Ten True Things

1. I sometimes steal blog post subjects from this journal website I like to read.

2. I was up early working on school stuff and since I got home at 1:30 (to wait for UPS!) I've been slacking. I figure I put in 6 good hours already today and have two articles to read tonight... it'll even out. After catching up on tv from last night I treated myself to a nap and EVER SINCE I WOKE UP I've been jamming out to Blink 182. So for the last 2.5 hours it's been Blink's greatest hits up in the hizzy. Check it yo.

3. I made this goop for supper tonight. It's macaroni, hamburger, cream of mushroom soup, and peas. Easy-peasy, not-so-nutritionally-awesome, haven't-had-since-(probably)-living-at-home goodness. I haven't made it before because I feared Chase wouldn't like it but he does! Mikey likes it!


4. This beautiful calendar now lives above my desk, a bit to the right, and inspires me often. I feeeeeel it.

5. If you have a dog, you should get him/her a cow hoof. Linny loves hers more than any other toy. It smells a bit, but the hours of silence are worth it. And they last MUCH longer than most toys. (There's a lot on the internet about how they're sharp and can nick a dog's bowels so... take this with a grain of salt. But Linny loves them.) We also like antlers for her.

6. I've stopped doing p90x for now. I don't have the time/energy to devote to it every day. I'm still doing some of the workouts throughout the week but I'm not following the schedule. It's something I'd like to do and really like the workouts, it just is a bigger investment than I'm looking for right now.

7. Hey! We just made it back to the first Blink song I listened to tonight, we've come full circle. :)

8. Chase still doesn't have a job. You should all nag him and convince him to try harder. There's only so much I can do/say.

9. I need to find a job for the summer! And a place to live! And finish my thesis! And I get a 20-page assignment tomorrow that's due in a week! And Chase needs a job! I might be stressed a bit, overall.

10. Last night as Chase was getting in to bed he woke me up from a dream. Apparently I was giggling out loud and Chase wanted to know why. In my dream I was a high school or grade school student and I'd made fun of one of my classmates and they'd replied and then everyone else laughed at the student I'd made fun of because what they'd said was really foolish. Apparently I'm a bully in my dreams! BUT! It was really amusing to wake up giggling. :)

Spring!

It's been 70ish the last few days and looks like the weather's going to stay nice for at least a week... I'm declaring Spring HERE! (And if the cold weather comes back, I'm not talking to it.)


In the last two weeks I've spent almost everyday (at least 8 hours of it) at school so I rebelled yesterday and spent the day at home. (In addition to being at school, in the last 10 days I've gone to 7 presentations that are at least an hour long, and most of the time are an hour an a half long. UGH.)

I borrowed a carpet cleaner from a friend and spent yesterday cleaning the living room and hall. The carpet is almost dry and I'm trying to convince Chase that we can rearrange and make things look fresh but he's skeptical. It feels like we just moved in: everything's clumped in the dining room area and Cisco's claimed the top of the fridge as his.

As further proof that spring is here, the other day Linny and I went on a walk to the cemetery nearby and found the loveliest daffodils! Chase, Linny and I went back this afternoon and I took a few pictures.






We're going out for a friend's birthday in about 20 minutes and I can't wait! There's a place around here that has beer tours on the weekends from 5-7 and they've got a nice courtyard that we'll set up our chairs in and listen to some live music while enjoying the weather. After that we're heading out for supper and I'm excited about that too. Food!

Tomorrow I've got to refocus on school, I have a presentation this Wednesday that I really need to focus on, but until then, SPRING!

Saturday Afternoon

Chase and I headed over to The Olive Garden this afternoon, after I'd gone on a jaunt with Linny and some friends. We went on a non-Valentine's Day date, because boo, Valentine's Day makes me slitty-eyed. (In an angry kind of way.)

We had salads (I added my drink-lemon to the leftovers.)


I had pasta e fagioli


and Chase had chicken parmagiana. He didn't eat much of it so we brought it home for leftovers (for me)!


We don't like taking pictures together when we go out, but I like taking one of each of us. We've got a collection of these. :)



(Chase gets a haircut tomorrow! I just get homework.)

YES!

(Just imagine you'd is spelled right near the end.)

On...

On Weight -
I started P90X with my sister and it's kicking my ass. It's hardest to get myself motivated to do the workout, but the workout itself is pretty enjoyable, as far as workouts go. I've lost almost 6 pounds, though I feel like I've lost more. My muscles are tighter (my under arm jiggle jiggles less)and my clothes fit nicer.

I read an article for class yesterday about weight loss and body image and it really messed with my mind. AND THEN I went and listened to the author discuss the article and work that it came from for another two hours. Total mind fuck. After it was over I went home to Chase and cried. The article was about men and women who had lost at least 20 pounds and had kept it off for at least three months. The subjects had to have been overweight or obese before losing weight but ended up in the normal weight range. Among other things, the author found that even after individuals lost weight, they had a hard time changing their body image to match their new identity. Another topic that was discussed at length was why individuals chose to lose weight. Responses ranged from wanting to look good for a wedding to wanting to be able to move easier to "needing" to lose weight after an embarrassing event. And lastly! we touched on the body's control system and its maintenance of a certain weight despite the dieter's actions.


So to recap, I got to think about body image issues, why I wanted to (or do want to) lose weight, and what my body wants me to weigh. BLAH. Chase made me feel better though, bringing me back to ground after my journey into my head. Blah. Ashley and I went to see The King's Speech after that and I think I'm over it for now. But still, it's an issue that's been on my mind a lot.

On Linux -
She's been getting hairier and hairier lately. We've wanted to get her groomed for the last two months but have been putting it off. Well! She was groomed on Wednesday and Chase and I are still trying to get used to her new coloring. She keeps getting lighter and lighter as she gets older. My baby's growing up!

Before...


And after!...



On School -
My thesis work is going slower than I initially thought. I had to change my question and the variables I'm looking at because my initial model didn't pan out. My work should be easier this time around but there are a few variables I haven't been able to figure out yet and I hate asking other people for help so often. All this work makes me feel really bad at research. I understand that a lot of it's in my head and I just need to DO STUFF and work through the unease but it's hard. I spent the first year of grad school feeling like I didn't know as much as everyone else and trying to find my place in Athens and as of about April I thought I'd gotten it figured out. I'm going through a bit of a existential crisis again and it's tired. My defense mechanism when I feel vulnerable is to ignore, avoid, or hide from the issue so I've got to push myself to NOT do those things. I watched this video today and it made me feel a bit better. I'll be okay, it's just hard to grow.

On this blog -
I haven't felt very awesome lately. I haven't posted on Facebook or Twitter or here and have a hard time finding my words worthy. I worry about being another one of those girls/guys on Facebook. The ones who post nonsense. When I don't have much to say, I don't say much.

This isn't to say things aren't good. Just that some of the things that impact how often I post online aren't as good as other things. :)

On good things -
I'm enjoying the benefits of being healthy.
I'm walking Linny in addition to doing p90x (3 or 4 times a week).
Linny's cute and fun.
Ashley and I have been out exploring (we went to a cute state park a few weekend's ago). (Pictures of it are on Flickr.)
Chase and I are doing well. We went on a date Friday night and it's been nice to spend quality time with him lately (and we watched a movie tonight)!
I'm learning in school. Even if my thesis isn't all roses and sunshine, it's still going well.

On the super bowl -
Tomorrow we're going over to a friend's house to watch the game and eat unhealthy goodness. It should be lots of fun.

Another New Year's!

(Don't forget to check out the post below this one, it's better!)

New Year's Eve (2006-2010)

Here's a collection of how I've spent my New Year's Eve's since I had my own digital camera (and coincidentally, since Chase and I met).

2006
Chase and I spent the evening at Liesal's house in Kearney, playing cards and drinking.




And we wandered around the next day, amidst the fun ice storm that coated Nebraska.


(This also happened.)




2007
Mali and I went to a hockey game that evening but I can't remember what happened after that. Hmmm. (Chase and I had broken up at this time.)



2008
Dating again, Chase and I spent the evening at a hockey game (again!) with Sarah and Tori and then Chase and I went back to my apartment and hung out for the rest of the evening. Based on the pictures I have, we watched tv and then took silly pictures of ourselves. (How exciting!)






2009
For the end of 2009 Chase and I spent some quality time with family and friends at (yet another) Hockey game and then went to Liesal's grandma's for games and the countdown to midnight. I don't have very many pictures of the after party, but the hockey game was fun. (Chase spent most of the game away with Moody and friends so he's not in most of my pictures.)





This year, to end 2010, Chase and I spent New Year's at a friend's in Georgia. We hung out with Ashley and Billy (and Linny) and played cards and had some wine. And we were sure to share the joy of the new year with Cisco when we got home. :)




I like looking back at the past through pictures. I enjoy pictures much more than written words. Here's hoping you do too. :)