The sense of calm I had yesterday about my ability to get all my work done, the house ready and my materials gathered up before I leave for SOAR has evaporated entirely- which really, now that I think about it, is far more sane. I have no idea why I wasn’t worried. None.
I lay in bed this morning, calm and sorted, and began to make my little mental list of all that I need to do today, and at first it was okay.
1. Write my wordcount for today. I have a book deadline looming. I’m slightly wound up about it. There’s nothing to worry about yet, but I have to meet my wordcount every day or the world will explode. Simple. That will take a few hours, but I can handle it, it’s my job.
2. Blog. That’s not so hard, only takes an hour or two. Look. It’s getting done right now.
3. Go onto the SOAR website and find out what materials I need for the classes, then pack them up, hoping the whole time that the fact that this place is practically a shrine to the fibre arts means that I have everything I need.
4. Spend a few hours working on Sock Summit, reviewing text, making decisions with Tina, reading email.
5. Eat breakfast.
It was number five that pushed the first panicky thoughts foremost in my brain. The minute I realized that at best, at my most efficient, caffeinated and moving like a seasoned knitter at a yarn sale, I was still looking at seven hours of work before breakfast – that’s when I started being able to hear the blood rushing in my ears. I modified breakfast to lunch and kept going.
6. Leave for meeting that I can’t change at 12:50. Do the meeting from 1:30-2:30, leave for home, taking the car with me.
(Note- I am ignoring that in order to leave at 12:50 with items 1-5 accomplished I would have had to start executing the list at 6am, and that I was making this list while lying in bed at 7:30am. Sometimes if you’re going to get through a tricky day it really helps to gloss over the details that stand in the way of suspending reality and the passage of time.)
7. Shop for groceries so that the family doesn’t starve while I’m gone.
8. Wonder if I shouldn’t really expect a full grown man and a 19 year old girl to be able to pick up groceries so they don’t starve by themselves.
9. Scratch #7 off the list, and realize that it’s misplaced maternal guilt because I feel badly that I’m going away for the weekend. Feel like crap about it anyway, and contemplate just getting "some" groceries.
10. Remember that the last time Joe went away, he didn’t grocery shop for me before he left.
11. Fill with feminist rage, wonder when equality is really going to show up anywhere in the world, briefly reflect on the statistic that women in developed countries work (on average) 70 hours a week, compared to 51 hours (on average) for men, once you include things like going to the grocery store.
12. Consider the argument that I am perpetrating the inequalities in domestic labour division by going to the grocery store, and that this may be less than faithful and decent to the concept of equality I am ultimately hoping will prevail in my lifetime.
13. Decide to skip the grocery store, only because it is the right thing to do.
14. Run several errands and book several appointments that have to be done before I leave or bad things will happen.
15. At some point before I go to bed, speak with my children and express concern, love and interest in their lives for at least 5 minutes each.
16. Go to the post office and mail some important papers that I have inexplicably procrastinated on until the moment when they would cause me the most stress possible.
17. Do laundry so that I don’t go to SOAR in clothes that are a) dirty b) out of season or c) mismatched.
18. Scratch c) off the list. I don’t care if I’m mismatched and neither does anyone at SOAR. Screw it. I’m just going to aim for having enough clothing on that I’m not cold, that there are no bizarre questions to answer at the border, and that Rachel H is willing to be seen in public with me. (She accessorizes. I feel like her standards are super high.)
19. Pack.
20. Print directions, hotel info, SOAR confirmation stuff, find my passport and make sure that I find Daniel the GPS and all his cables and put him in the car. (I’m pretty paralyzed without Daniel. Of all the modern conveniences I own, my coffee maker and Daniel are the two best. It’s like a talking map. Bloody genius, that’s what it is.
21. Wonder if getting this all done before tomorrow is really possible, or if I’m deeply deluded again and I should just give up now.
22. Spend 25 minutes I’ll never get back trying to figure out what is on that list that actually doesn’t need to be done in a futile attempt to earn back a free hour to watch Glee tonight.
23. Resist the urge to defend watching Glee. I like it. I don’t know why. I know there are some feminist/ability/disability/racial issues around it and I think about them a lot, but I end up sucked in every time anyway. It’s like my love for Prince and Richard Chamberlain. (I blame the Thorn Birds) It is completely unfettered by any reality about them that may surface. I’m not proud.
24. Hem my pants, because grown-ups don’t staple or tape clothes. (much)
25. Look longingly at my knitting, and reflect that one of the wonderful things about it is that even when your life is mayhem, it is still possible to see forward movement in that work. Sure, I only got 4 rows done last night, and I’m not likely to see much better today, but that’s 4 rows closer to finished and nobody can take that away from me, even if my pants are stapled together and my inbox isn’t cleared before I leave. Knitting is the only work I can think of where getting a little bit done is totally good enough.
26. I love that, especially considering that it’s 12:40 and almost nothing on that list is done. I hope it all matters less than I think.
Yup. What you said. All that.
Glee is a good solid hour of knitting that I get every week! No need to defend…
Don’t worry! Like so many things that seem so important, I don’t really think the world will end if you don’t finish the list. No one notices my stapled hems…I don’t think.
I can simplify that list for you…. (these things are best done while lying on your back, looking at the ceiling, under the covers). Eat and pack. Then, if there is any time left make the appointments. Oh! and go to the meeting…. Hope you have a great time at SOAR! Looking forward to pictures and stories when you get back.
And if you DON’T watch Glee, what on earth will you sing in your head for the next week?
At least you did not have your morning plans disrupted by tornado warnings. You don’t have to defend watching Glee. I count it as me time and it does double duty as knitting time.
If it is any consolation, I am not in the public eye or of great demand or a mother and I have lists just like your post…
So glad you didn’t add election angst to your list. Whoops, did I just bring up something I shouldn’t? Have a great trip!
Wow… I’ve never managed to be in the first 10 comments before.
Don’t feel so guilty… about going away, not shopping etc. Your kids (and husband) are more than capable of this… you made them that way!
As for Glee… just enjoy. Nothing’s perfect. 🙂
It’s a long weekend. No one will starve while you’re gone. All you really need are directions, a credit card, and your passport. (We have things like “yarn” and “clothing” down here in the wilds of the US.)
I was feeling badly that I didn’t get to go to SOAR this year – until I read this. Now I remember how stressful it is to get organized to go to SOAR, and how much I need to get done at home (I’m counting fun fiber stuff here, not housework), and frankly, I’m kind of glad I’m not going this year. You’re so thoughtful to take the hit for me and all the other non-SOAR-goers this year. (However, next year, when it’s a two-hour drive from my house, I am so, SO there.)
It always matters less than you think. The trick is to remember this.
Wow. I am suddenly comforted that I’m NOT going to SOAR.
Have a great trip, I’m sure you’ll have a blast!
The last time you were gone, didn’t they just eat pizza, hamburgers, and go out to eat anyway? If they actually cook, wow, your people do better than I do when my housemate who cooks goes on a trip.
Never having watched Glee, I can’t relate – except that if I miss my favorite PBS shows, I feel the same way.
And Jane, I have music in my head even when I don’t even listen to music (so I’d better avoid Glee). This morning it was Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” which is a heckofa lot more classy that yesterday’s “She’ll Be Comin’ Round the Mountain.” (I know. I’m weird.)
Do you really think this sad little list will distract me? You get to be with RachelH AND Rams.
Sounds a lot like me before I go on a trip! Have a great time. 🙂
I read your list, and I am dizzy. Are you sure that you need to get ALL that done, in one day? Yes, you likely need to write, and work on Sock Summit, perhaps answer your inbox, BUT, you are human. Yes, a woman, but you are not, are not superwoman! Yes, you mean well, but honey, you’re heading for the hospital, not a retreat. Take care of the writing, the Sock Summit stuff, and mailing important papers. But let your family shop, cook, and clean while you enjoy your retreat. You will enjoy the break, and they will learn (it’s harder on you) to handle it. So pack your things, watch your show, and enjoy SOAR. Superwoman is a myth, and you’ll make yourself sick trying to reach the ideal. There will be shopping, laundry and housework when you return.
Hope you found time for breakfast!
Really can’t believe that our GPS thingies have the same name!! Does that mean yours also says “Recalculating” in that exasperated British accent??
On days when I just want to feel the power to annoy someone I make wrong turns on purpose just to hear THAT voice.
Have a great trip – all will be fine.
Yup! Read the List. Can only feel bad for a moment because you obviously left off the most important part! WHERE’S THE BEER????
LOLOLOLOLOL! You’ll make it – and here’s hoping you have a great weekend!
Goodness gracious — just reading your list is enough to stress me out.
I love that your life and your lists are as insane as mine. It makes me feel less bad about recopying Yesterday’s list onto Today with only 1 less item (and 2 new ones)
I love your blog!! I love your blog!!
I just wanted to say that to THANK YOU for finding time for us today even though the list is long. I’m always bummed on days when there is no blog…
Can you knit in the car to SOAR while someone else drives?
I love Glee. It goes from being nerdy, joyful, insightful and yummy to all of a sudden being completely inappropriate. I forgive everything because I got to watch two great voices recreate “Happy Days/Get Happy” last week – absolute GENIUS!
Best of luck. (And yes, at 19 (and older!) grocery store was meant to be off that list.
I just have to tell you that I think we could be really good friends (it was the bits about glee, especially – I love it, I know there are problems, I think about them, but still love it)… I’m sure that sounds hella creepy, I promise I’m not a weirdo. I just like recognizing a similar human being 🙂
You don’t have to defend watching Glee! It’s awesome! Have fun at SOAR.
They have pants tape for grown ups- it’s called Stitch Wizzard- it goes on with an iron – or a curling iron, or a book you put on the radiator for five min until it got really warm….all that works
Hmm, I’ve been taping a new pair of jeans for the past month. Does that mean I can quite being a grown up and can go back to being a kid? (Please say yes!)
Adults may not staple or tape their pants (much) but they do know that they can put that one at the bottom of the to-do list and pack a roll of duct tape.
Prioritize, seek assistance (pay someone else to hem pants) and skip the grocery shopping. It encourages independence in offspring and spouses. Trust me, they won’t starve!
Speaking of word count, can I ask what program you use for writing your books? Is it MS Word? Scrivener? what?
Ignore the list. Your husband and daughter can forage for themselves. First do the appointment (because other people are waiting for you). Pack and otherwise get ready to go. Then fill the rest of the day with whatever you have time for from the list. I am in favor of doing the easiest ones, so you will be able to cross off more items from your list. It will all be there when you get back, and you can work it in next week (which will be easy, because you will be energized and relaxed from the weekend). Everything will be fine.
Have a good time!!
I was going to mention that yes, there is a grownup tape to hem your pants with, but people have already beat me to it. On second thought, if you don’t have it already, adding “trip to sewing store” to your list would just take longer than hemming the pants, so probably best to forget it until next time.
I love Glee too, just enjoy it.
Beer.
I always make long lists of things that just have to be done before I go away from home – then whatever doesn’t get done, just doesn’t matter, because I’m on the road again, and work will be waiting for me when I return. I know you’ve figured this out, you just like making lists! Have a great time!!!!!
Nancy FP in Ferndale
#15!! *Snort* and there goes the bottled water, all over the computer….Thanks, I needed that.
You can watch Glee online. 😀
Glee + Rocky Horror = Can’t miss TV.
You’ll need that hour of downtime after the whirlwind of a day and before you get your second wind for laundry and packing 😀
I even felt like I got somewhere last night and I tinked about 6 rows of lace – 160 sts per row. How I even feel like I accomplished something I don’t know but I think I fixed the mistake. Even that feels good about knitting when you are a process knitter.
Just realized with a clong (defined as a rush of shit to the heart) that the GPS is in the glove compartment of the car parked out at the airport by my husband… who will be home the night before I leave. Unless this wind keeps up. (Reclong.)
Your family will not starve. If they are hungry, they will be motivated to find food somewhere, somehow.
Don’t worry about the hemming. Pretend you are Project Runway–they tape, staple and glue-gun stuff all of the time, and *they are professionals*.
Damn fine writing!! Funny, well written and for sure your readers are all relating to it like crazy. Count it as your wordcount for today and you’re fast on the way to your goal.
Yay for procrastinating and then still trying to schedule work around watching Glee! We all secretly do it too :o)
Glad to see I’m not the only one who has violently optimistic deadline meeting behavior. You do seem to be handling it with grace, though 🙂 Enjoy your weekend!!
Awwww! Don’t stress (too much) about the word count. I’ve done NaNoWriMo (http://www.nanowrimo.org/) six times (!) — the goal is to write 50k words in a month, start to finish. And I’ve realized that if you miss a day — nay, even a few days — the extra words you need to write each day to make up for it are really not that many. Yes, it all matters less than you think. And I love your point about knitting. What a good feeling.
Can’t wait to buy the next book. Have a great trip!
HULU has Glee, so if for the sake of your sanity to get things done. You can always pull it up Wednesday on your laptop and watch and knit.
Good luck and enjoy SOAR!
I am an expert at number 16, and I have refined it so that I don’t even have to involve the post office. I can procrastinate essential documents that can be faxed from home or, better yet, completed on-line in my nightgown.
Maybe that’s the thing about Glee, it makes us all think. I love it, too. I let my 10 year old watch it, too. Take that, conservatives! It provides discussion and laughs in our house and we love it. We don’t apologize for it either.
You should consider getting some of these hem-pants-snaps:
https://www.buystylesnaps.com/5/?mid=908547
Cross another thing off your list.
Have a great trip. And I think you are right about not shopping for groceries.
You made a list.
By God, that ought to be enough!
OK, I love Glee. And let’s be honest. The show is all about equal opportunity bigotry, racism, etc. That’s why it entertaining and we all need an hour of knitting and entertainment. Good luck with the list…tomorrow.
You need your assistant another day. I’m a family helper and I help with kids (soccer carpool, homework help, emotional support, ect), do the grocery shopping, cook dinner, do the laundry, and run errands. Something to thing about
“Sometimes if you’re going to get through a tricky day it really helps to gloss over the details that stand in the way of suspending reality and the passage of time.” YES.
GOOD LUCK!
Ah, maybe you need your boss to let you off the hook for writing today as long as you make up the word count over the next week. Yup, a little bit extra the other days to make today’s load shorter.
AHHHhhhhh Richard Chamberlain. He one of those I’d put on my mantle to gaze upon….
This is not going to help you get done your to-do list for the day, but, I THNK YOU’RE AWESOME. I love your list and how you think about things. We’ve never met, but I know I’ll want to be your friend forever when we do.
I’ve never, ever been a groupie before and I don’t know who most movie and tv stars even are…but I want to be YOUR groupie. Good luck completing your list and getting in some relaxing time today.
can you…ummm…double up and make the word count include the blog? And the list? You’re half done!
Somehow you’re nervous listing, plus satisfaction with your knitting calms me — getting ready to take a flight toward the ‘tornedo’ currently over Chicago & I hope that’s calmed down by mid-day, Central time!
No one died. So its all good. Its magic, it will all come to pass and you will have had a great time.
The List
On #7 thru #13: Amen, sister!
And, on the subject of hemming anything in general: F*** that!
Cut ’em off, I say! All of my pants and jeans are typically about 6″ too long for me, as I top out at 5’3″, and apparently, everyone “they” make jeans for is at least 5’9″ tall and weighs about 110 pounds.
So, screw ’em, take the shears, wash ’em, and you’ve got yourself a stylish little frayed bottom! You said you had to do laundry anyway!
“find Daniel the GPS and all his cables and put him in the car.”
I read this several times and thought that you had a driver (chauffeur?) named Daniel and that Daniel needed his GPS and cables found before he would drive you. I thought about your lifestyle and the unlikeness that you had a personal driver and then I realized that this was an appositive. Balance is restored to the world.
A new book….YEAH!!! When? Soon I hope. I’ve really enjoyed your past books.
Tamara, you and i live in the same universe. Hemming is for people who can pay someone else to do it.
Stephanie, you poor thing, with minor changes you’ve probably described the life of every working woman who reads your blog. Too much to do, too little time. Which reminds me: i’m about three hours behind where i planned to be…..
I concur – let the other grown-ups in the household deal with the groceries this weekend. Hem your pants in the car if you don’t want to use tape. Unless you have to sign and fax a contract, work on SS11 in the car (it’s a long drive!) Have a safe trip and a great time at SOAR!
I like number 25 the best. So true about just a few rows of progress — reading that makes me feel a little better about the things I’m accomplishing, or rather, not accomplishing.
just remember that no matter what does or doesn’t get done, you get to go to SOAR and that’s gonna be fun.
unless of course you forget the gps.
or passport.
ok so do those two.
Hi! I thought I was the only one who gave their GPS unit a name – mine is Letitia. She has this lovely calm British lady voice that says things like “go left at the roundabout” (instead of rotary or traffic circle) and “then take the motorway…”. Except for a strange propensity to take a different route on the return trip from certain places (sometimes the outbound was the one you would have expected, sometimes the inbound one is – no rhyme or reason) she is the best.
Oh, and then there is the occasional absolute error that occurs when the great GPS Data Base in the sky has incorrect information about some address or other. Imagine not knowing of the existence of Cleveland-Hopkins International Airport!
I am sure you will persevere and get there and have a good time. Can’t wait to hear about it!
About #25…. that’s only if you’re not so stressed and frazzled that you actually manage to knit without making a mistake. In which case you could very well end up being behind rather than ahead.
Thank you for validating that I am not the only woman on the planet who has way more on her to do list than there are hours in the day!!!
Good luck and have fun! If you arrive in one piece and your pants aren’t stapled up, I’d say it’ll be a win.
you have to watch glee tonight! it’s rocky horror night. 🙂
I just love that your GPS has a name. Mine’s name is Grace because it is only by the grace of Garmin that I am able to negotiate my way anywhere outside of a 10-mile radius of my town.
BTW, wine calms a tizzy every time for me. Just sayin’.
“I hope it all matters less than I think.” Except for #15, it ALL matters less than you think. ALWAYS.
Now if I can just keep reminding myself of that . . .
in this place too. so much so that i’ve canceled long overdue plans with a friend and colleague and convinced my boss to let us order in dinner. at the office. in order to stay late and work.
*sigh*
good luck and safe travels!
Ahh, Thorn Birds…your post, once again, cracked me up to tears, though I do feel kinda badly that it’s at your expense, maybe it’s because I’ve been there and I do know that one way or another you WILL get there and the family back home WON’T starve (amazing how they can actually feed themselves when pressed…). Have heaps of fun and, BTW, that Pondscum shawl is too beautiful, can’t wait to see it finished.
I see others have already suggested fusible sewing tape for hemming. While it might not help today, perhaps you could pick some up at some point for the next time.
Unless we could figure out the whole “my pants are too short & yours are too long” exchange thing. I won’t tell you how much time I’ve spent trying to find pants long enough now that my one source has decided that no woman is over 5′ 9″ (~175cm).
There are times for a to-do list– and when you’re about to travel is one of them– but at the end of the day, take a moment to look back on all the things you *finished*.
I find that too often as soon as I finish one item I go on to obsess about the next thing, and end the day feeling like I got nowhere- but then I look back at my ‘things done’ list (which often includes things that weren’t on the to-do to begin with) and I can at least feel a little glow of accomplishment for the things I did complete.
Good luck getting all of that accomplished! Oh, and by the way, my GPS’s name is Daniel, too 😉
Ah, the Thornbirds.
Nos. 8 – 13 are my favorites. Granted, when I leave town I leave behind a grown man and an 8-yr.-old, who doesn’t really do much under her own steam, but still….
Dude, I’m seriously contemplating yoga pants since the drive is the length it is. Don’t get dressed up on my account.
Love, love, love number 10!
Yes, they can and will feed themselves, and you can be darn sure all your mugs and cups will be wrong-side up when you get home. Comfort yourself with these positives and have a great time at SOAR.
Unfortunately, everything left undone will be waiting for your return. I have been unable so far to contact a chores fairy, even on the web.
Oh, geez, now I’m stressed out, too. Stephanie, when will you realize that you are a professional knitter/writer/sock-summit-organizer; and as a professional, you need a secretary to run errands, mail important papers, etc.? I would volunteer for the job, but I have a feeling I cannot sneak away from my obligations down here south of the border. Child abandonment and all that…
I totally feel the same way about the knitting/crocheting – no matter how badly the day goes, no one can take from me what I have accomplished with my yarn (until, um, tomorrow, when I will realize I have miscounted and have to pull out yesterday’s work).
The numbers around 8 having to do with shopping and feeding themselves = they manage to do it while you are actually gone and not starve to death. It’s a life lesson, my dear Harlotta, and you are not letting them learn it. I’m just sayin’ 😉
I have also been sucked into the Glee as have many others. Since it ranks (over here in my little world anyway) above reality TV and American Idol, I think you can have that pleasure without it being ‘guilty’. Actual teenagers watch it with their actual parents too around North America. Shocking. Amazing. We should probably be gobsmacked.
Why is your GPS named Daniel? I love naming inanimate objects — they work better, I think. the “Grace” example makes perfect sense to me, too.
What I can’t understand is that every time you get ready to pack/travel you seem to have yet another pair of pants to hem. (You could totally do this while watching Glee.) Call RachelH and let her get you organized and on the road.
Try fabric glue for your hems and repairs. The only issue is that it’s not going to come out without a scissors. I have a friend who swears by it. Me, I love my 6 sewing machines. And heaven help me if I ever have to inventory knitting needles!
As a seamstress, I can assure you that adults do staple, tape, and glue their hems. Then they bring them to me. Staples and tape aren’t too bad, but I hate picking glue off the insides.
Staples and tape are totally viable alternatives to both extra work AND pants that are too long. Don’t let anybody (especially you) tell you different.
You forgot Beer. 🙂
You’re gorgeous. No advice. Ive always found pInking shears fetchingly eclectic for shortypants, no fraying so they can always be hemmed if it ever matters enough.
They have invented this wonderful stuff, iron-on hemming tape. You just position it where you want the hem, iron according to directions, and you are hemmed. Or, a full-service laundry can hem your pants up for a small fee.
Not that this will help you on this trip. But, as a short person who always has pants to hem (and detests this chore…it derails my sewing clothes, too), I would recommend it. And, no staples or tape!
Also, Lands’ End will hem most of their pants to your desired length!
When you are raging about totally unfair, sexist ideas…add to it that men can buy their pants in an assortment of lengths…and many stores offer free hemming on dress pants…for men ONLY!
wow, you are some busy. there is a word you should take heed of–delegate !! Oh and I’m sure your loved ones will not starve while you are away so just relax and enjoy every minute. Good luck
Best of luck Stephanie! Have a fabulous weekend at SOAR. I am thrilled to know that there are other like-minded knitters that enjoy Glee as much as I do. Stephanie up at 1:24 summed it up best-with it’s mix of hilarity and borderline inappropriate-ness.
At my son’s school, it is actually against the rules to come to school with “clothing that has been taped or stapled” (some anti-gang policy, I believe). That might have posed a problem for me. Now I just roll things up if I can. Hemming is for sissies. 🙂
Brava for numbers 11 – 13. Numbers 7- 9 had me worried for a minute.
Hi Harlot:
Have a great time at SOAR. You’ll be fine, SOAR will come and go, and whatever you get accomplished before then will be enough, so try to just enjoy your time at SOAR, regular life will be waiting when you return. I’ve been reading your blog since first hearing of you several weeks ago and have finally read it all, and a couple of your books, too. You’re an excellent writer. Thanks for your work; I feel like I know you, even though I know I don’t.
Best to you and yours,
Sofia
Hem your pants????? what do you think “fashion tape” is for? (ok, double-sided works too, s does that fancy stuff you iron on, but then you have to get out–oops, find, then get out the iron)
Hem your pants? I don’t even know how to sew! You hem those pants girl, hem them anyway you want! Even if that means using stamples (or tape) they are your pants.
Don’t worry about the list, accomplish what you can, in the time you have, and have fun at SOAR!
Oh my word! #25 really spoke to me!! Thank you so much!
I’ve told you that this is my first year teaching (in case you forgot, I just reminded you). I even blogged a love letter to my yarn and needles.
But, what you posted makes so much sense! Even if I can only knit for five minutes, that really IS good enough.
Nobody is gonna jump down my throat because I didn’t match state standards with the knitting, for knitting has no set standards except my own.
And I’m okay with that. Nobody’s gonna take away my right to knit, unlike what can happen with teaching.
Deep thoughts.
I better go rest my head before I hurt myself.
I’ve had similar lists before trips – why is it that we think we can get 40 hours work done in an 8 hour day because we’re leaving for a few days? More than once I’ve ended up staying up all night to get even half of the items done. I can drive 6-7 hours on 2 hours of sleep and lots of caffeine, but tend to turn into a zombie by early evening. Maybe you can catnap in the car while someone else is driving.
The guilt thing is harder to overcome – even though my husband never worries about food before he leaves on a hunting trip, and I have taught him and both sons how to cook basic food, I still feel obligated to make sure plenty of ingredients are available.
Unless someone will go to jail or have to pay lots of money, the paperwork can wait until you come back.
Relax and enjoy yourself!
I love Glee. I love Rocky Horror Picture Show. Combining the two is brilliant. I might be too busy singing along, throwing toast and a deck of cards, and waving a candle along with doing the Time Warp to knit during it.
You have to add things like “eat”, “shower”, and “wash dishes” (or whatever compulsive/required thing that you do anyway. I like to add “drink adult beverage”) so that you can have some things to automatically check off.
See–I also live on lists, and often still get nothing done. Like “file” has been on my lists, all of them, right next to “learn to sew”.
Have a fun trip!!
yeah, but in the end you know you will have a rockin’ good time this weekend!
I am sure you’ll be able to find a washer and dryer at SOAR, if you don’t manage to get your laundry done. And won’t there be plenty of fiber and yarn there, too?
If you skip Glee then you get an extra hour and you can watch it later on fox.com when you have the time to enjoy it. And if you double count your blogging as your word count for today…we’re the folks who will buy your book so we will understand when there’s that odd part that doesn’t seem to fit in with the rest. Ok, how’s the list looking now?
Oh, geez, I am wiping my eyes with laughter – I thought I was the only person who went all feminist on the pre-trip grocery shopping thing! Man, *there* are hours of my life that I won’t get back.
Hey I have lovely dress pants with one safety pinned hem and my 16yr old is named Meggie…. You guessed it The Thornbirds! xoxox
Oh my!I was so in Love with Dr.Kildare.
Forget hemming. Stitch Witch!
Re Number 24: I used an iron and superglue to hem my shorts a few months ago. They’re still good! (I folded the hem where I wanted it, ironed the hems flat, turned them inside out and placed equidistant dots of superglue inside the fold, with about an inch between dots.)
And both my family and my employers still insist that I’m a grown-up. My husband remains unconvinced.
Go Glee!! Feel good about watching something that makes you laugh (most of the time). Have fun at SOAR.
And – thanks for keeping so many of us entertained. 🙂
Richard Chamberlain I can take or leave, but Prince *sigh* has been part of my life since my mid teens (which was a loooong time ago), and I still play him LOUD on my iPod =D
Forget the list, watch Glee, and have fun at SOAR!
You had it right at #18. Screw it! Pack clothes you aren’t embarrassed to wear, get your word count in for the day and hop in the car with Daniel and your passport!
Meggie and Ralph. I don’t blame you.
On days like this, this is my mantra: What needs to get done, will get done. Works every time. Don’t know how, but I’m not going to waste my time on that! It’s not necessary!
Love the dialog about women’s lib and grocery shopping. Women, the world over, are giving you a wee shout out. Thanks!
Soar at SOAR.
My father spent the last ten years of his life in and out of the hospital, with numerous surgeries and procedures as well as emergency admissions. Once when I was getting ready for a short trip and freaking out about everything I needed to do he gave me some advice that has helped me tremendously. He had spent a lot of time fretting over getting things taken care of before he went into the hospital and it hadn’t helped anything. His advice, boiled down, is as follows:
Any crap you leave behind will still be there when you get back. Don’t worry about it. It’s not going anywhere.
WOW – you *own* a human? wish I could … ;o)
Ahhh – #24 brings back such high school memories! We intentionally masking tape hemmed our jeans because one day you might need them long for your cool platform shoes, and the next way shorter for your cool leather moccasins!! Have a great time at SOAR!
Hey, you got the blog post done. Thank heavens I’m not the only person who does the list making thing and then spends tons of time trying to figure out what I don’t actually HAVE to do (when I could have just done it).
Thank you, thank you, for always making me laugh and feel better. You make me and others feel better because you actually show a real person living a real life and it isn’t perfectly organized and timed. Real women aren’t perfect…thank God!
It all does matter less than you think.
Also, I feel you as far as Richard Chamberlain. It was Shogun that really made me fall in love with him. What a man.
It didn’t look that awful until I realized with horror that you leave tomorrow. Thanks for the blog post….but I feel guilty for having enjoyed it while you were under such duress!
Recently we visited our daughter for the weekend up on Mt. Rainier, where she works. It’s about three hours from home, and I drove away without my suitcase. My entire suitcase. From Friday afternoon until Sunday afternoon I didn’t have My Stuff. I brushed my teeth with a wash cloth. Borrowed things to wear. Etc. I did a four hour day hike, helped host a party, did dishes afterward, and knitted. Because I never forget my knitting bag!
Glee’s issues help stir up the conversation. I think it’s far more entertaining and thought-provoking and likely-to-be-watched than any “after school special”. Sometimes it seems completely inappropriate and then ends up being more real, honest, forthright than expected. Plus, there’s singing (why, yes, I was a high school musical theater geek) and Puck.
This is eerily familiar to “IT,” but without the good knitting time… 😀
I am a list maker too. I seem to be able to get more done if I have a list. I think I would go to the local drive through pizza place that will deliver and get the family a gift certificate. There is a plus if they also have soft drinks, chips, etc. It will not take as long to going to the grocery. You could hem the pants while watching Glee. I have never watched this show, but I have heard others talk about it. I may have to tune in sometime.
My GPS is called Tomasina – I felt that somebody who helps me so much every single day has to be female!
Oh damn. All I could think was I am glad I am not you today. I hope you got all the necessary things done that needed to get done. Whew. I’m tired just thinking about it. Have a good trip.
I’m going as a peanut allergy.
I’m going as a peanut allergy.
Grownup people don’t tape or staple their clothes? Really? And no one told me?
I’m at the skip-the-groceries stage. And I can’t believe that there is someone else who at the age of forty would still have been safety-pinning their eyeglasses together (with you it’s scotch-taping hems, but same difference).
Most important — HAVE FUN AT SOAR!!!
They make this stuff for hemming clothes called “Stitch Witchery” or something like that that is literally glue for clothes. I’ve used it to do emergency patching, too. Peal the label off, stick it down where you want it, fold the hem, and iron. Done.
Have fun at SOAR… wish I were going…
Steph, you’re spinning your wheels. Half the things on your list have no purpose, except to increase your stress levels.
Maybe Lene can teach you how to prioritize?
Ah, the Thorn Birds – what a seductive mini-series that was!
Glee-Rocky Horror Style was awesome. (my 1st glee ever)
Loved Thornbirds the movie and Thornbirds the book. Loved reading about Australia.
SOAR sounds like fun.
I do think a grown man and a 19yo girl could grocery shop for themselves if they needed to.
Have fun on your trip!
If grownups don’t hem pants, why do stores sell hem tape??
Duh, I meant “tape pants”….
I gave up hemming my own pants years ago. Although I am not as petite as you, I still sometimes have to get trousers hemmed. I just take them into the dry cleaner or tailor and, voila, I can wear the trousers without shame or tape or staples. It is one of the little “luxuries” I afford myself. I hate to sew. It takes away from knitting time.
I rarely have to hem anything. Rather wish things were longer most of the time. I never thought of stapling, or taping for hemming! LOL I’ll have to keep that in mind.
Yes the Thornbirds did it for me, too. Wait, there was Shogun, Then the Thornbirds.