Yes to Staying In More

Ten years ago (almost to the day, in fact!) I started working at a cafe in my neighborhood. I left last year and it's still strange to think how many major life events occurred there. I didn't go straight to college and those major milestones of the late teens to early twenties all occurred there. I still refer to friends I made at that time as "college friends" because it's about that period of my life, less so the setting.

Since school started last month our schedules have become crazy. 11 hour days five days a week. Phew! When I was 20 I was working 11-12 hour days four days a week; getting to work at 6:30 and staying up until 2AM half the time (and consuming copious amounts of alcohol to boot.)

How did I do it? Our alarm goes off at 5:45 M-F and I'm usually in bed by 9:30 at night. Sometimes I crash on the couch watching "Fringe" or "The West Wing" around 8:30 I won't deny. BuzzFeed really nailed it with their "Life In Your Early Twenties vs. Your Late Twenties" list.

So, what have your favorite nerds been up to these last few weeks? Sleep! Homework! D&D! Renn Fest!

I humbly present one of my favorite photos of the two of us (short of wedding photos) ever taken:

We went for the Snooty Rulers look.
(There are two more people in the shot but since they don't
write a blog I don't think it's fair to post their photos.)

Classes are kicking my butt a bit. ASL is really cool but really challenging since I'm super upcoordinated. Phonetics is my favorite so far because it's so much fun and nerdy as all get out. I mean, we had to make magnets for an assignment. IPA Magnets. Dee-lightful.

Hearing Science has been tough, it's a lot of math which hasn't been too bad because my Trig professor from last year was so great and I have (a little) confidence. I prefer the physics to the straight math refresher, admittedly. The other two courses are rather blah, mostly material I have learned before. The downside to changing majors as many times as I have is that I have taken A LOT of basic psychology and development courses. Sometimes it's tempting to skip but I only get one a semester so I have to be careful.

Moving On

Today is the second anniversary of losing my beloved father. I haven't cried (yet) and seem to be thinking of the good things in life, instead. I have a photo of him that I look at fondly and am trying to imagine he would be proud of where I am in my life today. I know he supported me in following Speech Language Pathology and it gives me strength to work in a field that he believed I would do well in. I can still picture his face, with the crooked smile and nod he gave me when I asked, "Do you think I'd be a good speech pathologist?" (okay, I teared up writing that.) Not a day goes by when I don't wish it was just a long, bad dream and that I can call him and hear his voice again. But I stopped believing this was possible awhile ago. Grief is hard but at least I had someone so wonderful to raise me for the (albeit too brief) time that I did. I wouldn't trade that for anything, no matter how much it hurts.

In that spirit, I'm going to continue to try to improve things in our lives and remember the really good stuff. I will move forward because, well, that's really the only option.

As I will undoubtedly continue to mention, school is approaching quickly for the both of us. I can't believe it's August already! On Friday we got to see the family at the joyous occasion of our cousin's wedding. They looked so happy to finally be married and we're excited for our family to grow! Congrats M&M!

As the countdown to school begins (the 28th for me; 19th for him) I want to use my time wisely. Suddenly my days are going to begin early in the morning again and I do not want to be caught unawares! I am, in truth, excited to get back to an early morning routine. Maybe the almost ten years of working in a coffee shop have made me into a morning person. But, maybe a camping trip would help me get back to it (*nudges husband*)

So, in my overly nerdy way I've made a list of ways I want to change my routines for the healthier. New Year's resolutions are for the birds; Autumn resolutions are where it's at! A lot of these will help my Day Zero Project, too!

1. Start the Day Off Right

Begin every morning in the (newly organized) office reading the news in a quiet and relaxing way. I like to use FlipBoard as my news aggregate. Right now I read it on my phone but I'm giving great consideration to getting an iPad for school and that would work very well for news catchup as well. This also gives James a chance to have his morning routine downstairs — everybody needs personal time and first thing in the morning is a great slice. 

2. First Breakfast
Have a banana for breakfast (I'm never hungry first thing but the energy boost and nutritional value cannot be beat! I'd like to get James on this as well. Before my coffee I'd like to make sure I drink at least 12 ounces of water. My handy Nalgene bottle is great for that; I keep it bedside and can take a slog before even leaving the sheets. 

3. Planned Outfit 

I'm not really a clotheshorse. I wore boys clothes half the time as a kid (and an adult). I wear a regular combination of jeans and vneck tee shirt most days of the week. But running around to find said setup can still be annoying and needlessly stressful. I need to cull the herd of clothing I no longer wear and this will be all the easier. I'm not sure I need to have week's worth of clothes ready on say, Sunday, but the night before is something I can manage. 

4. Last Call
No alcohol after 10 pm. This isn't really going to be difficult for me anymore, a year ago sure, but these days I have a cider or two every few days and I'm beat by 8:30. Welcome to being old. Or not a heavy drinker (totally okay with me.)

5. Bedtime Routine

After 10pm it's nothing but water and a cup of herbal tea before bed. James has his own routine of "Goodnight Milk" (I know, adorbs.) I want to make sure my butt is in the bed by 11 at the latest. I'm also going to limit the reading I do in there. I can get taken away by the book and find myself wondering how 3am snuck up on me. Right now I am rereading The Lord of the Rings which has been wonderful. I also got a cheap copy of a Jane Austen omnibus to keep by the bedside. Familiar and cozy reading is just what I need.

Orientation Express

Look, I thought I was supposed to
be getting a change of scenery.
But so far, I've been in a train and a room,
and a car and a room,
and a room and a room. 

On Tuesday I had orientation for the first semester at Towson. I was expecting to be bored stiff and wind up cranky like Paul's grandfather in A Hard Day's Night, but, to my surprise, it was informative and only got a little leg cramp while sitting there for a few hours. I got to meet my advisor (which was luck of the draw more than anything) as she was on hand to help us enroll in our courses. I can tell it's a good match, I got a really good first impression that I can hope is two-sided. I'm always impressed by someone else who does their homework before a meeting. Whereas I had already peered around the TU website and looked up several courses (also getting permission from the powers that be to enroll in them) she reviewed my transcript and put me at ease about Core Requirements and had a sheet ready for me keep. I felt the nerdlove. I am sad to report that I will not be taking A&P this fall. Transfer students cannot register until much later than everyone else to the spots were all gobbled up. That's okay, I'll gobble it up for Spring when I have enrollment priority and my course-load will be lighter so its a better time to take on a tougher course. In it's place I will be taking DFST 104 which is American Sign Language (I).

Now I'm rearing to go and absolutely ready for fall weather and last night it came, I felt like a powerful wizard. Much like when I was a kid, come August I was ready to buy pencils and books and get my butt into the classroom. But for the next few weeks (classes start the last week of August) I can get ready with meal plans and fruit leather recipes to make the transition easier. James and I both get to sleep in late right now, moreso myself than he, but we'll be waking with the sun soon enough!

Yesterday I Looked Like a Squirrel

Or. a Porcu-Puffer. Or Sloth from The Goonies.  It was pretty bad. Half of my face was so numb I couldn't smile. This was the best I could muster, as you can see, the right side is in a big old goofy grin but the left is just...

 

 Dentistry and I have a long and strange history. I was a child with a lip-bumper and head-gear and I never had a cavity until I was 15. Now, at 27 its amazing how far I have strayed. A brief summary of my dental needs are as follows:

• Extraction of  #16 because of break 7 years ago
• Root canal of #32 (I'm mostly scared of this one)
• Fillings for #8, 9, 12, 14, 15, 2, 3, 18, and 29
• Periodontal Scaling & Root Planing for all (4 individual sessions) 

Fun times! Insurance is an amazing thing. (I would link to the "Big Book of British Smiles" of The Simpsons but I know there will be Channery a-foot and cries of "Lisa Needs Braces" until my head explodes.) But, I am not going to lie, being insured has been an important boon in this whole being a wife lifestyle. When I was a kid I never flinched at the idea of the dentist but when I had to pay for it out-of-pocket my anxiety grew and my state of my teeth declined.

So, yesterday was my second session of fillings. We were going to do the Upper Left Fillings and Scaling but we learned an important lesson: local anesthesia wears off faster on me than it does with 99% of the population. Yay! So my poor, lovely, and patient dentist tried to fix me up and get the job done. I was in the chair three hours yesterday. Oy! But well worth it, I will say. I've got one quarter of my mouth fixed up and I feel so much more confident. The first session he fixed up my two front teeth because he thought it would make me feel better. I scoffed and teased him n my head but boy was I wrong! I sent photos of my chompers to all my friends and/or made them look at them. He's a great dentist and his needling techniques are superb. Next stop of the Healthcare Train: Get a GP and a chat about tummy rumbles after eating eggs.

So, I am lucky enough to get an opportunity to repair damage to my body because I have access and it's not costly. Not everyone in this world is so lucky. So please, please take some time to consider helping. June 1-10 help push for an AIDS-free generation of kids in Africa. Here are 10 Ways to Fight AIDS in 10 Days

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