Tag Archives: Roommate

5 Funniest Moments

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I'm sticking my tongue out like the snake. I remember doing it every time we saw this snake at the zoo.

Not only were there serious moments in the last 5 years, but there were some funny ones as well.

Here are 5 of my favorites…

1. When toilet stall selection became one of the most discussed post on my blog. Definitely didn’t see it making the big time…

2. When my then roommate, current roommate, and I found $110 in a bush. Still a topic of lively discussion. You bet I looked in that bush every time I walked by it…not so much as a penny.

3. When I saw a man blowing bubbles in traffic. I still don’t get it.

4. When the boy I babysit yelled, “It ate its butt!” throughout the neighborhood.

5. All my crazy dreams, including the one that got me interviewed for the Washington Post.

Overall, I’m very happy with what’s happened in the last 5 years. I still enjoy blogging and look forward to seeing where I go in the next 5 years.

27 Things at 27

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Continuing the birthday-eve tradition of 26 things and 25 things, here are 27 things that I’ve done at the age of 27:

1.  Saw Phantom of the Opera.

2.  Saw my baby brother marry the best woman for him.

3.  Was a bridesmaid (and a maid of honor) for the first time(s).

4.  Got buried in snow in North Carolina for the first time.

5.  Watched Gone with the Wind.

6.  Added a second tax site at work.

7.  Met a US congressman…who got voted out in the most recent election.

8.  Read several books that really influenced me.

9.  Started making serious progress on making my life better for creation.

10.  Saved a (very small) emergency savings, and kept it.

11.  Left apartment life behind (though I was sad to part ways with my roommate of 3 years).

12.  Grew my first vegetable garden with moderate success.

13.  Went on my first overnight work trip.

14.  Got my car wrecked by an anonymous drunk, angry driver.

15.  Went to kids’ camp for the first time as an adult and loved it.

16.  Have finished my 5th year at my job…by far the longest I’ve worked anywhere.

17.  Helped my roommate through the first homeowner’s crisis I’ve ever dealt with: the death of a water heater.

18.  Vlogged for the first time.

19.  Got my game on, competing with friends in a diet and exercise competition.  The first time was helpful, the second time, not so much.

20.  Switched from teaching Sunday school to kindergarteners to helping with the 5th and 6th grade class.

21.  Had my first solo vacation and loved it.

22.  Voted for my first Democrats.

23.  Helped with the first ever Readathon for Hunger.

24.  Wrote a novel.

25.  Decorated my first full-sized Christmas tree not in my parents’ home.

26.  Read 164 books.

27.  Traveled to Atlanta, Wichita, Myrtle Beach, Norman, Charlotte, Roanoke, Denison (Texas, 2x), Kansas City, small town Kansas, and the middle of nowhere.

Decorating Fun

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It’s that time of year, and I’m almost in that mood, too.  While I can’t believe that it’s actually Christmastime again, I’m glad it’s here.

For many different reasons, this year is the first year of my adult life that I’ve all-out decorated for Christmas.

So I was super excited Sunday night to set up our tree and get some other decorations up.  Another big change for me is that the tree (yes, that’s our actual tree…isn’t it pretty?) is a live tree.  I have vague memories of a live tree when I was really young, but other than that, this is my first experience with a live tree.

I’m pretty good with live plants, but this is more like hospice, trying to make the tree’s days merry and comfortable so it can finish its days in peace.

So if it dies within a week, at least I can say I tried.

Between my roommate and I, we have quite the random assortment of ornaments.  I’m thankful that my parents’ let me pick out an ornament each year growing up, but I must admit I had some strange tastes, from an elf stringing popcorn to a bee sitting in an arm chair.  I guess that’s the making of special memories.

The Great Water Heater Adventure of 2010

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This has been an interesting week (and we’re only halfway through).

Monday evening as I was leaving my first time back at the pool in way too long, I checked my phone and saw I read this text from my roommate:

major issues…hot water heater overflowed & it’s leaking into hall

My response?

i’ll be home soon…running back into the pool to shower.

Priorities, right?  It wasn’t like I could go to work the next day without having showered in 2 days and with chlorine still in my hair.  I’m sure I’d be pretty rank.

Upon hearing the *drip* *drip* coming from upstairs, my roommate went upstairs to discover that the water heater overflowed.

[Sidenote: Why do we call it a *hot* water heater?  It's really heating cold water to make it hot water, right?]

She heard the drip upstairs because the water heater is in the ATTIC.

Whose idea was THAT?  ”Well, we don’t want to use this closet as it’s a good place to put coats.  I know, let’s put the 40-gallon tank of water in the attic!  That way, if something happens, it can do a lot of damage.”

By the time it was caught, the water had leaked through the attic “floor” (okay, just plywood), parts of the hallway ceiling and a bit into my ceiling and wall, too.  It had been leaking for a while, apparently.  A 3′ x 6′ section of hallway carpet was thoroughly soaked.  We filled up 8 towels worth of water before a friend came over with a carpet cleaner, which sucked up another gallon of water…and then it took another 36 hours of a fan on it to dry.

Thankfully, my roommate was paying attention, because the damage could have been much worse.

We thought we finally had it under control (even after we turned the water back on), when I see another drip from the ceiling.  What we thought was controlled apparently wasn’t…my roommate had to get up every 2 hours during the night in order to empty out the water (with a small juice glass and a couple of large bowls).

I, like a clueless new father, slept through the night, not even waking as she pulled down the attic ladder each time near my bedroom door.

I wasn’t entirely unhelpful, as I worked from home while the plumbers installed the new water heater so that she could go in to work to finish preparing for the first day of school.

By mid-afternoon Tuesday, we had a new water heater and could turn the water back on.  I tell you, it’s so weird to go without water when you’re used to it.  Made me thankful that I’m blessed to have clean water and indoor plumbing.

I’d be lying if this didn’t remind me a bit of my apartment fire 3 years ago this week.  I think it was using the same towels to mop up the water and throwing them in the same dryer (my current roommate bought the washer/dryer from a former roommate who is also her former roommate…yeah, we get around).

Though this was obviously a pain (and not a fun cost to incur to my still-new-to-homeownership roomie), it could have been much worse.  I’m glad that it happened when it did, and not a day later, the night before school starts.  What a nightmare that would have been!

Game On!

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Ever since I heard about the Game On! Diet on Twitter, I knew that I’d have to play.  Anyone who knows me in real life (and has had the pleasure of playing a game with me) knows I’m a wee bit competitive.

So what better way to establish good health and life habits in a competitive way than to play a game?

So, my roommate and I are each captaining a team (there’s 9 of us total)in this 4-week game.  There has been a little trash talk going on…that’s just who we are.

You can follow the link above if you want to know more about how the Game On! Diet works (we’ve customized it a little bit–particularly the food portion), but basically you get points for food choices, water, exercise, sleep, and replacing a bad habit with a good one.

It’s exactly the motivation I need to make these changes…and not just for the 4 weeks.

So all I’ve got to say is: Game On.

My team is totally winning.

Photo by ohnoitscoco

Book Review: Another Place at the Table by Kathy Harrison

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Yep, another non-fiction review.  It’s about all I’m reading these days.

When my intentionally-illiterate roommate was excited about finding a memoir to read, I immediately took her to our small branch library (if I didn’t think that she would have slapped me, I might have forced her shoes on her feet just to get her there before she changed her mind).  While it didn’t have any of the titles that were recommended to her (by me or any one else) on hand, she browsed the shelf, picking up several.

Another Place at the Table was the one that stuck.

It’s the story of Kathy Harrison and her family as they grow their family through adoption and foster care.  Though I still haven’t written the post on it, I’m a huge fan of adoption, so when my roommate enjoyed it, I knew I wanted to read it next.

It reads about how you expect (many heart-breaking stories of abuse balanced out with many touching moments), but it was very good.  Reminds me that being a foster parent is HARD but worth it.

There are hundreds (thousands?) of children in my area who don’t have someone to love them.  I want to do that.  While I’m not in a position right now, I’m working on getting myself there.  Sure, this means denying myself (which I’ll admit I don’t usually enjoy).  But I have a great example in my Savior for this, don’t I?

As she said, ”We could have had more time and more stuff [if we hadn't been foster parents], but I don’t believe we would have been any happier.” (p. 126)

I definitely recommend this book.

Moving Moving Moving Weekend

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The move in bullets:

  • I love that the word “moving” can mean many different things.
  • Six vehicles and six adults make for quick work – everything was moved in an hour and a half (especially when you add in two capable boys).  Love that my church family loves me (and I love them!).
  • Most of that work was not done by me or my roommate (and yes, she’d readily admit that).
  • I was so tired Sunday (after having a bad night of sleep before the move and then all of the moving/unpacking) that I tried putting on a shirt that was still on the hanger.
  • The highlight of my weekend was learning that my reading chair in fact does fit comfortably in my bedroom (as illustrated below).
  • I LOVE my pretty blue room!

The move in pictures (okay, just my new  bedroom and bathroom):

The view as you enter my room:

Those our blackout curtains behind the fluffy pretty ones:

My reading chair!:

The rest of my flower pictures:

And my bathroom (which my roommate decorated, but I really like!).  I love how it downplays that yellow…the same yellow that was in my bedroom before we agreed to paint it the pretty blue:

It’s Finally Here

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Tonight will be my last night to sleep in my apartment.

While the big move is happening on Saturday morning, I’m taking advantage of my future roommate’s hospitality by not staying the night in my already-packed apartment.  I love the flexibility in this move (I’ve been bringing little stuff over for weeks).

As of this weekend, I’ll no longer be an apartment-dweller.

It feels like this move has been a long time coming.  I suppose that’s because I’ve known the whens and wheres of the move since last August.

As sad as it is to leave my roommate of 3 years, I’m ready for the change.  Living with Jen will be different, for sure.  It will take some adjusting for both of us.  It will force me to be less of a hermitess.

But yay for new beginnings!

The Cheeses Stand Alone

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wedding_rosesFor obvious reasons, I’ve been thinking about weddings a lot.  Not about my own dream wedding, but about making that type of commitment to one man, for the rest of my life.

A former roommate (and current blog reader), Cindy, would have phrase she’d say when she’d come home from yet another of her friends’ weddings.  “The cheese stands alone.”  You know, from “Farmer in the Dell?”  Everyone else gets picked, but the cheese stands alone.

As much as there is  joy and happiness in seeing a good friend get married, there is some loneliness in being left behind.  We’re social creatures, and I believe that we’re designed for marriage.  That desire within me is good and right…as long as marriage stays in its place, not taking the throne of my heart.

I often say that I’m okay with being single, as long as I’m not the only one.  When I take the time to count my blessings instead of crying over my losses, I do realize that I have a sweet life now.  Many of my favorite things about my life would be changed if I were no longer single.  It seems like I have to remind myself over and over to enjoy them now while I have them.

But yet part of me worries about being the last one married (or never married at all).  What if all my friends get married?  They all want to be married, so of course I want that for them as well.  But selfishly, I want at least a couple of them to stay unmarried at least for as long as I am.

As my roommate rode with me on our way back from Georgia and heard me tell the story of what Cindy would say.  Her response?

“The cheeseS stand alone.”

Indeed.  Why do I worry about the possibility of being the only one of my friends still single?  That’s not where God has me yet, and may never have me.  And if that’s where He wants me, He’ll give me the grace to endure it.

So maybe the cheese doesn’t stand alone after all.

Photo by orangeacid

Can Today Just Be Normal?

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I’ve enjoyed every day of celebration, but I am now thoroughly exhausted. If every day is special, I suppose no day is, right? My birthday was by no means bad (really), but it didn’t have the usual “special” feel, either because now I’m an adult or because the last few days have been all about me, too.
This was my first birthday that I did not stay up to see it come. My 11:15 bedtime Sunday night was just fine…I was tired after having to get up way early Sunday morning to take my parents the airport.
After waking up yesterday and reading my birthday cards, I went off to a normal day of work. I always try to wait to open my cards until the big day to make it feel more special. One of the cards almost made me cry, too.
After work, I went home to three crazy friends. We ordered Chinese and played the 1996 version of Compatibility, roommates vs. roommates (we lost and now have to cook them dinner). Then it was time for cake…ice cream cake! I always wanted to have ice cream cake on my birthday, but my mom told me no one would want it in the winter so I never had it. My brother, whose birthday is in July, often had ice cream cake for his birthday. That was definitely a special treat!

Speaking of deprived in childhood (okay, I was never really deprived), we then went to the movie store to rent a movie. Nothing really stood out (except HSM 2…but my friends had not seen the first one yet, so I just rented it to see later in the week), but then I saw Clueless. Perfect. I’m not sure how this happened, but I never saw Clueless. Until now.
After the movie, I of course crashed as it was past midnight and I’m old. Thus, the end of my birthday.
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