Lists, Lectures and Laundry

I called my dearest friend Maternal Mirth last week for a chat. We got into discussing housework, and she told me she had lists.


Now I often hear of lists that people make, and prior to our conversation I had just started the week before of making a list for the next day, of things that had to be done. It all started when Sophie had to take antibiotics and get a foot soak twice a day (upper toe nail infection) so to remember I would write it down. I also started to add things that were random, like calling the Village Hall to find out what that ungodly noise was coming from the bathroom when you used the water (I thought the pipes were going to burst the whole damn floor humms and shakes. The Village Idiot  Plumming inspector said to push a button inside the toilet. I seriously thought he was blowing smoke up my ass because I was a girl, but needless to say he was right. We have to do it each time it happens. To weird though. ANYWAY off track here...)

So these lists were becoming a daily thing, and quite useful. My thought process on lists prior to this was, What the fuck, I've got 704 things to do today, and NO time to write it all down. Fuck it.

Not fast forward a week to my conversation with Maternal Mirth, and how she has a "list" that she hand wrote, and she photo copied it to check off. She says she tries to do this list 2x's a week. She also has a "maids list" of more detailed work (think dusting baseboards, cleaning blinds) this list she tries to do 1-2x's a month.

Key word "try". I asked her to email me her lists, and as soon as I got them I printed one copy, then sat down one morning with my cup of inspiration juice, Starbucks coffee! in my hand and tweeked her list according to my house...lets just say her one sheet is my two sheets. I also have more rooms. She has more square footage but mine is divided up into tinier rooms.

I wasn't too crazy with my list, keeping it simple for me, but enought that I could keep up with housework. The maids list is probably not going to be used for quite some time, because I need to get into a routine of simple housework before I get out my rubber gloves and Q-Tips for the detailing.

So I called her a few days later, because I was sitting on Facebook for hours, I had a messy house, and needed inspiration to get off my lazy ass and do something. I was looking for a lecture, possibly some yelling and screaming, telling me how horrible of a housewife I was. What did I get?

Sweet Maternal Mirth saying "Don't be hard on yourself. I said in my email that I TRY to do my lists. So just try. If you make your housework evil and chore, you won't want to do it. If you just do a bit at a time, and reward yourself with things like the art room, and facebook, you will feel much better."

As much as I was looking for a screaming lecture, or at least a stern voice, she has known me for close to 3 decades, and knows that force doesn't work for me. Glitter, sunshine and rainbows is what inspires me to work. So be it.

I do need to keep with the lists, I picked Thursdays and Sundays as my work days. Thursday is the day after my classes I teach so I am not concerned with them, and Sunday is like everyone elses Fridays (Spaghetti is off work Mondays & Tuesdays)

I am hoping that I can keep with the lists, and my laundry, if anyone cares (is anyone still reading this excitement?) is doing well. I am keeping up with it for the most part, I am trying (again key word is TRY) to keep it off the floors, and keep it moving. I know Maternal Mirth can do her's twice a week, I do believe if I did that, I would never keep up. Maybe someday, till then I do laundry almost every day.

There's your update on life around here. It's been cleaning, and purging. I have an enormous garage sale coming up on May 1st, we set up April 30th, and let the early birds pre shop a bit, it's a subdivision thing and people come from as far as Chicago to shop! (Were bout an hour away)

I will be spending all my free time from now till then (besides Weaky's birthday Sunday!) getting ready! Oh and Happy Earth Day!!

Nashville

Nashville, Tennessee
April 3rd - April 7th 2009

The Mc family is leaving this Friday morning, when Spaghetti gets home from his night shift, to hop into the IL's mini van and zoom away 7 hours and 53 minutes to Nashville, Tennessee.


Spaghetti's cousin, Nikki, and her very musically talented husband, Loren, moved to Nashville last fall. It only makes sense. Loren currently plays guitar, banjo, mandolin, and sings for the country rock band "Drew Davis Band" they toured with Hootie and the Blowfish all summer, promoting there first CD "Crossroads". He also sings the opening song for "Suite life of Zach and Cody" on the Disney channel. Oh and did I mention he did work for the show "Alias" oh and in the first season of LOST when they show Charlie playing guitar, that is Charlie's hands, but Loren playing the music, some work on video game sound tracks... oh I could go on and on. Let's just say Loren is on interesting guy. From the stories of music, to his personal love of diving (not a shocker he's certified to dive over 100 feet, wreck dive, and I do believe some sort of medical dive too?) Alright enough on Loren.

Nikki herself, is a beautiful and sweet girl. She needs a bit of Loren to feisty her up a bit. She teaches 8th grade students, now in Nashville. She hand makes beautiful jewelry and has a big yellow lab named Belle.


Phew.


Back to me and the insanity of the trip. Maternal Mirth taught me a valuable thing about vacationing with children.

She said to me once "It is not vacation for us mom's. It's simply called relocation" how true that is.


Weaky is the most to pack, he needs more clothes (messy boy!) and special jar food, and formula, and bottles, and teether rings, and Tylenol, and diapers, his alcohol for his helmet, special tooth brush to clean it, he has to be bathed everyday because of it, and his pack and play, and front carrier if we go for a hike... good god, maybe a kitchen sink too.


Bagel is clothes, diapers, sippies, and a pack and play for her. Oh and her hair ties, detangler spray, oh, toys for them. Nikki and Loren have no kids, and NO toys!... oh my...


I checked the weather. It looks like sunny and 70 when we get there, but Sunday and Monday will be cooler and rainy. So I have to pack for mild summer/chilly spring/ who knows what?!


Oh and I have to pack the cats up. Thing 1 and Thing 2 are going to stay with Thing 3 at my IL's house. So they need food, dishes, water bowl, litter box... that is happening today. We will be packing up the cats, and swapping out our Ford exploder, and my MIL's focus for our Pontiac back and to use there mini van for the trip. (don't ask about the swap of the Pontiac and the Focus. Long story) We were going to do the cats and dogs all tomorrow. Hello insanity. So we moved the IL's to today. Good thing I could use an extra day to pack the van


And Ding and Dong will be getting packed up and shipped to my parents tomorrow. They will stay there. They have 3 cats, but they also have an acre of land fenced in. Ahh... freedom for the dogs! They won't have much access to the house. Mostly the workroom, and laundry room. (maybe the kitchen if they are good) It's a big deal that my parents take them. They have a very nice house, and yard. And for my two Buffalo's to be there for a week is SO nice of them!


I have food to pack, a cooler, van entertainment, and everything needed to take an almost 3 year old, and an 11 month old on a 5 day vacation 8 hours away?!?


Insert psycho laughter here.


So I NEED to get off the computer and pack my ass off. We will be leaving soon to get the van. I have SO much to do...

Taxes and Trendy Stuff

We went to get our taxes done today. With the Stampin' Up! business, it's complicated, so we have a lady do them for us. Not to bad of a return. Spaghetti was expecting more, but I'm excited, it will cover our property taxes, and that was the point of taking the escrow off the mortgage.

In more funner news (yes, funner is a word. I invented it. Instead of more fun, there is a even funner version. And that is "more funner") ANYWHO, I must ask how trendy we all are. I mean in the world of the internet.

I am a blogger, and that is the coolest thing possible to be doing on the Internet (per me) then there is the ever so popular Twitter, and now everyone and there sister is Twitting, or Tweeting, or whatever catch phrase is. I am doing it.

Now it's not new, but I have to say I don't remember, exactly when MySpace disappeared, and FaceBook became the new "it" place to be. I have been on both, but MySpace was the place to be. And FaceBook was for the older preppier people. Suddenly my mailbox is flooded with friend invites, and writing on my Wall. I have connected with WAY more people from my past, that I actually want to be friends with on FaceBook then I ever did on MySpace.

I am however still lost a bit on FaceBook. I don't get why things are not right there to find. It took me a while to find the drop down box for the "notes" and I don't like that I have to just remember who to tag in them, I just wish I had a menu with everyone on it. (now I just start to type a letter of the alphabet and hope I get everyone. Even though I have missed Renee and D. Pimpster a few times. Sorry!)

I do wish I could at least have a background. The lame ass white is boring. Now I am not talking about the obnoxious blinkies, winkies and widgets that cluttered MySpace pages, but a bit of personality is all I'm askin'. Maybe even tint the page? Purple?

Wanna know where I got the fun "flair" from? Ah yes thanks to my phone a friend (Maternal Mirth) I learned that "flair" is fun on FaceBook. I liked these... just a few more days for Twilight to be released, and I am hoping for a pre-release from Spaghetti's video store job. Either way I am rereading Twilight, just for fun.


So is there any other trendy things I need to be doing? Oh I can text, I just don't we have a special plan and we don't text, probably will soon enough though...

Found: One missing best friend from 1989

Here we have myself (center) and my two closest friends from grade school. We three were the best of friends growing up. From sleep overs, to birthdays we've been thought it all. Now all through H.S. and into our collage years we were not as close, still friends but busy with our own lives.



Years later, as we all got married, had kids and turned 30 together. We have bonded and rekindled that friendship we once loved.

Now don't get me wrong having Maternal Mirth (above) as one of your closest friends, and D. Mudd Pimpster (below, with Maternal Mirth hung over at her surprise 30th in the background) is the best ever. But something was missing... that one skinny, funny, wacky dark haired girl. The one that left in the 5th grade. The one person that got me way before I even got me. She moved to another town, not to far away. But the distance and life kept us all apart. Till one winter day, February 11th 2009 to be exact.

I received an email from someone I didn't know. Thought about deleting it. (I am still getting a ton of spam) but I thought I would open it anyway. It was from Renee. I about died. Let me tell you, short of stalking, I have looked high and low for this girl. Not knowing her married name, or the city she had moved to made it hard.

She found my sister on Facebook, and found all of us too. D. Mudd Pimpster and I are looking for a day (when I am free of the flu) where we can (kid free) have a nice long dinner with Renee, full of hugs and laughter and old memories. We have SO much to catch up on. Maybe we can conference call to Maternal Mirth in LaLa land.

So now the 3 that once was a 4. Is now back to the 4 it once was 20 years ago!

Vent about the "cool people"

Did you ever see a picture of someone that used to make fun of you in grade school and just smile to yourself?

Now I know I am not the 107 lb hottie I dream to be. (24lbs to go!) But shieeet, after seeing some of the people that were SO much better then me, and belittled me and my friends. Sigh, it just makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.

I really don't have hard feeling but for just a select few. Those few who made sure that they said loudly in the lunch room "This pop I am drinking is flat. Just like some people" with there evil eyes looking right at me. Right in front of the boy I liked.

Or when you told all the boys in class that I didn't start my period yet, so I was still a little girl, and no one should date me. One even asked me to slow dance, in that creapy basement cafeteria at a sock hop, and after about a verse you cut in. Knowing that was a happy moment for me. Your ruined it.

Or 15 years later when you see me in public and you ignore me when I say "hi" our parents are friends, so I thought I would try and be civil. I wasn't looking for a conversation. Maybe just a polite "hi" to much to ask for? (I tried this on 3 occasions, and I got the same response. You can't say I didn't fucking try)

The best one was Monday, Weaky was at the Doctor for his 9 month, and we had the kids in the "not sick room" when someone from gradeschool (a year below me) came in with her kid, looked at me. Rolled her eyes, and walked out. Fuck you. I hope that since you avoided being seen in the same room as me, and you forced your kid to sit with the sick hacking adults, you all get the flu.

I really don't get what the deal is? I mean was your life that fucked up as a kid that you needed to mock me? To make fun of my best friend behind her back? To still to this day 17 years later, not be able to grow the fuck up? I mean you called me a loser, but I am thinking the real losers where the bitches that still can't get over themselves.

Well like I said I have seen pictures. And they ain't pretty. And no I am not one of those freaks that can't get over this shit, going on the Maury show, but when it still continues, after we are all grown, have families and kids of our own? I am just a bit bitter. That it still goes on.

My only request. Is that if those people do corrupt someone into marring them. And if those people, god save us, do breed. I only ask that they raise there children to be nothing like themselves. Because they were the most rotten, self absorbed, bitches.

So out of 32 class mates, I must say there are only a few that I can not stand. The rest, are awesome people that I still connect with. I am happy to say that after 25 years Maternal Mirth and Mudd D. Pimpster, are still my close friends. Quigs and I just found each other, and thanks to MySpace and Facebook, I am finding more of my old friends.

It's just those few... those rotten few... that just ruin it...

Well now that that is off my chest, I guess what I needed to say is that I am tired of sad people, who have shitty lives, and chose to shit on the happy people. Maybe that is it. Maybe because your family life was shit you needed to hate on me?

What a waste of my energy today. Well I should be a happier camper, now that I vented. And with some quality time with the voodoo doll, all will be good.

Anyone else still hate the gradeschool slut, bitch, bully?