check it off

Two of the things I most strongly believe in are:
1. Laziness is the real root of all evil.
2. Clutter is draining and exhausting.

I also very strongly believe in list making and (I should not admit this, I realize) make two lists every day, one professional and one personal. It's a pretty solid process; I make the list in the morning, and then highlight as I go throughout the day. The list for work is in a notepad and the personal one is on looseleaf lined paper. After I check everything off, I throw it away. But, if I haven't finished something on it, I can't throw the list away.

Last weekend, I was a little behind on things, and realized I was carrying 13 lists around. 13! And then it hit me: this is equivalent to clutter. Sure, they're all stashed away in my planner. But they're still draining - especially since all of them had one, or maybe two, things on them. And - worst of all - it was almost the same thing on every list: buy bike for triathlon.

Seriously? I don't need 13 reminders to buy a bike for a race I'm doing, especially since it is at the forefront of my mind how insanely behind I am going to be if I don't get on it.

And the sickest part of all is that on a few of the lists, one of the tasks was: manage lists.

It's a disease.

I checked the remaining items off, minus the bike (grr!), and allowed myself to purge all of the lists with "buy bike!" on it. I don't think I am going to forget.

And. I'm actually lying because I consolidated everything into a new list and put little bikey on there. It's getting checked off reallll soon. Promise.

PS: Don't judge me.

image

second chances

Remember Tallulah and Delilah? Ya. They didn't make it to the new house.

Instead, Katie planted two beautiful flowers on our stoop. Then, the following day, she accidentally knocked one of the pots off with her suitcase, spilling the soil and happy flowers everywhere.

Is my bad luck with plants rubbing off on her?

She didn't have time to repot it before she left town, so, unaware of my [lack of] skills, she asked me to do it. I went for it this weekend, and am going to put all of effort into not killing them before she gets back into town.

I'm also putting all of my effort into not naming them, since they're her plants and it should really be her choice. It's a big decision.

But if I were going to name them, I would probably pick Marcy and Minty. I'm just saying...

Be ours?

Melissa is midway through painting her bedroom and she's been trying to find time to get it done for weeks now.

However, last night, instead of finishing this task, we decided to make valentines and watch the Bachelor. Much more productive, right?. With a little but of champagne, some pink and red paper and lots of glitter, it was the perfect night. Minus the fact that Ben kept Courtney around on the Bachelor. What the what?

We struggled to get the champagne open at first. Apparently we both normally rely on other people to take care of this task...
We looked for instructions...
And attempting to cut it open with scissors...
But we got it! And then we Valentined. Check out Melissa's beautiful creations...
And mine...
Happy Valentine's Day!

home sweet home

At Camp Eberhart, if a cabin was late for the morning meeting, all of the other cabins would sing: Better late than never, better never late. You're late, you're late, and you're ugly, so very ugly.

At the time, we thought it was really funny, but in retrospect, I think it might have been a little mean. Being late is bad enough in and of itself, but ugly, too? Seems kind of harsh.

That being said, I wrote this post two weeks ago and never put it up, as I wanted to take pictures to accompany. However Roomie Katie just left me for the next few weeks, so I decided I better bite the bullet. It may be a week or two late, but the sentiment remains the same...

Re: Our New Place

We're in! And we're so happy!
[imagine a picture of us really happy here]

And MellySally neighbors are happy, too!
[now imagine one of Melissa and Sally]

Katie and I both feel uncomfortable expressing how happy we are in our new house, because we fear our words can't do it justice. We are having moments where we keep thinking: is this a trick!? Can we really live here? This close to the park? Next to Mel and Sal? Together?

A huge, huge part of my happiness is attributed to my parents, who drove down this weekend to help me move. I stood in the kitchen completely overwhelmed by boxes, opening them and saying, "I just don't know where to begin," over and over. After far too long of doing this, I looked up and realized they had unpacked them and the kitchen was organized.

Replay that scene in the living room and my bedroom, and you have the weekend in review. I felt a teens useless, and am eternally grateful for their can-do attitudes and unrelenting determination. Food? Sleep? Meh. They truly are machines, and I love them so much. Thank you! Now come visit us soon!
[now imagine Sally in this photo, too.]