Facebook

You know that feeling when you're sitting in front of your computer, "working" or "studying" or "getting stuff done" and what you're really doing is clicking around on Facebook trying to figure out if anyone has done anything interesting in the 5 minutes since the last time you checked?

Yeah...me either.

That, my friends, is a bold-faced lie. BOLD-FACED.

A few months ago (I think it was September), I took a break from Facebook for a few weeks, and while I missed out on a few get-togethers, I didn't really miss anything during that time.

So why do I compulsively check Facebook throughout the day?!?

I can only chalk it up to the fact that I am desperately alone all day long.  No human interaction.   I crave the interaction...flimsy and fake though it is via Facebook.

But I don't want to be that person.  That hopeless teeny-bopper who cannot go without Facebook for more than a day.

So what did I do to resolve this issue?  Because we know that in the past, I made the break, and then came running back soon thereafter.  And I don't want to delete my account because there are a lot of pictures I want to keep, and I may want to resurface and frolic in Facebook land once more.

I did the only logical thing I could think of.

I upped my privacy settings, and restricted EVERYONE.  That is right.  No one can see anything of mine anymore unless they personally posted it, or unless it's something silly like a notification that I changed my profile picture.

How does this help me?

Knowing that no one can see anything I post on Facebook makes me....wait for it....not want to post on Facebook, so I don't.  Madness? possibly.  But there is a method to it.

Granted, I still get on and look at my friends' cute baby pictures, and whatnot, but by not checking it all day long, I realize how much of what people post is really trite, meaningless drivel.  And I mean that in the best possible way.

So I apologize if my Facebook page was one you frequented, and now you must find someone else's pictures to laugh at, but I think this is good for me.  And now I'll just have to blog more, like my mother tells me to.

Foodie

I've been told that I'm a foodie.  Judging by my waistline, I'm inclined to agree.
I used to hate cooking.  When I was younger, I abhorred the idea of having to create meals, no matter what the composition.  I could probably count on both hands the number of times I cooked or baked growing up.

Now, I lose myself in looking at new recipes, and I love trying them out.  Granted, I still loathe grocery shopping, which is I suppose a large part of the whole "meal preparation" thing, but I enjoy exploring the wonderful world of recipes.

Among other things, I have recently made a number of vegan desserts, and a number of definitely non-vegan items...Imitation Cafe Rio Barbacoa Pork burritos with creamy cilantro lime dressing makes the top of this list.  Not to be outdone by vegetarian lasagna, pumpkin bread, pear gallette, chocolate fudge balls (vegan), chocolate chip cookie pie (vegan), Chipotle chicken and arugula panini's, cilantro lime rice, spinach feta pie...so many good things!

I do need to put a curb on my recipe perusing, it does seem to take over quite a bit of time...and then forces me to go shopping...

Seriously

My desire to write has been at an all-time low.  Clearly.
Contrary to what people may think, I do come onto my blog quite frequently, though more to read the blogs of others than to add a quaint tale about the goings on in my life, which is yet another statement of the obvious I am sure.

Well, since apparently I am racked with guilt over leaving my adoring fans (my humility knows no bounds) without a word for a considerable amount of time, I feel the need to lay down some excuses...though whether you accept them is up to you and will not bother me in the least.

Firstly, work has been, how shall I put this? Oh yes, insane.  I have been working over time like it's going out of style. You would think I was an accountant at tax time...I guess this is tax time, so there you go.  Work has frankly been taking over my life, so much so that I have been neglecting my school work too...don't get me wrong, I probably would have avoided doing school work even without the impending deadlines looming over me, but work provides a better excuse than my disdain for mathematics and economics.

Secondly, whenever I did have time where I could write something, I could never think of anything to write.  Well, there are things I could write, but I couldn't think of fun or interesting ways to say them.

So as a quick rewind, here are some of the "highlights" (I use this term loosely) from my most recent past.

January:
Nephew #14 arrived
My mom had crazy medical mania
A trip to Logan (prompted by the first 2 items on the list)
I purchased a few "new" old books
I had an incredibly low-key birthday which was fantastic
Started looking at new apartments--a bit too soon, our lease isn't up til April
Was an incredible success at being anti-social

February:
Baby brother got a girlfriend (not really my news, but exciting nonetheless)
Made delightfully sassy valentines with friends
Worked
Listened to good music
Worked
Delved into the world of Veganism (no, I am NOT going exclusively vegan)
Worked
and worked some more

So yeah...THAT is why I haven't updated the world on my movements, they are less than exciting, but now you have your update, and I can say that I blogged this month, which is all I really wanted.

YWB

So last year was the YCB, aka the Year of the Classy Broad.  If this does not ring any bells, you must be new to these parts, that's okay, we still like you...I think.

Anyway, last year involved being classy and doing classy things.  There were trips abroad, drinking out of fancy glasses, looking great and being sassy, all of which contributed to a successful Year of the Classy Broad.

Now that classiness is ingrained into our very being, it is time to unveil the theme for 2012.  I can sense your excitement....

2012 is the Year of Well-Being.

What do you mean that doesn't sound thrilling and nearly as cool as YCB?  I assure you that YWB is going to be just as epic, if not more than YCB, not only because we still are classy broads, but because YWB encompasses SO much!

YWB means being happy, doing things that will make you happy for the long term, not merely the here and now.  YWB means being healthy; physically, emotionally and spiritually.  YWB means standing up for yourself and for those who cannot stand for themselves.  YWB means committing to change, whatever change needs to occur, and not dragging your feet.  YWB means loving yourself and those around you, it means looking past the scars, the crumpled edges and the smudges that everyone has, and seeing the person God sees.  YWB means forgiving others, as well as forgiving yourself.  YWB means being a positive influence.

So thank you for reading this.  Thank you for being there for me, even though I still have a long way to go, hopefully YWB will bring about many improvements, I just want to say "Thank you" for loving the imperfect, delightfully flawed individual writing this.

Let the YWB begin!

Breaking in

I got a call from an old friend yesterday, we'll call him Ben (because that's his name, and I believe in calling people by their rightful names).  This is a friend from my Logan days, he lived at the apartment complex where we would always gather, chat, watch movies and play games, and recently brought me back a little Kangaroo figure from his trip to Australia.  We used to talk quite a bit, generally with him calling me at random times when I was least expecting it.

So yesterday's call seemed very much in-character.  At first I thought his call was an attempt to figure out a good location to potentially move to in Salt Lake, since he led out the conversation by asking if North Salt Lake or Millcreek (where I live) is closer to downtown Salt Lake.  After answering his query, he threw out another one, "Do you have any wire hangers?".  That's right folks, Ben was not looking into moving, he had locked himself out of his car.  It turned out that I didn't have any wire hangers, so I told him to call his friend who lived in North Salt Lake (see the relevance?) and see if they had any, and if they didn't to call me back and I would figure something out to help him.

My phone rang again with fervor, and the news that his NSL friend also did not possess any wire hangers greeted my ears.  Naturally, I endeavored to come to his aid, so I told him I would head his direction and try to get some help.

Well, after calling 8 different people, it was determined that NO ONE uses wire hangers anymore. So I attempted to get one from a dry cleaner's shop, unfortunately, all the ones I saw were closed already.  I decided to go to the D.I. and see what I could find.  Believe it or not, the closest thing I could find was a wire dish drying rack....yeah....so, 75 cents later, the drying rack and I made our way to Ben's location.

Embarrassed hello's were exchanged, and we set to work.  It didn't take long to determine that the drying rack could not be ripped into pieces that would be long enough to reach the door lock, so I did the first thing that came to my mind, I called a few of my more manly guy friends, and asked them for any information they had about breaking into cars without ruining said vehicle.

A number of pleading phone calls later, AJ and Aaron came to Ben's rescue, bringing with them an actual wire hanger (they DO exist!) and a large box of tools.  I was actually pretty thrilled to witness a car break-in, is that weird?  It took a while, but they managed to get the car unlocked, and we all went our merry ways, happy that the issue had been resolved.

At least I know who to call when I lock myself out of a car!

Obligatory Christmas & New Years post

The whirlwind of Christmas has come and gone, in truth, it didn't feel like Christmas this year to me.  The lead up didn't swell with yuletide cheer, this is not to say that I did not participate in caroling, looking at Christmas lights, attending parties, wrapping gifts and the like, but it just didn't feel the same this year.  Many people in my area attributed their own lack of the Christmas spirit to the lack of snow on the ground, but personally, I did not grow up with white Christmases, so for me, that excuse is invalid.

Either way, it came and it went.  I traveled up to Logan for the holiday, and spent time with my family.  We spent some of Christmas Eve at my aunt's house getting things organized and finished (she's been refinishing her basement for a while now), then spent the evening playing games and eating dinner at my grandparents house.  My niece and nephew were particularly excitable this year, which was fun to see, and Christmas morning brought back all the memories of wonder and magic I felt as a child.

I returned from Logan, and immediately got sick.  I somehow always get sick around holidays, or if I take a vacation, a bit rude if you ask me.

Because of this, I spent the bulk of New Years Eve on the couch with a blanket and pillow, and actually rang in the New Year in bed surrounded by tissues and Vicks Vapor Rub.  Today seems to be looking up however, my fever is gone, I can breathe semi-normally, and my cough is not quite so irritating.

Here's to good health in 2012!

In the meantime

I can always tell when things get busy, because the rate of my posts decreases substantially.
My most recent school term started on the first of October, just as most people are beginning to prepare for finals at typical universities...which also means that I am still doing school around the holidays...which also means that motivation is at an all time low.

In other news, I began working from home at the beginning of November.  This has proven to be both a blessing and a curse, but I'm hoping that the blessings will outweigh the curses in the long run.  It's still touch-and-go for the time being.