I'm Ready to Take on the World

Do you ever have those times when you tackle something awesome and then feel like you can do anything after that? Even if it's just something minor? I'm in that mood now.  Some of it is also from a feeling that life is short (and passing me by) and I don't want to keep wasting time - putting off things I've wanted but never got around to letting myself have (or do), shying away from things because they are "scary" or because I'm afraid I won't be good at them. But if I never try something, I've already failed, right? So what's the point of not trying?  I'm hoping that I can keep this motivated mood going and accomplish some things that I've been too scared to try or things that I used to enjoy but never do anymore.  I've already given driving a motorcycle a try, and I really want to keep learning.  It may seem like a small thing to many people, but for me being able to drive a motorcycle (and not just ride on the back) would be a huge deal.


First on my list is seeing a doctor for a consultation on LASIK. I've been wanting to get my eyes lasered for YEARS but kept putting it off.  First it was because it was too expensive, then because I was worried that something freaky would happen and I'd end up blind or with worse vision than before, then it was because I didn't want to have to go two whole weeks without being able to wear my contacts before they do the measurements for the surgery.  For the past fews years I've mentioned it to my eye doctor at every annual checkup and he's assured me that I'm a perfect candidate and he recommended a local eye surgeon.  And still I kept putting it off.  But now I'm ready! I've schedule my consultation and hopefully things will go well and soon I'll have an appointment for the actual surgery.  I can't imagine how awesome it will feel to not have to rely on contacts and glasses anymore, especially since they seem to bother me more and more lately. Whee!


Another thing on my list is backpacking.  I used to go backpacking with my family every year when I was a kid.  It was always pretty grueling and I complained a lot at the time.  But it was still kind of fun.  And now that they have all this fancy technical equipment that weighs next to nothing I'm sure it's a much more fun activity.  Unfortunately I have back problems and just the thought of carrying all that weight makes it hurt. My husband goes on a short backpacking trip (one or two nights only) every Spring Break with a coworker friend of his and my dad.  And this year I want to go too!  I just got back from a vacation in Maui where we did some light hiking and I realize how much I enjoy it and miss being able to do it. My husband prefers backpacking instead of camping and doing day hikes, so I never get the chance to just hike.  But if my choices are backpacking or not hiking at all, I'm going to at least give backpacking another try.  His trips are much shorter than the ones I went on as a kid, and since I've been seeing a chiropractor regularly for my back it may not even be as big a deal as I've been letting myself imagine.  Who knows, maybe it will be the most fun I've had in a while and I'll look forward to doing it more and more. And if I have a great time and my husband enjoys having me there, maybe we'll even go more often.

So what else should I put on my list of things to accomplish? Should I give surfing another try? Maybe see if I can tackle SCUBA? That one would be a long shot, but it feels less scary now than it used to when I thought about it before. Maybe that means I'm ready to try it!

Snow in Myrtle Beach? AGAIN?!

I can't believe this weather we're having.  This snowed a bit last night as I noticed when getting up to let the girls out.  It didn't really stick except in a few thin areas, and by the time I woke up it was all gone and was no longer snowing.  Then earlier this afternoon I decided to go for a walk.  I got all bundled up and then as I was putting the last touches on my please-don't-let-me-freeze outfit, I looked outside and saw it was snowing again!  Quite a bit actually.  I went for my walk and it snowed the entire hour I was outside.  It is in fact still snowing.  It's still not sticking anywhere.  It's kind of weird to see all this snow just pouring down and having it disappear as soon as it hits the ground. The puddles aren't even iced over.

Another bit of strange is that this is the SECOND time this year that it has snowed!  It snowed already this February.  Except that time it actually stuck. 

PROOF:














I can't remember it ever snowing two years in a row, much less twice in the same year.  I hope this isn't going to be the new normal.  I'm ready to go back to the milder winters.  I hate being cold.  Give me spring and early summer weather all year round, please.  This is all especially hard to take since I just got back from a vacation to Maui, where it was beautifully warm and perfect. *sigh* 

A Little Jar of Heaven

My brother and sister-in-law have a huge plot of land out in the country.  They grow all kinds of things in their garden, and also have fruit trees and bushes.  Needless to say, they get to do a lot of canning every year.  I was visiting them recently and was able to snag a few jars of their homemade jelly.  I got Wild Cherry and Elderberry Apple.  So far I've only tasted the Wild Cherry, but it is so incredibly yummy.  I've eaten half a jar in less than a week.  !!  I can't help it, it's just so tasty!

When I was a kid, there used to be a lot of wild elderberry bushes growing on the side of the road in the neighborhood where I lived.  I remember picking large sacks of those dark purple berries to my grandma and my parents could make elderberry jelly.  We rarely had store bought jelly when I was little.  We always had so much of the homemade stuff we never needed to pay for any. 

I can't wait to dig into that Elderberry Apple jelly my brother and sister-in-law made.  I know it's going to be good.  I'm only sorry I didn't smuggle out a jar of the Raspberry Dark Chocolate jelly they had!  We had some with breakfast before I left and it was amazing.  Looks like I might have to find a reason to be in the neighborhood again real soon so I can get my hands on some.

Motorcycle Mayhem

I love motorcycles.  It's a lot of fun riding around on one, especially when the weather is particularly nice.  I have several friends that ride, my husband rides, and both my parents ride.  And I ride too.  On the back.  Deep down inside, the Wild Child in me wants to be brave and ride too, but the real me is just such a chicken.  It's not like learning to ride a motorcycle is something you can take in baby steps.  You have to learn how to balance, how to turn by leaning and not actually turning the handlebars, and then there is the whole clutch/gears thing going on too.  Oh, and of course remembering not to sear the skin off your leg by accidentally touching the pipes.

I was nervous even when learning how to drive a car.  I would barely creep along the road and was still an anxious wreck, knowing that at any minute some other car, person, animal or thing was going to jump out in front of me and I wouldn't be able to stop.  Or I'd lose control of the car while racing down the road at a blistering 10 MPH and crash into a building/ditch/tree and we'd all die in a massive, flaming ball of death.

Thankfully once I got comfortable in the car that phase didn't last long.  But even knowing that, the thought of trying to learn to ride (drive?) a motorcycle still freaks me out.  At least in the car I didn't have to worry about whether or not I'd fall over and crush my legs under the weight of the bike, or that I'd skid out when trying to make that tricky right hand turn.  I have enough trouble with balance while standing on my own two feet, or with walking around a corner and not hitting my arm or shoulder on the door frame.  (Stupid things keep moving on me, I swear it!)

But this week, the day before Thanksgiving, my husband decided I was going to learn.  Or at least try to learn.  So when we got to my parents' house we borrowed my mom's bike and my husband attempted to teach me how to ride a motorcycle.  I have to admit I did better than I thought I would, but it was still pretty terrifying despite the fact that I never went over 12 MPH and would not turn.  When we got to the end of my parents' street my husband would take over and turn the bike back around so I could try again on the straight section.  He's not nearly as timid as I am of course, so after a few runs with me not falling over or causing anything to burst into flames he decided I was ready to try a turn.

I'm sure you've already guessed by now that this didn't go well.  For one thing, I wasn't comfortable enough yet to get up to a high enough speed to turn efficiently.  And while I know you are supposed to lean to turn, I'm so scared of falling over that my body just automatically leans the opposite direction out of pure self-preservation.  So here we are creeping down the road and the closer we get to the turn, the more panicked I get.  So much so that when I decide to abort (if I could have abandoned ship entirely without killing myself or my mom's bike, I probably would have), my brain function had shut down enough that I could barely remember how to stop.  Thank goodness the clutch slows down the bike significantly - otherwise my mom's bike would probably be decorating the neighbor's living room right about now.  It slowed the bike down sufficiently that I could calm down enough to remember how to brake. At this point I was so overwhelmed by everything that I started to cry.  No one will ever accuse me of being brave or courageous.  Daredevil, I am not.

But despite the dramatics, it really was fun, and I was pretty proud of myself for the part I WAS able to do!  I'm certainly willing to keep trying.  By this time next year, I may even be the proud owner of a Motorcycle Driver's License! Anything can happen, right?

Not Eaten by Zombies

Hi everyone!  I think it's a pretty good sign that I've been a total slacker with blogging when a blog-buddy posts a comment about my absence.  And then my mom reads that comment and suddenly worries that something is wrong with me and maybe she'd better check up on me to make sure I'm still alive.  True story. 


I'm happy to report that I am still alive.  My brain was not eaten by zombies this Halloween, although I'm pretty sure some little idea-stealing demon may have been amongst the kids begging for treats this year.  Because I've pretty much got nothing. 

Photohunt: Orange

Some bright orange and yellow Canna lilies from my garden.

Orange and pink Hibiscus flower in Maui.

Job Hunting Is Depressing

I've been out of work for over a year now, and there is no light at the end of the tunnel so far.  I swear the available jobs are getting fewer and farther between.  I keep hearing that new jobs are being created, but I'm just not seeing any of them.  I wonder where they are going, and what kind of jobs they are.  Any of you others out there who have been out of work having any luck?  I'd had plans to try to get into teaching art and had been accepted to start my Masters in Education to go with my Art degree, but then I couldn't get the financial aid I needed.  I couldn't justify taking out $18K in students loans when there is no guarantee that there would even be any art teacher positions available, much less that I would actually get chosen for one.  Having $18K in debt and still not having a job?  No thanks.  If anything does happen to come up for an art teacher position, I can still apply and if I'm hired I can have a temporary certification through the PACE program, so it's not completely off the table.  My PRAXIS scores are supposed to be good for 10 years I think before I have to retake them.

It's very discouraging to apply to job after job after job and not even hear anything back from most of them.  I'm overqualified for so much of the work that's posted, and not nearly qualified enough for the rest of it, it seems.  I obviously can't get a job in medicine, and it's surprising how many of those types of positions are open in this area! A vast majority of the job postings I see are medical, sales (over my dead body), military recruitment, or "business opportunities".  Ugh.   This sucks.