The Wisdom of Five-Year-Olds

Probably going to be a short post, but I think sometimes that's okay.

Sometimes I feel life is just so hectic. I think sometimes I get over cynical because I'm an adult and that's what adults do sometimes.

I'm seriously nostalgic for the days where I'd wake up, not have to worry about getting ready for a job that I sometimes hate, working ten, eleven, even fifteen hour days (yeah, just did two of those, sheesh), come home exhausted and then do the whole thing all over again. 

I miss the days where I didn't have to worry about groceries, paying bills, worrying about paying for a stupid, broken down car and weighing the benefits of just buying a new one.  

We need carefree moments in our lives or I think we'd all go crazy. Having taken care of crazy people, it's not a desirable state in which to live. Some people are so strung out about how they live their lives and worrying about sometimes greatly unnecessary things, they miss what's really important.

I think I feel this more often than I should at my age. 

Recently we've had a lot of rain, which lead to a lot of people I know on Facebook posting pictures of the post-rain rainbows. My reaction towards about 90% of the pictures were, "Who cares about the freakin' rainbows?" But maybe my reaction should have been less, I don't know...ragey? It's a good thing people were taking the time out to appreciate something, even if it's seemingly as insignificant as a rainbow.

Today, I had a carefree moment, which prompted this post.

I was at a coworker's house following a failed Mary Kay party. My coworker has a five-year-old and she was seven levels of devastated (okay, that might be an exaggeration) that nobody got to try on make-up. Once we got back to my friends house, I offered my face as a canvas to her daughter.

The result left me looking something like this:

Minus the beard, cigarette and more purple than blue

I look like a walking disaster--almost like I got beat up in a back alley--but it was worth the excitement that her daughter had spending the twenty minutes making me up. It was worth the twenty minutes that I wasn't worried about anything causing me strife and that I was equally as much as five-year-old as she was.

 

Everyone needs to have these moments in their lives, or life will get incredibly dull, worrisome and bleak. 

 

So, go out and get your make up done by a five-year-old. You'll feel better.

Top Five Thursday #2

I am an astronomically horrible person because I missed not one, but TWO posts last week, however 1) it was a work week; 2) it was a horrible work week; and 3) I worked two 15-hour shifts back-to-back, so I think I deserve some slack.

Listen to Aaron Rodgers.

So, since it's Thursday, I figured I'd do the Top 5 Thursday I meant to do last Thursday. So, without further ado, I present to you... 

LB's Top 5 Celebrity Crushes

(That I Just Don't Understand)

1) Clay Matthews

 

Okay, so first off, let's chat quickly about what LB finds attractive in a man. I'm a fan of the nerdy type. I need a guy taller than me, so at least six foot. I fit the cliche of liking tall, dark and handsome. I don't need muscles on a guy, but just a little bit is a comfort. Basically, if John Krasinski would have me, I'd hold on and never let go. 

Alright then, we've determined my ideal guy is John Krasinksi (or Zachary Levi). Clay Matthews is NONE of what I described above. Tall, sure, but he's a muscle beefcake, has long, questionably greasy blonde hair and is in no way nerdy. 

Yet, there is something about Clay Matthews that I find delicious and he can sack me any day he wants. 

2) Steve Carell 

 

Steve Carell was never on my radar until he showed up in Silver Fox Mode. He always got bonus points for being funny, but with that beautiful salt-and-pepper beard, I've found myself wanting to lick his chin. 

3) Jonah Hill

 

Skinny Jonah Hill confuses the attractive center of my brain. The revelation that I found him attractive as a slimmer man came to me on a day in which I had an hour long Nsync dance party by myself while rooting for the Miami Dolphins to win a football game. 

It was a very confusing day for me.  

4) Edward Norton

 

Oh, Edward Norton.  Not Brad Pitt or George Clooney levels of gorgeous, but then again, I never found either of them really that attractive. Any movie Norton is in, I will see. Partly for his face and partly because I'd listen to him read me the phone book. He could tell me something horrible and I'd be okay with it because of smooth as silk voice.

Mmm...yes, please.

5) Jason Segel 

 

He definitely fits the nerdy profile I enjoy, but other than that, I can't explain to you why I wouldn't mind becoming Mrs. Jason Segel. I think it's because I'm in love with his character on "How I Met Your Mother". Maybe it's because he's funny and a little fluffy around the middle and I kind of like that too.

Either way, Jason Segel sets my heart atwitter and I'll just have to live with that.

Bucket List

For a while, I could not think of anything to write about this week. Then I thought back to a conversation I had with my friend on our road trip.

We had just visited The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia and had the opportunity to look through a fancy telescope that allowed us to view the sun in all its midday glory. Not only did we get to see the sun in the middle of day without scorching our retinas beyond repair, we also were able to see a sunspot blemishing the surface.

We both thought it was pretty cool, because we’re both giant nerds. But it also sparked the topic of things we’d like to see and do while we’re still gracing the Earth with our awesome presence.

Except I’m not that awesome

Here’s a small sample of the things I hope to accomplish before I die.

1. Get married, have kids, the whole she-bang.
2. Finish my To-Read List. If you’ve seen it, you know this is probably mostly impossible.
3. See the Milky Way. I want to see ALL THE STARS. I live in a too light polluted area to see anything besides Orion’s Belt and the Big Dipper.
4. Visit Washington D.C.
5. Visit Yellow Stone National Park.
6. Plant and maintain a garden. I really like perennials and want to plant a perennial garden. SOON.
7. Visit Hawaii
8. Visit Italy. All of it. I want to spend about six months there.
9. Visit Greece.
10. See the pyramids.
11. Visit Scotland.
12. Visit every National League ballpark in America.
13. Make a substantial donation to a charity
14. Leave a huge tip for the hell of it. Like $1000 at a Red Lobster
15. Get a dog, more specifically a Corgi.
16. Celebrate in the Festival of Holi.
17. See every Brewers game in a season.
18. Gain a specialty in my nursing field.
19. Finish my started scrapbooks.
20. Relearn piano. I still can plunk out a tune, but it takes a long time.
21. See the Aurora Borealis
22. Visit the Four Corners. I have a thing about being in two places at once. I might explode here due to sheer excitement.
23. Learn photography
24. See an opera
25. Be happy

This is the longest list I’ve actually managed to come up with.

I think I’m pretty simple in my list of wants. I don’t strive to do anything spectacular with my life, I just want to be content. I mean, sure, it would be awesome if I were the person to discover a disease curing drug or pioneer a new surgical technique, but I’d be happier if I got to run through a field of wild flowers or visit the tulip fields in Holland.

We'll see how many of these I can cross off in the near future.

Wanderlust

This might be short, but I'm pressed for time and just got back from an 11 day trip, so I have a very important date with my couch and pajamas.

Yes, I know it's only 4:30 in the afternoon on a Saturday...you know what, don't judge me! You do 2,640 miles of driving and tell me how you feel at the end of it.

Hrmph.

Aw, don't be sad, I'm sorry. I spoke out of exhaustion.

But my 11 day road trip just sparked an incredible amount of wanderlust in me. I want to travel everywhere.

 

I've been fortunate in that I've been able to travel fairly frequently. Every year, I get three weeks off at work and each year since I started working I've taken that time to see a different place. The first year it was New York City. The second year is was North Carolina, specifically the Smoky Mountains, Raleigh, Charlotte and the Outer Banks. And this third year it was Philadelphia and Boston. 

 

I realize that in the grand scale of things, America is not an old country. The crux of our history really begins in the 1600s, with the admittedly most exciting stuff only staring to happen in the mid 1750s. We have just over 400 years of history with most of country with much less. Compare that to Europe or Egypt or Israel with thousands and thousands of years of history. 

 

I want to go to those places. Maybe it's because I just can't fathom that much history. While I was in Independence Hall, the place where our Declaration of Independence was signed, I was in awe that I was standing in a place that had existed just a mere 250 years ago. 

 

I think my brain would explode to visit anywhere else with much more and a much deeper history than the eastern coast of the United States. 

 

If I had the means, I would leave and travel for months on end. I want my brain to explode at seeing ancient churches in Europe or the pyramids in Egypt. I want to spend six months exploring all Italy has to offer. I want to spend equally as much time stuffing my face with feta cheese in Greece. 

 

Alas...

 

Pictured: me crying over my lack of money

 

Until that time I come into a large amount of cash (c'mon lottery!), I'll continue to be plagued with wanderlust.