I need a life raise

I hate meetings. Rarely, I believe, are they really necessary. I spent two hours in a meeting yesterday morning that was only supposed to be 1.5 hours long and all I left with was the knowledge that all that junk on my to-do list was still there and none of it got done while I was sitting in this meeting thinking all about how I could be getting things done.

Yes, I realize a word is missing and yes, I was too lazy to fix it.

Later on in the day, I had another meeting about work/life balance. One of the ideas presented was about how, partially because of meetings during the day, people end up doing work at home after the workday is over (when they're not actually getting paid), which increases stress and decreases time with family (or pets...ahem).

GOSH Mom, you're so boring! Turn off the laptop and let's PLAY!

As of late, I've been seriously lacking in my workouts, and I hate it! When I was in Boston, I utilized the hotel gym and realized how much I miss my gym membership. I just can't make it work with my budget currently. I have a Groupon for a 3-month membership at the YMCA down the street, but I feel like it's gold and I don't want to give it up just yet because after the three months I'm going to be very very sad. I have to begin using it by October, so I figure it'll be a good thing for me to do after the Hartford Half to get me through the Winter.

It truly is sad how sore I was for two days after this one workout.
P.S. Meet my new running shoes. I have high hopes for these guys.

Truth be told, I really need to just shut down the Etsy-making, the freelance work, the work-work, the house cleaning, and get back to taking an hour for myself every day after work to get in my workout/de-stressing sessions. Hopefully someday when Pippi becomes a civilized dog that can walk on the leash without pulling me over, we'll spend that time going for runs together. (I can dream).

I think this is actually a good time for me to realize all of this since Hartford half marathon training starts Saturday morning! I've also got a few other fun tricks up my sleeve to mix up the workouts with abs and upper body exercises. I want my "girl guns" back.


Do you ever find yourself not taking enough time for yourself during the day?
I don't even have kids or a husband. I'm seriously in a bad state!

This post has no point

So guess where I'll be for the next few days.

It's totally a designerd thing, so unless you are one, you probably have never heard of it. Literally it's like the holy grail for designers. I'm pretty excited to be in Boston (I've never been) and also to be able to go to the conference.

I'm pretty not excited (unexcited? ill-excited?) about the flight. I don't like flying. I'd probably like it a lot more if I was literally flying (like had wings, could poop on people, flying).

That's more lessons than training a dog to not be a turd.

My latest Netflix obsession show is Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. No, I'm not kidding. If you've never seen it, you really need to. It's hi-larious. I wake Pippi up laughing while I'm watching it. Seriously.

...and a couple of them aren't bad looking either.

Yesterday I received my first HOA bill. It was addressed to "Mr. And Mrs. Hinkle". That pissed me off more than the fact that they included a delinquent fee even though I never received a first bill. Today I called the company to get it worked out and the lady did a lot of "Umm.." "Hmm.." "Let me check". At least they had pretty decent hold music? Then I was talking with a couple coworkers because I needed to vent some more and it occurred to me that, for the "lower income"/itty bitty homes (with itty bitty "yards") and no trash pick-up or neighborhood pool, $161 a month is a bit steep. I then found out it's the same price everyone in the neighborhood pays, even those with bigger yards and two-car garages.

Don't worry, I'm on it. I've already e-mailed the property manager and I'm sure more e-mails to more people will follow. If, by some miracle, the fee is actually reduced (I like to dream), the drinks are on me, folks.

When I get back from Boston, the training for Hartford begins.

WEEEE!!!

Some product boasting

Last week I posted a picture of the medal display that I actually received long before I moved, but just got around to hanging on my wall since I finished painting the living room.

Lots of room for "improvement"!

I've probably got the least amount of medals of everyone I know who has medals, so I know the rest of you could use one of these suckers. It's actually much nicer than it looks from this washed-out picture I took with my phone. It's pretty substantial, heavy metal (read: shiny! We all know how I love shiny things.)

I received the hanger from Allied Medal Displays and they have a ton and a half designs to choose from, including create-your-own and different sizes for hanging different amounts of medals. Go check 'em out!



I'd also like to introduce you to another great company that I've recently stumbled upon: Tiny Prints

When I was looking for my moving announcements, I checked out a looooooottt of different companies, and this company won out, hands down (and I'm a picky graphic designer). I also ordered address labels at the same time I ordered the moving announcements. A couple days after I placed my order, I was informed by the home trust company I bought my house through, that my zip code was going to be different from what they originally told me. CRAP! I immediately contacted Tiny Prints, who informed the art department of the change, and less than a week later, I received my orders with the correct zip code on them. Now that's great customer service!

Looking for address labels or announcements or business cards or...any other awesomely designed paper product? Use this link to enjoy $10 off any order of $49 or more, or $20 off any order of $99 or more... plus free shipping! Use the code FRIEND0111 at checkout.


One last awesome thing:

"Sophisticated" I am not.

 

A friend bought me the butts from IKEA and I found the wood piece on clearance at Michael's. Because I'm cheap.

This weekend I also bought and hung curtains, using my new power drill! I planted some flowers too. This house of my own thing is pretty frickin sweet!

Who needs pride?

I've redacted today's post due to the fact that I was wrong. That's the beauty of this being my blog. I can do wonderful things like that.

I do want to share a small excerpt, however, from the removed post.

There is a person I know who has a dog. This person has had this dog since it was, oh, maybe a month old. This dog, now four years old, still shits in the house and won't eat its own food because they feed it from the table. This person has recently been at my house and has tried explaining to me just how to train my dog (who shits in the grass and doesn't get food from the table, thankyouverymuch). This person's claim to fame is teaching my dog how to "speak"; the most pointless trick ever. When will I ever want her to bark for no reason? 

If I'm being honest, the one trick I'd like to teach her is to actually speak. "Yo mom. I gotsta pee." Now that would be useful. Teach my dog how to do THAT.

This would also be a useful trick.

There's a goldmine in my kitchen cabinets

Earlier this week, my mom and stepdad came down to visit and they brought me a bunch of things that my grandma (who moved last weekend), didn't need anymore. It was awesome, because most of the things I didn't have yet, like dishes, pots, pans, and a kitchen table (itty bitty as it may be).

We were opening up the boxes and it was like a blast from the past. Maybe green wasn't the best color choice for my kitchen walls.

My "new" mixing bowls

You KNOW you want to come over and have some gravy out of this guy.

Sexy!

So, my plan was to take the pieces that I'll use and donate the rest to Goodwill (I mean, let's face it, I won't ever be using a butter dish, and I already have nice salt and pepper shakers. Yes, this set came with matching salt and pepper shakers. Two sets, to be exact).

Later that night I was perusing Etsy, as I sometimes do, and made some shocking discoveries.

Check out how much my "vintage" mixing bowls are going for! Also, eight sets of cups and saucers for $80. Do you KNOW how many sets of these my grandma handed down to me?! When I got up the next morning, I decided to pack up the pieces that I am not adding to my kitchen and save them instead of donating them to Goodwill.

So, seriously, I think I've found the secret to making a ridiculous amount of money on otherwise unassuming-looking everyday items. Add the word "vintage" or "rustic" to the beginning of the listing and *BAM* it costs ten times what it's actually worth.

I wonder if "antique", "powerful", or
"magic" is what makes this one worth

so much.

 

Apparently "rustic modern" makes it
cost about five hundred times what
it's worth.

So what do you think? Are Noodle Huggers "rustic"? or maybe "magical"? Apparently "made in the USA" just isn't enough of an incentive.