Eating disorder

 I am in intensive outpatient treatment for an eating disorder. I used to be anorexic and after trauma, it morphed into binge eating disorder. One of the things that made it change was the belief that I was no longer safe in a smaller body. I changed my body shape to protect me from unwanted male attention. I also starting wearing my dad's shirts to hide my body. There's always been this mental block preventing me from having a smaller body because of my fear of being attacked. 

There's so much to unpack in all of this and although next week is my last week of intensive outpatient treatment (three hours a day, three days a week, then an hour with a dietitian and an hour with a therapist) it is only the beginning of my journey. I started this treatment back in July and I will continue with weekly dietitian and therapist meetings and hopefully have the addition of at least one support group. But thirty years of an eating disorder doesn't resolve in three months. 

I hope to share more of some of the things I've learned during this process soon. 

St. Petersburg, Florida

 In May 2023, I spent the day in St. Petersburg, Florida. Here's what I saw:

The Fountain of Youth

So this fountain is now just municipal tap water, but it is really an homage to a spring that used to be there that drew visitors from around the world. I still drank from it and rubbed it on me. Here's a post from roadsideamerica.com

Sunken Gardens

This is a real "old" Florida attraction with the sign to show for it and all. It is full of birds and plants that are labeled for your education. The main attraction is the flamingos. They were my favorite. Much to my chagrin, you can't feed them, but you do get pretty close to them! You also find yourself below street level as you walk through the gardens. It is right in the middle of a busy area, but you don't sense it when you are there. Weddings are held there because it is so beautiful. Admission was $15. Here's a post about it on roadsideamerica.com

Mazzaro's

This is an Italian market. They have a room full of wine, lots of sausage and cheese and I even saw duck bacon. They are crazy busy on Saturdays, so if you can, go during the week, though they are only open until 5 pm. The prices are typical for imported goods. It was an interesting place to visit for the photo ops alone! Here's a post from roadsideamerica.com

The Pier

This is a new addition to St. Petersburg, opening up in 2020. After walking all the way down it and realizing I'd have to walk all the way back to get to our parking spot, I was pleasantly surprised to learn they have a tram that will ride you up and down the pier. There were booths with various goods for sale and one person playing the guitar. I was with my friend, Jenn, who just happens to be Mike's ex wife, and the guitarist starting playing the song that came on the radio when I was picking out Mike's clothes for his funeral and we both got chills. Free to walk on. We bought a pizza at one of the restaurants on the pier and it was about $11. A lemonade or pop was about $4. The photo is the beach at the end of the pier. 

Traditions School of Herbal Studies

There was an event at this business and they were hosting a drum circle. If you are into herbs and natural remedies, this is a good place for you. 

Ode to exes

 So I got a fancy new car that I can hook my phone up to and play Spotify. And Spotify is funny because I'll start it off with a song and then let it go off on its own and play whatever. Sometimes these absolute gems come out of it. Sometimes they bring back a memory you forgot you had. And sometimes they remind you of people you try hard to forget.

Well, I decided I don't want to forget anyone of my exes because I've come through it all and finally found my life partner. I decided I'll post one song that really brings me back to that time we were together. 

Jonathan

Ronan

Jason

Mike

Duncan

Humble Impressions Thrift Store, Indianapolis, IN

 

Ass, Glass, and Sass Antique Store, Indianapolis, IN

 

Dayton, Ohio

 This Labor Day weekend I visited Dayton, Ohio. It is about a two and a half hour drive away from my current home of Greencastle, Indiana. I drove my new 2018 Chevrolet Equinox by myself. The kids were at their mom's house and Geoff had work. 

I got some ideas for my roadtrip from roadsideamerica.com I stopped in New Castle, Indiana to take a picture with a giant "shoe" which was outside the Steve Alford hotel. (this is apparently a famous basketball person) This town is also home to the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. I didn't stop there this time. The Quality Inn next door to the Alford hotel advertised rooms for $54/night. 

Next, I stopped in Richmond, Indiana to see a restaurant with a double decker bus inside! It's a Pizza King and apparently you used to be able to eat in the bus but that stopped after the pandemic. I just stopped in for a quick pic, but I read that you can still go in the bus. 

I crossed over into Ohio and saw this welcoming sign.  I know Ohio gets a lot of flack, but I was excited to be on a road trip and seeing a different state. I've only been to Ohio once before and that was for a day trip with a group on meetup.com Also, that was several years ago. 

While driving in Ohio, I came across a Big Boy restaurant. I was really excited to possibly take a picture with a Big Boy statue, but alas, there was no statue to be found. Bummer. 

By the time I arrived, the museums I wanted to visit were going to be closing soon, so I decided to go shopping. I went to one of the few thrift shops open on a Sunday, and started my hunt for treasures. American Thrift Stores did not disappoint. They take debit/credit cards but have a $5 minimum and at first I was worried I wouldn't find $5 worth of stuff. Ha! I got a cartful for $30. I was especially impressed with the way they wrote the waist and length sizes of the men's pants on the tag. So easy to find what I was looking for. I stocked up for Geoff and Luke. By the time I got out of there, it was too late to make it to another thrift store, so I headed to my next bargain hunting favorite place - Walmart. I found all kinds of clearance there, but I'll spare those details for now. By the time I got done at Walmart, it was nearly 9:00 pm and all the restaurants I could find were closing soon. I finally settled on Dublin Pub. 

Dublin Pub is ranked as one of the top ten Irish pubs in the USA. I know this because they have a sign hanging above their stage. There was no music when I was there. I was happy to see fries on the menu done Irish style, but once they removed the bacon, it was just cheese, which was kind of a bummer. And they were ten bucks! The pop was fair at $2.25 and free refills. Across the street from the pub is a boarded up building and there were unhoused people walking down the street with their belongings. You would never realize it from inside the pub, though. 

I decided to try my hand at another Walmart after leaving the pub, but when I arrived, it seemed very desolate and it was late. Being a woman traveling alone, I tried to be mindful of such things. I decided not to go in and headed to my place to sleep for the night. The cheese fries didn't fill me up, so I did stop at Taco Bell on my way to my lodging. 

Lodging - I stayed at an Air BnB. I had to sift through dozens to find one without an outrageous cleaning fee added to the total. I found one in West Carollton, Ohio, just outside of Dayton. It was $25 plus a couple bucks for the service fee. You can see it here. There were two pugs; one fawn, one black - just like Sherman and Licorice! They were very affectionate and licking me all over the place. It was a small room inside a home with an elevated air mattress. I was happy with my choice. There was even a mini fridge to put the rest of the Taco Bell I didn't eat. Unfortunately, I forgot it there. D'oh. The host didn't seem upset when I messaged her about it. I had packed bottles of water and other snacks in my suitcase as well. As you can see in the picture, there was a fan in the room, so I didn't need to bring in the small one I brought with me just in case the room was too hot. Once the pugs got bored of me and left the room, I was able to get changed and go to sleep. The air mattress was elevated off of the floor and had a pillow top thing on it, but it was still a bit low for me. I'm not as limber as I once was! It was okay, though. 

I am not an early riser, and I thought check out was at 11 am so I set my alarms. I was out of there by 11 only to find out it was at noon! Oh well, better to get an earlier start. I had two goals of what I wanted to see today: Carillon Historical Park and the US Air Force museum. I did visit both of them and even got in one more thrift store. 

Carillon Historical Park - apparently, the structure in the picture above is a Carillon. This rich lady, Mrs. Deeds, saw them in Belgium and thought Dayton needed one, so she had it built. It plays music. It didn't play any music while I was there. So this has like a main building and then you go outside and there's this replica village and you can go into all the little buildings. I went to the Wright Brothers Museum where you can see items from their bicycle shop and then walk through a few buildings and see the original 1905 "plane" they made. I never knew that they started out with bicycles and the link between bicycles and planes. 

Here, I also learned that Dayton, Ohio is where cash registers were invented. There is a room filled with cash registers in the main building. You can push a button on a screen and it will tell you all about that specific cash registers. I never thought about it, but cash registers were the precursor to the computer. This marker explains how the cash register designers worked with the military to figure out how to crack secret codes.

National Museum of the US Air Force could be a post, or several posts, all by itself. But I found a few interesting things that I'd like to share. Admission and parking is free. There are some "simulators" that cost extra, about ten dollars each, to see what it is like to fly. 

The first thing I saw that was interesting was Military Ballooning. I never knew that was thing. Apparently they used balloons in the Civil War and then the Spanish American War. 

I also saw a dog with a parachute. 

A pigeon used to deliver messages. 

And a few mentions of the role of women in the Air Force/Space/War. 

You really could go to this museum several times and see something new each time. My favorite picture from this museum, though, is me on the "chopper" used in recruitment for the Air Force. I think I look pretty tough. Too bad my feet couldn't reach the pedals! 

After the museum, I hit one more thrift store, which just so happened to be having a Labor Day Sale where everything was 50% off. I only did eight dollars worth of damage there, but I was happy with my finds. This one was Valley Thrift Store in Kettering, Ohio. 

And then I headed home. It was a great trip and I am so glad I went on this little adventure.

Married - Greencastle, Indiana

I am a married woman! Geoff and I got married in November 2020. We had a very small wedding due to the pandemic. It was located in our town of Greencastle, Indiana. My niece, Emma, was my maid of honor and Geoff's son, Luke, was his best man. Geoff's daughter, Megan, was the flower girl. It was beautiful. Today is our nine month wedding anniversary. No baby. But that's another story. 

Graduated from law school - Montgomery, Alabama

I graduated from law school! In May of 2020, I finished the course work, but because of the pandemic, graduation was not held until August. Mom and Dad drove to Alabama from Indiana for the festivities. My brother, Brian, and his wife, Millisa, drove up from Tampa, Florida. Brian acted as my "hooder" which is the person who puts your hood (like a backwards necklace/scarf thing) on you.

Mom and Dad and I stayed in the hotel connected to where the graduation was held, the Renaissance at the Montgomery Performing Arts Center. Mom and Dad watched the live stream on the computer in the hotel room to minimize their exposure. Then they met us downstairs after the ceremony.

After we got some photos, we took a look around downtown Montgomery. We went to eat lunch at Mellow Mushroom. I had a well earned drink. 

After Mellow Mushroom, we went to the Hank Williams museum. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the museum, but it contains the car he was riding in when he died back in the 1950s. They had some of his old outfits and it was really striking how petite he was. I did manage to get one photo in the gift shop and one outside the museum. 

Then we stopped at the Hank Williams statue. 

Then moved on to the Riverfront.

There was a boat down there that would go out but it was closed due to the pandemic so there wasn't anything to do there. The next day, we started the drive back to Indiana. Using the website roadsideamerica.com, we stopped at a place with a giant chicken outside. However, after getting gas and using the bathroom, we left because chicken was all they served which didn't suit this vegetarian. 

We didn't get our diplomas that day, but they came in the mail. I graduated with two degrees. A JD and an LLM in Dispute Resolution. I was so eager to get two degrees for the price of one! 

After I got home, there was no time for me to rest, though, because I still had to take the bar. It had been postponed because of the pandemic and software issues, so I had to take it on the 4th of August. I had graduated, studied hard, even during the drive, and had to try and give it my all. 

Hank Williams boyhood home - Georgiana, Alabama