RAMBLINGS ON A TUESDAY

back in their heyday :(

It's been a while since I rambled.

The weather has been beautiful here.  Sunny and high 70's-80's.  I lehrv it.  So on my lunch breaks, I break out the ol' FiveFingers and hit the trails behind our plant.  There's a lush arboretum filled with ponds, wooded paths, and nature at its very best.  So I take full advantage.  But as I noticed the other day, my FiveFingers are running a little ragged.  To be honest, I'm surprised they've even lasted this long.  So I'm scouting around for new running shoes.  I'm all about minimalist footwear... I'd go barefoot everywhere, if I could.  FiveFingers are the next best thing.  So I'm trying to decide between Vibram FiveFingers and RunAmocs.  I'm sure I'll go with the FiveFingers, purely for shock value :)  There's nothing more exhilarating to me than watching someone do a double- (or triple, or quadruple) take on my uber-weird toe shoes.  Score.

Shopping for shoes... it's like opening Pandora's Shoebox.  Not even for me, necessarily.  My heart just does a flip when I see itty-bitty shoes.  For itty-bitty people like Solchop.  And I swear, she started it.  This chick loves shoes.  LOVES them.  She's always picking up shoes (hers, mine, anyone's) and sitting down to try and put them on.  It's pretty freaking adorable.  I assume it's my maternal instincts, then, that compel me to shop for shoes for her.  But seriously, take a gander at these moccasins and tell me Sol doesn't need these...



She also loves hats.  She's constantly picking up loose hats (I know, it sounds like there's rubbish strewn about our entire residence) and dipping her head down so that I can put them on her head.  My grandma got her this little Hello Kitty hat, and that's one of her faves.  I myself am not really one for licensed apparel, but if Sol likes it.. hey, more power to her.  She loves accessorizing.  And if you're wondering if she ever toddles around the front yard on a warm summer afternoon, wearing nothing but her birthday suit and a hat... yes, yes she does.

So one of my favorite places to go for lunch is (are you ready?) the local hospital.  They have the most delicious pita chips I've ever tasted.  And in my opinion, their per-pound salad bar pricing is pretty stellar, so I'm all about truckin on over to the hospital and grabbing a few ounces of Mediterranean fabulosity.  The other day, on my way back from the hospital, I was behind this really cool car that was reverberating with the frequencies of something slightly resembling music.  I could feel it in my car, I'm sure the other cars nearby could feel it, and frankly I was angry that I was stuck driving behind this moron in a Hot Lips Olds, skatin' on Dayton rims, thumping himself right into the "oh-you're-irritating" section of the minds of everyone within a quarter-mile.  We pulled up to a stoplight, and
just when I was mumbling some choice words under my breath, dreading the next 30 seconds of sitting there behind his subwoofer-on-wheels, the vibrations stopped.   This guy turned his music off at the stoplight!  I love when people surprise me.  Thank you, Mr. Hot Lips, for allowing me to sit at the stoplight in peace.

But not everyone turns their music off when the car is stopped.  My sister called me yesterday after work.  First thing she said: "Hey, can you hear this?"  I listened closely... and heard someone belting out some unknown tune at the very tip-top of his lungs.  She was stopped at a stoplight next to with a man who was so happy with life in general that he was singing.  Delightfully loud and lovely.  Says me to sister, "What is he singing?"  Says she to me, "I don't know what song it is; it's very monotone with zero melody, but it's something about a perfect life."  Cheers to you and your perfect life, sir.  You are the epitome of Guts and Glory in an S10. 

Sisters are great.  Sisters make your day by calling you with random things like that.  Sisters are certainly something to celebrate, and today especially I'm celebrating my sister Amanda.  28 years ago today, the world became a little brighter because of a bubbly little redhead named Amanda Jane :)  A loving daughter, a loyal sister, a wonderful aunt, a very dear friend, and arguably the world's greatest movie-quote-knower EVER, my sister Amanda is one of the most amazing people I will ever know.  After putting up with years of sharing a room with her bratty little sister, or being attacked with a constant, "You gonna eat that?" she still loves me.  I tip my dark brown bowler hat to you, Amanda.  (and in case you're wondering, we're putting on a magic show in the following photo. yes, we are very talented, and we wear many hats. pun intended.)

Happy birthday, AJ!

FINISHING LAST

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter;for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.  -- Max Ehrmann's Desiderata

I've run a few road races in my day.  Never have I crossed the finish line first (nope, I'm not FloJo), but I've never finished last either.  That's always a great comfort to me during a race.  I've always been lucky enough to look back and see people behind me.  And during every single race, I think: Someone has to finish last...  Luckily, I've never experienced being the very last person to cross the finish line.  What must that feel like?

Better question: why should it matter?

That's the human condition, isn't it?  Validating yourself by comparing your life to the lives of others?  Reality check: no matter what's going on in your life, someone will have it "better," and someone will have it "worse."  It's pointless to compare your life to someone else's.  Even if you think you've got it bad, keep your chin up.  Sure, life may be going a bit more sweetly for someone else, but I guarantee that someone else is experiencing a worse time than you.

Quit calculating the value of your own life by looking around you.  Don't look around, and don't look back.  Keep looking ahead, and you're sure to see a smooth road.  Even if you appear to be finishing last, at least you're finishing the race.  No matter how slowly you're running, you're going faster than the person sitting on the sideline.  As long as you're making an effort, that's all that matters.

RAMBLINGS ON A TUESDAY

It's Tuesday!

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First off, look how big my MiniMon is getting!  I picked her up from daycare last week and she had a ponytail... hard to believe it's been 10 (yes, TEN) months!

^^ channeling Cindy Lou Who

  A few weeks ago the Sol child went to her 9-month appointment.  We got shots.  We were sad.  Well, she was sad.  I was sort of geeked that she was adequately inoculated by the standards set by the State of Michigan.

 You know what's reaaaalllly good?  Real carrots.  Not the fake baby carrots that are bleached beyond recognition and pressed into nubby little hunks.  Real carrots.  If you haven't had a REAL carrot in a while, do yourself a favor and try one.  They're so sweet... I almost forgot about real carrots.

Last week my sister and I ran a 5k - the Run Through the Lights in downtown Kzoo.  It was more of a "run through the sketchy neighborhoods" than "through the lights," but whatever.  People get CRAZY dolled up for this run, and Liz and I were no exception.  I donned as many red and green clothes as I could find, and Liz and I strapped some battery-operated Christmas lights to our persons, and we were off.  Then we went for dinner and a beer afterwards, still in our hodge-podge holiday outfits, Christmas lights still ablaze, and of course I saw some people from work.  They asked me if I lost a bet.  Awesome.  And in keeping with the holiday spirit, I found these uber-fabulous Christmas-color rhinestones that I wanted to put on my face.  They wouldn't stick to my face, so of course I pulled out the superglue (and my mom will tell you I've been banned from superglue since 2001) and adhered them.  Stuck 'em on real nice and good.  THAT, ladies and gents, is a mistake you make only once.  Note to self: supergluing anything to one's face is poor planning.

Liz told me I looked like an Indian princess at Christmastime.
I'll take that as a compliment... though I'm not sure it was one.

 Last week we had an office Christmas party/gift exchange over lunch (Yankee Swap, Dirty Santa, Chinese Christmas, etc... pretty much whatever derogatory name you can think of for a "random gift exchange").  Ant it was fabulous.  We had these uber cool Solo cups where you could scratch your name into the side of them.  AWESOME.  And I got a "Christmas survival kit," complete with a bottle of wine and goodies from a local shop called The Cheese Lady.  And lately I've been all kinds of interested in fancy cheeses (which are so not vegan, but at least they're vegetarian).  So this camper was a happy camper.

 This past Sunday I took MiniMon to an urgent care center; little lady had an ear infection.  The doctor who saw us looked just like Santa Claus (and yes, I actually do believe it was him), and he told us Merry Christmas {whoa}.  I had the very best service I've ever had at this particular center (for the record, Kzoo-ians, it was Hometown Urgent Care).  They were fast, VERY friendly (something you don't get often at an after-hours doctor's office), and today I even got a follow-up phone call to ask how Sol was.  I would go back there any day. Thank you, Dr. Santa.

I went for a run on my lunch break today, and my shoes were digging into my ankles.  It was sunny... sort of cold, but decent enough.  So I took my shoes off and carried them the rest of the way.  And ran barefoot.  {if I never had to put another shoe on again for the rest of my life, I'd die happy}

It turned out okay, and I was fine for the duration of the run.  When I got back to the office, however... I realized the toll it had taken.  That's gonna hurt for the next few days... So will the blister on the other foot.  That'll teach me to run barefoot in December.

Ouch.

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And with that, I'm out.  Talk soon :)

FOR WHICH I'M GRATEFUL

Life is so good.  I hope you're surrounding yourself with some fabulous things today.

In the middle of all your running around today (because isn't that what T-Day has become?), take a moment to look around and realize just how greatly blessed you are.  If you have family that drives you bananas, just nod, smile, and say thank you for the family members who are there to share today with you.  Even if you have a gross, smelly turkey plopped on the table in front of you, just say thank you for the abundance of food at your disposal.  We all have a million things to be thankful for, even if that's a little hard to remember on certain days...  And we should practice the art of giving thanks all year round,  not just in November.

That said, here I go: 66 things I'm thankful for, in no particular order.

1. chubby-cheeked ladies with rattails and potbellies who make my heart go *boom* when they look at me and smile
2. a family who loves my daughter as much as they love me (actually, I think it's a little more than me, but who's counting?)
3. bald nieces with mile-long eyelashes whose giggles make me swoon
4. Sol's godmothers
5. uncles who hold Sol in the air like they're reenacting a scene from Lion King
6. chocolatey brown dogs who give good hugs like it's their job
7. good friends who I stay in contact with, regardless of how far away we live
8. blue-eyed babies who wear camouflage and melt your heart
9. Vanilla Java Porter
10. MY JOB
11. my old job (hear me out), which makes me that much more thankful for my current job.
12. sunrises over marshes on foggy mornings
13. men who wear vests and/or fedoras
14. dark, quiet nights that force me to think about the good things in life
15. bass players with full-blown Jesus beards
16. Macbooks
17. iPhones
18. Honda Accords
19. St. Michael Lutheran Church
20. barefoot drummers who wear wolf shirts and drink pink martinis with salted rims
21. FiveFingers
22. candles that make my home smell like confectionery heaven
23. frozen yogurt
24. hitting all green lights when I'm late for work
25. having a job that doesn't really care when I'm late for work
26. good daycare 
27. Dr. Sheldon Cooper
28. episodes of Friends to which I know every word, but still make me roar with laughter
29. my Nikon
30. Dunder Mifflin (The Office)
31. Tofurky
32. the four seasons (nature, not music)
33. stellar meat alternative products from Morningstar Farms
34. glasses with thick black frames
35. Mumford and all his sons
36. Tofurky
37. shopping trips in Ann Arbor
38. Bierleins who live in SW Michigan :)
39. Kalamazoo Beer Exchange
40. microbrews
41. Biggby coffee
42. Target
43. wi-fi
44. hairdressers named Kristin who turn your hair blue (on purpose)
45. Silk soymilk
46. Pinterest.  PERIOD.
47. Twilight Woods for men (handsoap for shizzle)
48. the word "Word."
49. vegetarian hippies at farmers markets
50. my BOB.  helping me make sure *this* stays a 10 (ha. haha.)
51. Facebook... yes, seriously.
52. running trails
53. pacifiers
54. Downy Unstopables
55. Modern Family
56. forgiveness
57. shopping malls
58. Toms
59. a job in which I can speak Spanish
60. Pandora
61. AE jeans
62. watches
63. Ninja blenders
64. imagination
65. Max Ehrmann's Desiderata
66. The Nutcracker

And after I wrote this, I checked out my Thanksgiving list from 2010 - which is slightly embarrassing, yet shockingly similar.  Give it a read if you have time.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!  Leave a comment with something you're thankful for :)