Day Forty-Four through Sixty-Six.

 Today is Day 66 of my 101-day challenge of no TV. I've spent the last several weeks doing nothing much in particular, a fact I realize is the opposite of my purpose for this whole thing in the first place. A few of the highlights, however, include babysitting my nephews with my dad, finishing a spectacular book (reading not writing, unfortunately), going to the Flint Hills Shakespeare Festival with my best friend (fantastic, by the way) and, today, going to the Renaissance Festival with my other best friend. That may seem like a significant list, but keep in mind how long it's been since my last post... (23 days to be exact). Oh, and I bought the new Cinderella movie and Pitch Perfect 2.... (spaced enough that I could watch each movie in a separate week and not break my own rule).

My life is not spectacular. If it were to be measured on a scale, I'd say its somewhere between mundane and almost-interesting. But it has its highlights, even if they are small ones, and I find I am content, despite everything. Everything being financial issues, lack of social life, and a tendency to lurk at home alone.

Today, however, happened to be one of those rare spectacular days. Today was my trip to KC to the annual Ren-Fest with my dear friend and old college roommate Lori. We haven't seen each other in months, and so it was a blast to get together again and talk Doctor Who and sci-fi novels. We were up after 3 AM chatting because we had so much to catch up on, and we are both talkative people! This bit us in the butt, however, as we had to get up at 7 the next morning to get ready for the festival.

But it was so worth it. Lori went as a gypsy, complete with jingling scarf, gold bangles, and a long, brunette wig! She brought temporary tattoos that we both used, and did a whole elaborate eye makeup thing with swirls and stuff that was pretty cool.

I was a pirate—and a darn good one, if I do say so myself! I sewed my skirt from a sheet, along with a couple of coin purses for both of us from some goodwill fabric. I got a plain costume pirate hat from Target and, with Mom's help and craft supplies, decorated it with lace and buttons and pearls. I even had a sword—though it was plastic and only cost me two bucks. I felt so sassy.

We had so much fun, actually, getting ready, that we ended up being an hour behind schedule. We weren't too worried about it, however, and left the house around 9:30-ish, and proceeded to McDonalds for a coffee run. We both needed it.

The drive-thru had a seriously long line, so we opted to go inside. Mind you, we are still all gussied up in our costumes, waltzing into McDonalds full of people. We got some looks, open gawking, and the shy glances. Only one person actually asked us why we were dressed up, and we gladly told them. After a minor issue with the frappe machine, we got our coffee and got on the road!

I am not good with directions. So Friday night, I had Google-map'd the way to get to this place and wrote it down so I could find it as I was the one doing the driving. But, of course, I forgot the directions on the table. So I did my best to remember them.

It really wasn't hard. It shouldn't have been hard. But, as in inevitable I think with me and navigation, we got a little lost. Luckily for us, modern technology is amazing and we turned on the GPS.

We had apparently gone nearly a half hour out of our way by accident. So we took another half hour getting back on track. It turns out, I took a wrong exit off of the interstate. Oops. #mybad. But we found it...eventually.... Then we trekked across a large parking lot, praying we could find the car again later, and waited in line for tickets under the hot sun with no shade. That was fun. Not.

Once we finally inside the gates, however, there were a lot more trees and shaded areas, and even a stray breeze or two. We walked all over the place, looking at vendors, watching shows, and the food—Oh! The food! I have four words for you: cheesecake on a stick.

My gypsy friend and I taking a break for some fish and chips. 

There was jousting and fire-dancing gypsies, and satyrs running around, and knife throwing and fencing and so much more! It was marvelous to just walk around and soak in all the geekdom. (Not to offend, but this is really how I felt, surrounded by it all.)

Eventually, however, we started to wear down. We bought a trinket—a necklace--and proceeded to try to find our exit. But, as I mentioned before, I am navigationally challenged and we had misplaced our map.... Not to mention we did not arrive by the main gate, which would have been a much more obvious landmark...

So we wandered around for a half hour trying to find our way back to the side entrance we came in. I'm sure we looked rather silly—as silly as a lost pirate and gypsy can look, I suppose—standing in the middle of the path, scratching our heads and pointing in various directions. Is that the way? Maybe try going up here. No, but his looks familiar, remember, we came down—

And so on and so forth. And, by this point, I had to go to the bathroom.

Do you know how hard it is to go to the bathroom in a small little stall with all those layers and accessories dangling from my belt? Yeah. Not easy. Just saying.

Alas! We finally found it! Then we stood there in the parking lot, scratching our heads and pointing in various directions.... Was the car this way? Or maybe up there? No, but remember we came down this way---

and so on and so forth....

When we did eventually reach the car, I immediately popped the trunk and started disassembling my pirate outfit. Lori took off her hair, I undid my belt and slipped out of my skirt... Don't worry, we were wearing pants underneath! Then we sat in the air conditioned car, exhausted and deliriously happy.

My life may not always be exciting. I don't go out every weekend or hang with a bunch of friends all the time. I post a lot of stuff about my cat on social media because, honestly, that's who I'm with a lot. But when I do step outside my box, I make unforgettable memories!

I cannot wait to do it all again next year. Lori has already agreed that we need to make it an annual occurrence! (I love having nerd friends.) But, maybe next year we won't get lost so much... Or maybe we will. Sometimes you need to get a little lost to find the good stories.

Day Thirty through Forty-Three

There are bad days. You know them well, I imagine. Everything seems to go wrong that day; you make stupid mistakes. Today was that day for me.

It's Day Forty-Three of my 101 Day Challenge, and I have never wanted to give in more than I did today. By the way—I didn't.

You know the feeling, when you  have a long, bad day and you just need to give in to those old comforts—those probably-not-so-good-but-definitely-better-than-some-things pleasures? Food. Caffeine. Shopping. Wine. TV...to name a few of mine.

Usually when I've had a particularly trying day at work, I like to relax on the sofa, eat some junk food (hamburger, chips, ice cream, and a soda are my favorites, but any food that is quick and junky will do, really) and chill in front of Netflix or whatever is on for a while. Or I'll end up on the Mall on my way home from work (its conveniently right there on my route....) and end up buying fifty-bucks worth of stuff—excuse me, "clothes for work"—from Maurice's or wherever else.  Fifty bucks, I might add, that I don't have.

Most days, lately, I'll get a 32 oz Mountain Dew from the gas station over my lunch break and sip on a soda all afternoon. It helps me get through the rest of my day. Or so I tell myself. Well, last night I did my budget...and I realized that if I was going to really save money for these things I want to do in the next few months (Renaissance Festival, a wedding, and a concert, in September, October, and November respectively) I was going to have to cut my spending habit. This, unfortunately includes the dollar a day I spend on a soda.

A dollar a day adds up to $30 in a month. That could buy the tank of gas to get me to Nebraska for my friend's wedding. Or most of a ticket to the concert in Topeka I want to see. If I stop eating out at lunch—make it maybe $5 a day on the low end, so that's $25 a week and $100 a month! –I cut out even more. NOW eliminate all my impromptu tiny shopping trips—let's say $30 a week, to be kind—that is freeing up A LOT of money! In a month, adding all that up, it equals to $250 I could be saving EACH MONTH by cutting needless spending.

This is what I realized last night. So I told myself I was going to cut soda from my afternoon habit. Drink more water instead—it really is better for me. I was going to cut down on my shopping, telling myself every time I want to that I can be using the money for something better, giving it a specific purpose. Crystal's wedding. KC trip. Casting Crowns concert. Maybe it will help me stop spending it. Maybe I'll actually be able to use it to go toward bills and save a little instead of continually pulling money OUT of my savings account... Not exactly the direction it is supposed to go. Maybe this time it will stick.

So today, when I woke up, I determined not to buy a soda over lunch.

Then the Day from Hell swept through.

Really, it was no one's fault but mine. I am not too proud to admit that. The mistakes that were made and the stuff that happened could have been prevented had I been... let's say running better. My brain was on vacation today. Simple as that. It was mostly things of my own doing. But it didn't make it any better. If anything, it made the entire thing more frustrating.

But, during work, I did my utmost to try to remain calm and level-headed and maintain a professional demeanor and attitude and set a good example for those I am working with—both younger than me and currently being trained. I tried really hard not to lose it.

Then I got off work, and someone cut me off in traffic, and I lost it. I screamed. I nearly cried. I wanted to scream some more. I didn't cuss, though honestly, I probably would've if I'd thought about it.

I was frustrated. Not because my brain was absent and I couldn't think straight. Not because my coworkers were getting on my nerves. Not because I got off a half hour later than I really wanted to—although all those things were true.

No, I was frustrated because all of my usual "comforts" that I would turn to after a distressing day were off-limits.

Food—I'm trying to lose weight. I stared at the fridge, fully intending to eat junk. I really did. But I wasn't hungry. I really wasn't. (Big step for me!)

Soda—As previously stated, I was giving up soda. I had JUST started that morning, and I would feel really silly if I couldn't even do it for a single day. I mean really, how weak-willed am I? Besides, you know, the whole budget/money thing...

Shopping—On a budget....

Glass of wine—When I say a glass of wine, I mean like half a glass of white wine. But I do not currently have any wine, or any alcohol of any sort, in my house or possession and buying some would, of course, be breaking the whole "on a budget" thing...

TV—Hello. Obviously, I am on a TV Cleanse. Next Thursday marks 50 days—almost halfway done! I can't give in now after coming so far! So, no TV either...

So what was a girl to do? All my usual go-to's were out of order and had yet to be replaced by newer, "healthier" options. 

I had texted my good awesome friend Lori about my distress—bad day. want to cry and scream at the same time. blah blah blah. By the time she gets back to me, I am in my bed, not in the mood to talk to anyone. Not even my cat (who, I believe, was hiding in the closet for dear life, away from Scary Megan). She messaged me. She called me. I ignored it. I didn't feel like dealing with the world. I needed a break from "adulting".

I ended up playing a game on my computer. It helped me zone out and focus on something mindless without breaking my no-TV rule and it kept me away from the fridge and too occupied to give in to go get a soda. It helped me chill out and wind down. I put on some soothing classical music in the background (I had been listening to rock music at work....) and tried to relax...

It totally worked. Granted, I was snuggled in my bed, in m pajamas ignoring the world at the early hour of five o'clock, but whatever you gotta do, right?

It worked fast, too. By 6:30, I had moved into the living room and was on the phone with Lori, talking about life and actually enjoying interacting with the world. I ate a little something, and started working on a story, then I realized it'd been ages since I'd posted an update... and here I am.

Oh, and there may have been some Facebook/Instragram/Twitter posts in there somewhere... and there may have been pictures of my cat.... Along with a scripture verse that was helping me " "count my blessings before my sorrows" (I am quoting myself here, obviously not scripture. This is a line from one of my stories, but it applies nicely.)

So what do you do when you've had an awful day with a side of horrible and you've conveniently cut out those go-to comforts—a feeling I can only compare to finding out your savings account has been drained when are having an emergency. There is no fall-back. No cushion to soften the blow. No guilty pleasure to give in to shamelessly. So what do you do?

Well, first I turned to my bed. Then to distractions (i.e. games and social media). Then to a friend. Then, lastly, I turned to God.

This, I want to point out, is backwards. Really, what I should've started with was going to God with my problems. Prayer. Scripture. Etc. When I finally did, it gave me so much comfort and perspective, I wish I'd done it when I'd gotten home and not hours later.

You live and you learn. Now I've learned and so have you—guilty by association—and so, hopefully, I won't be making the same mistake again. Maybe next time I'll start out the day with God and it won't get that horrible to begin with. Maybe....

So what do you do after a terrible, awful, horrible, no-good day?

Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8 NIV)

Count your blessings before your sorrows. 

1. I am alive. 

2. I have a roof over my head. 

3. I have a good job. 

4. I have amazing friends. 

5. I have an awesome cat who loves me. 

6. I can pay my bills--even if it doesn't always feel that way. 

7. There is food in my fridge (and my belly). 

8. I have a warm place to sleep at night. 

9. I have nice clothes to wear every day. 

10. I know that God loves me and cares about me--

even my seemingly small, silly problems. 

(etc)