Making Lists, Ball Point Pens, and Toenail Clippers

 

 

Thanksgiving is in just three (oh, crap!  It’s after midnight!)…so no, TWO days from now.  I have started making my list of things I would like to get done to make the day run more smoothly.  I always plan to plan ahead.  Then, I procrastinate to the point where I have to begin choosing which things I can do without getting done because there is no longer enough time to possibly do them all. 

 

Of course, I needed to get the updates done on my computer first. 

 

Why?  Because it was important to me at the time.  It was the ‘something shiny’ that caught my attention at that exact moment and…well, that’s it!  Do I need a reason?  (Yes.)  Well, I don’t have one, so that’s as good as it’s going to get.

 

Okay, that pesky task is out of the way now.  Imagine how much better the turkey will taste now that my computer is fully updated! 

 

Seriously…that sounded so much more intelligent in my head.

 

I grabbed a pen and a paper (which would also not work nearly as well if my computer didn’t have all of its updates) and started jotting down the things I plan to get done tomorrow.  As I’m writing down the second item on my list, I notice the pen isn’t working right.  It works when I make the test scribbles on the top of the paper, but not when I try to write down the actual words I need to write down.

 

How do ball point pens know to do that?

 

I think I’d better add ‘Toss out old pens’ to my list. If I had a working pen, I totally would!  It’s not as if we don’t have any working pens in this house.  I’m sure there are probably hundreds of them around here somewhere.  However, they seem to stay hidden in the same place with all the toenail clippers and the tape measurers we’ve ever bought.

 

Honestly, where in the hell do those things go?  How many pairs of toenail clippers have your purchased in your lifetime?  How many can you find right now?  See?

 

I think it’s time to call it a night.  I find the process of making lists simply exhausting. Tonight, it just wasn’t meant to be.  Let’s just hope that the few things I wanted to write down will still be in my head first thing tomorrow morning. 

 

Well, okay…I at least hope to see them again after I’ve had my first cup of coffee!

 

In closing, here is a picture of 7YO (when she was FOUR) taking a selfie. 

 

 

She even has ‘the look’ down, doesn’t she?  I can already see her a few years down the road posting an Instagram pic (or whatever app the whipper-snappers are into by then!) after spending two hours between makeup, hair, and editing only to write,

#nofilter  #nomakeup

 

Don’t you just love social media?  Everyone can be exactly who they really are.

I Just Need a Broom and a Dustpan....and a HOUSEKEEPER!

AAAAAACHOOOOO!!!!!

 

Man, there sure was a lot of dust piling up on this thing!  The only thing I can say about my latest absence from the blogosphere is:  This blog is always on my list of 'Things to Do'...it just always gets kicked to the bottom of the list!

 

And then I blinked.

 

I blinked and school was out.  It was summer vacation and I was finally going to get to do ALL THOSE THINGS I HAD BEEN TOO BUSY TO DO DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR. 

 

(I didn't do most of them.)

 

Then, I blinked again.

 

I blinked and school was about to begin again.  I was sad to see our summer come to and end, but looking forward to embracing some sort of routine again.  Although I find too much structure and too many 'have tos' in my day stifling, I definitely lack the motivation to get very much done of my own accord.  To quote a friend,

 

"You should definitely not be left unsupervised!"

 

As much as I love to be alone, I tend to agree with her. 

 

Since I almost feel the need to introduce myself again because I haven't been here in so long, I guess I should fill you in on the latest amusing anecdotes of my spouse and spawn.  (David, 17YO, 10YO, and 7YO.)

 

David is....well, he's David.  :-)  Most days, I consider that to be a pretty good thing.  Most days.

 

 

 

17YO is a senior in high school and drives.  Yes, they allow her on the road with other people and pedestrians and dog walkers and such.  Most days, I feel okay about that.  She wants to be an orthodontist and, coincidentally, just got braces last month.  I think she would actually make a great orthodontist because she has excellent people skills and would most likely be known for her amazing bedside (or chairside) manner.  The college and scholarship application process is underway and I sort of feel like a circus dog with all the flaming hoops that still need to be jumped through.  It's a complicated process, but I am lucky because 17YO is doing almost all of it.  Her school seems to be very thorough about pointing them in the right direction for college and scholarships, but only time will tell.  We don't see her much and she always seems to need more time and money. 

 

 

 

 

10YO is doing really well.  She is thriving in fifth grade, adores her amazing teacher, and is just finishing up her first season (Well, first season since she was five!) playing soccer.  She loves it and wants to continue with the indoor and spring seasons coming up.   My quiet introvert really seems to be finding her place with her friends, teammates, and classmates.  It's nice to see the timid ones come out of their shells.  She is a stickler for rules and order and doesn't have much of a tolerance for anyone that doesn't walk the 'straight and narrow' right along with her.  I'm hoping she'll eventually loosen up a bit.  (I'm sure most of her friends are too!)

 

 

 

7YO does pretty well in almost everything she does.  She loves second grade and and her teacher.  She seems to make friends well and doesn't seem to struggle with any particular subject in school.  Not yet, anyway!  She does, however, seem to struggle with patience.  She seems to have quite a bit of natural charisma WHEN SHE IS NOT AT HOME.  At home, as my mom so aptly pointed out one day, "That child would argue with a stop sign!"  (Yes, Grandma really nailed that metaphor!) We pretty much just keep our fingers crossed that she uses her powers for good and not evil.  Once again, only time will tell! 

 

 

 

I am just plugging along.  I changed my eating habits and lost twenty pounds.  Okay, so I tried to make eating less of a habit than it had been.  I also cut out most of the junk.  I am to the point where the junk makes me sick if I overdo it.  I need that sort of consequence or I will continue to overeat and outgrow my pants.  I am a glutton, plain and simple.  I am also currently an auburn-ish brunette.  Change is good, right? 

 

 

 

I am still searching for the keys to happiness, wealth, success, a house that cleans itself, and meals that prepare themselves. Oh, I would also LOVE to find a faster way to knit socks!  (Because two years just seems like a long time to get a pair of socks done!)    

 

 

 

Okay, so I didn't spend the entire two years knitting them...I just have the attentioin span of a gnat most days and my projects spend a lot more time in the craft closet than they do in my mind!

 

I used my handy dandy (yet seriously outdated) scrapbooking program and made a little extra decoration for my fireplace mantle.

 

 

I also like to spend a little time each day annoying my girls.  The oldest is the most fun, even though she is by far the easiest to annoy.  Recently, I took several selfies of myself and my cat and kept text them to her throughout the day.  She told me I needed to get dressed and leave the house. 

 

 

 

My work here is done.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If You Ask Leann for a Cookie...

Sometimes I feel like this book was actually written about ME.

Sometimes I'm the poor victim who gets suckered into giving that needy, easily distracted little rodent a cookie, and sometimes I'm the mouse.  Sometimes it's a cookie I'm given (or a request to bake some!) and sometimes it's a task or an idea.  The cookie can also be seen as the mess left behind by the rest of my family...who also take turns as the role of that pesky mouse.  

Just last night, one of my darling children lost her grip on an almost full gallon jug of apple juice as she was retrieving it from the fridge.  It landed sideways, the cap broke off, and apple juice instantly covered my kitchen floor.  During dinner.  Now, I guess I've just cleaned up too many messes to let this one disrupt my dinner.  The child in question mopped up the juice and resumed eating her dinner.  While it looked clean, I knew that there would be a sticky residue left behind and told myself I would be mopping it tomorrow.  I did mop it today, but I still need to go over it again.  I'll leave the mop out to remind myself to do it, but I'll probably stop noticing it right away and won't remember what it's for until I stumble across a sticky spot I missed when mopping the first time.  I'll try to get to it tomorrow.

By the way, 'tomorrow' is actually my very favorite day to complete any task.  My desk needs organizing?  I'll get right on that.  Tomorrow.  See how easy that is?

I have been meaning to write a letter to someone in response to their letter to us.  I really wanted to respond correctly to the original letter and needed to find it first.  That makes sense, right?  It's just too bad that there were so many things to grab my attention between my computer and where the original letter was most likely kept.  Just walking down the hall it always occurs to me that there is laundry to wash, dry, or put away, and there are bathrooms to clean and closets that must contain that *thing* that I had been looking for and forgotten about but I am convinced I really need to find right now but was probably sidetracked by something else the last time I tried to locate said item.

See how easily it happens?

If you ask Leann for a cookie,
she'll decide she needs to bake some.
While she starts gathering the ingredients,
she will realize that she doesn't have any butter.
She will decide to go to the store,
but she won't have time to get back before the kids get out of school.
She will start to make a list of other things she needs from the store,
when she notices that the recycling stuff needs to be taken out.
When she starts to gather the recycling,
she will remember there is a plastic jug in the garage that needs to be added to the rest of the recycling stuff.
When she goes out into the garage to grab that last jug,
she will realize that there are a few pairs of the girls' shoes out there too.
When she brings the shoes back into the house and puts them in the proper rooms,
she will see the dirty laundry in the bedroom floors.
Once she starts gathering the laundry,
she will remember that she needs to wash a few towels as well.
As she heads into her bedroom to grab the last few towels to make a load,
she will notice that the cat needs more water.
While she is giving the cat fresh water in his dish,
she will notice that her bathroom counters need to be wiped down.
While grabbing the supplies from under the sink,
she notices that she will soon need to buy more toilet paper.
As she walks back down the hall to update her shopping list,
she will notice some hand prints on the door frames.
As she grabs the Lysol wipes to clean the door frames,
she will remember that it is cold and flu season and she should disinfect the door knobs and light switches.
As she is wiping the door knobs and light switches,
she will remember how much the Lysol wipes dry out her hands.
As she goes back into her bathroom to find some lotion,
she will notice that she hasn't made her bed yet.
As she makes her bed,
she remembers the remote control needs new batteries.
Once she is in the kitchen getting the batteries,
she will realize that she is hungry.
While she heats up some soup in the microwave,
she will remember that the dishwasher needs to be unloaded.
As she unloads the dishwasher,
she realizes how disorganized her plastics cupboard is.
As she is straightening out the cupboard,
she finds things that she does not need and can be recycled.
After she adds the items to the bag,
she remembers that one plastic jug is still in the garage.
While she is back in the garage to retrieve the jug,
she notices that she will need to buy more dog food soon and should add it to her list.
While she is adding dog food to her shopping list on the fridge,
she realizes that she is forgetting an appointment for today and can't remember the time.
As she grabs her phone to check the time of the appointment on her calendar,
she realizes she missed a text from her daughter.
As she is texting her daughter back,
the house phone rings.
I could go on and on, but I can almost promise you that she will not be baking any cookies today.  She will probably be late to her appointment and hasn't even thought about dinner yet!

Story.  Of.  My.  Life.

I can be busy all day and get next-to-nothing actually accomplished.  Some days, I can put my blinders on and walk past the other things that need attention and actually complete a task.  Most of the time, that is not the case.  As I type this, I realize that I still have a few things to do before I need to pick up the girls from school and race to an appointment.

Lucky for me, most of those things can be done tomorrow.