The Cupcake Dilemma

It’s been 2 weeks since I moved back home!  Two weeks of wonderful sunshine in my heart, clearing out the emotional garbage and being fully open to how awesome life can truly be.  Yet there is one thing I never anticipated, one thing that really has challenged me.

There are no cupcakes in this house.

Oh sure, we could buy cupcakes, but gone are the days of 1 or 2 cupcakes (3 or 4) a day that I shoved in my mouth when life got stressful. I did NOT spend an entire week in March eating almost nothing besides cupcakes. Not to mention my last week of work I ate Fruity Pebbles for breakfast and lunch. Which sounds amazing except for this once fact: I’m not a kid anymore, so my body is SO anti-sugar all day. Surprisingly, green St. Patrick’s day frosting on my cupcakes does not”make it a vegetable”.  Now that I’m eating veggies and fruit all the time ( because I don’t want my mom to say “Um, you don’t ever eat fruit!”) my body sings a little “Hallelujah!” and I look and feel better.  So I know that not eating cupcakes for a meal is wonderful.

Except after 2pm, my body starts chanting “CupCAKE! CupCAKE! CupCAKE!” and I find myself getting pumped up like the high school quarterback getting ready to make the game winning touchdown “Yeaaaaaaahhhhh!! CUPCAKE!” Intellectually I know that I’m creating new habits that if I keep reinforcing non-cupcake behavior, I’ll eventually get over my urge to shove cake in my mouth until I’m sick in the stomach. But the chanting cheers continue for now.

I’m not sure if the cupcake cravings have lessened or my surrender to my lazy butt not driving all the way to the grocery store has made it a little easier.  Although, if you ask my parents, they’d probably say that my saying “CUPCAKES! WHERE ARE THE CUPCAKES?!” then insisting that I really don’t want cupcakes, I just want to talk about them….all the time.

Before you start to become concerned that I will never eat cake again, (“Let her eat cake!” I hear you cry out!) I have a master plan for taking care of my cupcake cravings.  In a weekish, I’m going to card club. The wonderful thing is that the hostess provides beverages and the guests bring a snack or dessert. I am going to bake a delicious lemon cake with lemon frosting. I plan on using round cake pans and decorating it to look like a slice of lemon! YES! Am I awesome or what? (Thank you for not saying “or what” in advance).  I promise to have a special “Look at my awesome cake!” post when it  is complete.

So I guess what I’m saying is I can have my cake and eat it too. Just not everyday…at each meal…

 

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by missmccracken on May 31, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Food, Silly Fun Times
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Posted by missmccracken on May 31, 2012

http://bloggart.wordpress.com/2012/05/31/the-cupcake-dilemma/

Yay! and other words expressing happiness

Yay! I know you all have wondered what life has been like since I quit my job. Especially “What is she going to complain about now that she’s not working?” Well, I’ll tell ya! Not that much at all.

I had a nasty head cold that started the day after my last blog post. Now I’m pretty much all better, except for the occasional gross phlegm attack. I was pretty sick and miserable though. But then I realized, that I was too sick to freak out about quitting my job! So I’m not complaining too much about it.

I did have a couple freakouts this week though. As my Dad would say “Well, your computer wasn’t working, your car wasn’t working and you weren’t working. It was bound to get to you” and he is SO right. The computer is now fixed (thanks to me, Dad, and the Geek Squad) and the car is getting fixed. And I’m pretty okay dokay now. I’ve unpacked, put extra stuff in the attic and am pretty much settled. I’ve tried to get my “I can’t believe I did this!” energy out by cleaning, which NO one is complaining about, but I think I’ll be able to sit still and illustrate and read books on illustration next week.

Mom and Dad have been pretty great. Sometimes they have to say things like “We’re your PARENTS and we LOVE you. Stop getting so SNIPPY with us!” and I say “Oh…right!” I’d say my hypersensitive defensive self has melted a little over the week. :) So it’s been a bit of an adjustment, but nothing really BAD happened this week. I mean, sure the car, the computer, and the head cold, but that’s just stuff that happens. No one said anything like:

“Umm….yeah….I’m gonna need you to turn in this 10 page report on all the data that I never explained we needed for that project I forgot to assign you before lunch. So call me after you get these 14 messages and let me know where you already are with that”

“Heeeeyyyyyyy, can I just steal you for a couple minutes and close you into my tiny office where I’ll play with myself while asking you what’s wrong with kids these days?”

“Sooooo, heyyyyy, I’m just calling about that report again…I don’t understand what’s taking so long… it was actually due three days ago. I may have forgotten to mention that when I told you about it in those 14 voicemails I left before you’re scheduled to come in the office”

“Um,heyyyyy …. soooo someone pooped aannnnd I don’t want to really deal with it, sooooo I’m gonna need you to clean it”

My blood pressure hasn’t spiked all week! :-D   Every once in a while I panic and think I have to go back, and then I have a “dance with glee” moment when I realize I’m NEVER GOING BACK!

Hee hee hee hee hee hee!!!

So I think I’m finally ready to get started with the rest of my life! YAY!!!! But first I need to catch up on TV watching. Ah, life is pretty great now!! :D

 

 

 

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by missmccracken on May 25, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Thinking Out Loud

Posted by missmccracken on May 25, 2012

http://bloggart.wordpress.com/2012/05/25/yay-and-other-words-expressing-happiness/

FREEEEEEEEeeeeeeee.e….e……

Welcome to the “Oh shit, I can’t believe I did this!” celebration!

Actually, that was earlier today. I woke up feeling well-rested in my awesome bedroom and had a Rapunzel-esque freak out.  Once my parents reassured me that I was NOT an unemployed loser living with her parents, I felt better. I felt extra better after deciding on a new comforter set (that I haven’t bought. No purchases over 15 dollars for the next few weeks while I’m in freak out mode) and taking a two-hour nap. Ah, naps.

SO YAY!!! I am no longer in a toxic work environment! I’m FREE! I’m so excited and happy, and looking forward to making progress towards a healthy and happy life! I can’t wait! AND it’s facebook official now too, so you know I’m extra-committed. Do you know what I’m really happy about? Being able to TALK about stuff and not feeling paranoid about some supervisor looming over the internet and reading my posts. Ick. Paranoia is not my color.

In celebration of my newwwwww leaf, I want to tell you a story of my last outing with my friend Penny. We were talking about our unusual names and she said she found a Penny Nickel in the phone book. “Who would name her kid Penny with the last name Nickel!?” I said “Well, that’s probably a married name. She probably met him and had a sixth sense it would work out.”   We hooted with laughter.

:D I’m rather proud of that one. I realize the duck isn’t the only one I’ll miss, and I’m pretty glad for it.

13 Comments
by missmccracken on May 17, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Thinking Out Loud

Posted by missmccracken on May 17, 2012

http://bloggart.wordpress.com/2012/05/17/freeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-e-e/

The Duck

The Duck

Nesting in her feathers. No Ducklings yet!

2 Comments
by missmccracken on May 14, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Thinking Out Loud

Posted by missmccracken on May 14, 2012

http://bloggart.wordpress.com/2012/05/14/the-duck/

A new buddy

Last year I participated in The Skectchbook Project. My sketchbook was titled “Hope” and strangely enough, this monster appeared. In all the drawings I didn’t overthink, this monster was there. Standing next to the scale during weigh-ins, mailing an important package, exercising. This giant furry mess was there.  Then recently, he reappeared in my drawings. Decapitating stick figures that talk too much and defending cartoon versions of myself. My sense of purpose and inner strength seems to be large, furry, and have very large teeth.

“She said ‘No’, Ted”

I’m going to continue working on this new buddy.  I like him. Once I’m finished, I’ll post the final results on my other bloggy thing. :)

What are y’all up to these days?

8 Comments
by missmccracken on May 13, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Silly Fun Times, Thinking Out Loud

Posted by missmccracken on May 13, 2012

http://bloggart.wordpress.com/2012/05/13/a-new-buddy/

One more week

One week from today, I will be waking up in my warm bed at home. Home will be far away from where I work, and I will do a little happy dance in a sunny room. Because I’m sleeping in that day and it will be sunny outside then.

I was up at 5:00am this morning with that sort of “It’s Christmas Day!” excitement and started packing my car for this next to last trip. I thought about all the people and the things here that I would miss. Or I tried to, at least. It was a difficult task to think of missing something here.

As the sun started to rise, I saw that the wind had picked up and the clouds were being swept forward. Some of them curled from the force of the wind, and with the light getting brighter, the sky looked like it was this roaring mythical fire. I stood there taking it in. I thought about late poets and artists and realized that if they probably had more to inspire them. How inspired am I by looking at cute cats online?  I though about this until I realized my arms were cold from the wind-I had left my jacket inside. I stopped to check on the nesting duck before returning indoors. She’s still hanging out, blending in.

There’s my answer. I’m going to miss the duck.

 

6 Comments
by missmccracken on May 10, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Thinking Out Loud
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Posted by missmccracken on May 10, 2012

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Obama makes a Statement

“I have to tell you that over the course of several years as I have talked to friends and family and neighbors when I think about members of my own staff who are in incredibly committed monogamous relationships, same-sex relationships, who are raising kids together, when I think about those soldiers or airmen or marines or sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf and yet feel constrained, even now that ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ is gone, because they are not able to commit themselves in a marriage, at a certain point I’ve just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married”  

- President Barack Obama, May 9, 2012

Agreed. Thank you, Mr. President.

Now to see the reactions. I felt proud when I read this. My gay friends should be able to get married! They’re in love, and committed to each other! and me? I need to buy them presents, wear a pretty dress and eat CAKE.

Wedding cake always is delicious because it’s frosted with hopes and dreams.

 Maybe I’m just paying attention more, but there is a lot more support being publicized for the gay community.Zach Wahls took the internet by storm and then wrote a book “My Two Moms” to support Equal Rights for the LGBTQ community.  “What Would You Do” showed diner patrons defending a transgender waitress who was being harassed by an actor. It seems the media is getting more comfortable talking about equal rights for the homosexual community, and that people who support gays are getting more positive press.

I don’t understand what it’s like to be gay. I don’t understand it at all. But I understand what it’s like to be a human being. I understand what it’s like to be a citizen of this country. I also understand what it’s like to have the government debate personal issues that impact an entire group. I mean, hello? All the controversy about birth control? Ridiculous. So I feel a sisterhood with the gay community. I don’t understand what it’s like to be gay. But I understand what it’s like to feel that you’re not treated equally, and that when we stand together, we can make a change. We can open minds and hearts.

I hope this is the start of something amazing and wonderful. Because I really love  to eat wedding cake.

2 Comments
by missmccracken on May 9, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Love
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Posted by missmccracken on May 9, 2012

http://bloggart.wordpress.com/2012/05/09/obama-makes-a-statement/

Everything just stumbles out like that

I’ve been so busy getting ready to leave, that it’s almost here! NEXT Wednesday will be my last working day. AND my schedule will have changed again, so I’ll be working 8-4. So I can go home THAT NIGHT!

I’m so excited! The challenge I have now with packing is How Much Can I Pack? Or “What can I live without for the next week?”

Surprisingly, quite a bit! I packed all my dishes, pots and pans and have been living off of frozen dinners. I am taking my TV home this week, because after the students leave, I can watch TV on the big screen in the lobby. Clothes? I packed almost all of them except for 7 days worth of clothes that are mostly black and purple so I can wash ‘em together.

I’ve been listening to The Help as an audiobook. It’s really enjoyable to listen to while I’m packing and cleaning. The women who read it are expressive and can make their voices change into different characters so well, that I sorta forget where I am while they’re talking. I appreciate what they must feel like. And am glad I don’t have to really know it.

Well, that’s enough for one day. I took the background program off my laptop that lets me go online in the school system, so I only go online from my phone or my office, meaning you won’t really tell the difference from your end of the blogosphere. The back ground program was messing up my computer, so I dumped it. It’s running just fine now!  But I’ll be blogging from work for the next week. That’s okay though. I look really productive typing away to y’all, and that’s about as much as I can offer this place right now. Looking productive.

Have a great night!

 

 

4 Comments
by missmccracken on May 7, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Silly Fun Times, Thinking Out Loud

Posted by missmccracken on May 7, 2012

http://bloggart.wordpress.com/2012/05/07/everything-just-stumbles-out-like-that/

Quack!! Quack!!

There’s this little  duck that has decided to build a nest in a little corner next to my living room window outside. the way the roof lays, she’s offered a little protection from the elements, but not completely. More importantly her corner will keep predators from sneaking up on her. She’s one smart duck.

Last night, a terrible thunderstorm crashed and banged through the neighborhood. I thought “The duck is going to get hurt!” The rain was pouring so hard, you could only hear a rush of noise roaring outside. Poor duck!

When I ran out this morning, she was taking down a mud and grass wall she arranged around herself to protect her and her eggs from the storm. She’s one smart duck!

You know what has really filled my heart? The students adore her, and respect her. These same students that are horrible, rude, and shout “WOOOOO!” drunkenly outside check on the duck regularly. I opened my office window to hear them (sometimes it pays to have my office close by!) These are some of the things I heard

“Dude be quiet! You’re going to disturb the duck!”

“Do you think she’ll be okay? Let’s just keep an eye on her and make sure no one is going to bother her.”

“Omigoodness! Look at the duck! Okay, we’re not going to point her out to anyone okay? Wow, she’s so cute!”

“Should we call someone to protect her?”

These students who literally pee on the lobby floor have all assigned themselves as Guardians of the Duck. No matter what the person looks like, acts like, they ALL look out for her to make sure no one messes with her. At one point, it looked like people were taking shifts, sitting on the bench and making sure no one got too close to the duck. After a couple of days it became clear we ALL loved our new neighbor and pitied anyone who even thought of messing with our Duck Mama as an angry mob of college students would descend upon the offender.

Some students worried to the point that I began to worry about them. So I broke one of my rules. I told them where I live. “That’s my living room window, RIGHT there. I can sit on my couch and if I hear ANYTHING that sounds weird, I’ll be there in no time.”

“You really live there?”

“I really do”

“you’ll look out for her”

“Me and about two hundred other folks”

“…..okay! I feel better! Thanks!”

I wish we could tell the duck how she’s probably exactly what we needed here.

I hope it doesn’t storm again tonight.

4 Comments
by missmccracken on May 4, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Thinking Out Loud
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Posted by missmccracken on May 4, 2012

http://bloggart.wordpress.com/2012/05/04/quack-quack/

Notice

I gave my two weeks notice, and it went well. Soon I’ll be out of here, and ready to start talking more. Right now, I’m super duper tired.

Thanks for being here the last few months. Y’all have really helped me, with your listening, your nice comments, and sharing your own stories on your blogs.  I appreciate each of you. :)

4 Comments
by missmccracken on May 1, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Thinking Out Loud

Posted by missmccracken on May 1, 2012

http://bloggart.wordpress.com/2012/05/01/notice/

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