# 86 Ten Great Things About Today... So Far...

I read a really great quote last night (on the internet, so you know its totally true)--

What You Think About Expands.

And I do think its true. I've been surrounded by all sorts of negativity here recently, and most of it I've brought on myself. I'm sure all of you avid readers know some, if not all, of the stuff that's been going on in my life lately, but you might not know that I tend to obsess. Majorly. About everything-- how I should have done this, didn't do that, need to think this, could have said that-- how I should stop thinking about what I should have done, how I messed up a situation, forgot someone's birthday, what a terrible attorney I am, didn't call my friend back when I should have, why am I depressed, what should I be doing with my life, about why I got myself into some of these situations in the first place and does it make me a bad person that I've let people treat me kinda crappy (I mean, aren't all these questions annoying? I'm annoying myself with them, so I'm SURE you readers are annoyed! If you want to avoid my self-introspection, skip down!!)?

Anyway, all these things swirl in my mind, and for the last 8 months or so, I've taken a mental break from doing anything except thinking all these negative thoughts. Thoughts I didn't even realize were negative until more recently. So I've changed some of these things in my life-- work, location, etc., but some are harder to change. And its not been a great thing that the last month or so, and especially these last two weeks, I've basically had NOTHING to think about except all my thinking-about-things-issues! I can see how my negative and wacky thinking about everything little detail has expanded in my mind and into my life. And it ain't pretty, folks!

So, I'm going to adopt this new mantra of "What You Think About Expands" and start focusing on all the positive in my new life up here in Cleveland! I'm including some pictures but I've not found my camera since I went home last week, so that's a bit of a speed bump.

1. A new book I'm reading-- These High, Green Hills by Jan Karon. Its one of the Father Tim/Mitford series-- I read several of these a few years ago, and I like them-- they are simple, easy, uplifting books. I tend to think books like these are more like "junk food" books and that I should be spending my time reading books that are "good for you" like books about curing cancer or the philosophy of Ghandi, etc. But, I'm over that. I'm 25 years old, dangit, and if I want to read a silly novel, I can. At least it doesn't have Fabio on the front.

2. Joining the Bolivar County Library yesterday-- I got a cool keychain card and checked out two books--

and (this one is for Katherine!)

3. The fact that I literally have 19 dog toys strewn about my living room. Parker has taken every single toy out of her basket, and once she gets one out, she walks away and get another one. Plus, she's found my bedroom slippers and two (different) socks that are also on the floor. Despite the fact that I've tried to clean this up already and she just gets the toys and socks back out, I love it. It makes me happy to have her-- toys and all. God knew exactly what he was doing a couple years ago when she came into my life. He knew that one day, I'd be living in Cleveland, a bit down on myself, and I'd need Parker and all her toys to be all over my house to make me laugh. She's currently curled up on top of the pillow beside me on the couch-- moving toys all around makes a girl tired!

4. Leftover tomato basil soup from Newks-- I love leftovers. I love them. It makes me happy to cook only if there are enough leftovers for the next day. I love getting Chinese takeout so I can warm it up the next day and mix it all together for a fantastic meal! This soup is leftover from Sunday night with mom and dad in Oxford, and its just as good today!

5. That I got to see some of my friends this past weekend in Memphis-- Katherine, Courtney and David-- we had a great time! Plus, I got to see Elizabeth Hoffman, a friend from law school, and its been a super long time. She gave me a shout-out on facebook today and it made me laugh. She has a really funny blog-- check it out here.

6. I left this morning to get breakfast, and as I came back, there was a man spraying weedkiller stuff on my yard. He was cutting my yard as well. I was a bit confused. Turns out, it was my landlady's husband, Roger, and he will be cutting my yard every so often. He's super nice and he quoted me a really great price that was $5.00 less than I'd previously been told, so I kept my mouth shut! Its nice not to have to worry about the yard, and since I have a pretty nice yard, I'm glad someone else will be worrying about it.

7. My house is looking pretty fabulous, if I do say so myself. If I ever find my camera, I will take pictures. I've got a few things on my wishlist (I'll blog about that another time-- I'm sure some of you never got me a gift for my birthday/new job/housewarming/generally being a great person/etc. and are wondering what to buy).

8. I've decided to get dinner from Hey Joe's-- my favorite place to eat in town. They have fabulous hummus.

9. I've got a super cute outfit planned for tomorrow because...

10. I passed my drug test! So I'm starting tomorrow! I will be heading to Indianola, Ms, for my first "official" day. To save gas money (since I have no money!), I'm riding with Anne Marie, the girl who will be training me and also lives in Cleveland. I'm super excited. I'm also a bit relieved!