how did that happen?

It's almost March.

I have things to mail. I have things to make. I have emails to send.

I have the motivation of a snail.

For those things...because I did run 2 1/2 miles today. So I have motivation for that...I do run at a snail's pace, but my mantra comes straight from Pinterest.
My head says: "it does not matter how slowly you go, you're still lapping everyone on the couch." Over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over.

This is similar, but without the competitive edge:

Source: Uploaded by user via amy on Pinterest

Sometimes I'm competitive. Or always. I'm competitive even when I'm slow. (-: That makes sense, right?

Well why haven't you done these mailing, making, emailing things, amy?

I'm busy.

Working.

Arranging nail polish by color.

Reading magazines. This was in Real Simple.

And eating a pumpkin muffie and enjoying hazelnut coffee at Panera. And making a mixed CD to send to someone awesome.

Because I'm going to the post office.

Someday.

Hopefully before the end of March.

random

-I'm at my local Starbucks. There's a guy talking on his bluetooth loudly and he keeps changing tables and people keep moving away from him. Yes, some people have no perception of others. I also thought people stopped using bluetooth except when they're driving? Am I out of touch with the world?

-I went shopping at Old Navy last weekend. It took me FOREVER because I don't know what size clothing I wear and I kept having to get dressed and grab other sizes. How long have I been shopping there? I also tried on "skinny" jeans while I was there. WHY, self, WHY? They looked awful. 

-I need to do my taxes. 

-Winter in Indiana has been LAME. What kind of winter is this?!?!? I want like 12 inches of snow! 

-It's time to research cleanses/detoxes. Does anyone have any advice? I really want to do something fairly natural--meaning I don't want a bunch of powdered crap or pills to take. 

-Do you watch Once Upon a Time? I am obsessed. OBSESSED. If I'm not home at 8pm on Sunday evening, I had better be close to somewhere where a TV is located. 

-For Lent I am giving up....whining about being single. Yeah, that'll be hard. I should whine about it right now before I give it up, but I don't feel like it. 

-I would like to squeeze my nephew. He has teeth now. Doesn't he know he's not allowed to grow up when I'm not around? 

-I need someone to drink coffee with me. I'm starting to talk to the baristas. You know how I feel about strangers. What is happening to me? 

-Do I like strangers now? 

-I don't think so. 

-Desperate times. Desperate times. 

-I want another tattoo...but I would not be following the rules. Plus it costs money and I'm living on a shoestring. BUT, if you're in the mood to do a bit of designing I want something like this: 

Source: davidhale.org via amy on Pinterest

Source: tumblr.com via amy on Pinterest

A combination of those two ideas...colors [I like the look of the colored picture but it doesn't have to be those colors]...and incorporate a symbol or the word "love" and the letters "H" and "R". Feel free to email me any submissions. (-:

-Stop freaking out, Mom.

-I'm thinking about forcing myself into a black and white photo March. Only b&w allowed here. Would that be weird?

-Yesterday Kate got me some free gum. She's a couponing queen.

In return for free gum, I taught her how to use Pinterest. Yeah, she gives me gum and I give her an addiction. I'm a good friend.

-If you're in the Durham area please get one of the following:

• a non-fat, sugar-free caramel latte and a scone or cheddar biscuit from Parker and Otis; 
• a peanut-butter fudge milkshake from Cookout; 
• a biscuit from Elmo's; 
• a doughnut muffin from Scratch; 
• a vegetarian chile relleno from Dos Perros; 
• a coconut macaroon and coffee [the house blend] from Mad Hatter's;
• any pasta dish from Piazza Italia;
• some fro-yo from LoYo; 
• a Bo*berry Biscuit from Bojangles; or
• a fancy dinner at Four Square

Then tell me about it. In great detail. Please and thank you.

-I have an idea for a writing/photography project about bodies...I need bold people willing to tell me stories and let me take their picture. I use the word "bold" because this involves some exposure. Not sexual. Just vulnerable words and exposed skin. If you may be interested...let me know! 

-I need to create. I need to create. I need to create. 

what--the what?!?

Yeah, I don't know why I didn't have a Valentine either. 

ps This may be my new favorite app...it's FREE and called Hubba Hubba. (-:

A post where I show you multiple YouTube videos

Feels Like Home by Linda Ronstadt

Now, that's an awesome video...not. The song makes me happy. I want it in my wedding. I have all kinds of things picked out for my wedding, I just need a groom. (-:

Not Over You by Gavin DeGraw

Yes, I'm a sucker for Gavin. What is that girl wearing? Or not wearing?!?! PUT SOME PANTS ON!

We All Need Saving by Jon McLaughlin

<3

This is totally inappropriate, but it does make me giggle. And seem slightly less depressed than those first three songs may make me appear: 

The entire album makes me laugh. IT IS OFFENSIVE and EXPLICIT: what do you expect from the writers of South Park? I have a special love for inappropriate musicals. It's a part of who I am.

Chipotle commercial:

I first saw this last fall and it's stuck with me.

What are you watching on YouTube?

My New Thing

When I went to massage school I began having to cut my nails really short.

I mean, REEEEEAALLLY short. Like down as far as I could get the clippers and then filed back so that it was smooth and not a sharp cut. 

Slightly strange, but if you've ever had a massage from a long-nailed therapist and felt the daggers in your muscles you'd appreciate my attention to detail and short nails. (-:

You may also know that I have inherited gargantuan hands. As a matter of fact one of the very few episodes of Seinfeld I've watched was the Man Hands episode [Just so you know, I hate Seinfeld. I also hate Dave Matthews Band and beer, but I tend to enjoy the presence of people who like these things.] and ever since I saw that episode I deemed that I, Amy Elizabeth, have MAN HANDS. 

This means I spent years and years not drawing attention to my hands. I wore a ring for about 30 seconds. I rarely painted my nails. No bracelets. No nothing. Plain and basic was my style of choice to keep attention away from my hands.

Except now, I don't care. My hands are still huge. I can only pray that I will be sent a future husband with hands larger than mine. 

And I paint my nails. 

Eh-vurh-ree week. 

It might be safe to say that I need to stop purchasing nail polish. 

Over the past four years or so, I owned this many nail polishes:

Since November I have accumulated these: 

I doubled my collection.

These are the kind that have a fine tipped brush. I got them for $1 at Dollah Tree...price check on aisle 5? Price check? 

These are my latest aquisitions: 

They're the mini-OPI Nicki Minaj collection. So.Much.Fun.

I only own OPI polishes because I can get them at a discount with my massage license. I don't get any other perks, so I go with nail polish and hair products at the salon supply store. [They don't carry ANY massage stuff.]

Back to nails. These are my Valentine nails:

Right hand.

Left Hand. 

a)They're not perfect.
b)This took me over an hour during the superbowl.
c)Painting your right hand is hard.
d)Yes, I am anal retentive and slightly ridiculous.
e)I like it!

The cheese of Valentine's Day suckers me in every time. I love hearts and pink and red and all the glitz and crap, especially if it's homemade crap. My nails represent some homemade crap. (-:

A Moment of Pride

Things this post contains: unfocused rambling, poorly constructed sentences, over-capitalization, over-hyphenation,  and word vomit. Also, it takes me many words to get to the point which happens at the very end in about 20 words. 

You all know that I don't share everything with you. There are things that are private. Things that don't need to be on the interwebs for the world to read. "See"? Things that become TMI.

It's a fine line. That fine line between over-share and enough-share to actually relate to the writer of the blog. The fine line between being totally egocentric and interesting/funny. The line between dear diary and this is my PUBLIC blog which every person who is my friend on facebook can see. [Yes, this is a top reason for my debate over whether someone should be my fb friend. Will I survive if they read my blog? Probably. OK, accepted. I don't want them to know things about me? Your friend request can sit in the land of facebook friend request purgatory.]

The things I hold close to my heart are saved up for private conversations with those I am most comfortable with. It might be you. It might not.

And if you're lucky enough you'll get that day of I-AM-COMPLETELY-OVERTAKEN-WITH-EMOTIONS-AND-NOW-IT-IS-FLOWING-FORTH-FROM-MY-MOUTH-BODY-AND-EYEBALLS. I publicly purge sometimes. I can't control it either. You can ask me a basic question and BAM. It's coming.

I cry a lot. I think it has to do with the fact that I am confused about my life a lot. [If you didn't know that about me feel free to delve into the archives around here. If you still didn't get that, I must write lies. Or at least I only cover the good stuff. Or I just talk about Hank.]

Those not-so-awesome moments are mixed with some I-AM-SO-FREAKING-AWESOME moments, I don't alway share either with you [see the type of blog where people brag all the time--annoying]. Sorry.

Today I had an awesome moment...and I'm actually going to share it with you. Feel special. (-:

The backstory: when I wrote my 30x30 I had this huge list of to-do's, goals, opportunities, etc. that I wanted to accomplish over the 1 1/2 years before I turned 30. A section of those goals are around my health and wellness. Specifically these goals:

• try acupuncture
• run a 5K
• run a 10K
• run the Indy Mini [recently modified to include any half-marathon]
• complete a fast/detox/cleanse
• lose 25 pounds

So of those I have done...zero. Bahahahaha! I know, it's not funny, but it is since I'm down to nine months before I turn 30.

Since about January 9th, I've buckled down to start training for the half-marathon and losing 25 lbs by working out regularly and tracking my food calories. If you follow the cooking closet you know I've been using MyFitnessPal to keep track of my food. 

As far as working out...I am employed by a gym. My rule is that if I have 3 hours or more of massage I don't have to spend any extra time in the gym. If I don't, I have to work out. Since about November, I have been BFF with the elliptical machine. Basically, I would do 3-4 miles or 45 minutes about four times a week. This was working pretty well, until I remembered a)I actually would need to RUN a 5K, 10K, and half-marathon. I can't complete it on a piece of equipment in the gym as much as I would like to. [WHAT?!?!] and b)I plateaued in my weight loss. The latter actually just pissed me off enough to start running. WHY AM I EATING HEALTHILY WHEN I'M NOT LOSING WEIGHT?!?!? 

Next step: add lifting weights. We can talk about that some other time. I'll let you know if it actually helps me. 

[I'm word vomiting like crazy tonight. If you're still reading: bless you. I'm getting to my moment of pride now. I'll even add a picture.]

Moment of pride: I did a little run last Tuesday for the first time in awhile. It actually felt pretty good, but I was dragging along two dogs and one was trying to eat goose poop the entire time, so I quit before I went too far. Wednesday I ran at Spiece on the treadmill. I don't like running on treadmills. Not fun. 

Tonight, I got home from work and it was snowing, but I ate a Dunkin' Donut chocolate heart doughnut filled with delicious calorie-dense sugar creme at lunch time, so I told myself I had to run. My goal? 3K. I could do that.

I did it. THEN I KEPT GOING. eeeeee! I ended up jogging a 5K [which is about 3.1 miles] and feeling pretty ding-dang good. I probably could have gone longer.

WHAT IS THIS INSANITY?? 

And I was proud of myself. 

The end. 

black & white

I'm staying with my cousins this week while their parentals are in Florida soaking up some sunshine. I forced them to sit for me in front of some windows so I could play with light. I'm so tough. (-:

Favorites:

I love these young women!

Don't forget about Mudlove band giveaway!

mudlove

Esperanza.
              Espoir.
                         Hoffnung.
                                         Speranza.
                                                       Esperança.
                                                                       Håber.
                                                                                    Nadzieja.
                                                                                                      Hopp.
                                                                                                                     Надежда.
                                                                                                                                          Hoop.

                                   Hope.

This is a Mudlove band. I love it! 

You know what I love even more? THIS.
Go.
Read it.
Come back.
A fantastic business mission if I've ever heard one.
[Yes, I'm bossy. Just listen to me. Here it is again.]

Hope is such a powerful word to me. Hope is a place where I try to live with optimism, joyfulness, positivity, happiness, and love. Life is hard. Everyone has hurts and pain and problems and suffering and trials and bruises, but I try to remember that hope can be a light in those times.

I have faith to believe that  hope can exist.

And "esperanza" is not the only choice of Mudlove bands: agape, anchored, be mine, beautiful, believe, beloved, courage, create, dream, freedom, grace and the list goes on and on! There are also necklaces, rocks, and t-shirts available on the website. Awesome!

I did get an "esperanza" bracelet for one of you. Did you see the last line up there? "is a good gift for anyone in need of some love."

Here's the deal: Do you need some love? Do you know someone who needs a little hope? I got a bracelet for someone...a friend of yours? You? A random stranger? A co-worker? A family member? 

Just leave a comment...tell me what your favorite word is available on the Mudlove bands OR feel free to anonymously tell me who it's for [i.e. I have a friend who is struggling and could really use a pick-me-up]. 

Make sure you include your email address, so I can contact you if you're a winner. 

Open for comments until 11:59pm [EST] Tuesday, February 14th. 

Maggie, you're a winner! (-:

xoxo