On your mark, get set, catch up!

Although I am never happy to see a weekend go, there are some weekends that are just so lovely that I almost get teary-eyed at the thought of Monday rearing its ugly head.

This past weekend was one of those weekends...a simply beautiful and peaceful weekend. The weather was just perfect.  Cool and crisp, bright yellow sun, aqua blue sky, and gorgeous leaves of gold, red, and orange.  It was breathtaking, refreshing, and rejuvenating.  My soul felt happy.

We visited my parents over the weekend, which is always nice.  P and I went exploring on our own a bit - something we often do.  It was a weekend that I just didn't want to end.

As Monday has arrived and the week stretches before me, it feels like a good time to make my "to do" list as well as few promises to myself to help the week run smoothly with as little stress as possible (a week with little stress... Yeah right!).  I guess it's worth a shot, so here it goes...

1.  I will catch up on all my paperwork and prep work that I have over the next week...by Tuesday!!! (Eeek...I am running out of time!!!)

2.  I will get ahead on at least two of my projects by Friday.

3.  I will catch up on my laundry (which is always that much harder to do after a weekend away).

4.  I will not allow my suitcases to sit unpacked for the entire week (something I ALWAYS do after being away).  Everything must be unpacked and put away by bedtime.

5.  Speaking of bedtime,  I will be in bed by 11 and I will be up by 6:30 (preferably earlier) from Tuesday through Thursday).  I did not meet this goal last night and this morning, which is why I am starting this tomorrow. 

6.  I will finally schedule a haircut.  I have not had my haircut since May.  Yes, you read that correctly.  And yes, it is almost November.  Seriously, I have been complaining about my eyebrows looking like Chia Pets and what did I really think was going on with the hair on my head?!?!  Do you remember the episode of Friends with Monica's hair when they were in Barbados?  If you forget or if you are unfamiliar with Friends (which if you aren't familiar with Friends we may want to part ways now), or if you just want a good laugh, check this out.  Be sure to scroll down to the picture - you can't miss out on this image.  That is me right now.  No joke.

7.  I will clean and organize my fall and winter clothes and pack away the last of my summer clothes.  This is always so hard for me.  Knowing that it won't be warm enough for shorts and sundresses for at least seven more months is a hard pill for me to swallow.

8.  I will vacuum and dust the entire house by the Saturday.  (I added this for good measure.  I really don't think I will actually do this, but I am hoping that writing it down might make it happen.)

9.    I will be kind to myself and forgive myself when things don't go the way I planned.

10.  I will be kind to P and forgive him when things don't go the way that I planned. (Yes, I try to plan for him too.  I can't help it.  I am bossy sometimes.  It is one of my many flaws.)

11.  I will set realistic expectations for myself in terms of what I can do and celebrate the things that I do well.

Because of what I said in number 11, my "to do" list will end here.  You see?  I'm off to a good start already!

P.S. I started this post this morning, but my laptop charger stopped working.  I panicked and tried to finish as much work as I could before my battery died.  I later learned that if I prop my charger just right against my dining room table and loop the wire a certain way around my computer that I can get it to charge.  

The good part is that it forced me to haul a** this morning.  The bad part is that it took me about 45 minutes to get the charger "just right" in order to charge my computer.  I have been afraid to move it all day, which sort of defeats the purpose of having a laptop.

Well, if I am going to meet my number five, I better haul a** one more time today.  I have to say, I am longing for my lovely weekend of fresh autumn air and clear blue sky right about now...

Happy Monday!!!! 

My life with you.

"I love my life with you."  This will forever be my favorite thing that P has ever said to me.  Today, when he took my hand and whispered these words after a morning of sipping coffee in the park, my heart literally melted.

Of course, later that day he looked at me and said, "Let's get it in."  (Yes, it and in mean exactly what you think they mean.)  Thanks, Jersey Shore, for making this phrase a part of our lives.

I guess not all the words that come from P's mouth will melt my heart.  

But, P, with all the sweet and even the not so sweet parts... I love my life with you too.  

Friday Favorites - Coffehouses

I love coffeehouses.  Because about 75% of my job can be done on my computer, I can complete the majority of my work from just about anywhere.  My preferred place of work?  In a coffeehouse.  I love the aroma of fresh coffee brewing.  I love the mini-breaks for people-watching.  I love that a fresh pot of coffee (or a chai latte if I really feel like living it up) is just a mere few feet away.

Working inside a coffeehouse doesn't make work feel like actual work.  It's like tricking myself into believing that what I am doing is fun because of the awesome atmosphere.  It's amazing.  Want to increase productivity in the workplace?  Design office spaces to mimic a coffeehouse.  Make the office look like it and smell like it.  Make it feel like a coffeehouse.  Provide your employees with an enjoyable space and they will be happier as they work.  If people are happy while they work, then they are more likely to get things done.  No, I don't have data to support this theory, but I am pretty sure that I am correct and that someone out there has the data to prove this. 

The only downside of a coffeehouse is the bathroom situation.  I often find myself waiting a long time for a person to come out of the bathroom...and we all know what's probably going on when a person spends more than 5 minutes in there.  Especially when we are talking about someone who is on their fourth large coffee of the day.  Today, I actually left the line because I knew that I didn't want to be the next person to use the bathroom after someone just spent their entire lunch break in there.

Sorry, I know this conversation just took an ugly turn, but anyone who goes to coffeehouses knows exactly what I am talking about.  And I am not criticizing those I am describing because this is all just a part of being human.  All I am saying is that I just want to wait a few minutes (or a few hours) to enter the bathroom after this human behavior is performed.

Anyway, I don't want to end what was supposed to be a post on a fun topic on a yucky note.  Let me go back to the original reason for my thoughts about coffeehouses.  What makes my experience in a coffeehouse even more fantastic is when I am in a new coffeehouse.  Today, my husband had a meeting in a town a few hours from our house.  Because I have the luxury of working from a location of my choice - as long as my choice includes a computer and WiFi - I packed my "office" in my bag and joined P for the road trip.  I found a charming coffeehouse about 5 minutes from P's meeting and so I was as happy as a lark for the rest of the day.  (By the way, why are larks known for being so happy anyway?)  Happy I was, as I sipped hot coffee on a chilly fall day and worked away.  I even took a little work break...

                                     

  

Sunday Special

Today was a special Sunday indeed.

P and I celebrated our anniversary today.  Even though our anniversary was on Tuesday, we decided to have our dinner when we had the time to enjoy it.  The week days are like a rat race!  Today was all about relaxation and being together and so we couldn't have picked a better day. 

We made a late lunch and ate outside on this gorgeous October day.  We treated ourselves to fresh Alaskan King Crab Legs (which was a serious treat), salad, and wine (of course!).  Truth be told, the crab legs were our anniversary gift.  We aren't much gift givers, which works for me because I am terrible at giving gifts.  Not because I am greedy (I swear, I am anything but greedy), but because I am not very creative.  P and I are all about celebrating by eating delicious food and drinking good wine.

Today was a good celebration.  

And then, after dinner, one of my sweet fur-babies snuggled with me.

And you want to hear the best part about today?  All of the hand soap bottles in the house were full!  Boy, if P only knew how easy it really is to make me happy, we would probably be millionaires.

Friday Faves

After one busy and crazy week, I want to give shout outs to some of the highlights of my week.  

1.  Fall mornings.  The beautiful crisp mornings of fall are quite spectacular.  The only problem is, they do make me want to spend an extra five minutes in my cozy bed.  This doesn't help my problem with being on time.  But when I opened my door to this....

 

I felt ready to start my day.  I do love fall and I know that I don't take enough time to appreciate it and all its beauty. 

2.  Crock-Pots.  This wonderful little appliance saved me twice this week when there was no time to cook and I came home starving.  Crock-Pot dinners are really the only way I can cook a decent meal.  Other things just never work for me.  The art of cooking has pretty much defeated me (unless I can throw all my ingredients in a Crock-Pot).  I know what you are thinking.  My husband is one lucky man. 

3. Body waxing.  I had body parts waxed today.  Chia Pets no longer thrive above my eyeballs (or on other places on my body).  Waxing - not the process, but the result - is awesome.

4.  The blogging world.  AKA - Blogosphere (am I using that term correctly?).  I can't believe I am only just now learning about this.  I mean, I always knew that blogs existed, but I had no idea that I would love reading blogs as much as I do.  There are so many creative, talented, and hilarious people out there.  I mean, how in the world did I not know about The Bloggess?  I am pretty sure that Jenny Lawson is my soul mate and most definitely my new favorite person on the planet.  Her post, I'm probably going to get yelled at for this, was one of the funniest things I ever read.  Her PS was hilarious, and let me tell you, truer words may have never been spoken (or written).  Yesterday I talked about personality tests, but this test is even be better.  After all, everyone should know how much of an A-hole they actually are.  Because let's face it, we are all A-holes at some point - and for most of us, we earn this title at least once a day.  

5.  My husband, P.  Happy eight years of blissful marriage!  Okay, it hasn't all been blissful, but it has been an amazing ride and I wouldn't change it for anything in the world.  No matter how much I might complain or poke fun, P is such a special person and my best friend.  I am so lucky to call him my husband.  (Even if he doesn't use hand soap.)

By the way, Karma did pay me a visit today.  After making fun of P for locking himself out of the house yesterday (I really am an A-hole!), I left my office key's at home and so I was locked out of my office today.  Awesome.  

6.  The full moon.  Because I now have an excuse for all of my crazy behavior this past week. 

 

Thursday Think - Multiple Personalities?

Two blogs that I started to follow shared personality tests recently.  I have taken tests similar to these before and I am pretty sure that I get different results almost every time.  Either I don't know myself well, I am lying to myself, or I have multiple personalities.  Let's face it, no matter what, none of those possibilities sound great.  Today, I am an INFJ.  I am going to take it again in a week to see if I get the same thing. 

Thank you, A Cup of Jo and A Life Less Frantic for sharing these!  I find human behavior and personalities fascinating.  Our personality is really the one thing about ourselves that we can't change no matter how much we wish we could change it.  

Or, if you are like me, perhaps you have more than one personality...

When I took A Life Less Frantic's Quick and Dirty Personality Test, I deemed myself an ISFP.  I am determined to get to the bottom of this discrepancy.  My concern about this makes me wonder, what does this say about my personality type?  Is there a category for Anal Retentive Lunatic (ARL)?  If not, there should be.

On a completely different note, my husband bought more hand soap today...HOORAY!!!!

On the downside, he locked himself out while running this errand.  I had to come home early from work to let him in the house.  I am not kidding.    

Well, the introvert in me is calling...I have a stack of books waiting for me next to my bed.  Crawling under the covers with a good book sounds like heaven right now.

Wednesday Whines - Random Ramblings

Wednesday is a long work day for me.  My day started at about 7am and I just got home (14 hours later).  I feel physically and mentally exhausted and so I can sometimes get a little crabby.  Where there is crabbiness, whining is sure to follow.  Not the good kind...that would be wining.  Wining = Winning.  Get it?  Give me a break.  I'm tired.

Here are some of my whines of the day: 

1.  Why does the hand soap always run out on me?  I feel like the very end of the soap is always left for me.  I am constantly slamming my hand against the pump trying to get some soap out of the bottle.  If I get anything, it splatters all over me (everywhere but my hands, of course).  Brilliant.  Just once I would love for my husband to refill the soap.  That's probably never going to happen.  I wonder if he ever actually uses hand soap?  This situation just became a lot more disturbing for me.  That's a conversation for another day.

2.  While I'm on the subject of my husband...  Yesterday was our anniversary.  I love my husband dearly and he is always great at remembering the date.  But once, just ONCE it would be so nice for him to recall a different memory other than the loss his football team experienced on the day of our wedding.  I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that EVERY SINGLE TIME the subject of our wedding or anniversary comes up with other people that the first thing my husband describes is "the terrible loss" of his team.  I get it.  It was an important game.  But, seriously?  That's the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of our wedding?  It's probably the reason he is so good about remembering the date.

3.  Why do my eyebrows grow so darn fast?  I feel like I am growing two Chia Pets above my eyeballs.  

4.  How could I possibly be five minutes late for my meeting today...AGAIN?!?!  I mean, I just reflected on this problem yesterday.  What is my deal???  There is, however, a silver lining to this whine.  Everyone else was ten minutes late, which sort of made me five minutes EARLY!!!  I LOVE it when that happens!!! 

Okay that's enough of the bad whining for today.  Now it is time to end the day with a good wine.  If you are a red wine drinker, I am a big fan of Layer Cake.  Today I am drinking the Malbec, but the Cabernet Sauvignon is also awesome.  My favorite kind of cake, indeed.  

Cheers!!!!