I am not referring to the bedroom life shared by Matthew and I. While it is all fine and good (Spectacular, actually. This is the part where my children read this entry in the future and run away screaming), my husband is a pretty shy and reserved fellow. To talk about our intimate times (*blush*) might make him die a little inside. And possibly implode.
I think he is kind of neat. Him imploding would pretty much suck.
The “busy” that I refer to is this thing that I call Life.
I am a Type A personality by nature, and operate more efficiently when I have a number of things on the go. I find that lists (mmm…lists…) make life a little more organized. They make me feel like I have a handle on the chaos that is my life.
In the past few months I have gotten a little lazy with the list. Arrogant, even.
Lists? Pshaw! I can keep track of everything IN MY HEAD. Lists are for pansies!
This pansy has thrown in the towel. I need lists to help keep my stress level to a minimum. Without lists, I feel like I am wandering in circles and not accomplishing much of anything. If I write lists down on paper, then I no longer need to have random facts/ideas/thoughts bouncing around in my head. They are written down. My head can be (somewhat) clear.
I spent over an hour on Sunday afternoon getting organized. Pen and paper are my tools of choice.
I have a Polestar calendar which I have been pretty good at keeping up with. All family appointments and meal plans for the week get jotted down. There is also a “To Do” column which I plan to start using in earnest.
I have one notebook that I use strictly for groceries. After Matthew and I decide on the meals for the week, I make grocery lists based on the menu plan. This is nothing new.
The extra thing I did on Sunday was to step beyond the basics of meal planning.
Kristin posted a couple of weeks ago about putting her goals in writing. I was inspired and have done the same. I am not sharing them here (no offense), but I might share them when and if they are achieved. I am just excited that I took the step to write them down.
SLynnRo posted last week about all that she plans to accomplish in November. I was inspired to do the same. Again, I am not sharing the lists, but they are documented in those notebooks above and will be (Gleefully!) crossed off when completed.
I have lists for stuff to do personally, for stuff to do around the house, for stuff to do regarding Christmas (NEXT MONTH. CRAP.)
It feels so good to have everything written down on paper and to have it OUT OF MY HEAD. I will be busy getting items crossed off my list, yes, but each strike through will fill my heart with joy.
(Yes, I am a dork. Not that you did not know that already.)
In other busy news, I signed up for NaBloPoMo. I KNOW.
I asked for your thoughts on participating and had mixed reviews. I, personally, have had mixed feelings. I have done it the past two years, but did not think I could pull it off this year. I have three kids who require a lot of time, I am working, I HAVE LISTS TO CROSS OFF.
I write two days a week over at Work It! Mom. To write an additional seven posts a week over here might just kill me. Or at least cause bodily harm. I emailed Eden (Grand Poobah of NaBloPoMo) to see if my Work It! Mom posts would count. They will, as long as I link to them from here (Which I do!)
I could say that I am participating because I want to further my writing skills, blah, blah, blah.
The truth of the matter is that I am a lemming. Go me.
So! Let me know if you are participating, and I will do my best to encourage your efforts. I have decided to add the “A Year Ago Today” feature at the bottom of each post. I am getting a kick out of it so far as I have a hard enough time remembering what happened last week, never mind what happened last year.
For the rest of you, I apologize in advance for cluttering your Feed Reader. Please forgive me.
A year ago today: NaBlahBlahBlah (Ironic that I am announcing this on the exact same day, no?) (See also the photo of Emily as a newborn. Sigh.)
29 Comments
I’m just not much of a joiner. I like the list idea, but then, like my blog ideas, I wonder what I meant by that phrase, and is my writing really so hard to read?
witchypoo’s last blog post..Slacker
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Comment by witchypoo on November 3rd, 2008 @ 6:24 amI am a list person as well. My paper and pen lists clutter the house and I’ve recently added lists in my blackberry using the MemoPad function. VERY handy when you’re on the go!
Good Luck with NaBloPoMo – was going to do it but totally forgot! Nov 1 on a Saturday threw me waaay off! Obviously I didn’t have it on my list.
Holly’s last blog post..Feeling Yummy
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Comment by Holly on November 3rd, 2008 @ 7:12 amLists are a necessicity of life whether written down or in your head and the calendar…..without it nothing would be remembered. But the trick (and I have learned this the hard way) is that you not only have to write important events on it but you also have to LOOK at it….
Kami’s last blog post..Happy Halloween
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Comment by Kami on November 3rd, 2008 @ 8:12 ami usually am a lemming. but i don’t know. i just can’t do this. i feel like i already write TOO much- 4-5 times a week. if i stretched myself to 7, there would be LITTLE quality in the posts and i’d be posting because i HAVE to.
good for you for taking it on though!
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Comment by ali on November 3rd, 2008 @ 9:41 amLists are the best! I totally love them too. They make me more sane, and help me to stay organized and remember what it is I need to do. I’d be lost without them.
I had contemplated whether or not to do NaBloPoMo as well, but gave in and signed up. I’m totally a lemming as well. *sigh*
Sharon’s last blog post..My reading library
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Comment by Sharon on November 3rd, 2008 @ 10:48 amI plan to post every day in November but I’m not officially signing up for NaBloPoMo. I’m not signing up so that when I fail to post every day (which is pretty much a given) I won’t feel like such a failure
hills’s last blog post..My Joy And Pain Is Relative
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Comment by hills on November 3rd, 2008 @ 11:10 amAs you know, I’m a List Queen also! Love em. Love writing them. Love crossing stuff off even more. I sometimes add things to my list AFTER they are done and then cross them off. I KNOW!
Good on you for doing NaBloPoMo. I know I was one who said “NOOOOOO! Don’t do it!!” but seriously, I do love reading you, so I’m secretly glad you’re being a lemming. I may not always have time to comment on each post, but I’ll be reading them all for sure!
Hannah’s last blog post..By any other name?
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Comment by Hannah on November 3rd, 2008 @ 1:22 pmI’m doing NaBloPoMo this year for the first time! I’m really glad I signed up – it’s good for me. I do very well with accountability
I do the one year (and two years too. it’s a weird feeling!) ago today posts too and I love it. I always get the biggest kick seeing what I was up to a one and two years ago. Because, like you, I can’t remember what happened to me minutes, hours, or days ago. Swiss cheese is my brain.
-Andrea
Andrea’s last blog post..That Time of Year
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Comment by Andrea on November 3rd, 2008 @ 2:18 pmI like lists too. And ever since my boyfriend proposed to me with a gorgeous diamond engagement ring from http://www.idonowidont.com as a bride-to-be I already a monster list of wedding planning to do! So I will probably start a blog on my upcoming journey down the aisle.
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Comment by MichelleB on November 3rd, 2008 @ 4:14 pmI bow to your fortitude. I’ve done it the past few years, but just could not bring myself to commit this time. The very thought wearies me. And I don’t have three children. More bowing commences.
Moose’s last blog post..With a Touch of Ballyhoo
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Comment by Moose on November 3rd, 2008 @ 4:17 pmI bow to the fact that you can ACTUALLY WRITE. Still bowing.
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Comment by angella on November 3rd, 2008 @ 4:48 pmOMG that baby picture is ADORABLE. *Twitch* I JUST had one and already I’m thinking how sweet another baby would be.
WTF is wrong with me?
Marcie’s last blog post..New Growth
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Comment by Marcie on November 3rd, 2008 @ 6:40 pmI am right there with you sister – love the lists! And have been lazy about them lately too… and joined up at NaBloPoMo (but you already knew that…) I’ll be here to support you too! : )
Elaine’s last blog post..Back To My Regularly Scheduled Program
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Comment by Elaine on November 3rd, 2008 @ 6:42 pmI AM SUCH AN INSPIRATION!
slynnro’s last blog post..The Adventures of Amputee Bear and Friends
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Comment by slynnro on November 3rd, 2008 @ 6:47 pmI’m on the NaBloPoMo wagon, too. I just want to get my bloggin’ groove back…
And, oh, I’m so listy!
ELizabeth’s last blog post..Is it really the 2nd of November?
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Comment by ELizabeth on November 3rd, 2008 @ 6:54 pmThe fact that you are not sharing your lists? Killing me. It’s understandable, but my nosiness is simply dying over here!!!
GOOD LUCK with EVERYTHING!!!
I’m in the NaBloBlahBlah with ya!
The Over-Thinker’s last blog post..I’m in print! I’m in print!
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Comment by The Over-Thinker on November 3rd, 2008 @ 7:16 pmtodolistblog.blogspot.com
A blog about To Do Lists!
I love it.
Meg’s last blog post..Pictoral Update
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Comment by Meg on November 3rd, 2008 @ 9:30 pmAhh … I like lists too. I love to make them, then I don’t use them. Regardless, it helps me to organize my mind.
I’m doing NaBloPoMo too. Good luck to ya!
mommyknows’s last blog post..Oh What a Day! (coffee contest continues)
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Comment by mommyknows on November 3rd, 2008 @ 9:53 pmYay! I’m doing it too. Gonna have to kick hubby off the ‘puter every night tho to keep up with my reading. Oy.
Lists – do they actually work? I have one big goal, that requires many small goals to be accomplished first. Maybe I should start my own list…..
monstergirlee’s last blog post..Hey Everybody – Guess What?
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Comment by monstergirlee on November 3rd, 2008 @ 10:00 pmAwww!!! Baby Emily! How cute is she?!? Wow, does time ever fly! I love all your lists etc. They make my Type A heart smile
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Comment by Michele on November 3rd, 2008 @ 11:21 pmI am also doing NaBloPoMo, but am also busy keeping my kinder on the straight and narrow. So I decided that if I’m too busy to WRITE a post, I will do a slight amendment and do NaBloPhoPoMo (photo post!). I have a new camera that I haven’t played with nearly enough, so this will inspire me. (Of course, it’s been dreary and overcase ever since I decided this, so I’m off to google how to take good pics in bad light.)
Linking to your other posts totally counts and will remind me to go check Work It Mom, which I sometimes forget to do as I can’t remember who writes over there on what days.
(PS I love the picture of the pen and notebooks.)
Sue @ My Party of 6’s last blog post..Life is good
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Comment by Sue @ My Party of 6 on November 4th, 2008 @ 7:06 amI am a total list person!
I cannot do anything without my lists. I always have to write things down.
My husband on the other hand NEVER writes anything down. If he does, it is a phone number written on a piece of junkmail with no name or anything.
Forget about appointments, as soon as I have an appointment for something it goes on the calendar. I have to remind my husband to write his stuff on the calendar, he will tell me, “oh by the way, the car is going in the shop on Tuesday” and I will answer, “Is it on the calendar?” his answer 99.9999999 percent of the time “no”
Silly men
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Comment by Eric's Mommy on November 4th, 2008 @ 7:17 amI’m all about the dorkiness. It resonates over here. I love the “a year ago today” thing. It’s so great to look back exactly a year and see what the deuce you were doing “way back then”.
I’m being dorky today and watching election coverage all day. Well, it’s on all day, and since we live in an apartment (a SMALL apartment), it’s easy to not watch it and watch it at the same time. You know hard to SIT and watch it all day with two little terrors toddlers running around!
Anyway, I’m off to work on a list of my own. I usually have one around, but I’ve put it off lately. Thanks for the reminder!
Mrs. Wilson’s last blog post..NaBloPoMo Day 3: Beauty or Beast?
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Comment by Mrs. Wilson on November 4th, 2008 @ 1:42 pmHi Angella
I just selected you as one of the winners of an award:
http://dadsworkbench.com/2008/11/04/the-charming-blog-award/
Check it out if you have sometime.
orlund’s last blog post..The Charming Blog Award.
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Comment by orlund on November 4th, 2008 @ 1:55 pmI too have signed up for NaBloPoMo, though I’ll have to say I’m already finding it a little stressful!
Lists are awesome – but that could just be the accoutant in me talking – and I absolutely adore the notebook in the picture above.
solargalaxy6’s last blog post..NaBloPoMo
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Comment by solargalaxy6 on November 5th, 2008 @ 1:47 pmI made a list of November To-Dos as well, and one of those To-Dos involves writing daily. Which I sometimes do with PEN & PAPER, pretending as if computers didn’t exist, and maybe I even light a candle next to my desk. Maybe only when I’m feeling particularly homestead-y.
Goals are most definitely for writing down, was my overall point just then. Also: you are rad.
Kerri Anne’s last blog post..Good Things: Runner’s Soul Edition
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Comment by Kerri Anne on November 5th, 2008 @ 2:57 pm[...] making lists (like the lovely Angella) and ticking stuff off as I go. They’re long, long, long lists. I feel like I am making very [...]
Comment by We’re all in a Panic! (coffee contest continues) | mommyknows.com on November 6th, 2008 @ 9:54 pmLine and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>
I do like lists. I should make more of them. Problem is, then I feel compelled to actually DO stuff on the lists, and that gets in the way of my busy schedule of, uh…watching TV?
Yeah, can you tell why someone else had to finish unpacking my house for me, three months after we moved in?
Good luck with NaBloPoMo! I’ll be commenting.
bethany actually’s last blog post..Painting, judgment, and prayer at the mall
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Comment by bethany actually on November 3rd, 2008 @ 2:07 am