Sheila and Sarah - Day 17- And so it goes . . .

Sheila Day 17

Wellllllll, I have just been a wealth of learning from sun up to sundown, and I am actually kind of impressed with my journey throughout the course of this day!  I woke up early this morning and couldn't sleep, dang biological clock that wakes up at 6:00 a.m.  Rah has 2 cats that I know about, and 1 that I have only seen a time or two as he is very,very, shy and antisocial or skittish?  I can't say as I am totally sure?  Actually, I think he has a lot of psychological issues! She was a foster failure with the kitty she calls Pea.  I think maybe she calls him Pea, because he is kinda like the Princess and the Pea and is incredibly hyper sensitive!!!  Either way, this cat almost never comes out when I am there!

I have been going to visit Rah and Jesse for almost a year.  Each and every time I go, the other 2 monsters come out, play, fight, and have major cattitude!  Not Pea.  I have seen him slink in and slink out on occasion, I have tried to get him to come to me, but I have never actually come close to touching him.  That is until today!  Today, I was cuddled on the couch in a blanket and my computer doing a little avoid the crowds online shopping.  I saw Pea slink in.  I talked to him a little.  He jumped on the couch, I ignored him.  He scooched a bit closer . . . I ignored him.  He plopped down, I ignored him.  I let him settle in, and then I went in for the kill.  I slunk a little closer and closer and closer, and then it happened, I actually touched the elusive Pea.  I even got him to purr and gave him a little peck on the head, well actually, about 10 pecks! Maybe 15, okay 20 or so!  I learned that I actually am the cat whisperer, well maybe the cat talker, okay, the cat screecher, but no matter, I learned that patience might eventually pay off.

My next step in my day was to make a jaunt to the Tropical Cafe for the most AMAZING smoothie I have ever tasted.  I learned that if you go there from 7:00 a.m. until 9:00 a.m. you can enjoy happy hour.  Happy hour?  Who knew that a smoothie shop would have one of those.  How clever!  I also learned that if I text a number the next time I come in, my $4.95 smoothie will be free!  I am super glad that I learned that!  I was very happy as I sucked that smoothie down; however, I also learned that it has the potential to give you a little flatulence (that means GAS)!  OOOOOOF!

I also learned that people live in their own bubbles during the holiday season.  Nobody even really pays attention to what is going on around them.  They are like a bunch of little atoms bumping around into one another, but never really interacting with other atoms.  The more I looked, the more I learned, and the more aware I became.  THEN, I thought just for fun, I would smile at people and see what happened.  NOTHING!  THEN, I thought just for fun, I would smile and wave.  Well, because nobody would actually look at me, that experiment also failed.  I think I am going to keep trying and see if anything changes:)

Then I decided to make my own fun!  I decided that you are never too old to learn how to take a selfie just for the fun of it.  I also learned that, if you see something that looks like it is picture worthy, perhaps you should just take one.  That actually did make several people smile!!!!  Probably because what 47 year old idiot takes a picture with a moose!!!!  Oh well, I did learn what it takes to make people laugh, unfortunately it WAS at me!

Then I learned that GOD made some really, really big PINECONES!  Holy moly, they were ginormous.  That photo opportunity also got a few people to look, and laugh at me AGAIN!

And I am sure by now you are thinking, this girl is a total loon.  I was tired from the day and contemplated a movie, but just did not have the energy to sit for 2 hours at the end of the day.  BUT movie popcorn, I love the buttery movie popcorn, and the more I thought about it, the more I wanted it. Not just the little bucket, but the really BIG one!  In I went, when the girl asked me which movie I wanted to see, I boldly stated, "no movie, just popcorn."  BIG bucket, lots of butter, and I whispered then I am leaving.  You are going to be shocked at this, but I got laughed at again as I made my way down the hall towards the parking lot with my HUGE, full bucket of popcorn in tow!

This one is going to impress many of you I just know it!  I learned what a carbon footprint is.  The carbon footprint is the "amount of carbon dioxide and other carbon compounds emitted due to the consumption of fossil fuels by a particular person, group etc."  Well that explains a lot, NOT!  Then I had to dig a little deeper and research further.  I then learned that everything we do emits CO2, for example, if you drive a car, we leave CO2 emissions that leave a footprint on the environment, if you heat your home with fuel that also leaves a footprint, and even the production of the food we eat leaves a footprint.  So much like I did today, when I left all kinds of footprints wherever I had been, I leave something behind for the environment to absorb based on my actions through the course of my day.  WHO KNEW (I guess Rah did)! Teacher, teacher, are you proud????

So, I leave you with this, try something new even if it leaves some emissions in your digestive tract, smile even if you feel silly and dumb, take a few selfies just because you can, let others laugh at you because at least they are smiling, and leave positive footprints wherever you go.

Don't worry, be happy:)

Sheila

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Sarah Day 17

Mom was NOT a good learner yesterday when she was laughing hysterically about the gum I took out of her hand. I'm thoroughly impressed that she took the time to do a little research about the carbon footprint. I learned about the carbon footprint over the course of my Environmental Ethics (EE) class, and the more I learned about it, the more I wanted to keep learning about it. It's an important topic, and I find it fascinating.

I have always known that animals are my main passion in life, so my EE class really opened my eyes to all of the other things I am passionate about. I knew going into EE that I was interested in environmental issues, but not to the extent that I am now. I have learned that everything we do as humans, impacts animals and the environment. Everything that happens with the environment, impacts humans and animals. Everything that happens with animals, impacts humans and the environment. In good ways and in bad ways. That is the beauty of humane education. I get the opportunity to learn in-depth how everything we do has an effect on everything else around us. Today I have learned that I am a gum grabbing, banana teaching, pigeon saving, cat rescuing kinda gal, and I am proud of that! 

There are a few other things that I learned about myself today. I learned that having a messy car makes me cranky. I was really excited to spend my day being a bum on the couch, but after leaving Tropical Smoothie and saying goodbye to Mom, I spilled in my car and it about pushed me over the edge. It was a teensy tiny spill, but my car was already more cluttered than usual, and I just couldn't stand it. So, I went to target and bought a bunch of groceries and some car cleaning wipes. On my way home, I decided to stop at the gas station and clean out my car. I threw away the garbage, organized the trunk, vacuumed the whole entire vehicle, and then got a car wash. I learned that a clean car makes me feel like I can breathe much better! I felt relieved.

Of course after that, I was in the organizing and cleaning kind of mood, so I decided to clean the garage. Jesse and I accumulated a whole bunch of junk after living in our townhouse, so our garage has been pretty messy. I knew that cleaning it was going to be a task, but I was in the mood, so I took advantage of it as the mood doesn't come around often. It felt so much better to park my nice clean car in a nice clean garage and not feel like I was going to run over Jesse's hockey bag. 

After cleaning my car and the garage, I learned that carrying eight grocery bags up to the third floor of my apartment at one time, was in fact NOT easier than just making two trips. I am the prime example of someone who doesn't like to make more than one trip so I will struggle ALL the way to the top, as long as it means that I don't have to go back down for a second round. After that whole entire morning adventure, I decided I had enough and I plopped my butt on the couch.

I learned that Dirty Dancing NEVER gets old. It came on the TV this afternoon so I figured I would watch it and maybe take a little nap. I snuggled up with Snickers and tried to doze off but I just couldn't. Dirty Dancing is SUCH a great movie . . . one should never sleep through it. The ending still gives me chills and makes me want to dance. So after the movie, I proceeded to sit on the couch and daydream about my next life as a dancer. Fortunately AND unfortunately, my daydream was rudely interrupted by, Dirty Dancing ROUND TWO!!! Yup, it was on again, back to back. So I watched it again. The whole way through. Best. Day. Ever. 

I think I like this "learning" theme. Did I mention that switching to a theme of learning was Jesse's idea? I told you, he has his moments of wisdom. Learning is a great theme because it forces Mom and I to pay attention to what's going on around us, or open a book, read a paper, search the internet, whatever it is . . . we NEED to learn something in order to write. I love that learning can be funny, witty, and lighthearted, or it can be serious, emotional, and somber. One second we're talking about the carbon footprint, and the next second we're talking about making two trips up the stairs instead of one. Strange! It's hard to say what the next two weeks will bring, but I can honestly say, I'm really looking forward to it! 

Sarah