Days 22, 23, & 24 - "Mag Hag", "On the Road Again", and "Stuffiness"

Whoooooooo lawzy, what a crazy few days! You know, the kind where you are feverishly praying that time will warp and expand so you can cram everything into 24 hours or less and not have your brain leak out your ears? Yes, those kind of days. (note: Stephen Hawking - if you are reading this blog, and I know that you are, could you please start working on this instead of mathematically proving or disproving the existence of God? This is much more useful. Thank you!)

Day 22 - Mag Hag
I am a magazine whore. In the pre-baby universe, I would whoop gleefully whenever a glossy packet of perky tidbits and fashionable frippery would land in my mailbox. I would pop them in my purse and spend many a happy moment poring over page after page of "Breathe Your Way to Boudoir Bliss" or "Firm Your Abs and Tighten Your Tushie While Folding Origami". I had even been known to pull out dozens of articles and catalogue them for later. But now? Boudoir bliss is an unbroken night of sleep and I haven't found my abs yet to tighten them. My once-beloved magazines are piling up in a grand heap and, instead of inspiring mini-makeovers and coital contortion (sorry Mom), they're now giving the gift of guilt. So... deep breath....
I'm letting the subscriptions run out. All of them. Here's the beauty of my plan: if I ever get to the point where I really miss one or two, I can re-subscribe. Genius, right? Thank you, I thought so too.

Day 23 - On the Road Again
I'm down in the fine state of North Carolina for the week hanging out with the parental unit, snarfing down Mom's home cooking (best. food. ever.), and showing off my spectacular progeny - sweeeeet! I flew down yesterday, and am celebrating a small triumph in air travel: I avoided a checked baggage fee. That's right people - I packed for myself & the baby for one week in a carry-on (you can't see me, but right now I'm doing a spectacular victory dance). Now, this won't work for everybody, and I had to make a few concessions (like not cloth diapering this week), but saving $50 is nothing to sneeze at, and hey - it more than paid for those eco-diapers. Here's what worked well:
- earlier in the summer, I sewed two reversible skirts - took those, some t-shirts, & one workout ensemble; the young un got one outfit per day
- no jammies - I sleep in the T shirt I wore during the day and the boobah sleeps in the onesie he romped in and a sleep sack
- I wore my jeans, sneakers/running shoes, and sweater on the plane (the bulky stuff) - so did the Grumpasaurus

But the main thing? I kept in mind that I rarely use the "kitchen sinks" I bring just in case. It helps too that there's a washing machine at my disposal (many hotels have these too), and a Walmart just a stones throw away if I need them. So far so good! Now, if you'll excuse me, Mommy has just made me an omelet. There's no place like (your parent's) home!

Day 24 - Stuffiness
Today's post is a simple observation: the less stuff you have, the less stuff you have to deal with/worry about/dust/collect/launder/repair/store/hide/corral/arrange/rearrange/donate/organize/baby proof/set up/tear down/move/pay for/return/turn on/turn off/insure/refill/shore up/inspect/throw out. In short, your stuff takes energy, of which you only have so much. Less stuff = more energy = more Living. Let's bless ourselves and others by donating STUFF (Something That Undermines Family Fun - thank you Flylady!) to others who need it. Then eat cake go for a run (heh heh) with all that new-found oomph! :)