Thoughtful Thursday: Busy

Source: substanceoverstuff.com via J on Pinterest

What are we all always doing that keeps us so busy? I don't have any children. I don't work long hours. I only work one job. My commute is not over an hour each way. I don't stay out late much anymore. I don't belong to a long list of clubs and activities. I don't volunteer regularly anymore. I don't blog every day. I'm not into crafting or DIYing.

And this isn't a realization. This isn't a confession.

I am glad that I don't keep myself so busy.

I am busy. Some days are crazy. But I don't design my life to be busy. I am not obsessed with having it all. I don't plan to start a business or travel to every continent or be a working mother of 4 who hosts themed cocktail parties with coordinated cocktail napkins.

Not that any of that is bad. Its good, as long as is brings you joy.

Joy comes from quiet places for me.

I can find it in cooking a meal over an hour's time. In playing guessing games with S ("Guess which two countries don't sell Coco-Cola?"). In taking a bath. In taking the dog out on a medium length walk at 6:30 AM (Shhh. Don't tell S.). In laughing at the stupidest things with my family.

When did "busy" universally become "happy"? Is "busy" considered the opposite of "lazy"?

Are you happiest with a full schedule? A half full one? An empty one?

Get a Job or Get a Diploma

[Or just get a life! -*zing*]

I kid, I kid. School is awesome. I wish I could make a living out of going to school.

But after going to a social media marketing conference last week ($200 for a day) I thought, "I'm not learning anything here; I should totally just give up on these one-offs and get my MBA in marketing!"

I spent the afternoon pricing out schools in the area, looking at class schedules and emailing those I know who have taken graduate exams to see what their thoughts are on it.

Backing up a few months, I saw a quote to the following effect on Facebook and it made me cringe:

"Hey FB friends! What should I get my masters degree in??"

.... no words, lady. No words.

If you have to ask, maybe you shouldn't be going back to school, hmmm?

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Fast-forward again. I'm sitting on the train with my roommate (i.e. Mr. S) and say "I'm going to get my MBA. Would you mind living in Chicago for another few years while I wrap this up?"

He blinks at me, agrees that it's fine, but I think that's all just a tactic to go along with my wild ideas until I lose sight of them.

Consider THIS the reason that sight has been lost.

I have a great job that's entertaining my creativity but is still challenging enough that most days I pinch myself and worry that they'll find me out for the fraud I am (if they only knew what I don't know...). I have a career track that's worthwhile to me and that I can see rocketing me in the right direction. I have NO debt and I'm on schedule to BUY a house with my roommate/husband by the end of next year (woo-hoo!).

Why would I want to spend 3 years shoveling money into a maybe-pit? Thanks, but no thanks. I'll take my extra money and have a waiter bring me Mai Thais on my private rooftop deck.

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*Edit: As always, do what's right for you. I know many people who have several advanced degrees -some making use of these degrees, some not. Remember, for the sake of this blog (and in my life in general) I use extremes and seek to get a rise out of people. No shock about that. Carry on.

Resolutions for 20-Somethings

Love this list. I think we could all stand to learn a thing or two:

Before you status update, Tweet, Tumble or Instagram, pause and say to yourself, “is it entirely necessary that I share this morsel of thought with my entire social network?”and if the answer is not, “yes, I absolutely must,” then step away from the Internet. 

Know which candidate you’re going to vote for in the upcoming presidential election, and know why. 

Enough with the 14-day juice cleanses. If you want to lose a little weight quickly, eat less and exercise like crazy. If you want to lose a lot of weight slowly, do whatever Jennifer Hudson did. 

If you really like the person you’re hooking up with and would like them to be your boyfriend/ girlfriend, find a way to tell them, and hope for the best. If you don’t and wouldn’t, stop. 

Find a way to save approximately 300 dollars and spend it on a flight to see a friend or family member who lives far away. 

Please stop liking the Kardashians, all of them. It’s not helping anyone, least of all the Kardashians. 

Spend less than or equal to the money you earn each month. 

Wear clothes that fit you, especially to work. 

Call someone on the phone at least once a week, and speak to him or her for at least ten minutes. 

Start preparing now to get over the fact that Facebook is probably going to change again in six months. You’re not going to deactivate your account. You don’t know how. 

Wait 30 seconds before you look up a fact you can’t remember on your phone, and try to remember it using your brain. This is what the olden days were like. 

Replace one terrible reality show you’re currently watching with one wonderful scripted show currently available on television. Swap suggestion: Real Housewives of Anywhere for HBO’s Enlightened. 

Try that food you think you don’t like but have never actually tried, unless it’s brussels sprouts. They really don’t need any more attention. 

Cut one person out of your life who you truly do not like and add one person who you truly do. Note: not on Facebook, on Earth. 

If you’re still blacking out regularly, you should stop. 

Volunteer once over the next 90 days. You’ll feel really good about it, and probably end up volunteering again over the next 275. 

Tell someone who you love that you love them on a more regular basis. To their face, not in a text.
Back up your entire online life onto an external hard drive, especially your photos. 

Crap or get off the pot. This applies to whatever thing you’re not doing that you should just sack up and do already. 

And in the eternal words of Tom Haverford, “TREAT YO SELF!”

Via here. Seen here first.

What to Resolve for NYE

Do you have a new years resolution?

I'm reading that some people are tossing them out of the window and just living 2012 like they did 2011. Fine, fine. But if you're going to change something, why not resolve to change it when you have the support of the world and their resolutions too?

Lost on what to resolve? Here are some strange/sincere/silly suggestions:

- Eat dessert. Whenever it's available.
- Do a walking tour of your hometown or some place familiar.
- Go to bed an hour earlier (or later... but do something awesome with that hour!).
- Pick a new tv series and follow it religiously.
- Immerse yourself in a new author's works and finish the lot of 'em.
- Cook "Around the World" by making a dish a week that represents another country.
- Become a "Yes man", but within reason. Not like Jim Carrey.
- Incorporate a new article of clothing into your regular attire (ponchos, scarves, argyle).
- Give up holding grudges.
- Live on less and save or donate the rest.
- Vow to do one thing that scares you a month (ski, see a movie alone, sing in public)
- If you haven't been in a while, go to the dentist!
- Give up caffeine (or don't, haha!).
- Instead of trying to lose weight, vow to mind portion sizes and keep a food journal.
-  Date wildly in 2012. Whether you have a permanent person to date or whether you are still open to suggestion. If you're shy, ask for phone numbers. If you're used to meeting people at bars, approach someone in an art museum. Walk up to the bassist after a metal show. If you're dating/married don't forget to date that person. Ask them out. Wear perfume. Turn up the charm! [Note: This is not a hint to S. I feel well dated... er, you date me well... er... you know what I mean.]

Maybe my favorite suggestion: Treat Yo Self

Drink pairing? Champagne of course!

Note: I am still not drinking until New Years. I got through the holidays only having 1 beer because I couldn't find an ibuprofen. I think it was a fair trade.

Flip It Friday: What Are You Doing to Give Back for the Holidays?

Happy Friday! Be warned, this post is full of exclamation points because I am just that excited!

Last night S and I went to Target to get some gifts for a few charities we are supporting this season. We budget our giving so that we can be generous on a monthly basis, and this month it was super-freak-fun to shop for the needy - young and young-at-heart.

The children's charity we are supporting this Christmas is Operation Christmas Child. I loved packing shoeboxes for this charity when I was in high school and it was no different this time around. Shopping the toy aisle as an adult is like stepping into a whole new world.

S packing a slinkie, velcro catch game, monster truck, jump rope, chapstick, soap, washcloths, toothbrushes, toothpaste, coloring supplies, pencils and a sharpener, silly putty, baseball cards, a harmonica, chewing gum, fun flossers and more!

 

Tiana fairy princess barbie! (I know Disney is not socially accurate, but these shoeboxes go to countries all over the world. I would have bought a Filipino barbie if they sold one at Target.)

Get. In. The. Shoebox. Barbie!

The tiniest little reigndeer socks ohmywordthey'recute!

My little girl's shoebox contained a lot of the same stuff as S's but also some hair ties in pretty colors, a Hello Kitty puzzle and some glitter stickers.

I wrote a little handwritten note to put in each box - telling them how much fun we had shopping for them and how we love them because Jesus loves all of us. Sappy sappy, I know, but important.

We also did some shopping for Northpointe Resources, an organization that helps the mentally and physically challenged here in northern Illinois. A girl at work and I are splitting up a wish list for a woman named Ilona and getting her fun things like body spray and headbands. I'm going to make her a mix CD of her favorite music - 60's and 70's - to add to her gift bag. So much fun!

So how are you giving back this season? Do you have charities that you give to regularly? Are you looking for ideas on how to give back? Some of you may be doing Chicago Loot Drop. Are you one of 'em?

Comment, comment, comment!

Advice to other bloggers: Stop apologizing

"I'm sorry I haven't been around lately, I've been:

a) sick
b) busy
c) sick and busy working - it takes me 3x as long to post because I can't see through the allergy tears and the NyQuil makes my head womp-womp when I try to read
d) lacking motivation/creativity/personal stories to share."

All excuses are boring and telling us what keeps you away is making us wish you just went away until you had something awesome to contribute.

I've been guilty of this too.

And my rant is equally irrelevant.

I'm not apologizing.

What I am doing is giving you this - some non-boring blog-goodness to get you through Monday:

She's never boring. I'd like to be her friend. Or her live-doll.

This is interesting. I found it here first. Do you know what you are putting on YOUR skin?

Good for a nerdy laugh. And they post several times a day, so go getcha some.

Spent some time window shopping here and here this weekend. Surprisingly not all that expensive. And by window shoppin' I mean that my fingers did the walkin'.

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And maybe this evening you can get a bunch of children together and make Gertrude Steins and have a puppy party. Always a good choice.

Happy Monday. Don't be boring.

Advice: Don't Photograph Creepy Things with Pretty Things

Design Sponge does a series where they tour people's homes and then ask them to fill in the blank on: "What I love most about my home is _____".

Well, dears, what I love most about my home is that I don't have this sitting on my bed when I come home:

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Ah! I think it can see into my soul...

Husband has cats, but at least they aren't Uri Geller here (bending my mind's spoon and then jamming it into my mind's eye... bah! I just got the willies thinking about that...).

Note: Googling our friend Uri (the man, not the cat), one of the main pics to come up was this one. Of course. Oh of-gosh-darn-course they were friends.

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Happy Monday and irrelevant blogging to 'ya. That's really the advice for Monday - try and goof off to make it go faster.

Web-iquette - You Shut Your Mouth When You're Talkin' To Me

I read this disturbing article on NPR today about how over sharing on the web can be not only repulsive but also get you into some trouble. [Warning, the article has some disturbing content.]

Now, I haven't had the misfortune to deal with any racy facebook updates or revolting tweets (I rarely twitter (tweet?)... and I can't believe "twitter"/"tweet" is a verb...), but I have found a TON of people on FB that I'd like to defriend just because I find their post content and volume annoying.

For instance, one pseudo-friend/ex-boyfriend-of-a-friend made his status this weekend:

"Am I worthy of love?"

Mancard = revoked!

The second I get on a real computer's FB (and not my phone's version), I'm defriending.

Worthless brain dribble also makes me want to defriend you, a la:

"I got up at 3 am today and then couldn't sleep and now I'm at work. Only 5 more hours until I can go hooooome."

Harmless information, but also useless information. Just because you can say it, doesn't mean you should. And really, why so many vowels?

And my most favorite of things to defriend someone for - negative, defeatist, accusatory remarks to no one specific. Seriously, grow some balls and deal with your issues. Or see a psych. Or just don't put it on Facebook. It makes you look trivial and petty. Examples:

"I guess I should stop trying to be a good friend."

"I wish I wasn't the only person in my family that was trying so hard to be a good person."

And the cherry on the sundae after all of that noise is:

"I'm so sick of the drama."

Of course, the drama would stop if the FB poster would stop posting their dumb whiny posty posts and just sever ties with the terrorizing individual and grow up.

So remember you aren't invisible or invincible on social media. And as always, "You shut your mouth when you're talking to me."

Ten Tips Tuesday: Beat Boredom.

Ten ways to pass the time when you're home-bound.

My husband and I are quarantined after he had a bout with a virus. We're on the mend and here's how we ticked away the holiday weekend.

1) Start a new book with a goal to finish it. I started Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point. Did not finish it, but made good headway.

2) Catch up on phone calls. I am terrible with calling people back/answering my phone in the first place. Being sequestered forces me to reach out using modern technology!

3) Take leisurely walks. For us, the issue that caused us to stay home was not pain but possible disease-spreading. We got out a bit to walk about the neighborhood and explore. We've only lived in this apartment for a few months so it was nice to just wander and get out of the house for a while.

4) Watch a documentary. Educational, interested and often-times great for loads of inspired conversation. My brother recommends The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia. Wowser is it entertaining/sad/funny/shocking/stirring.

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5) Craft. I know. Normally I hate crafting, but when between a rock and a hard-candy/sewing-machine/scrap-booking place, I choose the Popsicle sticks. I got a lot of wedding photos printed and grouped to send to family this weekend. We also finally put together a little "thank you" for our neighbors for being so great through our recent illness ordeal.

6) Do a puzzle. We didn't do a puzzle, but I like them and would have done one if I were home one. more. day.

7) Window shop. I spent about 5 hours the other day just window shopping. All I came home with was some soap, a wicker basket (for which I bartered!) and a caffeine buzz. It was cheaper than any other 5 hour shopping trip I've had recently.*

8) Cook from scratch. Weeknight dinners sometimes need to be quick and easy. But, when you're home for hours at a time, why not go the whole 9 yards? My MIL, bless 'er heart, sent me some casserole recipes to make in large quantities and freeze. Great idea for the non-cooks out there, but I love to cook. I love taking the time to cut veggies, butterfly a chicken breast, roast potatoes. If you've got the time, why not!? Trust me, cutting** can be very cathartic!

9) Clean. I know what you're thinking: "She asking me to cook, clean, sew, and get my Laura Ingalls Wilder on. Tell me that's the fever talkin'!" I realize this doesn't sound fun, but don't you have to santize everything anyway? Stick with me, number 10 is fun.

10) Eat a lot and eat things you normal forbid yourself. Have that 4th Oreo or that 2nd mojito. Calories be damned! (because you already burned some by hand-mopping the floor, right? And by walking those 2 miles on Michigan Avenue window shopping, right? Good girl.) Not that eating is an activity, but you can draw it out and make an experience of it. At home cheese tasting? Yes!

* Window shopping can be done online if you are too sick/tired/sick&tired to leave home. Online stores are sooo fun and you don't have to fight the crowds!

** of vegetables, silly!