Shower Time.

So since I've moved into this house, my least favorite thing (by far) has been the shower.  No matter how much draino, baking soda/vinegar combos, plunger skills, mesh drain filters, etc.. I use, I still end up standing in my shower water.  Which is mildly annoying.  But then on top of THAT, the shower head was infuriating.  It looked brand new, but only dribbled water (and I'm being generous)-- no pressure whatsoever.  But I just figured the water pressure in the bathroom was lame and/or the pipes were small and old.  Totally possible. 

Yet yesterday I was clearing out and organizing my bathroom closet when I saw one of those shower hoser things laying on the floor.  It's been laying there since I moved in March, and before that it was shoved in the basement of our old house.  So really it hasn't been used since last July.  The whole purpose of the shower hoser thingie was to bathe Bella in the tub rather than take her to the groomer (which can cost upwards of $70!!!!!)-- we kept it in our guest bathroom, so to be honest, I've never used it personally.  Since I'm back in this payoffdebt mode, I figured I might as well go ahead and reinstall it in our one and only bathroom because 1. it's more frugal to bathe Bella at home and 2. the other shower head sucked anyway, so how much worse could it get?

The whole process took less than a minute.  Just to make sure I installed it properly, I turned on the shower to see how it went.  Oh...my...goodness.  I stood with my jaw dropped open as I watched in wide eyed wonder what was happening.  Out of that shower hoser head thing came water.  lots of it.  In a spray form.  I put my hand under it, and felt PRESSURE!! 

Do you have any idea how glorious it is to feel water pressure from a shower you thought had none with a contraption that you had randomly in the closet?  GLORIOUS.  Even better, I'm not sure I've taken a shower with better water pressure before.  Can't believe it!

I think life's funny like that sometimes.  You get used to something being kind of crappy and assume that's the only way it CAN be, because that's the only way you know it to be.  But then something happens and you take a step to change it (small or large), and suddenly what once was crappy is awesome.  And you can't believe you spent so long taking crappy showers when it could have been the best showers the whole time had you just considered the option that it COULD BE BETTER/DIFFERENT/ETC.

I still have a pool of water surrounding my feet by the end of my shower, but I guess that's where I just gotta grin and bear it (because I HAVE tried to fix that in a kajillion ways-- I don't think it's a clog!)>> because when things can't change, I believe attitudes can, and it makes a big difference too.

So there's some shower philosophy for you.  Cheers! :)

energy

So I'm reading this book called The Happiness Project.  So far it's okay.  Kind of boring, to be honest, but okay.  I like the idea of it.  Even if a person is happy, can he or she be MORE happy?  If so, what must he or she do to accomplish that?  That's basically the essence of the book.  She's happy, but she knows she can be more irritable than she should be at times, and she wants to be more grateful, more peaceful.  I think that relates to a lot of folks these days (on the other hand, a lot of people just tend to hate life and want to rain on every parade they can).

She starts the book by saying what she's doing is not necessarily what everyone else should be doing, but she's aiming to make happiness work for HER.  When I started reading I had no intention of starting any happiness project of my own; the book just looked interesting (again, it's actually kind of boring so far.  I hope it gets more entertaining-- but the concept is fascinating).

Her first month is dedicated to finding more energy...and to do that, among other things, she felt she needed to clear clutter-- mental and physical.  For some reason I woke up at 5am yesterday.  And after laying in bed for an hour trying to go back to sleep, I decided to get up and just do something.  So I did some laundry..and the dishes...and cleaned out my car...organized my kitchen...swept and mopped the downstairs...and dusted.  All before 7:30.  I thought I would be konked out by 8am (when I actually need my energy because that's when my sidekick starts to stir), but I wasn't!!!  I actually had energy allllll day yesterday!!  Could be a total fluke, but I think she was on to something when she talked about clearing out clutter.  I can get really down when I know I have a lot to do and don't really know where to start.  Amazing how just doing SOMETHING can energize me. And when all of those somethings are done?  It's a beautiful feeling!  cheers! :)

Ten Year Plan...from Ten Years Ago!!!

I just stumbled on my autobiography from my senior year at UHS.  It's been 10 years since I put this thing together (as was required by all 12th grade English students), and WOW!!!  Wanna reminisce with me a bit??  Great!

So, the autobiography had to follow a format.  The final chapter was titled "The Future" and asked several questions about where you thought you would be in ten years time, with fill in the blank responses.  Well, my friends, that time has arrived...and admittedly my then-future and my now-present aren't really on the same page:

Ten years from now....(remember, this was 2001!)

I will be married (....ummm, and divorced?)
I will have one child (check! And I scored a jackpot with him-- he's the best!)
My occupation will be a journalist (I was pre-journalism my freshman year at WVU...changed to Psychology, which I LOVED-- but as you know am now pursuing my Master's in Education so I can assign senior English students things like this...)
My home will be in a safe community (I really didn't think I'd be in Morgantown, but I am actually quite glad to be here now-- and I really love my neighborhood and neighbors, so I would consider this a check!)
I'll earn enough money to be financially stable (I don't remember what I thought financially stable meant back then...right now I consider it to be having enough money to pay my bills, give some away, have some to save and have some to play.  check!)
My most prized possession will be my faith in God (I remember this one being really tough for me-- there's nothing I valued then that I felt would be my most prized possession...any thing I had (and have) I want(ed) to be able to be willing to give it away.  My faith in God was the one thing I wasn't willing to give away.  And that's still very true today.
I'll spend my free time with my family (I'm so blessed-- not only do I have my kiddo as my sidekick, I also have my immediate family, extended family, and dear friends who have been through the muck with me so deep that I now consider them family--- and most people who know me could tell you that spending time with others is how I love to spend my free time.  It makes my heart smile!)
I'll vacation in places I can barely pronounce (maybe one day ;) )
My summer home will be in the exact same location as my fall/winter/spring home (check!)
I'll spend most of my money on my family's needs (check!)

OK, so it didn't line up in some aspects. And some of it is kind of whatever (for example, I'm not really keen to spend tons of money to go on vacation-- I'm a thrifty girl by nature, so heading down to Myrtle Beach where I can stay with my sister is plenty vacation for me!... although I WOULD like to travel more eventually, I'm not at all sad about this one)

 I think the biggest kicker is that I never (never never) thought I would be divorced at 28.  And I think when things like that happen, at least when it happened to me -- I had to step back and admit that life can be messy.  People are messy.  I am messy.  And when you're rolling on this kick like everybody's got their stuff together, it can take the wind out of your sails.

And it definitely took the wind out of my sails for a minute.  But I think that's where I had to make a choice.  I could choose to look at the crap, or I could choose to look at the beautiful.  Life is full of both.  And I think I've learned that what I plan for the future (either as a 12th grade English student or as an adult) sometimes has nothing to do with what the future has planned for me.  And that can be intimidating/frustrating.

But I've also learned that it has been through the crap (or even just the unexpected) that my faith has been exercised the hardest, I have grown the most, and my joy has been increased in abundance.

So even though my future plans didn't pan out verbatim, I legitimately love my life right now.  It is crazy; it is gogogogogogogogo; it is exhausting!  But God has led me to a place where it is simultaneously beautiful, hilarious, and fulfilling.  And that is an awesome thing!

As for the next ten years?  Who knows??  I'm excited to see where God takes me!  I'll just say this (from the quote on the front of my assignment): "I do not fear tomorrow, for I have already seen yesterday, and I love today."

Cheers!

All Grown Up

Betcha thought I was going to be talking about Seth here... NOPE.  It's about me- a girl pushing the upper limits of her 20s, content as content can be wearing flip flops, jeans, and short sleeved shirts. 

Once upon a time I imagined I'd be wearing jeans pretty much every day until I died.  Well, jeans and cute hippie skirts/dresses.  Then I started my Master's program.  Fortunately, there is no dress code for online classes so I was still in my element.  It was still copacetic :)

Thing is, I start my practicum hours next week-- IN THE SCHOOL.  So of course there is the school's dress code to consider (sorry jeans).  Unfortunately, I don't own professional attire.  Or DIDN'T own professional attire.

Earlier today Ang (bless her heart- seriously.  I hate shopping.  Add dressy clothes to the mix and it's dangerous territory) met me up on Target Mountain to help me find some grown up clothes.  And some heels.  I'm 5'0, and understand that fifth graders are taller than me these days.  I want to help my "I'm a legitimate teacher" cause and for some reason thought high heels may help.  I dunno.  Maybe I'll just look like a fifth grader playing dress up in a high school. 

On top of having to go professional, I had to find outfits that covered my tat on my forearm.  Showing tats as a teacher is a no-no, so I had to find either a) long sleeves or b) things that could easily be matched with a cardigan-esque-mabob.  Thank goodness-- I found both! :):):)

I think today was successful.  Angie was ridiculously helpful (and a visionary!), and I definitely came home with enough clothes to get me through next week's practicum hours. 

I just felt so...grown...up.  I mean, I KNOW I'm a grown-up>> I have responsibilities, I'm raising a spunktastic little 3 year old, I pay bills, I consider co-pays when thinking about going to the doctor, I no longer think 30 is old ;) :)

 I mean grown up as in "I'm probably going to have to buy an iron....and use it" grown-up.   That's intense.  cheers! :)

Hiya Kendle

So for the past few weeks I've been doing a drug study (malaria meds- woo to the hoo)>>two in-house stays (I'm on my second) with visits in between.  Because I am currently wearing a heplock (kind of like a needle that just stays in your skin so they don't have to keep re-poking you), it has been almost 48 hours since my last shower.  Yes, my hair is a greasepit and I stink.

We're required to be up by 5:30 am and in our seats not long after that.  Our seats are leather executive chairs, but we have to sit up straight with both feet on the floor--and NO SLEEPING!--...oh, and bathroom trips are monitored, as is water consumption.  It's annoying, but it's really not THAT bad-- the nurses are really nice and I like the people who sit around me... but I'm ready to go home (tomorrow at 8am marks 60 hours in drug study lockdown) :)

I have a little over 12 hours left, and I am so excited to get back to my regular, crazy, beautiful life:)