Cleaning Day

It’s been on my to-do list for quite some time to organize my “favorites” in Internet Explorer.  The list is absurd…when I open it you can’t even see all the links because it is so long.  Like, if it were a piece of paper taped to my monitor it would go all the way down to the floor.  !!
So I created some new folders, and went through blogs that I either 1) bookmarked and never visited again or 2) bookmarked and read regularly.  #1 went in the trash and #2 went into my Google feedreader.  I created a folder for recipes (easily the bulk of my unfiled “favorites”) and another for “arts and hobbies” (mostly classes in the Chicagoland area that I might want to take at some point).  As I go through the list, there may be more that surface, but this is a good start.
Did I mention it’s been painfully slow at work recently?  An increase in the workload has been promised for January, so I just wait for the work to pick up.  But the drop in my hours (since I contract, and get paid by the amount of time I spend working on stuff and not an 8 hour day of staring at my monitor and reading blogs) has been painful to see each time a check comes in.  Still, as long as I make the necessary adjustments to my budgeting, I can manage. 
Anyway, it’s cleaning day, since I’ve not got a lot else to do.  And the cleaning lady is here (she’s still in the budget for now!) so I’ll have a nice fresh start going into the weekend.  Oh, after I do laundry that is. 

I Burn My Candle at Both Ends…*

I have not had an evening to myself since I arrived back in town.  Which is fine, I complained about being bored in O-HI-O, and I certainly was excited to see everyone here again.  But not surprisingly (and even with work being still rather quiet & slow for now), I seem to have burned my little self out and woke up today exhausted and cranky.  I want to crawl back under the comforter and hide there for the remainder of the day.
This was definitely NOT a day to try to shop for rugs and curtains online. (Rugs are expensive!! Sure they look nice and insulate the floor a bit, but I could buy 3 pairs of really nice shoes for the same price!!)  I’m trying to spruce the place up a bit before the holidays, but since I am not a home and garden type of person by nature, it’s best saved for a day when I’m a little more rested.
So.  Work today, no gym tonight, read, do laundry, empty dishwasher and make myself a nice dinner.  That’s the plan and I’m sticking to it.
*Name the poem and you are my friend

Not a Good Fixer-Upper

While I hire people for a living and like to believe I have excellent instincts about people, my match-making skills are lousy.  My greatest accomplishment was introducing L. to J. which is resulting in a marriage in April (!!).  It was like that was my grand purpose on the romantic plane of the earth and I’ve got nothing left to give.
I bring this up because I have a couple of single female friends that I just love to death.  I so often wish I could pull a little match-making action on them.  Now, this is NOT because I believe people can’t be happy single.  Nor do I believe any woman needs a man to complete her.  Nonsense.  I just…well, I’m really happy and I wish some of my dearest friends were experiencing the same kind of happiness.  I’ve been the single friend before, and while I try to be as inclusive with my friends as possible, I know how it kinda just sucks sometimes.
Anyway, all of this is to say I don’t have a single person to match them up with.  E.’s friends are all younger and mostly live out in the suburbs.  I have a small handful of male friends, and they’re all either already in relationships or just not the right “fit”.  I know I am not responsible for other people’s romantic lives, but I would so love to meet a dude and say, “Wow, he is just perfect for so-and-so!” 
I guess what I’m asking here is that if any of my readers have local guy friends who are kind of nerdy-cool and between the ages of 27-40, I wouldn’t mind so much if you maybe sent them our way. ;) 

Forgiveness Is Hard

“This forgiveness thing is going to be the hardest resolution ever.  It might just have to be my only resolution for 2008.”

-Quote from me after a child at Panera tipped over his chair, crashing into my leg and landing on the floor, for which he was disciplined but no apology was made to me by either the child or the parent.

Festive as Hell

I don’t know what has gotten into me this year, but I am much more into the holidays than usual.  I usually have a handful of decorations, treat my holiday cards like a chore (because to meet my ridiculous self-imposed idea of perfection, I MUST be a holiday-card-sender!), and find myself constantly annoyed by the same old Chrismas music pumped into all the stores.
Okay, I’m still annoyed by the same old music on repeat, but I’ve got a ridiculous itch to bake and decorate.  I want a good sized tree in the living room (since I actually have room for one!) and ornaments and lights and a gingerbread house and a big beautiful glass vase filled with ornaments in the middle of the dining room table. I want gel stick-ons for the windows and I want to bake mountains of cookies and make tons of peppermint bark. (anyone up for a trip to Target, btw?)
Perhaps it has something to do with an optimistic realization I’m sticking to about the increasingly early beginnings of the holiday season.  Instead of grousing about how retailers want as much of my money as possible, I’ve begun to think that somewhere, someone realized that our workaday lives don’t allow us enough time to really enjoy the season.  Instead of taking more time to relax and enjoy it (which would require a complete cultural overhaul), we’re just extending it a bit so we don’t have to feel so pressured to get those cards out.

Resolutions…

There’s still a bit of time before New Year’s, but I’m already thinking about resolutions.  Here’s what I hoped to accomplish and was able to tick off the checklist this year (other than that mushy gushy love one you all already know about!):
1) Stay in job at beer company
2) Spend more time with friends
3) Make more guy friends (mostly through the adoption of E.’s guy friends, but whatever, it counts)
4) Cook more meals from scratch
5) More green tea in, less coffee in
6) Exercise more (caught that one in the last few months!)
7) Grow hair long
Stay in Chicago
Maybe these are less resolutions than goals, but they were what was on my mind at the start of ‘07.
There are a few items I bombed on (ahem–getting more sleep!) but we’ll address those when the end of the year actually arrives.
Anyway, today I was hit in the head already with one BIG resolution I want to make for 2008.  Forgive more often.
I am a difficult person to cross.  Someone really has to try for me not to be able to get along with them.  But, I am also difficult to forgive.  Once I have been crossed, hoo boy (my phrase of the day it seems?), it is hard to earn your way back in my good graces.
Now keep in mind, “crossed” takes a special kind of talent. Crossed is beyond the minor annoyances we all put up with in one another.
Once I have been crossed, that person has been crossed–off my list of people I like, associate with, acknowledge, etc etc etc.  I have friends who are so much better at that than I am.  I struggle to walk the line between keeping myself from being taken advantage of and just being stubborn.  I want to limit the drama and the crazies in my life, but I also don’t want to cut people out of my life willy-nilly.  So.  Forgive more in 2008.  Resolution #1.

My Favorite Daily Read Never Fails to Disappoint

Hoo boy, this is a good one.  And who doesn’t need a laugh the Monday after a long holiday weekend?

Home Again, Home Again…Etc.

I’ve just arrived back in Chi town, and I’m freakin’ tired, so this is not going to be a terribly lengthy post.  I will say I had the most amazing service on United to and from Chicago, like, EVER.  My departing flight was on time and my luggage had popped out at the Cleveland Hopkins baggage claim before I even made it downstairs.  My return flight was delayed a tiny bit (30 minutes-ish?) due to a need to de-ice the plane, but really?  That was small potatoes compared to my cancelled flight and lost luggage earlier this year.
Speaking of luggage, the telescoping handle broke off my suitcase, so I need to buy a new one before Christmas.
All is well, and the kitties were here to immediately greet me when I got back.  H. and A. are awesome friends who took good care of my babies.  I am very, very anxious to see E. as well as my good friends.  But overall, it was a totally relaxing holiday (in which much pie was consumed and yet thankfully the scale has not crept up as much as I feared). 
Holy crap, I am going to have a lot of blog reading to catch up on.  But higher priority right now is finishing up my current Crichton book!

Off I Go…?

Everyone–have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
I leave town today and probably won’t be blogging much until my return Monday.  At least, hopefully I leave town today.  The weather for Chicago looks awful today.  I will be surprised if I make it out of here on time, and not at all surprised if my flight gets cancelled.
Oh well.  Such is the way with air travel these days.  I’d rather be delayed than to fly in unsafe conditions.
Much to do before I depart–safe travels and Happy Thanksgiving!

The Thankful Post

First of all, I want to apologize if yesterday’s post offended anyone.  The lack of comments led me to think maybe I did.  A craptacular morning led to a post that was meant to be kind of comic becoming just plain ascerbic and mean.  Anyway, generally speaking (and to Kapgar’s point), poorly behaved pets (and children) of any size or breed are annoying–as are their ignorant owners (parents).
But enough of that.  In bloggyland this week, a lot of people are taking time to give thanks or share the things they are happy for in their lives.  The reason I’ve held off on making such a list is the fact that I’ve got very little I’m not thankful for.  So the list would come out something like the 100 things about me type of posts!
The last two years of my life have been incredible to me, but this year especially because (warning:  gag alert!) I made a resolution to find a boyfriend that would truly love me and whom I could truly love and I found that.  And I still have great friends, a great work setup with a job and company that I love, a healthy & loving family, two very adorable fuzzy kitties, and now even an apartment that rocks.  I could not wish for more, really.
Here are some more pedestrian things I am thankful for, just to lighten the mood a bit:
1. Having a Starbucks literally two doors away
2. Laundry in my building!
3.  My dishwasher
4.  Urban Outfitters and their awesome sweaters
5.  My hair stylist, Heather
6. Avon’s Anew Microdermabrasion scrub
7.  Public transit, which has saved me thousands of dollars in auto-related expenses.
8.  Illinois state health insurance!!
9.    New friends I’ve made in the blogosphere (hi Kim!)
10.  World Market’s Earl Grey tea