Guilty Pleasures... Minus the Guilt

So, I have recently rediscovered three of my "guilty pleasures", only there's very little (if any) guilt involved. I have been spending more of my time in these pursuits and find myself to be more relaxed and at ease when indulging in these pleasures.

Pleasure #1 - Crochet

Back in September I found myself itching to do something productive with my hands. I decided to look through my stash of yarn and came across a skein that was just asking to be made into a scarf. I found a particularly interesting pattern in my crafting library and set to work. I took it with me to a friend's house and worked on it while watching season four of The Big Bang Theory. A couple of weeks later I had this:

But the itch was still there. It was getting closer to Christmas time so I returned to my stash of yarn and crafting library, this time focusing on Christmas related items. I found something that piqued my interest and set to work again. The weekend before Christmas I had this to wear to church:

And it looked like this with my awesome gray dress:

I was very pleased with my recent creations and enjoyed showing them off, but it was time for me once again to make something for someone else. I was given the perfect opportunity for that since I went to Utah for Christmas weekend and my little brother had recently become engaged to a wonderful woman. I wanted to make something for my future sister-in-law, Adria, so I found out her favorite color, had some help in picking the perfect yarn, and fell back on one of the easiest patterns I know to make her this in less than two days:

Yep, it's a scarf and here she is wearing it right after I finished it:

It was kind of funny because she saw me making it, asked what it was, but didn't know it was for her. Once I finished it she said, "It's beautiful." I replied, "I'm glad you like it because it's yours!"

You'd think that would satisfy my itch for crochet, but there are still more projects asking to be done (like the afghan for a dear friend that I started over three years ago and really only have to piece it together to finish it). This video says it better than I ever could:



Thanks, David, for sharing this video with me!

Pleasure #2 - Puzzles

I enjoy working on puzzles of all kinds. The make me feel like I am still using my brain instead of letting it atrophy. Sure, I use my brain at work, but it's not quite to the level of challenging most of the time. I was recently feeling the need to pull out one of my puzzles that have been sitting in the box waiting for the day that I would challenge myself and find the picture in the chaos. I pulled it out one night a couple of weekends ago when I had nothing going on and need a distraction from the worry that had come upon me. I was not planning on becoming as focused as I did but the next thing I know it's after 3AM and had this for a finished product:

Yep, that's the Salt Lake City Temple and I finished the whole puzzle on my own in less than 12 hours. I left it sitting on my coffee table for a couple of days trying to decide what to do now that it was all put together. I could have used the puzzle glue, framed it, and put it on display but I really wanted to start another puzzle without having to mess with all of that first. So, I grabbed the box, took it apart, and put it away to repeat another time. I am working on another puzzle, this one of a castle, but it's taking me a little bit longer. I enjoy the process even when I can't seem to find the piece I'm looking for though I've picked up every piece at least four times! There's a particular pleasure that comes when I do find that piece and have even taken to giving the smallest of audible shouts for joy at those times no matter if I'm alone or have a friend over. I will finish this puzzle, and when I will proceed onto the next puzzle!

Pleasure #3 - Reading!!!

I am a librarian by education but not by profession (thanks a lot, economy!) but that does not deter my love of books and reading. With my new job as a Data Analyst, which I started on Halloween 2011, I occasionally find myself having some free time at work. I do my work but sometimes the work comes in slower than what I'm able to finish. For a while, I was very strict on myself as far as staying focused on work even though I would have nothing to do for hours on end. I was going stark-raving-mad! I was extremely stressed! I needed something that I felt was productive to do while waiting for more work to come in. So, even though I have shelves full of books I haven't quite gotten to I splurged and bought the last book in Christopher Paolini's Inheritance Cycle

My reading dry-spell seemed to have been broken. I finished Inheritance by the first full week in December. I had a bit of an incentive to finish it because I was flying to San Francisco the second week in December and while I wanted to take something along to read on the flights that book was a bit big for the journey. Luckily I had plenty more to read. My little sister, Frances, had brought some of her books over when she came for Thanksgiving because she'd been bugging me to read them for a while and that was the easiest way for me to get my hand on them. By now you're like likely asking "what books?" and wishing I'd hurry up and tell you. Well, without further adieu, I give you:

These were some of the best books I have ever read!!! I started reading The Hunger Games on my flight from Denver to Phoenix and continued it on the unexpectedly extended flight from Phoenix to San Francisco. Having that book with me was such a blessing! I became so engrossed in the story that the flights seemed to just fly by (ha ha, pun intended!). I flew out Tuesday night, flew back Friday night, and finished reading book one early Saturday morning. The very next day I started reading book two, Catching Fire. I had to know what happened next! I took it with me to work and on my flight to Salt Lake City to spend Christmas with the family. My timing was impeccable since I finished reading the last sentence as the plane came in to land. Thank goodness I had the foresight to bring book three along on the journey so I could start reading Mocking Jay on my flight home. (I couldn't really start it while in Utah since my time was taken up by Pleasure #1 as well as helping Mom and Dad, spending time with family, and occasionally sleeping.) I don't remember exactly when I finished Mocking Jay, but I do know it was before the new year. Three books in less than three weeks - my reading mojo is officially back and here to stay!!!

I have read at least two more books since completing The Hunger Games. Instead of going out and spending money on books I really do want to read I decided to peruse my shelves to see what I could find.

Meet the Billy twins (they are a bit fuller now than when this pic was taken last summer). They are home to most of my personal library though I still have quite a few books in boxes and may need to turn the twins into triplets at some point. I settled on a book my big sister, Katie, gave me for Christmas 2009 and began to devour Let the Great World Spin. The storytelling in this book was eye-opening. It's told from several different perspectives but everyone is connected in someway. Discovering the connections was a big part of the magic that sucked me into this book. That book took me about two weeks to finish (I'd become busy at work and life was dealing me some emotional blows at that time) but once I was done I knew exactly which book to pick up next.

Christmas of 2009 Katie gave Frances a book as well. I managed to find a copy at Goodwill and added to my library The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Oh! My! Goodness! I finished this book in less than three days and discovered a new favorite literary character in Miss Juliet Ashton. I don't know what more to say than I absolutely LOVED this book!!! Now I have moved back to the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series which I started back in early 2010 but failed to continue until now. I'm over halfway through book two and can hardly wait to find out what happens next. Books three and four are patiently waiting on the shelf and I will get my hands on book five one way or another.

As you can tell I have found a few things to help me relax and move forward with life. I was really tense for a while, so much so that one of my friends who gives really good back massages could not make a difference when working on me. This past weekend that same friend was able to work out one of the larger knots in my back and commented on how much more relaxed I am now (he thinks it's because of all the reading I've been doing lately and I am inclined to agree).

There are many more things I want to do, many more books I want to read. I feel like my rediscovery of these little pleasures are helping me rediscover my identity. I am not the same person that moved away from Louisiana nearly five years ago, but there are still parts of that person in me that got buried in all the flirting and socializing along the way. I am still flirtatious and social, but I have returned to my pleasures in order to maintain who I really am.

Turn and Face the Change

Change happens much faster than I could have ever anticipated. It was my intention for 2011 to write at least 2 blog posts for each month yet this is my first post in 4 months, it's now 2012, and I have a lot of catching up to do.

September:

• Got to see Les Miserables with my big sis for her birthday. The production was amazing as was getting to spend time with Katie.
• Finally got to go to the Taste of Colorado with a good friend. I was going through a bit of a rough patch (basically, the Louise to my Thelma walked away from our friendship and made me feel like it was because of something I did) and my good friend worked to help me feel better.
• Went to my first professional hockey game (Avalanche) with amazing friends and made it on the big screen for at least a minute! That was a dang good time!!!

October:

• Lots of meetings, spending time with friends, helping my sister with her kids, and trying to keep up with life.
• Found out my little brother is in a serious relationship - through Facebook!
• Applied for a permanent job as a Data Analyst at InterCall.
• Temp assignment with InterCall ended early (I worked myself right out of a job).
• Had a first and second interview for Data Analyst job before leaving the company.
• Got another temp assignment through Office Team staffing agency at Baxa Corporation.
• Found out my big brother is in a serious relationship - through Facebook!!
• While working at Baxa had interview for a job at a logistics company, Baxa wanted to interview me, and was offered the Data Analyst job.
• Spent time with the whole fam when they came to town for my niece's birthday and baptism (my own mother didn't recognize me that morning though I was front and center).
• Danced up a storm at the annual Halloween Dance.
• Started my new, permanent job at InterCall on Halloween!!!! I'm on salary, baby!!!

November:

• Discovered with the new job comes the benefit of getting to work from home, especially when it snows like crazy!
• Celebrated Grandma's 90th birthday with the fam.
• Spent more and more time with friends.
• Learned more about my job and how amazing it feels to be supporting myself with a regular paycheck.
• Had a nice Thanksgiving with my family.
• Avoided the craziness of Black Friday!

December:

• Got to try Stake 'N Shake for the first time - loved it!!!
• Little brother got engaged!
• Came down with a cold that really knocked me off my feet (missed church for the first time in ages).
• Spent lots of time with good friends several times each week.
• Went to San Francisco on a business trip. It was a good trip business wise, but quite lonely...
• Got to see one of my good friends get married in the temple.
• Met little brother's fiance. Pretty awesome girl - she has to be to fit into my crazy family.
• Went to Utah for Christmas - two crazy days of family time!
• Dancing and partying with friends to bring an amazing end to 2011

So, there you have it. That's the synopsis of what I failed to blog about the last 4 months. There is quite a bit more that I left out, but that involves some very delicate emotions and basically, it's nun'ya! Suffice it to say that I am in a much better place at the beginning of this year than I was last year. I have a full-time job, good friends, my family, a place to call my own, and the faith to turn and face the change!

~~~Bring on 2012~~~

Becoming Jeane

Over the past few weeks I've had the chance to reflect on just how much I have changed since I moved here 4 years ago and even the changes I've experienced over the past few months. Often these reflections would come as I visit with my friends here in Colorado, most of whom I've only recently become close to. Those who knew me when I was growing up in Louisiana knew me as a quiet, reserved girl who very rarely would open up to those around her. Even in college I was quiet and shy and would often spend most of my free time at home by myself. When I moved to Colorado I decided that this was an opportunity for me to reinvent myself and I would make an effort to be more outgoing. But this change was in no way immediate. Though I was making more of an effort to be social I was still very reserved and kept to myself more than I reached out. I went to the church activities but left feeling just as alone as always. Slowly I became friends with people at church, more because of their efforts than my own.

I remember having a conversation with my good friend Ashlee one night. I was having a rough time and was frustrated with dating or more accurately the lack there of. She encouraged me to be more outgoing and flirt more with all the guys. My response to this: I don't know how to flirt. Fast forward to today. I am now one of the more flirtatious among my friends and quite enjoy my adventures in shameless flirting. Those who've met me within the last few months have a very hard time believing that I wasn't always this way. I even like flirting with all the
guys and seeing the different reactions that come from everyone.

There have been other things that have changed about me since I moved here but I think the flirting is the best example of how I have become the Jeane I am today. And what's even better is that I feel more comfortable with who I am than I ever have before. There will likely be times when someone around me doesn't like the way I act or what I say or who I am but the way I see it that's there problem. I am who I am at all times. I don't change who I am because that would make me a hypocrite. Plus, I know there are plenty of people out there who like me just the way I am.

On The Passage of Time...

I realized today that it's been 5 weeks since my last post. I want to post more often but several things happened all at once leaving me no time to blog. Since my last post I have started working again. I was talking with Katie on day about how I really needed a job when my phone rang. It was the staffing agency I interviewed with back in May telling me they had a long term temp assignment for me. What a tender mercy! I started the assignment on July 25. It's with a small-ish company called InterCall in Highlands Ranch. This is my 4th week there and though the pay isn't as much as I was making and it's only temporary (through about the end of the year) I am loving it so much more than my time spent at Dish Network. I work with some amazingly fun people and the atmosphere is so much more laid back. Granted, the work could be more interesting to me but for now it's a source of income and a means to occupy my time.

In addition to working again I'm still being kept very busy with church responsibilities and finding time for family and friends. The week that I started working turned out to be very, very busy for me. A dear friend needed some cheering up so I decided to have a movie night at my place. Well, my place was still a bit disorganized so I had to do my best to make it presentable. I needed bookcases more than anything else so my friend Candi and I made the quickest IKEA run ever at 8:30 on a Thursday night ( IKEA Centennial had just opened the day before) after I got off work, went to the grocery store, went to see my nephew for his birthday, and played volleyball at church. I got the bookcases I wanted and it was quite the trip getting them into my car. I hadn't exactly thought everything through so I wasn't sure how I'd get these long, heavy boxes into my apartment. I decided to call a friend who lives just a few miles from me to see if he and his brother would mind helping me. He agreed so I was able to get my twins named Billy into my apartment and put together without killing myself in the process. Thank you so very much Candi for going with me and helping me piece together my furniture and to Ryan and Eric for willingly being the muscle when I really needed it. (Yes Mom and Katie, I have learned how to ask for help from men!) Anyway, on Friday I still had lots of cleaning to do before people started coming over and I had to work. Luckily, I found out that on Fridays at my new job most people worked through their lunch break and left early. This was exactly what I needed because I had so much to do at home. I some how got everything done and was able to enjoy the company of friends.

The next day I went down to my aunt and uncle's place in LaJunta for a visit. My cousin Philip had just returned from his two year mission to Argentina so I figured it was a good reason to go Katie, et al, came down too and John even made the trip up from Lubbock. It was really nice getting to spend time with family though I couldn't stay long. We had a bbq on Saturday and went to church with them on Sunday to hear Philip speak. After the meeting we took some pictures and then I headed back north so I could make it to my own church meetings (I made pretty good time too). It was a good thing I did go back for my own meetings because I ended up being the only member of the Relief Society presidency there for all 3 hours. It was a little frustrating and I was exhausted but it was a good day.

There have been other things going on in my life. I've got an amazing new friend (she's the Louise to my Thelma) and I don't know what I'd do without her right now. There has been much shameless flirting on my part. It's my new favorite pastime and I've got some awesome stories from it too (perhaps in another post...). Some of you who read this know quite a bit about some of the other things going on with me right now. For the rest of you, all I'll say is that I'm waiting right now and if/when I have something more to tell, rest assured that I'll let you know. In the meantime know that I am happy with my life and am very glad I stayed in the southern suburbs.

The Nephew Test

Yesterday I went to my sister's to watch the older 3 kids while she took the little p-nut to the doctor to get a cast on his arm (the crazy kid broke it while playing on the trampoline). I hadn't seen them in over a week because they'd gone out of town to visit family and I really missed them. As soon as I got there my James-y (aka: my son-by-another-mother) showered me with love and admiration. As I spent time with him and his siblings I took note of the special treatment they give me - hugs, kisses, cuddles, sharing, etc. I thought about how these kids, who mean the world to me, show in the simplest ways that they love me and from my observations I decided to create "The Nephew Test". This is my new tool by which I can decide if a guy is worth my time and energy. So, if there are any interested men out there up for the challenge take note because I'm giving you the answers that will help you pass this test with flying colors!!!

THE NEPHEW TEST
- He makes me smile
- He makes me laugh
- He gives me a big hug whenever he sees me
- He cuddles with me when we are watching TV or movies
- He wants to hold my hand and does so often
- He gives me kisses (on the cheek)
- He feeds me M&M's ( without hesitation)
- He enjoys going on dates with me whether it's to the theater or the park

If you think you are man enough to pass this test then start by asking me on a date.

FYI - the ultimate nephew test will be when and if you have passed the above test and I decide you are worth introducing to the nephews (and niece of course). They are such a big part of my life and I value their opinions - especially my James-y!