grand plan

I have too much stuff. I've always had too much stuff. I've always been labeled a 'pack rat.' Even when I gave away bags and bags of my belongings -- precious to me because of the memories I associated with them -- because I was tired of the supposed-to-be-lighthearted nickname, I was still know as a keeper, a collector, a pack rat.

Over the years, I've gone back and forth, trying to purge myself of as much stuff as I could comfortably part with and trying to accept that I am just a person with too much stuff.

I've gotten 'better' about my tendency to hold on to things (although you might not be able to tell by the state of my apartment). I've decided that instead of collecting everything, I'll choose certain things that I'll allow myself to collect. Books, definitely. Some magazines. I don't know what else?

Anyhow. The grand plan? Find one thing to give away, every day for thirty days. Why? Eh. I'm in a purging mood. I need a bit less stuff. I truly have things I haven't really done much more than glance at for years and years, so why hold onto it?

So, get ready for some crappy pictures (I'll just be using the camera on the computer), as I try to keep myself on track by logging my outgoing stuff.

I started doing this two days ago, so here's what I've put in the giveaway bag so far:


Halloween party invitations. We've never thrown a Halloween party, nor have we ever planned on throwing one. I'm pretty sure that Cardo bought these for me at some point because he knows I like Halloween. At some point (we've had these for years), Pic found and opened them. I'll put them in a bag and hope that someone browsing at Goodwill will be able to use them.





An activePAD thingie-ma-bob. Yeah. I've never even looked very closely at this thing, but I'm pretty sure that I get the general idea. We were given it before Pic was born and I really did think that I would use it with her, but, well, no. So, out it, and the three booklets that we got with it, goes. [Yeah, I suddenly had no idea what verb to use at the end of that sentence.]






Okay, so I shouldn't pick three things in one day, but I did. The first is a stress-squeezy thing I got while I was in high school (and very into the whole alien-life thing). It's still in the little mesh bag I got it in. I used to always carry this in my backpack. Then, we have a dusty, grey toothbrush. I once read this trend-tip in Seventeen (oh, the things I admit here) that said to use pliers to remove the bristles, place the handle in boiling water and then, when the handle was soft, shape it into a bracelet. Obviously, I never got past buying the toothbrush. And it has been with me for the past fifteen years. [This one went in the trash. I have enough household-cleaning toothbrushes.] Finally, something that I don't think was actually ever mine. I have no idea how I ended up with this lizard bead thing, so into the bag it goes.

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P. S. Yeah, the pictures. I know.

feel the burn...

Okay, so 'feel the burn' doesn't exactly describe my exercise philosophy (explains so much), but I really cannot think of a better title. Geez.



Pic is doing pilates on my mat here. I swear, there are days she'll pull out my mat and once she even asked me to put on a pilates video for her. If I'm using my mat, she'll sometimes drag her sleeping bag out and use that instead. She'll stick with the pilates through a move, maybe two, then she'll get up and jump and wiggle around like crazy.

As for the covert cat? Yeah, that's about where he always likes to be, no matter how much I warn him that he'll get kicked in the head. I guess it's better than it used to be. When I started doing pilates (I started very briefly right before we conceived Pic and my body gifted me with almost four months of 'morning' sickness), the covert cat would attack me every time I laid (lay? quissa?) on the floor to exercise.

I don't know that I see my own slow-paced mat workouts in Pic's future, though. She's leaning much more toward futbol (takes after her Papi, there) and dance (takes after my daydreams, there).

daydreaming

I actually said to Cardo, earlier, 'If we had another chid (NOT that I want another child), I could homeschool our kids.'

Yes, I am/we are still very certain that our family is perfect just the way it is. There are times when I am a tiny tinge of a bit sad that Pic won't have any siblings, won't have that bond, but I stand by my decision. I've still [knock on wood] never experienced baby blues, although several people I know have gotten pregnant and have had babies since Pic's come along. Also, starting over again when I've already gotten through five years? No, thanks much. (I'm just sharing what Cardo and I want and what works for us. Lots of other people I know have/want more than one child and that's perfect for them...I only have to raise this one.)

Anyhow, there's been a lot of soul-searching type stuff going on inside of me lately. I feel like I've come back around to some kind of starting point that I lost sight of for a while. I feel like it's time to stop looking at everyone else's expectations for me (and, hey, most of these 'expectations' are mainly in my head anyhow, I know this) and start figuring out what really will be best for myself and for my family. I'm still not sure where I'm headed next, but I'm willing to gradually figure it out. I'm trying to not be so fervent in my searching for what's next.

As Poke said to me earlier, it might be nice to settle down for a bit without looking forward and stressing about what I 'need' to be doing next. In the last year, Cardo has hinted that he's wanting to settle down. As I said, I'm not sure what we'll do, but if it involves settling down now, know that we'll be doing plenty of traveling as a family (yes, even when I'm trying to focus on now, I'm dreaming about the future).

How can I possibly still have so much growing up to do at the end of my third decade on this planet?

bit quote

From this month's Self:

Hair affair: Forty-six percent of women would rather forgo social networking sites for a month than skip their favorite hair product -- and 18 percent would forfeit sex, a poll by Pantene in Cincinnati finds. Tweet that!

First, let me note that the 'Tweet that!' comment annoys me. Probably just because I'm a Twitter holdout. (Yeah, I thought the same about myspace several years ago and then finally gave in to joining that, but I'm really holding out on Twitter.)

Second, if I forwent (questionable conjugation, I know) my 'favorite' hair product, I'd have nothing. I only use something for washing it. It's been a long while since I gave up conditioner. Anything other than that? Please. Like I have a clue about beauty products. Please, direct your attention to the evidence:



Note the unwashed hair (it might be hard to tell here because it's dark in this room and I have my hair pulled back) and the shiny (read: oily) face. Actually, the darkness in here helps. Perhaps I'll conduct all face-to-face business in the dark from here on out.

Okay, so, yeah, thrilling, titillating stuff, I know. I just had to post something to get back into the habit. I can't hit a dry period because I want to join NaBloPoMo next month. I need to keep writing (for that and a few other reasons -- such as sanity).

crafting for all of those hallows

Pic wants to be a 'marmaid' (that's how she pronounces it) for Halloween this year. While I'm fully behind this decision, I'm not sure how to go about the costume. I got the idea from a Family Fun e-mail (most of which I don't even open, but I'm glad I opened this one). It's a crafty kind of costume, much more so than last year's. Also, the materials? Most of them, we don't normally have on hand (paper plates, fishing line, double-sided tape, cupcake liners), so we had to go buy all of them. However, last night, as we were making our purchases, I found some aqua-ish-colored sequined material that would make a perfect mermaid tail, and I wanted to buy it. But, alas and alack, I don't sew. I try, sometimes, I really do, but that won't exactly be helpful here. I'm still tempted to buy the material and still try to make the tail on my own.

I just don't like the idea that the crafted tail is so much, well, disposable garbage, basically (or so it seems when I think about it). And, yes, we have already bought the stuff, but I could use some of it for other things. We are planning on making Halloween decorations with the paper plates and maybe I'll actually make some cupcakes at some point. I just don't want to end up with a crappy Halloween costume that won't even last through pictures.

All in all, though, we already have the materials to make the costume, as shown here, so I'll just go ahead and do it and work on my sewing skills in the meantime. I really want Pic to have a stash of really fun dress up clothes (capes, anyone?), although she does love to dress up in her very own clothes thirty times a day, especially if those clothes are dirty (I actually said to her tonight, 'Okay, that's enough dirty clothing from the hamper for now, no more.'). Let's just hope the costume holds up under my four-year-old's vim and vigor.

And, while we're at it, I'm happy to say that I have managed to steer Pic away from all things trademarked so far, as far as costumes go (and, yes, I do know that the site for her costume is DISNEY Family Fun). Here's what the line-up has been so far: pumpkin, lion, witch (she wore the witch dress for a good two years, no matter the place or occasion), monkey princess. I doubt this trend will last much longer after she's in school full-time with the influence of so many little peers, but here's hoping.

it's a musical life

Cardo's car speakers are not working all that well right now. We recently went out of town and while I wasn't driving, the lack of music/talk radio wasn't a problem: I simply read. I very often read aloud, sometimes for school, sometimes just for the family. On our way back, Cardo was the passenger. He doesn't much like reading aloud, so he only read for a bit before I stopped him and told him to enjoy the scenery, which was beautiful. After a while, though, I was bored with the silence, so I decided to sing.

I know very few complete songs by heart, so we had about five renditions of Janis Joplin's 'Mercedes Benz', getting progressively more passionate.


-- Janis Joplin, Mercedes Benz [I'm pretty sure that I have posted this video before. I don't love it, but trying to find something good for this song is beyond my attention span at the moment.]

When I was tired of singing that (hey, it's short and I like to sing it), I got about halfway through my next song before Cardo turned and asked me, 'Are you singing the himno?' Yes, I was singing the national anthem. I didn't do half bad either, although no one is going to be inviting me out to a ballgame to perform it. (And, I have to admit that it wasn't half bad for me, which means it was way below the level of anyone who can actually sing.)


-- The Star-Spangled Banner - Jimi Hendrix (High Quality) [Yeah, I so wasn't playing any instrument, I just thought I'd go with this since I've got Janis here too. Actually, I've never heard Jimi play this before, not that I know of. I have to say that considering it's a song/poem about war/the morning after, the cacophony here works rather well. Sorry if 'cacophony' offends, but it seems fitting to me.]


-- josh groban - the star-spangled banner [I had to add this one. When I saw him on Ally McBeal (which has finally been released on dvd, by the way), I was kind of in love. I didn't know that he was somewhat (really?) well-known already by then. It wasn't until much later that I started hearing about him.]

So, I need to learn a whole bunch more songs by heart, pretty much right now. Suggestions? Something easy, short, fun, peppy. My range is just about nil, but I still love to sing out loud (very loud if there's music playing to cover up my voice).

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P.S. Cardo didn't provide any musical entertainment. It's his turn to sing next time!

autumn hibernation?

So, let's see. What did I do today? Slept? That's right. All I have done today is sleep. Actually, that's not entirely true. I have filled up the sink with dishes to be washed. I've made Pic some oatmeal and poured out some watered-down juice for her. We've eaten some mandarin orange slices. We've had our daily dose of learning/reading/activities. I've caught up on a couple of blogs. But, mainly I slept. I have no idea why I slept so much today, but I suppose I needed it, so I'll try to feel okay about it.

I still need to shower, because here I sit in sweatpants and my pajama top, my hair hanging limply around my cheeks. I need to figure out what we're having for dinner. I need to figure out when I want to bake, because I have a vast list of items I'd like to try (or try again).

Mainly, though, I want Cardo to be home so we can all bundle up and head out for a walk. We haven't taken any pictures of autumn temperatures taking over, of leaves turning brilliant reds, oranges and yellows. Either we forget the camera or the batteries run out of juice (or whatever). However, yesterday, I charged the batteries and today I'm determined to take some pictures that will probably end up disappointing me, but ah well. It's pretty gorgeous outside. I love living somewhere that has actual seasons. I don't care what the naysayers say, here in the biggest of the little cities, we have seasons. Some have asserted that we don't, but I'm guessing those people didn't live thirteen of their growing-up years in Vegas, where it's hot and cold, the end (yea for oversimplification!).

Anyhow, let's all cross our fingers, please, in hopes that I remember the camera in a lame attempt to capture the beauty of my favorite season. For now, though, I'm off to shower in an attempt to transform myself into an actual human.