Record a Duet with David: The Grouch Anthem (Alternate Title: How I Became an Emotional Wreck)

Story Number 1: I decided to record the Grouch Anthem with David to submit to a Jim Henson Cover Project found on Facebook. (It's not a traditional duet, but we're both singing, so I'm counting it as a list item). (Ain't No Road Too Long, also from Follow that Bird, would have been a better a duet but it has to be submitted by March 1st, so time constraints meant Grouch Anthem won out). We started recording last night, and don't worry, I will definitely post the finished results, but we're not quite there yet.

Story Number 2: Friday night I was getting food with some friends before going to see Everything is Terrible at the Loft, and I had been talking about how my classes were going, and recently quitting smoking, and one of my friends remarks that I am having "an awesome year".

...and it's true, I am pretty much having an awesome year. I quit smoking, I started grad school which I've been talking about FOREVER, I have a job I like and that I do well, I have some awesome friends and even more-awesome husband; by all accounts, things are pretty much great.

At this point you may be wondering if I am just writing this blog just to brag. Don't worry, that's not the case. My point, and the reason I started with Story Number 1, is that I have been turning into an emotional roller coaster. At home, it's the grouch anthem, all the time. All of the aforementioned positive changes are in fact positive, but it doesn't mean they're not changes. And apparently I no longer adapt to change as well as I have previously.

At home we're working on de-cluttering and organizing. We're brainstorming different ideas for storage, etc. and I burst into tears. "Why do you disagree with everything I suggest?!?" I say through tears.

I go to the two costume shops in town to look for a 1920's dress for a themed murder mystery party I'm throwing myself for my birthday. I don't find the exact type of dress (a non fringe evening type dress) and they don't really have anything in my size. More tears.  "I just want a pretty dress!" (I found one at Ross. Also: found my 80's prom dress. Total cost? $50! Score!)

I could go on, but I've basically been ridiculous. Not just with the tears either. I've gotten snappy, my irritability threshold is way way down, and I've just been generally out of sorts. And when friends ask me how I've been, I haven't been admitting any of this. I focus on the positive, that the grades I'm getting have been good (even though I'm 3 chapters behind in reading), that I've made it to my yoga class 5 out of the past 6 weeks (even though the other 6 days of the week I'm not active at all), and so on.

Anyhow, the point of this ramble blog post is to admit that I've been a total grouch, and remind myself it's ok to tell people instead of pretending I've got it all together, that working full time AND being in my first semester of grad school IS tough (even with "only" 4 credits).  

Lastly, I am going to commit to being more physically active. Not because I'm trying to be super woman and pile more things on my plate to feel bad about not completing (photo a day challenge? hahaha). But because I know that I feel better when I'm active. I feel awesome on Saturdays after my yoga class is completed, by once a week is not enough. I need some other sort of regular outlet. I keep saying I'm going to do this at home, to wake up early and exercise before going to work, and I just sleep in later and later and feel groggy all day. I think I need to have an actual place for working out, not just my living room, and so today I'm looking around and asking friends and figuring it out. For the month of March my goal is to go to the gym 3x/wk (in addition to yoga saturdays). Even if nobody reads this, I think simply posting this will help keep me accountable. Let's do this!