Yellow Wallpaper

This past week was not very good. I was tired and didn't sleep well most nights--I should have been writing a draft of my paper that is due next Sunday, but I haven't done it yet. There were several nights where I felt exhausted and decided to try going to bed early instead of writing, and instead I didn't fall asleep right away so I was still tired and I have no draft of my paper. I also spent most of the week stressing about our final exam that took place this morning. Spoiler alert: I took the exam and think I did a pretty reasonable job even though it's hard to write seven decent short essays in 75 minutes. We're all adjusting after the death of our sweet kitty last Saturday. Surprisingly the kids have been mostly fine with the new state of things. My other kitty spent the first few days wandering the house and meowing, which was more heartbreaking than actually saying goodbye to the other cat. She peed on the couch on Monday but has otherwise not changed her ...

I had thought of doing NaBloPoMo this month but never really committed myself to doing it. I thought it might be a good kick in the pants to get me blogging again, but it didn't really work. Lately I've had a hard time committing to anything; everything feels off-kilter and I need to get my life back on solid footing again. During the last week I started 3 different books before giving up and taking them back to the library. My fridge is full of food because I keep changing my mind at the grocery store. For so long I thought I had things planned out and I thought I knew who I was and what my life was like, and now I have no idea. It also doesn't help that I've had a nasty head cold that has been coming and going for nearly two weeks now. Some days my throat is so sore I can barely speak, other days my eyes itch and my nose runs, and on other days I feel fine. I keep thinking that the worst is over and I have recovered, but then it turns out that I am sick again the next...

In May I went to the dentist for the first time in about five years. Yes, I know I should have gone more regularly in the past. I have a lot of excuses, including some good ones like the moving around we have done and the occasional lack of dental insurance. I didn't think that skipping the dentist would be a big deal because I've had good teeth for most of my life. I also floss and brush every day and I don't drink soda, coffee, or tea. Well, after spending a very long time in the dentist's chair that day I learned a few things. I had several small cavities between my teeth. I also had to endure a deep cleaning of my teeth and gums to get off the stuff that had built up during my years without regular cleanings. Apparently I have been experiencing both periodontitis and gum recession . The dentist sent me away with special medicinal mouthwash and an appointment in a few weeks to fill my cavities. The appointment for my fillings was definitely the worst experience I...

To be honest, the biggest reason why I haven't shopped at WalMart for a few years is because it is not close to my house. I'm lazy and would rather drive to a closer store that only takes two minutes rather than ten. Today my mother-in-law asked me to pick something up for her at WalMart, and since I needed some groceries anyway I was happy to oblige. When I hit the produce section I started to question my laziness, because many of the produce prices were lower than my usual store and the produce was just as fresh. But then I tried to find some spinach in the frozen foods section and they were completely out. I had a similar experience trying to find hair detangler for S-Boogie and they only had one set of the curtains my mother-in-law wanted me to buy. Then when I got to the cash register I had to wait several minutes while the cashier chatted with another one who was apparently replacing her. No one looked at me or said anything to me like "sorry, we're changing shif...

Did you miss me? I bet you didn't realize I'd gone anywhere, and I didn't really. Just my computer did. Last Wednesday it suddenly started freaking out and acting crazy. We did some investigating on the interent (thank goodness for having two computers) and tried a few things, but nothing worked. It seemed to be a hard drive issue, which is beyond our level of expertise. Thankfully I found a repair guy online who had a lot of positive reviews and took my computer to him on Thursday morning. He called me back right away to tell me that the hard drive was shot. He ordered a new one, installed it, transferred my data and gave me back my computer this morning. The price was pretty reasonable too. It was weird being without my computer this weekend, but at the same time refreshing to have a little break from being so attached to my electronics. It's also disconcerting to get used to my 'new' machine; my documents and pictures were transferred, but none of my bookmar...

Yesterday afternoon I rode my bike down to campus and slipped my last paper of the quarter under my professor's door. It was a great feeling. I actually found all three of my final papers this quarter to be somewhat easy to write. I put a lot of time into research and planning (literally hours on my Shakespeare paper) and for once I had plenty to say for each one. I'm still afraid that my professors are just going to laugh when they read my essays and then fail me, but at this point I don't think that would be the worst thing that could happen to me. So now I have three weeks of freedom; I celebrated last night by making a pear streusel cake, and then ate most of it today. Seriously. I made a conscious decision to have no self-control and just enjoyed myself. This morning Little Dude and I also went to the produce stand and had a heyday. It was awesome: broccoli for .33 a pound. I also spent $1.50 on five pounds of sweet potatoes. And I love living in a place where fresh ma...

I had planned on meeting a friend for lunch today and then going to the Provo Temple for a session. Then this morning I suddenly had a sinking feeling. And I just checked my wallet: no temple recommend. I often take it out of my wallet and stick it in my temple bag for easier access. And I always forget to take it back out. And of course I don't have my temple bag since I didn't want to take up space in the car. The most annoying thing is that I've done this more than once before. Grrr .