Posted via email from Amyella

It has been a real struggle lately to get myself motivated to go to the gym. I’m averaging about 3 times a week and it’s not easy. I’m just so – depressed isn’t the right word, that’s too intense but – blue. I feel blue. Work and dog and money and house and money and bills and Christmas and money and timing and moving and future and I should host a radio show title All Stress! All the time!

Except really, my life is pretty damn great. It’s stressful right now, but great. It would be greatest if we didn’t have to worry about every piece of mail in the mailbox and watching the calendar and oh shit what’s due today. But, you know, mostly? Pretty damn great.

Even knowing that doesn’t make it any easier to push through and be enthusiastic and motivated and really? The gym has never been my “escape” from stress. I am way more motivated to go and work out way more intensely when life is easier. Always have.

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I’ve been thinking about writing a book, but I don’t know that I really have the skill to write a book, nor the stories to fill a book, nor any clue as to how to actually start the process. Also, that energy and feeling blue stuff? See that.

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I do not think that Robert Pattison is hot. At all. You want some hot vampire action? Talk to me about Jason Patrick and Keifer Sutherland. P.S. Vampy fangirls? Pshaw! We were so there first, kiddos.

Here’s the menu for Thursday:
 
-hummus, pita chips
-ranch dip, veggies platter
 
-lasagna
-roast turkey
-mashed potatoes
-gravy
-stuffing (technically: traditional bread dressing)
-spinach salad
-roast asparagus
 
-pecan pie
-chocolate trifle
-apple pie
 
soda, beer, wine, coffee drinks

Seriously, I don’t have Photoshop on this computer at “work” and it is really, really hard to modify my header with Paint. Clearly, it’s not working. At least you can see my name now, in all it’s distorted, pixelated, missized glory.

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I have that networking meeting this afternoon and I’m not really looking forward to it. Maybe I should be, I dunno. Either way, I’m going to be there. Not getting paid.

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I just bit into an apple and it’s kind of mealy. Don’t you hate that?

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In two weeks we’ll be headed to Seattle to visit HP’s family. I booked us a hotel room using my Marriott points from about a zillion years ago. It made me feel like I contributed.

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This morning I was running about a half hour late and I guess that is when all the crazies come out in full force. First, I saw TWO women dressed like hookers on the metro. Not together – at two separate stations.  Then there was the wacky conducter that sort of sang every piece of information he gave us (e.g. “A train in front of us! There’s a train in front of us! Traaaaaain iiiiiin froooooont of us!”) Then when I got on the orange line it was so, so quiet. Crazy quiet. No one was having any conversations, no one’s music was playing too loud in their headphones, no one turned the pages of a newspaper. It was weird. Finally, when I got in the elevator at the office building a fat man was blowing into his Starbucks coffee cup - presumably to cool it down - but he was blowing into the lid and it was making a whistling sound. And then he was out of breath from doing it because he was so fat.

I can’t decide if I should get out of bed on time tomorrow morning or not.

Does everyone fantasy house-hunt? I can’t resist the Craigslist classifieds and have spent a good deal of time this morning fantasy house hunting. 

Great split level home with updated kitchen and dining rm. All stainless steel appliances, very large private fenced back yard with mtn views and room for your dogs to run and lots of room for your RV’s/boats. Large deck for all your entertainment needs, 2 bdrms up, Master bdrm down with large walkin closets and bath, Family room in ground level walkout basement, shed and much more. Located just around the corner from shopping, businesses and highway I-25 access. Animals welcome! No Covenants!

I sent the link to HP with a very subtle email, “Are we there yet?”

The meeting I had here on Friday went just fine but I’m sensing that nothing is going to come of it. I continue to look at this gig as interim and that’s fine. It’s pretty dull around here anyway. Currently the time is 12:21 in the afternoon and I have literally not had a conversation with anyone yet today. In fact, the only time I’ve actually spoken out loud was when I rubbed HP’s back and told him “it’s wake up time” before I left and then a brief “thank you” for the girl who held the door for me this morning. On the one hand, that’s kind of fucked up. On the other hand, meh.

I did have a successful phone interview on Monday that has led to a face to face interview scheduled for Thursday afternoon. Tomorrow afternoon I have a networking meeting at the recruiter’s office, and I’m currently being presented for a short term contract to cover someone’s maternity leave. I don’t even know what I’m routing for anymore.

Actually, that’s kind of not true. I guess what I’m really hoping for is that HP gets a job offer in Colorado that offers relocation, and I simultaneously get this short term contract that goes until April, and I bank enough money between now and April to get caught up, and then we move and I find a great job in Colorado and then WE DON’T MOVE AGAIN FOR A REALLY, REALLY LONG TIME. That’s what I’m truly hoping happens. Of course, any decent paying opportunities for me will be cause for elation, so I’m not hoping something doesn’t come through.* I guess I’m saying I want options.

I guess it’s good to have really specific hopes, right?

*Holy double negative, Batman!!

HP has a bit of a head cold which means that I’m exhausted. I’ve been up since 3 and spent those hours until the alarm went off saying some variation of “Babe, roll over.”

When he sleeps on his back – oh the snoring! Having a head cold just exacerbates the problem. Usually I nudge him and he’ll automatically roll over onto his stomach: problem solved! Every once in a while, though, he just refuses. I mean, literally, in his sleep he will tell me “No way!” or, one time, just shake his head vehemently back and forth to indicate that he was not, under any circumstances, going to roll over. So there.

It’s still pouring cold rain around here and my plan tonight is to make some chicken noodle soup, grab a blanket, and spend the night snuggling in front of the tv. I can’t think of a better, rainy Friday night. I’m ready for the weekend!

Oh, so that awesome interview I had? The guy emailed me to tell me that I did kick ass and would be perfect for the job description! Also, they are no longer sure that they want to fill the role as described and that I should contact them in a few weeks. Great, I’ll get right on that. I spoke with another recruiter yesterday (I’m now working with THREE) and she’s sending my resume and writing samples to a hiring manager today. I’m also going to meet with the President of the company where I’m temp-ing at 3 today and see what I can do to turn this into a full time gig. Not the grunt, temp work I’m doing; for an actual marketing job in their marketing department. Just to clarify.

So….sure. Hopefully more news on that coming soon.

With that, I have nothing to report other than I have completed the grocery list for the Thanksgiving menu, I should get to see my nephew* this weekend (YAY!!), and tomorrow night is guys’ night so there will be much video game playing in the man room. I will be in the living room watching the episode of Private Practice that I DVR’d last night and House reruns.

 

*he’s not technically my nephew since he’s my cousin’s son. I guess that makes him my first cousin, once removed? Anyway, I’m “Auntie Amy” and therefore I will just refer to him as my nephew because I want to and there’s nothing you can do about it so just deal with it. kthx. Also, he is the cutest, squishiest, most perfect-est 6 week old baby in the history of babies! LOVE!

 

“Go ahead and let her go, Baby.”

 

So I did. It was almost 10:00 at night, pitch black outside and we were alone with the dogs. Easton always gets to run off leash during our walks but Kima is always tethered to me. HP was right there so I let go of her leash and they darted in circles, jumping on each other, and wrestling in the dark. They went way off to the treeline and HP whistled for them to come back.

 

They started bolting toward us at full speed and my brain almost had a moment to process before Kima ran THROUGH me at full force. She swiped both of my legs out, ran under me, and I came down flat on my back. We were all quiet and I only half remember HP in an almost whisper, “Baby? Are you ok?”

 

I nodded yes and then looked around and realized I was on the ground. And started laughing. Hard.

 

My big girl LAID ME OUT. Once I stood up and we assessed that nothing was broken, sprained, and I hadn’t landed in dog poop we didn’t stop laughing for an hour. I was a little shaken up but hot damn it was funny.

 

I have revised my resume for the sixth time in a month and it’s definitely the strongest version yet. Well, we’ll see about that I suppose. I applied to a few jobs in Denver this morning and a boatload of local postings as well. I suppose something has to stick soon? Right?

 

Last night I broiled up some eggplant with just a little olive oil drizzled over it and salt and pepper. I ate a few slices for dinner smothered in one of my all time favorite, no cook sauces:

 

Sweet Pepper Tomato Sauce

 

-1/4 – 1/3 cup diced tomatoes (can use fresh or canned)

-1/3 red bell pepper

-1 tsp olive oil

-1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes

-water, broth, or other liquid to desired consistency (I use very little and keep it thick)

-salt, pepper, basil, parsely

 

Mix everything in the magic bullet and voila! Delicious, sweet sauce!

 

I had a little sauce left over and thought that I could take it to work for a snack with some more of the eggplant and then it occurred to me to just add the eggplant to the sauce and blend it. I ended up with a sweet, babaganoush-ish/tapenade type dip. I cut up some carrot sticks and I can’t wait until I’m hungry in a coupld hours to devour it!

 

Off to the gym tonight for some chest and arms plus cardio. I’ve been good about getting in 3-4 miles at least 4 times a week. If I can get it to a consistent 5 times per week I’ll be very pleased!

 

I picked a penny up off the ground yesterday because it was heads up. How long does it take for the luck to kick in?

Posted via email from Amyella

She just sneezed – twice! – and I DIDN’T say “bless you.” It was only mildly gratifying but every little bit helps.

Posted via email from Amyella

I don’t feel like writing a whiney, complainy post today so I’m not going to. Instead, I’m going to tell you about happy, funny, or silly things. Just because! Grab a cup of tea, this will be fun!

–HP and I still have date night about once a week. Last night we went to an Italian restaurant up the road for their Mon-Wed special. It’s $31.95 for dinner for two and includes a bottle of wine, half loaf of warm bread, 2 entrees, 2 salads, 2 desserts. You pick from anything on the menu except the lobster. It was very good!

–My sister and I never got along growing up and we often fought by screaming horrible things at each other and occassionally hitting each other. I think it was mostly me, because I was a bratty teenager with plenty of issues. Within the last year we have become super close and I wish she lived nearby so we could spend more time together.

–I am currently obsessed with babies. And, even moreso, baby names. I keep compiling lists of boys’ and girls’ names that I like and reading baby name websites. We are not planning on getting pregnant any time soon.

–While I don’t get health insurance with this gig, I do have unlimited access to free water and tea! I refill my water bottle all day and drink mug after mug of green tea. My skin looks soooo good!

–HP came home with the some new multivitamins (for Her!) for me the other night and I’ve been taking them every day for the past three days and my fatigue has subsided! It looks like Jaycee was right and I was lacking in some vitamins. I feel so much better! I still pass out on the couch at about 9:30 - pretty standard for me - but I am no longer a walking zombie during the day.

–When we’re walking the dogs and we see rabbits in the grass I yell, “Look! Bunnies! HI BUNNIES!! HIIII!” as if the bunnies are my pets or, somehow, understand my greeting. In reality I’m pretty sure they are thinking “HOLY SHIT LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THOSE DOGS. HOP!! HOP FOR YOUR LIFE!!”

Ok, I’m off to get more tea!

Thank you, Swistle, for posting this on your blog!!

 

Her post here.

 

I'm re-posting it below as well because it is rad, but you should go to her blog, because she's awesome.

 

Not On the Ballot

 

Here are some of the things I think there's more than one way to think about, and everyone can make their own decisions—no agreement necessary from one person to the next:

• what to eat
• how and where a baby should sleep
• bottle-feeding vs. breastfeeding
• what religion to follow
• public school vs. private school vs. homeschooling
• whether to participate in advanced education
• alcohol consumption, yea or nay
• premarital sex, yea or nay
• whether to use birth control
• whether to have children
• whether to marry
• fixed-rate vs. variable-rate mortgage
• how clean to keep the house
• a good name for a baby

Here are some things I think there's more than one way to think about, but that a community needs to make a decision about as a whole—not deciding "right" from "wrong," but just deciding for consistency what can be done when:

• driving age
• truancy age
• drinking age
• marrying age
• voting age
• speed limits
• public park curfews

Here are some of the things I think there is only one way to think about and are not open for community vote, because human beings have not been given that kind of power over other human beings:

• whether skin color changes a person's rights
• whether ethnic origin changes a person's rights
• whether sex changes a person's rights
• whether sexual orientation changes a person's rights

Posted via email from Amyella