Much Ado About Nothing

I commute an hour and a half most days. I work out at the gym by myself. I sit alone in a cubicle doing tasks that don't require neurons. My best friend lives two hundred miles away and my boyfriend is always tired after work. Consequently, I have too much time to think. So I've found myself searching for ways to keep my mind busy: mystery television, audio books, music I can sing too, crossword puzzles. Without lectures and term papers, my brain is restless and unsatisfied. Like a child asking why the sky is blue or counting the tiles in the hall. Constantly reaching for new knowledge but never quite obtaining it. Once that pen is back in my hand and I'm sitting under the fluorescent lights of the library, my mind will gasp with joy and swim in a sea of facts and theories.

Good morning

And I use the term "morning" loosely because I woke up at 10:00. I know, I know. It's shameful! But I really have no reason to get up on my days off. It's a weird feeling for me. I'm used to waking up to go to class, to study, to work, to catch the bus, etc. I'm just gonna go with the excuse that I'm catching up on sleep for the last eight years and stocking up on sleep hours before grad school. Which, by the way, I'm so excited about.

I told you about my Life List, right? Aka Bucket List (which I had already made WAY before that movie came out, just sayin'). Well I showed my list to my honey when we first started dating and he picked out a couple and he promised to make them happen. For instance:

3. See all 50 states. (Still working on that one. 8 down. 42 to go.)

10. See a new place by train. (Check!)

12. See a whale in the wild. (Guess who's going whale watching this weekend for their 2 year anniversary!)

17. See the Grand Canyon. (Check!)

30. Go to Scotland. (Still waiting on this one...)

40. Go spelunking. (Check!)

So I'm about to check another one off the list this weekend. Which feels pretty good. It's like I'm being productive with my life even though I'm waking up at 10 o'clock some days.

Plans for today:

...Make the Brown Butter Cookies that everyone seems to be crazy about. It's the fourth site on Google when you search for them! Right after the Brown Butter Cookie Company. Whoa.

...Go to the gym to work off the cookies I will eat.

...Hang a curtain rod.

...Run errands.

...Knit.

Disclaimer: These are in no particular order and I probably won't even do most of them. It's just how my life is. No pressure.

I am blessed

...because I love my honey more and more everyday.

...because my sister is always there when I need her.

...because my best friend accepts me wholly and completely.

...because my mother is the perfect mom.

...because my father breaks his back to make sure we have a good life.

...because my brother is kind and strong.

...because I have a bed, roof, car, clothes, and food.

To put it simply: my cup runneth over.

A Blank Canvas

I'd like to spin you a tale this evening. It begins, as so many stories do, with an impulse buy. A lovely mirror, 75% off....



I'm sorry. I really have no excuse. My brain went, "Ooo blue! Shiny! Sale! Dragons! Justin likes dragons...." Plus, when you're in a bizarre store of incense, wooden necklaces, and chubby Buddhas laughing at monkeys dancing on cymbals, this mirror looks completely normal. I realized this the second it entered my stark white apartment. Sidenote: Justin informed me that he likes medieval dragons only. "Only nerds like Chinese dragons." Duh. How did I not know that dragons not having legs and living on a different continent make them nerdy? I'm such a fool.

So anyway. It started with a mirror. And a where to put the mirror. Well Justin vetoed the living room (and I felt it was important for him to maintain that illusion of power), so I went with my domain. La cocina. The kitchen. Well the mirror was too small to take up the whole wall so that resulted in a project. And then another project. It's my process- leave me alone.


This is a bulletin board that I stole from my bedroom. Now I have a blank wall in my bedroom. Sometimes you gotta make sacrifices. Since I'm gonna paint the wood, I lined the cork. Please ignore the real estate magazine. It's a long story that amounts to very little. So there's the before picture...


...and the after. Purely ethereal.

Then I had to semi balance the mirror so I painted the edges of a white board blue and nailed it to the other side.

My kitchen is getting so crafty! I mean just look at this photo...


Bowl: painted by yours truly. I'm really into the color orange right now, can you tell? Breadbox: an exclusive Jac-refurbish. Salt and Pepper shakers: painted by Jess Mex. (btw Jessi that's my new nickname for you. Take it. Love it. Live it.)

Oranges inside of orange bowl.

It doesn't look so bad, if I do say so myself. Well, maybe if that funky lookin' mirror wasn't there...

So Sorry

...for the absence. I've got great plans though and I'll be updating in the next couple days. Happy Easter!

Happy Planting!

My garden is planted and I love it. These little fellows are all my friends. Hopefully I don't kill them, cause I think they'd disown me as a friend. I'm so proud of myself for following my own advice. I couldn't afford to join a farm share program this year and the weekly loot is usually too big for me and my anti-vegetable boyfriend anyway. So I customized my garden to fit our needs.


Green Bell Peppers and Jalapeno Gigante. I have a feeling I'm going to have to put these in a bigger pot. The jalepenos are for salsa and poppers. I don't like peppers (one of my few dislikes) but my honey will eat them with anything. Sometimes he'll cut them in half, put salsa in it, and just eat it like that. Then I don't kiss him for a good week while his breath recovers.



Zucchini and Lemon Thyme. The thyme smells SO good. I think it'll be good on fish. Now I just have to wait till the sharks start biting Justin's line. (sidenote: Don't do it sharkies! I don't want you to die! I hope you'll be scaring surfers for a very long time.)



Rosemary. It's like an edible Christmas Tree! Yummy.


Topsy Turvy Tomato. NOT to be confused with an Upsy Downsy. Or an Upsy Turvy or a Topsy Downsy. They really do have Upsy Downsies. I saw it wit me own eyes! I got the device from my aunt for Christmas and it's working so far. I have to hang it higher before it grows too big. Plus it'll get more sun up higher. I love that the leaves turned right side up! Or upside down? Either way, they turned. This is a Roma tomato- perfect for salsa and spaghetti.


Basil, Greek Oregano, and Cilantro. Staples of life. Except the only thing I use cilantro in is salsa. Are you noticing a trend with the salsa?


Orange Watering Can. My pride and joy. It matches my curtains. It makes me happy to water- which is VERY important for the success of my garden.



And finally- here's the layout. That's the end of my teal lounge chair in the bottom of the photo. Also, please ignore the half-dead Benji on the left. He's had a hard life of neglect. No longer though. He's gonna come back with gusto! Or I'm gonna chalk him up to a 3 year relationship that has run it's course.

This week, I flew a kite with two young boys. Well, not so much flew as launched and then chased after it when one of them dropped the string. And then tackled the younger one when he wouldn't stop grabbing the tail mid-launch. All in a days work.



I started another knitting project. It's going to be a little duckling for Easter. (Sidenote: I have no idea when Easter actually is so it might not be finished till next Easter.) Hopefully it'll look like this. But you never know. Gotta roll with the punches. Could end up looking like an Easter egg with a beak- which is cool too.



I bonded with this former monster. We understand each other better now. He's a lot like my boyfriend: fueled by attention and video games.



I tried out a new look for Saint Patty's Day.



So did my counterpart. By the way, I love this photo. It's like the comic and the straight man. And please excuse my honey's out of control facial hair. He's in the middle of Beardarino. It's a competition (which is MORE than enough to motivate him) to see who in our town can grow the best beard in so many months. The winner gets a belt buckle and their wife or girlfriend gets a plaque proclaiming them "The World's Most Patient and Understanding Partner." Not really on that second part.