traveling

I suck at blogging these days.  Sorry about that!  Fortunately I'm leaving tomorrow morning for Europe, so I will be sure to blog about my travels, even if it's only for my own record keeping.  I just finished packing and as someone who normally way overpacks, I feel like I may have gone too far to the other end of the spectrum.  I'm tired of packing a bunch of things that I end up not using, so for a 17 day trip to Dublin, London and Paris, I have packed the following:

• 2 pairs of jeans (wearing one, packing one)
• 2 fleece vests (wearing one, packing one)
• 4 long sleeve shirts (wearing one)
• 5 pairs of underwear
• 5 pairs of socks
• pajamas
• rain coat
• 2 tank tops for layering purposes
• sturdy boots (wearing)
• black flats
• umbrella
• toiletries
• 2 bras (wearing one, packing one)

 I'm planning on doing laundry while gone, so I'm thinking this should be plenty.  I also packed a mini bottle of Febreze so I don't stink.  :)

update and pics

Last weekend didn't go quite as I had planned.  Instead of hibernating and eating cake, I ended up spending the weekend in Wyoming, playing nurse to an injured friend.  No worries, though, it wasn't quite as dreary as it sounds (despite the lack of cake).  I actually had a great time, as always seems to happen when I'm up there.  It gets harder and harder to leave every time. I swear one of these days I'm going to go for a weekend and just not come back!

Since I'm doing updates, I should also mention that there's only three and a half weeks left until my trip!  Woot woot!  I decided to cut my time in Dublin and London a little bit short and spend some additional time in Paris.  My dad is on sabbatical this semester and will be in Europe at the same time, so we're going to meet up in Paris to finish out both of our trips.  We'll be staying in the same condo we were in last summer.  So yeah, 5 days in Dublin, 5 in London and another 5 in Paris.  Speaking of Paris, I never did post any pics from last summer's trip.  I didn't actually take any pictures on the trip, but I stole these from my brother:

The Moulin Rouge.  Sadly, Ewan McGregor was nowhere to be found.

From the top of the Arc de Triomphe.

Did I mention that I hiked up many, many stairs to get to the top?

Stained glass at Sainte Chapelle

This place was pretty amazing.

Pictures obviously don't do it justice.  It must be experienced in person.

I love gargoyles and other grotesque carvings.  Good times!

The atmosphere in old churches . . . amazing!

Mass at Notre Dame.

Notre Dame

More Notre Dame

The Steps from Midnight in Paris.

People watching is always half the fun!

From our boat trip on the Seine.

Loved all the little scenes like this.

Chopin's grave

Pere Lachaise Cemetery

The area dedicated to WWII was unbelievable.

The monument for Auschwitz.

worst blog post ever

Sorry for the absence, folks!  I've been spending all of my time fixing other people's lives and ignoring my own.  I keep trying to come up with another sentence to follow that one, but nothing is working (other than this one, of course).  I'm drained and probably should not be blogging in this mood.  I keep typing things and erasing them, then retyping them, then re-erasing them.  You can't tell, but I just did it like seven more times after that last sentence.  I wish there were a way of setting my phone to block anyone who wants something from me.  It's strange, I was in a great mood yesterday, but I guess the stress of the last month or so has finally settled in.  Thank heavens it's almost the weekend.  I plan on hibernating.  I'm going to ignore my phone, Facebook, email* and especially anything work related.  And I'm going to make a cake and eat the whole thing.  And then I'm going to make another one and eat that too.



*Unless it's you, Traci, since you have been my saving grace, especially the last few days and my day isn't complete unless we have emailed each other back and forth 76 times.

Year in Review

It's that time of year again.  Part of me says thank goodness this year is over and part of me is sad to see it go.  Then there's the biggest part of me that really just doesn't care either way.  That is definitely the dominant part.  Nevertheless, as I have been horrible at blogging lately, this is the perfect opportunity to compose a blog post that will hopefully entertain, enlighten and perhaps cause a few tears to be shed.  Haha, not really, but that was quite dramatic!  And now I shall commence with the discussing of me and my year, as that is what is truly important tonight.  :) 

Highlights of 2012

• Moving closer to my family.
• Every single moment in Paris, even the ones I didn't absolutely love because hello, it was Paris! (Except for the one lowlight, see below.)  I can't pass this one by without mentioning a few specifics:
• Sharing the experience with my family.
• Seeing works of art that brought tears to my eyes and are some of the clearest examples of the influence of the Divine that I have ever seen.  It never ceases to amaze me how the arts can be such a spiritual experience.  
• Pastries!  Glorious, glorious pastries!
• Weekends spent in Wyoming.  
• The fact that the moments where I felt like all was right in the world far outnumbered the moments where I felt like everything was wrong.
• My daily email and text conversations with Traci, who saved my sanity many, many times.
• My apartment and the solitude, serenity and pants-free environment that it offers.
• Antagonizing people on Facebook for sport during the election season.  I really felt like it was the only way to make those few months before the election bearable.  If any of those people are now reading this, I apologize if you were really and truly offended.
• Temporarily living with BFF Amber after I moved back to Utah. 
• Discovering Homeland, Misfits, Iwan Rheon, Harlan Coben and Lee Child. 
• Taking my client that had cancer for a CT scan a few weeks ago and finding out that there is no sign whatsoever of cancer!

Lowlights of 2012

• The whole Wyoming exodus.  Leaving my friends and clients was heartbreaking and many tears were shed.  Then there was the whole having to give my dog back to the shelter drama.  I still can't speak of it. 
• Moving three times in one year.  I don't want to move again any time soon.  As I wrote that I felt like I was jinxing it and condemning myself to move again in 2013.  Nooooooo!!!!!!
• Having my car stolen.  I still can't quite believe it actually happened.
• The slight (meaning major) nervous breakdown I had early in October.  It was the perfect storm of events and circumstances that caused me to question every single thing in my life; not eat, sleep or bathe for a while; and watch an excessive number of episodes of Roseanne.  Very glad that it's over and that there were people around that I could lean on for support.  On the other hand, it was this event that led me to make my plans for Dublin and London because I needed something to look forward to, so I can't complain too much!
• Being in Paris and having massive blood blisters on the bottoms of my feet that caused excruciating pain with every step I took.  I had to pad and tape my feet every day, but then it would all just come off with all the walking around.  :(  
• My client being diagnosed with cancer and the subsequent treatment.  Taking her to radiation every single day for weeks on end was definitely one of the lowest of the low moments of the year.  And I wasn't even the one with cancer! 

I know I'm forgetting many things but these are the things that immediately came to mind.  There were so many other awesome events, people and moments throughout the year and also several other really crappy moments, but all in all, I consider 2012 to be a success.  I have learned much and experienced much and I am ending the year feeling more content and secure with myself and my life than ever before.  Thanks for reading and being part of my journey!

Can you believe it's almost Christmas?

• I swear Christmas sneaks up on me quicker and quicker each year.
• Still no Christmas decorations-at this late date, there's no point.
• I've been crazy busy trying to get all the Christmas shopping done for my clients.  It's been fun spending someone's money other than my own, but it's been a little stressful trying to buy things for people who really don't need anything.  Most of their wants are simple, too.  One of my clients is perfectly satisfied with balloons to blow up, another with pens and paper to scribble on.  Their bank accounts can't have over a certain amount of money in them at the end of the month, so I'm usually pretty up to date on replacing worn out clothes and belongings.  This has not made Christmas shopping very easy.  I'm just about done, though.  Hooray!  
• I'm planning on working Christmas morning this year.  I want to make sure my staff, some of whom have children, are able to spend the time with their families.  I spent Thanksgiving with mine and we won't have kids around for Christmas this year, so hopefully it won't be a problem to open gifts later in the day.  
• My friend, Taryn, came down from Wyoming to visit for the weekend.  We had lots of fun and lots of good chats.  It was kind of nice to have someone around to hang out with and talk to.  I guess on occasion I do miss having a roommate.  On the other hand, if I had a roommate, I would have to start wearing pants.  That might be a dealbreaker.
• I am obsessed with Mojito-flavored Crystal Light.  It's perfection in a glass.  You should try it.
• I finally had a cortisone injection in my gimpy elbow and now it feels great!  It doesn't sound like it would be, but this is very exciting!  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it works for a while. 

I feel like this was possibly the least interesting set of bullet points that I have done.  I gotta get back on the ball here!  Side note-did you see the monkey in the coat that was wandering around Ikea?  I want to cuddle him.

Blogger's Block

I have been in a major writing mood lately, but I can't seem to come up with anything to write about.  Nothing is leaping out of my mind and onto the computer screen.  Or at least nothing that is at all interesting.  I could go back to doing the Table Topics cards, but I'm not sure where they are.  Hmmm . . . what to do?!?  I guess if all else fails, post pictures!

weekly wrap-up

There wasn't much that entertained me (and that was appropriate to post somewhere where my family will see it) this last week or two, so I threw in some oldies as well.

• Cosby GIF mania!
• Celebrating the Year in Channing Tatum
• Least Likely to Be Adopted Project-I want them all!  I still really think that my dad should do something like this with his photography skills instead of taking pictures of birds.
• Burger King Delivery Service in NYC-I'm ok with not having Burger King delivery service, but I do really wish that more restaurants would have drive-up windows.  Or at least car-side service like at Sonic.  My point is that I will get in my car, but not get out of it. 
• Pictures from James Mollison's Where Children Sleep-Love the boy from Kentucky.  The girls from Nepal and Brazil break my heart.  Check out these pictures if you need a gratitude check.
• Russell Brand interviews two members of the Westboro Baptist Church-I feel like this is a combination of people that should have been an epic disaster, but Russell Brand handled himself with dignity (mostly) and his guests with more kindness and respect than I ever could have.
• Butt Implant Malfunction-So many things wrong with this.
• iPet Companion-I haven't actually tried this yet, but how could something that lets you remotely play with pets in shelters be a bad thing?
• My favorite travel blogger is Adventurous Kate.  She is the one that inspired me to take this solo trip to Ireland and England next March, so we can all blame her if things go horribly wrong!

I never thought this day would come.

I have a complaint about Old Navy.  I placed an online order on November 23 and was told that my stuff would arrive in 7-10 days.  I finally got an email tonight that my order had been shipped and will arrive by December 7.  I don't understand why Amazon can sometimes ship my order within an hour or so of me ordering it, but it takes Old Navy this long to get it in the mail.  I realize there was probably a significant increase in business for Black Friday, but shouldn't they have anticipated that and put more people on the job?  I've already received things I ordered from Amazon three days ago.  I feel like Amazon should just take over the world at this point because then things would actually get done. 

That Little B*tch

The tooth that I had the root canal on today has now officially been dubbed "That Little B*tch."  Why, you may ask?  Don't worry, I shall tell you!  Not only did it have hook-ended roots, but the roots were also abnormally long, which meant that it was really hard to get it numb.  Do you see where this story is headed?  It's headed towards PAIN!  The fancy dentist told me about my root problem and then conveniently added that for $55 extra I could get nitrous.  I figured they were just trying to get more money out of me, but let it be known that I will never turn down something that will make a root canal slightly more pleasant.  It turned out to be a very wise investment.  Even with the nitrous and the initial numbing of the tooth, I nearly jumped out of the chair when he started drilling.  Given the shooting pain, he said we were going to move on to Plan B.  Plan B turned out to be him telling me to suck in hard on the nitrous while he hurriedly drilled through the tooth so that he could shoot extra anesthetic into the inside of the tooth.  I was not happy at this point, but then they upped the dose on the nitrous and I was ok after that.  So that is why my tooth shall now be referred to as That Little B*tch. 

better late than never

I keep meaning to do a post about things I'm grateful for, but then everyone was doing that for Thanksgiving and I don't like to do what everyone else is doing, just on principle.  Then I realized that such an attitude made me sound a little bit hipster-ish and that's annoying, so here you go, a list of random things (because I refuse to do the ordinary) that I am grateful for . . .

• child actors who don't end up messed up
• the combination of sea salt and caramel
• pronouncing caramel care-uh-mel so that you sound posh
• foods that can be eaten out of the original container
• foods that can be eaten out of the original container using my fingers
• not having to close the door every time I go to the bathroom
• my tickets to the MoTab Christmas concert featuring ALFIE BOE!!!!!
• clever people
• watermelon Jell-o
• moments when I am not socially awkward

tidbits

• I have to have a root canal tomorrow and because this is me, it can't just be a simple procedure.  I have to go to an endodontist (I don't even know what that is) to have it done because one of the roots of my tooth has a hook on the end.  I feel like eventually it will be funny that I have hook ended teeth, but right now it's irritating.
• It's funny how our opinions of movies/books change as we get older.  I'm watching Jane Eyre and I have always thought that while Mr. Rochester was a bit of a jerk, he was also a dramatic hero who just needed love.  Now I am realizing that he was kind of horrible.  
• My turkey dinner on Monday turned out well.  I normally brine my turkey, but since I had just decided Monday morning that I wanted to cook it, I clearly didn't have time to do so.  Instead I coated it with a Mediterranean spice rub and cooked it on a bed of apples.  It was/is nummy.  
• I forgot to mention in my Thanksgiving wrap-up that for the first time ever, I ate cranberry sauce.  I don't like cranberries.  Never have.  This year my sister in-law said that she adds horseradish to the cranberry sauce and since I am a bit obsessed with horseradish, I decided to give it a try.  It is amazing what a difference just a spoonful of horseradish can make.  It was absolutely delicious!
• I also forgot to mention that I finally bought a car.  I got a 2008 Ford Fusion.  I feel like it's kind of an old person's car, but I really like it.  
• I am feeling the need to de-clutter.  I hate that it's the wrong time of year for a yard sale.  I also hate that I have no yard on which to have a yard sale.

Thanksgiving Summary

• Thanksgiving was great.  By the time we actually sat down to eat I wasn't even hungry because I had been picking at food all morning.  It was for the greater good, though-I can't serve food to people if I haven't already tasted it myself to make sure it is edible.  So basically I ate a whole Thanksgiving meal before the actual Thanksgiving meal.
• I did loads of shopping over the weekend-Black Friday starting Thursday, Cyber Monday starting Sunday, etc.  Unfortunately I didn't actually buy anything for anyone else, just myself.  
• I have the day off today so I have decided to go ahead and cook myself another turkey dinner since I didn't bring any leftovers home from my parent's house.  Too soon?
• I went and saw the new Twilight movie over the weekend.  I refused to go too early after it came out because I don't like screaming teenage girls (or screaming women behaving like teenage girls).  I expected to find it to be ridiculous, but I actually enjoyed it.  To be clear:  there was ridiculousness, but I was o.k. with it.  
• I also finally saw Pitch Perfect, which I enjoyed.  I want Rebel Wilson to be my best friend.  Plus, has anyone noticed that she's freakin' gorgeous?
• I can't decide whether or not to decorate for Christmas this year.  Last year I did it at the beginning of November, so I felt like the effort was worth it.  At this point, I don't know if it's worth getting everything out of storage for just a month of prettiness.  Actual conversation occurring in my head:  "Christmas isn't about the decorations.  I feel like I should honor the real meaning of Christmas.  B*tch, please!  You know you're just too lazy to go haul the boxes in from the storage shed.  You ain't foolin' no one!"

weekly wrap up

• Looping GIFs
• The green caterpillar is trippy!
• Sonia Sotomayor visits Sesame Street and crushes dreams
• Cutest wet kitten/gremlin ever
• Anne Hathaway attempts the Claire Danes cry
• Also, for my fellow Homeland fans, check out texts between Brody and Abu Nazir.
• Who should play the candidates and other prominent people in the movie version of 2012
• Steven Segal as Joe Biden=pure genius.
• Straight men everywhere better watch out for those girlfriend-stealing gay guys!
• A motherf*cking quiche!
• I now know why my dating profile didn't work. 
• Favorite tweet of the week
• Big Bang Theory flash mob?  Yes, please!
• Best reason ever to not go to class
• Supercut of Robert Pattinson's stares
• So intense.

Also, these were not entertaining, but were informative and/or interesting, so enjoy them as well:

• France's new anti-domestic violence ads
• Woman dies after being denied an abortion
• America Has the Worst Economy Anywhere, Except for Everywhere Else

And finally, this is the way I feel about most people:

Winning!

This is what I had for dinner tonight-macaroni and cheese made with powdered coffee creamer that expired in 2009* and boiled shrimp.  There were also some chocolate chips, but I ate them before I took the picture.  Jealous?


*I didn't have milk.

Too soon?

I'm in a Christmas mood!  I just rewatched the Christmas episode of Gavin & Stacey and, due to the following scene, I am ready to put on some Christmas music and decorate.  Well, I should rephrase that.  Due to the following scene I am willing to look up the music video for "Do They Know it's Christmas?" and think about how much effort it would require to get my Christmas decorations out of the storage area.






Also, I can't see Bono now without thinking of the following scene from Misfits:

I am nothing if not consistent.

Ok, so I'm really not very consistent at all, but in this case I am amazingly consistent, which just goes to show that I am in no way consistent.  I am currently counting down the minutes until Homeland is on and I need to kill time, so I turned on He's Just Not That Into You.  Big mistake.  Big.  Huge.  Except for those moments when I was mesmerized by Bradley Cooper's eyes, I was irritated by nearly every single character.  And then I remembered that back when this movie came out, in 2009, I did a blog post about it!  I just reread the post (which you, too, can read here) and discovered that I was thinking the exact same things I thought then, only a little less bitterly, because I've totally mellowed since then.  True story. 

***I have a nagging feeling that this is probably the most useless blog post I have ever written and I am now making this face:

Confessions, updates, nonsense

• My travel plans are coming along nicely!  I was going to stay in a cheap hostel, but then a friend of mine recommended Airbnb.  It's a website that allows people all over the world to rent out spare rooms and such in their homes.  Let's compare . . . for $15 per night at a hostel, I could have a bunk bed in a room with 9 other people in it (most of whom are around 20 years old), share a bathroom with many people and get minimal sleep due to said young'uns coming in drunk at 4am.  Or I could pay $30ish dollars per night for a private room with a king size bed, my own private bathroom and stay with a lovely, young Irish couple who live in a nice suburb of Dublin which is only a short ride away from the city center by bus.  And, to make the decision even less complicated, if I stay with the nice couple, I won't have to bring my own towel or keep my belongings locked up so that other travelers won't steal them!  Happy day!
• The weather here has been a bit crap.  It's snowed over a foot since Friday, which I don't really mind, but my power went off for most of Saturday morning.  That, I do mind.  I think the internet has turned my brain to mush because I can no longer concentrate on books like I used to.  I'll read for a little bit, then have to take a break.  Clearly I have newly acquired LADD (literary ADD).
• Why is it that I always end up with the gimpy cart at the grocery store?  The other day my cart clanked the whole way around the store, causing people to stare at me.  I think a better question may be why didn't I take the cart back and get a different one?  Oh yeah, that's right, I'm lazy.
• The definition of bitterness . . . having to pay several hundred dollars on my insurance premium for a car that I NO LONGER HAVE!  Yes, I know I should just be grateful that I have insurance, but I would be far more grateful had my car not been stolen in the first place.
• Lately I have started keeping a small tub of bleu cheese crumbles in the fridge.  Every so often I have a little spoonful and revel in the deliciousness of the mold.  
• I looked out the window the other day and remarked to my OT on how bad the weather was looking.  Then I realized that I was looking at the grayish wall of the building next door.  
• It took me 3 weeks to realize that there isn't a second room at my OT's office that has exercise equipment in it.  What I thought was a special work-out room was really just the reflection on the glass exit door of the exercise equipment in the room I was currently sitting in.  
• Still obsessively listening to Iwan Rheon.  You can download each of his albums (which sadly only have 4 songs each) for under $4.  It is well worth it. 

This week's entertainment wrap-up

Here are some of the things I enjoyed on the internet this week (many of which are election-related)*:

The Funniest Tweets from the 2012 Presidential Election
Election Night Texts Between Strangers
Let's Play 'Drunk Nate Silver'
My personal favorite tweet of the week
A Leaked Scene from the New Star Wars Movie
Australia Twitter-Shames the Crap Out of Random Teen
Girl Meets Lion (The sad face on this lion-I can't handle it!)
Rachel Maddow on Obama's Re-election   (This one is a must watch!)



*I would like to think that this will become a weekly feature, but I think I know how this story ends.

Brills!

I've finally made my flight reservations for Dublin and London in March!  Whoohoo!  In thinking about what I want to do on this trip, I stumbled upon a brilliant idea.  So you know how I run a group home for people who have disabilities?  And you also know how I get a little obsessive about things?  Well, due to my obsessiveness and my dedication to this community of people, I thought it would be cool to see if I could possibly check out a program of a similar nature in Dublin as I would really like to see how other countries provide these services.  I found an organization that looks cool, so I'm going to see if they will let me come check out their facilities and meet some of their clients.  Now here comes the brilliant part . . . I'm going to see if I can set up a pen pal program with my clients and their clients.  How great would that be!?!  There are some of my clients (and actually some former clients-I'm working on that piece of the puzzle too) who would love doing this and I think it would be an awesome opportunity for them.  So yeah, that's my exciting news.  And yes, I realize that this plan is probably exciting to no one other than myself!  :)

another song o' the day

I can't stress enough how much I'm enjoying Iwan Rheon's music.  When I heard he was a musician in addition to being an actor, I was concerned that it would be another case of someone famous deciding they know how to sing (a la Paris Hilton), so I am constantly surprised that the music is actually really good and I really, really like it.