so this is cloud 9

cloud 9... apparently i've never been here before. what a bizarre mix of emotions & thoughts.i'm dead tired at night but wake up before my alarm every morning. wide awake. even though i'm exhausted when i go to bed, i have to make my mind & heart settle down before i can fall asleep. and even though i'm moving full speed all the time, i have this constant excited energy.

even the mundane [sweeping the kitchen floor?!] is fun to do with someone else. i get distracted at work. i can start cooking dinner at 8:30pm and somehow not be famished. i hear song lyrics in a totally new way after hearing them millions of times.

i catch myself wanting to tell boyfriend-girlfriend-inside-jokes/stories to anyone who's willing to listen. even though i don't want to be "that girl", sometimes i can't help it.

the ride to j's house seems endless. even though the ride home takes the same amount of time. weird.

this cloud 9 thing might not last forever. but it's pretty rad right now~

winter walk

yesterday i got to j's house & he asked what i wanted to do. i suggested we go for a walk and he replied "great, i thought we could go to fort washington state park b/c it's really close but i've never been there" [score! i love when we're on the same page!]

we ended up walking in circles a little bit b/c there were creeks everywhere. we had to cross the treacherous water on a fallen log bridge. [we considered fording the river like on oregon trail, but decided against that idea...]

it was a fun adventure & the weather was gorgeous~

friend day!

since i got today off as a sub for MLK jr. day on monday, i had tons of free time to fill. at first i was sorta bummer bc i knew everyone else had to work. but, as always, the day flew by and was full of awesome friend time!

meliss & i swam at the Y with all the old biddies, then went out to breakfast. around 11:30 i took the train downtown to meet linda for an indian lunch. then my friend rebecca picked me up at the station. we got free facials at this store called sephora. i don't even know how to describe the store; to me, it's like walking into estrogen land. [i know, i know, my life basically IS estrogen land with all my women students, etc. but the store is totally extreme.]
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NOW comes the hard part of the day... trying to figure out how to make tonight fun. i always always always make friday night plans. seriously-- i'm usually setting things up far in advance (ie: on wednesday evening). BUT one of my un-declared new years resolutions is to settle down the hyper-planning part of my personality. so i didn't plan anything.

and now, all of a sudden, it's stressful b/c everyone wants to do something fun but there hasn't been anything set up. dang!

[in totally unrelated news, this video is SO hilarious!!!]

sweet.potato.quesadillas.

ummm holy cow... we [meliss & i] made the most delicious dinner tonight. it's mary lou's birthday & last week we asked what she wanted. she said, hesitantly/without much certainty, that she would love to have sweet potato quesadillas. (we get them from one of our fav local take-out joints sometimes) meliss & i took the challenge to create them on our own and they turned out amazing!!


for some reason i can't find my camera so i didn't snap any photos of our delicacy, but here's the list of ingredients:
sweet potatoes [we cut them into chunks, drizzled some olive oil, and baked 'em on 400 for about 40 minutes]
spinach [steamed]
cheddar cheese
green onions [aka: scallions], chopped
pumpkin seeds
whole wheat tortillas

pile all the ingredients on a tortilla, top with another tortilla, and bake for just a few minutes till the cheese is melted. [we broiled them and the tops got too crispy too quickly. just FYI]

serve w/ salsa & sour cream. YUM!

weekend poll

every time i read people's blogs, i realize my own is seriously lacking in fun. i can't decide how to change that... post more pictures? do more interesting things in life?

so i'm taking a poll. what would make my blog better?!

just some random bits of trivia*

i joined the Y last night. there was no start-up fee & i qualify for a reduced rate b/c i work for a non-profit. wahoo~ so far i've only used the elliptical but i'm planning to use the pool & check out some classes.

this weekend is starting to look fun. i deliberately relaxed this week & didn't go overboard on planning... my friends never let me down, though. we already have good stuff arranged.

i'm still waiting to get the ONLY picture of J. and me from our time in michigan. it's on his camera but he's holding it hostage.

one of my goals for 2010 is to read a lot of good books. i know that in a month or so, i will be out of the house 4 nights a week so i won't have much time for pleasure reading. in the meantime, however, i'm on the lookout for book recommendations.

on sunday meliss was sitting in the chair by the fire & asked me to come sit with her. i jokingly asked sam to take a picture and he began a whole photo session. this is the best shot:

new years in grand rapids!!

[i KNEW i would be mad at myself for not taking more pictures, but i was too busy living life to worry about snapping shots. now that i'm posting, though, i'm super annoyed that i have no pics of people!!]

my four nights/three days in michigan were super rad. i LOVED spending time with my bf, his friends, and his fam. highlights include:

delicious food...constantly.eating.no.joke.(spanish tapas!)
seeing all the old haunts [elementary school, high school, college, etc. etc.]
meeting tons of hilarious & friendly relatives.
new years with his old crew
relaxing
learning about football [sorta.]
seeing lake michigan in all its wintry glory [holy cow it was FRIGID!!!]

the long car ride home. even though it was super long & i was exhausted, i loved having the time to talk & laugh & listen to music together.