How Many Days In This Month?

Thirty days hath September

April, June, and November

Twenty-eight and Feb is done

All the rest have thirty-one!

Marital Accord

OK this is what used to happen whenever my husband and I would plan to go out.

The Scene: Saturday afternoon. We're going out, and I want to leave at 6:00.

4:30
I start to get ready. (Hey, I like to take my time - trust me, it shows...)
I start in on him. "Michael, don't forget we're going out..."
"Honey, shouldn't you start getting ready?"
"Michael, we have reservations for 6:30... We have to leave here at 6:00 or we'll be late..."

5:20
He can't take it anymore.

5:30
He's dressed. (Men!!) Sitting on the couch looking uncomfortable as hell, but very nice. Now I have to change my tune.
"Michael! Don't play with that dog -- he's getting hair all over you!"
(My husband was a saint, in case that isn't obvious to you yet...)

6:10
I'm ready to go (shut up)

Now HE starts. All of a sudden, like it just came up, he has to run around the house checking all the doors to make sure they're locked, has to check and make sure the dog has water and food, where's his cigarettes....

gggrrrrr

So, in the interest of marital accord, this was our solution.

We agreed on the time that we would be "pulling down the driveway"

We will be In The Car Pulling Down The Driveway at 6:00 - agreed?

and then we politely ignored each other until then.

It worked very well, and made the rest of the evening much more pleasant!




my stars, how I miss him....

This Is Funny!

First Fellow: "I think I'm going to have to get a divorce."
Second Fellow: "Why?!"
First Fellow: "My wife hasn't spoken to me in two months!"
Second Fellow: Pause. "Well, you'd better think about that. Women like that are hard to find..."

Ode To Baking Soda

Baking Soda ROCKS, people!

Here are some uses for the stuff when you take it out of your fridge. Put it in an old jelly jar and keep it handy so you can :

• Sprinkle it like cleanser to clean the sink (kitchen And bathroom - tub, too!)
• Pour a little vinegar in your toilet, then sprinkle some baking soda - when it stops fizzing scrub as usual
• Sprinkle a little to absorb grease in a pan instead of pouring the grease down the drain or in a can
• Sprinkle some in the bottom of your kitchen garbage can. It will absorb the smell and anything that leaks out of the bag, making it easier to clean out.
• It takes the sour out of sponges. Wet the sponge, sprinkle some soda on it and rub it around and let it set for a bit - rinse it off - voila!
• It takes the gunk off the bottom of your pans - even if it has been there forever. Something about the pH or something, I don't know, but - it works
  
  

Check back on this list - I will add to it often!

Housekeeping Tips

• When making the bed, put on two diagonal corners of the bottom sheet first. The other two will go on easily!
  
  
• If you ever need to iron your sheets, fold them in half or in quarters first. That cuts ironing time in half or quarters, too!
  
  
• Iron two pillowcases, napkins or handkerchiefs at a time by stacking one on top of the other
  
  
• Put a piece of aluminum foil between your ironing board and the ironing board cover - your clothes will iron faster
  
  
• If you use a clothesline, be sure to shake out your clothes first before hanging. Shake out and form up your shirts before hanging, too - you can "snap" most of the wrinkles out of the collar and arms and cuffs by pulling on them smartly and cut down on ironing time!
  

How To Deal With Those Telemarketers

Here's a good way to deal with telemarketers and cold-callers the next time you get one :

Keep in mind that :

• Those people are working
• They are trying to make a living, maybe even working for themselves like me
• They are not sitting on their couches, waiting for Obama to pay their utility bills and mortgages

At the very least, they deserve common courtesy and civility

At best, they deserve the chance to tell you why they are taking their time to talk to you. Remember that when the chips are down and people start really turning the wheels in their minds they come out with all kinds of ingenious products and services that save others time and money, and that folks doing for themselves are the backbone of our country

This is America, people - we help and respect each other here, right?

As the television is always reminding us, these are tough times, and we all have to stick together

Let's give each other a break -- and a helping hand, a civil tongue and an open mind

I think those simple little things go further today than they ever have before

Getting Everything In Every Day

I just published an article in my OpenZine called, "Getting Everything In Every Day"

You can read it here : http://www.openzine.com/ThisWillWork
in the first issue of MYOB

It says that instead of focusing on the things that need to be done every day we should focus on the types of things that our business needs us to do in order to thrive and prosper. If we do that we always work smarter, not harder!


Would love to hear your comments on my ideas!

Setting Realistic Expectations With People (Friends)

Ever notice how sometimes relationships, friendships, change over time, and how they can get very strained or become such a chore or an effort to work at?

I have a theory about that. I think part of it is that we as people have needs, and we look to our "people" to fulfill those needs, which I think is very natural. However, sometimes the needs we have at that time cannot be fulfilled by those certain people, and that can cause things to get strained.

For example, personally I am not really very good with kids. I never had any myself and was never around them day-to-day, so I tend to be a little ill-at-ease with them. I'm not sure how to relate to them mentally, and they make a lot of noise and are always runnin' around and stuff - - not my scene *LoL*

Now, if a friend of mine expected me to watch their kids, or sit down and spend time with their kids when I went to visit her, they would quickly become irritated and disappointed with me, and our relationship would probably become strained even if it was very solid on other fronts.

Part of that is that their expectations are unrealistic. They want something of me that is not within me to give. I have other talents, and will do lots and lots of other things for them, but I really am not the friend that they should come to if they need a babysitter.

Part of that could also be that they are trying to use one friend to fulfill multiple needs without thinking about what types of things that friend Can and Wants to give.

I bet if we looked at our strained relationships in this light, asking ourselves, "Really, what need am I looking to this person to fulfill for me, and is this person even capable, much less willing, to do that?" we might be surprised to find that really the solution to the tension could be something as simple as setting realistic expectations of that person, and making sure that our needs are taken care of by the person in our circle who is capable and willing to help us with that, or by learning to do it ourselves, or even by using that recognition of that need as an initiative to widen our social circle!

If someone is incapable, or unwilling, to do something for me, I don't think less of them or get mad at them because of it. If it's something that I really, really need and that they are Capable of giving me but are Unwilling to give it, I definitely resent them for it no doubt, and that becomes a decision point in the relationship, but if they are really just not that kind of person or don't have it in them I try to just accept the fact and focus on the things that I do like about them. I find this simple technique has brought me much peace of mind and taken away a lot of my stress, and I hope it does for you, too.

Try it - this will work . . .

My First Website - GK Fun Trips!

My First very own website that I made from scratch!

www.GKFunTrips.com

yep . . . started with a blank white screen . . .

what do you think of it?

Jeepers, This Is Tough!

I've thought about blogging for some time now. Everybody told me I should do it, for lots of reasons, and I think I'm finally ready to "blog". I'm just getting into the whole "social networking" thing, plus I'm making a number of changes to my habits. I'm dedicating myself to working Smarter not Harder and focusing on becoming more disciplined in my approach to my work. Blogging will be good for me because I feel like I have a lot of things I want to write down and share, and because I want to have the discipline it will take to do this and do it well...

So I've been thinking about blogging lately, and have even queued up some things in my mind to blog. However... Now that I'm sitting here in front of this big blank white box ... I'm realizing, jeepers - this is tough! *LoL*

It's all right - - it will come to me. The more I do it, the easier it will get. I've done the hard part, which is taking the first step! I've gotten this one set up, and this is the first blogpost. Even though it's filled with drivel I now have two accomplishments to stand on: I have set it up, and I have posted.

More will come....

sheesh... this wasn't so tough after all!