Bag Lady

On most visits to the grocery store, I try to bring my own reusable tote bag to bring home my food stuffs in. However, I do sometimes forget. On those days I usually run into a bagger who thinks it is his or her job to make sure each customer leaves with a more-than-needed amount of plastic bags. Even when I bring my own tote bags, I have arrived home to find that the bagger helpfully has bagged all the food in plastic and then put it in the tote.

Most of the time when I forget my own bag, I ask for paper bags. When I run into these situations, I am used to getting a dirty look for asking for paper. I've had baggers tell me they don't like using the paper bags because they are harder to fill and separate. I don't really care. While I know some people debate the merits of paper versus plastic, I like that you can fit more things in the paper bags. I also like the old-schoolness of paper bags. When I was little, paper was the only choice. I now sometimes wonder what school children cover their text books in.

Today, though, I was only getting a few items. So I asked for plastic, but to please fit all the items in one bag (I bought an onion, a small amount of green beans, two filets of fish, a box of Kleenex and a bunch of flowers). I'm sure the woman who was bagging the order thought she was being helpful, but in spite of fitting all the items in one bag, she double-bagged the whole order. Ah!

I kind of wish Columbus was one of those cities where plastic bags were outlawed.

Passion at Work

The other day I met a man who was so clearly passionate about what he does, that it made me smile. Well, first I wondered if the guy was for real, then I stepped back from the judgement and thought that even if he was faking his level of excitement, I should give him some credit for being so convincing. As this man poured me a glass a wine and lovingly talked about the mission of his concept, I couldn't help but to be jealous. To have that level of commitment and devotion to a job is not something I easily relate to at this point in my life.

Then this weekend, I took the second level of my journey to become an official yoga teacher or RYT-200. As I folded, twisted and inhaled and exhaled my way through the two-day class, I thought this is where that passion for me lies.

While for right now, the cubicle-dwelling me is the one who pays the bills, I also know there is another part of me who is being strengthened by beginning on a yogic journey. I'm not sure where it will take me, but I hope one day I can pour someone a glass of wine and lovingly describe the mission of a work for which I have a passion.

Lift

It shouldn't have felt so relaxing to be getting an eyebrow arch, but for some reason I almost fell asleep. Sure, the aestician was pouring hot wax on my brows and then ripping it off along with any stray hairs. Sure, it hurt. But for some reason today, it felt more rejuvenating than painful.

Getting my eyebrows done is one luxury I won't be giving up. Ever since I discovered this salon service during my years college, I've been addicted to my bi-monthly(ish) treatments. I've even gotten my mom going in to have her arch done.

Having a well-defined arch lifts not only the face, but also the spirit. At least it does for me.

The Day After

The day after Easter might as well be known as the I don't mind if I do have another piece of chocolate day. Seriously, I don't think I have ever eaten this amount of chocolate in one day. If the chocolate is shaped like an egg, it's fair game, right? Right?

Creating

Today we found out some bad news about the health of one of my very cool aunts. Because doing a search on stage IV ovarian cancer was doing nothing to lift my spirits or ease my mind, I decided to just do something else.

Several years ago I went through a beading phase. Well, actually, more of a buying beads phase as only three bracelets were ever made from those few months. Today I pulled out my stash of beads along with some funky felted beads two of my cousins gave me for a wedding shower. I have been meaning to do something with these colorful and textured nuggets since August, but today the time seemed right to put that thought into action.

So I spent the afternoon matching colors, swearing at knots and wondering why my bracelets always turn out a little big or a little too small. I lit my healing candle and sent good energy to my aunt. Because while making bracelets won't help the situation, it can't hurt either. And creating something is better than feeling sad and helpless.

I've been fooled before, but I can't help but to see the first crocus and think it is going to be sunny until June. Coming so early in the season, croci always seem so hopeful and brave to me.

Trying to Spring to It

Despite the traces of snow on the cars and ground this morning, today is the first day of Spring. I can't frickin wait to greet the season again. Sun. Gardening. Fresh veggies. Long walks marveling at the daily changes in my neighborhood. Daffodils. Tulips. That amazing iris in our backyard which was such a nice surprise last Spring. Seems to me it should be in full bloom around Mother's Day. Which from this vantage point is a long way off.

The transition from winter to spring is a tough one. It's an awakening, but a gradual one. Just as I can't seem to jolt out of bed in the mornings, Spring can't seem to come all at once. Like my hitting the snooze button four times, Spring takes some false starts, some rainy, and even snowy days, before it really arrives.


Today in my yoga class, we'll be focusing on easing this transition from lethargic winter to energetic spring. We'll hold poses longer and focus on postures which help to alleviate the build up of mucus in our bodies. I'll talk about spring diets and the wonder of the neti pot. For those following along at home, check out this article.

Happy Spring to all, but remember to cut yourself some slack if you are feeling tired, down or stuffy. Like our homes, some of us need a good cleaning before we can really embrace the season.

In the Stars?

Today is my mom's 60th birthday (happy birthday, Mom!). Yesterday was a friend's 28th birthday and tomorrow is another friend's 32nd birthday. Is it the universe conspiring to keep my credit card active so I earn more Thank You points? Or is it that I'm drawn to people at the tail-end of Pisces? Is there something this stubborn goat sees in the (mostly) easy-going nature of these people that makes me want to call them friends?

Do we seek out other Sun signs we get along with or do we notice these similarities later in the relationship? In high school, there most have been something about Libras because I was friends with more than a few. In college, late November birthdays were the rule. I usually make it a point to find out sun signs, but after reading several astrology books in high school I can usually guess the sun signs of most people pretty accurately. For example, I know Geminis and I don't usually mix well, but I typically feel at home in the presence of a Cancer. Again, is that because my Dad happens to be a Cancer or because Cancers are typically the keepers of the hearth and generally create an aura of belonging around them?

While I agree most of the daily horoscopes are written so generically that anyone who is so inclined can find meaning in them, I do think there is something about the stars and planets that signifies behavior. Also, if you have ever had a complete reading done on your date and time of birth as well as location, you know there is much more to astrology than just the sun sign. There are ascending and descending signs, different houses and scores of other factors. It's interesting to delve in at the more advanced level. My official horoscope says I am bound for great things after the age of 30. Since I am feeling a little lost career wise, I am hoping these great things soon come to pass. Or again, will I make great things happen because I think I am supposed to according to my horoscope? It's a cyclical web, but in the meantime, I'm going to pull out that official reading and see if there are any clues in there for where my greatness lies.

But before that, I am going to have a yummy dinner and fabulous night with the most important Pisces, Cancer, Aquarius and Virgo in my life.

Guilty Pleasures

This time of year, I can't seem to stay away from these cute little bundles of sugary goodness. So adorable. So tasty. So only once a year I submit to the call of marshmallow bunnies and chicks coated in colored sugar.

My other guilty pleasure of late is catching Taylor Swift songs on the radio. So cute. So catchy.

In fact, I tend to feel sick from too much sweetness after both eating Peeps and listening to the Teardrops on My Guitar song.

Watch the on the left, he's trying to make a run for it.

Crystal Cabinet

Not every family has a crystal cabinet, but we are now the proud owners of our very own version of a place to store china. Except that our china is the attic. When we began registering for wedding gifts, we seemed to focus on drinking utensils. Great for parties, but not so great for storage.

Truth be told, I could just never see us as china cabinet people. I resisted the idea because to me most china cabinets looked like they were a step away from having plastic covering on the furniture. It was a hunch that a traditional hutch just wasn't for us. So we walked up to our favorite home design store, which is conveniently just a few blocks away and in close vicinity to several coffee shops. We've had our eye on one of their signature pieces for several weeks. It's a funky mix of a vintage window and reclaimed barn siding. I absolutely love the way the modern crystal looks in the weathered piece. It's a juxtaposition that works for this modern couple in our 1920's house.

A Winter Wonderland in March

Spring was coming, it was, it really was. I, prematurely it turns out, had flip flops on, it was warm and sunny last Monday. Even Mother Nature received the memo and bulbs were starting to peep up through the ground.

Then talk started of some snow to hit beginning Friday. This talk of snow soon turned into a melodrama of the Blizzard of 2008 with a special logo on the local news. Usually when there are stylized logos of storm warnings, I tune out. And so on Friday morning when it was cloudy, but clear of snow, I hopped into the Beetle to drive to work. From 8 a.m. to about 1:30 p.m., I was at a meeting in a hotel ballroom with no windows. When I pulled out of the hotel, I was surprised to see snow and not just a little snow, but enough snow to make the half block drive from the hotel to my office a little scary for me. Once at work, my car safely in the parking garage, an e-mail was sent saying we could leave early and to be careful on the roads. I decided my car wasn't going anywhere, so my friend B. and I headed to a bar for a snow day beer and then to catch the bus. At the bar, along the streets and then on the bus, there was a sense of excitement and community goodwill. It was fun and out of the normal for Columbus to have quite as much snow fall as this in March. I encountered the same sense of spirit on my walk through my neighborhood on Saturday afternoon. There is something about the first hours of a snowstorm that make me think PLAY, so we embraced that spirit for a few hours of sledding. And later still we had some friends over for pot roast, games and more wine than was probably acceptable for four people. But, hey, snow days are for celebrating.

My Civic Duty will be Counted in 10 Days

I might have mentioned that here in Ohio we take voting seriously and after a few elections with hours-long lines and some shady outcomes, we get a little cranky when it seems our votes aren't counted. In fact, I'm still pretty sure that that absentee ballot I sent in 2000 never got counted, but I'm not really one to hold a grudge. Unless I get pissed off again, because then it is all over...

This morning I conveniently schedule a coffee meeting with a client near my polling place. So after Starbucks and an explanation of what I do, I stopped by the church where I vote. Thankfully, there was no line and things were looking good. Until I pulled out my driver's license which has my maiden-married name on it. I chose to use both last names (no hyphen) after getting married. While I don't really care what name you call me, officially I have two last names. One of which, is technically and clearly, my maiden name. This last name is what I was registered to vote with. And, hello, it is still on my official identification. And I live at the same place as the last time I voted. You think maybe, just maybe, I am still me? No, not according to the poll workers who told me I had to fill out a provisional ballot which wouldn't be counted for 10 days and then only if I could prove I was me. What?! I already showed you the official identification, I have nothing more. Over lunch I called the Franklin County Board of Elections where a nice lady with a cold told me that I should have been allowed to vote in the conventional manner. That's nice, but a little late in the game here, as I had already dropped my provisional ballot into the very official looking cardboard box. Evidently now, my vote will be counted with no further proving it's me and the BOE is going to call the polling place to explain that getting married does not mean women are not allowed to vote on the electronic machines. And while I'm still somewhat confused as to why I couldn't vote, as far as I can tell my vote will be counted in 10 days; which I don't think will be in time to save Hillary. I'll be happy to vote for Obama come November.

I Do Like Ginger Snaps

ou Are Ginger

Like ginger, you are a total shape shifter. You can be sweet, spicy, mellow, or overpowering. You are both soothing and unique. You are popular... yet you are often overlooked.

WhatSpice Are You?

Kitty Craig

Since I'm just a few cats short of crazy cat-lady territory, I am sharing Prada's latest issue. Chris decided last year the cat should go on a diet. She weighs about 15 pounds and evidently cats aren't supposed to weigh this much. In her defense, she's also a big cat. Tall, if you will, or long as the case may be. Anyway, we did start rationing her food a little more and using a measure cup to make sure we were consistent with amounts. She was fine with that for several months, but lately she seems to be hungry all the time. We switched to feeding her twice a day, once in the morning and once when we get home from work. We're still feeding her the same amount, just splitting it up to more often. This works fine on the weekdays because she spends the day sleeping while we are gone, but on the weekends when we're home she doesn't nap as much and has taken to sitting by her bowl all day. That's fine, but she'll plaintively meow whenever one of us looks at her. She's also arranged herself in such manner as if to say "how could you not give food to cutest kitty in the world," but even worse she just stares at us. See for yourself: