wanted: motivation

i'm really in need of some major motivation right now. i'm so frustrated with the mess in my house, the unfinished tile job in the bathroom, the heap of dirty laundry, the baskets of folded clean laundry, the pending bills and all the projects that i have on my to do list...but i don't have enough motivation or energy to do anything about it. maybe it's just that i don't know where to start or, even more likely, it's just that we have way too much junk and it makes it overwhelming. i through stuff away as i walk through all the time, but evidentally not enough. even my pest control guy told me we need more room after trying to spray my house. i think i keep hoping it will just take care of itself, but have come to the unfortunate conclusion that's not going to happen. each time we walk through a model home, i think "i'm going to get my house looking like this"...but then reality clicks in. we do still have to live here. kyra's been coming in my room asking to see my bugs under my bed...not that i've ever seen any, but still...that's just sad. any motivation anyone can offer would be greatly appreciated and gladly accepted.

poor choice of ads

when i've watched shows about babies on tlc, all the commercials are for baby products. or when my kids are watching their channels, the commercials are for toys and kids' entertainment. so why, when i'm watching 'new detectives' or 'fbi files' about murder cases, instead of commercials about security systems or detective services, are there a bunch of life insurance commercials? are they trying to encourage motive for more murders so they have material to work with?

junk in the trunk...or the drawer

so i decided to clean out my top drawer of my nightstand. whoa. this is what i found (keep in mind my top drawer is not very big)

• 1 jolly rancher wrapper
• empty vicodin bottle
• voter registration card
• blood pressure cuff
• 3 remote controls to who knows which dvd players
• notebook
• broken reading light
• back portion of candy bar wrapper
• kyra's immunization records
• unused tissues
• instructions for toning bands
• a note from shayla that says "brooke i [love, with a heart] u vre much
• 2 university hospital patient cards from the u of u (from 1997)
• a little book titled "hugs for my sister"
• an old atm card from our credit union in california (lived there 8 1/2 years ago)
• a mother's day poem from shayla from kindergarten
• a mother's day card from shayla with a gift certificate to a movie with her from 2005
• a get well card from shayla
• 'the guardian' by nicholas sparks
• 2 cough drops stuck to the bottom of the drawer
• playing cards
• copy of my sister's patriarchal blessing (who knows why i have that)
• old achievement days booklet
• almost empty sheet of gas relief pills with 2 pills left
• digital thermometer instructions (since those are SO hard to figure out)
• temporary gap card from oct 2001
• aaa card (expired in mar 2002)
• hallmark gold crown card
• 2 mci cards (haven't used since 2000)
• book 'you know you're a mother when...'
• iams puppy food club card (my dog's almost 11)
• hollywood card from utah (moved 11 1/2 years ago)
• member card to the resort at green valley in st. george (last renewed in 1995)
• pacific bell calling card (california phone company)
• 6 business cards from different businesses in california
  
• t.g.i. fridays frequent friday's card
• sunnyvale (california) public library card
• 2 prescription cards from lockheed martin (justin's job in ca)
• baby on the way preferred client card (1999-went there once...i wasn't a preferred client)
• san jose public library card
• blockbuster rewards card
• cigna insurance card (again...california)
• mci calling guide
• franklin planner fillers from 2001
• basal digital thermometer
• 2 highlighters
• 8 pencils
• 12 pens
• 1 broken pencil tip
• 1 extra pen lid
• 1 penny
• 1 cashew
• red ribbon

my confused brain

i still haven't figured out why i end up staying up til 2 or 3 am when i can barely keep my eyes open other than that my brain is so not in sync with my body. my motivation only happens at night, but my body has to be running all day. the same thing happens when i'm having a conversation though. what i hear doesn't usually register in my brain until it's too late. by then i've pulled my most famous faux pas of putting my great big size 11 feet in my mouth. have you ever asked someone how things are going and they reply with "my mom's really sick right now" only for you to answer "that's good"? i have. my brain needs to be tweaked or something because not only does it take too long to hear things, it moves on before hearing them. i'll ask questions in a conversation and interrupt with a totally different subject before i've heard the full answer, afraid that i'll forget what i just thought of...although i should not have been thinking of anything else at all. so, in advance...or afterthought...i apologize to all who i so rudely converse with. it's not my fault...honest:)

the threads of each day

when i'm going through my life i sometimes forget to look deeper at each of the threads that hold it together. i decided to start my own personal blog to make myself more aware of the little things that make up each day to hopefully make me more grateful for all that i have and find more joy in my life. so welcome to my world and all the little threads in it...especially the snags along the way.

coupon frenzy

so i haven't been much of a coupon junkie in the past, but my friend introduced me to the "grocery game" a while back and i tried it and loved it. then i kind of let it go. but here and there i'll find some of my coupons and i'll use them. one day last week i had some that i didn't have with me when i went shopping, so i took them back in to get my money back. i ended up getting $9 back. i told shayla how cool it was to shop with coupons and kyra said, "that's weird."

then yesterday i was cleaning out my car and found a ton of coupons that were ready to expire. and they were for things i needed or would need soon too. i was actually on my way to the grocery store anyway, so i used those and in addition to the $15 i saved on store sales, i saved $16 just in coupons. i was pretty proud of myself. so i guess i'm officially a "coupon nerd". oh, and i had a $10 gift card from dsw and my coupons for places for having a birthday, all of which expired yesterday, including a $5 one from dsw. and dsw is already discounted, so after their discount and my $25 off, i bought a $55 pair of shoes for $25. wow, my life needs something if coupons are getting me this excited.

things i've learned from my kids

as i was laying in bed last night waiting for the nyquil to fully kick in, i started thinking about recent mishaps and such around here. then i tried to turn them into learning experiences :)

so here is my list of some of the things i've learned from my kids:

• no matter where i put the nail polish, it's never hard enough for kyra to get to and there's always more in the house that i don't know about...until it's too late. (but i have learned how to get it out)
• every day is either the worst day of their life or the best day of their life...never in between.
• it doesn't matter how far apart your kids are in age...they fight.
• it's less effort for them to throw clothes in the hamper after they've been washed and folded then it is to place them (again...they are already folded) in a drawer or basket.
• i'm either the meanest mom in the world or the best mom in the world.
• i should never say "maybe" or "we'll see" unless i really mean "yes", because that's how it is interpreted.
• kid's don't care if they match as long as they are the ones that picked it out.
• whether my kids match or not is not a battle worth fighting.
• the word "no" does not register in a kid's brain very quickly.
• no matter how clear you made yourself at the time of punishment, it always seems like news to them when you have to remind them of it.
• when there are tickets that earn them things involved, kids can be polite and kind to one another.

there are many positive things i've learned from my kids too, but i just felt like letting out the negative and maybe a little positive for now. anyone want to watch my kids now?