Namaste Mother******

The peg-leg hooker upstairs is stomping around like a woman scorned. That's the nickname B and I gave to our upstairs neighbor, because she clomps around at all hours of the night on what are either a set of extreme stilettos, or a peg leg (or...option three - both??). Anyway, someone musta done screwed her over good because, holy hell, she is yelling at someone at the top of her lungs, stompety stomping all over the place right now! I've never met her, but I'm sure she's quite pleasant.

Anyway, I went to yoga on Friday for the first time in a long time (peg leg hooker could stand to get her yoga on, if I do say so). I've missed the practice, but...this was not quite what I had in mind. We were in shavasana for about a third of the class, and for the remaining two-thirds, we held 3 poses total. I enjoy pigeon pose as much as the next gal, but I was hoping for something with a little more flow to it.

I have an appointment with my new personal trainer on Friday, and I cannot wait to meet him. When the membership woman at Pure (my gym) asked me about my fitness goals to help pair me up with an appropriate trainer, I told her on thing only - I wanted a trainer who could coach me in boxing. I miss boxing, which I got into a little bit when I lived in Chicago, and there is no other work out quite like it. I have never fought anyone (and don't plan to), but boxing as a form of exercise is the absolute best work out and stress release I have experienced. Pure does not have any boxing classes, thus I'm turning to Greg. If he lets me down, I may explore a boxing gym - I miss it that much.

I've been having some "Fight Club" type moments lately (maybe the desire to resume boxing was my first clue?). Tyler Durden is invading my thoughts with his gentle wisdom that I'll share with you now:

You're not your job. You're not how much money you have in the bank. You're not the car you drive. You're not the contents of your wallet. You're not your fucking khakis.

I've decided to interpret this wisdom as I need to de-clutter. I know it's not quite what T-Dogg meant, and I'm doing the recalibrate/re-prioritize/get-centered/be less materialistic stuff too, but for purposes of this post's last little nugget of fun, let's focus on the de-clutter bit. I'm starting my de-clutter project with a full scale attack on the 3+ year stack of mail that I have sitting in my closet. This weekend I have spent a solid 4 hours sorting old mail and shredding documents. Who has two thumbs and a rock star lifestyle? This girl!

Listening to: Frank Sinatra by Cake

Jump Start

Long time no see, blog…I’ve missed you. For a while, writing seemed like a drag and just another thing on the to-do list. And that sense of dread completely defeated the purpose of what writing was all about for me (a therapeutic outlet). But very recently the tables have once again turned, and I’ve found myself experiencing an overwhelming urge to create. Create something, anything.

I’ve been working longer hours than normal lately and have felt completely out of balance with this all work no play pattern. Just two nights ago I went to bed feeling defeated, frustrated and blocked from living the life I really want. “Fuck it all,” I thought to myself, and fell asleep to a night of really weird and disconcerting dreams. When I woke up, I felt different somehow and all sorts of clichés started running though my head – Today is the first day of the rest of my life…be the change…Stop thinking and start doing – and I actually felt inspired to follow suit.

Last night I joined a gym. No biggie…but something I had talked about for a long time, and hey - I finally did it. I joined a gym, and worked out for the first time in far too long. I met up with a friend afterward and tried out a new-to-me outdoor Italian sandwich joint. I then came home and went to bed at a respectable hour for once (I’ve been having a hard time sleeping since B moved to Minne for the summer). It was quite a change from working and staring at a computer until 9 or 10pm, watching crap TV for a few hours, going to bed at 1am, and waking up the next morning feeling like shit, exhausted and unmotivated and just trying to get through the day. The gym, friend time, sammy, and early-to-bed represents a refreshing change of pace, which I suppose goes without saying.

This morning, I changed my car insurance provider and purchased renter’s insurance – two items that have been on my to-do list for a while, but I kept putting off. It may sound trivial and dull…but it felt so empowering to get shit done and take control of my life.

I have an old friend who has given her life a 180 degree overhaul (flip turned upside down, as Will Smith would say). She recently quit her job and is contemplating a move out West (and she’s writing about her experiences here – it’s a great read: http://onefortheblog.wordpress.com/ ). I’ve been reading her blog from the start (though it's just a few months old), and it got me thinking should I do this too? Do I need a complete overhaul? I’ve thought about this a lot lately, and have come to the conclusion that even though my job is on the stressful side, and I work in an ego-laden industry (wassup ad agency land), and my relationship is a little complicated (only due to distance – we're steady as a rock), and my chakras are unaligned (probably all of them)…for the most part, I like the direction my life seems to be moving. But it's undeniable that I do need to recalibrate (see above: the bit about the effed up chakras in particular). So…why the hell have I just been stewing in this reality, and not doing something about it?

I'm glad to say the change is happening now, and I'm fueling it rather than waiting for the change to magically happen. I’m glad I’m finally owning up and doing something about it. The change small…but it’s important and completely necessary, and I believe the payoff will be huge.

This is the first time I’ve written for fun in more than 6 months. In this moment, writing once again feels like good therapy, and for as long as that good feeling lasts, I’ll be back here tapping away on the keyboard in my not-exactly-trademarked stream-of-consciousness writing style, sharing my small wins and posting links to cat photos and other stupid things that I find funny, and offering up my “deep thoughts” and observations of the world around me.

Listening to: The Sad Piano (Charles Webster Mix) by Steve Bug

Unsolved Mystery...Solved!

Whatever happened to Rice Krispies Treats Cereal? Brian gets to hear me ask that question practically every time we go grocery shopping. It is, by far, my favorite cereal of all time and today I was extra troubled by its unexplainable disappearance from store shelves. So I decided it was time to break out the big-guns and crack this case. Enter Google.

Sadly, Google search results disappointingly reported that it's been discontinued. And I'm not the only one who's bummed about it.

All of the children of the 90's are apparently saddened by the loss...

So is Ian Bishop and 294 other members on the "Bring Back Rice Krispie Treat Cereal" facebook page.

But! BUT WAIT! It turns out all of these crybabies are a bunch of SUCKERS, and Google is a big fat liar (that bitch!)

Amazon to the rescue -- only $28.99 for a 4 pack - a steal at $7.25 a box!

Aaaaaand, gotta love Michigan Classic Meijer - at a better price, 2 boxes for $6.36!

The best news of all is I don't have to order my cereal online thanks to the Kellogg's product finder!

Brian and I place a cap on Christmas shopping at $50 since the holidays are stressful enough. Something tells me it will be a very Krispies Christmas! And, I'm okay with that.