No Better Time...

To talk about the Fourth of July then in November...right?

I was talking to the BFF yesterday about how I couldn't believe we were well into November when I feel like it was JUST summer vacation. Seriously, I don't know where the time went. It seems like we jumped from swimming and kayaking to peppermint lattes and ignoring Christmas carols by way of a few colored leaves.

Yesterday, we went to see About Time. I LOVED it. The movie is about an endearing British family where the men can travel back in time for do-overs. (Perhaps one of the reasons I loved it is that I've always wished for powers like that!) The main character falls in love with Rachel McAdams and they have cute babies. There is more to it but I wouldn't want to spoil anything. It was hilarious and sweet and heartbreaking and thought provoking.

The main take away from the movie is to enjoy the "normal" days in life because ultimately, those days are what make up most of your life. And I loved the idea that the key to happiness is just to change your perspective about difficult things and make the best out of every situation. The idea that the meaning of life is simply about spending time with people who love you seems so easy.

In stark contrast, I am currently reading Inferno by Dan Brown. I'm not thrilled with it, but as I'm 250 pages in, I feel like I must plow ahead. The premise of the book (as far as I can tell) is that an individual or organization is plotting to destroy half of the world's population in order to keep the human race from going extinct.

My mind is torn between wanting to find joy in ordinary things and trying to come to terms that the world is collapsing all around us. ← A bit dramatic maybe?

So back to the 4th of July...I did so many mundane yet fun things this summer and aside from photos published to Instagram or worse, pictures merely filling my phone's memory, I haven't really acknowledged or written about my adventures. Since the days are getting shorter and darker and colder, I thought it would be fun to relive my summer vacation.

Won't you join me?

An Open Letter

Dear Apartment Management,

Let me preface this by saying THIS IS MY LAST WEEK OF SUMMER VACATION and I'm trying to enjoy every single bit of it.

So imagine my regret when I answered the phone at 6:30 pm on Sunday night (I foolishly thought it might be about a job interview...on Sunday night I should have known better) and you told me you'd be here in the morning to do something to my water (I'm still unclear)...and I agreed.

Like any person enjoying their last days of vacation, I was up until 6:20 AM and dutifully set my alarm for a few hours later. I thought about just sleeping and ignoring any phone calls and/or knocking. But that would inevitably cause me anxiety and guilt. So I dragged my sleeping self out of bed, picked up the laundry, washed the dishes, and put on pants for my water testing visitors.

AND THEN, the phone rang just 5 minutes after they were supposed to be here (not too bad for apartment fixer people). But it was just you telling me that they WERE NOT coming. Are you kidding me?!

You then wanted to reschedule for Wednesday of this week. I told you that I might not be here as I might be out enjoying my last days of vacation. You claimed to understand and said, "well this is important to us but you need to do what you need to do."

Yes. Yes I do. And I don't need you to affirm that I'm allowed to leave my apartment.

Look, I understand this is a first world problem, and this absolutely wasn't the first blog post I'd write since taking a six month hiatus, but let's me real: I'm really just an 80 year old curmudgeon in a 30-something's body. ← Writing 30-something nearly gave me a panic attack. That is another post altogether.


XOXO,
Amy


P.S. As always, stay tuned for part 2: Will Amy be home on Wednesday for the water testing people?



   

On Lists

You may (or may not) have noticed that I've taken my 30 While 30 list down.

The idea behind the list was to follow up my much more successful 30 Before 30 list. I was inspired by a TED video claiming that telling people your goals made them less likely to happen. I have found the opposite to be true. Without a posted list to refer to and people (friends and randoms) asking, reminding, or offering to do things with me, I ignored that fact that I had made a list. So I thought it better to quit while I'm ahead.

Now, don't think that I've given up on making lists/goals. I've thought about creating a 101 Things in 1001 Days list but I know how that would turn out. I would procrastinate until day 990 and end up only completing 10 things from the list.

Back when this blog was Zero Ducks in a Row (remember that?) I made monthly goals. To some extent I still make goals or list expectations for the upcoming month. I don't think that will go away. But I would like to have something a bit more long term to work on. So instead of choosing 101 things or even 30 things I'm sticking with a short but important 13 Things.

List to come on New Year's Day!

Dear 2012,

Where do I even begin? You were everything and nothing that I expected. Instead of lamenting all the, "I wish I did ____ this year" thoughts, let's take a look at what I did manage to do this year. Day by day and week by week, my life seems rather inconsequential and boring. But when you look at it retrospectively, perspective shifts. Forgotten are the days full of laziness, the disappointments, and the little frustrations. What you are left with is highlights of a year (hopefully) well spent.

In January I set some pretty easy New Year's Resolutions and became a Mac user. I started the year off strong on the fitness front and completed my 50 mile challenge. I walked, biked, and ellipticalled away the cold winter days. I started a new year full of adventures in second grade. And began the frantic process of trying to complete and recap my 30 Before 30 list.

In February I turned the big 29+1. I managed to celebrate instead of bemoan my big birthday. Immediately following my birthday I was harshly thrust into the world of adulthood. In one week I managed to deal with the leaking and destruction of my bathroom ceiling and attend a scary DUA hearing where I had to represent myself to resolve a dispute over my unemployment benefits.

In March I took biking to the next level and biked an entire marathon! It seemed like a really good idea and I was glad that I was able to accomplish it but man on man, did certain parts of my body hate it. I created a soundtrack of my 30th year. And I hung out with crazy second graders and stayed mostly healthy while they all got the plague.

In April I was almost bankrupted paying taxes on the previous year's unemployment benefits. That was another harsh grownup lesson. I supported the entertainment industry by seeing The Hunger Games and Titanic 3D in theaters. I managed to escape to Maine for a few days to relax and recharge during school vacation.

In May I spent a lot of time not blogging. I had some serious thoughts about the passing of time. I also took lots of pictures of clouds.

In June school ended. I dog sat while my parents took off for Alaska and I watched soooo much Dawson's Creek. I created a Summer Fun List of activities that I wanted to do over the summer to make it as memorable as possible. I went back to Maine and the BFF's Weddingpalooza officially began. I ordered a dress, we made invitations, and spent lots of time being overly girly.

In July I visited my first lighthouse of the summer and visiting every lighthouse in Maine officially became a new obsession. I drove west to catch up with an old friend and reminisced at Katie's with soft serve. In one exhausting but amazing weekend, I helped the BFF celebrate her bachelorette party and bridal shower.

In August I was insanely busy. I tutored, I traveled, and I went back to school. M came to visit and we explored Boston, Concord, Salem and Maine in 5 days. I headed to Vermont for the BFF's wedding weekend and wore lots of pretty dresses. My best work friends moved away. After some last minute tutoring, I returned to school to new adventures in 3rd grade.

In September I explored museums and apple orchards. I registered to vote, sat through the first of many boring graduate classes, and had a smoothie disaster. I said goodbye to summer and hello to fall. I created a short Fall Fun List of things that make fall so wonderful.

In October it rained a lot. It was warm and swampy and nothing like the brisk and clear October that I love. I listened to Mumford and Sons over and over while I ran and walked many, many miles. I watched and live-blogged some of the Presidential debates, celebrated 10/11/12, and made it through Hurricane Sandy. Halloween came and went without any pumpkin carving.

In November I finally joined the 21st century and got an iPhone! I voted for president and found a lot of money on the ground. I enjoyed the sunny, brisk October-like weather and headed to Maine to celebrate Thanksgiving with my parents.

In December I was super crafty. I made my own advent calendar and holiday cards. I used the money I found at the mall to donate things to the food pantry, Toys for Tots, and the hat and mitten drive at school. I celebrated 12/12/12 and baked a lot of cupcakes. I mourned the loss of life and innocence in Connecticut. I survived the end of the world, celebrated Christmas and completed the 2nd Annual, Unofficial Boxing Day 5K.

So 2012 I don't really know what I expected from you. I think the main take away from this year is that life is messy and you can't really plan for anything. You just have to make the best of what you have and try as hard as you can to enjoy yourself along the way.

Here's hoping for a wonderful 2013!

XOXO,
Amy

No Apologies

So I've been MIA for like 600 years but I've been busy doing things like:

• Watching entire seasons of Dawson's Creek on Netflix Instant.
• Decluttering.
• Interviewing for a job.
• Losing out on said job to the principal's niece.
• Making summer plans.
• Hanging out with second graders.
• Going on field trips with second graders.
• Emailing long lost friends.
• Cooking.
• Making my apartment super messy.
• Walking and running and walking.
• Reading kid's books.
• Buying maid of honor dresses in guava!
• Painting my nails.
• Visiting Maine.
• Cuddling with puppies.
• Drinking iced lattes.
• Avoiding my blog like the plague.

But after some much peer pressure from the madre and the amigos I am back to regale you with my summer adventures.

Four days of school left baby!

   

Update

I still don't have a computer that turns on.

I still don't have money for a new computer that turns on.

I still don't have internet.

I still miss the internet.

I've been showing up to work EARLY and violating the computer usage rules to check my email and (more importantly) read all my favorite blogs.  My time to write blogs is super limited and my picture taking has been non-existent (in part because I left my camera charger plugged into the wall in a Chicago hotel and have yet to replace it).

I am such a hot mess when it comes to anything lately.

So let's cross our fingers and hope that my (owed) unemployment money comes through which I can then spend on a new Mac Book.

   

I Love Me Some Run-On Sentences

Today is Wednesday.

But I wish it was Thursday.

And just a little while ago I THOUGHT it was Thursday.

But it's Wednesday.

And I know I keep promising that I will start blogging with some regularity again and then I keep NOT blogging with some regularity.  But I'm trying to work on that.  Which is why I am typing this quickly while ignoring the broccoli cooking on the stove.  FYI: I am just making dinner at 8 pm because after school today I had a silly meeting about how bullying is NOT a crime but is somehow related to the prosecutor/presenter's friends making out at a wedding after a few too many cocktails.  Yeah...me neither.

After the silly meeting I watched The Town which was good.  It had action, suspense, and heart. <---Reason why I am not a movie critic.  But if you haven't watched it you should.

Also, I signed up for Google+.  But...I don't get it.  It's kind of like Facebook but not. And last night I accidentally invited 50 people to my England circle...some of which I've never met but Google pulled their email addresses out of a group email for a pub crawl.  So yeah...sorry to be creepy, random people I've never met.  (P.S. How dare you embarrass me like that Google!)

I made a list of things to blog about but that is as far as I got because if you know me, you know I procrastinate like my life depends on it.  So maybe, eventually, you'll get to read about exciting things like my job, my 30 before 30 list, or my missing camera charger.  

But for now you get rambling, random thoughts with lots of questionable grammar.

Gotta run...I've probably cooked all the nutrients out of the broccoli by now.

   

I'm Backkkk

But hopefully in a less creepy way than this:

A friend politely reminded me that I was scheduled to return from my blog vacation in August and it indeed is now August.  (Although to be fair, I don't think she has posted a blog in like 600 days.)  Since we missed the regularly scheduled July recap, August goals and many, many Six on Sundays, let's play catch up (in bullet form obviously) ...okay?

While I was away ignoring the blog, I

• Went to Maine.
• Spent some quality time with my air conditioner.
• Saw Harry Potter...twice.
• Got a sunburn and TERRIBLE tan lines.
• Peeled from aforementioned sunburn.
• Got REALLY excited about my Midwest trip.
• Made s'mores.
• Got mosquito bites.
• Went in the ocean...it was cold.
• Lost 10 pounds.
• Read a lot of books.
• Ordered 312 dresses online.
• Hugged a baby.
• Got screwed by unemployment.
• Kayaked.
• Became obsessed with the movie Country Strong.
• Finished a minibook.
• Got a job.
• Tried new foods.
• Did NOT go to Dunks at all!
• Not even for an iced latte.
• Turned 29 and a half!

Here's to catching up and actually blogging again!  What have you been up to in my absence? 

    

So...

I forgot to tell you that I am on a blog vacation...obviously.  I'm using this time to just do things, go places and visit people without worrying about taking photos or trying to come up with witty ways of explaining why I went to the movies by myself (or have spent the last few weeks reading an entire young adult book series).

For now I'll leave you with this:

See you in August!

   

Sayonara IE8

Dear Internet Explorer,

I'm breaking up with you.  All you do is freeze my blog and slow down Facebook.  You do have the privacy feature which lets me sign into two email accounts at the same time.  That is nice.  But sadly, it is not enough.  

You’ve been replaced by Firefox which doesn’t freeze my blog every time I sign in.  Also their fox cuddling with the world logo totally kicks your logos ass.

I would say “It’s not you, it’s me” but that would be a lie.  It’s definitely you.

XOXO,

Amy

  

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BLOG!

One year ago today I took a deep breath and posted the following to the interwebs:

Where to begin...I suppose with the name. "Zero Ducks in a Row" pretty much sums up my life right now. Up until this week I taught 4th grade until my principal decided that even though I tried my best I suck at teaching and thus no longer have a job.

So I am back to square one with any career plans and I am beginning to think that I will never make it as a teacher. That sounds like I am trying to do something spectacular like be a show girl or president but come on already...all I want to do is stand in front of kids and impart some wisdom upon them. Is that really too much to ask?

Currently I am harboring many anxieties about my future. I am on summer vacation but I have no future plans for any aspect of my life. This blog is an attempt to record and inspire(?) change in my life.

 

So here's to finding some ducks and forcing them to sit in a row.

  ________________________

I was in a very negative head space as (what I thought to be) my dream job was pulled out from under me and it seemed that there was only myself to blame.  An entire year has passed and unfortunately, not much has changed in the job department.  I began substituting and I continue to send out job applications to what feels like every school in the state of Massachusetts.  But in the past year, I have (mostly) come to terms with the fact that the economy is more to blame for my unemployment than myself.  I still fall asleep at least 3 nights a week thinking about what I could have done differently.  But I am sure hoping that finding a new job will put the thoughts of self-doubt to rest.

 

Throughout this past year I learned:

That a job isn't and shouldn't be your life. 

That I'm a hot mess in the kitchen...and love every minute of it.

That it's never too late to make wonderful new friends.

That I love being crafty and making things.
That making goals is easy...but achieving them is harder.
 

In a year this blog has gone through as many changes as I have.  It began as Zero Ducks in a Row, which although more Google friendly, didn't really represent where I wanted to go with all of this (whatever this is).  As Everyday A, the blog went through many a face lift but has finally found itself.

 

Blogging has become a hobby that very few people aside from other bloggers appreciate and understand...but I don't care...I LOVE IT!  I've rediscovered a love of writing and I've found an outlet that lets me record and share my daily happenings in a way that is comfortable and convenient.  I've always had the desire to keep a journal but I've never been able to keep up with it.  I would become conscious of how I structured a sentence, when I used the wrong word, my penmanship and if I made an error.  (Yes. I am a tad neurotic...tell me you aren't surprised by that.)  Writing a blog allows me to get my thoughts down quickly, to backspace, to delete, to use a thesaurus, and to share things with lovely people who I can't see as often as I'd like.

So here's to the next year!

P.S. If you know me, you know that I absolutely used my 1st Blog Birthday as an excuse to bake cupcakes.  Update soon because obviously I forgot to buy butter so I have to run back to the store.  #File under: Story of my life.

  

A Google Game

A few weeks ago, I posted a cupcake picture to let the world my followers and stalkers know that my BFF was turning 29 + 1 years old.  Well, it must have been International Cupcake Day/Week because I got a billion (give or take a few) hits on that post alone.

So I thought I would parlay my traffic sources into a game.  Listed below are some of the international Google referring sites that people have used to find my blog. 

How many can you identify using only the letters at the end of the link?

1. http://www.google.co.uk/
2. http://www.google.ca/
3. http://www.google.fi/
4. http://www.google.it/
5. http://www.google.si/
6. http://www.google.com.au/
7. http://www.google.co.za/
8. http://www.google.co.nz/
9. http://www.google.com.ph/
10. http://www.google.co.il/
11. http://www.google.ie/
12. http://www.google.hu/
13. http://www.google.de/
14. http://www.google.ru/
15. http://www.google.ae/

I scored a 13 out of 15.  How many did you guess right?

Click on the link to find the answer.  Or cheat check you answers below.
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1. United Kingdom  2. Canada  3. Finland  4. Italy  5. Slovenia  6. Australia  7. South Africa  8. New Zealand  9. Philippines  10. Israel  11. Ireland  12. Hungary  13. Germany  14. Russia  15. United Arab Emirates

Has Anyone Seen My Will To Blog?

I've misplaced my blogging mojo again.  When I asked for blog ideas, it was because I knew my mojo was fading and I was hoping for blog requests like, tell me about every pet you've ever had, describe in detail what you would do with 50 dollars in quarters, or discuss every awesome moment you ever had at camp.  No such luck.

But...today Jenna posted about receiving The Overlord Award and she passed it on to me.  Well she passed it to an Amy and I am going to assume that I am the only Amy she could possibly be talking about.  Ha.

So not only did this give me an excuse reason to blog but I get to change three things about the world...or at least tell you three things I would change about the world.

Number 1:  I would cancel Fox News.  All of Fox News.  Even watching Jon Stewart make fun of Fox News makes me cringe.  Be gone.

Number 2:  I would make teleportation a reality.  How awesome would it be to be able to have dinner with friends that live across the country or across the world whenever you wanted?  Just to be clear, it would be super awesome.

Number 3:  I would invent a live action do over.  You would be able to rewind time only a moment or so in order to have a do over.  For example, I could re-do the moment when I got home from doing 4 miles at the gym.  I took off my sneakers, stepped onto my tile floor and slipped in my socks, twisting my knee.  In my live action re-do I would leave my sneakers on...or take off my socks thus preventing my current achy knee/awkward limp situation.

So there you have it.  If I could change things in the world they would be magical things.  The rules didn't specify realistic/imaginary changes so I just ran with it.

What would you change about the world?

  

I'm The Girl...

Who ALWAYS broke the chain letter.

For those of you my age, remember back before email when friends would send chain mail to your house?  Like with the mailman?  You were supposed to then rewrite the letter and send it to (insert some number here) people or you would have bad luck for a billion years.  Come to think of it...maybe all that promised back luck is coming to fruition.*

Here is the part where I try to segue from chain mail to blog awards without making me seem ungrateful and making the people who gave them to me feel like they want to unfollow me.  For the record, I absolutely appreciate being thought of when it came time to forwarding awards (even if I feel like I didn't deserve them).  And the only comparison I'm drawing between chain mail and blog awards is the Amy ignores them aspect.

I've been given three awards by three wonderful bloggers and I've ignored all of them...until now.  Back in March, Miss Jenna bestowed upon me The Versatile Blogger Award.

Jumble Mash gave me an award for being an awesome guest poster on her blog.

And finally, Sunshine told me I am my blog is stylish.

To accept a blog award you are supposed to list some number of facts about yourself.  Because I love lists here are some more things about me:

-  The saying "better late than never" applies to 90% of my life.
-  I like to eat cinnamon Life cereal out of the box with my fingers.
-  Barnes and Noble is one of my favorite places ever!
-  I want to be an author. 
-  I just need a book idea.
-  I always liked the numbers 13 and 3.
-  But I think my lucky number is 4.
-  I made a delicious stir fry for dinner last night.
-  Baths kind of creep me out.
-  I need to learn how video G-Chat works before Friday.
-  My head wants to run a 5K but my body is not cooperating.
-  Sometimes I think I'm too cool for Blogger...
-  But actually I just think that Tumblr would be more receptive to my urge to post 4 blogs a day.

* This cannot be true as I make my own luck.  Just like that guy in Titanic who...um...never mind.

 

A Letter for You

Dear Official Followers and Anonymous Stalkers,

Now that I have settled on a blog design that I like (and intend on keeping for more than 2 months) I'm turning my attention to my blog content.  I began my blog as "Zero Ducks in a Row" to chronicle my struggles with losing my job but it has blossomed into a collection of random stories about my mundane happenings.

In my stalking of the blog world, I have found that most (Blogger) blogs have a central focus or theme:  new babies, cooking, crafting, running or book reviews.  Platforms like Tumblr seem more receptive to personal blogs about daily musings.  While I write this blog for myself, when you (and by you I mean me) put it out there for people to read you expect and hope for feedback in the form of page views, followers, and comments.

So I want to know what you think!

What do you like love?
What do you hate dislike?
What do you want to see more of? 
Less of?
Any suggestions for blog ideas?

Don't fret, this will still be all Amy all the time.  But I'm curious if you'd love to see updates four times a day detailing every inane facet of my day (like the guy I saw yesterday who put on leather work gloves before pumping gas) or prefer more thought provoking discussions on the difficulties of being a grownup.

XOXO,
Amy

   

The Big Reveal

So this is my new "look."

Please lie to me and tell me you love it.

 

Basically, I'm Famous

Today I am the featured guest poster over at Jumble Mash!  Be jealous.

She published my  "Open Letter to Minivan Owners and Operators" post from the award winning series Nobody Writes Letters Anymore.

Sorry I didn't make you aware of my awesomeness earlier but I played teacher today.

  

Remember The Time...Part 3

Remember the time I barely blogged?  Oh yeah...that was this week.

But I honed my skills as a shut in, read two books and ate lots of Easter candy...so there's that.

      

I Refuse To Recognize The Word Internet As A Proper Noun*

It seems that I have misplaced my motivation to blog.  I know that inspiration ebbs and flows but lately there has been a lot of ebbing and not so much flowing.

I was going to write about all the strange people I have observed as of late:
- The guy at the car dealership feeding pastries to his dog named Lady.**
- The woman wearing purple sweatpants who couldn't connect to the internet and in turn struck up a conversation with a tech geek which I can only imagine will lead to clandestine meetings and an affair.
- The older gentleman (who I picture to be a retired therapist) talking with a stranger about her mother-in-law and the tribulations of owning German Shepards.

I fear that what are intended to be humorous observations, may instead come off as "Amy is kind of a bitch for publicly shaming strangers on the internet."

I think I need a new project.

* I realize that the title of my post has nothing to do with the content of my post.  I am just annoyed that spell check insists I capitalize silly proper nouns such as internet, cd, tv, and german shepard.

**Seriously?  This is not a dog park.

New Name, New Look, Same Old Everything Else

When I started my blog, my first post was about how I had been kicked while I was down at my old job.  Zero Ducks in a Row spoke to me because at the time, it felt like I didn't have anything together.

But over these months I have realized that I have many things together (except for a place of employment) so the name doesn't seem apropos anymore.  Just a month ago I shortened the title to Zero Ducks and gave my blog a face lift.  However, I was left wanting.

I spent today trying to think of new ideas.  Unfortunately, everything I thought of already existed!  I guess an original thought is harder to come by than I imagined. 

I wanted to title the blog Call Me Amy (which used to be my old Myspace name back in the day) because it effectively utilizes both my surname and my name name.  Alas, this name was already in use.  I almost went with Call Me Amy Was Taken but chose:

Everyday A*

It's short.  It rhymes.  I write about my everyday happenings.  And I refer to everyone by initials already...so why not myself?  (Do not let the new name lead you to believe in any way that I will be posting every day.)

So welcome to a new era.  I seem to have gotten over my January blogging slump and I'm feeling a February frenzy coming on!  I have a lot of dull and insignificant things to share with my 4 followers.

For example...

I wish it was not uncouth to post a picture of my left ass cheek on my blog.  My bruise from Saturday's incident should be documented.  It really is quite impressive.  It is almost the size of my entire hand and is shaped like a sailfish (minus the pointy thing on his face.)

* I have also changed my URL so if you have me bookmarked, or on a blog list, or if you follow anonymously you will have to make the appropriate adjustments.