little things I love with my whole heart

the first day after you cut your nails short where suddenly typing isn’t annoying anymore

that moment you get out of the shower when you’re cold for maybe the first and only time of the day

the first sip of any cocktail

that moment before you open the mailbox, when you think that maybe there is a handwritten note in there from someone, a little magical box teeming with possibilities

the slice through the avocado when you realize it’s perfectly ripe

the feeling of your skin on grass or tree bark or nature in general

the smell of coffee coming from the kitchen

seeing the ocean and greeting it like the old friend it is

Cotugno Style: Rules to Live By

Katie made some rules to live by.

Here are 10 of my own, reposted from her comments.

1. If you look at the phone, and you don’t want to answer it, don’t. Chances are if you answer it, you’ll be annoyed the rest of the day.

2. Unless it’s me. Then answer. (Because I usually have something important to tell you, about friends, family, Hanson, or a fruit/veggie I just discovered.)

3. Drink water. Often.

4. If you are in the bathroom in public, check to make sure there is toilet paper.

5. You will never read every magazine you want to cover to cover. Let it go.

6. Ditto to books.

7. If you find someone that makes a good sandwich, don’t move too far from them. That way, you always know a good sandwich is just a phone call away.

8. Ditto, to vodka sodas with lime.

9. Love your family.

10. If you get overwhelmed, write your worries down. Do it with a friend. With multi colored markers. Discuss them if need be. Rip them up. Breathe deep. Toss em.

Good morning, Tuesday. Coffee?

This morning, I got up early to help Corelyn get motivated. 6:10 rolled around, and my iPhone started playing Finlay MacDonald (imagine bagpipes at 6:11 am) and I begrudgingly got out of bed. I texted Cor, and proceeded to get the following things done:

– made coffee

-put dishes away

-cleaned the drying rack (does your drying rack ever get just gross? mine does…)

-cleaned dishes from last night’s dinner

-googled how to sanitize my sponge

-sanitized my sponge in the micro (only use of the micro I actually approve of)

-chatted with Corelyn for a few minutes about our evening plans

-wiped down the counters

-prepared/drank an Airborne

-sewed a hole in my sweater (because once I had it on I refused to take it off)

-put a run in my tights (which I then discreetly hid by rotating said run in)

-checked the weather, discovered ran is on its way

-made oatmeal

-packed breakfast/snacks/lunch

-packed gym clothes

-left 15 minutes early, arriving at work early, coffee FOR ONCE in hand.

Maybe I should get up an hour earlier EVERY day…

http://www.finlaymacdonaldband.com/the-band/

Get away, and come with me…

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Hi chickens!!! I am back, and I am sorry I have been gone for so long. The flu is no fun, but I feel mostly over it now, although I keep getting tired, but we’ll see how that goes. Today was a holiday at my school, so I have one more day of rest before I have to go back to work tomorrow. And what did I spend that non-sick day off doing, you ask?

10:24 – Woke up, after snoozing the alarm a few times, because I knew that if I didn’t get up soon I wouldn’t be tired by 10, and if I wasn’t tired by 10 I wouldn’t get the right amount of sleep tonight before I go back to work tomorrow. It was hard to get up because I was tired, warm, and having a strange dream, but I did it.

10:30-11 – Ate a bowl of Kix cereal and watched the Barefoot Contessa make lunch for the Historical Society.

11 – Put the bowl in the sink, kicked on the tunes, and cleaned my room, my closet, and hung up all my clothes. Swept the bedroom floor.

12 – Swept under the couches after realizing that I still couldn’t find my camera, and no, it was not in the couch OR under the couch but you know what WAS under the couch HAIR HAIR HAIR so I cleaned in.

12:15 – Found the camera. It was in my backpack all along. Which I had already checked. Twice. Took all the clothes out of the bathroom that were drying over the bathtub side and hung those too. Took 2 of Jeff’s hangers in the process. Shhh! Don’t tell him.

12:26 – Sat down on the couch, disgusted with my house. Got up and swept the living room, hallway, cleaned off the broom, and went through the papers on the hallway bookshelf.

1:10 – Got an email from Jeff saying he was about to go on lunch, and would I like it if he came home for lunch?

1:15 – Updated facebook with the freshly uploaded pictures that were on my camera.

1:20 – Into the shower, after ordering lunch from Village.

1:45 – Dressed, clean, on the couch, reading NYTimes, CNN, and LATimes.

2:00 – Jeff’s home! Lunch time.

2:45 – Jeff’s gone. Dishes from last night’s dinner.

3:00 – Pester Corelyn to come home! already, so we can watch Everwood. Clean off coffee table.

3:30 – Light some candles. Put on some tunes. Read Real Simple September and October. Smile.

3:40 – Reset the time on the coffee maker, and set some decaf to brew at 4:10, hopefully around Corelyn’s arrival home.

4:00 – Write this blog entry, help a friend pick out shoes, and listen to Carbon Leaf.

4:23 – Check Carbon Leaf’s website. Realize they have a new CD. Get excited.

So there you have it, friends. My day off. Now, I’m just waiting for Corelyn to get here, already!!

There is a man testing the fire alarm.

Today is the day when they test the fire alarms at my job, and there is a man here who is going to test them.

As such, I cannot focus on work, and instead am going to update you!

So, friends, how have you been? Sorry I’ve been absent for a while, I got a little distracted with work, coming home after a bit of a crazy office space, and working to organize myself in time for the beginning of the school year. So woot! to that.

Things I’ve been loving lately:

1. Body Language by Jesse McCartney

2. Abraham by The Kin

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNWrxnaefcs&hl=en&fs=1&]

How have y’all been?