Taking time out = happiness

I haven't written here in a while, most likely because I'm finding that I'm trying (without really trying) to simplify my life. We lived wthout wifi in our house for several months and while I missed being able to pop onto twitter and check out the lives of my friends as I made dinner, or walked down the hallway to another chore, I can now say I could* live without that stuff. It's not that I no longer appreciate lordvoldemort's cheeky tweets chiding muggles for incorrect grammar, or that I don't want to hear which kitchen necessity so and so requires to build out their cafe, but that's just it. I don't really.

I've also thought about all the great things I could share here, but have opted instead to do other things instead of actually loggin in and writing them down. For example, I've take advantage of my time at work to be productive, spent time with my husband, competing against each other along with the newlywed game on tv, or simply read a book outside while watching the dogs play. I've unplugged a bit, and don't mind so much. I have a feeling that there will be more for me someday to care about, and starting now isn't a major sacrifice. I doubt, that while I've really enjoyed the new friends I've made online, I will look back one day and really remember all the days or hours I spent chatting it up or checking out the latest fashion trends on some crummy website. Just trying to appreciate and grasp at what things are most important. I think I have enough going on right now as it is to fill my time. Here's to being less wired, less frenetic, and less web-tired.

* could, meaning would do it if I had to, but would prefer to keep it around, you know, just in case.

Lazy Sunday

Here I am, 8 am on a Sunday morning, hanging with my puppies. I've been awake for over an hour-I slept in 'til nearly 7! We had a very nice dinner at a German restaurant last night with a whole group of friends. It was the usual, guys-side, girls-side of the table, complete with odd looks from each side, when some bit of conversation was ear-catching. I'm pretty psyched that we're seeing most of the group again in a couple of weeks for a clam bake. The guys are currently in the midst of making selections for the most important event of the Fall- fantasy football. Good thing I enjoy football and (almost) take more interest in his team than he does (shh!).

And so, (don't we love that heinous example of sentence construction?) I plan to spend my day reading, changing the sheets, putting dishes away, at least one load of laundry, and perhaps a little shopping out on the town. When husband gets back, I'm very certain we're planning to catch a matinée of Inception, since we've heard how good it really is. Yay for lazy days, complete with movies! That's the latest, see you on the flip-side.

What's with Today, Today?

Several things:

I feel slightly ucky after eating a roast beef sandwich from Jimmy Johns. Perhaps it was because I heated it up. Unless it's a PB&J, I can no longer tolerate a cold sandwich- fact of life now.

Our home is falling apart. Fan no longer works without the fan's light being on due to an over-pulled chain. We now have a hot bedroom in perpetuity. The kitchen overhead blew out about a month ago and because we hate the fixture, we've never bothered to replace the bulb. We're operating using counter-top lamps. Cozy, but inconvenient when there's a light-switch right there on both sides of the room. We also have a leaky roof vent that was flooding our kitchen by dripping down the backsplash under our microwave yesterday. Yippee- weekend projects!

I also was changing my desktop google background theme and giggled when I saw one for Justin Beiber and actually thought, "Wouldn't it be weird if I used that?!" Until about two months ago, I had no recollection (perhaps for the best) of who this girl was, and her name was Justin.

My stomach just growled sooo loud and I'm slightly embarrassed.

Anyway.

Perfect day for a sleepy nap

I may not make it all the way through today. I am struggling with whether I'd like to take vacation time this afternoon or not. I'm going to stop accruing it if I don't take some in the next few weeks, so I do need to take some time, but no one else is today, and I feel like I will be a bum if I'm the slacker leaving early. I also think I want to reserve it for the next two weeks, just in case. I'm really leaning towards leaving early today. My brain needs a break to find some clarity.

Booo for my late-streak

Boss had to be a boss today and I got "yelled at" for coming in 10-15 minutes late each day this week. Granted, it was exaggerated by my cube-neighbor who always comes in late and leaves on time, so we both were tut-tutted. I fall into a crack with my levaing time. If I lived 10 minutes closer, my timing would be perfect because I could leave on an even time- like, "leave by 7:30". The problem is, if I leave at 7:30, traffic is horrid. If I leave at 7:40, traffic is okay but I get here late. If I leave at 7:15, #1, I'd get to work about 7:40, and #2, it'd be wicked early. Dumb traveling time and traffic. I suppose it will be early days for me then. I may be lazy, but it's annoying because I have to spend today and tomorrow, and early next week feeling guilty about my behavior that I can't do anything about now, yet still irritated, because "the man" (not just my boss) indicates I be here by 8 am everyday. We don't even open until 8:30. I'm going to need to figure out what to do now with all my spare time in the mornings. :(

Quick Chat

Got a notice that Linger is waiting for me at the library, so this saturday I will be cruising by there. Hopefully I will be able to finish The Power and the Glory prior to then, especially since it's due after a renewal (plus I've been talking about it forever- for shame). They have a cozy reading room that overlooks the river, and I'm going to go for a "me-calmed-down" phase.

Dinner last night was ruined because even though it cooked all day, it wasn't plugged in. I love coming home to $15 worth of meat and veggies that have sat out for 10 hours AND the added bonus of nothing to eat when you discover it. I scrambled to make myself some pasta with cheese and mope around a bit before passing out for a nap. The plan was to go to the gym but husband didn't get home until almost 9 and I had decidedly less desire to go traipsing through the gym after I had been cozy and sleeping. The plan is to make it there tomorrow night, when he'll be home earlier. We're both supposed to make it there on our own today, but we decided last weekend that we actually like making each other go and exercising next to each other. Weird, because I never really thought that would be a comfort. Turns out, it is.

Now I must plot out where inside the cool building I can secure a safe napping spot during lunch since my car is an oven the last few days. I have the choice of being caught in a bathroom, meeting room, or trying to get shut eye in a locker room that has a single wooden bench (with no back) and lights that don't shut off. It's times like these that nap-booths need to come to America.

Thar she blows! Gonna be another long one

Nearly everyone is gone today at work. Not that I need people to be here to do my work but it's a motivating factor and without it, the day drags. Luckily, I put more awesome music on my ipod, so I'll be entertained by new songs. Among those on my latest go-playlist:

Brandi Carlile; Christina's new (rather trampy) album; Club 8; A Fine Frenzy; Fleet Foxes; Florence + the Machine; Gossip; The Swell Season; Ingrid Michaelson; Grizzly Bear; La Roux; Leaves; Lenka; Marie Digby; John Mayer; Real Estate; Norah Jones; She & Him; Seal's "Soul" album; The Temper Trap. I know some of these aren't "new" but I still like to rediscover old classics.

Last night we ate a really fab crockpot dinner consisting of that steak I jabbered on about yesterday. (Toss some chopped onions under a flank or top round steak. Top that with a mixture of 1 can salsa, 2 tsp chili powder; salt, pepper, oregano. Top that with a can of drained black beans and cook for 7-9 hours on low. Pop in chopped red & yellow peppers for 30 min. on high. Wa-lah!) It was pretty tasty and is supposed to be healthy too. We're really on the Good Ship Healthy-Eats these days.

Now, I just have to get back into the swing of visiting my old friend, the gym. We've kind of been on the outs because I find him pretty boring and I don't like to call on him more than a couple of days a week because there are more interesting or necessary ways to spend my time. I begrudge Mr. Internet, Stevie Clean, and Ms. Library much less, and have recently become very partial to spending time with my latest most-favourite friend, Sally Napsalot. Just like Stella, I'm certain I will get my groove back soon and update on this sometime in the near future.