discoveries

I hope I am always learning something new, well into my old age. This morning I asked Chris to tell me a story from his childhood. We've gotten to that point where we can pretty much read each other like a wide open book--I miss learning about him. So he told me about baseball camp.

Anyway, here are some new discoveries I've made in the last few weeks.

1. Running is ... fun?
Yes, 'tis true. Running can be really fun. And running outdoors is even more fun because you can go on web sites like this, map out a course, and tell yourself all day, "This is the path I will run." You psych yourself into it all day long, looking at the course, memorizing the streets. And when you're finally running the course, you surprise yourself (wow I'm already at this point of the course!?), and you keep pushing yourself by saying, "I said I would do this, and I'm going to do it." And then when you finish, you look back and say, look at all that distance I ran! And every day you make the course a little bit longer. It's fun!

(photo chris took of the Army Ten Miler starting line. I'm somewhere in there, listening to JayZ's The Ruler's Back, getting amped up to run 10 miles!)

2. Friday Night Lights is ... fun!
Have you all seen this fantastic show? I'm seriously hooked. When it first came out I was kind of like ... eh, not that interested. But my good friend Gillian kept telling me to start watching it and so I did and now I'm well into season one and am such a huge fan. Also, I went to school with Gaius Charles (the black player named "smash"). Highly recommend!


3. If you go out, you spend money. Not so fun.
I've been spending way too much money. Wowzers. And it's mostly on food! How ridiculous is that? I am vowing to stay in more, cook for myself more, and do fun indoor things like read my gazillion magazines that I subscribe to. Geez Jeans. You spend the money on them and everything. Least you can do is give them a gander.

4. Handmade soap is fun.
I found this soap maker at DC's annual Crafty Bastards Art Fair (another occasion where going out=spending money). Her soap smelled so good I couldn't resist buying two bars. At $6 a pop, that's a lot to spend on soap! But every night when I lather up with the "fluffy pajamas" bar, I can't help but think ... sooooooo worth it. Here's her etsy shop, 8th Street Soap.

(the scent of this soap is seriously like "comfort food" for the nostrils)

5. Hanging out with people unlike you is really fun.
There are times when I feel out of place. Like when I hang out with my college friends and suddenly realize I'm the only minority. Or when I go to a work meeting and also realize I'm the only minority. Or when I go to a church and it's mostly wealthy white people. BUT I think putting yourself in those kinds of situations is good for you, and really fun. Last week I went on retreat with the other editors and we sat around telling stories. Their life experiences are so unlike mine. If I let it get to me, it could really bug me how different I am from them. But I learn so much that the time spent becomes this great cultural exchange. It's fun!

6. New boots. Really fun.
I've been looking for new black boots because my old ones leak when it rains. I decided to get these lovely babies. They were a pretty penny (there goes the whole saving money thing), more than I'd ever spend on shoes, but when I think about them coming in the mail, I get rather excited. FUN!