Celebrate

June, the most celebrated month of the year (arguably, of course) has finally arrived. Let the celebrating commence! You may not know it, but only the best have been born in this fine month (enter me). Okay, maybe that's a bit of a stretch, but in all seriousness, for some reason, my calendar is always really full during this month. More birthdays, weddings, and other celebratory events seem to crop up this time of year. I'm pretty sure Hallmark doesn't mind though as it has forced me to become a frequent customer.
Well, it is during this fine month that I will mark the end of my 30th year. It certainly zoomed by. I had such grandiose ideas for all the exciting things I planned to do. Some I did, others I just simply never got around to. Either way, I’m still celebrating because I've had a pretty good year. It definitely involved a LOT of change, but all in all, I think my 30s are definitely off to a great start. More importantly, I’ve learned the importance of celebrating and appreciating those in my life that I love. People are always going to be more important than things, jobs, schedules...It doesn’t matter how busy you get, at the end of the day, it is your relationships that matter most, and sometimes you need to make sure they know how much you appreciate them. This past year has certainly been a monumental transition year for me, but these are a few of the favorites in my life that have made it super great. So this post is for my peeps. Today, I celebrate you (or at least a few of you specifically, but ALL of you in spirit).

My hero, Kiki - "This is E at the front desk..." Man, I miss doing that! :) I celebrate you for daring to make a change (and also for being the willing sucker who would pick me up and drive me to work in nasty snow storms even though I have mad-crazy passenger tendencies which are only amplified in bad weather). You totally rock! You have that special gift of lighting up a room when you walk in the door. I miss the easy way you can bring a quick smile to my face and the many laughs we've shared. You were and are so good for my soul. Know that it takes guts to pack up, walk the other direction, and embrace change. You are a stronger than you know and I'm certain the best is yet to come.

M - My unlikely friend. I remember thinking when we first met that we had absolutely nothing in common. We probably still don’t, but as opposite as we are, you became a forever friend. You have been everything from my shopping buddy, fellow pool bum, and road-tripping sister, to my courtroom support system and my family when there was none nearby. We've helped move each other more times than I care to recall, we've taken vacations and spent holidays together, and some of life's most private and poignant moments have been shared between you and I (and often a small table at Palamino's). We have quite literally walked with each other to hell and back, and I celebrate a bond with you that is unbreakable.

My dear, sweet grumpa – I celebrate your long life and the big, beautiful family you have left behind. I am blessed to have had such a great grandpa in my life for 30 years and you are sorely missed. You will remain forever in my heart (and forever the “king” of the to-do list).

To my other two musketeers here in AZ ...I celebrate the rekindling of old friendships. My transition back to the desert was made a million times easier with your friendships. You've helped to reestablish my faith in God and in his perfect timing. It doesn't hurt, either, that my two beautiful fashionistas keep me looking good, my head screwed on straight, and my my body happy with a little regular yoga-friend time.

To my boys (my bud in Pell City (Exit 2) and the bearded one in the Big Apple) You guys are pretty much awesome! Hands down the best listeners! Mostly because you let me ramble endlessly and it doesn't seem to bother you. I'm so lucky that you are both only a short text or phone call away. You always seem to know just what to say (or more importantly NOT say) when I start rambling on like a blubbering fool. How you both are still single, I honestly do not know. And to the bearded one...anyone who willingly uses their vacation time to help pack me up and move cross country is either A) crazy or B) crazy. Thanks a million! Love you guys!

To the couple who kindly pays the rent…yes, you know who you are. I celebrate the fact that we have not yet killed one another, a true feat indeed. Words are not able to express the amount of accolades you deserve for putting up with my monstrously crazy self. You probably deserve your own holiday, but we wouldn’t want to get carried away…

To my fellow CR’s – I celebrate you for all the times you have painfully pushed me, commiserated with me, talked with me, and most importantly dreamed with me. There is no other group of people filled with more grit and determination than you. So I celebrate the dreamer that resides in you all.

Mark Twain once said, “Really great people make you feel that you, too, can become great. So today I celebrate these, and all the other really great people I’m blessed to have in my life. Cheers to you!

Double take

I made an impromptu trip to the store this afternoon after realizing I needed a few packaging supplies so I could mail a box to a friend. As I was checking out I did what all stores genuinely love to see their customers do, I made a last minute impulse purchase. Now I warn you, it was nothing terribly exciting or super extraordinary, just a pack of gum to toss into the bottom recesses of my handbag. However, when I went to grab my usual pack of Extra (the green kind), I did a quick double take and then paused for a brief moment, complete with gum in hand. Sitting directly beside the stack of Extra was a stack of Doublemint gum, each neatly packaged in their signature green cartons with little sprigs of mint printed on the front of the packages. As if to prove that advertising really does work, my mind instantly went back 20 years and began playing back the circa 1985 Doublemint gum commercial of my childhood. As the jingle was playing in my mind, I suddenly longed to smell the cool, minty scent that reminds me instantly of my grandparents. Suddenly, I was no longer standing in the checkout line at the store, but rather I was little girl in my grandparent’s kitchen in front of a tiny drawer chalked full of little packs of gum.
Ever since I can remember, my grandparents always had an endless supply of gum, always 5-stick packs and always Doublemint. Throughout my childhood, whenever I was at my grandparent's I would always raid their stash of gum from the drawer that somehow never seemed to go empty. It’s as if there was a magical, bottomless drawer full of Doublemint that could only be found at grandma and grandpa’s. I suddenly snapped out of my walk down memory lane, and immediately placed the pack of Extra back on the shelf. I decide, instead, to purchase a little piece of nostalgia. Even to this day, before I put a stick of that minty fresh gum into my mouth, I first take little whiff of that classic Doublemint scent, and think of them. I am reminded that scent is a powerful thing. For today, it brings back to me a little hint of my grandmother, who I miss dearly, and a memory from my childhood that will forever be nestled away in my mind.

My job is...

It’s a fact! We spend a big chunk of our lives working. Day in and day out we go to our places of employment, we work at completing the tasks and responsibilities we were hired to do, and we anxiously await payday so we can receive our hard earned money. Even though we spend so much of our time on the job, it is surprising how many people tend to dislike what they do, or at least waste time and energy complaining about it. When you think about it, we spend about one-third of our daily lives working. I liken this to my “mattress theory” which is this: We spend a third of our lives sleeping. Say you sleep on average seven hours a night. That is 2,555 (of a possible 8,760) hours a year that you spend slumbering away on your bed. If that’s the case, I can’t possibly understand not purchasing a decent mattress, one that you find utterly and wonderfully comfy. Otherwise, you will have wasted one-third of your, day, week, month, year, or even life not sleeping as well you possibly could.

The same is true about our work lives. With as much time as we spend working, it is exceptionally nice when we can find a job that we at least enjoy doing. Of course, there will always be exceptions. In my case, I would’t call my job as an administrative assistant my dream job by any stretch of the imagination. (That’s why I’m in school.) To be honest, it’s quite easy and even a bit dull at times. Still, I am extremely thankful for my job, as it really has been the perfect one for me while I finish my education. It is without a dobut low-stress, close to home, and pays well. So I most definitely cannot complain. And sure, with the economy and the unemployment rate the way it is, often people are more inclined to take a job merely for the fact that it will provide money to pay the bills, rather than whether or not they will find true satisfaction in the work. Completely understandable. Still, whether your current job is that ideal dream job you always imagined, or just a means to an end, this simple fact remains: You are still spending about one-third of your time doing it. So why waste all that time and energy being unhappy, discontent, or even just mildly annoyed. No matter what job you have, or how and why you do it, there is still much to be thankful for...after all, there are nearly 14.8 million Americans looking for work these days. (Yes...I'm a dork and checked out the U.S. Dept. of Labor stats.) So I ever so gently remind you to focus on the positives rather than the negatives. "We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.
(Frederick Keonig)

Of course, that doesn't mean we can’t poke fun just a wee bit at our work. After all, life without a little bit of humor is somewhat dull. I ran across this on the internet and found it pretty funny.
Here are the top 10 answers.

My Job is to ______.

1. Help people hate each other: Divorce Lawyer
2. Stand on a field and get yelled at for hours: Baseball Umpire
3. Talk in other people’s sleep: College Professor
4. Call people who know what they’re doing and ask them what they’re doing:
Incident Manager
5. Show people how beautiful the Earth would be without them: Mountain
Landscape Photographer/Climber
6. Make people feel bad about their work: Quality Assurance Tester
7. Repeatedly fix what you repeatedly break: IT Director
8. Clean up an animal that makes more money then me in a year: Assistant Horse Trainer
9. Write words that no one wants to read: Technical Writer
10. Make food that is as healthy before it goes in your body as when it comes back out: Fast Food Employee

Can you describe your job in one sentence?

Read more funnies here

Pity Parties Not Allowed

It’s that time of year again when our dear friend, cupid, comes calling. Funny how February hits, and then all at once the world at large is head over heels “in love.” Suddenly street corners are peppered with vendors peddling their roses and flowers for last minute purchase, the first two aisles in the grocery store are chalked full of all things pink and red, and for some crazy reason Hallmark is running low on their stock of “I love you” cards. For the record, I personally am (and always have been) a fan of this somewhat commercialized holiday. Maybe I’m just a sucker for sweets, flowers, and a good excuse to buy a card or two, but anyone who knows me should not be too surprised by that revelation. However, I do find it somewhat annoying the amount of pity that is pointed in the direction of anyone who is remotely single. It seems glaringly obvious around this time of year. I would like to note that my dear friends (yes….you know who you are) are most definitely NOT guilty of this. I’m blessed to have wonderful people in my life that, whether coupled up or not, have NEVER made me feel like a third-wheel or a “pet project” with their entire mission strictly being to find my soul mate. But that being said, it is actually somewhat surprising to me how often people say things, or act in a way that can give you the impression that they somehow think your life is missing some important piece of the puzzle without a significant other attached to your right hip. I don’t believe they are consciously or purposely doing this, and it is especially not out of any ill-will. Yet, I wonder…did it never once cross their minds that there are singles out there that might actually be okay with their singeldom?! I have not quite yet figured out how to respond to this attitude of pity that somehow is thrust in the direction of all those who are unattached. I find I am baffled, and yet equally annoyed by it. I do have a life, I do have plans, and I am quite happy and content with my current non-relationship status. So why do I feel the need to somehow defend that? So to those out there that are blindly, without thought or reason, looking at me with pity, I say to you this...

I’m no less of a person just because I do not receive a surprise bouquet of flowers from an admirer. I work hard and I have my own money. If I want flowers, I am fully capable of buying them myself. I have many times before, and will no doubt again purchase myself a bright and lively bouquet to cheer up a random, dull day. And please don’t feel compelled to worry about whether or not I have a date or any special plans for St. Valentines. If you have nothing better to worry about, then my friend, I think you have too much time on your hands. One is not measured merely by the amount of V-day loot they do or don’t receive. Yes, it is entirely possible for someone to be quite happy on Valentine's and have no valentine at all. As shocking as that may seem, please know this...while some people might be settling down into cozy coupledom, some people just might not be settling. I’m happy flying solo, and pity need not be directed my way.
Love, peace, and Happy Valentines. ♥

Random Useless Things I Learned Today

Heating food up in the microwave on Styrofoam plates or bowls can cause prostate cancer (or at least according to my co-worker.)

Veggie burgers smell terrible!

The tea, Maca, is a natural replacement for Viagra. (Not to be confused with Matcha, a green tea which you can find widely available at your local Starbucks.)

If you keep someone on hold long enough, they will just go away.

No word in the English language rhymes with “month”. Go ahead...try and think of one.

Credit card companies are basically pure evil.

Miss Sweet Things down the hall, thinks making coffee for the office is beneath her. (Hey, you know you wanted a little workplace gossip).

Your gunky mascara can be revived with a quick 30 seconds in the microwave. I still think I’ll just go buy a new tube.

Thanks to Facebook, I now know my friend is looking for a petite blonde, with long flowing hair, light eyes, and a goofy personality. Seriously people! We are posting way too much info on FB already!

I've discovered I'm actually more stupid now as a result of all this meaningless information.

Singledom

My personal journey (Yes! I DO have a life outside of court reporting school) has been one that has led me into rediscovering the world of dating and singledom, it has become painfully evident that I may have to kiss a few frogs, or even perhaps a few komodo dragons for that fact, before I am to find my Mr. Right. I actually think I'm quite fine with that though. On the heels of a devastating divorce, I'm most definitely not looking to jump into anything too serious, and more importantly, I'm choosing to find enjoyment and even humor in the dating process, rather than be tormented and overwhelmed by it. (And for the record, there are some CrAzIeS out there.) I do have to say, I think I've been out of the game a little while, so my skills seem a bit rusty. All the more reason to practice, right! I have also discovered, I am quite happy being single. Not to say that I wouldn't like some "male companionship", but it's not so bad flying solo. Recently, I have found enjoyment in some of the following perks of being relationship-free:

1. I don't have to check with anyone before making plans.
2. I can drop everything at a moments notice if I decide to go meet the girls.
3. There is no pressure to ALWAYS have my legs shaved.
4. I can flirt with anyone I please...guilt-free.
5. I don't have to share my food, and if I want the biggest piece of cake, I can have it.
6. I can hog the covers in bed.
7. I don't have to juggle multiple families at the holidays.
8. Any Christmas money I receive doesn't have to be split with anyone.
9. And best of all, there is no need for compromise.

So singeldom is proving to be not so bad. However, I'll be honest and admit that a little male company is definitely nice every now and then, and it isn't completely undesired either. It's nice to be noticed. It's also really great to have someone think you are worth a little time and energy, perhaps a nice dinner out, or a random flirtatious text. So although I wouldn't necessarily say I am actively looking for Mr. Right, I wouldn't say I'm turning the other cheek either. I think I am just choosing to enjoy the moment.

And in the words of the very wise, Dr. Seuss, "You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. You are the guy who'll decide where to go."