My Six Word Memoir

Any one heard the buzz about the Six Word Memoirs? I was reading my Reader's Digest today and they had a small piece on it (pg 16 April 2008). I didn't think much of it. I read it, enjoyed it, and moved to the next page. Later yesterday afternoon I received an email from a fellow blogger Jamie. Yep, that's right. I've been tagged to make my own Six Word Memoir. Knowing this was going to be a small challenge I decided to research it a bit and also enlisted the help of David. I found out that there's a website and book. Actually, I've passed the book multiple times in my recent adventures in Borders. Once again, I didn't think anything of it. Now it all comes together. So here's the deal in a nutshell: I got to sum my life up in six words. In addition, I then tag 5 people (don't ask me why it's not 6) to do the same. Here are the guidelines:

1. Write your own six word memoir
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like
3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post and to this original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere
4. Tag at least five more blogs with links
5. And don’t forget to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play!

As stated above, this was an interesting challenge. I like things to be black and white, not in the gray area, so I wasn't sure what direction to take this. Depending on who's memoir you read, they are different. Some are just words, others read like sentences. With that being said, this is what I've come up with:

Never Say Never, Because I Can.

Others included:
Asks Questions To Find The Answers
It's Not As Easy As Before
No Longer Such A Free Spirit
Always Working Towards A Better Life
Think Positive Thoughts and Self Awareness
Mind And Body Aren't Always Allies
Making My Own Path Through Life
Black And White, No Gray Area

David and I got on a roll....we moved on to him next:
Amazing Evolution Of Body And Hair
Everything's going to be alright, chill

Then Viking, our Rat Terrier:
I See A Ball, Let's Run

Natchez, our calico domestic short-hair cat:
Sassy Creole Queen From The Bayou

Jax, our other tabby domestic short-hair cat:
I Make Noise When I'm Hungry
A Little Catnip Never Hurt Anyone

And lastly, Lily, our Chihuahua
Pack Leading Princess With An Attitude
Toothless, But There's Always Peanut Butter

Now it's time for me to tag others to carry on the fun. Originally I had chosen 5 individuals, as the challenge requests, but I've had a request from a co-worker to be included. So 6 people it is. They are:
Erika, Jacki, Joey, Randy, Stephanie, and Therese

Oh What A Morning

I woke up this morning and found that the Weather Channel was right. 3-5 inches was expected and 3-5 inches is what we got. As always, there were drifts that made certain areas shallow while others quite deep. I had to work this morning so I figured I'd get the shoveling out of the way 1st thing. So at 6:30am I was out shoveling the snow, having a jolly good time. It was a thick, wet snow, so needless to say my back is feeling it now. After that I headed in for a warm boal of oatmeal, took a shower, caught up on the goings on online, then decided that it was time to finally leave for work. I did my normal routine where I push the garage button from inside, then get my shoes on, that way I don't wait for the door to open. It went halfway up and stopped. Okay, push the button again. It closed. Push it again and nothing. Uh oh. So I trek outside to the side garage door. Do you think I shoveled that area?? Heck no. That's where I put the excess snow. So much for that as I trudge through the excess snow. The side door is quite old so you gotta use some force to get it open. I get in the garage and push the button in there. It starts grinding with no action. I push it again, still grinding but nothing. Push it again, it stops. Hmmmm. What should I do? I push the button and use manual effort to get the door up and succeed, but only by so much. Yep, it's time to get the husband. Feeling bad, I wake David up on his day off. He recommends taking his car but it's covered in snow. He gets up. While I wait for him I decide to clear his car as much as possible, just to have a possible backup. All the while with the wind blowing the snow right back into my face. Still having a jolly time. When he gets outside we both inspect the door and end up getting it open enough to get my car out. I ended up leaving for work while he started to disassemble the opener. Once I got on the road I found the roads to be a sheet of ice. I got to work safely but driving on an ice skating rink is no fun.

I just got a call from David and he believes he's found the problem....a stripped gear. We're not sure if we'll be able to find the gear but we'll check it out later today. I have a feeling we're avoiding the inevitable. Throughout the past year we've been having on and off problems with our garage door. It will do the whole "close and open right back up" thing and we'll have to mess with it until it actually stays closed. In all honesty we've never found out what truly fixes it as everytime something else tends to "fix" it. Quite frustrating. In addition, within the past 2 weeks it's been acting erratic where I'm not sure if it will stay closed or not. I just never know. So even if the gear is fixable, I still wonder if it's just time for a new opener. And of course if we need a new opener more than likely a new door would be a good idea too. We still have a wood door that's showing it's age terribly. As always, time will tell. In the meantime we're not going to sweat it. You're probably saying, "Heidi, you, not sweat it?!" Yep, you heard right. Don't get me wrong. I want it fixed, but as I've found with so many things recently, things will be fixed whether you worry about them or not. I figured we'll check things out at Sears, Home Depot, and Lowes, but it's not like I'm going to be on a mission to fix this thing. It will be fixed, but for now I just want to enjoy our weekend, even if it's slushy and snowfilled.

Run Boy Run

I'm sure most of you have seen this commercial. I can't help but smile anytime I catch it. I don't necessarily like the commercial, just the song. It reminds me of David. When he was born he didn't have a name for the first several days. Friends of his parents "stole" the name they had chosen a few weeks earlier. They just called him "Boy." It's carried on through the years. In addition, anytime I'm watching sports I tend to yell, "Go boy go!" when a good play happens. Simple minds, simple pleasures? Ah well. Run Boy Run!

103.13

After my run yesterday I have exceeded 100 miles of running from the start of 2008. In the scheme of things it's not much compared to all of those that can run circles around me. And also that I'm technically behind (to date-about 20 miles) for the Diabetic Runner Challenge, due to weather and knee problems. But considering this time last year I wasn't do any type of exercise more than working and sitting at the computer, I'm further ahead than I've ever been in my life. In addition, I know I'll be able to make up for those lost miles in the coming months, I'm sure of it. So here's to atleast 380 more miles for me to complete before the years out.

Mmmm, Donut

I got a run in today. Once again short, but I'm moving my way along. Trying to work my way back up to where I was. I'll get there. I'm still having on and off pain in my knee but feel like I have it under control. It's more often not present, which is definitely an improvement. It's been great to be able to get in more runs lately, even if they are shorter. The fresh air helps to clear your mind and cleanse your soul. Sorry, getting a little earthy on you. But truly, it does feel good. In addition, I don't feel as guilty wanting a little something extra to eat here and there. Although I'm not burning a ton of calories with these short runs, I'm still burning something. I'm looking forward to even warmer weather and healthy knee to run even more often and longer distances. That will come. For now I have my sites set on a goal. That goal is to complete the half marathon. With goals come rewards. My planned reward for myself? A donut. Heck, maybe even donuts. For some reason I've been craving a donut. The puffy kind with chocolate icing and creme filled. I prefer the long ones but a round one will do. Ooh, I can taste it now. It's been awhile since I had a donut. It's just something that we don't do often for obvious reasons. Back in the newlywed, New Orleans days, we'd go down to the Quarter and pass the Krispy Kreme shop with the "Hot Donuts" sign lit. We'd purchase a dozen, eat about 2 each, and then save the rest for the next day or two. Yeah, that's how we got to be our bigger selves. Long gone are those days. No more. I'm not going to lie, I indulge in things. For instance, the awesome piece of Cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory this past weekend....but when I put something in my mouth I simultaneously think of what I'm going to have to do to burn it off. The winter months have been harder as expected. You're inside, sitting around, wanting to put every little thing in your mouth, unable to get out and burn it off. Once again, I'm looking forward to the warmer weather to get rid of the "excess." So back to my reward. The donut. There aren't any Krispy Kremes and Dunkin Donuts around here. (In all honesty I'm not that big of a fan of Krispy Kreme anymore. I can't believe I just typed that. I think it's a burnout type of thing.) So the donut will preferably come for the House Of Donuts, one of the local joints here in town. And when the time comes, I'll be ready.

I Will Run 500 Miles

I believe my running is back on track…as of this moment. The combination of the Pro-tec patellar strap along with the glucosamine and using ibuprofen post run has definitely helped me these past few days. As always, only time will tell.

Oftentimes on my runs I take my Sansa mp3 player. I have a variety of tunes in there…instrumental, to hard rock, to easy going stuff. For some reason recently, when I hit a certain part of my route I have a tune that starts up. It’s not everyday or every run, but most times, it occurs near a certain location on one of my routes. Even better, it happens near the end of my route. “I Would Walk 500 Miles….” rings out through my Skull Candy ear buds. I picture my uncles, along with my dad, dancing around the dance floor, having a good time, and I can’t help but smile and turn up the volume. I feel my stride lengthen and my tempo picks up as I drive home. People that drive by probably think I’m crazy as they see my head bopping and my hands beating an imaginary drum. It’s a perfect “power” song for my running. It has sentimental value not to mention I’m also striving towards my goal of 500 running miles this year, for the Diabetic Runner Challenge. I WILL RUN 500 MILES.......

Frustrations

I'm just going to lay it out there. I'm suffering from some frustrations. I won't call it winter blues, because in all honesty I don't feel depressed...just frustrated. I'm not looking to readers for sympathy or negative comments. I just need to get it off my chest and this is where it will be.

The frustrations are plenty and basically I've found that it's a big circle and they feed off of eachother...

I've had some time off from work. I can't complain about that, but our pocketbook will. That then brings up me worrying about finances, which is never a good thing. As with every other instance I'm sure we'll be fine, but it still stinks to have that hanging over your head, always asking, "Do we really need this? Can we go another week without it? Where can I cut from or get extra money from?" Or just trying to space out our spending in general so we don't have a big whammy all at once. I'm sure ya'll know what I'm talking about.

I've also been at a point where I don't know what to do with myself, especially with all the time off. I feel like a waste of space. You can only clean so much, so I think to myself, "What next?" It'd be a great time for a home improvement project(s) but once again you're dealing with the money situation. Not to mention we're at a standstill with the downstairs bedroom. As of this point I think it's something we need to tackle in the spring, allowing the windows to be open to release dust, or even hiring someone to do it.

Alright, no home improvement projects, what next? I'm at a slow point during school, which once again is a good thing, so I've taken up some reading. Don't get me wrong, I've love being able to read, but I also want to be active. It's not like I want to or feel I have to be moving at all times, but I like to feel like I've accomplished something when the day is through. Which leads me to the next thing, running.

With the weather it'd be great to have a treadmill. Not happening....money again. Not only can I not run due to the weather, but even if it was favorable outside or I had a treadmill my running is at a total halt right now. The bottom line is my knee is still bothering me. I stand, it nags, I sit, it nags. No matter what, it's the same ol' thing. I think this is one of my biggest frustrations at this point. I want to be active, I need to be active, but I can't. People around me say, "Go to the doctor." Easy for them to say. As stated in a previous post, when you have limited coverage for this type of stuff you think twice. I understand it should probably be looked at. I recognize that. It still doesn't change my monetary affordability to have it looked at. I've done my research to see if I can pinpoint my symptoms and have it narrowed down. The problem is, depending on which one it is one says, continue performing as normal, whereas the other says, stop, let it rest, then continue. So I think to myself, "What should I do?" At this point I'm not running (obviously) and am supplementing with a Cosamin (Glucosamine + Chondroitin) which comes highly recommended from my boss and ibuprofen. I do think it's helped. Only time will tell.

With this setback I am beginning to question my participation in the Cleveland Half Marathon. With 69 days until the race, there's still time, if my knee issue subsides and I get back into gear. The thing is, I need the knee problem to cease and have enough time to gradually build my mileage back up to where I was at and then some. David has this fear too, as he's been unable to run also. He has the problem where his feet go totally numb and so then he'll lose his footing unexpectedly and tumble. Not to mention, he's truly in pain when all of his limbs go numb just after a few moments, or oftentimes in his case, before he even starts.

Not being able to run and being cooped up has also lead me to having some nutritional issues. Since I'm not burning the calories like I've been, the lbs have started to creep up on me over the past couple of weeks. It's not like I've gained 10-20 lbs, but another frustration. I'll admit that I don't have that great of nutrition whether I'm running or not (darn sweets!), but I definitely can't eat the amount of food I eat when I'm running. So at this time I need to readjust my eating habits and amount, which is never easy, especially when you're trying to cut back. Cross training would be great, although darn near impossible. Not having a gym membership, along with the crappy weather, doesn't give you choices. I just settle with my pilates and crunches. It's something, but not much in the scheme of things.

I think the whole "Wicked" thing this weekend put the cherry on top of my frustrations. Really it's not that big of a deal, especially now that refunds will be issued and our lives are more important than any amount of money, but it's just the point of it. It seems as though when we plan a trip, evet, etc. something happens. Recently it's been the weather. Hawaii...down the crapper for a multitude of reasons, especially weather. David's trip with his dad to Minnesota on Christmas Eve.....terrible snow storm that they had to drive through, which wasn't safe, and the Vikings still lost. And then "Wicked". Bummer. It makes me nervous to plan anything.

Looking ahead to the future, which is hopefully brighter.....Our next vacation is coming in the fall. However, I've been looking at the travel books only to find that October/November are the rainy months in the Caribbean. We knew it was hurricane season, which runs through summer and ends in November, but usually this isn't an issue, as the ship will travel around the storm, and there usually aren't too many, if any, problems. Still, I can only hope that weather won't ruin this vacation. If it does I may just lose my mind.

So that's it. My frustrations in a nutshell.

Refund

Thanks to an anonymous commenter on our blog we found out that we will be getting a refund on this weekend's Wicked tickets that we were unable to use. Whew.....Although we didn't get to see the show, it takes the sting out a bit. The article is below.

CLEVELAND -- Although the shows did go on in Playhouse Square, many patrons couldn't make it to downtown Cleveland for the Friday, Saturday and Sunday performances.
The weather, as well as the threat of arrest, kept many away.

Police in several suburbs and counties declared states of emergency, banning all traffic unless it was an extreme emergency.

Police also would ticket or arrest people who ventured out into the storm without an extreme emergency.

Playhouse Square officials will be issuing refunds for unsued tickets to select weekend performances.

Playhouse Square ticket holders can MAIL their unused tickets in for a refund for the ticket price, but that does not include any fees.

Tickets should be mailed to: Playhouse Square, Attn: Ticket Operations, 1501 Euclid Ave., Suite 200, Cleveland, Ohio 44115.

The deadline to have your tickets mailed back is March 24.

The shows affected would be:
"Wicked" at 8 p.m. Friday; 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday; and 1 p.m. Sunday.

"Addy: An American Girl Story" at 7 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.

"We Gotta Bingo" at 7:30 p.m. Friday; 5 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Saturday; and 5 p.m. Sunday."

Tickets purchased through a secondary market ticket agency, such as EBay, StubHub, etc. or a group leader, will need to be followed-up with the original buyers of the tickets," Playhouse Square officials said.

Monday's Thought For The Day

I'll Get To Wicked...Someday

Unfortunately our adventure was short-lived and we did not make it to Cleveland. Actually, we didn't make it any farther than Huron (a small city just outside of Sandusky). We headed out in Sita and Alpa's Honda CR-V. It was handling quite well and we thought we'd head out Cleveland Rd. and pick up Rte. 2 in Huron. The conditions worsened at every second the farther west we went. We made it to Griffing Airport only to find a Ford Explorer with it's hazards on (which we almost collided with). Then we noticed a State Trooper walking toward the Explorer. After speaking to that driver he came to our car and said, "You'll have to turn around. You can't get through here. Too deep of snow and zero visibility." We turned around, made a zigzag and got on Rte. 250. Once again it wasn't too horrible. The snow was deep and you had limited visibility but it was do-able. When we got to the Rte. 2 on ramp you couldn't tell what was road or shoulder. We made it up the ramp only to find we had little to no visibility. That's when the talk of, "Should we just turn around?" started. No one wanted to make the decision. And then immediately the conditions seemed better. You could see ahead of you. The snow was blowing across the road, but it was clear. Okay, maybe this won't be so bad....then again, zero visibility. What to do? Then we started to run into seeing cars off the road. The problem was you couldn't see them until you were on top of them....not joking. We didn't know what to do. As time went on the conditions once again seemed to worsen by the moment. Semis were on the side of the road, a semi off the road into the median dip. Ugh. It was decided. We can't do this. It was already 11:30am and we had just made it to Huron. We had to turn around but didn't want to turn around and get right back on it fear of colliding with one of the semis on the side of the road. So we traveled through Huron, hopped back onto Rte. 2 after the point of where the semis had been off the road, and then reached Rte. 250. Once back in town it wasn't so bad. The conditions weren't great by any means, but much more drivable than Cleveland Road, right on the water, or the highway. Once again, it wasn't necessarily the roads that were bad. Don't get me wrong, you'd hit some bad patches of drifts, but that's something we could've dealt with. It was the white out conditions. 95% of the short trip was pure white out. Pretty scary. I took some video with the camera. As with most things, it doesn't do justice....and anytime there was something worth "catching" I'd miss it. Even so, I thought I'd share it with you....

The Show Must Go On

Sita has made contact with the Playhouse and they say, "The show is on." So what does that mean for us? Either brave the elements or lose the money. Our choice is to brave the elements, pray we don't get in an accident or stuck in the snow, and hopefully enjoy Wicked, which we have patiently waited for. I've wanted to see this ever since I saw the "One short day in the Emerald City..." during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade a few years back. Last year Mom and Cassie made it down to Columbus to see the production but I was financially unable to attend. So as you can see I'm quite determined to see Wicked dang it. As for our 7pm reservations at Maggiano's? We'll have to see. I have a feeling those will definitely be nixed, but that's okay. I'm sure this will be an adventure. You can bet I'm taking the camera. Lord, grant us traveling mercies.

Inspiring

If he can do it. I can do it.

Will The Wicked Weather Keep Us From Wicked?

More wicked weather is on the way. It looks like we'll be getting around 12 inches of snow in the coming 24 hours. Great. More snow. Unfortunately we have tickets for "Wicked" for the Saturday matinee in Cleveland. We're keeping our fingers crossed but in viewing the forecast it's not looking too promising. Surprisingly the forecast is calling for worse snow over here yonder when it's usually farther east in the snowbelt...Cleveland area. It has something to do with low pressure something or other that will supposedly make us get the brunt of it. We've been looking forward to this for some time and I pray that we don't miss out on this opportunity. I'll be pretty bummed. At the same time we have to be logical and don't want to kill ourselves over going to a musical. Only time will tell.

Unexpected Time Off

Boy, this weather is throwing us for a loop, especially at work. Not only has it been hard to get into work but when we are open it's been dead this week. As always, feast or famine. Obviously this week it's famine. We were dead on Monday so I volunteered to leave a couple hours early, having had such a rough weekend. When Tuesday came along the freezing rain/sleet, along with no one coming in, made us close an hour early. Then on Wednesday the ice/snow made it impossible for half of the staff to come in. It also meant having only 3 appointments during practice hours. As for today, we had a dead morning with a steady evening. I'm not scheduled to work until 12 noon tomorrow but at this point it's not worth me going in with only having two non-doctor appointments scheduled. And considering the weather is supposed to get pretty severe tomorrow more than likely those will be canceled anyway. Don't get me wrong, I'd go in just to go in, but the owner's don't really want to pay all of us just to sit there. If we can find something to do then they have no problem with it. But considering the circumstances throughout the entire week, I've cleaned almost everything possible in the clinic. I did my usual weekly cleaning tasks along with scrubbing the autoclave, taking apart the x-ray machine and cleaning it, scrubbing walls, scrubbing floors...the list goes on and on. I can only BS the cleaning for so long. And unfortunately I wouldn't be able to BS my way through 6 hours tomorrow. Bummer. So basically it comes down to us girls trying to space our hours out evenly throughout this week so no one is totally screwed. Thankfully I still have a decent amount of sick time to use if need be. More than likely I'll save it for the future or just use a couple hours for this paycheck, nothing that will wipe me out. Looking ahead at next week the schedule looks much more full. Why can't we just have a happy medium? I'm either bored out of my mind or running around like a chicken with it's head cut off.

Ice Ice Baby

Man oh man. Remember those nice temperatures we in Ohio were having on Monday? High 50's...nice. Come Monday night into Tuesday we saw an incredible drop in temperature. Not only that but the atmosphere was totally confused calling for some crazy weather. On Monday evening it started raining and then come yesterday mid afternoon it started back up again. However, it was much colder and the wind was gusting like crazy. That made for some slippery surfaces. As I stated, the atmosphere was confused with the weather so it wasn't sure weather it should rain, sleet, or snow. By 5pm the freezing rain started and they started to send us home from work. I had just been in my car 2 hours prior but when I went out to my car the right side, along with my front windshield, had a nice 1/2 inch of shiny glazed ice. Nice. Chop chop chop away. Add onto that the high windows and the sleet pelting my face. It made for a good time. I made it home safely only to find David attempting to leave for school. I had called him to notify him school was cancelled but he hadn't checked his phone. I blocked him in, making sure he wouldn't leave. He obviously hadn't heard so he was slightly frustrated that he spent all that time clearing his car of the ice glaze. It was amazing how fast the ice formed on our cars. But given the elements, it was no surprise. The garage door was iced over but at that point I could still open it. The front of the house was a total sheet of ice. Everything covered in ice. I think it's the first time I've ever seen anything like it. We hunkered down in hopes that we'd keep power throughout the night....with the high winds and amount of ice, we didn't know. We did keep power however, something even weirder, throughout this whole thing we even had thunder and lightning. It was one of those things where you say to yourself, "Was that thunder??" because it wasn't expected. Weird but cool at the same time.

Thankfully I have this morning off but David wasn't so lucky. He went outside to chop at the ice and after and hour and a half he had his truck cleared along with the sidewalks and driveway. He's a maniac. It looks like all the schools are closed and according to mom we're under a Level 3 state. I guess my dad made it to work (after chopping for an hour himself) only to find the parking lot not plowed and everything in a total mess. He said, "It's not worth it," and headed home. David left over an hour ago. I'm waiting to hear from him to see how things are going. He figured if he was able to get out of the driveway he might as well go to work and get paid. I just got off the phone with my coworker who is working reception this morning. She made it in but only after chopping 2 inches of ice off her tires and having her neighbor push her out of the driveway. According to her the roads aren't all that bad as long as you take it super slow. She hasn't heard from the office manager. I'm to go in at noon. Only time will tell.

Ohio's Turn

It's Ohio turn to get out and vote! We made sure to get up extra early to make it to the polls first thing. Happy voting!

Onto The Next Week

I've made it an entire week without running. Whew. The best thing? I didn't feel all that guilty about it. Double whew. Now, I just got to make sure I keep some sort of fire under my butt to keep me moving. I can't get into a slump now. I woke up this morning to find that it's already 50 degrees outside. Sweet. I think to myself, "I'll be able to get out for a run." Then I check weather.com. "Winter Weather Watch...." What?! You've got to be kidding me. Sure as day, it's right there at the top of the screen. Looks like we'll have rain this evening and the temperatures going to drop making it freezing rain throughout the night and tomorrow, all the way until Wednesday. No!!!! Maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to fit a quick run in after work tonight, if it's not raining by 7pm. I don't want a long run. Just something to get up and moving and see if the knee is any better. Cross your fingers.

My work weekend ended up being a long weekend. I worked an hour over on Saturday due to 2 sick cases. I left knowing that I could be called in with the possibility of performing an emergency surgery on one of the sick animals, depending on what the owners chose. I ran home, changed, and David and I got something quick to eat and bummed around the area. All while I had my change of clothes in the car just in case. Over an hour later I got a call from Doc saying the owner's opted for euthanasia and not surgery. Okay. No big deal. That's fine and I agree with Doc and the owners...it was the best choice as there was a 99.9% chance the pet would pass while under anesthesia and there was a very high chance of mortality even after the surgery would be performed. So in other words, I was "off the hook." We continued to get things done that we needed then around 5pm I received a phone call. It was Doc, "We have someone else that needs emergency surgery. Can you help?" Sure I can. Thankfully I still had the clothes in the car and we were already out near work. We zoomed over there and I waited for everyone to arrive. Come to find out a previous surgery from the week had been too rowdy and messing with her spay incision, that it had opened. We're not talking just a small hole, we're talking instestines falling out....the dog is open. Yikes. Thankfully they caught it fast enough and everything was salvagable. They had made it up to the emergency clinic only to find they couldn't afford the prices so they went through the phone book calling searching for Doc by his last name. They called everyone on the list and finally found him. So that's how all of this came about. We were in surgery for about an hour and when I left everything was A okay. Whew. A long day. Atleast I'm getting paid for it. But at 54 hours of work last week tires you out pretty fast.

On Sunday we decided to look for cruise clothes for me. Bad idea. Most of you know shopping for clothes isn't easy for me. Let me shop for anyone else but me and I'm happy. As soon as you enter shopping for me into the picture it's not too pretty. Well, Elder Beerman had a huge sale on dresses so it was pertinent that I look. Not only is shopping in general a pain for me but shopping for dress clothes is even worse. Remember, my wardrobe consists of scrubs, jeans, t-shirts, and running stuff. A month ago I went through all of my clothes, getting rid of all of my dressy stuff. Not only was I not using it but it didn't fit. I go through these phases where I need the dressup clothes (truly, I need them, it's not a want of mine) so I go get some. The phase ends, my body loses or gains weight, and when the next phase of needing to dress up arises I have to go buy more clothes. It's a vicious cycle. So when I was throwing out all of my dressy clothes a month ago I vowed to myself, "never again will I do this." And what am I doing now, but looking for freakin' dress clothes! So not only was I not wanting to shop for myself but I was also messing with my psyche knowing I'm back in the cycle. Son of a..... Frustration. Thankfully I kept my dress pants but they are still slightly big at this point and the length, well, that's always a problem. I can't use petites because they're too short, yet regulars are too long. In order for them to work I need extra high heels. As stated they're a little large around the waist but I'm sure they'll do as the shoes I'm wearing work with the length. So in the end I think I got it all worked out.

I'm sure most of you are thinking, "Why are you worried about this? You're not going until September?" True. True. But you know what? I want to get it out of the way. One more thing off the list. There are so many things on the to-do list for this trip that it's crazy. So if I have the chance to mark something off, I got to do it. In addition, you know I don't want to pay full price for anything, so I have to catch the sales when I can.

So it wasn't really all that relaxing of a weekend I must say. Ah well. Onto the next week, tired self and all. On a positive note, I've been able to read most of my book I told you about. I really like it and it's a real easy and fast read. Good to go. Have a great Monday everyone!

Monday's Thought For The Day