UPR Simply Shabby Chic Cozy Blanket

I think I went to Target and stood in the aisle fondling this blanket probably three separate times before I pulled the trigger and bought it. I was a little hesitant because of the price. After all, fifty bucks is a lot to spend on anything, particularly a blanket you're not quite sure you need. But I justified it thusly: I use my bed every night and I am always cold. I have Raynaud's Syndrome-- I need a warm blankie. It's medical science!

Anyhow, after I bought it I was not disappointed. This blanket is ah-may-ZING. The name doesn't lie, it is cozy. Warm and snuggly and fuzzy and cuddly. And it fits in my washing machine so I don't have to feel guilty about never washing it take it to the cleaner's.

And this cat of mine cannot get enough of it. Even when he's wired and going crazy running around, if I pick him up and put him on the bed he will instantly become calm and start kneading it. Then he'll usually lay down and fall asleep.

So, to sum up: This blanket is a tad on the pricey side but it is very soft and warm and has MAGICAL POWERS OF CAT HYPNOSIS.

How do you sleep at night?

Okay I have several posts that are half-written at this moment but instead I'm choosing to start a new one! So ha.

Everyone has a different nighttime ritual/outfit/blanket arrangement/side of the bed/routine of choice and I feel like when someone tells me theirs I'm always FLOORED. Like, you sleep with your feet outside the blankets? What are you, some kind of animal?

So, here is mine, just in case you're curious about Bedtime Jules.

Unless I have company, I sleep in an old tee shirt and undies. My favorite nightshirts are my dad's old lifeguarding shirts. I've been wearing them since I liberated them from his dresser when I was in middle school. I also have a select FEW other shirts that I choose from. And undies. That's it. Any other bedtime clothing else tends to feel Horribly Uncomfortable. I know a lot of people sleep in, like, pajamas. I have seen them at Target and whatnot. They are cute! Little tankie toppies with matching shorts or pants or whatever. But I never buy them because I can't sleep in a tank top-- it leaves my shoulders bare and prone to perceived wind-chill. And PANTS? OMG just the idea of them bunching and riding up makes me shudder. NO PANTS.

If I am sleeping on my tummy, my face is to the right with my right arm is folded under the pillow and my left arm bent with my wrist resting on my hip. If I'm on my side, some of the blanket is folded between my knees because their bony prominences are, well, BONY. The blankets must cover my feet and come up to my shoulders. If I have to choose one or the other of those two I will choose my feet.

I'm also a mouth-breather, originating from my childhood allergies. If I try to breathe through my nose I feel like I'm going to CHOKE AND DIE. When I see people sleeping in movies or TV I get all anxious because I imagine myself laying there with my head on the middle of the pillow and it reminds me of how much I think I am going to DIE. So my mouth is usually open when I sleep. If you see me sleeping on a plane, I am invariably that person with her head leaning back on the headrest and mouth wide open. It's... hawt.

Anyhow, my bed is lovely and comfortable, especially since I got this blanket. And I have a Bowie who usually sleeps at the foot of my bed. Sometimes I read a chapter of a book or poke around on the computer before I go to sleep, and almost every night I take a Benadryl for allergy/sleep purposes.

Bedtime Jules

So I'm curious, how do you sleep at night?

Bin Obsession

I have apparently lost my mind.
Today, after I finished at clinical, I got in my car and was absolutely GIDDY with the idea of going home. It wasn't just because I like being home, which I do. No, my excitement stemmed from the anticipation of my thrilling afternoon plans. My afternoon plans of PUTTING STUFF IN BINS AND LABELING THEM.

See? I've lost it.

I blame that BOOK. One Year to an Organized Life, I'm telling you it's magic (go ahead and check it out over there on the sidebar --->
but fair warning that's an Amazon Affiliate link).
Anyhow, throughout the book, the author is all jazzed up about drawer organizers and closet organizers and bins and whatever else. And up until now I wasn't sold on stuff like that because I had a perfectly fine organizing method called Throw Stuff in a Cupboard and Pretend it Doesn't Exist. But I said I would zen my whole apartment so I'm ZENNING MY WHOLE APARTMENT, DAMMIT. So I huffed and sighed and dragged myself to Target and bought four little plastic bins. And then I did this:

 

And there was a moment of "huh." And then it was like a jolt of electricity zapped me because all of a sudden all I wanted to do was PUT THINGS IN BINS AND LABEL THEM.

So, obviously I needed more bins.

Actually, this only represents less than half of what I bought. Some of them didn't make it into the photo because I was SO EXCITED that I couldn't wait ten seconds before I started zenning my closet.
I'm kind of embarrassed about the amount of money and the three trips to Target I took and the sheer number of bins I purchased. But you know what? I DON'T CARE! I HAVE BINS! I'M GOING TO PUT THINGS IN THEM!

Annnd that's what I'll be doing for the rest of the day.

Cranking

Last night I was wearing some SERIOUS grumpypants.

I was normal all day and then I came home and turned into a Crank Monster.
I think it was some combination of any or all of the following: a few drinks after school with my classmates, not enough to eat, hormones, stress, and general tiredness from the week.

Everything was fine. And then all of a sudden everything was NOT FINE. And I was on edge. Irritable. Sensitive. Weepy.

Things that I wouldn't normally even think about were severely upsetting to me. Things that are Fine and Perfectly Normal suddenly caused a downward spiral into despair, anger, sadness, and regret.

Logically, I could tell that there was nothing really the matter. Logically, I could tell that I wanted to quit grumping and snap out of it.
But the thing about logic? It doesn't make the feelings go away.

The only thing really I know how to do when I feel this way is to give myself a little "time out;" to excuse myself and go cry in the bathroom. But it doesn't really make me feel better and I'm sure it's awkward for other people when I come out all sniffly and red-eyed pathetic looking.

There are many things that do make me feel better when I'm down-- a shower, a yummy treat, a cuddle-- but when I'm wearing crankypants it's harder for me to see them. But I did eventually calm down. I had a nice rest of the evening, went to sleep feeling a little better, and woke up this morning feeling happy, refreshed, and totally back to normal.

I would like to learn how to, like, streamline this process: feel cranky for no real reason, do ________, feel better. So am I the lone crazy Crankmonster here? Or does this happen to anyone else? And what do you do to make it better in the moment?

Trying to keep my elbows down

Daniel said that I looked like a p0rn actress pretending to have an 0rgasm. THAT'S MY CONCENTRATING FACE.

Closet: Before

Oh hello there! Notice anything different? Depending on if you are reading this in a reader perhaps you see a little linkymajig over thattaway ---------->
That's an Amazon affiliate link, just in case you are so inspired by my tales of zen organizing that you're interested in buying the book. Amazon will toss a few pennies my way if you click there to do it. If you would rather buy it from your local bookstore or whatevs then do that but seriously this is a MAGICAL BOOK that has CHANGED MY LIFE. I'm not getting paid to say that. Well, that is, unless you click the link.

Anyhow, if you've been paying attention to my zenning updates you may remember that when I made my bedroom into a sanctuary, I decided not to include my closet. I justified this because the closet is actually located outside the bedroom and because the very idea of starting that project was, like, astoundingly overwhelming.

So I picked up the book and Regina Leeds (the author) had once again READ MY MIND. This month, I am supposed to be working on the "hidden areas" of my home. This is the part that tends to inspire the most confused looks from people-- why on earth would you spend so much time organizing cupboards and closets?, they ask.

Well, according to the book, people tend to accumulate things. And we tend to shove things in unseen, out of the way places when we don't want to deal with them. All of the things that don't quite fit into categories or don't have a specific, consistent use are tossed into cabinets and closets to be forgotten and take up space.

Um. Yah. I'd say I'm guilty of this. Random crap from high school? Got it. Books I never open? Check. Hundreds of miscellaneous items? Yup. But when I was reading this chapter I started feeling doubtful again-- I hadn't yet worked on my closet, so how was I supposed to worry about the hidden areas? And the answer was, yet again, right there in the book. Maybe you haven't done your closet yet, it said. Now might be a good time to flip back to that chapter and work on it for awhile. Uh, first of all, HOW DID YOU KNOW? Second of all, okay!

So with this in mind, here's a look at my closet before pics.

Clothes, clothes everywhere.

Zenning my closet is exhausting because I decided that I would remove everything, sort through it all, and re-put back only the things I was sure I wanted to keep. Bowie has found this extremely exciting and keeps wanting to be ALL UP IN MY BIDNESS.

 I also decided to get rid of my combination bookshelf-plastic drawer-shoerack closet organization system and get something a little more ZEN. I bought two sets of these modular storage cage thingies from Target.

 I had someone else put them together for me because who am I kidding? And then I maneuvered them into the closet.

Next up: re-putting the stuff back in!

UPR Hoover Windtunnel Rewind

I had no idea how much a vacuum could revolutionize my life. Wow. See, when I first moved into this apartment I bought some janky little wee vacuum for under $30. For awhile I thought it was fine because it made noise like a vacuum and I had to empty it of dust and dirt and whatnot. But recently I decided to buy a new one because I had been noticing several things:

1. I hate sweeping. I HATE YOU, SWEEPING. And your bastard cousin, dusting.
2. Even after I used my little vacuum there seemed to still be hair and junk on the rug.
3. I had been using the little vacuum less and less because it doesn't satisfyingly clean up. Which meant I could either have less tidy floors or be forced to SWEEP. So I usually just had grosser floors.

I went to Target yesterday with the knowledge that I was willing to spend somewhere up to around $150 for A BIG SUCKER. So I picked out the Hoover Windtunnel Rewind because it seemed to fit all my requirements and was on sale for $99. And then I brought it home and vacuumed the 3/4 of the rug. And then, uh, had to empty the canister because, ick, it was already at the MAX level. And then I vacuumed the whole rug again and the rest of the apartment.

My only complaint so far is that when you empty the canister of yuck, it doesn't make a satisfying "click!" when you attach it back on to let you know it's in the right spot. I would like to feel CONFIDENT that my vacuum isn't going to start spewing dust everywhere when I turn it on. But. Other than that, I love this vacuum. It is a big, big sucker. It was so satisfying that I meant to just test it out but ended up happily vacuuming my whole apartment. And I don't like to vacuum (or SWEEP. Go to hell, sweeping). So I think that I'm much more likely to actually vacuum now. Plus the floors are appreciably cleaner than they were with my other methods. So. Take that, sweeping.

105. learn to shuffle cards to fancy way

Okay. So. Jenny decided that she wanted to check off Learn How to Play Poker from her life list so she coerced Daniel into inviting us over and teaching us. And I took a look at my own list and realized, hey! I could learn to shuffle cards the fancy way! Except that no one I asked seemed to know how to do that and I felt kind of discouraged. But then I explained to Jenny that nono I didn't mean THIS:

I just meant that I was tired of shuffling cards by cutting the deck and then smooshing all the cards back together. And she was like "Oh so you meant you wanted to learn how to shuffle cards AT ALL."

Uh.

Yes.

So! We went over to Daniel's house. First I demonstrated how I typically shuffle.

And then Jenny instructed me.

And I didn't get it right away. And that was frustrating. Or, rather, it would have been frustrating if I Daniel hadn't been so prompt with my drink refills. But I realized that THAT is probably the reason I didn't learn to do this at some earlier time in my life. Because I wasn't good at it right away so I just gave up. Huh. And it dawned on me that that is the case with a number of items on my life list-- learning to do flip turns or sew on a sewing machine or drive stick shift car. I tried it once or twice or seventeen times, I couldn't do it right, and elected to live my life without that skill. But NOW. Now I've made the commitment to learn these things and I am nothing if not stubborn, as demonstrated here.

Emily told me to just keep practicing. So I did. I practiced while we drank our drinkiepies, while we gossiped, while we ate our snackies (including FUDGE made by Emily which, OMG nom nom nom), and while Daniel tried to teach us how to play poker (And, yeah, looking at the videos on Jenny's post, I can see how aggravating it must be to try to teach us. Or even MAINTAIN OUR ATTENTION for more than eleven second intervals).

But I practiced

 and practiced

and practiced

and practiced

and practiced.

In other news, OH HAI I HAVE ELBOWS. I don't know why I had my arms positioned like that. But let me tell you it was the ONLY way I could do it. I tried to keep them at my sides and it felt uncomfortable and unnatural, see?



And then!

I did it!

And we used the deck I had so thoroughly shuffled to play!

And then Jenny took all my imaginary money. And we hung out until the wee hours of the morn and continued imbibing beverages AND played a little game I like to call Truth or Ask Jenny Anything and She'll Tell You. It's really fun! Because you can ASK JENNY ANYTHING AND SHE'LL TELL YOU.
And now! She can play poker and I can shuffle cards the regular fancy way! And Daniel is hereby hired as our own personal Life List Facilitator.

Breakfast of Champions!

Does anybody care what I had for breakfast? Let's find out!

Here it is:
1 slice of apple
1 peep
1 mini paper cup of vegetarian lentil soup
1 raviolo
1 tortellino
1 mini paper cup of berry yogurt
1 mini paper cup of fruit punch

(I went to Costco! There were samples! I was disappointed that I didn't get to sample the pulled pork, egg rolls, or the pizza but maybe that's for the best.)

Perceivedmistrustovercompensatitis

I just wrote and erased this like four times already which apparently means I'm having trouble putting it into words. But! I'm trying again! Here goes....

Sometimes I do this thing. If someone gives me the sense that they suspect something of me-- that I'm lying or hiding something or not doing what I'm supposed to-- then I tend to get all nervous and flustered. And I'M SURE that this gives off the impression that I AM hiding something or lying through my teeth or that I just snooped through their email inbox.

And then, because I know I look guilty, I start to FEEL guilty, like I feel bad for doing whatever it is I perceive the person thought I was doing. And then I get even more sweaty and discombobulated, all the while trying to make it clear that really! nothing's wrong! I'm totally innocent!!!!!

I think there needs to be a word for this condition. I can't be the only person to whom this happens, does it ever happen to you?

UPR Google Voice

I started using Google Voice about about two months ago. I got it because I was interested in the text message feature. That is, when somebody leaves me a message, instead of having to call my voicemail I receive a transcription of the voicemail via text message on my phone. I can also listen to the voicemail on my computer. So far it has been really handy-- there are some situations wherein it would be impolite to hold a phone to my ear and there are some instances when I just don't have the TIME to slog through a bunch of messages to get to the one that I've been waiting for. Sure, the transcription doesn't always come out perfect but I don't get a lot of Highly Important messages, so that's rarely a big issue.

Except for when it is. When I'm waiting on crucial information, that's when I need Google Voice to step up its game and MEET MY TRANSCRIBING NEEDS. When I'm sitting in class, nervously yet oh-so-discreetly waiting on a call, THIS is not what I need:

Hey Julia, Bingley Arms embargo 3. Alright so I think I would like to have a good day. I'm going to be there. Anyway, I'm gonna be in 503. I will. Me, Hey Julie, Model, 30, and for aubertie Sylvester I can go by there and see if I can. I couldn't work and yeah i can ask for gonzo. So yeah out for a period Film Fest and when I read 503 and I'll just I'll talk to her and if they're not in session. The hobbled by the out box and work and see if I just forgot to call me and if that's the case, but I'll pick it up and if not then I'll just give them a call tomorrow and see what sort of, so I'll give you an update today when I leave. Or else, and I'll let you know one way or another. Okay thanks bye.

Thirsty

UPR Flip & Tumble Produce Bags

And now for something on the lighter side!

What is UPR, you ask? Why that's the official Jules vs. Nuts acronym for an Unsolicited Product Review! Something that I have decided to provide on the occasion that it strikes my fancy! Because the world needs more of my opinions, am I right?

So! I'll be kicking things off with Flip & Tumble Produce bags. Oh, Flip & Tumble. I've dedicated not one but TWO posts to declaring my love for their reusable shopping bags (or "24-7 shopping bag" as they call it) so when I wrote that sad whiny post about not being able to afford Blogher, Miss Grace suggested that I actually approach Flip & Tumble (which I will hereafter be referring to as F&T because yeesh I think I'm going to say their name a lot in this post and I'm tired of typing it out) for some kind of sponsorship.

Well I emailed them and they weren't keen on the idea but instead of saying PAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HOW DARE YOU EVEN ASK they gave me the equivalent of a placating pat on the head and offered to send me a set of their produce bags.

See there they are, artfully posed with the rest of my mail. I would show you a photo of them in use but, uh, I don't have one. Oh, actually here's one yoinked from the F&T web site.

Handy, aren't they?
Uh, I guess.
Except that I've had them for a month and have yet to use them.

Here's why:
Okay, so I love their regular shopping bags because I can smoosh them into balls and throw them into my purse or car or wherever and then I'll HAVE them on me when I need one. With the produce bags I've been keeping them in a drawer in my kitchen and I tend to forget to bring them when I go to the grocery store and they don't squish nicely into a compact form for me to toss into my purse and forget about. I was thinking that I should suggest that F&T come up with a way to make them more cutely portable but then browsing around their web site I found this.

Oh. So I could just smoosh them both together. Touché F&T.

But my other inherent problem with the produce bags is that I actually do NEED a few plastic bags in my life. I have a cat. And he has a litter box. And I have to scoop it. So I tend to use the few plastic bags I collect here and there for that purpose. So until someone is able to come up with a better solution for me I'm going to grab one or two produce bags from the grocery store.

This means that I would be happy to use these produce bags for some other purpose. Something I love about the F&T shopping bags is that they are so versitile. I use them for groceries, for clothes shopping, for a beach tote, an extra bag whenever I need one. I even wrapped some of my Christmas presents in them!

Seriously.

So I guess what I'm saying is that while I applaud the concept behind the produce bags, they just don't boast the same level of ease and usefulness as their larger shopping bag brothers.

The F&T web site tries to convince you that the produce bags have other uses besides produce-- store your travel toiletries! your shoes! other odds and ends! But I keep coming back to the fact that these are MESH bags. Sooo why would I store my potentially leaky travel toiletries in something that would not contain the mess? I actually bought some little bags that I thought I would use for produce from Daiso at around the same time I bought my first F&T bags.

And I actually have found several many uses for them such as toting my lunches (because they contain them AND they are made of cloth so they absorb any spills pretty well) carrying fragilish things (no mesh areas to get tangled), washing more delicate items, etc.

So Flip & Tumble, you've already done it once-- you convinced me that your shopping bags were far superior to plastic or paper bags and that your cute and versatile shopping bags were the specific reusable shopping bags for me. You're going to need to work a little harder to get me on board with your produce bags.

So, to sum up my ridiculously long-winded unsolicited review of this product in one word: Meh.

An open letter to Sandra Bullock

Oh Sandra, I know. I know.

I mean, obviously, I can't really know what you're going through. No one but you can. And I'm sure your situation is unique and we don't know the whole story, etc, etc. But I read the articles and tidbits about you and they make me feel sick to my stomach. They are strikingly, CHILLINGLY similar to my own experience.

You were with someone you trusted, in a life that you thought you knew. And then in the blink of an eye your world was turned upside down.

I read about how he led a double life, how his infidelities were a secret amongst his friends, and how he became a different person when he was around you and I shudder because I understand that all too well.

I used to wonder how and why someone could do that to me. I used to be angry with myself. How COULD I not have known? How could I have denied my gut instincts? How could I walk into a bedroom and see empty liquor bottles, tangled bedsheets, and women's clothing and not instantly understand? How could I turn away and let myself be talked into whatever excuse came next? How could I not believe my EYES?
 
I learned to stop asking why someone would do that to me. Because there was never an answer aside from selfishness and cowardice. And that was never enough-- there is no excuse that justifies betrayal. And I learned to not be upset at myself anymore. Because it is not your fault for believing or trusting. It is his fault for lying and cheating and betraying your trust.

You know what you have now? You have the truth. And isn't that a relief in a lot of ways? You don't have to wonder about that strange text message you found or that girl at the coffee shop looking at you strangely. You don't have to live with that sinking feeling that maybe everything is going to fall apart-- because it already did. And now you can move on.

And you have your freedom now, too. You don't have to apologize for being who you are anymore. You don't have to feel like you need to tiptoe around him and ask him nicely to be a part of your life. You never wanted him to be anything other than the man you thought you knew. But ask yourself, didn't he make you feel like you had to be someone different than who you truly are? Didn't he make you feel like your life was somehow less important or easier or fluffier than his? Didn't he act like being a part of your world was an inconvenience to him?


You have your life back. And maybe you can't see it yet, but that is something precious and exquisitely beautiful.

Applicable to many situations:

Having already tried something once makes it a lot easier to do it again.

And again and again and again....

Am I right?