productivity: fascinating

I freely admit it: I am a planner. It is indeed part of my DNA, and it has also become more than necessary. Working full-time with an active kiddo as part of a large blended family plus a couple of miles of running every week.. well a good deal of every minute of my days is planned. 


I make lists left and right. Lists calm me. I'll rewrite a list over again if it has scratch outs, or Heaven Forbid is a grocery list and does NOT match the order of aisles in the store. And when I say re-write, I do mean write.  By hand, with a pen. I love my iPhone and iPad and all my gadgets and apps and such. But my lists, those I write.  I don't have a photographic memory (but my that would be handy), but I DO remember actually writing something by hand.. so if by chance I have flitted off to the store without the sacred list, I can generally picture it in my head and manage to get most of the things on it. 

Usually by Thursday morning of each week, I have made a list of what we need to get done on the weekend. In January I bought a pink notebook; not full size but bigger than pocket size. It has become my LIFE.  I write everything in it, and it is always with me. And it has made remembering what needs to be done so much easier! 


Anyway. Last Thursday I didn't make a list. Work had been busy, and I knew Nana and Grampie were on their way to town.  I figured we'd kind of just see what they were doing and work around them. And you know what? We got so much crap done that it shocked both me and Bill.  

In a 48 hour period we managed to:

• have people in for dinner two nights in a row; one night had a new recipe and the second night I made homemade Spaghetti Sauce
• make goodies to bring to Josh and Sarah's pool party on Sunday
• plant a tree, dig up two flowers/plants that didn't make it
• clean the garage
• clean out &organize two junk drawers in the kitchen
• put up bars on the screen door (so Gracie won't head butt the screen out when she goes beserk at the sight of a squirrel..)
• write half of our wedding thank you notes
• have a 5year old Sleepover with Sydney
• do my nails, Eileen's nails, and Edie's nails
• roughly 5 loads of laundry done
• spend two afternoons at a pool; one of which I managed to read a good chunk of my book
• two super hard workouts for me 
• all that and we had fun too!

(See, another list!)

So. Now comes the part where you'll assume that, since we did so much withOUT a list.. that maybe I'll stop making them.  BWAHAHAHA. Not a chance in hell. 

See, even if we don't DO everything on a list, I still have a mental and written note that at some point we'll get to it. 

You know what?  I even keep a running list of blog topics.... 

Picture Perfect.

I take a LOT of pictures. Not exactly a secret right?  Some I like, some not so much.


<----Some, I simply adore. Adore. This is one of those that I adore. 


We were out with friends, taking candid shots just for fun. And Bill got ^ that one of us. And silly as it is, I think it may be my most favorite picture ever of us. I think I shall frame it. I daresay it will make it onto the yearly Holiday Card. 

<--- now THIS picture. Oh-Mah-Gawd. 


That is a fake wolf. Or coyote.  (sorry readers, I am really not up to date on violent creatures of the wild..). Whatever it is, it has been placed on the shore of the lake on our office campus. 


I swear on my running shoes that this picture is not photo-shopped!  A coworker had posted it last night, and I did think it was a hoax. And I walked outside this morning, and seriously people. I damn near squealed. 


Even though I know it isn't real, it is creepy, I mean CREEPY.  Apparently it is meant to scare away the Canadian Geese who tend to set up camp here. I think the Geese keep eating the baby ducks that have hatched. I can't make this up.  


OK- so that being said... and I'm no expert on the intelligence level of Canadian Geese.. but at some point, won't they figure out that this Coyote Wolf Thing never moves? That he constantly stays crouched like that? That they don't smell him? At some point won't they just honk in amusement and poop on his head? 

And then one has to wonder, where in the world does one find such a yard decoration? I mean, are these found in your local Home Depot?

<-- Of course, then I remembered that not too long ago - I posted THIS lovely (it is maddening that even when I rotate a photo it shows up sideways here..). It was an insert in the Sunday Paper. So if somewhere in this world, glowing meerkats are being produced, well then of course scary as sh*t fake coyote/wolf things are being produced.  




And now dear readers, carry on with your day. 

Copycat Me

Imitation is flattery, isn't it? So I like to think that in today's post I am flattering my friend SLV.  I adore her blog and if you live within a 120mile radius of our Happy Holler then you should too.

So today I have two yummies to share. One of which I just had after my lunch, the other I    can't wait to try ASAP. I saw the granola bars when I was in the 'lunchbox' aisle at Super Target. I was looking for somewhat ok food for my extremely picky Mini. The girl could challenge, and beat, anyone who might be interested in a hunger strike. 

As for me, I am making a valiant effort to consume more real foods and way less processed ones. I know better than to think I'd eliminate ALL processed foods from my diet, but if i can manage to at least eat way less of them I'll be content. Anyway, I saw those Nature Valley thins. And I just ate one after my grilled chx & green bean lunch. Y-U-M. I had to put practically a whole pack of gum into my mouth to keep from consuming the entire box.  Which would of course defeat the purpose of the small sweet. So if you're looking for a little crunchy sweet treat, go for the Nature's Valley Granola Thin. 

I often start out a Monday morning with the "I will NOT drink any cocktails until at least Thursday" - all in the name of saving calories. And by Monday around 9:45am, I decide that I could get hit by a bus tomorrow but at least I'll have enjoyed a glass of red wine the night before. Now that Skinny Girl has come out with wine, I'm willing to give it a try. 

So that's my quick nod to SLV. Her posts are much more entertaining, and involve actual places. But she inspired me to share my two new finds. Well really so far it's one new find, and one on the way.