Changing It Up

Over the course of the past school year...

 I went from being a blond...

to a ginger!

My mom said..."I haven't seen you with red hair since you were little".  You see, I was a ginger until 2nd grade, then my hair went blond like Small T's. Crazy, right? But, I'm loving the short red hair!

I'm A Sophomore!

I'm proud to say...my first year of college is over...and I'm now a Sophomore!

 First semester...I got all A's.

 Second semester...I got all A's. Which was much harder to do.  Trust me. The classes were more challenging and I carried 6 more credit hours than I did the first semester.

I had a few road bumps along the way.

 Back in September, I stubbed my toe in the corridor at school and when I was stumbling along, I fell into the wall and broke my arm. It was a huge pain in my neck since 3/4 of my classes were computer heavy and involved massive amounts of typing.

Then during second semester, I broke 3 vertebrae in my back on February 22nd, then I fell down the deck steps in the rain on March 18th and broke my ankle.

I haven't had this many injuries since I was 17 and involved in a terrible car accident.

But, all that is over now and I'm on summer vacation and working at the pool once again. It's my goal to update my blog regularly until I head back to school in August once again.

Thanks for hanging in there with me everyone! :)

A Love Story

I have this love story going on...and my husband is tolerant of it. He really is. You see, I LOVE coffee. Every morning, without out fail, that first cup of steaming coffee is my best friend...the love of my life...the pea to my pod. It's been this way for years. In fact, let me tell you about it.

 This is me. (see above) Every morning. 365 days a year. As soon as I wake up, I turn the coffee pot on. Yep. Even before I head to the bathroom. That way, I don't have to wait so long for it to perk. Weird, right? Usually you hit the bathroom first, THEN turn on the coffee pot. Not me. After the bathroom visit, while I'm waiting for the pot to finish perking, I'm getting my outside clothes on. In the Winter, I also add a blanket around my lower half so I'm not froze to death. Then I get my wonderful cup of coffee and head to the front porch. Yes, even when it's -10 degrees F outside. There's just something about the peacefulness of drinking my coffee outside (alone). You see...I'm not a morning person and I'm definitely not a people person until AFTER I've had that first cup of coffee. (see photo below)

Everyone in my family knows that I really don't like people talking to me BEFORE I've had my coffee. It's a fact that we teach our children asap AND it also tends to be a family joke that everyone is great at teasing me about. But, I can't help it. I was born like this. You would think that after 20 years of marriage, my husband would remember how I am in the morning but every now and then he will get a wild hair and forget all about this and actually SPEAK to me while I'm savoring my first cup of pure heaven and then there's the moment when he realizes what he's done and is like "OMG".  I would never tell him, but it's actually quite comical to watch this "aha moment". But it's not funny until later in the day.  At that moment, I cannot be held responsible for anything that may or may not occur, as I have NO sense of humor during that waking up period. I will admit that I always apologize for any negative behavior that has occurred as a result of interrupting my peaceful waking up time. You see, my inner "ass" tends to surface during those encounters, then I have to apologize to the offender, and then my day will start off badly. Luckily, this doesn't happen often anymore. But, when Ty lived with us, it was his great pleasure to "bother" me every morning. He made it a point to do so. It was a game with him and I was aware of it so I was prepared. Anyway, I've tried to give up my "other love" several times but it doesn't work out very well. I have managed to cut it down to one encounter a day, of only one cup. Occasionally, a second cup will be drank but it's not often. So I was wondering, do any of you have another love as well?

Staying With It

I've only been back to college for 2 days and I'm already having some small issues with anxiety. So...what did I do about it? I went to the gym with one of Small T's friends at 9 pm last night. I worked out for an hour and when I got home...

my smile was back!  :)

Making Some Changes

When I went on college vacation, I started to make some changes. One of my classes really talked about the importance of exercise to help with anxiety and stress. At one point during those 16 weeks, I experienced several weeks of anxiety, which was completely unusual for me. I did take a few walks around campus on my lunch break, but with the approach of winter, I didn't stay with it. Then, our local school opened their new gym/weight room to the residents of the town, and since my kids kept urging me to go with them, I started going 6 out of 7 days a week to walk on the treadmill, ride the bike, and lift weights.

 I've been going for several weeks now, and I'm almost addicted to my daily time there.

 I've even managed to get Big Daddy to go a few times.  His doctors keep telling him he needs to go, but he has to WANT to in order to get him there.  It's a struggle.

I went and weighed yesterday, and even though I've been snacking a lot, I've still lost almost 3 pounds.  Yay!

 I've also started drinking more water. This has been a struggle for me.  I'm not much of a water drinker. But I'm trying.

 I'm also trying to work on my vices - Diet Mountain Dew and smoking.  I don't smoke a lot, but I still smoke.  I'm hoping to give it up completely.  The soda drinking will be much harder to give up, I think.  I love Diet Mountain Dew, which is strange because I detest all other soda.

Then there's the Nerium.  I love these products but won't buy them because of the expense.  Small T gifted them to me and it's my favorite Christmas present by far.  I couldn't believe she spent so much money on me though.  I have to watch her as she loves the day cream and uses it too.  lol  These products work wonders on my sun damaged face from all these years at the pool during the summer.

Next week, on Monday, I'll be going in to get my hair done.  I'm getting it highlighted since all my summer highlights are grown out and my hair looks terrible. I'm also getting my brows and lip waxed.  I can't go without that!

Another change I've been looking at is something that I let go over the years.  That's learning about putting my makeup on correctly and styling my hair differently when I need to change it up a bit.  That's a bit harder since I have shorter hair, but Pinterest has been great with showing different methods of fixing it.  So...2015 is about a "new me" in most cases.  What about you?

Me Time

I've found my new motto.  Seriously.

I'm scheduling myself some "me time" next weekend, starting with a pedicure.

Goodbye Summer

It's that time of year again.  Today was the last day of the pool season here in town.

Summer is almost over.  Fall is just around the corner.

Wrinkles

Even though I use sunscreen, the amount of time that I spend is the sun has really did a number on my face.  I have a LOT of wrinkles now, but especially on the left side of my face, which has more sun exposure.  I've never been very good at using products and creams on my face, but yesterday I started using two products:  an age-defying night repair cream and a daytime moisturizer.  I'm hoping to see some good results out of these products before I buy the full-size bottles of them.  They are quite expensive, but if they work, then it's worth it.

Here are my "before" photos.

 Can you see the wrinkles?  Yikes!

 This side isn't too awful bad...

but this side is HORRIBLE.

I'm too young to have this many wrinkles!!!

Hair

This week, I scheduled my yearly end-of-pool-season ritual....I got a body wave in my hair.  Yay!

 Looking lovely...waiting for the curls.

And here I am when it's finished!  :)  Love it!

A Bit Of String

Sometimes I feel like I'm forgetting something.  Or that I'm out-of-sorts for some reason.  Several weeks ago, I grabbed my crochet hook and a little piece of cotton yarn and made myself a ring of simple chains.  I took the ends and tied them in a bow.  Then I put the ring on my finger.  I wore it for several weeks until Small T threw a fit about it looking stupid and I took it off.  But, I will admit that this "ring" of sorts made me feel much more settled mentally for some reason and that I enjoyed wearing it.  Do you have little things like this that calm you down or make you feel more connected at times?

Pedi

On the 29th of May, I went bright and early in the morning for a little pampering.  I got a partial pedicure.  I love having my toenails looking fantastic during the Summer months and it was high time I had them done.  I had two main reasons for getting them done in a hurry though:

1.  I was headed to Lifeguard Recertification classes on Sunday and Monday and wanted them to look nice.

2.  I needed some "pick me up" and painting my toenails does that for me.  I also needed a bit of confidence for the recertification classes.  It seems weird that pretty looking toenails will make me feel more confident, but it does.

So...that's the story of the pretty purple pedicure.

Boy, I'm Hot!

As you all know, I had surgery almost 5 weeks ago.  It really threw my body for a loop.  I have napped almost every single day since the surgery and I'm still tired all the time.  Well, this weekend, I have to take my lifeguard recertification class.  I'm more than a little bit worried about this because I've lost my stamina.  So in the hopes of getting back my "mojo", Small T is going on walks with me.  It's hot and humid out today but I still went with her anyway.

We walked about 3/4 of the length of our main street and then turned back towards home.  By the time we hit a block from home, I was definitely "winded".  I was one "hot momma" once we got inside the house and it took me a little bit to finally cool off, but I'm glad she's walking with me.  Not only will it be better this weekend with all the laps I have to swim, but it will also help me get my strength back over the summer.  Thanks Small T, for all your help and encouragement!

Card

When I woke up yesterday morning, I found that Small T had made me a Get Well card.  :)  My Birdie sure makes me smile sometimes, even when I'm not feeling the best.  Thanks Birdie!

Me...

This was taken last Wednesday, April 23rd.  The day after my surgery when I arrived back home.  My family had me propped up on the couch, surrounded by big fluffy pillows.  I'm not smiling here, but I was actually doing just fine.

Be Back Soon...

I'm going to be on a vacation of sorts for a little while.  I'm having surgery in the morning at 7.  I have a 6 to 8 week recuperation period and as soon as I'm able, I'll be checking back in here.  :)  See you soon!

Monday....

 I woke up to an eye turning black.  I still don't know how it happened.

And snow.  It had been in the 80's all the week before and now we're back to cold temps and snow.  Crazy.

Salon Visit

  Big Daddy gave me a day at the salon last Wednesday.  It was a day of pampering and making myself feel good before I go in for surgery.  After all, I want my nails and hair to look fabulous, especially when I'm feeling like crud.

Mandy gave me a mani/pedi.  Let me tell you, she gives a great pedicure.  Wow!  My feet still feel great.  My toenails are painted a lovely soft shade of sparkly purple.  :)  My fingernails are nicely manicured and the nails are back to being short, which is how I like them.  No polish though.  Hospital said no.  Not even any clear sparkle, which is what I love.  Drat.

Then, Jessica started on my hair.  Small T had left instructions for her to cover my gray.  So she matched my hair color exactly and did just that.

And I had an orange cast to my hair.  I forgot that I was a redhead as a baby.  Apparently it's coming back to haunt me.  Just kidding.  My baby curl are coming back though.  At the base of my neck.  I hate them.  They won't be tamed, no matter what I do.

So, back to the orange tint, Small T called and made arrangements for me to go back and get it taken care of.  So this was me, the next day.  I'm looking good, right?  lol  I'm squinting in the sunshine outside the building.

And this is what I ended up with.  Me.  My usual.  Until the bleached out blond days of Summer.

Turmoil

I find myself in a turmoil over my crafting.  I feel like I'm at "loose ends" and just can't seem to settle down and work on my projects.  Nothing is really appealing to me at the moment.  I think we all go through this at some point in time.  So today, I will go through my WIP's and try to regroup my thoughts and plans and see where it leads me.  Hopefully, I will find my inspiration again before the day is over.

Creative Space

You know, I would dearly love to have my own area to create in.  A little room that I could decorate to my heart's content with things that I like and things that make me happy.  But alas, I don't have that sort of area.  This is what I do have.

I have my own little comfortable spot on the couch next to the coffee table where my favorite cups of knitting needles and crochet hooks sit.  It's also where my big red cup sits waiting for the pieces of yarn to fill it up before being thrown in the trash can.  Underneath the table I keep my bags of projects that I am working on.  The current project I'm making always rests beside me on the couch.  Everyone in the house knows that this is "my space" and for right now, I'm happy with it.

Three Days

I will be away from my computer (and my blog) a lot for the next three days.  I'm subbing at the school in ISS (In School Suspension) so even though I will have a lot of time for reading and maybe some crocheting, I won't be able to spend any time on the internet.  So...I will catch back up with you all over the weekend.
I hope everyone has a great "rest of the week".
Shelly