Coloring outside the lines

This week has been the first week back to work from Christmas vacation. I wasn't excited to go back to work, I could have used another week off. But on Thursday a coworker said, Welcome back. It feels like you are finally present. And I made a face as I sat and thought about that, and he said, well, you just weren't here in November and December, and now it seems like you are. So this made me think of Hitch where he says to be in the room, be present, because women respond to that, and that daydreaming happens on your own time. But I can't remember the exact quote. It also made me think of a movie quote, "I'm back, baby", but I can't remember what movie that is. I am concerned that this is proof I am getting old. Next thing you know, I won't be able to remember where I put my keys.

In other news, apparently I don't advertise my blog very well. I had assumed a friend knew about it, because I posted tributes and thought she would read them. My bad. But it has been fun reading comments to things I posted a couple months ago :) The perk of this new discovery is that I finally learned how to put pictures on my blog. Wuhoo!

Finally the big event this week is my new roommate moved in. So I will skip all of the usual caveats of how happy I am about this, what a great person she is, blah blah blah, and move right into the pain. There is adjustment when any two people try to occupy the same 1800 square feet. The last time I had a roommate of any kind, I didn't own anything. I was in college, or newly married. So combining households wasn't a big deal because there was nothing to combine :) In my current situation "I've got gadget and gizmos aplenty" (Little Mermaid). My new roommate is the same age as I am, so she also has a complete set of stuff. If we were family, we would have to decide whose blender stayed and whose blender got tossed, because it just doesn't make sense to have two blenders. But since we will eventually not live together, we keep the two blenders. I am excited about the two vacuum cleaners because I hate hauling mine up and down stairs. :) As her friends were helping bring stuff in, they commented on how great this place is. Which makes me feel good, I really do like my cute townhouse. But now my living room is full of boxes, my kitchen is full of boxes, the hallways are full of boxes, and I had to dig out my favorite chair so that I could sit here and blog. I know, moving is a pain. Having to box up all your stuff, to haul it to a new place and just unbox it again isn't fun. But I will say I think it is easier if all the people in the house move in at the same time, because then you are all stuck in the "box" stage together. This is also good practice for me to not be bossy. When I went to visit my sister, (I think I might have previously blogged about this), but I rearranged her furniture. She asked my opinion, and instead of saying, if you are happy, that is great, I shared my actual opinion. And then suggested how to rearrange the furniture to be better. Now granted, she says the furniture is great now, but it was pretty bossy of me to do that. So I am practicing not being bossy. My roommate was asking where to put stuff in the kitchen. So I showed her the empty cabinets and shelves, and said you can put stuff here, and if this isn't the right size for your items, let me know and I can move some of my stuff. The result was that stuff in the kitchen hasn't really gotten put away, but I am letting it happen on her time. Can you tell I am really holding back? It is easier to live alone. At the end of my christmas vacation, I was sitting in my chair, enjoying the solitude of my house. But people say growth happens when you step outside your comfort zone and learn to do something new and different. Here goes!