Tubes, Dude

These past couple days at work I've been finding myself done with the things I need to do, and there are still 4 hours of work to go. I don't want to be a horrible employee and sit on Facebook all day (yet here I am on blogger) so I try to find something to do. Maybe clean something. My desk has been sanitized to kingdom come and my things have been organized like you've never seen before! It doesn't help that I'm a little stiff from the gym and walking in heels is not something I would like to do right now.

I'll tell you what I would like to do. Ever heard of the Salt River in Arizona? It's an amazing place where you take your inner-tubes, friends, and bathing suits to float down the river in a leisurely fashion (with the occasionally fast part that keeps it interesting). That is where I want to be right now. Maybe with someone, but by myself would be just fine. The hot sun keeps you warm enough to balance out the freezing water that numbs your bum in the first minute you sit down and most of you know, it wouldn't hurt if I got a little sun. I would just float and look at cliffs around me and just be thankful I'm alive and not working (as opposed to dead and working).

If you've never gone down the Salt River, be sure to do it this spring/summer! You will thank yourself later for it and you may start looking for any reason to go again.

On a side note, I decided to announce that I'm starting a workout program (that I'm making up myself) and I'm taking before and after pictures, and most likely in between pictures. I've noticed the affect that sitting at a desk all day is not a pleasant one so I'm doing something about it (before I start to cut off this extra fat with my scissors). Now that I've told the [blogger] world, I guess I'm going to have to go through with it. This is how I get myself to do things, I trick myself into it. -_-

Ugly Shoes And Chopped Up Dentists

I've posted about my upcoming Comicon adventure before but now it's getting very close and I have almost all of my costume done! I did decide to dress up as Ai from Hell Girl and I am just putting the finishing touches on my outfit. Yesterday I bought the red contacts and I hope they look good and not cheesy and pink looking like I've seen some do. Also, I'm terrified because I have never worn contacts in my life and I have the hardest time even getting eye drops in there without being held down and my eyes forced open. Yeah, it's that bad. The only thing I need now are the shoes which I really don't want to spend money on because they look something like this:

I find them very very ugly and I will never ever wear them besides when I'm in costume.

Other than that, not a whole lot happening. I did start learning Salsa; taught by my long-haired cousin, David. I was never very good at any dancing that wasn't freestyle, but he made it easy to pick up! I think I'm going to try and take some dance classes this coming fall, if my schedule allows it. Yes, I'm going to school this fall, which is exciting but not that exciting because I am only going to be able to take 1-3 night classes because I have to work full time. If only I could win the lottery so I could afford to go to school full time and not have to work. Not to mention getting a car that works properly and doesn't require so much gas! It's like that plant from the Little Shop of Horrors, it's ALWAYS hungry and it's so painful to fill up the tank that it's almost as bad as having to chop up your dentist to feed it! (If you haven't seen that movie, I'm guessing you're kind of weirded out).

Aaaaand no boy news. None. Nada. Zip. Zilch (cool word). And I'm okay with that. I think now is a good time to start getting to know myself better and learn to train myself. Self-discipline, yes!! It's also a good time to learn to live with myself because no matter what I do, I will not be able to get rid of me. My constant companion; so we might as well get along.

I hope your day is going as good as, or even better than mine!

And let's hope I look somewhat like Ai when Comicon rolls around! (I may have to chop off my nose).

Distractions

This past Sunday was an eventful Sunday. The kind of Sunday where all the speakers do exceptionally well and everything hits home and rings true and life is wonderful and bright for about and hour and you feel like you can take on the world, but then a long line of about 6 single-adult men come in and sit in the row just in front of you, and every single one of them is amazingly beautiful and in all different shapes, colors and sizes; then there is no way you could ever pay attention to the rest of the lesson because you can see their shoulder and back muscles through their nice white shirts and you take a jab at your self esteem because none of them will ever know you exist, and all you can think for the rest of that hour is "Baby, I want to draw you."

That kind of Sunday.

Week of (Attempted) Fashion 3 EPIC FAIL!

So for some reason I completely failed at this last week of picture taking. It's not that I didn't remember, I just didn't want to. Haha I'm so stubborn sometimes, especially towards myself. Poor me and poor anyone else who has to put up with my random bouts of stubbornness over the years. I'd like to say I'm getting better, but I think it's getting worse so pardon my sass and I will try harder (eventually).

Pink Pumps

I don't know if it's the rain, my Barbie pink heels, or the fact that my hair looks great (even though I didn't shower) but I think today might be a very good day. It's probably too early to tell but my recently downy mood is beginning to lift. For some people, rain does quite the opposite to their outlook, but as I said to a (very cute) interviewee today, it's always an exciting and fresh thing when it starts to rain, especially here in Arizona. I can't wait till monsoon season!!

This week I haven't been doing very well on my workout regime due to family events and business meetings (not to mention sheer lack of motivation). I have, however, been very productive in the kitchen. Ariel and I made an amazing white sauce pizza with cilantro, basil, and green peppers on top. We also made some butternut squash french fries which were amazingly good but slightly too oily. I've noticed a good way for me to feed myself is to make a huge amount of something (spaghetti for example) and just take it to work and eat that for about a week. Great for single adults.

Hmm... just lost all train of thought. Barbie pink heels... even though I don't like pink so much. It's... growing on me 0_0

Prince Charmings Are Equivalent To Two-Headed Snakes

I feel as if Hollywood and books and fairy tales have all played a trick on us. We females, and maybe even some of the men, are waiting for our prince charming, our Edward, Jude Law, or Ryan Gosling (or Zooey Deschanel for the guys) to come, unexpectedly into our lives and profess their undying love to us and how they were drawn to us by some unexplained force. There is no other girl quite like you, to them, and even though you have no clue why someone so amazing and perfect wants you, you feel special and fall in love and live happily ever after.

But this does not happen. If it does, it is one of those very rare occurrences like winning the lottery or snakes born with two heads. We are lead to believe that the fairy tale life is what we need/will get eventually. We think that if we sit back and be ourselves and glance at a cute guy the right way, it will be love at first sight and he will walk over and ask you to dinner and flash you a wonderfully dimpled smile and all you can do is sit there swooning because of his perfectly messy brown locks.

I'll admit that I'm a sucker for those kinds of books where the unassuming and particularly ordinary girl gets the dreamy, slightly broken, perfect young man who sees beyond her quiet demeanor and sees her for the true gem she is and unleashes her inner beauty and potential and hey, maybe she has a random mystical bloodline that she didn't know about that makes her even more special. You can probably think of  a few books that follow that exact story line.

I've come to this realization over time and I feel like it needs to be addressed. Sure it's great to have a fantasy that makes you happy to dream about, but some of us (me included) need to wake up and realize that no amount of sitting and waiting will bring you a charming Edward to your doorstep asking for your hand in marriage. Maybe I sound cynical but I think my little rant will ring true for a few of you.

This doesn't mean I will never read another romantic novel or that I will abstain from watching chick flicks in my pjs while eating ice cream but this does mean I won't wait for prince charming to come riding up and take me away to a land of eternal bliss. I will plant my feet on the floor, not the clouds and I will do my best to keep my ridiculous day dreams and scenarios to a minimum. No matter how many "alluring" glances I send over to that cute waiter, he is not going to ask me on a date, be a perfect human being and ask me to marry him after months of blissful dating.

Not going to happen.

I'm not a pessimist. I'm a realist.

If you wish to dispute my findings, by all means, I would love to be proven wrong or at least hear what you have to say in love's defense because maybe you're one of the lucky lottery winners (or a two headed snake) and you found your dream man (or woman) and it was like it was meant to be.

Week Of (Attempted) Fashion 2

It's a brand new week and I'm up to 4000 views! That makes the day just a tad bit better. Last night wasn't the greatest, besides an amazingly inspirational fireside last night. I could tell I was about to go into a rut so before I could make it any worse I told myself to just go to bed. It wan't very late at all and there were several things I could have done but I've learned to foresee those "downer days" and I decided it would be best to be unconscious.

Anyway, feeling much better today and I have my last week of fashion all finished. Take a look:

One thing that makes me laugh about these it the sate of my room

in the background. It progressively gets messier during the week 

and then is suddenly clean Saturday. 

(I may have photoshopped some of the mess out too)

So here is too a week of (hopefully) better fashion and better state of mind! I hope you all have a good one as well and I'll think of something more interesting to post about later. 

 

Two-Minute Date

I kept my promise and went to the speed dating activity last night. Thankfully I had showered that day and my hair/face was holding up after 9 hours of work. I got home with enough time to read for a while before I started getting ready so I could calm my nerves beforehand. Next time I wont pick a book that starts out with an EMP and multiple bloody deaths in the fist 2 chapters. So after I was nice and "calm" I started looking for clothes and once again decided to forgo my plan to wear heels and settles on (not ripped jeans) and a Superman tee.

Luckily, David was nice enough to go with me (I guilt tripped him) so I wasn't as awkward as I usually am. I must say, this time around it went a lot better. A lot of the guys were supper chatty and upbeat which makes these kinds of things much easier. One (very hot) guy asked me right off the bat if I kissed on a first date. I then realized he was referring to our two minute date as a first date. I laughed him off and said some attempted flirty thing.

One guy did get my number but I think he was the kind of guy that gets all the girls' numbers. He also was interested when I said I did graphic design and worked at a patent and trademark law firm. He got my work number as well.

There were definitely some nice looking men and some genuinely fun guys to talk to. Thanks to my Superman shirt, most or our conversations revolved around the Superman or Batman debate, which is fine with me. If they can talk nerdy, they get points in my book. Of course two minutes is hardly enough time to decide if you really like someone or not so I'll see if anything comes out of this.

I'm glad I went but I paid for it last night with a whole 8 hours worth of dream speed dating. Needless to say, I woke up super tired and felt like I had been run over multiple times, but I guess that's what dating does to you.

A Second Attempt

For some reason that picture of Justin Bieber that was floating around our office has started an all out war. There are now pictures of Taylor Swift, the Jonas Brothers, and other similar "stars" being taped to everyone's monitors anonymously. I have to admit, I did retaliate with the Jonas Brothers but I'm really unsure who started it and when it will end!

About 7 months ago, I went speed dating as a young single adult activity that ended up with disappointing results. Yesterday at church, they announced another one. Feeling very conflicted, I debated on whether or not I should attend and I decided that I will, but only for the purpose of something to blog about that can potentially be funny. So hopefully I can grab my single cousin and do much better than I did last time (which isn't that hard). Wish me luck, and here is to single awkwardness!!

(Half) Week of (Attempted) Fashion 1

Hello! This is a new thing I will be posting every Monday unless I forget. It's my week of fashion. This is mostly for me so I remember what outfits look good and which do NOT! Who knows, maybe you might find it entertaining. It's not a full week of outfits because I started on Thursday so next Monday there will be more. Feel free to poke fun or praise, but just know, this is hard work! I have to put a reminder in my phone to take a picture once I'm dressed and like what happened yesterday after church, I for got to take a picture until after I changed into my sweats, so I had to put my fancy clothes back on. Worst feeling ever!!

Anyway, check it out!

Creative, Not Crafty

I'm feeling so fashionable right now. Although I don't count myself among the girly, I do love clothes and (almost) all things style. Here is a quick sketch of a dress I would like to make, if I ever get my sewing machine from Washington!!!

I've never really made and clothes from scratch but I have tailored a few outfits so I'm willing to give this a try. If I didn't have to work and money was not an issue, well I'd be a very crafty creative individual (I hate the word crafty). 

I don't want to be at work! It's stifling my creative genius!!! Thank goodness for post-it notes, where all my little ideas can rest until I can make them life size!!!

Would You Kill Me If...

Would you kill me if I started posting pictures of my daily outfits? The reasoning behind this would be so I can remember which outfits look good so I'm not always scrambling to find something to wear as well as document my progression towards being more fashionable. And who knows? Maybe someone will get some ideas out of it as well.

Perhaps not daily, but weekly I can post my fashion attempts. Any thoughts? Any at all? Bueler?

Next Time, I'll Give Him The Eye

After a long break it's almost nice to get back to work. Despite the extra work load it has been moderately relaxing; however, there is the mystery of the Justin Bieber picture that now adorns our hallway. I asked Nancy what the story was behind it but she said no one would fess up to posting it. There are some shady characters in the office but it's hard to pinpoint exactly who did it and what their motive was.

Aside from office drama (that is about as drama-y as it gets around here) not much is new. It's back to my normal life and the repetition it brings. I believe my new goal for the next couple of weeks (months?) will be to spice up my routine. I vow here and now to assert myself and do something social and actually talk to people. I will try my hardest to not flake this time.

Speaking of people, I saw the most gorgeous of persons in the most unexpected place: Walmart. I know, it's like finding a flower in a garbage heap. Maybe I'm being dramatic but I could tell even before I saw his face that he was going to be handsome. He was standing in the isle looking around like he was waiting for someone and I was walking towards him. Luckily I was pre-gym, not sweaty, but still adorned in my brand new workout outfit and my hair in an acceptable perky ponytail. Feeling somewhat daring, I looked him in the eye and didn't look away till after I had passed. It was magical and luckily I didn't trip on my shoe till after I turned the corner. After finding the items I needed, I took the long way to the register, hoping I would run into the Adonis-like man again before I left, telling myself that this time I would give him the look, maybe talk to him. But my efforts were in vain, he was nowhere to be found. I left the store and went to my car with the sinking feeling that I just missed out on my soul mate and the beautiful life we would have had together.

Or maybe I'm just being dramatic.
...
Pics from the trip to South Dakota!

Out for a walk with Sunny and Mom. That pink Ewok is Claire.

A very cool metal horse in Hill City.

There is a spoon on his nose!

My brother-in-law Nate in front of some rather large rocks. 

That tiny tunnel  is what we drove our car through. 

Those rocks were huge and Nate and I climbed to the (almost) top!

Mt. Rushmore. I may or may not have stolen a large number

of rocks from there.

Pretend This Is A Witty Title

A very uneventful weekend but that was what I've been craving for a while. I am looking forward to this next weekend, starting Thursday actually. My mother will be flying down from Washington that day so my sister and  I are going to take her to see the Easter Pageant which is a huge thing and very very good (I went last year). Then on Friday, my mother and I will board a plane and fly out to South Dakota, home of Mt. Rushmore and my brand new niece, Claire! My oldest sister Sunny and her husband Nate moved out there after they got married which stinks because they are both my favorite people. I believe baby Claire is about 8 weeks old now. I'll admit, I'm not a baby fan in the slightest. I guess they are kind of cute but they don't hold much interest for me. Claire, however, is the cutest baby of them all and I can't wait till she gets old enough that I won't be terrified of breaking her if I hold her!

So very excited.

I would update you on my dating life, but since there is hardly any content I will just say I have in fact been on a date in last few days. Two, actually! And if you know me at all, you will know that is a major improvement from my very date-free single life. My new goal is to actually date and to stay away from obtaining a "boyfriend". So if you are an interested single man reading this (interested, ha!) then be warned that I will not be your girlfriend. I will just be a date. For now. (Unless you are the reincarnation of Clark Gable, then frankly my dear, I wouldn't give a darn!)

I'm hoping that since I'm in a single's ward now, that will help out with meeting new people but I'm probably not helping myself with the fact that I abstain from going to activities or mustering up the courage to make eye contact with these people. *sigh* I may be looking at a spinsters life with my pet cats, but that doesn't sound too bad.

Failure

I woke up today and it seemed like any other day. I had slept a little later than I intended to so I was in my usual rush to get ready. I was pleased, however, when I found a cute green silk dress in my sister's closet and I paired it with my favorite red shoes. I even put my hair up and took extra time with my makeup. Needless to say, I was looking pretty fancy. When I left the house to get in my car, I noticed a homeless man with a shopping cart going from trash can to trash can looking for something he can salvage. Immediately I felt silly in my little silk dress and fancy heels when this man had gray and tattered clothing and a very scruffy beard. I knew he couldn't afford any better and I wondered if he looked at me and thought I was a silly spoiled girl.

I said 'good morning' to the man and he muttered a 'hello' back and he kept on his way, dinning through the trash. After I got in my car I remembered that I had a cup of yogurt in my purse I could give it to him... but I kept driving. A bad feeling in my stomach started getting worse and worse but I couldn't bring myself to offer it, so I drove past him and watched him shrink in my rear view mirror. I immediately started to mentally berate myself and my the time I got to the freeway I had another chance to turn around, but I didn't. Then when I got to the first exit away from mine and there was another chance to turn around. If you're thinking this story ends happily, it doesn't. I didn't turn around.

Feeling horrible, I cried on my way to work, messing up my pretty makeup. I could have helped him. I could have gone back in my house and got him more food that I really don't need, but I didn't. I was given an opportunity and I failed.

I really hope I have another chance to help someone and when that chance comes that I can be brave enough to lend a hand. I feel awful for what I did, or what I did not do.

If you see someone who needs help, please help them. I will try my hardest to do the same.

Not A Nerd, Just Excited

Today is a beautiful day. Not just the fact that it is Friday, but it is actually beautiful. The sun is shining, it's pleasantly warm, the air smells nice, clear blue skies, etc. This morning I woke up late, tangled up in sheets and pillows with a stupid grin on my face. Ariel comes in a few minutes later to pillage my closet once again. With her work schedule, she is usually long gone by the time I even think about waking up but today she was running late as well so I took even longer getting ready. I was having fun just talking with her and stamping around the bathroom while she put on her makeup. At 7:45 (I have to leave by 8 to be on time) I decided it was time to get into the shower. I did my best renditions of  "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" by Frankie Valli and "I'll Make a Man Out of You" from Mulan as I scrubbed the sleep from my face. I even hear Ariel applauding from the next room.

I'm finally at work but it isn't dragging like most days. I'm pretty excited because I have a marketing conference today (just me, my boss and a vendor). I feel like one of the big shots but I'm really just focusing on trying not to sound/act like a 19 year old during the meeting. So no chewing in the tables for me! No sir, not today.

Also, don't tell anyone else from the office, but I'm leaving work early as well. 'Why?' you ask? I'll tell you. The Hunger Games came out in theaters as of midnight last night and I was unable to attend so Ariel, Michael and I got tickets for a 4:00 showing. I'm. So. Excited. Not to be a super fanatic, but I do have a mockingjay decal on my car and I am wearing a mockingjay pin (covered by a scarf). I also dressed today in a similar style to Katniss (the main character) with a plain black tee, my now dark drown hair, and combat boots that are capable of kicking even the toughest of butts.

Not that I'm a nerd or anything... I'm just excited.

Gym Mouse

Ever since I've moved into my new house I've been working really hard on one thing: making a good schedule. With 8-6ish covered with work and commuting and a decent bed time at 10, that gives me roughly 4 hours to get stuff done/do what I want. I could easily spend 3 of those hours on the computer and the other hour eating and getting ready for bed, but what I've been working on is taking my workout clothes to work with me so I can just stop by the gym after work (I love the fact that my new house is about 5 minutes from my gym instead of the previous 15 minutes).

I've always loved working out, and when I say always I mean since my Junior year in High School when I started taking a weight training class. I loved pushing the limits of what my body could do (not to mention the rippling muscles that came with that). So now that I'm old, (2 years out of HS, baby!) I really want to get back in to working out like I was before.

I'll admit that I'm just starting out and am still too scared to go over to the weights by myself (I go to Gold's Gym and they have a LOT of huge guys there) so until I grow a pair, I'll be over on the treadmill and bike machines trying to get into cardio, which I hate (I'm not exactly a gym rat yet). It was fun last night because I saw my big brother Skylar at the gym and I felt like one of the Cool People for knowing one of the Cool People. I even paused my workout to stop him on a couple lifts. I'm guessing that looked pretty funny to anyone who was watching: A 115 pound girl helping a 200+ pound guy bench about 265lbs. I standing there in my little blue shorts yelling "One more, one more! You got this!" and Skylar is making his workout grunting noises. The last rep takes all this strength (and all of mine) to get up and back to the rack. I love working out with Skylar. :)

I'd really rather be at the gym right now then sitting at a desk all day. I blame this stupid office chair for the squish that's starting to work on my belly. Squish that will soon be obliterated!!!!!

My Senior year in strength training. Those are my trainees right there. <3

Check out those guns!

Courageous Intentions

So the first thing I hear when I come into work this morning is a high pinched beep noise. Nancy calls from down the hall that we have a problem so I rush over there to find that a battery pack for a computer was making that noise. Since she didn't know how to make the noise stop she just shut the door to that room and when she came back to finally unplug the battery, she found the door was locked. After trying every key we had (I even bruised my hip trying to ram it open), I went to go get my gym shorts so I could climb over the wall (there was about a foot of space up there) and unlock it from the other side.

The guys from next door hear all the commotion and come over to help saying they had an equally small guy (my size) who could do it for us. After he climbed through he was able to open the door. I went in there and restarted the battery pack, killing the dreadful noise. All the guys went back to work and Nancy went to make her much needed coffee.

This all happened before 9:00. I think this is going to be a good day. :) 


*I'd like to point out that these are the same guys who catch me doing other stupid stuff like locking my keys in the car, driving over curbs, tinkering around under the hood after work, not being able to lock the front door, setting off the office alarm, etc.


They must think I'm the most incompetent girl in the world, but hey, I was going to climb over that wall myself!

Accomplished, But Not In All Areas

My Weekend:

• Slept in
• Planted a garden
• Lunch with my sister
• Relocated an extra car
• Fixed both my burnt out headlights (by myself)
• Drew 3 pictures of my characters
• Worked out Friday and Saturday
• Dyed my sister's hair
• Was pretty social at church

I must say that was one of the most productive weekends I've had in a very long time. I was excited to get so much done and I figured I would sleep very well on Sunday night but alas, I spend the night wide awake thinking of only the most random of things. I may be able to blame my rock hard bed (I've learned that just because it's cheap, doesn't mean it's good) but it's probably just my brain's fault. 

New and exciting things to come: I'm flying over to South Dakota to visit my oldest sister, Sunny, my favorite brother-in-law, Nate, and my brand new niece, Claire! It will be a nice break from work and I'll be able to see my more distant family (Mom is coming with me too so that will be tons of fun). 

In other not so exciting news: I tried my first attempt in flirting the other day. In my defense, I'd like to point out that I'm really really out of practice. I didn't do it because I thought I'd get a date out of it, but because I was curious if I had any skills at all. The conversation went like this:

Ace Cashier: So, how are you today?

Me, purchasing a lock: Pretty good.

AC: That's good. What are you locking up?

Me: Gym clothes. I'm heading out to the gym and I didn't want to leave them unlocked. 

(Attempting and failing at the card swiper)

AC: Uh, it doesn't tell you, but you have to sign first.

Me: Oh, that sneaky thing! (Did I really just say that?)

AC: Yeah, it pulled a fast one on you. 

Me: ... uh, have a good day.

AC: You too.

I said I attempted, not succeeded. 

My Nerd-dom

I woke up this morning and just laid there for quite a bit of time. It wasn't until my sister came in to swipe some clothes from my closet did I get the strength to get up. We chatted for a few moments about our plans for the day and then I went to look in the mirror. My first thought? "What is the least amount of energy I can put into getting ready to be presentable?" To be honest, I totally skipped the shower and just washed my face and got the little sleep waves out of my hair. I slathered on extra makeup to make up for the lack of cute hair. I'm actually getting pretty good at this, and miraculously, I was at work 10 minutes early today!

I'll admit I haven't been very productive thus far, but I am working on my costume for Comicon!!!!  (Me = anime nerd, in case you didn't know). I haven't completely decided on who I will dress up as, but it's most likely going to be Ai from an anime called Hell Girl. See below-

I'm excited to say that I already have the wig, I know where to get the costume and now I just need to find shoes, socks, and some very red contacts. I'm so very excited!!! But one has to be very careful when cosplaying (click for definition) because you will fall into one of these two categories: Win and Fail. Here are some pictures to illustrate: 

Win:

_________________________________________________

Fail:

I hope I don't ending up looking like the latter people.

Never the less, I will be accomplishing a dream of mine that I've had for some time now. I believe I have until the end of May to be ready, so I think I will also try and sew a costume. This one will be super tough but I'm willing to give it a go... as soon as I get my sewing machine back.

This kimono will be death of me, I just know it.