Lots of Phone Time

I always appreciated the phone - growing up, it let me speak with my grandparents who lived in Pittsburgh, keep in touch with family and friends, and the super long twirly cord in our kitchen was pretty fun to play with :)

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When my dad got his first cell phone that was pretty cool too. Even though it was the size of a brick it was a phone! That you could use in a car!

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I guess it was around the time of college and I'd long since (~2 years) had a cell phone of my own and our house had cordless phones instead of a few with fun elastic cords to play with. I started hating my phone because it was constant access. I was president of my sorority and balancing 100 other things and the thing always seemed to ring and buzz when it needed a problem fixed. The one perk was that the phone was mobile, as was I, so that I could walk while I talked and distract my body so my mind could focus on the call.

A few things have changed - like the fact I love my Blackberry but overall I still kind of hate the phone sometimes. Unless I'm walking somewhere and moving my body that doesn't always love sitting still, it's hard for me to concentrate and I get easily distracted.

Why am I telling you all of this? Between yesterday, today, and early next week I am logging some serious hours on the phone (in my "spare time") to conduct phone interviews for a leadership program I run. Don't get me wrong - I love it and it's fun to get to speak with 20 undergrads from across the country. I just hate the idea of sitting someplace quiet (my apartment) for hours at a time being on the phone and trying not to get distracted. To keep myself sane I pace the length of my studio 100s of times and clean up when I can. My brain works best when my body is moving and therefore can't distract me.

Anyone else have a love / hate relationship with the phone and mobile technology?


Last night after work and then interviews I had a few errands to run. Somewhere along the way I got the craving for: barbecue beef, Asian food, and my couch. Of course I would crave barbecue Asian food - it's my inner Texan screaming hello, and I thought long and hard about my various options to remedy those cravings until one dish at a neighborhood restaurant popped into my head.

I ordered the Korean BBQ Skirt Steak lettuce wraps from Raku and headed home for a date with my couch, Invictus, and a delicious dinner.

I added a simple spinach salad on the side, drank maybe half of this glass of wine, and somewhere along the way snacked on a pear as well.

This morning after 10 wonderful hours of sleep, I had a craving for my first true Fall bowl of hot cereal. Into the mix went:

• 1/4c BRM GF hot cereal and buckwheat
• 1/3c Whole Foods unsweetened almond milk (I might love it more than Almond Breeze!)
• ~1/2c water
• 1/2T chia seeds
• cinnamon
• spoonful of MASHED SWEET POTATO
• pinch of frozen blueberries
• maple syrup
• 1/2T peanut butter
• a couple of crushed pecan halves

This was amazing and I expect many more breakfasts with a bit of mashed sweet potato mixed in.

Now I'm getting set for more phone interviewing along with some pacing, straightening up, and at-home activity while I do so!

What are you up to this weekend? Do you volunteer in any way?