It's the Little Things: A Good Book, A Blank Canvas, A Silly Straw
Deployments are hard.
Like yesterday when I had big plans to get orders out to the post office and fill my kitchen with food, and I went out to my car to find the battery dead. And then after jump starting it with my neighbor, (picture two girls reading the instruction manuals on the jumper cable box and cringing when we attached the cables to the batteries!), I walked out to the car an hour later with a huge pile of boxes (picture Gus-Gus the mouse from the movie Cinderella) and it wouldn't start.
So it was a fun afternoon trying to get new battery and asking a friend from church to come over and install it for me. Days like that make me miss Chris even more and are just another reminder that he's no here.
It's the little things that get me through the week with a smile. Here are some phone photos of some of those little things this week.
Reading a good book on the beach makes me happy. This day was cloudy and chilly so I was bundled up in a sweatshirt with my toes in the sand and it felt sooo good. I'm reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It's pretty good though I'm not sure it really lives up to the hype it's received.
A roomful of blank canvases is one of the cheeriest sights I could see. My notebooks and my mind are overflowing with ideas for new paintings and I am itching to fill those canvases with happy colors.
Sometimes, ya just gotta drink your water with a crazy straw.
This is slightly embarrassing. A little before and after for you. It's nice to be able to walk around in my own bedroom without tripping all over the place.
Are you reading any good books right now? Can you commiserate with me about that awfully messy bedroom? What are some little things getting you through the week?
I'm right there with you, my bedroom is SO messy, especially when Greg is gone! I am on a mission to get it all cleaned up by Friday! Whoops, that leaves me one day to do it...I better get going! I was happy to help you out today, battery changing was a success!! WE ROCK! I should have taken a picture of you walking out of the autoshop with that heavy new battery..lmao, your too cute! So very happy that you had someone to come and put it in for you and that your going to get to the post office to send off some of your happiness to others, and that you'll be able to fill up your fridge and cabinets with F.O.O.D!! Love ya girl...anytime you need a helping hand...I'm here for you!! XOXO (always)
ReplyDeleteMy job this week is to do laundry- all of it, piles and piles and clean our bedroom.. only one of those things are halfway done, the laundry... I need to clean the bedroom tomorrow! I need a new book too- currently reading "Before I Fall" it's good, but I'm not a big reader. You're paintings are amazing! Hope to win one or buy one soon!:) Enjoy your week!
ReplyDeletea good book and a cup of coffee are always comforting! my heart goes out to you. i would be lost without my hubs by my side every day. you do an amazing job of keeping it all together. and everyone has a messy bedroom now and again:)))
ReplyDeletei'm reading one thousand gifts and its awesome!!!
I'm currently reading 'Water for Elephants'. I'm about halfway through and so far so good. Can't wait for the movie to come out! My bedroom... im not even going to go there [lol].
ReplyDeleteThat view in your beach pic looks amazing. I live in the Florida Panhandle, right by the beach and it's so relaxing to just go there and enjoy the waves and the breeze, although it's Spring Break now and ...ugh... the beach is insanely crowded.
You know, car batteries NEVER die when husbands are home....it's like they know. I just picked up Eat Pray Love from the library, I hope it's good. Also, super yay for blank canvases!!
ReplyDeleteUgh, I miss crazy straws! And I wish I could read a book on the beach right now.
ReplyDeleteI'm on book three "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest" of the Lisbeth Salander trilogy. I had friends that read the first book and hated it, but I liked it. Lots of twists and turns! I think the second book dragged a bit but the third one has a lot going on. Hope you end up liking it!
ReplyDeleteI just finished the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. It has to be my favorite book ever!
ReplyDeleteI just finished the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. It has to be my favorite book ever!
ReplyDeleteI've thought about reading that book so many times. Hmmm . . . maybe I won't now.
ReplyDeleteI totally caved in and bought that painting last night. It was the discount code that sent me over the edge. LOL!
I really understand the deployment part of your post. Although my husband is currently on shore duty, he spent 5 years (and 2 long deployments) on sea duty! Things definitely waited to break until just shortly after he had gone out to sea.
ReplyDeleteI also *totally* relate with you on the bedroom mess. Yours looks great now! Mine has somehow become the storage area after I lost my spare bedroom to my now 2 year old! Ugh!
Can't wait to see what new paintings you come up with!
Oh my gosh look at all those beautiful canvases!
ReplyDeletethat pic of blank canvases is super inspiring! did i ever tell you i paint too? i just never have time :( my fiance always tells me i need to pick it up again esp since sewing has become more of a job and i need some "refreshing" art to do. oh well. maybe after CE i can start painting again. i do miss it!
ReplyDeleteas for books, i'm reading "beautiful creatures." i dont have a review on it cuz im not yet half way through it - but its def intriguing! did you read the maze runner/scorch trials? those are so good!! not as good as "hunger games" but def still good.
okay, excuse me for the longest comment ever. i'm done. ;)
Right now I'm reading Love The One You're With by Emily Giffin. It's a total guilty pleasure, as are her other three books, but I think that's just perfect for this week when Chris is gone and I'm home alone!
ReplyDeleteThe Girl with the Dragon Tattoo takes a while to get into, so it can be slow at times. Keep on trucking, it's a pretty good read! I recommend the next book too: The Girl that Played with Fire.
ReplyDeleteoh my!! that is a lot of canvases!! and you are too cute w/ that straw!!
ReplyDeleteMy bedroom is just scary at the moment. I feel somewhat justified, since we got off the plane from Oahu at 11pm Sunday and we were both back at work at 8am Monday, and have spent every night since at the hospital, as my boyfriend's mom just had major surgery - but still. It's BAD. I'm hoping to have it back together in the next couple of nights.
ReplyDeleteMy last book finished was Vanished by Tess Gerritsen - she's a great fictional crime writer if you like that genre. I also thought of Here Today, Gone To Maui by Carol Snow- it's a fun little book with a Hawaiian setting, which you may enjoy.
Hoping for a better day for you!
I know exactly how you feel when it comes to car troubles and he's not there to help :( A few weeks ago my car wouldn't start & I was in downtown seattle. Jumping it wouldn't work & I was stranded... I had to have it towed & spent $$$ to fix it, all on my own. It's a scary thing for a girl to do by herself, eekkkkk! On a brighter note, how wonderful to see all the little joys in life that we sometimes miss amongst the chaos. Happy painting, look at all those canvases! :)
ReplyDeleteEvery time I have a "where's Andrew when I need him" moment, it makes me thankful that we're so perfectly compatible. He's my partner, you know? God is good like that :)
ReplyDeleteHey Linds, My living room is currently equivelant to your bedroom. Laundry on the couch, toys all over the floor, sewing spewed all over the dinning room table.. we are messy. My little things are my morning cup of coffee, adding accessories to my outfit, driving in my car, and wearing my turquoise flats. Love your blog and can't wait to meet you at Creative Estates. Im also @nmilkie on twitter...fyi :)
ReplyDeleteDon't things always seem to go wrong when the hubbies are gone!?!I am very familiar with that! Right now I'm starting Project Simplify over at simplemom.net... I'm in much need of decluttering! As for books... reading The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe. I'm a sucker for period pieces and Gothic romances :)
ReplyDeletei like your fingernail polish. :-)
ReplyDeletethankfully, i'm a weirdo and clean my room every week {dust vaccum and put away clothes/general cleaning}, so that's not an issue. :) but consider this a virtual pat on the back for a job well done!!
ReplyDeleteI use the closet in the guest bedroom, so the guest bed is always piled high with my stuff and clothes. I get around to cleaning it up and organizing when we have company. However ... my hubs gets the closet in our bedroom, and I hound all the time to clean up, put his clothes away. Hardly seems fair huh?! Haha.
ReplyDeleteLove the silly straw pic!
Maegan :)
I have read TGWTDT as well as the 2nd one... I'm in the middle of the 3rd one and it's been hard to finish! I enjoy them but they are so hard to read. I am reading The Glass Castle right now and LOVE it.
ReplyDeletep.s. I'm a new reader - love your blog!
I am also reading the girl with the dragon tattoo. I am about half way thru. It is a little slow at first, but I am getting into it. Hope you reach 500!
ReplyDelete