Thursday Thoughts - Random Ramblings

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A collection of completely random thoughts, that I just needed to get out of my head and onto paper... screen... whatever... 

1. I saved a kitten this morning and let a baby bird die this afternoon. Let's start with the kitten. The setting: our house sits at the beginning of a dead-end road, just about 100 yards from the T in the road. The entire road is only about 3/4 mile long, and at the end of it is Cliff's parents' farm. The situation: I left home in a bit of a hurry this morning because I had a department meeting at work first thing and had to be sure to get there on time. I turned out of our driveway and saw something in the road at the T. It was too small to be a raccoon, possum, or cat, but too big to be a mouse or a mole, and we don't really have squirrels. As I neared it, I saw that it was a very small kitten, sitting on the pavement, smack dab in the center of the "intersection" ( if you can even call it that). It was at least a few weeks old, but it's eyes were stuck shut, so it couldn't see anything. I opened my car door and walked over to the kitten. It cowered ever so slightly as I picked it up, but it seemed relieved to have been "found". I know that the nearest place that has kittens is 3/4 mile up the road and wondered how this sightless little kitten could have possibly ended up way down here. (forgive my up and down references. I consider my house "down" and cliff's parents' farm "up", but technically they're at the "end" so I guess they would technically be "down" and I would be "up"??? I needed to get to work, but couldn't leave the kitten in the middle of the road (or in the middle of nowhere for that matter), so I plopped him in my lap and drove back up/down the road and in my driveway. I was hoping to pass the scared, hungry, and lonely little kitten off to Cliff to handle and be on my way. However, Gavin had just woken up and Cliff had his hands full. I showed Cliff the kitten with my arms outstretched and a "here, do something with this" look on my face. He asked where I found it and I explained. "Then it's been there all night, because I saw it walking on the road last night up by my parents' house and thought it was strange that it was out and about all alone", he said. The poor sightless thing must have walked 3/4 of a mile down the road alone and gotten lost and disoriented. I had to do something, but couldn't pass him off to Cliff, so back in the car we went. We drove the 3/4 of a mile up the road to the barn, where I was sure this little guy belonged (as there are two litters of kittens currently residing there). I plopped him inside the door by the other cats and kittens and turned to leave. He was following me and so was another kitten, a white and light gray siamese looking puffball. I scooped them both up, plopped them further inside the barn and took off. I was feeling so good about the kitten, ...and then as if I was maybe having too good of a day...  the bird crossed my path. 

The situation: I had gone out for lunch with a friend from work. As we walked up to the restaurant, we both saw something on the concrete step, but couldn't tell at first what it was... a frog? a dried up flower? Nope, it was a bird. The tiniest, nakedest, babiest birdie we had ever seen. It's mouth (beak) was wider than the entire rest of it's little head. It was on the concrete steps of Anodyne, below a corrugated metal awning and the nest was nowhere in sight. My guess is that the nest was somewhere up in the sculpted metal sign configuration and the bird most likely fell out and onto the corrugated metal awning and then down onto the concrete. He was alive, but there was little hope for his survival. My friend and I picked him up and looked all over for a nest. With no hope of returning him to his nest and no hope of being able to care for such a young bird, we finally agreed that the best thing we could do for him was place him in a shaded window-box, so that at least he wouldn't be stepped on. He isn't going to make it, and I wish I could have ended his suffering, but I couldn't.

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I wrote the above paragraph last, but didn't want to leave you on that sad note... so, I've moved it to the beginning and now the transition from poor little bird to Avocado Salad just doesn't flow and makes me feel a little woozy. I was hoping this disclaimer would help smooth out the transition and ease some of the awkwardness. Not really working...

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2. Our lunch at Anodyne was delicious. We shared a Turkey, Bacon, Pesto Sandwich and a Mixed Greens Salad with Avocado, Tomatoes, Red Onion, Home-made Croutons, and a delightful Spicy Avocado Ranch Dressing.      

Anodyne Coffee Shop



3. Confession... I painted my toenails in the bathroom stall at work this morning. They were looking pretty dull and rough with the old red polish chipping off and I'm wearing open-toed shoes today. Heaven knows you can't have dull, chipping toe polish with open-toed shoes! However, as you will see, I just polished right over the top of the uneven, chipping, dull old polish due to time constraints and the fact that I was doing this in a bathroom stall, so this quick-fix pedicure leaves MUCH to be desired! The color is Lollipop by Essie.

4. I am in love with my new tinted lip balm. I have always been a big fan of Burt's Bees lip balm, but I sometimes like just a little color too. I tried the Burt's Bee's Lip Shimmer last year, but it was a little too opaque and a little too granular for me. It didn't feel as smooth and moisturizing as the regular Burt's Bees lip balm and it was almost as if I could feel the little grains of shimmery-ness on my lips. Well, I just tried their new Burt's Bees Tinted Lip Balm in Hibiscus and I LOVE it. Apparently it isn't really all that new afterall! It's been on the market for at least six months, but who knew? WHERE WAS I? This stuff is like heaven! It's smooth and moisturizing and translucent, but still has the perfect amount of color (and I'm not a lipstick girl). The color lasted several hours, and my lips felt yummy without feeling sticky. I didn't feel like I was leaving lip gloss goo on the rim of my drinking glass and my hair didn't stick to my lips when the wind blew it in my face. I also LOVE the hibiscus color. Not too pink, but not red or purple either. It is the exact color that my lips are naturally when they're at their best and most moisturized. It just keeps that colorful, fresh look all day!   

5. I wear flip-flops when I drive because my ankles get strained from driving in heels - I always, always, always have at least one pair of flip-flops in my car or purse. Also in my purse right now, there are two pull-ups (diapers). I always stick one in there when heading out someplace with Gavin and I rarely need it. Every once in a while, I need to just remobe the collection of pull-ups from my purse so my wallet can fit in there!

6. I ate three donuts in one day this week. I'm not usually a big donut eater, but I do have a weakness for chocolate-coated cake donuts. The yellow cake ones that are completely coated in that hard, chocolate coating that isn't really frosting, but obviously isn't really chocolate either. The special thing about that kind of donut is that the coating seals in the freshness and the donuts don't get stale.... and when you dunk them in milk or coffee, the coating helps hold the delicious milk or coffee inside the cake part. Yum. My mouth waters. So... this week, my Mom brought over a box of said donuts. I was hungry and in a hurry one morning, so I threw two of them into a zip-lock baggie and headed out the door. I enjoyed one in the car on my way to work, but restrained myself and left the other one. ...until, after work when I was again hungry and in a hurry and had an hour drive home ahead of me. So, that's two donuts now, right? ...and then I got home and Gavin saw the box of donuts on the counter and said "Can I pwease have a muffin, Mom?" Wow, what a healthy eater to choose a muffin over those delicious chocolate coated cake donuts! Yeah... except he meant donut, he just calls them muffins. So, I promised that he could have one after dinner. After finishing his roasted pork sandwich, some cucumber slices, and a pile of watermelon, he was ready for the donut. He asked me to take the lid off his sippy-cup so he could dip it. It looked so delicious, dripping with cold milk... I couldn't resist getting one for myself. Yep, third one that day.     

7. I have three random, bright red welts on the back side of my shoulder/armpit and have no idea what they're from. My best guess is that they are gnat bites, but they look like blood blisters or chafing, as if I wore a tank top or bra that were WAY to tight and were chafing me. But I didn't, and one is up on the top of my shoulder and is much more round and less oblong, so I think they're bites. I DO hope that whatever but me was outside, and not in my bed! 

8. I had my hair colored a week ago and I'm slightly disappointed as usual. I know that most people go for natural looking highlights and lowlights that blend in, but I want the opposite. I think that my appearance doesn't match my personality and it bothers me that I look very conservative and plain when I feel very liberal and colorful. So, I always think if I could make my hair look a little more... dramatic / fun / alternative, I would look more like I feel. I love my hair stylist and think she is a really fun person, and I thought she would "get me" when I explained what I was looking for. I said specifically "overstated instead of understated", "drastic change", "wow factor", "completely different", "un-natural", "dark, chunky foils". But, what I ended up with was "meh". I am sure that there are a lot of people out there who would freak out if their foil came out looking drastic or un-natural, but that is exactly the look I wanted. I don't hate my hair, I like it just fine. I just don't love it. And for what a color costs, I should love it. Here's the new look. What do you think? 

9. My two-and-a-half year-old hits... a lot... and hard... with a fist. I don't know why or how, because we aren't a hitting family and we are generally calm and very loving. When I remind ("scold" is too harsh of a word) him that we don't hit and show him (again) how to touch genrly, he tells me I'm a bad mommy and hits me again, sometimes with a smirk on his face. When this happens,  I occasionally lose my patience with him and smack him back, usually on his diapered tush. I hate that I do that even though he is blatantly hitting me. I just think that I'm not setting a very good example. He usually laughs. Occasionally he cries a little, but not because it hurt, just because it surprises him. Anyone have a solution for an adorable, too-smart-for-his-age, sweet and loving boy who hits when he doesn't get his way?

10. I have undiagnosed attention deficit disorder. I am not joking and I'm not referring to the random thoughts in this post. In all seriousness... I completely zone out in meetings at work sometimes and miss important details! When I am doing anything (like writing a blog post or sending an email), I never, ever do so in one "sitting". I leave and come back to it. I open and browse through photos on the computer, I read emails, I check other blogs, etc. I literally get "bored" with what I'm doing so quickly, I have to do something else for a little while. I open internet windows to do something, but never actually do what I went there to do. Great example - I've been promising my Mom I'd upload some family reunion photos on to a photo-sharing site, and I've opened the website every night for three nights, but I haven't uploaded the pictures yet.  

11. I'm a chronic non-returner. I buy things that I'm not 100% sure about, knowing that I can return them if I find something better or if they're not the right thing, but I very rarely actually return them. I unintentionally wait until after the 90-day return window has passed and then attempt to return them (sometimes) only to be reminded that I'm too late to return them. Hello, skirt that was too big, swimsuit that was more expensive than the other one that was just as cute, duplicate item since the first one I bought was the wrong size so I bought another in the right size before returning the original. Guess I'm keeping you anyway - or you're going to the Goodwill!

12. I love bouquets of a single type of flower and it doesn't really even matter what kind it is. I love whole bouquets of lilacs, of tulips, of sunflowers, of daisies. There is just something about the simplicity of a whole bunch of a single type of flower.

I can't remember the last time I was given flowers. (my wedding anniversary is next week)...

13. I love green flowers. I'm not sure if it's the shade of green and the fact that there is very little on the earth that naturally comes in this bright, fresh color, but I love it. I have planted green zinnias in my garden for several years now, just for cutting. I don't think they ever grow. This year, they are coming up! I can't wait!

14. I would like to lose 8 lbs, and then if I succeed at it, I'd like to lose 4 more. I find it more and more difficult to feel beautiful lately. I have not historically been very concerned about my appearance, but I think that it ties in with health and I have not been eating very healthy (healthily?) and have also not been exercising very often at all.

15. I have a million photos like the one below, because I absolutely love the view of the sunset from my yard. In the winter, the sun sets further south than it is here, so the actual view of the sun setting is much clearer. But in the spring and summer, it shines through the trees, which I love. The main rooms in my house all face west, so we always get to see the sun going down. Love this late-evening view. I could photograph it every day and love it just the same. 

Have a beautiful, fun-filled, glorious, patriotic Fourth of July holiday. That sunset up there beats out  fireworks any day, doesn't it?
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