Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Thinking Again...

Is it just me or is life nothing but a series of stops and starts and waiting in line. We're waitng for a raise, mad we got fired, waiting to get married, mad we gave up the single life, chopping off our hair, impatient for it to grow back, waiting to have a kid, horrified at the impending responsibility and so on and so forth. Sometimes we talk about the good 'ole days but that's just a lie. My good 'ole days were frought with waiting for him to call and waiting for the right job and waiting to be a grown-up and waiting to finally feel like I belonged in my body. I don't know about you, but I'm ready to coast. I'm ready to just set sail and be free of the stopping and the starting and the constant waiting for something better to come along. I'm ready to wake up and say YES! This is my life and LIFE. IS. GOOD.

Because that's true, it's good. Sure, I'm plagued by enourmous doubt and feelings of failure and the current size of my thighs (a direct result of the doubt and the failureness). Sure, there are things I'm waiting for and wishing for. I have hopes for a someday. I just want to make sure I don't miss today for all the worry and audible sighs that last for days. I want to make sure I look around and drink in today. Because today I have the love of a man I never even dreamed existed. Today I have friends worth more than a winning lottery ticket. Today I have a family and a job and a second book and a home and the chance to laugh every single day.

Today I have it all.

P.S. Guess who's blonde again?
Blonde Again

Friday, June 02, 2006

Heap

Can anyone tell me how Imogen Heap can be so glorious and transcendant and luminous on CD and so frightening and odd and confusing and terribly bad bad bad live?

Thinking

My blog has been so boring lately. I would have stopped reading already....if I were a reader. If you read, and then you stopped, I don't blame you. I'm almost inclined to tell you to run for your life, it's only going to get worse.

I feel like I should tell you something although I don't know what. I feel like there's something lurking in me somewhere that needs spilling. There's a bubbling up of unnamed ideas or thoughts or confessions....something. I told Ryan tonight that I'm a complete failure - and I meant it. When I said those words I meant them through and through. I feel like I'm failing at every turn in my curvy life. This week has been the worst. The. Worst. He proceeded to give me 20 reasons why I am, indeed, not a failure all of which I shrugged off. Dismissed. And even though that's true, I feel like a failure, that really isn't the true issue. I don't know what it is....this cloud. I'd call it a funk but it feels more susbstantial than that. I'd call it fatigue but that excuse is wearing thin. I'd call it change/adjustment at work but the truth is, I like change. I thrive in newness. I'd call it frustration, anger, fear, depression, a headache, cramps, blah blah blah blah blah..........

Nothing seems to fit. Maybe if I could name it, it would release it's deathgrip on me.

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Faces that Heal

Remember this? Even though I haven't exactly been forthcoming with all the details (still too personal for me to divulge) you should know, the problem hasn't gotten any better. It's been almost a year and it's starting to really weigh on me. Starting me to make me feel a little insane. I think about it every single day. It's upsetting to me every single moment. A hidden pain I carry with me everywhere I go.
And sweet Ryan...he's amazing. I couldn't ask for anyone sweeter or more amazing. I truly don't desrve him and his wonderfulness.
But.
There's nothing quite like a girlfriend's face to right some serious wrongs. I played Bunco tonight which is really just a ruse to get together with my friends. None of them knew what a hard weekend I had. None of them knew that on Sunday I cried more than I've cried in a long time. I haven't really talked to anyone lately about this darkness. This pit in my stomach. This pain and this worry.
But their faces.....
They light me up inside. They make me forget my troubles, even if only for an evening. And you can't replace that or bottle that or even expect that. It's always a surprise. Always a joy. And I can get through one more day because of their faces. Their eyes and their smiles. Their voices and their arms that are always open for me.
Such friends I have....the kind of friends who rescue me without even knowing it.

Monday, May 29, 2006

Old Navy: Tastes Like Chicken

I went to Old Navy today to get Ryan some new work pants and I noticed......
90% of the people shopping in the crowded store were already wearing clothes from Old Navy. Some of them were even shopping racks with the same shirt they were wearing. As someone possesing an inner homing device that forces me to buy white t-shirts and black t-shirts by the overflowing closet-full, I'm not here to judge, just to observe. As I waited in line to buy Ryan's pants (and a new shirt for me...in BLUE!!) the woman behind me noted to her friend, "They have such nice clothes at such reasonable prices!" She was wearing a green Old Navy shirt and buying the same shirt again - one in pink and one in black. As a child, I remember thinking that in the future we would have flying cars, robot servants and a national uniform - all walking around wearing the same thing everyone else was wearing. Today I realized...the future is now man, the future is now.

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Reason #38

Reason #38 Why Perfect Ryan is Sometimes a PUNK:

Backstory - I have been cleaning the house tonight for two hours.
Backstory B - Yesterday Ryan replaced some lightbulbs in the kitchen

Tonight when Ryan got home - tonight after I had been cleaning the house for two hours to avoid watching Lost so we could watch it together once he got home - Ryan said....

"Man, those new lightbulbs sure make it look clean in here."

Hmph.

A.I.

I
Loved
Every
Single
Second

The Idols
Paula's Drunken Dancing
The Awards
Seeing the little cowboy dude again
Mary J. Blige
Prince
Prince!
The Moms and Dads
Especially Elliot's Mom and Katharine's Dad
Toni Braxton?? What??
Puck and Pickler
The Clay Aiken dude freaking out about seeing Clay Aiken
Meatloaf
Meatloaf!
David Hasslehoff crying
Taylor Hicks winning

I
LOVED
EVERY
SINGLE
SECOND!!!

Monday, May 22, 2006

Why I Shouldn't Have Gotten Out of Bed This Morning:

-Almost to the minute that Ryan and I booked our anniversary trip to Vegas, some idiot slammed into Ryan's car and we now have to shell out $1,000 to get it fixed
-Heartburn
-Almost to the minute that Ryan and I booked our anniversary trip to Vegas, some idiot forgot to rotate her tires and now she has dangerously thin front tires and needs to get them replaced in the next 30 seconds or else
-It's rainy for the 100th day in a row (and I have bald tires that love to slip-slide in the rain)
-Almost to the minute that Ryan and I booked our anniversary trip to Vegas, some idiot caused the power to go out in our neighborhood and now the power won't go back on in our bedroom or bathroom
-After tonight I will have to wait at least seven months to see Jack Bauer save the city/country/world and point a gun in the President's face demanding justice. It's just not right.

Friday, May 19, 2006

Meme A Lema Ding Dong

Here is a Meme.

Accent: Tall Southern woman. I say fixin’, ya’ll and when asked if I want sweeturun, I take sweet please.

Booze: I don’t drink the spirits but sometimes I wish I did so I could come home after a long day and have a “cocktail” in a glamorous glass with an umbrella in it. But let’s not kid ourselves, if I were a drinker, I wouldn’t be the cocktail type...I’d be the wino embarrassing drunk type. (thus...why I avoid)

Chore I Hate: Yes, I hate chores.

Dogs/Cats: Minnie Dog, the greatest pet ever. And why would anyone have a cat? Cats are pointless and snobby. I don’t like snobs.

Essential electronics: TV – my second true love. I have a life-long love affair with TV. TV makes me laugh and cry. TV tells me secrets and teaches me about things like how celebrities can’t cook and the Hanso Foundation. I love TV. I’m pretty sure I would give up my washer and drye...and my microwave oven...before I’d give up TV.

Favorite perfume/cologne: Just walking within fifty feet of the perfume counters at the mall gives me an ugly migraine. I hate the smelly smells. I use soap and a smile. If that isn’t enough then that is just too bad.

Gold/Silver: Silver (or white gold) exclusively – although in high school I rocked a GOLD NUGGET class ring and a giant gold coin necklace YO.

Hometown: Wherever I park my car – currently the outskirts of Nashville, TN – home of Dolly Parton and the Christian Music Industry. One of these things THRILLS me. Guess which one?

Insomnia: Not necessarily, but lately my body is calling out for sleep in a primal scream that only my dog can hear. I need it. I need the sleep.

Job Title: Director of Sales and Marketing for a semi-indie/semi-corporate rock label. This means I now work for The Man and share a bathroom with 35 other women. But it also means that I have kick butt health insurance.

Kids: Someday soon – which fills me with fright and delight and panic and dread and extreme happiness – equally.

Living Arrangements: Illingworth Manor – a small house in the suburbs with Perfect Ryan and Minnie Dog. We love our house even though we are surrounded by neighbors so obsessed with their yards that they use leaf blowers and weed eaters and lawn mowers at SEVEN IN THE MORNING.

Most Admired Trait: Adaptability

Number of Sexual Partners: One, although I won’t tell you who.

Overnight Hospital Stays: One – when I was in college. I had dehydrated from excessive vomiting and diarrhea from excessive stress from excessive life situations. My college roommates came to my hospital room and washed my hair (which was FOUL) and put deodorant on me. I will never forget that.

Phobias: Sharks and people with abnormally tiny hands. And losing Ryan – I’m terrified of that.

Quote: “That’s one of my jobs when I go home…grooming my parents.” -Charity the Intern

Religion: Christianity – the one true constant in my life.

Siblings: One brother, Drew. He’s the kind of brother that surprises you with his astute observations and mature outlook on life while maintaining the wackiest sense of humor known to man. Drew rules. Period.

Time I usually wake up: Too late. Or when Minnie Dog, who weighs 16 pounds, stands directly on my breasts and stares at me while breathing loudly...I also wake up then.

Unusual talent: I can touch the tip of my nose with my tongue.

Vegetable: Potatoes. Ok, look, I don’t really like “vegetables”. I know that makes some of you gasp and fall down dead, but I just don’t. I don’t. But I do drink carrot juice every day and I take a multi-vitamin. Give a girl a break.

Worst habit: Not eating vegetables.

X-rays: You might remember a few months ago when my pointless surgery was rescheduled due to a freak toe incident? Yeah, that toe incident cost me more money than my entire surgery. Stupid x-rays.

Yummy foods I make: Grapes (trust me) and cheese dip and lasagna and chicken pot pie and chicken enchiladas.

Zodiac Sign: I don’t know? My birthday is June 9th – HINT HINT – and I will be older than I’ve ever been before.

Tag, you're it.

Thursday, May 18, 2006

The Duck Says:

The Duck says Happy Graduation Ya'll!

The Duck Graduates