2017: A Year in Review

It doesn't feel like the end of the year without the Review!

1. What did you do in 2017 that you’d never done before?

After many years of hemming and hawing, I got my first tattoo!  It's a heart on my right wrist, made up by the boys' fingerprints.  I love it!!  I THINK I may be a "one and done" when it comes to tattoos, though.  

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I'm not a "New Year's Resolution" type of person.  I'm more of a "Make Plans and Goals" kind of person.  That being said....i made a goal of being healthier.  In some ways I did well--started drinking protein smoothies for breakfast and cutting back on the ice cream.  Then my stress-eating tendencies came out late in the year and well, My Fitness Pal shows me to be the same weight as I was last year at this time.  Turns out I'm a fantastic maintainer.  Goals for 2018?  Wag more, bark less.  Maybe get some more sleep, who knows.  

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?  I covered maternity leave for one of my co-workers, she had a baby in June.  

4. Did anyone close to you die?  Not close anymore, but one of the residents at my first property management job died in September.  We kept in touch for ten years after my leaving that job.  She was a wonderful person who dispersed fantastic advice, I'll miss her.  Traveling to that site will be weird, not stopping in to say Hi.  


5. What countries/places did you visit?

We had an AWESOME trip to Disney World in June!!  Can't wait to go again in a few years.  

6. What would you like to have in 2018 that you lacked in 2017?
Honestly, 2017 was a shit show in a lot of ways.  I'd like for 2018 to be a kinder, gentler year for my family.

7. What dates from 2017 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?   On October 19th, my mother had a small stroke.  Things ended up being OK with time, but it was rough.  

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Instead of achievements, I'm going to call them lessons.  

A.  When it comes to your kids, it's amazing how strong you can be.  Especially when strength is all you've got, and what you really want to do is fold or crumble, but you stand strong.  

B.  I've always had a hard time asking for, and accepting, help.  I think it's because I'm usually doing to the offering and helping.  But when it hits the fan, you have to learn to let people help you.  And man, I had a lot of help this year.  I've had friends and family members flock out to help us get through stuff, and I'm forever grateful. 

9. What was your biggest failure?
I refuse to call anything a failure this year.


10. Did you suffer illness or injury?  Nothing major.  


11. What was the best thing you bought?
For Mother's Day, Brian got me a cleaning service!  At first it was weird, but I cannot tell you how wonderful it is for someone to come to your house once a month and clean your bathrooms, floors, etc.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

Skip.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

Donald Trump, and many of his supporters.  Actually, the supporters were more appalling.   (this answer is too good not to keep)

14. Where did most of your money go?

Living expenses.  Pretty boring, right?  

15.  What did you really get excited about?

Disney World....and Universal Studios to see Harry Potter's Wizarding World.

16. Compared to this time last year, are you:

a) happier or sadder? A big ol' mix of all of it.

b) thinner or fatter? Right about the same.  (BTW, I hate this question.)

c) richer or poorer? Both, rich in some ways and poor in others.  It all offsets in the end.

17. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Read.  Knit.  Socialize.  Maybe not in that order....

18. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Work.  I took on a second property in May, and I covered a maternity leave and a manager vacancy this summer as well.  At one point I was providing coverage for FIVE SITES, bringing work home often, working long hours, going back after dinner, etc.  I often wondered "just how in the hell are you doing this, Ginny?"  But I knew all along that it was just for the short-term, and the bonus at the end of the year was worth it!

19. How did you spend Christmas?

We had a big family celebration at my house a few days before, and then my parents came on Christmas Day.  

20. Did you fall in love in 2017?

I've been in love with the same man for 19 years.  NINETEEN YEARS, holy crap.  

21. What was your favorite TV program? 

Eh....nothing really grabbed me to be a "favorite."  Though I do love that Will and Grace came back with new episodes!  

22. What was the best book you read?

I read 26 books, which sounds kind of low for me.  I really enjoyed "The Nest" by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney.  


23. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Pass.  

24. What was your favorite film of this year? 

The four of us recently went to the movies to see the reboot of the 90's film "Jumanji" and loved it!

25. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

For the first time in 12 years, I worked!  The residents had a cake for me, which was really nice.  I took the following day off so Brian and I could spend it together.  We ended up watching Wonder Woman and going out to lunch.  

26. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Less stress and worry.  Getting my son the help that he needed sooner.  But hindsight IS 20/20, and not worth it to dwell.  


27. What kept you sane?
My friends, that checked up on us, fed us, offered help, listened, offered advice when appropriate.  My mom, for being there when my husband couldn't.  My husband, for his shoulder to cry on, and his jokes to keep us both sane. 


28. Who did you miss?
My far away friends and family.


29. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2017:
Never ask "Could this get any worse?"  And above all, be grateful.  



30. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

I don't know.

Well, Well, Well

....can we just pretend that I haven't been ignoring this blog?  I've honestly thought about not writing it anymore, but every time I click on "memories" and am awarded with pics of the boys and silly stories from the last ten years, I don't want to quit.  (SHUT UP....ten years???)  I know that I write mostly for myself, and my husband, mom and maybe a friend read, but really, it's just to preserve what I want to preserve:  time.

So anyway.....here goes.

1. I successfully said "no."  Mostly by non-action, but a "no" nonetheless!  I swiftly avoided the school fundraiser.  The kids came home from school all excited, saying "MOM!  We could win a Nintendo Switch!  We only have to sell like a million items in the fundraiser to win!"  Well bud, we have a small family and not a big need for cookies, wrapping paper and magazine subscriptions.  Mom does a great job ignoring the magazine subscriptions that she already has.  (Except the knitting ones, of course!)  So the deadline quietly slipped by and I triumphantly recycled the materials. 

2.  We're having a really weird Autumn.  No foliage, and warm temps.  I keep forgetting it's October.  Until yesterday, we were still using air conditioning.  Usually by now I'm bringing out the cooler weather clothes.  Not that this has stopped Sean from wearing long pants and a henley shirt every morning.  And no matter how many times I send him back to change, he's unhappy about it.  That boy is always freezing....he's the only person I know that needs a sweatshirt at the dinner table if the window is open.  My sweet, chilly boy. 

3.  Speaking of Sean, he had a great solution for being out of chip clips the other day.  He grabbed a toy wrench to keep a bag of frozen strawberries from rolling and spilling the other day.  Nice.

4.  In less than two weeks, I'm going to have a pre-teen.  That's right....Will's turning 11.  I wonder if he'll get a Hogwarts letter?  I'm prepared to be super jealous. 

And finally,

5.  I'm not knitting Christmas gifts this year.  Yes, you read that right.  I'm giving myself a gift of less stress at the holidays, and I'm knitting what I please instead.  Which turns out to be shawls for me actually, who knew? 

Maybe the next post will be about Halloween.  We shall see.

Loading--Please Wait

Oh, my poor neglected blog.  What can I say?  Stuff happens, I want to write about it but then things get busy.  So here's some things that have happened.

-I took on a new property for my job.  Note:  I didn't get a new job.  I took on a SECOND property.  More work, (hopefully) more money.  So needless to say things have been BUSY!!  I start my days early and work late, last night I was here til 6pm.

-I went to this year's NERSC conference!  It was up in Rockport, ME, which was beautiful.  Not a lot of sun, but it is Maine in the spring, so what are you gonna do?  I walked the Samoset Breakway one day and that was breezy and the perfect ocean setting for a walk.  I spent an extra day up in Maine to visit friends, and all around had a good time.  An exhausing good time, and a good time nonetheless.

-TheWebs Tent Sale is coming up!!!  Or what I sometimes call "The Most Wonderful Day of the Year."  :)  I'm usually pretty organized about it, and have a list going months in advance.  Um....I made the list last week on the back of some junk mail and it has like four things on it.  I guess pulling my yarn stash out of the closet twice for the air conditioning repair guy (it's been replaced...yesssss)  has made me re-evaluate my yarn stash.  Somewhere my husband is jumping for joy...

-It's almost the end of the school year!!  Yep, limping along to the finish line.  More MCAS testing today for  my oldest, and my younger boy has his end of the year field trip next week.  What a year...it absolutely flew by.  Now we're back to making summer plans.

Well, now that I've read this, I've got to say....busy, but not super interesting.  Anyway, Happy Spring and maybe see you next month.

Anti-Selfie

I usually hate selfies.  And I despise people who take selfies all the time.  Like, not with other people, just "here I am, waking up.  Healthy Breakfast, yay me!"  No time for shower--total bedhead."  And repeat....alll day long.  (I'm looking at you, Kim Kardashian.)

Anyway.

I hate selfies because I usually look like hell in a selfie.  Seriously, ever accidentally press the button on your phone so the camera is facing inward instead of out and you're like "Holy Crap!  I look awful, make it go away!"  That's me.  And pretty much every other person who does this.

But it turns out, I can take a good one!  Will wonders never cease!  I don't have a lot of photos of myself that I really like....so liking one is indeed a small celebration.

Target will Always Welcome You Home

Um.  I'm pretty sure that I live at Target now.

Don't get me wrong, Target is full of cool stuff and makes for a great hideout.  Perfect "Parent vacation" and hey, some of them even have Starbucks now!  I've lost many hours at a time strolling the aisles, debating picture frames vs. artwork, shopping for birthday gifts, choosing bathroom rugs or debating thread counts.  And I'm almost positive that it's usually a guaranteed $50 trip. 

I think I've been there five times in the last two weeks.  And every time I've gone, I've missed one item and had to go again another day.  I think that there should be a rewards program.  If you go ten times in a month, the next trip's free.  Who's with me???  

Childhood Flick Favorites

I've instituted an unofficial Friday Night movie night at the house.  Daddy plays volleyball on Fridays, so it's a good time to snuggle up and watch a flick.  It's not every Friday, sometimes Pokemon wins out, or computer time.  But the last time we did this was a few Fridays ago, and we watched "The Neverending Story."  I had read that it was coming back to theaters for it's 30th anniversary and though I wanted to go, I didn't want to go by myself.  So I set it up to record, and we settled down to watch.

They were really engaged, but had lots of questions.  And I'll tell you, they were a lot less scared than I was back in the day!

Other movies we've watched:

Matilda.  Sean LOVED it and has asked when we can watch it again.

Goonies.  We did this one last year.  Will thought it was great.  I had forgotten about some of the crude humor in the beginning with the statue and Corey Feldman's character, but luckily it whooshed right over their heads.

Princess Bride.  We did this one two years ago and Will just fell in love with it.  I love it too, I always stop to watch when it's on.


I'm waiting til they're a little older for Spaceballs, but that's certainly on the list.  Always looking for ideas.

A Rare Sighting

What's that I see coming up ahead?  Oh my goodness, it's a weekend with no plans!! No.....it's a THREE DAY WEEKEND with no plans!! No karate (we compromised to two weeknights instead) no parties, no obligations.  Nothing.  And I'm so grateful for it.  The past few weeks have been insanely busy as we're continuing to "come down" from Christmas.  I predict a lot of pajama-wearing, doing whatever pleases us.  The kids want to spend hours on Club Penguin?  Cool.  Let's snuggle in my bed and read books?  Yes, please.  Knitting and coffee in the afternoons? You betcha.

Non-Labor Day

Labor Day weekend.  The unofficial gateway to autumn.  Pumpkin spice everything hitting the shelves.  (I love pumpkin flavor but  need a chill in the air first to partake.) 

I'm sitting on the deck, enjoying  a cool day, drinking a cup of afternoon coffee and a recently expired Nonni's biscotti.  (Doesn't make it any less delicious btw)  I've got knitting in my kind, having just finished choosing new projects.  A Christmas surprise, and a baby sweater.  The kids are playing quietly and my big plans for the day are to get my nails done and knit.

But only if I get out of this chair, it's a pretty nice place to be right now.   Sunday and Monday can be all about labeling lunchboxes and hunting down forms, and Hubby getting ready to travel next week.  Cleaning out the hall closet and folding a million pounds of laundry.  Whatever is on the to-do list.

Thursday Ramble

I've been wanting to post and have been busy!  So Let's just settle into a random ramble for this Lovely Thursday....

1.  I misplaced a sneaker.  Yes, the ones that I just bought a couple of months ago to replace the old, crappy, unsupportive ones.  I'd gotten more serious about exercising and losing weight in the last six months or so and this is part of what's derailed me in the last couple of weeks.  Anyway, I figure the best way to find a sneaker is to buy a new pair.  I brought home a new pair from Kohl's last night and now we wait....

2.  Oh yeah, I guess I did brush by that quickly.  Have I told you that I've lost sixteen pounds?  I have!  Before you ask "How did you do it" I'll tell you:  I eat less, and move more.  It seems to work, and I don't deprive myself of the occasional ice cream or whatever.  I'm wearing jeans a size smaller, and today I'm wearing a summer skirt that was tight on me last year.  It's the most progress I've made in a very long time and I couldn't be happier.

3.  School's out for summer!  Last day of second grade was on Friday.  It's really hard to believe that next year I'll have a third grader and a kindergartner.  The boys are in Pennsylvania right now, having a great week with the grandparents.

4.  And despite having to work....we're having a great week with just Brian and I.  So far we've gone out for sushi, stayed up late watching movies, laughed and talked a lot and just enjoyed being together alone.  It's good to rediscover "us" once in a while.

5.  That being said, the house is eerily quiet and it feels a little like the Twilight Zone occasionally.  Kind of like this is an alternate universe.  I will say this though:  it's much easier to clean a kids bedroom and get rid of stuff when they are out of the house!

Pass the Mug

I'm always a little shocked at just how much one can accomplish when properly caffeinated.  And with a month like this one, I'm definitely needing 2-3 cups per day!  Work stuff, kid stuff, Easter,  April vacation, hosting a potluck, karate, housing conference next month, soccer starting up....OY!  It all manages to get done, doesn't it....even without the caffeine.  Though it's much better (and less crabby) with it than without.  May your coffee cup be bottomless and your thoughts less cluttered, my friends.

Dreams are Weird

I'm in prison.  Sitting on top of a cafeteria-style table, in a room with other women, all wearing the same jumpsuit as me.  You'd think I'd feel anxious, but I don't because I have my childhood best friend sitting next to me.  I don't even know what I'm doing time for, but I know that I'll be here for four months.  Less for good behavior.  Thinking of four months kind of like a semester at college instead of missing my family like crazy. Just push through and though the days will feel long, four months will go by quickly.

Oh dreams....There are times that whatever I was watching on TV invades my subconscious, but I haven't been watching Orange is the New Black or anything.  The night before I dreamt that we sold our old house to Brian's aunt and uncle in New Jersey.  They flipped it from this tiny cottage to a gorgeous home and then rent it out, but not before giving us a tour.  It was quite vibrant, like I was really there!  

But the absolute worst is the stress dreams.  I've had a repetitive one since college:  I'm working at McDonald's.  I'm making burgers in the back, I'm taking orders up front and I'm running the drive-thru and I'm all alone.  And then three buses pull in and everyone wants burgers and fries and they want them NOW.  When I wake up from that one, with my heart pounding, it's an instant sign that I've taken on too much and need to dial it back.  Oh, you crazy, all-knowing subconscious!

The Candyland Chronicles

Hubby is at (another) birthday party with Will, and Sean and I are doing Christmas stuff.  As in, wrapping Daddy's gifts while he is out of the house!  After a couple of gifts Sean says "Mom?  I want you to play a game with me."  I suggest Candyland and he scampers downstairs to get it.  I'm kind of relieved for Candyland being the game of choice because Sean's at that stage where he throws fits when he loses.  And I'm a ConnectFour SAVANT.  I played this game for hours with my brother growing up and I kicked ass and took names.  It's hard to shut that off with a four-year old, and they've got to learn that it's impossible to win every time.

This is the same Candyland we all grew up with and loved, but with one major improvement:  no more cards.  Instead, they've replaced it with a spinwheel, so every parent rejoices over not having to search for missing cards all over the playroom.  (What, you don't mix up all YOUR gamepieces and playing cards into a big mashup?  That's how we roll around here.)  Sure, we're already missing one of the gamepieces but what of it.....it's still completely playable.  So we play our three games and at the first one, Sean is crying over the fact that "he didn't get blue to go over the peppermint bridge." .  We win, we lose and at the end, we only remember that we had fun.  Half an hour of Mom and Sean time.  Thirty five minutes if you allow for the tantrum.

Fifteen Questions

In an attempt to entertain myself outside of Bubble Witch Saga 2 and yarn....I'm copying Mindy Kaling's interview-style questions in this month's copy of Good Housekeeping.  Because, why not?

At My House

What you'll always find in my fridge:  Hershey's syrup and grated parmesan.  Not to be used together, of course.

Recipe I'm scared to try:  Making my own bread.  It makes your house smell awesome but is so easy to screw up!

signature dish:  Mexican Chicken and Rice

Household chore I enjoy:  Loading the dishwasher.  It's the same satisfaction as when you complete a jigsaw puzzle.

My secret cleaning weapon is:  Simple Green, that stuff works on just about anything!  My favorite trick though, is to make the kids think it's a game.  Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't!

Last thing I bought online:  yarn and a knitting pattern.

I hate to shop for:  birthday presents.  Not all birthday presents, mind you.  Some people are just harder to shop for than others.

On My Bucket List:  A trip to Hawaii someday.

I sleep in:  pajama shorts.

I sleep on:  a creaky queen-size bed.

I stay fit by:  I'm working on it.  Before the surgery I was up to twice a week on the treadmill and taking a yoga class at a studio once a week.  That's the most exercise I've had in years and I'm missing it this week.

I drive:   a leased Honda CR-V.  I like it a lot more than I thought that I would.  Seems like almost everyone in America has one, though.

Etiquette Pet Peeve:  Not saying please and thank you.  Those words go a long way!

I will never care about:  The Kardashians.

I'd tell my younger self:  Drink more water and surround yourself with positive people.  And don't take yourself so seriously!

Random Sunday Grateful Post

-My kidney surgery was a rousing success.   In fact, all of the kidney stone from hell was removed and I will not need a second surgery! I was super-nervous and I cannot begin to describe how wonderful the hospital staff was to me.  From warm blankets to cracking jokes....they really put me at ease.

-I even wrote a thank you note.  Because I believe, in these days, that there's so much emphasis on bad customer service.  When someone does a good job, tell them!

-All of that being said, I'm quite thankful for pain meds.  And anti-nausea drugs that enable me to take those pain meds.

-Thanks go out to my awesome parents, who helped out with the boys while all of this was going on.

-Honestly, Brian deserves his own grateful post.  Feeding me homemade chicken soup, doing laundry, taking care of the boys....these are all things that he does normally.  I just feel extra-grateful today and want the world to know what a wonderful man I married. 

-thankful for yarn...which has been keeping me busy.  That, and silly Facebook games and the return of primetime television.

I think that's it.  Just wanted to put all that out there...I'm a lucky lady.

Letting Go of "Someday!" Stuff

I got a tagged in a facebook post recently from a "band friend."  She was calling out near and far to all her "Band Geek" friends to see if someone had an instrument that they were looking to sell, because her daughters wanted to join our ranks.

It so happens that I have two in my garage:   my trusty old clarinet, and a flute that was gifted to me.  I had a tenant at my first housing job, she was a bit of a nut.  But cool in a lot of ways too, and one of those ways was that, at age 84, she was taking flute lessons.   I found this inspiring, because though I played clarinet for years, I had always wanted to play the flute.  And for reasons like my friend is looking for an instrument, I took my aunt's clarinet from when she was in the marching band in high school because it was free.  Well, that resident ended up transferring to an assisted living facility within 6 months.  But before she left, she gave me her old student flute, saying that I should take lessons someday.

Someday!  That magical-sounding word that makes you feel like you have all the time in the world.  So yes, Someday I was going to take flute lessons!  Also in my someday pile:  a sewing machine, some hiking boots, Spanish language and culture texts, books about geneaology.  DVD sets of TV shows that I may sit and enjoy Someday.  Because time is on my side, friends.

Well.  It's been thirteen years since Ruth went to the assisted living facility.  That flute sat in my basement for many, many years.  And when we moved it was placed on a shelf in the garage, with the Christmas decorations.  It only took me a minute or two to decide and send my friend a message back.  She thought that I was nuts at first, saying that she could just have it instead of buying it from me.  And when I told her why, because it would get used instead of rotting in my garage, she sent back a message with kind of a giggle, that there's a guitar and some knitting needles/yarn in her closet for Someday.  So it's not just me and I'm willing to bet that it's not just Jessica, either.

Sometimes it really is OK to survey your "Someday!" stuff and realize that they don't fit in your life anymore.  I work full-time and have two kids with activities, etc.  I have activities that I already enjoy:  knitting, reading, cooking, a little gardening, other crafts and so on.  I'm glad that the flute is going to someone who will use it and a family who will appreciate it.  I think that Ruth would, too.  Not giving up my clarinet, though.  Or my sewing machine.  Someday, I really want to use those!

Monday Rumblings

Ugh...it's Monday Again.  Least favorite day of the week.  I stay up late every Sunday, trying to stretch out as much of the weekend as possible, but haven't been successful to stop Monday from coming.  So far, anyway.

Having a movie at work today.  It's a classic:  9 to 5, starring Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda and Dolly Parton.  It's one of the first movies that I remember from when I was a kid.  Not that it's a kid movie...sheesh!  Tomorrow we're having a "beginner painting" class.  The description says that it's even for people who've never painted before.  Wish I didn't have an office full of paperwork to work on, it sounds like fun!

Last week I got to meet up with an old friend for coffee, and give her the sweater that I made for her daughter a few months back.  It was a bear sweater, and so sweet.  She promptly sent me photos of her daughter wearing it and it looks wonderful!  I don't take "commission requests" often and I've never accepted money for something that I made.  Knitting is a hobby for me and I'd hate for it to start feeling like work.  That being said, I really enjoyed this and may make another animal sweater someday!

Started my Christmas Knitting.  Yep....I'm that girl again this year.  It was SO nice to have it all out of the way two weeks before Christmas last year that I want to experience that calm again.  Right now on the needles:  a pair of adorable green cotton baby leggings for a little boy not yet born, a gray hoodie sweater for my oldest and a lace scarf that I'm making for charity.  Oh, and those damned, damned blue socks for myself that I started over a year ago.  I'm insistent on finishing those before starting another pair.

And this weekend....headed to Maine to visit Maureen and Sky.  We're even bringing Joey this time.  Joey loves to travel and he LOVES Maureen and Sky.  Looking forward to a few days away!

At the Car Wash

The boys and I are weird in the sense that we find a car wash to be very relaxing.  I've felt like this since I was a kid...there's something about scrubbing and the auto passage thru the tunnel, getting rid of all of the dead bugs on the windshield.  Followed by the "rain" and then the dryers sucking the water off the car.  It's a mood changer, it really is.  And afterwards, your car smells like lemon polish.  :)

Heading Outta Town

My mind is jumbled, so my post today shall be too!

1.  Packing up for a Resident Service conference this week in New Hampshire.  I'm driving 3.5 hours north to spend three days with my fellow RSC's, attending workshops and doing fun things.

2.  This is the second time I've attended the conference, the last time I went was when I was pregnant with Will.  Every year since, there's been a reason not to go.  Hubby working nights, stuff going on at home, etc etc. I was anxious about going but applied for a scholarship anyway.  Was I ever shocked that I got it!

3.  Brian has got this all under control and they will be fine, and that there's some fun planned for while I'm away.  He's reassured me several times and I know they'll be fine.  I'll miss them, though.  In thinking of the fun they'll have, things are probably gonna get messy.

4.  That said, I will totally understand if the house is a disaster come Friday.  And I'm ok with it.

5.  I've decided the great debate....packing is worse than unpacking.  This is true for trips AND moving.  Time constraints, worrying about forgetting something on your way to the New Hampshire mountains/woods.....I could do without it.  Of course, had I not spent 20 minutes last night searching for interchangeable needle tips and the perfect skein of sock yarn for a pair of baby leggings that I want to make as a gift....that might've helped.  I never did find the specific skein that I was looking for, either.

6.  In planning my trip, you KNOW that I googled any local yarn shops in the vicinity.  Surprisingly, there were two, but they're both about 40 minutes away from where I will be staying.  So no yarn this time.  :(  That's ok, the TENT SALE is just a little over three weeks away!!!

Virtual Clutter is the Pits.

What is it about springtime that makes one want to cut through their clutter?  Seriously....I've been like this for a week or so and showing no mercy.  It's not just the house either, but email, Ravelry queue items, my "to-read" list on Goodreads....nothing is safe!

I guess just after a long winter, staring at the same projects, the same kidstuff sitting around, etc, going nuts with a trash bag (either in person or virtual) feels good!  I'm finding that once you decide what's important and what you want to spend time on, it's easy.  (Easier, I should say.)

This week:

Stopped reading "I was Told There'd Be Cake" halfway through.  Book jacket promised a "funny" collection of personal essays.  I'd use words like "ramble" and "boring."  Funny doesn't crack my top ten adjectives.  Life is too short to spend reading books that one is not enjoying.

In that vein of thought...why do I have 199 books on my Goodreads list?  I am never going to read all of them.  I'm kind of nuts about books....if I see something out there that interests me even slightly, I put it on there.  But surprisingly, I have a pretty hard and fast rule about not buying books unless they're something I love so much I'll read over and over.  Anyway....60 books off my reading list.

Also cutting back on the virtual clutter:  deleting emails and unsubscribing from newsletters and sales pitches.  My inbox feels so much lighter!  I also cut back my Ravelry queue to 100 projects and organized them by "quick" projects, "Gift" projects, etc.  And made a whole new category that just says "Yarn in House."  I've gotten acquainted with a whole bunch of "old/New" projects.

If I'd known how good this was going to feel, I would've done it ages ago.  I feel like I've lost ten virtual pounds.

Guilty? Guilty.

My Five Favorite Guilty Pleasures

1.  Pretty office supplies.  I always loved back-to-school time because it meant new school supplies.  I never lost that happy feeling, and I love to go to Staples for this reason.

2.  "Alone time."  That hour or so that I get at night when everyone else is in bed and I'm up either knitting, reading or watching TV.  That means I always go to bed late but most nights I don't get to sleep easily anyway.

3.  When my kids repeat funny things, such as "There's a time and a place for decaf; never and in the trash!"

4.  The first night of a freshly made bed, because we store our sheets in a cedar chest.  I love the smell of cedar.

5.  Lastly, the occasional chocolate bar that my kids don't know that I have stashed in the kitchen.  And if it's studded with almonds, all the better.  :)