Sooooooo Boring.

Quote of the day: "F-ck me, Josh Holloway looks good enough to eat." From Kaiser at Celebitchy.com

Sweet lord. I've been trying to catch up with Lost before the premiere on Tuesday, but I'm failing MISERABLY. I watched Lost through 2007, but when I moved home I missed a few episodes and never caught up. I kept getting confused and frustrated. BUT THIS IS THE FINAL SEASON.

But, I'm having a helluva time trying to watch season 1. I know that there are MUCH more exciting things to come, so I'm just not interested. Maybe this weekend I'll sit down. But seriously, I really can't watch 4 seasons by Tuesday. I need to accept that it won't happen, and set my DVR to record the new ones.

I made chicken pot pie last night, and it was a resounding success. Mike approved, as did our friend Harry (Aaron). I am glad they both were happy.

Besides that - I'm all sorts of boring. After last weekend, I've got big plans to hibernate. Watch Lost. Make Maddie a fleece dog bed (that she probably won't use). Hem a skirt. Unhem some jeans. Make soup. Sleep. Sleep. Sleep. YAY!

Things and Things

This weekend, I...
* Stayed at the strip club until 3am.
* Played Flippy Cup on team Flipadelphia
* Stayed out until 2:30am at High School Party 2010, where I also laughed until my stomach hurt.
* Cried a lot because I had to put my 19 y/o cat to sleep.
* Cried some more because I was overtired and unprepared for Monday.

Yesterday, I...
* Speed cleaned the house, and now it looks bunches better.
* Sent a card to my new pen-pal. Anyone else want to be snail-mail-pals?
* Paid my mortgage.
* Got excited about putting new floors in the house.
* Decided I was a Junior Green Thumb.

Today, I...
* Am wearing my hobo outfit. It is very unflattering.
* Discovered that my car learned a new trick - it changes radio stations randomly.

I am excited about...
* My plant cuttings sprouting roots!
* My Amaryllis blooming.
* My tax return, and all the things I can do with it.
* Going to bed tonight.

I am currently in love with...
* Houseplants.
* Change.
* Mike.
* The thought of moving far away (not going to happen).

Things to come

Hi.
So, I've been gone for a while, and I'm really sorry about that. but if it is any consolation, I've missed you. AND I didn't mean to disappear, I've just been so busy at work. Work, which is where I do most of my blogging (don't look at me like that, it only takes like 15 minutes of my day).

I haven't even had time to read your blogs, let alone comment! This weekend I'll catch up. Swear on a bear.

In other news, I've started making my resolutions (late much??)


2010
Put in laminate floors (throughout ground floor)
Have the office working
Sell 20 things in our Etsy shop
Organize the garage
Go to RenFair again
Get another dogger
Put $ into savings regularly
Celebrate our 1st anniversary in style (going to Lake Geneva/Chicago/Wisconsin/Galena for the weekend)
Take mini-trips...Lake Geneva, Galena, Wisconsin, Chicago
Go to Chicago at least once, just me and Mike, over the summer

Someday
Take the Amtrak train from Chicago to Seattle.
Go to Ireland
Get pregs
Get a Mac desktop computer

It's just starting, and truthfully, I didn't put too much effort into clarifying my 2010 intentions. I feel like for 2010, I need to work on getting to a comfortable place in my life. Easing into being a wife, owning a house. I need to relearn to be social, and really work on being a good friend. I want to expand my blogging horizons, but I'm not going to stress myself out doing it. Blogging is a fun activity, and I would like to keep it that way.

One of my nearest and dearest sent me this article, 5 Ways Blogging Can Save Your Sanity

I'm still here! I'm still alive, and I'll read and comment and email ya'll (I've been listening to Taylor Swift, so I feel a little country) soon.

xoxo

Domestic Sunday

This is for you Melina. Though, I don't usually use a Bloody Mary mix...the Tabasco Extra Spicy is lovely.

I'm starting to get my life together! I've started making lists and plans and such!

Yesterday, I planned almost all of our meals for the week, and today I went grocery shopping accordingly. Currently, there's a pot roast in my oven, and I'll be making potato-parsnip mash to go along with the mushroom gravy. In the meantime, it's Bloody Mary time, with celery, pickled asparagus, a cocktail dill and a cherry tomato. While watching Paper Heart. Today...is a good day.

I hope your Sunday was equally wonderful

Sloppy

I'm a mess.

Remember last week, when I said that last week was suck week? Well, it seems like I am stuck in a suck-vortex and I can't get out.

Sometimes, I am really motivated to change my life, start crafting and cooking and running. But, right now? I am motivated to watch Intervention, eat peanut M&Ms in bed and go to sleep at 8:30pm. Not AWESOME.

How am I today!?
Today, I am wearing my salt-covered slippers to work. Today! I am totally overwhelmed by the TONS of things I have to do, both at work and home. Today, I am dreading going home because that means I have to make dinner, and look at my gross piles of laundry and dishes. Today I am embarrassed by the state of my car, and desperately hoping that no one wants a ride to lunch. Today, I am accepting my status as OFF THE WAGON when it comes to smoking, but I refuse to buy cigarettes. Today...I am unmotivated, and I think my ambition is broken.

I'm still in a good mood, though. Still lighthearted, still feeling good - but oh. my. god. I am pathetic.

Oddly enough, this feels weird to me. Usually, I am all about reading blogs, seeing what other people are doing and saying to myself "I gotta get into that! I need to get me a piece of Awesome Pie!" And then I start making lists, and plans. But something snapped, and none of it appeals to me. I'm not even tired of, or fed up with what's going on.

It's weird, you guys. I don't know what's going on. Maybe my ambition/motivation/desire to change is hibernating. I can't say I blame it.

100th Post?

Apparently this is my 100th post. Nice job, me. I genuinely didn't think I would make it...or manage to notice it before it passed me by.

I'm snowed in today. I called in to work because it would have taken me 3 hours to get to get there, and the commute home would have been worse. Luckily, my boss has a hefty commute too, so she understands...I think.

But beyond that, in thinking about my 2010 resolutions, I've been thinking about things that I need to either change or let go of.
Most of the time, when something upsets me, I take action to change it, but there are 4 things that I am constantly talking about, and I always feel like I'm circling a drain. I need to decide whether I am going to take actual steps to change these habits or situations...and if I'm not, then I need to accept it, and move on.

1) My TV watching: I. Love. Television. But I also hate it. Oftentimes I feel like Homer Simpson, and that my ass has created a divot in the couch. When I get home from work, I look forward to curling up with a blanket and the dog and watching Fringe, Lost, Glee or something significantly less intelligent (Teen Mom! The Bachelor! American Idol! Intervention!) But I could easily fill that time with more productive endeavors. I could blog more carefully, I could read a book (though, in my defense I do read very often), I could start creating things for my pretend Etsy shop, make a nutritious dinner, DO LAUNDRY. But at the end of the night, after my soul-sucking commute, I just want to veg out.

I have concluded, that I will accept this trait, with minor alterations. I will make sure that my responsibilities (cleaning, cooking, laundry) are taken care of, BEFORE I hunker down for the night. It's NOT OK to be a slug from the moment I walk in the door. ALSO, I need to use the nights where there's garbage on TV to do something else. Read more. Start sewing. Knit. Crochet.

I am OK with using TV to relax and disconnect from my day, I just need to balance.

2) Gossiping: Sigh. When I say 'Gossip' I don't mean talking shit, for the sake of talking shit. I don't cut people down just to do it. By 'gossip' I mean the sharing of information that has not been specified as confidential. I have a very close knit group of friends, and we've been friends for nearly 12 years, so I make it a point to know what's going on with everyone, good or bad. I keep myself informed, and in turn I keep the other girls informed. I like to be a hub of information.
The reason this is up for change, is because while most of the time it is harmless, occasionally I still feel weird about it. (Duh, I just spent a paragraph justifying it...obviously it's not as innocent as I would like it to be).

I've decided that I need to scale back. Truthfully, it probably won't be much (like I said, I like to be a hub of information), but I'm going to try...

3) My commute: This is a situation where I feel very "shit or get off the pot", because I've been struggling with this for over a year. At first, my job was really stressful, and I would have had very little problem leaving for something else. However, when I got promoted in July, everything changed. I adore my boss, my coworkers are great, and the work is more interesting. But the length and stress of the commute drains me, and when I get home I just want to pass out in front of the TV. As I'm writing this, I'm starting to see that this might be the root of most evil. My commute drains me, so I don't want to do anything (Like WORK OUT...see #4, and I go home and pass out IN FRONT OF THE TV...see #1).

I think I, unfortunately, need to work to change this. This is going to be exceptionally difficult because one of my coworkers just gave two weeks notice, finding a job is tough right now, and I'm not sure where I want to go after this. HOWEVER, when WILL I know where I want to go? I would sit forever and speculate various career paths or jobs I might enjoy...but that's all it will be, speculation.

4) Working out: I'm not going to get into this. I need to work out. I need to start doing it soon. I need to get my life back on track.

This post didn't end up at all how I had hoped, but guess what? I'm lazy, so I'm not fixing it. This post is weird and awkward and probably makes me look bad, but I can live with that.

Unmotivated

So, it's 2010. And I'm not very awesome.

In the months leading up to the holidays, Mike and I let ourselves go, in terms of really trying to be productive members of society. Our house was messier than usual, we were ordering Jimmy Johns more often than necessary, we were procrastinating and lazy. But, it was OK because we were all "We'll get it together in 2010!! New year, new start!!"

Well, 2010 is here, and WOW! I am lazier than ever. Getting out of bed this morning was AWFUL, my laundry remains undone, the office (the one I've been painting) is still a disaster, my car is a mess, I haven't properly grocery shopped (pizza for dinner tonight!), and I can't even entertain the notion of going to the gym.

So far, 2010 has been lackluster (we're only 4 days in, but STILL).
Mike's grandpa's death changed the holidays a lot this year, so we weren't really able to get into a positive mindset, I've had some real-life friend drama (not drama that involves me directly, which is nice), my work-wife gave her two weeks notice, and I just feel unprepared to get a fresh start.

Excuses, excuses, Ashley.
Yeah, well, I'm good at excuses.

Mike and I have dubbed this week "Fail Week", wherein we are giving ourselves one more week to suck, and mentally prepare to not suck.

Throughout the week we're going to start putting together a list of actual resolutions, and healthy habits that we want to adopt.
- We need to reevaluate how we spend and keep track of money (we had a HUGE lapse in banking and overdrew...a lot), and what our budget looks like.
- We need to figure out how we are going to change our eating habits and when we are going to carve out time for exercise.
- We need to prioritize our house projects, and determine how we want to spend our imaginary $8,000 we will (hopefully) get for purchasing our first home.
- We need to work more on divvying up household duties, and I need to relax if Mike doesn't clean the kitchen the way I would clean it.
- We need to make sure to pay special attention to Mike's family, and make sure we attend more of his siblings' sporting events than we miss.
- I need to be better at corresponding, and being active with 20sb.

In other news - Like I said, Christmas was a success. NYE was a success...we had people over and it seemed like everyone had a good time.

I returned my fancy future-phone (The Droid). I loved it for 3 days, but eventually I started to freak out every time a new Tweet or email or Facebook notification came through. I've NEVER been that connected before, and I realized that I do cherish the fact that I can come home, put my phone down and not look at it again for the rest of the night. Plus, this damn bill was OUTRAGEOUS and I am not ready to pay those fees.

I've missed you guys. I'm still catching up on emails - Emily, Melina, Mandy, I'm looking at you (I've got no excuse for my terrible correspondence skills...but I'm working on it!)