Archive for February, 2009
Wait – Let Me Tie My Apron Strings
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In my entire life, there is not one single person who would think ‘Suzie Homemaker’ when they heard my name.
Not one.
And that’s fine with me. I never wanted to be the kind of wife who has her apron, heels and red lipstick on with dinner on the table and a martini ready when her husband comes home. Nah. I’m way too independent.
Cleaning house when you’re single, living with another adult, or married just isn’t that bad. I mess it up, I clean it up. You mess it up, you clean it up. We’ll split the stuff that needs done together (garbage, laundry, vacuuming etc.). However, since I’ve been at home with mini-me and mini-Tony, it’s been a little bit more difficult. There are two little creatures, messing everything up at all moments of the day. They’re quite good at it. I’ve really had to spend a lot of time here in the house. And I really like it to be clean. I don’t require spotless and sparkling. But I would like to have, at minimum, the APPEARANCE of clean.
I have also realized, in my semi-old age, that they only way I am productive is if I have a to-do list. Honestly. I get completely distracted by small things even WITH a list. Without a list, I’d spend ALL day playing with the kids, watching Oprah and using StumbleUpon. I get a certain amount of satisfaction just crossing something off that list. It is very rare if one day’s list gets finished in one day. But, at the end of the day, I try to start a list for the next day.
How do these two topics come together? Well, I’ve found a great cleaning to-do list. Actually, an old friend of mine found it, and emailed me the link. From what I can tell, this list was created by a mom who also home schools her children. It only costs $8, and she has each day on a page. She has your regular every day stuff, weekly stuff, and (this is what I always forget) the stuff that you only do every few months. I’ve only been using it for a week, and I’ve found that I tweak it a bit. I add my work and personal chores on there, too. My old to-do lists ALMOST NEVER including cleaning. I would do some, when I felt like it. Which meant that I hardly every did things like clean the top of the fridge and organize my closet. This list took all of the thinking out of cleaning. I mean, I think enough with all of my other endeavors. I don’t have time to THINK about cleaning.
So, here’s a link for the to-do list. It comes in a few different formats, and gives you an entire year. Yeah, I know that tomorrow starts March. But better late than never. Click here to view more details. She has it available with or without a Bible verse. Hey, whatever floats your boat. Personally, I’m not so much a bible girl. If you end up using this list, let me know! Or, if you have some other kind of great idea to keep your house in a semi-clean state, feel free to share that, too!
Entertainment in My Mailbox
Posted by: | CommentsOK, this is a quickie, quickie post. Mostly because I’ve been a slacker today, and I still have a ton on my to-do list. But that’s OK – we all need a day where we are barely productive every once in a while.
Anyway, thank you to Yankee Candle. It is a super big deal when we receive a Yankee Candle catalog in my house. Everybody (including me) fights over who gets to smell all of the candles first. Chloe just finished smelling all of the pages (even the ones that don’t smell) about 3 times. BONUS: a $15 off a $45 purchase coupon on the front. BTW, my favorite scent in this one is Lilac Blossom. It just reminds me of growing up, because we had a huge lilac bush in our back yard. This is also one of my mom’s favorite scents. Got me craving spring even more. Oh, and the Vanilla Lime! Mmmmmm…beachy.
So, if you’re ordering some Yankee Candles for yourself, the online coupon code is CAT903F
Have a great night!
He Went With His Gut
Posted by: | CommentsTony always seems to find weird or crazy happenings. Well, thank God he found one on Saturday.
He was on his way home from work on Saturday night/Sunday morning. It had snowed just a bit, and the roads were a little bit slick. As he was coming down McKee (a 2 lane road) towards Oakdale, he saw some tire tracks that went off the road. He kept on driving, but those tracks really just didn’t look right to him. So, because he couldn’t stop thinking about the tracks, he turned around to go and check everything out.
As he peered over the edge of a drop off, he saw a car in the creek. The headlights were still on, windshield smashed, and just basically a mess. He called 911, and headed down to a small bridge to take him to the other side of the creek. The man inside was moaning, so he just kept on talking to him until the paramedics came. Once they got there, he asked if they needed him for anything else. When they said that they didn’t, he just headed home. As he got home, he heard the emergency siren. We found out later that the man had to be life flighted to the hospital.
So, send some good vibes for this man. From what I understand, he is holding on, and doing better than he was when he got there. But he’s not in the clear quite yet. I am so proud of Tony for stopping. This poor man could have been down there for hours before somebody else found him (it was about 3:30 am).
Good reason to just go with your gut.
Best Thing I Heard
Posted by: | CommentsI have a little ritual with my girls at bedtime. I talk with them. I spend some time reading with Chloe, then she completely leads the conversation. After Chloe dozes off, I do the same thing with Becca. The other night, as Becca and I were having our little conversation, the subject of penises came up. The little voice in my head told me ‘OK, watch what you say. Not too much. Answer her questions. Don’t scar her for life.’
The subject came up because she asked me how, when somebody is pregnant, they can tell whether it’s a boy or a girl. So, I explained the whole ultrasound thing to her, and that the doctor can see whether or not the baby has a penis. I could see her searching in her brain, wheels turning, trying to remember what in the hell a penis is. So I said to her, “Remember when we changed baby Logun’s diaper, and he had a penis?” Yes, she remembered. All was good. No scarring involved.
Then, she proceeded to tell me “It’s way better to be a girl. Because when you’re a girl, you can read a book when you go pee.”
Good point, little girl. Good point.
It’s All About the Vibes, Man.
Posted by: | CommentsI’m not sure how many people know this about me, but I completely believe in the law of attraction. Many of you have probably either read, seen, or heard about ‘The Secret.’ Now I’m not saying that ‘The Secret’ holds all of life’s answers. But it did open up an area for me to explore a little.
If you don’t know much about the law of attraction, I’ll give you the nutshell version (since I’m not writing a blog to teach this stuff). Basically, it says that whatever you put out there, you get back. You put out good vibes, you get good things back. It really gets a lot more complicated than that, like being grateful for what you have, and making room in your life to get the things that you want. I’ll include some books at the end of this post that I like. Why am I telling you all of this stuff? Well, it’s sort of the intro to a story I remembered the other day. And here it is:
Almost two years ago, we were planning a trip to the Outer Banks, NC. This is a place where we go every couple of years with the Downey family. We were excited about going, and really looking forward to spending some ‘quality’ family time together. There was one thing that Tony had always wanted to do on these trips. He always wanted to go deep sea fishing. He wanted that feeling of being strapped into a chair with that huge fishing rod, reeling in the ‘big one.’ A couple of months before the trip, we were chatting about this in our kitchen before he left for work. He said “I don’t know how I’m going to do it, but I’m going deep sea fishing this year. I’ve decided.”
I thought “Ummmm, OK. I don’t know how we’re going to pay for one big huge fishing trip.” He had attempted to get a fishing trip together about 4 or 5 years prior. The trip that he booked didn’t exactly live up to his expectations. There was a group of maybe 6 guys, and they went out on a boat, but there wasn’t really any ‘deep sea’ involved. They went fishing. Pretty much, regular old fishing out in the ocean. When the first guy started reeling in a fish, he got ready for a big fight. As he pulled back on the rod and started reeling his catch in, the fish literally skipped across the top of the water.
Well, here’s what happened a few days after that kitchen conversation. At this time, Tony worked at a hotel bar at the airport. He was chatting with his guests, and mentioned his upcoming trip to the Outer Banks. One of his semi-regular guests said that he was also going to be in the Outer Banks around the same time. He started to tell Tony about how they charter a million dollar boat every year to go deep sea fishing. Tony, seeing this as his golden opportunity, asked if they had room for an extra guy. He said that he’d definitely pay his way. Matt (his guest) said that yes, he might have room for an extra guy. But they would have to figure out if they were going to be there the same week (Note: Why do guys NEVER know when things are happening. Tony was only semi-sure of the dates we would be there, and same with Matt. Women have to deal with all of the details!).
The next day, Tony told me about what had happened. He was super pumped, and that day we got an email saying that yes, we would all be there the same week. We went on vacation, Tony caught a 65 pound Tuna, and he had one of the best days of his life. (OK, next to marrying me and having the kids–I hope.) The day of his trip, the rest of our extended family had gone out to dinner, and the girls and I waited at the cottage for Tony’s return. He walked in the door with a gigantic smile and a radiant glow. He just looked so farkin’ happy!
The point? Tony decided that the deep sea fishing was happening. He concentrated on it, and put it out there. And sure enough, it happened. I can say this for many things in our lives, incuding the opening of our restaurant. If you want to read up on any of this, check out the books below.
If you think I’m a crackpot, that’s OK, too.
Sometimes I think I’m a crackpot.
