Showering is overrated

Don't think badly of me.

My name is Nicole and I don't shower everyday.  Neither does my husband, who is, much to his dismay, out of work, and trying not to live out the stereotype.  This isn't helping ...by the way, he's totally going to kill me for outing him.

It's just that there's a lot involved in showering for me --- I don't know what his excuse is.

There's the undressing, getting the water the right temperature, hair washing, hair conditioning, body washing, face washing, drying, lotioning, and dressing.  Whew!  I'm tired just thinking about it!

If blow drying of the hair and applying make-up happened all the time, it might bring the occurence rate down even further.  It's all about the hair --- can I make it look good with out the shower?  If so, it's on!

I'm not proud of this.  I will say that I heard that it's good to give your hair a break from washing once and a while.  ...I also glom on to the theories about dark chocolate & red wine on just the word of the internet.

I am proud to say, I always shower if I've worked out, or find my self itching or carrying the odor of the homeless.  I've got standards, you know.

hmm..  there must be an Anonymous program for this.  If not, there should be.

promises of an open time slot

I'm starting to get that just posting on a regular basis, let alone writing a short story while running my own business and having a little one at home is a goal much like a plan to exercise at the end of the day.  It doesn't seem to happen.

I have great ideas when I'm in bed about to go to sleep, so I write them down in my journal with very big plans to develop them in the morning.  However, much to my dismay, morning comes very early and I'm... um... not an awesome morning person.  So, before I know it, I hear the call that acts as my alarm every day, "Mom! (pause.) Mom! (pause) Mom! (pause. pause. pause.) Moooooooooooom! (pause.)  Dad! .... " and so it goes.  There isn't a snooze button, by the way.  What I would give for a snooze button.  Sometimes he will sit and talk to his "guys" in his crib for a while keeping himself entertained, but the monitor is on and well,... he's funny.  He organizes them, throws them overboard (then you hear, "uh-oh), and runs back and forth in his crib talking in a language where there is no translation.  By that time, I'm up and it's time to start the day.  This is when I vow to do some writing at his nap time.  Ha!

Nap time comes and I am well into my business day.  There are emails to be returned, dog clients to be soothed and marketing to struggle through and then, all of a sudden, "Mom!  Dad!  (pause. pause. pause.) Dad-dy!  Mum-my!"(did I forget to turn my alarm off?) and we're off and running with the afternoon of either appointments for me and Dad is the afternoon entertainment or I am.  By the time his bedtime comes, I'm ready to shut it down for the day.  A TV show, some dinner and a glass of wine with my husband, and we are always aware that our new alarm clock is not able to be reset for a later time.

Now, let me be clear, I love my life.  I love that I don't have to set a real alarm anymore.  I love figuring out where to take him to watch him explore a new environment.  I love just talking to him and hearing him try to make words with his mouth.  It is really a humbling experience being a mom.  I'm lost some of the time, feeling guilty about something some of the time, laughing some of the time, rediscovering the excitement of a train or fire engine going by a lot of the time.  I love it.

It's just taking some doing to carve out some space for my creativity to really flow for more that a 5 minute period.  I'll find the space.  I did today.  That's a step in the right direction.

What do you do for yourself?  When do you do it?

Look Ma, no carbs!

I know that this isn't exactly on topic, but maybe we should all get used to the fact that that is something that may happen more often than not a little.  After all, doesn't it make sense that while on the path to finding my creativity, I may take me on some detours in order to spend time observing and commenting?

So, I was watching TV the other day and maybe because my husband and I have been on a no sugar, no flour, no pasta diet for four weeks now, this commercial caught my eye.  See, I love bread.  I romanticize pasta.  I lust after pizza.  On this eating plan, I've had to breakup with them all.  I made them a mix tape and said "see you on Sundays".  (We allow ourselves a break on Sundays so my obsessive personality doesn't make me a nightmare to live with.)  So.... I see this sandwich being advertised.

Above is the new KFC "sandwich".  The fact that it looks like a puppet sticking it's tongue out that should be on Sesame Street is only the first of things wrong with it.

Yes, all of you Atkins diet groupies, there is no bread, but that alone does not really put it in "the plan"... you know this right?

The ingredients are as follows:

Two boneless pieces of fried chicken
Two pieces of bacon
Two melted slices of Monterey cheese and Pepper Jack cheese
The "Colonel's Sauce"

Now remember Big Mac's "special" sauce?  It was Thousand Island dressing!
Don't get me wrong, it tasted good, but... REALLY?!?

I don't know why this gets my goat, but in this day and age, after their PR people brought them a name change to KFC, this is their newest menu item?    I'm just sayin'...  it seems like a heart attack waiting to happen.  If they were looking to change their reputation, at least grill the chicken, right?

I'm obsessing and it's just Monday.  Must-get-carbs- back-now!