i don't want to say i peaked at 29, but...

i'm pretty sure i should retire from all social media, because it is never ever going to get better than this:

her?

immediately after following @bluthquotes on twitter, i got the following suggestions....um?

if complaining is cool, consider me miles davis

1. Flying in and out of BWI.
B. Not getting home from three days in Chattanooga, TN until 1:45am. From BWI.
III. The Hokies, Redskins, and Nationals losing (the Nationals managed to lose *both* weekend games)
4. Being requested to complete a nearly impossible task at work (PS: the number of times a day I find my left hand clenched in a fist while at work is alarming)
5. Four things seems incomplete. So, the fifth shitty thing is....did I mention being in Chattanooga for three days?

I'M SO COMPLAINY AND I CAN'T STOPPPPPPPP

(there are good things that exist. they include: california vacations, thursday's nationals game with missy, franklin and meghan, being snarky while watching syfy original movies, 10 month old beagle puppies named Pepper, and pumpkin spice lattes. and yeah, health, friends, family, BLAH BLAH)

emails from frank

i love receiving emails from my dad.

"Bon jiorno Laura Anne !
I hope you're settling into your new office nicely. Have you started adding any personal touches yet ? I hope your laundry went well 'bleach wise' the other day.
This is pretty exciting stuff so I'll stop now before your head explodes from the total overload you must be experiencing.
Cordially, Frank
Plus, I love you." 

(the bleach thing was me experiencing my first load of laundy in our coin-operated machines in our building - they don't have the little trays where you can put bleach or fabric softener, NOR can you open the lid once the water starts. so i of course called my parents to figure out what exactly to do with my whites*)

*the answer, was, just pour the bleach in with the detergent into the empty washer, load in the whites, close the lid, and it'll be fine. i'm an adult, i swear.

I KNEW IT

and yeah, i was too lazy to do anything but a screenshot.

mid-year update

FIRST OF ALL....how is it the middle of the year already? That's just absurd. Plus I'm mentally (because of work) into July already - literally today, I was talking to someone about the week of July 4th and I referred to it as "next week"...yikes.

Anyway, here's what I said earlier in the year, that I wanted to do in 2012:

*go to jazzfest
*go camping more than once
*read all of the song of ice and fire books in time for the second season of game of thrones to start
*save money
*do yoga more regularly
*get stronger. literally and figuratively.
*learn something new
*get as many people on board (pun absolutely intended) with the Guess Who Halloween costumes as possible
*give clothes away
*love


Here's the update (checked things off, added things!)


*go to jazzfest  DONE!
*go camping more than once
*read all of the song of ice and fire books in time for the second season of game of thrones to start (working on it - I'm on book 4!)
*save money (HA)
*do yoga more regularly (I need to find a good/decently priced studio...)
*get stronger. literally and figuratively. (working on it! my trainer is great)
*learn something new 
*get as many people on board (pun absolutely intended) with the Guess Who Halloween costumes as possible
*give clothes away DONE!
*love YES, of course! I haven't been dating since April but I've found more love in my life through my friends and family, and The Pepperton of course. The little dude is a bomb of joy.

*Corn Maze!
*Visit Rosa in NYC

Okay, so I've done some things, and still need to work on others. I REALLY need to save money. I'm pretty much right where I started moving in here two years ago...not great. But I am making progress on some of the others - I've been going to my trainer appointments and making additional gym trips in between (like once or twice more, let's not get crazy) and I've been reading Song of Ice and Fire books voraciously. Well, I read the second and the third ones voraciously. The fourth one is being read...normally. I'm just not loving it as much. 

The "love" one is the most interesting, I think. I quit my OKCupid profile back in April, because, I just wasn't having fun with it anymore. I was going on dates for the sake of SAYING I was going on dates and it was tiring and I was getting really cynical. So I stopped. And since then I've felt lighter, SO much happier, and much more able to see the existing, amazing love around me I have already. I am so lucky. 

sometimes you have a pretty damn good day.

i made myself an awesome dinner this evening, if i do say so myself. it's pretty, nutritious, and quite tasty.

salad: baby greens with feta cheese, sliced strawberries and balsamic vinaigrette

other thing: quinoa mac and cheese (adapted from this recipe) - in my version i kept the red pepper but swapped the leeks for chopped broccoli, cauliflower, and kale. i've made other versions with the leeks, carrots, butternut squash and red pepper. i apparently really like red pepper. 

the white stuff is sour cream, obviously, because, well, it's sour cream. i don't need to explain. shit's delicious. 

in other news, today franklin and i bought tickets to see THESE DUDES at the 930 club in july. cannot. wait.

 will you think less of me if i tell you seeing them live was/is on my bucket list?

...and in other OTHER news, i collected $3 dollars this evening off of a craigslist posting i did for a couple of my old DVDs that i don't want to move with me. i got $3 and i didn't get murdered. boom goes the dynamite.