SNOW DAY

it is winter in chicago and today it snowed crazy style.  schools were cancelled for the first time this winter and people didn't go to work, including me.  i called to see if they needed me, but to my surprise and delight they did not.  not that i don't love my job, because i do, but i hate driving in the snow.  everyone is home today.  all the roommates.  i love the picture our house is painting right now.  sarah is down reading by the fire, krista is reading in the living room, danielle is cleaning her room, and i am in bed, of course.  krista has actually just come into the room so we will nap soon.  i really love this snow day.  i love this house.  i love the book i'm reading.  it's great here.

christmas is just around the corner.  i have decided to host christmas at my house.  i never cook, but apparently i can create a christmas feast.  it will be so fun.  it is a christmas of firsts.  the first christmas without my grandpa, the first christmas with cathy as a part of our family, the first christmas at a new place (my house), it will be different, but with my family, it will be great.  

what a perfect day for a blizzard.

random thoughts

a while ago i bought a neti pot.  the doctor told me it would prevent me from getting sick all the time.  my brother came home and used it before i was able to so he bought it from me.  the neti pot goes in your nose and rinses out your sinus'.  that is why i made him buy it from me, it was in his nose.  anyways, youtube has a lot of funny neti pot videos posted.  if you want to laugh a lot you should watch them. 

coffee.  i was sitting in traffic the other day letting my mind wander and i some how ended up on coffee.  it isn't just a beverage, it's community, it's cool, it's popular, and it's a comfort.  at starbucks all these little kids are in there ordering really weird, fancy, beverages.  why?  they are little, they should be drinking orange soda, but they're drinking coffee because their friends are, because it's a popular thing to do in our society, i don't know.  i just know that when i was little i would watch my parents drink coffee and one day i begged for some.  they poured me some in my sesame street mug, the one with big bird on it, and i drank some.  i hated it.  i dumped most of it out and then poured a whole bunch of milk in it.  perhaps i invented the latte.  i don't know.  as i get older, i'm starting to enjoy coffee as a comfort not as a fix.  it relaxes me, it breaks me from a hectic day, it gives me the chance to take 20 minutes and reflect on my day, conversations, or nothing, i can just be.  i like my coffee breaks.  

i tried a new church today and i really liked it.  i've never church hopped and i don't think i'm going to start now.  i think i found the right fit for me on the first try.  thank you very much.  it was so nice and the man at the door didn't even laugh when i said, i have no idea where to go.  

flannel sheets

it was finally time for the flannel sheets to make an appearance for this fall/winter season.  the sheets finally made on the bed last night.  they are so cozy.  maybe too cozy since it's 11:15 and i'm still in bed.  i may have said it before, but i wish there was a job where i could just stay in bed, all day.  i won't give up hope.

last week was a busy week for me.  i spent four days in vegas, and then i spent the weekend up north.  vegas was fun, a little boring, up north was beautiful. it was so relaxing and peaceful and so good to hang out with my family.

i'm going to peace out now, i have some flannel sheets to snuggle in.

here's to you

today marks week 3 since my grandpa died.  i didn't think i'd be able to survive in a world where he didn't exist, but as they say, time does heal all wounds.  not saying this wound is at all healed yet, but i am surviving. 

my grandpa enjoyed life.  he ate donuts, drank manhattans, sat in the sun, and smiled a lot.  he would give a little squeeze at the end of a hug, wink at you across the room, and he would hold your hand.  he loved life, he loved my grandma, and he loved us, i'm certain of this.  i'll miss my grandpa, but i'll eat a donut, squeeze at the end of a hug, sit in the sun, maybe drink a manhattan and remember him.

more toothpaste

i put a sweatshirt on today, my favorite brown one.  i must have worn it the other day at night or in the morning because there was toothpaste dripped all down the front of it.  how does that happen?  at 22 shouldn't i know how to brush my teeth so the toothpaste doesn't drip all over my shirt?  i usually get toothpaste on my clothes at least twice a week.  i need to figure something out.

i love milk.  i always have.  i used to drink so much my parents put restrictions on how many glasses i could have because i was drinking all the milk.  and yes, i have very strong bones.  i haven't been drinking a lot of milk for a while, but today i got really thirsty for it.  i drank a half gallon throughout the day.  i'm not feeling so great now.  i was for most of the day, but i think my body is starting to realize there's a half gallon of milk in there.  it should be a fun night.

my life

today at work i was wiping butts and cleaning up ants and realized this is not what i want to do forever.  i love it now, but not forever.  so i was talking to my co-worker and she was helping me figure out what i want to do with my life.  i got really excited because i love thinking about a new adventure and what may happen.  i just love possibilities.  on my home from work i called my mom to tell her i want to go back to school, these are some things i want to do and she said, "lydia, go to the library.  there are so many books on majors and careers and the schools you could go to.  ask someone for help, but the library is a great place to get stuff like that."  my mom works at a library.  i got home and told krista all my exciting news and then headed off to the library.  

i get to the library and immediately go the computers to search for career books.  i wish they had the actual card catalogs, those are fun.  anyways, i find a few books and write down the call numbers and go in search.  half way through my search i start to think i don't know where my keys are.  i look in my purse and they aren't there.  oh no, where did they go?  i check my pockets, look on the floor, no luck.  then i think, maybe i set them down by the computers.  i go back to the computers and can't remember which computer i was at and then i found them at the third one, which i guess is the one i was at.  i pick up my keys and tuck them away in my purse and go back to find figure out my life books.  i can't find the ones i'm looking for anywhere.  there isn't a "fix your life" section, but i'm in the section about becoming a lawyer and i start coughing.  i swallowed wrong and then i have a cough on top of that so i was coughing maybe for 13 seconds.  mid cough, a man sitting at a table looks at me and says, "could you do that in the bathroom?"  i was a little embarrassed so i just turned around and walked away coughing, not to the bathroom, meanie.  

i then went to jewel.  i didn't have a lot of groceries, just like 23 maybe.  i went to the self checkout because i didn't want to wait behind soccer mom buying food for the next 3 weeks.  the self checkout is a huge pain and i am never going in it again. i thought it would be fast but soccer mom was out before me.  it's all because of the bananas, stupid bananas, and then the receipt machine got stuck.  man, what a day.

on a happy note, it is Oct 1 and that means it's time for the down comforter!  i can't wait, i love snuggling under it.  ohhhhh, i love the fall, but not jewel self checkout and not mean men that tell me not to cough at the library

toothpaste

i took a trip to target yesterday, which is my favorite place to go.  while i was there i bought things i didn't need, and things i did.  i did need a new toothbrush and toothpaste.  which leads me to my thought:  why do you have to squeeze toothpaste from the bottom?

it says for best results squeeze tube from the bottom, why?  is the toothpaste squeezed from the bottom better than squeezed from the top, middle, or even 3/4 of the way down?  i don't get it.  i'm going to continue to squeeze it from wherever i get it.  it's usually the middle, that's the best place for me, middle.  isn't all the toothpaste in the tube the same?  

the house is pretty quiet today.  i'm watching my second movie.  

i wish my life had a soundtrack, i even wish my days had a soundtrack.  that would be great, a song to go to all the moods, ups and downs of the day.  mission to readers: put together a soundtrack for me.  all 2 of you who read this.  

last night i told krista to wake me up in the morning no matter what it takes.  she failed.  she tried really hard though.  i like to sleep.  i wanted to get up early and read.  i found a book that i really like and i wanted to read that night but was really tired so i thought i could read in the morning.  apparently i was still really tired in the morning.  i should be reading now but i've decided to blog.  i'm going to keep it short.

i don't enjoy forgetting to eat.  it is now 9:11 pm and i have forgotten to eat dinner.  how does that happen?  i will go downstairs to eat.  i'll probably just eat my last ice cream cone though.  that's not a nutritious dinner. 

someone told me tonight that i've made a good life for myself and i agree.

i was driving home from work today and i was stopped at a red light and decided to trim my cuticles.  since i am prepared for anything, i took out my trusty nail clippers and started trimming those pesky cuticles.  i glanced over at the car to my left and the girl in that car was filing her nails.  i thought it was funny.  i looked over to my right hoping i saw a girl polishing her nails, but i did not, i just saw an old man picking his nose, no joke.  which leads me to my next thought, why do people think the car is the best place to pick their nose?  i mean, you are in a vehicle surrounded by windows and passing thousands of other people.  what's also scary is that most of the people that i see picking are men in suits.  they probably go to work and have meetings and shake lots of hands and those hands were just up their noses!

a fun thing happened in our house today.  last night i went to go take a shower and their was toilet paper in the shower.  not like nice clean rolls of it, but nasty, already used, already in the sewer toilet paper.  i had the normal reaction, i threw on a towel and ran upstairs screaming, "there is junk in our shower!"  well today i arrive home to be informed by krista that now there is not only toilet paper in the shower, but poop.  yes, you read right, there is poop in our shower.  sick.  our landlord is taking care of it tomorrow at 12:30.  it better be gone, forever. 

i had a beautiful weekend up north wisconsin.  my grandparents live in a cabin on a lake.  i relaxed.  i fell asleep on the dock, read on the dock, floated in a tube, played games, had good conversations...i couldn't have asked for a more perfect weekend.  my grandpa is really funny.  i can't quote him or imitate him, but just know that he is really funny.  and he calls me butch.  not in a mean way, but it's his little nick name for me.  some awkwardly laugh when i tell them that, but i like it.  he'll come into the living room, which is where i sleep when i go there, and he'll say, "morning butch." and i'll smile and say, "hi grandpa." and then he kind of winks at me and goes to make breakfast.  i love memories.

i'm going to get a library card!  i've been waiting for this day since i moved into this house.  it feels like christmas.

i'm going to have a bad hair day tomorrow.  today was a ponytail day and tomorrow is a no shower day so that equals bad hair day.  

i'm reading a book and i like it!  well, i'm only one chapter in but so far it's good.

i'm tired.  

it's a beautiful ride

krista and i are sitting on the sofa and she told me to blog and then she told me what to blog about.  she said boob juice, but i did that last time so no more boob juice stories.  i came home today to a freshly mowed lawn, with not so straight lines, just kidding krista, it looked beautiful.  

my roommates are so funny.  i like coming home to them.  i had a hard day, i had to go to the doctor, i won't go into details, but it is not a fun situation.  anyways, krista was sitting on the sofa and then let me hug her for a really long time, and she hugged back, and it was a good hug, a, i'm really happy your home hug, everything's okay hug.  she's great.  

danielle is so great.  she told us great stories about her first day back as a teacher.  i love her so much and how she loves her job and truly cares for her students.  and then she made us laugh, a lot, we're still laughing.

sarah is so fun.  she has such a fun energy and passion.  i love talking to her, getting little random texts during the day, laying on her lap, the olympics are over now, but i loved watching her watch them.  she loves the olympics.  

julie is the bomb diggity.  her heart is beautiful.  she has passion.  she makes me laugh a lot.  she is caring and a great story teller.  i like her a lot.

andrew is so easygoing.  he works out a lot during the day.  i always hear him running around.  sometimes it's slow running and sometimes it's really fast.  he likes to do intervals i guess.

this house is perfect.  these people are perfect.  

 

Tuesday

today at work a baby ripped the nipple out of her bottle spilling boob juice all over my leg!  it was gross.  she laughed and i gagged.  sometimes i wonder why i like my job, but at the end of day a baby will hug me or laugh or wave and it's reasons like that i stay.  

i don't polish my nails because i don't like nail polish, but today when i was at target buying toilet paper, because we're almost out, i bought nail polish as well, but only for my toes.  i don't like it on my fingers, but i do like it on my toes.  it's a really bright color.  i like it and i think it will cheer me up at the end of the day.  just knowing that my toes are bright will get me through some of my days.  

i haven't been reading any books.  i like to read, usually before i go to bed, but i just can't get into any books lately, which reminds me, i still need to unpack my books.  what if i can't get into any books ever again and i never read another book for the rest of my life?!  i can't let that happen.

let me paint you a picture:

last night i crawled into bed with krista, we chatted.  a few minutes later julie joined us.  it was late.  things that wouldn't normally make me laugh, made me laugh a lot.  julie made her foot talk like a southern bell.  krista was sleeping but still talking.  i tried to go to my own bed and they wouldn't let me.  i laughed a lot last night.  it's reasons like that i love living here.  oh yeah, and yesterday julie scared me in the dining room and i screamed really loud and it scared her and then she screamed and then we both fell to the floor laughing.  we laughed for a really long time.  yesterday was a good day.  lots of laughing.

i'm laughing right now because the landlord came to fix the toilet and he opened it and said, "oh yeah, oh man, yeah, that is bad.  hmmm, let's see."  i wonder what was in there...

yes, it has finally happened, i live in a house, with great girls, and as of today, beautiful blinds.  sometimes it's fun being a grown up.  

things i like about being a grown up:

pulling into my driveway (which i don't do often because i park in a parking lot by a church)

coming home to my roommates

long talks about boys

unloading the dishwasher

i don't like:

paying bills

making sure doors are locked

making sure lights are off

life is good these days, for the most part

thank you little boy riding a bike and wearing a helmet for waving at me.  you made me smile all the way home.

i'm moving.  it's happening, right now, as i type.  well, not really as i type, but before i started typing i was moving.  a few boxes now clutter the beautiful home that i am going to share with four beautiful girls.  i couldn't be happier.

i'm disappointed, a little bit in myself but mostly with some people around me.  i wish i could tell them, but i won't.  instead i will be angry and cry a little and then get over it.  i'm not sure that's very healthy, but neither is taco bell and i still eat that.  

i've started biting my nails again.  i used to bite them when i was little but stopped one day.  i kicked the habit cold turkey.  i've started again though.  i don't know why, it usually happens at work which is really gross, i have to wash my hands a lot because i realize they have just been in my mouth.  then i have to file them right away because i don't want them to be uneven.  i think i have too much stress or anxiety over something. 

my eyes are tired.  goodnight world

it's official

friends, or friend, i think only one person reads this, but to whom in may concern, i have purchased a vehicle!!!!  it's very exciting.  i love it, it's pretty, and i park it at work so i can have a clear view from my classroom.  i may be a little obsessed.  

i like reading.  i finally finished the last harry potter book and it was fantastic.  i was nervous and i cried.  i'm going to miss you harry.

i started the diary of a wimpy kid, which is a young adult book, but very funny.  i'm only a few pages from being done and i just started it.  i can't wait to read the second.  and then i will read an adult book, maybe.

i'm not sure what to do with my hair these days.  i don't know if it should be long, or short, or medium, or blonde or brown or red.  man oh man, it's hard being a girl yet again.  

i want to go on a date.  perhaps, watching the bachlorette (i don't know how to spell that) is not the best choice because i'm really jealous that she gets to go on all these really beautiful dates and i'm reading children's books.  lame.  

today i am happy.  so very happy.  i am going to a comedy club tonight and i'm really pumped about it.  i feel like a grown up going out on the town on a friday night.  it will be a good time with friends and lots of laughter...oh i can't wait!!

still no new car.  it's getting really annoying.  i'm going out with my dad tomorrow again and hopefully i will figure things out, like exactly what i want.  i think i have commitment issues.  it's hard to commit to one car for practically the rest of my life.  i guess when it's right, i'll know.  just like with a man.  oh yikes

there are 2 things i never wear because they make me feel like a little girl playing grown up.  the 2 things are a blouse and lipstick.  just the word "blouse" makes me feel old, but i'm wearing one tonight and i think i can handle it.  i'm also wearing lipstick, i think i might wipe it off and go with my trusty carmex.  a little growing up at a time.  

my papers are done and now i just have to study for finals!!!!  it's so exciting.  i can't wait to get summer started.  

i like to watch real world.  i know it's kind of trashy, but i love it.  especially this season in hollywood, intense.  

i just did a crossword puzzle and word search.  it was fun.  turns out i'm not so good at crossword puzzles but i am awesome at word searches.  i think i will get one of those big word search books and do them all the time.  i'm sure it will make me sharp.  i tried sudoku and i liked it, but i cheated because the book had the answers.  i need to get a word search book with no answers.

it's about seven thirty and i'm ready for bed.  i could probably go to sleep right now.  sadly, i can not.  i have lots of papers to write for school.  i don't know why i wait until the last minute.  i knew about these papers the whole semester.  i need to stop procrastinating.  

i've had a great weekend.  i have been blessed with some truly amazing friends.  i like when john mayer tells me my body is a wonderland.  that might be inappropriate to say, but that's how i roll.  

collecting

i always wanted to be someone that collected things.  when i would hear of people collecting really cool things i got jealous and then would try to collect things like coins or notebooks, nothing ever worked.  i was cleaning my room tonight and realized i collect a lot of things without really even knowing it:

-garbage.  i have a lot of garbage floating around 

-shot glasses.  i knew i collected these, but my collection is becoming very impressive.  

-ticket stubs from concerts and movies, not to be confused as garbage.

-lotions.  i have a lot of lotions and i don't use many of them. 

i had a great time in california.  i'll write more about it in days to come, but just for now, it was really a blessing of a vacation.

today i woke up extra early to shower.  i allowed myself plenty of time so after i showered i could go back to bed for about a half hour.  i've been planning this for a while, but usually tend to oversleep.  not today my friend, mission accomplished.  

lately...

things that have been on my mind lately...

~i'm more of a grown up than i thought

~i'm capable of more things than i give myself credit for

~i have been blessed with some really amazing friends

~things aren't always as bad as i make them out to be

~i really do like water

i hate to continue to dwell on my teeth, but i had all four of my wisdom teeth taken out the other day.  it was scary for a lot of reasons.  one of the reasons was that i was making all the decisions.  my mom was there, but she had no say.  i'm not a miner anymore, it was my insurance, and it was all up to me.  that was a lot to deal with.  now, i am sitting watching tv with very swollen cheeks and i am bored.  

that's all for now, i have some ice cream that needs to be eaten.

the conversation going on between my teeth...

wisdom tooth: get out of the way molar!

molar: HEY!!! who do you think you are?!

WT: i'm a wisdom tooth. a large, very aggressive wisdom tooth.

M: you are not welcome in lydia's dainty little mouth. there is no room for you and i will not make any.

WT: well then i will just continue to push my way in and hang out in your curviture.

M: how dare you decide to show up after 22 years!  you haven't been there for lydia like i have.  where were you thanksgiving on 200o when her grandma's turkey was overcooked and very difficult to chew?  or for the delicious pizza of '97 with the chewy crust?  you were no where to be found, but i was there, i put in overtime for her.  you and your buddies are not welcome here.

WT: i won't back down!  i'm tired of being impacted.  there are things to be chewed and i want to chew.

M: you are causing lydia pain and making her very crabby and for that i will never forgive you.  because of you i missed my bath last night because she hurt so bad.  

WT: fine, i'll get out, but i'll make it hurt. i'll just hang out here until i get cut and pulled out, and i'm taking my friends with me.  

M: goo, you do that. we'll get over the pain, and over you.  you will not be missed wisdom tooth.

thanks for standing strong molar.  we'll be together forever.

fresh

Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.

~Lamentations 3:23

i'm listening to bob marley and i like it.  

i've had a toothache for about a week and tomorrow i'm going to try to go to the dentist...i'm scared.

i'm going to bed before 10:00 tonight.

i love my friends, every single one of them.

i'm really excited to go to work tomorrow.  i really do love my job.  there is nothing sweeter than a hug from a baby.  it's such a pure hug.  i love it.  i can't wait to have my own babies so i can hug them forever!

i've had a flat tire on my car for weeks.  at first i thought it was just getting low on air so i filled it up at the gas station.  a week later it started to get low again and i thought it was strange, so i filled it up with air again.  about a week later it is low again.  i've been driving on it for a few days and it is getting lower and lower.  i was going to take it in to get patched today on my break, but thought napping was a better idea.  i'm taking it in in the morning and will be very relieved when it is all fixed.  the end.  

midterms are over and i didn't fail!  yay!  

things i do not enjoy:

~when my pants are wet on the bottom from rain/snow

~bad hair days

~when my mascara gets smudgy under my eyes

~filling out surveys for work

~rude people

things i do enjoy:

~country music

~sitting on my pilates ball

~cliff bars

~peanut butter on bananas, celery, a spoon, or my finger

~ponytails 

~text messages

~sharpies of all shapes, sizes, and colors

~t-shirts

i have two perfumes, ck one summer and clinique happy.  ck one summer is my going out perfume and happy is my going to work perfume.  today i didn't want to wear either one of those perfumes so i wore my moms perfume which is pleasure.  i really liked it, i think i will make that my new work perfume and make happy my weekend perfume.  

happiness

my dad plays the trumpet.  he has for almost his whole life.  it's a really cool thing.  when i was really little like maybe 3 or 4 and he would be practicing i would sit on the bed and watch him and shout out my requests which were usually twinkle twinkle or row row row your boat.  anyways, when he would practice he would give me a mouth piece so i could play with him.  i had no idea how to use it so i usually just stuck it in my mouth and used it as a chew toy.  my dad is dedicated to a lot of things, his family, his business, his beer, and his trumpet playing.  he practices all the time.  well today on beautiful easter sunday i went to church and watched my dad play.  he plays a lot of church services and weddings.  today i just loved watching him. 

tomorrow i'm going swimsuit shopping.  not really looking forward to it.  i don't know who designed fitting rooms and the lighting in them, but that person was cruel.  

i finished a book tonight.  i like when i finish books, especially good books and i feel like my life is now a little better because i read that book.  that's how i feel now.

"I want a life that sizzles and pops and makes me laugh out loud.  and i don't want to get to the end, or to tomorrow even, and realize that my life is a collection of meetings and pop cans and errands and receipts and dirty dishes.  i want to eat cold tangerines and sing loud in the car with the windows open and wear pink shoes and stay up all night laughing and paint my walls the exact color of the sky right now.  i want to sleep hard on clean white sheets and throw parties and eat ripe tomatoes and read books that make me jump up and down and i want my everyday to make God belly laugh, glad the he gave life to someone who loves the gift."

-Cold Tangerines

jelly beans

i've recently become addicted to jelly beans.  i suppose easter season is the perfect time to become addicted to jelly beans because the shelves of every store are stocked with them.  this makes me wish i wasn't a jelly bean snob and could eat just the regular jelly beans on these shelves, but i can't.  the jelly beans that i love are jelly belly, but not just jelly belly, very specific flavors of jelly belly.  i LOVE the pear flavor, man oh man do those babies make my mouth water! and also the pink grapefruit flavor.  eating these flavors is very dangerous because it makes me think that i'm eating the actual fruit when in fact i'm eating something that is very very far from the fruit family.  it's embarrassing but i think today i ate about a half pound of jelly beans.  i wonder how many human pounds that will translate into?  i guess i won't be paying that scale a visit any time soon.  i guess i should also brush my teeth.  i wonder how many times i said jelly, belly, and bean during this entry?  

midterm tomorrow, yikes!  

i never was one to sleep in.  when i was younger and tried to sleep in i would make it to about 8:30 and then get up.  now, all i do is sleep.  i could sleep until 3:00 in the afternoon if the people in my house would let me.  i also take a lot of naps.  i just really love sleep.  i also love sleepovers.  and a good pair of jeans, but that has nothing to do with sleep.  

just so you know...

~i love popsicles

~i recently bought a water and stain repellent for shoes and i have waterproofed literally every shoe i own because i think it's fun

~i like bon jovi on certain days

~i'm obsessed with post it's and sharpies

~i read before i go to bed

~i like to do laundry, but hate to fold it so it usually stays in the basket until i've worn everything

~i change my mind a lot

~i will always love dashboard confessional

~i love concerts and buying t-shirts at concerts 

~i own a lot of books

after a wonderful weekend it is now time to get down to business. 

things i have to do:

laundry

clean my room

read a book

eat all the girl scout cookies i bought

watch a marathon of project runway

water my bamboo

it's going to be a busy day, especially since i've waited until 4ish to get started.  

life is good

i can't stop it

turns out peter pan doesn't exist and he is not coming to take me to never neverland and i do have to grow up after all.  i work 40 hours a week, i go to school, i once in a while do homework, and now i have a budget.  this is freakin' me out.  i like it though.  it just keeps getting more and more exciting, minus the budget, that's not exciting at all.  the part that is exciting is the seeing where life is taking you, the lessons that you've learned, and the new things you discover about yourself.  i like it even though the future freaks me out.  

i really enjoy the smell of new books, especially text books.  while attempting homework tonight all i did was smell my book instead of actually reading it.  i don't think the teacher will buy it as a good enough excuse.