Things I Believe Thursday XV

I believe that there is nothing worse than being reminded that we are all essentially powerless.

I am a control freak (or try to be). 90% of the time, I live in a fantasy world where what happens to me and around me can somehow be influenced and/or controlled by me.

Right now, my delusions are shattered. I feel that it matters not a fig how much I plan and plot or how much I try to do what I should to prevent X or make X happen. Major forces that impact my life are completely out of my realm of control. There is nothing that I can do but sit and watch (while stuffing my face with the closest available junk food. This morning that was a Dixie Donut, leftover from yesterday).

It makes me feel crazy, insignificant, and terrified all at the same time. And I hate it.

Things I Believe Thursday XIV (late)

I believe in "better late than never."

Obviously.

Now for my real belief for today... errrrr... yesterday.

I believe that I got pretty lucky in the Husband department.

Not only did he make me Chicken Marsala for dinner (from scratch), he also got me presents that enhance my favorite things:

• A fancy new pillow! (for sleeping)
• Not one, but two pairs of hot pink ProCompression Calf Sleeves! (for running and looking good)
• The Swagger Skirt in hot pink (which I have been eyeing forever)! (for running and looking good)
• The Richmond Hoods map! (RVA pride)

Obviously I am quite spoiled. 

Hope everyone else had a great love day too!

Things I Believe Thursday XIII

I believe that 9 times out of 10, it is worth it to just pay the extra for convenience.

I was reminded of this belief this morning, when for the second time this week, I decided to try out a new route to work... a route that doesn't involve taking the Downtown Expressway, which is a toll road and my usual commute of choice.

For whatever reason, this week I got it into my head that I am tired of paying $0.35 every day to take the Expressway in the morning. Being me, I am chronically early in the mornings and therefore taking a few extra minutes to drive through Richmond instead of taking the Expressway isn't such a big deal.

On Tuesday, the route that I attempted dumped me into the middle of awful traffic on Broad Street. I had forgotten that the Legislative Session is in, so that area of Richmond is a disaster in the mornings right now. It took me at least twice as long as it would have otherwise, and I'm sure that I wasted far more than $0.35 in gas sitting in traffic and at the seemingly endless stop lights.

Yesterday I just took the Expressway.

Today I got the bright idea to try to come to work from the south side instead. My reward? Sitting through 5 cycles of the light at the Mayo Bridge and Canal Street. As I sat and watched it turn yellow then red yet again without me going through it, I decided that paying the $0.35 is more than worth it.

I have been reminded of this lesson over and over. A weekend spent painting the kitchen resulted in cries of "never again" from me, and I haven't ever painted anything myself again. I'd rather hire someone who will do it faster and better than I ever could.

Crafting things for my wedding was out of the question. The only things that I made were table numbers, and those took me more than 5 hours. I'm terrible at crafts. It was much easier and more pleasant to pay for everything else to be done for me.

Recently, I got it in my head that I'd make adorable pink whoopie pies for BFF's baby shower. After two failed attempts using two different methods, we are instead buying beautifully made cupcakes. I'm not going to continue to torture myself over whoopie pies. Plus, I'm tired of eating the failed batches of whoopie pies. (Note: the pies tasted good, just didn't look the part - didn't want ya'll to think I can't cook.)

So, a toast to paying for convenience... and being lucky enough to be able to pay for it... even if I am still of the mindset that $0.35 a day is going to break my bank.

Things I Believe Thursday XII

I believe that this week's weather has been crazeballs.

(Yes, I just typed and use the word 'crazeballs'. Please forgive me).

Borrowed from 98.3 KISS FM
A station that I never even knew existed until right now.

I went from running in the snow last Friday to running in moderate 50s on Monday to running in a 70 degrees-in-January-30 MPH-gusts-wind-tunnel yesterday.

And today it is a 40 degree, 30 MPH wind tunnel.

Craze. Balls.

ALSO! For you Richmond runners who are still waffling on the Monument Avenue 10k, today is the last day to register before the price increase, so get thee hence to the website and sign up. If you aren't there, all the other runners in Richmond will wonder what's wrong with you.

(Just kidding.)

(...maybe.)

Things I Believe Thursday XI

I believe that wearing your Garmin on the outside of your sleeve...

is akin to....

Image Source

wearing socks with sandals.

Though I sometimes find it necessary to wear my Garmin on the outside (particularly when I am wearing a long sleeved shirt with thumb holes, for some reason), I can say with 100% certainty that I've never worn socks with sandals.

Things I Believe Thursday X

I believe that individuals make important decisions about their lives in their own time...

...and that no amount of prodding, debating, or nagging will make a person change their mind one way or another or move faster than they intend to. When they are ready, they will make the decision.

With me, this is especially true. The more you pester me about something or insist up on it, the less likely I am to do it!

I also believe I'd be a lot more excited about the potential snow forecasted for today if it hadn't been preceded by 3 and a half days of miserable rain.

Things I Believe Thursday IX

I believe that now that I have neon pink running shoes, I should pay more attention to the outfits that I throw into my bag.

Neon pink + red = burning eyes

Things I Believe Thursday VIII

I believe that getting a surprise free afternoon off from work because the power went out in your building is pretty darn awesome.

Instead of sitting on my butt all afternoon, I got to run 4 fast miles at the vita course with Marathon Winer in the daylight and now I'm going to finish my re-watch of Downton Abbey and get to watch the Mason basketball game too!

Thanks, unreliable power source!

Things I Believe Thursday VII

BFF is going to love this one...

I believe that counting calories during the holidays should be outlawed.

And to clarify, I believe that this applies to Christmas Eve through New Year's.

(Also, apologize for the tardiness of this entry. Yesterday was my first day back to work after the holiday and it felt like a Monday... in fact I thought it was a Monday until I got home and Husband reminded me at dinner that it was a Thursday.)

Things I Believe Thursday VI

Despite my own recent apocalyptic dreams and months of irrational thoughts revolving around Doomsday, I believe that we will all still be here tomorrow.

Things I Believe Thursday V

I believe that it just doesn't feel like Christmas unless it's nice and cold.

...and that snow makes it perfect, though that rarely happens in Richmond, VA.

With that knowledge, you won't be surprised that one of my favorite Christmas movies is White Christmas. Bing and Rosemary are on my side, I can't be wrong.

Things I Believe Thursday IV

I believe that travel makes you a better person.

It helps you not only learn about what makes us different, but reminds you that really we are all the same.

Things I Believe Thursday III

I believe that it's a good thing to do something that you don't think you like or aren't good at.

Refusing to participate in things because of these reasons will probably result in the loss of a learning experience. Learning experiences are always good things, whether they are positive or negative.

In the past week, I have been pushed into participating in some hands-on, crafty-type of activities. I am the first person to tell you that I suck at crafting and do not like it, therefore I am loathe to participate.

Though I would never voluntarily seek out a craft myself, I am lucky to have an extremely crafty BFF who forces me to partake in such activities from time to time. On Black Friday I spent the day with her. Our craft project was creating tags for Christmas gifts using old holiday cards and a die cutter.

Here's me as we began the project, demonstrating my typical "I-can't-believe-you're-making-me-craft-again" death stare:

In the end, it turns out that I really enjoyed using the die cutter and could've done so all day long. I was quite disappointed when we ran out of ribbon and had to stop. Our tags turned out quite beautifully too.

AND extra bonus points because we were engaging in some recycling (hippies like me love repurposing!).

But that's not where the do-it-yourself stopped! This morning, I participated in one of Maymont's Wreath  Making Workshops. My very generous boss paid for myself and the three other girls in my department to attend as our holiday gift. I had considered doing a workshop last year, but decided against it because I figured I would just end up annoyed at my lack of skills.

I'm really thankful that Mr. Boss gave me the opportunity to try it out this year. Even though I got very sappy (I hate getting dirty) and had a bit of a slow start, I ended up with a gorgeous wreath that I'm going to be very proud to have on my front door.

And the best part is that I made it with my own 2 hands!

So, even though you may "hate" something (or think you hate it), it might be a good idea to give it a try any anyway. You never know what you might discover in yourself.

By doing this, I've discovered that I'm a runner (the best discovery ever) and that sometimes I kind of like crafts.

But only sometimes.

Things I Believe Thursday II

I believe that Thanksgiving dinner always tastes the best when your parents make it.

Things I Believe Thursday I

While driving to my physical therapy appointment this morning, I heard a segment on my local public radio station called "This I Believe." Here's what it is all about:

"This I Believe is an international organization engaging people in writing and sharing essays describing the core values that guide their daily lives. Some 100,000 of these essays, written by people from all walks of life, are archived here on our website, heard on public radio, chronicled through our books, and featured in weekly podcasts. The project is based on the popular 1950s radio series of the same name hosted by Edward R. Murrow." (from ThisIBelieve.org)

What a cool project, right?

I've been trying to come up with some kind of weekly feature for the blog and struggling a bit. There are the standbys of the blogging world ("Thankful" day, "Worldless" day, "What I Ate" day, etc) but I wanted to do something a little different.

So, I'm going to do a take off on This I Believe (mainly because This I Believe is copyrighted!) and call my little series Things I Believe Thursday. Like most people, lots of weird and random thoughts covering a huge variety of subjects cross my mind every day. I'm hoping the series will be an illuminating look at the crazy mish mash of things that drive me and make me who I am. 

So without further ado, may I present Things I Believe Thursday #1.

I believe that Christmas/holiday music should not be allowed until December 1.

The fact that our local light radio station is already playing Christmas music 24/7 makes me feel very hostile. November is for fall and Thanksgiving. NOT FOR CHRISTMAS.

On a lighter note, I also believe that an awesome paisely pencil skirt automatically makes any day better.