Overcoming

Are you comfortable eating out in a restaurant alone?  I'm not and never have been.  Michael does it all the time and doesn't think twice about it.  I will go without eating and let my blood sugar bottom out before I eat out alone.  Pretty pathetic, I know.  I want to get over this, so I took an afternoon to do some shopping and then treat myself to lunch.  Alone. By myself.  I went to Cheeseburger in Paradise because I love their fried pickles and grilled salmon salad.  I sat in the parking lot about ten minutes before I found the courage to get out of the car and go inside.  It wasn't too bad but it was 2:30 in the afternoon so it wasn't crowded.  I can't say I enjoyed myself.  I couldn't wait to get out of there.  But I will try it again because it's just one of those things I want to change.

After lunch, I went for a drive with the intention of taking pictures.  I love taking pictures but am uncomfortable stopping the car on the side of the road or standing in a parking lot to get a shot.  I'm afraid someone will get mad or tell me to stop.  Again, pretty pathetic.  I WILL get over this!  The first picture was a tree I parked next to at the restaurant.  I've wanted to take pictures of the little white church since the first time I saw it a few years ago.  I took several pics but this is the only one I liked.  Since no one came out and told me I couldn't take pictures, I'm slightly less afraid to go back!  The rest of the pictures are from tourist sites so it didn't bother me to stop there.  I would like to go back when the lighting is better.  From there I went to the Potomac River to watch the sun set.  I'll show you those pictures another day.

Is there a fear or something that makes you uncomfortable that you would like to overcome?

xo Annette xo

Salamanders, Frogs, And Critters ~ Blogtoberfest Day 3

Friends and family who know me, know that I am afraid of any kind of critter that I can't step on or smash with a fly swatter.  Bugs and spiders don't bother me so much but really I prefer they stay outside where they belong.  If there is a mouse in the house, I'm the one on a chair doing a little dance trying not to be hysterical.

When we lived in Hawaii, the geckos ruled the house, and I was always the one to see them.  I would just freak out and totally lose it.  When Michael was away, the neighbors would come over and do a gecko check for me.  I was so glad when we moved from there!  So imagine my surprise when last summer, I spotted a salamander running across the patio.  I could have died!!  I've lived in Maryland for twenty years and never knew they lived here too.

We also have lots of little green tree frogs.  Until this summer, I never saw one during the day.  They always come out at night and hang out on the kitchen window.  That's fine, because there is glass between the two of us.  Only once did I see one during the day hanging out on the patio.

A couple of weeks ago I got in the car to run errands and as the garage door was closing, a salamander went running into the garage.  I had a minor melt down.  Then I decided I would just start going in and out through the back door.  That was working fine until the day one of the little green frogs decided to come inside with me.  When I realized what happened, I had a major melt down!  I was frozen in place and we stared at each other for a minute til he jumped and I screamed!  I couldn't move but I could reach the phone and I called Michael at work!  He came to my rescue within ten minutes.  Now I keep thinking I'm seeing things out of the corner of my eye!

Did you notice there are no photos today?  That's because I was looking at photos to use and it just creeped me out too much to pick one out!  Yeah, that's how much these critters frighten me!

And in case you're wondering, yes we have the slithering critters too.  We just don't mention the "s" word in our house!

Have a marvelous Monday!