Friday, October 16, 2015

Life Right Now/Random Thoughts and Things

I rarely write "currently" or "life lately" posts because, to be honest, my life isn't always that exciting. Not that I'm complaining. Sometimes I like to reread my old journals (including my LiveJournal), and I have to say that I do not miss living a crazy life worthy of a teen soap opera!

I'm happy with the way things are in my life right now, but I don't always go out and do a lot of things that I'd consider "blogworthy." I mean, if I'm being totally honest here, most of my weekends are pretty low key. And by low key, I mean that at least 80% of my weekends are spent living like a hermit, escaping to the world of books. Nothing wrong with that, right? 

Anyway, today I've decided that I actually have enough random things I want to share to write a post. Some are more exciting than others, but they'll give you a good snapshot of my life right now.

Right Now in Entertainment:


- I'm slowly making my way through my gigantic stack of library books. I returned a couple today, but, of course, I had one waiting on my hold shelf. At least I returned more than I checked out (which is rare for me!).

- I'm currently reading Black-Eyed Susans by Julia Heaberlin, and I'm having trouble getting into it. I think part of the problem is that I've been reading it in very short spurts, but I don't know. I feel like it's taking me forever to read it. I started it on Tuesday, and I'm not even 100 pages in! I hope it wows me soon because I was on the waiting list at the library for at least 3 months for this, and I was so excited when I finally brought it home!

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- Speaking of books, I still need to finish reading and commenting on the blogs that participated in Steph and Jana's Show Us Your Books! link-up. I've gotten so many great recommendations so far, and my "To Read" list just keeps growing!

- I've been on a huge Dallas Green kick thanks to the release of the new City and Colour album last Friday. I knew he'd be exploring some new sounds on this album (his willingness to play around with different musical styles is just one of the reasons I love him), and I definitely wasn't disappointed! 

- In addition to If I Should Go Before You, I've been listening to the entire Alexisonfire catalog on shuffle every afternoon on my drive home from work. The weather has been beautiful lately, so I've been enjoying it by opening my sunroof and singing at the top of my lungs. Definitely one of my favorite things to do.

- And just one more Dallas Green related thing (sorrynotsorry). When I was trying to figure out what live Alexisonfire video I wanted to include in my post last week, I found some videos of them performing back around 2004-2006, and I could not get over how young they look! I know it's been like 10 years and I've seen plenty of pictures of them from that era, but man ... They're just so adorable with their headbanging. Also weird/funny: Dallas with no facial hair and significantly fewer tattoos and George actually wearing a shirt. Haha.



(P.S. The quality of this video isn't as shitty as the still frame would have you believe. Also, this is a shortened version of the song, but you can at least get the idea.)

Okay, I promise to stop going on and on about how much I love Dallas Green ... For now, anyway.

Right Now in Random Shit I Like:


- I've been having some issues with breakouts lately. It's nothing serious (thankfully I've never had any major issues with my skin!), but it's annoying. I started using Aveeno Clear Complexion Foaming Cleanser a couple of weeks ago, and my skin looks so much better already! It's also not drying out, which is a problem I often have when I'm trying to fight breakouts. (By the way, this isn't sponsored or anything, I just really like this product and wanted to share it!)

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- I always take a late morning break at work in an effort to recharge. I'm usually starving by this point, and my new favorite thing to snack on is a Clif Bar. If you haven't tried them, you should ... They're so fucking good! They have a ton of varieties, which is really nice if you're like me and find yourself eating one every day during the workweek. (Again, this isn't sponsored ... I just really love these. If you don't believe me, see the picture below.)

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Right Now in Things I'm Looking Forward To:


- I'm getting really excited for Christmas this year. I've been pretty depressed around Christmas for the past few years, so this is a nice change. I think I'm mostly excited because Eric and I will be flying to my hometown to spend Christmas with my family. This is something I haven't done since 2008 (and my grandmother passed away the following month). I'm hoping I can shake off the sadness this year and just enjoy the time with my family. 

- Eric and I finally picked a destination for our anniversary trip next month! We were having a hard time agreeing on where to go, and it suddenly just clicked for us in the most random way.

At first we considered going back to Europe (we considered Greece and Spain), but we really didn't want to spend that much money. It just wasn't practical for us to blow thousands of dollars on a vacation this year, so we started researching places closer to home.

New Orleans was pretty high on both our lists, but we knew we'd probably end up spending a lot on food and alcohol if we went there ... So not exactly a "cheap" trip.

We then started considering places within driving distance, and Colorado seemed like a good option. The only problem is that Eric has already been there several times, and we really wanted to go somewhere that was new to both of us.

So then I just started researching bed & breakfasts in random states we'd never been to that were 15 hours away or less. I found The Chocolate Turtle in Corrales, New Mexico and asked Eric what he thought. He thought it seemed like it was exactly what we were looking for, and we booked a room shortly after.

New Mexico is completely random and pretty far away for a road trip (about 13.5 hours, according to Google Maps!), but I think we're going to have a lot of fun. And, really, we were sold after looking at pictures like this:

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I can't wait!

If anyone has been to New Mexico (specifically the Albuquerque area), please feel free to give me some recommendations on places to eat, things to see, etc. We're only staying 5 nights, and we have a few things in mind already, but I'm always open to suggestions!

4 comments:

  1. oh how fun! I have been to New Mexico once, but not there, and it was several years ago anyway. I can't wait to hear all about it!
    I still haven't made my way through all the link ups from the show us your books link up either! I'm hoping to get to them this weekend.
    I have heard good things about black eyed susans but I don't know if it's really my book. Hope it gets better soon!

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  2. Yesss! New Mexico is part of my next road trip, it's a few years out. It looks awesome there. Can't wait to see what you do.

    I like the daily hum drum life details. I hate when it looks like people do things just to blog about them.

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  3. I've never been to New Mexico so I'm looking forward to hearing what you have to say about it. I'm glad you opted not to go to New Orleans. That city is a sewer.

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  4. I've been to New Mexico (Albuquerque and Santa Fe specifically) a couple of times, and I love it! It's an area that I recommend to Australian travelers who ask me for places to go other than NYC, LA, and Vegas (that's where it seems many Aussies go). I'll compile a list and email you of places I've been; things I've done. It's been years, but it still might help. You're going in November?

    I'm on the waiting list for Black-Eyed Susans myself. Hope it picks up for you.

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