Spring Break Weekend

I've technically been on spring break for the past week.  It's not nearly as exciting when you're still working full time, but them's the breaks.  

Anywhoozles, we did have ourselves a tropical night on Friday so I could pretend I was somewhere far away and warm.  We had surf and turf kabobs (made on our George Foreman grill), our normal tropical salad with homemade pineapple vinaigrette dressing, and some tropical style drinks.  Our tropical movie selection for the night was Joe Versus the Volcano, which is a fantastic little movie, if not all that tropical (they're only on the island for a bit toward the end of the movie, but oh well).  All in all, a good night was had. 

Our original plans for Saturday were to go exploring around Cedarburg for the afternoon, since it was a recent feature in the paper's "Weekend Getaway" part of the Travel section.  But, we woke up to find that the weather wasn't being so cooperative.  22-28 mph winds, some rain, many clouds...  Boo.  

Instead, we went to IHOP for breakfast and then went to Menards to shop for a bit.  Not exactly a romantic day together, but still fun.  I had the Nutella crepes at IHOP, with the bananas and strawberries and whipped cream... OMG, so good.  I also go a side order of turkey bacon, which I LOVE.  We also had our favorite waiter there (not that we're regulars; we just happened to have him the last time we were there, which was probably January).  This guy is awesome.  Seriously!  He has a positive attitude about everything, and his memory must be phenomenal.  He took our orders (didn't write them down) and then went to chat with the table behind us for a bit, and I kept thinking, shit, something is going to get fucked up.  Either Hubby's eggs will be wrong or I won't get my turkey bacon or something.  But I should've remembered just how awesome he is, because he came out later with our order just as perfect as could be.  At the end of the meal, he handed me the check and said, "You're married; I know who has the money here!  I'm married and have 4 kids - I don't get to see any money!"  We joked about how he doesn't get asked about his day when he gets home, just how much money he made for the day.  The thing is, maybe I'm completely naive, but I really just think he's trying to have fun with his customers, not trying to get sympathy or extra tips.  He really just seems like a good guy who's making the best out of life.  It's inspiring to me, and so that's how I choose to see it.  

Menards was...  Menards.  You have to understand that I hated...  No...  I loathed Menards growing up.  It was the most boring place on Earth.  No contest.  The only things there that kept me from going insane were the doorbell section (I loved the different noises they all made) and the door section (where I would open and close doors, wandering through them like it was some kind of maze for me to get through).  When I got a little older, I would just bring my Walkman in with me and listen to my cassette tapes while we wandering through the store.  My parents (or, more specifically, my father) were always looking at the most boring things, and music kept me entertained.  These days, I actually don't mind Menards, but I still hold some of that resentment.  I mean, I was clearly old enough at some points to have stayed home by myself for an hour or two, but instead my parents dragged me along to Hell.  Maybe they thought the torture was character-building.  Who knows.  

Anywhoozles, we ended up watching most of the Band of Brothers marathon on Spike last night while we cuddled on the couch and ate our dinner.  Hubby got the grill out last night for our steaks.  The first grill of the season was definitely a success.  Man, I love a good rib-eye on the grill!  Droooooooool.  

Today, the hubs is off to help his dad get some things done, so it's just me and the pooch.  I'm sure I'll end up doing fascinating things like laundry or homework or sleeping.  No matter what, I had a great weekend. :-)  

Dare I Ask?

The following Twitter post from Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) made my day:

On its way. I want a pic! RT @ClayMatthews52 Hey Ellen, we want to know when we can expect our "Special Ellen Underwear" & my new helmet??

What in the world did I miss on Ellen?!

If Clay Matthews is modeling random Ellen underoos, I want need to see!  

(Shhhh, don't tell my husband...)

;-)

Christmas Time Is Here

Time for joy and cheer?  One can only hope.

I find the few days leading up to Christmas to be both exciting and dreadful at the same time. 

Exciting: Everyone's getting into the holiday spirit!  Lights and trees are up, presents are getting wrapped, cookies are being baked...  It's fun to get caught up in it and remember Christmases past. 

Dreadful: Constant worrying about whether I forgot to send a card to Great Aunt What's-Her-Name or didn't get the right gift for little cousin What's-His-Bucket.  Also, the concern of whether I have enough time and energy to pull everything off is exhausting to think about, let alone do.

But, all this aside, it really can be a great time of year.  I guess the best thing to do is try to push the negative thoughts aside for now and deal with them when they come up.  For now, I must focus on the good!  And fortunately, the good means cookies.  

Mmmmm... cookies.

My Bad... I Guess?

It's just after 8 and already today has left a bad taste in my mouth.  Fantastic.

You see, I tend to take things very personally, and this morning I have already felt attacked, even though I'm sure it was meant to be anything but an attack.  Let me explain.

I am notoriously pessimistic.  I am Eeyore personified.  Well, at least, I used to be.  You see, I'm on a medication called Fluoxetine, aka generic Prozac.  I'm not ashamed of that.  I don't try to hide it.  In fact, I bring it up sometimes to joke about it or be thankful for it!  

I remember I used to hate that I needed medication to be "normal" and I even tried a few times to live without taking the meds (which, for the record, turned out to be a poor idea - who knew?).  Then my mom and I had (roughly) this conversation:

Mom: What do you dislike about it?
Me: I hate being dependent on something just to be normal.
Mom: I see...  Well, are you dependent on your glasses?

Me: Well, yeah, I guess.  But that's different!

Mom: How?  You need the glasses to see normally, right?  You wouldn't just stop wearing them because you didn't like it.

Me: Uh, no.  That'd be pretty dumb.

Mom: Right.  So why is depending on them to live any different than depending on medication?

Me: Um...  Huh...

In my mind, the meds had been more like crutches, easing me back to recovery.  But in reality, they're just as necessary as my glasses or my inhaler.  I depend on these things to live the best life I can, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Anywhoozles, I digress (or digest, for you Family Guy fans).  My point is I used to be the poster child for depression, pessimism, and anything else moody like that.  People who have known me for awhile remember this and, sometimes, still think of me that way.  Which means when I try to be optimistic, people often think I'm being sarcastic or just plain rude. 

And that...  Ooh, that rubs me the wrong way.  I take it very personally when people think I'm incapable of looking at the positive side of things or being in any way optimistic.  Really?  Do you all think I'm that horrible?  Thanks, that's really reassuring.  I feel awesome now.  Woo.

So, as you can see, things that aren't meant to be attacks can sometimes feel like attacks to me.  I get defensive and my pessimistic former self starts creeping back.  The sarcasm thickens, the mood darkens, and it takes everything I have not to lash out.  

Here's a thought - try giving people the benefit of the doubt. Oddly enough, sometimes they really do change; sometimes for the better!  If a friend or coworker or family member or neighbor does or says something out of character, and it's a GOOD change, go with it.  Don't question it.  Don't assume it's a fluke or that it's meant to mock.  Have a little optimism.  It goes a long way.