Life Lessons from Solitaire

Have you ever learned something significant about yourself just by life's little stupid things?

This post is dedicated to the lovely game of Solitaire..

So, I used to have a very specific method of how I'd play the game on my computer. If I didn't score a certain amount of points before drawing the first card from the deck, I would start a new game right then and there. It was pretty tiring to constantly start new games and almost never get to play out a full game.

Then, it got me thinking.. "What does this strategy say about me?"

--I'm a very competitive person.
--If I can't win, I just won't play.
--I'm obsessed with winning and points.

Then I started thinking about my life's experiences that totally demonstrate this quality of mine. I thought about my 5 years in Provo, UT, at BYU and the competitive nature displayed there.. and totally saw the same behaviors there. First of all, I hated dances because I felt like I wasn't cute enough to "win" any guys. Then, there were the wards... and the extreme competitiveness I felt comparing myself to the other girls. Flirting was a bust as well.. as sarcasm wasn't always understood by Utah guys.

So did I end up giving up after 5 years of trying to find a guy there? Hmmm.. almost. I mostly just gave up in the small "games", like dances, ward prayer, FHE, etc, but I never ended up playing the game altogether.. just like I have still not given up playing Solitaire, even though I am currently $500 in the (hypothetical) hole on my phone.

I am still trying to work on my inner competitiveness. I don't know about all of you other women who used to play competitive sports, but it is HARD for me not to have something to be competitive about, even if it is just in my head. It annoys me to NO END that I can't just accept other people's achievements and attributes and not compare them to mine. Why do I have to be competitive about everything, even if it is stupid?

Anyways, random ramblings.. I've been meaning to write this one for a long time.

It Lame..

So, I have totally been a lazy blogger. I wish I could blame it on the pregnancy, but it's not. I downloaded a blogger app on my Droid smartphone, but let's face it.. Typing a full blog on a touch screen keyboard sucks.

Anyways, let me clue you in on a couple of things in our lives:

--Graham is finally done with the Census Bureau job. He is now fixing people's Playstations, babysitting a co-worker's autistic child, and offering piano lessons as side jobs. Random? Yes. But hey, whatever works! Plus, he can clean up with the house when I elevate my legs at night.
--My ankles and feet started swelling in June.. Cute. Seriously, I have like one pair of shoes left that are comfortable. The rest just suck, even my flats.
--My sister lived with us for a couple of weeks until her apartment was ready for move-in last week. It was so weird having somebody else in the apartment. She ate our food, brought her own weird food into the house, and crowded our little 2nd bedroom/baby nursery. Plus, my sister makes a lot of noises.. like MREHH and stuff. Graham just called her "Noise". Even though we were annoyed we couldn't hang out naked when the temperatures reached 95 degrees.. which is deathly with no A/C, we got used to her being there. When she moved to her new place, we were both wondering how she was doing and if she was ok. It was like our apartment was silent and empty without her.
--I am doing a little crafty project for the baby before he arrives. I'll post before and after pictures when I'm done. I literally almost gave up on the first day because I had no idea what the heck the different types of stitches even meant and the demo pictures made no sense at all.
--We are still searching for a day care provider for our little guy. I hate the thought of leaving him with someone else all day, but hey.. it's what will have to work for our family.
--We really haven't done anything cool lately. I've been working more Saturdays, so it definitely takes a toll on our social life. Plus, I can't say I feel like doing much after I get home from working all day. Graham is ALWAYS trying to get me to go to our community's pool, but thinking about all the kids peeing in the pool really turns me off. Oh, and pregnancy and maternity bathing suits are NOT cute.
--I just got diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes. I am one of the lucky 2-5% of pregnant women who get diagnosed with GD. Needless to say, I was pretty upset. Luckily, I know how everything works and what to do. It's just lame. What will I do without my stops to Dairy Queen? It really just takes the pleasure out of being pregnant, even though I wasn't pigging out or anything. So yeah, I have to check my blood sugars 3-4 times per day and really watch my carb intake. Fun.
--The baby's nursery is almost done. I'll have to post some pictures when it's finished. It's nothing spectacular, but I love it.
--I am really looking forward to this fall. Not only will I get a baby, but I get to put up decorations soon and my family is coming up for Thanksgiving. I think it'll be a lot of fun having a big group of us up here together.

Ok, I swear I'll try to update this blog more..