Flowers on the Brain!

For some reason I've always known that I wanted to do my own flowers for my wedding.  It's no secret that I love flowers.  I love taking pictures of them; I love smelly them and admiring them.  I'm not so great at growing them, but luckily there's these things called wholesale flower superstores online that will ship you what you need, when you need it.  All you need are a couple of friends and family members and a moderate amount of supplies and BOOM...wedding flowers.  In reading A Practical Wedding, I've come to realize that DIY or DIT (do-it-together) isn't for everyone, and no one should attempt to DIY their whole wedding or even most of their wedding.  But instead you should DIT the aspects that seem like they'd be fun and you'd enjoy them, instead of the things that stress you out just thinking about.  And for me, DIT flowers seem like a fun activity for my bridesmaids, my mom, and I to do the day before the wedding.  I can totally picture us all hanging out in my sister's basement, with hot tea and snacks working on bouquets and small centerpieces.  Just thinking about it gives me the warm fuzzies.

And it's not surprising, that like most aspects of our future wedding (which is over a year away), I've (we've) got this ALL figured out.  I know the wholesale online flower mart that I plan to use, Blooms by the Box (an APW sponsor).  And I've pretty much settled on the flowers I want, and it's within our budget.

Purple lisianthus, lavender Cool Water roses, mini green hydrangeas, green hypericum, pink waxflowers, white peonies, light pink ranunculus, cream lisianthus, and purple larkspur (probably just for centerpieces).

And, at least for right now, I'm kind of liking the idea of wrapping the bouquets with twine or something kind of natural looking.  I don't really care for satin ribbon...it looks too formal to me.

For the centerpieces we've been collecting an assortment of small/medium sized glass jars from wherever we can find them (old mason jars, old peanut butter jars, etc).  We're planning on trying out this tutorial that uses Krylon Looking Glass spray paint to create faux mercury glass.  I think the purple/pink/green/white palette of the flowers will look very pretty against the silvery faux mercury glass.  Most of our tables at our reception will be two to four seaters, so small centerpieces that people can talk over are ideal.

So, that's the plan.  Any wise words or suggestions from people out there who've done their own flowers would be much appreciated!  Is there anything you wish you would have known before you started?  Things that I've learned through reading APW and Bloom by the Box's DIY Wedding Flowers e-book include:  1.) we will be doing all of this arranging the day before the wedding not the day of, 2.) I plan on asking our reception venue if we can store the centerpieces there the night before (actually, I'm going to see if they'll let us assemble the centerpieces upstairs the day before...after we've done the bouquets at home or at my sister's), 3.) Flower prep takes time, especially with wholesale flowers; different flowers needs different types of attention when you're unpacking them (that's why I opted out of tulips, because they can be temperamental), 4.) I do intend to do a dry run before the wedding.

Three Hours

During my final year of college, my parents, my sister and I took a family trip to Arizona over spring break.  It was the first time I had done anything over spring break since I had been in school, so despite the fact that it was a family trip to a place I really didn't care to go I was excited.  There were good parts of that trip.  The grand canyon was good.  The park ranger-guided moonlight walk around the rim was one of my favorite parts of the trip.  But then there was Phoenix.  I hated it the moment we landed and got off the plane.  It was blistering hot, as if I could feel my fair skin actually frying.  And it was just the beginning of March.  Everything was brown and orangish-red with barely any green insight, besides the spiny cacti.  The city itself was sprawled out and sad-looking to me.  We went to fancy hotels that my sister had managed to reserve since she's a travel agent.  But that didn't make me like it there.  It was still so hot and devoid of all the things that I love about Ohio in March.  Back in Cincinnati things were about to bloom, daffodils and hyacinths would be popping up through the ground soon.  Birds would begin singing their happy songs and making their nests.  But there, in Phoenix, it was hot and everything around me felt dead.  It felt as if the sun had set everything on fire and burned it to the ground with it's insufferable rays.  I disliked everything I encountered in and around that arid, dusty city.

Fast-forward to 7 years later.  After 10 months of working in the wonderful and fairly close city of Chicago, Antoine finds out his next consulting gig is in Phoenix.  Antoine was over-joyed to find another consulting job and by the opportunity to rack up more frequent flier miles.  I was wary, with good reason.  I knew my Texas born fella could handle his heat, but I also knew that Phoenix and I didn't see eye to eye.  Then I find out that Phoenix doesn't participate in day-light savings time, so in March when we lost an hour here in Cincinnati, Phoenix sat on its lazy ass and did nothing.  So instead of being a two hour time difference between Cincinnati and Phoenix, it was now three.  And what a difference three hours makes.

When Antoine is going into work, I'm going to lunch.  When I'm getting home and eating dinner, he's working.  When he's leaving the office, the office that has no cell phone reception, I'm starting to get sleepy.  When he's getting back to his hotel with his dinner, I've either fallen asleep on the couch or am about to pass out in bed.  Our schedules are off.  And techology seems to be against us.  Half the time he doesn't receive my texts.  And when we face-time, when he finds time to face-time, the signal is all scramble.  When he manages to call me on his way to or from work, the connection is lousy.  Let me repeat, I do not like you Phoenix!

So, for right now, I'm frustrated.  I know there are reasons to be thankful for this project.  I am thankful that Antoine has a job that he enjoys and I am thankful for all those perks of consulting, the frequent flier miles and hotel points will make planning our honeymoon so much easier.  But right now, I don't care about those perks.  Instead I am anxiously waiting for August to roll around and for this project to be finished.  Then, hopefully, he can find something on the east coast, a little closer to home.  Hopefully.

One Month

It's officially been one month since Antoine proposed and I said "yes" and "but I'm sick and in my pajamas!"  I'm finally getting used to wearing a ring.  In fact, I would totally miss it now if I weren't wearing it.  Plus, it's pretty.  I still haven't quite mastered the use of "fiance" instead of "boyfriend"!  I usually have to correct myself mid-sentence.  But I assume that's par for the course.

As far as planning goes, it's been very laid back so far.  In the beginning I wanted to hold off beginning to plan right away, you know, so we could just bask in the fact that we're engaged!  And then when the planning began it was, for the most part, pretty fluid and easy.  We've already nailed down a fantastic photographer, a high school friend of mine.  We're pretty sure where we want to have the ceremony and where we want to have the reception.  What kind of cake(s) we'll be having.  We've found our invitations.  We have a pretty good idea of what our guest list will look like.  And I've got a good idea of what we're doing for flowers.  We've got our attendants...all four of them!  And they seemed to pleased as punch to celebrate our special day with us.  Oh, and we've set a date...May 26th, 2013.  So, we've got a year and four months to figure out the rest.  I'd say we're looking pretty good so far.

In the meantime, I just finished reading this fantastic book called A Practical Wedding that I'd suggest to any bride-to-be, or any woman who sees herself as a potential bride-to-be in the future.  There's also a pretty awesome blog to accompany it that goes by the same name.  It keeps you sane, tells you to ignore all that wedding porn and focus on the stuff that matters.  I dig it.

I'll keep you updated on the progress as we go along, hopefully the planning continues on this mellow yet exciting trajectory.  Fingers crossed.  

Tour of My Department

Amidst all the madness that is renovation (i.e. walls being torn down, shelving being disassembled and moved out, book trucks being shoved towards the back of the department, and equipment arriving daily, some in wooden boxes as big as small cars), I managed to snap a few photos of the conservation bench.  The conservation bench area is where we do all of our repairs.  And throughout all the dust and demolition it has remained the only unscathed area in the department.  Also, once everything is completed and those enormous boxes of equipment are unpacked our conservation bench area will be doubled in size...which is quite exciting!

Japanese paste brushes

  finishing press

 stamping tools

 (plain ol') boards

 type for the hot stamper

  closeup of our giant standing press

 tunnel view of our giant finishing press

 brass-edged boards

bonefolder and textblock sewn on tapes

Happy Friday folks!  I hope you all have a lovely weekend.  I am heading up to Cleveland this weekend to spend some quality time with my hlp!!  Yay!  How about you, any fun plans in the works?

Call It Renovation

The last month has been a little hectic at work.  And the next couple months year is bound to be even more chaotic and stressful.  But all this stress makes way for some really big improvements to our department, and even my job.  Our department has been around in the library, in one form or another, for about 40 years now.  And in those forty years we've essentially occupied the "basement" of the library, a space originally meant for storage, not for people actually working in it.  And in those forty years the department has seen very little practically no cosmetic attention...until now.  See, a couple months ago the Public Library was awarded a grant to join forces with our existing lab and create a joint lab (that will conserve both the PL and UC collections) in our existing space.  As part of this, UC is funding a much needed and desired renovation and update of the department.  We'll be in the same space we are now, but some major changes are happening and will continue to happen in the next month. 

One example of the major major things going down (quite literally) in the department is that our main storage room is being converted into our Binding packing area (this involved tearing down a wall), so that we can make space for a second Conservation bench area, which we will desperately need after the Public Library folks move in permanently in January! 

 Demolition!  For a couple weeks everything has been covered in plastic and moved to the back of the department so that the wall could come down.  It took two weeks for the wall to come all the way down.

 

After the first week.  Apparently there were more layers to the wall than they were expecting.

And here's what we walked into yesterday morning...no more wall!

Now that the wall is down, the rest of the renovation can continue...tiling, painting, shelves moved out, new furniture, installation of the new bench area, new equipment, two sink installations, cleaning, more painting, picture hanging, etc.  The next month and a half are going to be INSANE, but I think it'll all be worth it...if my boss doesn't lose her mind in the process.  I'll keep you posted!

It's Alive!

I know I've been awol for the last week and a half, but it's been crazy-nuts-busy up in here!  Seriously, what with packing, flying to DC, attending a week long workshop at the Library of Congress, melting into a giant pile of human goo in the heat and humidity of Washington DC in mid/late July, and then coming back home and sorting through laundry, running errands, and adjusting to being back in the office!  Oh, and then there's the 450 pictures I took while I was in DC!  Ugh!!  My head is spinning!  I plan on spending the evening doing absolutely nothing, except maybe some puppy snuggling, and then I'll be back, for real, tomorrow with the first of many installments of my DC recap.  Catch you on the flippity-flop!

Eleven days

Tomorrow will mark the eleventh day since I've seen Antoine (that means today is the tenth, in case you can't count).  It's been a rough week and a half without him, probably the toughest since since he started this whole consulting job (minus the week where Missy got sick).  It is really surprising how well we have coped with this whole consulting business.  In fact, I was stunned in the beginning at how well I managed to keep it together; I quickly understood that I had it easy compared to Antoine, traveling so much, working in a new city with new people, not getting to sleep in his own bed.  Now, after four months of consulting, Antoine and I have found our rhythm.  The consolation prize to him having to travel and work in Chicago four days a week is that our weekends, for the most part, are ours.  We are free to do what we want, when we want and it's a great feeling...especially after having worked two jobs for nearly 3 years (the library and sbux).  Sure, every once in a while our weekends are jam-packed with errands and constant running around.  But then there are those lazy, carefree weekends that just make everything great again.

Through all of this I've discovered that what A and I have is pretty special (which I kind of knew already).  It's been an adjustment, but at the end of the day it hasn't done anything to our relationship but make it stronger.  I know that this is what is best for him right now, he's actually happy with what he's doing.  He's learning new skills and techniques, he's meeting new people and enhancing his professional career.  But, on my end, because of this I don't have to work two jobs.  Sure, we're not rolling in the money, but the new consulting gig balances out our need for part time jobs.  And that's a great thing!

But while four days away has become "no big deal", this week has been rough.  Antoine decided to take advantage of the perks of his job and fly to LA for the weekend to visit his best friend.  And while I was so excited for him to go, I am not a fan of this extra time apart.  I've gotten so used to those four days away and his return on Thursday, it has become our routine.  Ten days (eleven days tomorrow) is just too much!  Couple that with the fact I had some sort of flu earlier last week and the hectic/craziness of packing up Cheese and driving to/around Northern OH all weekend (I'm sick of driving)...I'm so ready for tomorrow to come.  I miss him.  I miss his face and his smile.  I even miss his horrendously loud snoring.  I cannot describe how excited I am for this weekend and the week to follow!  We have so many exciting plans (at least they are exciting to me) this weekend and then all next week Antoine will be working from home.  My heart is going pitter-patter right now, I can't even tell you how ecstatic I am...eekkk!

The Deep, Dark Chasm of Crap

I'm pretty sure every house has one, weather it's a closet, a spare room or a corner of the attic or basement...that dark place that holds a bunch of miscellaneous junk.  That corner/closet/alcove that you just throw crap into, shut the door/turn around and walk away.  No matter where it is in your house it becomes that dead zone, that black hole of crap that you ignore yet it slowly eats away at your soul.  For us, it was our kitchen pantry.  

Since our house was built in the 1920s it doesn't have any closets in the livingroom or dining room for coats and assorted junk.  So, when we were unpacking, which took quite sometime (I blame it on the fact we were moving two people's junk into a space much larger than the apartments I was used to), our pantry became the place we shoved crap into.  Mainly it was kitchen related junk...toaster, crock pot, assorted food items, spices, etc.  But there were also a couple of boxes of random sh*t that got shoved in there.  

We were initially excited about having a pantry to store things in since our kitchen is pretty tiny and our cupboard and counter space is limited!  But there were a couple problems with the pantry.  It was a little less than four feet wide and about 5 feet deep, yet you couldn't walk into it.  There were metal racks on either side of the pantry when you opened the door.  The left side rack was ideal for spices since it was fairly shallow.  The right side rack, on the other hand, jutted out about a foot and a half and kept you from easily entering the space.  And so, the "chasm of crap" grew...

Since it had been that place that we initially threw junk into and you couldn't actually "get in there" to get junk out or organize it...we continued to throw stuff in, at random.  This led to a disheveled kitchen pantry that had food in it, but you couldn't exactly see what all was in there.  So, after a year of living in the house I cannot even tell you how many boxes of angel hair pasta were in there because I didn't know that we already had some and would buy more at the store.  It wasn't only massive amounts of pasta and other food items, it was also things falling off shelves because they had been thrown in there haphazardly...leading to spilling and breaking.  All in all, it was not good.  The pantry had become a definite eye sore and a source of great frustration.  Finally, I had enough...

A couple weekends ago Antoine and I finally decided to tackle the beast.  We took out EVERYTHING...the food, the appliances, the random crap that didn't belong in there.  We took out the shelves that didn't fit and were covered with about 10 layers of contact paper.  And, we took out the metal racks.  Namely we removed that got awful rack that practically attached your face when you opened the door. 

 There it is, in all it's evilness!  

Next we decided to update the dingy white paint, and here's where we might have went a little mad...we painted it bright orange!  Our kitchen is a really muted green and I had been dying to paint something bright orange for a while now (but decided I was too chicken to actually paint a room orange...since I've never really liked orange before?!  FYI: I'm weird and make no sense!)  So the pantry became orange...bright ass orange.  (Sidenote: it was hilarious to go to Home Depot and buy such a ridiculous color...we got so many appalled looks from people who thought we were actually painting a room that color!  It was a riot!)

So, here it is...

No longer a casm of crap!  Instead, an organized and accessible pantry.

 

 

With the help of my Dad we cut and painted some shelves that actually fit into the space and weren't covered with 50 years of contact paper.

Now the pantry has become a source of peace.  I actually open the door, take a deep breath in and out and just look at it.  Now there is space for EVERYTHING and I can easily walk in and get anything I need!  It's just a wonderful feeling.

Additional note:  apparently I cannot spell "chasm".

Lack Luster

This past weekend was the last weekend before Antoine started his new job in Chicago (on Monday).  We spent most of it running around like crazy people in an attempt to get stuff done.  It was hectic and stressful, not exactly the ideal weekend I had imagined!  But we will have many weekends together, so not all is lost.

Yesterday was my first day flying solo.  I dropped Antoine off at the airport around 5:30am amid fantastical rainstorms...and then I was by myself.  I did okay.  I didn't crawl into the fetal position or cry my eyes out.  I let Cheese out, got ready for work, went to work, gave Cheese a bath, took out the garbage, made dinner, did some dishes and watched some tv.  Pretty standard.  Still, it felt kind of weird.  I had lived alone before I met Antoine (after living with my HLP for many many years).  But I think I only lived alone for about a year before Antoine moved into my apartment with me.  So really, I've never been alone for too long.  Not that I have anything against living alone, it was kind of nice (if a little lonely).  It's just, I don't live alone now.  I live in a house with a puppy, three cats and a very special fella.  And while that guy might be on the road right now he's still all around me!  I can look over on the couch and see his grey and black hoodie.  Or see his crinkled up Vellux blankets on the bed.  In the house it still feels like he's here, like he's just stepped out for a bit...maybe he's picking up a pizza or something!?  Maybe it'll sink in and after a bit I won't be fooled anymore?  I hope not, I like living in this state of denial, it's comforting.

Meanwhile, all this time I've been whining about how scared I was of Antoine starting his new consulting job.  How I was going to be all alone.  How I was going to have to do all the dishes, let Cheese out, feed the animals, make dinner, clean litterboxes, etc.  All of it!  What I wasn't thinking is that I'm not the one who got the short end of the straw here, Antoine did!  I get to stay home, sit in my pjs with Cheesy on my lap, and watch tv on our couch.  But Antoine doesn't have it so lucky!  He had to fly out at 7am, meet up with his new boss he's never met, get filled in on his new job (aka overloaded with new info), check-in to his hotel after 5pm, go to some restaurant for dinner, and then come back to a strange hotel room.  It's a lot to absorb in a 24 hour period.  It will get easier, it's just big adjustment.  But Chicago isn't home.  While I can curl up with his pillow (that smells like him) if I'm feeling lonely, he can't.  I feel bad for the poor guy!  I've been so selfish worrying about how I was going to cope with this big change when really I'm the one who has it easy! 

Stay strong Antoine!  It'll get easier and Thursday will be here before you know it.  I love you and I miss you!!

Cusp

I find myself on the edge of something.  Maybe it's a cliff, maybe it's Spring more bad weather, maybe it's bliss.  Who the Hell knows!?  I know I don't.

This is the last week before Antoine starts his job in Chicago (well, just north of Chicago).  Come Monday morning I'll be driving him to the airport and kissing his goodbye until late Thursday evening.  It's a consulting position that will most likely last for about a year or so.  It's something that we have both been worrying about, in the most silent way possible.  But, it's scary.  It's such a big change and we have every right to be shaking in our boots about it.  I don't doubt the possibilities it holds, I am sure there are many.  I've just got a mass of butterflies fluttering around in my stomach that I can't seem to comprehend at this moment.  Oh change, how you twist and turn my inside parts!

Another cusp I find myself on is my new found work life.  Now that I have one job I am forced to think of only that one job as my work.  I love the library, but am I getting everything out of it I should?  And, more importantly, am I putting all the effort into it that I should?  Probably not.  But I want to.  I have been at the library for over three years, and for those three years I have, until now, had another job.  Have I made the most of the past three years here?  I'm not sure.  And now I am about to start a major project at work that will take a good amount of my time in the next coming month, and it really has nothing to do with the day to day work I do.  It's pretty new and uncharted territory for me and I'm a little nervous (but also excited) by it.  I have an opportunity to be creative, in a new way that I'm an unfamiliar with, to learn new programs and do something that others will actually experience and connect with my name.  Eeek.

So, I find myself here, on this cusp.  Terrified.  Nervous.  Excited.  Nauseous.  I know that good will come from these changes, that in the end I might learn a thing or two about myself, but that doesn't make it any less scary. 

Here I go...

Staying in Touch...

The first time I left Sbux, about two years ago, I thought it was for good. I basically did it out of necessity, I was exhausted and thoroughly miserable. But after four or five months I was back. And, like my departure, my arrival back into the world of corporate lattes was also out of necessity. I was running out of money! See, while love my day job the pay isn't exactly ideal. I mean, it's okay, but not when you factor in rent, bills, and three student loans that basically take over one of my paychecks a month. Sbux was always about money for me, or at least it was in the past. When I returned to Sbux, not much had changed...I was still kind of miserable. Working 60 hours a week has a way of wearing a person down, but when you don't really care about the place you spend those extra 20+ hours you're bound to be miserable. Sure, there were people I genuinely liked, but I either didn't work with them often or didn't feel as connected to them as I needed to, you know, in order to make it all feel worth it.

But then, sometime in the middle of last year there was a change. Namely, one person left...a person who I constantly worked with and HATED working with and then one of my closest friends at Sbux basically took their place. Sometimes it's just a matter of genuinely liking the people you work with! Sure, I was still tired, but somehow Sbux started feeling less like just work and more like a social environment. Since the shift manager that I spent about 2/3 of my week working with was also my friend, Vanessa, if I was having a bad day she actually cared. If I was tired she understood because she had a full-time and part-time job too! And it wasn't all scrubbing dishes and making drinks...we laughed and gossiped and pretty much had a blast. Basically, the difference this time was that I had made some really good friends! Friends I saw outside of Sbux, friends I bitched with and laughed with.

And I think that's another reason this consulting thing is feeling a little bittersweet! While I've dreamed about the day I would only have one job, when I could finally leave Sbux, now I finally feel some sort of connection to the place and good number of the people there. Plus, I think I've hit my peak when it comes to making drinks! I'll admit it, I rock on bar! After three years there I've totally found my groove/swagger. I kill on bar. It doesn't stress me out at all anymore, I'm fast and precise. It feels good! Sure, a year ago I was making good drinks and I was kind of quick, but lately it's been effortless and somewhat enjoyable. But then again, maybe it's a good thing I leave now, before I get too cocky!

Sorry about that little tangent! Okay, where was I? Oh yeah...see, the first time I left Sbux I promised (to the few friends I had) that I would keep in touch and visit often...but I didn't. Once I stepped outside those doors I think I returned only once during my five month absence. And while I know this time is different, I have more friends, better friends, and I'll have more nights free to visit (since Antoine will be out of town Monday-Thursday)...I'm still a little worried. I'm not the best communicator, I never have been. I live in my head and I'm not the best person when it comes to staying in touch. I get easily distracted by what is in front of me...it's a big character flaw, what can I say.

But, I have to hope that this time things will be different. They have to be! And, over the past week as the news has spread around Sbux that's what people have said to me...this time we MUST keep in touch! One of our regulars, who's so much more than just a regular, Kate called me out on my flakiness the last time I left! She chastised me to not staying in touch and she made it clear that that just wouldn't fly this time! Then, one of the morning ladies, Amy, who I very rarely work with but totally adore told me that she thought of me as her daughter and not staying in touch just wasn't an option. And then there's Vanessa, we're so alike, yet so different...it's really the perfect balance. I know that with her, my last week there is going to be so rough. She's the one I've bonded with most, my closest friend there and I know that I don't want to lose that friendship that we have. I'm not going to let that happen! So, here's to staying in touch, to keeping those friendships and continuing to keep those people in my life who make me smile/laugh!

Finally Finished Furnishing

This past weekend Antoine and I finally brought together all the odds and ends that we hadn't yet completed from our bedroom redecorating endeavor we began months ago. This was mainly spurred into action because of the crazy insanity that comes over me anytime my parents come to visit. And when I say "parents", I mean my mom! She, like her mother, is meticulously nit-picky about the tidiness of her children's houses! I know I shouldn't care and it's not worth the stress that we put ourselves under, but when your mom gets up in the middle of a conversation to get some Windex and paper towels to dust off your TV...then you come talk to me! BUT, I will say this...while the crazy, chaotic, all-consuming cleaning is uber stressful, in the end it is worth it! Because once my parents leave and drive three and a half hours back to northern Ohio Antoine and I are left to relax in our spotless house!

This past cleaning spree was particularly rewarding because it not only meant a clean house to enjoy, but also the completion of a project that had been lagging for a while now...our bedroom! Before our bedroom had been...unfinished, boring, messy and did I say boring? The color was okay, this bluish-purple color...

But at night the color caused the room to be overly dark and depressing.

Add to that that everything was mismatched...furniture, bedding, etc. And the somewhat large bedroom was dwarfed by an enormous king bed that was old and uncomfortable. And I didn't even have a nightstand! It was the only room in the house (minus the bathroom) that felt incomplete. We hadn't hung any pictures or committed any real time or energy to the space...something had to be done! So, we painted the walls and touched up the ceiling paint. We downsized to a new queen bed and got all new *matching* furniture from Ikea. And now, I'm in love! It's become my haven! It's relaxing and peaceful and modern.

Ta-da!

The larger dresser has a mirror hanging over it and some cute little chicks & hens/succulents sitting on top of it!

We went to thrift stores and bought cheap frames and spray painted them black for our picture frame cluster behind our headboard! We filled the picture frames with shots of us, our animals and flowers/nature shots I've taken.

It makes me smile!

*Apologies for the not so stellar pictures...my parents got me a new wide angle/fish eye lens for Xmas but I don't think it's 100% compatible for my camera!

Hello Again...

Hi there! It's been a while, hasn't it? I'm back from a very long and exhausting Xmas holiday. The craziness began about a week ago when my car decided to commit suicide on me...i.e. smoke coming out from under the hood while I was driving to Sbux. (It still has not been revived and Antoine and I are now down to one car...but we're making it work). Then, I got sick...read: head cold, gushing snot, all around discomfort. And while it was nice to have a couple of days off from my real job I, unfortunately, spent those days attempting to clean/prepare for my parents arrival! Xmas Eve Eve was a fun-filled (note: sarcasm) day of non-stop cleaning. Xmas Eve morning was the mad dash to get the house in tip-top shape for the parental visit, attempting to finish all the bits and bobs that we hadn't cleaned/tidied the day before. Then, my parents had to go and stress us out further and show up nearly 3 hours early. THEN, my parents brought their two dogs into our 2 bedroom house and we experienced the shear madness of having two puppies and a yappy Miniature Pinscher in a not-nearly-big-enough space.

In order to make the weekend bearable we made several trips to the dog park! Oh, how I love that flippin' dog park! It's good times! It's my personal savior...turning a rumbustious puppy into a docile, exhausted pile of snoring fur! My parents had never been and their new puppy Lacey hasn't been around many people and Cheese had been the first dog she'd met (outside of their MinPin)...so, it was interesting to see both what my parents thought of it and how the dogs interacted! I think it was an all around success. A little cold, but a triumph nonetheless! Here's some shots from the dog park...

Lacey, my parents' 3 month old great dane...and, of course, the Cheese-man!

Cheese chewing on a stick and playing with an adorable Bull Terrier!

Byron, my parents' Miniature Pinscher, froze like a little popsicle at the dog park, but he loved running around and chasing the big dogs!

I found it very difficult to get many good pictures of Lacey because she was constantly moving around, mainly because she was afraid of most of the other dogs!

Lacey watching as Byron and a stylish little Pug become acquainted!

In the end, it was a good holiday. Not the most relaxing, but it was nice to be with family. Also, I think Cheese really enjoyed his first Xmas...he got far too many toys and rawhides! And he's still recovering from all the puppy wrestling...he's been sleeping nonstop since Sunday. The house has been pretty quiet...delightful so!

Crazy busy...

Hi friends!

Just a quick note for you today. I've been paper marbling like crazy since Thursday...but now's the time to clean up and catch up with actual work stuff! Then comes the massive clean up known as "Clean-every-flipping-inch-of-our-house-so-that-my-parents-don't-complain-when-they-come-to-stay-with-us-for-Xmas"! It's intense and will completely preoccupy my time until Xmas eve when my parents are arriving...so, this is the last you'll see me for a while! Try not to be sad...be brave dear friends!

Have a great holiday season, I'll see you on the other side with full, detailed posts of paper marbling fun and holiday festivities! Until then, be safe and happy!

Warmest of Mushy Wishes,
theclusterf#@k

Bleh!

Today is not going to be a fun day for me at work. We're all being forced to participate in this silly strategic planning retreat nonsense, where they've hired this lady to come in and tell us what the libraries are doing wrong and what we can improve on. It'll be a lot of breaking into groups and role playing...not my cup of tea. But while I'm there, if I feel like I'm about to lose my mind I'm just going to picture this in my head:

We took Cheesy out to play in the snow this weekend and he had a blast. This picture makes me smile!

I hope that your Tuesday is more enjoyable than mine friends! I will see you tomorrow, provided I don't slip into a coma out of sheer boredom!

I'm Crazy Strong

I recently switched up, yet again, my weekly schedule at Sbux. Originally I was working Monday night, Thursday night, and one weekend day...but the Madeira Farmer's Market (on Thursday evenings) was making my life a living hell, so I switched to Wednesday nights! Ah, Wednesday nights, they're usually boring and virtually uneventful...just the way I like it! Then, I worked a freak open shift one Sunday morning after one of our baristas didn't come into work the night before (and, thus, fired)...leaving the schedule all kinds of jacked up. And I really enjoyed it, the opening shift I mean! Sure, I had to get up around 4am so I could make it into Sbux before 5:30am (we open at 6am on Sundays), but then I got out at 11:30am and had the rest of the day to do stuff! It was pretty sweet, and when I told my boss that I liked opening we kind of decided to make it a permanent thing! So now I work Sunday opens from 5:30am to 11:30am. Sure, it gets busy around 8 or 9am, but the first couple hours are a breeze and then pretty much the whole day is mine!

So, getting to the story...this past Saturday it snowed here in Cincinnati and the temperature got really low overnight. After I got ready for Sbux I went out to my car, around 5am, to start it so it could warm up. I pushed my little button thingy to unlock my doors (yes, even though my car is nearly two decades old I still have a fancy remote thingy). I go to the drivers side and pull on the handle. I can tell the door is frozen shut, but not too bad, so I pull a little harder. And. SNAP!! The door handle breaks off into my hand! I stand there, in the cold, baffled...with door handle in hand. I utter a couple of swear words, but not under my breath and walk to the passenger side to start my car.

Here's what my car door looked like before the snapping off:

Actually, this is my passenger door (after the fact), because I didn't have a photo of my driver's side door just lying around. Because, frankly that would be weird!

And this is the "after" picture:

Grrr!

I have come to the conclusion that my car is either trying to psychologically mindf#@k me until I stop driving it or I've got crazy strong, almost superhuman, strength at five in the morning. I'm going to go with the latter, considering I already have superhuman knee caps. Seriously, I think my patellas are made of steel! If I justify it as superhuman strength then I won't have to stress that we can't afford to get me a new car for another year, so if Arthur (my car) decides to die on me now...there's not a flippin' thing I can do about it! What, stress?! Anxiety!? What do those words mean?! I have no clue!

Sometimes Days Just Suck...

So, Wednesday night was another back to back day. Worked at the library 7:30am to 4:30pm...then I had to be at Sbux by 5:30pm. Those days are not the funnest. I'm generally tired and cranky and hungry! So, I got to sbux (on time) and started cleaning. A woman came in and ordered a eggnog latte...I was on register and my friend Vanessa (aka the shift supervisor) was on bar. She poured said eggnog into a pitcher to steam it, but before she got a chance the woman changed her mind and ordered a salted caramel hot chocolate. Vanessa set the unsteamed nog aside and made the lady's hot chocolate. Then she put the eggnog into a paper cup for herself (yes, she's one of those weirdos who actually likes that stuff). I was going about my business trying to shut down the bar when I accidentally bump the cup of eggnog with my arm. Now, I was standing right up against the counter when this happened...so the eggnog traveled across the counter, to the edge, and then a full stream of it, probably the equivalent of half a short cup, cascaded directly into my right apron pocket! Now, under normal circumstances this would be no biggy! Gross, but no big deal! Well, not last night! No, last night I happened to have my iPhone in my right apron pocket, instead of on the counter where I usually have it, or even in my back pocket of my pants!

I immediately freak the frick out! I plunge my hand into my pocket o' nog and fish out my lovely iPhone...which was completely covered with a rich, thick layer of eggnog grossness! I panic. Vanessa throws me a towel and I collapse onto the ground and attempt to preform iPhone CPR! I wipe off the initial eggnog on the cover, then I notice that the eggnog has went to all my iPhone's "special places"! The headphone jack...filled with eggnog. The dock connector thing-a-ma-bob...filled with eggnog. The speakers...filled with eggnog. I shake it, to try to get out some of the nog and it's almost as if a river of eggnog flows from the "special places". And I sit there, hunched over on the floor, almost in tears!

I take a dry towel and attempt to preform triage, cleaning all the nooks and crannies where the eggnog is lurking. Then the thought occurs to me to see if it's working. I've killed a (Verizon) phone before by placing it next to a sweating glass of water, but nothing this extreme! I held my breath and home button...IT'S ALIVE! I immediately see my adorable picture of the Cheese-man on the cover and feel slightly less panicked! Then, I attempt to text...SUCCESS!! Then, I test my apps...SUCCESS again! Then, I tell Vanessa to call me...
...

...

... nothing.

Apparently she could hear me, but I heard nothing. The panic flares back up! This is my phone...I have no land line/home phone...this is IT! For the rest of the night I have a proverbial storm cloud over my head. And to top it all off, we were pretty busy all night and each minute that went by I was getting further and further behind. I was distracted, distraught, exhausted, uncaffinated, and pissy. Not a good combo...not conducive to productivity. A couple hours pass and I'm finally vacuuming the leftover espresso beans from the espresso machine I had been attempting to shut down for the last hour or two, and...LIGHTBULB!! I take the wet/dry vac and start vacuuming the crevasses of my phone. And soon I see ribbons of eggnog goo being pulled out of the iPhone's special places! I vacuum every single centimeter of the that phone.

Time for call test part two...SUCCESS!!! I can't finally make out Vanessa voice on the other end of the phone. She sounds a bit muffled, but I'll take it! Now, I felt much more at ease and I began to focus, hardcore, on trying to get out of sbux at a reasonable time...which obviously wasn't in the cards, because apparently wants me to have an mini-emotional breakdown and then...TRY TO KILL ME!! Yes, you heard right...Sbux is trying to kill me!

Let me explain, I was going about my business...trying to breakdown my second espresso bar. I need an empty silver coffee bag (aka bullet...aka giant bags of coffee that are in shiny silver bags). We keep our empty bags in a cabinet directly under the coffee brewing station. I was rifling through the bags trying to find an empty espresso bag (because I'm anal like that) and all of a sudden there's this bright blue *FLASH* and this loud *POP* just inches from my hand. I instinctively recoil in fear...then Vanessa and I carefully remove all the empty bags and see that the gigantic outlet (that the brewer is plugged into) in the back of the cabinet is hanging from the wall...not normal! Vanessa and I then spend the next 15 minutes calling it in and attempting to find the right breaker to turn off. As Vanessa is leaving a note for the morning crew she notices that one of the coffee bullets from the cabinet was singed...proof that Sbux is trying to kill me:

I kept pointing at it and saying, "That could have been me!" So Vanessa had to do this, so the morning crew could get an idea of how fantastic our night was.

We ended up getting out of there around midnight...about 30 to 45 minutes later than we usually do. So, I didn't get home until 12:30. Then Antoine took apart my iPhone, we soaked up what little remainders of eggnog we could spot on its insides. Then, another phone test...this one was the best so far! It sounded mostly back to normal. The speaker/volume is still a little muffled, but not that bad. It could have been worse...but then again, it could have been better too!

*Alternate title to this post: "Eggnog: the Devil's Juice"

Maybe This Time...

...I'll be lucky!

My efforts to lose weight over the last year have been lack-luster and half-hearted, to say the least! I always seem to have too many excuses not to exercise or to eat things I shouldn't; "I'm too tired", "I'm too stressed", "I'm too tired", "I never have time for fun let alone exercise", and "I work hard, I deserve that massive burger, cheese fries, and ice cream cone dipped in peanut butter". I guess that's just me, I'm full of excuses (always have been)! Doesn't help that I'm a stress eater, a nervous eater, a happy eater...I'm basically just an eater! I love food and hate physical activity! Problem is, I know that's not healthy...I mean, I don't feel healthy! Not at all! So, what to do...

I guess I'm just going to have to try harder and hope for a little luck!! It's going to suck and it's going to be rough, but I have to learn to suck it up and do what I have to do to make myself feel better/healthier. I know what I have to do, it's a matter of eating right and working out! I can usually do the eating right part, but it's the working out that I HATE! But it's the only way!

I was going to try to do Weight Watchers again (well, my version of weight watchers, where I count points but don't actually sign up for WW or go to meetings), but that's only ever been mildly successful for me. Then my best friend told me about this really cool site called myfitnesspal, and I've started using that! It's free, which I love! And it lets you add in all your data: your starting weight, height, age, goal weight, projected exercise regiment, etc. Then it calculates how many calories you should eat a day to lose 1/2lb, 1lb, 1 1/2lbs, or 2 lbs a week. And to make it even easier on you, it helps you track your food and exercise routine. All you have to do is type in what you had for every meal. So for breakfast, say I had oatmeal...I type in "Quaker oatmeal cinnamon & spice" (what I usually have for breakfast) and press "Search" and then it inputs all the nutritional data for that oatmeal into your daily allowance. Then it tells you how many calories you have left for the day! It's got a similar search/input thing for exercise as well! It's so freaking easy!

And one of the nicest things about myfitnesspal is that it's got built in social networking! You can "friend" your friends (or complete strangers, if you roll like that) and encourage each other. Three of my friends, my mom and my sis are all doing it now! It's nice to have their support when we're not face to face! Still, it's going to be difficult to get my butt to the gym on a regular basis and to make myself log into myfitnesspal everyday, which will be especially hard on weekends since I rarely get online! But I HAVE to do it! Wish me luck! And if you see me eating fried cheese or a milkshake, kick me in the butt!!

Sidenote: Did anyone notice the musical reference in the title?

The Back-To-Back Funk

It's just going to be one of those days...I can feel it! I'm coming off of two back-to-back nights at Sbux (i.e. working 7:30 to 4:30 at the library, driving home, changing, then working 5:30pm to 11:30pm at Sbux). Last night, driving home, I was so exhausted I could barely keep my eyes open. I was swerving all over the place. Not good! Oh, and the mood I was in (and possibly still in)...two words...stinky/exhausted. Not a good combo. Pile on top of that bad mood and exhaustion: a puppy that won't stop chewing things (ex. we now cannot use either of our laptops since someone destroyed the adapters) and peeing in the house, a long list of things to get done before we head to my parents this weekend, and another Sbux night tomorrow. I'm less than thrilled (to say the least). And trying to stay positive is difficult when you're tired...and when you work 60 plus hours a week and you feel like you barely see your boyfriend, puppy or cats! And when you keep dropping things and forgetting things like you're some clumsy 80 year old woman with huge bags under her eyes!

Maybe tonight will be better!? I've got the Farm Fresh delivery to look forward to...and that enormous list of things to do before we can leave Friday! Ugh. Maybe today will be better and I won't feel like I'm drowning...frankly, I think it's doubtful!

On another note: I want to stay here! Would someone like to give me the money to fly over there and stay! Hell, I'll live there. Or how about instead I just have the same house, boyfriend, puppy, and cats I have now...just no part time job?? That would be super, thanks!

Times They Are a Changin'

That they are Bob Dylan, that they are...

As you may know, lately I've been feeling a bit discontented. At first I thought it was a variety of things all going wrong at once, but now I realize that that is not true. You see, I know I have amazing people in my life who love me and who I'm lucky enough to get to love in return. I've got an amazing house, a great day job that I love and the most wonderful boyfriend a girl could ever ask for! No, these aren't my problems...in fact, they are the only things keeping me sane half the time. I believe my distress lately has been caused by one thing and one thing only...my part time job. Now, in a perfect world devoid of expensive college tuitions and student loan payments I could just quit this second job. I mean, let's face it, if those horrible things didn't exist in the first place then people like myself wouldn't need a second job. In fact, they'd only need one full time job to live comfortably. But, in case you haven't noticed, we do not live in a perfect world. Ce la vie.

So, what to do? Well, for the last couple months I've been doing the only thing I could think of...ignoring it! For the last 3 or 4 months I've been suppressing my growing distaste for my second job...the double standards, the emphasis on the unimportant, and de-emphasis on hard work and effort. With each day I've felt more and more under appreciated, and I know I'm not the only one! Going into work has become a blind jump into an array of emotions, from dread to anger, from sadness to exhaustion...and pretty much everything in between. It wasn't always like this, when I started there I loved it. It was fun, in its own way. Sure I had to do dishes and scrub toilets, but the people were great and I got to make drinks. Now it's become a political bitchfest of rules and regulations that seem to get more stringent by the day, yet they only apply to some people. And instead of happy or content, I'm starting to feel used. And that's no good!

What's the solution? Hmm, that's a tricky one. So far, all I can think of is get a new part time job. So, I've started the process of updating my resume and trying to find a part time job that won't make me so miserable. We'll see how it goes! Please, send happy thoughts my way! And trust me, I'll return the favor!