5 Things: Songs to Write To

I once could not do any homework, reading, or writing unless it was dead silent.  Then I went to college and I learned quickly if I didn't make the most of every moment because I was bothered by noise, I would never get anything done.  Still, I do not like to read with music in the background- moderate ambient noise is okay.  When writing for this blog or for fun I have to listen to low-key music.  Anything too bouncy and my mind focuses on the beat (probably because I'm daydreaming about being the best drummer that ever lived!).  Here are five songs from my iTunes Music for Writing To playlist.


My Only Swerving by El Ten Eleven

So Long by Guster

North by North by Faded Paper Figures

Maps by Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Easier to Lie by Aqualung



Let me know of any music you like to work to.  I'm always looking to expand my playlist.  :)

5 Things: Places I Want to Live In

Portland/Seattle

I have been to Portland and I have been dying to go back.  J and I have wanted to do a roadtrip through the Pacific Northwest for our honeymoon.  I have no idea when we will get to that.  All I know is that this region is beautiful.  These cities are big enough to be cultured, but the surrounding areas are beautiful enough to escape to.  (The closest thing I have to that here is the Everglades, and trust me, you don't want to "escape" to that.)  The dining and music scenes are also phenomenal.

San Fransico

J's brother is currently living here.  Boy, I am jealous!  Actually, I'm really happy for him.  San Fransico is iconic and has a rich history.  It's more laid back than other big cities and unlike L.A., appearances aren't everything.  I've been told that UW-Madison was based off of the Berkley campus, and I've always wanted to go and take a peek (and maybe a class or two).  I hear that there are lot of excellent restaurants there, too!

Denver

Another great city that is surrounded by nature.  As a kid and a teenager I enjoyed being outdoors.  I would love to go white water rafting, canoeing, and hiking.  I feel like I am out of touch with nature living in Miami.  I do like living next to a large body of water (I grew up with Lake Michigan in Milwaukee and Lake Mendota and Menona in Madison), so being landlocked is the one thing I wouldn't be crazy about here.  But I'm sure there are plenty of things that would make up for that if I was living in Denver.

Abroad

I have dreamed of living abroad.  One regret I have about college is that I didn't take the chance to do so.  I didn't really have the funding for it, but it is one of the few times in your life when it is exceptable to pick up and move without being too tied down for a couple of months or a year.  Living in Miami is sometimes like living in a different country and I've made life work for me here, whose to say I couldn't do it elsewhere.  J and I sometimes discuss the post-doc oppurtunities abroad.  I don't know if we'll ever have the chance to live in Europe or Asia, but if the oppurtunity ever came, I'd be hard pressed to turn it down.

Madison

I don't know if I'll ever live in Wisconsin again.  I'm okay with that.  In some ways I really miss the state and in others I don't.  Madison is the place I think of when I think of home.  It was my first time out on my own.  I had to establish myself and figure out a lot about life.  Madison was a great city to test out my wings.  I didn't always fly beautifully, but there were times like I felt I was soaring there.  I have not been able to recreate that feeling here.  In Madison, during my college years, I had a mix of friends, school, work, community, art, music, food, comfort, and new experiences that I don't think I'd ever be able to recreate.  If J's career brought us back to Madison, we'd be pretty happy campers.

5 Things: Simple Things that Make Me Smile

I liked doing the 5 Things: Miami post, so I figured I would do some more.  Instead of flooding my blog with 5 Things everyday I decided to make it a bi-weekly post.  I also used to think that if a post didn't have to do with Miami Life specifically (new experience, funny story, good restaurant) then I shouldn't post about it.  Well, I am living in Miami, so I figure writing about my life in general is worthy of blog posting, too!

I also added labels to all of my blog posts.  For example, if you are looking for a particular post where I wrote about food then you can look through the Food Love label.  The other labels I have included are: 5 Things, Books, Crafting, Etsy, Miami Life, Puppy Love, Quelle Horreur (for those funny-because-it-wasn't-happening-to-you stories), Wisconsin, and Work.  It was a interesting to read what I had to say about life in Miami these past two years.  I also noticed my readership went way down after I stopped posting links on my Facebook page.  I've been boycotting Facebook for awhile (I hate the Keeping Up with The Joneses feeling it gives me...) but I have to gone back recently to keep in touch with friends and to be able to share my blog with those who care.  That being said, I really appreciate those of you who do take the time to sort through my jumbled thoughts.  One of the main reasons I write is to try and entertain you.  I hope that you enjoy the silly things I have to share.

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5 Simple Things that Make Me Smile

My Turtle Collection

I don't know why, but I like turtles.  Maybe it is because they appeal to the minimalist in me?  They can compact themselves and take their homes with them.  Maybe it is because I had a turtle growing up?  His name was Freddy and he lived in my brother's room.  I think some turtles are decidedly cute and others are not.  I've been acquiring cute turtles from friends and family over the years.

The wooden turtle was from a high school friend.  It was probably the single most thoughtful thing he ever gave to me.  The red and green turtle is from my littlest brother.  He brought it back for me when I couldn't go on a family vacation.  The sea turtle is a gift from a friend when she went to Hawaii.  The rubber turtle is a bit banged up, but I love him.  I found him outside of a grocery store the day that I picked up my family from the airport when they came to visit.  I named him Terrance.  The green stone turtle is from J.  He bought it for me when he went to Milan and I stayed in Lyon with the friend who gave me the wooden turtle.  Oddly enough, he went to Milan with the friend who gave me the sea turtle.  The last turtle is a Littlest Pet Shop toy.  I am a sucker for anything cute and I spent a summer searching for this toy in every Target and Wal-Mart in Milwaukee and Madison.  J finally bought it for me online.  :)

My Maneki Neko Collection

It is a small collection, but I love Maneki Neko nontheless.  They represent good luck and prosperity in the Japanese culture.  Shop keepers will often have them in their windows.  I went to a seamstress in Madison on State Street mainly because she had these little guys inviting me in.  She was a good seamstress.  I hope one day to travel to Japan.  I have been dreaming of that for a long time.

I got my first Maneki Neko from The Icing (teeny bopper store) at Brookfield Square.  It was originally a key chain, which I was collecting at the time.  I was drawn to the colors and I thought he would bring me more money so I could buy Gelly Roll pens (another collection).  The second is the gold one from the Morikami Japanese Gardens in Delray Beach.  I love Japanese gardens and I wanted to take my parents there.  They have a really well curated gift shop.  I saw this pudgy guy and fell in love.  The third one is light green and it is from St. Pete's.  J and I were on our way to get Ruby and we stopped in a shop that had all sorts of neat stuff.  I like this one because it reminds me of a fun trip with J and when we got to meet our baby.

Foot Prints on the Fridge

I made this project while I was in the School of Education during the Art/Math semester.  In our class we had to teach lesson plans to our classmates and a couple of girls did a lesson plan about how unique individuals can be.  We were to trace our shoes on paper and then make a collage on one footprint represent to ourselves and another for an important person in our lives.  I did mine about J.  These have been hanging on my fridge since the day that I made them.  They remind me of how different we are, the things I admire about him, and how we are walking through life together.

 You can probably figure out which footprint is for me and which is for J.  Mine has the laughing Buddha, the stuff about cleanliness and simplicity, and my birth month.  J's has food on it (because he does most of the cooking), radar and clouds and sky (to represent his career), IQ (because I think he is smart), a lemur (because he thinks they're funny), and a little piggy (representing me having to crane my neck to look at him).

My Goat Print

My mom has this print, too.  It is called Nap Time.  I don't think of the little goat yawning so much as I think of him bleating.  It made me laugh the first time I saw it.  It was the first picture J and I hung up.  It is odd.  It is funny.  It fits us perfectly.

Like I mentioned, this print is named "Nap Time."  I can't really make out the artist's name... artists should print their names so you can read it and buy more stuff from them, but I digress.  I think it is A. Connor?

My Uglydoll Calendar

My family will tell you that I like the ugly, the kitschy, and the weird.  It's true.  I have often purchased things thinking, "Oh, this funny little stuffed animal needs a home.  Don't worry, I'll take care of you."  I've gotten better at making more thoughtful purchases over the years, but now friends and family have taken to fulfilling my need of the odd things in life.  My dad and I share a love for the Hobby Shop that is in Greenfield, WI.  Aside from hobby supplies it also sells newspapers, magazines, and calendars.  He saw this one and thought of me and the two-sided Uglydoll I proudly brought home from my freshman year of college.  He shares my sense of humor (or I share his) so he immediately understood why I would want such a stuffed animal.  This calendar helps me keep track of the days, but it also reminds me not to take things so seriously.  (And that when all else fails, call Dad because he'll make you laugh.)

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There you have it!  5 simple things in my life that bring a smile to my face.

5 Things: Miami

5 Things I Love About Miami

1. Food from Ms. Cheezious!
2. Dining, in general.
3. Comfortable weather from November to March.
4. I live in an international melting pot (I have co-workers from around the world and the Cuban/Islander culture down here is like nothing I've ever seen before).
5. I got Ruby! And soon I'll have Lily!

5 Things I Hate About Miami

1. Anything medical. Ever.  (Getting prescriptions, going to the doctor, having tests done... it is all a pain.  I don't speak the language of the medical field down here.  I have been raging mad about treatment we have received.  The only medical personnel I like down here are the people at the vet's office.)
2. Driving and traffic.  (And paying tolls.)
3. Horrible weather from April to October.  
4. Lack of a Midwestern work ethic.  ("Miami time" is a real thing.  It's delayed from usual time by two weeks.  Nothing gets done fast here.  Nothing is done with a smile either.  You'd think I'd be used to it by now, but it still bugs me.)
5. Laundry.  (I have never hated doing laundry this much in my life!  I've been doing it since I was in grade school.  I just hate our laundry set up so much.  I have a huge pile of dirty clothes staring me down as I type this.)

5 Things I Learned in Miami

1. Dance music is a movement and it's not half bad.  (Even if I don't go clubbing.  Oh, and Pitbull is the King of Miami, Flo Rider is the Prince, and Gloria Estefan is the Queen.)
2. I now get all of the jokes in the Sh*t Miami Girls Say YouTube video.  I think it is funny and scary (I've started doing some of those things).
3. Speaking of which, I can talk really, really fast with wild hand movements now to demonstrate my excitement or anger over a situation.
4. People don't know where Milwaukee is.  (I've been told I was from Ohio, Chicago, and the state of Washington.  It would be funny if this wasn't one of the least educated large cities in the U.S.)
5. I learned how to bead-weave, string pearls, knit, crochet, make mosaics, and develop an Etsy website.  (Not half bad.)

5 Things I Hope for in a New City

1. A sense of pride in the community, a recycling initiative, a decent farmers market, and city parks.
2. A beautiful, comfortable, reasonably priced place to call home.
3. Being admitted to a graduate program for Creative Writing.
4. The ability to drive forty minutes away from the city to find gorgeous, peaceful scenery and places to explore.
5. Friends who uplift me and appreciate the same things I do.