With all of the resolutions people are making for the new year, I find it hilarious that our Monday Listicles topic is 10 Things I Have No Intention of Changing. I'm in!
I will not be changing:
1. my habit of wearing my pajamas and only my pajamas every moment that I am at home. Don't worry, that's where it will end. I fully intend to wear clothes every time I leave the house.
2. my inclination to ignore the laundry couch. I will do laundry all the live-long day. And then dump the clean clothes onto the couch, where they will stay until I (or more likely the kids are forced to) fold and distribute them to their rightful owners. It works for me, and thus I will not fold each load as it comes out of the dryer.
3. my expectations I have for the kids to perfectly clean their rooms, make their beds and put away every single thing they touch throughout the day. And I fully expect that they have no intention of doing such things.
4. my perfect eyesight. People keep telling me that their vision was fine until they hit their 40s. I will not be buying 20 pairs of eighty-cent, colorful-to-make-them-look-cool reading glasses to leave all over the house, in my purse, in my pocket, and on top of my head.
5. my teeth count. Completely random, but I have no intention of getting any teeth pulled. I won't even say things that allude to it, like "I'd rather have a tooth pulled than ..."
6. the love for my kitchen and mud room. Come on, it's been at least a week since I've mentioned it. And I just ordered the counter stools yesterday, so we're almost done. I've lost one follower, probably because of my kitchen gushing, but I'm going to risk the loss of more and have one more kitchen post as soon as the stools get here. (And if you make one joke like Hubby has been doing non-stop for the last 2 days, asking if I ordered a "stool sample" and other such nonsense, I cannot be your friend anymore. One immature adult is all I can handle at the moment.)
7. my apparently loud laugh. I always knew I was an all-in laugher. I like to laugh, and I do so heartily. However, I didn't know how loud it was until the kids let me know that while they don't hear the horrible yelling many of the parents do on the sidelines, they can always hear my laughter. Basically, they were accusing me of never watching the game, but instead talking and laughing with other parents, as they could hear me from the far side of the (very large) soccer field. I told them the reason they can hear me is they love me so much and are in tune with my moods so fully, that they can hear me even when I whisper. They didn't buy it, but I don't care. I'm going to laugh my full head off, even louder than before, just to show them how bad it could be for them.
8. my exercise regimen. I don't have one, and I don't foresee that changing anytime soon.
9. my hugging and kissing of the children. When they are little like Cuckoo and Turken, the hugging and the cuddling and the kissing are normally welcomed by the children. As they get older, they find the hugging and kissing to be less good and more torture. Unfortunately for the teens, it is so much fun to love on them for the embarrassment factor alone. Buttercup tried to avoid the "peace" kiss at mass yesterday. This morning, I showed her what would happen the next time she tried to do that. I don't foresee it being a problem again. Some may say it is cruel to force public lovin' on a teen. I say it is payback for every single public tantrum, fight, and other embarrassing misbehavior they pulled in their past lives as toddlers.
10. my rule on Buttercup never baking by herself again. I was so proud of myself, letting her bake some cookies in my spotless new kitchen (oops, I mentioned it again. Sorry.) knowing full well that she is, bar none, the messiest baker this side of the sun. I didn't even hover over her, giving her tips on how to keep things tidy. When she finished, and I entered the kitchen, I didn't even lose my composure when I found cookie batter splattered on the floor, cupboards, stove top, and the top of the stove VENT. I even gave here another chance yesterday when a friend was over. This morning I found a whole bunch of cookie batter crumbs INSIDE the drawer of spatulas and such. So she is done. Forever.
What, pray tell, are you resolving to remain unchanged in 2013?
Have a lovely day!
Monday, January 7, 2013
Saturday, January 5, 2013
A Slice of Heaven, Part One, Unless I Never Write a Part 2
Long, long ago, before kids, before wrinkles, before serious responsibility took over our lives, Hubby and I lived a dream life. For seven months, we were paid to live in Bermuda. I often think of those days as I dig us out of a foot of snow.
I have mentioned our Bermuda residency a couple of times in comments and such, and each time I am asked if I have ever written about the experience. I haven't, not because I didn't love living there, but because I wouldn't even know where to start. I've decided that it doesn't matter where, I just need to start. I'll make it some sort of series that I throw onto the blog whenever the mood strikes.
The only thing that frustrates me is I don't have beautiful photos to show you. We lived there an eon of years ago. I had not even thought of a photography business then, and I certainly didn't have a good camera. And, there was no such thing as digital cameras. Everything was film, so I had no idea what kind of shots I was actually getting. I will post photos, but don't expect to drool with jealousy over them.
In February 1995, Hubby was working as a computer programmer and was sent to Bermuda to write code for a bank there. Bermuda is very protective of work permits, so I was unable to get a paying job. After a month or so, I found a daycare and offered my services as a volunteer. It was one of the best things I did. I really got to see how the locals lived while working there.
It was quite a shock to the system, moving from the gigantic America, where a person could spend his entire life traveling the country and never have to visit the same place twice, to a country that is only one mile wide and 25 miles long. For seven months, I loved it. I don't think I could have lived there much longer, though. I started to feel a tad bit trapped.
Remember, ONE mile wide. One. My current driveway is almost half a mile long.
Because of the size of the island, travel is also quite different from home. Only full-time residents are allowed to own a car, an itty-bitty little car, and each household was limited to one. Everyone else had to ride scooters. Not motorcycles. Scooters.
The speed limit for the entire island was 25kph. (That's kilometers for my American friends. We also bought litres of gas and drove on the left side of the road.) No freeways on this little island.
Hubby and I had one scooter. I would drive him to work in the morning, go do whatever I was doing that day, then pick him up in the afternoon. (Not night. Those Bermudians are a laid-back lot, and he never, ever worked past 4:30. Frequently, everyone cut out at 3:30 and hit the bar below the offices for a beer or two.)
Hubby's desk was actually butted-up against that top middle window. When he looked up, he looked directly outside. He and his coworkers would be found under one of those green umbrellas at least two afternoons a week.
See the cars? That's as big as they got.
Right behind the (pathetic) photographer is the dock where the cruise ships docked. Hubby always had a good time watching all of the tourists disembark. Watching them all rent and ride scooters for the first time in their lives was beyond comical.
And while we're talking Hubby's job, we'll discuss business attire in Bermuda. I'm sure most of you know what I mean when I say "Bermuda shorts". They are tailored shorts that fall just above the knee. In Bermuda, that is what men wear to work. And they don't go with boring colors of brown or black. Grown, rich, businessmen wear pastel pink, blue, green, and yellow shorts. While the look of these men heading to work in colorful shorts took us back a bit, what really made us smile was what these men wore with there shorts.
Everyone wears knee-high socks the same color as his Bermuda shorts.
Yup, pastel pink shorts with pastel pink socks.
With a white shirt, suit jacket, tie, and dress shoes.
Hubby didn't jump right on that bandwagon. He wore his usual suits for at least three weeks. But the teasing and peer pressure finally got to him, and he caved.
Kinda.
He couldn't bring himself to wear the pastel, but he did wear the shorts.
And sweet mama, he wore knee-high socks.
Good look, no?
This photo was taken inside our little studio apartment. There aren't high-rise complexes. Instead, many of the full-time residents have apartments attached to their houses to generate some extra income. See that sliding-door behind Hubby? It leads out to a patio, which, if you took the 5 steps down to the other patio, you could jump into the ocean.
See the window next to Hubby? You can see the ocean beyond the bushes. Cruise ships go past that window before heading around the bend to dock in Hamilton (the capitol) in front of Hubby's office.
The red dot is Hamilton, approximately. The pink dot is where we lived, approximately. Can you see the dark line in the green circle? The darker the blue, the deeper the water. That line is a channel that was dug specifically for ships, including cruise ships, to get to Hamilton.
We'll end today's installment with one of my favorite Bermuda traditions. Our time there included the days of Lent and Easter. On Good Friday, every business on the island closed its doors, and just about every person on the island went to the beaches. They weren't there to swim, but to fly kites.
The story goes, a teacher was trying to explain Jesus' Ascension to his students. To demonstrate, he took them to the beach and flew a kite. It caught on, and has become a purely Bermudian festival.
While common kites that we Americans are used to are flown, the sky is predominantly filled with specific kites the Bermudians make. Tissue paper is a popular material, and they are normally hexagonal in shape. There is a small "bunch" in the center that creates a humming sound when in the air.
We spent hours sitting on a cliff (that one in the photo below, actually), watching and listening to the gorgeous kites back dropped by the beautiful blue sea and sky. Every Good Friday since, I have thought of the Bermudians and their fantastic tradition and wished I could be there experiencing it with them.
Have a lovely day!
I have mentioned our Bermuda residency a couple of times in comments and such, and each time I am asked if I have ever written about the experience. I haven't, not because I didn't love living there, but because I wouldn't even know where to start. I've decided that it doesn't matter where, I just need to start. I'll make it some sort of series that I throw onto the blog whenever the mood strikes.
The only thing that frustrates me is I don't have beautiful photos to show you. We lived there an eon of years ago. I had not even thought of a photography business then, and I certainly didn't have a good camera. And, there was no such thing as digital cameras. Everything was film, so I had no idea what kind of shots I was actually getting. I will post photos, but don't expect to drool with jealousy over them.
In February 1995, Hubby was working as a computer programmer and was sent to Bermuda to write code for a bank there. Bermuda is very protective of work permits, so I was unable to get a paying job. After a month or so, I found a daycare and offered my services as a volunteer. It was one of the best things I did. I really got to see how the locals lived while working there.
It was quite a shock to the system, moving from the gigantic America, where a person could spend his entire life traveling the country and never have to visit the same place twice, to a country that is only one mile wide and 25 miles long. For seven months, I loved it. I don't think I could have lived there much longer, though. I started to feel a tad bit trapped.
 |
Because of the size of the island, travel is also quite different from home. Only full-time residents are allowed to own a car, an itty-bitty little car, and each household was limited to one. Everyone else had to ride scooters. Not motorcycles. Scooters.
 |
| This is our actual scooter, but not actually me. We flew Hubby's mom out for Mother's Day, and he was trying to get her comfortable with the scooter before we headed out onto real roads. |
The speed limit for the entire island was 25kph. (That's kilometers for my American friends. We also bought litres of gas and drove on the left side of the road.) No freeways on this little island.
Hubby and I had one scooter. I would drive him to work in the morning, go do whatever I was doing that day, then pick him up in the afternoon. (Not night. Those Bermudians are a laid-back lot, and he never, ever worked past 4:30. Frequently, everyone cut out at 3:30 and hit the bar below the offices for a beer or two.)
 |
See the cars? That's as big as they got.
Right behind the (pathetic) photographer is the dock where the cruise ships docked. Hubby always had a good time watching all of the tourists disembark. Watching them all rent and ride scooters for the first time in their lives was beyond comical.
And while we're talking Hubby's job, we'll discuss business attire in Bermuda. I'm sure most of you know what I mean when I say "Bermuda shorts". They are tailored shorts that fall just above the knee. In Bermuda, that is what men wear to work. And they don't go with boring colors of brown or black. Grown, rich, businessmen wear pastel pink, blue, green, and yellow shorts. While the look of these men heading to work in colorful shorts took us back a bit, what really made us smile was what these men wore with there shorts.
Everyone wears knee-high socks the same color as his Bermuda shorts.
Yup, pastel pink shorts with pastel pink socks.
With a white shirt, suit jacket, tie, and dress shoes.
Hubby didn't jump right on that bandwagon. He wore his usual suits for at least three weeks. But the teasing and peer pressure finally got to him, and he caved.
Kinda.
He couldn't bring himself to wear the pastel, but he did wear the shorts.
And sweet mama, he wore knee-high socks.
Good look, no?
This photo was taken inside our little studio apartment. There aren't high-rise complexes. Instead, many of the full-time residents have apartments attached to their houses to generate some extra income. See that sliding-door behind Hubby? It leads out to a patio, which, if you took the 5 steps down to the other patio, you could jump into the ocean.
See the window next to Hubby? You can see the ocean beyond the bushes. Cruise ships go past that window before heading around the bend to dock in Hamilton (the capitol) in front of Hubby's office.
The red dot is Hamilton, approximately. The pink dot is where we lived, approximately. Can you see the dark line in the green circle? The darker the blue, the deeper the water. That line is a channel that was dug specifically for ships, including cruise ships, to get to Hamilton.
We'll end today's installment with one of my favorite Bermuda traditions. Our time there included the days of Lent and Easter. On Good Friday, every business on the island closed its doors, and just about every person on the island went to the beaches. They weren't there to swim, but to fly kites.
The story goes, a teacher was trying to explain Jesus' Ascension to his students. To demonstrate, he took them to the beach and flew a kite. It caught on, and has become a purely Bermudian festival.
While common kites that we Americans are used to are flown, the sky is predominantly filled with specific kites the Bermudians make. Tissue paper is a popular material, and they are normally hexagonal in shape. There is a small "bunch" in the center that creates a humming sound when in the air.
We spent hours sitting on a cliff (that one in the photo below, actually), watching and listening to the gorgeous kites back dropped by the beautiful blue sea and sky. Every Good Friday since, I have thought of the Bermudians and their fantastic tradition and wished I could be there experiencing it with them.
 |
| source |
Have a lovely day!
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Morning! We'll Work on the Good Part.
I do believe Turken is now living with only one lung.
He coughed the other one up at approximately 5:38:17am.
He was in the throws of a record-breaking coughing fit, cuddled up on my lap, when I heard the tell-tale mucus-caught-in-the-throat-induced vomit-cough.
In his sleepy, weak state, he whispered to me:
"It's OK, I caught it."
He caught his vomit/lung in his mouth and swallowed it.
So I wouldn't get sprayed.
Sweet, disgusting boy.
Fortunately, the combination of eating a clementine, standing outside to breathe in the cold air, and some nose-blowing (but probably is was just time passing) got him through it, and we were both able to go back to bed in peace.
For about 3 minutes.
By the time I got to bed, Hubby was up and getting ready for work.
He kissed me good-bye and headed out.
Three minutes later, I heard the front door open and close. Stomping up the stairs came next. And then the foulest language I have ever heard.
See, our driveway is still covered in snow. We've had two more accumulating snow days since "the big one", so while we can get in and out, it isn't as easy as just driving down the drive.
Mostly because the entire circle wasn't plowed, we have to back down the .35 mile drive.
I inherited some serious rock star ability to drive in reverse from my mom. The driveway is no trouble for me.
Unfortunately, Hubby's mom, and thus Hubby, do not have these skills.
When I heard the stomping and the cussing, I immediately knew what had happened.
While backing out, Hubby went off the driveway and got stuck on the little hill in a major snow drift.
So, at approximately 6:27:39am I donned two pairs of pants, boots, fluffy coat, hat, and gloves to get the blasted car out of the snowbank.
While dealing with a 41 year old having a major temper tantrum.
Brilliant start to the day.
It is in situations like these that the differences in Hubby and I become glaringly apparent. We really are the yin and yang (I have no idea if that's how those words are spelled, but you get my drift. (no pun intended (really, I didn't realize the pun until after I typed it.)))
Got a little off track with all of the parentheses counting. Sorry.
In the middle of problem situations, Hubby has a tendency to get frustrated and overwhelmed rather quickly. I play the part of optimistic cheerleader, which either helps him or annoys the crap out of him. Either way, it gets him to quiet down a bit so I can think.
So this morning, as we drug the shovels and some wood planks down to the car, he was cussing and talking about calling a tow truck in. I was saying, "Let's just try it. A tow truck will take forever to get here, and then you'll really be late for work."
We then played a fun game of shovel, shove boards under the tires, drive a tiny bit, rock backwards, and start again. Over and over. What made it really fun were the punctuating comments of, "This is never going to work," and "We're only making it worse" and "We need a tow truck."
I didn't let him get too down, though, with my comebacks of, "Look, we are 5 inches better off than we were before!" and "If we just do this..." and "Shut up and call the tow truck if you want!"
Of course, he never called the tow truck. Not because he trusted me, but because the phone was all the way up at the house.
So, slowly but surely, we made progress.
And then, glory days, I managed to plow up the hill in reverse and get back on the driveway.
Victory!
He then asked me to get the car to the end of the driveway.
So I dd.
Only then did I realize that I then had to make the .35 mile walk back up the drive in the dark.
Awesome.
Finally, at approximately 7:16:42, Hubby left for work while I sat and ate a bowl of Raisin Bran.
While I ate, I contemplated my morning. I came up with three items of note.
1. Once again, my husband better be thanking his lucky stars that he snagged me when he had the chance.
2. I will never again complain about being awoken by an alarm clock.
3. I'm going to need a nap.
Have a lovely day!
He coughed the other one up at approximately 5:38:17am.
He was in the throws of a record-breaking coughing fit, cuddled up on my lap, when I heard the tell-tale mucus-caught-in-the-throat-induced vomit-cough.
In his sleepy, weak state, he whispered to me:
"It's OK, I caught it."
He caught his vomit/lung in his mouth and swallowed it.
So I wouldn't get sprayed.
Sweet, disgusting boy.
Fortunately, the combination of eating a clementine, standing outside to breathe in the cold air, and some nose-blowing (but probably is was just time passing) got him through it, and we were both able to go back to bed in peace.
For about 3 minutes.
By the time I got to bed, Hubby was up and getting ready for work.
He kissed me good-bye and headed out.
Three minutes later, I heard the front door open and close. Stomping up the stairs came next. And then the foulest language I have ever heard.
See, our driveway is still covered in snow. We've had two more accumulating snow days since "the big one", so while we can get in and out, it isn't as easy as just driving down the drive.
Mostly because the entire circle wasn't plowed, we have to back down the .35 mile drive.
I inherited some serious rock star ability to drive in reverse from my mom. The driveway is no trouble for me.
Unfortunately, Hubby's mom, and thus Hubby, do not have these skills.
When I heard the stomping and the cussing, I immediately knew what had happened.
While backing out, Hubby went off the driveway and got stuck on the little hill in a major snow drift.
So, at approximately 6:27:39am I donned two pairs of pants, boots, fluffy coat, hat, and gloves to get the blasted car out of the snowbank.
While dealing with a 41 year old having a major temper tantrum.
Brilliant start to the day.
It is in situations like these that the differences in Hubby and I become glaringly apparent. We really are the yin and yang (I have no idea if that's how those words are spelled, but you get my drift. (no pun intended (really, I didn't realize the pun until after I typed it.)))
Got a little off track with all of the parentheses counting. Sorry.
In the middle of problem situations, Hubby has a tendency to get frustrated and overwhelmed rather quickly. I play the part of optimistic cheerleader, which either helps him or annoys the crap out of him. Either way, it gets him to quiet down a bit so I can think.
So this morning, as we drug the shovels and some wood planks down to the car, he was cussing and talking about calling a tow truck in. I was saying, "Let's just try it. A tow truck will take forever to get here, and then you'll really be late for work."
We then played a fun game of shovel, shove boards under the tires, drive a tiny bit, rock backwards, and start again. Over and over. What made it really fun were the punctuating comments of, "This is never going to work," and "We're only making it worse" and "We need a tow truck."
I didn't let him get too down, though, with my comebacks of, "Look, we are 5 inches better off than we were before!" and "If we just do this..." and "Shut up and call the tow truck if you want!"
Of course, he never called the tow truck. Not because he trusted me, but because the phone was all the way up at the house.
So, slowly but surely, we made progress.
And then, glory days, I managed to plow up the hill in reverse and get back on the driveway.
Victory!
He then asked me to get the car to the end of the driveway.
So I dd.
Only then did I realize that I then had to make the .35 mile walk back up the drive in the dark.
Awesome.
Finally, at approximately 7:16:42, Hubby left for work while I sat and ate a bowl of Raisin Bran.
While I ate, I contemplated my morning. I came up with three items of note.
1. Once again, my husband better be thanking his lucky stars that he snagged me when he had the chance.
2. I will never again complain about being awoken by an alarm clock.
3. I'm going to need a nap.
Have a lovely day!
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Unless Your Goal Is to Stop Picking Your Nose, Take Baby Steps
I am not a life coach, but I play one on TV.
OK, that was a lie.
I was only on TV one time, and I was making a fool of myself at the time. No one who saw it would take any advice from me.
Regardless, I do know a thing or two that may be of some help to a few folks out there.
This time of year, lots of people are making lots of resolutions. I'm not one of them, but I know lots of people are. I'm not against new year's resolutions, I simply don't feel the need to change something about myself based on the day of the year. I change things when I see that some things need changing.
To the helpful part...
Of the many people making resolutions, I'm going to say that at least 85% will give it up within a few weeks. (Yes, Kellie, I completely pulled that statistic out of thin air.) It's not that people's intentions aren't good. People just don't know how to make resolutions in order to be successful.
Back when I taught 5th grade, the kids would give things up for Lent. I encouraged them to not just give up things like candy, but to find something that they could do to better themselves. A majority of kids would always say, "I will stop fighting with my siblings."
I knew for a fact that none of them would actually succeed in these promises, so I came up with some steps to help them figure out things they could actually do.
Step 1: Make a general statement of what you want to improve. In the case of my students, an example of the general statement was "stop fighting with my sister".
Step 2: Name a specific time/problem area to narrow down the general statement. For the kids that wanted to stop fighting with a sibling, I told them to think about their days. When did they fight with their siblings the most? Was it when they were getting ready for school? In the car? Downtime after school?
Step 3: Focus only on that one time/problem area to make a change. Basically, I was guiding them to make a small step towards their larger, more general goal. A student could then resolve to stop fighting with his sister when riding in the car. Totally doable.
Step 4: Make a plan of what you will do to replace your current behavior. It's well and good to say, "I won't fight with my sister in the car," but when he is actually in the car, how will the student avoid it? In order to be successful, he must have a plan on what to do instead. Let's say the student realized he fought with his sister because he was bored. He can then come up with something to do to avoid boredom. He could keep a book or some other solitary activity in the car. Or he could find something they could both enjoy, like a game of 20 questions. Having a plan of go-to activities will go a long way to being successful.
Step 5: Once you have mastered that one small step, make a plan to take another step. What is another thing you can do to get closer to the general goal you made?
These steps can work with just about any resolution. Don't resolve to simply eat healthier. Be specific. What is a specific problem area? Fast food at lunch? Snacking at night? Not eating breakfast? Name it and and make a plan for that one, small bit. What one behavior will you replace in order to get closer to your general goal of healthy eating?
Don't resolve to spend less money. When do you find yourself spending the most? Impulse buys at the grocery store? Online shopping? Killing time, waiting to pick kids up from school? Name it and change one thing. Find something else to replace the unwanted behavior.
Don't simply say, "I'm going to be better about keeping the house clean/decluttered." Name one area that you can change/do something about, then make a plan to be successful.
I have used these steps myself several times to make changes in my life. I'm not going to bore you with the details, but I'll tell you that it worked.
By and large, there is no reason for people to make huge, extreme changes. It's overwhelming and depressing to do so. Which means changes won't get made. Why do that to ourselves?
Progress is all we need. Keep the end goal in mind, but take little steps to get there. Little, doable steps to keep us in a positive state of mind and on the right path.
Unless your resolution is to stop picking your nose. Do that all in one fell swoop.
Have a lovely day!
OK, that was a lie.
I was only on TV one time, and I was making a fool of myself at the time. No one who saw it would take any advice from me.
Regardless, I do know a thing or two that may be of some help to a few folks out there.
This time of year, lots of people are making lots of resolutions. I'm not one of them, but I know lots of people are. I'm not against new year's resolutions, I simply don't feel the need to change something about myself based on the day of the year. I change things when I see that some things need changing.
To the helpful part...
Of the many people making resolutions, I'm going to say that at least 85% will give it up within a few weeks. (Yes, Kellie, I completely pulled that statistic out of thin air.) It's not that people's intentions aren't good. People just don't know how to make resolutions in order to be successful.
Back when I taught 5th grade, the kids would give things up for Lent. I encouraged them to not just give up things like candy, but to find something that they could do to better themselves. A majority of kids would always say, "I will stop fighting with my siblings."
I knew for a fact that none of them would actually succeed in these promises, so I came up with some steps to help them figure out things they could actually do.
Step 1: Make a general statement of what you want to improve. In the case of my students, an example of the general statement was "stop fighting with my sister".
Step 2: Name a specific time/problem area to narrow down the general statement. For the kids that wanted to stop fighting with a sibling, I told them to think about their days. When did they fight with their siblings the most? Was it when they were getting ready for school? In the car? Downtime after school?
Step 3: Focus only on that one time/problem area to make a change. Basically, I was guiding them to make a small step towards their larger, more general goal. A student could then resolve to stop fighting with his sister when riding in the car. Totally doable.
Step 4: Make a plan of what you will do to replace your current behavior. It's well and good to say, "I won't fight with my sister in the car," but when he is actually in the car, how will the student avoid it? In order to be successful, he must have a plan on what to do instead. Let's say the student realized he fought with his sister because he was bored. He can then come up with something to do to avoid boredom. He could keep a book or some other solitary activity in the car. Or he could find something they could both enjoy, like a game of 20 questions. Having a plan of go-to activities will go a long way to being successful.
Step 5: Once you have mastered that one small step, make a plan to take another step. What is another thing you can do to get closer to the general goal you made?
These steps can work with just about any resolution. Don't resolve to simply eat healthier. Be specific. What is a specific problem area? Fast food at lunch? Snacking at night? Not eating breakfast? Name it and and make a plan for that one, small bit. What one behavior will you replace in order to get closer to your general goal of healthy eating?
Don't resolve to spend less money. When do you find yourself spending the most? Impulse buys at the grocery store? Online shopping? Killing time, waiting to pick kids up from school? Name it and change one thing. Find something else to replace the unwanted behavior.
Don't simply say, "I'm going to be better about keeping the house clean/decluttered." Name one area that you can change/do something about, then make a plan to be successful.
I have used these steps myself several times to make changes in my life. I'm not going to bore you with the details, but I'll tell you that it worked.
By and large, there is no reason for people to make huge, extreme changes. It's overwhelming and depressing to do so. Which means changes won't get made. Why do that to ourselves?
Progress is all we need. Keep the end goal in mind, but take little steps to get there. Little, doable steps to keep us in a positive state of mind and on the right path.
Unless your resolution is to stop picking your nose. Do that all in one fell swoop.
Have a lovely day!
Monday, December 31, 2012
Monday Listicles - Mullets and More
Put your hair in your banana clip, your rear in some Jordache jeans, and your calves in their leg warmers, people. We are talking Everything 80s for our Listicles topic this week. Let's jump right on in.
10. The Limited Forenza sweaters. My sister had one in every color, because she was fashionable like that. Here she is in 6th grade sporting one for her school photo.
Isn't she cute, with the polo turned up, the cute hair, and, of course, the sweater?
9. I got to sport some serious 80s fashion, too. Unfortunately, it wasn't the coveted Forenza. I had more of the fashionable redneck look going on. The 80s couldn't be the 80s without
the terribly not cute mullet. How are we even related?
8. Too bad you can't see the jeans I was sporting in that photo. They're pegged.
7. The 80s was also the decade of my one and only Hollywood crush. Bestill my heart, dearest Harrison Ford. Oh, sweet Indy, what did Marion have that I didn't? Shoot, I would have even played the part of Chewbacca if it meant getting to be with my Harry.
6. Hey, did you know that video killed the radio star? Too bad reality TV killed the video star. Can we start a petition for MTV to go back to its roots and play nothing but music videos? Although, I don't know if I'd want the videos that musicians would have these days. Nothing like Michael, Madonna, Prince, Wham, U2, Bon Jovi, Milli Vanilli, The New Kids on the Block, Cyndi Lauper, Huey Lewis, The Beastie Boys, DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince... Oh, it never ends. I loved spending hours and hours and hours watching that channel. Loved it.
5. Speaking of music, our high school had sock hops after every football game. We teens took over the gym and danced our hearts out, while the parents played cards in the cafeteria. Don't get images of dorky kids in poodle skirts. Even the cool kids went, and the only reason it was a sock hop is because the administration didn't want us to mess up their gym floor with shoes we wore to a football game. Those hops will always have a place in my heart, as a sock hop is where I danced my first dance with Hubby. One of the funniest things we remember about the sock hops was the song that got banned. The DJ played Mony Mony by Billy Idol, and we all broke into the added unofficial lyrics (sang in a call/answer sort of way) "Hey! Hey! What? What? Get $(($*! Get #*$*#*!" And that was the end of that song.
4. I did a lot of babysitting in the 80s, which meant I was up late most weekends. Really, it's the only time in my life that I was up late and able to watch Saturday Night Live. Which is good, because it was really funny (and popular) back then. Between Eddie Murphy's Mr. Robinson's Neighborhood and Dana Carvey's Churchlady, there were some funny, funny skits. Of them all, my favorite was Martin Short's Ed Grimley. To Hubby's horror, "I must say" I was very good at mimicking that little jump Ed did.
3. Sure, we didn't have the Wii or XBox back in the day, but we had Pac-Man. My siblings (and my mom, for that matter) spent hours playing that game. The one and only time my siblings were excited about something I did was the day I flipped the score. Everyone saw that I was getting close, so they huddled around me and my Atari joystick, watching and waiting. When it finally happened (I don't even remember what the magic number was. Maybe 100,000?) and the score went back to zero, cheers rang out. I was cool. But then we realized that all it meant was that I was back at zero again and the excitement really just petered out. I was back to being my uncool older sister self.
2. ABC After School Specials. My parents had it so easy. They didn't have to have a single difficult discussion with me. Just flip on the after school special, and my learnin' was complete. I learned about AIDS from transfusions, drug use, peer pressure, being kidnapped by strangers, drunk driving, and a plethora of other touchy topics. Why did they go away? I have to actually find natural, teachable moments to tackle these things with my own kids. And the ones my parents didn't have to deal with on top of it. Don't you sometimes wish there was an after school movie on the perils of sexting you could have your teenager watch?
1. Holy cow, going through this list, it appears that I did nothing but watch TV throughout the entire decade. But how could you not, when such good shows like Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Family Ties and The Cosby Show were on? Bill Cosby was huge back then. Besides his show, I was first introduced to stand-up comedy with his Bill Cosby:Himself video. (On VHS, not Beta. Remember that? You had to pick your alliance and pray that you were stocking up on the right kind of video. Poor saps who chose Beta wasted a whole lotta cash.) Can you imagine having to live like our children and not know that Will Smith had a huge career way before Men in Black was ever released and his daughter Willow ever started waving her hair? I still know the theme song by heart.
Yo homes, smell ya later!
Head over to the Listicle fun. Be sure to visit the blog of the funny lady who came up with this idea. I hear Kate is letting us all in on the many ways she failed at 80s fashion.
Happy New Year!
10. The Limited Forenza sweaters. My sister had one in every color, because she was fashionable like that. Here she is in 6th grade sporting one for her school photo.
Isn't she cute, with the polo turned up, the cute hair, and, of course, the sweater?
9. I got to sport some serious 80s fashion, too. Unfortunately, it wasn't the coveted Forenza. I had more of the fashionable redneck look going on. The 80s couldn't be the 80s without
the terribly not cute mullet. How are we even related?
8. Too bad you can't see the jeans I was sporting in that photo. They're pegged.
7. The 80s was also the decade of my one and only Hollywood crush. Bestill my heart, dearest Harrison Ford. Oh, sweet Indy, what did Marion have that I didn't? Shoot, I would have even played the part of Chewbacca if it meant getting to be with my Harry.
6. Hey, did you know that video killed the radio star? Too bad reality TV killed the video star. Can we start a petition for MTV to go back to its roots and play nothing but music videos? Although, I don't know if I'd want the videos that musicians would have these days. Nothing like Michael, Madonna, Prince, Wham, U2, Bon Jovi, Milli Vanilli, The New Kids on the Block, Cyndi Lauper, Huey Lewis, The Beastie Boys, DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince... Oh, it never ends. I loved spending hours and hours and hours watching that channel. Loved it.
5. Speaking of music, our high school had sock hops after every football game. We teens took over the gym and danced our hearts out, while the parents played cards in the cafeteria. Don't get images of dorky kids in poodle skirts. Even the cool kids went, and the only reason it was a sock hop is because the administration didn't want us to mess up their gym floor with shoes we wore to a football game. Those hops will always have a place in my heart, as a sock hop is where I danced my first dance with Hubby. One of the funniest things we remember about the sock hops was the song that got banned. The DJ played Mony Mony by Billy Idol, and we all broke into the added unofficial lyrics (sang in a call/answer sort of way) "Hey! Hey! What? What? Get $(($*! Get #*$*#*!" And that was the end of that song.
4. I did a lot of babysitting in the 80s, which meant I was up late most weekends. Really, it's the only time in my life that I was up late and able to watch Saturday Night Live. Which is good, because it was really funny (and popular) back then. Between Eddie Murphy's Mr. Robinson's Neighborhood and Dana Carvey's Churchlady, there were some funny, funny skits. Of them all, my favorite was Martin Short's Ed Grimley. To Hubby's horror, "I must say" I was very good at mimicking that little jump Ed did.
3. Sure, we didn't have the Wii or XBox back in the day, but we had Pac-Man. My siblings (and my mom, for that matter) spent hours playing that game. The one and only time my siblings were excited about something I did was the day I flipped the score. Everyone saw that I was getting close, so they huddled around me and my Atari joystick, watching and waiting. When it finally happened (I don't even remember what the magic number was. Maybe 100,000?) and the score went back to zero, cheers rang out. I was cool. But then we realized that all it meant was that I was back at zero again and the excitement really just petered out. I was back to being my uncool older sister self.
2. ABC After School Specials. My parents had it so easy. They didn't have to have a single difficult discussion with me. Just flip on the after school special, and my learnin' was complete. I learned about AIDS from transfusions, drug use, peer pressure, being kidnapped by strangers, drunk driving, and a plethora of other touchy topics. Why did they go away? I have to actually find natural, teachable moments to tackle these things with my own kids. And the ones my parents didn't have to deal with on top of it. Don't you sometimes wish there was an after school movie on the perils of sexting you could have your teenager watch?
1. Holy cow, going through this list, it appears that I did nothing but watch TV throughout the entire decade. But how could you not, when such good shows like Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Family Ties and The Cosby Show were on? Bill Cosby was huge back then. Besides his show, I was first introduced to stand-up comedy with his Bill Cosby:Himself video. (On VHS, not Beta. Remember that? You had to pick your alliance and pray that you were stocking up on the right kind of video. Poor saps who chose Beta wasted a whole lotta cash.) Can you imagine having to live like our children and not know that Will Smith had a huge career way before Men in Black was ever released and his daughter Willow ever started waving her hair? I still know the theme song by heart.
Yo homes, smell ya later!
Head over to the Listicle fun. Be sure to visit the blog of the funny lady who came up with this idea. I hear Kate is letting us all in on the many ways she failed at 80s fashion.
Happy New Year!
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Quick Takes - Seven of Them
We're doing some quick takes tonight. The quickest ever.
Cuckoo got a whole big book of tattoos for Christmas. He wanted to put some on, so I told Buttercup to give him a few. I clearly stated that she was NOT to go overboard as he would wish. This is her idea of NOT going overboard.
Nope, tattoos on his forehead, neck, both cheeks, chin, belly, top of each foot, and left leg was considered downright judicious.
**************** 2 ************
I had a photography business in a pre-six kids life. The knowledge I have of photography does not apply to taking self-portraits in a bathroom mirror.
Why did I need to take a photo of myself you ask?
In order to take a poll, of course.
I got my hair cut yesterday. To which body part is it cut?
If you said either earlobes or jaw, you'd be correct.
Unfortunately, the person cutting my hair was confused and didn't know that my chin is actually the lowest part of my face, a couple of inches below my earlobe in fact.
My hair is SHORT. Curly hair is not exactly attractive when cut short. In fact, it looks quite unkempt.
Until this grows, I actually have to "do" my 'do every single blasted day.
I'm having to expend energy on making my hair look kempt.
Not cool.
Because breaks from school make me want to celebrate, I went crazy and bought up a bunch of clearance Christmas candy. And because candy doesn't have enough sugar on its own, I bought ice cream and Cool Whip to go with them. (I would have bought chocolate sauce and cherries, too, but I knew we had some in the fridge already.)
Last night, we had a little no reason ice cream sundae celebration.
Do those kids look happy or what?
Don't know if you noticed, but we ate those sundaes out of real, non-paper bowls. That's right, our paper days are behind us. We have running water in the kitchen. A sink and a dishwasher up and running.
I once again get to holler, "How hard is it to scrape the food INTO the trash can???"
And the ever popular, "Who didn't rinse their plates before putting them in the dishwasher???"
Oh, I missed those days.
And because we have a functioning kitchen, for the first time in two months, I was able to make a real breakfast. We had eggs this morning.
OK, that looks really shiny and unappetizing, but I promise I can cook a mean omelet. The kids were thrilled to have their eggs; omeleted, burritoed, or scrambled. I cooked to order today.
Now hop on over to Jennifer's to read her quick takes, as well as plenty of others.
Have a lovely day!
********** 1 ***********
Cuckoo got a whole big book of tattoos for Christmas. He wanted to put some on, so I told Buttercup to give him a few. I clearly stated that she was NOT to go overboard as he would wish. This is her idea of NOT going overboard.
Nope, tattoos on his forehead, neck, both cheeks, chin, belly, top of each foot, and left leg was considered downright judicious.
**************** 2 ************
I had a photography business in a pre-six kids life. The knowledge I have of photography does not apply to taking self-portraits in a bathroom mirror.
************ 3 *****************
Why did I need to take a photo of myself you ask?
In order to take a poll, of course.
I got my hair cut yesterday. To which body part is it cut?
*********** 4 **********
If you said either earlobes or jaw, you'd be correct.
Unfortunately, the person cutting my hair was confused and didn't know that my chin is actually the lowest part of my face, a couple of inches below my earlobe in fact.
My hair is SHORT. Curly hair is not exactly attractive when cut short. In fact, it looks quite unkempt.
Until this grows, I actually have to "do" my 'do every single blasted day.
I'm having to expend energy on making my hair look kempt.
Not cool.
************ 5 ***********
Because breaks from school make me want to celebrate, I went crazy and bought up a bunch of clearance Christmas candy. And because candy doesn't have enough sugar on its own, I bought ice cream and Cool Whip to go with them. (I would have bought chocolate sauce and cherries, too, but I knew we had some in the fridge already.)
Last night, we had a little no reason ice cream sundae celebration.
Do those kids look happy or what?
*************** 6 *************
Don't know if you noticed, but we ate those sundaes out of real, non-paper bowls. That's right, our paper days are behind us. We have running water in the kitchen. A sink and a dishwasher up and running.
I once again get to holler, "How hard is it to scrape the food INTO the trash can???"
And the ever popular, "Who didn't rinse their plates before putting them in the dishwasher???"
Oh, I missed those days.
*********** 7 **********
And because we have a functioning kitchen, for the first time in two months, I was able to make a real breakfast. We had eggs this morning.
OK, that looks really shiny and unappetizing, but I promise I can cook a mean omelet. The kids were thrilled to have their eggs; omeleted, burritoed, or scrambled. I cooked to order today.
Now hop on over to Jennifer's to read her quick takes, as well as plenty of others.
Have a lovely day!
Thursday, December 27, 2012
And So I Allow Him to Go Unharmed
The morning started with me wanting to do physical harm to my husband. I don't mean a slap kind of harm. I mean real harm. That includes blood and broken body parts.
Yesterday, we spent a whole lot of time shoveling. I took care of the porches and walkways, while Hubby spent a couple of hours making two tire tunnels for his car.
I in no way want to make light of the amount of work Hubby put in yesterday.
He started at his car (which we strategically placed facing down the driveway before the snow started. (This ain't our first snow dance.))
and continued all the way down the .35 mile driveway.
The closest dot you see is Hershey. The next dot is Roy. And lastly, aaaaall the way at the end of the drive, is Hubby.
He worked his tail off, hoping that the two lines he shoveled lined up and gave him enough room to get the car out in the morning.
After the sun went down, our lovely neighbor showed up with a scooper truck. That nice man followed Hubby's tracks and cleaned up the rest of the snow.
Now, look at the photo above again. See where our vehicles are? When Hubby went out to thank the man, he didn't think to ask, "Would you mind clearing off the bit to my wife's van, too?"
Nope. Just so he could get to work, he was happy. Which meant my car was completely blocked in by the 10 inches of snow, plus the piles of snow left by the scooper.
Normally, not too big of a deal. The kids and I could have lived on candy until he stopped at the store on his way home from work. Except, I had one errand that had to get done.
Just before Christmas, Hubby asked me if I had sent in our homestead exemption form when I paid our property taxes. I had no idea of what he spoke, so clearly the answer was no.
He said, "We (meaning you) have to file them before Dec. 31." I couldn't do it before Christmas, so today was the day.
So, guess who was outside shoveling a path through the snow this morning?
I might have said a few bad words in the process.
But, I got the van out and braved the bad roads to make it to the county auditor's office.
Where there was a loooong line of people also needing to get their exemptions filed by Dec. 31.
After half and hour, I finally made it to the desk. I handed over our paperwork, and the dear woman said, "You have already done this."
Come again?
"Have you refinanced?"
No.
"Well, you filed this in 2010, so you don't need to do it again. Once and done."
Are you saying I didn't need to come down here before Dec. 31 to file any paperwork?
"No ma'am, you didn't."
Flippin, flappin, sugar bits in my grits, my husband is in super big, very bad trouble.
Cuckoo and I left the office, texted Hubby a terse note, and headed to the grocery store, which of course, wasn't crowded at all, being the first day after Christmas and a blizzard in which stores were open. Nope. Not crowded at all.
I came home in a lovely mood.
But, I am to the point that I no longer want to hurt my husband.
Christmas candy was half off, so I gave up my M&M fast and bought myself two big bags. (Just throwing it out there, but I just may be an emotional eater.) That made me happy.
The sun is shining, and the sun always makes me feel better.
As I stand on the front steps, I can hear little drip, drip, drips all around me. Snow melting in the sun and dropping off the roof, the downspouts, the trees, the picnic table. It's a pretty little symphony, just for me.
While on my porch, I saw a couple of cardinals cavorting in the snow-covered trees. I love, love, love the sight of bright red cardinals back-dropped against bright white snow.
I have all of my kids home with me. And they're getting along nicely.
The plumbers have made it to my house and, as I type, are working to get running water into my kitchen. Thank you, God.
Lastly, I just got an email saying that a picture I sent to a fellow blogger is going to be on her site today. Anna from My Life and Kids does a series on messy houses that is hilarious and makes us all feel better on days that we don't quite get to the housekeeping. Today, she is doing a messy house: kids edition. Our dearest Cuckoo made the cut with the mess he made in the bathroom one day over the summer. Seeing the photo made me smile. I can laugh about it now that it is in the far, far past.
So, really, my husband is a lucky man. The good is outweighing the cruddy start to my day that he created. There will be no husband beat-down when he gets home from work.
Although, with a kitchen sink up and running, I will finally be able to make all of the food I've been missing. That's gonna mean a whole lot of messy dishes for Hubby to clean.
Not that I'm into paybacks or anything.
Have a lovely day!
Yesterday, we spent a whole lot of time shoveling. I took care of the porches and walkways, while Hubby spent a couple of hours making two tire tunnels for his car.
I in no way want to make light of the amount of work Hubby put in yesterday.
He started at his car (which we strategically placed facing down the driveway before the snow started. (This ain't our first snow dance.))
and continued all the way down the .35 mile driveway.
The closest dot you see is Hershey. The next dot is Roy. And lastly, aaaaall the way at the end of the drive, is Hubby.
He worked his tail off, hoping that the two lines he shoveled lined up and gave him enough room to get the car out in the morning.
After the sun went down, our lovely neighbor showed up with a scooper truck. That nice man followed Hubby's tracks and cleaned up the rest of the snow.
Now, look at the photo above again. See where our vehicles are? When Hubby went out to thank the man, he didn't think to ask, "Would you mind clearing off the bit to my wife's van, too?"
Nope. Just so he could get to work, he was happy. Which meant my car was completely blocked in by the 10 inches of snow, plus the piles of snow left by the scooper.
Normally, not too big of a deal. The kids and I could have lived on candy until he stopped at the store on his way home from work. Except, I had one errand that had to get done.
Just before Christmas, Hubby asked me if I had sent in our homestead exemption form when I paid our property taxes. I had no idea of what he spoke, so clearly the answer was no.
He said, "We (meaning you) have to file them before Dec. 31." I couldn't do it before Christmas, so today was the day.
So, guess who was outside shoveling a path through the snow this morning?
I might have said a few bad words in the process.
But, I got the van out and braved the bad roads to make it to the county auditor's office.
Where there was a loooong line of people also needing to get their exemptions filed by Dec. 31.
After half and hour, I finally made it to the desk. I handed over our paperwork, and the dear woman said, "You have already done this."
Come again?
"Have you refinanced?"
No.
"Well, you filed this in 2010, so you don't need to do it again. Once and done."
Are you saying I didn't need to come down here before Dec. 31 to file any paperwork?
"No ma'am, you didn't."
Flippin, flappin, sugar bits in my grits, my husband is in super big, very bad trouble.
Cuckoo and I left the office, texted Hubby a terse note, and headed to the grocery store, which of course, wasn't crowded at all, being the first day after Christmas and a blizzard in which stores were open. Nope. Not crowded at all.
I came home in a lovely mood.
But, I am to the point that I no longer want to hurt my husband.
Christmas candy was half off, so I gave up my M&M fast and bought myself two big bags. (Just throwing it out there, but I just may be an emotional eater.) That made me happy.
The sun is shining, and the sun always makes me feel better.
As I stand on the front steps, I can hear little drip, drip, drips all around me. Snow melting in the sun and dropping off the roof, the downspouts, the trees, the picnic table. It's a pretty little symphony, just for me.
While on my porch, I saw a couple of cardinals cavorting in the snow-covered trees. I love, love, love the sight of bright red cardinals back-dropped against bright white snow.
I have all of my kids home with me. And they're getting along nicely.
The plumbers have made it to my house and, as I type, are working to get running water into my kitchen. Thank you, God.
Lastly, I just got an email saying that a picture I sent to a fellow blogger is going to be on her site today. Anna from My Life and Kids does a series on messy houses that is hilarious and makes us all feel better on days that we don't quite get to the housekeeping. Today, she is doing a messy house: kids edition. Our dearest Cuckoo made the cut with the mess he made in the bathroom one day over the summer. Seeing the photo made me smile. I can laugh about it now that it is in the far, far past.
So, really, my husband is a lucky man. The good is outweighing the cruddy start to my day that he created. There will be no husband beat-down when he gets home from work.
Although, with a kitchen sink up and running, I will finally be able to make all of the food I've been missing. That's gonna mean a whole lot of messy dishes for Hubby to clean.
Not that I'm into paybacks or anything.
Have a lovely day!
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