A Week in the Life

I'm one of those people that always seems to have a story. You know, the one that got a speeding ticket, a flat tire, and ran out of gas on the way home from getting fired at work. Okay, well, maybe I'm not one of THOSE people...but close. I've been incredibly lucky in the big things...the wonderful husband, the healthy children, and great friends. However, I seem to always have these crazy things happening to me. So here's a week in my life....

Monday: On the 25 minute commute to preschool, on a stretch of road that we are unable to pull over on, my son had an accident in his car seat. He begged for us to pull over but waiting in line at a toll booth on a bridge made it impossible. (Note: Cleaning urine out of a car seat is an incredibly difficult job).

Friday: Hmmm! Let's see how to put this simply. On Friday night, while my husband worked on the holiday, my dog escaped from the yard. We found her tied up in the backyard of a neighbor. We were unable to easily get her back and had to rescue her through an elaborate recovery operation. Thankfully, she is home and she is safe and I'm assured that my husband loves me.

Sunday: My husband and I have been enjoying little bits of time where the monkeys actually enjoy playing with each other without mom and dad's help. Unfortunately, in those 20 minutes of tranquility, the monkeys slipped into the bathroom with a full bag of wipes. Can you guess what happened when you put together wipes, a toilet, and two mischievous monkeys? Two inches of water and wipes absolutely everywhere.

So that's three crazy little moments...There's sure to be more to come.

Facebook Killed the Blogger

I know it's been awhile...and I've come back to say...don't blame me, blame Facebook. I've always been the type to go for the instant gratification. While I enjoy blogging, I've really enjoyed re-connecting with friends, especially as my family have been a bunch of gypsies since 2003. It's so much easier to carve the few minutes it takes to write a small little blip about what's going on currently in my life than sitting down to write a post.

However I've discovered something in the past few months that has surprised me. I'm a writer, even if I don't put my ideas out on paper consistently. I love writing. In high school and college, there were few places that I went to without a notebook. I stopped somewhere between working towards my post-graduate degrees and banging out research and term papers and becoming a mother to two spunky and wild monkeys. It wasn't a conscious decision but one made slowly as I simply stopped carrying around those ratty, tatty notebooks. I'm trying to make a change now. Working out my ideas in journals and hopefully posting more frequently here. I'm focusing on the process and letting it take me where it needs to go.

To Don't

This year for a Christmas present, my aunt-in-law gave me some great notepads. They are all forms and make my 'office supply' lovin' heart sing. There is To Do, Pro/Con, Note to Self, and....To Don't. The 'To Don't' pad has me really thinking of all the things I need to make sure I 'don't do.' Here's my list:

1. Don't over think to the point of inaction. Yes, you really do think too much.

2. Don't skip breakfast. It makes you cranky.

3. Don't forget that dancing and singing cures almost everything. When in doubt, turn on Motown, Philadelphia Chickens, or Shakira's 'Hips Don't Lie.'

4. Don't let money or things get you down. You already have more than you ever could have imagined.

5. Don't obsess or ruminate. It's unattractive and unproductive.

6. Don't forget to drink water. It makes your lips chap, your mouth dry, and like #2...you feel cranky.

7. Don't let 'to do lists' control your life. There's so much more out there.

8. Don't spend so much time making to do lists, you don't actually accomplish anything...even if you have some new nifty pads.

9. Don't bury the things that really matter to you under the 'must haves' or 'must dos.'

10. Don't be too serious. Being silly is half of what makes you a good mom.

11. Don't try to control every aspect of your life. It's not possible nor optimal.

12. Don't let your creative side sleep. You need it to be you and it's impossible to be happy without it.

What's on your 'To Don't' list?

Things You May Not Have Known About Me

1. I love cottage cheese and french dressing, mixed together. Yum!

2. I'm a big fan of NASCAR and have been to four (Winston Cup/Nextel Cup/Sprint Cup...whatever)races at two different tracks. Fun Times!

3. I'm short, yet not the shortest in my family.

4. I love reality shows...and one of my favorites of all time would have to be Kept.

5. I met Donnie Wahlberg at his father's house when I was in 5th grade, just as NKOTB were becoming big. It was a big moment. I've also seen Tiffany in concert twice with NKOTB...once as the main act and later as the opening act.