summer sun, something's begun

I have an awesome prize for the first person who tells me what song the title of this post is from. GO!


Yesterday Diana and I were discussing the abundance of 'summer bucket lists' floating around Pinterest these days. 

(Exhibit A)

Source: Uploaded by user via Rebekah Budziszewski on Pinterest

 (Exhibit B)

Source: thedailydigi.com via Kids Club on Pinterest

They're fun and all, but we have some serious problems with most of them. First of all, they have like twelve thousand items. Clearly they are meant for people who have twelve thousand free days of summer...which is incidentally not us, since we have the exact same amount of free hours during the summer as we do the rest of the year. So I don't need that many new things to do. You're killing me, Bucket List. Secondly, most of them are for people with kids. Or people who ARE kids. Because let's talk about how creepy it would be if I went and showed up at a splash pad by myself. WOOOO!!!! Water shooting up out of the ground!!! I'm losing my miiiiind!!!!!!

Not. Happening.

Also, I do not want to make a robot (???? Nor would I want to make one if I were a kid or if I had a kid or EVER, really. Robots are for scientists. Not people like me.) or catch a frog or throw water balloons (seriously, who's gonna clean up all those tiny pieces of plastic balloon bits when we're done? Plus water balloon fights always result in tons of ant bites. Not sure how that happens, but it's a guarantee) or basically do anything except drink rum-based beverages while I work on my tan by the pool. That's what summer is for. 

But then, it's good to make goals, to make a point of doing fun things that aren't just sitting by a pool...you know, like training for a triathlon! Or painting the living room! Obviously I'm all about trying new things. Just not the things I've seen on most of these 'bucket lists.' 

Which is why Diana and I did the only logical thing. We made our own bucket list. Our bucket list for people like us. People who are semi-old, who do not have kids (or even a spouse, necessarily) to base our activities around, who spend most of their summer hours WORKING, and who do not have unlimited money. The best Summer Bucket List Ever.

And then we made it pretty.

Amazing, right? It took us almost 20 whole minutes to think of the perfect balance of 'okay, what are things we'd probably do anyway? we need easy things to check off...' items plus 'what are things that would be FUN but not TOO hard to work in?' plus 'must think of something that isn't related to food' goals. I know. We are super dedicated. And then Diana whipped up the little graphic after work and...voila! The perfect List. You are welcome. Feel free to join us in our ambitious endeavors, and look!!!- we even made three blank boxes so you can make your OWN goals! We are nothing if not givers. Truly.

Also, we definitely did not start off by aiming for 20 new beers. Definitely not. That would make us look totally un-classy when we are clearly super classy (please see: gray chevron background, bright turquoise and green color scheme). But I am saying that if anyone sees any Adult Beverage Bucket Lists floating around, I know someone who might be interested. A friend of a friend. Yep.

It's summer, yall. Even for us 'working girls' (Diana says that phrase has bad connotations? I don't get it...), it's an exciting prospect. Summer!! Yay!! Summer with 23 new goals?? SUPER YAY! Let's see who can finish them all first. GO!

ch-ch-ch-changes

So as I was laying in bed all day Sunday, staring through the bedroom door out into the living room, I had plenty of time to think. And think. And plot. And plan. And look at Pinterest. And analyze. And then it came to me: I definitely need to redecorate my living room.

It's been in the back of my mind for a few months now. Lurking. But I've been ignoring it. Because don't nobody have time for that. Except for really, I do. I mean...I could. And it would be fun, right?

So here's the thinking. I don't really want to redecorate so much as re-paint. That's the main thing. I'm tired of the green. And while it's not quite as neon-ish and glowy as it is in these pictures, it's still a bit...much. I used to love it. Now it kind of gets on my nerves. But that's okay, right? I mean, we've been in our house 4 years. It's okay to want to change things up after four years. 

I'm just over this green. Not all green, which is convenient since my kitchen and laundry room are two other shades of green (which I still like)...just this one. And I want to lighten things up. I'm thinking I want a light bluish-gray for the walls now. Lately most of the decor I've acquired (via yard sales, crafting, etc.) has involved varying shades of blue, and I think most of my furniture/textiles/decor would look nice against a bluish-gray backdrop on the walls. Obviously I don't have the money to do any kind of FULL makeover, with new furniture and all, so finding a color that will look good with what I have already is key. Oh but I do want to get a new rug. That's part of the plan. New paint and rug(s). Matt agreed to that much.

Source: decorpad.com via Erika on Pinterest

Not that my house will look anything like this (way more minimalist and trendy than my stuff!) but I like the overall colors. I might want the walls to have slightly more blue in them? Who knows. 

                                                                                      Source: buddysrecipes.tumblr.com via Erika on Pinterest

I like these colors. Maybe not quite so light on the gray, but the darker gray/brown color can represent my couches (which are actually totally brown, but...similar), then there's the fun blue and green (which are the accent colors in much of my decor, plus the colors of the walls of the rooms that adjoin/are visible from the living room- the kitchen and our bedroom). 

Anyway. So I've decided that as much of a huge pain in the booty it's gonna be to paint our living room (hello super high ceilings...and heavy bookcases...AND GIANT PIANO), I seriously think we could do it in a weekend. If we worked really hard. And got a super fantastic primer so that we maybe only have to do one coat of primer and 2 coats of paint...??? Or actually, I wonder how much it costs to have someone come paint your living room for you. Professionals. I'm 30...should I not be doing my own dirty work at this point? Ha. 

Here's a final thought/question: What's the deal with Benjamin Moore paint? I notice lots of people using this...and not just Rich Bloggers and Magazine People. Like...real people that I actually know, that I know are just regular people with regular redecorating budgets. But in my mind, Benjamin Moore is like...really expensive (not that I've ever been inside one). I usually just get my paint at Lowe's. It seems expensive enough there. What's the draw with BM? Is it the quality of paint, the colors, or both? Does buying that brand of paint somehow make painting a living room a magical, delightful experience? I need to know this stuff.

Alright. So. Operation: Redo the Living Room. It's gonna happen. Get ready. And if painting walls is a deep passion of yours and you want to come help, feel free to let me know.

a very happy weekend

This is possibly the only Monday of the year that I eagerly anticipate (unless I'm going on vacation on a Monday. I would be excited about that, too)...the one that indicates that I survived another Mother's Day and that the world can go back to the regular, average amount of reminding me how amazing mothers and kids are. Whew.

To be honest, yesterday was better than anticipated. It was also way more awful than anticipated, but not in a way that had anything to do with MD. It was better-than-anticipated because I was so truly overwhelmed with the kindness of people all throughout the week and on Sunday-- cards, notes, texts-- just reminders to me (and other IF friends of mine) that people were thinking of and praying for me...it was so wonderful. It gets hard to be bitter when people are being wonderful-- so KNOCK IT OFF, FOLKS- BITTERNESS IS MY 'THING.' Okay, just kidding. Never stop being awesome. So in that sense, I felt incredibly loved and cared for over the weekend, despite my empty uterus and nursery. We'll call that a win.

What was not a win was the fact that my period arrived yesterday and with it a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day of Endo Awareness. I literally got out of my bed maybe 4 times the whole day (for a total of maybe 30 minutes, with 25 of that being spent on the couch). Therefore I spent the day in a drugged haze, curled up with a heating pad and my sweet dog and husband who took care of my every need and whim (such as when I suddenly realized the only thing I could possibly eat were tiny chocolate donuts). I took the opportunity of being stuck in bed all day to read a book I'd picked up at a yard sale a few months ago, Running with Scissors. Gotta say-- totally hated it. Read it cover to cover...hated it. People who compared it to the memoirs of David Sedaris...HAVE YOU EVER READ DAVID SEDARIS?? Then please don't insult him like that. This book was disturbing and grotesque, and while the author is probably a humorous person (and had a wry and humorous writing style), there was nothing funny about it. I just felt sorry for the guy and can't comprehend how everything in the book could possibly be true and no one ended up in prison. At any rate, now I'm stuck figuring out what to do with the book. I don't want to keep it. But I can't stand the thought of donating it to Goodwill because that would mean that someone else might possibly end up reading it, and I wouldn't want to inflict that on an unsuspecting person. Any ideas?

So that was yesterday-- a terrible book to top off my terrible pain. I slept terribly last night (despite drugs that should make that impossible) but here I am, ready for another week of work.

BUT! Lest you think my whole weekend was a bummer...let me inform you: It was not. Friday afternoon started off with getting to go visit Mollyanne and her brand-spankin'-new baby Emery in the hospital!

...And I'm not sure why that picture is so blurry, but oh well. Mollyanne was doing well, Emery was super cute and itty-bitty, and it was a great start to the weekend. Most notably, Emery has hair EXACTLY LIKE MINE. I mean, same color, straightness, everything. This leads me to suspect that Mollyanne stole some of my DNA and Emery is partially mine. So that's pretty awesome. Also, as Mollyanne pointed out, this will make it even easier for me to be Emery's hair (and fashion) muse (which Mollyanne had been planning on even while Emery was in utero)...so, things are off to a great start there!

On Saturday I met up with two of my lifelong besties, Elizabeth and Laura, for lunch in Lawrenceville (a town halfway between all of our homes).

To prove how awesome and long-term our friendship truly is, I would like you to enjoy the following photo-of-photos. Elizabeth found these yesterday when she was visiting her parents. Amazing. Simply amazing.

Yes, that would be the three of us in our awesome band portraits from high school. Try not to be jealous of how cool we were. 

Now you can appreciate how far we've come. Sadly, we did not take our flutes and French horns to lunch, but we did at least spend a few minutes talking about the good ol' days in band, so that's gotta count for something.

We went to Local Republic, a freakin' awesome restaurant in downtown Lawrenceville. It was SO good. I seriously wanted Matt to take me back a few hours later for dinner that night (but he wouldn't). But I'll be back soon for sure. I wanted to eat everything on the (limited, seasonally changed, locally grown-brewed-and-sourced) menu.

We did a little downtown walking and shopping, then grabbed froyo before heading back to our respective towns. It was a fabulous afternoon-- there's something so wonderful and comforting about hanging out with people who've known you since preschool.

So all in all, it was a great weekend. I even got in a few tough workouts! Oh, and we finally saw Silver Linings Playbook on Friday-- it was SO good!! This is going to be a great week, too- my very first niece (and first baby of any sort in my family) will be born on Wednesday!! So that means that next weekend will be full of all sorts of baby love and I will get to be a proud auntie again. I hope this baby looks like me, too. I have high hopes, since my brother and I looked very much alike as kids. So keep your fingers crossed for THAT very important thing...ya know, in addition to hoping she's born safely and healthily and all that, too, I guess. Whatev. You gotta have priorities.

entertainment

Yesterday morning during our commute, Matt did something very un-Matt-like: he broke out in spontaneous song. This is more the sort of thing I usually do...apparently I'm contagious, though. We'd just finished listening to an interesting story on NPR and all of a sudden Matt's singing an ode to the topic in a very deep and operatic voice. It made me crack up, and I immediately pulled out my phone to record him. Against all odds, he agreed to let me and started the song over once I was ready to record.

That would have been funny enough. But then?

Then he unintentionally made it REALLY funny to me. REALLY FUNNY. Because in one fell swoop he proved that he is equally unschooled in current social media AND drug terminology.

And I almost died. And couldn't wait to put the video on my blog for everyone else to enjoy, too. You're welcome!

Enjoy Matt's 41 seconds of glory:

I think he meant 'Tweeting.' But what he actually said was this. 

It was pretty funny.

Relatedly (?), we've been behind trucks with these same decals TWICE in the last two days. I think that's too often to be a coincidence. Clearly God is telling us we need to get these for our Matrix.

Nothing screams 'Big Nasty' like a red hatchback with two coffee-drinking 30-year-olds listening to NPR, does it? That's what I thought.

Have a great weekend, you big nasty, you.