Hello, Sweetie!

Have you ever said a word so many times that it starts to sound like a foreign language in your head?  Like this word has been so overused that it's lost all meaning?

Well, try saying a word over and over again that's not even a real word and see how you feel after a while.

Cupcakerator.

I loved this blog.  I loved that it was a ridiculous word that I made up because it sounded like a robot who loves cupcakes. 

I did not love that most people couldn't pronounce the made up word and that I felt silly explaining myself to new readers.

It's like when you're 19 and you get a tattoo because you've thought long and hard about how deep it's meaning is to you and then people ask you what it's meaning is and you just say "Durrr I love music".  You just feel silly. (yes, I feel stupid explaining that tattoo)

Wouldn't it be nice to start over with something that involves real live words and can have multiple meanings depending on the day you're having?  I think so!

And thus, "Hello, Sweetie!" was born. 

A nice greeting. A nerdy gesture. A love of sweets.

Whatever! It's just fun! Like me!

So please, follow me to my new bloggy home.  Let me know what you would like to see more of. 

And please, let me know if you're reading this. ;)

xoxo
Amanda

Birthday Boy - Best Dad Ever

It's my dad's birthday today.

He doesn't spend time on the internet or read blogs so it's entirely possible this post is more for me than anyone else.  But, if he sees it, I hope he appreciates it.

Growing up, my parents were divorced and I lived with my dad and two older brothers.  Let me tell you, puberty is rough in a house full of boys.  Let's just say that I didn't know it was normal to have a garbage can in the bathroom until I was like 17.  (Thanks, Holly!)

My dad was one of my favorite people though.  We'd watch tv together (American Dreams, y'all!) and listen to oldies in the car.  He came to literally every single cheerleading event I've ever been to in my life.  Like, there were cheer moms and then there was Karl.  (yes, I called him Karl in public. it was the only way to get his attention when football was happening).

Looking back, it's honestly amazing the amount of support he gave me just by being there.  Like, would most dad's wake up at 5am to curl your hair for a competition? Doubt it.  Would they laugh along with you when you'd make up cheer routines to Green Day (secretly knowing that no one would ever accept them)? I don't know, but he did that.  Would they come to school to yell at your counselor for giving you a career aptitude test that told you you were destined to become a chainsaw operator? He did that.

Our relationship wasn't always sunshine and rainbows.  We would yell at each other at the top of our lungs and argue about the dumbest things but no matter what, he came to my room to apologize eventually.  I think it's one of the main reasons that I can't go to bed angry.  I literally just realized that those two things were related.  I recently read a journal entry I wrote about how angry I was with him over something mundane and stupid (teenage angst) and it was hilarious.

Now that I'm grown up (HA!) it's crazy to look back on things with fresh eyes and be able to appreciate my dad.  This is the guy who we quote more than we quote movies (lackasickuva).  This is the guy who I can call crying when my move isn't going as planned.  This is the guy I voluntarily vacation with because he's genuinely one of the most fun people to be around.  This is the guy who supports me in everything I do or even want to do eventually.  And he's the gold standard for what a man should be.

Anyway, this may have been boring for you to read and I don't really care.  He's my dad. It's his birthday. And I love him.

I mean, just look at that picture.  Cry laughing.  At a wedding.  That's awesome!

xoxo
Amanda

Power Ballad Thursday: Meatloaf - I Would Do Anything For Love

I had a very Power Ballad heavy morning today.  I blame the fact that A) I was stressed out and B) No one was chatting with me on line so I felt compelled to tweet lyrics on line.

It was a great way to start my day.

Anyway, today's sponsored Power Ballad is from Meatloaf.  And it's a classic.  And the video is EPIC.

When I was a kid, my brother actually owned this cd.  It felt really cool to get to say "hell" whenever referencing it.

Hell, hell, hell.

Also, I get to share my favorite food with a face doodle.  Which is always fun.  This is my art style.  It's the best work I do. Inanimate objects with faces.

xoxo
Amanda

Wolf Weekend

What did John and I do this weekend? Oh, nothing crazy just went to a wolf sanctuary in Indiana!!

John found out about this place somewhere in the abyss known as the internet and knew it'd be right up my alley so he sent me the info. Honestly, it sounded too good to be true.  You go to this place and donate $20 and get to interact with these majestic beauties? No way.  YES WAY!

So, we contacted one of my favorites who happens to live in Indianapolis (Hi Laura!) and set a plan of action.  I mean, I love visiting this girl anyway, so the added fun of seeing wolves just made me go out there sooner than normal. :)

Here's the gist of how this place (which is in the middle of nowhere) works.  You go in, and there are tons of super helpful and nice volunteers there who are super passionate about taking care of these wolves (most of which are rescues - some of which are born in captivity).  Then they take you out back and there's this sort of catwalk/walkway that goes through this wooded pen area and they take you to each one and you're just looking down at these huge wolves.

Each big pen is a pack.  There's an alpha male and alpha female and an omega and then a bunch of in between wolves.  It's so cool.  So you walk around (btw it was crazy hot) learning about each of them and hearing their stories and then you say "yes, I'm absolutely donating money to this cause and going in a cage with these guys".  Because duh, why would you ever say no to this experience?

There was a birthday party right before us so the wolves were a little worn out when we went in there.  But they came up and laid down next to us and let us scratch their bellies.  I felt bad because it was so hot out but they were already growing their winter coats so they seems even hotter than I was in my black pants.

Anyway. I'm not feeling very eloquent so here's some pictures.

John's new bff.

NBD. Just tickling a wolf's paw.

Okay, this is SO cute. This is Loki (the old Alpha) and Loki Sue (his mate and the current alpha female). They still hang out all freaking day. I love them.

If you're ever looking for something to do and you're relatively close to the Indianapolis area, you absolutely should check out Wolf Creek Habitat.  They are the nicest people and the coolest animals.  We might have to go back!

xoxo
Amanda

Power Ballad Thursday: Tina Turner - The Best

FOR SHAME!

I keep forgetting the best day of the week - Power Ballad Thursday!

This weeks power ballad goes out to my girl, Sam. For getting a new jerb.

She's simply the best.

xoxo
Amanda

Real Talk (or when I sound depressed but really I'm just brainstorming)

Growing up, I never really had to try hard at things. Good grades came without much fuss over homework. I had a crazy metabolism so I didn't really worry about what I ate. I didn't care much about having popularity because I loved the friends I had. 

I never really thought too much about the future beyond the basics: I would have a ton of money. Enough money to have a guest house that my mom would live in.

I had no plans on how I would get there or what I actually wanted to do with my life but I knew that's where I'd end up.  Presumably because I never had to think much about how I got where I was going, I just got there. Always. Without fail.

And then there was college.  I struggled with my studies because I had never had to study before in my life. But other than that I just sort of plugged along. I never thought about my major (psychology? really?) or what I wanted to do after school (clinical psychologist...duh).  But really I never loved the subject or really tried to get farther into it.  I simply had a good teacher in high school who inspired me to make this decision and stick with it.

Towards my senior year, I realized that I had very little interest in going into my chosen field but I also had even less interest in staying in college any longer than I needed to.  So I graduated, content in the effort, or lack thereof, that I had put forward.  

I found a job in customer service in Grand Rapids and stayed until they laid me off a year later.  And then I started trying. In that I applied to at least 3 jobs a day until I finally got the call to Chicago to join the ranks of the customer service crew here.  I love working at the company I'm with and I've since been promoted. Okay, cool. 

But do I have any idea what I want from my future? In a vague sense, sure.  I want a house. I want to live close(r) to my family. Uh. that's about it.  Not much further than I was in High School, right?  Except that there's a major difference in my awareness.

I'm aware that I have no self discipline.  I don't stick to projects past a month or so (see also: blogging).  I look at the ending more than the middle and I get upset when I don't immediately get the gratification that I was searching for. But I can't help it. I'm a product of my past. And I never had to try before and it's kicking my ass now.  I would love for someone to guide me to what I should be doing.  I wish there were life aptitude tests (that don't wind up with me working in chain saw operations).

I would love to be more creative and stick with it (but have no idea how).  I would love to have a goal that I'm striving toward or a plan on how to get to that fictional place of achievement.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not unhappy in my life.  I love the lot I've been given.  I just don't know what to do now.

I love baking.  I researched a food truck.  But no one really thinks it's a logical idea, and it probably isn't.  I'm not the most amazing baker in the world.  I'm okay with that.  because it's not something I'm trying that hard to do.

I love parties.  I love themes. I love crafts for them. I love making people happy. But I don't really have a background for it outside of my few and far between soirees. It's hard to practice parties when you have only a handful of friends (AMAZING WONDERFUL CARING INSPIRATIONAL FRIENDS) and they're scattered across multiple states.  Plus, duh, I've never learned how to work towards things anyway.

I love figuring things out.  I enjoy seeing a problem and having people tell me they won't help me solve it. All that means is that I need to figure it out on my own. Within a scope - technology.  I like figuring out HTML. I actually loved doing XML coding for an internal program at work (to make pretty colors of course). But I really only care about fixing things that bother me personally. Or making things pretty I guess.

Okay, so this exercise in brainstorming has gotten me to a conclusion with what I enjoy. 

I enjoy making people happy.  

I love working extra hard on little things that no one ever notices and making them great. I go above and beyond on a lot of things that don't matter to most people. Like planning events at work for charity. And by events, I mean decorating plastic cups for NFL teams or creating massive scavenger hunts.

Now, quick, someone formulate a goal for me out of all of this.  Lord knows I won't do it myself.

Power Ballad Thursday (vol. 5): Journey - Faithfully

PBT! PBT! PBT!

I forget power ballad Thursday every week until after lunch.  That's when I get tired and need a pick me up and think "Oh man! It's PBT! Woo!"

Hopefully you can share in the sentiment with this gem.

I'm actually not sure about what makes a power ballad a power ballad.  But According to my brain, this is absolutely one.