thoughts on tuesday: recent goings-on

last week was busy busy busy, and there are some things i want to write pertaining to those great few days. but right now i just want to unload my brain a little bit :)

last night i went to a zumba class for the first time in a really long time. i've been meaning to go for literally months--i've been researching all these places and keeping tabs on schedules and trying to work up the nerve and the motivation to actually go. well, yesterday i did it (after i slept late on my birthday and missed my original first attempt). but the point is that i went, and it felt so great to go back. the music started and i was moving in those familiar latin rhythms and it was awesome.

several months ago, we heard about jolley's pharmacy in salt lake. while it is a functioning pharmacy that has been around for 60 years, it is also an adorable gift and floral shop. so, mom and i made a trip and found some really cute things. a couple weeks ago we went again and found more cute things. yesterday i went again, by myself, because there was one really cute thing that i just couldn't forget about. i limited myself to only getting that one thing (which was too expensive for its own good anyway), but there were other things that i would have gladly left with. oh, jolley's. you're a gem.

speaking of gems, on saturday i was driving home from work, and i took a different route due to my lunch choices, and i passed this cute store.

it didn't look quite like that when i passed--i would have pulled over right then to check out that rainbow cart thing--but still. super cute. so, naturally, i stopped after work yesterday just to see what could be seen. i ended up with a heart-shaped teacup and saucer, but, again, there were other things that i would have gladly left with. because emilie jayne is a consignment shop, the prices are really reasonable--there were some great furniture pieces in great condition that i was seriously debating. i'll probably need to make another trip sometime soon since my house has almost no furniture or decoration (outside of my room, of course).

the weather has been so lovely lately! i hate being stuck inside when it's so great outside. on sunday i took advantage of it and went on a walk in the neighborhood. i'm a fan of walks, and i saw a lot of cool stuff. one of the things i really love about this area is that the old houses have so much character; people really pay attention to the details.

 

 

i ended up walking for about an hour, which was actually kind of a long time, and i wore my saltwaters for the first time, which was probably kind of a bad idea. and i had to rush home to watch nancy and tonya, the awesome olympics documentary. i mean, figure skating was made for drama, am i right? but anyway, it was the first of many sugarhouse walks.

 

there has been a lot of reorganization in my house lately, which led to a lot of anxiety for me. i think it ended up that i am moving to the master bedroom this weekend; i'm still not sure how that happened, but i'm not going to complain. it does mean i'm going to have a whole new space to work with! 

thoughts on saturday

how is this my first february post? february is the best, and i haven't even acknowledged it in social media yet! valentine's day is arguably the cutest holiday, this february has been pretty moderate, so far, weatherwise, and of course the coolest people have birthdays this month. i think having a february birthday is actually a pretty good thing, because it peps me up enough that i usually avoid the february doldrums that some people seem to suffer.

i'm feeling like it's almost time to read harry potter again. it's been too long since i've been immersed in harry potter, and my life could use a little bit of that magical wizarding world right now.

i keep buying notecards and thank you cards. i can't help it! why are there so many beautiful notes out there? is there any possible way that i can actually send all these out? i don't know that many people. and think of the postage costs! but, the thing is, i really do want to send notes and cards to people. so, if you want to get a beautiful, thoughtful note from me, just let me know. i have plenty of  stationery options to choose from :)

this week i got some cardio in by watching this amazing jane fonda aerobics video. i have a deep love for aerobics, but it's been awhile since i've done one of these. so classic! the outfits alone are priceless. but the best/worst part was that the next day i was so sore! my calves are still tight and it's been four days. that jane fonda, man--she knows how to get you working.

oh, the olympics. here again to take over my life. more later.

have i told you guys yet about my quilt? well, i'm quilting. i'm almost done with the top, too, and it's pretty awesome. i have to take frequent breaks or else i get overwhelmed by weird perfectionist tendencies (i don't get it--i am not really a perfectionist. i like to do a good job, yes, and i work hard, but i'm not someone who has to control every detail. but the sewing thing makes me really self-conscious, for some reason. that probably says some things about me, but let's not get into it.), but it's coming along nicely. i'm excited to get it done and have a real thing, that i sewed, to have and use.

oh, and can i just say how bummed i am that the third series of sherlock is over, just like that, and i am once again without benedict cumberbatch? three episodes is not enough! not nearly enough!

thoughts on thursday

for the past few weeks, i've been going to water aerobics a couple times a week with mom. i am, by far, the youngest person there, since probably most people my age are either at work or school or getting ready for one of those at 8 in the morning. just another aspect of this funny time in my life. but water aerobics is pretty cool. it's exercising without really realizing that you are. probably the best moment, though, was last week when we warmed up to a version of "mmmbop"--i'm fairly certain i was the only one who knew the song. rec center water aerobics: always a good time.

now that i have a job, i'm all of a sudden in the market for a car. it feels weird. so many things are happening! pretty soon, i'll have my own medical insurance and my own car payment and i'll be living in a place where i probably won't know anyone. life is crazy. but back to the car: i really wish i could get a little suv, but i don't know if that will happen. so yeah, that's going on. i'm looking to become a car owner.

i'm listening to the new avett brothers album on npr's first listen as i type. can i just say that it is one of the greatest saddnesses in my life right now that i most likely won't be able to see them anytime soon? so good.

i got this book/kit from amazon last week. i like to doodle, and i would love to be able to do some hand lettered, hand doodled art projects. since i had just gotten the kit the day before, my notes from conference are the most artistic they've ever been.

i downloaded the app duolingo earlier this week and now i'm learning how to speak french. on my phone. so far it's pretty cool, and the lessons get pretty advanced as you go along. i'm kind of excited about it. anybody want to speak french with me when i can actually hold a conversation? maybe next i'll try to master german.

last week the last season of the office went up on netflix, and, naturally, i watched it in about three days. and i cried in probably a third of the episodes. it's still really bittersweet that it's over, even though the ending was perfect.

why haven't i made this my cover photo yet??

i'm still deep into the old testament. i'm hoping things spice up a little bit soon, because numbers and deuteronomy and joshua, while informative, were pretty dry. but i will be vigilant!

i also need to recap conference, which was amazing. coming soon! in the meantime, life is still good. happy thursday!

wii like to party

on friday, as meredith and i were sitting at rubio's eating her birthday lunch, somehow the conversation turned to the wii. probably we were commiserating the end of zumba for the semester and wondering what the heck we were going to do for the whole month of december without it. i'm always talking about how much i love playing just dance, so i was probably saying that i wished we could just get a wii and play it anytime we wanted and stay in shape that way. "haha, yeah, let's buy a wii!" "i mean, we could just go to walmart right now haha."

and then we weren't laughing anymore. instead, we were sharing a very intent look. wait, we could actually do that. how much is a wii anyway? are we going to do this? i think we're buying a wii?!?

so i went off to class and meredith went home to compare prices.

and when i got home we purchased this baby.

and seriously, it was $120. one hundred twenty dollars. sixty bucks each. it was a steal of a deal, and it came with just dance 4 already! what could be better! it made so much sense.

i made the purchase online and then we picked it up from the store maybe an hour later. and, due to a dance party delay, we were dancing our hearts out the next day, the proud owners of a brand new wii, our first ever game system.

i'm still in a state of blissful shock. here's to the wii!

best compliment ever {part two}

i've been doing zumba for a few years now, and, while i don't pretend to be a dancer of any kind, i think i'm okay at it. it's especially nice to know, for the most part, what the moves are and how the songs go. so anyway, yesterday we did zumba pump, which is always awesome. we were putting our equipment away, and this conversation went down.

lady in grey t-shirt behind me: you were doing so well!
me: oh! thank you!
ligt-sbm: i was watching you the whole time, and i was thinking, if i follow her, i'll be doing it!       you were so good at it!
me: oh! thank you!

i was clearly speechless in the glow of her praise. looks like all those years of aerobics and zumba are starting to pay off!