real quick....

our Disneyland tickets came today! woohooo!!

only 15 short excruciatingly long more days! at least only 8 of them are work days :)

motivation

there is nothing quite like getting in the car after a super intense workout just as your favorite version of one of your favorite songs starts. it's like instant affirmation.

Elton, George...nice work boys. 

6 things

1. I love that Portlandia is on for another season...and that it's On Demand! Makes me nostalgic for my crazy city.
2. Why can't my student loan forms just be here already! I want to get my tax on!
3. I really want to throw a Star Wars baby shower. To any prego ladies out there...I will throw you a shower, I already have a design for "gender guess" pins--is your baby a Luke or a Leia?
4. 21 days, and I will be here:

5. This video never doesn't make me laugh. It's so silly, but I just love it.

6. Forgetting your gym stuff is the pits. Especially when you realize it after you get to the gym....not the best way to start the week. Here's to a better Wednesday!

productive surroundings

i've been thinking a lot lately about how much your job and the environment that you work in impacts your life. i think it is safe to say that high stress jobs or workplaces usually lead to highly stressed people, while more relaxed working environments have a similar effect. all jobs, however, are going to have stressful moments, days, months, and no matter how calm cool and collected your outlook (or office space) may be, we're only human and those emotions are going to take over at some point or another. when i was in college i would dream about the day that i would have my own classroom and how perfect it would be. in this fantasy world i was always organized, with students eager to learn, an impeccably adorable wardrobe that would earn me the reputation of best dressed educator, and an endless supply of awesome lessons that would keep 'em coming back for more. i always knew that it would never be that simple or glamourous, but just thinking about the ideals always made me feel more calm, and in some ways it gave me motivation to achieve such perfection.

life has taken me down a much different path than what i ever had imagined, and i find myself drifting farther and farther away from being able to even fantasize about what my perfect job would look like. it's almost as though some form of contentment with stagnation is creeping into me and i can't quite fight it. don't get me wrong, i feel very fortunate to be in the place that i am right now -- i have a good job (heck, these days even just having a job, let alone a decently paying one, is a blessing) that allows me to live life pretty comfortably and has opened my eyes to more opportunities than i would have ever even known about. but there is always that thought in the back of my mind that says 'what are you missing out on?' what if i've lost my chance to have that dream, that fantasy of an adorable life in a job i love, like the ones portrayed on tv and in movies (read: Jess from New Girl...she is who i used to dream about becoming)? but as easy as it is to get sucked into the void of "what if's" and "what else," i have been trying to see the world in a more positive light. sure, my path may not be the one i'd envisioned, but that doesn't mean that it can't lead to somewhere great. it doesn't mean that there isn't something out there waiting for me that is going to feel perfect and wonderful just like i've pictured it. it just means i have to work harder, and be patient, and most importantly, not give up. that last one, that's the stickler...sometimes you have to just keep swimming.

apologies for that novel of word vomit, to make up for it here is a video i can't stop watching, of a place i would love to someday be. cheers!

addicted

oh, netflix, how you always draw me in with the allure of endless shows for me to watch. it always feels like as soon as i finish one show, another new one pops up that i just have to watch. and by have to, i mean full on, 100% addicted to the goodness that is entire seasons commercial free. latest addiction? mad men. 

i. love. mad men. period. i am completely sucked in to this world of 1960's misogynistic, alcoholic, chain smoking, fabulously dressed fictional characters.....who cares if i'm a few years late to the party. and i would absolutely wear every thing in Betty or Joan's closet. everything. 

everything!

nerd alert

made myself a square new phone case last week, quite possibly the nerdiest craft i've ever done...and i love every second of it.

ouch

Even after TWO rounds of sunscreen i still got scorched from one day at the lake this weekend. at least i got a good start on that chaco tan i hear is so popular these days ;)

and just for reference, my feet are the least burnt part of my whole body.....yikes!