May 2013
31 posts
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“Choose the bigger life.”
– The Happiness Project
This is my new mantra.
What A Week of Groceries Looks Like Around the...
USA
Italy (look at all that bread!)
Chad
See the rest here.
“The greatest feeling is when you can scratch your ankles after you take off your...”
– The person I am voluntarily dating
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"What are you, a super big Republican or...
That’s what my boss said to me while I was talking about reading Atlas Shrugged and Fountainhead. Never mind the fact that Ayn Rand was a pro-choice atheist; she touted laissez-faire capitalism in her books so anyone who reads what she wrote must be a hardcore Republican.
I’m not here to comment on the rightness/wrongness of Rand’s philosophy of objectivism and I am certainly...
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Next time you lament the fact you don't work in a...
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“Give me books, French wine, fruit, fine weather and a little music played out of...”
– John Keats
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Books, movies & music
The Great Gatsby. 4/5 stars. Fantastic. Daisy’s a slore but Leo and his computer-enhanced eyes can get it all day err’day. Leo in his tan sweater. Leo in his pink suit. Leo should get an Oscar for the Dapper Gent category.
The Great Gatsby soundtrack. 10/5. HATS OFF, JAY. Can all music be bass-heavy and jazz-infused moving forward? Kthanks. “No Church in the Wild” is my favorite track. And I...
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“Cakes have gotten a bad rap. People equate virtue with turning down dessert....”
– Jeanne Ray
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Kid things
Double cookies & cream, mint creme, red velvet.
This is the actual best thing that has happened to me all week.
Adult things
So far today I have:
Finished a 2-hour workout by 10:30AM
Finally finished reading The Fountainhead (694 pages - jesus, Ayn, get to the point!)
Opened a joint checking account with Matt for when we move in together (throws up everywhere)
Matt took the GMAT this morning and did really well! (I know that’s technically not my accomplishment but since I’ve put up with test prep for months, I think...
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The halfway point
Today’s 130-minute bike ride marked the end of my tenth week of training, which is the halfway point. Ten weeks down. Ten to go.
I’ve noticed changes besides my body getting stronger. I rarely sleep past 6:30 now because I’m used to getting up at 5:15 for training. I’m getting less scared of the bike and that I’m going to flip over the handlebars and break my face. (Okay, still a little scared.)...
I found out yesterday that my cousin’s cousin died. She was 21 and packing up her college house to move out. She was about to graduate. They don’t know the cause yet. We weren’t close at all but I watched her grow up through the years, through birthday parties and Christmas Eves and summer barbecues. She was supposed to be a bridesmaid in my cousin’s wedding in 15 days. I...
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12 Beautiful World Heritage Sites →
1 down, 11 to go.
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“Alone had always felt like an actual place to me, as if it weren’t a state...”
– Wild, Cheryl Strayed
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“Look at you. You’re young. And you’re scared. Why are you so scared? Stop being...”
– Louise Flory
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Just had my first interaction with a baby...
Not an experience I wish to repeat.
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The world's best scrambled eggs
How to Scramble Eggs with Gordon Ramsay
Take four minutes and learn why everything you know about scrambling eggs is wrong.
Gordon Ramsay and tumblr told me how to scramble eggs.
I listened.
These are the best motheregging eggs I have ever eaten. I HAVE NEVER LOVED EGGS. I LOVE EGGS NOW. MAKE THESE. TODAY.
[Note: Both grocery stores I went to were out of creme fraiche so I just used...
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Afternoon willpower is a myth.
Work Partner made a big deal out of the fact I ran 9.5 miles before work yesterday. (It didn’t seem that crazy until I realized I’d been awake for 4 hours as I walked into the office.)
This is why I have to, have to work out before work:
Matt (this morning): you swim tonight, right?
Me: yes
Matt: okay never mind
Me: why?
Matt: i was going to suggest an after work drink
Me:...
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Day 60: Stinkeyeing the lifeguard
Last night I was at group swim and convinced myself THE LIFEGUARD HAD PIZZA.
For an hour straight, every time I lifted my head out of the water to take a breath (read: EVERY RIGHT STROKE) I inhaled the delicious scent of hot cheese pizza.
It was torture.
Turns out it wasn’t the lifeguard. I have no idea where the smell was coming from but her hands were pizza-free.
Don’t worry, I...
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I am officially going to South Africa July 5-July...
My family (plus boyf) are going on safari! Visiting Cape Town! Shark diving! Victoria Falls! Elephant riding! Kayaking through a bay to hang out with a colony of penguins! Wineries!
This vacation has been a longstanding dream of my family’s (especially Mom’s). It’s 429 days away but still, SO! PUMPED!
Hoping to recreate this exact shot on the trip.
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“Not all those who wander are lost.”
– J. R. R. Tolkien
29 days until the Grand Canyon. My feet have been on solid ground for far too long.
April 2013
52 posts
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I am losing my shit over this article entitled "NH...
The best part is not this accompanying photo.
It’s this caption:
Henry Gribbohm says he lost his life savings on a carnival game and all he got was this stuffed banana. (CBS)
Please watch the 2-minute news video. I promise it is GOLD.
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“Last week, millions watched as an entire city was shut down to look for one guy....”
– LZ Granderson, Treat Chicago gangs as terrorists
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A weekend of food is the best weekend.
If I first tell you I was able to pull this together (with the help of some lovely tumblr ladies) on Saturday night:
I hope you’ll be less likely to judge my state of adulthood when you look at this:
That’s right. Smile. Smile. Smile. Napping in the background. (Or just really into whatever Bon Jovi song was playing.) Smile. Smile. Smile. I have no excuses. I won’t even...
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wouldn't hate it.
oh, let’s get rich
and buy our parents homes in the south of france
let’s get rich
and give everybody nice sweaters and teach them how to dance
let’s get rich
and build a house on a mountain, making everybody look like ants
from way up there, you and i, you and i
“you and i”, ingrid michaelson
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I bet my mom thinks I'm an idiot sometimes.
Me: How much tan paint do we have left?
Mom: Maybe a half gallon.
Me: So not enough for an entire apartment?
Mom: Not even close.
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WE HAVE A HOME!
This just in, ladies and gents: Matt and I officially have an apartment [in an undisclosed location in Chicago] to live in come June 28th!
!!!!!!!!
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Day 53
Tonight you swam 2100 yards.
That’s race distance.
And it wasn’t that hard.
Remember that on Wednesday nights when you get home at 10PM, scarf down a baked potato for dinner and dive headfirst into bed so you can be up at 5 the next morning for a 90-minute bike ride.
On any given day, you can swim over a mile.
And it won’t be that hard.
Day 53: Swim; 60 minutes; 2100 yards
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Make sure you have stories.
happinesslists:
While pretending to study in Starbucks this afternoon an elderly man came out of nowhere and put a cup of coffee on my table and walked away. I didn’t notice until minutes later that a letter was attached underneath. It just happen to contain some of the best advice I’ve ever received and all from a stranger:
“I couldn’t help but notice you seemed stressed and exhausted and are...
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MJ
I found out this afternoon that my parents had to put down one of our family dogs, MJ, today. He was 15 and outlasted his sister by nine months but he was suffering so they had to make a tough choice.
In a way I was more prepared for this one than Holly’s (his sister) last summer. We were on a family vacation at the time and she’d been fine when we left and it came as a shock and I...
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37% of U.S. adults are unable to read children's...
That is the literacy “situation” in our country right now.
As I sat through my Open Books orientation, that statistic jolted me awake.
More than 1 in 3 adults. I had no idea because it’s not in my neighborhood or my place of work or my circle of friends.
But it’s in my city, my country.
I felt overwhelmed, powerless even though the Open Books Community Manager warned...
Monday through Thursday
We have been dating long enough that we’ve unintentionally developed a routine.
Sunday nights are fun in a low-key way. We might make dinner or watch a movie or I’ll read a book while he flips through magazines. Just before bed on Sunday night, I start to get sad.
Monday morning he gets up first, sometimes as early as 3:30, to get ready for this week’s flight. He tiptoes around his...
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Can I tell you about some of the health/fitness...
I’m doing it anyway.
Fooducate: This is one of my favorites. You can scan almost any food item barcode and it will grade that item’s healthiness from A+ to F. It’s everything I’ve ever wanted. I don’t want to read labels or count calories or any of that shit. Just tell me how much damage a bag of Doritos is doing (D+). And when I get an unexpected “A”...
