HandyWoman Joy #handywoman #Igotthis

I didn't know changing a doorknob was so easy!! After I came home and this happened...

I complained on Facebook, watched a YouTube video and took a trip to Home Depot and....

New doorknob!!

the inside

the outside

I can do more than I think!!!

#237: "How to" videos

I fixed it myself!!!  

I got a Sonicare toothbrush when I became a teacher (because I finally went to the dentist because I finally had dental coverage) and they fixed my cavities then suggested a Sonicare electric toothbrush.  I haven't had a cavity since!

That was 5 years ago. Lately it started making this horrible noise and I ignored it for about 3 months as it got worse. Finally that moment in time came when I would accept this no more. I asked Google for help. Which took me to YouTube. Of course someone made a video on this!!  I guess being born before cell phones and the internet I always imagine that I will have to call the manufacturer, send something in, wait weeks for a response, blah blah blah.

Not any more!  Google knows everything!

Thank you, Peter McSherry, whoever you are, for making this video so I could fix my own toothbrush in about 10 minutes. Not only do I have a quite toothbrush again, but I feel like a rock star because I fixed it myself!

Here's the video, just in case any of YOU have a breaking Sonicare.

Blessing #172: Being true to myself in Ireland

I'm finally excited!  I'm leaving tomorrow morning at 7 a.m.  My ride to the airport is coming at 5:45, and I'm pretty closed to packed (note: it's 11:54, way better than last year).  Everything fell into place today; I got everything I think I need from Gu Chomps for long runs to Ziploc Space Bags for packing.

The great thing about today, however, is that I did NOT devote the entire day to getting ready for my trip.  I went to breakfast with my usual Sunday morning crowd;  I went to church;  I went on a walk afterwards with a friend; and this evening I went to the gym and did the workout my trainer gave me.  Oh, and I'm taking time to write this blog post.

I realized a few days ago that in the past, these trips overseas were opportunities to escape myself and my life.  While I was gone I didn't work out regularly (I realize many of us do this), I largely ignored my food allergies, I stayed up late even when I was tired, I drank caffeine even when I knew it would keep me up until 2 a.m.  The list goes on and on.  I realize that these are things most of us do on vacation, but what I discovered is that I did these things not because I wanted to, but because I wanted to fit in or because I wanted to make sure I saw all the "right" sights in places or because everybody else was doing it.  [sidebar: Brene Brown says that the #1 barrier to belonging is "fitting in".  See The Power of Vulnerability]

And so my intention this trip is to be myself, to live in my own life, to do the things I want to do because I want to do them, and to take care of myself while I do it.

#91: Realizing that taking care of myself includes plumbing

The drain was clogged.  Big time clogged, not just a slow drain.  It was more like a no-drain.
I finally called The Plumber.
And then rescheduled.
And then rescheduled again.
And one more time I rescheduled.
Then he finally arrived!

$135 and one hour later, the water drains!!  6th best $135 bucks I ever spent.

It was taking approxomately 47 minutes for my sink to drain all the way and gunk was coming up and it was super gross.  I vaguely thought about calling last year and the year before, but I'm very busy and important and didn't have time.  Instead I've been brushing my teeth over the kitchen sink and avoiding the bathroom altogether.  Denial is pervasive in my life!

Taking care of myself and my stuff has only recently become a priority, and oh, my, gosh, what a difference a bathroom sink that drains well makes!  I suddenly don't mind cleaning my bathroom or being in my bathroom!  It's very similar to my experience with mowing my back yard last weekend: suddenly I didn't want to move or never go outside.  Now I just want to sit on my porch (after I clean the chairs, of course), read a book, and enjoy my space. 

I never really got it before that I am allowed to be surrounded by working, lovely, beautiful, comfortable things, people and settings; I also didn't get it that I might have to do the work to get those things and settings lovely, beautiful, comfortable and working.  I keep being surprised that I am full of joy when I take care of myself, and that the "work" involved is absolutely, positively worth it.  Just try sitting on your backyard porch after you mow, smelling the grass and reading a book or sitting with a friend.  

Blessing # 21: Today I mind myself.

Thank you, Martha, for creating a delicious, quick and easy soup!  Here's the recipe for 15-minute lentil soup!

What this gratitude is really about, however, is what I heard an Aussie woman call "looking after" oneself.  The Irish call it "minding" oneself.  I call it taking care of myself, and it is they key to creating the life I want. 

It may seem obvious to all of you, but it has taken me a long time to discover that doing some of the following simple things every. single. day. really and truly does make me happier:

• Brush my teeth in the morning and the evening.
• Take a shower as close to every day as possible.  In my defense, we are obsessed with cleanliness and Europeans are not as fond of showers as we are.
• Not eating a bag of popcorn from Costco for dinner.  This was a news flash. Really, it was.  Not that long ago, either.  I may or may not have had a popcorn relapse this past weekend on meltdown day.
• Washing my clothes once a week.
• Cleaning the used Kleenex out of my car the same day I use them.  Who knew this would feel so good?
• Doing my hair in the morning.
• Putting on makeup in the morning.  (I know this is controversial, but I really feel better when I know I have put some effort into looking nice.  I think it's the care thing, not the how-I-look part)
• EXERCISE!!  This one cannot be overstated.  Movement of my body moves my brain.
• Washing the dishes.  The same day I make them dirty.
• Make my bed.
• Go to bed by 9.  
• Take out the trash on trash day.
• Go to the doctor once a year.
• Go to the dentist twice a year.
• Rest.

So simple, but so profound.

A few months after I got divorced from my husband of 9 years I was standing in my kitchen in my pajamas, hair dirty, days of dishes piled in the sink, looking out the window at the jungle that had become my back yard.  The garbage hadn't been taken out in several weeks, there were piles of laundry and junk all over the house, the bathroom smelled...interesting and there was a layer of slime on most surfaces.

Suddenly I realized that I didn't have any idea what I had contributed to that marriage.  I called my ex and told him so.

About 6 years later I feel joyful every Friday when I roll my trash can out to the curb; when I check the mail, when I open the mail that same day, when I do the dishes before I leave for work.  The satisfaction I feel with myself was part of what I have been looking for all along, but never knew.

I am reminded of what I heard a man named Father Tom said one time [I paraphrase]:
Person #1:  Don't cheat, don't lie, don't murder, don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't judge others.
Person #2:  I don't want to believe in your god, that's so negative!   
Person #1:  Try it for a while.  See how negative your life becomes.