Summer Part 1

Day 324  I was lonely and sad about a certain someone after volleyball tonight.  Instead of moping around the house, I went out for an actual run (NO walking)--the first one in years; it felt great!!

Day 325  I'd won a $75 skincare gift from Mario Tricoci at a girls' night and just didn't need it; skincare is not something you want to change once you're happy with a product!  Although the manager would not return it, I left proud that I'd gotten up the gumption to have a rather long conversation with her about it.  So now what do I do with it?? 

Day 326  My storage unit is a mess--everything piled on top of each other makes it a dreaded chore to get something out from the bottom.  Today I tackled the mess and totally organized it!  What a great feeling!

Day 327  When driving home I heard a radio advertisement for a Chicago Fun Packet that includes maps, calendars of events, and free passes to places in Chicago.  I claimed it, wrote down the e-mail address given to request a packet, and emailed them right away!

Day 328  Dinner plans at Cheesecake Factory with a guy friend who I havent seen in a year brought me to Woodfield tonight.  Now, you know I hate confrontation.  Amidst a tense part of the conversation, when he finally asked why I seemed so defensive, I claimed brutal honesty and firmly yet politey spoke my mind.  After talking through it, we enjoyed dinner and strolling through the mall.  I couldn't help feeling proud of myself for opening up.

Day 329  Have you ever been driving on a sunny day, landed under a rain cloud, and just a few minutes later escaped into sunshine again?  We were romanced with a beautiful double rainbow today and I took the time to silently thank the Lord for His promises to me/us.  Before falling asleep, I again thanked Him for specific promises. I'm sure I drifted off with a smile on my lips.

Day 330  A girl friend was visiting for four days and I was exhausted.  My Sunday morning alarm went off and I just couldn't do it.  I woke up shortly after, knowing I needed to claim my commitment to the music ministry and church and get my toosh to choir.  Although I missed the 8am rehearsal, I made it in time for both services!

Lesson:  Life is about the little choices

Day 40 Prioritizing Priorities

Day 40

It was a splendid Saturday.

So much I wanted to accomplish,

fun things around the house.

The weather agreed--it was gray and gloomy;

perfect for what I had planned...

painting my entire bathroom!!

Here were my priorities:

#1 Paint my bathroom (I was to be hosting prayer meeting next week)

#2 Buy some cute decor for my new place

#3 Get some yummy fall-scented candles

#4 Reward myself with a night at the movies ("Love Happens")
#5 Fall asleep satisfied with all I had accomplished, mainly Goal #1

But then I found out one of my friends had been putting off painting,

had a 2nd coat to do on her kitchen, but too much work for one

She didn't ask for help,

didn't even know I was painting that day.

I hesitated, thinking of the big project I wanted to accomplish. The priority, though, was easy.

We finished her project rather quickly.

It felt great to help her out!

As for my list of priorities?

#1-#3 were checked off by that night.

Movie time got pushed back a day,

but I was so tired anyway.

Fell asleep in the contenment of Priority #5.

Lesson: people are more important.

Day 30 & 31 Legs

Day 30

Goal: Accomplish a task.
Task: putting new headboard together and mounting it to my bed.
Now ladies, we must face reality:
sometimes things are going to be more difficult for us!
Let's face it, we don't have the biceps that guys do.
However, six years of living alone have taught me this:
Determination goes a long way.
So, when I can,
I try to handle things on my own.
This, however, is not always possible:
my towel bars and still not up
(I moved 2 1/2 months ago)
I wonder how much it costs to hire a husband for a few hours?? ;)

Okay, so back to my task:
Mounting a headboard.
According to directions,
it's just 3 steps.
3 steps. That's it.
So I thought, "How hard can this be?"
I laugh about it now.
It shouldn't have been hard...
Except for the fact that I'm 120 lbs and not a muscle man!
I was huffing and puffing trying to get the leg extensions attached.
All you do is push them into the headboard.
Riiiiiight... "all you do..."
Would have been simple if the fit wasn't so snug.
I found myself sitting on it,
pushing and pulling with all of my weight!
Finally, I got one in. Yay!
Then came leg extension #2.
Man was I getting a workout!
Plenty of times I wanted to just give up,
and face the fact that I'd have to wait until a male relative could help.
But, then I'd get the determination to keep going.
Just in time to leave for Bible study, I got it!

Unfortunately, I had no time to attach it to the frame.
I knew what tomorrow's goal would be!

Lesson: find a way.


Day 31

Goal: Complete yesterday's task.
Thought--
If I could do the hard part yesterday,
I could surely finish the task!

Set to work...
lining it up to bedframe,
inserting the screws...
At first this was quite tricky with one person,
as the headboard was balancing on the frame.
Somehow, I figured it out.
Had a moment where I thought,
"How lucky for all those girls who have a husband to do this for them."
I was about to rest on that thought,
felt a twinge of discouragement setting in,
and brushed past it to something else.

That night I went to bed with a smile--
I did it! And wow, did it look great!

Lesson: God helps us, even in the small things

Day 2 Project Gold

For Day 2 of my adventure I decided to take on a project--put my mind and energy toward something and experience the mere satisfaction of a job well done. Which brings us to... my kitchen: beautiful, big windows, drab white walls. Something had to be done!

I sloshed the gold paint around with the stirring stick trying to imagine what it would look like covering my the walls. Conclusion? Spectacular! Hint for the new painter: don't leave the painter's tape up too long or it pulls the paint off with it! I now have to get white paint to touch up where it pulled that old paint right off the ceiling. Also, get creative when trying to pull the tape off from small spaces where your fingers don't fit. I discovered a tweezers can be quite versatile!

Try it, and good luck!