Make Plans, Keep Plans

The best thing you can own are dates on your calendar.  It doesn't matter with who or where.  But there's no better feeling than having something to look forward to.  Just make sure someone orders the dip!

{Image Credit: Country Living}

The Shortness at Task

Life is short.  Something we all know, but have a difficult time remembering moment to moment.  When you stumble, when you forget what it is that you're going after.  Stop.  Make a list.  Of everything you love, and of the things you wish for.  Maybe you won't get through it all.  That's okay.  Just have always have something to look forward to.


{Video found via A Cup of Jo}

Cheers!

This evening I was faced once again with the tough question: what bottle of wine should I pop tonight.  Another good day ended on a sour note.  Or so I thought.  After begrudgingly walking through the cold to my neighborhood FedEx/Kinkos I once again stumbled across a chance encounter as well as random kindness.  To my fanatical surprise the [very humbled] person in front packaging up an item in front of me was none other than the Chicago Bears DE, Julius Peppers, who happened to have a big game just two nights before.  Chicago's wonderful for little oohs and aahs like that.  What was more notable was the clerk who helped the two of us send our goods along their way.  When the big man left, she showed me the autograph she snagged for her mother, as she watches all the Chicago sports teams games.  This young lady went on to tell me that athletes come in all the time, but her mother never believes her because she doesn't take pictures or make them sign their autograph.  As she claimed though, that's the reason they all come back.  Because she doesn't treat anyone any differently.  People are all the same to her.  Sometimes you just have to remember that through their flaws and triumphs.  And for the times more suitable to forget?  Well there's always Shiraz.


*Post Script:  Mail is one of my favorite things, and I think even in this day in age, it remains on most peoples list as such.  Make someone's day and drop a line.


{Stationary found from Jess Constable}

Seeing Things

Searching for some inspiration?  I love this little snippet following interior designer Bunny Williams through Belgium for One Kings Lane.  She talks about seeing everything you can.  Bunny may be in Belgium when perusing through centuries old antiques, but you don't have to do the same to expand your mind and tastes.  To repeat, once again, my favorite mantras, always RSVP.  Taking up invitations to anything and everything, no matter how big or small, is your greatest (and least expensive) passport to see the world!


{Video originally found via The City Sage}

Postponement

When your schedule can potentially flow just as good as planned with a little room leftover for spontaneity, well that's just perfect.  I'm quite thrilled that Game 6 of the World Series that was supposed to take place in St. Louis tonight became postponed until tomorrow.  Selfishly it has made me a little more available to prep for what quite possibly turn out to be just a wicked weekend.  Now I just have to watch tomorrow night and hope I'll see an even more exciting game in person on Friday evening.  Somewhere in between I can hopefully figure out how exactly I'll be getting there too.  Those are just minor details though, right?  

{Images via Lyla Blue}

Hallelujah!

Does it get any better than days like this one?  

The Rams game is on local Chicago television!

It's perfect weather to keep all the windows open and the leavers are a'changing!

It's grocery week, which means I'll be cooking tonight.  I'm thinking chili and cornbread would suit just fine. (Yes, I've actually taken this up as a hobby).

I'll finally be finishing the Hunger Games.  (I must admit, I've had a hard time getting into this one).

The Cardinals could be going to the World Series tonight!

...Aren't Sundays just the best?

Plans

This morning I woke up right on time.  Just for that, I rewarded myself by not going on the treadmill at 5:30 and instead just lying in bed for awhile longer.

Because my planned outfit did not look quite as good on as it did in my head, I cost myself the time it takes to complete a walk to work before my morning meeting.  So I switched my plan and hitched a cab.  Only to wait 10 minutes for one, even while living on one of Chicago's busiest streets.

This weekend is the 100th Homecoming weekend at my alma mater, Mizzou.  I hadn't planned on going due to other out-of-town commitments going on this month.  However, a couple great friends made very last minute decisions to make the trek back, so I decided to look into doing the same.  If of course my Dad had not finalized his plans to come up to Chicago tomorrow.

As it turned out he hadn't.  But in the end I could not make the logistics, finances, and everything else work out to get to Columbia, MO in time for the big game.  Fortunately my Dad still had an open agenda tomorrow and decided to still come up.

Plans are wonderful when you have them.  They can be made even more sweet though when you don't know at all what you want and you wind up with what you got.

Hope your plans take you on some fun twists and turns this weekend!

{Image Via}

Merci!

Sometimes you have "days."  You know...the bad kind.  Today had a moment of a "day," but fortunately for me I had a hour long massage scheduled allowing me not only the luxury of therapeutic wellness, but the excuse to leave work earlier than normal.  Not only that, but I had wine at home.  Yes, my day had some fumes to light a fire, but in the end nothing burned down.  Perhaps it's a sign of aging gracefully. 

{Image Credit: Thxthxthx}

Missing Madden's

Today happened to be an especially bittersweet day for me.  It was the first time I was not strolling into Madden's Lodge on the final Sunday in July.  While I had quite the relaxing day getting lost in my book, in what is normally my Mom's reading chair at her house, I couldn't help but think how much nicer it would have been on Gull Lake's shore.  Like everyone else who goes up this for this week, Madden's has come to represent my summer daydreams, and more importantly has helped to define all of what is sweet and cherished in my life.  It's one of the few places I can still go and see myself at every other year before.  The most wonderful part about it is that it's always there.  So while I will deeply miss the lake, my friends, and the mesmerizing pine aromas, I've taken solace in the fact that I'm lucky to have it and to go back next year.

A Recipe for 50 Years (Extra Sweet)

Tonight my Mom is celebrating her 50th Birthday. Peg, as she is affectionately known, thinks the only time I mention her on this little writing experiment is out of aggravation. On the contrary, I find my Mother to be one of the funniest, most genuine and kind-hearted people I have ever come in contact with. It was from her I learned and picked up most of my habits in life, including not making a big deal of a Birthday. However, making it through 50 years on this Earth still standing tall, is something to celebrate. So while celebrating with a lifetime of her good friends and family this weekend, I discovered the perfect recipe (maybe one of the few I will ever discover) for an extra sweet 50 years:

-1 Full Open-Mind
-1 Whole Bag of Fresh Laughs
-1 Whole Bag of Aged Laughs (for the flavor)
-1 1/2 Cups of Frozen Tears (You should always freeze them to preserve as to see how far you've come)
-10 Cups of Patience (one needs this when raising four girls)
-1 Good Ear
-5 Stern Mouths
-A Pack of Comforting Words & Strong Praises
-1 Youthful Spirit
-3 Deep Breaths (Stir Continuously)
-2 Soft Eyes (Don't Close Them Throughout)
-2 Good Books (Keep on Hand at All Times)
-A Hefty Load of Graciousness
-2 Lending Hands
-A Lifetime of Wisdom and Experience Always Looked at Fondly (No Matter Good or Bad)
-A Dash of Cocktails
-Combine All With A Variety of Loyal Friends & Family
-Bake in A Warm Spirit and Heart

...Viola! Your next sweet 50 years are ready for the tasting!

"If ever there is tomorrow when we're not together, there is something you must always remember: You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we're apart...I'll always be with you."-- Winnie the Pooh

A Walk in the Park

One of the hardest things about being a recent college grad who quickly inherits a mortgage and bills is that spare change is hard to find. Carefree spending is no longer an option, as you always have to have your Excel budget spreadsheet handy to plug in whether that Saturday afternoon ice cream cone is going to make you or break you this month. Sometimes these minor cutbacks in your lifestyle can actually open up your world to new enjoyments. The simple enjoyments.



In an attempt to be as budget friendly as possible, I have refrained thus far from buying into a membership of one of my necessary daily activities: the gym. While the endorphin enhancing aids known as the elliptical and treadmill are sorely missed from my twilight hours, it was hard to deny both the financial and fitness benefits that were being offered just two blocks away from my house. Francis Park is a recreation center that is free to the public and 1.25 miles around in distance, giving way for a convenient and customizable workout. The best thing about Francis Park, or any park for that matter, is that it's outdoors so you can actually enjoy the surroundings outside of the plasma screens and sterile walls. Every night there is something new to witness, such as a "Mommy and Baby" group stroller march up the hills, or the neighborhood chiuaua walker being read the right act by his four-legged clients.



This also happens to be the best time of the year to enjoy your neighborhood park. Brisk air, bold sunsets, and falling leaves only enhance nature's aesthetics. So while it may not be the adrenaline fueled gridiron of the gym, I'll gladly take the sights and sounds of the city to accompany my shin splints. My bank account will as well.


*Photos taken by moi on my iPhone camera

Life's Tough; Secure That Helmet

Life can be tough when you realize the party is officially over. You have to trade in your scrubs for rayon pants and jackets, bills now come to the door in your name (and your name alone), and drinks cost more than the spare change at the bottom of your bag. Not to mention your new roommates, Mom and Dad, don't have quite the spunk of your old ones that you shared many a cold tiled bathroom floor with. Ain't no doubt about it, when the lights are flicked back on and everyone clears out, it's a hard adjustment for the eyes.

The good news is, most people survive the transition, and it doesn't have to be so bad. Now I realize it's easy for me to say this because I have always been a big fan of the 6:00 A.M. wake up call. After all, the early bird does get the worm. In order to actually get this worm though, one must be proactive and make the necessary actions to become an upstanding member of society. No, it doesn't just come in an App. However, Jim Gallagher of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch* in this weekend's Sunday's paper, gave some useful advice for college grads.

1. Live like a poor student


Simple and affordable, and best of all you'll always have leftovers. Hopefully.

2. Save money

3. Find work

4. Wherever you land, live cheap


Who needs furniture? Work with what you've got.

5. Drive a dent-mobile
It ain't pretty, but it gets to the destination. And that's just fine.

6. Get a credit card

The thing is most of us grew up during a time of great economic growth, and were afforded a great lifestyle, free of care, from our parents. Things have changed, and many of these parents are now sadly paying the consequences. As Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young once said, "Teach Your Children Well." Right now, we're all learning. Many of the above mentioned tips are great lessons older generations have taught us. As my plate is becoming more and more full with responsibilities and real adult situations, I am finding the more within my limits and means, the easier it is to get to. Don't let yourself get too far away. Make some mistakes (they'll be funny when you're older), explore the sale sections, and as always read that morning paper.

*For the complete article by Jim Gallagher, please refer to the following: http://tinyurl.com/nmotqw

All I Really Need to Know, I Learned in My Last Weeks of College

To be quite honest, I've been avoiding reality for awhile. As anyone can see, I have not posted since the end of April. It is now getting close to the end of May. Most everything in my life got pushed to the side for the sake of savoring every last second of a once in a lifetime experience known as "college." Nobody could be more surprised by how much they enjoyed college than I. Mostly because going into these four years, I thought of it as a limbo period between your youth and the real world. An almost waste of four years if you will. For this reason I decided to start out at Loyola University Chicago to at least be near that big and bustling real world out there. While I would never trade in my freshman year for anything, a little over a semester into it I started realizing something was missing. Maybe it was the Greek life, possibly the big football games, perhaps just the college town atmosphere, but whatever it was I could not find it at Loyola. So even after a five hour long car ride of tears home from the big city, I made the transfer to Mizzou - a place I tried with all my might to avoid in my college search process.

It would be impossible for me to put into words the laughter, tears, excitement, adventures, and importance of my three years at Mizzou. And through it all I never realized just how much I should have been appreciating all of these anecdotes until my last few weeks of college. I suppose just as you would in a race, you start seeing that finish line and then make the most of every stride you take. Those last few weeks were, hands down, the best days of my life and taught me everything I need to know before I enter the real world.

1. RSVP- We're all invited to many things in our lives from big affairs such as weddings and galas to smaller things such as a dinner date with friends. We should never forget the thought that goes into any invite, and respond regardless of our choice because it does actually matter. And even though many things may not appear like something we would want to partake in, if we have the availability there is no reason not to go and possibly learn something or meet someone new. This is how we become more well rounded.
2. Drink to the Day, Don't Let the Day Drink You - No matter if you enjoy a martini or a nice glass of lemonade to relax to, remember that it's only the good stuff that's worth celebrating. Often we use our baggage, faults, and mistakes be reasons to escape. The truth is we can't escape from ourselves and our lives. It's the only life we have. So as many fallbacks and coulda woulda shouldas as we may have, we have just as many things to smile and toast to.
3. Groove Is in the Heart - When I was just a young teenager and online personality quizzes were all the rage, it was assessed that "Groove Is in the Heart" was my theme song. I never knew how much this was true until I was older and I was faced with the harsh cold reality that my dance moves were no where close to the caliber of my peers. Instead of embracing my unique interpretation of dance, I usually took to the sidelines and threw out the line "I just really cannot dance." I missed out on a lot of fun because while I may not be a Britney Spears, neither is anyone else. Dance to the beat of your own drum - it's there for a reason.
4. Always Follow Your Sense of Wonder - Everyone always knows they should keep their sense of childlike wonder, but few know to follow that sense. The thoughts, ideas, and dreams we hold in our daydreams shouldn't just be that because otherwise what fun would life be at all?
5. Just Keep Going, Just Keep Going- There are a lot of ways to move, but the only direction that will get you somewhere is forward. Whatever happened yesterday has already happened, so moving backwards will only make you behind. Moving to every side of the spectrum is nice, but will only make you stuck. Accepting your decisions of the past and future will give you a great and confident leap forward.
6. Remember the Little People - In the end you will do it on your own, yes. Every person is created from the help of a lot of other people though-your friends and family. No one person can survive without them.
7. Real as We'll Ever Be - My whole four years I was always preparing for this supposed "real world." I realized recently how disappointing this term is. What was I living in before then? We're all real people dealing with very real problems and experiencing real joys. Therefore, I don't see how there can be this real world we somehow leap into just because we take a job or reach a certain age. So perhaps we should carry on just as we always have, instead of shielding ourselves from this force of evil others refer to as "reality."

It still has not fully hit me that the days of lunch hour gossip and nights of picking the perfect outfit, just to wake up with late night food stains, are over. Maybe, if I'm lucky it never will either. Because through all of these post-formative years I have made some of the best friends who each gave me a wonderful package of memories to take home. Where ever we go and whatever we do, I know all of us will always keep a little part of that college girl at heart, and be ready for a toast to bring her out again in our pages to come.

One in Every Crowd

It's not hard for me to find a character anywhere I go. Concerts though, are just a gold mine for me. You've got the regular groupies, the annoying spouses who couldn't let their significant other out of sight for the night, and then the best of them all: the posers. The other night I had the great pleasure of going to the Eagles concert here in Columbia. Yes, that's right, one of rock 'n roll's greatest bands of all times decided to make a stop in little Columbia, MO. An even greater pleasure was that I sat in floor seats. Awesome seats come with many awesome perks. One of those perks is filtering out some of the crazies. While I do enjoy a good fun crazy just about always, I hate the dark crazies. Those are the ones who have a bit of a temper with their neurosis, and a situation can easily go from entertaining to frightening tension real fast. Since my luck has never been one to fail me, I wound up with a dark crazy directly sitting in front of me at the Eagles concert. Waving her hand in the air like she just don't care and all.

You know your seat neighbor is going to be peace obstructer when she busts into her row and the first thing she does is scream "WOOOOO!" and then looks over at you stating "I hope you don't mind, but we're going to be up dancing the whole time!" and then does a shimmy in her cable cord knit sweater and collared shirt. So even though the Eagles started the show with their slower classics such as "Hotel California," I got to see a unique rendition of the head bang and churn-the-butter move. A floor has never seen such happy feet since the days of Fred Flintstone. I had no idea someone could be this big of an Eagles fan. Which is when I realized she clearly was anything but the president of their fan club for a couple of reasons: 1. She could not ever detect the rhythm of their music, and looked as if she had never heard it to detect it, and 2. She informed my sisters and I that we were too young to even know who the Eagles were. Lady, any self-respecting new driver has heard the song "Life in the Fast Lane," and instantly considered themselves a new driver. She clearly had no idea the kind of music the Eagles played to be dancing the way she was, and had no idea the breadth of their audience to question my attendance at this show.

I decided I was going to let it go. I remembered, I was in a town that gets a concert as big as this once in a blue moon. I could let her try to relive the good ol' days for a bit. That is until she decided the fun and good times were over. While enjoying the first set of the second half, a most unusual of hand waves came from my favorite J.Crew wearing classic rock groupie poser. It was from the seated position, with two arms straight up in the air, and two middle fingers sticking straight out with repetitive pulses. It was interesting how I was supposedly not old enough to know who the Eagles were, but suddenly old enough to not mind the flipping of the bird. Lucky, for her I was not part of a religious sect, or things could have got real heated. They also could have gotten real heated if I took any offense to sexual obscenities being screamed, which was what immediately followed the bird duo. Never in my life have I seen someone go from being so crazy over a band to just being crazy. Of course everyone around her wanted to tap her on the shoulder and hand her a sedative, but we had all seen the spasms she considered dance moves earlier and did not want any of those to happen to us. So one went raging and dancing. Dancing and raging. I felt bad for her really. I couldn't imagine not being able to enjoy an event such as the Eagles concert, or enjoying it too much. After all, if I became more of the show than Don Henley and friends, well let's just say live entertainment would have hit a new low.

These Shoes Were Made for Pain

I was reminded once again this weekend why it is I don't wear high-heeled shoes. Well, there are actually quite a few reasons in my personal case. However, none was more obvious than when lying on my back in bed Friday morning, just wanting so badly to make it downstairs to the kitchen for breakfast. I was unable to move because of the excruciating pain I inflicted upon myself the previous evening by wearing heels. To answer a few questions I am sure you already have: yes, I can be a hypochondriac and yes, the heel was in fact above one-inch. This was not an instance where my hypochondria was in full swing though because the shoes I wore out had a little over a three-inch heel. This is a little over three-inches above the average heel size I normally wear out. I am a flats kind of gal (to give off the perception of being graceful, I actually like to say I am a ballet flats kind of gal). The most heel I will venture out in is that of a wedge or thick two-inch heel. So when Thursday night rolled around, my feet went into a sort of height and support shock. Not since the days of costume boxes and dress-up fashion shows had my feet been elevated to such a height, especially with their only support being the width of a pencil.

The thing of it is, I really do wish I could wear this fun and fancy footwear. The main reason I have always steered clear of them though, is not because I am tall by any means. Flats are just a better match for me because they keep me closer to the ground, so should a trip or fall occur (which the probability of such an occurrence with my coordination is very high), I may be able to escape with less injuries. That's why the last thing I concerned myself with Thursday was making sure I had a sufficient supply of pain relievers, heating pads, and walking aids available for the next morning. As a result of such neglect, I had a streamline of pain that went from the tips of my toes to the top of my neck. Those heels had a whole lot of girl to support. I was especially glad that I chose that day to be adamantly productive too. Post-it notes and messages surrounded me to reminding to shut off the computer and tend to my tasks at hand. I could not let those little vibrant colored papers down. It was time to build up some endurance in my flippers. I walked all through campus and Downtown Columbia, and I feel that I am better for it. After all what doesn't kill us, makes us stronger. Well I am still alive, albeit a bit sore still. However, I think did acquire some strength. The strength to say "no" to any heel shoe no matter how much it may complement the rest of the outfit. Sometimes you just have to go with practicality and agility. In case you were wondering, there was a small victory to be had: no falls were experienced. Maybe I also acquired some grace with that strength. My knees and shoulders can only hope.