Freedom

Apathy.
ap·a·thy (noun)
1.lack of enthusiasm or energy
2.emotional emptiness

This is my goal at work. And has been in effect for over a week now and seems to be working out quite nicely, really. And when I start to feel a little guilty for not caring... i quickly remind myself to not care. then Whoosh~ I feel nothing.

And it's nice. Hell, I'd even call it pleasant.

I think of it as "a healthy amount of apathy in all the right places."
So when I say "A 'healthy' amount..." I mean that occasional use of the word that equates to "plentiful." I have a mental image of myself smearing something fun and fluffy --like cool whip or cotton-y padding-- all around me so that the stress and 'chicken little' mentality in the office bounces off without ever getting to me. So 'all the right places' really refers to any space surrounding me while I am at work.

Part of me is concerned because I have always so passionate and diligent when it comes to my work. What if this ruins me? I believe that it won't. Given that I am (and have been) at the end of my rapidly-fraying rope, it comes just in time. Jackie says it's good to have a little apathy and to 'disengage' a bit given my recent burn out. Erin & Jim have applauded the effort. So along with a couple other votes of confidence in my recent 'laissez faire' approach, I continue on through the beat-down that has been work. Apathetic. Like water off a duck's back. Working hard, but not taking it to heart. If I don't get to it, the sky is *not* actually going to fall. Oh, AND: if I have need to leave early from a mind-numbingly long meeting that is barely more than a monument to bureaucracy... so be it. Especially if it is so that I can call and make a massage appointment on the walk out to my car.

Little Single Lady

If we've chatted recently, I've likely retold my most recent favorite hobby to you...which is: Singing Beyonce songs with Madeleine. It is endlessly entertaininig to me- which works out well, since it seems to be quite entertaining to her, too.

I finally (well, kinda) figured out how to video it... but did a miserable job capturing the moment. I kept messing up when I would stop/start the recording...

Please enjoy the fruits of my labor, anyway.

Upon hearing her favorite singer's name:

Can't seem to sit still:

<<12>>

Dancing some more (note the fancy foot work at the end, around 20):

Maybe next time I'll be crafty enough to actually record the hand movements.

le flu

I have a new appreciation for the flu shot. Will someone please remind me of this next year?

Last Tuesday - yes, 6 days ago: Within 2-3 hours, I suddenly felt really tired and groggy and kept sneezing. Thought it was just allergies. Then it got worse... and worse... and worse. Influenza, baby.

I went to bed at 9:30 on Tuesday night. I can't ever remember going to bed at 9:30.

And then Friday afternoon I turned the corner. WHAT?! What the hell happened to my week? All I remember is watching some movies and trading off between the bed and the couch in a haze.

So after way too long of feeling like crap: I wake up Saturday completely congested. What gives! I thought it was over. Turns out, Saturday's allergy forecast looked like this:

Cedar - Very high
Mold - Very high
Elm - high
something else - high

So that's why. Not congested with the flu- oh, no. None of that. Only AFTER the flu, I get congested. I'm lucky enough to get sick on top of being sick. Awesome.



Footnote: We learned from the CDC website that I'm was contagious through Sat afternoon (and that I was contagious starting Monday, even though I wasn't yet showing symptoms). Saturday night we went on a 10 minute drive so I could get out of the house. Window down, sucking in all that fresh air. It was great. Little did I know that 'fresh' air was saturated with pollen and allergens...

Cupcakes & Cocktails

Sadly, this year has not (yet) seen a repeat of last years hit: Cupcakes & Cocktails. Which is ashame, because this cupcake could use a cocktail... or three. The thought has floated through my head occasionally over the past few days but usually when standing in line at the grocery store on while driving to work -- not ideal time to try to plan a party. Even if halfass.

Not quite giving up yet, but things aren't looking good.

On a brighter note: for Valentines Day, I brought cupcakes over to the TriPrices and we decorated. I PLANNED for the containing of the potential explosive mess. My planning worked! What I DIDN'T plan for, was the explosive excitement coming from the power of 3-year-old-cubed. Wow- totally blew my plans out of the water and became quite the balancing act. However, it was loads of fun and worked out just fantastically.

We actually had two date nights this week (!) Thurs & Fri so I was feelin' the love. Sat night:

we cooked in (made sushi) with a The Griers and our precious next door neighbor - totally casual, completely lovely.

Still NOT tired of this craaaaaa.......

Okay - while I'm on a Will-Ferrell-online-video-kick:

The truth is... there IS something, undoubtedly funnier than cowbell. If somehow you missed this when it first came out over a year ago... my friend, you are in luck! Brilliant capitalizing on that stage where kids repeat anything.

The whole story about the site and how they came to video taping this whole thing (in less than 45 minutes) is somewhere... google it if you have time. But if you only have a few minutes for jacking around online, take these links-o-love and enjoy

The Landlord - the original (the other guy is Pearl's dad) "YOU PAY NOW!" "I'm tired of this.. craaa........"

The Landlord outtakes - behind the scenes (so THAT's how they did it)

Good Cop, Baby Cop - the follow-up and finale to Pearl's career. Don't know if my favorite line is "I break bones and laugh" or "You're going down ese" or "Game on, holmes" The whole story isn't *quite* as good as The Landlord, but the one-liners from the toddler are brilliant.


and new post to spice things up, found this as I was fishing out the links-- bless the sweet kiddo's heart... you just can't help but laugh at the honesty and maybe even relate to his commentary, er, somehow. he's just returning from the dentist office where he had more than 'minor' work done.

good times, people. good times.

More Cowbell....

Working on some stuff and have the house speakers on and Aerosmith's "Walk this Way" just came on and what can I say but:

...is that a massive cowbell inbetween verses?!?! YES! Yes, it is!!

...so i gave her just a little kiss, like this:

-listen for it behind the guitar solo-

[bong bong bong bong....]

Also-- it wasn't an MJ song the other day. It was Prince! And it was "U Got the Look" this Cowbell gets a little crazy because it changes speed. Again, can't you just see Will Ferrell running around? In case you think I've gone off the deep end and have no idea what I'm talking about, do yourself a favor and watch this shortened version. laugh til you cry.

Back by popular demand...

pictures of poopsie!

these are a week old - it just takes me that long to process pics lately - which actually is pretty quick: I just had a few pictures from sunday dinner and the downloading, editing was moved along due to an event I photographed on thursday night and i had to get those pictures to the client asap.

damn, she's cute.

'tis a shame she isn't more expressive...

(this emotion lasted approximately 4 seconds)

I spent most of the day saturday with the triplets (after photographing a 2-year-old's bday party) and it might have been the best stress relief I could have possibly found.

Honestly, I didn't think about the sky-is-falling nonsense of work. Even Sunday as i prepared for the start of the work week (and my blood pressure and anger started shooting up again), I would just think of little Faith curling up in my lap, or Claire wanting to swing with me or Ava asking when she could get a necklace like mine... and it all just faded away.

Unfortunately, I was too enamored with their sweet nature and hilarious antics to bust out the camera for some snaps of the little firecrackers.

So enjoy the pics of Madeleine and I'm going to try to focus on happier times =)

in the meantime, happy monday.

Comments fixed.

Sorry team. Thanks for letting me know. xxoo~me

Cowbell

Of the *maybe* 10 minutes I spent watching the superbowl- the highlight for me (though that last catch was pretty impressive) was during Springsteen. Did you see the guy with the Cowbell?? It was frackin' awesome!!

Erin recently posted on FB that she "...wonders if she'll ever be able to listen to Blue Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper" again without picturing Will Ferrell in a midriff shirt."

Which was very timely because that very morning I was driving in and giggling because I heard a song with cowbell, (not "Don't Fear the Reaper") and was transfixed on the cowbell. I wondered myself... will cowbell EVER be the same? I mean, really! How old is that SNL sketch, now?

Moving on... I've decided to make a list of all the songs with Cowbell. Topping the list of course, is OBC. But I can also add Bruce and a third thanks to Shazam and my itoy.

1. Blue Oyster Cult - "Don't Fear the Reaper"
2. Bruce Springsteen - "Glory Days"
3. Electric Light Orchestra - "Evil Woman"
4. MJ song, TBD...
   

If you know any of these little gems or encounter any, please enlighten me and add to this list.
Why? Because I have a FEVER, and the only PRESCRIPTION... is MORE COWBELL.

Punchy

You know when you hit those patches where you're really stressed out? and you've been real stressed out for awhile so it's starting to feel like normal... but then you're annoyed once you realize that this uber-stressed level is becoming the norm... and the annoyance makes the stress worse... oh, fun with the downward spiral...

I've realized that I've become quite punchy lately. Let's call it "edgy with a sense of humor" or maybe 'bitchy with a grin" or even "apathetic and ah, whatever - who cares?"

Needing a break or a time-out. Remember that 80's sit-com where the girl was from outer space and could freeze time by touching her two pointer finger tips together?? The theme song ended with "...you could be swinging on a star..." Well, I remember it enough to know that I want that ability. I want to freeze time-- just long enough to catch up on a few 'to do' lists... Alas, all that's happened lately is that my my work day has extended to the point that I was leaving work at 8-9p last week (booooooo). Really? And what about the meeting that started at 7:30? Are these people insane!?!?!

While I'm ranting & reminiscing: there was a children's book "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" that has been running through my mind lately. I'm not *exactly* sure what it was about, but I'm pretty sure that the theme is essentially giving someone an inch and they take a mile. As in: you give a mouse a cookie and next thing you know, they want milk to dip it in. Once they have some milk, they want you to heat it... and so forth. Metaphorically speaking: I think I'm going to quit baking. Or at least for those who either (a)take it for granted or (b)think it means they are then entitled to can expect [fill-in-the-blank] .

So anywho-- I've been quite punchy at work lately-- 'cuz it seems i don't really have time (nor patience) for anything else. Needed toothpicks to keep my eyes open at dinner on Friday. Punchy-ness, in my case, means I say/do things with much less of a filter than I normally reserve for a work environment. I think from the outside looking in, this would be amusing, but frankly - i can't remember any of them right now and this gripefest post is already too long.

Sister needs a break. If for no other reason than I am becoming a complete and utter bore. (Ref above: whiny post)

Notification

Scene from my morning:

Walking into the building, there's a woman ahead of me, prolly 40 feet or so... mid-late 40's, dressed professionally, smart-looking blonde bob, rolling her computer bag in: swipes her badge on the door. Pulls on the door, didn't open. Swipes badge again... pulls on door... again- no go. Swipes a third time, pulls, alas... no entrada. Seemingly a big frustrated/defeated.

By then, I'm at the door, ready to swipe my badge and ask her, "Ya ever think, 'So is this how they let me know...?" as mine works and I open the door

To my surprise, she bursts out in laughter and says, "If it was, I sure wouldn't mind... that'd be great!!"

Ah, from a perfect stranger: honesty; cynicism.

Happy Monday.

When things aren't black or white...

Yep. Kinda bitter. Celebrating Mr. Price's bday this weekend, but I'm the one with the signs of aging.

Turns out, those really bright strands of hair aren't blonde (denial). I've got grey hairs (acceptance).

That's it. That's all I got today.