Meh.

It was 65 degrees today. 65 warm, sunny, happy, blue-sky degrees. There were even happy-looking white puffy clouds here and there. I'm sure it was a wonderful Saturday for most people. In fact, I'm positive it was because from my vantage point on the couch, where I sniffled and coughed my way through the day, I could see numerous people out on the street and in the park enjoying the sunshine. How nice for them.

Me? I ate really healthy, drank a lot of tea, downed copious amounts of cough medicine and read my new book that Jason (a.k.a. the boyfriend) bought online and had sent to the house. Fun times.

Cheers,
NC

Song of the day: Overboard by Ingrid Michaelson

PJs, Tea, Chicken Soup and a Hot Bath

It's official: I have a cold. An icky, achy, cranky, disgusting cold complete with a sore throat and a mild fever. Bleh. And here I am, rich with work and the possibility that Spring just might happen to arrive on Monday or even as early as Sunday and now I can't even enjoy it. Bleh. And for that matter, meh.

I came home from the shoe store, made a giant pot of chicken matzo ball soup and am now sacked out on the couch with the laptop and a new book. But I don't feel better yet. I feel rotten. And cranky. And annoyed. Meh. I hate being sick!

Cheers,
NC

Song of the day: The sound the kettle makes when the water is ready for my tea. I hate being sick :-(

Strange

Every once in a while I am absolutely smacked in the face by just how strange life is. It's hilarious how it all works. Just when you think it's not going to work out, it does; just when you think it's impossible, and that it could never happen to you, it somehow happens; just when you give up, you're given reason to try again. Isn't that just so strange? I'm not saying that life is always perfect, and I'm not saying that it's always good, but isn't it true that it really is darkest before the dawn?

I think about who I was and where I was year ago today and I am stunned. Here I am, 'living the dream' and it's surreal. And a year from now I'll be looking back and probably saying something quite similar to what I am now. I had no idea a year ago today that I would be living in Montana, working for a magazine and writing every day. But here I am. Regardless of the rough starts I had when I first moved here, I think that maybe, just maybe, it's going to be okay.

Today at work I was in the kitchen with two the ladies in the office and we were all laughing about something together. I don't know what it was, but to us it was hilarious. One of the other ladies came in and said that the three of us just had such great laughs and that it warmed the office up. What a great thing to say. There we were, making tea and coffee while three lovable dogs roamed through the offices and one energetic three-year-old showed off his toys to anyone who would listen. It was lovely.

I'm not sure what I'm trying to say tonight. Maybe I'm just bewildered by how much has changed in the past two months and continues to change. Maybe I'm just tried, happy and warm all at the same time so it makes for one very sappy post.

Cheers,
NC

Song of the day: One Step Closer to You by Michael Franti & Spearhead AND Die Alone by Igrid Michaelson.

Pertrubed

I have a lot on my mind right now, but it's not anything I can really post about. There have been good things and bad things going on at both my jobs, but because this is a public page I can't say what. And there are also great things going on in the rest of my life, but for multiple reasons I can't go there just yet. So I guess what I'm saying is that I'm both tongue-tied and superstitious. It's kind of put me in a restless, moody, impatient state. Damn it's hard to be patient sometimes...

Good night,
NC

Eight Inches

I think I'm coming down with a cold. I'm cranky, tired and just generally just don't feel good. That means a cold, right? It's not a side effect of the never-ending Montana winter, is it? Anyone? It's not the eight inches of snow that fell last night? No? Huh. Could've fooled me.

I'm going to take a bath and go to bed.

Good night, all.

Cheers,
NC

Skinny Jeans

Ha! I fit into my ultra skinny, didn't think it would happen, dark blue, perfectly perfect jeans. Hehe...and I said it couldn't be done.

Cheers,
NC

Song of the day: Business Time by the Flight of the Conchords :-)

Saturday Morning

Slept in, fed the dogs, drank coffee, ate really awful made from scratch pancakes (hey--I tried), did the dishes, took a shower and drank more coffee. That has been my morning. Exciting, don't you think? I'm headed off to the see the Museum of the Rockies with my friend Jason and to get a peek at some dinosaur bones. Jack Horner, one of the professors at the university, works at the museum and worked on one of my favorite childhood movies, Jurassic Park. Yay!

Cheers,
NC

An Ode to Necesssity

At times, I can be a bit of a spazz. That's right, I'm admitting it. In print. I have been known to send mass emails warning of the perils of cell phone do not call lists, call the cops when mysterious cars have been parked for way too long outside my house and write and publish articles that have to do with everything from climate change to what to and not to read. But most of the time (okay--some of the time) I have good reason to freak out about something so good or so bad that I feel the need to champion it's merits and/or pitfalls. I like to say that I'm opinionated about what's important. How's that?

Enter my new favorite toy: a 20 oz travel mug that is also a coffee press. Seriously. I just published an article on buying less, wrote a post about living with less and I work for a company dedicated to doing more with less, YET I have at my side a gorgeous, gleaming, thoughtfully designed salvation to my droopy, decaffeinated soul. It's even candy apply red. I bought it from a local coffee shop here in town but it's made by a group called Planetary Design. As far as I'm concerned everyone should have one of these. And considering that my birthday is later this month, I've written it off as an early b-day gift to myself. And why did I feel the need to essentially drink my coffee straight from the pot? Because the new offices do not have a coffee pot yet and the nearest coffee stand is in the mall down the street. This requires me to leave my office, get in my car, drive to the mall, get out of my car, stand in line (oh the humanity!) and wait for a surly looking, prepubescent barista to get her shit together so that she can brew my trippletallsugarfreehazelnutlattee in my eco-friendly travel mug because I'm an anti-single-use paper cup kind of girl. I'm saving time (it took me twenty minutes to fetch my afternoon cup yesterday), money, gas and sanity by brewing my own cup/small pot at my desk. And while there is quite a bit to be said about what you gain by having less, buying less and even eating less, there is also a heck of a lot that can be said about being a happy freakin' member of society.

Bottoms up,
NC

Song of the day: Catch My Disease by Ben Lee

Oi

Life is so strange...

NC

March is Finally Over

March was busy. It was also at times annoying, stressful, joyful, cold, warm, lucrative and taxing (pun intended). March, in a sense, was a very moody bitch. There were the lows (Dad being sick), the highs (Dad being okay--yay!), and everything else in between. I was busy with work when we moved the warehouse and then the offices. I was busy with family when I flew to Ohio for two weeks. I was busy with my personal life as I tried to keep up with old friends and simultaneously make new ones. There were birthdays, get-togethers, meetings, car maintenance and late nights. I had taxes to do, a house to clean, dogs to take care of and to top it all of, a bit of stomach flu to get over. I slept less and ate (and drank) more. My cell phone minutes went through the roof. My coffee cup, puffy jacket and laptop were my constant companions. So yes, March was a busy month.

Am I glad it's over? Kind of. There were the good points during March, and I certainly feel like I learned a lot. Dad's bypass surgery was a huge learning experience both about myself and my parents. Work improved, my relationships improved and even my perspective of Bozeman somehow got better after spending time in Ohio. So while March was rough, it was also very good. But now I'm looking forward to April, and the possibility of spring-like weather, parties, more friends and even more change.

April will be great, *knock on wood*.

Cheers,
NC

Song of the day: Hard Sun by Eddie Vedder