Big Life Stuff.

I like posting funny stuff.  Odd stuff.  Quirky stuff… just stuff…

but some much loved people in my life are going through some Big Life Stuff.

So this post is to put out to the universe good will… positive thoughts… much love and the reminder to all to be present in their lives… and in the lives of the ones that they love.

Put out good will, spread smiles even when driving and try not to stress about the not quite so big life stuff.

Says me.

S.

Blog Stat satisfaction…

I admitted to my blog stat addiction, and you’ve responded….

all three of you that read daily, that is.

This posting is to say thank you for making this the BEST BLOG STAT MONTH EVER!!!!

In efforts to preserve the measly number of hits I get in a month I will tell you only that last month was the best month ever, and this month was a whopping 33% up from that!!!

Go team~!!

S.

Masters of Urban Sprawl.

I spent about 6 days in the Mesa/Phoenix metro area to do some things for and with my grandmother, squeeze a little work in, and to read a book.

All of my tasks were accomplished and I left feeling successful.

It was hot, my book was great, the tasks were manageable, my grandmother fantastic.

This is not a new trip for me.  Last year I was in AZ on two different occasions.  Once the year before that, twice the year before that. I think I must have made the MSP/PHX round trip flight about 20 times by now.   I am still continually baffled by the mastery of Urban Sprawl that exists down there.

Nothing is more than one story tall.  There is a new mall or shopping strip at each mile turn off of major highways. There are grocery stores and/or a pharmacy on nearly every corner.  Now if this was just in Phoenix proper, or in Mesa proper, that would be one thing…

but Phoenix, Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert, Scottsdale, Surprise, Tempe… and so on and so forth all run into each other and continue on further than the eye can see in the valley.  It is NUTS!  They just keep building and building and building.  I want to know where all the people are coming from to fill all these buildings.  Are there entire communities left abandoned somewhere?

In college I learned of the blight of urban sprawl in our environment.  Put a rampant sprawling growing community in the middle of a dessert with no water supply and you have to marvel a bit at the stupidity and brilliance of humans.

Says me.

S.

Dissing of the Banana Peanut Butter Pancake Mountain.

I really thought that with a title like Banana Peanut Butter Pancake Mountain, that posting from a few days ago would have had sky rocket hits… but no.

Zilch.. nothing.

No one cares about maple syrup lava flow.

Weird.

Says me.

S.

World full of a-holes?

This morning I got up bright and early for my flight to Arizona.  My friend Kari was gracious enough to offer to take me to the airport, so when she said she wanted to go to yoga at 6:30am, I said… no problem.   We’ll leave my house by 6.

Bear in mind we were at First Ave last night reliving our 90’s.

So, I get to the airport really early for my flight.  The check in lady was a little short with me, so I made silly comments until she grinned.

People must be really rude to the check in people.

There was no line at security, so another lady and I breezed right through.   We joked about changing our shoes based on taking them off in public and I sheepishly wiggled my toe through the hole in my sock.  We were both pretty sure we had too much dang stuff carried along.

Then I went to buy a book and a cup of coffee.  There was no one in the bookstore, so I asked the gal there if she was a reader and what she had read lately that she could recommend.  That simple question turned into an hour of conversation.  She hugged me when I left, and I got a book that so far I am LOVING. (A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz)

Bought my coffee from a gal that apparently had never been tipped before.

Then I went to a spot to log in and do some work while waiting to board my flight.   The guy already at the remote workstation glowered and grumbled at me for the entire half hour I was there.  Apparently airports are private?  I grinned and toasted him with my dark roast.

On the plane I watched people be rude to each other and to the staff of NWA while they tried to make non-standard luggage fit into overhead bins.  During this time I found out about the 80 year old Michigan couple next to me, who looked 60, had been traveling since 4 AM our time and were still SO excited to be making yet another trip in the plane to be in AZ for the winter. They had 3 kids and 7 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren.

The bus driver that took a full load to the rental car lot had most of us laughing with his evaluation of the stock market and recommendations to buy one of the 300K houses here for 150 since foreclosure was up so much here.  His advice was to golf, vacation and not think for a second about never being able to retire here.  He was buying up real estate instead.   I congratulated him on his new house while getting off the bus and he grinned at me and said he was looking for someone to share it with.  I wanted to kiss the top of his head… which was at about 5 feet.  He was from India and had been in lovely Arizona for 35 years.

The line for the rental car pick up was pretty long and not moving all that fast, even with about 11 staff trying to get us through.  People actually cut in line, racing to grab a rental associate while others were looking the other way.  For 30 minutes I listened to two guys ahead of me, that were traveling together, try to see who could be more pessimistic while talking on the phones to people who apparently cared.

I kept trying to keep the grin off my face.  They sounded so… trite.. and ridiculous.  It was making me laugh.  They were truly comical.

The lady at the rental car desk and I had a great conversation about healthcare and how her husband is giving up his business dream to stay at a job so they can keep their health insurance.  She grinned through the whole conversation and after 5 minutes with her I knew that she had survived cancer and if she got it again with that attitude… she’d probably beat it again too.  When I went out to get my “compact” cheapo rental car that I am paying a whopping $16 bucks a day for… it was a Ford Escape.

I chatted with the gal at a store where I stopped to pick up a few things and we giggled like little kids about nothing.

So… here is my question…

are people generally a-holes?  Is that why all these people were so amazing and responded so well to me today?  Or did I just meet that many positive people all in one day?

Either way… for a getting up early on no sleep racing around forgetting stuff and having my computer battery die entirely kind of a day…

I’m feeling darn good.

Says me.

S.

MMA 214 aka the “Chick Magnet”

This posting started out to be a public forum toasting of a really bad driver with a worse attitude in a crappy little late 90’s red something or other with the bumper sticker “Chick Magnet” on the right rear bumper.

Having slotted him for doom, I seethed and stewed on the way up to my destination, considering all the brilliant ways I could destroy him in fine linguistic form.  My adrenaline was kicked to the hilt and I must have had him a little nervous when I called a friend from the car, all the while checking out his license plate number… or at least I’d like to think it was my psyching him out that caused him to nearly rear end the police SUV.  Mmmm… public safety where you need em.  I maybe should have reported him to the NMPD on the way down the hill, they’d have had a hard time missing him as his bumper was nearly lodged under theirs.

But I got home and totally forgot about it.  I have a lot on my plate with work, family, friends and my own unfinished day to day stuff.  I take too much on.  I needlessly worry about things that could be acknowledged and moved on from.  I am stressed to the hilt lately and starting to leak at the seams… and the eyeballs… at nothing and everything.

So… rather than slaughtering the “Chick Magnet” I am going to take a minute to remind myself that I am blessed.

I have had amazing people in my life… and not just recently… through my entire life.  I am challenged in my job and get to work for something that I believe in.  I might even be kind of good at it.  Today a customer told my big bossman to give me a raise.  She is obviously BRILLIANT.

Tomorrow I’m going home to a beautiful house that I should spend some more time with.  I will drive there in a car that reminds me of my mother and some of the good times that we spent together riding in it.

My dog has been endearing today and barkless last night.

I am choosing to put food into my mouth less often and am finding that my pants are fitting fantastically.  I am skating and I am having fun.  My ski pants should not be overly tight on the first day like last year.

Someone out there that I don’t frequently tell to read my blog has read my blog and found it comforting.

I’m going to hockey games even on days I have to work.

I did NOT have to pull out all 40 tomato plants.  It was done before I got there.

I don’t have to can produce anymore this year if I don’t want to.

I get to see my grandma this weekend.  She’s pain free after the miracle that is cortisone shots.

I impressed my dad with a financial decision I made and could “name that cheese” when he called tonight. (Pecorino romano for the win!!)

This may not seem like much, but it will do because it’s frosted with the fact that my boyfriend came over after work just to sit by me and talk a little… and check his email.

A man has got to do what a man has got to do.

Says me.

S

My life as a hockey fan…

This past weekend was looking to be a big old write off.  In efforts to retain my integrity, and having said that I would take shifts that were offered to me for my part time job, I signed on for 3 overnight shifts in a row.  Overnights are really hard on me, and I figured I would spend my weekend doing my real job, sleeping, and then going to sit on my butt for 8 hours before starting the routine again.

No fun for me.  Woe is Sarah.

To make things worse… I did not realize when I took the shifts that UND’s Fighting Sioux hockey team was going to be in town playing against the Mavericks.  It’s good I didn’t know or I’d have not taken the shifts in hopes of getting to a game, because I am a Sioux fan.  Farewell to integrity. (If you’re confused by this sentiment.. scroll back a few posts.)

I’ve have noticed that there are not really degrees of hockey fans, so much as categories of fans.

There are die hard fans that bleed team colors and wear jerseys year round.

There are fair weather fans that say they are a fan but only go to hockey games when invited, wearing the jersey that still has the mustard on the back from a game last season that I neglected to tell them about.

There are are the fans that just love the sport and will drop the major ching for 2 seats for the local pro team… and make it to nearly every game. (These fans tend to know every player on every team and all the stats associated with them.)

There are social fans that are not so much into hockey as the fraternizing that goes with it.  (Not to be looked down upon… these are still fun fans.)

And then there’s me.

I love good hockey.  I think it’s fun to watch.  I like games where the teams are pretty well matched and it’s touch and go who will win.  I like the crowd.  I like the silly song they play after a goal.  I don’t like that “sit sit sit” thing that MSU students do to the opposing team’s goalie afterwards.  I like the beer.  I like the ice smell.  I like the zambonies.  I like the audience singing about Sweet Caroline.  I’m even growing to like the cheerleaders.  I like college hockey because I can afford to go to the games, and I like pro hockey because it’s a treat when I actually get to go.

So I’m the fan wearing Green to support UND, but it’s a vintage Minnesota North Stars sweatshirt to throw people off and ensure I don’t get lynched for the betrayal.  (They would be my team if Texas wasn’t the foulest state in the union.  I’m still mad about that all these years later.  What does Texas know about hockey anyway??)

I’m also the fan that cheers for every great play, despite whose it is.

I think that really, I am just a fan of hockey.

So why a random posting about this?

Before working the most mind melting shifts ever on Friday and Saturday night… I was at the hockey games… sitting in a suite, eating free popcorn and yelling for my team… and sometimes they other team.  They had a few good plays.

It was good… it was very good… even though UND got their asses handed to them on Friday night… and I still managed to make it to work somehow… and it wasn’t that bad…

Weekend not just salvaged, but made fantastic.  Thanks to Mat, who so very obviously rocks in a big way for making those tickets possible.

Says me.

Election tracking vs. Banana Peanut Butter Pancake Mountain

So there is an election campaign thing going on… or so people tell me.

That used to be the kind of thing that would inspire me to act, get me spreading the good word of progressive love. Hiking the campaign trail, educating the uneducated. Crusading.

It would also raise my stress level about 300% and start causing me to freak out over not so good reasons.

So… around 4 years ago I walked out of the Bryant Lake Bowl after announcing that I was going to tune out of current events and social justice for at least 2 years. It was about 10pm. I had a suspicion that John Kerry would be conceding within the hour. At the two year mark I was consumed with family crisis and after re-evaluating my situation determined that ignoring the media, outside of sniffing through headlines, was working well for me.

I’ve not been on the campaign bandwagon. My friends who are have been great about it. The friends that I was not great with 4 years ago are all speaking to me again. My boyfriend and I barely talk politics and I’m okay with that too. I have done some independent research online in the middle of the night… read a few articles.. perused a few transcripts… it’s enough. I am not disinterested… I am not consumed.

So what am I spending all this new found time and freedom pondering?

Today it was breakfast and the miracle that is Banana Peanut Butter Pancake Mountain… with sausage and a syrup lava flow.

Says me.

S.

Living with Freckles.

So, much to the bewilderment of Fred, I am still sticking to my efforts to be more conscientious about what it is that I’m using my body in terms of cosmetics and hygiene.  For the two of you out there that read my posting/ranting about freckles and such I have updates on products that I’ve been using.

1- Facial Scrub.  Previously I religiously used St. Ives Apricot Scrub.  I’ve used it for years.  It’s a great exfoliater and left my skin looking fresh.  (Exfoliater is not a word… it should be. ) I loved it, but since it was messing with my brain via hormones and toxins I have switched to Burt’s Bees Peach & Willowbark Deep Pore Scrub.

Initially I worried that it left my face feeling like it had a little bit too much oil on it; however, after two weeks of use, I’m not breaking out, my skin still has that fresh look and I’m learning that maybe I was over drying my skin with the other product.  It’s reasonably priced, available at Target, ShopKo and Hy-Vee and I’m happy.

2- Foundation or in my case, Tinted Moisturizer with SPF.  Previously I was completely in love with Clinique Moisture Sheer Tint.  I have replaced it with Physicians Formula Organic Wear 100% Natural Orgin Tinted Moisturizer, SPF 15.

This was a tough one for me.  Initial searches for a comprable product left me freaking out about $40 for foundation that still needed a layer of sunscreen added.  I started thinking… 6 isn’t so bad… even 7 out of 0-10 wasn’t disasterous; maybe I’d stick with Clinique.

Organic Wear is a new line from Physicians Formula, a brand I’ve not been fond of in the past.  Now I have to say that they’ve stepped up their game.  This product is half what I spent on Clinique’s version, works well, stays all day and has really met with my expectations.

It feels a bit different going on (shake well for sure).  In dry spots it soaks right in, and the rest needs to move around a little.  I’ve been getting the matte not-at all shiny look I like with a light dusting of their Organic Wear Pressed Powder.  I’ve even started using their eye shadows on a day to day basis.  If I were to use a darker tint my freckles would even be hidden.

Again, this line of organic, natural origin products is readily available where Physicians Formula stuff is sold.  Look for the Organic Wear leaf covered packaging.

3- Toothpaste.  Ugh.  Tom’s of Maine Natural Care Toothpaste.  I bought the Whole Care version in my commitment to find equivalent products to what I was previously using.  Cost was a little higher, but not nuts.  I am not fond of the taste… or the after taste that lingers; however, both Fred and I agree that it works well and leaves your mouth feeling really clean in a way that is lasting.

I started this whole thing out by saying that buying and using better products was going to cost me a fortune, but I’ve been really surprised in a good way to find that some companies are really stepping up to the plate.  More things are available than I thought I’d find and on the beaten path.  I’m not running all over kingdom-come to buy my face wash.

Now bear in mind that I’m not throwing away products I’d had purchased already, so this is an ongoing slow transition to the not so dark side.  As products run out I am replacing them with better alternatives.  I dread the day that my deodorant/antiperspirant is done.  Dove, I will miss you in my underarm.

Here are those websites again.

http://www.cosmeticdatabase.com/

http://www.safecosmetics.org/

Says me.

S.

Enough about the dog…

Let’s talk about the important stuff…

skiing.

This month has been unfortunate reality check month for me.  I want to go skiing this season.  I want to go out west to do it.  I would really like to be skiing in some new Monster 82s or maybe a Rossi Zenith (6 or 10 oversize is fine).   Heck, I’d be giddy with an Atomic Nomad Whiteout.

I’m so excited about skiing, that I’m exercising, something I’m decidedly NOT excited about.

So the reality check is this.  I have new hardwood for flooring in my garage, waiting to be installed.  I have it there as it was an incredible bargain for an amazing product with a killer warranty that will have a notable increase on the value of my home.  I have a house that I can’t sell in this market, and a new car that was a gift from my grandma and dad, whom I love dearly.

I have a job that can pay off my debt in a slow and steady wins the race kind of a way, but not in a manner which allows room for new debt.

I am feeling trapped and it’s getting worse as snow makes it to Montana and the northwestern corner of North Dakota.  Snow is closer, debt is looming…

I am trying incredibly hard to be an adult when in reality I want all the fun flexibility of financial security without having built the foundation for it into my life.

Bottom line?

I am being a spoiled brat.

Now that I look at my predicament I can see that I have most likely been a spoiled brat for the better part of my adult life.  I know of no other person my age that could take a 2 year sabbatical from work to do family stuff and then rebuild a business that may or may not have worked out.  I did so without much savings and only the knowledge that it was ultimately the only answer I could live with for myself.

So.

I will take the shifts at my part time job, even when I don’t want to.  I will consider working every other week at the hill rather than buying a pass.  I will continue on my path of stingy living and ski on my skis from last year.

I will not like it and there will be sulking if I don’t get out west again this year.

Says me.

S