A Peek at Karen's World

Monday, June 17, 2013

Hiatus

Thank you all for the comments and emails in regards to my last post.

Things aren't better, I'm sorry to report, but I'm taking steps to fix that today.

I'm definitely going to be away from The Blog for a day or two, so try not to miss me too much.

Rest assured that I am taking care of myself and that everything should be fine in a few days. I'm surrounded by amazing and supportive friends and I'll get through this.

Thank you all for being awesome.

You are awesome. And if you share this post, you'll be even awesomer!

This post has no title because my brain can't think of a good one.

You know that feeling when you think everything's fine and then suddenly, you realize it isn't and it hasn't been for a long time and that you were just fooling yourself?

Yeah.

That happened to me the other day.

And, without warning, the little bit of depression I'd been feeling came back with a vengeance and knocked me right on my ass.

I can't talk about the situation here in this public forum. A million apologies for being annoyingly vague, because I know that sucks. But believe me when I say that writing about this here would only make the problem worse.

Besides, this post isn't really about that. It's about depression.

I am not even sure what I want to say about it. I've been stripped of the ability to put my thoughts into words. I spent half of yesterday staring at a blank screen because I couldn't figure out how to express this.

In the end, I basically just doodled in Paint and created a really lame illustration instead.

Pretty much sums it up.

I don't want to do anything. I just want to hide under the covers and avoid everyone and everything.

Or better yet...

I mean, there are worse things than getting hit by a bus, right?

(I'm not entirely sure because I've never been hit by a bus.)

(Although I was once run over by a Volkswagon Bus, but that's not exactly the same thing.)

Worse things. Like when people close to you lie.

Or when you are finally forced to accept the fact that if you disappeared tomorrow, the world would just keep spinning as if you never existed.

And while that's a depressing thought, it is somewhat comforting, too. Comforting to know that if something *did* happen to me, everyone I care about would be okay.

This will pass. It always does, eventually.

But for now, depression has a pretty tight grip. Please excuse me if I'm absent a lot over the next few weeks.

You are awesome. And if you share this post, you'll be even awesomer!

The Summer of Karen Revisited

A couple of years ago, I declared it the Summer of Karen.

It was the summer of a really awful break up and I needed to do something to get my mind off that failed relationship.

So I made a list. A Summer Bucket List, if that's what you want to call it.

And despite having some days and weeks of serious depression, I forced myself to get out there and enjoy the long, warm days. To be productive and to make some happy memories in spite of the bad ones.

By the end of the summer, I was feeling better. Not completely recovered, but functional. And in a much better place than I would have been had I spent the whole summer pining away for what might have been.

Anyway, long story short, I've decided that I need another Summer of Karen. To focus on enjoying the long days and my long weekends and finding reasons to smile again.

So, here goes, the Summer of Karen 2013:

Go to the AMPAS museum in Beverly Hills

Bonfire at the beach

Get a massage

Take a drive up the coast

Go to a movie or concert in the park

Decorate my office

Print and frame travel photos

Find my perfect summer song/soundtrack

Find my perfect summer outfit

Go camping

Read 10 books

There we have it.

It's gonna be a good summer.

You are awesome. And if you share this post, you'll be even awesomer!

Who doesn't like a deal?

I had 51 missed calls when I walked into my office this morning.

And I think I pulled a muscle in somewhere in my abdomen. Which is better than last night when I started to convince myself I had appendicitis with my appendix on the wrong side of my body.

I feel a little sick and a lot tired.

And, to top it all off, we think there is a dead mouse hiding somewhere in my co-workers' office.

(That is not a misplaced apostrophe. I have two co-workers. They share an office.)

So, I hope your Monday is at least as awesome as mine. Though, really, I hope yours is MORE awesome because today already kind of sucks and all I want to do is go back to bed, pull the covers up over my head and not come out until Friday.

Anyway, sorry that I totally turned this into a whiny Monday post when that wasn't my intention AT ALL.

Instead, I wanted to talk about some good things.

Like, moving forward with The Blog.

Many of you know that I am spending four weeks in Honduras this winter volunteering with Honduras Child Alliance. I am super duper excited about this adventure and can't wait to get there and have some fun while doing some good for a little tiny corner of the world.

Of course, trips like this aren't free and I am definitely not rich by any stretch of the imagination.

So I've decided that, in order to raise some extra funds, I'm going to get more serious about advertising here in my world.

Are you trying to build up your blog?

Do you have an Etsy store or a home-based business you'd like to promote?

Selling a book, a product, or a service?

Blog advertising is a GREAT way to go because there is a chance to be seen by so many eyes across the internet.

And here at A Peek at Karen's World, there are hundreds of visits per day from all over the place. Hundreds of visitors that might just be interested in YOU.

For now, there are three different ad sizes to get you started:

Large: 200X300

Medium: 200X200

Small: 125X125

The ads will run for 30 days at a time, right over in the top of my side bar. This is premium blog space, yo.

And, the first 5 sponsors get 25% off any size ad by using the promo code: KARENSWORLD.

AND, all sponsors will be featured in a post right here on The Blog, too.

It's super easy, plus you're helping support a great cause. Just click here to go to my advertising page and find the links.

Any questions?

You are awesome. And if you share this post, you'll be even awesomer!

Karen's Blog of the Week: Untypically Jia!

I've been having a harder time keeping up with this feature than I thought I would.

There are so many blogs I really want to feature, but when it comes to the weekends, I just don't have the mental energy to think about blogging.

I really don't today, either, but I'm forcing myself because it's been, like, over a month already and I'm trying to do better. Really, I am.

The truth is, I've been doing everything I can think of to stave off another major bout of depression, and that's why I chose this week's featured blog:

Untypically Jia!

Jia is awesome. I mean, if the pink hair didn't already give away that fact.

She also deals with depression and anxiety, and a bunch of other health issues that would just make me want to cry if I had to face them. But she handles it all with her awesome personality and that winning smile.

Jia's blog is funny, sometimes heart-wrenching, but always relevant and inspiring. I love it and I know you will too. So please go over and say hello!

You are awesome. And if you share this post, you'll be even awesomer!

June is off to a good start...Maybe

Another month has come and gone.

May felt really long, though. I haven't been wondering where the time went. Instead, I've been wishing it would go faster.

Just a little bit.

But, that doesn't in any way imply that I had a perfect month of goal reaching. Because, of course, I didn't. But that's okay. It's about the process.

May Goals

☺Go gluten-free for the whole month. (I'm playing a hunch here, and I'll explain more tomorrow.)--SUCCESS!
☺Start a half-marathon training program for the Tinkerbell Half in January. FAIL--But I DID start looking at programs, so that has to count for something...
☺Go to the (ugh) dance this weekend. SUCCESS
☺Go on a date. A real, actual date. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
☺Start the garden. NOPE
☺Attend graduation.
☺Finalize super secret travel plans.--They're finalized. Now I just have to buy my plane ticket.
☺Finish that manuscript! (Soooo close!) GRRR. No.
☺Go to an Angels game. (Preferably one where they win.) TWO!
☺Hold Marly's adorable baby boy. HE'S PERFECT.

June Goals
∞ Write my Summer Bucket List.
∞ Hang out with The Nephew.
∞ Finish watching Breaking Bad.
∞ Try one new GF recipe per week.
∞ Submit a post for syndication.
∞ Read 4 books.
∞ Clean my office.
∞ Clean my bedroom.
∞ Wash and vacuum the car twice.

Want to play along? Come on. You know you do....Here's how:

1. Follow all three hosts:

My So-Called Chaos

A Peek at Karen's World

Jennee Thompson

2. Write up your post re-capping last month and sharing your new goals for the next month.

3. Include our button on your post.

4. Add your post to the monthly linky.

5. Visit other participants to cheer them on/commiserate/whatever the case may be.

You are awesome. And if you share this post, you'll be even awesomer!

Karen's Tips for Surviving Summer Wedding Season

someecards.com - I can't wait for your wedding to be my excuse for getting out of another wedding.

Despite the fact that I used to have a plan the biggest, most princess-y wedding EVER, I am not a fan of weddings.

I have no problem with people getting married. In fact, I LOVE when people get married. I think it's wonderful and happy and exciting.

(Most of the time.)

I don't hate the bride. I don't hate the groom. I don't want them to be miserable or anything.

I just don't want to go to the wedding.

I love getting invited to weddings.

I do.

But it's the going to the wedding part that I don't particularly care for.

Sometimes, though, they're unavoidable. Like when it's a relative or one of your close friends, or someone tracks you down to make sure you get a personal invitation.

An invitation that I ALWAYS appreciate.

But that doesn't change the fact that I just don't want to get all dressed up and sit in a room full of strangers and gush about center pieces and how great the chicken is and aren't they just the cutest couple.

It's that whole social awkwardness thing that some people seem to believe I don't have.

(At my own brother's wedding, I spent half the night hiding in the bathroom, and the other half hanging out on the deck with drunk relatives.)

(And that was a wedding where I actually had fun.)

In the past two weeks, I've been to two weddings. Both were lovely and the couples are very happy and I'm sure their special days were very special for them. I even managed to have a decent time. Because I employed some very simple strategies that make it possible to survive just about any reception.

And I'm sharing them with you today.

Tip #1

Don't show up.

The bride and/or groom THINK they're going to care who came to the ceremony and who didn't, but the truth is, they will be so full of wedded bliss details and busy-ness that they probably won't even notice that you weren't there.

This, however, does NOT work with parents' second marriages. Apparently...

Tip #2

Be a Stage 3 Clinger.

Stage 5 is really going too far. But find someone you know, or at least someone who doesn't smell weird, and become their bestie for the duration. Chances are, they'll be glad for the company too.

But, seriously. Stage THREE. Not FIVE. Let them go to the food table and the bathroom by themselves. Otherwise, they will probably try to ditch you, which will make things even more awkward. Or so I've heard.

Tip #3

Practice the subtle art of avoidance.

If someone asks when you're going to get married, or worse, tries to console you with promises that your turn will come, pretend you're about to throw up and run for the nearest rest room. Works every time.

Allegedly.

Tip #4

Leave early.

An addendum to Tip #1. The bride and groom will be so involved with staring into each other's starry eyes that they aren't going to notice what time you left. Although, some of the aunts and uncles might have a thing or two to say about it.

This really works best for afternoon services ("Can you believe I have another wedding to get to?") or receptions with an open bar because then no one even knows what time it IS, and you can later insist that OF COURSE you stayed til the end. Who do they think took all the bird seed out of Uncle Chester's toupee?

Tip #5

Just go with it. Sure, weddings can be a miserable experience. But they can also be fun if you decide you're just going to let go and have a good time. It's really all up to your attitude.

And the food. The food is very important.When will Utah brides finally figure this out?

You are awesome. And if you share this post, you'll be even awesomer!

What I Just Watched at the Theater

Oblivion--One heck of an awesome movie! Tom Cruise does it again! Awesome effects, fascinating story, and Morgan Freeman. What more could you want?
Star Trek Into Darkness--Wow, wow, wow. Seriously, so awesome. Great story, really brings the characters back in a great way. Loved it.
The Great Gatsby--Beautiful. Loved it. Loved the emotional depth and the visual imagery and the actors and the costumes and the music. I wish Daisy's selfishness had been a little more obvious, but otherwise, I thought it was fantastic.
The Hangover Part 3--It can't possibly live up to the third, but was still darned funny. And surprisingly clean. Except for language, of course.

What I Just Finished Reading

Single Infertile Female by Leah Campbell--Another memoir, this time about a single woman who fights against impending infertility to try to become a mother. Loved it.
One Year Lived by Adam Shepard--Inspiring and fun story about a guy that spends a year traveling the world, doing service, and meeting the love of his life. It's a memoir, and a fun one.
Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick-- Somewhat different from the movie, but really good. The story is told in first person, present tense, so you really get a sense of being in Pat's head and understand how he feels and what goes through his mind. Quick read, too.