Random Thoughts

My husband likes to tell me that I'm very random and sometimes hard to follow when I jump around from subject to subject.  I have a very 'buzzy' brain, thoughts are always running wild (mostly when I'm trying to sleep 😒) and if I don't follow a train of thought, I'm likely to lose that thought forever. (He also calls me Dory, like the forgetful fish from Finding Nemo, if that tells you anything.) Now, where was I going with this....?

Just kidding!  This post is just a bunch of random things I've been thinking of lately.  I'm hoping it will force my brain to organize a bit if I put these thoughts down on the internet forever.

1. I have a lot to get done at work, but I have not been feeling very motivated lately.  My to-do lists just seem to get longer.  I hope I get past this soon...
2. I'm really looking forward to hanging out with Ms. Attitude today!  I can definitely use some girl time. (I hope I remember to not go straight home after work!)
3. I really need to finish Little A's afghan, it's so close to being done.
4. I need to post an update on my 2017 goals.
5. I'd rather be reading right now than working.
6. I'm soooooo tired!
7. I need to come up with a game plan for Super Bowl now that my family is probably coming over.
8. I really need to mop my kitchen.
9. I'm really glad I made my bed this morning.  One less thing to do when I get home.
10. I need to start going through my clothes.  I've been helping get my mother in-law's house cleaned and organized and I have the sudden urge to de-clutter everything I own.
11. I need to clean my car.
12. Can I take a nap now?

Okay, maybe most of the things on my mind right now revolve around going to sleep.  Don't worry, I am a semi-responsible adult who will not nap at work during the day.  But maybe during lunch...?

Four F's for Friday

Mr. P's favorite word is the 'F' word and in the spirit of being more positive in 2017, I decided to focus on some nicer 'F' words (because believe it or not, f&@! is not always used in the most pleasant context.😥) So there you have it -

Four F's for Friday

1. Fantastic - Big A placed in the district FBLA contest, so now he qualifies for state.  This is his second year in a row going to state (he's only been in FBLA for 2 years) and if that's not fantastic, I don't know what is! So proud - congratulations Big A!!

2. Funny -  I read this and laughed way too hard! "I just saw some idiot at the gym put a water bottle in the Pringles holder on the treadmill."  I want to do that now, but first I'll have to motivate myself to get on a treadmill...

3. Fulfilling - I completed 1 (of my 4) to-do lists at work yesterday.  I feel so much better now.

4. Factual (at least as far as the internet is concerned) - Banging your head against a wall burns 150 calories an hour (this fun fact specifically for Ms. Attitude in honor of her super fun job 😉.)

It's Friday!

Flashback Friday!  

The other day, Mr. P and I were discussing movies we loved as children. Does anybody else remember this movie?  I'm going to have to order it online and watch it with Little A.  I think he'll love it as much as we did!

What are some other movies you loved as a kid? Enter your favorites in the comments section. I can't wait to re-visit my youth! 😍  

New Year, New Review

To kick off my goal of 50 books in 2017, I read Yes Please by Amy Poehler.  Her book was a little different than expected.  While I thought it was going to be belly laughs all the way, she surprised me by incorporating deep thoughts and life lessons in her stories; she was honest and open.  I feel we'd have a lot in common (you know, minus the fact that I'm not hilarious and am in no way rich and famous.) I really enjoyed reading this and there were a couple of times I laughed so hard I was crying and my husband worried that I wouldn't be able to stop.  I gave this book 3 stars out of 5.  You should give it a read!

In Amy Poehler's highly anticipated first book, Yes Please, she offers up a big juicy stew of personal stories, funny bits on sex and love and friendship and parenthood and real life advice (some useful, some not so much), like when to be funny and when to be serious.  Powered by Amy's charming and hilarious, biting yet wise voice, Yes Please is a book full of words to live by.

Let's Talk Goals

I know we're already 10 days in, but it's 2017!  Time for a fresh start, a new year.  Time to set some goals, grow a little, and accomplish something.  Now, goals should mean something to the person setting them and they should be attainable.  It does no good to set a goal too high and then become discouraged when success isn't achieved.  That being said, I am what you would call "a little bit of an over-achiever" and I am highly motivated to GET MY SHIT TOGETHER.  This is the year!  So, I am sharing a list of my 2017 goals (as they currently stand) and I will try to keep you posted on the progress of these goals.

1. Maintain blog and make regular (hopefully entertaining) posts.  This specific goal is to beat my 2015 record of 4 posts. 😂😂😂    
2. Read 50 books.  You can watch my progress on Goodreads.
3. Watch 100 movies.  (This was actually a goal set by Mr. P and UJ.  I overheard them and decided I'd take part as well.  What a great excuse to watch all of the movies I've missed over the years!) 
4. Pay off 2 credit cards.  This one is going to involve a major budget overhaul, as that is approximately $5,000 of debt and my job change included a pretty big cut in pay, but I believe it can be done.
5. Take a family vacation.  We've only taken 1 and that was about 4 years ago...
6. Go to the gym at least twice per week.  This goal is inspired by Little A, who has become quite the drill sergeant. 
• Specifically, I'd like to go from a size 10 to a size 6, but the change in behavior is really what's important.
7. Finish the afghan I started for Little A last summer...
8. Start gardening (just one or two plants and we'll see how it goes😉.)
9. Go through all of our clothes and weed out the things we don't need/wear anymore.
10. Clean my garage.
11. Don't have a total meltdown and early/mid-life crisis when Big A turns 16 and starts driving by himself and goes to prom with his girlfriend.  This is, quite possibly, going to be the most difficult goal on my list.

Okay, I think that's ambitious enough for 1 year.  Feel free to share your goals for the new year!

Movies

2017 - Follow along as I strive to hit my goal of 100:

*Underlined titles are movies I have watched for the first time

1. Star Trek Beyond 1/1/17 
2. Elizabethtown 1/2/17 
3. X-Men Apocalypse 1/2/17 
4. Thor - The Dark World 1/2/17 
5. Pan 1/6/17 
6. Baby Mama 1/6/17 
7. Captain America - Winter Soldier 1/7/17 
8. Stitches 1/13/17 
9. #Horror 1/13/17 
10. Captain America - Civil War 1/14/17 
11. Paddington 1/15/17 
12. The Boss 1/21/17 
13. Keanu 1/21/17 
14. RV 1/23/17 
15. Annie 1/23/17 
16. Shaun of the Dead 1/27/17 
17. Ice Age - Dawn of the Dinosaurs 1/28/17 
18. Ice Age - Continental Drift 1/28/17 
19. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone 2/1/17 
20. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 2/5/17 
21. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 2/7/17 
22. The Secret Garden 2/11/17 
23. Beauty & the Beast 2/19/17 
24. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 2/20/17 
25. The Money Pit 2/21/17 
26. The Odd Couple II 2/21/17 
27. Stuck on You 2/25/17 
28. Willow 2/27/17 
29. Napoleon Dynamite 3/5/17
30. The Waterboy 3/13/17
31. Tickled 3/18/17
32. Beware the Slenderman 3/18/17
33. The Martian 3/25/17
34. Mike & Dave Need Wedding Dates 3/25/17
35. The Benchwarmers 3/25/17
36. Coraline 3/25/17
37. The Emperor's New Groove 3/26/17
38. Kronk's New Groove 3/26/17
39. Turbo Kid 3/26/17
40. Les Miserables 3/27/17
41. Chicago 3/27/17
42. Into the Woods 3/29/17
43. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 3/28/17
44. Pocahontas 3/30/17
45. The Wizard of Oz 4/2/17
46. Brave 4/2/17
47. The BFG 4/8/17
48. Grumpy Old Men 4/20/17
49. Bridget Jones' Baby 5/4/17
50. Beauty and the Beast (live action) 4/4/17
51. Moana 5/20/17
52. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children 5/20/17
53. Trolls 7/1/17
54. The Land Before Time 7/4/17
55. An American Tale 7/4/17
56. Grumpier Old Men 7/7/17
57. Star Wars - Rogue One 7/8/17
58. Star Wars - The Force Awakens 7/8/17
59. Storks 7/9/17
60. Screwed 7/11/17
61. Spring Breakdown 7/11/17
62. Parenthood 7/11/17
63. Ferngully: The Last Rainforest 7/11/17
64. Heathers 7/15/17
65. Amanda Knox 7/20/17
66. Captivated: The Trials of Pamela Smart 7/20/17
67. Doctor Strange 7/21/17
68. Sing 8/12/17
69. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. II 8/27/17

Did you miss me??

Hello beautiful world full of internet people!  Long time no see.  I understand that it's been well over a year, nearly two, in fact, since you've seen a post from me. (Shout out to my lone reader, Ms. Attitude!) When I last posted, I was trying to keep myself busy while looking for a job.  I was growing a garden and (obviously) working on starting up a blog.  Let me catch you up.

I found that job I was looking for in March of 2015. My training took 3 months and I spent that time traveling for said training and being away from home.  Once I settled and took over my office, I worked 55-65 hours per week and became incredibly stressed due to both the number of hours worked and the negative attitudes of, well, people in general.  All of the sudden, 2016 was halfway over!  What happened to 2015 and, for that matter, the first half of 2016?? Luckily, I did take away a few things from the experience: 1. some new friends 2. the knowledge that  I DO NOT want to be in management and 3. a new job, which I love!  I took this new job in July 2016 and I have been so happy.  I get to see my friends and family again!!

I'm sorry to say that all of my plants died during the chaos of my schedule.  The poor things were probably doomed from the start as I lack any shade of green in my thumb(s), but this was still disappointing as 2015 was supposed to be the year I finally got something to grow.

I'm sure you realize that the blog was put on the back-burner as well during this time, so I won't bother to update you on that bit. :) The good news is, things have settled down considerably since my job change and now I'm feeling the motivation to get my blog back on. It's a new year and a fresh start and I'm going to make it a good one!