Seven Quick Takes

-1

Escape pow wow.

I've taken notes on everything I've done since 6 am.  I thought maybe I would turn it into one of those A Day in the Life posts.  Maybe. Maybe not.  But I have noticed a couple things:

1. I'm much too hard on myself.  I do a lot and think I should be doing about five times more than I'm doing.  

2. I'm even more the introvert than I realized.  So far, the bulk of what I felt compelled to note was what I experienced internally like mental notes, feelings when playing with my kids, and the contrast between what I thought would happen and what actually did. What I experience in my mind seems to take on much more weight than what I actually do. I shouldn't be surprised by this, but I am.

-2-

Paul left this morning for a 4 day backpacking trip with a friend.  I'll be a tad more exhausted taking care of everything on my own, but I'm so excited for him to get a break.  I'm sure every wife is convinced her husband works the hardest so I won't even try to put my two cents in there, but seriously--he deserves every minute of a reprieve he can afford.

-3-

And no, I am no hero or liar when I write as if him being gone is no big deal.  Other than an emergency situation which would put me into full-on freak out mode, I am pretty much fine.  I'll miss him but knowing he's definitely not here is much easier than those nights he has to work late unexpectedly.  Plus, if you haven't heard me say one million kajillion times, I'm as introverted as they come.  Once I make it to 8 pm and all the boys are asleep and the house is quiet, I will be internally proclaiming over and over and over again that I'm experiencing the closest thing to heaven on Earth.   

-4-

I deleted the Facebook app from my phone last week sometime.  This Monday I went off coffee. Next week I might buy a dog and then we will all know I have completely lost my mind. 

-5-

Just kidding about the dog.  Never. Ever. Just 20 minutes ago, corralling 3 littles and myself into UPS I threatened urged Thomas to stay rightbymyside and poor kid ran right into a car's side view mirror.  That is to say: perfect illustration we are barely making it on standard errands and I consider showering an accomplishment.  I'm not about to add to the mix anything dependent on my care.

-6-

I'm happy it's October.  My favorite season, summer, got swapped out for fall sometime in my 20s.  I'm every bit the cliche swooning American on all things fall. Unsolicited photos of colorful leaves. Excessive baking of pumpkin bread. And a slow burning of my, from a purchase many moons ago, candles that only fall can claim--pumpkin pie, sticky cinnamon buns...okay, basically just more food I would like to be eating.  But there is one corner of life fall and I don't agree on: football.  I'll play it (granted anyone invites me to amateur hour), but you won't find me watching it on la t.v. It kind of goes against everything I believe in, that is being awestruck by someone else's dedication to the point of axing off whole days to revel in it. I would much, much rather be doing something and doing a super crappy job and all that comes with trying your hand at anything... than oogling at someone else doing that thing.  I'm just un-American like that.  Unless there's food. Then I'll be there.

-7-

Speaking of doing something myself even if I'm dong a "super crappy job", I made my 1st pizza crust a couple Sundays ago and again this past Sunday.  Other than pumpkin bread, because it's a quick bread and therefore totally doesn't count, I'm the world's worst baker.  Out of desperation for entertainment, I baked French bread during a blizzard a couple years ago and the result was something akin to the Lampoon's Christmas scene where they slice into the what-was turkey and find their fare to be little else than some extreme crust.  In college, I chucked zucchini bread off my apartment balcony into the sink hole below out of abject horror at my baking failure.  Sweet hubby put my hand under warm water, demonstrating temps which won't murder yeast, after coming face to face with a pizza this past Sunday that should have been advertised as The World's 1st Transparent Crust! 

Messy. Just like me.

Okay, that's all the time Magic School Bus had to offer. Check back with Jen for more and to wish her a happy ten more! 

* Just realized I was not totally truthful about #6. I watch MasterChef....so hypocrite I am.