C'mon, girl, FOCUS!

I’ve got a terrible habit. Once I get something into my head, I put my blinders on and dive straight in. So now I’ve got so many things going, all I can do it sit here on the couch and wonder which one I should be doing. And that is getting me nowhere.

Jewelry Making – I was at the mall recently and found some really cool earrings. I was too cheap to buy them, so I thought to myself, “I can make that. How hard can that be?” The next day, I was sitting at home with a few hundred beads, clips, elastic, earring thingys, and a whole bunch of other crap I didn’t know what to do with. So far I’ve made a set of earrings, a necklace and a bracelet – none of it wearable.

Macrame – I don’t even know if I can spell this craft. I bought a cool pair of jeans that came with a macramed belt that was…well…awesome. Shoot, I can make one of those! So off I went to Wal-Mart to get me some cord. Got home and found out – after attempting many knots – that I had the wrong stuff. Back to Wal-Mart I went to buy more cord, along with some cool beads that can go on my belt. So I’ve got about 5 practice knots made. The pile of macramé stuff is currently in the corner of my living room. I made the mistake of bragging about my new craft to my friends, so they keep wondering where their new belts are. All in good time, my friends, all in good time.

Olympics – Even though I’m not much of a sports fan, I get wrapped up in watching the Olympics. Crafts? What crafts? Curling is on for crying out loud!

Reading – don’t even ask me how many books I’ve got lying on the floor next to my bed that have bookmarks in the middle of them. I even brought one upstairs with me yesterday afternoon. It’s still in the same spot on the living room floor.

Website – I’ve got a website going that severely needs updating. I could do it now while I’ve got my laptop in front of me, but I can’t focus on that while the Italians are doing their figure skating routine.

I have to admit that I REALLY want to start knitting cool scarves. I’ve been to Wal-Mart and Hobby Lobby to look at the goods, but frankly, I have no idea where to start. So if you are a knitter, give me some hints on how to get going! I need another thing on my to-do list.

Ann's Stuff You Need Store

I’ve just returned from Colorado with an enjoyable trip with my family. On my flight home, I designed my own business venture. If you have not been on a skiing trip to Colorado, you may not fully understand how successful my new store will be.

Ann’s Stuff You Need Store
Based in Silverthorne, Colorado

My store will include the following products and services:
Ski rental, because every other store out there does it so why not me
Those bottles of oxygen
Bottled water
Lotion, for extra extra dry skin
Humidifiers – every house should have 5 or 6 going at all times
lip balm with sunscreen
sunscreen
firewood

Those are the things I will sell because that is really all you need out there. Look me up the next time you are out there. I'll probably be in the back room next to the humidifier, lathering myself with lotion and chugging water like a mad woman.

Pittooee!

So we’re sitting in church on Sunday morning. At our church, we have communion once each month. Our sons have always stayed in the pew while we went forward. This week I decided that it was time they took part in the ritual, after a short in-church disagreement with Mike.

So we march up to the front, and I help them tear off the piece of bread and instruct them to dip it into the juice. Lucas puts his in his mouth like he’s supposed to, while Cameron marches back to the pew with his in his hands. I try to grab him and tell him to eat it, but cannot catch up. Finally back in the pew, I talk him into it.

On our way home, Lucas announces that he still has his in his mouth. “It’s gross! I can’t swallow it!” So Mike proceeds to tell him, “Just spit it out the window,” which just makes me freak out. “YOU CAN’T SPIT JESUS CHRIST OUT ONTO THE SIDEWALK!”

Lucas, always the reasonable one, tries to calm me down. “Actually, Jesus is very caring and I am sure he would not want me to eat something that I did not like, Mom. He is very understanding.”

We rode the rest of the way in silence. Hours later I went into the bathroom at home. There, in the garbage can, was the bread and blood of Jesus Christ – right next to the snotty tissue and the used dental floss. Ya, he better be understanding...

A Life Cut Too Short

It is with a heavy heart that I write today’s blog entry.

An acquaintance of mine is in her last days of her courageous battle with cancer. We are not close friends, but in a small town such as mine we are all involved in each other’s lives. Her situation hit me especially hard on my drive into work this morning.

While her situation is devastating and the outcome is almost certain, I’ve tried to look at the positive things.

1. She was able to meet her granddaughter. Her sons are young adults, with one being married with a daughter. There will be other grandchildren, I’m sure, but her being able to experience “grandparenthood” was such a gift.

2. She was able to say goodbye. Many of us will not have this opportunity, and she is so fortunate to have spent the past week saying sharing goodbyes with everyone who has been a part of her life.

3. If this tragedy had to happen, I think the family is extremely lucky to have been able to get their two sons raised beforehand. They have two wonderful kids who have grown into fine young men.

4. They have a wonderful family who will be there to support them through this, and afterward.

May God bless you, Marci.

I have a new hobby – vacuuming. Oh, I’ve always kept my house vacuumed, but now I’ve got a brand new vacuum thanks to the generous Christmas money from (you know who you are!). It has one of those see-through canisters that collects all the dirt. Now I can see all the junk that is coming out of my carpet and, well, it’s AWESOME.

I don’t want you to think that my house is a total disaster, because really it’s not. But I do have a cat and a dog in the house and their hair matches the color of my carpet. Therefore, I never had any idea the amount of hair the lied beneath the surface. Now I know.

There is definitely a method to my vacuuming. Before I begin to vacuum a room, I make sure the canister is empty, just because I have to know how productive I am. When I am done with that room, I run to the garbage can to see my results. “Look, Mike!”, I yell excitedly. “Umm, I don’t think you are supposed to have to dump that canister out after each room,” he responds. “Duh, if I don’t dump it out, then I can’t see what I’m getting!” And I march back to the vacuum to tackle the next room.

I may not blog again for awhile. I’ll be too busy vacuuming.

Rage Against The Machines

There is a mutiny going on in my house. I can’t see it happening or hear it happening, but I indeed know that it is happening.

I’m positive that while I’m busy, away from the house, or just sitting on the couch staring into space, it’s going on in my basement. All of our clothes, innocently hanging in the closet, neatly (or not so neatly) sitting in the drawers, are receiving messages from the laundry room… “ Come hither, pants. Shirts, make your way in here. This is where you belong. Crawl in here socks, but don’t bring your partner with you…”

Yes, I know this is happening. I can spend a whole weekend washing, drying, hanging, folding, putting away, more washing, drying, “where is that dang sock?”, putting away, folding, “Mom, where are you?”, washing, drying, “Buster, get off the clothes”, hanging, drying, “Get out of here, Buster!”, washing, folding, “MICHAEL COME GET YOUR DAMN DOG”. And then lo and behold, the next time I look in the laundry room there is another pile to be tackled.

I am convinced that the washing machine and dryer have teamed up against me. Is it because they love the smell of laundry detergent? Do they love the cozy blanket of dryer lint that covers them? Maybe they need the extra warmth, in these winter months. But I know they are luring the clothes into the laundry just to keep me in my robot routine every night. “COME IN HOUSE…DROP MAIL ON THE COUNTER…CHECK VOICE MAIL…CHECK EMAIL…” And then they hear me tromping downstairs for my next ritual. “Yes, here she comes!” they yell in unison. PUT A LOAD OF LAUNDRY IN.

As I walked back upstairs after putting in tonight’s load of laundry, I thought I could hear them making their plan for tonight. So I’m considering sleeping in the laundry room tonight to witness it happening. My sheets have already made their way in there, so I might as well.

Readers are Leaders

I am an avid reader and always have a stack of books next to my bed. I’m often reading at several books at once, so that when I fall into bed at night I know there will be a book there to match whatever mood I’m in. 99% of my books are non-fiction, but my 2006 goal is to read more non-fiction.

Right now there are two books sitting there: John and Pivot. (yes, non-fiction, I know)

John was written by Cynthia Lennon about her years with John Lennon. I’ve always been interested in “behind-the-scene” stories, so I thought this would be a good read. I knew of Cynthia and Julian, but never knew any details of them – which is the main reason she wrote the book, she said. I fully expected the book to be a “John-bashing”, but so far it is not. Granted, they are still together at the point I’m at, so I’m sure it will get more interesting. I would recommend this to Beatles fans, or just music fans in general, since it gives the behind-the-scenes look at the beginning of the world’s biggest band.

I haven’t picked up Pivot for at least one month. In the past year I’ve really gotten interested in motivational books, and this was my latest purchase. I really can’t remember much about it, but since it’s still sitting next to my bed then obviously it’s keeping me interested.

Well, that was a boring post. Good lord…