Manic Monday

Normally Monday's aren't all that bad for me work/school wise.  It's the dreaded Tuesdays of this quarter that I fear (long stressful day). However, this fine Monday decided to amp up the fun factor and provided me a stressful and eventful day.  Well actually, it was mostly just stressful until the end where it got eventful.  I will skip over the boring details of how I felt rushed throughout the day and how I felt defeated in my class and I'll head to the experience I hope to never relive.

Now, I don't pretend to be a great parker.  I wouldn't say I'm a bad driver necessarily (if you disagree, keep your trap shut, I'm tired, emotional, cranky, and don't want to hear it), but I admit that parking is stressful for me.  This quarter I paid a little more money for a parking pass in the covered/warmer garage that is closer to most of my classes.  I figured with me adjusting to a winter season, it would be worth not having to trek across campus in the elements. UC parking garages are, I think, horribly planned out in order to cram as many spots possible into the structure, thus creating tight spaces to squeeze in and out of.  Today I was excited to see a spot right away and whipped right in there no problems...until I got out and saw (with horror) how close the side of my car was to the large column.  I had a bit of a panic moment, but realized I had to hurry to meet with my counseling client and would just have to worry about it later. I would be fine I told myself. I could get out of there. (I lied.)

After feeling particularly down after my class and venting about the frustrations of my program with Mary, a classmate, I headed to my car...my car parked extremely close to a large cement column...my car who has a big ass (it's ok Roxie, it runs in the family). "Ok Ok, deep breath", I tell myself.  "You can do this. You know how to drive. You have a college degree. Just think it through and go slow".  Fifteen minutes later I am still inching forward, inching back, angling my car, readjusting, inching forward inching back...get out and check see that my door handle is actually touching said column...get back in car, try not to cry, inch forward, freaking out, about to really cry now...And then comes along my Knight in shining armor...

Well not really a knight but a nice older couple who saw me struggle when they pulled in.  The man got in my car, the women and I stretched my yoga mat between the car and around the column, and the man finagled my car safely out the the treacherous spot.  I think I thanked them a bazillion times while holding back tears and trying to have some sense of dignity.  They said no problem and were off to the basketball game, like it happens every day.  All I have to say is Thank God for nice generous people. It's so great to know that they still exist out there.  It's a blessing of being back in the Midwest for sure.

Now that I safely made it home with me and Roxie in tact, I need to force myself to finish off this blissful day with a paper that is due tomorrow.  Trying to gather up my wits, pride, and self respect to get it going.  (If only it were as easy as writing a blog entry!).

Hope you all had a much much more fabulous Monday filled with successful parking experiences.

Girl From That French Painting

Last night I had dinner with my friend Kristin Santose.  We decided to meet at my favorite local place, Dilly Deli.  If you come visit me in Cinci I will most likely choose to take you there, well because that's my place and I always pick it.

As I bundled up and walked in down to the square in the chilly air, I was excited to catch up, enjoy some good food (not on my diet), and listen to the live music.  I arrived, got a table and listened to the band play some old Louis Armstrong songs.  Once Kristin arrived I immediately began talking non stop (because apparently when I live alone I take every opportunity to actually talk with someone and can't stop once I get started). As we were chatting (ok I was chatting) and sipping on our wine, the band was on break and the singer/trumpet player stopped at our table to give me what I thought at the time was the sweetest compliment I've ever received. He said that he saw me and thought how I was just like the girl in the french painting. How it was this beautiful girl at the bar with a similar haircut. He thought it was by Manet and he just had to tell me.

So I was floored and felt so good. I mean who wouldn't want to have this compliment? That is until we googled the painting and then I kind of felt insulted? haha  Here it is for your viewing pleasure...my twin?






Similarities I will admit to:






Hair color




Bangs




Can be found near bottles of champagne










Things I hope to not be true:




Looking extremely sad/ pissed




Not very pretty




Wearing a bird? on her chest?

Hidden Signs

There are times when if feels as if the world sends you signs, and you ignore them, so it sends you a few more, and you still aren't a believer, so then it hits you over the head with a club until you come to the realization that "hey, maybe someone is trying to tell me something!"

I have been mulling over pursuing a goal that I've always wanted to try and have felt a little silly for even considering.  Sometimes I feel so sure that there is no way I could even attempt the goal, let alone make it, that I don't even like sharing my little secret with others.  Partly due to fear of judgement, partly due to fear of doubt, but mostly due to fear of having to also share if I don't achieve the goal.  I somehow think keeping it to myself will make it a little more feasible if I don't have the stress of other people knowing.

So when you have the little secret with yourself, and other people (who don't know about secret said goal) keep feeding you little comments and signs to push you towards that goal, it's just down right freaky! And Exciting.  I've had them sprinkled here and there for the past month or two, but I've had three "signs" (each of a different sort and source) in the last week.  Do you think someone is trying to hit me over the head with a club?  I'm tempted to listen...but still a wee bit intimidated by the idea.  

I just realized that this post is kind of mean, because I just wrote about a secret that I can't tell. Sorry!

Feliz MLK Day!

So I know that you don't traditionally celebrate Martin Luther King Jr Day with margaritas, but I just had too.  No only does MLK Margaritas sound like a great idea, I had a sign this morning....

I started my day off like any typical Monday with a 7:00am yoga session. After I came back from the gym, I was determined to make the most of my first MLK day off in years. I had a large list to accomplish such as making chili, catching up on some of the homework that I can't ever seem to get to, and some laundry to top off the day. Up to this point, it seems like a pretty boring celebration of the man who had a dream, but this is where the story gets better.

As I was going down to the basement to use the laundry machines, I see a box sitting on the folding table with a little pink post it on it. On this post it where the magical words "4 Margarita Glasses.  Take if you want" signed apartment B6.  Oh you can bet your pretty little fanny that I scooped up those glasses before anyone else had a chance to come down and find the treasure.  I was margarita glass-less and I was not about to pass up such a great find! So you can imagine my excitement when I inspected the glasses and they are actually glass and not dollar store plastic and are really elegant.  Because contrary to belief you can be classy while drinking tequila (well for the first glass anyways).  And that's when it hit me, I HAD to make a margarita for MLK Jr.  I think it is how he would have wanted his day to be celebrated.

Since I'm trying to be a good girl and count my calories (and also because I don't happen to have margarita mix on hand) I whipped up a healthy homemade concoction. I must say it is way better than the store bought version.  I just used lime juice, lemon juice, club soda, and a little tequila (and don't ask me why I happen to have a bottle of this on hand).

My new cocktail shaker, which I recently won on NYE, helped me out.  His name is Benny. Isn't he cute and dapper with his little bow-tie?

I hope you all had a great MLK day and celebrate in style like me and Benny.  Now I'm off to drink my margarita while trying to do some of that aforemention homework. (If tequila doesn't help make this more bearable, then I don't know what will!)

The Dance Floor is My Stage

As the great Britney Spears said "There are two types of people in the world. The ones that entertain and the ones that observe. Well baby, I'm a put-on-a-show kind of girl".  While I'm not normally one to crave the spotlight, there is something about dance that all the sudden makes me a little braver, a little more bold, a little more spotlight kind of girl.

After graduating and saying goodbye to my dance team, I felt let down. It was hard to not have dance practices to look forward to and performances for that adrenaline rush. I slowly got used to it and frankly I think life got a little more dull.  While I'm not back on a dance team, I am finding ways to get my dance kicks.

On Saturdays I take an Alter Ego dance class. A Ben Gal cheerleader teaches us choreography from a different popular performance artist.  I live for these classes. It is a good test for my memory as we try to learn the choreography and be able to run it a couple of times full out before our hour class is up.  It's good cardio, and great food for my soul.  This week we did Britney's "Slave for You".  It was one of the fastest routines we have learned, but the most fun.  I probably looked like a fool as I was going full out with a big grin on my face.  There might not have been an audience (probably a good thing since I was getting sweaty ewww) but it felt good to release into dance mode.

As a bonus to the weekend, I just finished a two hour rehearsal for an upcoming performance.  It's just a small showcase at Bella Forza (the awesome fitness center and studio I work at).  I'm in a routine with 6 girls and I'm getting giddy at the idea of performing. Along with the giddiness is of course nerves, but I don't even care. I'm just so thrilled to have a few minutes performing. Of course if you know me, I'm obsessing and constantly thinking of tiny details such as hair style, outfit choice,  lipstick color etc, but I can't help it. I'm a dance high!

Now if I could only put as much concentration on my school work instead of choreography...

Domesticated Rachel

Does anyone else ever think of how Barbie got to have a different career every week? Not only did she claim the title, she also got a new outfit to match and all the accessories one would need. Sometimes when I'm in a different mood or going through a phase, I think of myself as "Working Out Rachel" or "Good Student Rachel". Oh, I'm the only one that does that? eerrr awkward. Ok moving on...

Anyways, so over the past couple of weeks I've been "Unmotivated and Lazy Rachel" (complete with a cluttered desk, untouched homework, and a lacking selection of food to eat). This weekend, however, I had a little shove to get back on track because my Dad (shout out to Dale!), Step-Mother and Sister came down for a visit and to do some manual labor. (Hey, you gotta earn your keep around here! But it's ok I rewarded them with bread pudding w/ a vanilla sauce)

Since I knew I would actually have people in my apartment I got super productive. I cleaned, I organized, I baked, and I did that ever growing pile of laundry.  I don't get company very often so I enjoyed the push to organize my life again. Plus I don't want my family to think (or realize) that I can be a slob.

Even though the fam was just here for the day, my motivation to get on back track continues.  After waking up and getting a quick workout in, I did some homework.  This was monumental people. And I didn't just stop there! Oh no, today I was "Domesticated Rachel".  I baked a pumpkin pie for a friend's birthday, prepared a roast for the crock pot tomorrow (it's the domestication that keeps on giving!), and I even practiced knitting a little bit since Patty showed me how to start yesterday. Phew! Domesticated Rachel had a good day, I think she deserves a glass of vino. (Children 21 years and up.)

Happy New Year!

New Years has come and gone and now my winter break from school officially comes to an end (womp womp).  I don't know what happened to my euphoric high when I wrote my last post, but I'm struggling to keep up my level of motivation.  Taking a couple days off to eat drink and be merry appears to have been a mistake. I need to get back on track by eating better, working out more, and keeping up on school work. It just seems so tempting to stay in my sweats drinking coffee in my apartment...(sigh).  So here's hoping that when I wake up in the morning I've got the positive attitude back and the motivation to conquer the day. (Might need to make two cups of coffee eh?)

I hope that your New Years started off with a bang and that you are already well on your way to a productive year. And if you are getting a slow start like me, welp, it's ok we still have 362 days to catch up.