Some Time Away

Day 9--I am so thankful for my mother and sister!

This morning, Little Miss and I hopped into the car and drove the 5+ hours to Colonial Williamsburg.  We met up with my mother and sister for our annual (ish) girl's weekend.  This year, we are initiating Little Miss to what has become a tradition of laughter, chocolate and relaxation--with plenty of shopping and stops for Punch Royale (not for Little Miss...).

I am so thankful for this weekend with my family. Already, we have spent the night laughing though a delicious dinner and buying dozens of books.  Tomorrow is supposed to be in the high 60s and sunny.  I can't wait to introduce my daughter to my favorite place!!

Where do you go to recharge?  Who do you like to take with you?

Midnight Phone Call

Day 8 of 30 Days of Thankfulness...

I am thankful for the knowledge that if I had a problem in the middle of the night, I could pick up the phone and call someone (more than just one!).  Not only do I know that those friends would drop everything to help me, they would take the time if all I needed was a shoulder to cry on.  I have seen these friends spring into action, whether it is to aid me or another.

Life is hard enough without having someone like that. Someone that you know will answer the phone even though they have things of their own to worry about, someone who stops by your house just to see you, someone who makes you feel like you are the most important person in the world to them. Friends like this are few and far between.  We live in a society that is overly concerned about what life is doing to them, not to others.  The only way to have a Phone-Call  friend like this is to be one yourself!

Who is your Phone-Call friend?  Take the time today to let that person know that you are thankful for them.  That you are there for them.  That you appreciate they blessing they are to you.

30 Days...Late.

It took me a while to catch on.  Doesn't it always?  But my friends on Facebook were all telling me how thankful they were for this thing or that thing.  So today, I decided to look it u.p.  It's part of the "Thirty Days of Thanks".  Basically, every day in November, you are supposed to give thanks for something in your life.
30 Days of Thanks

Right.  I thought, Well, I'm always thankful.  I mean, just today, I gave thanks for ....and...

oh.

So, better late than never, right?  I am going to try (because we all know how good I am at catching up on posts ..) to blog every day about what I am thankful for.


Thus....

Day 7

Today I am thankful for my husband.  When I was worked up and upset over the negativity on my Facebook wall in the aftermath of the election (combined with several more stresses and strains that are working on our family and lives right now...), he sat with me and talked me through my feelings, listened thoughtfully, and gave some excellent suggestions.  Thanks to him, I was able to settle down and get some things accomplished today!

What special thing did someone do for you today?  Be thankful!

I Have A Cold.

Probably one of the worst phrases ever uttered by a human.  Colds are miserable things, aren't they?  You have no idea how long you’ll feel like crap, but people expect you to return to your normal activity level 12 hours after you begin.

One of my least favorite parts of a cold is the mouth breathing.  You know what I’m talking about, the my-nose-is-so-stuffed-up-that-the-only-way-to-get-oxygen-to-my-lungs-is-to-suck-air-in-through-my-mouth look.  There’s something about mouth breathing that gives a person the aura of lower intelligence.  Pair that with the dazed look brought on by the combination of Sudafed and Mucinex, and you look like a total genius. 

That’s sarcasm, folks.

The worst part is, really, the common cold is nothing big.  So I feel like I should be keeping up my normal schedule (except for the exercise.  I can give up the exercise) and cook, clean, shop, work, and blog like I do every day.  Problem is, I don’t stinking feel like it. My head hurts, and my throat hurts, and I have a runny nose. I don't want to work. I want to lie on the couch, wrapped in a cozy blanket, and sleep all day.

But life goes on, so I will too.  With tissues.  And chocolate.

What makes you feel better when you're sick?

Aaaannnndddd…we’re back!

.I have to apologize to the people who have read my blog (I know there are some out there…Hi, Mom) for dropping off the face of the earth.    I have no excuse except that I was feeling incredibly down and the posts that I was writing were well, depressing.   I didn't even realize that I was so down until saw the things I was writing.  Sooooo…I just didn't post for a bit.

Its tough when you are really down to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and give yourself a stern talking-to, but I have been blessed with some friends that did just that for me.  They don’t even realize what they did for me, whether it was to attend my outdoor choir concert in the face of an impending storm, message me from 4 states away just to make sure I know that they are praying for me, or just being there to let me pour it all out. 

Well…friends and a ton of chocolate.

Now, I’m back…with a vengeance. Some of the posts that I have written over the summer will probably find their way here, but I’m glad to say that the old me is back, complete with OCD, sarcasm, and a healthy dose of Wonder Woman. J

How do you get yourself out of that low place?  Who has been there for you?

Epiphiny

I am not Wonder Woman.

Well, duh, right?

Though, what girl didn’t want to be Wonder Woman growing up?  I mean, first, she’s gorgeous. Second, she can bend metal and throw dynamite.  And C, she beats up all the bad guys and still looks…gorgeous.

But I digress.

No, I figured out this week that I most certainly did not grow up to be Wonder Woman.  Damn.

See, I didn’t think.  That is usually the root of most of my problems.  I say “Yes” and neglect to think about the ramifications of my agreement.  Raise your hand if you do that.

You really did just raise your hand, didn’t you?

OK.  So months ago, I took on the responsibility of the Community Yard Sale.  I figured I do all of the prep and advertising for just one, so the same amount of work goes in to the Community, right?  And I planned it to piggyback on the Borough-wide Yard Sale, since we are just outside of the Borough.  A couple of signs, and we’re set, right?

Yep.  Tonight I found myself lettering a bunch of big posterboards, transforming saved Yard Sale signs (I’m so OCD) to read “Community”, and oh, yeah, sorting and pricing the bazillions of junk we have to sell you’re the yard sale. My sale has kinda gone into the background because I’m feeling responsible for the other houses if no one shows up.  And they will, but…

Tomorrow Little Miss and I will venture forth to the neighborhood stores to post signs.  This will happen before I drive 25 minutes to get allergy shots. 

Then, I have to race home to clean my downstairs because I thought the Wednesday before my yard sale would be a great time to hold a drop in party for my friend who makes her own jewelry.  I’m actually really excited for this party and want it to go well.  I mean, her jewelry is amazing.  But the closer I get to a drop-in party with an unknown amount of attendees, the more the OCD-ness kicks in. 

So Little Miss and I headed to my favorite scratch –and –dent grocery store to get food and supplies for Wednesday.  And to get sodas and drinks to sell at the yard sale.  And, yes, purchase food to prepare meals for my family when I’m not in the corner banging my head against the wall.

We walk out of the store in the pouring rain, so I usher Little Miss into the car and unload the bags of soda, veggie tray makings, and yummy things to dip into the chocolate fountain (which I just realized needs to come up from the basement and be tested before tomorrow…).  Drenched, I start driving home when Little Miss asks me when we are going out in the afternoon and could she invite a friend?  I start to repeat the “I am not your cruise director” speech when I realize that I promised to take her to the potato chip factory for the tour (and yummy fresh chips right off the line!). 

So we race home, unload the groceries from the car in the pouring rain (I won’t tell you what my kitchen floor looks like right now!), load the outside fridge with a million ounces of liquid (true), toss the rest of the food where it belongs.  I prepare a healthy meal of microwave mac and cheese for Little Miss, and we head back out the door.  Did I mention it was pouring?

We actually enjoyed the tour, and I was able to keep my mind off of the 43 items on my to-do list.  Of course, the tour goes from building to building and we got wet because it was still pouring.  BUT, I grabbed some chips for the party, and we head home again.

Little Miss’s next question is, “What’s for dinner?”  Oh Man.  Run to the freezer, grab the meat that I was supposed to defrost and breathe a sigh of relief when the recipe says 1 hour.  Perfect timing!  Unfortunately, that meant 1 hour of cooking time.  So I dash around trying to make things happen as quickly as possible, dumping green pepper seeds and onion bits on the floor (did I mention my kitchen floor?). 

Dinner is finished, cleaned up, and I have poured myself a cup of coffee and am heading to price some yard sale stuff when Little Miss asks, “Can we play a game tonight?”  Since she’s been out playing in the fantastic weather and we’ve missed family game night and she can’t go outside because it’s POURING…I became the banker for the Game of Life.

I lost the game, by the way.

As I’m putting Little Miss to bed, thinking about how glad I am that the Folks from London have been procrastinating with my latest writing job, Little Miss looks at me and says, “Mama, I had a really good day today.  I Love You.”

Well, Wonder Woman I ain’t.  And I’m still going to rush around for the next 4 days to get everything accomplished.  But what I do know is that my little girl loves me, and no matter what I take on, she thinks I’m wonderful.

What else do I need?

By the way, check out my friend Jacqui’s beautiful work on her website: JoyfulJac Jewelry

Quiet House, Crazy House

I know some crazy people.

Our friends have 7 children.  If they had the chance, they’d have more.  They range in age from 10 to 4 months, 4 adopted.  The house is noisy, colorful, and in constant motion.

I call it bedlam. 

When we walk in, loud music is playing in the kitchen.  Papa is cooking something wonderful (that Little Miss won’t eat).  One to three children throw themselves at my ankles, and call my name with varying clarity.  Books, CDs and DVDs are in piles, and sometimes clean laundry.  Someone is climbing on or jumping off something.  The TV is on.  You can’t find the remote.  Someone else is on the iPad.  Someone is yelling, usually an adult.

I love it.

My house is neat and orderly.  I constantly declutter.  I make a meal schedule and shop according to that (Little Miss still won’t eat it).  I schedule workout time, writing time, cleaning time.  Books are put away.  Toys live in the playroom.  The surfaces are shiny.

I hate it.

Don’t get me wrong.  I am really proud of my house and the way it looks.  I work hard to keep it that way.  And I’m very happy to leave the noise and the brightness and go home to my quiet home.  But sometimes, I look at the crazy-ness of their home and secretly wonder if I could live like that.

Somewhere between bedlam and OCD-world, there is the happy medium I am hoping for.  I want to yell at my kids for running in the house, or slamming the door (OK, Little Miss does that constantly).  I love my home, and I want to fill it with love like they have.

Is that too much to ask?