Today’s Do-able To Do List

I don’t know about you but I’m having a hard time with the kids back at school and it’s not because I long for more time with my angels.  No, it’s because I can’t seem to fall back into my own productive routine.  Being the Queen of Self-Help books, I completely understand the A#1 rule - make a list.  The problem is that I can’t motivate myself to stick to the list.  Everyday I seem to keep myself busy doing stuff, unproductive stuff.  I’m beginning to understand why teachers don’t give homework right away.  I get it!  Mommies need a little time to ease back into their personal routines as well.  I’m not going to hold myself accountable until after Back To School Night either.  The problem is that Back To School Night was last Thursday!

While the boys were home during the summer, I would allow myself the excuse that I would complete a task or worry about something when they went back to school.  I constantly reminded myself that it was my job (as it is every summer) to provide them with “the best summer ever.”  I feel personal pressure that they have lots of exciting things to write about when they’re given the annual writing assignment of How I Spent My Summer Break.  I couldn’t bear to imagine that they would write something boring and mundane while all the other children sailed the seven seas, backpacked across Europe, climbed the highest mountain, etc.  (Clearly you can see that I have issues that I’m compensating for regarding my own unplanned, unorchestrated, un-thought-out childhood summers.)  However, all good mommy intentions aside, I’m beginning to think that was my excuse for not having a plan, sticking to a schedule, getting ANYTHING done during the entire summer. 

Well, they’ve been back to school and all I can seem to accomplish is going to the gym, showering and eating lunch.  And since I’m being honest, oftentimes I don’t shower.  My friends are the same way so it’s become acceptable to smell.  It’s almost as if I’m paralyzed by my unproductiveness!  I’m walking around my house pondering which project should be started ASAP.  I start a little something and before I know it, it’s time to pick up the boys.  I have memories of being so together last school year.  What happened?

I’ve decided that today will be the beginning of something different.  I’m going to catch up on my blog, actually finish cleaning the house, tackle the outdoor pillow project (a little late seeing as summer is almost over), make a wonderful dinner, and bake warm freshly baked chocolate chip cookies when the boys come home from school.  Do you think I can do it?  It’s just five items on my six item list.  I can still put the gym on my list.  I’m a Type A personality.  I’m goal oriented.  I love a challenge…To be continued…

I know you’re wondering what happened to me losing 5 pounds by attending Lynette’s Booty Camp class.  You’re probably just dying to know!  Well, the answer is a big fat NOTHING!  I got sick.  A serious summer cold that left me unable to recover for over a week.  It was the worst kind of cold…the kind where you don’t lose any weight!  Where is the silver lining in all of this?  I am going back to the gym tomorrow.  I’m dreading it.  Taking two weeks off is scary.

I’m thinking that tanning may be an easier option.  It’s more difficult to see cellulite through a golden bronze tan.  Every woman over 35 knows this!  Keep your fingers crossed for me over the next few weeks.  I need all the positive energy I can get!!!!

I’ll keep you posted!

There aren’t many details that I remember from my sorority days.  I’m not a detail person when it comes to memories.  I wouldn’t have made a good BOY for many reasons, but for one reason in particular - I don’t remember every line from every movie so that I can easily recite them later to my buddies.  What I do remember is having lots of fun.  I loved living in a house of girls.  I loved the sisterhood of it all.  I am so lucky to be able to look back at my life so far and remember fun and laughter.  So while I don’t remember many details, there is one thing that I remember about my days in the sorority.  Well, actually it’s two lines from a song that we sang during Rush Week - Make New Friends, But Keep the Old Ones, Some are Silver and the other Gold!

For some reason, that song keeps running through my head tonight.  Here’s what I know for sure - I couldn’t live without my girlfriends, and I never want to try!  I love them all for so many different reasons.  They all bring something very special to my life.  But the ones I cherish the most are the ones who always bring me up, even when I don’t see the light.  These are the friends who know our deepest darkest feelings and secrets and love us anyway.  We all have these friends.  The friends that know us so well.  The ones that tell it like it is, but have a special way of delivering their heartfelt message that it doesn’t hurt our feelings.  That very message delivered by any other human on the face of this earth would put us on the defensive and turn us into UFC Champs.

 Today, I was bummed.  I won’t even go into the reason, but naturally, I picked up the phone and called a friend.  This is the friend that will answer her phone no matter what she’s doing just because she sees my name on her caller ID.  After I spill my story, she calmly assesses me, my words, my situation and gives me the cold hard facts.  Somehow she makes it all better.  And I’d do exactly the same for her.  While I realize we are girls and we will “discuss” the situation 10,000 more times because it’s never really over, I love her for all she is and all she gives to me.  While I really do love and cherish my husband, she’s the one that I want to give the other half of my Best Friend Broken Heart Necklace to. 

But it’s not just her that I love and need - it’s all my BFFs that fill my life with happiness.  I just hope that I do the same for them.  I just hope that they feel as loved and understood as I do.  They’re all so amazing and I aspire to give them everything they have ever given to me.