verbingnouns

10 Things That Make Me Smile

1. Good puns. Okay - bad puns, too.
2. Awkward silences. (I don't know why they make me smile, I just find them amusing.)
3. Rum and Diet Coke. (You've gotta cut back somewhere!)
4. Red tulips.
5. Consistency (I know: it's the last refuge of the unimaginative, or the hobgoblin of little minds or something. Emerson, Wilde: what do they know, anyway?)
6. Realizing that God answers prayers - in very funny ways that I never see coming.
7. That the latte lady knows what I drink, even though I only go once a week or less.
8. When I realize I've picked up someone else's idiosyncrasies.
9. People who mistakenly think everything they do and say is Very Important.
10. Four day weekends. (I plan to smile all four days.)

Next Challenge, Please

Well, boot camp has come to and end and I am sad. I'm so surprised at how much I enjoyed it! While I wouldn't say I improved by leaps and bounds, I made some progress considering it was only a few weeks long. I took a minute and a half off my mile (though I will admit that I wasn't quite giving it my all during the first go-round, and to be honest, I probably could have shaved a bit of time off the last time, too), I doubled the amount of push-ups I can do, and I lost a few pounds in the process. Plus, it encouraged me to broaden my workout horizons. I have all these different classes available at the gym but I hardly ever go to them because I'm intimidated by the hard-bodies that are in there, but now I feel a little better about going.
So my next challenge is to keep pushing myself as if I was still in boot camp. The hardest part of that is dragging my sorry self out of bed in the wee hours of the morning. I'm SO not good at that. If I don't have anyone to meet at the gym - if I know no one is waiting on me - I just don't go. I've been going in the afternoons, but it's so much nicer to just get it over with in the morning and be able to do other things in the evening. So, if anyone wants to go to the gym or the track with me at 5:30 in the mornings, let me know! If not, I'll have to figure out a way to make myself get up on my own - maybe if I get involved in a class, I'll feel more motivated to show up consistently. And next time they do boot camp, I'll definitely sign up for it.

Dear Girl in the Short-Shorts,

Do you have parents? Where were they when you left the house dressed like that? Just wondering.

Sincerely,
Christin

Pictures!

Here are a few pictures of the new place:

This is the front of the house. Obviously. I really like the little glassed-in porch.

This is the living room. It looks kind of boring in this picture, but I think it works with the rest of the house.

This is the living room from a different angle that shows a little more personality.

The house came with insanely bright yellow countertops, so we painted it green (instead of the awful mauve it was before). I like the way it turned out - very cheerful.

This is my room. Check out the shutters! Both bedrooms are full of them. (Five windows in my room alone.) Unfortunately, some of them are painted closed because, as the landlord matter-of-factly told us: they were painted by a crackhead. Anyway, I was going to paint my room white again, but decided to go with a (conservative) color.

Crazy Talk (alternately titled: More of the Same)

I did not get off to a good start this morning. I burned three and a half of my fingers in a breakfast-making frenzy and it's been all downhill from there. I don't know what my deal is today, but I'm not on my A game: not motivated, not productive, not thinking clearly. I'm trying to regroup but nothing's happening.

Earlier today I started thinking about how I wanted to run a 5K. I knew there was one coming up in Ruston during the Peach Festival and thought I would give it a try. Yeah, I'm crazy. Once I started actually thinking about it, I realized that people actually train for these sorts of things, they don't just wake up one morning and decide to do it. Well, it turns out the one in Ruston is next weekend and I'll be out of town anyway so I can spare myself some embarassment. This is one of those things like the triathlon I always say I want to do: I don't really want to DO it, so much as I want to HAVE DONE it. Maybe someday I'll get myself in gear and actually do it. I mean, train for it and then do it. I guess it's like most things in life: you pretty much have to work hard to achieve the goal. Darn it.

I'm stressing myself out over everylittlething right now. I try not to be a worrier, but it's gotten to me lately - many prayers answered, but not in the way I expected them to be. (I'm such a brat!) I've got Psalm 37 on my wall trying to remind myself to relax:

3Trust in the LORD and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. 4Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart. 5Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, and He will do it. 6He will bring forth your righteousness as the light And your judgment as the noonday. 7Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes. 8Cease from anger and forsake wrath; Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing. 9For evildoers will be cut off, But those who wait for the LORD, they will inherit the land.

Jeanette left a comment over at WonderGirl's place that I found encouraging today:

Last Sunday's sermon at our church was about "Give us this day our daily bread". The pastor linked it to the daily manna. It's a prayer we're supposed to pray daily, like gathering manna daily. It wouldn't keep the next day, reminding us to fall daily before the Lord in dependence. So I guess I'm just saying, just take it one day at a time. That's all anyone can ask.

I'm still working on that "one day at a time" thing.

Go Sell Crazy Some Place Else. We're All Stocked Up Here.

The house is 95% under control now. I have a precious few unsorted boxes left to tackle, one more coat of paint in the bathroom, some sort of art project for the living room (I use the term "art" loosely), and grass to mow (which shouldn't take long). I am so happy to have things in their places. I took loads of stuff to Goodwill, though probably not quite as much as I could have - I still haven't sorted through the shoes. Plus, I have random stuff, like (I kid you not) a Barrell of Monkeys that has been under my bed for who-knows-how-long. This would have explained the insomnia, if only they had been live monkeys. But, alas, one cannot justify getting rid of a Barrell of Monkeys, even for a worthy cause like a charitable donation to Goodwill. You never know when you'll be in a situation where someone will need such a thing and I could be on hand to help.

I spent most of the day Saturday unpacking and arranging. I intended to spend the whole day doing so, but I have this disease where I can't stay in one place for too long. (It runs in the family - funny what sort of things are genetic/ingrained in personality from youth.) I can get a few hours of work in before I have to leave the house - even if it's just for ten minutes. This is the same disease that won't let me sit on the couch during television commercials and the same disease that makes me insane if I don't have a car at my disposal - just knowing it's there if I want to go somewhere comforts me. For such a laid-back soul, I have a lot of stir-craziness.

This Is Me Telling You What I Want To Do Today

I'm feeling very weird today. It's almost like I'm still sleeping, but that can't be true. If it is, this dream stinks. I've already done a lot today and would hate to have to wake up and start over. I got next-to-no sleep last night, though I tried my best. That does not explain why I really feel like dancing right now, but it may give a hint into the randomness of this post.

I wish I had an adventure planned for this weekend. I'm feeling surprisingly adventurous for a Friday morning, but I'm afraid my weekend plans include several hours (at least) of getting the last boxes unpacked and their contents in their new places. In addition to that: well, nothing yet. So if anyone in Funroe has a great idea for an adventure to undertake, let me know. (Call, don't e-mail - I don't have access to my e-mail until tomorrow afternoon.)

I'm excited about getting the last items in their places because I'm ready to get back to my regularly scheduled programming. I haven't done any exercise this week other than bootcamp, and all I can think about is how much a want to go for a run, but I haven't been able to justify taking the time for running when there have been more important tasks at hand. There will definitely be running tomorrow - maybe even this afternoon. Oh, yes.

One more thing: turns out my super-power (no, not the super-bendy thumbs, the other one) may be useful after all: Judge orders a game of 'rock, paper, scissors' to settle dispute. I knew I should have gone to law school!

The Drama Continues

As the great philosopher Steven Wright once said, "I'm not concerned about all hell breaking loose, but that a PART of hall will break loose: it'll be harder to detect." I'm probably overreacting, but I feel like at least a part of hell has broken loose and landed in boxes in my house. Oh, the boxes! They're everywhere!

If there's one thing I've learned about myself over the years, it's that I'm happiest wherever I am at that time: whatever city, whatever house, whatever job - that's where I want to be. For example: when I lived in Idaho, I didn't get excited about going home for the summer (sorry, Mom!), but once I got to Texas, I didn't get excited about going back to Idaho. I just wanted to be where I was. This phenomenon also explains some bad jobs that I've had, that didn't bother me at the time, but in retrospect: what was I thinking?!? Anyway, all that is to say, I'm sure by next week (or at least by next month), I'll be happiest in my new house and not want to think about living anywhere else.

I did get the last of the junk out of the old house yesterday. And can I just say(?) - an empty house with wood floors and 10 ft ceilings has great accoustics. I put on quite a concert while I was sweeping and mopping. You should have been there. You really missed out. It was magical. It was sort of the "whistling while you work" theory, but I can't whistle. It did make the time go by faster, though.

The rest of the week will be dedicated to getting the new place in order so I can start being happy about it. Goodwill will be receiving a sizable shoe, clothing, and miscellaneous household item donation soon.

Curiously Silent

Here's why:

Dude. Moving is not fun. I couldn't tell you the last time I cried, but I could tell you the last time I came close: that would be yesterday. Nightmare. Actually, it could have been a lot worse. It's a good thing I have kind friends. I got to drive a U-haul - I get a small sense of accomplishment out of that, for some reason.

First, the Good Things (as my old friend Martha Stewart would say): in a last minute twist of fate, we got a house instead of an apartment. I'm really glad because even though I didn't want to complain, I wasn't that excited about apartment-dwelling. The house is in my favorite neighborhood in town and it's still really close to my office and all the other places I go. Also, it has a screened porch in the back. I know that sounds like a silly selling point, but I just love a good screened porch. And another thing, the landlords are a trip. He and his wife have been over like, 50 times to see how things are going. He promised they wouldn't be like this the whole time we lived there. I don't mind it right now because like I said, they're a trip, but this could get annoying really fast. I think they just don't have much of a life. Who knows? Maybe we'll become friends with them...and maybe we can convince him that Paprika is a perfectly reasonable color for a hallway.

The bad: we've got a lot of painting to do. I don't mind the painting so much as the taping. It will be worth it when it's done - the colors that were in there were not cool. Maybe if I'm feeling really pulled-together, I'll post some pictures. First, though: things must be unpacked. It's hard to unpack because I never know where to start and nothing has it's own spot yet. We have to be completely out of the other house by tomorrow, so I've got to focus on finishing that one first before I can really get settled. I'm going to miss the old house. I liked that place. I'll miss being able to walk to church and I'll miss being neighbors with my sister (even though it was brief). I'll miss my silent roommate. It sounds like we moved to another country - really it's about 3 miles away (max). I guess I could ride my bike to church - but that wouldn't be too pretty.

In other news: boot camp is still going great. I really like it. I wish it was longer than 6 weeks. I would totally do this year round if I could. I've found muscles I never knew I had and I'm inching closer to my goal weight/size: almost there. I'm about to try this meal-plan that a friend of mine recommended that I hope will push me over the edge. It looks kind of gross, but I'll try it for a week or two. If only I could get the kitchen organized...