Things I Don't Feel Like Doing.

I didn't sleep very well last night. Husband said this morning that it's really my own fault due to my (alleged) allergy-induced snoring. Suuuuure. Just because he wakes up because he's "absolutely sure" he must be sleeping next to a bear doesn't mean he has to wake me up too, does it? Last time I checked, you're not supposed to poke sleeping bears in their squishy midsections, right? Something about having your head bitten off?

Anyhow, it's beautiful outside-I can tell from the puffy white clouds that dot the blue sky and the trees swaying gently in the breeze! I saw it all from my window! And my computer says it's a lovely 79 degrees. Just the perfect time to seize the day!...? Do I have to? I mean, yesterday I had the septic tank pumped, folded laundry, made jam, looked for jobs, and did some research for a project. So that means I'm off the hook for today, right? Maybe if I complain about all the things I ought to do, they'll just go away. Let's give it a whirl:

My To-Do List Things I Don't Feel Like Doing:

• Straighten my office. There's a path from the door to the computer. What else is needed?
• Take a shower. But what if I go do something sweaty? I'll just have to do it again later.
• Do something sweaty. This includes, but is not limited to, mowing the lawn, weeding, various indoor and outdoor projects that involve swinging a hammer, making sawdust, climbing a ladder, thinking...
• Make lunch. Sounds like a lot of work.
• Buy lunch. See next bullet point.
  
• Run errands. Please see the second bullet point.
• Read. I'd just feel guilty for not doing something more productive.
• Clean out my closet. This is a necessary painful task only to be taken on when one is feeling courageous and incredibly industrious. Obviously not a task for today.
• Go grocery shopping. Sounds a lot like something that requires a shower. And thinking.
• Go to a movie. Shower? Plus, I mean, how many times can one really get away with seeing Harry Potter before having one's husband roll his eyes at one? (Answer: exactly one.)
• Catch up on So You Think You Can Dance. TV? As if reading wouldn't make me feel guilty enough!
• Make bread. Again, sounds like a lot of work.
  

Ok, I'm spent. I could probably list some more things, but my actual to-do list is in the kitchen. You see my problem, obviously. My kingdom for a poolside lounge chair, a fashion magazine, and no to-do list!

Happy Thursday.

HOORAY, I'M A LLAMA AGAIN!!!

Ok, so maybe what I really meant was something like, "Aren't you all soooo glad I'm blogging again?" Yes? But somehow llamas seemed better. So I’ve been a little lazy lately I've been pretty busy lately. I really have been. Keeping track of 24 relatively independent eleven-ish year-olds and their needy parents (in some cases) can take it out of you!

But now it's summer! Summer? I love summer! Despite the positive-ish attitude I managed to drag with me throughout the winter, I just love love love summer. Here are some of the reasons why.

1. Bare feet!!! Now, I love shoes a lot, please don't get me wrong, but really it's just because they are pretty. You know, shoes like those stiletto pumps painted that certain red that only Stuart Weitzman does-those ones that make my heart go pitter-patter... But bare feet!!! Chipped red nail polish (sorry, Mom)! Good, dirty, calloused, happy, bare feet!! I feel like I should be writing a haiku about them or something.

2. Yard-work!!! Yard-work? Yes! There's just something about digging in the dirt that makes the world seem so much better. The same way that those long, straight swaths of freshly mowed grass calm me down and how me and my sidekick Asparagus Fork sock it to those dastardly dandelions. Not to mention watching my garden grow.

3. Have I really made it this far without mentioning the temperature?! Do I really need to?! I went to target this afternoon, and when I stepped out of the store I was immediately enveloped in the sweltering, steamy, sunshine-y, 98 degree summer day. I can't begin to put into words how much I loved it. I would so much rather step outside into the hot, heavy, and humid of the summer than the piercing, biting, bitter, and downright obnoxious cold that taunts new england throughout the winter.

4. Naked Time! Ok, not really naked time, but I do love not having to constantly wear a sweater and pants.

5. And speaking of Harry Potter, HARRYPOTTERHARRYPOTTERHARRYPOTTERHARRYPOTTER!!!!!!

5. Hydrangeas. Especially the deep blue-purple ones.

6. Grilling. Who needs a stove when you can cook outside with a mere fraction of the mess?!

Speaking of grilling, it's dinnertime. Happy Summer!

My favorite element is chlorine

It is. Why chlorine? Why not something vitally necessary like carbon or fun to play with like nitrogen or sodium? I'll tell you why. We'll just go ahead and start at the tender age of 14ish and my freshman year of high school (we could start earlier, but the numbers are easier this way).

Every morning (except Sunday) I would rise early, often before the sun (it's not morning until the sun's up, btw) and haul my tired buns into the car and 3.5 minutes down the road to the pool for a two hour workout with my high school (or in the summer, club) swim team before school. Every day after school and homework I would haul my somewhat less tired buns once more to the pool for the "real" workout with my club team. Weekends were often spent at swim meets, and summers were spent at swim practice, teaching swimming lessons, or lifeguarding. And despite showers after each practice, my skin retained that unique chlorine-y perfume even when dry!

So let's do some math. 4 hours of practice 5 days per week, plus 2 more hours on non-meet weekends. That's 22 hours per regular week. We'll go ahead and kick it up to 35 if it happened to be a meet weekend. Let's multiply those 22 hours per week by 36 weeks in a school year. We get 792 hours per school year, times four years gets us 3,168 hours! That's not including entire weekends camped out on the pool decks of steamy natatoriums at meets, or summers, or the 4.5 years I spent playing water polo in college.

Some things just become a part of you.

So tonight as I was stressing about the rain and its continuing invasion of my basement, I found my self cleaning the bathroom as a distraction. No sooner had I squeezed the trigger on my chlorine bleach-based cleaner than I felt my nerves unclench and the furrows in my brow smooth out. I breathed in the chlorine and it felt comfortable and relaxing. (Don't worry, I'm not going to start huffing harsh cleaning chemicals)

But some things just become a part of you.

Grown Up?

I came to the very grown-up realization today that sugary cereal (unless it is H-E-B brand Cinnamon Toast Crunch) just isn't where it's at. Growing up at my house, sugary cereal was a very rare, 0nly-on-your-birthday-or-visiting-grandma sort of treat, and boy, did we love it!

But this morning whilst breaking my fast over a bowl of pink-and-purple-dyed Berry Berry Kix, I realized that it's really not that great. I mean, it looses its crunch by the time I can get a spoon out of the drawer, it tears up the top of my mouth, and that weird sugary coating it leaves in my mouth? No, thanks! Give me a bowl of Grape Nuts and a banana any day!

So, I'm kind of sad that no one told me how much I need my plates that I don't need. I justify myself in still wanting them because I'm close to positive that if anyone actually read my blog they really would have no choice but to agree how wonderful they are. Sigh. On to other matters.

1. My sister has finally gone public with her little bundle of news. I can't WAIT to tie-dye onsies for the little lemon. Or, foreseeing my lack of initiative to see that project to the finish, I can't wait to find all sorts of really cute stuff to think about buying. Non-committal enough? But seriously, I'm way excited on all sorts of levels.

2. Poor husband spent the w h o l e of last week sick. I'm convinced it was some nasty flu, even if the doctor disagreed. Fever, cough, chills, gastrointestinal pyrotechnics, the works. At least the doctor gave him some souped-up cough syrup. We are both happy to report that he is on the mend! It was probably the healing powers of some lovingly-made-by-my-visiting-teacher chicken enchiladas and a guardian kitty or two.



3. We spent a BEAUTIFUL pre-Valentine's Day weekend in Vermont. It was cold cold cold, but the snowy scenery was pretty and the quiet little towns and lovely little inn were just what we needed. This is where we stayed, and you should too!!

4. The mother-in-law came for a few days. It was the first time she has seen our house, so it was fun to show her all of our projects and go and do. We even made a trek up to Vermont (again) to the Joseph Smith Birthplace memorial. It's the church history site that is the most out of the way for most, but is the closest to us! It was nice to see her and get to know her a little better.

That seems to be all I know. And that's ok, because I'm on vacation. So there. :)

I DO NOT NEED THESE PLATES. I DO NOT NEED THEM IN YELLOW, NOR DO I NEED THEM IN NAVY BLUE. I DON'T EVEN NEED THEM IN PLUM.

Really, I don't!

someone please tell me that I need these...please?

Treasures!

Yesterday, I came home from some errand-running to find a TREASURE BOX waiting for me on the deck!! It was made of brown cardboard and lovingly sent from my mother and my closet :).

(The back story here, just fyi, is that my bedroom at my parent's house is being usurped for the indeterminable future and all of my things are being moved out (thankfully not thrown out, at least!) and taken down to make room for said usurpers. Don't ask me about that, I don't want to talk about it.)

Anyway, I opened the box to find all sorts of wonderful, heartwarming, nostalgic things!! Among them were the swim-fin key chains that hung from my backpack in high school, my competitor's deck pass for the state swim meet during sophmore year, my young womanhood recognition medallion, and various and sundry other things that put a smile on my face.

But what put the biggest smile on my face was this:



My three and four year old journal!! When I was little, I would sit down every week, usually with my dad, and dictate to him what I wanted to go in my journal for that week. Just to share some of my joy with you, this is what I wrote almost exactly 23 years ago:

January 31, 1988

I did quite a bit of swingset playing on this week, and Daddy pushed me really high--clear up into the tangerine branches! Sometimes I call them "reenies." I like to eat them. So does Sarah.

Friday night we got to go watch Daddy play basketball at the Stake Center. We got to have pizza for supper after the game.

I got my report card from pre school this week. Mrs. Nichol said I was really doing well in lots of things. I am starting to learn how to write my name. I would like to learn how.

:) This may seem ordinary, but I can't begin to describe how happy this makes me! It is truly a treasure!