Christmas is two days away!!

...and I still have some things to do. 

My husband called me this morning from work with a new gift idea for himself.  Good thing, too, because he really doesn't give me a whole lot to go on.  Stocking stuffers are the hardest.   I think he gets tired of dental floss, chapstick and deoderant every year.  Time to mix it up a bit.  I threw a movie in there this year.

The peanuts, on the other hand...
They are little list-makers just like their mama!!  (So proud of them!)  No shortage of ideas for them.  They handwrite a list, then print it out on the computer, complete with Santa clipart from Yahoo images.  I have to admit, though, stocking stuffers for a 10 year old boy is hard.  I'm pretty sure he doesn't want deoderant.

I think I'm easy to shop for.  I like books, clothes, scrapbooking, massages, mani-pedis, running and vacuuming (but I already have a Dyson, so...).  I like gift cards, too.  Who doesn't?  I know some people think that they're impersonal to give, but I don't think they're impersonal to recieve.  The amount doesn't even really matter...$5, $25, $50...I tend to put the amount 'towards' something I want.  Trust me, I have no gift cards with small balances.  I use those babies up completely!!

So back to Christmas being 2 days away.  Hmmmm....little more shopping, little more wrapping, bake a couple of cookies and I'm good to go!!

Making a list...checking it twice...

I'm a list maker.  I love to make list.  I like to wake up in the morning and make a list of what I need to do that day. 

It usually looks like this:
  take kids to school
   run @ park
   shower
   Costco
   laundry
   clean showers
   vacuum


Vacuum is almost always on my list.  Love to vacuum.  (Who would't with my Dyson?)

My list might seem boring to some, okay, to most, alright...to everyone.  But when I get something done and cross it off my list (even a given, like 'take kids to school') I feel like I've accomplished things that day.  Since I don't have a regular work day anymore, or a boss breathing down my neck, I realized that I have to be accountable to myself. 

Every now and again I chill out and watch a movie on Lifetime.  I'm usually under the weather, though.  I'd have a hard time sitting on the sofa knowing that weeds are growing, dust is settling and lists need to be made.

I have other lists, too, other than my 'to-do' list.  I always have a Costco, Target and grocery list.  This lists are purely functional because I'm a planner.  I plan our weekly meals. 

But more on that later.
  

What to do next?

Its not as if I have nothing to do right now. There's plenty. I just don't know where to start.

Plan meals for the next few days, make a shopping list and get my butt to the store?

Wrap some presents while the kids aren't looking?

Start another load of laundry?

Go for a run?

I know what I'd like to do...
Cozy up under a blanket and watch a movie. Doesn't matter what the movie is, I'll be asleep inside of 10 minutes anyways!

I can't run because I don't want to leave one of my peanuts home alone. (One is at soccer with Dad.)
I already did 2 loads of laundry. That's pretty productive in my book.
I need to wait until the kids are gone to wrap. I'll get busted if I don't.
I guess I'll meal-plan and get ready to shop.

But wait...what is my peanut watching now?  Is that a blanket next to him?

Took a year off...

I haven't been on much lately...for more than a year, but then again, my audience hasn't exactly been burning up my inbox with requests for more insightful posts. I really want to get back into this blogging thing, but seriously, life gets in the way. So what have I been up the past year?

I got on Facebook, which is really cool, but not really. Complete waste of time checking to see who is busy that day, who is bored, who hates the weather where they are and who just saw the latest movie. The cool part is reconnecting with friends. I have to say that there have been some suprises, some good news, some not so good news and a few announcements.

I've been working on Abigail, my first book. I told my husband that it is either "okay" or it "really sucks". I'm still not sure where it lands. I know it needs work and character development, but at least the basic story is down.

I've been doing yardwork. Its like laundry. It never ends.

I planned a big family trip that we took over the summer. I'll boil it down to 13 towns, 8 hotels, 4 national parks, countless restaurants, 4,000 miles on a rental car and 1 cracked windshield. My husband laughed when I pulled out the 4" binder complete with dividers that mapped out our trip. Seriously. I printed out directions from one place to the next, printed tickets for things were were doing, printed out hotel reservations...what can I say? I'm neurotic that way. Its okay. I'm happy that way. Did I mention that the binder was also in chronological order? The binder ended up being useful, too, because we could add brochures and reciepts we picked up along the way.

So I didn't find a cure for cancer or solve the financial mess of the world in the last year, but I was busy.

global warming?

I love this article!!!

The headline on the Drudgereport is: Cyclists 'braved freezing cold temps' to promote global warming awareness...

This would be funny if it wasn't so ridiculous!!

Why I don't buy the good candy for halloween

I bought our Halloween candy at Costco yesterday. (Walmart seemed expensive...can you believe it? They wanted $12.97 for a kinda little bag.) I admit it. I didn't buy the good stuff. I don't think my husband has seen the bags yet, in fact I know he hasn't.

I'd know it if he did.

I got A & W Rootbeer barrels. Laffy Taffy. Werthers drops. Twizzlers. Smarties. DumDums. Need I go on? Not the good stuff. There's no chocolate or bubblegum. But here's my theory:

My peanuts will get good candy. They'll get plenty of chocolate and bubblegum. I don't need the good stuff sitting around the house. Its too tempting. Some would argue that kids will label us a 'lame candy house'. I beg to differ. I give out handfuls. The kids don't really see whats in the bowl...I hold it up higher than their little heads. Then I drop a handful in their bag, bucket, pillowcase. They know they got a handful, but they won't know exactly what they got from me, because its all mixed up anyways! (I AM smarter than a 5th grader!)

So, I'm just waiting now for my husband to notice the lame candy bags on the counter.

Wha?

I had a 'blech' moment yesterday. Did I spell that right?

I was at a public place and a mom was sitting on a bench with a wiggly toddler. She was trying to feed him but he wanted to see what was happening around him. Ahhhh, I remember the days. You get one spoonful in them and they're wiggling around to see what caused the noise behind them. They sit up, they flop backwards. They try to stand up. I had to give the mom credit for being patient. She set the little container she was feeding him out of on the arm of the bench to rearrange him in her lap.

That's when I had my 'blech' moment.

She was feeding him Taco Bell refried beans. Now, keep in mind that he's about 8 months old. Maybe I'm crazy, but it never would have crossed my mind to feed either one of my peanuts Taco Bell at that age. (I'm not opposed to Taco Bell, I lived on it in high school, back in the day.) I don't think I can name a mom who fed their kids Taco Bell refried beans at that age. My older peanut has had Taco Bell twice, my youngest...never.

I hope I wiped the look of suprise off my face before she saw me. All I could think of was how much sodium was in that little container of beans. I don't want to judge anyone, but I'm thinking that the side of beans was about $1.50 (dunno, like I said, its been a while.) I'm sure she could have gotten a jar or two of baby food for the same amount.

Blech.