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This is an entry from my Secret Diary
Date: Monday, April 12, 2010 10:30 PM location: on Google Maps

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Shhh!

Adam likes to point at something across the room when it's time to lick his plate clean. He's a dedicated member of the Clean Plate Club. His best one is, "Aww, look at Moo Moo!" I can't believe how many times I've fallen for it, and it's very entertaining when I realize the cat is not actually in a cute pose and turn around to find him buried in ceramic.

Last night he was licking his plate on the way into the kitchen and I caught him. It was funny. I didn't say anything at all, just rubbed his back so he'd know I was right there. He turned around real quick and said, "Shhh!" and went right back to licking the plate.

I don't know if you had to be there, but it was really funny. He didn't mean to shush me, he was just frustrated! It didn't make any sense! So now I've been shushing him just for fun! I'm going to send him a text message saying, "Shhh!" and I hope you do, too. It will be funny. Please give us a call tonight and say "Shhh!" when he answers. We are going to have so much fun with this. He might never lick a plate again.

Shower Stuff

We need to get some bar soap for the shower. Just regular bar soap.
Ew.
What is all that stuff in there, anyway? There's like, 10 bottles in there and no soap.
There's a bottle of body wash in there.
That green stuff? Not anymore. I used the last of it.
Oh yeah, it was running low...
How many shampoos do you need? And what is all the other crap in there?
I use my new shampoo, the others are leftover for you to use... Then I use the conditioner (there's only one) and sometimes I use the color glaze.
Color glaze? Oh, you mean that brown stuff? I was going to use that until I squirted it in my hand...
Don't waste it...
What's that stuff in the pink bottle?
Um... you mean the peach bottle?
Whatever, it's fruity?
St. Ives Apricot Scrub... it's a facewash.
What is with that stuff?
*laughs*
I squirted some on the puff, since we ran out of soap, and it was like... solid...
*laughs harder*
So I picked it up and squished it, and there was like... sand in it...
Yeah, honey, don't try to use that for body wash!
What the hell is the sand for?
It exfoliates.
We need some bar soap.

Stay Away from the Blanket.

Look. I have been working on this blanket since late May when I got my appendix out. I am finally putting the 192 pieces together; it's a very exciting thing. But my cat has GOT to stop messing around with it.

First, Baby caught a bird and tore it up in the living room in the vicinity of the pieces. No harm, no foul, no pun intended.

Then she threw up on 6 of the pieces. Oh believe me, I was freaking out.

Tonight she caught a mouse outside, brought it in, and buried it under the blanket.

Behold the blanket:

Does it look like a burial ground to you? No. It doesn't. Does it look like a good place to throw up? No. It doesn't. Does it look like something you are going to want to drape over yourself now that you know what's been done to it? No. It really doesn't.

Proof

Recent proof that I live in a really bad place to drive. Not quite the worst, but really bad.

Hub driving stunner: Not so rude after all

Miami tops rude drivers list

What's the Plan?

When you make a resolution, it's always a good idea to make a plan. Without a plan, it's hard keep track of where you are, what you still have to do and in what order - unless it's something very simple.
If you really know me, you know I don't keep things simple (oh, and you thought you knew me!). I may not be on top of things all the time, I may not pay attention to the details as much as you do, and I guess I don't have OCD. But when I'm not procrastinating, I tend to go into projects full-assed (as opposed to half-assed). What can I say? I consider myself a perfectionist. Either things have to be perfect, or they won't get done at all.
The problem is, most of the time I end up with the latter.

It's time for a change!
My current resolution is to manage my resources better (time and money). I've had this resolution for a while, but I haven't made a firm plan on how to handle it. It requires a few different plans, working together to run the household with more grace and efficiency. There are several aspects that need to be considered. I figure the following applies:

• Housework
• Bills
• Groceries
• Cashflow
• Projects

If I'm missing something vital, please let me know.

Now, whenever you set a resolution, you need to look in the past. Have you tried this before? Why did it fail? What techniques did you use? What worked? What didn't work? Who else in your life has achieved this, and can they offer any advice?

For the sake of reflection, when I made this resolution a while ago, I thought I had a plan. But it was all in my head, so there was no proof that I had accomplished what needed to be done. I thought I could just go ahead and be more productive, but I couldn't possibly make the right decisions when there are so many variables.

Bonnie decided she could work on these things, too. So we started keeping tabs on each other and our progress. It was good for us, but in the long run it's just not realistic. We'd need to have daily communication. Maybe once a week will be good for a little "support group", but it's not going to be our driving force.

Mom suggested an index card technique that her friend Cindy uses. She has one short chore per index card. She draws one card at a time, and as long as there's a card for something, it'll eventually get done!
I think this is a fabulous idea, and I'm going to use this in my plan. Thanks, Mom and Cindy!

So... what's the plan?
I have set aside a "To Do Table". Ideally, this table will not get cluttered up. I physically added this table (that we hadn't really been using) to an empty part of the room where we are not used to putting clutter. So this table definitely serves ONE purpose. If something is on the table, that means it needs to get done.
Right now I'm envisioning what will be on the table, in the above categories:

• Housework - index cards with chores
• Bills - arranged and ready for viewing
• Groceries - a running list
• Cashflow - a running list
• Projects - more index cards

I'll go into more detail of the plan for each.

Housework: Some cards will be easy, others will be hard. That's just the way it goes. And some things must go together. You don't want to dust a room and not vacuum it, for instance. And you don't want to mop the floor without sweeping it first. I want to make sure that they make sense. There are also different frequencies at which things must be done. Duplicate cards will be made to accomodate frequent jobs, like "do 2 loads of laundry" or "clean the glass coffee table and vacuum the black rug because they both show absolutely everything". Those kinds of cards should come up almost twice a week.

Bills: Ah, bills. Don't you just love them? They have these things called "due dates" on them. Yes, they really do make it that easy for you! If you can only catch up with them, then you can start paying them on time, and isn't that what everyone wants? If you're lucky, your mom might even forget about the money she lent you, and your dad might give you a break on the car payment this month. Because after all, they just want to see you grow and learn and become more mature! And it's not every day we have the opportunity to give someone a little boost in the right direction.

Groceries: We'll keep a running list of things we need around the house. When the time comes that we need to do the shopping, we'll plan our meals for the next week or so and add those ingredients to the list. On days when we have to go shopping, we won't draw from the housework pile. But we will clean out the refrigerator so we know everything is fresh.

Cashflow: We'll have a little tally of when we take out money or spend money on miscellaneous things. We'll see if this helps our cashflow. I could probably use more suggestions on how to implement this.

Projects: Every time we think of a little project that needs to be done, it will go on a card seperate from the housework pile. Once a week, on a day off, we'll draw from both piles.

Obviously, there are certain things that need to be done EVERY DAY, like do the dishes and clean the litter box. And try not to trash the place.

sound good?

The Four Letter Word

You know the one I'm talking about. Whenever I say it, your eyes roll. The moment it comes out of my mouth, you stop listening. Some of you just snicker and call me a loser at the first mention of the four letter word.

Well, here's what. I love the four letter word. The four letter word makes me happy. The four letter word is always there for me, even when you're not. It never gets boring. It never gets old. The four letter word is a part of my life. You don't have to approve of it if you don't want to, but at least give it a chance.

People all over the world enjoy the four letter word every day, young and old, it doesn't matter!

It doesn't have to be like this! You too can love the four letter word!

I will buy you The Sims 2 if you think you can take the time out of your busy schedules to check it out. I hate being the only one I know who cares about something that has such mass appeal. You people are killing me!

This offer is available for a limited time only. Computers and their compatibility may vary. This offer does not extend itself to complete strangers. Please see www.thesims2.ea.com for details.

The Little Things

Maybe we're making it worse. Maybe she keeps disregarding all the random little
stuff she normally thinks about (like the Starbucks Mug for example) because
each in itself is kind of "lame" considering the huge demand. No one would play
Hot Cross Buns as an anchore... We better stop this crap. If Barb wants to play
Hot Cross Buns I wanna hear her version! ~Bonnie

See. Bonnie knows what she's talking about. I don't know about the Hot Cross Buns, but the rest of it is absolutely how it is. I've been uninspired! And you know what? You're lucky I'm still alive!

I don't think anyone really understands how many close-death encounters I face each week on the roads of Massachusetts. Today I almost got sandwiched between an 18 wheeler and a van. The van took great offense that I was driving in the lane he was trying to merge onto. It was a slow, peaceful merge of two highways, and I thought I was being very generous to the people I let come in front of me. He kept trying to get past me, as the lane gets skinnier and skinnier, and I really could not believe he was not backing off. Finally, I honked, which might have confused the guy in front of us, but it sent the message to Mr. Van. The message was clearly, "Are you trying to kill me?" which I can't seem to stop asking these crazy massholians.

Last week I was getting on the highway, heading home, and had to slam on my breaks upon entry because the guy who was driving in the breakdown lane got very territorial and sped up to cut me off.

These are just examples that don't compare to the terror I face every day. Each lovely display of complete disregard for the human life leaves me thinking my life will surely end due to a car accident. It almost makes me want to stop driving altogether. It's not my driving that is the issue here. People zoom in and out of lanes like they are driving full speed, sideways. People don't use their blinkers. People are so obsessed with passing anyone they can, they can't seem to calm down and accept the fact that they are not more important than other people, that they aren't getting wherever they're going any quicker, and that is SO not more important than killing me!

You don't believe me, but come see for yourself.