In with the new

I know I've been neglecting my own tiny corner of the blogosphere. I'm sorry! I've been busy packing and moving and trying to settle in to the new place while still cleaning and finishing up at the old place. It makes my brain feel all scattered. Saturday my uncle and I moved all of the big things over in a U Haul truck. That took all day and wow! did I hurt the next day. I really need to get rid of some stuff. A lot of stuff, actually, because it is ridiculous how much stuff I have. People keep telling me to relax and take my time, but I can't really relax until I have everything settled at the old place and my stuff is put away at the new place. It's just how I'm wired. So I keep feeling scattered and waiting for everything to settle down again.

But in the meantime, I am enjoying my new little home. It's just right for me. Not too small, not too large. I love the cushy carpet and the dimming lights. I love that there is a little bit of a nook where I can finally have my books all together and set off from the living room. I'm planning to make it kind of like my own little library/reading nook. I love that there is a small bathroom with an awesome shower and great water pressure PLUS a vanity with sink and lots of storage and counter space in my bedroom. I love love love the huge walk-in closet. So basically, I LOVE this place and I'm so excited to get all settled in and organized. One of the things that a lot of people don't/wouldn't like is the road noise. I'm right off a main road, so the whooshing by of cars is pretty constant. I love that. It's like white noise to me, so I find it really soothing. Yet another reason this place was clearly meant for me. The kitchen is small, but all I really need. Once I get a few things (some more canisters, and more importantly, some sort of something that will add a bit more storage (I'm still working on that one)) I will be able to get everything put away there.

I would also like to get a storage ottoman and area rug for the living room, perhaps a small dining table and a couple chairs, a comfy chair for my reading nook, and eventually some art for the walls. I guess this is my little wish list. Other things I'm looking into: an iron/ironing board wall holder; wall hooks, for additional storage; a baker's rack or some sort of pantry storage piece; anchors so I can hang the curtains; baskets for organizing; a shower caddy; a dresser or some sort of shelving unit for my closet.

So that's where I've been and what's going on with me. Once I get things put away, I will take some pictures (demanded by my mother) and try to remember to post some of them here. This Friday at 8 am, the guy is coming to the old place to clean the carpet, and then I will do the final cleaning (which is actually pretty minimal, except cleaning the oven, which will take some time). After this weekend I will be done in the old place and able to fully focus on my new home. Finally. Wish me luck!

xoxo

Me from A to Z

I am once again borrowing from Janetha. She created this survey over on her blog and now I'm going to use it because I'm tired and plum out of creativity today. Daylight Savings takes so much more than just an hour. Thief! Anyway, enough with the drama. On to the survey.

A is for age: 30

B is for breakfast today: Coffee, yogurt and strawberries (mostly strawberries) and a spoonful of peanut butter. Not very exciting, I know. 

C is for currently craving: Bagels! I came across this post while going through my google reader this morning, and I can't wait to try the recipe. It looks super simple; I just need some Arrowroot powder.

Gluten free bagels from Fork and Beans

D is for dinner tonight: Hmm, good question. I'm not much of a dinner person. I usually just have some sort of protein/carb mixture or a Shakeology after my workout. But I do have some leftover pasta from my productive Sunday, so I'll probably have some of that. Or eggs with toast. Maybe cereal. I honestly don't know. I can tell you there will definitely be oranges because I'm on a kick right now.

E is for favorite type of exercise: Workouts on my treadmill are my favorite, by far! I like to alternate walking with jogging/running. I also really enjoy crunches. I know that's probably weird to a lot of people, but I think they're fun. I like feeling my muscles contracting at different angles and stuff. 

F is for an irrational fear: Falling. When I'm on stairs, I worry about falling down them. When I see an edge, even if I'm not very close to it, I can see myself falling off it. When I'm in a car I worry about going over the edge. It can be very upsetting. 

G is for gross food: I like a lot of foods, but there are some things I just can't handle. Liver, brussels sprouts, anything with feet in it. (And on a related side note: this weekend I had my first experience with a bacon and peanut butter hamburger. Wow. It was incredible.) 

H is for hometown: Pleasanton, CA. I live less than 25 miles from where I grew up, which can be pretty cool and crazy sometimes, seeing all the changes.
 

I is for something important: Peace and quiet. This year has reinforced the importance of that for me. 

J is for current favorite jam: I refer you to this post from last week. 

K is for kids: Yes, yes it is. Spelling is important. ;) No kids for me yet, but maybe someday. 

L is for current location: At my desk at work in Berkeley, CA.

You can see my building! Sort of middle towards the top of the picture. I wish I knew how to make an arrow that points to it.

M is for the most recent way you spent money: I got a frozen yogurt at lunch today. I wasn't planning on it, but they had Hawaiian Coconut and I couldn't resist! 

N is for something you need: An excedrin. Ugh. Or more sleep. Both would be ideal. 

O is for occupation: Officially, I am an Administrative Officer 2, but I still use Financial Specialist, which was my title before they decided to change all the titles to things that are equally meaningless. Nobody ever knows what I do from my title. I do a whole bunch of stuff that isn't really covered by my title, but it was the best they could come up with. A lot of what I do is financial, so I usually just tell people I pay things and leave it at that. It's too complicated to try to explain it to people. 

P is for pet peeve: Thoughtlessness, self-absorption, oblioviousness. I don't know what you might want to call it, but an inability or unwillingness to think about how other people might be impacted by one's actions. 

Q is for a quote: Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know. John Keats, Ode on a Grecian Urn

R is for random fact about you: I can clap with my feet - like, really well. :) That's all I can think of right now. 

S is for favorite healthy snack: Oranges. Or almonds. 

T is for favorite treat: Lately it's been Ben and Jerry's Late Night Snack. Oh my goodness, you guys! The fudge covered potato chip clusters. Heaven!

U is for something that makes you unique: Does having a headache almost all the time count? No? Then I can't think of anything. Because my head hurts too much to think that much. Also, I don't think I'm that unique. 

V is for favorite vegetable: Broccoli. Or spinach. I like a lot of vegetables. Avocado? Wait, that's a fruit, right? Because of the seed? Oh I like cabbage! Sigh. These questions are hard. 

W is for today’s workout: I will be getting on my treadmill when I get home. I'm planning on a long walk/run tonight, since I took yesterday off and last week was somewhat lacking due to headaches and nausea and whatnot. Plus looking at places for rent cut into my workout time. 

X is for X-rays you’ve had: Let's see... my guts when I was 4. Ankle when I was 11 after being hit by a car. Then teeth at the dentist. And my guts again a few times about 3-4 years ago. I think that's it.

Y is for yesterday’s highlight: Curling up to start re-reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire before bed.

Z is for your time zone: Pacific

That was fun! OK, now it's your turn. Pick some letters and share your answers! You can use your initials, your favorite letter (if you have one), or just close your eyes and pick at random. xoxo

Midweek Music Break

I can't find a video for this, so go here to listen to "This Is Always," my current go-to soother.

I got to spend all weekend with my family, which was fun. But it left me exhausted. I was out of the house all Saturday and all Sunday, except for when I was asleep, which wasn't very long either night. That makes me sad. But I did manage to look at a place (didn't work out, but oh well) and get my grocery shopping done and still get home at a decent time Sunday night to get ready for work the next day. Which I promptly skipped when I woke up Monday morning with day three of the headache I'd been battling all weekend. Sigh. (One good thing about staying home, though, was that I finally got around to watching the last Harry Potter movie. Oh the tears! So, so good.) So that's the kind of week I've been having. Saturday was the worst of the headache, thank goodness. But yesterday I had the weirdest onset of nausea and then I worried for about two seconds that I might be getting that flu thing going around, until I decided I would not be getting that and moved on. It was a struggle to eat (and keep it down, but I won't go into details. Ew!) last night, even more than last Wednesday when I had a monster migraine, but I managed to force down some soup and some oranges. They didn't entirely agree with me or fill me up, but it was all I could contemplate eating without feeling really sick. So now it is Wednesday and the week is half over. My head has a sharp ache but nothing super unmanageable. I'm tired. I'm slightly stressed about finding a place but not overly concerned. My stomach is all kinds of messed up right now for whatever reason. This is when I turn to my music to calm me down. The last few days I've been listening to Jane Monheit almost nonstop in my car; here are a few of my favorites.

And finally, since they don't have many songs from Home on YouTube, here is a little behind the scenes video that has clips from some of the songs, including my favorite from the CD, I'll Be Around (click that link to listen to the song on Grooveshark).

I know that's a lot, but I just love her voice. I remember when I first listened to one of her CDs (In the Sun - 2002), which I received as a gift, I was somewhat unsure how I felt about it. She has a voice that some love and some really, really don't. Though I was a bit unsure, I did get her next CD (Taking a Chance on Love - 2004) and really liked it. I then went on to collect her two previous CDs and all subsequent releases. The more I heard, the more she grew on me. She conveys so much emotion with her voice, which is something I've never been able to resist. I have a deep love for symmetry and harmony, but I also like asymmetry and dissonance. The emotion is what makes both work for me, so that is what I follow. It's what makes me love her so much. That, and that she's very talented and passionate about what she does. She's now one of the artists whose releases I will faithfully buy without hearing a single song first.

Stay tuned because I'm working on something inspired by this post on Holly Would If She Could - an awesome blog I've recently discovered. Loving it! xoxo

30 Days

Last night my roommate and I gave our 30-day notice to the landlady. Yes, folks, I am on the move once again. I move a lot for someone who likes stability. Not by choice; it has just worked out that way. This past year was kind of an experiment anyway. I wasn't sure it would last, and I turned out to be correct. Maybe I should listen to myself more? But no, I think everything worked out and is working out as it should. This year was something I needed to learn about myself: I am not a roommate type of person. Honestly, I already knew that but I thought perhaps I could push that aside in favor of spending less on rent and being able to have a bigger place to live. Instead I found that I really prefer living on my own, I'm pretty sure with the added utilities I ended up spending at least the same if not more than I was before, and that more space means more to keep up. Ugh. But if I hadn't tried it, I would always have wondered. Now I know for sure. I also know that I am willing to spend a bit more to keep what sanity I have. This is the same lesson I thought I had already learned when I stopped carpooling a few years ago. Oh well, I am stubborn.

So now the adventure begins again. This, for me, is the stressful part. I don't mind moving; I have moved many, many times in my life. All I really need is a weekend to get everything done. And I actually enjoy the opportunity to reorganize and change things around. It's the not knowing what's happening yet that stresses me out. Once I find a place that feels right and everything is settled, I will feel fine. Until then I will run my stress out on my treadmill. (I found something last night that sounds like it could be a good fit, but I haven't received a response yet. So prayers and good thoughts sent my way would be much appreciated.)

Aside from the stress of finding a place, making sure all the funds are in place and arranging packing/moving/etc., I'm pretty excited for this. I can't wait to be living on my own again! I miss having my own space so much that I've even thought longingly of my last place, which I absolutely HATED. And this time I want to do things like decorate and hang pictures and stuff, which I never do. Does that mean I'm growing up finally? Trying to put down some roots? I am 30 now, after all. I keep dreaming about art on walls - clusters of pictures, photos I've had for years, cityscapes and landscapes - and perhaps a comfy chair by a window where I can read away a Sunday. Maybe some wall shelves. I've always wanted floating wall shelves. Maybe painting the walls a color that isn't white? So many possibilities. I want it to feel like home, not just the place I currently live. I want it to feel like me. I want to get up earlier and savor the quiet time to myself. I want to pull my ballet barre out and my pilates machine. I want to use the things I have that I love and purge the things I don't want, don't need and don't use. I want things to be simpler and cleaner. I want to be more of who I was in my first place, which I absolutely loved and still miss. It was small, but it was lovely and all I really needed. Sigh. Good times. And I can have that again; I just need to find the place.