why hello, blog!

Goals. This has been a month (or two) of setting and achieving goals.

I got a new job. Old news - I know - but a goal I had been after for almost 2 long years. I love my new job, it is everything I ever dreamed it could be during those months when I couldn't imagine getting up for work another day. When the thought of making more copies, running more errands, or hearing my boss scream at me one more time seemed like too much. But I'm out! Goal achieved. And damn that feels great.

This week I started running. I've always envied runners - they're always the coolest people in the gym, right? Running along, oblivious to all of us walking, or stair-stepping or whathaveyou. I was always jealous. Not to mention those OUTSIDE RUNNERS. How much confidence do you have to have to run outside? In front of other people? Yikes.

So running was always out for me - mainly because I'm historically about the most out of shape person I know. Even at my skinniest, I was the textbook definition of 'skinny-fat'. I could hardly make it up a flight of stairs (probably still can't.)

Sometime last year I started working out. it's been off and on, but I gradually have worked myself up to the point where 30 minutes of straight cardio on the elliptical or ergonomiter or whatever is doable survivable for me. Which is great! So now I'm doing couch to 5k (C25K).

The program can be found at Cool Running - basically it's a 9 week program that gradually gets you from a walking pace to running 5k (that's around 3 miles) straight - without overdoing it and getting discouraged. This was key for me - because I always overdo it on the first day, get injured, and then stop. Hopefully this will help.

So far I've run 2 days, Sunday and this morning. Sunday my total distance was 1.6 miles, and today it was 2 miles. Those miles are a combo of running and walking, mostly walking at this point since I'm in my first week.

And what do I have to say about the running? OUCH. My legs are killing me. Getting up to pee seems much worse than just holding it. The idea that I'm going to get up and have to run again one more day this week is awful. Aargh. However, I've made it through two of them, so hopefully I'll keep going.

I also saw the scale dip under 150 today for the first time in many moons. That made me happy. I'd really like to get under 130 someday, but under 150 is pretty good for now.

In other news (and other goals), I finally completed my Eat Street font project - you can find it here. My internship has a few more weeks to go, and overall I'd say it was pretty successful.

Went to the Ani concert on Friday. It was awesome (as usual). My sister and I went last year, and then went again this year. We had dinner at Solera - which was amazing! 8 little dishes of fabulous gourmet food....to die for. The concert was rockin', and it was cool to hang with the little sis.



Bean got another lion cut. (I told him if he wouldn't let me brush him he would get one) Not really a goal, but gives me a chuckle every day. He looks so tiny!



I've started trying to clean a little bit every day - which has greatly helped my weekend workload. I'm trying to keep one day (Saturday) for resting and relaxing, but usually I spend that day cleaning. Now I vacuum pretty much every day (thank you roomba!), clean the kitchen one day, bathroom one day, etc. So all I have to do on the weekends is garbage and laundry. It's amazing.

Wow. Boring post, huh? Another goal on my list is to blog 3x per week. If I can run 3x a week, then by-God I should be able to blog, right? I just need to do it! So here I go.

once a week blogger...

apparently i can only post once a week. oh well.

new bean pictures for you!
...................


do you see the cuteness?


either love-y or plotting....


love is.....a sink and a nap


"why'd you wake me up?"

................................

the job is still going well. so far no one seems to be disappointed in what i'm doing - and i've gotten compliments on some of my poster designs, so that's good! i've also acquired 4 free boxes of cereal in 7 work days. if this keeps up i may never eat anything else again!

I dress like this now: pretty fancy, eh?

............................................

i feel like i'm in a whirlwind lately. i'm truly happy about my new job and everything else that's been happening - but every so often i get flashes of intense sadness. it's almost like homesickness, but i have no idea what i'm homesick for. i think it's just the uneasiness of everything changing all at once, and having nothing to grab onto. no safety blanket.

i need to go work out. but i always feel like sleep is more important....

i think i'm working too much - i work until 4:30 every day, and then come home and work on freelance work until i go to sleep. i haven't been seeing friends (except the boy), and i think it's wearing on me. i've found that no matter how many happy things are happening to you - they don't seem as happy when you have no one to celebrate them with. you know?

.........................

ok, time to pack for the gym and try to get some sleep.

labor day weekend/updates

update:

i started my new job on monday, and so far i'm loving it. the people i work with are great, i get to design! things! all! day!, and my workplace is amazing. there's a caribou coffee, a d'amico and sons, a free fitness center, a huge cafeteria (with an amazing salad bar), a doctor/dentist on site...i could go on forever. it's a far cry from an office of 5, let me tell ya.

i'm still in the honeymoon phase, i know, and i know that i will be challenged with the work. it's mostly designing powerpoint presentations on demand, in front of people - so i've been trying to brush up on my powerpoint skills as fast as possible. the guys i work with have been great so far though. i also get a sweet 30" monitor, and a whole bunch of other cool stuff that i haven't even really delved into yet, like subscriptions to photo and animation sites, a dvd library of images and video, etc. etc.

_____________________________________________

labor day weekend pics:

the boy and i went up to the north shore way back at the beginning of september, just a few miles south of grand marais. we got a cute little room, with a private deck overlooking the lake, and spent our time hiking, kayaking, eating, and smiling. so fun!
me, playing in a river near a waterfall


us, on a hike


us, with our coffee cups, on our private deck

____________________________________

in other news:

bean is very happy these days. the boy and i gave him a bath the other day b/c he was getting a little stinky, and since then he's been all soft and shiny and happy. still bitey though. i keep threatening him with this:


hee hee!

the weekend.

Friday:

Worked all day, then headed out to here:



for dinner. Heard good things about it, and had even tried some takeout at my internship, but I was excited to see the place in person. The food was good good good - we ordered barbecued beef, corn muffins, yucca (sp?) fries, red beans and yellow rice, creamed spinach, and sweet tea. Yummy!

This guy brought me there:



He was a bit happier when the camera wasn't on him.

Saturday:

Got up, tagged along to a haircut with the boy, stopping to shop at my favorite store. After that, went to Ikea and got this stuff:


(don't mind the mess, I'm just keeping it real)

Then to the MOA to get this stuff:





I needed the running shoes because my toes kept going numb in the one's that I have, and it was buy one get one free! Who can resist a cute pair of black heels? I am wearing them today, and so far, very comfortable! Which is always good, but not a dealbreaker, considering the many, many scars I have on my feet from all of my not-so-comfortable shoes.

Saturday night:

Got home and put all of the new Ikea bedding on my bed:



which was very comfy. (I got new sheets, two new pillows, a new comforter, and a new mattress pad)

Played with Bean:



(That bunny slipper is one of a pair that was given to me for Easter. He chewed the first one to bits the first night - but still likes to attack the remaining one)

Sunday morning:

Bean approves the new bedding:



Spent most of Sunday running errands (cleaning, groceries, drugstore). Then headed up to my grandparent's place, where they cooked steaks, potatoes, and we had fruit salad. My grandpa is so cute, because his entire life my grandma cooked everything for him, but now that he has to cook he is so proud of himself! He did a good job too.

Today:

Had a slim fast for b-fast, and having a huge salad with leftover steak on it for lunch. Work is so empty with everyone gone/leaving, but there's plenty to do. I also bought some new plants for my desk at Ikea, but I didn't have a picture. They are cute and small.

So that was my weekend - how was yours?

receptionist woes.

Today my boss asks me for directions. Ok -- Google Maps baby, I'm on it. 5 seconds later, he's standing in front of my desk - 'Where are those directions?'.

Umm..I haven't really even opened the browser yet...

Needless to say, I brought them up, rattled off the directions at top speed, and he was out the door.

I call after - 'Wait, can I print them out for you??'

His reply: 'No, I've got it'

................

Cut to 30 minutes later - my phone rings.

He starts screaming roads at me. How far is this place from 14? How long should I be on road X? Am I East or West of X? Why don't you know these things?!?! Rapid fire directions that mean nothing to me, as I frantically pull out the paper I printed up and bring up Google Maps again.

'Oh, you took a wrong turn at X, you've gone too far' - I say.

'Fuck, fuck, fuckity-fuck fuck - you suck at life' - paraphrase of what he said.

..........

These are the days I hate my job. I try and try to be good at this job, I really do. But I am not a human map. I am not a human calculator. I am not the human equivalent of the internet in a perfect world - with all of the information that you need less than .5 seconds away if you just yell. loud. enough. I'm sorry, I'm not.

I wish I had a thicker skin - so this stuff would just bounce off. But it's almost 11:00 and I'm still thinking about it. Oh well.

Another Bean picture will cheer me up!



Goodnight!

lakes, animals, and parents - oh my!

Whew! Crazy three-day weekend folks - here's the update:

I drove up 4 hours north to visit my parents on Friday - stopping to visit the grandparents on the way. The drive was pretty uneventful, except for Bean frantically meowing most of the way, and jumping around the car. (I try to keep him in his carrier, but i'm weak he gets upset)

The fourth was filled with fireworks, flowers and lakes:


(the fireworks in our driveway - impressive!)


(a pretty flower from my step-mother's garden)


(the lake - I was on a boat, it was fun)

Along with some pretty fun antics from the animals. My parents have a dog named Chester, and being a border collie - he is very, very....animated. (lots of energy) Anyway, he doesn't have much experience with cats, and let's just say he was pretty obsessed interested.

Bean doesn't have much experience with dogs either, except when he was
a tiny, baby kitten:



So it was fun to watch them interact.





Also, here are some gratuitous shots of Bean, hanging out (outside!) on his leash. He felt like king of the jungle. Even though deep down, he's really a city kitty. He was so happy to get back home to a.c. and cable, he could hardly contain himself. (his favorite show is Deadliest Catch, btw)


(here he is showing classic Bean attitude - with the tongue out "I am better than you" look)


(here he's just a "cool cat")

I got home and my stupid air conditioner was broken - so I'm currently staying at the boy's place while he's away. All week! I'm feeling pretty lonely, but hopefully softball tonight will cheer me up.

today in pictures.

excuse disclaimer: i cannot figure out how to format my pictures and text in a way that looks pretty. it's really bugging me, but damn it, i'm going to post anyway. so sorry for the un-cuteness that follows. (the layout, not the content!)

feeling like: this picture. apparently bean feels this way too. he's not enjoying the fact that it's over 90 degrees in my apartment. i'm trying to make him feel better by giving him ice to lick. i'm trying to make myself feel better by giving myself popsicles to lick.



working on: a letter for a font i'm making with Chank Diesel. it's call 'Eat Street'. fun! more about that very soon.










thinking about: why all the squirrels in my neighborhood are so unafraid of people. i literally had to spray one from 2 inches away with a spray bottle to get it off my windowsill. last month one ate it's way through my screen and ate all of the walnuts in the (sealed jar) on my counter. as cute as they can be - squirrels that are totally unafraid are scary!


last picture: bean looking totally handsome. he's really starting to grow up and become an adult cat, and it's just so cute. i know i'm a crazy cat lady and all - but i really love this guy. even though he scratched me three times this morning and now i look like i escaped over a barbed wire fence fleeing from the mental hospital.

this day started out really crappy (cramps, tired, scared about class/confrontation) to being pretty good (going home early, ordering pizza, getting some work done, watching scrubs, getting an internship offer). so happy thursday everybody!

a little bit about me.

Theoretically, this could all go in the handy-dandy 'about me' section. it will someday. in the meantime, I just wanted to give my non-existent readers some information about me - so they can get to know me and run screaming love me.

1. I live in Minneapolis. Don't stalk me.
2. I'm trying to become a graphic designer. i'm in school, and looking into freelancing options/starting my own business. soon!
3. I apparently can't decide whether to capitalize or not capitalize. i love not capitalizing sentences, but then I slip back into it. sigh. deal with it.
4. I have a kitten cat named Bean. I got him last september? somewhere around there. he's tiny, and loves nothing more than to bite me. he's not mean though - promise.





so tiny and cute!




5. i'm on a diet. so far i've lost 6 pounds. i know you don't want to hear about it - no one does. but guess what? it's my blog! ha!
6. i don't like my job. i know i'm not supposed to write about work, lest i get dooced. but still - it had to be said. i work as an office manager/receptionist/marketing assistant/get me some fucking coffee girl. enough said.
7. i'm 23, soon to be 24 years old. i really want to go to las vegas for my birthday.
8. i started a blog because everyone else was doing it. i'm not sure if my life is exciting enough to write about, but i crack myself up with the crazy interesting things I think about - so i just wanted to put some of it out there. we'll get to the crazy fun stuff eventually, i promise.

Ok, that's enough for now. I need to design an egg-cup catalog today during after work. First draft is due tonight. Any ideas?