The Big Two Six

Yesterday I turned 26. The night before I couldn't sleep... well I slept but not very well. I am now confirming that my subconscious knew how awesome my birthday was going to be. It's been a while since I've been this excited about my b-day.

Awesome things about my birthday

• My hubby let me have the bathroom first. I don't think he actually planned it that way, he just decided to ride the recumbent bike first rather than his usual routine. BUT it was nice whether he planned it or not.

• It was Friday! Usually a pretty good day of the week.

• My co-workers took me to Tucano's for lunch. It started as only a handful of us then next thing we knew the WHOLE office was going. Phones "shut-down" (since no one would be there to answer them). It was kind of cool.

• At Tucano's ate my weight in delicious meat. Oh and I had to dance with a tambourine while the waiters sang Happy Birthday in Portuguese.

• My manager paid for my lunch. Which was very nice of him.

• When we made it back to the office there had been a power surge so we had no Internet, no servers, and no phones. We basically just had a party where anyone did what they wanted since none of us could do our jobs without access to the server. We danced, took pictures, named our cubicle islands.

• One of my co-workers made Death by Oreo Cupcakes for my birthday. They were DELICIOUS

• For my birthday dinner the family went to Buffalo Wild Wings. It was pretty good! 

• And finally, it RAINED! I love the rain, it was a great birthday gift for sure. 

All around I would have to say that turning 26 was one of the best birthdays EVER!

Oo-Rah!

It has been 11 days since my Grandpa John passed away. Some days I forget, but the flowers decorating my mom's kitchen table and living room remind me that it will be a long time before I see him again.

On the day of his funeral I had this song stuck in my head and felt, although from a children's movie, it expressed how I felt almost perfectly.

The day after his passing I woke up and thought, "this is the first day that I no longer have a grandpa."
No one to call me Lil Anna, regardless of how old I got, the way that only Grandpa John could. I guess with his 6 foot+ height I would always been smaller than him. He was a great man that always worked hard, and knew how to fix pretty much everything. I feel like the poem below, written by my uncle, says a lot about the man my grandpa was. He raised his kids to work hard. I know my mom has passed that on to me.

A tribute to my Dad as written by my uncle Steve

The boots on the porch were heavy and beat.
As a small boy I'd put 'em on - they were huge on my feet.

The miles and jobs those boots went through.
The blood, the sweat and the freezing too.

Those boots drove buses, semi's and worked in steel plants
The tops never got burned 'cause they were under his pants.

Up mountains, through rivers, chasing buck, catching fish.
Family camping in campers that were road worthy-ish.

Without hesitation, those boots went overseas
To fight for the country and be a Marine.

Those boots carried a big, big man
With a heart of gold, sledge hammer body, with huge calloused hands.

The boots on the porch were heavy and beat
And now I look down and those boots are on me.

I am part of a great legacy. I feel like I have a lot to live up to. When I get to the other side I feel that my grandpa will be waiting for a report what I have done with his name and legacy he left to me. I hope to live my life ready to help those that need it with whatever skills I have, just like grandpa. Continue to gain new skills so that I can help my family and those around me. No matter how long and full my days may be, come home and spend meaningful time with my family, like grandpa. Do better at working hard and making sure I teach my children to do the same, like grandpa. And finally,  make those around me feel like they matter to me, no matter who they are, just  like grandpa did to every single person he ever met.

I will miss my Grandpa John and his big grin. At his funeral there were many nice things said and great stories told about him. The Marines were there, Taps was played, I cried for the fallen Marine who readily served his country and all those around him. Oo-rah Grandpa.

 

Nostalgic Food

My nostalgic food is probably going to kill me one day because none of mine are healthy.

Here are my nostalgic foods:

 

 Whoppers! I love the sound they make as they roll around in the box and the fun little crunch in the middle of every chocolate ball. I could probably eat a whole carton (like the one pictured above) all by myself in one day. A confession, I just finished off a movie theater sized box that I opened about an hour and a half ago. Love these things.

 AbraCaBubble. I haven't been able to find these in years. Well I can purchase a 5lb. bag from the Brach's website but I don't really want that much. They are hard candy on the outside and inside is a piece of bubble gum. I would always get one from my grandma's house and try to have the bubble gum cracked out of its candy shell by the time that I arrived at my other grandma's house.

 Puffy Cheetos. I don't know what it is about these that make me love them so much. Whenever I had lunch at my grandma's house I would get a half sandwich and a small pile of puffy Cheetos laid on a paper towel along with a side of Pepsi or Coke (I think that is the only liquid my grandparents had in their house besides water and maybe milk). You be thinking that Pepsi is my next nostalgic food but it's not. Once in a while I like a few sips and those few sips remind me of grandma's but then I'm done with the soda.

Do you have any nostalgic foods?

Cubicle Pressure

About 2 months ago my work moved to a new building. I have a new Ikea "cubicle" (more like an Ikea desk with 24" partitions covered in cloth... not like any cubicle I have ever had). When I got hired I was told that the company would be moving. Therefore, I never decorated my desk. I never thought about it simply because I didn't want to take everything down and then put all back up. Well, 6 months later we finally moved. Now that we have moved I know I need to decorate my desk. However, I have been putting it off and putting it off. Why? Why would someone want to look at a speckled black, empty wall? Well I feel like there is a lot of pressure to have freakin' sweet looking decor for my cubicle. Why the pressure? Because I am a graphic designer, I can't have crappy looking stuff at my desk. That might reflect on the way that people view me as a designer. In addition to the pressure I feel that there is a lack of time. While I am at work there isn't much that I can do about it. I can't flip through pictures on my computer to find ones I want to print out. None of my pictures are on my work laptop. Once I am home...it is out of sight, out of mind. Really the story of my life. I'll get to work the next day and think, "BLAST! I should have thrown some things together. Ah MAN!"

I have hit a bit of a slow time at work so I finally looked through some pictures for ideas and organization ideas via Pinterest (cause that's basically the new Google for DIY, craftiness). I've found a cubicle idea that I like and I'm going with it. I just need to find a piece of paper that is the size of my wall and doodle up a cool drawing.

Well when I get around to getting it all put together I will take a pic and show you what my little brain and hands came up with. Don't hold your breath, it may take me a while because I have to brush up on my drawing skills.

Has anyone else experienced cubicle decor pressure?