Hot and Cold

I'd say my summer is going well. For summer. I'm not a big fan. The bugs, the sweat. It would almost be okay if those things went away when the sun went down. But they don't. I went to work the other night and it was 86 degrees. And pitch black. Unreal. Thank goodness for the A/C.

I did the pool thing when I was younger, but now it's just not my thing. I'd rather hang out at a lake or the beach. But I don't do that either. There is a lake at a park about ten miles from our house but we've only been bicycling there.

That's another thing. I hate when it's too hot to ride bicycles or motorcycles. Nothing worse that sitting on a motorcycle, a black one for that matter, with the hot pavement beneath you.

I know, I know. After the winter we had, I shouldn't be complaining. Plus, I'm not even awake during the hottest part of the day, unless it's a weekend, so what I do I know? But I'd rather be comfortable. Cozy. And able to breathe.

I'm forgetting one thing. It may be in the 90s outside but it's pretty chilly at work. So I have to bundle up when I go in, then shed the layers when I come out. It's ridiculous. I prefer fall. And a cabin in the mountains. With a glass of wine in a hot tub. Hmmm. Time to make vacation plans.

Me Against the Music

I often wonder why I didn't pursue a career in music. I attribute it to the fact that they don't teach you the good stuff in school. This fact is portrayed perfectly in "The Runaways" when Joan Jett goes for guitar lessons. He wants to teach her "On Top of 'Ol Smoky" on acoustic guitar. She wants to plug in an amp and crank out "Smoke on the Water".

I could have joined the school band but I really wasn't interested in playing the clarinet or the tuba. Classical music wasn't my thing, and that's all I had heard the band play, besides pep rally material. I do remember getting to sing a few "popular" songs in junior high. It was in Mrs. Scherzinger's class: "Yesterday" by the Beatles and "Spinning Wheel" by Blood, Sweat and Tears. I was told I was a soprano so I felt like all I got to do was sing the high notes like an opera singer or choir member. All I was really did, all I've ever done, is imitate what I heard. I never learned how to read music. It seemed boring at the time and I guess I just didn't get it.

Before I go any further, let me make it clear that even though I enjoy a good karaoke bar, I do NOT think I'm a good singer. Never have. In fact, I cursed the fact that I wasn't given such a talent. How could I be so passionate about something and then not be any good at it? The first time I sang in public was my best friend's wedding in 2005. My dad later told me the bride was dancing in the crowd and mouthing the words right back to me. I'll never forget that.

My ultimate dream was to be a singer/songwriter. Even if my voice sucked, I still could have learned how to play guitar or piano and write songs. Went on to college and perfected my craft. But even in college, you're expected to have a basic knowledge of your subject before you start that journey. I didn't understand the dynamics of music, just that I loved it. Plus, you're supposed to invest in a career that's profitable. Unless you're any good, the music industry can eat you alive.

I've always enjoyed a variety of music: rock/country/pop/hiphop, etc. I like to say, "A good song is a good song is a good song." No matter what genre. But I always come back to Stevie Nicks as one of my biggest influences. If you looked up the definition of singer/songwriter in the dictionary (or did a Google search these days) you'd see her picture. Next month, I'll get to see her live in concert for the first time. I really can't believe it took me this long. Stevie's like one of my oldest and dearest friends who I still have a connection with even though we lost touch over the years. I may not listen to her music every day or even have all of her albums, but she's still so important to me. Not just her voice, but her lyrics. It's like she knew exactly how I felt. And she made me want to put my emotions into song, too.

I guess if I had wanted it bad enough, I would have pursued music as a profession. I suppose it's not too late. I could still take singing lessons. I could write down lyrics. I used to write poetry all of the time. And what is a song if not poetry set to music? I could learn how to tickle the ivories or play my grandpa's guitar. I actually dabbled in guitar a bit in college. I had a friend (who reminds me of Joan Jett) who tried to teach me. But I lost interest. And it hurt my hands.

Maybe one day I'll get my act together, literally. Or maybe I'll just be a professional appreciator.

Either way, the music will always be with me.

"...you can sing the melody to me and I could write a couple lines..."

--Bon Jovi

The Sleep Monster

I fought the good fight this weekend. You win some, you lose some, right?

Saturday was a loss. We knew it was going to be hot, so we were trying to think of things to do that wouldn't kill us, physically and financially because we're going on vacation in a few weeks. I had a few errands to run so I went out on my own around 11am and got back before noon. I think we had some lunch then I proceeded to lay on the couch. All damn day. We couldn't really agree on what to do, a wave of tiredness hit me and that was pretty much the end of it. Perry tinkered around the house and I took several cat naps. I managed to wake up long enough to have dinner. I planned to make chicken, rice and mashed potatoes but all of the energy had been sucked out of me so Perry made 2 out of 3. Which ain't bad :)

I was determined not to fall into the same sleep trap on Sunday. We decided to cash in our Bar Louie gift card and hit up the Super Flea Market while riding our motorcycles. Unfortunately, we rode right into a storm and had to take cover immediately at the flea market which put a damper on the situation, pun intended. After an hour or so of picking up some cell phone accessories, we decided to make a go of it. It was barely sprinkling and the storm had mostly passed. Plus this guy let us park under the carport so our motorcycles weren't too wet.

I wanted to forge ahead to Bar Louie, but after a few minutes on the bypass, I realized the bottom of my jeans were getting soaked and we probably needed to go home first. A couple of quick showers, change of clothes and we were off again. The thing about Bar Louie is that Perry and I both got gift cards earlier this year for being employees of the month. But we're really not that crazy about the restaurant. So we used up his gift card and gave the remaining balance to some other customers. It was just a buck and some change.

I knew if we went home after lunch I would just end up passed out on the couch. All afternoon. Again. So I looked up showtimes for The Hangover II and turns out we had just enough time to check out another nearby flea market, Trader Bakers, before the movie. This is where I proceeded to buy 4 dvds for $10. Not bad I thought. In fact, I'm watching Mystic Pizza right now. But since I was yawning at lunch, I was afraid I might fall asleep during The Hangover. I didn't, and the movie was insane. But I was pretty wiped out afterward so I succumbed to a snooze when we got home.

As I napped, again, Perry commenced more tinkering. When I woke up, we thought cereal sounded good for dinner. With a bowl of Corn Flakes (Perry) and Rice Krispies (me) in hand, we watched our Netflix movie of the week, Due Date. And I'm proud to say my eyes stayed open during the entire flick, although they did droop a few times. It took little time for them to close completely after the movie was over, a good hour or two before official bedtime.

Since I dozed off early last night, I got up at 5am this morning. Again. The other part to this story is that I'm off work today, my long lost Memorial Day. Which means I just slept through most of my shift. Perry has to work, of course, so my plans are to clean the house. It should be easy to get going once he goes to work because my energetic hours occur in the earliest part of the day. I just have to wait for him to get up and keep quiet until then.

So if you hear music blasting from my house around 8am, it's just me mopping. I'm sure I'll be out like a light this afternoon. Again.

On the Homefront

It happens every year. Pretty plants and colorful flowers start popping up all over the place. In people's yards, at home improvement stores. And I get the idea that I can magically reinvent myself as a gardener.

I forget the fact that whenever I plant something, I don't take care of it. It looks good for a few days, maybe even weeks. But it always dies. It's a combination on my lack of knowledge and little effort.

So this year, I decided to be true to myself and go simple. I still like the look of mulch and I don't have to maintain it too much, so I got the idea from a friend to line the area in front of the porch with bricks to keep the mulch from escaping with the rain. And just using lawn decor.

Mom started me off with a solar light in the shape of a caila lilly. I bought another flower looking light at Target. I added a couple of little mushrooms and that's as far as I've gone. I'm thinking of letting others areas I used to mulch grow some grass. Unless I find some more decor to put out.

In other news, we're planning a trip east soon. Gettysburg, DC, Williamsburg and VA Beach. I've got the hotel rooms booked but that's about as far as I've gone with that, too. I need to make an itinerary. I'm also spending a weekend at a casino with some girlfriends. That should be a good time.

This is supposed to be a "long" weekend for most people, but of course I have to work Monday. I'm trying to mix a little bit of chores with a little bit of fun. We've got a big tree branch down in the yard we have to cut up. Grass needs mowed. Laundry needs washed. Carpet needs vacuumed. But it's supposed to be warmer so I also want to get out the bicycle and/or motorcycle and have a little adventure.

That's the scoop on the homefront!

Writing Woes

• I've thought of several ideas for blogs over the past few weeks. But if I don't write ideas down, they slip away into the recesses of my mind until something pulls them out again. Maybe that's why they call it fishing for ideas. You cast a line in your brain, hoping to pull out one of those bottom feeding catfish with the whiskers.


• I'm not able to write a daily post. I don't have the time, energy or enough worthwhile topics to pull that off. I might be able to manage one a week if I set my mind to it. I am, after all, an obsessive planner so if I put it on my to do list, it would probably get done. But that hasn't happened either. So I'm happy with myself, for now, if I blog at least once a month. Just checked the date of my last one and I'm making good on my promise.


I wish I could blog more. I've always loved writing. I wanted to be a novelist or a playwright, holed up in some cabin in the mountains pounding away on a typewriter. With dogs by my side, of course. Or out in the country in a house by the lake like in Funny Farm, getting inspiration from a squirrel. And I would love to be a singer/songwriter if I knew anything about melodies, harmony or notes. But those things take a lot of talent. And I live in the real world which means I need a regular paycheck.

• I'm also a bit of a perfectionist. If I can't sit down with an idea at hand and a plan to craft it, I won't post anything. In fact, what I'm doing right now is a bit out of the ordinary. Just sitting here writing on the actual Blogger website. I usually start writing in Microsoft Word, save it, go back over it, edit it, copy and paste it here, edit some more and finally post after I've previewed it and made some more adjustments. That takes a long time! And sometimes I just want to get off the computer for awhile. Take a walk. Do some yoga. Watch TV and not think.


• That being said, I can't remember any of those ideas I had for blogs right now. So I guess this is a just blog about blogging. I also don't like to make these things too long because I know our attention spans are short these days with all the information that's thrown at us from every angle. But like Jerry Springer, I have a final thought.


• I do get to write in my current profession which is awesome, but I don't have the time I crave to really perfect it. There's always a deadline approaching and I'm often working with other people's words, not my own. But at least I came close. I'm not totally out in left field: performing neurosurgery, building a skyscraper or rocketing to the moon. That's just not me :)

Lessons Learned

You can become a morning person, if you're forced into it.
My most productive time is now between the hours of 6am-12pm.
After that, I'm pretty much worthless, especially on a Saturday night.
If I'm sitting at home, I doze off by 8pm.

You can learn to like coffee, just find the right sweetener.
I've learned Coffeemate does the trick, and I'm still trying out different flavors.

But I only drink coffee when I absolutely need it, like when I'm having a particularly difficult time waking up before work.

Don't want my teeth to get stained :)

You can enjoy quality time, but you have to decide what that means.
I'm trying to hang out more with P, B and J (Perry, Bug and Jack) and get back to my yoga, Just Dance 2 and Wii Fit... instead of trying to catch up with every single post on Facebook or dwelling on my job after hours.

You can enjoy some luxuries while staying true to your inner cheapskate.
I've recently splurged on a few items like a massage and a flat screen TV for the bedroom.
But I still love bargain finds at thrift stores and flea markets and clipping coupons.
I also searched high and low for affordable lodging near, not on, the beach in Florida.
Someday, I'll treat myself to an oceanside view :)

You may work the night shift, but you don't have to look like it.

I'm a jeans and t-shirt kind of gal.

Working the night shift gives me the excuse to slack in the style department.

So I try to dress up as much as possible to keep from slipping into the habit.

I even keep buying clothes and accessories that adhere to a professional dress code.

But if I'm just not feeling it, I can get by with a hoodie and jeans, no problem.

You can't do it all, just do your best.

This is the biggie.

I'm working more hours than I used to, and I have to do some tasks at home now.

Yet there's still housework to be done, dogs to be fed, bills to be paid, presents to be bought, family gatherings to attend... you get the picture.

I realize now if I get behind, I'll catch up.

Pretty quickly.

I'm kinda OCD like that.

And if I can't catch up, Perry helps out.

That's the beauty of it.

Now if you'll excuse me, it's time for some quality time on the couch.

With B and J.

'Cause P is at work :)

Spring Forward

Cabin fever has definitely set in for all of us. Jack is especially whiny. Pmo gets bored easily. Bug is not getting any exercise and attached to the couch. And I'm losing weight because my meal times are so random and sometimes nonexistent.



So here are some things I'm looking foward to...



Short term: Yoga. I plan to get on the floor and do some stretching later. I'll probably take a nap, too, because we stayed up late last night and got up early this morning. Why I don't know.



Middle term: Friday night. Pmo and I are now in the habit of going out to eat at the end of the week. Our most recent outing was Pizza Chef. Plus, it's still days away, but payday's coming around again soon and I can't wait to pay off some more debt.

Long term: Spring starts 6 weeks from today. Pmo and I are talking about taking trips to Florida and DC in the coming months. I'm also going to have extra days off this year because I'm salary instead of hourly. I've already got one, possibly two comp days built up. And I'll get all 6 holidays off now, well maybe not the exact day, but I have 6 days coming to me nonetheless.

For now, it's going to be a lazy Sunday with my usual super early bedtime. I'm going to miss the Super Bowl, but I really don't care too much about that. We had a little get together at our house last night, so I got my appetizer fixins out of my system. That's my favorite part about football anyway, the food.