Currently... Distracted

It's the middle of the afternoon and I'm trying to catch up on my day. You ever have those days? It seems like the whole day is open and you're going to get a bunch of stuff done. And then somebody calls you, then someone else sends you an email you have to respond to right away, and then you've got to go out for something and next thing you know.... here come the school buses. Today was one of those days.  So I'm currently catching up because of the distractions of my day.

Raccoons.  This morning while I was drinking my coffee, I saw a huge thing in the tree, screamed and alerted the kids and the dog.  It was high up in the tree so it could've been any kind of tree-climbing thing - a bear, a monkey. Turned out it was two big fat raccoons. Note - animal control will not come for "normal acting" raccoons.  So now, they are somewhere in my yard.  I'm a bit nervous for my dog and kids.

Emails. I've been trying to decide if it's more efficient to answer all my email during certain concentrated times throughout the day.  It seems like a good plan, rather than checking in and responding whenever I'm bored or procrastinating. I've found it helps if I log out when I'm done, because it's just enough effort to remember my password and sign back in that I won't bother.

Phone calls. Remember way back in the day, before we wore our phones attached to our hands and you could not answer the phone without having to explain why you didn't answer the phone?  Now, if you don't pick up by the third ring, the person on the other end is so frustrated that they have to leave a message and you better have an excuse note as to why you didn't answer.  And, apparently, "I didn't feel like it" or "I was watching Shark Tank" does not cut it.

Texts. We know we all get distracted by texts since there's entire campaigns and phone gadgets to get you not to check or answer your texts when you are driving. And - like your phone calls - if you do not reply within 5 minutes, you better have a really good excuse.  If you're driving? You've got to do the #X thing so people will know you are driving and can't answer. Which leads to my confusion: aren't we not supposed to be texting and driving, how do you type #X?  And more important - why, why are we so impatient that I must tell you why I didn't answer your text right away about what is the name of that guy in that movie?



Getting my kid from the busstop.  See item #1: Raccoons.


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Currently...Catching up on Randomness

I'm all over the place these days.  My to-do list has about a dozen different categories and 55 items.  On this Monday morning, I'm trying to corral it all.  What am I currently up to?

Being so very proud of my 3rd grader and her Girls on the Run team for running their second 5K yesterday.  This is our second season to have a school team.  Some of the girls on the team are not athletic in any sense, came to the program loathing the idea of walking across the school parking lot and looking down at their feet when they talked. They were all smiles as they crossed that finish line and it was a thrill to see how proud they were of themselves.  My son figured he'd been to all the practices, he might as well finish the season with his sister and also joined our team for the final race. Thanks to GOTR and particularly, Montgomery County, for a great race.

#GOTRMOCO5K - race #2 - done!

Trying to find a tinted, sunscreen included, face moisturizer that covers and/or heals blemishes. Is that really so much to ask for? That's what all the beauty product articles and blogs say a woman needs, especially as she reaches a certain age. So I find myself sitting on the floor of the drugstore and wandering the aisles of the make-up stores, reading the label of every moisturizer, trying to color match to my skin (depending on the brand, I'm light to medium, dark, natural, tan, or tawny) and not spend $100 per bottle (yes, there is a financial limit to my narcissism.)

Current moisturizer/sunscreen options I'm trying out.

Still sorting out my feelings about the Billboard Music Awards Michael Jackson hologram. I was, am, and will continue to be a huge Michael Jackson fan, from ABC to Off the Wall and  Thriller to the very end. But that hologram of him singing a song from a post-humous album. I wasn't particularly excited or emotional because it wasn't him performing, it was the image that computer folks and musicians and choreographers came up with. Now, the idea that his people have found music that he never released, that's pretty cool, but I was a bit confused hearing a couple songs on the radio, thinking "dang that sounds like Michael Jackson, but what song is that?"  But as for videos? Just play one of the classics like Thriller or Smooth Criminal, or his performance on Motown 25, that'll be fine.

Being careful not to upset my poinsettias that have actually survived this long! I do not have any kind of green thumb. Despite loving flowers and wishing for a garden full of blooms, I usually stick to simple, black-thumb-proof spring bulbs (although even they don't do to well in my shady yard) and water garden plants. But I always feel challenged to try to keep the beautiful Christmas poinsettias until the next year. I hope I'm not jinxing myself by mentioning them. This winter, after the bright red leaves all fell off, I moved the plants to a less trafficked room in the house, periodically water them whenever the planting soil is dry and every now and then, my mother throws some eggshells in the pot. That's it. So far, so good. But I'm open to any suggestions to ensure they make it another 6 months.

My post-Christmas poinsettia - look, there's still leaves!

Catching up on the hundreds of emails I need to respond to about my writing, PTA, sorority, and kid activities. Let me go pour another cup of coffee and get to that.

What are you currently up to?

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