Vacation Day 1

This has been the longest day EVAR!

I woke up this morning at 2:30 being too anxious to sleep and then I was haunted by visions of the 7th Harry Potter book and I could not get back to sleep. I finally gave up at 3:10 and got ready to start my journey.

My first flight, to O'Hare, was suppose to leave at 6:00 am. We sat on the runway for an hour due to storms in Chicago and didn't leave until 7, arriving at O'Hare at 8.

My connecting flight to Marquette was scheduled to leave at 9 am, but kept getting more and more delayed. They cancelled three different flights while I sat there praying that mine wasn't next. Finally at 10:45 I got on the smallest plane I've ever been on and was on my way.

I am now sitting in deja vu land as Carrie (the friend I came to visit) works. She works for the same company I do, so it's pretty much like being at work - except I'm not doing anything . . . . okay, so it's not that much different at all.

I'm sleepy and hungry and am looking forward to tomorrow when there are no planes and no airports and no stupid Harry Potter related dreams (I hope).

Did you know that the O'Hare has a jewelry store?! A jewelry store!! In an airport! Crazy.

Another Year

Today is my birthday. I've had a weekend full of birthday related fun and WAY too much food so today seems kind of anti-climatic. I work all day and I don't really have any plans for tonight - but I think that's a good thing. It will give me some time to just relax and reflect on my 25th year of life and plan for the 26th.

Yep, that's what I do on my birthday (at least, to some degree). I think it's a better time to readjust and start new things than New Years. I don't set resolutions, per se, but it's more like a goal planning session - What do I want to get accomplished in the next year?

What do I want to get accomplished in the next year? I want to be more spiritual. I want to set aside some regular allotment of time each week to spend in spiritual pursuits. I want to be more healthy. I need to get out and do more stuff outside. I'm the least active 26 year old I know. I don't want to be a body builder or have rock hard abs (although I wouldn't complain if they just suddenly appeared on my body!) but I want to be able to do yard work without feeling like a was just beaten by an angry mob. I want to be better about doing housework and all those things that need to be done - but suck greatly. I want to be a better friend and a better wife. That's all! :-)

This past year was a good one. I bought a house, got a promotion, got my braces off, friends got married and had babies. Life can always be improved - but 25 was a good year. I hope 26 yields more of the same.

Here's some pictures:


The Best Man and Matron of Honor (man, matron sound really old!)


All the bride's maids. Who's that cute redhead?!


Breakfast at Bob Evans. Braces free and happy to be eating eggs.

Hell Hath No Fury

I hate being a cliche.

I like to think of myself as different, not stereotypical, a person who marches to the beat of a different drum. Yet, here I am, about to embark upon an activity that is known for being hated and I wish that I could say that I was one the rare few who found this endeavor to be most enjoyable. But, alas, today I will put on my hat that says, "I am just like everyone else" and loudly proclaim:

I hate swimsuit shopping.

And that is exactly what I have to do this evening.

Apparently Marquette, MI has beaches (I really need to brush up on my US geography) and when you go to beaches you need a swimsuit. I do not own a swimsuit. I am an Irish, pasty white, red head. Me and the sun are not friends. I taught myself how to swim and the best I can accomplish on a good day in the water is not dying. So, perhaps, you can see why I do not currently own a swimsuit.

But I've never been to a beach. And this whole trip is about going outside of the box - my comfort zone - and doing things a little different. I guess that includes a swimsuit. But I'm not going shopping alone. Oh no. I'm taking reinforcements. One of the few people who will actually tell me that the plaid bottoms make my butt look like a sumo wrestler playing golf - my mother. I can always count on my mother for an honest opinion - whether I want it or not. And best of all, she'll buy me pie to drown my sorrows in when it's all said and done.

I love my mommy.

Blocked

I've been having a hard time posting lately. I've started multiple posts only to stop half way through. Nothing seems important enough to share with the masses (perhaps it's just one mass). I think I'm in a funk.

There's the woman, Leann Mabry. She has a podcast called Tag in the Seam. You should really check it out. It's funny, insightful, and very clever. I love it. Well, Leann has recently gone through some serious shit. I don't know the details, but she laid her emotions and her pain out for everyone to see and hear on her podcast and on her blog. At times, I felt as if I was intruding on private moments not meant for my eyes. But they were. They were meant for everyone's eyes. I can only assume that sharing her pain with everyone in such a graphic way is part of her process of dealing. It intrigues me. I wonder if I have the ability to be so open with my life - or if I even want to?

A few weeks ago I was resolved and determined to change some fundamental things in my life. I haven't gotten very far with that. I've made a few attempts and they've failed miserably (I'll save those stories for another post). I know I'm close to being that person that I want to be - but it's like a Cheeto that bounces under the couch that you can't reach - you want it so badly (who doesn't want Cheetos?) but just can't quite get to it.

I'm going to visit a friend in Marquette, MI in a few weeks. She's a Buddhist and we are going to house sit for friends of hers who live "off the grid." No running water, an outhouse, and gas lights. This trip has the makings for a real spiritual retreat. I haven't been on a plane since high school, and I've never been to MI or seen the Great Lakes. I'm excited about the trip. I'm excited to see my friend. She's one of those few real people out there. She's amazing. I hoping between being with her and being in such a . . . . . . removed . . . . . setting, I might be able to figure some things out. Find some peace.

But, really? An outhouse? What am I thinking?!?

Boring Monday

Blah.

Lots and lots of blah.

I have made no progress on the whole "new me" front. I've made some attempts - but no progress.

I found this yoga/meditation/nutrition place online that was offering a Mind-Body Stress Reduction class and it sounded amazing. Everything that I was looking for. Yoga, meditation, stress management, a little retreat, pamphlets, cds . . . . all kinds of goodies. So, I showed up for the orientation session that was posted on their website and no one was there. It was non-existent. Apparently there was not enough interest so they canceled the summer class. So, I left, got completely soaked in the torrential downpour, and wallowed in my failed attempt at creating a new me.

After a few days of sulking I picked myself up and decided that center couldn't be the only place like that in St. Louis. So, I found another place - again online - and I sent them an email (so I didn't show up to nothing again) explaining a bit about me and what I'm looking for. After three days the email got returned.

And that's where I am. Canceled class, returned email, no progress made towards . . . anything.

Maybe it's a sign. Maybe I'm not supposed to be looking for new things - maybe I'm supposed to be doing what I always do - only better.

Or maybe I should just quit looking for places online. Maybe that's my problem. I need more face time and less keyboard time.

Blah.

I Comply I Comply I Comply

I must record today. I MUST. I have to get my voice on digital waves and saved safe and sound in my computer. It's a compulsion. I don't know what I'm going to say. It will probably never be placed into these tubes we call the internets, but I have to express myself. Some way, some how. There are pieces of myself that I NEED to share and they are ripping and tearing and clawing their way out of me like last night's bad Chinese.

Happy 4th all. If you need me I'll be carthiting (Is that a word? Did I just make up my own word?).

Also, if you don't get the reference in the title then you must go listen to J.C. Hutchins's 7th Son trilogy. You are missing out on internet greatness.

Another reason why I wish I lived in Chicago

For the upcoming release of the The Simpsons Movie 7-11 had turned select locations into the Kwik-E-Mart from the cartoon. This one is located in Chicago.

Anyone up for a drive?