I Can Not Let BTPTh Pass By

OK, I know. I said something about not being here very often over the next few weeks. So isn’t a gal allowed to change her mind? Geez. Guess I just felt compelled to post something today because my thought process is very broken right now. This post should be a plethora of random, inane wackiness.

So I have been thinking. Why are there no stars right next to Earth? Why do we have to go light years outside our own Solar System to reach them? OK, I know the Sun is technically considered a star but then this makes me think even greater thoughts like I wonder if every single star is a sun and if tiny little Solar Systems spin around each of them. It isn’t like we can get to them to find out so how can we really know? I hope so. I hope other beings exist in other systems and treat their own rock the way we should be treating ours.

I have been smoke free for twelve days. Matt is using the patch. I only smoked 1-2 a day and the patch makes me feel like I’m having a heart attack so I’m going cold. Not sure how I’m doing. I want to be quit because seriously smoking is so last decade but for some reason I’m having a way more difficult time this time around. I really wanted to quit last year. But if I don’t just stay quit this time I’m never going to get around to doing it later so that is that. I need to totally reprogram my brain.

With the advent of quitting Matt & I estimate we will be able to save upwards of $3000 a year. Yeah, no joke. Collectively we smoked a pack a day and at about $8.50 a pack that is over 3k a year. There are many things we are both looking forward to putting that money towards.

First off, we’re joining the Trustees of Reservations and getting a fairly chunky membership at that. At the Sponsor level we’ll be supporting the over 100 locations across Massachusetts that the Trustees support. Free entry into many of the beaches alone makes this well worth the cost, but they also have historic register properties and lots of great hiking trails to explore too.

I am going to admit that I need some structure toward working my literal ass off and will join the gym. The one right down the street offers a whole bunch of cool classes like yoga and Pilates and some aerobic stuff too plus just having access to a treadmill is going to be the golden ticket for me.

We both plan to get our butts out to see a whole lot more live music again. We used to be super duper concert goers, discovering new and local acts all over the Boston music scene but let that slide in recent years so it is going to be nice getting back into music again.

Matt is probably going to upgrade his bike to one that is a bit sturdier for mountain biking and he’s going to buy a season pass to a local ski area.

While he’s off doing that, if I’m not at the gym, I plan to be taking drum lessons or getting my first tattoo. Finally.

The tat is tripping me up a little bit. I do not want something that anyone else has so it can’t come from the wall, and it has to be something that really means something to me; otherwise why would I permanently mark my body with it? Anyone know any phenomenal artists who will let me just tell them the stuff I love and then they will whip up something amazing that is no more than a few inches square? Then anyone have other suggestions of a tattoo artist who can interpret it and adorn my hip with it?

One of the awesome products that was sent to me to review is a “cook” book called Raw Energy 124 Raw Food Recipes…. I have been hearing more and more about this food movement lately and although I have long admitted to being an omnivore some of the stuff in this book sounds way too good not to try. When grocery shopping tomorrow I have to pick up a whole bunch of stuff to make some of these and a few of Ginger’s vegan yummies.

My ex sent a friend request on Facebook. WTF? We’re not talking the “oh its so good to hear from this person because we haven’t spoken since we broke up when both of us went to college and there were no hard feelings” ex. I’m at a loss what to do.

Well off to dinner and ice cream with a good friend.

Why not go ahead and check the fun stylings of KC, Bree, Bridgete, Ginger and Kate for more randomly sprouted thoughts.

Photo courtesy of South Park Studios clips

Back in Action, Sort Of

After a nice long vacation to Martha’s Vineyard last week I returned home to find a virtual shopping mall of boxes stacked beside my front door. Looks like I will be very busy for the next month or so doing product and service reviews for Green Leaf Reviewer, but I really wouldn’t have it any other way; I absolutely love my job.

Boxes loaded with stuff like toilet paper, a self filtering water bottle, 8+ boxes of cereal, aluminum foil, canvas bags, produce bags, kitchen scrubbers, a raw foods “cook” book, soap, paper towels, sugarcane plates and granola bars arrived while I was gone. Not to mention a CD from a musician I reviewed recently, Peter Mulvey.

It is so cool to know that I don’t have to buy many household items these days because Green companies are responding to my marketing gal’s request with such vigor! I truly feel so blessed to have such an amazing job; in fact it is the exact job I asked for a year ago -- I made a declaration that I wanted to blog for a living and well, here it is.

So this year, in my ever so frequent “reevaluation” fashion, I am making a new request. While continuing to write daily for Green Leaf Reviewer and watching it take off like a bullet, I also want to ensure I schedule a good chunk of time to work on my two near and dear writing projects -- my fictional character novel and the poetry/photography coffee table book my mom and I are collaborating on -- so they will be completed, edited and put out into the world for sale within the next six months.

With that said I am sorry that I have to slow down a little bit on posting the Labor of Love series here because I actually had some content from one of those posts stolen and republished as if it was their own work. I filed a claim and Blogger has taken it down but it still nerves me that my real writing has been copyright infringed. That one I am shopping though so if it gets published as a novella I will be sure to let everyone know!

For all of you who are posting anything on your blog that could be stolen (and seriously, that’s everyone) I can not encourage you enough to set up some Google Alerts. I never would have known about my content being republished if it wasn’t for an alert on nothing more than my blog title.

There are a bunch of things that I need to shore up in my personal life as well and once they are behind me I will be able to move forward in a much more meaningful way, here and everywhere else. I guess what I’m really trying to say is I am taking the pressure to post off of myself and if I feel up to it I will but if not I am not going to force it anymore just to stay current.

So I may not be here as often for a while, writing or commenting that is, but I assure you I will still be reading all of you. It’s funny, this blog has gone through a slew of changes in its short 2 year lifespan (blogiversary was on the 13th of September, yea!) from short blurbs to haiku and prose to lengthy diatribes, has covered a range of stuff all over the map and has gone through phases from daily to barely weekly posting. I guess that’s why I titled it Random Lunacy.

To send myself off on the virtual three week cruise ship, here are a few pictures from our recent vacation for all of you to enjoy. Check you later.

This is no joke. Every year, without fail, at least three people can be heard screaming and we all turn to watch as a seagull flies away with their sandwich or bag of chips.

The little dudes, known in these parts as Hammer and Anvil, totally enjoyed their first Vineyard trip.

We discovered a hidden gem of a spot in the Cedar Tree Neck Sanctuary. Nice light hiking trails and they end up on the beach. Simply gorgeous and serene.

This is our favorite beach, Long Point. The temperature was about 68, mostly cloudy and the winds were gusting at about 125 miles an hour it seemed this day. We were the only people out there and it was fabulous.

At Mytoi Japanese Gardens on Chappaquiddick Island we sat and watched this little dragonfly for a few minutes. He was blind in one eye but seemed to be doing just fine.

Our last full day on island; I managed to only chop off a little bit of Matt’s hat this time. This is us in Mytoi.

BTPTh The Countdown Is On

So we have been invited to a Halloween costume party this year and I think we both really want to go. It has been ages since either of us has gotten all costumed up and I have to say its kind of exciting coming up with just the right thing.

The last costume party we went to we dressed up as white trash.

That was an awesome costume; I carried my Bud around in a cozy all night that I put in my overalls front pocket. Matt looked like he had just come from his job at the convenience store. The costumes were perfect and now we have to do something even better but still go as a couple.

Of course it has to be very us and can’t take a lot of prep time to create or find it. All of the individual pieces from this costume we already had in our closet its just that when put together they became quite the trashy ensemble.

The toughest part is conceiving the costume.

In three short days we go on vacation. This is our annual trip to Martha’s Vineyard with our friends and there is no way to possibly express how excited I am for this adventure. It is so time to get away for relaxing book reading.

Lists upon lists have been created for items not to forget and things to pack. We will probably even squeeze Rock Band into one of the cars. On top of the stuff to pack I have been front loading like a freak for Green Leaf Reviewer and I only have 2 posts to go to ensure I have one post a day scheduled. Between yesterday & today I wrote one from yesterday through a week from Monday. Whew!

Research is a lengthy process. But I wouldn’t have it any other way; it is way too fun writing every day!

The skunk population in the neighborhood is getting worse, it is just about every night now we either see one, smell one or both. I am starting to wonder if the early summer rain had something to do with it.

Tonight is dinner at Mum’s and that should be nice. Hmmm…I should text her to see what we are having so I will know what kind of wine to pick up.

Because my brain is swimming I am going to leave this a short but sweet post tonight.

Before I forget, here is the rest of the crew of homies. Bree, Bridgete, Ginger & KC. Check em out, they are fun and only bite if you ask nicely.