pm) it was raining even harder. We got to the front door and (wouldn't ya know it) there was a cover charge. Who carries cash anymore? We made a pit stop at the ATM, paid an extra charge to check our coats and then finally made it inside where there were approximately 30 people. Lindsay was gone in a flash when she spotted some other friends, so it was up to me to find Kristen. When I finally did I realized that she was there on a double date. Being at home on my couch with a frozen pizza and my cat wasn't looking so lame anymore. As the night progressed, so did my drunkenness. Kristen had disappeared with her date and I was wandering around looking for somebody interesting to talk to - when I found my friend from college Michael. The bar was closing soon and Michael said he had a party bus that was going back to his house for after-bars. I grabbed Kristen and we hopped on the bus to go back to Michael's with a crowd of people we didn't (still don't) know. But Michael's a good guy so I knew we'd be alright. We got to his house and everyone headed straight to the kitchen to play beer pong. Kristen "fell asleep" on the couch, and I stopped at the bathroom. Upon exiting, I noticed an interesting staircase to the basement that was right in the middle of their living room floor. I have scoured the internet looking for an example of this sneaky staircase but have come up empty handed so you'll just have to trust me... it was fascinating. I started to make my way down the steps very slowly - and then it literally went downhill from there. I fell off the steps and over the side of them since there was no banister and landed right on my keester. At the time, of course, I thought it was hysterical until I noticed my leg was bleeding. "Alright", I slurred to myself, "Time to get out of here." I bid my adieus to Michael and co., threw Kristen over my shoulder and called a cab. When Kristen and I got in the cab, we realized we weren't going to the same place -not even the same city. The cab driver (graciously and expensively) agreed to take us to both destinations - but that he was going to take Kristen home first. Fine by me. We drove the thirty minutes to her house, she paid for her share, and then it was off to make the fourty five trek to my house.  I offered him my debit card and he let out an exhausted sigh. "My company doesn't take cards." "You have to" I said snottily, "it's the law". "It is the law, you're correct. But my company is brand new and very small and we can't afford the machines yet. I'll turn the meter off and we'll go find an ATM." GOD DAMMIT! CAN I NOT CATCH A BREAK?! We drove the three minutes to the nearest bank and I made a mad dash through the rain into their lobby to their ATM vestibule. It was 5 o'clock in the morning at this point. I sincerely just wanted to be at home in my warm, dry (unless my cat had peed on it again) bed. When I finally got home, I fell into bed, wet clothes and all, and stayed there until my alarm went off at 10. Time to get up and be with family for a fun-filled Thanksgiving meal! One problem... I was still very very drunk. I stared at myself in my bathroom mirror for about 15 minutes just trying to will the alcohol out of my system. "Be sober. Be sober. BE SOBER!!!!!"  When I realized that wasn't working, I got in the shower. Nothing worse than sitting next to your dear old grandmother reeking of alcohol, cigarette smoke, and bad decisions. In the shower I discovered the coaster-sized bruise I'd given myself from falling down the steps. I had been wondering why my butt hurt so bad since I'd regained consciousness, but didn't realize why until then. Stellar. I put on the most comfortable outfit I could get away with for this semi-dressy event, and gave myself a final once over.

"Oh Jesus. I'm gettin' too old for this shit."

Foolish Ways

I've noticed lately that, as much as I hate to admit it, I'm a bit of a crank. I've been on a few first dates over the past few months, and none of these relationships have turned out to become anything. Is it because I'm a difficult person to be around? Let's look at the evidence a little more closely shall we?

I'm constantly correcting the grammar and spelling of others. Part of me feels guilty about this, but mostly I see it as a favor to others. If you can't spell the word "definitely", then you definitely don't belong in an office setting. If you can't spell my name correctly even though it's at the bottom of the email I just sent you, I have to hope it's because you're too busy/important to notice instead of just that stupid. If you use the word "hear" when you mean to use the word "here", my head is going to explode. I understand that not everybody was an English major, but I'm constantly getting corrected for making math errors - why can't I correct people when they are misusing the language of our country? I'm a patriot damnit! I'm fighting for America! Maybe these suitors don't love America.... and I don't date terrorists.


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As I've mentioned in previous posts, I take my sleep very seriously. Some people knit, some play in a soccer league... I am an avid napper. How is this a bad thing, really? It shows that I'm content with my life and that I'd rather spend my time comfortable in my bed or on my incredibly cozy sofa than out boozing it up and/or socializing with thugs and dangerous folks. (Yes this is a weak argument. But an argument it is.)


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I have the palate of an 8 year old. These wonderful gents have been taking me to French restaurants, Medeterranian cafes and Spanish tapas bars and I find myself flustered while holding the menu because there are no chicken strips or french fries (this really threw me for a loop in the French restaurant). The server comes over and asks if we're ready to order... he orders the scallops and goat cheese-filled filet, and I order a caesar salad. Next guy, next restaurant, he orders pork tenderloin with curry mayonnaise, and I order a caesar salad. I have no desire to "try something new". I like what I like, and I'm a-okay with that. I'm a cheap date! I would assume that's a good thing!

My obsession with my cat Mia has frightened guys since I got her. But if/when I find a guy who loves me as unconditionally as she does, and who makes me smile as often as she does, then I'm sure I'll be just as crazy about him. But until then, a guy is going to have to understand that she was there first, and that she helped me through a pretty tough time in my life just by being around. She might be morbidly overweight and she might make a sh*t-ton of noise while I'm trying to sleep, but she's my baby. Love it or leave it.

As a 24 single woman, I'm starting to get those nagging feelings about whether or not I should just change my "eccentric" (thanks Amanda) ways and become a boring/relationship-friendly person. But what if tomorrow I meet a guy who knows how to diagram a sentence perfectly, loves fast food and doesn't mind fat cats?

I think I'll keep holding out for a guy who doesn't mind my foolish ways. And if he had a billion dollars and looked like this



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...that's cool too.

I stayed home sick today with a terrible head cold. Woke up with a miserable sore throat and stuffy nose. The best part of a sick day? Watching Oprah!


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This episode was about a farmer in Brazil who millions of people flock to for healing. They call him John of God, and he's been healing people for around 10 years. He only has a second grad education, doesn't use Western medicine, and performs surgery on people without using anesthesia. Can this be real?? Oprah isn't necessarily known for her hard hitting journalism, but her report of this story was fair, well represented and well rounded.

She interviewed people who went Brazil as skeptics, and came back believers. One was a doctor who graduated from Harvard and studied religion as well as medicine. He thought there had to have been more than met the eye. He came back as big of a believer as there ever was. He admits that there's no way to medically explain what was happening there, but he also admitted that he doesn't doubt for a second that these people were being healed by John of God's touch, words, and prayers.

Then came the woman who was diagnosed with stage four cancer, who went to see the healer in hopes of a cure. He performed a nasal probe on this woman (he literally sticks a 4 or 5 inch steel rod up a person's nose, and jimmys it around in their brain!!!). It's been about three years since she saw John of God, and though she's still cancer-ridden, she says that her faith in life has been restored, and that she no longer fears what's on the other side.

Can this farmer turned healer heal physical ailments as well as a lack of faith? Most of the people who went to see John of God came out healthier. ALL of them came back with a stronger sense of faith, and a deeper passion for life. Is this all hooey? Or is there really something to this Brazilian farmer?


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The Seasons, They Are A'changin....

Don't you just hate it when you wake up in a bad mood? Seriously, why does that happen? What was it during my R.E.M. cycle that pissed me off?

It could be because the seasons are changing. We've had an unseasonably warm fall here in St. Louis and now that the temperature is starting to dip a little, I find myself resenting the outdoors more and more. (Although let's be honest, even on the nicest of days in the Lou I'm usually indoors asleep or wishing I were.) It gets dark here at 4pm now, which makes this already sleepy girl even sleepier. Thank goodness I have a 6 minute drive home from work - otherwise I would worry that my heavy eyelids would cause pile ups on the highway.

My family has been in talks about what we're going to do this year for Christmas. What does everyone want, should we put a ceiling on the amount we spend this year, or should we just limit it to a certain number of gifts? I'm really only wanting one thing this year... help with a downpayment for a new car. I love the car I have now (a VW Jetta) but the lease is almost up! So what do I want next? I've been considering one of these in a bright white (used obviously), or maybe one of these bad boys ... except for I hate the little kid in those commercials.

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So that hurts this car's chances a little. He just seems like such an a-hole to me.

My friend sent me this link to a YouTube video last week and I kept wanting to open it but not having time. I finally opened it last night and almost wet myself laughing. Be careful where you open it! The language is a tad rough in spots.

Can we talk about the "poof" hairstyle that girls have been rocking lately? There are subtle examples of it that are flattering. Case-in-point:


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(Yes this is bias because Jennifer Aniston can do no wrong in my book. Shutup.)
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But poofs like the ones below give me the urge to purge:


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Not cute! Come on girls! Less is more! Snooki you could probably take that lesson and apply it to your entire life, but I'm not judging. Lord knows I've made some "hair don'ts" in my days. Take today for example. I showered, towel dried, and applied gel, and yet somehow it still looks like a brown bird's nest. And not even the cute, well-put-together kind. The kind that you see and you're like "Awww.. that bird must only have one wing or be partly blind or something to have made a nest like that... poor thing". But here I am a fully capable human being with 2 hands and full eyesight and I still have this going on up top


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BUT... if you ever catch me walking around lookingl ike a member of the Conehead family, please intervene immediately.

Happy Veteran's Day to all of our men and women who have fought for our country! God bless every single one of you, and thank you from the bottom of my heart!!


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I Know...

A wise man once said, "You write about what you know." And that wise man... was Larry David.

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When I found myself in a bit of a lull about what to write next here on Life's Circles, my mom quoted those magical words, and voila!


Here's what I know:


I know it's always better to tell the truth, no matter how hard it is. It shouldn't matter how uncomfortable it makes you or how bad the truth makes you look. You should respect yourself, and the person you're talking to, enough to be honest. Plus it's a commandment. Boo-yah.


I know there's nothing like a good nap. Especially one with a kitty...

I know that every once in a while, it's okay to let yourself get away with one thing you wouldn't let yourself do. (*Disclaimer: this doesn't give you permission to do anything illegal or immoral! It just gives you permission to be a little extravagant every now and again!) Buy the shoes. Eat the pizza. Take a (I'm not) sick day. The key to this though, is to not do it all the time. This helps to make the special treats, that much more special.

I know that being a goof-ball doesn't have to end when you graduate college. Many of my co-workers would prefer it if I didn't live my life this way... but I'm sorry I'm not sorry. There's no reason I should have to be in a building for 7.5 hours without having a few laughs. Plus I can't help it. It's in my DNA. Blame my 'rents ya'all.

So those are just a few things that I know. I'll be coming up with more exciting blog posts at some point here in the future!


I also know... THAT CONAN O'BRIEN IS BACK ON THE AIR TONIGHT!

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Welcome back my friend... welcome back.

How Many Thoughts Can I Cram Into One Post?

I have a new favorite song every few days... and currently it's :

Crossfire by Brandon Flowers


Listening to this song on repeat for the last week! The video is amazing too! Brandon Flowers... please come find me.

Keeping my head up today! Wanting desperately to figure things out now, now, NOW, but I need to remember that that's not what life's about!

Keeping my dear friend Sue in my thoughts and prayers -- she's lost two very important people in her life in the last six months. Her sisters Jay and Mary will always be a part of her life, but it's just so hard to wrap my head around the fact that they were both taken so young, and so close together. God works in mysterious ways sometimes, but it's always to teach us a lesson.

By the way, fall is finally here! So happy to bust out my cozy blanket and my stinky Uggs...



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I hope everyone is doing well and is getting geared up for the holidays! Can you believe that Thanksgiving is a mere weeks away? I hope my sister gets to bring her dog this year! Love that Bug!!

Alright y'all... back to my laundry and my attempt to paint my bathroom. Hope to be back in the next couple days! Keep Sweet Sue in your thoughts!

Little Joys

Lots of people miss out on countless good experiences because they consider themselves "adults". They get up in the morning, drink their coffee, drive their fancy car to work, bust their no-nonsense asses all day long, and then go home to go to bed and do it all again the next day. But what about the little joys that can occur in between?

Here is a list of the little joys that I never miss out on because I am (arguably...) an adult:
 * singing in the car, shower, at my desk, whenever the mood strikes me * ordering off the children's menu * laughing until I cry or until something comes shooting out of an orifice * making an inappropriate joke (where allowed) * getting really really really excited about something * talking to animals * doing a dance when I get good news (like when I get my People magazine) * galloping instead of walking in the grocery store * rearranging my cubicle and my condo * stealing a lollipop from the bank *  dressing up for Halloween in non-trashy costumes * wearing dresses * curling up with a great book that I've read a million times * drinking hot chocolate as soon as the weather dips below 70 degrees * reading my favorite blog (http://www.hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/)

There are countless others that I can't think of at the moment (dangit...) but I'm sure you get the gist. I think it's that my inner-child has no idea that I've graduated college and have a job in the real world. I'm not planning on doing anything to change that either! Or maybe it's that my mind works differently. Maybe it's because I'm left handed.  Not really sure. But I'm honestly not worried about it. If people want to get mad, annoyed, confused, frustrated about the fact that I march to the beat of my own drummer, let 'em. I bet their inner-child is pouting and will be throwing a temper tantrum sometime real soon.

So take a second and experience one of your own little joys today. Take the long way home so you can finish singing along to Springsteen on the way home from work. Get up and do a dance with the one you love during a commercial break. Order the chicken tenders the next time you're at a company lunch. Just do SOMETHING to please that inner-child. I promise, you'll be glad you did.




Image courtesy of: http://www.tumblr.com/dashboard/22/1342415399

"Music is what feelings sound like...."

There are a handful of things that this 24 year old is passionate about. The top of the list? Music.


In my opinion music is the most powerful entity there is. It has the ability to make you feel things you might have forgotten. You may not have even known you felt that way in the first place. I just know that I've found myself getting ready for work in the morning or I'm in my car listening to my iPod and a song will come on and I will literally feel the memory that is attached to it. And the amazing thing is that it has the memories can range anywhere from hilarious to heart-breaking. Everytime I hear the song "Still Rock'n'Roll To Me" by Billy Joel I picture one of my best friends Shrimp jumping around in her skinny jeans and screaming this song at the top of her lungs, knowing every single word. When I hear "Come Pick Me Up" by Ryan Adams I'm reminded of a time that makes me ache inside a little. And when I hear "Born to Fly" by Sarah Evans, I'm taken back to the day I realized I really had everything I'll ever really need in life.


Now, perhaps I'm an overly emotional person and that explains why I get attached to songs. But I really feel as though it's not just a personal collection of tunes that I'm attracted to. I honestly connect to almost everything I hear. En Vogue, The Kinks (that one's for you poppa), Matchbox 20, Dean Martin, Lady GaGa... any genre and almost any song, I just get it. And everything is usually better live. The atmosphere is palpable. It's something you can reach out and touch. And it leaves you in a state of euphoria.



Image courtesy of: http://www.flickr.com/photos/johannacarlsson11/4770917393/


I'm also a real snob about lyrics. I dunno maybe it's the English Major in me. But I can't just sit there and let somebody sing the wrong lyrics - it is physically painful to me. I'm really working on that though - I promise. Not everybody has enough time to look up they words to the songs they hear on the radio on the way home, I know, I know.


In high school and college, I wrote a lot of non-fiction pieces. I went through a phase where I wrote a lot of poetry -- even took a poetry class as a junior in college (which I almost failed - apparently I'm not dark enough to be a true poet - fine by me) but throughout all of this, I really wanted to write lyrics. I know the dynamics of writing a good ballad... verse verse chorus verse chorus hook chorus.... but where does the actual music come in with that? My old man is in a band. Maybe he could give me a few pointers. (He tried to teach me how to play the drums, but all that went to hell when I realized I'm a much better air-percussionist than I am a drummer. It's an art, really.)


There's also something special about being the person to introduce someone to a song that they really enjoy. This happened recently with a band called The Temper Trap. I had my friend listen to a song or two of theirs, and she fell in love. It's almost reassuring to know that you really know somebody well enough that you can predict what they'll connect to. It's the same thing with books and movies - or even YouTube videos.


Me:"Dude, this video is so funny have you seen it yet?"
They watch.
Them: "That was the biggest waste of 45 seconds I've ever spent."


Alright I guess not YouTube videos. As stated in my previous post I have a tendency to think some things are hysterical that other people just stare at. Whatev.


But music... music I know.


And as I find out day after day, song after glorious song, music knows me all too well.




Image courtesy of: http://simplyinspiredbyyou.tumblr.com/post/682039949/by-anna-amphigorously-i-love-this

Awk.

Image courtesy of: http://www.tumblr.com/dashboard/2/1275112387

 Is awkwardness contagious the way yawns are contagious? Because I swear, nine times out of ten, when I'm being awkward (through no fault of my own, mind you), people get awkward right back.


I was born awkward. Words come flying out of my mouth in no particular order and there's physically nothing I can do about it. The only thing worse than listening to an awkward person talk, is being the awkward person who's talking. There's a point in the conversation where I'm thinking to myself "It would literally be less weird for me to just walk away mid-sentence than it would for me to finish this conversation."

So what I want to know is, when I have an encounter with someone who is equally as uncomfortable, is it because they're an awkward human being too? Or is it my super-awkward-personality that's rubbing off on them?

Studies have shown that a sober person who hangs around inebriated people is likely to show the side-effects of alcohol, just because they are around people who have consumed alcohol. (Don't look into this study because I think I may have just made it up.) Is this the same thing with me? Should I warn people right off the bat that I'm awkward and that hanging out with me is very likely to increase their awkward tendencies?

It would go something like this:

"Hi I'm __________, it's nice to meet you! Now just to warn you, I'm going to laugh at my own jokes, quote movies and television shows that aren't well known, fully expecting you to understand them, and over-dramatize about 40% of the goings-on in my life because I'm a little bit sensitive. Sometimes I'll talk in a slightly baby-ish voice and I also do strange accents. I get overly excited when I see animals and I'm not afraid to tell people that I'm obsessed with my cat. Do you think you can handle all this? Because it'll make you uncomfortable a lot of the time... and you'll start to think that you're actually the awkward one because you're not quite sure what it is that's going on. But don't worry. It'll always be me."

I think it's a safe assumption that anyone who knows me can agree with everything stated above. The good thing is that I honestly don't worry about it. I think these qualities are funny as hell. But the friends that I already do have seem to be able to look past all of this and see me for the good qualities I have. I'm compassionate, and I would do almost anything for almost anybody. I'm a fairly good listener and I'm able to see the positive in even the murkiest situations. And I always, always keep in the back of my mind that what we choose to do today determines what happens to us tomorrow. Not to mention I'm a phenomenal dancer and I do kick-ass impressions. Who doesn't wanna hang out with this chick?

Do you have any tendencies that you feel obligated to warn people about before they notice them for themselves and run for the hills? Anything from "I have really bad morning breath" to "I feel compelled to have memorial services for leaves that have fallen off trees."

Truth or Dare

One of my favorite games growing up was always Truth or Dare. I loved how depending on who you're playing with would decide whether you picked T or D. If you're playing with boys it's probably safer to tell the truth than to do whatever dare it is that they have in mind, but then again, it's most likely going to be more embarrassing to spill your deepest darkest secrets than it would be to, say, stick your head in a toilet. You're never safe no matter what you choose. So why was it such a rush to play?

I've gotten older and though I haven't played Truth or Dare in years, I still deal with the choices every now and again. Is it safer to shut up and do something you're uncomfortable doing? Or is it smarter to (enter John Mayer lyric here) Say What You Need to Say, and deal with the consequences?

Life hands us situations that demand that we make a choice. Speak up, or deal with it. But just like Truth or Dare, you can't be sure that what you're going to pick is the right answer. Unlike Truth or Dare, however, life has a few more rules. Be nice. Be normal. Be professional. Unfortunately for those of us who prefer the "truth" choice, these rules tend to restrict us a bit.

So what do you choose?

Garden

My best friend just sent this quote to me, and I can't get over how refreshing it is...

"After awhile you learn that even sunshine burns if you get too much. So, plant your own garden and decorate your own soul instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers." -Veronica A. Snofstall

A lot of my friends and family met their significant others when they were very young (church camp, high school, etc...). I've often felt like the odd man out at family functions for flying solo - falling victim to comments like "Mr. Right is just around the corner" and "Oh you're single? Well it'll happen for you someday...". Up until a few months ago these comments used to worry me. What if Mr. Right wasn't just around the corner? What if there isn't a Mr. Right for everyone? Especially me... a girl who is endlessly quirky with bad hair and an affinity towards our fine feline friends. Who wants to be the Romeo to that Juliet?

But over the summer, I made a conscious effort to really be "okay" here in single-ville. I bought my own home, I have a great job and I have some of the best friends and family a girl could possibly ask for ("Mr. Right" comments included...) So really, what's the issue? If I meet someone, I meet someone and if I don't, I don't. I have so much to be proud of and to be happy about (something I couldn't imagine myself saying 3 years ago).

I've always liked the idea that if you stop looking for something, it will eventually find you. Love, a job, the perfect home, your debit card... if you stop searching for things, they always eventually turn up. Life is too short to be on the hunt for perfection all day everyday. Be happy with what you have and everything will fall into place - Lord knows that's a hard motto to live by - it always seems as though life would be so much more perfect with that purse or with this haircut. But if you live your life being happy with what you've already been blessed with, that purse and this haircut can only add to it.

Plant a garden in your soul, and who knows, maybe someday someone will bring you flowers to add to it.

Love to all - it's Friday!!



Image courtesy of: http://www.flickr.com/photos/katesokoler/5089467616/sizes/l/in/photostream/

Here Goes Nothing...

I don't claim to know much about anything. I know a little about some things, sure... but I'm not an expert in any field. What I do know, is that life always circles around. Always. Sometimes for the good, sometimes for the bad - it usually depends on the person - but I think everyone has the power to spin life's circles in certain directions. 

Now I'm willing to admit that there are circumstances which we as mere mortals are unable to control. Illness, tragedies, bad hair days... what have you.  But generally, we play a pretty substantial role in the way our lives pan out. It sincerely always comes back to the decisions we make on a daily basis. I'm not talking about the decision to wear the red shirt or the blue, to eat the salad or the burger - I'm talking about the decision on whether to be compassionate or to be cold, to be open or to be closed.

Throughout this blog, I hope to prove to people that life (while challenging at times) can go in the direction you want it to go in, but not without some work on your end. I honestly believe that my generation has this sense of entitlement that past generations haven't had. We believe that we should have what we want without putting any work towards it. (Obviously, there are some exceptions to this opinion. I know several people my age who work extremely hard for what they've got and don't plan on stopping any time soon.) Some people see my generation as selfish, some see us as lazy. I'm going to try to prove that it's actually pretty easy (not to mention satisfying) to get the life you want the right way.

Here goes nothing...


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