Category: A Better Me

The Break Up

It’s not about doing the things you love,
it’s about doing things with the one you love!

If this phrase doesn’t just speak to you, you are not ready to be in any serious relationship. I know, I’m sounding a bit negative in my opening statement and I don’t really mean to…I just don’t know any other way to put it out there.

I just saw a movie that absolutely spoke to me. It was the “story of my life” for the past several years. (I think I’m done with cliches now.)

In The Break Up, Brooke & Gary are having great times together (or so it seems) until it all blows up one night. She says that he’s not invested in their relationship, he says he works hard. The problem is, they have a different definition of what makes a relationship strong and successful. In opening montages, you see them meet, get together, move in together and you see their lives evolve. *I really enjoyed how the main characters were developed and you connect with them but it doesn’t take half the damn movie!* Then, we come to this one night that I mentioned earlier and they break up; problem is, they own this condo together.

Brooke & Gary really have two completely different backgrounds – he is a “family business” kinda guy and she is well educated and works at an art gallery – and I could really see how this caused riffs in their relationship. He liked to go to sporting events, play video games on his big TV and the main focus of his social time seemed to be drinking. She wanted to periodically go to the ballet or take dancing lessons or have a nice dinner party but always seemed to give in to whatever he wanted to do.

Okay, I’m starting to spoil the movie. Fact is, I could really relate to the characters in this story. When Jim & I broke up, it was much like this. I loved him still but we just had such different needs in our lives at the time. By the time we were maybe ready to work on putting the pieces back together, they didn’t seem to be from the same puzzle anymore. It really hurt, and for a long time. Honestly, it was probably the most serious relationship I’d ever have. I think when I have moments that I’m sad and lonely, it’s not necessarily that I miss him (although, he is a great guy…just not for me), I miss what we had when things were really in their peak. Have I let the good one get away? I don’t think so. Somewhere, there’s a person who holds the piece from the same puzzle.

Anyways, YES, it’s a chick flick but that shouldn’t keep guys from going to see it if you really want a view into what a woman is thinking and wants. BUT, you must NOT watch it from the point of view of the jackass bartender…even though he is HILLARIOUS! This is a very funny movie, even with its serious topic. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Okay, I’ve gotta go take out the trash and dig all the Whoppers out of the bottom of my purse. 🙂

Soup

I know it’s summer and all but there’s something about making soup that is very nurturing to me. See, I’ve had a real bad case of allergies like I’ve never had before. Half my face and parts of my legs and arms have broken out in hives in the last two days. My dad & I are working to heal it wholistically and although it’s a process that takes longer than conventional medicines, I end up feeling better and more importantly, being better in the long run. These hives are coming from the new environment of this house and I’m sure the relief of a lot of stress I’ve been under the last few months (or even year) also helps a body release whatever toxins it’s been holding in.

So, soup. I went on a fruit and water fast for the past 24 hours and once it was up, I really felt like having soup. I had a few chicken legs in the freezer and decided that I was going to make myself some chicken soup. I cut an onion, carrots, and boiled the chicken until if fell off the bone. My house smells so good right now!

The swelling has gone down quite a bit but I still look like a wreck. I feel much better, although I haven’t eaten any soup yet. I guess making it was as good for my soul as eating it will be.

So, keep good thoughts coming my way as I get used to the new house. This too, shall pass.

A Trip to New Home Mecca

I’ve been looking for a new desk for my office and I’ve really had not much luck. I wanted a desk that was sleek but not industrial. I actually had found one at Office Depot online that I went to look at in the store to find that “Yuck no thank you,” was my immediate reaction. Cathy suggested that we go to IKEA so yesterday, we made the trip to the Mecca of furniture and other household stuff. There’s quite a few different rooms we went through before we got to the office furniture section and I found quite a few things I’ve put on my wish list for future trips or web shopping or even when the Round Rock store opens in 2007 and I think so did Cathy.

We entered the office furniture section and there it was:

We walked around the desk area a bit more, just to make sure but yup, that one was it…and, it was in stock!! So I wrote down the aisle/bin numbers and we moved to the next section – bedrooms.

I have never really had proper bedroom furniture and now that I own this house, I’d really like something a bit more adult-like. I’d really like my bedroom to have a Japanese feel and I think my mom is going to arrange for her mom’s dresser to be shipped here, if my cousin isn’t using it. How cool would that be??? I think I found the bed I want as well:

IKEA doesn’t have the highest quality of furniture but I really like the sleek lines and simplicity in their furniture and it’s not crap. I walked through Ashley Furniture the other day and everything was just so ornate and trendy. I couldn’t imagine spending that much money for something I’d be sick of so quickly. Oh well. So, I think the will be my next big purchase.

Coming home was quite an adventure itself. After measuring and trying to fit the desktop in the Honda at different angles and even some nice man offered to put it in his pickup if we were going to the same area he was (turns out Austin wasn’t quite his destination), we decided that I was going to have to ship it home, or so I thought. I took the desktop back inside only to be told that having it delivered would cost me $175 after tax!!! But, they could easily tie it to the roof of my car and it would be fine. “To Austin?” I said. “No problem, we just stacked a bunch of boxes on top of a car that was going to Mexico. There was a couch we strapped on top of a car last night.” Okay, so I let him strap it to the top of the Honda. I trusted him only because he was Asian 😉 ….

I’ll have to say that I’m very impressed how well he strapped it. That sucker didn’t move!

Such a fun trip…I just can’t wait until they open the IKEA here! I might need to start a savings account just for that grand opening!

What to do, what to do?

Friends & general readers of Bigbenford.com, I need your help. As I put my house together (MY HOUSE!!!!), I know I’m going to come across questions in which I’ll need opinions on and I trust that you’ll input your always helpful opinions (yes, even you, Ed). At this time, I have two questions:

1. Where do you store your cookbooks? I’ve had them on a shelf next to the kitchen for a long time but now, I don’t want to do that but it seems like there’s not a great place to keep them. I’m almost thinking pantry but I think if I did that, I’d have to modify one of the shelves so the covers/pages wouldn’t slip through.

2. I have a 20″ Hitachi monitor I’m not sure what to do with. I’ve had it for several years and I’m really pretty much all laptop now so the use of a monitor is not necessary. I have a tower that I’d like to rebuild at some point but it’s not a priority any more. If I keep the monitor, I don’t want it sitting in my office until I’m ready to use it. Should I sell the monitor or store it in the garage or what?

Okay, those are today’s challenge questions. Thanks for your help now and in the future.