today I am thankful for

-naps that refresh when I really need it

 

-flexible work schedules

 

-friends who listen and pray for me

 

-spring being right around the corner (winter storm or no winter storm--the end of this is in sight, I know it!)

 

-moments of clarity

 

-work friends coming back from maternity leave

 

-seeing the sun on the drive to work

 

-baby cheeks

 

-fuzzy kitties

I wish

I'm digging this song lately. It just speaks to me about the desire to be free of all the fears and anxieties and insecurities that hold us back, and I can relate to that. Plus, Sara Bareilles is just awesome.

 

Let the Rain - Sara Bareilles

 

I wish I were pretty

I wish I were brave

If I owned this city,

Then I'd make it behave

 

And if I were fearless,

Then I'd speak my truth

And the world would hear this

That's what I wish I'd do

 

If my hands could hold them, you'd see

I'd take all these secrets in me

And I'd move and mold them to be

Something I'd set free

 

I want to darken in the skies, open the floodgates up

I want to change my mind, I want to be enough

I want the water in my eyes, I want to cry until the end of time

I want to let the rain come down, make a brand new ground

Let the rain come down

Let the rain come down, make a brand new ground

Let the rain come down tonight

 

I hold onto worry so tight

It's safe in here, right next to my heart

Who now shouts at the top of her voice,

"Let me go, let me out, this is not my choice!"

 

I've always felt it before,

That the world was filled with much more

Than the drowning soul I've learned to be

I just need the rain to remind me

 

I want to darken in the skies, open the floodgates up

I want to change my mind, I want to be enough

I want the water in my eyes, I want to cry until the end of time

I want to let the rain come down, make a brand new ground

Let the rain come down

Let the rain come down, make a brand new ground

Let the rain come down tonight

the times, they are a-changin'

It's fall. The leaves will be gone soon, and these Ohio days in the 50s and 60s will not last forever. So what's been new lately?

 

Let's see...I have been sick with some form of upper respiratory thing since the beginning of October. It was bad for a month, then I thought I was getting better, but now the crud seems to be creeping back. I do not want to go to the doctor because I'm afraid they're going to give me a third round of antibiotics, and I am not a fan of taking antibiotics in large quantities. We'll see how long I can live on Sudafed and Mucinex.

 

A couple weeks ago, I was in my first car accident (well, "first" if you don't count the time seven years ago when I accidentally backed into a woman in my apartment parking lot [I don't]). It was a traumatic experience,  and I am just glad it's over. Our car was totaled, though, and I am sad about that. So after a stressful week of car shopping and dealing with insurance companies, I believe the mess is behind us and we can move on. Car shopping is a nightmare, by the way. You think it's going to be fun--all, "ooh yay, we get to look for another car! New things are always fun!"--but after days of scanning Craigs List, talking to strangers, and browsing at sleazy used-car dealerships, the sparkle is gone and you're ready to buy the next piece of junk jalopy that is paraded in front of you because you just want it to be OVER, for the love of sweet Jesus. (We ended up with a CRV that is actually nice, but we were at our wits' end at that point, and we probably would have driven home in anything that ran.)

 

My family Christmas is in 13 days. This is the second year we have celebrated "Thanksmas," the two-in-one holiday mega-bash. Last year, it was because my brother was leaving for Navy boot camp in December, and this year it's because he is graduating from sub school and will be moving to Washington state next month, so this is our opportunity to see him, his wife, and my little nephew. I'm looking forward to seeing my family, and the early jump on Christmas shopping (before the stores become unbearable) makes me happy.

 

Ummm....so, I think that's it. My uber-interesting life out there on the Internet for everyone to see and yawn about. Happy Ides of November, everyone.

stinky no more

My husband just replaced our garbage disposal. I am proud of him.

Our old one was intermittently stinky, and recently it had started to leak.

It was time.

Good job, husband. Your handiwork saves us hundreds of dollars every year, and I'm thankful that you know how to do these things (or if you don't, that you figure it out). You rock.

Hello?

Does anyone read this blog anymore? I fear I may have lost my readers with all the blog address/identity changes over the years, like how one loses a pursuer by making sharp turns down alleys and jumping fences. (You know, like in the movies. Think Bourne Identity.)

 

I never meant to lose you, readers! My blog-dentity has just been wandering aimlessly and trying to find its way, not trying to shake anyone following it. I hope some of you are still out there.

Wha? Where'd this decade go?

I turn 30 today.

 

Holy crap.

 

That's all I have to say about that right now.

pretty bird

Yesterday I was driving home from the grocery store and a guy in a black Jeep flipped me off. I truly think he was in the wrong (however, I won't tell you what I did to get flipped off because you might take his side, and I am enjoying feeling right).

The whole experience was kind of funny to me, and the part that surprises me is that I didn't get too upset when I saw his big, knuckly finger in my rear-view mirror. I got a little fired up/indignant, but not the "I'm gonna cry" kind of feeling that a friend once described after her first birdy experience. When I got home and told Craig what had happened, he said (with sarcasm) "That's gotta make you feel good." and I said, "Actually, it kind of did. I felt self-righteously good."

I don't know. Maybe that doesn't make sense to you without knowing the series of traffic events, but I guess in a nutshell I will say that the guy was driving like a punk bully, and I stuck up for myself (in a vehicular fashion) and it pissed the guy off. So maybe I felt proud of myself. Maybe I felt safe and anonymous in the car and therefore more prone to confrontation than I am in "real" life.

And maybe this is a dumb story, now that I think about it, but I think I'm going to post it anyway. Because it feels good to stick up for yourself, even if it's just against jackass drivers in black Jeeps.