blerg.

Stress has been rampant in my little part of the Mitten as of late, but there are still reasons to smile:

+ Tazo Calm tea



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I drink this every single night before bedtime with a bit of Sleeping Bear Farms raw honey. And do you know what? It really does have quite the calming effect.

+ This venn diagram

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Maybe I'm weird, but this just really made me laugh. Yay Simon & Garfunkel.

+ Sigh No More



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 I may be behind the times (again), but this album has seriously brought me so much peace.

What makes you smile when you're stressed?

Have a lovely weekend, friends.

wrecking ball

I can't even begin to express how excited I am for this album, and the 2012 concert tour. (!!!)



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Seriously.

Does anybody else love the Boss? Or am I the only one permanently stuck in the '80s?

return

I'm back, and it feels wonderful.

Not just back to blogging, but back to life. I'm not sure what it was about this past month or so, but I just felt stuck. I tried multiple times to express my feelings through writing and blogging, but I got nowhere. I felt disillusioned, anxious, and uncreative. It just wouldn't go away.

To borrow a phrase from my beloved Oskar Schell, I had "very heavy boots indeed."

Thankfully, the fog lifted, and I feel like I can breath again. I feel like I can emerge from my self-induced hibernation. As with anything, it's still a work in progress, but getting out of bed each day is no longer something I dread, and for right now, that's reason enough to celebrate.

Maybe one day I'll be able to put exactly how I felt into words. Maybe I'll share it here. Maybe I won't. But it's good to know that I have this outlet, and it's good to know that I have supportive friends here who are always willing to listen.

So, thank you for sticking with me. Thank you for writing blogs that helped inspire me to write again. And most of all, thank you for being there.

And, because I don't really have a picture to go with this post, Liz Lemon.

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Sending each and every one of you love from the Mitten.



a dream

"We cannot walk alone."

Thank you for the reminder, Dr. King. Today and always, thank you.

Happy MLK Day, friends.

day30: three wonderful things that happened this month

1) A fun and delicious Thanksgiving dinner...with my other family.


Photo by Dustin Wilfert
Originally captioned, "Happy Thanksgiving, scumbags."
Yay for friends.


2) A much-needed four day weekend spent crafting, sleeping, and Netflix-ing. 

3) A date with the lovely Lauren...and Morgan, too.

Catching up with...

day29: someplace I'd like to visit

Some day, I will see mountains west of the Mississippi. Hello, National Parks.

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Mt. Zion National Park



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Yellowstone National Park

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Glacier National Park



I need an adventure.

Catching up with...

day28: a skill I'd like to learn

I would love to learn how to sew. If I knew how to sew (and had a sewing machine), the list of things I would stitch would be endless.

Here's the short list:

1) Aprons. One for every day of the week.

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2) Clothes. More specifically, an exact replica of Bonnie's entire wardrobe from Bonnie & Clyde.

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3) Throw pillows. So. Many. Throw pillows.



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In other words, I would most likely never leave my house.

Catching up with...