The Life of a Nerd

Yesterday was possibly the most exciting day I have had all week.

I got a library card. Yes!! It has been on my list of things to do since I moved in, but I just never got a chance to actually get to the library. I must say, I am pretty beyond excited to brows through rows and rows of books, find the perfect stack, and come home to my brand new patio furniture (!!) and a giant cup of delicious fair trade coffee. Ahh, perfection.

Add in all the positively gorgeous weather, and I have found pure bliss.

I have also been nurturing my own little seedlings lately. Meet the first little sprouting tomato plants. Eventually, I will have three tomato plants and three bell pepper plants. The two are staples in my diet, and I suspect this will be the best summer ever.

And yes, I plan on making homemade salsa.

So here's to the beginning of another spring and bountiful fruit and veggie gardens!

Public Enemy #1

I found him. He looks like this:

This little guy was on the wall just outside my door this afternoon, as if he was just waiting for the chance to buzz inside and start driving me crazy.

It's only March.

I don't even want to know what that means for the mosquito population this summer when it's been warm for a while, but I'm getting the feeling it will be a very..ahem..productive year for them.

Silver lining:

This means it's actually warm enough for the mosquitoes to come out, which means I have hung up all my skirts and brought out the storage container which has been home to my short sleeves and shorts. Let me take a moment to savor that: shorts.

I am so ready for the warm weather. My heat has been turned off for days, I officially purchased patio furniture, and my little plant named Charlie looks much, much happier than he did about a month ago. As I write this, I can hear the sound of crickets and frogs outside, and their songs are a welcome sound after the last few months of cold.

Not welcome, however, is Public Enemy #1.

Beautiful Moments

Life is full of beautiful moments, of that I am sure. At times, this beauty is shrouded in mystery, in the form of pain, sorrow, or loneliness, but even in those, there is beauty. Pain, or at least emotional pain, is the reflection of love, sorrow a reflection of empathy and compassion, and loneliness a reflection of opportunity for more. Of course, in the moment of those times, it can be hard to see any beauty at all. Apart from these, however, are moments of pure, unadulterated beauty. Perhaps this means a warm summer's day, the comfort of an old friend, or the happy squeals of a newborn. 

During the last week, I was blessed with perhaps more beautiful moments than I could ever hope to count. Smiles, laughter, and quiet moments abounded, and again I was reassured that I am exactly where I am supposed to be.

Things are finally falling into place, and life is showing me just how every step, breath, and decision has led me to where I am in what seems to me to be far more than coincidence, more than just a beautiful mistake. 

Life is full of beautiful moments, of that I am sure.

Dawn of a New 'Age'

Well, it's official. My life as we know it has ended. A terrible thing happened this weekend that brought it to a screeching halt: 

My sister found four grey hairs on my head. FOUR. It may not seem like much, but it's certainly enough to be unsettling, to say the least.

It's no secret that this picture of Duchess Catherine is the kind of hair I would love to have. 

But as soon as my sister so gleefully announced her discovery, all I could picture was:

Yes, this may seem silly. Yes, I still have my youth. And yes, I am very lucky to have my health.


But FOUR GREY HAIRS?! That is something I was totally, completely unprepared for. They were long, too, and that's almost the worst part, because that means they have been there, hiding, for a while. I am here to assure you, though, that I had my sister ever-so-gently pull those four pesky grey hairs from my dark locks. Only she wasn't so gentle about it.

Sigh.

I've never once dyed my hair, I've never even so much as highlighted it...but this certainly got me thinking that I may have to get those caramel colored highlights I've always thought about after all.

I quickly sent out a panicked text to some of my close girlfriends, and quickly got responses something along the lines of, "how fast did you go buy hair dye?! I've been dying mine forever!" I guess I just didn't realize how common this apparently is, but that doesn't make up for the sinking feeling in my gut that I got the second my sister made the information public that I was starting to go grey.

Bye, bye, youth. I suppose you are headed out the door.

Productivity Burst

I don't know about you, but I tend to have what I refer to as "productivity bursts." Normally, once I get home from work, I am tired, and I mean tired. My job keeps me moving around a lot, dealing with a lot of people, demands a lot of attention to detail and a whole lot of patience. So, once I get a chance to come home, cook dinner, and finally sit down, I'm usually pretty close to exhausted.

Needless to say, my after-work productivity levels are generally fairly low. On some days, though, I surprise myself with how much I accomplish. Today was one of those days. In a nutshell, I succeeded in the following:

Two loads of laundry: check.
Dishes washed and put away: check.
Clean clothes folded: check.
Bathroom cleaned: check.
Mirrors and windows washed: check.
Dinner made: check.
Two blog posts (not including this one) completed: check.

Not bad for a Tuesday, huh? Here's to hoping this happens tomorrow too, because those clothes certainly aren't going to iron themselves.


Do you ever have productivity bursts?