Rosie

The prompt for today is kids.  Last year at this time, I would've been able to write, don't have any.  Case closed.  However, in August of this past year, we adopted a darling beagle from a nearby SPCA.  She used to be Darla.  She used to run away from home frequently.  She used to be a shelter dog.  Now?  Now, she's Rosie, she's loved and spoiled.  She walks at least two miles a day, every day.  She has her own CHAIR.  She's our kid and she's worth every penny.

Forgive my wild hair.  I was just so excited to adopt her.  This was the day before we took Rosie home.

Since that day in August, we have started volunteering at our local SPCA.  We've went from being socializers, to dog walkers.  Spending time with those babies (ok, they're all not really babies) reminds me that Rosie had been in that SPCA for over a month.  She could've been one of those dogs that had been there for many, many months.  But, we came along.  We are her family.  Because some of those dogs will wait for their new family, for a long, long time, I want to be that pseudo-family.  So yes, we have one real baby, BUT many, many beautiful foster babies...that just so happen to be living elsewhere.

Spoiled rotten and loving it.

Mood Board?

Wait, the prompt for January 21 is Mood Board?  Uh.  Well, I don't actually have one of those, nor do I know what it is.  I'm picturing a mood ring, tacked to a bulletin board.  That's probably way off.  Instead of spending time trying to figure it out, I'm going to update my book hoarding.  Mood board vs. book hoarding.  Yep.

1. The Choice by Nicholas Sparks Four stars...if it wasn't for the awful part about the woman going into a coma, it would've been perfect. It would've been too easy to just be a love story, though, I guess.
2. Bossypants by Tina Fey (returned to the library with the impending doom of the due date)
3. Between You and Me by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus Ugh, three stars? After I read the whole book, I looked up others' reviews. Apparently the book is semi-based on Britney Spears' life thus far. I can see it, but had I known that prior...nope, wouldn't have read it. It was kinda like a car crash. So bad, but hard to look away.
4. A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty by Joshilynn Jackson (not to be confused with JoshuaJackson!)
5. Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks
6. January First: A Child's Descent into Madness and Her Father's Struggle to Save Her by Michael Schofield
7. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain (My Myers-Briggs always says I'm an introvert. Let's see if this book agrees.)
8. Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson
9. the five people you meet in heaven by Mitch Albom (it just hurt my brain to not capitalize the title. Yowch.)
10. Ordinary People by Judith Guest

Fun fact:  I'm two books ahead of schedule!  Woo!

Scenery

What is that saying?  Something about "Don't forget to stop and smell the roses."?  No matter, the saying, well, kinda, that's how I feel about scenery.  Particularly stunning skies, weather, mountains, and cliffs overlooking seemingly small cities.  Instead of writing a super lengthy post as to why I love all these items, please check out the beauty below.  I'm mostly talking about the view, and not the husband and dog.  But they're pretty great too, and they make my life what it is, beautiful.  (Ahem, this post is supposed to be beautiful.  Ba dum cha.)

This is the wild mountain dog and her handler, photo taken on Skyline Drive in Virginia.

Playing Catch-up

Ok, ok, ok.  I know I'm two days behind.  I blame my parents.  Ever since I found out that they actually semi-religiously read my blog, I've shied away.  Ok, maybe that's not the reason.  Maybe I've been a little busy with work, and trying to count calories, read books, and generally be a good person.  Yeah, that's probably the reason.  Or maybe, I just had nothing good to write about rhymes or advice.  Or maybe, it's procrastination.  Yeah, that's probably the reason.

January 17 (two days late):  RHYME
Have you ever actually listened to some of your favorite music?  I went through a weird phase a long time ago, that instead of singing to the music at the top of my lungs, I listened to the words.  I tried to understand what they were singing about.  Most of all, I wondered if the things musicians sang about were actual life issues or just made up, because it was easy to sing about.  

On a less philosophical note, I noticed (among other things), that often the words in popular songs don't rhyme.  In fact, it's not even close.  Take for example, LFO's Summer Girls, ok, that's weird example, but it's one I remember.  "New Kids on the Block had a bunch of hits."  "Chinese food makes me sick."  Seriously.  You can't make this stuff up.  I mean, they did, but I didn't.

January 18 (one day late):  ADVICE
Yesterday, the day I should've (why does should've always have a red squiggly line under it?  It's a word!) blogged, I spent a couple hours in a group interview for student workers.  So, the advice I'm going to share with the five people that read my blog, are things I noticed in that setting.  These things should be common knowledge, but were not in this case.

Be punctual.  Timing is everything.  You have to assume that is your very first impression to the interviewer.  Others can fail with the first impression, but by the time that happens, you were already way behind.  Try to be normal.  Nervousness is normal, especially in this setting.  Although it may feel like it's taking over your entire body, don't overcompensate.  There's nervous, normal, and crazy.  Crazy isn't going to get you the job.  It'll get you noticed, duh.  But, not in a good way.  Maintain some boundaries.  You don't know these people.  They don't know you.  Show the true you that you strive to be every day.  Being yourself will give the interviewers a good vision of what you'll look like in various situations that specific position will encounter.  Above all, think.  Think before you answer questions.  This isn't necessarily the early bird catches the worm scenario.  People that think on their feet are great.  People that think more clearly after given a moment to process are sometimes better. Oh, and wear sunscreen.  No, just kidding, the interview wasn't outside.  But it's a good ending line.  And it makes sense.  And it's good advice.

January 19 (not late at all...Boom!):  SUPERPOWER
While interviewing for other student positions, we asked "If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?"  It broke up the monotonous "Why should we pick you?" and "Tell us how you work in a team" questions.  It also loosened up the candidates.  We received answers all over the board.  One would like to control the weather.  Another wanted to be able to speed-read books (for both academics and pleasure.  One wanted to fly.  A couple wanted to time travel.

After hearing all their answers, I tried to formulate mine.  I often have dreams where I fly high across the land, through the clouds, and look down at people who resemble ants.  Nah, that's out.  I've lately been joking that I want to rearrange the states (putting Virginia and Ohio side by side of course).  Is that even a superpower?  What is that called?  Nah.  I think if I could pay for something for me and just me, it would be my own road.  This one road, that is a one way street of course (because I'm the only one on it, duh) goes from my current home to my childhood home, work, and some favorite places.  Knowing that the construction on this private road will probably drain my bank account, I'll go back to superpowers, in hopes that they are free, somehow.  I would like to be able to snap my fingers (similar to how in I Dream of Jeannie, she twitches her nose) and travel to anywhere of my liking.  That'll save time, money, and packing issues (since I'll have to have my luggage in my other hand, of course). Likely I will go to the normal places, that my private imaginary road would lead, but I'd rather snap.  Yeah, snapping's easy.  Can I contact the people sponsoring the blog challenge to cash in on this superpower?

Meatloaf Lyrics?

Oh boy, this post could be interesting, if I think about it some more.  In fact, it has such potential to be awesome, that I think I'll let this one fall flat.  The January Blog Challenge topic is “I would do anything for love…but I won’t do that.”  Let’s see, I wouldn't wear Crocs, leather pants, Uggs, Converse sneakers, giant hoop earrings, tall athletic socks, button-down shirts with collars (gagging), or leggings, of any color, type, or make.  I wouldn't wear lipstick, smoke cigarettes, or drink whiskey or buttermilk.  I wouldn't eat red velvet cake, anything with mint in it, blue cheese, liver, or raw cauliflower.  I wouldn't be caught dead in unnatural hair color, a sweater or shirt dress, or wearing a non-coordinated purse to clothing color.

Oh, and Johnny Depp.  Won't watch him, ever.  And heavy metal or hard rock.  No thanks.

Very random, I know.  I’m sure I’ll think of more as time goes on, but let’s face it.  I’m not Meatloaf.  I don’t have to play by these rules.  I do what I want.

Carpooling

During the two weeks that we were waiting on a new Virginian title for the old Ohioan Escort, we carpooled to work.  Keep in mind, we work at the same college campus, so it wasn't that big of inconvenience.  It’s funny though, since we work on opposite sides of campus, the difference is only 1.3 miles, but normally takes about ten minutes with traffic, especially since you cannot go directly through campus.

I had a mini-grudge about this carpooling business, since it threw off my schedule.  I like my schedule.  I know what time I need to leave every morning, how long it takes me to walk to my office, and the shortcuts if needed.  I had my morning alone time.  I thought of everything that I needed to get done that day and made a mental list.  I jammed.  Yeah, that's right, I sang to Michael Jackson or Buble.  Sometimes, I even belted out some Taylor Swift.  It hurts to write that, since I didn't actually like any of her music until her latest album.  Tangent over.  I liked my drive to work.  It was a great start to the day.

Sharing my ride was ok, just not great, like I wanted.  Fast forward to now.  He has a new car.  We don't need to carpool anymore.  The weird thing is...I don't want to drive myself to work anymore.  I've started enjoying some company on my drives in.  Oh, and getting dropped off close to my door isn't bad either.

Calorie Count

Today's post is supposed to be about food.  In a roundabout way, mine will be.

What feels like a really long time ago, I took a nutrition course, my sophomore year in college.  This course convinced me to become a vegetarian.  That lasted about six months, until my mother opened a can of tuna (I know, what a weird thing to bring me to the light) and I was done.  The same class suggested that I count calories of what I was eating, if not for anything else, just to see how healthy I was.

From then on, well kinda, off and on, I counted my calories, for a hopeful change.  Unless you're a label reader, you're unlikely to know just how many calories are in ONE slice of American cheese.  That'll make you think twice about a double-sliced grilled cheese AND tomato soup.

Not only does this website (and now app) house your calorie intake, but it keeps track of your other stats.  Carbs.  Fats.  Nutrients.  Vitamins.  The whole thing, for free.  No, I'm not getting any kind of cash money from this post.  I am not a sponsor of Calorie Count.  I just believe it gives you some insight on your life and what you can do to make it better and last longer.  Besides, YOLO!