Just Because I Can

If you might recall - and you probably will not - last summer with Ryan was AWESOME. We did tons of things, along with planning our wedding. This summer has also been fun, but I have had a lot of down time. A whole lot. And just to make myself feel a little bit better about just hangin' around, I thought I would make a list of things I have gotten to do, either on my own or with Ryan or another family member.

I have....

Read things like this:

I really love Lisa See's books. The characters in her books (that I have read) are Chinese, so they are heavy on the culture of that society. I find it extremely interesting.

Watched things like this:

OK, so Madeline is a little below my maturity level. But who cares when it is nostalgic to a level that is out of this world? I watched this with my sister, and it was wonderful.

I started watching Gilmore Girls during its first season, when I was 16. My mom and I both really like it, so we watch episodes during the day while our husbands are working.

Oh, Harry Potter. You have come to an end. But an amazing one! What a fantastic movie!!! I thought about it for like 2 days afterwards.

Ate things like this:

Fruity Pebbles. Oh my. Such deliciousness. Yes, they may get excruciatingly soggy in milk, but again with the nostalgia. It was mine and Crystal's most favoritist cereal when we were kids, but we only got it for our birthdays. Now that I'm all grown up, I don't get it anymore, and I don't buy those kind of cereals for myself, so I thought a cute little treat would suffice until I have kids that will fall in love with them too.

Barbecued things like this:

Our new favorite way to eat corn.

Constructed things like this:

Before we got married, we made a gargantuan list of things to accomplish around our townhouse. We managed to do a large majority of it, but now there's a few things to do before we move (someday...stupid short sale). Sanding and repainting our upstairs hallway banister was one of those things. Some person who previously lived here took the easy route by just painting over the stained wood. I wouldn't have known better either, but Ryan has taught me that this is bad. Paint + Stain = Smeary Paint - Attractive Finish. Since I am currently technically unemployed, I set to the task of fixing it up. It took 4 days with a total of 5-6 hours of sanding, 3ish hours of painting (4 coats), 1 1/2 hours of removing/replacing the bolts, and 30 minutes of clean up time. It was a little exhausting, and a lot of work, but we really love the finished product. Which is, of course, the absolute best part of doing anything like this. It's also very satisfying to know that I did 95% of the work. I wish I would have taken some before and during pictures, but at least you get to see the banister in all its "after" glory.

Acquired things like this:

Turns out all that sanding (read: vibrating and putting a lot of pressure on my wrist) was not enjoyed in the least by my poor little arm/wrist/hand. It took me a few mornings of waking up with tingly hands, an achy right forearm, and 3 numb fingers to figure out what the heck was up. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome found its way into my life. I borrowed a brace from my mom to see if it would help at all. After not waking up with that weird pain anymore, but still being incapable of gripping things, turning my wrist, or cutting my own chicken, I decided to invest in my own. My dad named my mom's brace "Cyborg Hand" so mine will be "Cyborg Hand Junior".

Saw nature do things like this:

June produced some amazing hail and thunderstorms!! It was my favorite part of the day, and this summer I did not have a huge undying need to lay out in the sun to tan, so I actually enjoyed the storms instead of getting mad.

Those are just a few of my many down-time activities. Now I have this to look forward to!:

This is a shot of the view from the beach resort that Ryan and I will be staying at in Mexico (Playa del Carmen, specifically) August 13-20 to celebrate our one-year anniversary. So if you need us during that time, too bad.

Ta ta!