*You know what I just realized? I still haven’t blogged about our St. George trip. Hello, summer memory loss! (That’s a thing, right?)
*I have discovered the secret to eating less chocolate (besides not buying it, that is)–put your chocolate of choice (in our case, Hershey’s Nuggets) into a candy dish right on your kitchen table. Then wash about 10 tablecloths that are left over from the last social function you headed up at the church. Drape said tablecloths on the kitchen table (conveniently over the dish) so that they won’t get wrinkly (the tablecloths that is, not the chocolate). Now, if you want chocolate, you’ll have to disturb your precarious stack of wanting-to-wrinkle tablecloths, and you just can’t have that. Problem solved.
*I am brilliant.
*I just finished reading The Happiness Project, the true account by Gretchen Rubin about her year-long quest about trying out all the tactics suggested by the latest research on how to be happier. Throughout the book, she comes up with these Splendid Truths, which are the Aha! moments that came while she was pursuing greater contentment. Wanna know my latest Splendid Truth? GET AIR CONDITIONING. Last summer, Matt and I suffered through a sweltering summer season without any, which resulted in us spending most nights downstairs sleeping on our couches and most days lying in a lazy stupor in front of the t.v. Thanks to our fabulous new landlord, we got a top-of-the-line swamp cooler installed, and I’ve been amazed at how motivated I’ve been. Practice that difficult piano piece by Debussy for an hour? Of course! Spend all day cooking a massive pot roast for us and the neighbors? Why not? Actually do the dishes a little bit as they come? Why wouldn’t I?!
*It’s like I’m a new person. Seriously, people–I’ve hit onto something big here.
*I’ve got Youth Conference this weekend (for anyone not aware, YC is an LDS summer tradition that is for young men and women ages 12-18 that builds camaraderie through supervised group activities, increases faith through religious devotionals, and creates fun memories through various games and so forth). This year, we’re going to be involved in a massive county-wide service project, which should be awesome. I’ve already made up my mind that I’m treating myself to ice cream if I manage to avoid getting sunburned.
*(Of course, if I DO get sunburned, I’ll still be treating myself to ice cream because I’ll be so miserable. So it’s a win-win, really.)
*In addition to YC, this Saturday Matt and I have a family reunion down in Bountiful for his side that has affectionately been titled “The McBride Highland Games.” Due to some Scottish blood, we’ve all decided to buy ourselves kilts, make some haggis, and participate in such sportish activities as throwing large logs around and having handstand contests. Basically, it’s going to be a blast.
*Thanks to our apartment being at an ideal temperature all the time, I’ve taken up cooking dinner every night again. I’d given it up for awhile (mostly during the last month of school because I was so stressed out all the time I could just scream). But thanks to some tasty-looking pasta dishes in the latest issue of All You magazine, I decided to actually come up with a weekly menu and stick to it. I think Matt could have just cried with happiness.
*Of course, now we have massive amounts of leftovers because I’m not taking lunch to work every day anymore, but oh well. Now I feel like there’s always something desirable to eat, which is a far cry from what it’s been the past month and a half.
*I went running three times last week and again yesterday, and good news: the workout must have done something because I can hardly move today. But further good news–even though my weight’s gone up a tad, I’ve lost a quarter inch off my waist and arms, and a whole inch off my hips (which is laughable, since I’ve never really had hips to begin with). It’s even getting to the point where the partly insane portion of my brain is starting to consider training for a half marathon in August or September. (Quick–somebody remind me of how painful my training was for my full marathon last year!)
*So yesterday as I was attempting to clean out my ears with a Q-tip, I must have pushed some wax or something farther into my ear because I haven’t really been able to hear out of my right ear for about 24 hours now. I’ve already tried putting some warm water in it to no avail. So, any suggestions on what I can do to hear normally again? Or the real question: how long do you think I can afford to wait until I’m forced to go into a doctor?
*Summer memory loss must be real because I just realized I still haven’t done Part 3 about my Tips for First-Year Teachers thing. Man, I’ve got to get to work! (Except I don’t because that’s the best part about being a teacher—SUMMERS OFF! Ha ha, suckers!)
*Okay, last question: anyone know of any good back-strengthening exercises? I think I’m going to be hunchbacked by 30 if I don’t start doing something, and stat…