Is it Friday Yet?

Dear Friends and Family,

This week, I will not make a lot of progress on the to do list.

I'm still sick. P is still sick. Mr. mouse is getting sick. We have friends in town. Mr. mouse has a late night on Tuesday. He's got an early morning and a late night on Wednesday. We have a birthday party on Thursday and a family picnic at school on Friday. The Olympics are on.

And, that's why I won't make a lot of progress on much else. And, I'm perfectly okay with that.


Cheers!
mouse

07.30.12: Friends in Town

Dear Friends and Family,

Where to begin?

I picked P up early on Friday and she and I ran a bunch of errands together. It was fun, but by the time we got home, she was dragging. Girlfriend still needs her nap.

We picked up library books, including Bread and Jam for Frances, which P was dying to read. We got a library card for P. She was so happy to get one with her name on it. We went to the toy store to pick up a present for her friend. We also picked up sidewalk chalk for P. We went to the supermarket to get milk and got cookies and chicken as well. We came home and drew on the sidewalk and read the book and then P went down for her nap.

We watched the Olympics when she woke up. We had dinner. Our friends got in. Mr. mouse came home. And, although it was close to eleven when P fell asleep, I think she had a fun day. I had a lot of fun spending time with her.

Saturday, I lost my voice. (I've been sick for close to a week now.) The day was a blur of house cleaning and diner and deck and dinner. I think I napped, too, to try and break the cold.

Sunday, I still had no voice. We watched the F1 race. We watched the Olympics. I napped. We had oysters and salmon for dinner. We had ice cream for dessert. I think I napped. I slept early, to try and break the cold.

Monday, I still have no voice.

Oh. I almost forgot. Saturday night, we tried making soap. It's curing and sometime in October I will know if we were successful. It's all a little freaky with the chemical reactions and everything. But, I'm excited to see how it turns out. Fortunately, outside of some noxious fumes, we didn't blow anything up. Note to everyone out there thinking about this: measure super carefully and remember add lye to water not water to lye.


Cheers!
mouse

Goal: 52 Things Will Leave the Mouse Pad Update

Dear Friends and Family,

I am going to try and have 52 things meaningfully leave the mouse pad this year. What do I mean by meaningfully? No, it doesn't mean I'm giving away things loaded with meaning. It means it's purposeful decisions to remove something that has found a home in our home. In other words, clearing out old bananas doesn't count, they never found a home. Clearing out old toys counts since they would linger in the basement given no active actions on our parts.

The List (most recent departures listed first):

1. My college graduation gift from my parents. Actually, it might also have been a house warming gift from my parents for my new apartment, my first home outside of theirs. Sounds like something you should keep forever, doesn't it? Except, it's a 27" tube TV that we no longer watch. We finally recycled it this weekend when our friends were over, since we could fit it in their truck.
2. I don't even know where to begin. It started this morning, when I went upstairs to put the floss away and I realized the area under our sink was a disaster. First, there were the seven plastic bins, packed with stuff, piled up to the top of the cabinet, three on one side of the sink and four on the other side of the sink. Then, there was stuff wedged on top of the bins and piled all around the bins. I can't count each individually or this list would grow well beyond the 52 goal, but it seems like it should count for more than one entry. I know, I'll count it by the bagful of junk I threw out. The first bag was filled with expired stuff like sunscreen and eye drops.
3. The second bag was filled with stuff we don't use anymore like (expired) rubbing alcohol and hydrogen peroxide.
4. The third bag was junk junk like plastic bags, leaking mouthwash, empty containers. And, what's left looks so much better. Three plastic bins on the left (from bottom to top): teeth, first aid, travel. And, on the right hand side: bathroom supplies, more unopened supplies, and more unopened supplies. In the middle? One open bin with the remaining partially used, not expired, still useful supplies, like sunscreen and bug spray and lotion.
5. burp cloths... Ask me why it was so difficult letting these go and I will not be able to give you a good answer. They were piled on P's dresser. I internally debated giving them to my sister. I kept them in March. This time, I bit the bullet and put them in the bag for my sister. I kept 4. I gave her 8.
6. diaper bag... This one is comical because my sister gave me the diaper bag when we were expecting P. Now that P is potty trained, we've been using a smaller bag. And, even if it was from my sister, I put it in the bag for her.
7. random pile of stuff on the stairs to the deck: put the gardening tools and extension cord back in the garage, put the slippers with the other slippers, brought down an anonymous faucet head for Mr. mouse to assess, left the flashlight, and last but not least, threw out a pair of old shoes and a bag of rusty nails.
8. What do you call an old swimsuit missing one underwire? Junk, that's what you call it.
9. We've got friends coming over in a couple of weeks. Nothing like company to motivate a little clean up - especially of the basement where they'll be sleeping. It was also a good time to do a sweep of the basement for stuff for my sister. Looking at the baby stuff, I started sorting it into three piles... one small pile to keep, one small pile to give to my sister, and one large pile to throw away. In the toss column: 2 old breast pumps and one box.
10. Also in the toss column was a peg toy we inherited, but it's missing pegs.
11. toy: set of giant pipe cleaners
12. junk: Halloween themed cup and five empty boxes
13. baby gear: two booster seats
14. book: Cooking for Baby
15. toy: toy computer
16. toy: baby animal puzzle
17. toy: bird house with four plush birds
18. toy: Mega Blocks table and blocks
19. junk: 4 planters, 1 watering can
20. useful, just not for us: 1 hose reel, 2 hoses
21. useful, just not for us: P's toddler pool
22. junk: 2 rusty lounge chairs, 1 stool
23. junk: 4 solar lights that no longer light
24. junk: a bucket and a lid
25. useful, just not for us: a basket
26. books: Gone with the Wind, Brave New World
27. toy: Mr. Potato Head MLB edition
28. baby gear: the Boppy
29. odds and ends: new drawer used for kitchen towels
30. odds and ends: guest bathroom counter
31. useful, just not for us: crock pot
32. useful, just not for us: hurricane with almond candle
33. junk: old bath salts and perfumes
34. baby gear: foam roll
35. baby gear: 256 2 oz breast milk storage containers
36. toy: truck (combo riding and push toy)
37. toy: dog security blanket
38. toy: battery-operated toy train
39. toy: stacking pyramids
40. toy: hammer and eight nails
41. useful, just not for us: cane

We'll see if I can get to 52 this year. I'm cautiously optimistic.


Cheers!
mouse

Goal: 52 Things Will Leave the Mouse Pad Update

Dear Friends and Family,

I am going to try and have 52 things meaningfully leave the mouse pad this year. What do I mean by meaningfully? No, it doesn't mean I'm giving away things loaded with meaning. It means it's purposeful decisions to remove something that has found a home in our home. In other words, clearing out old bananas doesn't count, they never found a home. Clearing out old toys counts since they would linger in the basement given no active actions on our parts.

The List (most recent departures listed first):

1. I don't even know where to begin. It started this morning, when I went upstairs to put the floss away and I realized the area under our sink was a disaster. First, there were the seven plastic bins, packed with stuff, piled up to the top of the cabinet, three on one side of the sink and four on the other side of the sink. Then, there was stuff wedged on top of the bins and piled all around the bins. I can't count each individually or this list would grow well beyond the 52 goal, but it seems like it should count for more than one entry. I know, I'll count it by the bagful of junk I threw out. The first bag was filled with expired stuff like sunscreen and eye drops.
2. The second bag was filled with stuff we don't use anymore like (expired) rubbing alcohol and hydrogen peroxide.
3. The third bag was junk junk like plastic bags, leaking mouthwash, empty containers. And, what's left looks so much better. Three plastic bins on the left (from bottom to top): teeth, first aid, travel. And, on the right hand side: bathroom supplies, more unopened supplies, and more unopened supplies. In the middle? One open bin with the remaining partially used, not expired, still useful supplies, like sunscreen and bug spray and lotion.
4. burp cloths... Ask me why it was so difficult letting these go and I will not be able to give you a good answer. They were piled on P's dresser. I internally debated giving them to my sister. I kept them in March. This time, I bit the bullet and put them in the bag for my sister. I kept 4. I gave her 8.
5. diaper bag... This one is comical because my sister gave me the diaper bag when we were expecting P. Now that P is potty trained, we've been using a smaller bag. And, even if it was from my sister, I put it in the bag for her.
6. random pile of stuff on the stairs to the deck: put the gardening tools and extension cord back in the garage, put the slippers with the other slippers, brought down an anonymous faucet head for Mr. mouse to assess, left the flashlight, and last but not least, threw out a pair of old shoes and a bag of rusty nails.
7. What do you call an old swimsuit missing one underwire? Junk, that's what you call it.
8. We've got friends coming over in a couple of weeks. Nothing like company to motivate a little clean up - especially of the basement where they'll be sleeping. It was also a good time to do a sweep of the basement for stuff for my sister. Looking at the baby stuff, I started sorting it into three piles... one small pile to keep, one small pile to give to my sister, and one large pile to throw away. In the toss column: 2 old breast pumps and one box.
9. Also in the toss column was a peg toy we inherited, but it's missing pegs.
10. Next in the toss column was a set of giant pipe cleaners that P never really grew fond of.
11. junk: Halloween themed cup and five empty boxes
12. baby gear: two booster seats
13. book: Cooking for Baby
14. toy: toy computer
15. toy: baby animal puzzle
16. toy: bird house with four plush birds
17. toy: Mega Blocks table and blocks
18. junk: 4 planters, 1 watering can
19. useful, just not for us: 1 hose reel, 2 hoses
20. useful, just not for us: P's toddler pool
21. junk: 2 rusty lounge chairs, 1 stool
22. junk: 4 solar lights that no longer light
23. junk: a bucket and a lid
24. useful, just not for us: a basket
25. books: Gone with the Wind, Brave New World
26. toy: Mr. Potato Head MLB edition
27. baby gear: the Boppy
28. odds and ends: new drawer used for kitchen towels
29. odds and ends: guest bathroom counter
30. useful, just not for us: crock pot
31. useful, just not for us: hurricane with almond candle
32. junk: old bath salts and perfumes
33. baby gear: foam roll
34. baby gear: 256 2 oz breast milk storage containers
35. toy: truck (combo riding and push toy)
36. toy: dog security blanket
37. toy: battery-operated toy train
38. toy: stacking pyramids
39. toy: hammer and eight nails
40. useful, just not for us: cane

We'll see if I can get to 52 this year. I'm cautiously optimistic.


Cheers!
mouse

Found! National Geographic Guide to the National Parks of the United States, Perfect

Dear Friends and Family,

I went down to the basement to see if it was in a state of complete disrepair since our friends will be coming over tonight instead of tomorrow. Fortunately, it isn't.

Then I started looking at books and thought about how some books are a waste of space. There are the books my Dad gave me that I haven't been inspired to read in over a decade. There are the books we've read once and then shelved. There are books that have pretty pictures. There are travel books which fortunately we've stopped accumulating.

And, that's just the first two shelves!

Then, I stumbled across a book I didn't even know we owned. It's from 2003 so it's almost a decade old. But, it's just the book I'm interested in right now. Why? Because we've been discussing a trip out to the National Parks but hadn't come across any good resources for inspiration.

This book is organized by geography. It's got maps and pretty pictures and day hikes and excursions and it's perfect for planning a trip.

Granted it's almost 10 years old. But, hopefully, parks aren't changing that quickly. And, we can always get deeper into the research once we get closer to the trip. But, it's just the right thing to get us started.

I'm so excited. Happy Friday.


Cheers!
mouse

Is it Friday Yet?

Dear Friends and Family,

Is it Friday yet? Because I really want it to be Friday. Sigh. It's not Friday yet.

I don't think it's a good thing when work is that demotivating. Also, I'm a little sad. Two friends left to go to school. One friend is leaving to New Jersey. Several friends left in 2008, 2009 and 2010. And, that leaves me, with no real friends at work. It's a lonely place. There are people I could be friends with, but I think it comes down to a matter of trust. I don't trust them enough to be friends with them. And, I don't trust that they'll be there long enough for me to justify being true friends with them. It's, sadly, not worth the investment.

So, I focus on my home life. I told a colleague that if you average good and great and great and great, it's still a perfectly fine place to be. It's just it's a lonely place to be.

I've been giving some more thought to this get the house in order thing. There's a certain satisfaction to being done with a room. I think I need a master plan. I think I'm going to try laying out what activities we do in each room, what things we need to do those activities, what things need storage and that's the room that gets assigned storage, and then I can go room by room and figure this out.

For instance, our bedroom, that's where we sleep and get dressed and I read P books before she goes to her room to read with Mr. mouse. That means this is the room where we should have our bed, our clothes, and a place to put some books and a glass of milk. But, it definitely doesn't make sense to keep kitchen tongs in the room (in a bin under our bed from when we moved here over five years ago) and it's not a logical place for our phone charger either (which really should go with keys and wallet, in my mind).

This could be a mind-freeing exercise. The next logical step would be to match reality to the paper and see where the biggest gaps are. Then, then, then... I'm looking forward to September 2013.


Cheers!
mouse

My Life on an 8.5 x 11 Inch Sheet of Paper

Dear Friends and Family,

First, let me write that it's a beautiful dawn outside this morning. The lighting has that surreal quality I love. I'm tempted to go outside and write except the battery on this computer is useless at best.

Back to reality.

My life can be squeezed on to an 8.5 x 11 inch sheet of paper. If it can't, that's a sign. It's a sign that it's overwhelming because I can't really handle more than that, realistically speaking.

Speaking of said 8.5 x 11 inch sheet of paper. It's now got a sixth column... School plans. If we're serious about looking at programs for P for next year, then we need to be serious about plotting out the next 12 months and what each school requires us to do. Sadly, we may end up doing this all over again the following year, but I refuse to think about that.

For now, I'll add what I know and then we'll continue to modify as we go.

Did I mention how beautiful the light is?

My six columns?

1. Time Sensitive: This is stuff that needs to happen on a particular day or it loses all value of being done, like going to a friend's birthday party. We're not really doing that on our schedule. I like to keep about three weeks worth on this column.
2. The Nows: This has the traditional to do list with things like return the extra dolls to Amazon, get a birthday present for P's friend, and pick up my glasses. It also has my focus items for the month like backpack for P.
3. The Laters: Now binned into three buckets. The first is a peek at what's queued for September (I change that frequently). And, a "takes time" bucket and a "takes money" bucket. These lists are getting long, but I figure it's better to track it than to forget about it.
4. The Idea: This is my to do list for my idea. Hey, isn't part of my idea getting someone else to make this list go away?!?!
5. School Plans: This list is still empty, but now it has a placeholder in my life.
6. Travel Plans: This captures upcoming trips with notes on which tickets still need to be booked.

My life on an 8.5 x 11 inch sheet of paper.

I'm glad I took the time to watch the sunrise. After all, that's really what life is about.


Cheers!
mouse

Looking Forward to September 2013

Dear Friends and Family,

I know. It's over a year away. But, I'm looking forward to it nonetheless.

Hopefully, by then, P will be in school. I will be working on my idea. And, we will be done with the craziness that has been our current commuting schedule.

It's gotten bad.

Honestly, I think I need a sabbatical. I know, I sound spoiled. But, honestly, the ability to take a year off and focus on something outside of work sounds so heavenly. And, I won't be taking a sabbatical in the true sense of the word. I won't be focused just on me. I'll still be taking care of P and I've got a bunch of house projects lined up and I'll be working on my idea.

I think as I get closer, I may begin thinking about what my day's routine will look like in this new world. For now, I'm just looking forward to it.


Cheers!
mouse

07.23.12: Jealous P

Dear Friends and Family,

We went out for a quick trip to see my sister and her husband and their new baby.

P was excited about seeing the baby. She was excited about giving him lots of baby things that she was done with.

It turns out P was not at all excited about having her parents hold the baby or talk to the baby or look at the baby. I can see why. She's used to having her parents somewhat undivided attention. She's used to us looking at her and talking to her. And, with the baby, there's times where you're focused on it and she's watching you not watching her.

Jealous and sad, that was P.

She didn't say anything. I don't think she has the words to describe it all. I gave her tons of hugs to make up for it, and I think it gave me the answer I somewhat needed. There are three in our family.

Sunday, when we got home, I gave P a gummy bear. In the middle of eating it, she said she needed to go potty so I took her to the bathroom. She peed. She wiped. She was leaning over the toilet to watch the toilet paper "get all messy" when I heard a plop followed quickly by a wail. In her distraction, her gummy bear fell out of her mouth and into the toilet.

She cried and cried and cried and sobbed out the words, I dropped my gummy into the potty (or maybe it was my gummy fell into the potty). I tried not to laugh. I held her and let her cry it out and then offered her a fruit jelly which consoled her.

Also on Sunday, we gave P her doll. She was super excited about getting a doll. But, when she got it, there was only one word for it. Disappointed.

She wanted a doll for a three-year-old. I'm not sure what that is. She wanted a bald doll. She wanted a Caucasian doll.

I was having so much trouble not laughing.

We may end up getting a hat. We may end up getting another doll. We'll see.

Friends coming in town this weekend. Deck table assembled. Check. Kitchen island cleared. Check. Basement prep left to do.


Cheers!
mouse

Goal: 52 Things Will Leave the Mouse Pad Update

Dear Friends and Family,

I am going to try and have 52 things meaningfully leave the mouse pad this year. What do I mean by meaningfully? No, it doesn't mean I'm giving away things loaded with meaning. It means it's purposeful decisions to remove something that has found a home in our home. In other words, clearing out old bananas doesn't count, they never found a home. Clearing out old toys counts since they would linger in the basement given no active actions on our parts.

The List (most recent departures listed first):

1. burp cloths... Ask me why it was so difficult letting these go and I will not be able to give you a good answer. They were piled on P's dresser. I internally debated giving them to my sister. I kept them in March. This time, I bit the bullet and put them in the bag for my sister. I kept 4. I gave her 8.
2. diaper bag... This one is comical because my sister gave me the diaper bag when we were expecting P. Now that P is potty trained, we've been using a smaller bag. And, even if it was from my sister, I put it in the bag for her.
3. random pile of stuff on the stairs to the deck: put the gardening tools and extension cord back in the garage, put the slippers with the other slippers, brought down an anonymous faucet head for Mr. mouse to assess, left the flashlight, and last but not least, threw out a pair of old shoes and a bag of rusty nails.
4. What do you call an old swimsuit missing one underwire? Junk, that's what you call it.
5. We've got friends coming over in a couple of weeks. Nothing like company to motivate a little clean up - especially of the basement where they'll be sleeping. It was also a good time to do a sweep of the basement for stuff for my sister. Looking at the baby stuff, I started sorting it into three piles... one small pile to keep, one small pile to give to my sister, and one large pile to throw away. In the toss column: 2 old breast pumps and one box.
6. Also in the toss column was a peg toy we inherited, but it's missing pegs.
7. Next in the toss column was a set of giant pipe cleaners that P never really grew fond of.
8. And, to round out the toss pile were a random Halloween themed cup and five empty boxes.
9. For my sister? two booster seats
10. book: Cooking for Baby
11. toy: toy computer
12. toy: baby animal puzzle
13. toy: bird house with four plush birds
14. toy: Mega Blocks table and blocks
15. junk: 4 planters, 1 watering can
16. useful, just not for us: 1 hose reel, 2 hoses
17. useful, just not for us: P's toddler pool
18. junk: 2 rusty lounge chairs, 1 stool
19. junk: 4 solar lights that no longer light
20. junk: a bucket and a lid
21. useful, just not for us: a basket
22. books: Gone with the Wind, Brave New World
23. toy: Mr. Potato Head MLB edition
24. baby gear: the Boppy
25. odds and ends: new drawer used for kitchen towels
26. odds and ends: guest bathroom counter
27. useful, just not for us: crock pot
28. useful, just not for us: hurricane with almond candle
29. junk: old bath salts and perfumes
30. baby gear: foam roll
31. baby gear: 256 2 oz breast milk storage containers
32. toy: truck (combo riding and push toy)
33. toy: dog security blanket
34. toy: battery-operated toy train
35. toy: stacking pyramids
36. toy: hammer and eight nails
37. useful, just not for us: cane

We'll see if I can get to 52 this year. I'm cautiously optimistic.


Cheers!
mouse

Boxes, Boxes, More Boxes

Dear Friends and Family,

It was like Christmas in July when Mr. mouse drove home yesterday.

He had the deck table strapped to his roof. He had soap making ingredients. He had a soap mold (which I am returning because it's not quite the size I wanted, I found a container at home that will work just fine, it's one fewer thing in the house, and I don't spend $14 to boot). He had a CD he ordered. He had my vitamins. And, P discovered a box of dolls we are going to return.

She was giddy about the dolls in a coy way. We explained that we are returning those and that there is a doll in the house for her, but that we still need to buy clothes for the doll. She was cool with it.

I think we'll try to assemble the deck table this weekend. And, organize the basement as well since we have friends coming over next weekend.

I'll write about the soap if it turns out to be a success.


Cheers!
mouse

Old To Dos Creeping Back on to the Yeah, Right List

Dear Friends and Family,

Just when my brain thought I was making progress on my to do list, it decided to go and remember more low urgency things that are important to me.

I decided to add them to the to do list recognizing it's more about the journey than it is about ever getting to an empty list.

What got added?

Let's see. On the more immediate list since it's back to school is a new lunch bag for P and a new backpack for P. Those will be my "August focus" along with finishing P's baby journal. Photos on order. Assembly required. And, then, Mr. mouse and I have to add our thoughts to the pages that are filled in with semi-diligence over the past three years.

Then, the longer term list got broken into two section. Takes time. Takes money.

Takes Time

• annual exam
• eye doctor (for P)
• hang P's growth chart
• find a money market account with decent returns
• retirement review with Mr. mouse
• new garbage disposer, ours is broken
• wedding video
• set up a will/trust

And, new to the list

• 1 year old book
• 2 year old book
• art scrapbook
• safety deposit box

Takes Money

• new air conditioner
• new car
• fix Mr. mouse's watch
• new wedding band for Mr. mouse

I think I'll continue to put together a focus list for the month and if I sign up for one thing or multiple things, it's still progress.

August will be a busy month. That's why I only signed up for one thing outside of the new bags.

I'm very happy with myself even if I have a full list for the remainder of July.


Cheers!
mouse

New Filing System

Dear Friends and Family,

I'm sorry. Life, when simplified, can be a little boring.

I spent yesterday's drive thinking about how to continue the uncluttering process.

Do I continue haphazardly? Do I focus on a single room? Do I go for big things? Little things? Things hiding? Things hiding in plain sight?

See? Yawn.

I guess I'll continue haphazardly for now until a better plan presents itself.

Oh, but wait, I can share a nugget of inspiration.

I have a new filing system. Yep.

What's our current filing system?

We file everything by topic. American Express bills in one folder. Water bills in another. Medical stuff in a third. Etc.

Then, every year or thereabouts, we go through some of the folders and throw out old papers. The ones we forget to go through pile up like little monsters and then breed more papers.

New system?

First sort will be keep forever or keep for now. What's a keep forever? It could be the test results from a doctor's visit. It could be a password for logging onto a retirement account. It could be tax returns. Keep forever. What's keep for now? Everything else.

Then, the keep forever papers get sorted by topic and filed. These should be few and far between. Everything else gets sorted by time. Q2 2012. Then, when the time comes to shred, I can grab the folder and shred away. There's no going through folder by folder to get the old stuff - reassessing as I go. There's no skipping folders because they've grown too big. There's no thinking at that point. Just grab and shred.

Now, the one risk I run is that I need a paper in the keep for now pile. Well, it's there, but it may take a little longer to find. Now, the chances of needing a paper? Slim. That's why it's a risk worth taking.


Cheers!
mouse

Tuesdays...

Dear Friends and Family,

It's Tuesday. P's got water days at school. I've got a refreshed to do list and an early morning meeting. And, that means inspiration will be in short supply this morning.

Happy Tuesday!


Cheers!
mouse

07.16.12: Half Way Point

Dear Friends and Family,

We're halfway through July.

Yep. In the flurry of taming the to do list and getting through the heat, we're halfway though July.

After the self-imposed solitude of the last month, the latter part of July reintroduces the concept of time with friends and family.

We're going to see my sister and her husband and their new baby. We're going to have dessert with my best friend from childhood. We're going to have friends in town for their annual summer visit.

And, we're going to try making soap. And, we're going to try some new restaurants. And, we're going to watch another auto race. And, life will be good.

In the mean time, new items will creep onto our list... my annual exam, P's eye exam, a new lunch box for P, and I'm sure a couple of additional things that aren't even on my radar.

But, still I'm excited. I'm excited to have time for social activities. I'm excited to feel like I made some progress on my to do list. I'm excited to be enjoying life.

What'd we do this weekend? We did the usual housecleaning, library, dry cleaning, manicure combo of activities.

We had our annual eye exam and my eyes got better, Mr. mouse's got better, but with an asterisk.

We went on a minor league baseball game play date. P had fun. We had fun. The other parents enjoyed it enough to say we should do it again.

We ordered photos for P's baby journal. And, although I would have preferred matte and Mr. mouse would have preferred to color process each photo and find a better one for himself, I'm glad we ordered them. I'm putting them into the journal with corners so if we ever get motivated, we can always improve. But, for now, glossy photos with marginal imperfections is better than blank pages.

We got the ipod to synch. And, we got the printer to print.

I've already queued up August. I'm not going to get overly ambitious with August. I'd like to finish up the baby journal once the photos arrive. Second on the list, P needs a new lunch bag and now's the "season" to buy one. And, last on the list, P wants a new travel bag and now's the "season" to buy one of those too.

I'm also thinking about re-categorizing my "whenever" list and "yeah, right" list into a "takes time" list and "takes money" list. The stuff that's left seems to fall more into those two buckets anyway.


Cheers!
mouse

Goal: 52 Things Will Leave the Mouse Pad Update

Dear Friends and Family,

I am going to try and have 52 things meaningfully leave the mouse pad this year. What do I mean by meaningfully? No, it doesn't mean I'm giving away things loaded with meaning. It means it's purposeful decisions to remove something that has found a home in our home. In other words, clearing out old bananas doesn't count, they never found a home. Clearing out old toys counts since they would linger in the basement given no active actions on our parts.

The List (most recent departures listed first):

1. random pile of stuff on the stairs to the deck: put the gardening tools and extension cord back in the garage, put the slippers with the other slippers, brought down an anonymous faucet head for Mr. mouse to assess, left the flashlight, and last but not least, threw out a pair of old shoes and a bag of rusty nails.
2. What do you call an old swimsuit missing one underwire? Junk, that's what you call it.
3. We've got friends coming over in a couple of weeks. Nothing like company to motivate a little clean up - especially of the basement where they'll be sleeping. It was also a good time to do a sweep of the basement for stuff for my sister. Looking at the baby stuff, I started sorting it into three piles... one small pile to keep, one small pile to give to my sister, and one large pile to throw away. In the toss column: 2 old breast pumps and one box.
4. Also in the toss column was a peg toy we inherited, but it's missing pegs.
5. Next in the toss column was a set of giant pipe cleaners that P never really grew fond of.
6. And, to round out the toss pile were a random Halloween themed cup and five empty boxes.
7. For my sister? two booster seats
8. a cooking for baby book
9. some baby toys: a computer
10. a baby animal puzzle
11. toy: bird house with four plush birds
12. toy: Mega Blocks table and blocks
13. junk: 4 planters, 1 watering can
14. useful, just not for us: 1 hose reel, 2 hoses
15. useful, just not for us: P's toddler pool
16. junk: 2 rusty lounge chairs, 1 stool
17. junk: 4 solar lights that no longer light
18. junk: a bucket and a lid
19. useful, just not for us: a basket
20. books: Gone with the Wind, Brave New World
21. toy: Mr. Potato Head MLB edition
22. baby gear: the Boppy
23. odds and ends: new drawer used for kitchen towels
24. odds and ends: guest bathroom counter
25. useful, just not for us: crock pot
26. useful, just not for us: hurricane with almond candle
27. junk: old bath salts and perfumes
28. baby gear: foam roll
29. baby gear: 256 2 oz breast milk storage containers
30. toy: truck (combo riding and push toy)
31. toy: dog security blanket
32. toy: battery-operated toy train
33. toy: stacking pyramids
34. toy: hammer and eight nails
35. useful, just not for us: cane

We'll see if I can get to 52 this year. I'm cautiously optimistic.


Cheers!
mouse

Hypothetical Radical Mouse Ideas

Dear Friends and Family,

Okay. I'm not saying this has a snowball's chance in heck of passing. But, what if... instead of food stamps, now known as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, we went the route of the Ancient Romans and had the 2012 equivalent of a grain dole.

The current program puts the equivalent of approximately $76.7B in the hands of approximately 46.4 million people which averaged out to $133 per month per person.

What if, instead, you raised taxes and expanded the program to a $540B program. Then, instead of qualifying for it, every man, woman, and child gets $150 per month in food stamps. It takes out the network externality of people of the fringe of eligibility having motivation to want to qualify.

Theoretically, everyone needs to eat. So, it's money you would have spent anyway. Make it acceptable everywhere. And, while I'm on the radical train, here's another thing I'd change about the program - simplify what's eligible...

Single ingredient foods only. So, I could spend my $150 on blackberries and chicken and rice. You could spend yours on olive oil, pasta, crushed tomatoes, and salmon. But, neither of us could spend it on hot dogs, hamburger helper, and diet coke.

I'd make it a credit card that auto increases each month. Then, when anyone goes grocery shopping, they pay with that first and are responsible for whatever's left on the grocery bill.

Radical, but in my crazy mind, somehow an improvement over today's system in some ways.


Cheers!
mouse

Progress

Dear Friends and Family,

Let's be clear. I'm not complaining nor am I bragging.

It feels weird to have a to do list that is shrinking instead of growing. We ordered a deck table after giving up hope that there were any deck tables left. Once it arrives, we'll have to toss the old one and assemble the new one. And, that'll cross another item off the list. One from our yeah, right list, no less.

And, P seems to be "done" with toilet training, enough so that I'm toying not tracking her potty times anymore. One less thing for my brain to manage. That'll leave budget and food to track which seems more manageable. And, it should, it's 33% less to track and it's less mental tracking.

Which means, this weekend, if I want to continue to make progress, I can try to convince Mr. mouse to take on the G5. What does that entail? We need to wrest it free of all the wires and cables. We need to take out the dead hard drive. We need to take pictures. We need to box it up. We need to make a decision on what happens to it. We can either donate it or we can try to sell it or we can give it away. Standard operating protocol would be to age it for another 10 years and then donate it, but I'm loathe to go down that route.

Progress.


Cheers!
mouse

I've Been Thinking

Dear Friends and Family,

Books make me think. And, sometimes, my thoughts make me think more. And, sometimes that helps me to reaffirm my beliefs and assumptions about life. And, sometimes that makes me question myself more.

And, that's what I've been doing recently. I've considered myself more liberal than not. And, my social agenda is still more liberal than not. I'm pro-choice. I'm pro gay marriage. I'm anti-gun. I'm okay with all of that.

But, recently I've begun thinking about our social services and the network externalities they engender. On the one hand, pre-natal care for pregnant women sounds like a no-brainer. But, if a woman who doesn't have access to care when not pregnant decides to get pregnant to get care, well, that doesn't seem quite right. I'm not saying it's a logical choice, but I can see people making that choice. Just as an example.

And, so on down the list. When we provide a safety net, which I believe we should, then the choices people are making take that safety net into account and change the math on what the best choice of action is. It can't not.

I don't think we should remove the safety net, but I do think we should rethink how we take into account how the safety net changes behaviors which seem, on the surface, like unintended consequences.

For instance, I was stunned to find out approximately 1 in 6 people in the US are on Medicaid. That's a lot of people. Okay, in a hypothetical world, let's say you get lots of groups of 6 people together - not random people, people.

Some groups will have 0 people on Medicaid and no one close to eligibility. It doesn't even enter into their calculus of life. Some groups will have 6 people on Medicaid and there's a whole monologue worth discussing about that. And, some groups will have 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 participants. Fair?

I can see the group with 1 participant, in these non-random groups, having the motivation and help to use it as a potentially temporary safety net. I can see the groups of 2 and 3 having lots of meaningful discussion. I can see the groups of 4 and 5 potentially convincing and/or educating the rest of the group on their calculus.

Why not? It happens on so many other topics.

And, that's where I get to thinking. I don't want Medicaid to be a 1 in 6 program. I want it to be a 1 in 20 program. Why? I don't know. But, that doesn't mean I want to just kick all of the extra people out of the program. I want them to have a meaningful way to work their way out of the program. I want the math to have the right incentive structure to get to 1 in 20 without other perverse network externalities.

Sounds like I'll be doing more thinking.


Cheers!
mouse

A Present from P

Dear Friends and Family,

On Sunday night, P gave me a present. She took a small bear from her room and gave her to me and said she was a present and that I should sleep with her.

Last night, she asked Teddy if she liked sleeping with Mommy and after getting a verbal affirmation from Teddy told me I could sleep with her again.

Looks like I have a new friend.

P's so generous.


Cheers!
mouse

07.09.12: Lazy, Hazy July Weekend

Dear Friends and Family,

Finally, a break from the heat.

All things considered, we didn't do badly with the weather.

Saturday, we found shade and a cooling breeze in the courtyard. P wanted to blow bubbles and then to draw with chalk (or was it draw with chalk and then blow bubbles?) and then sit on a lawn chair and drink her milk. Afterwards, we went for a bike ride, but she expired after a block and we decided to go shopping for groceries instead.

We're trying a new store to see if we can break ourselves of our Whole Foods habit and to see if we can save some money in the process and to see if we can get down to one store vs. our current menagerie of stores. P likes the store because it comes with special carts with steering wheels.

P fell asleep on the way home and we decided sleep was more important than lunch and let her nap the rest of the afternoon.

Dinner was at a Cuban restaurant with friends from work. We capped off the evening with ice cream sundaes at home - hot fudge and sprinkles for P, olive oil and kosher salt for Mr. mouse, and pecans and caramel and marshmallows and chocolate chips for the rest of us. I think I've landed on salted hot fudge as my favorite combo.

Sunday, we didn't have much on the list besides a birthday party. Mr. mouse and I got into an argument about where to blow bubbles and then it continued into an argument about why we ended up spilling some of the bubble mix and then it continued into an argument about going to a toy store. Sometimes I get so angry my blood boils.

Fortunately, we were able to turn the day around and enjoy the afternoon.

And, now, it's Monday.


Cheers!
mouse

Goal: 52 Things Will Leave the Mouse Pad Update

Dear Friends and Family,

I am going to try and have 52 things meaningfully leave the mouse pad this year. What do I mean by meaningfully? No, it doesn't mean I'm giving away things loaded with meaning. It means it's purposeful decisions to remove something that has found a home in our home. In other words, clearing out old bananas doesn't count, they never found a home. Clearing out old toys counts since they would linger in the basement given no active actions on our parts.

The List (most recent departures listed first):

1. We've got friends coming over in a couple of weeks. Nothing like company to motivate a little clean up - especially of the basement where they'll be sleeping. It was also a good time to do a sweep of the basement for stuff for my sister. Looking at the baby stuff, I started sorting it into three piles... one small pile to keep, one small pile to give to my sister, and one large pile to throw away. In the toss column: 2 old breast pumps and one box.
2. Also in the toss column was a peg toy we inherited, but it's missing pegs.
3. Next in the toss column was a set of giant pipe cleaners that P never really grew fond of.
4. And, to round out the toss pile were a random Halloween themed cup and five empty boxes.
5. For my sister? two booster seats
6. a cooking for baby book
7. some baby toys: a computer
8. a baby animal puzzle
9. a bird house with four birds
10. a table with stacking blocks - all things in like new condition with all of the pieces that P had some interest in playing with
11. junk: 4 planters, 1 watering can
12. useful, just not for us: 1 hose reel, 2 hoses
13. useful, just not for us: P's toddler pool
14. junk: 2 rusty lounge chairs, 1 stool
15. junk: 4 solar lights that no longer light
16. junk: a bucket and a lid
17. useful, just not for us: a basket
18. books: Gone with the Wind, Brave New World
19. toy: Mr. Potato Head MLB edition
20. baby gear: the Boppy
21. odds and ends: new drawer used for kitchen towels
22. odds and ends: guest bathroom counter
23. useful, just not for us: crock pot
24. useful, just not for us: hurricane with almond candle
25. junk: old bath salts and perfumes
26. baby gear: foam roll
27. baby gear: 256 2 oz breast milk storage containers
28. toy: truck (combo riding and push toy)
29. toy: dog security blanket
30. toy: battery-operated toy train
31. toy: stacking pyramids
32. toy: hammer and eight nails
33. useful, just not for us: cane

We'll see if I can get to 52 this year. I'm cautiously optimistic.


Cheers!
mouse

Mommy, I Would Like a Doll

Dear Friends and Family,

P wants a doll.

We've been doing our best to provide non-licensed, non-battery operated, non-gender-specific toys.

We knew she plays with dolls at school. We knew she was interested. We went to a birthday party of one of her friends. And, now, she wants a doll. She wants a doll badly enough that Mr. mouse and I are willing to look at getting her a doll - a non-licensed, non-battery operated doll.

Mr. mouse wants to do an exhaustive search... in store... apparently in his mind the feel of the doll is an all important criteria that can't be assessed on-line. I'm not convinced. It sounds like a potential nightmare endless trek through local toy stores to become a doll expert.

Well, I just ordered my leading contender from Amazon. Four of the particular doll in the hopes one of them is wearing blue. We'll see what next week brings.

I know we're not going to buy P multiple dolls so there's some desire to get this right. But, on the flip side, I have no desire to devote the month of July to visiting toy stores every weekend to try and find the perfect doll.


Cheers!
mouse

July 4th Staycation

Dear Friends and Family,

SUCCESS!

The kitchen island does not have a single thing on it.

Well, I take that back. It has a book and two shirts on it that we have to bring to school today. But, other than that, it does not have a single thing on it.

BLISS.

I forged an agreement with Mr. mouse.

I agreed that if we cleared off the kitchen island, I'd be game for a staycation.

I woke up and the island was cleared. We packed our bags and headed out for the day.

First on the list was the aquarium. This time, P enjoyed it. She was okay enough with the jellyfish to hang out at one of the tanks looking at the jellyfish swim around. And, she sat on a bench and watched the penguins. She loved playing in the kid's zone and we let her wander around the boat and tent they had set up. I'd consider it a ringing success even if she still wasn't crazy about the whales. I'm looking forward to going again.

Second on the list was lunch. P fell asleep while we were waiting for a table. But, she was game for trying the pastrami when she woke up. She's becoming more accommodating about trying new foods. I'm so proud of her for this.

Third on the list was hotel check-in and pool. Mr. mouse took P down to the pool while I fed the meter and got the car seat. When I got to the pool, she was with Mr. mouse, on her belly, practicing moving her arms in the water. Oh, she's precious.

Next on the list was dinner. We took a cab, got in early, and beat the parking meter back. P was game for trying Mr. mouse's fish. And, while I don't think Mr. mouse ate much of anything, I won't grumble too much.

Not on the list, but a very nice add, was a stop at the lake to walk in the sand and dip our feet in the water. P had a ball carrying sand to the water and throwing it in. She was soaked and covered in sand by the time we left. Looks like someone overcame their fear of the water.

Last on the list was the fireworks. We watched them from our hotel room window. Perfect view. We finished off the evening by singing Happy Birthday to the United States and sharing a cupcake.

I watched a red moon rise while Mr. mouse put P in her pajamas. And, I got to see the morning lake which is so peaceful.

I can't say I've had this much fun in a long time. It really felt like a vacation even if we didn't "go" anywhere. And, bonus, the kitchen island should be completely empty when I get home tonight.


Cheers!
mouse

Looking for Moderation, Finding Extremes

Dear Friends and Family,

Time to remember why I think Buddhists rock.

Moderation.

Yesterday, I yelled at Mr. mouse. Partly, I was ticked because of the numerous text messages. But, compounding that was the heat and the traffic.

Yesterday, I bit three fingers to nubbins. Partly, I was expending nervous energy at work. But, compounding that was HUNGER.

Time to take a step back and reassess because today, I know I'm headed into trouble. Meeting first thing in the morning compounded with drop off, water day, potty training gear and heat and hunger and general irritation.

Let's focus on what's in my control and learn to let go of what's outside of my control.

Traffic. It sucks. It sucks more because you can't predict it. I'm making a promise to myself that I'm only doing this commute for one more year. We're going to look at full day junior kindergarten programs for P. I love my time with her every day, but I don't think I'll miss the daily commute.

Heat. It sucks. It sucks more because I'm fat. I remember when I was at my goal weight, the heat didn't bother me. This could be due to a couple of different factors. Perhaps having less fat makes it easier to cool the body, like the reverse of animals who build up fat for the winter to help stay warm. Perhaps the body is better able to regulate itself when it's at its goal weight. Perhaps clothes fit better and there's more of them in the closet to work temperature ranges. Perhaps the abuse of getting to goal weight beats the body into submission and a little bit of extra heat isn't anything compared to semi-starvation.

Texts. See traffic.

Nervous energy. This alone I can cope with.

Hunger. This I need to find a solution to. I could definitely make smarter eating choices. I chewed up a lot of points this past week on short ribs and tiramisu. Both were in the fridge so it wasn't just a single serving of each that did me in. It was the serving a day over the week that did me in.

Perhaps I should also switch to club soda instead of all of the flavors of diet soda at work.


Cheers!
mouse

07.02.12: Lazy, Hazy Summer Days

Dear Friends and Family,

It was a hot weekend, but we managed just fine.

Friday afternoon, I picked P up early and brought her to the office for lunch. We had Panda at my desk, said hi to all of my friends, and drove home early, beating the typical Friday traffic. I got to spend the afternoon playing with P at home. And, although I was a little anxious about letting P go for several hours with potty, she made it through the evening without any accidents.

Friday night, I took all of the clutter on the deck and put it in one giant pile. Sometimes it feels good just to get it in one pile. The trick is to clear the pile before it has a chance to fossilize.

Saturday morning, P and I had a fun picnic on the roof. It was too wet to go to the park, but it was perfect for the roof. We opened the umbrella, spread out a picnic blanket and ate our lunch. We lazed in the hammock and chatted on the chairs. We were out for a little over an hour.

Saturday afternoon, while P napped, Mr. mouse and I threw out all of the clutter on the deck. Most of it was lowered from the deck using ropes. It seems like our rusty lounge chairs and hose reel were picked up by scavengers - either for a second life or for scrap value. Either way, I'm glad it's off of our roof. Mr. mouse wanted to keep the lamps until we had new lighting, so those stayed on the deck. Time to find a new table and remove some loose nails, then we can party on the deck.

Saturday night, we drove out for a hot air balloon festival. Although it was too windy for the balloons to take off, P had fun watching them inflate the balloons and then walking among them on the field.

Sunday?

It stormed. We went to a birthday party. We came home and ate dinner and before you knew it, it was time for bed.

2 + 1 + 2 work week.


Cheers!
mouse