Things I'm Excited About Today

Recently, a coworker of mine turned me on to an Instagram account, "Middle Class Fancy."  I relate to this account on so many levels.  It's amazing.  Every once in a while I get excited about things and before it comes out of my mouth I try to stuff it back in because I imagine that for most people, "exciting" means going on vacation or doing extreme sports or getting a new pet.  They do not think "I'm so excited about my new laundry detergent," or "I'm so excited to go buy vegetables today," or "I'm excited to try that thing I found on Pinterest to clean my shower grout."  I guess this is what being a "grown up" is for some of us.  I really take joy in improving the minutia of my life and making mundane tasks a little more enjoyable, because I have to do them anyway.

There's another reason that things excite me.  I really am excited about laundry detergent, because there was a time when I couldn't always afford it.  I really DO get happy when I think about going and picking out produce, because there was a time when I mostly ate out of cans and packages.  The closest I got to "produce" in college was often the Oriental flavor of Top Ramen that had the dried veggies in it (do they even have that flavor anymore? #PCPolice).  I am legit ready to fix the grout in my shower because I'm so excited that I live in a place that has a shower worth cleaning up.  Just a few years ago I was staring at life like it was going to be an endless tunnel of disappointment, and now...guys, now I have a SHOWER.  WITH A TUB.

Part of overcoming my depression and anxiety (other than beautiful, delicious, pharmaceuticals) has been to practice a certain degree of intention in everything I do.  Things like cleaning often calm me down if I can force myself to focus on the movements of my tasks.  I get joy looking at a clean and tidy room and I find that the state of my home is often reflective of how I'm feeling mentally (for example, right now there is SHIT EVERYWHERE.  Make of that what you will).

Yesterday I was really excited about produce.  I've been turned on to a new produce stand called Country Farms.  For my Everett friends, it's on Broadway and - I think - 16th, just north of Safeway.  I have no illusions about the place, as I'm doubtful that anything ACTUALLY came from a country farm ;) But it's good, fresh produce and it's SO CHEAP.  Seriously.  Here's my haul from yesterday:

• 5 onions
• 1 bunch asparagus
• Pineapple
• Mystery melon (it's yellow, I think it's going to be kind of like a cantaloupe, but I do this thing where I like to just pick something and find out what it is.  Adds some mystery to my life! If you're laughing at me, see above.  This is a PERFECT example of my middle class fancy thing)
• Jicama
• 4 red bell peppers
• 4 Fuji apples
• 2 bags of green beans
• 6 red potatoes
• 2 stalks leeks
• 3 yams
• 3 nectarines

I had a picture so that you could see how much food this is, but it keeps turning upside down when I try to post it.  Ruuudddeeeeee.  Anyway, this was $35.  Forreal.  That's unheard of around here.



What else am I excited about today?  I have math class tonight and that's going to be fun.  I don't have to make dinner tonight because of math class, so that's rad.  We're doing some home improvement this weekend, like getting a screen for the back door and framing some of the art that has been sitting in the closet since we moved in last year.  I'm going to weed the garden since the weather will be nice.  I might even RoundUp the weeds in the sidewalk.  Basically, I'm living life at a pretty breakneck speed over here.  Try not to be jealous.