Haphazard Update

I still seem to be not quite feeling the blogging vibe lately, but I want to keep a log of at least the big(ish) things going on. So here are some haphazard bullet-style thoughts.

• My first thing for “12 Changes” is going really well. It actually was a pretty easy habit to acquire, keeping my clothes put away every day. All it takes is one thought as I’m taking off an item of clothing and about to drop it on the floor wherever I am: “Where does this ACTUALLY go, and how difficult is it to put it there NOW versus letting it pile up later?” It’s pretty effin’ easy, is all I’m saying. Next month’s change may be a tough one, but I’m all in this thing.

•  My personal training studies are going well, for the most part. I am about a chapter behind on my reading, based on the rough plan I put together to be ready by late March. So I’m going to crack down on that this weekend. While I’m still 100% excited about the prospect of making this career change, I am also beginning to feel that self-doubt creep in: can I really do this? Am I cut out for it? Will I even pass the exam? Which is silly, I know. But, ugh.

• I’ve been hanging out more often with a few girlfriends in town, and I feel really blessed by them. I hope I can continue developing those friendships, because it’s something I’ve needed and not done the best job pursuing for the last several years.

• I went on a hike last weekend with a couple of those girlfriends, and it was amazing. I think the last (and possibly first) time I had been hiking was in Romania, probably in 2007. So this was a fairly easy hike (4 miles) and when we got to the top we were greeted with a stunning view of Santa Barbara. I really need to do this kind of thing more often.

Me, Caitlin, Lauren and Amy (and Parker) at the top of Inspiration Point

• A couple weekends ago, Joe and I went to see the Mythbusters Live tour in LA, and it was a blast! My mom got us the tickets for Christmas, and she couldn’t have picked a more perfect gift for Joe. Our seats were excellent: we could see everything from our central location in the orchestra section. We didn’t get picked for any of the audience-participation stuff, but that’s okay. It was really interesting and entertaining nonetheless. And a couple of girls in the row in front of us had made Adam and Jamie puppets that looked freakishly like the stars of the show, so that was cute. (And Joe was glad they didn’t hold them up to block our view except during applause and when they were trying to get picked to participate.)

Our view of the stage -- oh, and Wil Wheaton made a special appearance! That's him in the blue T-shirt on the right.

• Joe had an interview in Tucson last week, and I’m finding myself torn between trying not to get too excited about the possibility of moving there, and believing in faith that it will work out because it feels like such an amazing opportunity for both of us. I’ve been pinning houses in the area and dreaming about having so much space to cook, clean, have sex, work out, play games, and eventually chase kids around. But, much like my self-doubt over my potential career changes, I find myself holding back from hoping for this too much because I don’t want to feel completely devastated if it falls through. It’s not like living in Santa Barbara is unpleasant by any means, and I need to remember that I am also crazy blessed if we end up staying here.

• Last week I tried out a couple of DIY cleaning solutions from Pinterest, because our bathtub seemed hell-bent on NEVER getting clean enough to not be embarrassing to show other people. And then Martha Stewart saved the day with this stuff, which worked better than any commercial product I’ve tried. Our tub looks almost as good as it did the day Joe’s dad re-did it for us!

• I don’t think I’ve mentioned it here yet, but I stopped taking the pill back in October. Before you get excited, though — We’re still using protection. I just felt like I’d heard enough stories of girls who felt like the pill made them crazy, or decreased their sex drive, or screwed around with them in some way or another, and I wanted to try going off it to see if it helped things. Well, I certainly feel less crazy since stopping the pill. When I was on it, I felt like my mood would change drastically ALL THE TIME, with no real reason or explanation. And now, that seems to be happening much less frequently. I mean, I’m still a girl, so I still get moody and cry for no reason sometimes, but it’s not as intense or as often nowadays. As for my sex drive? That’s still suffering some. I feel like I could benefit from writing a whole post about this, but I don’t think this is the place to post it. Or if I do, it’ll be private. But I can say that when we have sex now that I’m off the pill, I seem to enjoy it physically a LOT more than I did before. I just need to work on going after sex more often, rather than constantly rattling off practical reasons why we should wait for a more convenient time. (Clearly all the guys are jealous they didn’t get ME for a wife, right? Messy, disorganized, can’t cook, doesn’t care enough about sex…I’m a keeper.)

• Oh, and my orthodontist said I will probably get my braces off late spring or early summer of this year! That was some exciting news, since his original estimate had me getting them off around April-June of NEXT year. Which means it’s highly likely I will have them off before we go to Scotland in August.

The top photo is my teeth last May, and the bottom is my teeth a couple weeks ago when I got the left front tooth fixed (had a small chip).

• Did I mention we’re going to Scotland? Because we are. (YAY!)