Category: Daily Life

Earlier today, this song popped into my head. I even posted the video link to Twitter saying that I didn’t know why I’d thought of it just then. [Double-click video to watch it on YouTube at full size.]

However, I later remembered exactly what made me think of it.

I have an audition this evening with a possible second band. It occurred to me that I should send my husband the e-mail from the band with the guy’s name and address, just in case I ended up in a basement pit being ordered to rub the lotion on my skin.

Then I thought that I probably shouldn’t phrase it that way when I forwarded the e-mail, so I just said, “FYI.”

I'm going to start with the disclaimer that I'm not the most even-tempered person you'll ever meet. Let's just say that it's a good thing the other drivers can't hear me during my morning commute. However, my outlook on life in general is quite positive.

I didn't always feel this way. A guy I dated once told me that the thing that bothered him the most about me was my sarcasm. And I was very cynical and sarcastic then. At the time, I thought my sarcasm was a vital part of my personality, but I've grown to see it for the reflexive negativity it was.

A lot of the negative commentary I see online is very self-centered. For example, I've been noticing lots of posts on Twitter from people who don't watch "Lost," expressing how glad they'll be when they don't have to hear about it anymore. What, you can't just scroll past posts that aren't relevant to you? Why take a negative stance about something that you know nothing about except that other people enjoy it a great deal and like to discuss it?

The other day, a friend shared a post from Zen Habits called "Letting Go of Attachment, from A to Zen." It was a really thought-provoking article that I highly recommend, and one part that particularly struck me was:

"We attach to feelings as if they define us, and ironically, not just
positive ones. If you’ve wallowed in regret or disappointment for years,
it can seem safe and even comforting to suffer."

We all know people who can't seem to let go of grievances and negativity. I think of them as "mood vampires," who poison the feelings of those around them. I don't know about you, but once I've realized that someone I know is like that, I tend to keep my distance from then on.

I don't take things personally. I am not concerned with what other people think of me. I recognize that if I don't like something that's happening in my life, it's up to me to do something about it. I am fully aware that nothing lasts forever – good or bad. I generally assume that the worst case scenario is not going to come to pass.

When it comes right down to it, I choose to think positively, be happy, and try to make life better for others. It seems like a better approach than bogging myself down with bitterness, don't you think?

Ah, I remember the good old days when I could blame Twitter for my lack of blogging. Now I don't even tweet that much anymore. Shall I make Facebook my new scapegoat or just admit that I'm horribly over-scheduled, with a twist of laziness?

So what have I been up to?

Well, I had a book club discussion about this:

In keeping with the subject matter, I wore my Iron Maiden shirt.

I'm pretty sure Eddie is a zombie, right?

I planted a bunch of bulbs that will grow into these:

…and also quite a few hostas. It's going to be a while before I see anything surface, but I'm hoping for some nice, healthy plants like the one above, which grew next to our garage a couple of years ago.

Bossy's (No) Book Tour rolled through Kansas City and gave me the opportunity to hang out with Cagey, Rita, Angie, Anne, Becky, Kate, Jenny and Deanna, as well as non-bloggers Kim (hi, Kim!) and Linda.

 

I took part in a yoga flash mob in the Crossroads district last week. I was in the very back and apparently out of everyone's camera range because I didn't see myself in any of the many photos of the event.

My sister, niece and nephew came with me and I also ran into Jenny and my friend LuAnn. Even though I was late enough that I didn't do all ten sun salutations (it was probably six or seven), I still had sore abs all weekend long. So, yay!

Last Saturday I bowled on my company's Corporate Challenge team and lowered our overall score disgracefully. Evidently my Wii Bowling scores have no bearing on my ability to bowl in meatspace.

That afternoon I went to see Iron Man 2 with XO and his daughter, and the whole Sader Family. Later that evening, I went to Queen of Quirky's house to watch the Avatar Rifftrax with fourteen other people.

Then there's work, volunteer work, etc. All the stuff I always do that isn't worth detailing again.

And now I'm caught up. Whew.

Looking ahead, my band is playing on Saturday night in Blue Springs, Missouri. All the details are here, if you'd like to come out. It'll be our first chance to play some of our new songs and also use our cool new banner that I got from VistaPrint.

Speaking of VistaPrint (hey, I've gone on this long, might as well keep going…), their boundary-infringing marketing philosophy kicked in again as soon as I placed my order. I deliberately chose not to sign up for their e-mail list because I know how they are, so they CALLED ME ON MY CELL PHONE to try to up-sell me and talk me into signing up for their e-mail list. No, no, a thousand times no! 

I am in the middle of "And Another Thing…" by Eoin Colfer, which I found on the bookstore bargain table for $5.95 while I was killing time before Iron Man. I had been *this close* to buying it at an airport bookstore at full price last month, so naturally I had to buy it and congratulate myself on my thriftiness.

So rather than go on forever and blow another ten days' worth of blog topics, I'll bring this to a close and go read my book. Goodnight, all. Enjoy the rest of your week!

Last week I went to a fundraiser at the Kansas City Zoo called Pints for Penguins. It included ample amounts of Boulevard Beer and, rather randomly, a troupe of swing dancers.

Attendees were also invited to visit the Tropics habitat. It was raining, but my group huddled under two umbrellas and made our way there.

The capybaras were my favorite, of course. One of my goals in life is to meet and pet Caplin ROUS someday.

 

They spent some time swimming and hanging out under their waterfall, too.

Here's my sister bonding with a prehensile-tailed porcupine through the glass.

I didn't catch what these were. Perhaps we should have visited the animals before we used up all our drink tickets.

We all had a good time and I'm sure I'll be visiting the zoo a lot more this year. I have Groupons for two Segway tours, which we're planning to take at the zoo. I'm sure I'll also take the niece and nephew at some point this spring or summer.

What's your favorite animal to visit at the zoo?

After I posted the carrot cake recipe, it occurred to me that it wasn't a very good juxtaposition with my post from a few days earlier complaining about being fat. However, it's not as though I baked a giant cake to eat all by myself. That's one of the reasons that it's nice to work in an office – I can continue my baking hobby and other people do the majority of the eating.

This week I went to both yoga classes at the office and I'm all set to go to class on Saturday morning as well. That'll be a total of 4 classes in 9 days, counting the class I took at my sister's yoga studio last Friday.

You know what? I already feel more energetic.

I'm not stopping there, though. Before I got sick the time before last (for those of you playing the home game), I did Day One, Week One of the Couch-to-5k program. The random virus I caught put a prompt halt to that, so I'm starting over tomorrow after work.

Finally, I recently bought a Groupon for three weeks (six classes) of fitness training "bootcamp." This is the one that scares me the most, in part because I'm a 30-Day Shred dropout who couldn't even get through the DVD once without having to stop and lie on the floor, hoping not to die. However, I think if I time it so that I have a couple of weeks of aerobics under my belt first, I can make it through without collapsing or otherwise embarrassing myself.

The key for me is going to be adding exercise to my daily routine. The logical way to do that is to cut back on "sitting at the computer" time, of which I have WAY too much.

I've set a couple of goals that I think are achievable:

• Get down to a size 10 by BlogHer (early August)
• Get down to a size 8 for my trip to Belize (February 2011)

The actual numbers don't matter to me (I've never owned a scale). I just want to get leaner, have more energy, and reverse the trend that's making me look way more matronly than I'd like. So here I go…

Thanks to a meeting agenda miscalculation, I'm currently killing time at Dallas Love Field airport while I wait for a flight that leaves in about three hours. I've already been here an hour.

I'm not willing to pay another $5.95 when my two hours of online access expires, so I'll probably have a delightful dinner at Chili's Too or some other airport food standby (Potbelly, California Pizza Kitchen, etc.). I'm not sure yet because I plopped down as soon as I saw a comfy chair/electrical outlet combo and thus have not yet explored the terminal.

As soon as my cab reached the airport, I made my way to the handicap stall in the restroom to change into jeans and sneakers before I checked my suitcase. It made me feel like a spy. (A spy whose feet immediately felt better.)

Dallas is one of those places I've only ever visited on business, so I have absolutely no idea what it's like outside of a couple of office buildings, the airport, and now the Galleria Mall because that's where my colleague and I shopped and had dinner last night. Oh, and the nearby Embassy Suites, which I now know has two beautiful swans living in a fountain in the lobby. They also have clear jugs of fruit-infused ice water in the lobby, which I want to recreate at home. I'd get some swans, too, but I think they're big enough to kick the cats' butts.

So that's my current reality. Once I run out of 'net access, I'll dig out "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies." If it looks like it won't make it through the whole flight, I'll go to the bookstore and buy something else.

How's your evening shaping up?

It's funny how much weight gain denial I am capable of. Admittedly, I'm currently extra bloated from the cavalcade of prescription pharmaceuticals that are still working their way through my system, conquering my bronchitis as they go. Still, I know a problem when I see one. (And I happen to know exactly how much I weigh right now, thanks to my doctor visit on Sunday.)

I just finished trying on every article of corporate wear that I own. I have meetings tomorrow and the next day that require me to be considerably more presentable than usual, so I hit the long-term storage closet to see what I could dig up.

It turns out that I was a size 8 the last time I had occasion to dress up on a regular basis. I am…not a size 8 now. Or a 10. Maybe a 12, but today I wouldn't even take that bet.

So all my suits are completely out of the question. I tried on several pairs of slacks and although a few of them made it past the thunder thighs, buttoning them would have defied the laws of physics. My jackets were all in the category of "fat guy in a little coat." 

The last time I put myself through the same ordeal, I ended up buying a pair of voluminous black slacks which I still have. They're not exactly stylish, but at least they don't cut me in half at the waist. I'll be wearing them both days, thank you very much.

Then there was the issue of what kind of top to wear. I dug out a decent looking black tank top to pair with the world's most durable silk blouse. (Seriously, I've had this Casual Corner blouse since the 1980s. It's been dry cleaned two dozen times or more and it still looks great.) For Thursday, I dragged out a black, sleeveless shell and a pashmina I got in our department gift exchange last Christmas. I figure if I can't fit in my jackets, I'll just wear a shawl.

So obviously this can't go on. My diet is terrible and I don't get anywhere near enough exercise. I spend a disgraceful amount of time sitting: in front the computer, in front of the TV, on the couch with a book. One yoga class every other week isn't cutting it.

I have a plan, though. It won't be fun and I know I'm going to have a really hard time motivating myself, but it's better than continuing to Jabba-the-Hutt-ify myself. The self-improving misery begins Saturday. I hope I'm ready.

I would be a much bigger fan of 2010 if I weren't currently sick for the THIRD TIME since the beginning of the year. This time it's a rafter-rattling case of bronchitis – the kind that makes you have to sleep sitting up so you don't choke to death. Yeah, delightful. The good news is that I have Zithromax and codeine cough medicine now, so presumably I'll be getting better pretty soon.

The sad thing about being sick when it's absolutely gorgeous outside is that you feel as though you're being cheated. I took a few minutes this morning to walk around the yard and take photos so I can enjoy all of the following once I am not so preoccupied with breathing.

 

Oh, and just because he's adorable, how about a photo of Dr. Jones, asleep:

Have a lovely week!