I’m home on a beautiful Friday morning! I had to work overtime last weekend so I suggested to the boss that I take today off to offset his cost of paying me overtime. He loved the idea. Mike loved it too, because that means HE gets a day off too (meaning he can sleep in and play video games all day while I hang with my boy Luke, but I suspect he does some of that even on a “working” day)!

So Luke is taking his Morning Nap and I am here on the couch, blogging and relaxing. The kitchen is clean, the living room is clean. The TV is turned off so it’s extra peaceful around here. I don’t even have the fans on because it’s not too hot yet today.

I heard a phone ringing and it was so loud I thought it was mine. Until I heard the neighbor across the street answer it. She’s in her driveway talking on the phone and she’s one of those people who has a voice that carries, but also she’s yelling. And swearing. Trying to have a peaceful moment here, and you’re totally ruining it. Seriously.

We have been watching a lot of baseball lately. Specifically, the Tigers. I was up way too late last night watching them ruin a perfectly good lead, give up a home run to tie the game, score two runs (Polanco hit two homers in ONE game) in the 14th inning. And they still managed to lose the game. Fourteen innings, people. I didn’t go to bed until after 1 am. I am starting to care way too much about this game. I mean, I find myself sitting down next to Mike to watch the game with him (gotta compromise to get that quality time in), and then when he falls asleep shortly after I sit down, I keep watching the game. Because I CARE. Oh well, Mike is happy about that. It only took 10 years to get me interested.

I told Mike the other day that it was going to rain. I hadn’t checked the weather. I just knew. Sure enough, it rained the next morning. Wanna know how I knew? No, I’m not part bovine as Mike suggested (just kidding). Apparently cows know when it’s gonna rain too. It’s the osteoarthritis I have in my knees. I’ve had it for years but didn’t know that’s what it was. Just thought it was normal to have pain in the knees. Well lately they’ve been hurting a lot. Of course it only rained that once, so my forecasting skills aren’t ready for the 6:00 news or anything. Not sure why they are hurting, but I’m sure if I get back into exercising (that’s funny, as if I was ever “into” exercising) then they wouldn’t hurt as much over time. It’s worth a shot.

Luke has two teeth. Total. Two teeth. Fourteen months old. Of course we’ve started brushing them. I hadn’t really made it a priority (you know, cuz there are TWO) but then I noticed he was starting to get really bad breath. Gross, I know. But he brushes twice a day now so the odor is under control. And he loves to brush his teeth. That’s more than I can say for his momma.

I have great friends. I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately. Not just great friends, Fabulous Friends. I can’t even say how fabulous. I just don’t know the words. Let’s consult the thesaurus. How about astonishing, astounding, fantastic, fantastical, incredible, marvelous, miraculous, phenomenal, prodigious, stupendous, unbelievable, wonderful, wondrous? So remarkable as to elicit disbelief. Seriously. I do not deserve such love. Friends, you know who you are.

What can I say? Life is full, full indeed. I hope you are all well. If you are not, I hope you can muster a smile. If a smile doesn’t work for you, try bustin’ a move when no one is looking. Then I dare you not to smile

Seriously, I ditched the obsessive to-do lists months ago. I am FREE. Hi, my name is Mindy and I’m addicted to To-Do Lists. I used to procrastinate A LOT. What I finally realized was that the to-do lists  were really just enabling me to put off all kinds of tasks and haunt me and taunt me with each passing unproductive day. I still use lists at work because I have a lot of tasks and it’s only wise to keep track and prioritize. But those lists are different because I’m there 8 hours a day, paid to complete the tasks. So the money is the motivation there. With my personal to-do lists, I only completed tasks to get the meager reward of crossing it off the list. Now that I ditched the list, I have started to see that the real reward of getting things done is that at the end, things are DONE. And having laundry folded and where it belongs is a pleasant reward. Not having to clear the table before you set it for dinner is a wonderful thing (still working on that one, but I’ve made progress. I think.) Not having Things To Do hanging over your head is a peace I never knew before. I will never go back to those blasted to-do lists!

Miraculously, the Motrin has been working today and I am in no pain whatsoever. I’m not done with the miscarriage, but I am enjoying this break God has given me. Tonight I was actually up AND around. I got caught up on folding and putting away the laundry and I cleaned my bedroom. Now I get to relax guilt free and have some fun. And by fun I mean sending pieces of flair to my friends on Facebook. Oh yes, tonight I am the Flair Spammer. Watch out!

We are back from Georgia.

I am back to work.

I have not miscarried. Yet. Still waiting.

After this is all over I think we’ll chuck it all and join the circus. I think Luke would make a great acrobat someday. 

Do you ever have the kind of day that’s rough and seems to drag on and on, but then toward the end you allow yourself a sigh of relief that it’s almost over, only to look at the clock and discover it’s only 4:00? I’ve been having one of those. I’m tired and Luke is teething and did I mention I’m pregnant? so my emotions are much harder to control. Thankfully I have a darling of a husband to take the Grumpy Child and order the Grumpy Momma to go take a walk or a nap or do something that will make her happy. Though I don’t really know what that is right now, I’ll try my best.

My kitchen is clean. Laundry is almost caught up. We have food in the fridge. I don’t have a to-do list to follow. This is weird. I’ve been procrastinating a lot less since I decided to not rely so much on my to-do lists. See, I usually write things down so I won’t forget to do them. I found an even better way to not forget is to just do the thing right when I think of it. The less things I put off, the less I have to remember. It’s fantastic.

Rushing around and playing the martyr (”Oh, I have so much to do! Busy, busy busy!”) is a state that feels normal to me, but I don’t want to be that person. If I can manage to kick the procrastination and to-do list habit, eventually it will feel normal to just do the important things when they need to be done and let go of the things that aren’t as important if I don’t have the time. It will be like… a way of life. Wow. What a concept.

Our pastor gave a great sermon last Sunday on the Mary vs. Martha story. Luke 10:38-42. We all have a bit of Martha in us, that person who is so concerned with what needs to be done that we forget what’s really important. We forget to focus on the things that are eternal. Pastor Rod calls this “Martha Mania” and he says there are four signs to look out for:

1. Frustration - “There’s so much to do, so little time.”
2. Feeling like a victim - “Why do I always get stuck doing this?”
3. Exaggeration - “This is going to take me all day!”
4. Blame - “If so-and-so would do what they’re supposed to…”

I have experienced all of those multiple times over. I bring it on myself, for sure. Pastor Rod gave some great suggestions for overcoming “Martha Mania”:

1. We must learn the grace of silence
2. We need to sit at the feet of Jesus
3. We need to establish a consistent time to listen to God with a consistent place and a consistent strategy
4. We need to make time to be with God
5. We must learn the pace of simplicity
6. We may need to cut some things out

What I need to remember is this: SLOW DOWN. Focus on eternal things, things that really matter. Align my calendar with my priorities. Make time for God, family, and friends.

“Simplicity is freedom, busyness is bondage.” ~Richard Foster

I went to the store to buy a highlight kit for my hair and when I compared the color swatches on the back of the boxes it was clear. I am a brunette. I started out 30 years ago as a blonde. Over time it developed into what I like to call “dirty dishwater blonde.” Then when I wasn’t looking it crossed over to light brown. Oh, I kept calling it dishwater blonde but at some point you have to stop calling a duck a chicken. If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck… Oh, but no worries my friends, we put this duck in a chicken suit. My friend Tina came over last night and highlighted my hair! How does it look?

We have a home phone line now. We haven’t had it long and I’m still getting used to it. We used our cell phones as our primary phones for years. Tonight I came home and saw that we had a voice mail. In order to check the voice mail you have to dial your phone number from the home phone. I dialed the number and waited for the recording, but as I was waiting my cell phone started ringing. It was in the dining room and I was in the kitchen, so I had to run in order to catch it before it put the caller into voice mail.

Can anyone guess the rest of the story?

That’s right, I had dialed my cell number rather than my home number. I was calling myself and didn’t even realize it, and I had to rush to make sure I didn’t miss my call.

I know I lost a good portion of brain functionality while I was pregnant but I was hoping I would get some of it back. At this point, it’s not looking good.

Yes, my favorite pair of black dressy pants, my only pair of black dressy pants, have reached the end of their useful life. The zipper will not stay up, and I spend all day reaching down to check where it’s at. It’s quite inconvenient when I’m around other people. It’s hard to discreetly reach down and zip up your pants. They are bound to look at you and chuckle because of course they think you just came from the bathroom and forgot that last step (Actually, the last step is washing your hands. Can’t forget cleanliness.).

Oh, speaking of cleanliness in the bathroom. Mike and I were chatting awhile back, as we do on occasion, and he had the brilliant idea that they should make baby wet wipes, but for adults, and you could flush them. I informed him that they already do, and they are available to the public for a small fee. A few days ago he came out of the bathroom and said this to me:

Remember when we talked about how it would be cool if they made flushable wet wipes? Well I noticed the package of wipes on the back of the toilet…

The package of wipes he was referring to reads “Just wipe clean and flush!” However, it also reads (in large print so it shall not be missed) ”Toilet Cleaning Wipes.” That, unfortunately, was the part he did not read. OUCH.