Christmastime

Can't wait to hang with my fam, eat all day and not work!! I'm as amped up as my pre-lit tree right before it glowed (glew?) with a thousand watts and melted my eyes earlier today. The eye melting was followed by half of the bulbs burning out. It could be described as an electric FAIL. Thank goodness there's more to Christmas than lights, because half of mine are gone!

I'm also excited about Starbucks Christmas Blend, which we have been brewing in our French press, which I have been converted to believing in. I'm converting YOU to be the next believer. French press is the way to go, it yields a delicious brew! I'm not excited about Starbucks going PC and putting out the Holiday Blend. Which is exactly like the Christmas Blend, but silver, as in second place. It's causing me to be obnoxious and over Merry Christmas people. Which I totally mean if I've said it to you. I have abandoned saying Happy Holidays, even though it covers all the bases.

Anyway, Merry Christmas! And to all, a good night!

Until next time!!

Ps-ok fine...Happy Holidays. I love everyone...but mainly, Merry Christmas!

Elevator Etiquette 101

As verbalized by my husband, who apparently became more interested in that "blog thing" when he discovered that some people have sponsors and make money with said blog.....but I digress.....

Some people (to whom I am married) get all up in arms when co-building inhabitants cram themselves into the elevator and force said people to say "excuse me" when, clearly, they were the ones occupying the elevator in the first place and should be receiving the "excuse me".  According to the interview sample (to whom I am married) the annoyance is heightened particularly when exiting the elevator.  All the sample wants to do is leave work!  But all these inconsiderate co-building inhabitants crowding and flooding the elevator are blocking the exit and causing more un-deserved "excuse me"s.  I'm anticipating when, in the next few days, an Elevator Etiquette Handbook surfaces around the Sanchez Household...I mean, I could feel the passion shooting out the the sample's face during this whole discussion.

And it was breathtaking. 

One good thing about marriage is that it's entertaining.  Also?  I feel pretty lucky that I found someone who has almost the exact sense of humor as me.  Who is a good sport.  The above description is not meant in any way to make said sample sound like a jerk.  The sample humored me when I made him watch this ridiculous clip on YouTube about poltergeist pre-elevator rant this evening.  The sample also endures that horrible "situation" in the elevator day in and day out to help fund my shoe addiction.  (I hope the sample doesn't realize this.  Just kidding, sample, if you are reading this).

Also?  He forgives me when I accidentally click "like" on a horribly creepy breastfeeding picture on facebook of someone when perusing things through his profile on his iphone. 

What a great sport.  Cheers to you, husband!

Until next time...

PS-I promise to never again refer to my hubby as The Sample

Dibs on Depression

So, church was depressing tonight.  The message was something to the effect of "God heals some people, but we all die."  I realize that it's much deeper than that, and I appreciate the depth and like thinking about the circle of life, but hey, I feel like putting a pillow on my face and eating chocolate while laying in the floor and feeling bad that my main concern is how I'm going to decide if I either a)switch to all flats and purchase one new pair of jeans or b)buy two new pairs of jeans and some new heels while small children in other countries have legit concerns like finding a place to sleep so they aren't out in the cold or finding their next meal.  So, as an alternative to THAT lovely scenario, I got on facebook, and as a result, ended up googling "dibs" to make sure it was a word and that it was spelled correctly in my comments.  The depression gets deeper.  I'm about to watch The Wonder Years, but the only thing, the one slightly redeeming thing, the one thing about my evening that makes me know it's all going to be ok is that I have a loving husband to snuggle up to while I lament on the couch, that I will be able to make it home for Christmas, and that no matter how bad things seem, I don't have real worries because I have a job, a family and friends.

PS - We all know that the actual real thing that is giving me hope is my Pandora Christmas station, which I have been listening to all day.

Life Long Learning in Action

Whew...things I learned today:

1. Yoga can cause near death experiences. Don't, for one second, picture a zen experience. It was exactly the opposite.

2. Some people consider themselves to be Professional Bloggers. Did I miss orientation? Because, I can assure you, I would have chosen THAT major.

3. Some EVOO tastes like straight vodka. I know this because I cooked with it not too long ago and caused my husband to think he hated brussels sprouts more than he actually does.

4. Some bell peppers are purple. I know because I ended up with some on my receipt despite the fact that the Randal's checker claimed that "that code doesn't even exist." No, I wasn't at the self check out.

5. I'm allergic to mussels.

6. One way to enjoy "winter" in Houston is to steal your in-laws crackling fire DVD, which also plays Christmas music, and play it on a continuous loop while drinking homemade hot coco with the air conditioner cranked way down.

7. It's possible to read www.dooce.com for 3 hours in a row, hence the second revelation of the day.

8. Withdrawals, after experiencing an eating holiday, most definitely occur. My pseudo fried rice just doesn't measure up to green bean casserole or twice baked streusel sweet potatoes (the story of which are a post in itself...)

9. Hershey's hot coco recipe tastes excellent. I'm probably going to gain ten pounds creating the atmosphere as described in the sixth thing I learned today.

Hot chocolate is calling!

Later, lovelies!

PS-I'm planning on doing a thankful type post, but I'm not done reflecting yet...hahaha. Happy late Thanksgiving!

Countdown to Pumpkin Pie Begins

Me? Oh I'm just enjoying a nice cozy afternoon with the husband in our cozy, Falled-out apartment. Some days doing laundry and staying in seems nice. Especially as compared to going out into the dangerously wild unknown, also called HEB on the Sunday afternoon before Thanksgiving (where you may or may not back into someone who's also backing out in the parking lot, but not do very much damage to your car...). As long as I stay indoors with the AC I can pretend its crisp and cool outside. Maybe I'll crank it down a bit and get a little crazy and drink some hot coco.

I'm ridiculously excited about Thanksgiving and the baking it will involve. Tasks for the remainder of the day also include Christmas lists so shopping can commence, on Friday, of course. Nothing like proving that I've got a screw loose and heading out into the frenzy of the Friday after Thanksgiving shopping bonanza.

Christmas decor was due to come out today, but I'm going to wait a bit longer, suck it up and put it all out when we get back from the Thanksgiving Tour 2010.

Cheers!

'til next time.

A Stranger's Comfort

This is what I wrote Tuesday morning and saved rather than published:

"I don't want to live in the now, so I'm bathing in the past."

I found these words on a blog (while I was supposed to be working) haha....at my job that sounds legit, but what job really is? It's all titles and society's impression of things. All of it really means nothing. What means something are relationships. Not accomplishments or titles. But relationships can also become achievements....What it comes down to is the heart.

Anyway. This quote describes exactly how I feel right this very moment. How comforting to find someone that feels the exact same way as I do.

Tweeter

"For the uninitiated, here’s how Twitter works – I have no f***ing idea. I have no idea how it works – or why it is." Jon Stewart

So.....yeah.  I agree with this quote so I decided to set up a twitter account.  So far I have one follower, which I'm pretty sure is an ad scam thing.  I have three tweets?  So.....I'm not sure if me and twitter will get along.  I feel a little like a high school kid using it.  But I'm not really opposed to acting or feeling like an immature, emotionally crazed young person in any other facet of  my life.....so lets do this thing!

My mom on twitter:  It's a thing called twitter, and you post tweets.  Is it for birds?

Me on Twitter:  It's probably just another way for Big Brother to spy on us all.

My boss on Twitter:  Are you on that Tweeter thing?

Three cheers for birds, Gale Beggy-esque encounters with the internet and awkward experiments with social networking. 

My life has meaning.

Ciao!  Until next time!

Confessions of a Running Addict

Yesterday I finished Half Marathon numero dos! I was having visions of distress and failure prior to the race, mainly because I wasn't as diligent in my workouts as I was for the first one, but everything turned out ok! It was a really fun weekend spent with my fam and old friends!! I'm already planning for the Half in OKC next spring. It might be safe to say that I'm addicted.

Some motivations during the race included, but were not limited to:

1. Beating the girl who was running like Peoebe Buffay who kept passing me.

2. Getting away from Mr. Shorty-Shorts whose right cheek was eye-level and right in front of me 80% of the first 3 miles.

3. Making it to the next water station so I could eat my energy jelly beans, which taste like candy.

4. Getting to the finish line so I could eat some free food at the end!

I will confess that as I ran I picked out people who looked weak that I felt that I had to pass. I don't know what this says about me.......but I'm pretty sure that most of the people I got in front of at the beginning of the race passed me back around mile 11. Including shorty-shorts.

Mile 11 is the bad place where you start evaluating the meaning of your life. Its the place that you ask random fellow runners to push on your back. Mile 11 is the place where shins fall off. Mile 11 are the words that cause me to shudder and have nightmares. I'm so glad that I made it through mile 11.

Now I just need to concentrate on suffering through sore muscles. It's totally worth it. Why? Because I'm an addict!!

Until next time!

My Love!

I am waiting in anticipation for my beloved husband to return home from a business trip. What could be more perfect?! Dinner out, in the cool, crisp air. Time can't move fast enough!

So excited!! That's all I know in this moment.

Until next time!

Handy Advice

From the desk of Rachel Sanchez:

Guess what?! It's the return of.......WORK BLOGGING! I have only a few things to say so let's get right down to business. Shall we?

I came to the realization today that my resume is buckets and loads better than some people's, even though it lists sarcasm as a skill. Excuse me? The fact that you were homecoming queen should not be anywhere NEAR your resume. Just a handy tip for you. You know who you are.

I have reconciled my idea of fall to the cold hard fact that it just won't be happening in Houston, nor will any type of weather resembling anything crisp or chilly occur. This morning I received a voicemail from a dear friend indicating that there was a blizzard in the north where he lives. Salt in the wound, I tell you, salt in the wound....

A good read for you is The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. A good meal for you is anything fried or battered, dipped in a tasty sauce. A good meal for me falls in that category and shall be named sweet and sour chicken. I need some. Need. A good task for you? Skipping. And finally, a good purchase for you: new dress clothes. Dress for the job you want, not the job you have. Unless the job you want is with the postal service and you currently work a desk job with a private company. Only do that on Friday, then you can pass for an overly enthusiastic person who showed up to work dressed for Halloween.

Until next time!

Woops...

So, I skipped a day or thirty. Welcome back? I have been busy on the parade of jobs, which I think has finally come to an end. Whew! Most people that don't know me think I'm crazy, but the ones that do know me.......well, they KNOW I'm crazy! What's life without a little crazy flava flave?

The good news is that online shopping has commenced once more. I just bought a pair of running shoes for half the price I paid for the exact same pair I bought earlier this year. They were the lucky shoes I ran with in the April half. When I get them I predict that I'll wear them in hopes that karma remembers that I'm a good person and the shoes are lucky, in which case the fact that I've trained slim to none for the upcoming half becomes a moot point. (I think the most likely outcome of this little situation I describe will be flailing and hobbling about across a finish line in Dallas. But that remains to be seen. Luckily. (This brings me to a point: If you flail and hobble and no one sees you, it's like you neither flailed nor hobbled. Just like the tree falling in the woods that no one hears which makes no noise. Science....eerrr wait. Science disproves that one. Science, you do not give me hope for the upcoming hobble/flail situation...))

Well, I'm off to sell things online. This is a new one I haven't tried before. I need some income to fund the online shopping endeavor. Also? All the app buying. Including the "Damn it. My mom is on Facebook" filter. Thank you, SNL, for being spot on sometimes.

Until next time!

PS - Jokes aside, I'm pretty thankful for all the people in my life who are aware of my craziness and the parade of jobs and have gone through it with me. It's amazing how a crappy situation can reveal love and support of people in my life. I won't take any of them for granted and will be thanking God on a daily basis for each and every one of them!! Also, I will thank him for Amazon.com.

Tornadoes Are a North American Phenomenon

Or so Ben, my car guy, tells me. If hurricanes occurred in the southern hemisphere, they’d spin counter-clockwise.

Life is weird. I can pick up knowledge about random things in the strangest of places; learn from the most unexpected events. I can be exceedingly happy and grateful over something that can morph into my biggest source of stress. Living miles and miles away from my loved ones can make my heart ache but can also cause seeing family that much more sweet. Bad things happen to good people, and vice-versa. And no one understands, least of all me.

I guess there is a season for everything. I wish there wasn't. But that wouldn't make everything work the same way, would it?

Everything is made of peanut butter. I’m trusting that God knows what he’s doing.

Until next time…

PS-I’m still training for the half, I will be employed officially on Thursday, and I still have the same pair of sunglasses I got around Easter this year. I’m doing something right.

Take that, cosmos.

Cinnamon Toast

And by toast, I mean unidentifiable, charred remains of once fluffy bread.

Picture it: Smoke fills the air, a woman, cute hair, butter on her sweatshirt, briskly opens the silverware drawer, which also has butter in it. Cue smoke alarm. The oven opens. The woman's husband runs around the apartment, fanning the air with his snuggie. The blackened pieces of cinnamon toast find their rightful place in the trash can.

Yep. This may or may not have been my Saturday morning...Cooking adventures cease not!

Why yes. I do eat oatmeal out of a serving bowl.

Please note: I was not in anyway looking down on people who make bucket lists in my post yesterday. I just wanted to point out that merely having a list of things to do and doing them, does not accomplish true living. Setting goals pushes people toward their dreams, of which I am a huge advocate.

What are my goals, you ask. To never hear Harry Conic, Jr. sing again. The rest remain undisclosed. I'll let you know when I have achieved one. Let's start with one I achieved this morning: eat a large amount of oatmeal with pecans and brown sugar. Check!

Until next time!

The Un-Bucket List

Everyone seems to be making Bucket Lists. Don't get me wrong, I'm Planning Ahead's number one fan, but sitting down to do a list of things sort of takes the excitement out of it for me today. I started this post intending to write my bucket list, but it seemed lame. What matters to me is not hiking Mt. Everest, seeing the Great Wall, or surfing off the coast of Australia, which are all things that would have been on said Bucket List, except I reject Bucket Listing. I would, instead, like to wake up every day and be happy with what I have and who I have with me on this journey called life. I want to feel completely filled up with goodness because I have relationships with people and family and take note of the small things, where ever I am.

I contemplated writing a list of Things I Don't Want to Do Before I Die but that seemed sort of negative. We all know Karma is watching me, so I went ahead and deleted that. Also, mainly, it seemed hard to take seriously. Possibly because it contained items such as: clean the oven, do laundry, buy dairy from the HEB in College Station. (The bottom line is that I complain A LOT and probably have a permanent un-Buckety List running through my brain at all times, while many people in this world would be more than happy with my living conditions and in my shoes! I mean, I have a bad-ass collection of shoes, to be sure. This is what really matters in life....)

The Un-Bucket List could be the result of me perpetually wanting to not be like everyone else, damn the man, etc. Either that or I'm on to something. What I do know is that I went to get my hair cut at a funky salon in The Heights (with a vibe that, to me, says Tim Burton meets hair salon meets 100 scary mannequin heads.) I found in this place a guy getting his hair cut who has been traveling the world for 10 months. He's from Australia and is just out, traveling around. He hit up Europe and the came to the old US of A to visit some family. How awesome is that?! I am willing to place a wager that he doesn't blog his bucket list - he is out LIVING and DOING. I aspire to be such.

So......Until next time!

I'll be blogging it up in approximately 10 months!

PS-Just kidding. The main point of the Un-Bucket List is that it doesn't matter where I am or what sights I'm seeing. This is very peanut-buttery and more relational for me. The Un-Bucket List Concept includes sightseeing, but doesn't have a foundation there. It most likely involves a bunch of break dancing and maybe surfing. And mainly people!

It's a Family Thing

Sarcastic humor has existed in my family for generations-A gift passed down to sons and daughters by loving parents. I take no responsibility for my actions. I merely am. I must own it. Work it. To do anything else would be an insult to my great grandfather.

Cheers, Papaw!

Goodbye, Books

Kindle, Nook and iPad: you are killing printed books. I shudder at the thought of not being able to hold a book, turn it's pages, let my tears fall on the print and dog-ear my stopping point. As my mom so simply stated, "part of the pleasure of reading is holding the book." Reading, which has been done the same way for a very long time, faces a huge makeover. Will it be the end of print as we know it?!

Am I the only one getting sentimental here? I also have a fond and extreme attachment to physical mail. Don't get me wrong, e-mail excites me just as much. However, I harbor resentment when e-mail activity interferes with the number of articles I receive in my actual mailbox. Laying eyes on a note someone wrote to me with their own hand just cannot be matched with impersonal black and white staring at me from a computer screen.

Does the efficiency of e-books and increasing accessibility of communication through email trump the feeling and experience brought on by physically holding a book and reading a hand-crafted note? I personally feel as though electronic everything makes all of the aforementioned impersonal, cold and depresses the hell out of me!

I confess, however, that I have yet to read using anything other than an actual book. As part of my research on this topic, I will need to obtain a Kindle, Nook or iPad. Quite possibly all three. Until the research is complete, I will hold on to my sentimental ways, clutching my book, newspaper and greeting cards while lounging on the couch reading from my Kindle.....the picture may not convey my point. I will be clutching the book, newspaper and greeting cards while reading from my Kindle but also, at the same time, saying, "Viva la books!" And then maybe switching to my iPad, which is also programmed to turn off my lights remotely. I will probably also use my laptop to blog and email, and also to read blogs and bank online. I may not need to use the iPad to turn off the lights because I may never have to leave the house. I can buy anything and everything online, such as books, clothes etc. and have them shipped right to my doorstep. Technology wins and effectively eliminates the need to interact with people, go to work or live out in the actual world, where the books are. Making these hypothetical purchases are the best thing that ever happened and will probably revolutionize my way of living.

Until next time!

PS-I don't think I will be able to stay home and use my iphone, laptop or Kindle to cut my hair. Whew. Glad I found that loophole. I guess I will need to keep buying real books after all.

Craziness aside, what I'm wondering is: Does the medium through which a person gains knoweldge, books, cards, newspaper vs. Kindle, e-mail, online etc., help determine how a person feels and what he or she takes away from the experience? Does it really matter how we get ideas, facts and information? Will print eventually die and does it matter?

Did someone plant things in my head electronically while I was checking my email? Or while I was asleep? Should I have watched Inception?

I Win

I watched seven hours of America's Next Top Model today. SEVEN HOURS. And I've been awake since 2am. Why? You ask. Because I jolted awake and then watched infomercials about Zoomba and the movie Up. Up is the reason I didn't go back to sleep. It sucked me in, plus made me cry. I like to watch children's movies. I have no shame. Things started seeing freakishly clear around 6pm today. But now that it's 8pm, not so clear. Lack of sleep? Lack of general concern? I'm out to run a bit, seeing as I've run a grand total of none this week.

Some people may look at my past two crazy days and think that I lost. I started the day yesterday with three potential and probable job offers and ended with none. I look at them and think that I won. In the long run I have been spared the agony of working in a truly unprofessional and unpleasant atmosphere, and that counts for a lot. Also? How many people can say that they have lost three jobs in one day? I win. I'll add that to my resume.


Furthermore, my day this morning started with a stakeout. I can't give you anymore details than that. Just picture Jerry Seinfeld and George Costanza spying on someone in a really inconspicuous way. I'll give you one guess as to who was playing George this morning. (Me. The paranoia is back....you know. The paranoia where the I'm George and my life is Seinfeld) Doing the stake out was quite amusing and informative, in a totally non-creepy, stalking way. Win again.

Don't worry. I'll keep my ear to the grindstone, as Ben Afleck so eloquently put it in one of my all-time favorite moves, Good Will Hunting. By that I mean, I may do some fictional writing posts later. or not. Either way, you can anticipate what's next, and, regardless*, I win. Please take note, masses: irregardless isn't a word. (not to indicate that I think I'm being followed on this thing by the masses.)

Until then!

PS-Apparently irregardless is a word, according to spellcheck, who wanted to change Zoomba to Zambia, which would have probably made for a much more interesting infomercial.

*Maybe I should clarify that irregardless shouldn't be used here, rather than saying it's not a word. Maybe it is a word. I can't think of any time it would be of acceptable use. I don't know much about grammar. I'll ask my cute little English Majoring sister.

An Old Friend Visits

Yesterday morning I woke up to find my closet door wide open. This may not seem like a big deal to you, but I'm very weird about sleeping with the closet door open. Meaning: I just don't do it. Call me crazy, but there is just something eerie about sleeping with the closet door wide open, you know, because anything could be in there! And it certainly isn't just shoes, clothes or belts. Also, what is possibly more eerie than the closet door being wide open, is turning out the bedroom light only to find that the closet door is shut, but THE LIGHT IN THE CLOSET IS ON! Not only is it on, it's on in a weird, science fiction, spaceship way.

Maybe it's a good thing that I don't watch scary movies.

I usually blame this sort of weird thing on Attic Man, who seems to have visited our new place. While he was here he also got our floor pretty dusty and left a few dishes in the sink. No to mention, put a WHOLE LOAD OF CLOTHES IN THE FLOOR OF MY BEDROOM.

It's not over yet, Attic Man.

Until next time.

I Heart Breakfast Tacos

For real. They make me think deeply. Or maybe they were drugged.

Everything can change in a breath and life is fleeting. These are the truths I'm rediscovering through the crazy ride of moving to Houston. When concentrating on these ideas, I swear to myself that I'll never take things for granted, especially the small things, and I'll think positively. It's just not as easy to be funny when taking it seriously, y'all!! I'll find a balance, don't worry.

There a few things I need to address: this is day 1.5 of living like I'm broke, day 9 of half marathon training, and Netflix finally got wise and came out with an app which will revolutionize my life. Maybe not, but seriously, it's birth was long overdue.

Today was the first day that I walked out side and felt relief and an overall zen feeling. It Was either because it was about 10 degrees cooler or because something big is about to happen. Maybe something big already did happen, when I got two of the most delicious breakfast tacos this morning. And honestly? If that were it, I'd be content.

Until next time!!

Mary Tyler Moore, Please Call Extension 2404

I just ate some bad ass food prepared by my friend, I have two interviews next week, ( "Why am I excited about interviews if I seem to be employed?" you ask. Well, I'm employed as a temp, a temp receptionist, to be exact. I'm temping at a place that someone might call down to reception and ask me to page God, because everyone is a hilarious jokester like that. Ha freaking HA! And there is so much going on, I'd probably page God. But that's due in part to my unshakable work ethic. Either that or my need to play along with jokes. Usually I'm the one on that side of the jokes. Maybe this is a lesson from the cosmos to stop joking with people. It's just really hard to say at this point. Plus, the cosmos is kind of sneaky. (Side point: I am making an effort to actually have and live like I have a decent work ethic. Don't get me wrong, I haven't exactly taken advantage of my employers in the past. I have just done things like emailed excessively, which is just a matter of opinion, and work blogged, which could technically be furthering my potential writing career.....things really become grey that were once black and white if you dissect them enough. It seems like it should work the other way around.....)) I received an awesome care package from my MOM today, which included fancy paperclips (shout out to those of you who share my love of OFFICE SUPPLIES!!) a shirt, mechanical pencils, fruit snacks and a Starbucks card!!! Don't be fooled, I'm 25.

I don't know what could go better with this day. I really don't! I've been needing one of these days, and HERE IT IS! Refreshing. The world isn't out to get me after all, and the Man isn't getting me down, not for now, anyway.

Cheers!!! Until next time!

PS-I really don't know how this post could possibly be considered to be grammatically correct, seeing as the majority of it was a parenthetical side note and/or in parenthesis and/or a side note. Annnnnnnd it just got worse.

Welcome to the Year 2010

No kidding, y'all. I just made a deposit into my bank account with my iPhone while in my dining room. At home. AT. HOME. It's magic. Magic, I tell you.

PS- Wednesday WAS my lucky day. I got a job that day, which I went to today. Posts will no longer include lamentations about being unemployed. Rather, they will include lamentations about being employed. Such is the way of the world.

PPS-it's not a teaching job. But I'm ok with that. I have my whole life to teach. Don't worry, I won't let the dream die. Also, there are probably some school districts around that have restraining orders out for me due to my excessive contacts via phone, email and in person.

Until next time!!

Check and Done

Oh, and my apologies for beginning two posts in a row with "day one of......" Tomorrow will be day two of training and still day one of living like I'm going broke. Why still day one you ask? Because that's whats before day two.

Later!

Lucky For You, I'm Unemployed

Day one of the half marathon training has found me! Hello there, day one. I feel as though you signify something lucky. I'm not sure where I get these ideas, but I have a lot of them right now. For example, I found one particular school in Houston that I find appealing. I've convinced myself that I will teach there. Also that they will call me today. It's like the scene in American Beauty when the mom is pep talking herself about selling the house TODAY. I picture myself being less of a tool than her, though. Hopefully.

I really do hope that today is lucky because I definitely shaved with a totally rusty razor this morning. I'll probably get tetanus. I looked in the lucky day handbook and it said that wasn't allowed. Read the handbook, day one of half marathon training. Don't break the rules on me.

Outlook for the day: good, if not lucky. Chance of baking a chocolate cake: 80%. Chance of me posting the clip from American Beauty for you later: 50%.

Until next time!

Day One

Day one of living like I'm going broke. I'm on my way to buying a paper so I can get some COUPONS! I'm excited and I'll keep you posted on the tricks of the trade as I discover them. This is a game; one that I'm going to win.

Until next time!

Falling

I'm about two years into a romance with Fall, and my feelings are just getting stronger!! I'm anticipating color changes, crisp mornings and pumpkin spice lattes. I'll never stop falling for Fall. And no matter where I live, I'll never stop buying jackets.

Until next time!

Please Don't Ever Meet Bill

Netflix is a fabulous idea. Cheap and easy, also fun. It's perfect for people who live to get mail. (that was a typo. But it works. I both live and love to get mail! Also, it's intriguing that those words are somewhat interchangeable...) Not only is it exciting to open your mailbox and find a piece of mail waiting, but THIS piece of mail keeps you entertained for two hours. The genius who thought of mailing DVDs should be rewarded, probably with chocolate cake. (We should combine these ideas, the mailing and the chocolate cake, and make our own small fortune. Not only can you get your every movie need via mail, but also baked goods!! This is part of my utopia. Nothing could be more perfect!)

Well, I use the wonder that is Netflix (they should pay me for advertising) on a regular basis. What's funny about it, though, is the ease at which I can find movies to rent. Not only good ones, but really bad ones as well. Take last night for example. We endured two hours of the movie Meet Bill, a movie with the message that if you are unhappy with your life, all you need to do is lose weight, dye your hair, make your spouse jealous, quit your job, and smoke some pot and voilà! You have redeemed yourself and your life. (So many people think the key to happiness has to do with self, which is somewhat true, but a major part of "happiness" has to to with others and is completely relational, yes?) Why, you ask, did I EVER think a movie with Aaron Eckhart co-starring Jessica Alba would be a worthwhile flick.....I have no good answer for you. Lapse in judgement? Temporary blindness? Mis-click of the mouse?

Well, consider this your warning against said movie. Also, consider this your encouragement to get Netflix. Also? Eat chocolate cake. I'm now taking orders. Leave your address.

Until next time!

It Saves the Day

Current status is cozied with book and chocolate milk. Good day to you. I may not move from this location until I've read it all. Done.

Until next time.

War: Revised

This is the post I wrote earlier today:

"This is the war on unemployment, the war on fat and the war on out-of-shapeness. Things are about to get serious. Free is an even bigger oxymoron today than it was yesterday."

But then I saved it rather than posting it because I'm pretty sure I can be classified as a cop-out because the very next post would most likely be about this so-called war actually starting tomorrow. So when I realized this I felt sorry for myself, because I'm lazy? The reason can't be pinpointed. So then I sulked and luckily read some good blog-work, mainly on a blog about women who post under the topic "I am Enough."

Here's the deal. Society can rule our thoughts and feelings of self worth. Society: You must be thin, you must get a 4 year degree, you must dress like you care, you must get a job and have a 5 year plan, you must have kids by a certain age, you must read The Gold Coast....wait. That last one was me, not society. You must eat cookies.......me again.

But seriously, I feel that if I'm not using my 4 year degree and using it at a job, that I actually have, I am ultimately a failure. But it hit me just now that this may not be true. What I need to figure out is my purpose, whether or not it has to do with a job, and do that. God put me here for a specific reason, maybe just to touch others lives with encouragement (sarcastic encouragement...that's an oxymoron?), maybe just to blog or eat southwest cheese enchiladas at Chuy's, maybe to be a mom. Whatever he had in mind....I am enough. And I need to believe it with every fiber of my being.

Cheers, to everything being made of peanut butter, and me being enough.

Until next time...

PS-This depressing/enlightening attitude might be due to the fact that I keep hearing the song Mad World over and over. It's stuck in my head. It's taking over my life. I literally hear it EVERY time I get in the car....or that God is trying to make a point. Probably the second one.

Other PS-I'm listening to the original Tears for Fears version circa 1982 and cracking up. Partially because Matt's dancing to it. Partially because it makes me feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone.

Yet Another PS-I am recalling some very good advice that a very wise woman gave me once. She told me that half our problems resulted from focusing on ourselves. She told me that I could start solving things by focusing on others, and not on myself; that I needed to find a way to help others. Maybe I should take this advice again.

Free is an Oxymoron

Free time is awesome! So great that I love it almost as much as my cargo pants. I'm free to do whatever I want. Not having a job is the best thing that's ever happened. Right??

I'll let you be the judge. So far today I:

Googled "how to make money on a blog"

Read a book

Learned more about staging

Ate a cupcake

Considered writing a blog about silence being deafening, drew the shades and lit some candles...just kidding. About the shades and candles anyway...

At least I overcame the feeling of obligation I have to my floors as far as sweeping goes. They are now free to relish the time they have with dust, junk and yesterday's dinner.

Free is clearly an oxymoron and sarcasm is obviously one of my strengths, which I'll update on my resume, pronto.

Until next time, when I'll have a job...you may not be hearing from me for a while. I have a lot to add to my resume.

Fun-ish in the Sun

So, I went to lay out, and did so for approximately 8 minutes, then returned indoors where is is blissfully cool. Now I'm cozied up with my book. Well, i say "my" book...I purchased the new Nelson Demille book for my dad for father's day but seem to already have borrowed it.



What a nice, speed-reading dad!

I'm off to enjoy being a non-working person. Sounds much nicer than being an unemployed person, right?

Until next time!

Technology...

As you see from yesterday's post, I have so much to learn about using an iPhone...clearly it's a good thing that I have endless amounts of time to both work on being a good person and snack, watch daytime television, and read. I should allocate some time to learning to adequately use my phone.

Yesterday, after two trips to Target and a pair of broken sunglasses later, I had exactly what I had started out with: no frame to fit the panoramic picture that I bought Matt for his birthday. You can only guess what I did to remedy the problem by taking a gander at yesterday's post.

I have a lot on my agenda today, as I'm currently reading four books and need to watch last night's Bachelorette. I've already been exceedingly productive today as I've:

Done my bible study
Eaten breakfast
Caught up on my blog reading
Washed clothes
Purchased an awesome app for finding the best deals on items by scanning the barcode
AND learned to blog on my phone

How will I ever have another day so productive?? This has all been done before 10!!

It's probably because I didn't waste time making my bed. Don't tell my mother.

Until next time!

Solution: Milkshake

Just Call Me Char*

Happy Sunday.

Karma might owe me because I was keeping score today:

I went to church. One point. I skimmed the junk off the community pool. One point. I baked an apple pie for husband. One point. I didn't work out. Probably a point for mental health. But I'll omit that one. I noticed the amount of points I was earning. Minus a point. I read things online and laughed out loud. This doesn't have an effect on the points, but it's a mildly amusing detail I included for your enjoyment. I want to eat the first piece of pie I baked for husband. Minus a point. Finally, I blogged. One point. Maybe? I'm either one or two points ahead. I would like to cash in these points and apply them to the discovery of a job. Thanks!

I got an iPhone and have spent a LOT of hours playing words with friends. This coincides nicely with the fact that I'm unemployed. I've also been building ideas for the non-existent book I'm going to write. Did I mention that I'm unemployed? I say the book is non-existent, but it might become existent because my sister is going to write it. I'm informed that we are going to be the Bronte sisters, modernized. Seeing as I have no knowledge of classics or writers thereof, I believe it will be like the Bronte sisters, Katie being the writer, me being the other one, not quite on spot, thinking that Heathcliff is the subject of a comic strip. Or hoping that it's candy. Probably the second. I may have just lost all my points mentioned in the previous paragraph. *(Since we're going with the Bronte Sisters, modernized, you should probably call me Cher and not Char, short for Charlotte, now Cherlette in the modern version.)

I gained a point back because I spent so much time blogging that Matt finished his supper and now we are going to eat pie simultaneously. Also? We're going to watch There Will Be Blood. I get two points for enduring that.

I win. Maybe. We'll see how many interviews I don't get this week.

Reminder: Everything is made of peanut butter.

Until next time!!

I'm Awesome: Confirmed

I just made curtains. No, not with a sewing machine. No, I didn't buy any fabric. Yes, yes I made curtains out of a sheet and safety pins. What now?! What!!

9 Updates on RC

Updates include, but are not limited to:

1. Wrinkle guard still plagues me.

2. I still cook in haphazard ways.

3. I'm still unemployed and think that if I were to take a "Which Character on Seinfield Are You?" quiz the results would show I was most like George.

4. I still live in Houston. Where hurricanes head, evidently. With my dear hubby. Who is being the sole breadwinner in this household. Three cheers for housewives!!!

5. I'm still shamelessly addicted to The Bachelorette, even though most everyone on the show is a m-o-r-o-n.

6. I still contemplate the irony of realizing how much I loved a job after I leave it. Talk about needing to realize and appreciate what you have when you have it.

7. I don't blog very much anymore. Maybe it's because I.......am lazy on the couch only. No writing. Or reading. Just laying there. Listening to the wrinkle guard alarm.

8. I still need ice cream. However, I've been informed that my husband no longer eats ice cream on the week days. What??

9. I still look forward to each and every time I will get to spend time with my family. Which is this weekend!!

Until next time!

Shorty Shorts

A lot of people frequent Memorial Park who live in Houston. A lot of people realize that I'm an impostor runner. A lot of people are probably going to be annoyed when I start yelling "HEY! Running man who just flew by me! GIVE ME BACK MY SHORTY SHORTS! Because I'm pretty sure you raided my closet before you came to run! But you only took my shorts, no shirts. Maybe you should have re-thought that!" Actually, it'll probably not include all of that, seeing as I'm typically out of breath at Memorial Park. It will be more like "HEY! Running man, give me back my shorts!" This may or may not give the wrong idea about what's actually going on.

I have a lot of problems stemming from Memorial Park. Not only do I leave slightly traumatized at the sights, but also half dead and in a rage because of the Houston humidity. To add, it seems that the high school cross country over achievers who are too young to know what is sensible have been running laps around me. I was very close to stopping and drinking from their large, very cool and insulated jug of water. I think they probably owe it to me after all they put me though with the lapping and quick running.

In other news, today is my mom's birthday! The June Holiday Madness has ensued (which includes my mom's, sister's and my birthdays and father's day - it's like alternate Christmas!). I'm most definitely still celebrating my birthday and enjoying my birthday bouquet while contemplating the importance of celebrating loved ones on their special days. I love knowing that someone thought of me on my day, and want to do the same for the important people in my life! Plus, getting and giving presents might be on the top of my list of favorite things.

Cheers to holidays!

Until next time!!

Downpour

There is nothing like a summer shower. I'm currently sitting out on my balcony, in the middle of a downpour. (Don't worry, it's covered. I know I don't have an abundance of sense sometimes, but you have to have a little more faith than that...) I love a good rain, when it saturates everything, renewing and replenishing life and washing away old grime. The best thing out of a good rain is probably cooler, more crisp air. (Cool er. The air will never be cool in Houston. I need to come to terms with that.....)

Don't even get me started on how much I adore thunder. Love. It. Especially rolling thunder.

However, sometimes you can have too much of a good thing. Water sustains life, but it is also a powerful force that takes it away. My thoughts are with those suffering from the recent flash flooding in Oklahoma and Arkansas.

Ironic that something life can't go on without also has the ability to end it.

'Til next time...

Mi Cumpleaños

So.......I get uber worked up and excited about my birthday because I'm roughly 5 years old at heart. The usual goal when this time of year rolls around is to milk it as much as possible, draw out the celebrations as long as possible. On a good year, I won't have to make my own bed or fix my own meals for at least three days. Disgusting, I know. But so great.

I felt different about it this year, though. It probably has something to do with the fact that I'm turning 25. That pretty much seals the deal on adulthood, seeing as 25 is half of 50. (I guess it could also mean that I have 25 years experience being awesome? or not awesome. either one.)

Lucky for me, I found that there is a woman who may or may not, in fact, be 157 years old. I have a good 130 years to go! Maybe in this time I can figure out how to spend less on my Starbucks drink than my grocery bill. I'm not kidding, this happened today. My coffee was more than my grocery bill. I did only buy two ears of corn, broccoli and a loaf of bread...but really? That's half of a meal. So ridiculous. But, don't even THINK I'm not stopping with the coffee drinks. Can't. Stop.

Maybe in the next 130 years Starbucks prices will go down, then I'll reminisce with the kids in my neighborhood in the year 2140 about how much more expensive coffee drinks used to be.

Until next time!

PS-Spellcheck needs to link up with urban dictionary. Uber is a word. Maybe it's German in origin, but it became adopted into English slang in the mid 1980's, thanks to the Dead Kennedys. I anticipate the giant leaps forward spellcheck will make in my lifetime. Spellcheck, you have 130 years.

Houston Adventure Begins

With a little car trouble, the excitement of a new apartment, new furniture, the Houston Adventure begins.

With my parents driving around and around i610, new neighbors, Matt's new job, the Houston Adventure begins.

With a job search, a brief vacation and hopes of finding a new church, the Houston Adventure begins.

It's easy to be discouraged when something is ending and something completely foreign and unknown is starting. However, the reality is that there is just as much opportunity for something great to happen. When I first moved to Texas, I was not enthusiastic, to say the least. Looking back, though, I had some great times, met some wonderful people and learned a lot about myself. It was hard on my marriage at times, but what's great about hard times is that good times always follow and not only are they good, but they are sprinkled with new wisdom and enthusiasm, strengthened love and appreciation for those around me. I'm lucky to have such a dedicated, hard working and loving husband to share all my adventures with, especially the Houston Adventure!

I will never prefer being so far from my family, but I have found that I still keep in touch with them, even when I haven't seen them in the last week, month or few months. I remain hopeful for and anticipate the day that we will be closer, the day my child will only have to travel a few hours or minutes to go to Aunt Katie's house or Lil' B's. (ok, Lil' B has an explanation behind it. Basically, my Dad one day says "Your kids can call me G-Daddy." Which of course led my entire family to immediately start throwing out ridiculous gangster names for my mom. After much deliberation, we arrived at Lil' B. She refuses to admit that we are funny, and will only say that she's NOT signing any grandchildren's graduation cards as "Lil' B". Clearly, she's in denial.).

I'll stop with the inspirational speech now. I have important things to do. Job search, read.........paint my nails.......um all really important.

To the Houston Adventure! Cheers!

Until next time.

Make It Rain, Make It Shower

"Into each life some rain must fall, some days must be dark and dreary." - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

As I lay on the couch (remember, I'm banned from saying lounge on the couch, which is really more what I'm doing...) I'm listening to the thunder roll in. It's very dreary outside, which is indicative of my mood. Sometimes it's just nice to marinate in a good storm.

Moving is bittersweet. It creates a totally new, blank slate, waiting for me to write on it. At the same time, it creates a totally new, blank slate, with nothing on it. At all. And maybe I'm about to draw some cartoons on it.

Moving has brought a whole new set of adventures into the Sanchez household, which shall be chronicled in later posts. Most of them have been humorous; some have been frustrating. Be prepared for some of them to have Gale Beggy appearances. By Gale Beggy, I mean my loving mother. She and my dad came to visit this weekend. These are my parents who learned all about new technology and were even beating me at it. You'd think a drive into Houston would be cake right? Wrong. So wrong, I don't even know how to begin. So I'm not going to. You'll have to read next time for that Houston Adventure.

Sorry to leave you hanging, but I have storms to marinate in, blogs to read, and placemats to iron. I mean. I totally don't iron my placemats. Only if they need to be ironed. I mean, who irons their placemats? I clearly have enough to do and don't have a need for a job.

Until next time!

PS - Spellcheck told me "place mat" was two words. I disagree, spellcheck. I'm leaving it as one word. If spellcheck ever came to dine with me, I would give him a completely wrinkly placemat because of all the confusion he has caused me.

How......Lovely

After two weeks of relaxing (by relaxing, I mean not going to work. It included some actual relaxing and traveling around Texas for an excellent few days. But it also included packing, moving, unpacking, organizing, car repair, husband's graduation...), all I want to do is relax more! And maybe dance. Both of these things would be acceptable.

I went to a beautiful wedding this past weekend. Going to weddings is one of my favorite things. What a celebration of love - primarily the love of the bride and groom, but also of their family, friends and loved ones. Weddings symbolize new and exciting beginnings. It's all very inspiring!

"To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable."

— C.S. Lewis (The Four Loves)

Love is risky, but so worth it! I don't just mean romantic love, but all kinds. Moving has made me realize how important relationships are, both with my family and friends. I will go forth in my new city with love!

Also, here is one of my favorite ee cummings poems, which is about love.

Bring it on, Houston.

Until next time!!

Wrinkle Guard is plaguing me!

Wrinkle guard is ruining my life. On the new dryer we purchased (I'm a real adult now. I'm excited about the size of my new dryer. I mean, really excited.) a horrible alarm type sound will go off every 2 minutes if I don't go get the clothes out of the dryer! AHH!! No time to post. Only time to fight off wrinkle guard by doing laundry!

I need an alarm to make me clean the bathroom and go to the grocery store. This wrinkle guard situation seems to be the only thing that will set me in motion.

Until next time!

On To The Next One

I have been packing! Packing up things, my life, our memories! It's pretty symbolic, really. Here's to new beginnings!

I leave you with an old-school classic: Closing Time by Semisonic Cheers!

Closing time - time for you to go out, go out into the world.
Closing time - turn the lights up over every boy and every girl.
Closing time - one last call for alcohol, so finish your whiskey or beer.
Closing time - you don't have to go home but you can't stay here.

I know who I want to take me home.
I know who I want to take me home.
I know who I want to take me home.
Take me home...

Closing time - time for you to go back to the places you will be from.
Closing time - this room won't be open 'til your brothers or you sisters
come.
So gather up your jackets, and move it to the exits - I hope you have found
a
friend.
Closing time - every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.

Yeah, I know who I want to take me home.
I know who I want to take me home.
I know who I want to take me home.
Take me home...

Closing time - time for you to go back to the places you will be from...

I know who I want to take me home.
I know who I want to take me home.
I know who I want to take me home.
Take me home...

Closing time - every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end...

Until next time!

Fun Times

I will admit that I had an incredibly fun weekend....I'm pretty sad that it's over. When I say pretty sad, I mean sad like Marley and Me sad.

The Em Dash

This morning I Wikipedia-d (pretty sure there is a verb that means “looked up something on Wikipedia”….what I’m not sure about is how to spell that verb, or even what exactly that verb would be….) Em dash, or m dash, m-rule, etc., which “often demarcates a parenthetical thought or some similar interpolation, and stumbled upon one of the best sentences I’ve read in a while. Wikipedia proceeded to give me a quote from Nicholas Baker’s The Mezzanine:

“At that age I once stabbed my best friend, Fred, with a pair of pinking shears in the base of the neck, enraged because he had been given the comprehensive sixty-four-crayon Crayola box — including the gold and silver crayons — and would not let me look closely at the box to see how Crayola had stabilized the built-in crayon sharpener under the tiers of crayons.”

Thank. you. Wikipedia. You make my life complete. Also, thanks to Meg McBlogger for this. You add entertainment to my work day.

Back to work......um.....yes. Work. Back to that.

Until next time!

Cinco de Mayo

Best. Day. Ever. I can't help that I love this day. I always have. It started back when I got to miss class in high school because I was a member of Spanish club and hello! we definitely held a Cinco de Mayo Fiesta! Pinatas and all!!

Other reasons I love this day include but are not limited to:

enchiladas
siestas
sombreros
Corona and/or Dos Equis

I can't wait to see what tomorrow holds! The future seems bright at the Sanchez household, new jobs, new city, new things to do and places to go, hopefully places that enable me to accomplish the things I set out to do this year, including learning to break dance and also to ski and/or snowboard. My goals are lofty and unattainable, I know.

Also? So proud of my other half! He earned some awards at work today and will graduate from his grad program in one week from Friday. Not to mention he will start his job in Houston June 1. His hard work will enable me to blog so much this summer, lucky for YOU!

Furthermore, I can't wait to read some more in my totally uplifting book, The Bell Jar. It's a classic that I haven't read, and I decided it was about time. I'm only 15 pages in and honestly I'm not really sure what the book is about, other than a girl that has to go to shock therapy. We shall see!

Hasta la proxima!

Sometimes I get the phrase "Japanese Udon Noodle" stuck in my head

Powerful. Beautiful. Crazy. Random. Weird. Intense. All words I would use to describe human minds. Half the time I don't even know how to sort out everything that's going on in my head. Other times? I don't understand how blank my slate is up there. Freaking tabula rasa, back when it was unused in good old 1985. That may be due in large part to the fact that I'm pretty sure there were about 8 days in this day.

It's strange to me how my mind conjures up imagery and random things from the past during dreams. I mean, I remember thinking when I was a kid "what if dreams were real life, and real life was really our dream?" I was doomed from the beginning, you guys. (I'm mainly dreaming of Japanese Udon Noodles right now, though). Details that come up in my dreams are just strange, and I'm pretty sure there is underlying meaning there. I think I'm going to devote some Internet research time to dream meanings.

Only in dreams
We see what it means.
Reach out our hands.
Hold onto hers.
But when we wake
It's all been erased.
And so it seems
Only in dreams.

- Weezer

Short post, I know. But I'm a little ADD today. Adding more would be here and there. Until next time!

PS - It really bothers me when the blog post titles spill over onto the next line. I'll try to avoid that next time.

Additional PS - I don't have OCD.

If this list doesn't say SUCCESS, I don't know what does!

As of April 29, 2010, it is official: I successfully

1. Finished the Half Marathon. With my awesome running partner!




2. Finished the bag of chips left over from lunch.

3. Cleaned out my drawers in my bathroom in preparation for the big move to Houston.

4. Lounged on the couch for approximately 4 hours last night pondering what the heck I'll do job-wise once I arrive in Houston.

5. Lounged on the couch and ate sushi and drank wine while I pondered what the heck I'll do job-wise once I arrive in Houston.

6. Lounged on the couch and determined the best way to avoid getting a job again. Ever, after I move to Houston.

7. Determined the story line for my novel......while lounging on the couch.

8. Determined that I can never use the word lounged in another blog post. Ever. I met the quota by point number 5, but continued to overuse it after that. I'm almost there with "determined" but I'll stop myself.

9. Kept up with not only one, but TWO pair of sunglasses for over 4 weeks. I'm beating the cosmos.

10. Read approximately 500 blog posts while trying to avoid applying for jobs.

I'm off to............lay on the couch. Oh. Finish the work day first.

Until next time!

PS-I scored a cake at my going away party today that said "Damn the Man". Loved. it.

Where are all the voice mails?

Ohhhh, yesteryear. It seems like such a fuzzy, misty memory. So fuzzy, in fact, that I can't remember the name of the elementary school I attended in 3rd and 4th grade. Yes. Most people fondly remember their 3rd grade teacher and school and the positive impact the year had on their life. I, however, cannot remember either of my teachers' names or the name of my school.

Maybe this was during the time period when Big Brother erased my memory and brainwashed me into this society? Or maybe I just didn't care enough about school to remember? I do, however, distinctly remember the boy I had a crush on. You can see I've always had my priorities straight!

Wait, now that I'm hashing it out over the blog, My 4th grade teacher is coming back. Mrs. Riggs? She was an old lady and I did enjoy her class. (She let me sit by Daniel. I'll let you guess who that might be)

Some interesting questions surface:

Am I remembering correctly?
Just because I remember it that way, is it reality?
What is reality?
What makes the past me the same person as the present me? My memories? Because they are obviously failing. Other people's memories? Because I can't even trust my own memory, let alone someone else's.
Do I really exist?
Does this blog exist?
What is the Internet?
Where do they keep all the voice mails?
Where is Matt Miller when I need him? He probably has an answer to this.

Conclusion: Pictures. Take lots of pictures. Because maybe you can trust those.

Until next time! Maybe. If I exist.

A Poem

Here's a poem I found really interesting yesterday, but now that I'm returning to the post, I find it far less inspiring/amusing. So I have nothing to add to it. Lord Byron can stand alone:

She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all tat's best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellow'd to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.
One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impair'd the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o'er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.


And on that cheek, and o'er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!

Death by Butt

I love wearing sunglasses. Adore it. Nothing is better than going and picking out new shades and sporting them around town on a nice, breezy, sunny day. Or lounging around with them near any body of water, drinking margaritas, listening to great music and reminiscing with friends. While eating potato chips or other tasty treats.

I have had numerous pairs of sunglasses in my possession over the years. This is due in part to my inability to keep up with them. I never spend over $15 on a pair, because, let's face it: Me purchasing sunglasses is basically like throwing a $20 bill out the window, a $20 which protects my eyes from UV rays that is. This is also due in part(the larger part) to the fact that I frequently store my sunglasses in my driver's side seat in my car when I exit the vehicle.

One time I purchased the best pair of sunglasses EVER. I loved them. Great color, shape, everything - perfect tint shade. Pretty sure they were made for me. Within two weeks of the purchase, I pulled the storing-of-the-sunglasses-in-the-seat business and sat on them when I reentered the car. And broke them into pieces with my butt. NBD, just re-purchase right? Yes. That would be what I did, right before I repeated step 2 and broke that pair with my butt. I bought a third pair, and repeated the whole thing. I didn't repurchase that pair again. I thought it just wasn't meant to be.

Cosmos: 3 points
Rachel: 0 points

When I taught 3rd grade I quite frequently knocked stuff off kids' desks when walking around. With my butt.

Cosmos: 1 point
Rachel: 0 points

Yesterday when I went to HEB I was having a surprisingly successful shopping trip. It even seemed enjoyable. Produce was fresh, canned goods were easy to locate, and no one was involved in a homicide in the dairy section. I even scored a check out station with no line. What did I do to deserve such a wonderful experience?? Then I realized that a downpour was occurring outside.

Cosmos: 5 points
Rachel: still 0 points

I gathered all the groceries and forged onward to my car in the torrential rain, unloaded everything and even put my cart where it goes. Then, I realized that I left my sunglasses inside HEB. Ironic I know.

Cosmos: 1 point
Rachel............

I went back inside and seized the sunglasses.

Cosmos: 0 points
Rachel: 10 points

What is significant here is that these sunglasses have been in my possession since they were in my Easter basket from my mom (Did I mention that I'm turning 25 soon? Easter baskets are awesome and I'm pretty sure I'll get them until I'm a 70 year old woman - no complaints here! Actually, lets be honest. I bet that gets cut off as soon as children enter the picture. But I'm OK with that.) It was her reply to the trauma I experienced a mere two weeks prior, when yet another pair of sunglasses met their death by butt. This was particularly upsetting as I broke them into 3 pieces.

The current status on the sunglasses I rescued from HEB is good, in one piece, still being worn by me. That's one complete month.

Score Total
Cosmos: 10 points
Rachel: 10 points

Don't worry. I'll win this one.

Until next time!

PS -



You're welcome.

Me Being Happy

I'm on the thing about being happy, remember? There is too much that is awful going on in the world for me to be complaining about anything going on with me. Really, the things I consider major upsets include hangnails, bad hair days, time crunches, tickets and the like. Some people in this world have really terrible and hard things going on in their lives.

Happiness today looked like my favorite heels, beautiful weather, a clean apartment, and the mask husband brought back from New Orleans which I may or may not have been wearing around my apartment. Oh, also, I cooked a delicious supper, if I may say so myself. I will put the recipe on here, but I'm being lazy on the couch right now.

Also, I'm watching 500 Days of Summer. Again. I'm about to start a new book as well. I haven't been reading much lately, as far as a novel goes, anyway. I only have boring stuff so I'm calling it a night! Cheers!

Until next time!!

PS-Attic Man knocked down the hanging bar in my closet. He's unruly sometimes.

More Happiness

QTD Fake Out

So, I'm still in the business of finding things that make me happy. That includes, but is not limited to, my old poetry journal. Don't lie. Most of you had one back in the day, or in the current day. I love poetry, and I'm not ashamed to admit that I definitely spent some time writing what I thought was quality poetry during my high school days. Here is one of my favorites that I wrote back in high school when I thought I was all mysterious, deep thinking, emo and what not.

A long, dark hall
cold floor.
Doubt looms around the corner,
anxiety stands ominously in the door way.
Straining, reaching, trying to get
a piece.
Short, brisk steps slow
as a bulb of hope illuminates
the cold, hard corridor.
Unfamiliar wallpaper and tapestry
change and shift from eerie to comfortable,
dull to funny.
The two eyes at the end of the hallway become reassuring.
Instead of fearing the unknown,
knowing the unknown.
It's not new anymore.
Time passed.
I got to know the stranger.

While we are on the subject of happiness, I am about to drink some chocolate milk and be lazy on the couch.

In addition, it's T-minus two weeks until the half marathon. I'm stoked that I have been able to train and actually be sort of athletic for once in my life. It shows that once one puts her(saying "his or her" is cumbersome, but correct. So I just pick one and go with it. Naturally I pick "her.") mind to something, it really can be accomplished. I'm going to go all inspirational quote on you and leave you with one thought:

"I'm going to run a half-marathon." -Rachel Sandidge

I was going to find a good quote, but I decided that would cut into my chocolate milk/couch time. Soooooooo, that was sort of a trick. ish.

Until next time!!

What Makes Me Mad? THE WORLD

Everything is made of peanut butter, so I got this. Rather than blather on about whatever comes into my head, and believe me, there is a lot going on there, I'm going to post some pictures that make me happy. Because happy is a place I want to be. I was talking to my wise mother about this over the weekend, and she made a very good point. She told me that she keeps and takes note of things that make her feel good, so I shall follow suit.

Yes. I love the Fibonacci Sequence and am intrigued by reading about it. Yes, maybe I'm a nerd. Ask me if I care.

Challenge: Find something that makes you feel happy, and concentrate on it, and, if you aren't too careful, you'll be happy! I'm doing the challenge. All day. Everyday. I'll be freakishly happy all the time. Sunbeams will be radiating out of my face. Look out, world. You might make me mad, but I'll be breaking you down one happy/loving thought at a time.

Until next time!!

The Less Fortunate

Yesterday, after a hard day's work, I got ready to nearly sweat to death in the hardest track work out of my life (thanks to my running partner. Don't be tricked into thinking I can be self motivated into going outside and busting out an excruciating work out. Well, maybe. Chances are probably......eh, about 30%) (I'm truly happy that I have someone to be on this journey with me that will put up with my whininess. We are usually just plain hardcore, but during the off time of hardcoreness, I can lapse into serious whining. I'm working on it though. Really)

Anyway, after 1.5 hours of being hardcore (translation: 45 minutes of being hardcore, 45 minutes of being whiny), I lounged around in my car while my dear husband got out of class. Thank you, professor, for holding class late. Thank. You. While this situation would normally generate numerous "what are you doing?" "why is it taking so long?" texts, I was just grateful to be sitting around in the leisure of radio jams recovering from death. During this time I deduced I would not be partaking in that cooking dinner ritual. We all know that me cooking brings somewhat of a risk to the table, as you saw not too long ago, and I had already taken sufficient risks with the working out. So, the Sandidges decided on Chinese take-out.

We stopped by our favorite place on the way home and got our food. I made sure and got extra fortune cookies, a move karma apparently doesn't appreciate. After eating our delicious dinner, I excitedly cracked open what I sensed to be the most lucky of the four fortune cookies. And my fortune read:

You think no one cares if you are alive. Try missing a few car payments.

Excuse me? That was less fortune, more depression. I couldn't bear to crack open another, so I saved my other one for today. AND I just opened it. AND it would not fall into the category of fortune, but it wouldn't exactly fall into the category of depression either:

I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.

Clearly whoever wrote that is not aware that everyone has a different learning style, because that fortune doesn't apply to me. And that person, who appears to be a kinesthetic learner, didn't take notes on the day they talked about the meaning of the word fortune. I feel cheated. Doubly cheated. Plus, spell check continues to jack with my emotions.

Until next time!

Work Blogging: Take.....However Many We're On

So, I haven't blogged in almost a week but the cosmos is telling me to get cracking because I'm most definitely not abiding by the dress-code today and that automatically means WORK BLOGGING!

Sunday I get a picture text from my mom (I know, right?! My mom picture texts and regular texts, is on facebook, a topic that requires it's own post and lately my DAD has even been texting. How is it that my Father has a data plan on his cell and I still have the old phone with only texting capabilities?? I have never played words with friends or facebooked via i-phone.....how my heart aches...) Anyway, the picture text is of an old, giant tree in my parent's backyard. To a regular person, the text would just be of a tree, kind of ominous and old but just a tree.

I look at the text and almost start crying. It's the tree in my yard that used to be one part of the support for the fort my sister and I played in while growing up. My dad tore down the fort! Along with years of fun! All the time I spent up in the fort playing! And in middle school kissing boys......I mean........we totally stopped going up in the fort.

I'm heart broken! I'm pretty sure I'll spend some time this weekend, eyes glazed over, staring out the back window of my parent's house, longing for the friend that once stood proudly in the back yard. And the only thing that will fix it will be a giant, chocolaty glass of milk. I'll keep you posted. Literally.

Until next time!

PS - apparently texting and facebook are not words accepted by blogspot spell check. The world makes sense again........

Blogspot is not a word either..... spellcheck stop jacking with my emotions. How can you accept a word that looks completely screwed up like chocolaty

Additional PS - If I had an acceptable phone, I could put the picture text of the sad and lonely tree on here, but it's your lucky day and you get to stay depression free!

Follow-up on The Cinch

I have previously sworn by the classic Cinch move. It hasn't let me down in the past........that is until I was back in good ole OKC last week. Let me tell you, people there are not as receptive to The Cinch as they are down here in Texas. Maybe it's the humidity factor? I have seen fellow Cinchers here. They get me. We are connected by our affinity for un-humidified hair. We have meetings. I bring snacks. It's a brotherhood. Literally.

Let me move on and give you the background to this anecdote: I can't accurately capture how ridiculous things turn when one depends on a GPS. And said GPS has been left at home. I figured out I was GPS-less on my way home and tried to remedy the problem by stopping at a gas station to purchase a map. An actual map. A piece of paper. With a key. and a coordinate system. I'm pretty lucky that I attempted to teach third graders map skills in my recent past, otherwise I would have had a real problem on my hands.

Anyway, I pull over at the gas station and fill up my tank so as to consolidate all the stopping and be efficient. Bless my heart. I was trying to be efficient without a GPS, while using a regular map. This was largely due to the fact that I felt like the chances of me looking at the road map and memorizing it Jason Bourne style were close to 100%. I wouldn't have even needed the GPS if I hadn't been trying to meet one of my favorite people in Fort Worth at a Panera Bread, but this was necessary. And good grief - how hard can it be to read a road map?!

As I got out of the car, I took note of the cold, Oklahoma wind which was sweeping down the plains, and proceeded to cinch my hood. I pumped my gas and then got in my car, drove over to the gas station and parked next to some type of SUV with dark, tinted windows. I got out, with my hood still in position. I walked toward the sidewalk as I heard, through the cracked window of the SUV, "E.T. PHONE HOME!!"

Excuse me??

Yes. That's right. Someone was making fun of my Cinch move! Not only were they rude, they tried to be anonymous through their tinted windows!! This forced me into glaring at any and everyone in the gas station, because any one of those sorry jokers could have been the rude person making public jokes out of my attempt to preserve my styled hair.

This only fueled my determination to make it to Panera successfully. Which I did - not exactly as flawlessly or quickly as Jason Bourne would have. I might have asked a random sheriff for directions, but the only thing that matters is that I made it! Jason would have been proud, as would my fellow hood-cinchers.

PS-The road to being a good person didn't appear to be on the map of the Dallas/Fort Worth area. I'm hoping it will appear the next time I update my GPS. Which I now keep in my car at all times.

Other PS - I love Jason Bourne and everything about him partially because of the scene in The Bourne Identity when he helps Marie dye her hair and then kisses her with passion.

Until next time!!

Variations on Spaghetti

This is what happens when one multitasks while cooking dinner:



This is only a possibility if you are using a net-book in the kitchen, boiling spaghetti, cooking sauce, baking zucchini in the oven and slicing bread all at the same time. Efficient, right? Answer: yes - until you burn down the apartment.

Until next time!!

Boxes II

Items I uncovered during the box extravaganza 2010:

1. Old 5 X 7 of my middle school boyfriend, which is now waiting on my mom's nightstand in a giant frame. I would like to be a fly on the wall when she notices.

2. About 20 shirts I bought from the thrift store in the kid section that I used to wear in high school. What was I thinking??

3. Jeans, select pairs I couldn't bear to part with. Obviously because jnco jeans are hard to come by and are super gangster. What was I thinking?? Some legit ones were in the mix as well, including the jeans I painted with my girlfriends for senior night. Gotta save those for the kids to see later!

4. 4 mums I wore on homecoming. Super fun memories.

5. An interview I conducted for my health class in college. The person I selected to interview was my sister. And it was life changing. I'll include the transcript on a rainy day. It's entertaining to say the least.

6. Cards. Billions of cards I have kept throughout my childhood. I love receiving greeting cards, and will not throw them away. I have tons and tons of them. I'm going to be on the TLC show Hoarding: Buried Alive. The camera man will have to shovel out greeting cards just to make it in my doorway.

7. My favorite was looking at old pictures. Especially from middle school. Oh, it's crazy how things seem so cool and 15 years later....not so much. So much for foresight.

8. All of the items from my Philosophy class. It made me curse Matt Miller all over again. And that was amusing.

My work is done here. My belongings and memories now sit in a mini-storage, waiting. I'm not sure for what. Strange how things can mean so much and stir up such memories. It is just stuff, after all.

This lovely trip back to my hometown has allowed me to see many people I haven't seen in a long time. It's good to catch up with everyone and to think about all these people in Oklahoma who I love! My heart feels full and content to know what is going on with everyone. Love it. There's no place like home! Especially when mom cooks delicious food.

Until next time!!

Boxes I

Well, It's Monday and I'M NOT AT WORK. Because I'm 24 and still observe spring break. No, I'm out of school. But that's just how I roll. Yesterday was one of my favorite obscure holidays: Pi Day; second only to National Talk Like a Pirate Day.

I'm about to clean out 6 boxes of old items from my past. I'm sure it will be thought provoking. Thoughts mainly like "what the hell was I thinking on that??" "When/WHY did I ever wear that??" Hindsight is 20/20. I wish foresight was. There is probably more to come on this particular topic. This will probably be a day with two postings. But foresight is not 20/20. It is not even a real word. So stay tuned. I know you are on the edge of your seat regarding the question of the day: What do the boxes in my mom's den contain from my glorious high school days??

Later!

Introduction of Attic Man

Jeans today - You know what that means: WORK BLOGGING! Thursdays are my favorite day, and just can't be ruined with the restraints of dress pants. I know, I have set goals, which include wearing dress clothes to work Mon - Fri, but lets live a little. According to People: Style Watch, jeans are appropriate in the work place when paired appropriately.

I couldn't help myself, anyway. Club Closet was in full effect as I was getting ready for work this morning. If you aren't familiar with Club Closet, you are in for a treat. It includes one DJ (me) who is also the featured artist, two to three dancing fools (me, husband, and possibly attic man) and our small walk-in closet. We were rocking Lady Gaga. As a result of the atmosphere in said closet, People: Style Watch might tell me I didn't pair appropriately.....but I'm over it.

"Who is Attic Man?" you might ask. I think it's time for me to share about how I'm convinced that someone is living above my apartment in my attic: Attic Man. His existence is quite convenient for me. Let me give you some examples: Where did I put my keys? Attic Man! He must have moved them. Why is no laundry done: Attic Man! He hid the dirty clothes. Where is the remote control? Attic Man! He was probably watching MTV or BRAVO while I was at work, and left it somewhere weird. You get the picture.

When Attic Man's existence is not convenient for me, however, is when I'm at the apartment alone. Suddenly Attic Man turns really creepy and could come out of the attic access in the closet at any moment and take me up into his lair with him. And I don't even want to picture that creeper up in my attic, living in the dark.

Attic Man is pretty quiet for the most part and doesn't usually cause problems-just when he leaves the dishes on the counter or in the sink or drinks the rest of the milk. It's debatable as to whether or not these things are indeed Attic Man, or someone else that lives in my apartment with me..........One time, though, Attic Man caused the light fixture in my closet to mysteriously fall to the ground in the middle of the night one time. That was on the more creepy side of The Attic Man Saga, more of which I'll share later!

Viva Club Closet, featuring VIP Attic Man!!

Until next time!

Work Blogging III

The good morning quote I sent out today contradicts this post:

“Life is far too important a thing ever to talk seriously about.” – Oscar Wilde

Sorry Mr. Wilde, sometimes life needs to be talked about seriously. Even on a snarky blog. (Side note for you: my little sis and I were indeed looking up "snarky" in Urban Dictionary this morning....) If you aren't interested in reading about me contemplating the meaning of life, this is not for you.

Isn't life one big game of hide and seek? We seek out others to connect, yet they are hiding from us in their own game of hide and seek. It's beautiful when seekers collide and a moment is shared, a connection made; before the next round of hide and seek. My heart aches to seek through love and passion for people, at the same time longs to hide and be sought. I think some people are more seek than hide, but most people hide, waiting to be sought.

I have posted the lyrics to Imogen Heap's Hide and Seek. Such a picture of two people playing the hide and seek game. I'll leave you with the lyrics.....

Hide and Seek
by Imogen Heap

where are we?
what the hell is going on?
the dust has only just begun to form
crop circles in the carpet
sinking feeling

spin me round again
and rub my eyes,
this can't be happening
when busy streets a mess with people
would stop to hold their heads heavy

hide and seek
trains and sewing machines
all those years
they were here first

oily marks appear on walls
where pleasure moments hung before the takeover,
the sweeping insensitivity of this still life

hide and seek
trains and sewing machines (oh, you won't catch me around here)
blood and tears (hearts)
they were here first

Mmmm whatcha say,
Mmm that you only meant well?
well of course you did
Mmmm whatcha say,
Mmmm that it's all for the best?
of course it is
Mmmm whatcha say?
Mmmm that it's just what we need
you decided this
whatcha say?
Mmmm what did she say?

ransom notes keep falling out your mouth
mid-sweet talk, newspaper word cut outs
speak no feeling no I don't believe you
you don't care a bit,
you don't care a bit

(hide and seek)
ransom notes keep falling out your mouth
mid-sweet talk, newspaper word cut outs

(hide and seek)
speak no feeling no i don't believe you
you don't care a bit,
you don't care a (you don't care a) bit

(hide and seek)
oh no, you don't care a bit
oh no, you don't care a bit

(hide and seek)
oh no, you don't care a bit
you don't care a bit
you don't care a bit


Until next time......