Round 3

Mayhaps I'll try this thing again. Round three. Definitely not the last. And I like the word "mayhaps".

Also, not that it's February and I've heard everybody's New Years Resolutions, I decided that I should probably create some of my own. Better late than never, right? The thing about resolutions...I hate them. Generally people can't even keep one of the giant list they flaunt by 5 p.m. on January 1st. Some friends have set reasonable goals that I am fully prepared to support them on. Others have made statements that I have no doubt will/have already failed. All in all I think having low expectations for myself is the best course of action.

1. Be Healthier - general statement. Eat less shit. Do more things. Mini-goals include running CrazyLegs and the Fort Half (which I will sign up for as soon as I am financially able to heighten the chances that I actually fun it). Mainly I just want to maintain the ability to run so that next year I can use it as a stress reliever; because god knows I'll need it. Also, (and yes, this makes me a horrible person) I hate that people I could run circles around in high school are now kicking my ass when it comes to working-on-our-fitness. I'd like to close that gap a bit. And maybe any personal goals I meet will convince my dear father to stay healthy enough to run around with my theoretical future children (very theoretical...like roughly 10 years from now).

2. Stress Less - Hopefully the running will help this. I'm also enrolled in a Rest and Relaxation class that meets twice a week. So far I think I'm doing pretty well - I can control my breathing at least. We have to journal for that class as well, although I'm not sure what we'll be expected to write about. Maybe I'll keep actually journaling. Who knows. God forbid I actually keep up with a blog. But blogs aren't therapeutic. At least mine would never be. Anyways... I'd like to master the ability to keep my stress under control because without it I may go crazy next year. Or in a couple months. Who knows. I'm not good with taking on the world alone, and since I'll likely be halfway across the country without seeing anybody I care about for months and months at a time I feel like my general well-being will be greatly improved it I can prevent a mental breakdown. Just thinking about it is stressing me out.

3. Be genuinely interested in everyone I talk to - Recent events/watching waaaaay too much trashy TV with Karen has made me realize that the majority of the human race is unpleasant. Publicly and privately I find myself becoming disgusted with people...because they're being mean. I've watched my friends tear up from mere text messages that they would never dream of responding to. I've been shocked into silence by comments made about the choices my friends and family have made. So, I'm going to do everything in my power not to make the same slip-ups. I'm not perfect, I know that, I'm not any better than the rest of humanity, but I'm going to try to reduce the amount of stress I impose on others.

4. Spend Less Money - aka spend as little as possible. I'm *lots of money* in debt. Then add on the approximate $40K of debt for grad school. And the fact that I was awarded a wonderful 2 solid hours of work a week this semester. And probably won't be able to work full-time this summer. Yaaaaaaaay grow-up problems. So to solve such problems, I will buy no clothing (except a pair of pants...I really want a pair of skinny jeans that flaunt my body like no other, and a new pair of running shoes come May or June). I will by no junk food. I'm starting to buy tea instead of soda for caffeine because it's cheaper - still having trouble with finding a tea I truly like, though. I will by no junk food....less junk food...I'm giving it up for Lent so maybe that will help. I will eat a meal that does not come from my fridge once a week, no more, no less. I will eat smaller portions so as so make the food last longer. I will find things to sell. I will work 2 or 3 jobs this summer. Hopefully. Skimpin' like a boss.

5. Call Family More - Self-explanatory, call family more. Mostly in reference to my grandparents, because of all that's happening there. Plus then I can maintain my status as an awesome granddaughter.

Good Start? Meh.

I hope my kids are good today. Maybe this will be just a vent. It's only 9:00 am.

1. Nothing good was on TV. There is no news on in the morning. It's sad, really. Stupid fat Americans are fretting over the proper way to crimp a pie so it's up to Martha Stewart's standards, or how many pairs of shoes the average woman knows, or how women aren't gaining enough weight during pregnancy.

2. The weatherman told me it would rain on my way to work. But it looks sunny now so I'll forgive that one.

3. Due to some amateur investigative work on the internets, I've decided that I will probably be sticking to pen and paper from now on. That and I'll go back to my "Fine, I'll clean everything even though the majority of it isn't mine" mode.

However, there are some things that make me feel awesome.

1. My kiddos at school. They're adorable. They know my name now. "Maestra Joelle! Maestra Joelle! Mira! Mira! Juega conmigo!" Why yes, my little Latino Fuego, I will play with you. Let's go show those monkey bars who's boss. Only two more days until my babies graduate to the wide world of Kindergarten!

2. We've found the perfect dog. A curly-coated retriever.

The pups are pretty cute, too.

They're fairly hypo-allergenic, get to be around 85 lbs, and when they shed it comes off in giant clumps so it's pretty easy to clean. They're incredibly obedient and very good with children. The only problem is that they're fairly rare in America. They're also quite pricey since they're mainly used as show dogs and excellent hunting dogs. I believe it was an average of $500 for a family dog and $600 for a show dog. But hey, so we have to invest $500 and take a road trip. I personally think it's totally worth it. We'd get a road trip out of it, and we'd safe a ton of money on kenneling costs since we could send our little pup to Mom and Dad's if we ever took a vacation.

3. I get to go to the Comedy Club tonight. No idea what the show is, but it should be good.

Journal time.

Ugly Sweater Wacky Shorts

A man just walked by in one of the most fantastic (horrid?) sweaters I've ever seen. At least 4 or 5 different patterns, each wonderfully accented with varying combinations of the primary colors (plus orange).

No wacky shorts, though.

On to things of importance, to me, anyway: Just had my first big kid job interview. I felt violated and judged. Which, honestly, was exactly what was happening. There was a list of key points for each scenario that I was supposed to mention, and unfortunately I didn't notice that list until half way through the interview. I forgot to say that I'd make two fighting kids apologize to each other. Of course I'd do that! But, alas, since I didn't say it it didn't get marked and I am now a heartless soul who only cares about explaining why fighting is bad.

Other than that, everything went well. I've been practicing my handshake for years.

Apparently we're crawling

Just re-read my summer goals from last year. I did read. So take that, life. I said I'd use babysteps. Let me edit that statement: I will start crawling.

All this technology is ruining my handwriting

I'm assuming that nobody has looked at this blog....well, ever. It's here solely so I don't have to use one of those old fashioned pens and pencils to write the things I think.

Summer needs to come. Like, now. I've decided that this summer I will actually do things. Yeah, yeah, I've been saying that for years, but dag nabbit this times it's true. In baby steps, of course. For example, I'm going to bike this summer. Maybe I'll even get crazy and bike to new and exciting places. Like...Devil's Lake, or the middle of nowhere. Exciting stuff. And I'm going to run - with no goals or end point.

I'll start when it gets warm. Procrastinating a better lifestyle is so much easier when you live in Wisconsin.

On another note, I can still fit my hand all the way to the bottom of the Pringles Can. +1 Joelle.

Mini Vacation #2

Again to Minnesota.

And a week in Madison, where I got to be lazy, sleep in, spend every possible moment outside, and get paid way more than I should for babysitting two adorable children. Life is good. A high school kid told me I looked like a smoker. (?) I ate lots of delicious food. I fed the ducks.

Mini trips keep things from getting mundane. I like it. It should happen more often. Now all I need are people willing to go with me. Volunteers? Seriously, anyone. Let's go camping.

Mini Vacation # 1

Only a week into summer and I've already embarked upon my first mini vacation (as it should be) all the way to Minnesota. So far the highlights have included playing peek-a-boo through the headrest of the front seat of the car for an hour and half straight, watching wolverines do the dirty, and kicking some serious butt in Super Smash Brothers.

I've also come to the realization that I need unhealthy processed food to survive. I NEED it. This past week I've been at home eating "healthy" and "natural" food with no candy or soda; and consequently getting sick to my stomach after every meal. But the first time I get my chicken tenders Culver's kid's meal with a chocolate shake on the side, BAM!!!! no sickness. Clearly I've become adapted to our modern society in ways that I never thought were possible.

Another observation of modern society that came up last night was the dreaded "sex talk." My cousins and I were sharing with the rest of the family how we witnessed the mating techniques of wolverines at the zoo that morning (which, by the way, resembles an incredibly violent rape. The male was trying his best to bite the female in the neck to hold her down and make her submit but she was a fighter, and quite frankly I'm surprised there wasn't more blood). This lead our grandma to tell us the story of how when she was in high school she got kissed on the cheek and was terrified that she would become pregnant. This, in turn, lead to the discussion about how nobody knew anything about the dirty bits until they were seniors in high school or well into college. Odd. It's crazy to think about all that. She continued to lecture my two cousins (both boys) about how they better not take advantage of girls who just desperately needed to feel loved and attended to. (At this point one of my cousins found it necessary to very bluntly change the subject to how it looks like it may rain)

Later on that night after dinner we were discussing how totally awesome and rad it would be if scientists could finally harness and control nuclear fission as a main source of energy. You know, a common topic of conversation. After we had cleared the table my grandma pulled me aside and told me that she never thought she would hear a young lady know so much about science. (?!?!?!) Uhh...I'm not that great at science. But...sure Grandma. Surprisingly my aunt said the same thing a few minutes later. So now that we've fully established that I'm incredibly intelligent, I really don't see why I haven't been more heavily compensated for it.

Generation gaps are so interesting...but I have to go make a graduation poster now so I suppose I'll reflect more on that later.