writing

What makes me feel like me!

| cheriarmour

Yesterday, after work when I realized I could sit at my desk for like another 3 hours and still not have everything I wanted done done, I felt completely overwhelmed.  I’d promised myself I would get out of my chair and hop on the treadmill for a few minutes, and when it came time, I was trying to convince myself that I didn’t need to, instead, that I could just answer more emails.

I was irritable, my throat was tight, and I just wanted to hide in a fort of my own making.  Like sheets and stuff.  Those were the best, right?  Except my mom would never let us sleep in them.  BOO.  So I hopped on the treadmill for a few minutes, and the funk, the fog, started to lift.

While I was on there, I got to thinking about things that make me feel most like me, things that ground me.

  • Painting my nails.  

IMG_3192I don’t have a ton of time, nor do I have a ton of money.  The act of painting my nails itself is fine, and I’ve perfected the art of gelling my nails so I get a little more than a day or two of wear out of my nails.  But something about having my nails done makes me feel so pulled together, even if I’m just wearing tights and a tank top.

  • Running…after the first few miles.  I think running can be tricky for me because I feel like such a fat idiot for the first few moments.  But once I hit my stride – once I sort of hit a good rhythm – which can be after 4 miles during a long run, or after 10 minutes – I feel like a lot of problems are a LOT more solve-able, and I can break things down in my head.  I’ve saved myself (and the world) from many a meltdown.
  • Doing creative things.  I like to write. I like to draw.  Sometimes paint.  Performing live.  And whenever I do any of these things, I start to feel most at peace and like myself.  During the time when we were engaged, I struggled really heavily with anxiety, and being able to look at paper, draw, address envelopes, and put things together really grounded me.
Card
I LOVE writing letters too.
  • Teaching classes.  I’ll let you in on a little secret.  Fitness instructors don’t always want to teach.  But just after the warm up, something takes over me, and I recognize my role as the exercise tour guide is exactly where I want to be.  I’ll smile, dance, touch, and encourage, and I feel like a million bucks after.
  • Cooking for people.  This also falls into the same category as creative stuff.  But I feel like I have purpose when I can cook for people – my husband, my brother, and his roommates, and have them enjoy it.  It’s the weird maternal part of me that I didn’t really think I had.
  • Being honest with my husband.  Spending time with my husband.  Holding Austin’s hand.  Playing and being silly with Austin.  Rubbing his back.  Having him rub my feet.  Doing our funny jokes, which are maybe only funny to us.  Going to the beach with him.  This is me.  This is us.  I love this stuff.  And I’m so happy that he can help me get both feet on the ground, when sometimes they feel like they don’t go.

So this is me.  This list is by no means exhaustive.  I will maybe keep adding to this and referencing this post.  But I want to know.  What makes you feel like you?  

 

I wish I had a picture for you today….

| cheriarmour

But I really don’t want to spoil how great my ink for the save-the-dates looks. So in its place, I give you this.
photo 3A picture of mah boo-thang on the cover of Rolling Stone.  I was gonna steal this issue from my parents’ house, but I forgot 😦  luckily I had this to keep me company.

Yes, ladies and gents, this is the highlights from Justin Bieber’s deposition video. For a really really good laugh, and if you’re at work, fast forward to 1:50, and have a laugh at Mr. Bieber’s quote. But really, watch the whole thing because it’s incredible.

Moving right along!

Okay, so I was really really disturbed by something yesterday morning when I woke up and checked the blogs like I usually do.

So I wake up, check the blogs, and one of my favorite mom-bloggers, Natalie Hodson, had revealed that she had been the victim of girl on girl crime, that another blogger had straight-up plagiarized her work by lifting a post, and changing one or two words, and I was shocked.

Yes, blogging is a job, but it’s a fun job!  Why on earth would anyone plagiarize?  It’s not school, you don’t get a grade for it.  And I got to thinking about how casual I am with my work.  I don’t watermark my photos.  I only google myself occasionally.  I’ve freely sent blog posts back and forth (and to some really really cool bloggers) without a thought.  And I’ve put my stuff out on the internet without a thought ant anyone would ever plagiarize.

Maybe it’s cause my writing sucks.

Or maybe I’m too trusting.

But either way, that realization that people actually do that really gave me the creeps.

Have you had any dealings with plagiarism?  How have you handled it? 

I’m stealing.

| cheriarmour

I know that I usually do my Here’s What posts on Fridays but I’m not feeling particularly passionate about anything (I told you guys I had a rough day at work yesterday), and I feel like, rather than force myself to concoct a list when I’m not really feeling it, why not just chat with you guys?

First, a little news!

We ordered my wedding dress yesterday, and the sketch for my save-the-dates was emailed over to me today.  After that, all I do is take them to the print shop, and they can get sent out after it’s sent to me via PDF.  If the weekend passes and I tell you that I haven’t gathered addresses, please come to my house, kick down the door, and strap me to the couch until it gets done.  But it’s getting real, and it’s exciting and scary and so cool all the same time!  I want the day to be here and I don’t all at the same time.  Eeep eep eeep eep!

Now, I’m stealing. 

I stole this over from Krystyn at Chits and Giggles, (hope you don’t mind, babe!), but I love love loved the thought behind the post.

If you could get paid do anything you want, what would you do?

I love it because that’s the question that really indicates what you’d be doing if you could do it.

So what would I be doing?

DSC_0034Some of it, I do.  I teach Zumba classes a few times as week which I love.

But if I could do anything, anything in the world and get paid for it, I would….

….Blog mostly.  Blog and travel and read other blogs, take photos and blog some more.

DSC_0035…Run. I would run and probably run faster if I thought that there would be some money attached to the deal.

…Travel.  Since I was a kid, one of the best parts of any trip is the stay in the hotel room, and nothing about that has changed.  If I got to travel around everywhere, run and blog about it, and sleep in delicious hotel beds, I would do it in a heartbeat.

So, that brings me to this.  What would you do if you got paid for it?