I have a confession to make.  I woke up in a really good mood this morning.  I ate leftover pizza and diet coke for breakfast and watched While You Were Sleeping.  I've seen that movie a hundred times, but I just love Sandra Bullock.  Then, as I finished brushing my teeth, I looked into the bathroom mirror and saw that I was in a good mood.  I smiled really big.  Then, I danced around the bathroom for no reason at all.  

Who knows why I woke up in a good mood.  Because I got a full 8 hours of sleep?  Maybe.  I don't know.  I was productive though, I spent 2 hours writing a report, cleaned the apartment and put together more components for my portfolio.  

Kyle woke up at 1:30....at which point I was done with most of my pressing work and was busy watching CNN and eating leftover Easter candy.  So, it's been a good day.  I like waking up in a good and productive mood.  I only wish I knew the formula for it.  

Tomorrow is Monday, though....so, my chances of a repeat morning are slim. 

sabotage

It's Saturday.  I have a lot of work to do today.  I need to write 3 or 4 reports and compile my entire master's degree portfolio.  This is no small task.  The good news is, Kyle has class all morning until 3pm, so that should give me plenty of time to work by myself.  The bad news is, it is almost 2pm and I've done nothing.

I'm not sure why I self sabotage myself like this.  Why, Laura?  I watched a couple of hours of Bravo TV, took a nap, made lunch, and watched more TV with a brief period of tidying up the apartment in-between.  Now, I'm aggravated at myself.  It is a reoccuring pattern in my work life.  Procrastinate, worry, procrastinate, feel anxious, feel overwhelmed, almost give up, find a second wind and push through to the deadline.  It always gets done.  Maybe that's the problem...  

I'm hoping that by expressing this feeling, that I will find the motivation to get to work.  There is still an hour or so before Kyle gets home, maybe I can have something to show for it by then.  

over and out.

Celtics vs. Suns

             
Last night Kyle and I went to our first Celtic's game and brought Joel along.  It was a fun time.  I'd never been to any pro basketball game...I'm not even sure I've ever been to a college basketball game, actually.  Anyway, Kyle got us nifty "sports deck" seats, which translates to getting to sit in cushy chairs at a little bar with free food and drinks through the 1st half.  The Celtics won, which is nice, because it makes you feel better about spending the money to go.  We played the Phoenix Suns, which, to me, only means that I got to gawk at how large Shaq really is.  He's huge.  He also scowls a lot, I wonder if he likes it in Phoenix.  

I digress.

I decided that Paul Pierce is my favorite Celtics Player.  Mainly because his initials could also stand for Peter Pan, and they both pose with their hands on their hips a lot, wear green, and fly through the air.  He seems like a nice guy.  

It was fun having Joel up here, and before him, Kim.  Having guests has made me and Kyle get out and "do" more in the city...and it's been fun.  So, if anybody else wants to come visit, just let us know, we'll find cool stuff to do with you. :-)

Monday

Stardate 32408.  

Today was Monday.  I could tell all over.  From the moment I was torn from my dream (where I was morally conflicted about what I should with a mugger who stole my money but then accidently gave me 500 dollars in change...do you return it or keep it?)  I emerged from that scenario into a groggy fuzzy foggy existence illuminated only by my phone.  I had already missed 3 alarms.

Hard to get up, it took a lot of effort. It was so dark outside.  Hard to get dressed, too many decisions.  No makeup today, not a chance.  Coffee, a must.  Two cups from downstairs.  And off to work I went.  

The rest of the day is a slow acceleration to productivity.  Once the coffee kicked in, things were about up to speed.  I managed to get quite a bit done at work.  That was good.  Today is the start of my last "busy" week.  Starting April 1st, my life will be a little easier.  I saw my kids, went to meetings, bantered with my co-workers, got a nice compliment from someone, wrote some reports, and came home.  

I came home to find that Kyle and Joel had rolled out of bed a little before noon and had been playing Madden on the wii ever since.  boys.  Actually, it made me kind of happy to come home to them, playing, laughing, being totally lazy.  It's good to do that sometimes, and they both deserved it.  

Anyway, tonight we went and saw Horton Hears a Who.  It was good I thought, cute.  I heart Steve Carell.  We laughed a lot.  And now we're home.  which is nice.  

I guess towards the end, it stopped feeling quite so Mondayish.  That's good.  Hopefully tomorrow won't be Mondayish either.  I'm off to bed now.  I need to tell the mugger that I've decided to keep the money.

New Apartment

7 months of no dishwasher and one decently paying job later, Kyle and I decided it was time to move into a new apartment.  We got some new furniture, and really enjoy the new place.  As requested by the family, here are some pics for your perusal.  

Easter

Today is Easter.  My first Easter that I didn't spend with my parents and family.  In a lot of ways, that seems kinda strange.  I told Kyle that I thought I would miss my family and our Easter traditions this year, and then I realized that Kyle is my family and we will, with time, start to develop our own traditions.  I wonder what those traditions will turn out to be....

I might take a pass on this year, I'm not sure I want a deflated cheesecake to be part of our yearly ritual...

In other news, Joel is visiting us this week, which is fantastic.  We took him to see Avenue Q this afternoon (also, not a very Easter activity) The show was hilarious.   We laughed through almost the entire thing.  I recommend seeing it, or at least downloading  a few of the songs.(www.avenueq.com)  After the show, we came home to watch Arkansas be slaughtered by UNC and went out again later to a little pub and sat and reminisced about years past and enjoyed each other's company. 

I don't suppose I have much of a point to this post.  Today was a good day.  I have a husband, who is my new family.  I have a my best friend here to enjoy.  I have a great family at home that I miss, but that I know care about me no matter where we live.  I'm glad that today I was able to appreciate how special all these relationships are.  I hope you do the same.

Taekwondo

Kyle and I went to taekwondo tonight after a multi-week hiatus.  It's always a little bit of a hassle to get there...we have to get everything together, drive into the city at rush hour only to drive out again and about 30 mins north of Boston to a little town.  But, as always, I'm glad we went.  We jumped, kicked, punched, ran, practiced forms, weapons, and so much more.  I'm so out of shape, but being there always makes me want to be a better person... physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally... you name it.  When I'm there, I push myself.  The people there are so friendly, warm, and welcoming.  Besides, no matter how long of a break we take, taekwondo is defiantly something dear to both of us and each time I go to class, I feel more connected to the whole thing.  I can feel it soaking through me and saturating all of me with a desire to improve, excel, and shine.

I always come away feeling motivated.  It's also nice to have a release.  I believe that everyone should have an activity that allows them to decompress, to let go, to get out the stress of the day.  For me, it's taekwondo (well, and having themed dinner parties).  I can put the sad stories, deadlines, and work load out of my mind for a few hours and just focus on something that I truly enjoy.

I wonder if we'll ever own our own school.  Sometimes that feels like a far away dream, and sometimes it feels like the most logical option.  Who knows.  I suppose we'll figure it out someday.  I imagine we will in the end.  People usually do.

until then, here's to living day to day and being the best black belt you can be. 

A place for my thoughts

When I was a pre-teen, I began to keep a journal.  I had just read the Diary of Anne Frank in school and I decided that I would keep a journal too.  At that age, I thought to myself that it would be good to keep a record of my life so that people could read about me 100 years from now after I was a well-established household name.  

However, I soon began to realize that this journal idea was not as important for the masses as it was for me.  My beginning journal entries are awful.  Poorly written, poorly thought out and, frankly, just painful to read.  But, nonetheless, they taught me how to express my self in writing.  

As I got older, my journals became more of a release for me and a way to work through my thoughts.  Especially during those tumultuous teenage years.  Since then, I've always found writing a cathartic exercise that, unfortunately, is often reserved for when I'm at my most upset.  

In college, I began to write in order to simply preserve my own memories.  When I'm an old lady, I want to be able to look back on my former years and remember them.  Journaling, I felt, was the closest thing to a time machine I could give myself for the future.

...But you know how it is in college.  You get busy, and my journaling was one of the first things cut.  Since then, it's been a sporadic exercise at best.

And now here I am.  Trying on this blogging thing for size.  The idea of blogging for others to read is a little strange to me.  I understand blogging events in your life so that your friends and family can keep up with all you do....but what about just your thoughts?  

Well, I don't know.  But, I guess I'm going to give this a shot.  Maybe, somebody who stumbles across all this ramblidge (my blog, my made up words) will take something away from it.  

I kinda doubt it, but either way, I'm happy to be writing again.