Oh, hi, Ohio!

Orientation is a super busy place and our Internet connection disappeared for awhile, which is why there have been almost no new posts.  But that is no longer an issue because I now live in Cincinnati!

I'm working for the Cincinnati Church of the Brethren doing a whole manner of things.  I live in a beautiful house (and I really, really mean that) with three great housemates: Sarah, Sara and Marc.  Sarah hails from Minnesota, Sara is from Virginia and Marc is from orientation (and before that Germany).

All of those things - the house, the job, the roommates - deserve their own entry.  And they'll get it.  But for now, I want to show you the two most surprisingly useful things that I packed.  Both of these were gifts and both were things I was going to leave behind.

First, Pink Poodle Pillow:

Pink Poodle Pillow was a Christmas gift from my sister, so I would get less homesick for Sachi, our parents' real live poodle who became my shadow and source of sanity.  Sachi is adorable.  Poodle Pillow is ugly as all get out.  Poodle Pillow is, however, a great source of comfort, reminding me of both my sister and my favorite real-life poodle.  Besides being the perfect huggable size, Poodle Pillow is pink and lends instant personality to my bed.

But the most amazing thing about Poodle Pillow, is that Poodle Pillow is a pillow.  See?

 

Poodle Pillow was my only pillow for all of orientation.  Poodle Pillow is a great car pillow, lumbar support, neck support and floor pillow. Part of living simply is finding muliple uses for the stuff you have.  Poodle Pillow does this perfectly.


And probably the most useful thing I brought was this bag from my Aunt Sue:

This is a Blue Q overnighter.  It's made of recycled materials and is super durable and sturdy. It folds down flat and be folded up even more to fit inside my purse.  I've used it as a weekend bag, a bathroom tote, a suitcase reinforcer, a grocery bag, a laundry tote and a decorative room brightener.  I don't think I've ever adored a bag more than this one.


Once or twice I've had to go somewhere carrying both Poodle Pillow and my Blue Q bag.  For the most part I've tried to avoid thinking about how much this makes me look like a 9 year old going to a sleep over.


 But hey, if stuff's useful, it's useful!