A Happy Halloween to you all!
With it being a Monday as well, I wanted to share a Halloween “themed” song. I use quotes since there will be something different than Monster Mash here. This is actually one of my favorite songs in general. I love the part “his hair was perfect!” It makes me laugh every time.
Warren Zevon – Werewolves of London
One thing about taking public transportation is that at times you can’t help but listen to other people. (Unless in the case of Metra’s quiet car, then it’s just funny to watch people freak out at any sort of noise.) This is especially the case when they are right near me, loud and have a slight twinge of valley girl in their voice. It’s like some sort of beeping alert. No matter how hard I try my ears still catch it.
I usually block them out for the most part since I have yet to either buy a new ipod or load music into the crackBlackberry but this time I couldn’t. It was two, possibly three but two voices were distinct, 20 something women talking about age. Been there. Don’t that. Didn’t buy the tshirt since it was overpriced.
I was just about to seriously ignore them until I heard the standard blabbering about 30 going downhill. At first I thought they meant kids since they had just been talking about a friend who was pregnant. Ok, so that is medically said at times – though I don’t know all the details. THEN it flat out became a discussion of age. One of them was 23 and was talking about how 24/25/26 was when you are starting to get old.
Reaaaaaallllllly.
I didn’t say anything since I didn’t want to be like the wacko yelling at the kids. (BTW I did see him recently and had to use all my self control not to start laughing at him and making kissy noises.) I shook my head, mentioned the conversation to a few friends, and started mental notes on this post.
When I was about to turn 30 I had a number of people who asked me if I was freaking out about it. Um, no and honestly being 30 isn’t any much different than being 29 IMO. (It actually made it extremely more difficult for Darth Husband to pull off a surprise party as well. He did though and it was lovely.) It just makes me go twen-thirty sometimes if asked my age but in general that is a rare case. I recently read an article about Sarah Michelle Geller who commented on her 30s being when she really found herself/got in a good place/insert random cliche comment here.
I do agree though. When I was in my early twenties, I didn’t have a lot of stuff settled. I am not saying that there aren’t any women pre-25 that have their shit (yeah I swore, sheet or stuff just didn’t work righ) together since I know quite a few who have. I was finishing school, bouncing from relationship dud to moron and back, and just figuring out what I wanted to do in my life. While there was a lot that I did know, there was a lot that scared me. I had a plan but didn’t know what elements of that plan would work.
Add several years, lots of trial and error, decisions not to buy the Vespa and the condo on the Northside of Chicago, getting fed up with dating and you have my late 20s. That is when, for me, things started making more sense and falling into place.
What really bugs me is this view that turning a certain ages means all doom and gloom. Cue the thunder! Cue the lightning! Someone has gotten a year OLDER! I am not anti humor about birthdays but I am anti panic attacks. I know people who had serious issues with turning 25. Quarter life crisis is a term that is actually used now. Like 30, 25 was another of those “oh, ok yeaahhhh” ages.
I think life should be celebrated. It doesn’t need to be a party style celebration but celebration in a terms of appreciation for the lack of a better word. There is that saying, crude as it may seem to some people, “You either get old or you’re dead.” I know a lot of people who have left this earth way too early would work gladly take that extra year or years.
Have you or someone you know freaked out about turning a certain age? Are you like me and think it’s not that big of a deal?
By the use of this title, I hope you realize that I am joking and not mocking the online community that I have loved being part of the past few years. I see the summer vacation style “what does healthy living mean to me” posts pop up now and then which made me realize I never did one. Yes, I know pot meet kettle. Thing is, I didn’t know really how to answer that or rather how I wanted to answer it. The beauty of it all is that it really is how I wanted to answer it. So I did – TADA! See new page on the main site! It will probably get editing numerous times in the future but for now that works.
I figured it was easier than trying to explain everything and making it fit in a pretty little box. I’d end up more so like when you start getting frustrated with a large puzzle and all the dark green forest pieces all look the same. After awhile there is at least two pieces just mashed together so it is technically “done.”
However I don’t see it as a cop-out either. My little blog-that-could chugs along at different speeds, some needing a kick in the butt more than others so it fits. That’s my life as well.
Life has chugged along a bit faster than before lately but in a good way. Now it’s figuring out how to not neglect the numerous elements to favor others. Sleep however will usually triumph though especially when there is a head cold, NyQuil and 8 extra hours of sleep involved.
Now excuse me I need to set up the crockpot, play with the pets, fold laundry, do yoga, knit another scarf, write 15 emails and wash my hair… all at the same time of course since I’m Superwoman!
Snark snark snark….. or make my lunch for tomorrow and get ready for bed.
Edit/add 3/11/12: This is the content from the page mentioned above.
To me healthy living isn’t a cookie cutter deal. It is an ever evolving process. What worked for me at 20 doesn’t quite work ten years later. What works for me today might not work a year from now. It’s realizing this and working to find balance.
Some people like to use the word moderation. I like the word balance. Think of it at a pretty basic level – a balance beam. Leaning too far one way means wobbling and quite likely falling over. Trying to correct yourself too drastically could have you end up flying over the other way. Finding that middle ground and wobbling along is the plan.
I say wobbling because I’m not perfect (nor could I ever be since I have fake teeth) and life is what it is. Sometimes there is more good than bad or vice versa. One week I might be awesome at home cooked meals but then I neglect my reading. Another I might be so lost in knitting I forget to do laundry and find myself wearing Christmas socks quite a ways from December. I might be all caught up and have a sparkly clean house (or not sparkly but cleaner) but forget that I need to make sure I get enough sleep.
It is a crazy mix mosh of everything. The key is figuring out what works and keeping up, figuring what doesn’t and fixing it and realizing that this isn’t the end.
I was thinking earlier about thanking people and Geggy Tah popped into my head. Gotta love mid 90s music. If you have no idea, I have included the 90s video greatness. It cracks me up when he starts playing the trumpet when driving. Yes, there is a trumpet.
So the point of all this is more the thank you element. While I might not do so 100%, I do try to thank someone for something as small as holding a door open or something major in terms of helping me out. Even when life isn’t all teddy bears and unicorns (as Lisa Frank comes to mind and I immediate want to go buy school supplies and stickers) if someone does something nice for me the scowling stops even for a moment.
I see it too often that people don’t say thank you or show their appreciation. On the flip side, I do see genuine expressions of gratitude as well. Those genuine moments mean a lot. It doesn’t take more than a moment, if 4 seconds max, and it can change someones day if not your own.
Do you notice that people say thank you or think there is a general need for people to say it more?
While this is technically this week’s addition to the “Things That Make You Go Hmmmm” series, it is also something that is debatable.
The train I take to/from work has two tiers. The upper lever isn’t as wide as the bottom – basically half the row – and so there are single seats facing either forward, backwards, or inward. I was towards the front of the train car facing forward. About a third from the back of my car was the big mouth. He was an adult guy – somewhere after 50 but since I wasn’t paying attention to his face I can’t gauge an exact age. Definitely an adult without a doubt is a good way to put it.
So Mr BigMouth starts yelling down to the lower level at a young couple. It a variety of things that I can’t remember verbatim but something along the lines of the following.
Can I take a picture?
I’ve been watching you two make out all week and it is disgusting.
That is gross.
Go get a room.
Are you from here because we don’t do this in public?
That is for private.
I am going to tell the conductor how disgusting you are being.
And so on and so forth. The thing is though he disrupted the entire train car for a good 5 minutes. If I was in a snarky mode and closer to him, I would have told him to just shut it because his ranting was causing more of a commotion. The young couple eventually moved to a different car. I couldn’t see their seat but I saw them exiting the door between cars and the girl was pretty angry. Later as BigMouth exited he was all puffed up – that cocky proud – talking with a woman about how he told them and she was laughing too.
So my deal is that I never saw the PDA couple and the level of kissy face they were engaged in. It could have been horrible or barely noticeable. I just don’t know. True, they were in public and should have had some sort of courtesy of others. However, I could probably do a survey of how many people engaged in some sort of PDA of the kissy sort at least once in their lives and gotten a lot of yes responses. One odd part was the fact that the guy lost it and started yelling that he had been watching them make out for a week. The immediate thought was “Hey Creepo why are you starting at a young couple kissing! “
So this week the topic of Hmmmm-ness is two-part.
Is it “worst” to be kissing in public or ranting about people doing so? Worst is in quotes since I know this can be an easily debated topic. If you want to debate, please try to be nice!
Earlier this week I would have answered to Mrs. Crankypants though the answer would probably been a glare. I generally try not to let the Irish temper rage on get angry about little things. I’m not saying I don’t get angry/grr-filled/upset because that would be a lie. However, flying off the handle is not the answer to life’s problems or mini-problems.
I came home to Darth Husband making sopes with beef fajita mix (beef strips, mixed bell peppers, onions and spices from a local grocery store), mushrooms and chihuahua cheese. I had a taste for tacos or some sort of Mexican food so I started happy.
Then I heard what was playing.
Internet radio comedy station.
Everyone has their little quirks, oddities, and whatnot. For some reason comedy radio when not in a moving car puts me on edge. It has been like this for years. Road trips, televised shows, and live comedy shows are fine though. Strange, I know. So there I am unable to focus on casual conversation or my dinner. I tried to deal with it and didn’t enjoy dinner like I would have been able to if I just turned it off. Simple choice but by then I would have turned into a hybrid of Mrs. Crankypants and Stompy the Elephant since when I’m annoyed I walk w my heels hitting harder than the rest of my foot. (I’ve read that being called something along the lines of heel striking when running.) Being Crankystomp might have turned into minor grumbling between the us and that was not worth it.
So I ate and dealt. Then I stated I needed at least 10 mins of music to get myself centered. A few songs by Beth Orton and Florence + the Machine later I felt more balanced and after a while pretty much back to the state I was in when I arrived home.
Music is one way I can get myself centered in grr-inducing moments. What is one that always works for you?
Disclaimer: I received no compensation for this review and paid for the entire meal myself.
Not that long ago my friend, Nikabee, and I went to Moonshine for dinner. While it is a ways from where we both live, she had been there before and thought I would like it as well.
Moonshine’s website calls it an “urban roadhouse” which is a description that totally works. It is gritty without being dirty, a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll….sorry couldn’t help it! Basically, I could see wearing a sundress and sandals there or a pair of jeans and boots and fitting in either way. I wouldn’t dress up dress up but if you want to why not right?
Overall I felt comfortable and we were seated by the main windows. Being on Division St meant great people watching. People watching when not inhaling my food that is. We skipped drinks and just got food. I could see stopping in for a beer if I lived in the area or was in the area.
I ordered the Applewood Smoked Bacon Burger with a side of sweet potato fries.
YUM YUM YUM.
I like my burgers well done and this was cooked exactly like I like it. The cheese was melted but not baked on. The bacon wasn’t super chewy – can’t stand wobbly bacon! The fried onions was battered and fried. It looked like a giant onion ring. If they sold them as onion rings, I’d get them in a heartbeat. Neither greasy nor soggy means a winner to me. The bun had a good squish factor but not smushy (yes these are my technical terms) so that you could eat it without it refusing to budge and then launching the fillings across the plate.
The sweet potato fries were excellent. If we were there for just something to snack on or something to eat while having a beer, that would be a definite option.
The service was attentive without being annoying. Add that to good food and good atmosphere. Overall, if I am in the area again, I will definitely be back.
This past weekend was Darth Husband’s cousin’s daughter’s 1st birthday. Phew! That’s a lot of ” ‘s ” in one sentence!
She loves the kid’s show Olivia and will sing along, as best as a one-year-old can and dance about. The theme song was played for her during the party and now it is stuck in my head.
What is best to do in situations like this? Get it stuck in other people’s heads as well….
Olivia… Olivia… Olivia…
Is there a kid theme that get stuck in your head way too easily when you hear it?
When I first started blogging in general I knew nothing about auto posting. I was blogging as well as a part of a photo group that had a daily photo post. As a result, I though that to post daily meant that you had to actually write and then post that day. This was hard for me especially on the days that things got super busy or I wasn’t crafting as much. My posts dwindled and eventually the craft blog theory turned into more of where this blog started off.
At HLS, Emily, Kristin, Lauren and I discussed so much over the course of that weekend. Of course blogging was part of the topics covered and as a result, my hesitation to embrace auto posting dwindled. I have not quite gotten a set rhythm using it but I do much much more than before. Generally if there is a post during the work week that is before 6:00 pm it is an auto-post. Do I put as much effort into it as if I am writing something that night? Of course. I take the time the night before or two nights before usually depending on how it is working out writing wise.
This week though I hit a snag using auto post. After finding out about Fashion Friday from Laura, I though it was a great idea and decided to add it as a semi regular series on CSYA. Eventually my plan is to have it be weekly but for now it works as a semi regular thing. Cue auto post mode. Cue post error missing the PHOTOS! I was so happy about the post but didn’t realize it hadn’t worked out as planned. For some reason the code from Polyvore didn’t want to work. I will eventually fix it but for now added an “edit” with the link. Strange especially since it previewed with no problems.
End of the blog world? Nope. Annoying? Yep but it is something that will make me remember in the future to check.
Do you use auto post? Have you ever had anything strange happen using auto post?
