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.

Grocery shopping is one of the necessary chores of life that I absolutely detest. If I could pay someone to do my shopping I would totally do it. I hear they do that in Chicago. I think that means they should be offering that service in Lansing by 2017.

Saturday night we had some friends coming over for dinner and I was in need of ingredients for chili so I had no choice but to brave the store. There were a few other things I was running low on so I planned to get those too. I was really hoping I could just get in, get my things, and get out.

No such luck. (more…)

I’ve been showering most of my life. Being a lover of routine, I do it the same way each time. I complete my tasks in the same order: Shampoo, rinse, conditioner (leave-in), scrub, shave, wash face, rinse. It’s a routine I follow almost daily and normally does not require much thought. Until a couple weeks ago. I was apparently still quite sleepy and I mistakenly grabbed the body wash instead of the conditioner. It took me a few seconds before I realized there was too much lather in my hair. The body wash and conditioner are the same color and are stored in similar size bottles, so it was an easy mistake. I thought it would be the last time but I have done this several times since. I’ve conditioned my hair with body wash, washed my face with baby shampoo, and this morning I almost squirted conditioner onto my scrub sponge. I imagine that would not have helped me get clean, but I would have unbelievably soft skin.

I don’t know where I went wrong. How did this routine get so off track? Maybe I’m trying to create so many new good habits that my brain is telling me my habit drive is full and needs to be defragmented.

It’s been a semi-rough week. Mike has been working long hours, daycare has been an issue all week because half the town is sick, and Monday our hopes of selling our house and buying a new one this year were crushed. On top of all that, I’ve been working really hard to keep on top of my chores. Seriously, I have. I am just pooped. When I received some bad news on Thursday it was just the proverbial straw I needed to let myself have a mental meltdown. I was overdue for a good cry, I guess. It all sort of worked out though, because I got to take a personal day today since we didn’t have anyone to watch Luke. We had a great day. He napped, I cleaned, we did some dancing to the oldies (no sweating, just dancing). It was a great day, indeed. Just what we needed, I think. (more…)

Oh, that’s so untrue! I have lots to say, I just don’t have the time to write about it all. I have to do my chores first. Yes, I am practicing being an adult by giving myself chores. Sounds a little ironic to me. I was exhorted last weekend to basically grow up and do the things that need to be done because they are important and I cannot afford to pay people to do them for me, so I’ve been doing a darn good job of keeping my butt off the couch this week. Okay now, back to the chores.