Service with a Smile... "You Want a Karma Shake with That?"

"I live too many miles from the ocean,
And I'm getting older and odd.
I get up every morning with a black cup of coffee
And talk to the mother of God..." -- Patty Griffin, "Mother of God"

This morning's homily at St. Paul's was a positive reaffirmation that it's okay to be happy and not caught up in the holiday madness. The theme of this week's Mass is "Joy", and how wonderful to be in full agreement! My weekend has definitely been filled with kind expressions and whole-hearted smiles (and a few off-the-wall conversations -- which, as most of you who understand me know, random, silly, and/or awkward situations are still grouped in the "Happy" category).

I'm absolutely beat, and I've put in 130+ of service work in a two-week period. I'm terrified they may be "empty" hours, though -- I get so paranoid of not meeting my requirements that I get caught up in exhausting myself to make sure I won't have to worry later. Likewise, I clearly have no other form of social interaction, so it makes sense to devote my waking hours to completely maximizing my AmeriCorps experience. But if I feel accomplished at the end of the day, it can't be that transparent - right?

This past weekend, a few AmeriCorps members and I went down to Camp Boggy Creek in Eustis, FL (the big patch of boonies outside of Orlando). The camp holds family weekends in the spring and summer, plus weeklong camps in the summer, for children with life-threatening or chronic illnesses. We stayed over Friday and hung out with our fellow volunteers, and Saturday was 10hrs of holiday madness as CBC held it's huge Christmas carnival. It was probably one of the single biggest volunteer efforts I've seen in a while: we spent ALL morning setting up, all afternoon hanging out with the kids and their families (an estimated 700 guests were in attendance), and all evening was clean-up. My station was in the arts-n-crafts section making flower pens -- it was an absolute hoot! I got to talk to so many neat little dudes and dudettes, and I couldn't believe how polite and sweet they were (I hate that those traits are so rare, but it gives me hope). I can't wait to go back and do a family weekend to hang out with more cool families!

PS. Major shout out to Erin P., who took on the task of watching my dogs for the weekend. They apparently gave her grief (which I'm now embarassed to be the mother of "those dogs"), but she handled it like a champ and I'm eternally grateful. Thanks, Erin!

Also, another few big shouts out to:
Minh - congrats on completing your first semester as a law student! I'm so happy to have you back on Facebook. ;)
Sarah O. - for being so diligent about reading my posts! It makes me feel so smart and important that I provide you with entertainment delight every once in a while.
Carrie - the same goes for you! Thanks for always providing great follow-up info. =P
Tracy H. - whoo hooooo! You're graduating, you silly lady!! About time! Now, let's get back to this Euro expedition bid'ness...

Don't worry, more to come.

And here's my favorite secret from Post Secret this morning:

I also wish that when that day comes, we listen to each other. I'd be more assertive if I knew it would do some good. I'm not shy nor passive-aggressive. I just know the people I really wish I could talk to are those who will never change.

But I also know that the people I am comfortable talking to and confide in are going to change the world. How lovely to have friends that see the world with a great sense of love and humor!

With that, it's too the gym! I indulged in more fried and sugary carbohydrates in the last 48 hours than I did over the Thanksgiving break -- AND IT WAS DELICIOUS. I'm detoxing myself until I get to SC... then it's a week long fiesta of food! Aye carumba! :D

A Sunday Smile... You Wore It for a While.

I absolutely love Sundays. Typically it's been the one day I have all to myself and my dogs; I can tell they love Sundays, too. I've been lucky most of them have been relatively quiet and full of sunshine (albeit pretty freakin' chilly). My wonderful Sunday ritual is as follows:

.::. Finally, no wake up call! - I sleep in as late as my body will allow; usually, this means about 8:30-9am. But hey, that doesn't mean I actually have to get OUT of bed then...

.::. When I do finally drag myself out of bed, I make a big, steamy mug of coffee and am sure to add plenty of special flavored creamer (my favorite as of late: Nestle's Coffee Mate Fat Free Hazelnut or Sugar-Free French Vanilla... heavenly!). Don't forget a healthy breakfast! My recent healthy and delicious find: Kashi's Cinnamon Harvest shredded wheat cereal or Honey Bunches of Oats Whole Grain Vanilla Clusters. Mmm. It's nice to slowly indulge in the fabulousness of my breakfast, and not wolf it down in hopes of making record time to rush out the door. Plus, staying in my jammies as long as possible makes me wildly happy.

.::. While my coffee's still hot, I rush to my computer to check Post Secret for their Sunday Secrets. One of the girls on my Greece trip last-last summer introduced me to it, and I've been hooked ever since. I can't do it justice explaining it -- you'll just have to check it out for yourself. This week's secrets were fairly more depressing and angry than usual, though...

.::. My old lady moment - I also HAVE to check the Weekly Ad on Target.com. Even if I know I don't need anything (and certainly don't have the money FOR anything), I still insist on checking out this week's deals. I have *two* Super Targets within 15min of me, which has been wonderfully convenient -- and mildly dangerous. You guys think I'm kidding when I named my blog "Breakfast at Target." Whenever I'm having a bad day (or a case of the "Mean Reds", as it were), Target is my zone out place. I turn off my phone and I wander the aisles, mainly hitting up the sale items. I'm particularly fortunate to find at least something neat on clearance, whether a pair of shoes, a piece of jewelry, scrapbook stuff, or fun snacks. It's probably not healthy that I turn to Starbucks or Target for a quick pick-me-up... but like Sarah said, at least it's not drugs or alcohol!

.::. After a long and unnecessarily slow morning, I take the dogs out for a long walk along the St. John's River then head back to get ready for Mass. I've been going to St. Paul's Catholic Church in Riverside pretty "religiously", and I like their 11am service. I see the same people in the same spots every time. I've started coming up with their life stories in my head; perhaps one day I'll actually get the courage to ask them about it. Our priest is straight out of Poland, and goodness knows he has that dry, Eastern European-ness about him. It keeps things interesting.

.::. The Sunday afternoon moves only slightly faster than the morning, but it turns out much more productive. I break out the cleaning supplies and blast my "Quick Mix" on Pandora to the point where I exhaust my laptop. I love my Sunday apartment cleanings because it's so metaphoric; I love having a nice clean slate for the week and getting rid of all the garbage in my life. I'm trying to live more simply. It's what Audrey would do.

.::. And this is the part were it all comes together. Sunday evenings bring a time of quiet reflection (and wearing as comfortable clothes as possible... and as minimal as possible). It's the last few hours before another hectic week, and I've begun to see the value in absolute silence. It's nice to think that the world spun a little more slowly today. I used to believe that God threw in an extra hour on Sundays so I could sleep in and still have time to play and get homework done before the week. Silly, yes? Perhaps. It made sense to me - after all, Mass was an hour, so it was never wasted!

There you have it.

My Sunday was a little out of order because of a service project this afternoon, but over all I feel confident in starting another week. When I get the chance, I'll have to tell you all about my service experience at the Mayor's Holiday Festival of Senior Citizens yesterday... I'm afraid I don't quite have enough creative energy to tell it with the flair it deserves; though, I think the stories already have enough appeal. More to follow...

I wish pleasant weeks to all of you. Only 16 more shopping days until Christmas, apparently, too (my thoughts on the holiday season will also be making their debut within a few posts).

I've Lost My Tolerance for Stupid People... and Alcohol, Apparently.

The title of this post in no way reflects the immediate content of this post (though it's a pivotal thought that's crossed my mind more so lately). Come to think of it, I don't think any of my blog titles ever really match up... It's more of a wild attempt to draw readers in. Maybe I should put something like "Free Beer!" or "If This Post Reaches 100 Comments, I'll Run Naked Through Riverside!" (Don't tempt me.) Whatever, I have a few dedicated followers. It's all I need. :)

I'm perfectly exhausted as of late, and I'm debating if it's in that "good" way I mentioned before. I realize the busier I am, the less I think about all the stuff that worries me: being away from John, being away from friends (and any chance at a social life), grad school, my jiggly rear, my AmeriCorps duties, my ever-stretched bank account, my sanity (or lack thereof).... I never understood why we put so much pressure on ourselves with the worrying; but the fact is, we do, and I'm trying my best to deal with it in stride. It's lame being my own support system. I mean, I can't drink with myself... it's simply and socially unacceptable. And I'd make fun of myself. And I can be really mean sometimes. Betch!

I'm not sure if I mentioned it or not, but I recently began mentoring back in October. It's kind of attached to my service description, but it's a guaranteed hour and a half outside of the office once a week to hang out with my mentee (we're a school-based program, which means I meet with her during her elective period within regular school hours). She's in 7th grade and my polar opposite = she's not girlie at all, though she has crazy long hair - which hasn't seen a brush since 2004. She's a little country and totally tomboyish. She has a boyfriend for "rep's sake" (that's reputation, as I've learned), not because she really likes him. But for some reason, it just works between us. I don't think we connect on a deep, personal level, but I can tell she trusts me and has opened up a lot over the last couple of weeks. I keep trying to steer her in the right direction because she seems to come from a "tough crowd" kind of family; she's strong-willed and really wants an identity all her own, though. I think we at least have that in common.

Side note: I brought in Starbucks the last time we met (I got her a hot chocolate, though, because she's not into coffee -- I'll get her on that soon enough); she casually sipped on it throughout our little meeting, which I thought was weird -- I'd be the kid who chugged it in 8.3 seconds (which I did with the Pumpkin Spiced Latte I bought for myself). I figured she didn't like it and was kind of pissed I spent $3.50 on a fancy pants hot cocoa. But she held on to it until our meeting was over then walked out with it; it kind of occured to me that maybe she was trying to be cool infront of her friends with her Starbucks... it made me feel a little better. ;)

Side side note: I've been dragging so badly lately that I've been hitting up Starbucks 2-4x's a week. I know that's money that should be saving orphan sloths in the rainforest or something; but honestly, it's what gets me through. If you're in the mood to send a Christmas present my way, SBux giftcards are much appreciated....

So the Russian lady.

She wasn't *as* random as I made her out to be. Approximately 13-ish years ago, we had a Russian high school exchange student named Hellen who babysat for us over the summer. She was super sweet and tons of fun, and my parents have kept in touch with her since then (she has 3 darling kids of her own now and is preggers with the 4th). Well, Hellen's mom, Tatiana, also kept in touch with my parents because she came to visit once or twice while Hellen was here; and of course my 'rents were her constant source of contact for Hellen. Well, my dad decided to randomly invite Tatiana over (wtf? from freakin', Moscow, Dad?). So, she came. From Moscow. She flew in a few weeks before Thanksgiving and I just found out she's leaving next weekend (though last time I looked at her plane ticket, she wasn't originally planning on leaving until February 2009....). She was nice, I guess, but the whole experience was beyond the regular cultural gap. I suppose it was one of those "you had to be there" situations, but I tried to be as hospitable as I could. She followed me around in the kitchen all Thanksgiving while I cooked, and I found her sitting in the dark a lot just staring off... We did have an interesting conversation about aquariums, though....

Other than that, I've been pulling in some serious hours lately and I like feeling productive. I've also been taking some serious workout classes before and after my site service when I can, and it's nice to know I've got working muscles in weird places (this must be what "fit" feels like!). I've recently joined a few professional groups, including Rotaract (which they're waving my dues while I'm in service - sweet!), and Toastmasters, a professional networking and public speaking organization (which they are NOT waving my dues... bleh). I'm also starting social/ballroom dancing in the new year because I've gotten a special deal through someone I met at Toastmasters (semi-sweet!). The guy who teaches is cute as hell, but any dude who's hips don't lie is certainly not in the market for a leggy blonde... unless his name is Sven.

My dogs smell really bad. That'll teach me to buy them the "healthy digestive diet" food. Little Chiuhauhas should not be so... "bubbly."

Alright, time to throw down a few chapters in the ol' bedtime book and hit the sack. Let's see if I can get more than 6hrs of sleep tonight... I have much to dream about.