$0.37 for a Cure!

Recently I've developed a condition that my friend and I have decided to call "Chronic Blinking Disorder" or "blinking" for short. I'm not quite sure what causes it, but from conversations with others I've realized that it's a pretty common illness. Blinking usually occurs early in the morning, but can sometimes occur during mid-day naps. What is blinking? Well, let me give you an example of blinking, that will be easier than trying to explain it.
Picture this:
Before going to bed at night, you set your alarm for the time you wish to get up, let's say 7am for this example. If you're like me, that means setting three alarms: one at 7:oo, one at 7:02, and one at 7:04 ... just to make sure. In the morning, 7:00 rolls around and your alarm selfishly drags you out of dreamland. You hit the snooze button for another two minutes. You settle back onto your pillow and consider that your bed is the most comfortable place in the world. Then it's 7:02 and once again you hit the snooze for another two minutes. This usually results in some crazy but enjoyable dream about putting shaving cream in your hair, or shouting at the top of your lungs that no one has any idea how hard it is to be a closet. Finally, it's 7:04 and the alarm sounds. You hit the 'off ' button, let out a deep sigh and think, "ugh. ok. time to get up!" Then you blink and it's suddenly 10:30.
This has happened to me that past three days in a row. It also happened last Sunday. I've dealt with CBD before, but this is getting ridiculous! I don't even understand how it's possible to sleep this much! Fortunately, besides missing a class there haven't been any serious consequences, but it's still rather annoying! If anyone has a cure for this despicable disease, I would be willing to pay anyth...I mean, twenty dolla...uh, that is, maybe a buc...well, I have some change in my pocket...

Famous People Keep Journals

Did you ever write in a diary as a little kid?

Do you write in one now?

Have you ever completely filled out a notebook?

Have you ever gone back and read something you wrote five, ten, or maybe more years ago?

If you answered no to any of these questions, I have to offer my sympathies.

Today I completed what I think is my sixth, possibly seventh, diary/prayer journal. And I just have to say that it is one of the most exciting things! To completely fill a notebook gives you such an amazing sense of accomplishment! I mean, how many people can say that they've filled an ENTIRE journal? How many people can say they've filled several ENTIRE journals? Ok, probably a lot, but how many people that I've met have told me that they've filled out an ENTIRE journal? None! So for me, completing a journal is a pretty special occasion.

Filling out a journal in its entirety gives me immense satisfaction, but even if you're an accomplished human being with plenty of other things to bring you satisfaction, I seriously recommend writing in a journal/diary. A lot of people start stressing just at the mention of the word journal because they can't keep up with the mountainous task of writing about their lives EVERY day! I mean really, who has something to write about every day? Unless you're an explorer in the jungles of Africa or an under cover CIA agent, who really has a life so exciting that it's worth writing about every day? Not me! That's for certain! (Unless I really am an undercover agent... dun dun dah-nah!!)

That said, journaling can be really beneficial for everyday Joe Schmoes!

For one, journaling helps those, like myself, who have the memory capacity of a gnat by keeping track of important events in our lives! I love going back to my old journals and remembering how I felt when my niece was just born and what it felt like to be a freshman in high school! There is no WAY I would remember those things as well if I hadn't written them down!

Reason number two: Journaling helps you cope with difficult emotions and hard times. I have a tendency to pretend my less enjoyable emotions just don't exist! I mean after all, I can just pass off those emotions as something I ate or the product of not getting enough sleep. When I write them down, however, they become real. I can't deny their existence and I have to deal with them. This sounds awful, I know, but it's good because then the emotions don't stay bottled up inside; they come out where I can look at them, pray about them, and put them in their proper place! It's like therapy, only it doesn't cost you your first born child.

Finally, and most importantly, journaling helps you realize God's work in your life. There are times in life when it just seems like God doesn't care any more, or that life is just crazy beyond hope. But those are the times when I can look back at my old journals and see how God's been working. Just recently I was struggling with something and I read back in my old journal and realized that I had been through something very similar before that I had forgotten! As I read my own words I realized that God was still teaching me through this difficult time, and I even found some verses written there that reminded me of God's loving faithfulness. Knowing that God hadn't failed me then helped me trust that he is still here for me now!

So, if you've never kept a journal/diary, I would definitely recommend it! You don't have to be a spy or an explorer to have something to write about and, contrary to popular belief, you don't have to write every day to experience the benefits of writing a record of your life!

And if all else fails, you can always tell your friends that you're famous. After all, why else would there be a book written about you?

Brilliant Blue!

I am not a city girl. I grew up very happily in the shelter of suburbia and wouldn't trade it for anything. However, being in the city is giving me a new perspective on things.

For example, the skyline is becoming one of my favorite things to see. Now, it's not always easy to see it with the psychotic weather here, but when it isn't raining, snowing, or covered in fog, that means that the sky is the most brilliant, delightful blue I have ever seen, unhindered by a single cloud. Every now and then, God decides to grace the city with his beauty and I look up and just want to stare and stare and stare. I don't know what it is, but somehow when I see the bright sun exposing all the buildings against the pure blue sky, I just have to take a deep breath of the crisp, clean air and smile.

Close browser. Make face time.

Have you seen those new Dentyne Ice adds? I've decided I really, really like them. Here's why:

I like Facebook. In fact, I'm a big fan. I love sharing pictures with people and keeping in touch with my friends' daily lives, even when I don't have time or the opportunity to chat with them on the phone. In fact, I recently gave a speech on the positive effects Facebook can have on friendships (if used correctly, of course). HOWEVER, I have a pet peeve when it comes to Facebook. A major pet peeve. It's not just with Facebook either. It applies to text messaging also.

I find it quite annoying when people use Facebook/texting as a substitute for actual conversations when I see them frequently!

It's one thing if a friend from another state wants to chat using Facebook/texting because, well, sometimes talking on the phone is just more difficult. I mean first you call the person, leave a message, they call you back, you call them back, you finally get in touch and then the signal's bad and you can barely here them, etc, etc. However, if you live less than a block from someone, or in the same building, just have face-to-face conversations!! For me, Facebook/texting has always been for short, necessary messages or occasional conversations with friends or relatives who I don't see often. But when a friend who I see daily, or at least a couple times a week, constantly uses Facebook/texting for self-disclosure, I find it very awkward and think it makes face-to-face interaction more uncomfortable.

Because of Facebook/texting people feel more free to share things they wouldn't otherwise share because they would not be comfortable sharing in person. I have come to realize that if you don't feel comfortable saying something face-to-face, you probably shouldn't say it through Facebook/texting either. Chances are, if you feel awkward about saying it, the other person will feel awkward hearing it because you do not know each other well enough yet.

Unfortunately, as I've realized this fault in other people, I am painfully aware that I do the same thing. So, in spite of my support of Facebook, I'm simply going to have to buck up and make face-to-face contact. But hey, that's how true friendships are made anyway! So, as Dentyne Ice says,

"Close Browser. Make Face Time."

Stress Management

Life is full of stressful situations. As work, obligations, appointments, chores, and duties become a mountain of threatening doom, it is easy to despair and feel hopeless about the future. If you find yourself daydreaming about natural disasters ("ya know, if a tornado hit town right about now...") or personal injury ("no one could blame me for not finishing this if I just happened to accidentally break my leg right now...") or nationwide crises ("If the country broke into mass chaos right now, no one would care about this stupid..."), then I can relate. I try desperately not to worry too much about stuff. I mean after all, most of the things I stress about won't matter in 20 years (actually, besides marriage and kids, I'm not sure what WILL matter in 20 years). So, to deal with stress I've come up with some Temporary Stress Reducers, known as TSRs. Simply try one of these beauties and you will forget your stress in NO time! I've found these ten to be the most effective for me:

1. Eat Chocolate.

2. Watch TV (especially The Office, it's practically like being at work anyway!)

3. Eat Chocolate cookies.

4. Check Facebook (I'm keeping in touch with friends! that's important! What kind of inconsiderate friend would I be if I didn't even know which new bumper sticker my friend is using to express the passions of her heart?)

5. Eat Chocolate ice cream.

6. Type in (random word).blogspot.com and try to find anything amusing or interesting. (This is for really desperate situations. Like when you've been avoiding the dishes for so long that you don't look at them anymore. They're so creepy when they stare at you like that!..and start following you around...and wearing your clothes...and asking for money...and taking up too much room on the couch...and...)

7. Eat Chocolate cake.

8. Clean. Specifically organizing my sock drawer... or my paper clips...whichever need is most pressing at the time.

9. Drink Hot Chocolate.

10. Write inane blogs about absolutely nothing important.

These methods are sure-fire ways of forgetting about all that annoying stress in your life! Although, they do make the "reality crash" at the end feel a bit more weighty. And I can't say I've ever gotten any useful information out of a blog I found randomly online, or from any of those conversations with my dishes... maybe it's best just to take it like a man and deal with all the stressful things! Rub some dirt in it and get back in there! Grab the bull by the horns! Buy a plane ticket for Bermuda! Run away to white sandy beaches and warm sun! Never think about anything ever again except when to roll over to get the perfect tan!

Sigh... or maybe I could just get back to work!