Random Thoughts

Well…I have had this phone since July and apparently you should not cook with your phone on the counter or take a shower with it in the bathroom because this can cause water damage.  of course this makes sense but why did I not think about it….the old phone were not affected by this.

Back in the  day of the first cell phones, before they became little computers, I would do these things with my phone and it would last for over 2-3 years.  Now I guess they are more sensitive.

I started a new job that gives me a discount on my phone service (22%) which is sweet for my monthly bill, however it takes two weeks once you register through AT & T for them to verify everything.  I can get a sweet new phone for $10 but it is $249 without the discount plan that my work gives me, argh!  I can’t wait 2 stinking weeks for a phone.

I was talking with the customer service agent and she said that a friend of hers likes to wash her phone quite  frequently and she turns the phone off and puts it in a bag of rice because rice attracts moisture and the hope is that it will take it out of the phone.

So here is my phone in a bag of rice, cross our fingers it works well enough to last me another 2 weeks.  The little square that is usually white behind the battery turns bright red when there is water damage.  Mine is bright red!  We will see the the button changes color after a few hours or a day in the rice.  I have attached the pic of the phone too and will take one after the trial time so we will know if it works.  She said it may have to be as long as 24 hours so if it does not do it today and will keep it in there all night!

This is getting a lot easier and I wanted to share my Sunday experience (yesterday).

Like I said before in past posts, I am an over stressor and I freak out about little things.  Well at least I :DID” and I am slowly BUT successfully changing that habit.

Yesterday was day #3 for a class I was taking and I had to be there by 7:45am and no later then 7:59 am or I would be in danger of having to make it up another weekend.  I did NOT want to do that.

I got up early and made my coffee, took a shower, and ate breakfast.  I needed to leave my house no later then 7:15am to be at the location by 7:45.  I left at exactly 7:14am and was on my way. 

About 5 minutes down the road I just happened to turn around and take a quick look and saw that I had not taken out my 1 year old sons car seat for my husband to use later that day.  There is no way I could just not take it back home because he had somewhere to be himself and would have no other way to transport him.  I very quickly turned around and headed back home and by the time I got back home, unloaded the seat, and got back in the car it was 7:25.

Now, old Tawna would have bitched and swore and yelled at everyone and everything on the way back to the house and all the way to the class but NEW and IMPROVED Tawna did not do this.  I simply said out loud, “well I can’t change the fact I have to do this so I might as well not freak out about it.”  I then loaded an AC DC Cd in my car (yes AC DC calms me as they are the best group EVER. So on I went without freaking out.

I am NOT kidding, I did not hit one red light on the way back to the house or on the way to the meeting.  Even if the light was red I would start to slow and it would turn green.  I made it to my meeting by 7:48 am.  I really should not have made it that quick as it always takes me the full 30 minutes to get there.  It was so cool and I got really excited, yes it is the little things, every time the light would stay green or turn green.

Because of this I had a calm and stress free day.  If I would have not used this positive thinking that I am learning about I can guarantee I would not have made it in the time I did and I would have hit every red light because that is what used to happen!

I am loving this!

OK so those of you from Utah will understand but my fellow Ohioins looked at me quite funny during my class yesterday.

I stubbed my toe in the middle of the night Sunday night and my baby toe was so swollen that it hurt to wear shoes with a toe.  I decided that open toe slip on shoes would be best.

The problem was that my feet were freezing the day before in class due to the air conditioner being turned to way to “freaking” cold.  I could not go without socks.  So, I did what I could do and wore socks with my open toed slip on shoes. 

Ha ha it was funny the reactions I got when I walked into class and my reply….well if you ever lived in Utah you would understand.  I am showing my Mormon/Utah side today.  I tried to explain how in Utah it is very normal to see socks with sandals and they just did not get it.  So in the long run I guess I looked like a dork but didn’t really care as my toe felt better and I did not have to pee every 15 minutes due to cold feet. 

Oh well!  I guess we take a little from everywhere we live right!

A shout out to all my Utah friends and family!!

Wow this weekend really through me off but I did not let it get me down.  I was at a class that last Friday night and all day Saturday and Sunday and did not get much sleep, if any Friday night.  I was so tired Saturday and I don’t know about the rest of you, but I tend to eat about 2-3 times more then I should when my body lacks sleep.

I munched all day long on Saturday and ate at Wendy’s.  My munchies were not all bad, nuts, and rice cakes, but the spicy chicken sandwich, diet soda and skittles I ate and the amount I ate of the good stuff did equal to way more calories then I was burning.

Instead of kicking myself and doing the same thing Sunday I cam home and packed a lunch for Sunday’s class and still had some of my good snacks left and I brought green tea packets and a mug to warm up water in the microwave and did not leave the building for lunch so I would not pass anywhere that would temp me to buy bad sugary food just because I was bored.

I felt better Sunday but the lack of exercise is taking a toll and I am gearing up for a long walk today with the kids.

Glad that class is over!

Sometimes it is nice to have exercise equipment even if you can’t afford a gym like I can’t right now.

I have found a web site called free cycle and a friend of mine found a free miniature trampoline on it that was actually in great condition.

My husband went to goodwill a while back and found an elliptical for $50. We bought it and all it needed was s piece welded and since my husband is Mr. fix it it cost us $0 to fix.

We ended up selling the fixed elliptical for $80 as we had to downsize and could no longer fit it in the house.

I have found massive amounts of treadmills on craigslist for under $100 and if we had the room I would buy one.

If you like equipment there is cheaper options for you but you just have to do the searching!

I have struggled with this time and time again as I was/am a very career oriented woman.

Looking back:

• I moved away from everything I knew to a state 1800 miles away to start a new career.

• I met my husband who lived 70 miles north of me and moved to him when we got married as he had a daughter who was under 18 and I did not want to take her away from seeing him as much as possible.

• I got married had a baby, quit my job and became a stay at home Mom.

• I LOVE being a stay at home Mom but suffered, and still a bit but better, with my identity as a career woman.

There is my history. I am my worst enemy when it comes to this as the only person who thinks that the identity is/was gone is me.

I have always strived for the degrees and the recognition but never understood that I could be totally fulfilled raising my kids and putting my career on hold.

For the first few years I resented my husband pretty much daily and felt like he took something away from me….my identity. What I have come to realize and am still realizing every day is that he did not take it away I just have a new one and that will change over the years as our kids grow and we all venture into new things.

I have realized as well, about myself that this is mostly a selfish attitude I am portraying. I am worried too much about me and was enjoying the wonderful life that is sitting right in front of me.

I have spent so many so many years focusing on me and my career that I have had a hard to seeing the other side of things.

I have finally started embracing my life, today’s life, and stressing over what I had, or chose, to give up. CHOICE being the key word.

It has taken a while but I am seeing the light and enjoying my kids, my husband, and beginning to celebrating my life!

My neighbor Ann from our old neighborhood decided to buy us a BBQ grill this last weekend, can you believe that?  I tried to tell her no numerous times but in the end we have an awesome new 5 burner grill in our back yard.  I have wanted a grill for years but we are so stinking poor it has not been in the cards.

I love my neighbor Ann, and not just because she buys us things.  She is elderly and I have always checked on her, invited her to parties, Christmas dinner etc.  At first it was only because I was worried, as she has no family around, and I never knew how long it would take out of state family members to know something was wrong in the horrible event that something bad happened.

After a very short time of doing this I had come quite fond of Ann.  She is twice my age but I am my family consider her family and we absolutely love her.

I think buying things is her way of showing appreciation and love. I tell her all the time that is now what she needs to do, but who can tell an 83 year old woman, who is very smart and alert, what to do?

Anyway, I have been grilling everyday and plan on it again tonight!

I love my grill! Plus BBQing instead of frying is so much better for you!

Thanks Ann you rock!

I know, I know! After yesterday, why the heck am I going out again today, right? Well…it is a lot cooler today and I know that it will only benefit me in the long run to walk. Besides my kids love to go so how can I be selfish and not get them some fresh air.

I am getting a bit of cabin fever today and who knows how much walking weather we have left. It is almost mid September.

I think I will go a different route today and see what other destinations I can find. Still do not know everything I am living by!

I am pumped, yah!!

To the woman that helped the Mom out with 2 kids at the post office on stroop road in Kettering, OH, you are my hero and thank you!

I did find the secret big time.

I decided to go for a mile and a half walk, one way, to the post office to mail off some letters that had to be post marked by today.  I made the venture with my two kids in the stroller in 90 degree weather.  I had never walked there before and the map said 1/4 miles so I figured “how hard can that be?”

It was a long humid walk and when  got about .2 miles away from the post office I realized that I totally forgot my wallet.  ARGH!  I only had $7 in the bank but it was going to only cost me about $4 to send what I had to send.  I had just over $1 in change in my pocket.

I decided to just go into the air conditioned post office and see if I cold sent at least one envelope and have them weight the rest and let me know how many stamps to put on them for later that day.

I walked in and there was a woman standing in line in front of me and my daughter said, “my Mommy forgot her wallet at home.”  I was embarrassed that she told her so I quickly said, “I just walked here from shroyer ave and totally forgot my wallet, I was not too smart today.”  I just acted like it was not a big deal and smiled.

Step back:  For the last .2 miles into the post office I told my daughter to say with me “universe, we need $4 to send our mail.”  I looked at every little nook and cranny during that .2 mile walk for any little shiny change I could find. I found nothing and I figured that the universe was not going to answer me.”

Back to the rest of the story:
The nice lady paid for her letter and stepped back while I went up to the counter.  I told the postal worker that I just needed to know prices as I left my wallet at home and I was a 40 minute walk away so if she could write the price on the letters I could purchase stamps and kroger and send them later.

The nice lady came back to the counter and said “please just send the letters I will pay.”  Of course I said “no” but she insisted and handed the postal worker $5.  I just sat there and thought to myself “wow, this is what I have been reading about, the secret.  I asked and I received.”  I thanked the lady and asked for her contact info to pay her back and she just shook her head and said “it’s OK.” and she left.

My letters are sent!

I was a little upset gong into the post office that the universe was not letting me find the money on the ground on the way in but now that I think about it, it had to happen the way it did.  If I would have taken money off the ground then someone else would be missing it and it could possibly mean I was taking the last money they had.  Because the lady gave me the money, she was not going without something important because she would have not paid for it if she couldn’t.

This has been a good day and if I ever run into that wonderful lady again, I am taking you to lunch!

Thanks!

The 3 mile round trip walk seemed uneventful in the beginning but was not so uneventful at all!  The GOOD part, which I am grateful for is that I burned a ton of calories.

It took me an hour and 15 minutes to do it.  It was ridiculously hot and humid and a lot of little up hill inclines.

I got about .2 miles away from the post office and realized that I forgot my wallet.  No kidding!  I finished to the post office and was inside and a very nice woman spotted me the $3.45 to send my mail.  She would not let me get her address to send it back to her.  I wish i knew her name because I would send her a big thanks with the money back and a ton of homemade cookies!

The walk home was hard but in the end we made it back!

Whew, I am hot and tired now!