Wine

Lately I have been taking a liking to wine. Before I used to drink it because it looked good sipping it out of the fancy glass and I felt "classy", although how classy was it when the only wine I could afford was Franzia, and also one of my Facebook interests was "taking wine to the face".... Hmm that pretty much sums it up. Still with my entry level job salary, my price point ranges from $9.99-12.99. Surprisingly there is a large selection at this price point but of course I usually go for one that is on sale or the one with a cute label. Yes I often fall into the consumer marketing trap. I rarely purchase white, I feel like the cheap whites taste cheap, probably the same in life...hehe.
So my next question is when is drinking wine appropriate. If you ask my dad he would say anytime, lunch, dinner, weekend, weekday, a glass, 2 glasses..... I on the other hand have a few times when I don't feel good about drinking it. By myself, I am slowly getting over this but I think wine is a beverage that should be sipped on in the company of others. The other time is when I am going out to Partay, it is hard to chug Red wine... Back to work, please leave comments:) Next blog post "To pee or not to pee in the shower, that is the question" We had a lengthy debate on this the other night. Until next time..... I will try to write more frequently:)

Plants

First it's being able to keep a plant alive, then maybe you can have a dog, then a house then maybe you are ready for a baby (don't worry I am no where near that).... Somewhere in there insert a man. I am at step one, plant! For Valentines day I got 2 plants from my Dad. I tried hard to keep them alive but both died within the month. They were neglected on weekends and barley tended to on weekdays. I thought I would give it another shot. I recently purchased a basil plant and within a day it went from caprese salad ready to wilted, brown and sad. So I thought to myself maybe it was just the plant. Just one more.... This time a healthy mint plant to make mojitos of course. Purchased on Monday, watered Tuesday, Thursday, forgot Saturday and Sunday, dead Monday!! Clearly not the plant's fault. Moral of the story I should not get a dog, house, baby or man... Maybe the 5th plant is the charm, or should I get a cactus, no need to water....???

Volunteering

I spend an hour a week volunteering at the Samaritan House, a shelter for homeless that helps people get back on thier feet. My position is "clothing room attendant" basically I am a personal shopper for the homeless, the fashionista in me comes out. Really I just chat with people and help them find what they are looking for. Most of the people are in such good sprits too. I love talking with them and hearing thier stories. One lady was an engineer with 2 degrees making oodles of money and was laid off. She clearly made some poor financial decisions to land herself in the shelter but it's tough out there! Another guy yesterday said he went to the doctor to get the battery replaced in his pace maker but they won't replace it for him becuase he is a recovering addict.... hmmm not sure about this one, this touches the health care subject which I really don't want to get into right now. Anyway, I love talking to these people, they always lift my mood! If I am having a bad day, or week it is always refreshing to hear their stories, see thier smiles and know that I got it pretty good.
Cheers,
Lauren

Drive and Flirt

So my commute from work has been the death of me lately. I get in the car happy to leave work and get out of the car trembling with traffic anger! So I have been trying to come up with solutions to make it better. One I have been practicing the past few weeks I like to call the drive and flirt..... I have been going so slowly that I actually have the time to roll past cars and check out the person in the vehicle. So if I roll past someone good looking I try to keep up with them, if that means a few lane changes so be it, you gotta do what you gotta do. Then I will go with the wink the second time around (ok ok so I haven't really gotten to the wink stage) but maybe it will happen one of these days. Or should I make a sign saying "get off the next exit, your cute..." Thoughts??
So I actually came up with a real solution to this traffic jam chaos. I joined a gym next to work so I can go directly after work, avoid rush hour, save some of my sanity and still get a rockin bod. Finally all that college is paying off.
Newly single coming up with ways to meet people can be tricky. I mean I met my last boyfriend at Safeway, random I know (clean up on isle 3 just bumped into eachother). I actually think the grocery store is a great place to meet someone. Throw out the line "what are you cooking for dinner tonight" or "oh wow I see peppers in your basket, you must be a spicy kinda guy" haha nice lines Lauren, I am sure those would work... NOT. I don't believe that this drive and flirt is going to make the cut either... I need something else. Meeting guys at the bar, not so great especially after a few cocktails when everyone looks a little better and they become funnier as the night goes on. I joined 2 soccer teams, no one has caught my eye, mostly an older crowd. Hmmm not sure but I welcome any suggestions and please do not say Match.com.

The small things

An update on the swimming. I took the plunge again yesterday this time I was fully prepared. New one piece, matching swim cap, and goggles. At least the second time I looked the part, still working on the acutally learning how to swim part though, stay tuned.... I am taking a brief moment from working to write on my glorious blog:) Today we are having a little St. Paddy's Day party. I know it makes no sense, the holiday is not until next Wednesday. But of course I had to deck myself out with green, green shirt, headband, necklace and to top it off a green tutu. Let's just say I am the best dressed in the office. This weekend there is a parade and I am partaking in the Running of the Green, a 7k running race (I will be running in my tutu). It's the small things in like that make me happy. Like yesterday at work I was walking to the bathroom and had an urge to do a heel click, yep I did one and it made me smile:) Then today at work with my tutu on I ran down the hall, testing it out before the 7k run, it made me smile. Yes it's the small things..... Do something today that makes you SMILE:)

Swimming

Oh boy I haven't been writing.... It's amazing how others things take priority. I have signed up for a Half Iron Man. I am not sure what I was thinking when I made the decision. I have began to train, starting with a sad 2 miles of running, a little spinning and learning how to swim. I headed to the pool yesterday and must have felt a overwhelming sense of confidence.... I tried out the Masters Swim Class. I should have seen the word MASTERS and cowered in a corner but no! I put on my bikini, threw my hair in a bun, asked the front desk for some goggles and headed to the pool. Needless to say I did not fit in.... haha everyone was wearing there super tight one piece suits, swim caps and special goggles. I hopped right in the pool like a regular and began swimming the crawl. OOOPHHH it was a little harder I than I remembered... last time I swam laps like that was when I was 7 on swim team. I didn't last the whole time but have plans to do this class twice a week. So tomorrow I think I need to do a little shopping, one piece, swim cap and fancy goggles! I should probably attach a picture when I have one... I am laughing as I write thinking about this look, I better get one good looking suit and swim cap!!!

The Roller Coaster Called "LIFE"

I have always been a thrill seeker, this includes riding various amusement park rides including the roller coaster as well as the other thrills in like, skiing fast down a steep slope, scaling a rock face, driving on an icy pass with awful tires, traveling thousands of miles away from home.... I would like to continue to embark on more of these thrilled filled journeys.
So does this mean life throws thrills right back at me? It seems to lately, job searching was a roller coaster in itself. Applying!!! , getting an interview!!!, being rejected:(, hearing nothing back:(, feeling good about the interview!!!, being rejected again:(. Relationships, start of a new relationship!!!! Coasting along:(, new adventures together!!!, realizing it's not working:(, Breaking up:(. Friends and Family, getting along great!!! People getting too involved in your problems:(, Drifting away:(, having great people to rely on!! ............. the list could go on the the point is clear, there are ups and downs with everything and I am learning how best to deal with them. If only everything and everyday could be ice cream and smiles!!
My goal of positivity in 2010 has not started off great I have to admit. As we are already well into February I need to step back and reevaluate. I have recently begun volunteering at the Samaritan House, a place that the homeless come to get help getting back on their feet. I think this will help me realize that there are people way worse off than me. Don't sweat the small stuff, use those shock absorbers to make those bumps in the road as smooth as a baby's bottom. I want to be the person people look to for continual positive energy, so ba boom today is the day to begin!!
Begin something new today:)

Morning workouts and hump day

I would not call myself a morning person. Today I set that alarm clock an hour earlier and braved the outside world before the sun came up. I went to an amazing workout class at the gym I joined. Update from previous blog post, I joined Qi they have a sampling of great classes but their specialty is spin-yoga, this is 30 mins of intense spin and 30 mins of yoga. It is a great workout. I have to say it wasn't as bad as I thought getting up and working out. I am going to try to make this an everyday occurence, or at least a few times a week.
Today is what everyone in the working world calls Hump day. Hmmmm before I really thought about the true meaning the naughty thought came into my head, sorry for being immature. But in light of hump day I have put together a little potluck dinner that will happen every other Wednesday. The idea is to switch hosts and location as well as themes/food. I am starting with Mexican at my place. I thought it would be easy to prepare. I am sure we will get more creative as we go. So happy Hump Day to all:)

A Lauren Update

I haven't written in a while. The holidays have passed and I am on week 3 of the new job, time flies! Quick update, not that anyone reads my blog really but it will be a great resource for when I have Alzheimers and forget what I did yesterday. The holidays were good, I wore the smurf suit quite a bit, for those of you whom are comfused, the blue ski instructing uniform. We still are completely lacking in snow, I am actually getting excited for spring, grilling, Rockies games, pool time, bike riding around the park, but I guess we will have to pray for a little snow since it's only January. I didn't gain holiday weight... I think this was a combination of skiing a lot and avoiding holiday parties.
New Years Resolution: To stay positive, be a more postive person! I got bugged down with too much negativity last year.. So now you ask how is the JOB? So far so good! I am loving the people I work with and that is 99% of it. To stay on track with my New Years Resolution I am not going to complain about the traffic and commute to and from work, enough said. I have started to get into a routine, work, workout, dinner, bed. Goal of the week: to be less lame!
Signing out,
Lauren