Link to My Pinterest Stuff...

It just dawned on me that I'd never posted a link to my Pinterest stuff on here before...

My Awesome Pinterest Stuff!

I probably should have done that a long time ago...

But there it is! Click on it and check my super cool pinned stuff!!

Can I Quit Today? Please?

Today has been such a crap day.

Started off this morning with another lovely round of car troubles...I'd already made arrangements to pick up my sister after she'd dropped her car off at the mechanic. Well...her car didn't quite make it there...

Her battery had died [one of the several reasons she'd made an appointment to have her car fixed had to do with her batter not holding a charge] I think three times in all before we finally managed to get her car to the mechanic. Luckily, my dad had an appointment that put him in the same area at the same time as my sister's car troubles...I don't know how we managed to get it done without any injury, but we did! [This included one particularly daring mid-major road battery jumping!] Thank goodness for our awesome Dad and some too-good-to-be-coincidental timing!

Continuing with the mood of the morning...work seemed to have no trouble following suite. The work today wasn't particularly difficult...there was just tons of it. Sheer amount made the workload feel overwhelming. [And there's more of that to look forward to tomorrow...yay...]

After the kiddo and I finally got home this evening, I was looking forward to a nice, relaxing evening...maybe a pleasant evening at home would help temper the less than enjoyable day. Aaaand, I wasn't that lucky.

Some days, this parenting gig is too much to bear.

Some days, the messes are just too big.

Some days...I just wish I wasn't doing this alone. [I very much appreciate any and all help I get from family members, so y'all don't take that statement as an offense, please]

I'm trying to figure out how to handle my kiddo forgetting how to properly count to 12. And he's looking right at a clock, too. It's literally a foot in front of his face. /siiiiiigggggh Guys...please pray for me to have the patience of a saint, 'cause I certainly don't have it right now...

Making the Shift from Passive to Active...

Lovely colors!

My family went down to beach over the weekend.

As much as I loathe going to beaches, I must admit that they can be quite beautiful...this is the view from our balcony...look at those blues and greens!

Artistic appreciation aside, I came to some important realizations over the weekend.

I realized that I need to assert a more active role in improving my life...

I realized that over the past few months, I've been quite passive about a lot of things. I've been ridiculously passive about trying to find a new car, I've been passive about getting my life and home more organized, and I've been passive about becoming happy.


Now, I'll say that I'm undoubtedly in a better place than a few months ago. I'm no longer wallowing in angst, self-loathing, and cynicism...but I'm not really trying very hard to keep those negative energies from affecting my daily life either.

By being passive, some facets of life have gotten better...sort of.

A few significant emotional wounds have reached that point where they are no longer painfully exposed and raw, but if I'm being honest with myself...they haven't actually gotten much better. Yeah, I'd reached a point where I'm no longer in gut-wrenching emotional turmoil over certain events [the break-up/engagement calling-off/moving-out of my ex, the whole fiasco with Mr. T, and so forth...] but those situations have improved as much as they're going to without any action on my part.

So, it's time for me to get off my butt and kick it into gear...nothing in life worth having comes easily, right?? [Or so I've read on Pinterest anyway...]

First step's first...

Loved this moon!

I did some long needed purging on my phone. I finally deleted some text messages and emails that I've been hanging on to for far too long! I deleted some phone numbers and some pictures and, let me tell you, it felt darn great!

I have no idea how I thought I'd be able to move on from painful, poisonous stuff from my past if I couldn't even move on from having it at my fingertips. I have a tendency to be an emotional pack rat...which can be very detrimental to closing chapters and moving on in life.../shrug better late than never, I suppose.

What's in store for tomorrow?

Not quite sure...I haven't got this whole re-vamp thing figured out quite yet, but I'm going to! I'm going to make positive changes for myself because, well, I deserve it, damn it!

Swiffer Mops Suck...

Over the last couple of years I've lived in a handful of different apartments. Each place was a little bit different, but there was one thing that I kept relatively consistent: I used a Swiffer Vac and Swiffer Mop on the hard floors. 

Looking back, I have no idea why I so stubbornly used the same products...they suck! [And not in the good way that you'd expect a vacuum cleaner should!]

Not too long ago, my mom loaned me a Shark steam cleaner thing [I don't know which model exactly...] and I finally got around to using it on my kitchen floor today...the difference is so great that I'd almost feel justified writing a letter to Swiffer demanding a refund! 

These things are great!

My current apartment has some pretty heinous vinyl tiles in the kitchen. They're this terrible swirl of beige and grey...definitely wouldn't be my choice. For as long as I've been living here, I've always used a Swiffer vacuum to get all of the debris and such and then mopped with a Swiffer mop. 

I will never use a Swiffer mop again.

The steam from the Shark cut through layers of residue from the Swiffer mop's cleaning spray...I had no idea that it even left that much residue! And I also discovered that there was quite the hefty deposit of dirt tracked in by the door. I'd Swiffer mopped the area often and it never improved...so I'd concluded that the vinyl was old and discolored...and I was wrong. Eww. /shudder

So if you've got the ability...go and get one of these Shark thingies for your hard floors! They're amazing! 

Ow, Ow, Ow...

Today, I am in an excruciating amount of pain and it sucks!

Anybody want to come and cook dinner for me? I need a good, long rest...

Mondays...Blegh...

Well, it's been quite the draining day.

What's that? Your car could use a jump?
How sad....

I started off my morning with more dead car battery excitement...luckily, I have an awesome neighbor whose daughter is in kindergarten at the same school as my son...she saw my car dilemma and offered to take my kiddo to school so that he wouldn't be tardy. [Seriously, she's awesome!] And as I've mentioned before, I've got some terrible neighbors...and the rest of my neighbors were exactly the same as before. They're just.../sigh...can't say anything nice, so I won't say anything at all.

Work-wise, it was a pretty typical Monday. Catching up on things that were leftover from last week and dealing with the influx of new orders and revisions...

The whopper was my kiddo's 'report card.' His marks didn't improve since his progress report ['marks' is technically correct, right?] In some categories, he's done worse than he did before...

Right, right...Darth Vader is awesome...

Now I know this isn't a tragedy...but I do also realize that this indicates that something needs to change otherwise he's going to think that it's perfectly fine to be the kid that doesn't pay attention in school.

So, yeah...

I'm sure it'll all be fine...it's just the getting to 'fine' that's not fun. At all.

Oh...still haven't tried the marmite or vegemite...they smell so terrible!

Funnies...

This video was posted on BuzzFeed a few weeks ago, but I just now got around to watching it. It's pretty darn funny...

Bonus: The guy in the video (pretty sure he's Eugene Lee Yang) is hilarious (as always) and undeniably handsome (again, as always). He's one of the producers at BuzzFeed and has a ton of videos...

The whole video is chuckle-worthy, at least...but wait until right around 1:46...I literally lol'd!

More posts later. Until then, Happy Sunday!

Thank Goodness for Netflix...

Ever feel like you're just shouting into the void?

/sigh Don't know what I'd do without my Netflix...

Binge-watch more Supernatural? I think yes.

At least Dean approves...

So, I'm A Music Nerd, Too....

I know that I'm posting quite a bit today...slow day at work...

I was doing some meandering around the internet, looking for ideas for my new Tumblr page...I rediscovered these guys, and I love them!!

They're "The Piano Guys," and they've got a ton of videos up on YouTube, and a good many albums on iTunes and their website. [The Piano Guys]

I love that their music combines the piano and the cello, two of my all-time favorite instruments. I've always said that I'm going to learn how to play the cello one of these days...I've already found a place that rents cellos!!

Maybe I should make plans to go rent one sometime soon...

Tumblr...

I just created an account on Tumblr...mostly because I found a few decent INFJ-themed blogs that I thought might be worth following...and partly because, well, why not.

I have no clue how to set up my profile or what to do with it once I get it personalized...

I also have no idea how to go about finding anything that I'd like to follow...[The initial set-up process had me select 5 blogs out of about 15 pre-selected ones, and apparently I'm following them now...I think.]

So, yeah...it ought to be interesting, at least. If I ever get the ball sufficiently rolling on my Tumblr account, I'll be sure to post updates and links here...for the time being, my Tumblr username is "bamapanda," look for me and add me if you'd like...

My Tumblr - bamapanda

Better yet, add me and then teach me how to use the site!

/sigh does my lack of insta-Tumblr savviness mean that I'm getting old?