Why this blog began...

In general, most people strongly grasp the concepts in either science/math, or English. I was decent at math until about my junior year in high school, when I was placed in a teacher's class that didn't teach to my learning style. My interest in the subject faded, and English definitely became my stronger area. This actually makes a ton of sense, because anyone that has gotten to know me, knows that I am a talker.

While we were in California, our lives pretty much consisted of three main things. Work. Eat. Sleep. Wake up, and the cycle would continue. Once monotony truly set in, and the confines of our studio hotel room started to make me a little crazy, I decided that I needed an outlet. I got plenty of exercise while at work, so jogging on my off time, wasn't all that appealing. I decided that I would start sharpening my brain, and learning more about creative writing.

One sunny afternoon, Aaron and I headed over to Barnes & Noble. I went to the self-help section, thinking that there had to be some sort of "Writing for Dummies" book. Instead I came across a very well marketed book, titled "Your First Novel." I was immediately attracted to its bright colors (hence, being well marketed). However, because I grew up around the slogan, "you can't judge a book by its cover," I read the back to make sure it touched on the points I was interested in. The book seemed to cover most novel writing topics, so I made my first purchase towards writing my first novel :)

I began reading the book that afternoon while I was pool side. Two of the suggestions were to a.) Read a lot of books that are in the genre you want to write in, and b.) Write. Write a list of 100 things about yourself. Write for 10 minutes about something, anything. Thus, the Pecan Princess Blog was born. I've definitely become a little sidetracked from attacking the writing of a novel, but I still think blogging is a good way to get my creative juices flowing.

332 Quarters Later...

Something I learned very early on is that laundry is never done. It is such a process. You wear clothes, they become dirty, you put them in the washer, you put them in the dryer, you lay them flat to cool down so they don't get wrinkles, you put them in their proper storage place, all the while, the clothes you are currently wearing are now dirty, and the cycle continues. The process of doing laundry becomes even more daunting when you have to use a laundry mat, or shared machines.

There are only two times that I can remember using a laundry mat growing up. One time was to wash my mom's huge comforter that wouldn't fit in our washer and dryer, and the other time was when our dryer broke, and we were done placing the drying rack over the heater vent, in hopes that the jeans would dry more thoroughly. For three months, Aaron and I had to use shared laundry machines that were provided by the hotel. The laundry process was not something I was very prepared for.

Our first purchase toward laundering our clothes was a giant 'dorm style' laundry bag, $5.00. Then we had to purchase laundry soap and dryer sheets, $6.00 (I was bargain shopping after the nylon bag was so dang expensive!). And then of course washing and drying your clothes at the hotel is not free, $3.00 per load. I refuse to wash whites and colors together, $6.00 per laundry day. Two months in, the price for using the laundry machines went up, $4.00 per load. I'm still refusing to turn my whites gray or pink by washing them with my colors, $8.00 per laundry day! Grand total for laundering our clothes... $83.00... in quarters.

If for some reason you have to live in an Extended Stay Hotel for a period of time, something I would recommend is bringing your laundry basket. For packing purposes, you can keep dried foods or anything that doesn't need to be 100% confined in it, and for laundry purposes it would be great to have. It would have saved me $5.00 right from the start, and I would not have strained my back walking through the hotel lobby like Santa Claus with a huge bag of extremely heavy stuffed animals (laundry) slung over my shoulder.