Friday Funny- Happy Halloween!

So my son has been learning to tell jokes. He was making up his own, with the success rate of about .05%. We tried to explain to him things that were funny, why other ones were not funny, but he just wasn't getting it. So Dad took him to the library to get him a joke book. I bring you today's crop:

What kept Count Dracula's wife up all night?

His Coffin.

Mwwaaahahah!

Okay, okay. Why was the skeleton angry with the other skeleton?

Because he had a bone to pick!

HAAHAHAHAAA!

And here is one for the adult crowd. . . What kind of bees produce milk instead of honey?

Boobees!!!!!

Yours, hoping you have a wonderful and rainless Halloween,

Melissa

Thursday Thoughts. . . Time to Simplify

I've been thinking this for so long, I can't even tell you when I began. It seems like life is always so busy, I'm just waiting to get "through the next thing" so I can have some time to myself and yet the things keep coming one right after the other.

Yesterday, I was in the book store with Karen. We were looking at book covers and such as part of research. We are tackling a series of books to be written. We were going through the books, commenting on what we liked and didn't like. Then she stopped and looked at me and said,"Maybe we are just overthinking this. Maybe we just need to be simple."

Wow. What a relief. To think that I can start thinking simply. To be able to focus on one thing and make that the main thing. I'm going to be going through today just looking for ways that I can simplify. And if certain things don't get done today, maybe I WON'T stay up half the night trying to get them done. I'm looking at the autumn trees, watching them turn colors and I think,"Hmmmm. Maybe they've got it all figured out. They bud in the Spring. Flower. Produce berries, and when they are finished, they paint their leaves a stunning array of colors and let them go. Then they rest up so they can do it all over again come Spring." The trees are keeping the main thing the main thing.

Yours, ready to simplify,

Melissa

Wednesday Whatever- Who's Piling Now, Baby?!

It's me, Melissa, again today. I just had to post to let the record show I tackled my piles yesterday. Take a gander at these pics.  Few, IF ANY piles in the office or dining room. Happy Sigh. I'm so proud of me. Of course, it went unnoticed by the rest of the clan, but I'll give them more time. Surely they will celebrate my success, don't you think?  ;-)

Yours, thinking I'll be having a one person celebration,

Melissa

Tuesday Tidbit-The Piles

I have this habit. It's not something I love or hate about myself. I've embraced it. It's what I do. It's how I organize. And it's how I find everything.

I make piles.

 

At least, that's what my husband calls them. I don't do it everywhere. Just the dining room table. And the office desk. And my nightstand. Oh, and sometimes on the piano when it's a busy music season. Oops- the kitchen counter mail pile. I do try to keep it confined. And when he is going to use the office to do bills, I go in and move all of my neat piles off the desk and hide them under the credenza so I don't get the "Piles Lecture" (If you would just put things away when you are finished using them, blahbbity, blah, blah. . . You make so many piles! Blahbbity, blah, blah, blah. . . to which I usually just say,"Yes, I know. I'll go clean up my piles.").

Mind you, when something is "missing" (ahem, has been carelessly shoved aside by someone other than myself), I usually can tell him the exact location with the preciseness of most GPSs.

This is what I don't understand. What is the difference between my "piles" which consist of books, papers, books, receipts, mail, kidformation, more books and magazines and these other things which seemingly cannot be labeled piles like that mysterious pile of fabric that makes it TO the hamper, but not IN the hamper. Or how about the mound of breakfast dishes that make it to the sink, but not in the dishwasher?What about the tower of DVDs that never make it into their case until cleaning day? Or my fav, the stack of shoes placed in the middle of the steps RIGHT WHERE I WILL INVARIABLY TRIP OVER THEM AND FALL RIGHT INTO THE CAR even though I have repeatedly, ad nauseum, asked that they simply be placed to the side? But I'm not bitter. :-)

Hmmmmm.... I can see that discerning the difference between my "piles" and all of these other round, growing heaps may take some deep reflection and focus. Maybe even research. Anyone have any insight, I'm all ears.

Yours, tackling my Tuesday pile,

Melissa

THURSDAY THOUGHT ON FRIDAY!

Since I didn’t know that I’d be writing Friday’s post, I don’t have a funny story saved up for “Friday Funny.” But yesterday’s post was somewhat humorous (at least I thought so, but then again, I crack myself up all the time!), so it wasn’t really right for Thursday Thought.

So here it is… Thursday Thought on Friday. (Just roll with it, okay?!!)

Today I had my annual mammogram. I don’t know what all the fuss is about. It’s really not that bad. Sure, you have a stranger handling your breast, and sure it gets squished for a few seconds, but then BOOM, it’s over. And yes, I know there are incidents of false positives. But wouldn’t you rather have a false positive than a real one? Or worse yet, a false negative?

Since this is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I just want to remind you that this is one very important thing that we women over 40 must do for ourselves, so…

HAVE YOU HAD YOUR MAMMOGRAM THIS YEAR?

Karen

MY DIRTY LITTLE SECRET

I have a confession: I am absolutely, without a doubt, one of the MOST disorganized people ever. This is my dirty little secret, which hopefully my cub scout pack will never figure out, or they may wonder why I volunteered to be the pack treasurer. (Okay, I use the term “volunteer” VERY loosely since nobody else was volunteering and everyone was staring at me. I mean, really? What was I to do?)

But even worse than that, Melissa and I are writing a series of books to help folks organize different areas of their lives. How bizarre is that? I know what you’re wondering… Did Melissa know this little secret of mine before we went into business together? Well, not exactly. Okay, NO, not at all. But I don’t think it took her too long to figure it out!

Our first book is By The Book: How To Take Care of MY Kids. It’s a workbook for parents to complete with information about THEIR kids for their caregivers. It is chock full of forms to fill out, information to document, schedules to update, etc. It is the BEST way to keep all this stuff organized for your babysitter, whomever that might be. (Yes, of COURSE I use it for my own personal use. Well, okay, I use it sometimes. Um, every so often? Sigh!)

So you see my dilemma. In the business world, I give the appearance of an organized, confident business owner. But in real life, I’m really a disorganized business owner and a very confused mom!

Shhhhh, don’t tell anyone, okay?

Karen

WEDNESDAY WHATEVER: THE WASHCLOTH

We all get jokes from friends on the internet. Some are funny enough to pass along and some get deleted. But some are so funny they actually have to become a blog post! (Even though this is written in the first person, it did NOT happen to me, although it sounds like something I might do!)

THE WASHCLOTH

I was due for an appointment with the gynecologist later in the week. Early one morning, I received a call from the doctor's office to tell me that I had been rescheduled for that morning at 9:30 am. I had only just packed everyone off to work and school, and it was already around 8:45AM.

The trip to his office took about 35 minutes, so I didn't have any time to spare. As most women do, I like to take a little extra effort over hygiene when making such visits, but this time I wasn't going to be able to make the full effort. So, I rushed upstairs, threw off my pajamas, wet the washcloth that was sitting next to the sink, and gave myself a quick wash in that area to make sure I was at least presentable. I threw the washcloth in the clothes basket, donned some clothes, hopped in the car and raced to my appointment.

I was in the waiting room for only a few minutes when I was called in. Knowing the procedure, as I'm sure you do, I hopped up on the table, looked over at the other side of the room and pretended that I was in Paris or some other place a million miles away...I was a little surprised when the doctor said, “My, we have made an extra effort this morning, haven't we?'” I didn't respond.

After the appointment, I heaved a sigh of relief and went home. The rest of the day was normal ... Some shopping, cleaning, and cooking. After school when my 6 year old daughter was playing, she called out from the bathroom, 'Mommy, where's my washcloth?' I told her to get another one from the cabinet. She replied, “No, I need the one that was here by the sink, it had all my glitter and sparkles saved inside it!”

Never going back to that doctor. Ever!

Hope You Shine Today in all your Glitter and Glory!

Karen