Only Happy Thoughts

I intend to flesh out my goals this weekend. They are all clear in my head, as I have been working toward them for some time now. I really just want to put them in writing to help organize my thoughts & to clarify to everyone who bothers to read this drivel, just what's going on here. But for today I wanted to record some happy thoughts.

The Happy List

1. I am happy to have a President that I respecct & who inspires me. That's it. Nothing profound, just a joy that pops into my head at least once a day.

2. Brayden & I had an EXTREMELY successful art project today. If you've never had a 3 year old you just won't understand what a BIG win this really is. I make it harder, because my inner Martha comes out & wants to take over. (side note: I hate Martha....ok hate is extreme....but I resent what she does to women....more on that in a later post). Long story short, B had fun, I had fun, I had a few quite moments while he worked on his own, we learned about letters & colors, and John will have a nice Father's Day present. (shhhhh....don't tell!) SCORE!!!

3. Yummy dinner!! Whole roasted chicken, roasted potatoes & veggies. Get used to food posts. This is one of my biggest joys. It combines so many of the things I love & the things that are becoming increasingly more important to me. Taking care of my family, being a good steward to the Earth where I can, bringing sanity to our finances, and dedicating a moment in the day to sit and have a conversation as a family. Don't get me wrong, I'm not the traditional housewife that slaves over the stove because that is what is expected of me. Beleive me, John would appreciate if I threw a frozen pizza in the oven once in a while. This is something that I truly love. I have loved to cook, try few foods & create new recipes as long as I can remember. It is so nice to have the time to spend enjoying something I love and that is appreciated as valuable to my family. And the conversations that you have with a 3 year old over dinner are the best thing ever!!

Some of you may have heard this one through John's facebook, but it's just too damn funny not to repeat. For those not in the know, my husband's company sells Banking Compliance Software. I know....exciting stuff....please resist sending your resume for immediate hire. So the conversation went like this. Brayden: "I want to talk about dinosaurs". John: "I want to talk about work, did you know we released a new product on Reg Z: Early Disclosures today?" Brayden: "No Daddy, I want to talk about dinosaurs"! If only I had known it was that easy!

Well that's it.....nothing too funny or profound...just a few things that make me smile. Sleep well all!

I'm starting to think there's something to being a nudist

There's a strange little place, near where I grew up, called Glenn Eden. It's essentially a RV/Trailer Park where people live/visit and live their lives in the nude. My parents used to go once a year with their softball team to play the parks residents (my parents wore clothes!) They'd return with funny stories of all people and antics. There were the men that slid head first (OUCH!), how the women on my parents team would fight to play catcher (wink wink) & how the people really weren't the kind you'd WANT to see nekkid. I always thought it was strange and wondered what the draw to live like that was. And now I've figured it out!!!

IT MUST BE THE LAUNDRY!!!!!

ARRRGGHHH!!!! Is it just me or does the effing laundry never STOP!!!!??? I just got finished folding & putting away about 10 loads yesterday. Now mind you, this was combined from our week & half long trip plus the pile up in the meantime. I hate folding & putting away so I usually do the laundry until it is pretty close to done and then spend a few hours folding putting away all at once. It sits on a table in corner of our super *tiny* living room. I bet you can all guess how much my hubby appreciates this. But really, with the 500 trains/cars/balls/stickers/crayons that constantly pollute the space, what the hell is the difference?

So getting back to the point, I cleared the table yesterday. John was VERY impressed! Guess what? As I sit here, giant iced coffee in hand, there is a new heaping pile on that same table directly behind me! WTF? How do we have so much laundry? I pretty much wear pjs every day (I've become very creative on how to "dress" them up to be suitable for errands, I'll save that for a later post). Granted, B is not fully potty trained, so that adds a bit, but how the hell do you do it if you have 2, 3, or 18 kids!!!??? (Crazy Duggars)

Okay now, because I promised myself that I am going to record things I'm grateful for, things I've accomplished, or things I've learned.....let's get to it!

Today's Happy List:

1. I finished all my week's errands in an hour & a half! This left me with 1.5 hours of chill time before getting B from school....SCORE! I watched "Little Children". Very disturbing.
2. Toward one of my goals of becoming more financially sane, I have been making my coffee at home. I make extra each morning, pour it into a bottle & store it in the fridge for a GIANT iced coffee in the afternoon (see "tons of laundry"!). This also supports my goal of creating a smaller carbon footprint. (More on goals in a later post....I'm not too organized with this blog thing....OH! Mental note to add that to the goal list!)
3. I bought the new Purex Laundry sheets today! Toward my goal of "greening" my house & reducing the crap that clutters my tiny domicile. I know that this is not the MOST green alternative. I'm sure there is a site somewhere that could teach me how to clean my laundry with storm water I catch in a bucket, soap made from hemp, and a rock to beat them on. But the blog's called "SMALL" Steps...not "crazy hippie mommy". If anyone has any input on this matter, please share!

And so the moral of the story is.....who knows? I'll let you know after I get back from paying my space rent at Glenn Eden.