(no subject)

• Wearing a huge puffy jacket that goes to your knees while wearing a skirt is worth it if its below 30 degrees out. Brrrrrr
• My new love: Tall americano with white chocolate mocha and room for cream
• No alcohol January is officially over!
• New book (Bittersweat: Thoughts on change, grace and learning the hard way) is on its way! The anticipation is too great. You know those books that change your life forever? Well, this one will... actually already has. Thank you Bethany! And I have to include an excerpt so you can maybe understand what I'm about to jump into (and and expect a ton of posts on this book): This collection is an ode to all things bittersweet, to life at the edges, a love letter to what change can do in us. This is what I've come to believe about change: it's good, in the way that childbirth is good, and heartbreak is good, and failure is good. By that I mean that it's incredibly painful, exponentially more so if you fight it, and also that is has the potential to open you up, to open life up, to deliver you right into the palm of God's hand, which is where you wanted to be all along, except that you were too busy pushing and pulling your life into exactly what you thought it should be. So, this is the work I'm doing now, and the work I invite you into: when life is sweet, say thank you and celebrate. And when life is bitter, say thank you and grow.
• Homeopathy... a bit unsure, but have to give it a shot! Please knee heal faster.
• Second Chances by Paper Route... great song
• Kiwi and blueberries are the best combination
• How do you find the perfect merino wool hoody? I've searched every online store. No one has what I want. In these moments I often wish I was a clothing designer.
• I need decorating ideas for my room. Its still too boring... almost like there's too much wall space.
• I'm going to be Chinese tonight and celebrate Lunar New Year... and eat tons of amazing chinese food. Yes!
• Oh and I need to do laundry. ASAP.
• And because I can never post anything without including a little substance (and by the way, this applies to everything): So, we might as well learn that our freedom to indulge must include the freedom to abstain - otherwise its not freedom at all. It's slavery. - Richard Dahlstrom

A little bit of craziness

• Life has been crazy busy this past week. At work, we had all our managers and MC's come into town. It was a lot of fun. But it has left me exhausted. Ok Monday, here we go.
• My work Christmas Party was this past Saturday. It was the best ever! We danced the night away... literally. I've never had so much fun with my coworkers before. Good job Northland!
• I love Christmas shopping. LOVE it. But, there's always going to be that one person who you can't seem to find the perfect gift for. Dad - no guarantees that you'll like whatever I end up getting you... because right now I basically have no ideas. Why are you so hard to shop for? Stop being soo practical.
• One of the best parts about the Christmas season is all the parties, dinners and celebrations with friends. I just LOVE it. It's totally a time to connect with the friends and family I love so much. It makes my heart oh so happy.
• And I'll leave you with this... I love the snow. I wish it would snow again soon. Like today. That's what I'm hoping for anyway.

Sometimes I wish my life was a musical

Not the Utensil

It was cold this morning. Like feels like 32 degrees cold. Brrr.... So, what did I do? Went to Cafe D'arte to grab a coffee. Shortly after I walked in and began my wait in line, the woman in front of me turned around and inquired:

"Have you ever been to Forks? I'm going to Forks in September of next year for two weeks. What do you think about Edward and Bella?"

Oh dear lord. I'm sorry people, but I hate Twilight. I was once forced to watch it by some old roommates... and it was the biggest waste of time of my life.

But this lady was passionate about Forks. I mean, it is November... and she already has it planned out in her head that a year from now, she'll be in Forks. Come on! So, I couldn't just stomp on her dreams. Instead, we talked about Forks for a good ten minutes and all the reasons why I should someday go... well, you are the first to know that I am a bad person. Yes, I promised that lady I would go someday... but I'm telling you, I lied. Feel free to throw some stones my way.

And I know you are sitting there wondering... so let me put you at ease... yes, she was wearing a Twilight sweatshirt.

-----

And i will leave you with this view from my bus stop this morning.

"Begin today. Declare outloud to the universe that you are willing to let go of struggle and eager to learn through joy." Sarah ban Breathnach

Three's Company

ONE

I walked past the downtown McDonalds on 2nd and Pine. The scene in front of me unfolded in fury. A man was yelling at a woman.

"Give me back my daughter! Bitch!"

The woman... "No you &*$#(*&" [too crass for this blog]

"I don't want your white boy taking care of my daughter bitch!! Give me back my daughter!!"

And the woman and man tried to get at each other. Hurt and anger poured on the sidewalk around them. Their respective friends tried, without success, to restrain them. And when the seattle cops came and broke up the scene, I felt myself wondering... who is this daughter? Who is this "white man" and why is he now in the picture? And why can't the real father see his daughter? Why is life so hard for some people and so easy for others? It just doesn't seem fair.

TWO

I don't profess to be a great cook and its a good thing I don't. You see, I put my leftover quesadilla in the toaster oven at my work. I turned it on to bake at 350 and returned to my office to complete an email. Literally like 6 minutes later, I walked down to get my quesadilla and my coworker is there panting. Apparently moments ago my quesadilla caused the toaster over to explode in flames and started a fire. She was walking by and quickly started dousing it out with water and reached success moments before I reached her. Black smoke billowed everywhere. I am SO thankful that the fire alarm didn't go off... even though our office and loby (six floors below) smelled like burnt grease for the rest of the day... and the next morning. Blah. Sooooo embarrassing. I have NO idea what happened. I'm claiming fault on the toaster oven... its got to have some issues. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

THREE

Halloween. Cowboy boots. Cowboy hat. Cap gun. Bandana. Stick horse. Leather vest. Money bag. Bandit running from the sheriff.

If that isn't awesome, I don't know what is.

In case you're wondering

• You know how they say that everyone gets pooped on by a bird once in their life? Well, my time almost came yesterday... lucky me, the bird needs a bit more target practice.
• I don't suggest ordering a grande vanilla latte in hopes that you won't drink as much coffee in the morning as you usually do. Let's just say the drip coffee downstairs is already calling my name.
• Everyone needs an exit plan for those catch-you-by-surprise moments in life that you'd rather be anywhere else right then. I'm still forming mine. I think it'll have to do with dogs, cardigans and cheesecake... yum, i love cheesecake.
• A conundrum. Not only a great word, but also when you love the early mornings where you see your breath and the sun is just coming up over the clouds and you think to yourself that life couldn't get any better... but then realize that you're shivering like a polar bear without fur because its freezing.
• When you're looking for a substitute to diet coke, make sure and read the label before you buy the product because if they both have the same ingredients, its not worth switching. Btw, what's worse? Sucralose or aspertame?
• The weekend plan. Laundry-ing, grocery shopping, cupcake decorating, clothes returning, yoga-ing, bathroom cleaning, friend hanging, bath and book reading, sleeping way in-ing, vino-ing... you know, a bunch of good times-ing.
• And in case you're wondering... yes, I'm a dork... which is a silly person and should not be confused with a whale penis.
• Happy Friday!