First Day At Work v2.0

I'm extremely tired, so this will be short.

My first day at my new store wasn't as bad as I had anticipated. Mostly, once I got there and the store meeting got under way, the anticipation left, and all I had to deal with was finding where everything lives and how everyone interacts with others. There are some cool people, some less-than-cool people, and some mysteries. Yay.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD! :D

Time for eat and sleep.

Night.

Last Day...Waa.

Today was my last day. It kinda sucked.

I mean, yes, I worked with great people and had fun for the first half of my shift. The second half was slow and tiring and just...depressing. On the upside, I got a great poster made and signed by co-workers, and Shift H made me a giant pistachio muffin (delicious!), and there was pizza and hugs and stuff, so...yay.

Tomorrow, there's a store meeting at my new store from noon until two, and then I work from two until 9:30. Seven and a half hours at my new store! Woo...

Tomorrow is also my dad's birthday! YAYYYY DAD!

For now, it's time to shower and watch Weeds and sleeeep.

Whee?

Sorry, loyal followers. Yesterday got away with me.

What I did yesterday:
[o] laundry
[o] drew up a budget for March
[o] went to the bank
[o] went to the mall with Ryan, Aurelie, BJ and Sameh
[o] got ice cream with same group
[o] watched Fame (the new one) and generally hung out with Aurelie while the household raided

Today is back to work, 2 to 8. Yayyy. Tomorrow is my last day at 933. I tried to put together a group to go out and drown our sorrows, but my partner in leaving, Derek, is an alcohol and caffeine sabbatical until his wife gives birth. Might try it anyway.

I dunno. Poop.

Off I go...

That Chloroform Gave Me A Headache...

I swear, I really did used to be good at thinking positively. Over the past month, in fact, I became annoyingly chipper and upbeat about life.

Then life bitchslapped me and it's been all downhill from there. And today was just...no.

Attempting to find articles and advice on how to make or fix a budget found me nothing but how to budget around children, around saving for a house, or with actual salaries instead of minimum-wage level jobs. Tried out a free online thing, but it was so buggy that I almost threw my computer across the room from frustration.

Gave that up and moved on to the next item on the day's list: printing out a photo. Just one. That's all I wanted. But the brand new ink that we just bought for the sole purpose of printing photos? Not compatible with the printer. And I thought it was, so I spent most of my day trying to figure out how to fix it. It wasn't until Ryan got home that we figured out that salesperson at Best Buy had been wrong.

Dug out the receipt to return it: expired four days ago.

As we got ready to go to Best Buy anyway, I did something bad to my back causing it to be miserable for several hours.

Fortunately, Ryan has become a retailese expert, plus we were nice to the return desk people and didn't want a full return, so it was as easy as finding the correct ink.

That was the start of an upturn in the evening: exchanged ink without a fuss; looked for something at Toys R' Us and enjoyed the visit immensely despite not being to find it; found the perfect thing at the candy/stuffed animal store in the mall; got to sit in a couple of nice cars being displayed in the mall and daydream about the future a little bit; came home to find that today's photo has been reblogged; back felt better; started making a breakfast-dinner with Ryan.

Then we discovered that we only had enough eggs for the pancakes but not to eat, the bacon took forever to cook and never got very chewy let alone crispy, and my pancake skills were just in the basement and I kept burning or messing them up in several fun ways.

Not to mention the people drama going on all over the place that I can't even begin to get into.

I'm done. I need a vacation. I need the world to just STOP for a day--ONE DAY--so I can catch my breath and find my way back to the driver's seat instead of being tied up and gagged in the trunk.

Oy...

PEOPLE SUCK. THE END.

Dear cop:

If you the people in a Starbucks to continue to respect you and your fellow law enforcement brethren, please do not:

[o] pull in to a parking lot through the exit-only entrance
[o] almost hit a drive-thru customer as you pull into a parking lot in the wrong direction...
[o]...so you can back into a spot the wrong way...
[o] while talking on your cell phone,
[o] then walk past the huge drive-thru line, through the bunch of people waiting for their drinks, wait in the long line, completely ignore the obvious fact that we are SLAMMED, and question our best worker--who is currently double- and even triple-barring--for 10 minutes to figure out your perfect freaking drink (personal note: 10-shot Venti White Mocha? ICK),
[o] sit at the bar texting and watching her make the drink,
[o] only to get to the register to pay and say "There's ten shots in here, right?"

He didn't even act all high-and-mighty, I-am-cop-obey-me. He acted like a charming regular, all aw shucks, aren't I a stinker? WHICH IS WORSE.

ARGH I HATE PEOPLE.

Thank God I have the next two days off. Tomorrow will be spent doing laundry and researching every last detail to get my Etsy photography shop up and running so maybe I can drop some hours and not want to DROWN SOMEONE IN MOCHA.

Best moment of the day: Co-worker getting distracted by a conversation and answering the drive-thru with "Hi, welcome to face, how can I help you?" I literally fell to the ground laughing.

Yesterday's best moment of the day involves this same co-worker, AD, who happens to be a shark FANATIC to the nth degree. She and I were talking, Shift D interrupted to ask me something, AD said "Excuse me, we were playing a game."
"What kind of game?"
"A guessing game. She's guessing my favorite color."
I pipe in: "I already know your favorite color. SHARK."
Aaaaand AD was unable to work for five minutes because she was in the corner hyperventilating.

I AM GOING TO MISS THIS STORE SO MUCH.

At This Moment I'm...

What I'm doing right now:

[o] Eating delicious Chinese food from this fanTAStic place called Taste of Asia where the counter people actually speak English as a first language
[o] Harassing my roommates to vote in the preliminaries for my March Man Madness event
[o] Reading and rereading this horoscope and hoping that it refers to my future plans involving this blog
[o] Contemplating this recipe and this recipe
[o] Working on this profile which could lead places hinted at in my horoscope

...Poop.

Today was a long, hard day.

Slept like crap. Started the work day with several reminders of the upcoming transfer. HUGE order came in, cramming the back room with boxes which were solely my responsibility to check in and put away (fortunately, Shift B immediately dove in to help when he came on...2 1/2 hours later). Spent the day feeling bitter about my job. Cold, windy and gray day turning into a freezing blizzard that I had to drive home through. Returned home to find homophobic crap on my event wall. No response from an upset and depressed friend since last night.

In a word, my day was overwhelming.

Ugh.

Trying to focus on positives. Trying to look forward. Trying to get to bed really early tonight so I'm not up until the wee hours of the morning staring into the darkness with a depressed and overactive mind.

Wish me luck.

Best Part: It Rained All Day.

Today...was a good day. With Ryan. :)

[o] Slept in
[o] Lunch at Panera
[o] Boppin' around the mall
[o] Found Teavana, which is an extremely dangerous place to find if you even slightly like tea, LET ME TELL YOU
[o] Brought last two cupcakes to Shift D & Em, the last two night people who hadn't had any
[o] Hung out at my Starbucks and talked with D, Em, JC, and Aurelie, who happened to be there studying
[o] Had delicious dinner: bison burger with bacon, cheddar cheese, and barbecue side, with fries and fanTAStic kosher dills on the side
[o] Made cupcakes, my best so far: upped the leavener so they're light & fluffy instead of thick & dense, and upped the vanilla so they're tastier. Baking skill go up!
[o] Watched Zombieland, which I've wanted to watch for quite a while. Extremely funny and entertaining.

Tomorrow is back to work...poo. I'm still very upset over the transfer, to the point where it's making me think about a lot of things in my life. It seems silly but...there it is.

There is a bigger update coming up, I promise. Love to all!

Today Happened Again! I Know, Right?

Today was:
[o] Up
[o] Bank
[o] Work
[o] Grocery store
[o] Dinner
[o] Watching movies (Hot Shots, Boondock Saints, and The Emperor's New Groove) with Ryan, Sameh, and Aurelie

Tomorrow:
[o] Lunch out with Ryan
[o] Buffalo burgers (as in buffalo meat, not buffalo seasoning) for dinner
[o] ...*shrug*

Today!

Today:
[o] Finished the icing for yesterday's cupcakes. They're cinnamon-sugar, the icing got flavored with maple syrup. I'm calling them French toast cupcakes. :D
[o] Brought said cupcakes in, along with the oatmeal chocolate chip muffins. Both were met with smiles and good taste reviews, but the crown definitely went to the muffins. Need to make those again, maybe with some more pizzazz...hmmm...
[o] Work kinda sucked. I loved the people, but the shift dragged, and I just...I couldn't get out of my own head, kept dwelling on the transfer and how scared I am of the new store and how much I belong at this one and aaaaaa
[o] Got off work, came out, where Aurelie had been chilling between watching Shark Week with BJ and waiting for me to get off while they raided starting at 8. We attempted to eat out, but didn't feel up to all the people, and ended up picking up some groceries from Meijer and eating mac n cheese in front of a muted TV while talking for a few hours.
[o] Finally got on the computer, have posted some picture, caught up with Tumblr and Reader and Facebook, and am ready to climb into bed and watch some stuff with Ryan before sleepytimes.

Tomorrow is a quick trip to the bank, work for 4 1/2 hours, grocery shopping, and going out somewhere with Aurelie, LeAnna, and other peoples. Yays.

At Least They've Gotten A Glimpse Of The Real, Awkward Me.

I didn't sleep well last night. More specifically, I didn't do very well at getting to sleep.

Ryan and I got up and went to my Starbucks. My new Starbucks. I figured that I would go and introduce myself and make a nice first impression and be a grown-up if it killed me.

I was so awkward. I recognized all three of the workers, but only one recognized me, and when I mentioned that I'd be there in less than two weeks they were completely surprised. I ordered and paid for our drinks before Ryan reminded me that we were also getting something to eat. I hate to admit to one of my soon-to-be-co-workers that I couldn't remember her name, and she didn't really let me know if I needed to tell her mine again or not. Then they were busyish with drive-thru and I had to leave without really getting a chance to get to know them.

G'AH.

We got home, and I got myself ready to bake some Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins...only to discover that we didn't have enough chocolate chips. We had just enough time to run out and get some from CVS before Ryan had to go to work...then found that they don't sell chocolate chips at CVS. Every other thing you might need for baking stuffed in aisle, but not chocolate chips. So I got a couple big bars of Hershey Dark and went with it.

The evening was better. I baked the muffins, washed everything, then baked some cupcakes, and even ad-libbed with them! I didn't just make vanilla cupcakes, I made cinnamon sugar cupcakes. There would be maple frosting on them, but (a) we're out of confectioner's sugar, and (b) by the time I remembered the bowl of leftover icing in the fridge it was latish.

I exercised, which was extremely painful but rewarding. Roommates came home and we all vented and shared and stuff. Took a shower. Now I'm about to watch some Netflix in bed with Ryan. Feeling a little glum again about the transferring thing, but...*shrug*

The funny thing is, I've had two more things to post about here, but every day there's enough other stuff or not enough time. They're not big things, just...things worth posting.

One I can kinda put in a nutshell via a link: March Man Madness. It's weird and silly and random and you might not get it. There's not much to get, because it's weird and random, but...well, there it is.

The other thing will have to wait. For now, bed.

.....WAH.

So...today kinda sucked.

It was a gorgeous day. Sun shining, wind blowing, fifty freaking degrees...bee-yootiful.

Then I got to work and Boss Lady told me that, due to personnel juggling in the district, I'm being transferred to the Ireland Road store.

D:

I love my store. I love my regulars. I love my co-workers beyond belief.

I have never even visited the Ireland store once, couldn't tell you what it looks like, barely know one or two people who work there, and the store manager kinda scares me.

NO WANNA GO.

I only had a five hour shift, which I spent moping about with Shift D, who is also getting transferred. Then I went home, where I ate pizza and drank booze and hung out with roommates, Ryan, and our friend/co-worker AD who I'm going to miss the CRAP out of.

COUNTING BLESSINGS:
[o] My roommates BJ is getting transferred to my current store. He is going to love it, and I am honestly and truly happy for him.
[o] I got to take some good pictures of Ryan's Valentine's flowers yesterday, and edit some of them today before work. Always relaxing and rewarding.
[o] Came home to find that they were very popular with both friends and complete strangers, and two of them were even reblogged by complete strangers! Complete strangers shared my art with the world! That is so rewarding I can't even put words to it.
[o] Had a great time hanging out with some of my favorite people.
[o] Ryan did a ton of laundry and cleaning that I haven't been up to due to immense exhaustion.
[o] Tomorrow is my day off. I am going to clean and bake and photoedit and visit my store and STUFF.

....bed now.

So tired...tomorrow is six hour shift...then day off...for now...sleeeeeep....

Belated...Stuff!

So!

Sunday night I never updated because there was working late and dinner and hanging out and chatting with roommates and then sweet, sweet sleep.

Tonight I didn't get to updating until 2:30 in the morning because of working late and dinner and watching a movie with the roommates and shower and catching up on two days worth of internets.

First off: Happy Valentines Day! :D

I got home to find dinner freshly made (the chicken-linguine-pepper-white-wine-freaking-delicious-thing Ryan has been into lately), and a bouquet of flowers on my desk. Pinks and purples, my favorite combination...*love*

BJ arrived shortly after I did, and Sameh finished up her dinner for him. We all settled down and decided to watch a movie...and decided on The Shining.

We're a weird household...but we're weird together!

Tomorrow is another long day, working 1 to 9, possibly made longer if I can get my butt up early enough to do the pile of laundry that desperately needs doing. It's either tomorrow morning, or Wednesday night, and it really needs to happen...two days ago.

I hate pre-closing shifts.

There's not much else new. Well, that's not true, there's plenty new, but none of it that I want to get into at 2:30 in the morning when I still might have to get up in fewer than eight hours.

....whee!

Must...Count...Blessings...Before...Explode...

I am...so tired. And I had one hell of a stressful day.

I could get into it. Or I could list the good things.

[o] Had some time with Ryan before we both went to work
[o] Pancakes for breakfast
[o] Worked with fun people
[o] Got my Target REDCard in the mail today
[o] Got a few more hours next week without having to take back the dreaded closing shift
[o] Had a fun conversation with Aurelie via text

Waiting for Ryan to get home, and then I get to eat, then shower, then SLEEP.

Kitty and Aurelie and Wall-E, Oh My!

What I did today:

[o] slept in
[o] had a breakfast consisting of a cupcake and a banana
[o] went with Ryan to pick up Kitty
[o] went as a trio to the bank, FedEx, Target, and Starbucks
[o] hung out with Kitty and Ryan, then Kitty and Ryan and BJ and Sameh, then Kitty and Ryan and BJ and Sameh and Alex, then Kitty and Ryan and BJ and Sameh and Alex and Aurelie, then Aurelie
[o] watched Wall-E with Aurelie, who had never seen it before
[o] editing some trying-to-be-fancy pictures for over here

Tomorrow is back to work. Boo. Last week's mini-vacation completely spoiled me, now I want to replace my 5 day work/2 day home week with 3 day work/4 day home, or even 4 day work/3 day home. If we could afford it, I completely would.

All the cupcakes I made got eaten up. Then general consensus (except for Kitty, who is a sweetheart) is that the were a bit plain. I followed the recipe a tad too exactly, and next time I plan on putting in way more vanilla.

One of the items I got today at the store was cupcake liners. I eyed the maple extract and orange extract for a very long time, and may have given in if they weren't $5 or $4 a bottle, respectively. My plans for tomorrow before work are to bake something else while I wash my work clothes. I've become an addict! :D

I didn't do laundry today, or write, or take pictures, or stitch. I did get lots of errands done, and I kinda cooked (made mac n cheese for visitors), and I was social and spent a lot of time laughing with people I find awesome. Good enough! :D

I do wish I'd been able to take Dad's call, but never fear, Dad! You gave me major food for thought. In fact, I plan on writing it over in my journal just now, before bed. I'll get back to you. :)

Off I go, to think and sleep...

Second Job Frustration.

Day off! First of two! Okay!

So far I've...gotten up.

Okay, so a little more than that. I found the number to call at the clinic we went to last month so I can find out why I didn't get a bill when our insurance says I owe them money. I even called the number!...they weren't there. I'll try again later.

I am also currently listening to YouTube videos of an indie group called Bishop Allen, suggested to me by Katie Petunia. So far my favorite song is "Click Click Click Click," about stepping out of the rain and ending up in a picture of someone else's wedding.

Tried to get up and have Writing Time, but ended up choosing sleep instead. >.< Dorita gave me great writing advice, and she reminded me of Stephen King's advice in On Writing (one of my favorite books ever), I'm just...having a hard time following it so far.

For one thing, I don't really have a given "space" for writing. My desk is almost guaranteed to fail unless I'm in a very concentrated mood, what with the to do items on one side and the photography props on the other (which reminds me, I have to take some more picture today!). There is a half-table in the dining room, but it faces a wall with ugly wallpaper, and I feel like I'm stuck in a corner. I liked my set-up at the coffee table the other day, but that's also dangerous--the TV is right there. All these spaces are also easily "invaded" by boyfriend or roommates, through no fault of theirs, so...yeah.

Going to one of the Starbucks in the area might help, except that requires money, which is tight enough right now that I can't "let" myself spend money on coffee so I can spend a couple of hours at a table, not to mention the paranoia of someone grabbing my laptop when I'm in the bathroom or distracted or something.

The Setting Hours advice is already failing, as I keep hitting snooze or changing the alarm or getting up and doing something else. Doesn't help that my sleep schedule has been skewing back toward the wee hours of the morning, which was already a problem before the week of pre-closing and not getting home until 10 started >.< I keep setting the alarm for 10 or 10:30, but the mindset when it goes off is "It's my day off/I get to sleep in late this week when I usually don't get to, I can't waste this opportunity, sleep is very important...zzzz." ARGH.

Getting Ready kind of requires the Setting Hours part, and a Writing Space to go to...argh.

I'm not giving up, and I'm trying very hard to not say "Well, it's already past noon, I guess today is a waste." I'm just frustrated. Ergh.

I think I'll get dressed, eat something, take some pictures, make some cupcakes, then get some help from Ryan when he gets home. He's very good at being authoritatively supportive, he'll probably glue me to a chair and say I can't have any cupcakes until I write something, then refuse to speak to me until I'm productive. Hopefully it works.

Oy...

Tired.

I'm...very tired.

Tomorrow I get to sleep. Then write. Maybe watch a movie or two. Whee.

Hopefully I'll be more entertaining. :D

Taking Suggestions On Catchy Catch Phrases That...Uh...Catch.

Today was the first day of Treating Writing Like Work, or Writing Like It's My Job...Cuz It Is. I'm working on catchier phrases, I promise.

I had to get up around 11 to do laundry (got soy on my work pants, blech), and I didn't have to leave until a little before 2, so I spent the time between then (when I wasn't lugging clothes or eating breakfast) sitting on the couch, laptop on our Joy of Cooking on the coffee table, perched over the keyboard, beating at On The/Running.

I keep using aggressive verbs like hacking and beating and stabbing with this novel because it is being very difficult. I know the story, I know the characters, I know the climax, I know everything except how to put it on the page so it's actually enjoyable. Every time I try to show, I end up telling, and it's driving me nuts!

This is why (a) I have been avoiding working on this, and (b) why I need to work on this, why I need to start treating it like a second job and COMMIT. I've played with my calendar for this week, setting aside blocks of time that will be dedicated to Writing, whether it's here at home or at my Starbucks. I've already warned Ryan that (1) I'll be trying to get up earlier, which means going to bed earlier, (2) I might be missing a bit more in the morningtimes, and (3) I'm going to be doing a lot of whining and cranking and "Ryan this is harrrrrrrd" and he CAN'T LET ME QUIT, I have to just beat my head against it until it starts working, and if it never does, well then I guess I'm not a writer then, am I?

...did I mention I'm tired?

I came home, I had pasta with olive oil and cheese, and I'm about to take a shower, then I'm getting into bed and watching something on Netflix and getting a ton of sleep.

Thank you, good night!

(Side note: Ryan gave me a hug when I got home, and said "I'm starting to associate the smell of coffee with you and it's making me like coffee more." :D)

In Case More Proof Was Needed.

Me: So, I know we've had conversations about it before, but I just want to ask straight-up: what do you think of my wanting to be a homemaker?
Ryan: I'm fine with it as long as you're doing something.
Me: Something like...?
Ryan: Writing, photography, stitching, walking...

Aaand this is why he's perfect.

Where I Am Right Now.

I was raised by, in a community of, hippies and feminists and liberals. From the moment I took breath, I was taught and told and shown that I could do and be anything. President? No problem. World traveler? Fantastic! Literary legend? Of course! Genius artiste? Duh!

The fact that I was a girl was never part of the lesson, except perhaps for the lesson of They Might Try To Say You Can't Because You're A Girl, But That Just Means They're Dumb. The words "housewife" and "secretary" weren't exactly dirty, but...

Gender, age, money, none of these things mattered, what mattered is that I put my mind and heart and soul into it and I can go anywhere, I can do and be anything.

...is it wrong, then, that I want to stay home? That I want to be a homemaker, to literally spend my time making a home for my family?

I spent my mini-vacation being domestic. I cleaned, I neatened, I laundered, I cooked, I washed, I rearranged, I organized, I grocery shopped, I planned, I outlined, I budgeted. I neatened my boyfriend's desk, cleaned up his dishes, refilled his drink, made him breakfast and dinner, helped him cook and get ready for work.

I loved every single second of it. Even the frustrating seconds, the seconds where I looked at our money situation and wanted to throw up my hands, the seconds where I got to the laundry room after hauling down an overflowing basket only to discover that I had forgotten the quarters, the seconds where the pancakes burned and the cupcake batter turned to cement and I got sauce on the bottom of my sock and Ryan spilled melted chocolate on the white shirt I just washed yesterday.

I loved taking care of my man. There it is. I gave him shit and sassed him while doing it, I never once did anything because I thought it was "my place" to do so, I helped him when he asked and got his help when I needed it. He never once just assumed I would do something because I'm a girl, he never waved off what I was doing as a given, and all references to my being domestic were either ironic or completely appreciative.

I didn't spend every moment focusing on the house, of course. I also worked on my photography, spending hours taking, editing and uploading pictures. I even hacked at my writing a bit, although that's been quite sticky. As much as I focused on making up our home, I also focused on my own personal and artistic endeavors.

Part of the plan in moving to Indiana was to figure ourselves out, to work and live and get by and think on what we missed from what we were doing in Connecticut. Specifically for me, I hoped to dabble in all my interests--photography, graphic design, marketing/advertising, writing, editing--and see which ones stuck, which ones I made time for because I wanted to, which ones I wanted to invest my time and money in, in terms of potential college degrees.

I have a full time job where I am on my feet all day, I spend a good deal of time taking care of the house, and I still make sure I find time to read, write, do art photography, and be with my friends and boyfriend. These are the things I find important: words, art, people.

I realized, months ago, that I don't want to back to school. In fact, the thought gives me the willies--spending thousands to sit in a room and learn crap I don't need so I can get a piece of paper? I'd rather spend a fraction of the money to get good lenses and materials, I'd rather spend the time concentrating on an outline or learning what exactly each button and dial on my camera does or having a movie & crafting night with my friends or cooking dinner with my love.

The things I care about, the things I want to do, the person I want to be...I don't need college for that. I just need to get the hell out of my own way.

Okay, so I don't just want to be a homemaker. I also want to be an artist and a writer. I know my hippie parents will be overjoyed that I'm finally realizing the last part. I guess I'm just worried about the first part. I was raised in the woods, in workshops, at period faires and drum circles and Pagan gatherings...and I want to be a housewife? A stereotype?

For me, the real stereotype is the woman who is only at home because she's been taught, from the moment she took breath, that it is her destiny, that her brain doesn't matter. The woman who has never had a choice. So no, I don't want to be a stereotype. I just want to be me.

And that happens to mean that I stay at home and take care of my children, my spouse, and our home. I'd even be happy staying a barista part-time to help with bills--not a shift supervisor, not a manager, but a barista, because I happen to love it.

I guess that's what it comes down to--I happen to love my life where I "just" serve people, "just" keep house, "just" write and take pictures.

I'm losing that frantic feeling that I NEED to Do Something, to Have A Career or at least a Real Job, because without one I'm wallowing in the rut that so many people fought for me to be able to leave. I'm losing the self-imposed of cloud of Should, of What Am I Going To Do With My Life, the guilt that's more from myself than anybody else. I'm gaining self-respect, fulfillment, peace and contentment with who I am and what I want to do.

And hell, I'm not even there yet! I'm still in the part where we have to work our asses off to get by, where I can only get myself to write once or twice a week, where I have a small window for photography each day that I miss as often as I hit, where most nights I'm so tired that even reading sounds too taxing. I'm still at the part where the house and the family and the life that I crave is far enough away to seem impossible.

But I know I'll get there, I know we'll get there. And I know now what I want it to look like.

I love that picture. I'm proud of that picture.
And that's all that matters.

My Mini-Vacation, Day 4.

What I did today:

[o] Futzed with more photographs
[o] Went to my Bux to hang out with people for a couple of hours
[o] Went to Hobby Lobby and dorked around a bit with AD
[o] Made dinner with Ryan (eggs and bacon, yum!_
[o] Attempted to make chocolate cupcakes....

We had the recipe for chocolate cupcakes, we had the ingredients for chocolate cupcakes, everything was peachy...until I went to add the brown sugar, and found that the container we kept it in wasn't even close to airtight, and the brown sugar had turned into rock candy. We chipped out enough to get the molasses flavor before giving up and substituting the rest with regular sugar, but the time it took changed the nature of the batter. So instead of chocolate cupcakes, we have cupcake-shaped fudge brownies. Not necessarily a bad thing, but not what I was going for. I'm a bit disappointed, as I was more in charge of this baking project than on previous ones, but again--fudge brownies. Not a bad thing.

I realized as I was baking, that I am a lucky fool. I'm a fool in that I had a childhood filled with cooking and baking, with my stepfather David doing his best to instill the love for it in me, and it just...never seemed to stick. I enjoyed the time spent with him in the kitchen, but I never had the inclination to do anything on my own. I've always felt guilty about that.

I'm lucky, first off, that I had someone in my life to plant that first seed, someone to coax and urge and gently push, even when I was a complete teenager about it. I am lucky, now, that I'm finally learning the joys of it, and that I again have someone to gently coax and urge and coach and push. Both of them have been extremely patient with my trepidation and second-guessing, firm about my doing it on my own without constant hand-holding or pampering, and encouraging of my successes without coddling. I have been spoiled with these presences in my life, and I couldn't be grateful or happy for it :)

This is the last day of my mini-vacation. I've spent most of it doing errands and chores; I cleaned up around the house, did dishes and endless loads of laundry, cooked and helped to cook, baked and helped to bake, caught up on correspondence, done the budgeting and planning and busywork to keep our teensy two-person "household" going...and I've enjoyed every second of it. It certainly helped that I still had the time to spend on art and socializing, and that I had my favorite person with me for half of it.

I'm looking forward to going back to work--I miss the people more than anything, but I also miss the barring and customer interaction to some weird degree. I blame the brainwashing. Still, it's been a lovely rest, and I can't wait until I get actual vacation time and can do this on a more regular basis!

My Mini-Vacation, Day 3.

Today I haaaaaaave

[o] picked up my prescription
[o] picked up Ryan's paycheck
[o] finished the week's grocery shopping
[o] went to the bank
[o] shipped a package
[o] finished writing and addressing thank you notes
[o] washed, dried, folded, sorted, and put away four loads of laundry
[o] rearranged the bedroom closet
[o] cleared out a lot of hoarded clutter
[o] broke down a gazillion cardboard boxes
[o] changed the bedding
[o] made dinner for Ryan and myself
[o] moved my favorite art photographs to my Mac so I could load them onto my iPad

I'm in the living room now, just finished that last task and will be hacking at an outline for On The/Running while, as usual for the past two days, Newsradio plays in the background. It might be hard to concentrate...I'm very tired, I had a big dinner to make up for missing lunch, and I might have had a delicious alcoholic beverage with that dinner....zzzzz.....

Tomorrow will hopefully be the social day of my little vacation, what with a couple of co-workers either visiting or wanting to hang out :) Either that or I'll write, or finally drag Ryan to the local pastry & coffee place, OR bang my head against my book some more.

....anyway! Right. Waking time. Writing time. Outlining time. Wheeeeee.....zzzzzz....

My Mini-Vacation, Day 2.

[o] Got lots of sleep
[o] Saw Ryan off to work
[o] Had an extensive photo session in the living room involving jewelry, scarves, a filigree ring, and gorgeous early afternoon sunlight
[o] Spent several hours playing with resulting photographs, with Newsradio playing on Netflix in the background
[o] Lent my car to BJ when one of his tires died
[o] Spent the rest of the afternoon/evening until Ryan got home doing table-requiring busywork in the living room, with Newsradio* playing on XBox Live Netflix in the background
[o] Welcomed Ryan home, went out with him to get dinner
[o] Watched the end of Monsters, Inc while eating dinner
[o] Talked to Dad for almost two hours :)
[o] Ryan went out to fetch Sameh when one of her tires died
[o] Had cake with Ryan after he and Sameh returned

I'm currently poking around the internet, although I may return to the busywork-and-Netflix combination in a bit.

Tomorrow's list!
[o] Take Ryan to Indulgences, a local pastry and coffee shop that was very lovely the one time I visited. Very college-town independent, very nice.
[o] Go to Target to fetch Ryan's paycheck
[o] Go to the bank to deposit said paycheck
[o] Go back to Target to spend said paycheck
[o] Cry
[o] Buy a lottery ticket while Ryan's not looking
[o] Reorganize the bedroom closet
[o] Maybe go to Starbucks and write during the household-involving raid?

Saturday's only plan involves possibly visiting Starbucks while both coworker A is working and ex-coworker LeAnna is visiting, since I rarely see either of them. Sunday is back to work, with my schedule switched with Katie so she can be home in time to experience SUPERBOWL SUNDAYYYYY!!!!!!!!!! [insert eye rolling here]

Right! Back to the...something.

*Yes, it's a sitcom, but it's Dave Foley and Phil Hartman at their very best, and I was so happy to find it all on Netflix :D Now if only they had Night Court...or Ed...

My Mini-Vacation, Day 1.

What I did today:

[o] Got nine hours of sleep
[o] Had sleep interrupted only once, by a text message from Boss Lady saying that all district stores were closed due to the snow. \^.^/ This means FOUR WHOLE DAYS OFF IN A ROWWWWW
[o] Sleeeeeept
[o] Made pancakes
[o] Shoveled out the cars
[o] Went to the grocery store with Sameh
[o] Cleaned out the fridge
[o] Made a cake with Ryan
[o] Helped Ryan make dinner (chicken in the same style I described a few nights ago)
[o] Watched Seven Pounds

It was a really, really good movie. If nothing else, it proves that Will Smith is one HELL of an actor; there were times that he literally looked like a different person from all the pain and suffering his character was going through. Stupendous movie. It will make you cry. It's sweet and touching and so freaking sad. G'ah.

So now I'm trying to figure out what to do before I go to bed, so that movie isn't the last thing on my mind when I go to sleep. Cuz. G'ah.

Snowpocalypse!

All the Starbucks in the area closed at 4 today due to inclement weather. Ryan still had to go in to work t 4:30, but he called me just a little while ago (9ish) to say that Target let almost everyone go home. A whole hour early! Wow! >.<

I've spent the evening getting through desk clutter and minor to do items, all with Newsradio playing on Netflix in the background. :D

Tomorrow I work noon to six (if we haven't all been buried alive beneath the five foot drifts), then I have three days off! I did have a shift on Saturday, but Katie will be gone for a few weeks for surgery and is looking to pick up as many hours as possible until then, so...mini vacation for me! Plus it's a pre-closing shift, which is what I'll do doing the entire time she's gone, and I hate those, sooo yeah. :D

Ryan has just arrived home! Only took him twenty minutes or so, although he said the roads were mostly unplowed, and people couldn't decide between one or two lanes of traffic.

I can't wait to wake up tomorrow and see if I can open the front door to the building. :D