Project March: Part 3

This post will only be for six days because I'm going to pick up tomorrow in the next post.
I know I'm being slightly inconsistent, but you probably wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't told you.

I'm also way more quote-y in this post. So, there's that.

And now here's this:

March 14

This is me sitting at a lake (pond?) in our neighborhood. Mike and I got to take a walk after work and before dinner.

These plans are picturesque, like mountains in the midwest.
-Designer Skyline; Owl City

March  15

I got an Amazon gift card for doing some things and some stuff (I'm a very descriptive writer, I know), and I was like I AM FINALLY GOING TO GET TO BUY A LAWN CHAIR.

And today, my Ostrich beach chaise came in the mail. It's like a lower-sitting elongated lawn chair made out of fabric and metal and not biodegradable plastic.

Anyone who's ever had to restring lawn chairs (Mum) knows what I'm talking about.

kitty face.

What's cool about this one- and was its primary selling feature to me- was the face hole.

So that you can lay on your stomach and read a book. How cool is that?!?

And then I found some pretty weeds in my yard.

I should probably go mow.

March 16

Today I'm going to showcase a little bad-assity.

Below is a photo of our taxes that I did by hand (pretty much) because the "free e-file" software is no longer "free". I used the "free forms" which calculates some things, but I still had to do the goofy choreography of the qualified dividends and capital gains tax worksheet by myself, which is a lot like trying to swing dance with a robot.

Since this is our first time married filing joint, it's a blessing and kind of a downer to have income that exceeds the thresholds for these easy one-stop-shop tax softwares.

I don't know why I felt like a badass after I completed them. I mean, that's what I did in my career for 3 years, and that's how my dad always had to do them.

I just really felt like I stuck it to the man today.

And it felt good.

Another thing I did was fix my $10 Wal-Mart watch. The wristband was about to break off because it is made with the biodegradable plastic I mentioned earlier.

Since the watch still keeps perfectly good time, I did not want to have to buy a new watch just for the band, so I just sewed it back together.

With purple thread to match of course.

"Allie, omg. This day is just about how cheap you are."
-You

No, my dear. Cheap vs. frugal. Miserly vs. economical. There be a difference.

"Waste not."
-Barbossa

what a badass.

March 17

Also with my Amazon gift card, I was able to purchase an exercise ball, which came in the mail today.

They're like challenging hippity-hops for grown-ups.

oh no, does that mean I'm a grown-up now?

This is me making fun of people who think it's an appropriate chair to use at work:

Forget everything you knew about ab workouts.

March 18

Guys. Did you know that the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants was on Netflix?

I didn't either until last night, and then I stayed up late to watch it.

It's such a good movie, too, and much better than I remember. It epitomizes the angst of being a teenage girl and I love love love it because you can see a part of you in all four of them.

Some of you may not know this, but back in high school, I kind of had my own sisterhood, in a way.

*BONUS PICTURE*

Throwback Thursday er- Friday

Bridget - Me, the flirty athletic blonde
Tibby - Sara, the thoughtful movie-nut
Lena - Emma, the well-read romantic
Carmen - Kristen, the self-doubting sweetheart

No, we never had a magical pair of pants that fit us all, but we were really good friends for a couple years.

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants was a great story, though.
It made me want to go the beach again.

March 19

So then I went to the beach.

I called up a friend and we spontaneously drove to Tybee. It was a little cloudy for my liking and the water was very cold, but I still walked along the surf while we talked about things like God and life and shampoo and marriage.

It's always ourselves we find in the sea.
-e.e. cummings

TWS

Project March: Part 2

The (true) story continues.

March 7

Today was a pretty rough 11 hour day. It wouldn't have been so terrible had it not been for the 8 hour headache I had.

In the spirit of omg-can-this-day-just-be-over, I present a very unimpressive picture of the bed I flopped down on today after mauling a Wendy's chicken sandwich with my mouth.

I will also note that I did not cry today, so that's how you know it didn't break me. It was just a bad day. Those are allowed to happen, right?

March 8

Today was an awesome day. It was perfect weather for a convertible, and when I came home from work, I got to spend so much time sewing and playing guitar. A perfect hobby day.

Don't worry: I took the picture in the parking lot and not while I was driving. You can tell by the way my hair isn't all over the place/my face.

March 9 

Today I came home and I actually felt like cooking, so I actually cooked.
I made "African Chicken Stew" - Mike calls it "African Lion"- and mushroom-raisin couscous.

I know. I'm fancy.

Here are a few of the ingredients:
Main: chicken
Vegetable: carrots, onion, stewed tomatoes, bell pepper, chickpeas
Seasonings: olive oil, garlic, cinnamon, cumin, turmeric, pepper, honey
(and then you serve it on top of the couscous and it is soooooooooooo good)

What was cool was that after I ate the African Chicken Stew, I was able to run like an African.

Early today, I signed up for the Gulfstream 5k happening April 9th. I was like, "Hmmmm. I haven't run a whole 5k since when I was training for my bridge run - before December."

And then I walked outside and ran a whole 5k. Like, I ran the whole thing.
Actually, I did 3.25 miles like an overachiever. It took me 38 minutes, but whatevs.
Looks like I won't have to train hard, if at all, for the 5k in April.
I just gotta eat some African Chicken Stew beforehand.

March 10

I went to my friend's house to help her clean out and organize things for her neighborhood yard sale.
We found a couple of interesting things... like this mustache and a piece of flare that says, "Question Reality" as I am modeling here.

Cecelia was like, "Don't take this the wrong way, but you really look like a man."

March 11

Instead of going out for dinner like Mike and I normally do on Fridays, we decided to have leftovers and then play football in the backyard. It was great.

I also had Mike take a lot of pictures of me and Sam. Sometimes I forget how massive he really is until we take a full body-size picture of him which reveals that, yeah, he's like the size of my torso.

The whole unabridged photo shoot:

This one's my favorite.

March 12

I woke up today to lovely birdsong like Cinderella and decided to have my quiet time outside in the beautiful weather this morning.

Coffee with Christ. You should try it some time.

Being outside reading the Bible and having coffee at 9:30 on a Saturday morning is so much better than being inside working on tax returns for no additional compensation at 9:30 on a Saturday morning.

TRUE STORY.

March 13

Why isn't daylight savings time obsolete yet?
I am so tired today and still got like 9.5 hours of sleep.
What is up.

I'll tell you what's up.
40 pins.
18 pleats.
1 skirt.

That's what's up.
Or, rather, it's going to be up on the day I sew the pleats and connect it to the bodice.
But today is not that day.

"Sleep was a thing invented by people to sell mattresses."
-Mike Harshner

TWS

Project March: Part 1

As most of you may know and have probably forgotten, this is the first March that I can ever remembering experiencing.

"But Allie, how can that be?"

Elementary school and prior: can't really remember because I'm so old now
Middle and high school: very busy spring schedules
College: Busy semesters and stupid papers
After college: busy tax season after busy tax season after busy tax season

It's come around this time of year again, and I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop and to be busy out of my mind, but I am blown away by the silence I keep experiencing right now.

And I love it.

I've decided to commemorate this season of life by dabbling into a little bit of photojournalism.

I said to myself, "Self, I'm going to take a picture every day in March so that I can truly experience this month."

I hope to post these every week but just as a heads up, I probably won't get to post the last week on time because I'll be heading into quarter close and oh my gosh why is there armpit hair on my keyboard!?!?

That was gross. I apologize.

And now for the pictures that you skimmed the rest of this post to see!

March 1

This was the very first picture I took for Project March and not even the only picture I took that day.
I was just about to leave for work, and I walked outside to mail a letter to my sister. This was the view from the mailbox. It's still amazing to me how much I love about this picture when I wasn't even trying to make it a memorable one.
I've been so incredibly blessed in so many incredible ways.
I'm so thankful to have a house where I live quietly with my husband.
And cat.
I'm thankful that I have a husband.
And cat.
I love how that kickass convertible in the garage is something I get to drive every day.
I'm grateful that I get to drive to and from work while it is still light outside.
And I'm thankful I get to work at a place where I enjoy what I do and the people I work with and for.
This picture alone could sum up how much I'm loving life right now.
And it's only day 1.

March 2

I took this picture on my (pretty much) daily walk after lunch. It reminded me of that Wailin' Jennys song that isn't an original Wailin' Jennys song but they sing it the best out of anybody so that's what we're going to go with.
The song is called One More Dollar and the first line goes like this:

A long time ago, I left my home for a job in the fruit trees
But I miss those hills with the windy pines; their song seemed to suit me.

So I took a picture of some windy pines.

And I learned that my camera likes to do that spotty thing when it's looking at the sun.

March 3

A friend of mine at work is getting married in May, and I am so excited for her, but I'm even more excited that we kind of worked out that I would get to make her dress for the rehearsal dinner!

We went shopping tonight to get the fabric and I had a strange notion (sewing pun, lol) of what it feels like to be in a fabric store on a weeknight.

So I had Erin take a picture of me to capture the excitement.

Look at that smile.
Just look at it.

March 4

Even though I was late coming home from work, I still had the time and energy to go on a date with my husband.
Before we went out to dinner, we were jumping up and down like little kids in the kitchen exclaiming, "It's Friday! It's the weekend! We don't have to go to work tomorrow!"
This March, weekends are actually weekends.

March 5

Sleeping in, staying home, and open windows are what Saturdays are about.

"But Allie- wasn't it only like 63 degrees on Saturday?"
Honey badger don' cur'.

Look at this honey badger in my yard.

He's eating a salad. He don' cur'.

March 6

Sundays are a day of holy rest.
A day of actual rest and not of work.
It's a beautiful day to enjoy on the lawn.

Human feet:

Kitty feet:

Time for tea,
TWS