A Whole Lot Of Time To Fill...

My best friend left two days ago and won't be back for a month.

The only contact we will be able to have is through letters. I found out this morning just how atrocious my handwriting actually is when I have to write a very long piece after having not written very much by hand for half a year. It was quite cathartic, though. When I woke up this morning, the first thing I did was roll over and grab my phone to message her because I had thought of something I wanted to say to her. It took me a few minutes to remember that she doesn't have her cell phone where she is. I'm pretty bummed that she's gone, but I'm trying to stay optimistic about her "trip." (No, she's not in jail! Though I'm sure that wouldn't surprise any of you that know me or her....HAH!) I'll let you guys peruse her blog if you haven't before and are looking for something to do on this lovely Thursday afternoon.

(WARNING: there is a LOT of cursing in this blog, so those of you who are offended...well, there you go.)
www.ryandoesresi.com 

​So now that I don't have someone to message every 5 minutes I have found myself getting pretty lonely and a little antsy. (More than a little.)

Solution: I've been working on lots of distractions!! Yesterday I painted the fireplace. And then I noticed the wood trim looked really gross and old, so I painted that too. And then the white paint on the stairs looked shabby, so I did that too. I was GOING to do the bathroom door as well....but I ran out of time and had to shower and get my two year-old up from his nap, so I called it quits for the day. When my husband and daughter came home they looked at my "projects" and then they looked at me and then my husband basically asked if I had gone nuts. Well, not really. But it was pretty clear that that was what he was thinking.

Some other coping skills I have been using lately even before my friend left that have helped me peek over my fog are....

• READING: Two books that I flew through last week were The Orphan Train and The Invention of Wings. I loved both of them and sped through the first, but slowly strolled through the second. ​It was one of those books that you want to really take your time with and savor. They also make you think, which was nice for me as my world has been filled with Bubble Guppies and Wallykazam! these days. Anyway, I highly recommend both to anybody who likes to read fiction books.
• CROCHETING: I have been working (albeit slowly) on a blanket for my daughter. She doesn't know it is for her, and every time I take it out when the kids are still awake she asks me if someday I will make one for her. I always respond with "maybe someday..." with a little smile because her blanket is sitting right on my lap just waiting to be finished. I don't know when it is done, but one day it will be and it will make her very happy. And that will make my heart swell. So that is a day I can look forward to. 
• ORIGAMI: I really, really like folding paper. Like REALLY. I don't know why. It calms my nerves. I always keep a bunch of origami paper in my purse, so if I get anxious when I'm out anywhere I just grab a piece of it and start to fold a crane, or an elephant, or a fish....it gives me something to do with my hands and it gets rid of whatever thoughts are going through my mind that are troubling me. Give it a try - they have a lot of easy videos to follow on YouTube, which is where I have picked up most of my stuff. It's fun and it makes other people smile, too! (Shameless shout-out out to www.collectinghappies.org)
• SEWING: Next on my list is to buy a secondhand sewing machine so that I can get back into making baby blankets and fleece pants. I used to do this all the time when I was a teenager and in my early 20's, and I was pretty damn good (I was!), so maybe I can put some up on Etsy.com or something and finally have some income again now that I can't really do much on my feet at the moment. This project will have to wait until we move into a bigger house, though. We don't have anywhere to store such things after I make them, nor do we have the funds for the fabric I would need to make all of the lovely, fuzzy stuff. 

Well, there we go. A whole blog with zero bad words! Yay me!

Do me a favor and smile at a stranger today, okay? 

​   - B