Don't leave home without it

"It" being a clean home. Matt and I skipped fireworks tonight to clean...although, I did set off a fair number last night and tonight. I have yet to ever shoot off a roman candle or bottle rocket, but the time is nigh for this to change.

It never occurred to me to take before pictures, but I should have, because the difference is amazing, even for me (she who lets things slide very far, and then makes them impressive by most any standard.) The closet was bursting at the seams before, with extra candles and home fragrance products, as well as too many pillows, sheets, bed skirts (wtf - who still uses those?), and stuff not put away properly. The whole reason for tackling this was to be able to put away all the sheets at once - neither of us had any intention of addressing organizational issues today, even though they're pretty damn important.

The linen closet after:

1 = guest pillows, after setting aside some to donate (the first of many things to be designated for charity today!)
2 = the winter comforter in a vacuum bag that didn't stay small
3 = sheet sets. I don't match the sheets - I just throw a top, bottom, and pillowcase in another pillowcase, and stack those. Makes changing the sheets a decision-less process.
4 = Blankets, after pruning.
5 = winter gloves, scarves, and heating controls for the electric blanket to the left. And other useful things like a rice pack for heat therapy, and vacuum storage bags
6 = One of my baby pillows. Every inch holds a different smell, and I started to cry when I buried my face in it.
7 = The coolest rug I have ever seen - the texture is incredible, the pattern is good, and the yarns...oh, man.
That's not at all a comprehensive list. I can't believe how much stuff we managed to fit neatly into that closet.
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The bathroom linen closet is remarkable because I somehow managed to make the all-purpose shelf usable: the bin for band-aids and other basic first aid supplies is easily accessible, but not in the way of items to access on a regular basis like soap and qtips. The problem with this closet is that it is far too deep, and it's easy to accidentally lock stuff away. So I'd try to get to the peroxide and dig out an appropriate bandaid, and make a huge mess of the stuff towards the forefront.
I look at this closet and beam!


You can see at the bottom the single board Matt put in to be an additional shelf. It is my supply closet: full of miscellaneous personal care supplies that I have gotten for free, or damn near. Couponing is a great hobby, and I truly enjoy it. And with the mental inventory that comes from handling it all at once, I know that I should use the next few custmer choice coupons on conditioner, rather than shampoo.


I can't to go pee in the morning!

T minus 6

1 week from now, Matt and I will be in Chicago or the Des Moines area, headed to a casino in Emmetsburg, IA, where we'll stay for his cousin's wedding.

We're going on our honeymoon, with the following itinerary:
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July 9-11th: family wedding business in the midwest
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July 12th: Drive to, and visit, Mt. Rushmore. Keep moving, and camp somewhere.
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July 13th: Arrive in Grand Teton National Park. Stay at Colter Bay in a cabin.
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July 14th: Our one day to take in Grand Teton. It's not enough, but it is what it is.
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July 15-18th: Camping in Yellowstone.
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July 19th and 20th: Drive to and arrive in Glacier National Park. We'll stay at Many Glacier Hotel the first night. I have driving to and arriving on my calendar twice...looks like we might actually have a spare day floating around. Ooops! Whatever shall we do?
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July 21-22nd: Glacier.
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July 23rd: Head home, by way of distant family in northern Minnesota. Thanks, mom, for effectively shortening our honeymoon by three days. It wasn't enough to guilt-trip me and make me cry on my wedding night, instead of acting like an adult and just congratulating us.
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Like last year, we'll get a lot of use from the parks pass.

And that will be a period with limited internet, at best. Which means only blog posts from my phone. I may ask my friend Emily to log in and post pictures from my phone for me. I am someone who is mildly addicted to the internet (at best). I'm preparing for a whole trip without internet (other than my phone - which is good just for reading email, and sending pictures): paper maps, printed directions, lists of phone numbers and addresses - like they did back in the day!

I was going to note how I was a little disappointed in this trip as a honeymoon (as opposed to this as a stand-alone trip - i.e., fantastic)...but I just can't. Matt and I are damn fortunate to be able to do this, to have the time we do, and to have each other with whom to do this. Note to self: quit acting spoiled. It will be an amazing trip, and an amazing honeymoon. Essentially, every trip we've taken has been a honeymoon (and, judging by how often we're asked if that's the case, we act like it, too), and that's a good habit to establish and maintain.

I foresee many wonderous mornings, fantastic scenery, and that choking feeling I get in my chest when I'm unbelievably happy.

Random thought

By far, my favorite part about "growing up" has been learning to keep my mouth shut.

Balls!

stickies

Philosophy

I chose my 8am philosophy class because
1) It met a specific set of gen ed requirements
2) It seemed interesting enough (unlike most in #1)
3) The 8am section allowed me to take two PE classes, and work a second job

I had an extra rough time getting out of bed this morning, and I didn't check my email for anything urgent the way I normally do - I didn't even shower!

So you could say I was a little frustrated at the email from 6:11am: no 8am class. That I read at 7:59. I swung by the classroom, and sure enough, a good third of the class also hadn't read their email.

I hope my professor is okay. Especially as far as humanities professors at this school go, he's a good one, and most definitely not a bad one. It's no small feat to make class entertaining and engaging at 8am, and in the summer, no less.

Summer Dessert

When I stopped to get some of these while they were on sale, raspberries were half off.

I got a box for the sole purpose of pairing with:


It was everything I dreamed, and more. Good god almighty.

Summer Lovin'

By far, one of the best things about North Carolina are the summer thunderstorms. Especially from the 7th floor of a building, but also to sleep to.

And last night, I feel asleep to a strong thunderstorm, and a bath from my cat. It was so unbelievably perfect.

10 pounds

Last year, I lost 15 pounds. And then I gained it all back.
In the past two weeks, I've lost ten. A combination of two PE classes, as well as a schedule so tightly packed that snacking has been eliminated, and trying to get someone else to exercise means that I'm getting in some really good workouts, as well as eating less, and better.

In the day time, I'm simply too busy to eat. At night, I'm so tired I might cook a little, clean a little, do the required schoolwork, and then collapse. It's nice, really. For now.

What's extra nice is fitting back into jeans that were too small two weeks ago. Even better is putting them on while soaked in sweat after an aerobics class. The aerobics class that replaced lunch today.

Today's Goodness

My husband thinks I'm a good wife - the best he could ask for.

:D

This is actually a class assignment

In my 100 level PE this semester, 40% of the grade is actually a written journal. We're to exercise twice outside of class, and journal. Each week has a theme, and this week's is a new activity. This is today's entry:

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Usually, when I exercise with a partner of a different fitness level, I'm the one being motivated, prodded, and the focus of positive change.

Today, I flip-flopped that. A girl that I've known casually for, oh, 6 years, has been having the same trouble getting out and exercising that I have: I need external motivation, and badly.

She was very adamant that she would rather sleep in that exercise early in the morning, but I wore her down. I kept telling her how positively early morning exercise impacts my daily life in SO. MANY. WAYS. She said she'd give me three mornings next week, and a fair shot. Then she got excited about this, and said "Well, what about this Friday?"

So I took her to Lake Johnson. We did 1.5 miles in 30 minutes. I was able to run for longer durations that I expected, by far. While I waited for her to catch up after sprinting, I tried to do inclined pushups on a bench, but the ground was too wet and I kept slipping.

She is a little chatty for my taste, but I have a low tolerance for generic chitchat to begin with. So every time she said "I can't...", I reminded her that if she can talk easily, she's not working hard enough. Kind of hard to argue with that, and it leads to a better workout.

...She is very, very excited about making this a regular thing. My mentor (who moved to Charleston in October) will be very glad to hear this.

She's planning to get new shoes, as hers are 3 years old and the balls of her feet hurt. She also believes me now when I tell her to not drink coffee beforehand.
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