Odds and Ends

The Bachelor is on. And I'm watching it. Which I vowed to not do again following last season. I am torn between feeling for these women as they all fall for the same man and wondering how they can be such idiots to all be falling for the same man. And I get a little skeeved out watching them all kiss the same pair of lips, not gonna lie. In the words of Haven Kimmel, it gives me the hooky-spooks.

There's a whopper of an ice storm heading our direction here in the Deep South.  I don't necessarily want to use a day of vacation in order to not slalom to work but I don't really want to slalom to work either. It does excite my northern lovin' heart that temperatures are only going to be in the teens at the most the next couple days. It makes the upcoming Super Bowl feel like a Super Bowl. It reminds me that it's only FEBRUARY and not April. This is needed because the other day I wore a t-shirt and flip flops all day long and kept getting confused about what the date was.

I had the chance to open this up yesterday on a smooth tollway.

I was nervous to really see what she could do because I didn't want to end up in a Southern hooscal. And I don't know if my handsome man thinks his car is a girl....but she's too darn pretty to be anything else. Therefore I deem her a girl. Plus she can't hold more than a change purse in her trunk which helps curb my impulse spending while browsing that monolith called IKEA.

Speaking of impulse spending, I'm starting a class this week, ice willing, called Crown.  It's similar to Dave Ramsey and just from reading the book I know that I will be challenged in a good way. I've already been thinking about a lot of the topics the book covers. And for the record, I'm not much of an impulse buyer any more. 

Work In Progress

If you don't read Pioneer Woman's blog, you should start. Right now. With this post. PW makes me want to drive approximately 8 hours north and hang out on their ranch.  Hopefully with an invitation. To ride in the Suburban with she and Charlie. To go horse back riding with MM and Cowboy Josh.  To discuss the pros and cons of ITEs versus BTEs with Cowboy Josh - hey, you can take the audiologist out of Texas, but you can't take the audiologist out of me.  Isn't that how it goes? Anyway, I want the punks to show me the ropes. I do not want to be hazed by Pesky Tim, but would love to meet Missy.

Much like PW's Sunday afternoon game of "Beat the Baptists", I play a continual game of "Beat Everybody...Even if it's Not Important". At least I'm not narrowing the field by picking one religious affiliation.  That would actually make me a better person than I am. When I go to the grocery store, I am convinced that whoever walks through the door in front of me is going to buy every last bit of every last thing I need to buy.  Why that would occur without a nuclear meltdown somewhere in the world I cannot imagine. When I drive to work, I need to not let the guy next to me pass me. Because when he drives on the road he then owns it? When I approach a check-out line in a store, I might get in a huff because a random woman got in front of me.  Will her purchase cause the store to throw up their collective hands and declare themselves closed?  I may have reached a whole new level of ludicrous. 

My memory of my grandfather is of him sitting backwards on a kitchen chair in the hall between the kitchen and living room, drinking a beer and shouting at the TV in a gridiron induced fit. This story is supposed to serve the purpose of showing you that my competitive nature comes from my genes.  Yes, that must be it.  Or maybe not. Exhibit A in denial of such genetic structure would be my dad - the most non-competitive, happy, funny man I know. This is an aspect of myself that I want to change.  I don't like myself very much when this happens and I can recognize how ridiculous I'm being.  But taking the initiative to change my reactions is difficult.  Hard work awaits me.

How have y'all (the approximate 5 of you who read this) changed a less than attractive habit?

Things I've Learned in the Last 24 Hours

1. The sky here is as beautiful as Pioneer Woman's sky one state away.

2. New Canon cameras are as powerful as catnip. See Exhibits A and B below.

3. Prickly pear margaritas on the rocks at the Blue Goose are a really great way to start a Friday night date.

4. There are few things more wonderful than having a man in the kitchen. Especially one who doesn't mind getting his hands dirty. (I actually learned this a long time ago from my dad, but it was reiterated this week.)

5. J. Crew cardigans should not be washed with bath towels, no matter how inadvertently. This I learned 2 minutes ago when pulling out a load of wet laundry.

6. Sonic pineapple milkshakes and J. Rae's red velvet cupcakes should not be consumed in the same afternoon. Boy howdy!

7. There's nothing as inspiring, motivating or competition inducing as watching some guy coolly pass me by on a run. I may have been wheezing by the end of the 5 miles but I stepped up my game after that. Let me be clear...it wasn't about the guy. It was the fact that he blew off my doors - if I had had doors on - and I needed to be seen as a competitive person.  Yes, he had no earthly idea I was trying to catch up to him. Yes, I know that makes me sound insane.

8. My body cannot be fooled by apples when it craves carbs.

Bears, The Jabberwocky and Ellen Page

Dreams amaze me.  Sometimes they terrify me. Sometimes I wake up so happy and content that I'm disappointed to be fully in this world and not still in that dream state. When I dream, which is almost every night, it's with all five senses. I've read that most people do not dream with all or even most of their senses. But for me, if the wind's blowing, I feel it. If I eat something, I taste it. You get the drift.

From childhood through adolescents I would have the same terrifying dreams every so often.  They occurred often enough that by the time I was a teenager I knew that it was a dream and what would happen next, which made them a little less blood curdling although I never managed to change the outcome. It probably didn't help that I was terrified of my closet - some younger than advisable exposure to The Jabberwocky from Alice in Wonderland - and a lot of my dreams centered around someone trying to "get" me.  I'm not sure of much else or what the "getting" would involve, but it was gonna be miserable, I was sure. Who knew that Lewis Carroll exposure was so detrimental to young children?

Dreams that are of a more curious nature are the bear dreams.  Since early childhood I have had dreams about bears attempting to get into my house. All types of bears, all manner of manipulation of locks, doors, distractions and fire arms.  Yes, fire arms. The most notorious dream involved Chinese communist panda bears with sub-machine guns who overtook the grocery store I was in. Perhaps someone wanted more than their fair share of oranges?  The weirdest part of the bear dreams is that I had them for years before I knew The Mother of All of Us also had dreams about bears contemplating breaking and entering. And a couple years ago I was baby-sitting the Dream Team 5 next door, and Dream Team Member 3 told me she too has dreams about bears getting in the house.  Don't drink the water in our part of rural Yankeeland.

Ellen Page was in my dreams last night....must have been due to watching Inception yesterday.  At least she's less threatening than machine gun toting Pandas.

The Last Few Days

The last few days have kicked my butt. It's been like being in emotional boot camp where every possible emotion has happened at extremes. New babies and lives lost. Wonderful dates and irrational anger. Motivation and lackadaisical work ethic. Joy and grief. If my mind is a rubber band we are quick approaching the breaking point.

I have found myself in the gym every day, straining toward some peace of mind. Pushing myself harder and faster. If there was an affordable hot yoga studio nearby I would easily revert back to my grad school days and be there five times a week. I have the urge to funnel all of my energy, good and bad, into a baking spree until there's nothing left of me except a pile of clothing on my kitchen floor.

Yet at the end of the day, I know that no matter how exhausted I am or will be in the future, no matter the lack of emotional fortitude available to me, no matter the tears that come unbidden and won't leave despite my entreaties, that I am not alone in this. I am embraced and supported by arms stronger than any earthly device or human form. The only place I have to seek comfort that is sustaining beyond the words that friends offer is in my God. The last few days have given me a deeper appreciation for the peace and acceptance of what I cannot change that is found in Him.

Snow. Snow. Snow.

Snow. It's been a mainstay of every winter in my life, even after I moved to the Deep South. Never once has it foiled my travel plans. Now ice and I, that's a different story. When I traveled to Yankeeland this time I chose to use two different airlines in order to get the best prices. My flight in was direct and went off without a hitch. The same cannot be said for the flight back to the Deep South. That is, the flight that will eventually happen unless I end up giving up and moving back in with my parents with only the items in my suitcase. The ice storm that blew through Atlanta has had the after effect of hijacking my vacation days surplus while I sit in Yankeeland twiddling my thumbs and wondering if I'll ever see PT Girl again. Side note: I finally flew South today, two days later than planned.

Another reason for me wanting to get back is that there's a shiny new beautiful gadgety Canon waiting at my nearest Best Buy. Now I will be the first to admit that the people and resources in my life influence me. So in honor of some of those people and blogs, I attempted some different snapshots this time around. The snow here gave me a reason to take pictures of inanimate objects transformed by simple precipitation.

The Parents House

Bird Bottle

Water Pump

Future Christmas Tree

Gazebo

Parking Meters

My Snow Boots

Obligatory New Year's Post

I follow a number of blogs, baking centered and ranch centered and family centered.  The thing they all have in common is that I'm intrigued and inspired by all of them. And yesterday or today the bulk of them have all posted some version of a New Year's Day post. I'm easily pressured so here is mine. You can imagine how high school went for me.

This past year was one of many firsts, joy, heartbreak, peace, stress, growth and mercy.

I don't consciously make resolutions. I like to think that I make constant strides toward improving myself. Then I sit down and eat 4 donuts instead of running 3 miles.  Well, sometimes. Sometimes I think about eating the 4 donuts but run 3 miles instead.  Then I end up really hungry and somewhat crabby. Back to the point though.

Some areas that I'd like to expand, explore and exhaust this year:

1. Run a consistent 10 minute mile for longer than one mile and increase my incline % on runs in the gym. Run another half marathon.

2. Spend more time reading the Bible and knowing what it says instead of what someone thinks it says. Spending time with God and figuring out where He's taking me.

3. Be a more pleasant roommate when it comes to chores - PT Girl and I still hit snags occasionally...well, I hit snags. I'm not sure about her.

4. Go to the following places and spend quality time with my friends: Da Burgh, Boston, Maryland, Longview, Nashville, Atlanta and maybe Las Vegas.

5. Be one of the worlds best bridesmaids ever when Lil B and Library Girl get hitched in 6 short months. This includes but is not limited to tying small ribbons around smaller bottles of bubbles, handwriting invitations and envelopes and smiling for hours on end through wedding photographs. Exempt from this resolution is wearing a dress with a bow on my butt - Library Girl, are you reading this?  Pay attention!

6. To be content with where I am but not complacent.

7. Return library books on time - our family single handedly paid for the new wing of the library in late fees a few years back. Does anyone remember when overdue books were a dime a day?  Inflation of late fees is a problem, I'm telling ya.

I hope everyone's New Years was wonderful!