to do – to don’t – way too much to do lists!

yep….been MIA for the last few weeks…at least, I think that is how long it has been since my last post. Honestly, I could use a serious vacation – time off – down time – time to catch up and to breathe. It’s my own fault, as I take on a lot of things myself, but I can’t seem to help it. Like most folks, pulling in the 40+ every week just to earn money for groceries and such and it still never seems to be enough. I was never good with money…and will openly admit that. I have wasted more in my lifetime than I care to even admit or acknowledge and yet, I am very thrifty too which makes it all the more frustrating. Anyway, not at all what I mean to blog about today – really just trying to get my mind in a place where I can get back to a somewhat organized life.

I used to be the girl with the immaculate home, I had  to-do lists with nice little check marks beside all of the things I had gotten done. I had pocket calendars filled to the brim with things I did and people that I saw and now, it is good if I can actually find my calendar…which I obviously desperately need!! I have made a decision that I must get back to my lists – and yes, more than one list. I need one for work, for my photography, for the house (inside and outside projects) and then of course, there are grocery lists and chore lists that I am going to make for my boys. Won’t they be excited!! I am even going to make a list for my husband – not that he will read it, but it will make me feel better.

Whew! I feel better already…..and now, if I can just get one list made before I go to sleep tonight, I will have made some progress and for that….well, I deserve a check mark!!

and so it goes….

I think for some reason I have used this expression before…however, it seems to fit at the moment, so I am using it again.

Been way to sick and way to busy for my own good and honestly, all I really want to do is find a way to be consistent at something…anything!

The treadmill that was sitting in the garage for the longest time is now sitting in my kitchen…because I had this great idea that if I could see it everyday, I would use it everyday!           awkward pause           HA! I think I may have used it twice and now, it has become something of a coat hanger for the people in my house. I call them people, because they have this impression that they can just throw their coats up there as if they belong. This is not something that I taught them…nor do I approve. In fact, it is driving me just a little bit crazy at the moment.

We are in the midst of some major home improvement…that is part of the reason why the treadmill is even being allowed in the kitchen at the moment. We have a very quaint house that was built about 60 or 70 years ago. Honestly, I know I have seen the paperwork on it, but my mind stays cloudy these days, so suffice it to say, it is an older home. It isn’t that big and when we bought it, it was enough for a family of three. Now, mostly based on the economy and the fact that I moved about 8 times in the course of a 3 year period, we have resigned ourselves to staying put at least until our oldest child graduates from high school.

So, having said that, the boys were growing out of their rooms and we needed more space. It would seem that at one time the original homeowner had intended to put an upstairs in our house…from the outside, you would have thought one was already there. But for some reason they didn’t and the only evidence we have that they did want to are the closed out window panes that were up in the attic.

We decided to go up and that’s what we are currently working on. So I lost my office to the stairs and we now have the beginnings of a master suite! It is a project that I like to say will be happening in phases, mostly based on funds available and those are dwindling down to nothing! Suffice it to say, we are probably on phase 2 or maybe 3. We have stairs, unfinished but they get you from the bottom floor to the top. We have the room framed and the drywall hung and most of it mudded (yeah, I know that is not grammatically correct) and the bedroom is primed and ready for trim work and paint. I even scored a walk-in closet which makes me very happy.

It will take a while for us to finish this but it is exciting to see it come together. My boys will be able to have their own rooms as soon as we can move in upstairs and I think they are looking forward to it even more than we are.

And since I am the only girl in this house besides the dog, who doesn’t count I have already told my husband that I intend on “girling” this room up since it is the only one in the house that I can call my own. He isn’t excited about the color that I have chosen nor the fact that I want to put roses and white linens everywhere, but he simply smiles and said “that’s fine”. I am going to have to figure out where to put a TV though as it is the one allowance I am giving him since he is doing a lot more work on this room than I am.

And so for the better part of the last 6 months, our house has been torn apart with things in places where they do not belong. With treadmills in the kitchen and laundry in my bedroom. I have to say it has cured me a bit of my OCD but it still drives me crazy every single day that my house is in such a state of disorder. I can’t wait to get through the next phase of our project and find a permanent home for the treadmill and get my kitchen back!

That is why I say – and so it goes…

one sock, two socks…

I am certain that I am not alone in this….in fact, I know that it is a phenomenon in practically every home. At any given time we are missing at least a dozen socks…no kidding! I must wash at least two loads of laundry every day and they are always the last thing that I fold. I have some sort of system….first the towels and wash cloths…then jeans, t-shirts, undies and last but not least….SOCKS! They are not hard to fold, but frustrating because we are always…and I mean always missing some. I have often thought about throwing away the single’s (my word for the poor things missing their match) but I know that the second I do…..their partner will inevitably show up. I sometimes actually feel sorry for the ones that have been there a long time….figuring their feelings must be hurt, that I don’t like them anymore. I pick them up to make sure they know that I am thinking about them and lay all the single’s out in a row to see if maybe…just maybe one of them might match, especially since I am adding to the pile on a regular basis. This past weekend the clean sock pile had gotten so large that I made the boys go through it and sort them. Still there was a nice pile left for me….so, I took them….grabbed the pile of single’s and started folding.

It was a good day……I successfully got three socks back together with their match and while there are still at least 8 sitting in the laundry room on top of the dryer all alone…they were given a little attention today. Who knows, maybe their match will show up tomorrow…washing laundry as we speak!

raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens…

go ahead…I know that you are now singing that song….well, if you are anywhere near my age you are. I have been up to a lot of nothing this weekend, mostly trying to get better and also just needed some “do nothing” time. even though, I did manage to cook a couple of times and my laundry is just about caught up, so my “do nothing” time is not exactly doing nothing.

what I did do a lot of….is “pin” – if you are addicted to Pinterest, then you know exactly what I mean by that. funny thing, as I was pinning things to my boards, I realized that I have been doing the very same thing in a literal sense for as long as I can remember. having an addiction to decorating magazines since I was about 18….I still have a few from way back when….as in, maybe the early 90′s! in addition to a quite impressive stash of pages torn out of hundreds of magazines over the years.

seems my tastes have only changed a little….and I have always favored a similar style and color scheme. shades of blush and aquamarine and every shade of white. I think my first real obsession was with a laura ashley home catalog that I still have to this day….it was shabby chic before anyone knew what that was and I really loved looking through that one for years.

my love affair with the ocean is very much a part of my style….my favorite colors definitely are a example of that. the different shades of sand and the colors of the ocean and the sky. if I close my eyes, I can see myself sitting on the beach in a tropical paradise….a little bungalow off to the left and the palm trees leaning into the ocean. ~~~

as for being a foodie….recipes that are appetizing to my eyes will get me every time. I am not a “live to eat” kind of girl..but when I do eat, I want it to be wonderful….even something as simple as a sandwich. I shudder to think about all of the processed foods I have consumed over all of these years…..learning about ingredients was not something I even thought about until about 10 years ago. I have worked hard to try to use healthier ingredients, organic when feasible and would rather go without than to eat junk. don’t get me wrong, it is not something I can control 100%….but the things I can control, I do…..organic meat and milk….always….and whole grains….and so on.

sitting here at home today….still feeling under the weather a bit…so I got to thinking about the things that make me smile. then suddenly, out of the blue, I started singing that song from The Sound of Music……

my jammies, some fresh kona coffee, my blanket and an old movie…..these are a few of my favorite things.

OoXx

I knew this would happen….

An entire week has gone by without a post, a blog, a blurb…or whatever you want to call it. I seem to have been otherwise unable to think clearly enough to write. Actually, I am kind of surprised that I am writing in what seems to be complete (for me) sentences now.

In the last week and a half, I have had food poisoning…I think. A sick child….all I can say is yuck! and have been experiencing a really bad episode with my fibromyalgia. To be completely honest, I feel like I have been hit by a rather large truck, have heard that I look pretty bad…which is true….and in addition to a level of pain that I cannot tolerate….I feel like I have not slept in weeks!

Having said that….one of my biggest pet peeves is a complainer. I shun negativity when possible and am always trying to look on the bright side of things. That is why, unless you are someone that I discuss my problems with…you will never know about it. I prefer to be the one that cheers people up rather than bring them down…but truthfully, that can get rather exhausting. So…..I just get quiet.

So….this week, quiet….mostly because I feel like I should be hibernating in a cozy little room, with lamplight and soft music and lots of nice pillows and blankets. I am dreaming of course….as I had to drag myself, quite literally to work and that, my friends was the hardest thing I have done all week!

Therefore, have an amazing and wonderful weekend. Stay warm. Watch an old movie. Take a nap….cuz that is exactly what I plan on doing.

OoXx

yes I am sassy…..and that’s a problem because why?

I am not sure how long I have been this way, but I am pretty sure it’s been most of my life. I most likely kept it to myself most of my youth…or at least through the teens years, probably so that I could keep my mouth from getting smacked and I really couldn’t pull it off with my mom. She is sassy too….so, like most people, I am going to blame it on my mother. She is a serious word shark…so, I am guessing it’s genetic!

I think, maybe, just maybe, it is because I lack patience with pretty much everyone and everything dumb. Stupidity annoys me, as do non-drivers and obnoxious noises and rude people. Not much for fighting or arguing…and I hate trouble makers…so I pretty much handle everything with a sarcastic comment. It seems to either make people laugh or piss them off.

I am a big girl…..44 I think….I don’t really keep track of my age. But I brush my own teeth and sometimes I make my bed and tie my own shoes. I have worked somewhere at some point since I was a senior in high school and have had a lot of jobs with a lot of responsibilities. I worked for one person at three different jobs….based on my work ethics and abilities and because she and I really do enjoy working together. We had many executive lunch breaks..lol….gotta love it when your boss signs you out for that…..and we spent a lot of time talking about everything….I really miss that a lot.

For now…and for the last three years, I have been working at an office not too far from home. Not my dream job….that would be having my own studio and working for myself…..but it is a pretty decent job, decent pay, sucky insurance, but it is insurance, so I should not complain. Small group of people….like a box of crayola…lots of different “colors” or personalities…some that are easier to love than others. I have met lots of really neat people and for the most part…it’s not a bad gig. I feel though as if I have come to a turning point. You know that feeling you get where you ask yourself “should I stay or should I go”? gosh…I love that song. Anyway, as you can see, I am actually using my big girl capital letters, so sass and all, I am being serious. I have always heard it is best to leave while they still want you to stay…..problem is, I am not ready to go yet, but I think I have reached my level of “niceness” and my sass has really come out…and I mean out loud!

I always prided myself on the fact that I am a nice person….I really am. I love when everyone is getting along, I avoid conflict at all costs and truthfully, all I ever really want is for people to be nice to one another. I have been like that my entire life. I was never mean to people, except for my brothers and sisters, but I think that is part of the deal…..and I have always left my jobs over the years on good terms and with an open door to return. I have a heart…..I care about a lot of things and I will help you if I can. I guess my rambling on here tonight is just to vent a little. I feel stifled….under appreciated and like I do not get the respect that I feel like I give others…..it is not a great way to feel at all.

So I am sassy…..when I am mad, rather than say something hateful, I say something sarcastic. It makes me feel better and well, if what I am saying hits you a little hard, then I got my point across without being mean. I am smarter than the average bear….believe it or not!

chicken soup with rice…

so I decided to go ahead an post the poem that inspired my blog name, so those who want to could read it and let it take you back to when you were a child and listened wide-eyed and curious to the stories that were read to you. I loved to read as a child, practically devoured books and had many many favorites. the wynken and blynken poem was in this big book of poems that I must have read hundreds of times. there was a poem about a pirate, and one about a salamander and even the one about “going up in a swing”….smiling now just thinking of it. to this day, I wish I had that book…even though the binding was worn completely off…it truly was a treasure.

I still have a few books from my childhood…ones that I also read again and again. it’s funny how if I pick them up and read them now, that for a moment I am a little girl again, sitting on my bed, in my very neatly arranged room…dolls in order and my bed nicely made and I am so happy. there was the king of the dollhouse, the secret garden, and even the mysteries of nancy drew….gosh, I wished I lived in her house! and one of the oldest books was the one called “we were tired of living in a house” which I talked about awhile back on my facebook page. that one is another worthy of sharing…so, one day, I will.

I remember as I got a little older, my mom and I would go to the library and we would both get as many books as they would let us….and in two weeks, I had read them all…sometimes twice! It was a different time….no satellite tv…and no internet…so, we had more time to do things like read. I cannot tell you when I last read…other than the stories I read with my son for school. I keep thinking that one day, I will take the time to sit long enough and read a real book again…..and try not to fall asleep! lol

In the meantime, I will just keep humming the words to “chicken soup with rice” cuz it makes everything so nice….and it just makes me smile.

wynken, blynken and nod

 Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night
Sailed off in a wooden shoe—
Sailed on a river of crystal light,
Into a sea of dew.
“Where are you going, and what do you wish?”
The old moon asked the three.
“We have come to fish for the herring fish
That live in this beautiful sea;
Nets of silver and gold have we!”
Said Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.

The old moon laughed and sang a song,
As they rocked in the wooden shoe,
And the wind that sped them all night long
Ruffled the waves of dew.
The little stars were the herring fish
That lived in that beautiful sea—
“Now cast your nets wherever you wish—
Never afeard are we”;
So cried the stars to the fishermen three:
Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.

All night long their nets they threw
To the stars in the twinkling foam—
Then down from the skies came the wooden shoe,
Bringing the fishermen home;
‘T was all so pretty a sail it seemed
As if it could not be,
And some folks thought ‘t was a dream they ‘d dreamed
Of sailing that beautiful sea—
But I shall name you the fishermen three:
Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.

Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes,
And Nod is a little head,
And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies
Is a wee one’s trundle-bed.
So shut your eyes while mother sings
Of wonderful sights that be,
And you shall see the beautiful things
As you rock in the misty sea,
Where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three:
Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.

by Eugene Field (1850-1895)  

have you seen my marbles?

it would seem that I have begun that slow painful descent into old age. not so much that I spend my days at the doctor’s office, nor do I have a line up of meds on my kitchen counter. it’s more like….I am slowly losing my mind.

my boys could probably verify this more than anyone, for most of my questions to them begin with “I might have already asked you this…but”. I get that look that they give me when they either think I am crazy or one of pity. then they usually smile and say “yes, you did and I told you … “.  gotta love them, at least they are gentle with me.

lately, usually in my rush to get out the door to go to work, more times than not, I can’t find something that I need. important stuff….the most recent items are: my keys, my phone, my purse, my shoes……yes, my shoes…..and my coat, which is a new addition to my lost items list! notice I didn’t mention my mind….that’s a given. I have “usual spots” for all of these things, but our house has been in remodel mode for a while now, and nothing is in it’s place. at least, that’s my story.

In reference to “my marbles”, I used to clean for a very sweet elderly couple and the gentleman had alzheimers but was so brilliant that he would pass the test that they give you for the meds and so he would not qualify for them. mind you, he told me the same stories in perfect detail almost every time I was at their house. but I listened as if it was the first time he ever told me…he always enjoyed telling the stories and I didn’t want to break his spirit. He did know, however, that his mind was not what it used to be….and that he was often forgetting things and would joke a little about it. One day, I was cleaning his room and found a marble…..I went downstairs and walked over to him and said “Papa Joe, LOOK, I found your marble!” and he looked at me and grinned…and replied, “did you see the rest of them?” We both laughed so hard……and I do not think that I will ever forget that conversation….it was perfect timing.

my not quite famous pasta salad

I will have to post pics when I make it again….but this recipe is the one that I have given to so many people that I have lost count and other than a few tweaks, the original came from a friend who got it from another friend. We have all made it our own and it definitely can be made to suit your tastes.

ingredients

16 oz tri-color rotini pasta, cooked, rinsed and cooled

1 med. sweet onion, finely chopped

3 to 4 cloves of garlic, very finely chopped

1 large or 2 med. cucumbers, peeled, seeded and chopped into bite-sized pieces

1 c. sugar

1 c. red wine vinegar

1/2 c. olive oil

1 teas. dry mustard

1/2 teas. cayenne pepper

3 tbls. dried parsley

salt & pepper, just a shake or two

1 c. shredded fresh parmesan cheese (optional)

the recipe basically requires all the prep work to be done…..that’s how I like to roll.

so, gently toss the first four ingredients in a large bowl or dish that you can use to serve and store the pasta salad in…

in a separate bowl,  blend the remaining ingredients with the exception of the parmesan cheese

then using a wooden spatula, blend gently with the pasta mixture

you can add the parmesan cheese as you serve it…unless you hate parmesan cheese, and then I would say nevermind =O

store covered tightly in the refrigerator and enjoy