Daddy's Girl?

In a post a few years ago, I told a story about a girl on a plane who asked me why my nose was so big.  I laughed and told her I got it from my dad.  This Father's Day I'd like to pay tribute to my father by compiling a list of the unconventional influences he's had on my life and character. (You know... apart from my physical existence, general providence throughout my life and 50% of my good looks.)  I'm not even sure he reads my blog, but here we go!
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Things I Attribute To My Dad:

1. My knowledge of the theme songs to nearly every James Bond movie.
2. My ability to recognize the differences between an F-15 Eagle and an F-16 Fighting Falcon.
3. My appreciation for mowing the lawn.  With a push mower.
4. My habit of driving with my hand at the top of the wheel and periodically moving it to check my speed. (This was recently pointed out by my sister.  I had no idea he did it too.)
5. My tendency to tell painfully corny jokes.
6. The emotional connection I have to waffles.
7. What knowledge I possess of basic car maintenance (which I've noticed is more than most. Thanks, dad.)
8. A recognition of the importance of keeping my car clean.
9. My understanding of the game of baseball. (Let's goooooooooo, Tulsa!)
10. My love of water sports. (You should see this guy water ski!)
11. My ability to do the Lindy Hop.
12. The proud moment we were crowned the Tulsa East Stake 2010 Prom Queen and King.
13. A disdain for Wonder Woman. Sorry.
14. That I know how to Spackle a wall, grout tile, shingle a roof and maintain a swimming pool.
15. A lack of love for dogs.
16. My enjoyment of peanut butter. On everything.
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These and many more (probably more important) things I owe to one Gary Blamires. Thanks, Dad, for helping me become the weird person I am today! Proud to be your baby girl. Happy Father's Day!

Nothing Less Than A...

My favorite 3 and a half year old has a fun new way of speaking.  And thinking.  One I think we all ought to adopt.  He started out responding to compliments with complete affirmation:

"Seth, you're so cute."

"Yes I am so tute."

Then we began to pay him what is apparently the greatest compliment of all. "Seth, you're a rock star." He likes this.  So much, in fact, that his response has changed.

"Seth, you're such a good kid."

"No. I'm a rock star."

Nothing else will do.

Is this an unhealthy way of thinking? I don't think so. I believe it might do me some good to recognize my inner rock star. Especially at times when I feel anything but awesome.

Sometimes I make mistakes at work, fail to get everything done that I plan to, allow myself to be fooled by a cute boy, gain a few pounds over the weekend or wonder why my life isn't going the way I hoped it would.  I'm not incompetent or lazy or a stupid girl or a fatty... and certainly not a failure...

I'm a rock star. 

Try it!

Inhale, Breathe Steady, Exhale

Tonight I found myself lying on a blanket on the grass by myself looking up at the stars, due in part to a need to clear my mind and to the promise of a meteor shower.

As I did so, a song was running through my head that I first heard (embarrassingly enough) on an episode of Drop Dead Diva entitled "Happily Ever After" by a group called He is We. The chorus reads:

Oh, happily ever after, wouldn't you know, wouldn't you know.

Oh, skip to the ending. Who'd like to know, I'd like to know.

Author of the moment, can you tell me? Do I end up, do I end up happy?

The thing about shooting stars is that it's all a waiting game.  You wait for what feels like forever until you forget why you're out there.  Start to think about the chilly wind.  The dampness seeping through your blanket.  (The creeper out walking his dog in the middle of the night.)  And just as you decide to go inside, you catch just a glimpse. A slight motion out of the corner of your eye. Just enough to keep you there a little longer... staring, hopeful, toward the sky. Trusting that there's something coming that's worth waiting for.

Inhale, breathe steady, exhale. Like you're ready... if you're ready or not.



Life is a waiting game. Waiting for what's around the corner.  Waiting for promises to be fulfilled. Reminding yourself each day to get up.  To breathe.  To pretend you're okay. Not cold. Not alone. Because your star could come at any moment.  Maybe.

But as the hours pass while you wait for the tiny streaks of light to get you through, it's hard not to wonder... When the morning comes and everything is illuminated...

Do I end up happy?



Carpe-ing the Diem

This year I accidentally made a resolution. In a conversation with a roommate I realized I had become too careful, too calculated with all of my decisions. Nothing new ever happened because I had become comfortable with the way things were. Not happy. Just comfortable. Wishing for things to be different but never doing anything differently classified me as insane (according to Albert Einstein's definition* of insanity.) Upon this discovery I vocally vowed to consciously step outside of my comfort zone more often... just to see what would happen.

 

She found a wall-hanging (the type of thing she and I would both have normally hated) that she bought for me which says:

 

Today is the day. Live your life with abandon. Be courageous and wild at heart. Be your own hero. Follow your dreams no matter how big they are. Fall in Love. Take time to appreciate the moments, for they will soon be memories. Be good to yourself. Be generous and truthful. Dance, sing and play no matter your age. Believe in your own power, strength and fortitude. Embrace new Possibilities. Make friends everywhere you go. Inspire someone. Be Brave. Take chances and be Spontaneous. Discover your gifts and use them wisely. Surround yourself with love, laughter and truth. Don't take it all too seriously. Forgive quickly and don't hold grudges. Seek Peace and Calm. Learn something new every day. Create Happiness. Laugh often. Enjoy the little things. Be gracious and kind. Smile at Strangers. We're on this journey together. This is YOUR LIFE... Make it Beautiful.

 

Typically any one of those phrases would have been enough to make me gag a little... but it definitely captures the essence of my goal for 2012. Stepping out and letting go.   

Just a few things I've done thus far:

- Spent a weekend in Vegas

- Got a tattoo (henna)

- Crashed a bonfire

- Got a phone number from a waiter

- Played the lottery (okay, someone actually bought me a ticket...)

- Learned first-hand that blonds don't have more fun

- Ran a 5k (which I've done before but this one was particularly awesome)

- Watched midnight showings on work nights

- Taken up the ukulele

- Had a caramel fight late at night

 

And many other things I don't need to mention but have meant a great deal to me. Hopefully many more to come! Maybe I'll toilet paper a house (don't tell my mom... I was never allowed to) or sing on a street corner. Maybe I'll have my heart broken. Who knows? But then, that's the fun of it, right?

 

*Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Winds of Grass (or Leaves of Change?)

I had a conversation with a friend about how they hate it when a band changes their musical style. How often when you talk about music do you or someone else say, "I only like their old stuff"?

It reminded me of a few bands that have been my favorites through the years and how they've changed. I love the changes, though. It shows that they've lived. They've had experiences... good and bad... that have altered the way they see and feel. Albums that were angry, edgy or careless have become more deep and meaningful. I'd like to think that I've changed, too.

Driving home from work the other day I became distracted by the medians on the freeway. I'll never understand landscapers in Arizona. They have a tendency to kill anything green. There were patches on the median where clearly the civil servants hadn't gotten to with the weed killer yet and I found myself thinking how beautiful it would be if they let the patches of grass grow in, rather than spraying them away.

What is it about being human that makes us so afraid of change? (Of course this was my train of thought while listening to an uncharacteristic Linkin Park song watching weed-filled medians go by. And thus this post was born.) I think what scares me the most is that no change ever comes with a return policy. I want to know beforehand how things will turn out. However, I also realize that nothing good can come if I pull out the Round-Up every time something green sprouts into my dull, brown, familiar world.

Resolution: Learn to welcome changes when they come. Each makes me a more interesting person, brings color into my life and makes my figurative songs mean a little bit more.
(How's that for sappy, eh? And some of you think I'm heartless...)

Retro Resolutions

At the wise old age of 26, I think I'm finally getting the hang of this goals thing. I thought I'd figured it all out last New Year's when I decided the key was to set my expectations of myself very low. I made resolutions to do things like not gain 50 lbs (instead of hoping to lose 5 or 10,) eat and sleep daily, get a year older, etc. Don't get me wrong! I still fully support that theory! But I think I've come up with something better.

I call them "Retro Resolutions." Instead of setting expectations at the beginning of the year, I'm going to look back on the previous year and make a list of the resolutions that I would have succeeded in had I made them the year before.

Let's try it! Here are my Retro Resolutions for 2011:

- Lose 7 lbs. (Yes, I actually did. Go figure.)
- Attend an NBA game.
- Remain single. (Not even a close call. Total Success!)
- Learn to play the harmonica. (This one I'm actually kind of proud of... though I've got some improvement to make.)
- Win an iPad2 at a work party.
- Don't go completely broke.
- Start a new job.
- Quit said job for a better position with the previous job.
- Break my addiction to Diet Coke. (I still drink it... but I don't NEED to drink it!)
- Make a quilt.
- Join a gym. (I don't really go, but the option is there.)
- Turn 26. (Done and done.)
- Continue to be awesome.

Okay, okay... I could go on, but it's starting to sound a lot like the goals I made for the year in the first place. My point is that perhaps it's more beneficial to look back and recognize what I actually accomplished rather than realize that I didn't accomplish what I had hoped to.

Happy goal-setting/accomplishment-recognizing (whichever you may prefer) to you all!!
And Happy New Year.

Laser Tag

I finally did it! And by that I mean I crossed something off of my bucket list. Fun fact about me: One of my greatest fears is being chased. (No, not being chaste. I'm okay with that one.) There's something about having someone after me that causes a great deal of anxiety... even if it's just a game.

On the flip side, I've always wanted to play laser tag, but it made me nervous just to think about it. (I'm also super cheap sometimes... but we don't need to discuss that.) Last month for a ward activity at church, they had laser tag at a park nearby. Thinking it would be the cheap Nerf equipment we went to check it out.







It was legit. (Kids use that word these days.)

I have to say it was a little unnerving how satisfying it was to shoot at my peers and hear my gun report "That's a kill!" What does that say about me?

"Play laser tag" will be replaced by "Attend an OKC Thunder Game" on the Everlasting Bucket List.