Lazy Bailey's lazy day

 

A very sweet friend sent me a surprise in the mail this week. I came home from my Thanksgiving vacation and saw a padded envelope, wondering if I ordered something online and had forgotten. Nope! Instead, it was a journal with 300 writing prompts inside, several of which were tabbed by my sweet friend with post-it notes. Adorable, right?

 

Well I thought I'd kick off using this journal by...

 

not writing in it! (But instead typing my answer here).

 

The first prompt is:

 

What is your favorite way to spend a lazy day?

 

So, without further ado, I will answer said question. Ready, steady, here we go!

 

***

 

Well, I will begin by saying I am a true American and a true Protestant with a work ethic, in the sense that I don't remember the last time I had a fully lazy day.

 

Except maybe two weeks ago when I was sick as a dog in bed.

 

But other than that I find it hard to spend an entire day doing nothing productive without feeling guilty or, more likely, down. All that said, however, I'm pretty dang lazy, as laziness goes.

 

So I'll answer the question this way: if I had tomorrow off work, what would I do (or not do)?

 

Number one, I would sleep. I probably wouldn't sleep much past 8:30 or 9, just because I'm used to getting up for work, but this doesn't bother me. I don't mind getting up early, even on weekends. But I wouldn't set an alarm; I would wake up naturally.

 

Then, after rising slowly, flipping through Instagram and Facebook, and smooching all over the sleepy cat, I would make coffee.

 

I would then promptly bring the coffee back to bed, and fire up the computer, where I would peruse Facebook some more, check emails, listen to Pandora, and then probably watch Felicity or some other show I have purchased online.

 

After super saturating myself in screen time and subsequently feeling restless/grumpy/and/or/lazy, I would finally get up and start cleaning. Clean what, you ask? Well, my friends, the goal is always to clean

 

EVERYTHING.

 

This is my ENFP, all-or-nothing personality and I can't help it. I know every single time that I can't clean everything, yet I try to clean everything nonetheless.

 

I've gotten a liiiiiittle better at trying to focus on one area (say, clear all my books and electronics and such off my bed, strip the streets, re-make the bed and say "Ahhhhh"), reminding myself that I will feel better even if one shelf is truly organized or the bathroom is extra sparkly, versus working for hours and hours here and there and everywhere and then finding the room doesn't actually look or feel much better than the state in which it began.

 

I've also gotten better at forcing myself to eat lunch (and, ideally, leave the house) around noon. I've learned that if I don't eat and I just bustle bustle bustle, eventually I will become all grumble grumble grumble.

 

Which brings us to our next activity.

 

I would then either heat up some frozen vegetables from home or (more likely) go to Panera and eat mac and cheese and drink iced tea. I would arrive at Panera with my computer, several books (both regular and coloring), headphones, a journal, and receipts to match up to my online banking, because I am like a first time parent who brings anything and everything to entertain her child except that I am more the baby than the guardian in that I need such constant entertainment.

 

After eating, dinking around on Facebook, checking my phone for Insta updates, replying to texts and maaaaaaybe hammering out a blog post, I would refill my iced tea and get back in my car.

 

Then I would drive back home and either:

 

Go on a huge long walk (after taking nearly an hour to get into exercise clothes, charge up the iPod, and put on sunscreen)

 

Queue up a TV show or movie for more screen time

 

Read

 

Stitch

 

Clean

 

Ad nauseum repeat until Alex would finally call me and see how my day is going and I would grumble about being isolated and not having gotten anything done OR! I would hyperly blab to him about how I organized that one shelf and went to Panera (at which point he would say WHY? and I would tell him what I always tell him which is that I get writing done there and they don't bother me to leave my seat so until that stops being true I will keep going back) and then he would ask me if I want to meet him somewhere and if he said a) meet me for happy hour at our favorite spot, I would dot some blush on my face and dab deodorant on my pits and head out the door and if he said b) meet me at some social gathering, I would more slowly dot some blush on my face and dab deodorant on my pits because I would think that I don't want to go to this group social gathering because I've been alone all day and therefore I am irritably restless but I would also know that I need to get out and socialize to cure the irritable restlessness.

 

And then that would conclude the lazy day at home, because as I warned you in the beginning I am too extroverted and too America-wired to truly be lazy all day AND all night.

 

Annnnnnnd, scene.

 

***

 

So in conclusion, I like to spend my lazy days alone (until I can't take it anymore) and at home (until I can't take it anymore) and doing a combo of relaxing and getting things done.

 

What about you? What's your favorite way to spend a lazy day?

My year with Netflix

 

Well. I broke up with Netflix this week. We are officially no longer seeing each other as of Sunday at midnight.

 

I made it almost 12 months with the service. Yes, I enjoyed it, yes it's cheap, but I'm trying to save moo-lah wherever I can, and I figured I have enough episodes of Felicity purchased via Amazon and iTunes plus about a bajillion rom coms on DVD, so I figured I'd survive.

 

So far? I'm totes fine.

 

Says the girl who's been without Netflix for 62 hours.

 

But seriously I feel fine.

 

Anyway, I thought I'd do a quick review of my almost-12-months with this streaming service we all know and take for granted. So let's get started, with the good, the bad, and the brilliant.

 

The show I went into blind and found myself blindsided with obsession:

 

Reasons I loved Riverdale: the archetypal depiction of characters based on cartoon characters. Veronica always in pearls, with jet black hair. Betty always with a ponytail and pink chenille sweaters. Archie with not red but orange hair. I'm very attracted to color, which is a reason I liked Dick Tracy as well as this show.

 

The SOUNDTRACK. Scored with spooky instrumental numbers plus great covers and new, funky, poppy, sexy tunes. Also Josie and the Pussycats sing several times on the show and their harmonies are fantastic.

 

The 80s/90s reunion. Luke Perry? Molly Ringwald? Done.

 

That teenage drama, though. Sucked me in like a sucker.

 

Cole Sprouse! Former Disney star (who I'm secretly super attracted to in Riverdale) who's dating his on-screen girlfriend, the super talented Lili Reinhart!

 

OK that's enough about this show let's move on.

 

The beautiful

 



I'm still trying to decide if I loved the way the story was depicted, but if you need to just zone out and CHILL, might I recommend Lighthouse of the Orcas. This film is based on a true story about a boy with autism who is calmed by whales.

 

It.

 

Is.

 

Gorgeous.

 

I believe it was filmed in Argentina and I can't express enough how calming it was to just watch the screen. Crystal clear waters with black and white whales gliding through, a cream-colored horse, beautiful actors, ocean-side cliffs. I would watch again just to relax.

 

The show that I didn't think I would binge but I absolutely did

 

Fuller House. All of it. Gobbled up that Gibler-Fuller-Tanner love. Max is my favorite character, and not just because he shares a name with my favorite animal. Kimmy Gibler's brother is a close runner up.

 

I love every cameo of past guest stars, I can't stand how cute Candace Cameron-Bure is (like, literally can't follow her on Instagram, because jealousy), and who doesn't love Aunt Becky to this day? Ridiculous people, that's who.

 

Fun fact: this was the show that made me finally cave and get Netflix in the first place.

 

The brilliant

 

Crazy. Ex. Girlfriend.

 

This brainchild of Rachel Bloom and Aline Brosh McKenna was one of my top five shows this year, hands down. Absolutely hysterical, creative, and wonderful.

 

Darryl is my favorite character. He performs improv in Hollywood pretty regularly. I plan to go and fangirl eventually.

 

The tearjerker

 

One Day at a Time.

 

This remake by Norman Lear had me in tears (or very near them) several times, had me laughing, and had me binging. Absolutely touching, relevant, and pulled off with great class and boldness. Loved it.

 

The never-heard-of-it-but-watched-in-one-sitting indie film

 

What do you mean "watched in one sitting"? Doesn't everyone watch a movie in one sitting?

 

Not I, friends. Not I. Second fun fact of this blog post -- I haven't been to a movie theater in over a year. 99.9999999999 percent of the time when someone asks, "Want to watch a movie?" my inner self goes "Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhh."

 

When I watch stuff on my own, it gets paused a lot. I don't do well with continuous screen time when all there is to do is watch (versus social media where one interacts and writes as many sarcastic comments as she can handle). And I can't just turn something on for background noise if I've never seen it before; I can't help but pay attention to the new characters, plots, etc. on screen. Even though, ironically, I don't seem to care enough to watch longer than 20 minutes (maybe) at a time.

 

So I have ADD, what else is new?

 

Anyway, I'm pretty sure I watched Almost Adults, the Canadian film about two best friends/roommates in one sitting. It was very well done, sweet, funny, cute. Would watch again (which -- surprise! -- is not something I do often (unless it's a rom com put on for background noise while cross stitching (I'm complicated))).

 

The British

 

I really enjoyed Crashing, the six-episode show based on two plays. It was funny, yes, and I think the other thing that kept me hooked was the vulnerability of each and every character. Everyone was broken yet whole, which is about as realistic as something can get. When art is made where you care about every piece (even the unlikable), I'm always impressed and left with an imprint on me.

 

The classic that cut me deeper than expected

 

As a 90s kid, I always considered Cheers to be "Dad's show." This year I decided to give it a spin for myself and was so pleasantly surprised. Again, this is a show where each character brings something to the table.

 

Cheers is geniusly understated. It's at once funny and somber, making it perfect to watch at any time. And Season 1 Episode 10 moved me more than I ever thought possible in the realm of sitcoms.

 

Also, all of Season 1 is shot on the same set -- a bar, its office, and its backroom. That's amazing that the writers came up with enough story to fill such a small space, in my humble opinion.

 

The dialogue-driven

 

No, not Gilmore Girls (though I've seen and I love. Reboot? Not so much). One of the first things I randomly clicked on in Netflix was a little indie film called Night Owls. Mostly filled with dialogue about first impressions and how we view ourselves, this one was thought provoking and engaging. I really enjoyed it.

 

The movie that presented a Christian in a fair manner

 

Little Sister, a movie about a young woman who has joined a convent (one can infer that she did this as a way to escape her family's trauma and dysfunction) was quite wonderful, in my book. Completely original and starring Ally Sheedy as a supporting character, I liked this one so much I made Alex and two of my out-of-town friends watch it with me after I had already sampled it myself.

 

One thing I loved best about it was the way they portrayed the lead character. They didn't make her out to be crazy, holier-than-thou, or unrelatable. I was very surprised to see a mainstream film portray a religious person in such a realistic way, and am truly grateful to the screenwriter, Zach Clark, for putting "one of us" in the artistic media in such a manner.

 

The giggle producer

 

Look, I can quote Friends forward and backward, out of context and probably in my sleep. So when I turned it on to keep me company while cross stitching, I was caught unawares by how much it made me laugh! There were some moments in the early episodes where I knew exactly what the next line and situation was, yet I still lost it. Very pleasing indeed. My love affair with Joey (my favorite Friend) is far from over.

 

And finally, the (probably) favorite

 

When I started watching Girl Meets World, it was purely for nostalgia's sake. Let's check this out and see how it compares to the original, I thought.

 

Then I started watching it for something bubble-gummily light to help me through a pretty rough patch of the year.

 

And then, all of a sudden, I was like, really watching it.

 

If I allowed it to, Girl Meets World could make me cry during every single episode.

 

I'm not exaggerating.

 

No cameo is wasted. If someone from the past is not going to be an integral part of today's story, that person gets four lines and then they're off screen. Appreciated but not unnecessarily strung out.

 

There's an episode about bullying. There's an episode about Asperger's. It's a groundbreaking, serious (yet totally silly) show.

 

I told several people about this show and at least four of them went on to binge the entire thing. All adults. All were touched. Caleb and I devoted an entire section of a dinner together to discuss it.

 

There is a "nerd" in the show, and the main characters don't make fun of him but rather are his friends.

 

It's funny. The episode when Shawn makes his first appearance had me in hysterics.

 

If you need to get some feels out, or you have a daughter (or son!) who needs to see some quality young role models on her iPad, turn this show on. I can't imagine you'll regret it.

 

Ta dah! You've reached the end of the post!

 

Or have you? Oh no, Bailey's still typing!!!!

 

I'm almost done, I promise.

 

I'd just like to say that Netflix was a welcome cushion in my life during what has been a rather hermit-ous year. I will feel a little pang when the next load of Fuller House episodes are released, but so far I've enjoyed the extra time to read and snuggle Max Wax. We'll see how I'm holding up in a couple of months -- something tells me I'll find plenty of ways to lazily waste time! (Not to imply that art is a waste of time. It obviously is not.)

 

Huggies,

Bailey

A happy dollar

Well I'm cranky.

How are you?

***

If this were the start of an AOL instant messenger conversation, well, first, we'd be living a while in the past, but also, you might be on your computer, hearing the incoming ping of my messages and respond with:

YOU'RE ALIVE?!?!?!

Then you'd jump around in your room in your cutesy poodle pajamas.

***

Um, sorry, I just turned this into a made-for-TV Disney movie.

I'm a little rusty, people. Forgive me. First blog post since August.

Yah. August.

And what an august return this is!

Ha. Crack myself up.

Also, do y'all feel like "august" should mean something really negative? I think it sounds like a synonym for "bereft."

So this blog post is off to a good start.

Where were we.

Oh yes.

I'm cranky.

How are you?

Let's briefly address the former: I've been sick for about 11 days now. I'm over it. The end.

Now I would say let's address the latter of my statements (er, question), but since this is not AOL instant messenger I can't really hear your response, so shoot me an email or a text, will ya?

For now? Let's talk some more about me.

:)

***

Let's see, what have I not shared with the world via blog since my last post?

Well, I threw a bachelor party in Arizona. That was a blast.

Then my best friend got married in New Orleans. A beautiful, emotional affair in which I did not trip in front of many people.

And then I got sick.

The end.

Also, I cancelled Netflix. I met my 2017 Goodreads reading challenge (and yes, I counted books for small children in my tally). Helped co-lead a prayer retreat. Did some freelance copywriting for a website. Scheduled to have my picture taken for the church directory.

I went to the beach with Jillian, where I had the presence of mind to get each of us our own bag of Salsa Verde Doritos, because we obviously downed them all. My church held a jazz-style funeral on All Saints Day, complete with a brass quartet playing "Oh When the Saints." People cut in front of me in line a bunch -- seriously what is UP with that???

***

And now let's tell a happy story, that was an interruption to the stress and sickness of this past week.

One day this week -- we'll say Wednesday, because I don't remember which day exactly, and while I have the text message documentation to answer this question, well, I'm not going to do the research -- I forgot.

To bring.

A book.

To work.

H
O
R
R
O
R

I don't read on the clock (that'd be a dream, wouldn't it?) but I do read, on average, twice a day during my breaks, during lunch, and then before bed -- and any other time that Netflix seems too boring, Alex is busy, Max is tired of my snuggles (just kidding, that never happens), and reading just seems better than encountering life.

As such, I always grab a book -- or two, or three -- and tuck them in my tote bag before heading to the office.

Well, on Wednesday (or whatever day), I forgot.

Oftentimes I have a book on the passenger seat of my car, or in the trunk, but after rounding up a search party headed and conducted by me, I found nothing. Nada. No bound pages with black letters printed on them.

H
O
R
R
O
R

I couldn't stand for this.

Never mind that sometimes I get so caught up in my shiny phone during my breaks that I forget to read.

This was unacceptable.

Now. I may have some library fines that are unpaid. And these fines may have me blocked from checking out more books. And I might be waiting for pay day to pay these fines.

Also. I rarely, if ever, carry cash.

But for some odd reason, I've had a dollar in my wallet for weeks. Just one. I'm not a millionaire, people. We're talking one Washington.

I had previously purchased a memoir for one whole dollar (no tax) at my local library. Inside the front lobby, there is a humble used bookstore.

A ha! I thought. I will travel there. Because I can't survive one lunch hour without a book. No.

I arrived at the bookstore and found myself -- surprise! -- another memoir and handed the cheerful cashier my money.

"One sad, crumpled dollar," I said, as I forked it over.

"It's a happy dollar!" he chirped back at me. "Because it's going to support the library!"

Awesome! Any chance we can use this dollar as an advance on my next round of fines?

Then, something extra magical happened.

As my obvious new best friend took Mr. Washington from my hand, he then held it in front of his lips and said, "I'm a happy dollar!" before placing it in the cash register.

As if that wasn't enough, as I walked away, Mr. Obvious New Best Friend Cashier Person said,

"'ppreciate you."

No, Sir. I 'ppreciate you.

And that's the end of our happy story.

Wasn't that happy?

I told a coworker what had happened at the tiny bookstore and she was touched. "Only you," she said (though I happen to believe Mr. Obvious New Best Friend Cashier Person would have been just as nice and silly with anyone).

I'm happy to say, also, that I like the memoir I bought. I'm about halfway done already.

Hey friends, look at that!

I just wrote a blog post!

Ta dah!

Big bloggy hugs.

Bailey