7 Random Things

...because some days my brain can't focus on just one thing.


1. I bought new pillows last week because our old ones had lost their fluffiness, and now it feels like I'm sleeping on the side of Mt. Everest.  Do you know what I mean? I've had a neck ache every morning this week.  I think new pillows need about a one month break in period to compact to the perfect level of comfort.

2. My son's new favorite phrase is "golly heavens".  Example: "Golly heavens that was a nice pass!"  I don't think he's ever seen Leave it to Beaver, but I'm pretty sure he could hang out with Wally and the Beav' and they could all be best friends with a vocabulary like that.

3. As a result of watching far too many design shows from the years 2001-2003 while nursing infant children, I came up with the brilliant idea of placing our bed at an angle in the corner of our bedroom with fake little pine trees placed behind our headboard in the empty corner.  Last night my husband and I decided to move the bed to a traditional wall placement, and now our room feels GIGANTIC! Why did the show "Trading Spaces" inspire me to do something so ridiculous?  I never liked how the rooms on the show turned out in the end, so what made me think I should try the stuff at my own home? I'm glad I've seen the light.

4. This week my children broke out into spontaneous dancing in the pencil sharpener aisle of Office Max to the music over the loudspeaker.  Do other children do this?  I quickly looked around to make sure that no one was watching them, but I can't help but imagine that some guy in the security camera room saw them bust a move, and now the tape is going to go viral on YouTube.  Then some guy in Singapore or Antarctica will be laughing at my kids' Napoleon Dynamite dance routine.

5. My son's football season is over for the year, and it feels bitter-sweet. His team was undefeated! WooHoo! I loved watching my son play, but I was getting tired of being on the football field 4 days a week.  Now that we have our evenings and Saturdays back, I look forward to eating together at the dinner table again every night.  I really missed having the time to prepare big meals. 

6. I rented a carpet cleaner today so that I could complete my semi- annual carpet/ upholstery cleaning. For the low, low price of $19.99 plus 10 hours of sweat labor I made the carpets in the house, and the interiors of the trucks look pretty again.  Call me crazy, but there's something I kind of like about steam cleaning carpets.  I love to dump the dirty water out of the top of the cleaner.  It gives me a real sense of accomplishment.  I love to see results!  For this same reason, I love to vacuum every day.  I love to watch the canister in my Hoover Wind Tunnel fill up with dirt because it's tangible and measurable.  I can stand back and say, "wow! Look at all of the dirt I got out of that carpet!"

7.  My beloved went shooting today to gear up for his upcoming deer hunt.  When he got back and started to clean his rifle, I could smell the old familiar scent of Hoppes gun cleaner.  It happens to be one of my favorite smells.  Do you ever attach a smell to a memory?  Well whenever I smell Hoppes, it reminds me of my Dad.  When I was growing up he would often go hunting or shooting  and then sit down in the evening to clean his guns.  I would hover nearby to watch him meticulously clean each piece.  He would dip a clean cloth into Hoppes and thread it through the cleaning rod.  Then he would slide it down the barrel several times until it was free of debris.  The whole area would smell like Hoppes. I loved the aroma back then, and I love it now. It's funny how the most unusual things take you back in time.

I'm off to enjoy the evening with my family!