March Pointless Lists

As seen from my favorite Library Park lunch spot last week.

March has been a bit of a hamster wheel in that the more I run, the less I accomplish. I'm trying to embrace and accept, but it's hard because I'm a bit uptight, for one thing, and for another I don't even like to run. I'm a Walker.

At work, we've been putting together a special section that will come out in April--basically four extra newspapers in one fell swoop--and that's been interesting. Last year I wrote stories, but then, still being in the front office, I could leave all the craziness behind once 1 p.m. rolled around. Not this year. I had NO IDEA how much work this project was! The good news is that it's traditionally a much anticipated, very well received kind of ordeal, which makes it worth it. The bad news is that I've already read the thing cover to cover (to cover) and wow, my eyeballs hurt. 

But I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the heck out of all of this. Sure, I'm stressed out and tired, but you guys! I get paid to write and edit! Sometimes I still don't believe that. It's easier to believe, though, now that I just got honest to goodness business cards proclaiming my status as a news writer. Totally cool, but I still haven't forgotten when this happened. Well, we'll just keep our fingers crossed on that front, I guess.

With all that's been going on at work, once I get home, I'm pretty much couch-bound. I'm tired of people, I'm tired of reading, I'm tired of writing, I'm tired of everything. Therefore, the house is kind of a wreck. I don't want to complain, but Skilly is a TERRIBLE housekeeper.

You can add a whole string of good intentions here, but until that special section is put to bed, I'm not sure how successful I'll actually be. I just shrugged my shoulders. I guess I'm okay with that.

Abby update:
Abby entered the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) high school essay contest in January, and her essay took District... and then State (made up of 37 districts)... and then Regionals (made up of 7 states). Now her essay has been submitted to Nationals. We thought that the DAR picked up the tab if you won so you could go to the National Convention in Washington, D.C., to read your essay, but it turns out they do not. So you know what? That takes some pressure off choosing where we're going for our vacation this summer--we've been trying to decide if we want to explore Northern California or just go to D.C. whether she wins or not. California it is! (Tab as in Abby's tab, by the way. Why would they pay for ours?)

Also: She got another college letter on Saturday from Westminster College in Salt Lake City--a liberal arts college, which is a nice change of pace from all the other ones she's been getting focusing on the medical field. She wants to stay in Oregon, though, unless by some miracle she can get the funding for Santa Clara, so it doesn't really matter anyway.

Johanna update:
Johanna decided after last softball season that the sport was not her thing. Thank God! Softball is so incredibly boring. So this year she's trying lacrosse. Our neighbor plays, and her mother assured us that fourth grade was the perfect time to learn. Practice begins in April. Jo has been getting used to her stick (and mouthguard. And goggles) and seems excited.

Anything will be better than softball. Let's do this.

And! The girls were on Spring Break last week, which mostly meant they stayed home and worked on various projects. One was tie-dye. I came home on Thursday to a very disgusted Johanna, who was rambling on about how Abby laughed at her but wouldn't let her change it until I saw it. THIS is what she was talking about:

So much awesome!

She ended up making the I into an A shortly after I got home, but wow, you guys, I kind of wish she'd have kept it as is.

Eric update:
Eric decided this month to sell the play structure he made out of used decking material and an old pool slide about 11 years ago. Well, he did purchase new beams and swings and stuff, I guess, but anyway, I thought he was crazy when he listed it for $125. And as it turned out, someone actually bought it for his asking price.

Um, okay.

Now that the play structure is gone, he's making the girls a basketball court. I think really it's that he's afraid to sit down...

Project 333 update:
March 31 marks the end of the winter cycle, and, while I thought at first I didn't really care if I switched out items or not, I've decided that I'd like to swap some sweaters for some of my pretty, warmer weather shirts. About mid-month I brought it a couple tanks and a pair of capris (all from storage), and that really perked up my entire wardrobe... and brought my total to 33 again. Strangely, nothing made it into the donation pile. Maybe I've finally whittled my wardrobe down enough?

Um, but then I happened upon a pair of gorgeous, long black capris (fun fact: I thought they were capris until I looked more closely at the tag, and it turns out they were a pair of ankle-length regular pants. Ah, well. They're the longest capris I've ever owned!) and the perfect little black dress, so I'm ending the month at 35.

This is technically NOT how P333 is run, this willy-nilly editing, but I've been doing this now for a year and a half and I figure I can bend the rules however I want at this point. My closet is tiny. I don't think it matters what and/or when I swap. I've learned my lesson, yo.

I'm kind of excited.

Lent update:
I have totally failed this Lent, you guys, and that makes me sad in my heart. I haven't eaten a lot of things over the 4-ingredient limit (I've had a couple of chocolate bars, okay?), but I have eaten some things that push the line between processed and non processed. Um, like chips. Yes, they're organic, and yes, they have three ingredients, but chips are a definite factory food. And I've plowed through a couple bags this month.

The problem has been that, as my work schedule got crazier and crazier, I got lax. The focus just wasn't there sometimes. And then there's the issue of how I use food to medicate myself when I get stressed (not a great realization to acknowledge), and, when I'm eating my lunch at my desk for the fourth day in a row, I want comfort food. I want sweet and salty. Which is why I've also been chain-popping (kind of like chain smoking, get it?) these mints:

I love you.

They're NOT hot, but they are kind of cinnamon-y, and I dearly miss cinnamon-flavored anything. Plus three ingredients (again). It's a sugar kick, basically, that takes my mind off how tired I am.

In an attempt to make myself feel better about how badly I suck, I will now tell you how much I hate celery and carrots. Answer: A LOT. Is an 85-percent success rate okay? Please say it's okay...

In other news, I'm going to end this week strong. I've got a crap-load of salad veggies, I've got my all-natural poser bakery bread, and I have fresh resolve.

Just keep me the hell away from those mints.

Light update:

My January project of culling my food stores and my February project of morning yoga continue. Both are mainly just about mindfulness and trying to create new habits, which is sometimes easier said than done.

So this month's project of cleaning out my reading retreat (read here) turned out to be a nice change of pace. It was pretty mindless and the results were pretty great. I can actually see the floor and the desk area, so yay!

After giving it some thought, I've decided to attempt a Light Technology month in April. You guys, I'm addicted to Hay Day and Tumblr, and when I'm bored, I'll search around the internets reading stupid articles just to pass the time. I can't even eat a meal without a device.

So: No electronics at mealtimes. That alone is going to kill me, but let's add a time limit of an hour, too, just for kicks.

I can't say I'm particularly looking forward to this one, but I think it's necessary and also, what the heck, let's see if I can do this. Only I should have made this February's project 'cause that was a short month. ;)