Sunday Seven 06

(I got yelled at for taking this picture
on my phone. Silly. Either way, I WANT!
I told Shaylin it was going to be my
Maid of Honour dress for her wedding.
I hope she didn't think I was kidding.)

Sunday Seven
Seven whole days with lots to love <3

♥ Green Smoothies - I've been trying to make them every morning. So far I succeeded in two morning this past week
♥ Having a Saturday night date night with myself (it's necessary guys, seriously). Time Traveler's Wife + a meatless sub with everything + the living room to myself + lots of pillows and blankets = awesome
♥ Zumba! - an update of my experience to follow later this week
♥ My Hello Kitty Humidifier
♥ Lunch and Boston dates with Lindsay. This makes no sense considering my love for Italy, but today was my very first experience on Hanover St. which is part of Boston's "North End" also known as the extremely Italian part of the city. We didn't eat there, unfortunately, but that doesn't mean I left Boston without a Cannoli!
♥ Lush's Coco Lotion - I'm convinced that coconut oil is a miracle oil. Either way this stuff makes my skin so soft!
♥ Gmail Chat - I shouldn't use this function at work, I shouldn't use this function at work, I shouldn't use this function at work...


What did you love this week, guys?

♥ Melanie

Taking The Week Off

Taking The Week Off

Okay, so the title is slightly misleading, I have no upcoming vacation week that I'm making use of (though I wish I did. It would make my time this week much more productive. Either way, I'll have to make due). But I've vowed to not make plans with anyone this week, which is unusual for me. There are nights I feel panicked and too alone, annoyed that my friends are too busy to hang out. There are nights when I invite myself on dates (well, you know, less formal of course) with my brother and his girlfriend. I text everyone I know, I wonder what they're doing, I force myself out on long drives that end at Borders with blended drinks and stacks of books. I must admit first that I have made a few exceptions to this "no plans" thing, as I have plans on Wednesday night with K*, my friend I haven't seen in what feels like years. And also I told my mom I would partake in Zumba with her at her gym tomorrow (which is good considering taking a Zumba class is part of my 25 of 25 list -- that has yet to be posted, because I've yet to complete the making of it)

But regardless. I wrote a huge list in my Moleskine this afternoon of things I could do on my break week. Nothing on this list is any different than the usual lists I make of things to do. Except I have the intentions of actually attempting them. Making bread is on this list (and also part of my 25 of 25. Coming soon, I promise) as is writing lots of blog posts and watching movies I haven't seen. Or watching Gilmore Girls which I've seen many times (and am currently watching). I think that knowing I am not making plans makes me feel calmer than knowing there is no one to make plans with. I (possibly) won't deny plans if someone else wants to make them, but it's nice to be by myself for a while without feeling like I need to be doing something else. I am also taking this time to explore Google Docs. I'd like to take Chance on many walks and take a yoga class. I've been figuring out my finances, and creating a budget that I hope to stick with. It's only the beginning of the week and I feel so productive! I will report back at the end of this week my findings (or failures or productivity rate).

If you could take the week off and escape responsibility, what would you do?

Okay, so, irrelevant but necessary: I cannot recommend Lush's Coco Lotion enough. My skin is so soft, I can not even comprehend right now. During the writing of this blog entry, I have stopped at least ten times just to feel my hands.




*Since I have too many friends with the first initial of K, this person will be renamed KK.

Sunday Seven 05

Sunday Seven
a little bit of loving from each day.

* Away We Go - this movie was beautiful and sweet ♥
* Boston, Massachusetts. Especially Newbury Street.
* Blueberry buttermilk pancake flavoured CUPCAKES. - from Sweet.
* Hanson . They have an album release date (Shout It Out comes out June 1st) and their song Your Illusion is playing in the trailer for Nicholas Sparks'/Miley Cyrus' new movie The Last Song
* Going out for Indian food. I can't even describe how much I love it.
* Adventures to LUSH. Especially when they do the hand treatment.
* The countdown until Spring. Seriously guys, I start this countdown on January 1st each year. TWENTY SEVEN days!!

What did you love this week?

Valentine's Day 2010

(the BFF & I)

Happy day of love, everyone. I'm not really a fan of Valentine's day. This mostly because it has never applied to me, at least not in any un-platonic way. But even so I don't think this is a reason to be bitter about the holiday. Sure you can show your love to your significant other/ best friend / dog / flowers / family any day of the week, but why does that mean you should ignore a day specifically celebrated to spread the love? So if you have no one else to send your flowers, sit down and read Gala Darling's blog post 100 Ways You Can Start Loving Yourself Right Now and take the time to actually do so. I realize this post is quite late in the day, but the night isn't over and there's always time for yourself. ♥

Photobooth Pictures

I absolutely adore photobooth pictures. I love cramming into the seats and making faces while the flash blinds my eyes and I can't stop giggling with who ever it is I am with. My friend Kateling asked me on AIM earlier about photobooth pictures online. I came across this site where you can upload pictures from Flickr, Facebook or your own computer. It's created by Shutterfly and you can buy these photostrips for $2.50. Who wouldn't love this site?





If you're interested in real photobooths or wish you find your true love Amelie style, you can go here and search photobooth locations (aside from the ones found at malls) in your state.

Sunday Seven 04

Sunday Seven
the weekend love list

* Oreo cookes
* Picking up my BFF from Logan Airport
* Rita's character on Arrested Development
* Yoga pants (like these from Old Navy)
* Filing taxes
* Gala Darling's Guide to Radican Self Love
* Spending time with my brother and his girlfriend, taking the Silver Line to Downtown Crossing from Logan Airport just to go to 7/11. Coldstone Creamery. Random pictures

What did you love this week?

The Miss List 01

I am extremely nostalgic to the point where if I begin to list aspects of life I miss or if I start to go through pictures I cannot stop myself. I miss places, people, songs, feelings, everything.

What I've decided to do is two things combined into what I will call the Miss List. First I am to list things I miss that I can reclaim and make changes toward reclaiming them. I plan to report updates on this as they happen.

Part two consists of listning current parts of my life that I know I will miss. This way I can learn to appreciate what I have right now. It's a hard thing to do, but it's absolutely necessary. So here goes.

Things I Miss That I Can Reclaim
dancing
writing
taking pictures
livejournal communities
being healthy
looking good in picture
yoga

Things About Now That I Will Miss
Chance
reading at work
not paying rent
eating pizza daily
wondering WTF is going on with LOST
Trent at *two* years old
being 25
Kat as a teenager -- while she still has time to hang out
walking with Chance and Kat
cranberry bogs

I thought about adding another list, one that consists of aspects of my life that I will not miss once they are gone. It would be called Get Out Of My Life. But I decided to wait, such negativity can wait another day or so.

What do you miss that you can get back? What parts of your life right now do you know that you'll miss in the future?

Laundry Days

You know those days when you have an entire list of things that need to be done? Those days when you're wearing miss-matched socks or granny panties because you just don't have one more piece of clean clothing? And it's you're day off but there are errands to do. Why would you want to spend your day off buying milk and cereal and going to the post office? Don't get me wrong, I am truly in love with grocery shopping, and I enjoy the scent of freshly laundered clothing, but I don't want to spend my day off catching up on "chores" I was too tired to finish (or even start?) on work days.

I'm always looking forward to a day off so I can "get things done" and then when it comes down to it, I'd rather get dinner with co-workers or see Avatar with a girl I haven't seen in forever. Isn't that how we all are, though? How do other people manage it? How does my mom manage to work ten hour days and still cook dinner and do the dishes and fall asleep watching Dr. Oz? I work one full shift and don't have the energy or drive to do anything else. How am I suppose to inspire myself when I just want to take a nap? Of course, it's too late at 5:30 to nap if I ever want to sleep that night. But what else am I do to?

I write pages and pages of lists and articles in my Moleskine while I'm at work. Yet somehow I can't translate those entries into something real or tangible. I miss writing. I miss the characters and the words and the feelings. And you know what? I'm not going to stop missing it until I do something about it. How simple does that sound, really? But it doesn't feel that simple. It feels like even thinking about writing is too much to do once I get home. I had a whole blog post scribbled in my new blue Moleskine that I needed to post yesterday. Why? Because it was Groundhog's Day, and that post was inspired by ground hogs everywhere. And also it was inspired by winter. But what's the point in posting now? Everyone's already forgotten about Punxsutawney Phil anyway.

So I'm sitting on my bed in the middle of laundry cycles thinking about how I could be straightening my hair. Or cleaning. Or writing. Writing what? I wonder. I can't inspire myself. Not yet, not right now. I want to be able to. I want this blog to inspire me. (Though it has gotten me to write more than I have been writing at all lately). I want to figure out how to inspire myself.

Tell me; what inspires you?
<3

Radical Self Love

Dear February, we have never been friends. Though you've always been the shortest month, your days seem to stretch on forever. In grade school and high school we had "February vacation" a week away from school and even that break wasn't enough to make me feel any differently about February: It's the longest emotional month of the year. It's cold and dark and by the time February comes I'm so tired of winter I feel like I'm suffocating. My Valentine's days are always so lonely that I've taken to trying to ignore it the best I can. Punxsutawney Phil comes out February 2nd and usually tells us there will be six more weeks of winter. We all groan, which is ironic because spring doesn't actually start until almost seven weeks after.

Gala has decided to make February the month of Radical Self Love and I'm making this post in order to expression my support in her February project. I honestly thought her post was going to be about the physical aspect of Self Love, but I can't say I'm disappointed with the way she seems to be steering. My February is already filled with plans of visits. The BFF will be here next week, and Lorelle (of Pheonix Rising) is visiting the weekend after Valentine's day. This means that my month will automatically be busy, but I should come before all of this business. I am more important than that.

In the spirit of Radical Self Love, February, awesome friends and the excitement and anticipation I have for Spring, I plan to write and post more, eat healthier and try out some yoga. Expect to be updated, but in the mean time let me know: What do you think of Gala's idea? Isn't it time to love yourself?