Struggling with Stuff

I have been having a problem for quite awhile with not being able to get rid of sentimental things. Every gift, every reminder of a happy time, or a hard time that I made it through, or a person I care about... I just can't seem to part with them. I am in a place in my life (literally a place- a 2 bedroom condo) where I can't sustain this level of sentimentality. I have struggled with it, and with well-intentioned friends that insist on giving me more and more things. My friends are coming from a good place-- they care about me and they want to do a nice thing, and so they give me stuff. But what starts out as a great intention ends up as a sort of emotional shackle for me. I find it impossible to enjoy something for a little while and then let it go.
Today I read a great blog entry that I wanted to share here because I want to try to implement the baby step method, and I thought others might like to try as well. Here is a link to the blog: http://www.theminimalists.com/sentimental/
And here is a little excerpt that I am copying and pasting:

1. I am not my stuff. We are more than our possessions.
2. Our memories are not under our beds. Memories are within us, not within our things.
3. An item that is sentimental for us can be an item that is useful for someone else.
4. Holding on to stuff weighs on us mentally and emotionally. Letting go is freeing.
5. You can take pictures of items you want to remember.
6. Old photographs can be scanned... 
   
 

I hope others find this helpful, and I am open to more advice if anyone has some to offer! I am not trying to get rid of everything, I just need to reduce.

 

 

 

Potty Humor

Most of you should probably skip this post. I have a very immature sense of humor sometimes and I just had to have a record of a great moment in bathroom humor/geeky puns. Unless you are like me and have the mentality of a 12 year old boy, you probably won't want to keep reading. Consider yourself warned.

This weekend I was with my dear hubby and some friends playing a Star Trek RPG. We somehow got on the topic of Harry Potter when my husband excuses himself to go to the restroom. "I'm going to the Chamber of Secrets," he says. One friend makes a Goblet of Fire reference that I unfortunately can't recall. Someone else says "Careful not to drop the Sorcerer's Stone." Then I chime in, "I hope he doesn't leave any half-blood prints...."

I guess you had to be there, but we were all quite proud of ourselves. :D What can you expect from a bunch of grown people playing a Star Trek dice-rolling role playing game???

Happy New Year!

2012 was a good year in many ways, though it did have some very dark spots. I think that for me and my hubby, 2013 will be better and more interesting. I'm so glad he's enjoying his School Psych Internship. It should continue on until August or so. Then he will hopefully have a postdoc position, but even if he doesn't, he'll be out of school with his PhD.
I am not big on new year's resolutions, but I do have some things I'd like to do for fun this year. First up on the list is to see The Hobbit. I can't believe I still haven't seen it! I hope it's a good year for Frodo, too. His anxiety has been very problematic and it's unlikely that it will resolve. I think I'll be happy if it just doesn't get any worse.
I did get to go to a great New Year's Day get-together yesterday with some old friends and new friends from my karate school. I'm looking forward to getting to know people better. :) All-in-all things are good.

Thanksgiving 2012

This Thanksgiving season is already off to a great start. Last night we had dinner with one side of Charles's family: a fabulous meal and wonderful company! A+!! Tomorrow we'll spend time with the other side of Charles's family-- it's always nice to see such a close family and to get to enjoy great food. Then tomorrow for supper, my Dad and one of my sisters will come over for lasagna, garlic bread, and salad. This will be the second year that Charles and I will host them for Thanksgiving. Sometimes I wish I were more domestic and could get into (and enjoy) cooking for a bunch of people. However, that's just not me, and I am glad people don't pressure me to conform in that way.
There is so much to be thankful for that I can't even really begin to start listing things, as I'd feel the need to keep going and going and going. Maybe I can just limit myself to 3 things. Or maybe 5 things...

1. God (and Jesus, and the Holy Spirit......)
2. Family (especially Charles!)
3. Friends
4. My job (love, love, love my job, and so grateful to have it!)
5. My health

These things are all very important to me, but on the other hand, they are a bit cliche. What else am I thankful for that is a little less like something from a lifetime movie?

1. I am glad I get to try different shampoos. Life would be a little less interesting if I had to use the same shampoo every time.
2. I am thankful that Charles and I 'discovered' Mexico Lindo restaurant on Cedar Bluff. It makes our Saturdays so much brighter.
3. I really appreciate Netflix. It brings us hours and hours of entertainment. Right now we are watching the Highlander TV series. Which reminds me that I am thankful for Adrian Paul. It brought us Battlestar Galactica, Mad Men, Psych, Breaking Bad...
4. I am so thankful that Frodo hasn't hurt himself lately. He is still having some problems but there hasn't been any blood for awhile, and that is so huge to us.
5. I appreciate my car. My dad and Charles have both been so generous in the past about letting me drive their cars, but it is so great to have a car that is mine, that is reliable, paid off, and moderately clean.

Yes, I feel much better now. :) Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Tybee Island, Georgia 2012

Last week my hubby was on fall break from his Internship and his lecture duties, so we got out of Knoxville for a few days and hit up our faithful vacation spot, Tybee Island, Georgia. I think this might be the 5th time we've been, and it was glorious! 2nd week of October was a great time to go. Off-season price on hotel, but weather in the upper 70's to mid 80's. The water was slightly too chilly to swim in, in my opinion, but since I am not much for swimming where I can't see my feet, I didn't miss out too much. I think next time we go, we might try for last week of September or first week of October to get just a little more warmth, but it was wonderful. :) I got less sunburn than usual. We splurged and got a slightly more expensive room so we could have an ocean-facing balcony, and that was really a highlight of the trip. The room was not luxurious, but it was clean, and that is the #1 thing I look for in a hotel. We slept with the curtains open so the sunrise woke us up every day. Charles spent a couple hours each day just enjoying the view and breeze and sounds from the balcony. We had wonderful food. I am not into seafood at all, but Charles was able to get some seafood he enjoyed, and there was plenty of other delicious stuff to be had. We had breakfast everyday at the Breakfast Club (yum!), and ate 2 lunches at Lighthouse Pizza- a little pizza place with delicious food and nice service. Also had icecream at a couple different places, but Seaside Sweets was the best-- delicious 'ice cream gelato' and pralines. One of my favorite places to eat was called Coco's. You can watch the sunset over the river from atop their restaurant. We didn't survive the sunset, though, because there were pesky gnats outside. The food there was great, though-- I had amazing nachos. Yum!
It was one of the most restful vacations I've ever had, I guess because we've been there before so we could take it easy. It was so comfortable, and all the locals were super laid back because the tourist season was pretty much over. I hope we can make it back next year!

Random Updates

1. All the political posts on Facebook are making me question why I am friends with some people. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and I have friends on both sides of the political spectrum. Personally I am a moderate, and I can see both sides of many issues. What bothers me, though, is the vitriolic garbage that people tend to spew. If you disagree with Obama or Romney, that's fine, but there's no need to be ugly about it. Ugh. Can't wait til the election is over. :/

2. Recovering quite well from the wisdom tooth extraction. Today I go for a follow-up and will probably get my disolvable stitches removed since they aren't doing a great job of dissolving. The only 'complication' I have had is some mega nausea from the antibiotics, but today is my last day of those, so yay! I actually had to go home early on Tuesday because my stomach was so unhappy. I hate having to leave work early. Then yesterday when I was back at work someone asked me if I was pregnant (I am not, by the way). WHY WOULD YOU ASK ME THAT? "Because you were out sick, and you are never out sick!" Yes clearly the logical conclusion is that I am pregnant. Wut? I wasn't offended but I was amused by the huge assumption. I hope I don't *look* pregnant since I'm actually trying to lose weight. That would be a huge fail. Anyways, I'm looking forward to moving on and getting the stitches out. I totally recommend Dr. Daniel Read in Knoxville if you ever need tooth extraction. I think he is a wizard.

3. I'm really getting into Breaking Bad. Some people have told me it's a great show, and of course it gets a lot of acclaim. However, close friends that usually advise me on what to watch were only able to make it through 2 seasons because it is "so dark." Well, I gave it a shot anyways, and WOW I am hooked. It is dark, to be sure. I'm not sure how long I'll be able to watch, because I usually try to watch things that make me happy, but it's so mesmerizing. The last episode I watch started with a commercial for Los Pollos Hermanos. Man, I wish that was a real restaurant. I was totally craving chicken after that commercial. Anyways if you have a strong stomach for violence, I suggest you give the show a try.

And that's all, folks!

Wisdom Tooth Extraction

On Friday I will be having my wisdom tooth removed. I thought the picture above summed things up nicely. :) I am kind of nervous and excited. I've enjoyed hearing about other peoples' experiences with their wisdom teeth. Luckily I only have one wisdom tooth, and it's on the top, so that is good. I am going to try to guy buy some yummy soft stuff to eat. I wonder if ice cream would be ok, or if the coldness would be too much. Hm. The only complaint I have so far is that the doc gave me a sheet of paper telling me what I need to know for before the surgery, but I don't know anything about after the surgery so it's kind of hard to plan in advance. I'm looking forward to having the day off, though. And Monday is a holiday, so I'll get some extra bonus recovery time. Wheee!

In other news, Friday is also my hubby's birthday. I felt bad scheduling surgery for that day, but it really made the most sense. Hopefully I will be well enough that we can go celebrate over the weekend. And recovering will not prevent me from bestowing gifts on him. :) Then Monday is my bff's birthday, so she and I will be celebrating then for sure. Life is good, generally speaking. I've been counting calories in an attempt to lose weight, and I've lost approximately 5 pounds over the last 5 weeks (it's so hard to tell because my weight fluctuates so much day to day. I weigh myself at the same time and everything! bah!). The progress is slower than I would like, but they say that the slower you lose it, the more likely you are to keep it off, so I'll take it! It took me a long time to put the weight on, so I guess it should take at least that long to take it back off! Maybe losing slowly will reduce stretch marks, too. A girl can dream, can't she?

Work is great; I got caught up on some work that had been nagging at me for awhile. Now it's time for our annual reviews. I had to write a self assessment which is always a chore. Balancing on the fine line between humility and self-promotion is difficult. No one likes a braggart, but there is no sense in throwing yourself under the bus either.

I want to say a special shoutout to Bridget Wilson, a friend of mine from library school, that has shown herself to be possibly one of the world's kindest people. I won't go into details but I just want to say how much I appreciate her kindness.

OK, peace out!