February Recap

Copper and I walked 125-ish miles this month! That’s 20-ish more than January! (Remember, my app isn’t 100% accurate, so it might be more.) I can’t believe how much we walked! And March is off to a good start as well (thanks mostly to the nice weather). 

As far as my goals for the year go, I’ve been slacking a bit. We haven’t made any progress toward budgeting/paying off our debts because I still don’t have a full-time job. (You can read about my frustration with job hunting here.) I do have a part-time, work-from-home job that I started recently, but I’m still training and not getting regular projects yet. Hopefully once I really get started with that we’ll have some extra money to start tackling our debt. I’m also hoping to start a retail position soon, which would also be part time, to earn some extra money while I’m still looking for a full-time job. I do have a potential freelance client in the works as well, so that will be helpful too! I created an online resume/portfolio in the hopes that it will help me land a great job. Check it out and let me know what you think! Any feedback is appreciated! 

I’ve finished reading two books so far this year, but have made zero progress on writing my own book, so that’s a bummer. I need to ramp up my writing this month. We are trying to be better about eating at home more, both to save money and eat healthier. We’re not doing as great as I would like for us to do on that front, but I think after we realized just how much we spent eating out last week, we will make more of an effort to eat at home! 

For those of you following along with our Mold Saga, our problems continue. They were supposed to install exhaust fans in the bathrooms on Monday, but the electrician said there was some duct work that needed to be done prior to the installation, so he said he would let them know and then left. I haven’t heard anything since. So today I put in another work order asking about the status of the duct work/exhaust fans and also asking what will be done to remove the existing mold (because exhaust fans are only going to prevent new mold from growing). I am allergic to mold and feel like I’ve been sick since shortly after we moved here. My asthma has gotten worse, my sinuses are constantly congested, my eyes get itchy and watery, and my throat hurts almost daily. Chris has started showing similar symptoms as well (although I think he’s slightly better off since he isn’t home all day, every day like I am), and Copper licks and chews on her paws constantly, which may or may not be related to the mold. So it’s becoming a serious health issue for all of us, which I made sure to include in my work order request. 

Unfortunately, my thumb isn't as green as I had hoped and my poor English Ivy plant doesn’t look like it’s going to make it. It got really droopy in our bedroom and I thought it wasn’t getting enough light, so I moved it out to the kitchen where there’s a lot more light throughout most of the day, but it just keeps getting droopier. I also thought I was overwatering it, so I’ve lightened up on that quite a bit, but it’s still not perking back up. 

When I first potted the plant and put it in our bedroom, I noticed a big difference in how I felt almost immediately. That only lasted for a few days though. Once it started drooping, I went back to feeling crappy. I’ve tried to look online for solutions to get it to perk back up and save it, but nothing has worked, and I’m constantly reading conflicting opinions. Some articles I read seem to think ivy does better in shade or indirect light, while others say they need more sunlight. Most have said not to over-water, so I’m trying to let the soil dry out more in between waterings, but that hasn’t helped. If anyone has any experience with indoor ivy plants and has any suggestions for saving this poor guy (and me!), let me know! 

Here’s to hoping March is full of good things, like a full-time job, an offer on our house (we recently lowered the price!), and no more mold!  

January Recap: 100 Miles and Beyond

Copper and I surpassed 100 miles walked last Saturday! In total, we probably walked closer to 105, and probably surpassed it before Saturday since my app never seems to be accurate. Either way, 100 miles in one month is probably the most I've ever walked and it felt great to accomplish that!

In regards to some of my other goals that I set for myself this year, some have been going well, others have not. I've been doing a pretty good job of turning off the TV and putting my phone away at least a half hour to an hour before bed and then making myself a cup of tea and reading a book. I finally finished reading Anna Karenina on Sunday night (actually, it was Monday morning thanks to my newfound insomnia). I have been reading that book on and off since September, so it felt really good to finally put that monster to bed.

Unfortunately, all the tea and reading and relaxing before bed hasn't seemed to help me sleep--it's just helping me get books read. Still searching for things to help me actually sleep. I've tried a white noise app which didn't help at all. I've tried calming music which helps me relax, but doesn't seem to help me fall asleep. I used ear plugs the past two nights. The first night, I slept great. Last night, not so much. I tossed and turned all night and I assume I slept some, but it was not very restful. So sleeping in our new Dallas apartment is still a work-in-progress for me (Chris seems to be able to sleep anywhere and any time after 7pm).

We've been doing okay about unplugging in general (i.e. during meals), but not great. We are cooking at home almost 5 days a week now and are making small attempts to make those meals healthier (sometimes they're really healthy, sometimes we make a frozen pizza). I feel that I'm doing a pretty good job on keeping up with family and friends and having better relationships, but there's definitely room for improvement there.

I did very little writing in January, but I've got some ideas floating around that I need to get on paper this month. I also did not submit anything in an attempt to get published. So I will try to remedy that this month as well. And as far as finding a job I love, well I have an interview tomorrow, so please send prayers, good thoughts/vibes, etc. my way!

Because I'm still unemployed, we haven't made much progress on budgeting and reducing our debt. It's hard to really add extra money to debt payments when we're living on one income and unfortunately don't have any savings. My hope is that once I have a job, we can really buckle down and focus on not only paying off our debts, but building up our savings, so that we're prepared for any future emergencies (medical, auto, etc.), or for any future unemployment (although I hope that never happens again!).

I was sick for most of last week, so I skipped yoga Wednesday-Friday. I finally went back on Saturday for a sound mediation class. Then I skipped again this past Monday since I only got a couple hours of sleep the night before. Unfortunately, that means I'm out of the yoga challenge I was attempting to complete, but I needed to take care of myself. Getting back on the mat yesterday, I was definitely stiff, but I felt so much better after class.

Overall, January was a pretty good month, in spite of the goals I made zero progress on. Luckily, I've got my Passion Planner to keep me on track!

Wish me luck on my interview tomorrow! :)

Goals for 2016

I know I'm a little late getting to these, but here they are (in no particular order).

My primary goal is to live a healthier lifestyle overall. To focus on self-care, both mentally and physically.

• Eat healthy. Most of the time. It's okay to splurge now and then. I really want to find a good balance for myself as far as food goes. I think a lot of my IBS symptoms are more stress-related than food-related. So I think if I just continue to eat a healthy diet (including higher-quality grains and dairy) and manage my stress better, my IBS symptoms might be reduced.
• Be active. I want to continue with the [more] active lifestyle I've had since we moved to Dallas. I'm walking 20+ miles each week (which may go down a bit once I get a job). I'm doing yoga several times a week (almost every day, which again, will probably change once I get a job). I haven't started running down here yet. I want to be a little more familiar with the area before I start that. Overall, I just want to spend less time sitting inside on the couch watching TV. I want to get out and explore (and living in a new city certainly helps!).
• Read more. My goal this year--again--is to read 25 books. I only read about 13 books in 2015, so I hope that if I don't make it to 25, I at least read more than 13. Less TV/movies/Netflix-bingeing. I want to try to read at least a half hour each night before bed to help myself unwind and hopefully sleep better. 
• Unplug more often. Especially during meal times with Chris, family, or friends. But also at least a half hour before bed (no TV, no phone, no computer) to help myself unwind from the day and sleep better. 
• Be present. This goes along with unplugging--putting the phone away at meal times and giving Chris or anyone else I am with my full attention.
• Drink more water and herbal tea. Less beer, wine, and other alcohol. To go with my book before bed, I plan to drink a cup of hot tea (at least while it's cold out--might switch to infused water in the summer). With our move and the holidays, we've done a lot more drinking, and we love trying new, local beers so this will be challenging.
• Be kinder to myself and others. I am my own worst critic. I put myself down more than anyone else and punish myself far too often. It's time for me to change that. Through yoga, I'm learning to honor my body--both on and off the mat. It's a constant work in progress, but I have made some great improvements over the last year and hope to continue that. I also want to work on being kinder to those around me. To Chris, especially. But also to family, friends, and strangers. I can have a short temper (although yoga is helping me with that, too!), and I'm trying to think and breathe through my immediate emotions. I'm trying to put myself in the other person's shoes. Maybe that person cut me off because they're having a rough Monday and are late for work. Maybe the checker at the grocery store just got yelled at by another customer so they aren't feeling too friendly. I'm want to be kind to those who aren't kind to me, because they probably need it most. 
• Have better relationships. I want to make a point to keep in touch with my family and friends on a regular basis, which is especially important now that I'm living out of state and most of my family and friends live in St. Louis. I want all my family and friends to know how important they are to me and to let them know by calling and texting them--not just liking their Facebook posts. I also want to be able to let go of relationships that are no longer healthy or just aren't there at all. I had a "friend" who I regularly called and texted to try to keep in touch, see how she's doing and let her know how I'm doing. But she almost always ignores my messages. So I'm going to let that one go. Friendship is a two-way street and I'd rather put my energy into other friendships.
• Budget, reduce debt, and increase savings. This is something Chris and I will be working on together, but it definitely falls under "self-care" since having less debt = less stress (for me anyway). Chris and I both have student loans, car loans, and credit card debt, though thankfully not a ton of credit card debt. I will probably do some separate posts on our plans for reducing our debt and budgeting in case anyone wants to follow along. (If you're looking for a blog on budgeting and reducing debt, my friend Elise has a great one--her and her husband have made a serious dent in their debt and were my inspiration for wanting to tackle our own debt!)
• Write more. With the wedding, moving to Dallas, and the holidays, I haven't had a lot of time to write. I am working on a book though, and want to make some real progress with that this year. I also want to continue writing poetry. Plus, writing more will allow me to have [long-distance] workshops with one of my good friends, which helps with the better relationships goals too. Ideally, I'd like to get something published this year. So I might make a secondary goal to this one to submit to one literary magazine per month in an attempt to get published. 
• Find a job I love. I've been unemployed (again) for a little under a month. Thankfully, with Chris's job promotion, it isn't imperative that I find a job--any job--right away. Having a job will certainly make budgeting, paying off our debts, and saving easier, though. But my goal here is to take my time and find a job that I truly love. I do have one opportunity on my radar and I'm hoping to get an interview set up for that within the next week or so (I'll let you all know how it goes!). If that doesn't work out, then I will keep looking because I want to find the right job for me. I don't want to just settle on something to say that I have a job. I've had to do that in the past and it made me horribly stressed.

Those are my goals, although I'm sure I think of more to add to this later! What are your goals for 2016? 

Whole30 Challenge: Days 1 & 2 + A Couple Recipes

So as of this writing, I'm on my second day of this challenge and pretty much feel normal. I did break out in hives (not sure if it can really be called that, but I'm going with it) again today and since I had the same thing for breakfast today as I did yesterday and the same thing for lunch as I had for dinner last night, I'm thinking it's not the food. At least not food I've eaten recently. I have no idea how long food can affect you (it could be from something non-Whole30 I ate Tuesday night). But I took some allergy medicine anyway because I don't want to lose sleep constantly itching all over.

Other than that, this has been good so far. I sort of started this on Monday night with an incredibly delicious dinner I made. I made roasted chicken thighs, roasted spicy sweet potatoes, and green beans. Chris had seconds so it must have been good!

Seriously, delicious. I've never loved green beans and sweet
potatoes so much in my life. 

I've never actually liked sweet potatoes (and Chris said neither did he), and I've never been a big fan of green beans (especially frozen or canned). So this dinner was a whole lot of experimentation to see what we'd like. Surprisingly, we liked it all.

I've already been asked for the recipes for the spicy sweet potatoes and the green beans. If you want to read the official recipes and instructions, you can click on those links. Here are my versions: 

Roasted Spicy Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients: 

2 medium-sized potatoes (mine were slightly larger, and by that I mean they were huge)

2 1/2 tbsp. olive oil (light-tasting, not EVOO)

2 tsp. coarse salt

2 tsp. black pepper

1-2 tsp. cayenne pepper (I did about 1 1/2 tsp. and they were definitely spicy)

Preheat oven to 375

Wash and cut your potatoes into even pieces (mine weren't even--oh well)

Put the cut pieces into a big bowl

Drizzle the olive oil over the potatoes and then add your other ingredients. Stir to coat (add more olive oil if they aren't getting coated)

Place potatoes on greased baking sheet

Bake for about 40 minutes, flip with a spatula after 20-30 minutes (we sort of flipped these the best we could and I can't remember exactly how long they were in the oven for)

When done, the edges should be golden-brown and should be crispy with a soft, buttery interior

Sautéed Green Beans

Ingredients: 

1 tbsp. butter softened (I used clarified butter)

1 tbsp. garlic ( I used garlic powder I think)

1 tsp. thyme (I used ground thyme)

1 tsp. olive oil

Salt/black pepper to taste

1/4 cup water

Fresh lemon juice (I used about half a lemon)

Combine the butter, garlic, and thyme in a small bowl and set aside

Heat the olive oil

Add the beans and salt and pepper

Cook/stir for 4-8 minutes or until the beans are spotty-brown

Add 1/4 cup water, cover and cook for 2 minutes

Remove the lid and cook until the water has evaporated

Stir in the herb butter and cook 1-3 minutes longer

Toss with lemon juice

I think that was by far the best meal we ate all week (minus the one on Tuesday at my parents' house--that was amazing, but not Whole30). We've also had chili which was ok, but not the best. I think if we want chili in the future we will just modify our regular chili recipe (no beans allowed). 

It has been a challenge trying to balance working again, plus writing for Community News (if you click that link you can read my latest cover stories--yes, there's two!), and cooking. I've been really tired the past few days, but I'm hoping my change in diet helps improve my energy levels soon. 

I know it's only day 2, but have I convinced anyone to give this a try yet? :) If you're thinking about doing a Whole30 Challenge or if you've done one in the past, tell me about it! 

And don't forget to read the book--it really changes how you look at food!

V-Day Recap

How was everyone's Valentine's Day/weekend?

Mine was pretty great :)

I've never been all that into Valentine's Day, but when Chris and I were first dating, he really wanted to celebrate. So we compromised--we got each other gifts, but instead of going out, we stayed home, ordered a pizza, and watched a funny movie. And it's been our tradition ever since.

So this year, I got him some new pants from AE that he's been bugging me about since Christmas and he got me a gift certificate to get a manicure and pedicure. Then we ordered Domino's, pigged out on that, and watched Sex Drive. After that we met my cousins at a local bar for a few beers.

Saturday my sister went with me to get our nails done. It's been so, so long since I had my nails done. The guy who did them asked if this was my first time--yikes! But they turned out fabulous and it was so relaxing :)

I think the color goes nicely with my ring ;)

We did some shopping and then I went to church. We went out to Fast Eddie's that night and that was probably a mistake. It was so crowded! But we were able to share a table with some friendly strangers just before we got our food, and the food was delicious as always!

Sunday morning we had breakfast with my family, did our grocery shopping and then had dinner with Chris's parents. 

It was a pretty great weekend. 

Today hasn't been too bad either. I've had two healthy meals so far today and I feel great. Tomorrow I plan on going for a run (which will probably be more of a walk, but I'm gonna try) since it's going to be so warm! 

I've been reading It Starts With Food:Discover the Whole 30 and Change Your Life in Unexpected Ways. I'm not finished with it (I'm not even half-way through with it), but it's already changing how I look at food. And while I'm not sure I'm ready to do a Whole 30 Challenge, I may be by the time I finish reading the book. My current issue with it is the cost. They want you to buy organic foods (mostly) and definitely organic meats, and that stuff is expensive. I'm just not sure I can spend that kind of money right now since I'm unemployed. Plus, if Chris isn't willing to do it with me, then we're buying food to make us each our own separate meals every night of the week and that will drive up the cost too. 

Either way, I'm really enjoying the book, and what it says makes a lot of sense. So even if I choose not to do the Whole 30 Challenge in the near future (or at all), the book has made me much more aware of what I'm eating and I'm really starting to pay attention to how the foods I eat make me feel.

Have any of you heard of/thought about doing/or done a Whole 30 Challenge? If so, let me know what you think about it! I definitely recommend reading the book if you're ready to change your relationship with food!

Not Feeling Much Like Myself

My mom has been bugging me for a new post :p

Despite my best intentions, I have not gone for a run, I haven't even worked out at home, and I'm still eating a lot of junk.

A big part of the problem is the weather. It's just too cold to get out there and do anything. I have running clothes for the winter, but nothing warm enough for how cold it's been the past several weeks. And the few days where it's been decently warm I just haven't had the time or energy to go.

Another problem is my unemployment. I'd love to have a gym membership (which would give me a place to workout when the weather is crappy), but until I have a job, we can't afford it. And being unemployed gets depressing. Really depressing. I'm pretty much stuck at home all day every day, which I really hate. It's boring and my pets are driving me nuts. I try to spend as much of my day searching and applying for jobs and writing, but some days I don't have the drive or the energy. Other days there just aren't any jobs worth applying for and I don't have an upcoming deadline (although that has changed now that I'm doing weekly stories).

Looking for jobs and stressing about not having a job is exhausting. On top of that, since I'm the one at home, I'm doing most of the laundry, dishes, cleaning, and cooking. Not fun.

I just haven't felt like myself in a really long time. It's been almost a month since my job and my four-hour commute ended but I'm still exhausted. And yet there are nights where I just can't sleep. And although I hate being stuck at home all day every day, I also hate going out. I love my family, but it gets exhausting for me to be around so many people after just a couple hours. Everyone is talking at once and loudly trying to talk over one another and it just makes me tired.

I've been really irritable and moody lately, usually for no real reason. I'm just exhausted by everything lately and I'd really like to change that, but I don't know how. You'd think that while I'm not working I'd be getting a lot of rest and I've got tons of time to work out and make healthy meals but none of that is happening. I'm too tired to work out and cook, but I'm not getting much rest because I'm working part-time and looking for jobs as much as possible and stressing about not having a job.

I'm trying to stay positive. I had an interview with a staffing company recently and will hopefully have an interview with a different company in the next week or so (I passed their editing test so they just have to schedule my interview). And I'm hoping that once I do have a full-time job again--one that doesn't include a four-hour commute--I'll be a lot less stressed and maybe things will get back to normal...whatever that is.

On the plus-side, I have been making time to read more which has been really nice. I finally finished The Hangman's Daughter which was really good, but long. Or maybe it just seemed really long because it took me months to finish it.

  I also read Girl, Interrupted. I had seen the movie before and really liked it. The book was excellent.



I'm now reading Slaughterhouse Five. And I'm on the waiting list for several books from the library.



I've also decided I really want to learn to crochet or knit. Problem with that is I'd have to buy the stuff to do it. So if any of you would like to donate some crocheting or knitting supplies so I have stuff to do when I'm not applying for jobs and writing, I'd really, really appreciate it! Oh and I have no idea how to crochet or knit, so if anyone wants to teach me, that'd be great too :)

And finally: I let my sister cut my hair!

And I've got a new cover story in the North County Community News about the Myers house in Florissant. You can read it here: http://mycnews.com

Recipes

This weekend was pretty relaxing. I didn't get a lot of the stuff I needed to do done, but I did get some rest at least.

Copper wouldn't let me sleep in on Saturday though, so I was up before 8am. I made myself some tea and had some apple slices with peanut butter for breakfast. After that I read The Hangman's Daughter for a while. I'm a little over half-way finished with it (I started it a couple months ago...), but it has been pretty good.

Later that day I walked over to the library (I love having a library so close to my house!) to pick up my new library card and check out a couple music books. When I got home I took Copper for a short run. Neither one of us did too well. She either wouldn't keep up with me or kept trying to run ahead of me. We didn't get very far. My asthma was terrible thanks to it being so freaking cold.

Despite my horrible asthma in the winter and the cold weather in general, there are some plus-sides to running in the cold. Mainly, I usually wear a jacket that has pockets, so I can carry more stuff with me, like my inhaler, which I definitely need in the winter. Plus, I'm just wearing more clothes in general. Pants means no thigh-chafing!

Copper and I took a mini-nap when we got home from our run, and after that I actually got out my violin and played for a bit! Later that day I got our dinner ready for that night. Chris and I have decided to try a new recipe every week (this doesn't always happen, but we're working on it) because we've been getting really bored with our meals lately. One of the new meals we tried was homemade sesame chicken.

I found the recipe on Pinterest, which led me to the blog Table for Two (that link will take you to her original recipe). I changed a few things, so here's what I did:

I forgot to buy garlic, so I used garlic powder instead. I don't think it really made a difference either way. I'll probably try to use real garlic next time though. And I used boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins rather than chicken thighs (in the comments she said you could use breasts, so I figured tenderloins would work fine too).

I put the chicken tenders on the bottom of the crockpot then mixed all the other ingredients together and poured that over the chicken. I cooked mine on low for about 4 hours. Her instructions say to take the chicken out and cut it up, but I found that mine were practically falling apart when I tried to cut them, so it was like half-cut and half-shredded chicken.

She also said to add some cornstarch to thicken up the sauce a bit, but she doesn't say about how much. I've never used cornstarch for anything before so I just mixed some with a little water and added it, but I don't think it made much difference. I might just skip the cornstarch altogether next time.

Chris made rice to go with it (I really wish I liked rice) and I made broccoli and then poured the chicken over the broccoli. I didn't bother buying sesame seeds because that just seemed like a waste of money to me. I wanted the flavor, not the "look." All in all, it was delicious and I can't wait to make it again!

The second recipe I tried was on Sunday while Chris was at work and I was at home pigging out on leftovers and such. I decided I needed a healthy snack to break up all the other junk. This is another recipe I found through Pinterest. Here's the link to the original recipe: http://www.somethingswanky.com/peanut-butter-apple-dip-protein-packed-but-tastes-like-dessert/

I love dipping my apples in peanut butter, so when I found this recipe I was pretty sure I would love it. It's honey, greek yogurt, and peanut butter. I think she used vanilla greek yogurt in her recipe, but all I had was plain. I still think it tasted amazing though! And it's healthy too!

I'm always looking for some simple crockpot recipes for us to try, so if you have any good ones, send them my way!

Weekend Recap

New glasses! :)

I went to pick up my new glasses and contacts last Friday. It's so nice to be able to wear contacts again (and sunglasses!) and glasses that are nice and light. 

We had a couple events in St. Louis on Friday for our newest book: 

We had a great turnout for both events. I love getting the opportunity to meet the authors and hear them tell their stories. Unfortunately we didn't sell quite as much as we had hoped due to time constraints at the second event, but we sold a decent amount of books. While everyone else went out to a fancy dinner that night after the second event (which was at the STL Public Library and that building is so cool!), I went home to eat pizza with Chris and then sleep.

I've been so exhausted lately. And that's making me cranky. It's really bumming me out that I just don't have the energy to go out and do stuff. I got my oil changed Saturday, we took Copper, our horribly behaved dog, for a walk on Sunday, and had dinner with my parents later that night. And that's really about all I did. I didn't clean or do any of the other things I should have.

Probably the best thing to happen all weekend was that I was asked to send in my resume for a possible job! I really hope something works out with that one because it would be an amazing organization to work for. Fingers crossed!!

Who's ready for Thanksgiving? On the one hand I'm totally excited to only have to drive in to work 2 days next week, but on the other hand, it means Christmas is too close for comfort. I have gifts to buy (with money I don't have) and places to go, etc, etc. I'm looking forward to the family time and stuff, but I'm also really hoping for some time to just rest next week. I need it. Badly.

I'm starting to feel sick, even though I've been taking Vitamin-C regularly, drinking a lot of water, eating fruits and veggies, etc. I'm hoping it's just allergies and nothing worse. I don't think I can handle getting sick and needing more medicine.

I hope you all had a fantastic weekend!

Thankful Thursday

To make up for all my negativity in yesterday's post, today I'm going to share some things in my life that I'm thankful for (in no particular order):

1. My current job. I've learned a lot here and gained really valuable experience that I think will prepare me for whatever the next chapter of my work-life holds.

2. Chris. He's always there for me and he listens to me whine and cry and puts up with random mood swings. He's really fantastic, and I don't tell him that nearly enough. Like yesterday, I came home to an incredibly clean house, which he did on his day off--I mean, clean, put stuff away, did laundry, did the dishes, etc. It was amazing.

3. My parents. They've always been supportive and understanding and I'm so grateful for that. And for their food. They feed us about once a week and it's always delicious. And I love getting to spend that time with them. :)

4. My pets. Even though they're generally obnoxious and getting into all kinds of shenanigans, I know they love me and I love cuddling with them. Copper is sweet and loving and excited all the time--she's even nice to Cocoa some times! And Cocoa is a really good snuggler, especially when I don't feel good.

5. New glasses and contacts...which I don't have yet. I'll be picking those up tomorrow, but I'm so very happy that I'll have contacts again! And I'm pretty excited for my new glasses as well. They should be tons lighter and more comfortable than my current pair.

6. Books. Even though I haven't done a lot of reading lately. Total slacker. But I love books. I will always love books.

7. Caffeine. Still can't have any, but I will be so grateful when I can.

8. The fact that it's National Pickle Day. I love pickles. So I'm gonna eat some and celebrate!

9. All of you. I really do appreciate that you all take time out of your days to come read my blog. Especially since this blog was supposed to be about running and I haven't done any of that lately.

What are you thankful for this week?

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Falling in Love: Books

Book love is much like any other love. We fall in love with them, sometimes immediately, sometimes it takes reading a few chapters, and sometimes it takes reading them more than once.

That last one is the kind of book love I have most recently experienced and it took me completely by surprise. As I was carefully working on one of our upcoming books, Annamanda, I realized I had fallen in love with it. Which was surprising because I did not like the book the first time I read it.

It was long. Like 600 pages long. And it took place in/around New Madrid around the time of the 1811-1812 earthquakes and was written as people would have talked back then. And there was a lot about religion (although the book itself is not about religion). I had a hard time relating to it. I had a hard time reading it in general because it was so long.

My boss and I have worked with this book a lot. It's not nearly as close to being done as I'd like, but I've gotten quite a bit of say in the page design and coming up with ideas for the cover. I feel as though this book has become a part of me. And every time I work on it, I fall in love with it a little more. I get excited every time I get to work on it. And I get anxious when there are other things I have to do instead of working on it. 

It's a beautiful book (which we have shortened some) and I just can't wait to see the finished project and hold it in my hands. I think my biggest fear right now is not getting to finish it before I leave. (I've decided that I'm going to leave at the end of the semester, whether I have another job or not.) While there are many things about my job that I don't really enjoy (mainly anything that deals with numbers or budgets or money), working on the books (even the ones I don't like very much) is the very best part. Seeing a book go from text on recycled paper with lots of editing marks and notes on it to the finished product is one of the best things in the world. There are quite a few other books we have scheduled for the spring and it makes me incredibly sad that I won't get to work on them (although since I'll still be going to school here, I'll at least get to see the finished product!). 

Book love is one of the best kinds of love for so many reasons and in so many ways. I think that actually working on books makes it even stronger. And I know that there are some books that I have worked on and fallen in love with that I probably wouldn't have if I hadn't worked on them...some I probably wouldn't even have considered reading at all. 

It's the reason I love books and the reason I love what I do and the reason I'm reluctant to leave. It makes me incredibly sad to know that I probably won't have a job in the near future that even deals with books at all, let alone helping to create them. 

Where Did My Summer Go?

Schools starts in a week. Okay, it's like a week and a day. Whatever. I am both looking forward to the new semester and dreading it. I'm looking forward to the classes I'm taking--Advanced Publishing and Contemporary American Poetry. I'm dreading all the people being back and all the interns I'll have and the fact that I'm so not ready for that. I have a lot to do before the interns and grad assistants get here. And it was one of those things where I kept telling myself I had plenty of time until, all of a sudden, I didn't. Ugh. 

Seriously though, I can't believe summer is already (almost) over. It's been a busy summer. I'm looking forward to what's coming up though. First and foremost, we'll be moving sometime in September and I can't wait to be in our new house (and it's actually a house, not a duplex!). Second, there's the possibility that I'll have a new job at some point. I've been looking and I've applied at a couple places, but I haven't heard anything yet. The hard part is going to be finding a job that I will enjoy and that will also work around my class schedule. Most of the jobs I think I'd really love are full-time 40+ hours a week and not likely to give me the time off I'd need to be in my classes (not to mention the driving to and from part). 

Once we're moved in to our new house there are quite a few projects Chris and I want to do (and most of the work will be done by Chris. Probably. ;) ). I think we're going to paint the refrigerator with black chalkboard paint. And Chris wants to build a coffee table. And a desk. I'm most excited about the desk. It'll give me a place to actually do my homework and stuff for work. Right now my "desk" is either the kitchen table or a tv tray. Not ideal. Plus it means leaving most of my stuff in the kitchen. Not a fan of that. 

I also really can't wait to live in a bug-free home. Or at least I'm hoping and praying it will be bug-free. I'm mostly worried about the possibility of bringing the ones we have now with us to the new house. Having bugs has made me more OCD than I already was. Oh and paranoid. It'd be nice to move into our new house and just relax and not be freaked out all the time about the possibility of bugs. In addition to the cockroaches, we also have spiders now too. Spiders are freaky little things and used to scare the crap out of me. After dealing with roaches for the past few months though, spiders are a lot less scary and slightly more tolerable. At least they aren't dirty and carrying God-knows what kinds of diseases. Ick. And most have been fairly small. 

In addition to not getting rid of all of the bugs in my house, there are a few other things I didn't accomplish this summer: 

Reading a lot of books. I finished one (American Psycho) and started another (The Great Gatsby) and that's it. Fail. 

Running a lot. Sure, I ran, but not nearly enough as I should have. 

Eating healthy. After months of eating Walmart's horrendous produce, I've sort of given up. I'm eating applesauce now instead of apples. We keep buying/eating banana's even though they're awful. I buy pre-cut baby carrots in a bag rather than fresh carrots. We buy frozen broccoli and cauliflower. I gave up on buying stuff like grapes or peaches because they rarely looked good in store and when they did, by the time I ate them, they were practically rotten. Such a waste of money. So I'm excited that once we move I'll be able to eat as much fresh produce as we can afford to buy. And when we run out of money I can always steal some from my mom ;)

I'm sure there's more, but that's all I can think of right now. There's a lot I'm looking forward to this fall though, so although I'm going to miss working from home on Fridays and how quiet and empty campus is during the summer, I'm ready some changes! :)

Amazon student

Forgot to mention! If you're a student and have a ".edu" email address, you can sign up for Amazon Student, which gives you all kinds of deals like free two-day shipping, plus you get a discount on Amazon Prime. Go to the link below to sign up!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/student/signup/info?ie=UTF8&refcust=PSTF2XI2VVGCCOT6QYRK556MLY&ref_type=generic

Memorial Day Weekend Recap

How was everyone's Memorial Day? Mine was pretty busy, but it was good. We stayed with my parents. Copper had a blast running around like a mad dog in their back yard. Saturday night we went to Gettemeier's with my sister for a few beers since we hadn't done that since she turned 21. We had a good time.

Sunday breakfast was delicious, as expected. Biscuits and gravy and fried eggs and some fruit salad. I was going to try to go for a run on Sunday but I was exhausted, so we were lazy and napped for a while before we got ready to go to a graduation party. I got to see my best friend, Dani, who I haven't seen in far too long. We didn't get to spend a whole lot of time together, but it was fun. After that we went back to my parents' to watch a movie.

I finally went for a run on Monday. It wasn't a great run, but I got out there and did it (or tried anyway). And, I even read a little more in American Psycho! Not much, but I'm getting there. I'll finish it eventually. :)

We had ribs for dinner that night and they were delicious. Someone fell asleep on the way home:

Copper was a sleepy puppy after a nice long weekend
of running free in a nice big backyard :)

We got home (a little earlier than we expected!) and it seems like it took forever to unpack. I hate packing/unpacking. Once we were finally finished with that we sat down to relax and watch a movie. Copper passed out on the couch. I kept hearing a noise, but I couldn't tell where it was coming from. Eventually, I realized it was the cat scratching at the door--she wanted to come out! So I cracked the door open for her and she came out to explore. She even walked right up to Copper since she was asleep and all, but she moved and scared Cocoa off.

Look who came out to explore!

Copper has gotten a little braver every day and the other day they were growling/hissing/barking at each other from opposite ends of the hallway:

Demon kitty trying to scare Copper. 

Cocoa is slowly becoming more tolerable of Copper. Today she let Copper in the room (I was holding Cocoa though) and she didn't growl or hiss at her--until Copper started eating the cat's food. Kitty didn't like that. 

Friday night we're going to dinner and then the Cards game with my parents. And it's a fireworks night after the game--my favorite! :)

Enjoying My Break

I have been enjoying my time away from school. A lot. I'm a lot more relaxed and less stressed. It's a nice feeling. And working from home on Fridays is awesome. :)

I don't have my "official" grades yet, but I'm pretty sure I got As in both classes. I still haven't finished American Psycho yet. I needed a few days to just be lazy and watch tv and not use my brain more than I had to. Seriously, I watched movies on tv all day on Saturday. And I enjoyed every terrible second of it (most of the movies totally sucked, but there was nothing else on lol).

On Sunday we went to my aunt and uncle's house for breakfast to celebrate Mother's Day. We'll be taking my mom to the Cards game on May 31. After breakfast, we went to the Cards game with Chris's parents. Unfortunately they lost, but we had really good seats.

I couldn't get any better pics, but we were about 15 rows or so
behind the Cardinals dugout. 

Chris got a new car! Which I didn't take pictures of because I never took any of my new car so that would just be unfair. Haha. Now that he has a fancy new car that isn't falling apart, he gets to drive me around everywhere! Starting with last night when we went to the Cards game and they WON! First game we've gone to all season that they've won. Finally.

And here's a picture of Copper with one of Chris's socks that I took the other night:

She likes to steal his dirty socks and throw them around
like she's playing catch with herself. It's adorable, which makes
it hard to tell her not to do that lol. 

(un)Officially DONE!

I'm back!!

I hope you all are as excited as I am.

I'm technically not done with this stupid semester because I still have to go to my class this Thursday night. But I do have all of my assignments finished and printed and ready to turn in on Thursday. So pretty damn close.

I really, really want A's in both of these classes. I'm 99% sure I've got an A in my poetry class (speaking of, the book review I wrote is going to be published! more on that later). I'm fairly certain I'll get an A in my research class (a well-deserved one if I say so myself), but at this point, I'm not sure I even care anymore, just as long as I get a B so 70% of my tuition is covered ;)

The unorganization of that class is pretty much what made it the worst class ever. Oh, and the fact that half of what we did was totally irrelevant. To anything. Ever. I definitely plan on celebrating when I get home Thursday night ;)

My summer class starts in June (I think?). I'm not sure what to expect as I've never taken a summer class before and I've never had this teacher before. But it's only a month-ish long (pretty sure it starts in June and will be over before my vacation in July). Next semester is gonna be pretty great. I'll be taking Advanced Publishing (which I took as an undergrad, so I know I'll love it) and Contemporary Poetry. It's going to be a million times better than this semester. Plus, the poetry class is an afternoon class, so I only have 1 night class!

As you can imagine, my 100 Book Challenge is not going so well. I officially have 4 books read. I still haven't finished Book 4 yet (American Psycho). For my poetry class we had to write a review on a book of poetry. Thanks to all the books I bought at AWP last year and still haven't read, I had plenty to choose from. I did my review on A Hotel Lobby at the Edge of the World by Adam Clay. I got an A on the review and it will be published! So that book is technically Book 5. I plan to finish American Psycho within the next two weeks so I can move on to whatever's next on my list.

                       

Copper has pretty much been the pain in the ass she always is. But a cute one :) She's getting really good at sitting and giving high-fives. Yes, we taught our dog to give high-fives instead of shake. We're cool. One of these days I'll get a picture of it.

Have a great Tuesday!

A Few Not-So-Important Research Findings

So, I actually learned a few things while I was doing homework for my Research Studies class. Crazy right?

1. I get a lot more work done in less than half the time when I don't have a puppy throwing toys in my face in an effort to get me to play with her.

2. Apparently people thought (some still do?) that Mary Todd Lincoln was insane and her son had her committed at one point. My non-expert opinion? PTSD.

3. Google is superior. I had to use Yahoo! Directory to search for one of the answers to a question (because my teacher hates Google and Wikipedia--even though I'm pretty sure that's how we all finished undergrad, but whatev). I eventually found a reliable, accurate, and current source. Out of curiosity, I decided to Google the question to see how easy that same site would be to find. It was the second search result. As opposed to the sixth or seventh on Yahoo! Out of even more curiosity, I decided to bing it, because I'm sick of seeing those stupid bing commercials where they do a blind comparison between it and Google (and they always choose bing!). Bing was as bad, if not worse than Yahoo! So those commercials are lying to you. Just fyi.

And in case you were wondering, I used the exact same phrase in all three searches. I suppose if you're not concerned with the credibility of your sources or with how up-to-date they are, then Yahoo! and bing are the way to go.

4. I don't like change. More specifically, I don't like changes to websites. Especially drastic ones. I went to a site that I used several times last semester, but it looked completely different. I began questioning if I was going to the right site in the first place (I double checked with my boss and I was). I'm all for updates and stuff, but doing a complete overhaul is just too much. For me at least. I had a hard time finding what I was looking for because I didn't know where to look.

5. Seriously, Google.

6. My Research Studies class homework is so much more enjoyable when it doesn't involve lugging around a gigantic book full of gibberish. (Okay, it's not gibberish--it's English. But it may as well be in a different language because it's confusing as shit.)

7. I made my boss laugh by telling her how my teacher always uses this excuse for making us learn to use that book: "What if the power goes out and you don't have internet access to do your research?" Um, I'm pretty sure that if my power goes out, the last thing I'm going to do is research. Even if I'm in the middle of doing research. Power's out? I'm done. Let's tell stories or something.

8. I hope my teacher can appreciate sarcastic answers to her questions. That's not really something I learned. Deal with it.

9. Cuties are not just for kids. Adults like them too! Those commercials piss me off. And if you're wondering what the hell that has to do with research, it doesn't. Except that I was eating one towards the end of my research assignment.

That was more than a "few." Oh well. You survived! And I survived another round of Research Studies soul-crushing!


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Books!

So I was a slacker and didn't go workout today. I had every intention to, but my stomach has been a wreck all day which can make for pretty miserable workouts. Plus, I read somewhere that you're not supposed to exercise if you haven't had enough sleep (can't remember how much is "enough") and I'm exhausted. I think at this point any exercise would just make that worse rather than giving me a boost of energy.

Now on to the fun stuff:
Jan Morrill's book The Red Kimono just came out. I can't wait for the summer so I can read it! She was one of the contributors to our book Proud to Be: Writing by American Warriors and she came all the way from Arkansas for both of our readings (one in STL and one here in Cape). And she's super nice! I'm sure this book will be fabulous.

Me and my boss with Jan's book--isn't that cover gorgeous?!

In other book news, we sent our forthcoming book The Execution of Richard Sturgis, As Told By His Son, Colin to the printer this week. It will be available in May. I can't wait to see the finished product!

We also got some sample books from a printer in Illinois who wants our business. Their books are all really nice. And my boss gave me one of them--knowing I'm a Cards fan and all. The forward was written by Stan Musial, so I thought that was kinda cool. I can't wait to read this one as well (although I'm sure Chris will get to it before I do).

Free books is probably the best perk of my job. 

It's Friday, which means no meat. And I polished off the rest of the jelly for my pbj in yesterday's lunch. So I treated myself to Jimmy John's today and got the tuna sandwich. I've never had it before, but it's really good! 

Remember how I said I'm exhausted? Well, I have this little doll to thank for that:

I swear she has an alarm clock in her kennel...

Up at 4:30 this morning. And since I didn't want to risk getting dog pee on my face again this week, I got up to let her out. 

That's all I've got for ya this week. I've got plenty of homework to keep me busy this weekend to prep for midterms. Yay. Have a good one everybody!

P.S. Don't forget to head over to Amazon and buy The Red Kimono!

One Year Anniversary

A year ago today, I started my new big-girl job as Administrative and Editorial Assistant for Southeast Missouri State University Press. 

I can't believe it's been a year. What did I do on my first day a year ago? Left for Chicago for the AWP Conference. I had very little money--had to ask my parents for money to pay for my food while I was there--but I bought as many books as possible and got several signed by the authors. I still haven't read all of them yet, but I'm working on it.

It was my first time in Chicago--I loved it and hated it all at once. It was freaking February. It rained. It snowed. It was sunny and warm one day so we walked all the way to Navy Pier. It was painfully windy. And somewhere along the way, I lost my coat--go figure.

We got to see the premier of Being Flynn, which is based on the memoir Another Bullshit Night in Suck City by Nick Flynn (if you haven't read it, you should--it's fantastic...and how can you not want to read it with a title like that?!). I couldn't get my book signed by him because I had loaned it to a friend :( Getting to meet and talk with so many authors and other small presses was pretty awesome though.

A week later I was back in my apartment in Cape and learning my new job. I feel like it took a really long time to understand everything. And it took even longer to get things cleaned up and organized (the lady who worked here before me was not super organized, and by that, I mean not at all).

A year later and I still feel like there's a ton I don't know or understand and still have a lot to learn (which I guess is good in a way). And my office is not currently all that organized. Like most other "spaces" in my life, my office is an organized mess. Everything isn't neat and perfect, but I know where to find things (most of the time).

I started grad school last fall--being a full-time employee means I only have to pay for 30% of my tuition (as long as I pass). I was nervous last semester--worried about having enough time for work and classes and homework, etc. Last semester went pretty smoothly though.

This semester? Not so much. My research class is quite possibly the worst I've ever taken. I'm quite thankful that I only have one other class this semester (although only taking 2 classes a semester kind of kills me inside when I think about how much longer it will take to get my degree). I will be one of the happiest people in the world after finals are over in May (the other happiest people will be the other 15-20 people in my class).

Overall, it's been a good year. So much has changed since I started here. I moved twice. I went to Chicago twice. I bought a new car (all by myself the way grown-ups are supposed to). I've gotten to proof/edit several of our magazines and books. I had to take 4 sick days (which feels like a lot, but considering how much I used to get sick, that's a major improvement). I was kind of excited Monday morning because I felt good and realistically thought I could make it to today without getting sick, which would mean I would have only used 2 sick days (back in the fall when I had that awful UTI).

My stomach had other plans. You can read the full sick post here, but I was really, really upset when my boss sent me home. Partially because I had just thrown up and I'm a big baby and partially because I knew this meant at least 3 sick days in the year (which turned into my 4 total). And being sick means getting behind on work (she wouldn't let me take anything home to work on), behind on homework, behind on chores at home, etc.

I'm excited for this next year. We've got some really great books coming out this year (one that's almost ready to go to the printer!), I'll officially be finished with my first year of grad school (assuming I survive my research class), I'll be taking my first vacation in July, etc. Here's to another year!