Anywhere Is... » Anywhere Is: My Scramblings & Ramblings

magical.

2013-06-12T03:40:48Z

mommy, falandos, me, aidan

This most recent Disney vacation?

AMAZING!

Just a few highlights:
- good food
- laughter
- candy & other sweets
- seeing my mom’s and falandos’s face for so many things

I feel sooo blessed that I was able to do this and experience this with my mother, my cousin, and aidan. It was worth every penny, worth all the planning, worth any hassle that may have arisen. I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat.

We had so much fun we can’t wait to go back next year. We’re planning for ten days!

More soon. I’ve gotta go to bed.

I know. I’m cruel, but full trip report coming soon, I promise!

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life got away from me.

2013-06-03T01:17:37Z

So much to post about! Tomorrow, I leave for Disney World 2013 part 2. It came up so fast because I’ve been so busy with work, work, work. Most days, I seriously work all day, then I go home and work 3-4 hours in the evening, and some weekends too. Long days but decent money. So this trip is going to be awesome!

A lot has been going on, too. Adam and I went with his family to Iowa for a weekend. It was great. Beautiful weather, great shopping, and good girl time for girls with my sister-in-law and her friend. Lola is getting so big and she’s still as adorable as ever.

It was nice to catch up with family and friends and get out of Chicago for a weekend. And the Des Moines farmer’s market? HOLY CRAP. The thing spans multiple blocks and streets… they only had asparagus for produce really, but there was so much other great stuff, like jewelry and clothing and mini donuts and wine. Especially blackberry wine. Mmmmm.

Adam and I went to see Marina and The Diamonds at the Riviera. It was a sold out show. I had to work that day, and the concert was general admission, so I knew we’d be in a long, long line. Except we totally didn’t because Adam ran into an old friend who was part of the local crew, and he got us to the front of the line. That didn’t make the people who’d spent the night there very happy–but they needn’t have worried. Adam and I were so not into being in the mob on the floor–we went straight to the balcony and grabbed seats!

It was a fantastic show. Charli XCX opened for her and I hadn’t realized that I’d already heard and liked a few of her songs.

But Marina. OH MY GOD Marina. She is a queen. She is a goddess. She puts on a great show, and she looks like she’s having a blast doing it. Love her. So much.

My yoga group had its official closing circle May 24. It was really nice. We did our thesis presentations, talked about the program and how we were going to use the new knowledge.

Then we all went out for sushi! First we posed for pictures:

ariel and amy

genevieve, me, reshma

graham and his fiancee angie

Then I ate this!!

namasake don

And this!

passion fruit torte

Yummy yummy yummy!!!!

I got a couple of really cool things in the mail. One was this really cool iPad cover. My original cover is red, but I really wanted a pink one. So I got the Snugg iPad 2 Case, which I LOVE. Oh my God. It’s so compact and professional looking, but still fun. It’s got the smart cover thing, so I can close it and know it’s going to switch off… yeah, I’m really happy with it.

I also got a really awesome tee shirt from Dress United, which is a place you can get custom tees made. I went with a design of Ganesha, the remover of obstacles, and this is what I ended up with:

The back looks like this:

I really like the shirt. I wish I’d gotten a bigger size because the cut does run small (I believe this is a size M.) Clothes shopping is a challenge for me because sizes are NOT consistent across the board. I almost always have to try on, because sizes aren’t even consistent within the same stores sometimes! So, I can wear an XS tee shirt in one place and a L from somewhere else… I tend to go with an M because that’s usually pretty safe, but in this case, I needed to size up. I still like the shirt, though. The design really pops and the colors are vivid and bright! If you’re looking to get a custom-designed tee shirt, You can get one for 30% off and free shipping if you use this link and the coupon code BLOG30OFF4U.

The lilacs have finally bloomed in my neighborhood, but they’re already going away. Why do I wait all spring for them only for them to wither away not even a week later? So sad. I’m lucky I got photos, though!

I make it a point to take huge sniffs of the lilac bushes in my neighborhood whenever I can because I love them so much. Now, I’d LOVE to think that once the lilacs are out that the weather is finally broken, but nope. It didn’t even get past 55F today. And it was rainy and cold. COME ON. It’s JUNE already.

Thank God I’m going to Orlando tomorrow, where the forecasted high is 86F. SO looking forward to the heat. It’s kinda messed up that it’s June and I still have to go to Florida to warm up…..

Anyway. I’m just about all packed. Which is kind of a miracle considering I usually start packing the night before for these things. Aidan is playing the new Kirby game I got him, and my mom is in the kitchen washing glasses for some reason. She’s all packed and so is Aidan, except for things like electronics, which are currently charging, medications that need to be taken in the morning, and toiletries which will be used in the morning. But tomorrow this time, we’ll all be in Orlando chilling. So excited! I don’t know how we’re all managing to act so calm….

Anyway, that’s all for now. Till next time!

I received free products from Dress United and Snugg in exchange for my honest and unbiased reviews.

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truth.

2013-05-09T01:07:30Z

About 6 weeks ago, I wrote a post in which I outlined some of the self-talk that goes through my head:

1. Shut up, just shut up. You’re so stupid and NO ONE CARES.
2. I bet none of them really like you. They only put up with you because they have to.
3. OH MY GOD you are so dumb. Seriously, shut the hell up.

Just a few of the examples I struggle with constantly. There’s more, believe me.

But recently, I’ve been showered with a lot of goodness. Here are some of the things that people told me the past few days:

· I really love seeing your face around here.
· You’re one of the few people I feel is authentic.
· How could anyone not like you?
· I had such a good time with you this weekend!
· I get so excited when I see we’re working together!
· I miss you so hard.
· So lucky to know this beautiful one (the caption under a photo, posted by a friend, of me and her).

Every beautiful thing that someone told me made my heart swell. I could hardly believe it. People really felt that way about me? I wanted to take every one of those sentences, bottle them up, and save the bottle for those days when I feel ugly, like I’m doing/saying everything wrong, and like I’m making everyone mad. Or, those days when I start wondering what I can do to stop people from being mad and me and/or possibly hating me.

But this is so important to remember….

{via}

By being real and being me, the right people will love me, and I them. It all works out. I am so blessed.

It’s amazing how words can affect a person. I know that all the negative self-talk is no bueno. NOTHING good is ever going to come from being so down on myself. And when I think of how tingly and happy I felt when people were saying all those nice things about me, I wonder if I could recreate the same effect myself if I stopped talking down to myself all the time.

{via}

It’s hard to change those patterns. I need to practice and practice and practice. Words are very powerful–don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise. I need to feed myself more of this good stuff rather than hatred and vitriol. Who knows what I could accomplish once I stop talking down to myself and start raising myself up?

Who knows indeed.

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busy.

2013-05-09T03:53:31Z

lately.

I started my new job last week, but so much went down even before that happened!

About a week and a half ago, Adam got his own car. A Prius. Which is good because I’ve decided that I’m going to drive to work rather than deal with taking two trains or a bus and a train. So now, we each have our own cars and he can go as he pleases during the day, and I don’t have to wake up at Oh God O’Clock in the morning to take public transportation!

The Prius takes some getting used to. It goes completely quiet at red lights, and there are all sorts of computery things on the dashboard and console. You turn it on by pushing a button. The first time we drove it off the lot, we were sitting there like “Uh, I forgot how to turn it on and make it go!” Ha. Adam’s an expert at it now. I think.

In celebration of that, I got my car detailed and also washed for the first time since 2006. I didn’t recognize her when I picked her up. Now she’s all clean on the inside. The outside is filthy again, which is why I rarely bother to wash it. The birds seem to think my car is the best toilet on the street.

We had a houseguest but didn’t get to spend a lot of time with him because we all had so much going on. K was in town for C2E2, a media convention run by the same folks who run ComicCon. Adam had tours and concerts to go to. And I’d planned a girl’s day with Missy, had some Moksha stuff to do, and I was doing some onsite freelance work for VSA.

The weather is slowly but surely breaking. There are leaves and flowers on the trees, and flowers actually growing in the ground. Now, I love flowers in the ground, but you can TOTALLY tell when they’ve just been put there as opposed to them growing on their own. I know that flowers are flowers no matter where they are. I just happen to prefer them wild and growing in the ground!

I started my new job and I like it. The morning commute is pretty good (15–20 minutes usually), but coming home takes twice as long as getting there. This seems to be a Chicago thing; my friend Jen says the same thing happens to her. It’s kind of annoying but I play my music and make sure I use the bathroom before I get in the car. If the red lights weren’t so… stupidly timed, things would flow much better. It’s easy to lose patience and get frustrated when I’m sitting at a red light and the light on the very next block is green, but by the time MY light turns green, the light on the next block turns red. Not *is* red, it *turns* red. This also backs up the traffic at the green light I’m sitting at, because all of those people can’t move because their light is red. I don’t know who designed the traffic light systems in Chicago but they need to be slapped.

I’m driving just about every day now, though. When I first moved here, I didn’t like driving here at ALL but I’m getting used to it. Though I still don’t want to drive downtown.

Hmm, what else?

Oh right! I got certified! I know you all remember last year, when I was kind of freaking out about starting teacher training. And then I started and got overwhelmed and fell in love and hated it also and had all sorts of roller coaster emotions and situations come up. But I got through and I got certified and wow, it feels awesome that I did something like that. I’ve made some amazing friends, got to study with amazing teachers, and I learned a LOT about myself, about yoga, and the world.

What an incredible journey.

So of course, the week that I got certified is the week I got offered a job at an educational publishing development house. Now, anyone who’s known me for any amount of time knows that I’ve been editing/copy editing/proofreading for years now. I’ve had the pleasure of editing fiction, coupons, billboards, tee-shirts, letters, direct mail… you name it, I’ve probably proofread it or a variation thereof. But, as far as editing goes, my first love was/is always educational publishing. And this job–it really came out of nowhere. And I’m glad to be there. It’s a good team. It’s just funny how I finish up my teacher training and get offered a job in another field I love instead. I see you, universe!

I wore this on my first day:

What do you think? I’ve decided that I’m obsessed with that style of dress and would love to get more…if they go back on sale, like this one was.

Here are the other things I’ve been up to:

· I tried hot yoga for the first time last Wednesday. I sweat so much that my clothes were still soaked the next morning. Jen told me that I’m supposed to ring out the clothes before I throw then in the laundry basket or whatever. Now I know. I don’t know how I feel about hot yoga. It was 95F in the room. I felt like my heart was going to burst out of my chest, it was pounding so hard. The instructor said that was normal. Other people said it’s not. I didn’t feel like the heat made me stretchier, but I may have been expecting too much in that area. Maybe I’ll like it better if sweat isn’t dripping in my eyes, which means I need to get a headband or something. Or if it’s winter. We’ll see. I don’t know if I’ll go back before then. Which is fine. Winter can take its time coming back. Actually, I’m not completely convinced this year’s winter is gone yet.

· I resigned from the workshop management position at Moksha. Figured that with working full time, still doing freelance, still doing work-study for Moksha (gotta get my free classes!), plus you know, having a family and all, that something needed to give! It was going to be too much. But I still have workshops to work until the end of June, unless I can get subs.

· Worked two workshops and they weren’t bad. Mia’s tantric restorative was really amazing and then Reshma and I went to King Spa after. There, we ran into Jen! It was such a good time. I got a body scrub and got to enjoy my favorite Ochre room. Mmm, Ochre room. And Saturday night, I worked a kirtan. That ended up actually being a lot of fun, and kirtans are kind of labor intensive. But it worked out well, and I had a good time and got to spend time with fun people.

· The good thing about being so busy now is that I’ve not had much time to play Facebook games. I’ve been wanting to quit them for a while, so maybe I finally can.

· Rereading DIVERGENT by Veronica Roth. Because you know, they’re filming that movie here in Chicago and Theo James is in it and although it’s unlikely I’ll run into him (he keeps coming within 1/2 mile of my apartment for various things, though), I still plan to see the movie and support him because he’s one of my favorites. Plus, I remember enjoying the book on the first go-round. I think I rated it 5-stars on Goodreads. Next on deck is TILT by Ellen Hopkins.

· Making final plans for Disney World. Only 26 days away! We’re all getting sooooo excited! I’m debating whether or not to use a car service or stick with my original plan of using Magical Express. My friend Missy is dead set against me using a limo, in light of recent events in San Francisco. A town car just seems too…too. I’m not a fan of big ass SUVs, even if it is an Escalade, and I am DEFINITELY not getting a van! But the pros are that if I use a car service, we get a grocery stop and we don’t have to leave Animal Kingdom so early on the 7th. So… I need to decide which kind of car I’d want. The SUV is the most practical, to be honest, because none of us are light travelers and the extra room would be nice…but it’s an SUV and they’re ICKY. Aidan would truly get a kick out of the limo; I’m pretty sure he’s never been in one. It would be convenient and fun. BUT… Magical Express is so cool, too!

I’ll probably go with the car service.

Anyway, that’s enough for now. I need to start getting ready for bed. I have to be… NORMAL and stuff. Sleeping at night and being up in the day. What is this madness? I still struggle in the mornings, but tea helps.

OK, till next time.

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accomplished.

2013-04-27T04:21:08Z

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Well, It’s Been A Week

2013-04-24T06:09:28Z

It’s been a long time since I’ve updated. I’m sorry. I’ve been busy or unmotivated or a combination of both. And I’ve been sick. Since April 5. Coughing all night, not sleeping well because of the coughing. Sneezing, sniffling. Stuffy head. It’s the cold that keeps on hanging on. Or, I’d be ready to update and something completely messed up would happen and I’d feel like it wasn’t appropriate for me to blog about how everyone complimented me on my awesome yoga pants over the weekend when more serious things were happening in the world.

And I did wear a lot of cute yoga pants the weekend of April 12–14. I was working and attending workshops led by Ashley Turner, who is an urban priestess and amazing. And she has beautiful blue eyes and can lead a hell of an asana practice. My butt was sufficiently kicked. And something stirred in me…the thought of being a priestess is very appealing to me. But it would take a lot of work and time…and I’m just finishing yoga teacher training, so I am not sure if I’m ready to delve into another yearlong journey of self-discovery just yet.

We all know how last week went. I don’t even think I need to go over it, but I will anyway, because it was something else.

April 15. I paid my taxes, and let out a happy sigh of relief that that was over for another year, then heard about what happened at the Boston Marathon. And all of the stuff attached to it, culminating in the showdown of sorts on Friday, April 19. I was scared for Boston but couldn’t help but think of those people who live that way every single day.

Flooding. We’ve been having way too much rain in Chicago lately, and there was some bad flooding. Adam and I were lucky enough not be affected by the floods, sink holes, and geysers, but a lot of people weren’t so fortunate. And the rain just won’t let up, and now, at writing time (11:58pm), snow is forecasted as well.

I don’t mean to make this about me, but I’m going to make it about me for a bit. My friends all over the country are posting their photos of them out in the sun, their blossoming trees, and wearing sundresses. Today? I was in a winter coat and boots. It’s been “spring” for over a month now but you really wouldn’t know it. It’s just as grey and bleak outside as ever… we did have the window open on Sunday to air the place out a bit. It was still cold (for me) but a lot of people took advantage of the low 60F temps to play outside and wear shorts and things. 60F for me is still coat, sweater, and jeans weather.

Explosion in Texas. Yeah. I can’t even imagine–going to work like any other day, and never coming home. It’s like… OK. In Chicago, on our highways, there are these signs they display the number of traffic deaths so far this year. I think, as of today, the number is 287. Those signs creep me the hell out. People going off to one journey or another and never coming home. Adam said that I shouldn’t get so freaked out about it because millions of people drive on our highways. But seeing those signs, with those numbers… I wish they wouldn’t do it. Because every time I’m driving on that freeway, I wonder if I’m going to add to that statistic.

There has been so much death and it gets me thinking all deep and dark when I’m up late and can’t sleep. Yesterday morning, Adam found out one of his classmates passed away. I didn’t know her very well, but we were friendly. We met up in San Francisco and had brunch back in 2007. She had such a kind heart. And now she’s gone and she was our peer and it’s just now really hitting me. I know that at some point in your life, your friends leave you, but I didn’t expect it to start happening while I’m in my 30s.

RIP pretty girl.

And then there is the beginning of life. On Friday, my cousin Mazayron had a baby girl. She’s beautiful and has a really cool name: Kimber. And my Facebook feed is clogged with photos of adorable babies in all stages of chubbiness and newness.

And I’m sitting here complaining about the effing weather.

Friday, I paid off my Disney World trip for June! Yea, my bank account is SUFFICIENTLY lighter now. Last week was an expensive week with that and with taxes. But it’ll be worth it. My mom is soooooo super excited and it’s adorable.

Also on Friday, I drove out to Naperville to meet Sarah Dessen again. You guys have no idea how much I adore this author and her books and how amazing she is with a crowd. I look up to her so much.

I first started reading her books either in 2004 or 2005. I used to start my day by her daily blog posts. I never thought I’d get to meet her, and now I’ve been blessed enough to meet her three times.

One of my favorite actors is in town filming a movie, and it’s kind of driving me mad that he’s so close yet so far away. I have no idea how to go about tracking down a movie star and frankly, I’m too lazy to do so anyway, so I just hope that I run into him and his co-stars when I’m walking down the street or something. I have until July to make this happen.

Not that I’ll have time for movie star stalking anyway. Because I was offered a job with Rainbow Educational Concepts and I accepted. I’d been freelancing for them on and off for a few years now, and they realized they needed help in their Chicago office. It’s a “term of project” job, for a year, we’ll decide where to go after that. It’s basically a yearlong temp job, which I’m perfectly fine with. It’s educational publishing–you guys know how much I love that. I’m just a bit weirded out about going into an office again, and working 9–5 and being up like normal people. I’m going to be drinking a lot of tea to get back acclimated to normal days again. It should be cool, though. Reverse commute, I can wear jeans in the office, and they’re pretty cool about all the time off I need in the next couple of months. I start May 1.

Saturday, I turned in the rest of my work for yoga teacher training. A paper on Urdhva Dhanurasana (was supposed to be 3–5 pages, mine ended up being 9), my thesis, book reviews, study questions, and private lesson write ups. I attended a backbending thesis workshop at the end of May, and here I am doing a kick ass Urdhva Dhanurasana:

Now that all my yoga teacher training work is DONE, FINITE, COMPLETED, I can commence my Twilight movie marathon. Don’t hate. It’s some mindless fun to celebrate all the work I’ve done over the past year.

The last two Tuesdays, an actor from the show I love, Golden Boy, has been live tweeting with fans during the show. It’s so cool because she tries to interact with everyone who tweets to her. I’ve been having a lot of fun with that. She seems to be having fun, too. And yesterday, I was an extra in a video for a web series. It was probably the easiest video shoot I’ll ever be on in my life. I had fun!

Tomorrow and Thursday, I’ll be working at VSA, and Friday evening I have a dinner at Daren’s loft. Saturday is Girl Time For Girls, which means manis and pedis with my friend Missy, and Sunday evening, I have some stuff to do at Moksha. So… I plan to use Monday and Tuesday of next week to just… enjoy. Relax, maybe get a massage or something to psyche myself up for being a part of the 9-5 crowd again.

So, the past several days has been up and down for me. But, I keep trucking.

In the meantime, I need to get to bed. I’m already going to be hitting the coffee machine once I get there, but maybe just for cocoa. (Although I’ve been craving fancy coffee drinks lately–WTF has Starbucks done to me?)

Till next time….

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Spring Break! Woooo!

2013-04-08T04:45:12Z

Aidan flew in the evening of March 28. When the last flight comes in, it’s almost always guaranteed there will be a delay, and this time was no exception. Except the delay never actually happened. Things got squared away on the departing side really quickly, so Aidan arrived even before his original scheduled arrival. How often does that happen?

We had a fun, low key spring break. We spent most of time hanging around the apartment and relaxing, playing video games (we played Harry Potter using our “dudebro” voices) and just chilling out. It’s always nice to do that. I’d managed to clear most of my week just so Aidan and I could hang. It was challenging to keep my schedule clear, but I did it for the most part.

We went out a few days, but our biggest adventure was hitting the Shedd Aquarium. A few locals advised us against it. “It’s spring break, it’s going to be a mess!” they said. But Aidan and I met up with the woman I babysit for and her two sons, and we headed out anyway. And it turned out to be fine. It was crowded, but not so much that I was super annoyed or anything. We got there early, and because she had a stroller, got to bypass the main ticket line and use the accessible line. I upgraded our tickets because Aidan wanted to see sharks.

He got his wish.

We got to touch a sea star; Aidan didn’t like that much. We also saw penguins, pretty fish, whales, a snapping turtle, and other beautiful things.

The Wild Reef exhibit was my favorite. I’ve always loved coral reef, so seeing it there was amazing. Coral reef fascinates me. It’s teeming with life–thousands, if not millions of organisms make it their home–and it’s so delicate that it can only survive in the most exacting of environments. Once upon a time I fancied having a coral reef tank, but they’re too hard and expensive to maintain. Thank goodness we have the Shedd, right?¹

Of course there was souvenir shopping. Aidan wanted plushies. First, he was desperate for a stuffed penguin. I told him to wait until we were done looking at things because I didn’t want to lug the thing around. Then, by the end of the visit, he wanted a stuffed shark. So we headed to the gift shop. I was expecting to spend $25–30 on a single plush for Aidan, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that they were TWO for $30! Well then. So Aidan got two sharks and he named them Saw Blade and … well, shoot, I know the other one had Hammer in his name somewhere but now I can’t remember what his name is. Anyway, he was happy.

And man, some of the things that come out of that kid’s mouth!!

Aidan: There are so many movies coming out that I don’t care about!

Ronni: Oh hell no.
Aidan: Oh heaven yes!

Aidan: Would you like this Easter egg bubblegum? It’s egg-flavored gum. Just kidding!

Aidan: Mom, you need to buy a new mirror. That’s a funhouse mirror.

He’s right about the mirror. It does a number on my self-esteem when I’m standing in just the right… or maybe wrong place.

Aidan flew back to Ohio tonight. The gate agent sat him next to another UM–an 11 year old girl–so he’d have someone to talk to. The next time I see him, he’ll be arriving for the summer. And two days after that is Disney World!

So, that was my spring break in a nutshell. It was a good one. Hope yours was good, too.

I used to have freshwater tropical tank many years ago. I really miss having an aquarium. It was so calming and beautiful. We just don’t have room for one where we live now. ↩

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Monday

2013-04-08T04:47:33Z

Every time I write an entry like I did last night, I get a bit apprehensive. I immediately want to take it back and apologize for being such a basket case. It’s taking everything in my power not to go and hide it right now. I can’t promise I won’t still do it.

I was just going through my photos on Flickr, and there is one from November 11, 2012, where I’m talking about how the weather feels like Spring. I remember that day. It was in the 70s and I got my last mani/pedi of the year. So, I’ll try not to complain about the cold lingering so much since the warmth obviously lingered for a while last fall. Not making any promises, mind you, but I’ll try.

I didn’t sleep very well last night. I went to bed about 1:30am, and I read until I fell asleep. But then I was up at 5:30am. The “non-working” medication I was complaining about last night finally kicked in apparently!

I do feel a lot better today.

Had an awesome phone call this morning with one of the freelance clients I’m working for. I really like this company and the work and the people I work with a lot. One of the reasons is that I get to use Track Changes in the things I’m editing, and guys…I really like using Track Changes. She asked if I’d be interested and available to take on more work as they go into their busy season. Um… YES and YES. I feel blessed when I get to do work I enjoy and get paid for it too.

So, it’s Monday, and here’s what’s on my plate this week:

01. projects for DSA
02. Moksha newsletter
03. babysit tomorrow morning
04. clean Aidan’s room (this is mostly Adam’s job but I’ll do the fiddly-diddly things that he misses)
05. buy “filler” and gifts for Aidan’s Easter basket
06. put away laundry and clean my side of the room
07. teacher training homework
08. possible onsite project for VSA Thursday morning
09. get Aidan from airport Thursday night (this means dinner at Pop’s beforehand. yummy!)
10. make Aidan’s Easter basket
11. buy a few Aidan-specific groceries

It’s a quiet week, so I should be able to do all of this without any trouble. Adam just went off to Ikea to get a new mattress. That’s some good stuff. I’ve had the mattress we use now since 2006. I guess it’s time to replace it. We’re getting one with the individually wrapped springs so that when he tosses and turns, I don’t get thrown up to the ceiling.

Oh my God. Am I becoming boring? I just wrote a paragraph about mattresses. That means it’s time to sign off.

Till next time.

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Lately.

2013-03-25T04:47:31Z

warning: this entry is not all sunshine and bubbles…i did a backbends workshop yesterday and the results of that are coming up now. cue emotional mess!

Lately, I’ve been feeling….

{overwhelmed}
I’m working on a big freelance project, and even though it’s not very HARD nor particularly time-consuming, it is tricky. And also tedious. And also seems to be never ending. But hey, more money is always good so….

AND I like the company a lot.

I haven’t even STARTED on the April newsletter for Moksha. I need to get on that soon–I have a week to work on it and get it approved. I mean, I can and will DO it, but it would’ve been easier if I’d started on it sooner. Cropping pictures without Photoshop is going to be interesting. I have Gimp but Gimp and I FIGHT. So God help me. I guess I can always use “Preview”.

And I have GOT to get this teacher training non-contact stuff done:

1. thesis (2–3 pages)
2. write up for private lessons (finally had my last one Friday night) (3 short paragraphs, 1 page)
3. book reviews (2)
4. study guide questions (1)

It’s not even that hard. I’m just a self-sabatoger. I seriously could have had most of this stuff done months ago. I suck.

But not for long. I’m going to sit down and knock it all out this–probably Tuesday and/or Wednesday. Then I’m just going to submit everything in a big zip file. And then April 26, I’ll be done with teacher training. And I’m going to make sure I tell them I’m celebrating that at Disney World!

{satisfied}
The place was a terrible mess, but it’s much better now. I still need to put my laundry away, but the good news is that it’s clean. I also need to clean my room a bit. The snacks and books have taken over my side again.

We redid the living room. We got rid of the blue couch that Helena attacked (read: pissed on) with full force within the first week we had it, and replaced it with two chairs. We also got a new rug. The chairs are super comfortable, and so far, Helena hasn’t done anything to the chairs but sleep on them or get her toys from under them to play with. Crookshanks is sleeping on one in this picture, though. See him? Now can you spot Fi? hint: Fi is not on a chair!

{worried}
Tax time is coming really fast. Enough said.
Also, I haven’t heard from one of my biggest clients on whether they’re going to use me this year. That is very nervous making. Without them, I will have to find another big client before summer ends.

{frustrated}
Because I’m a self-sabotager who self-sabotages. It sucks. I suck.

{insecure & dumb}
I go through this a lot. Those moments when I am convinced that everything I say is stupid, wrong, pointless, and no one cares so I should just take a seat and shut the hell up. I can barely get a sentence out without getting interrupted, but GOD FORBID I interrupt anyone. I feel like I’m constantly pissing people off and making them mad at me. I think people just put up with me because they haven’t anything better to do, that no one really likes me at all. Well, I think Adam likes me, but I know I get on his nerves, too. Hell, *I* get on my nerves. Here’s a sample of the self-talk that goes through my head:

1. Shut up, just shut up. You’re so stupid and NO ONE CARES.
2. I bet none of them really like you. They only put up with you because they have to.
3. OH MY GOD you are so dumb. Seriously, shut the hell up.
4. Look at your fat stomach. You’re disgusting. (This one usually happens when I’m trying on clothes in a fitting room at a store. It gets worse than that if I’m in a particular Victoria’s Secret fitting room with the video monitors that show the models strutting their stuff down the runway. I cannot and will not shop in that store anymore because of that. Other reasons too, but mainly that.)
5. Wow. You’re not good at anything, are you? I mean, you’re OK at some stuff, but you’re not extraordinary at anything. Pathetic.

And then I want to lock myself in the house and hide under the covers and spare the world from my presence. Except Twitter and Tumblr and my blog, apparently.

{sore}
I didn’t even take all of Jason Crandell’s workshop sessions, but the two I did take (one on back bending, one on forward folding, twisting, and side bends) were quite enough. I did do some poses I’ve never done before, and some I never want to do again! I even did Eka Pada Rajakapotasana II and Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana. I wasn’t even going to try Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana, but I did it and it was awesome. Way easier than Urdhva Dhanurasana… but we did do that one about ten times before Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana. Maybe ANYTHING seems easy after that. Anyway, I would love to soak in a steaming hot tub but the thought of driving out to King Spa tonight is not appealing. Because it’s freaking snowing and given the choice, I’d rather not drive in the snow. So I plan to go tomorrow night instead, after rush hour theoretically dies down. I’m sure I’ll still be sore enough to appreciate the spa pools.

{melancholy}
And it sucks when the medication that is supposed to be helping this doesn’t seem to be working.

{grateful}
I LOVE my babysitting gig. The little boy I get to watch is so super cute. I watched him for the first time last Tuesday afternoon. He slept for most of the time, but then he woke up and I went to get him. At first, he looked at me like WTF. But then I picked him up and held him and he just cuddled and cuddled and cuddled. I LIKE that. I miss the weight of a little one cuddling against me. I cuddle with Aidan, but Aidan’s all bones now. It hurts sometimes!¹ One-year-old babies are soft and squishy. I can’t believe I get paid to cuddle a squishy little boy!

{excited}
Aidan is going to be here in a few days! I completely cleared my calendar so I can spend the entire Spring Break with him, despite the best efforts of the universe. I swear, every time I try to just… make space, a million people/clients/jobs suddenly need me for this or that. Most of the time, I go ahead and take it because well, money! But, this time, I’m setting some boundaries. It is always nice to make money, but I need to spend time with my boy.²

{tired}
I should head to bed soon. See if I can sleep away some of these blues.

Till next time….

Oh don’t get me wrong. I’ll still cuddle the hell out of some Aidan. As long as he’ll let me, at least! ↩
I’ll work from home, of course. And if the babysitter calls, I’ll help her out. I can bring Aidan with me, which is AWESOME. Double the cuddles!!!! ↩

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Magic Kingdom Revisited

2013-03-22T05:54:27Z

Part One: Magic in the Magic Kingdom
Part Two: Animal Kingdom: I LOVE TODAY
Part Three: Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow
Part Four: Hooray For Hollywood–Studios, That Is!

On our last day at Disney World, Adam and I hit the Magic Kingdom. Our goal was to get there at Rope Drop, so that we could ride all the rides and attractions we couldn’t on Monday due to the crowds and the lines. It almost worked–we got there when the train rode into the station with all the characters. A little boy was walking in and the way his face lit up was amazing! And he hadn’t even seen the characters yet. It was fun to see.

Once we got in Magic Kingdom, I remembered WHY I love going at Rope Drop. That first hour when the Magic Kingdom is open really is magical. There’s all the singing and dancing, everyone is fresh and happy, and it just looks so shiny and new. Not to mention that it’s not crowded at all, and the rides are pretty much walk-on.

The first place we went was to get Fast Passes for the new ride: Under The Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid. We were mildly disturbed when the Fast Pass return time was already 1:50pm. Had that many people already gotten Fast Passes? But the cast member said that the ride wouldn’t be open until 1pm.

Once we got those, we headed to Storybook Circus, where the wait times were delightfully short to meet Minnie, Daisy, Donald, and Goofy (who had a “light sabor” fight with Adam), and to ride the Barnstormer!

We made our way to Tomorrowland, where we hopped on Space Mountain, and then we headed to Adventureland, where I got a Dole Float with pineapple juice and orange soft serve. It was a delicious breakfast! Then we rode Pirates of the Caribbean, and then made our way to meet Adam’s mom Sharon, his sister Cassidy, and our niece Lola!

They’d called the day before with a crazy idea to drive up from Atlanta and spend the day in the Magic Kingdom with us. AND THEY DID IT. Awesome, huh?

We made our way to the Hub to get Fast Passes so Lola could meet the princesses later. Then we made our way back down Main Street, U.S.A. There was singing and dancing and good times. Lola was cranky and didn’t like it.

Then we looked through a few shops and drooled over the sweets at the confectionary.

We walked around and hung out and ate a delicious lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern. Oh man, it was soooo good. See how happy we were?

We watched a bit of the castle show, and this was Lola’s face when the princesses came out:

By now, it was time to go meet the princesses! Lola was SOOO cute, you guys. She had so much fun, in her little princess dress and big smile.

She got to meet Cinderella, Aurora, and Rapunzel. THEN, we took her to meet her favorite princess of all time….

Do you see how she’s looking at her?? Could you just melt?

Snow White after she realized that Lola was singing “I’m Wishing” to her. Bless.

Lola got a nice Snow White kiss for that. After the meet and greet, Lola ran to her mom squealing and jumping. SO CUTE.

We made our way back to the new Fantasyland so we could ride the Under The Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid. Now, I don’t know if I’d wait an hour or more in line to ride this, but it was a BEAUTIFUL ride just the same.

In the meantime, Cassidy and Sharon had taken Lola to ride the Carousel and it’s a small world. Then I had work to do. So I worked while the parade played in the background, and then we all met up again in Columbia Harbour House, where Lola hugged me and told me she loved me.

Then it was Mad Tea Party (aka the Teacups) where Lola was more in love with the idea of riding than actually riding it. She seemed a little unsure and we were afraid she was gonna hurl! But she didn’t, and she did manage to have some fun.

Cassidy and I went to ogle/buy more treats, and then we made our way to the front of the park by train! It was time for me and Adam to head back to the hotel to catch the Magical Express back to the airport.

But not before stopping in to visit The Mouse himself!

Then it really was time to go. I was sad. A Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! street party was starting again and I wanted to stay and dance. I wanted to hang out with Sharon and Cassidy and Lola some more. I wanted to stay in the Magic Kingdom! *sigh* But we parted ways and Adam and I headed to wait for the bus back to Port Orleans French Quarter. And folks, this is when we had the WORST bus luck out of the entire trip.

Part of it was my fault. I miscalculated how much time we’d need to get back to the hotel. So when we arrived at the bus stop, I was hoping a bus would be there or get there pretty fast because it’s only a ten minute ride back. It was about 5:35pm.

But of course, no bus showed up. We needed to be back to catch our Magical Express bus at 6:10pm. A bus back to the resort didn’t arrive until 6:15pm. We’d been standing at the stop for what felt like forever. We were stressed and I was getting cold. And when the bus finally arrived, we had to wait for them to load a wheelchair first, and that takes some time.

Luckily, Adam’s mom and sister had driven and they were ready to leave Magic Kingdom. So they were willing to meet us at the hotel to take us to the airport (or I was just going to get a cab). But there was a Magical Express showing up at 6:40pm and they let us on there. The ride back is always so much more subdued. No excitement, just resignation, really. This is the worst part of the Disney World vacation: when it’s over. I would have been so much sadder if I didn’t know when I’d be going back. But fortunately, I knew that I would be back in just a few months, so I wasn’t as sad as I could have been.

I really wasn’t ready to come back. I was not ready to come home and walk into a place reeking of cat poo (they like to poo all over the floor and couches as revenge when we’re gone), I did not want to come back to the cold and snow and slush, all the rushing and honking and abrasive attitudes. But real life has to go on–that’s what makes the trips so wonderful and special, right?

So, this concludes my trip report. I’ll definitely write about my lead up, planning, and trip in June, when I take Aidan (yay!) and my mom (her first trip!), and my cousin Falandos (his first trip too!) who is meeting us in Orlando. Should be a wild time!

Thanks for following along! I can’t wait to go back!

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