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.