​It is incredible to me what one random act of kindness can do for the soul…

I have had a crazy busy day, the kind of crazy that overwhelms and prevents you from getting anything completed. I am blessed with a project that is dear to me, but the devil is in the details and those details have a looming deadline. 

So when I got home, I decided I was going to give myself 5 mins to check on the Outrageously Ordinary page and smile over all your cutie pie pictures on Facebook before I got back to work. 

Enter the act of kindness…  I have a very large family, on both sides.  And they are incredible, on both sides.  But from 2,500 miles away, one of them made my day so much brighter.

Pete Harwood, thank you for the ear to ear smile and the amazing generosity!

I encourage you all to visit http://www.harwood-photographic-art.com/index.html to see the beautiful work of beautiful person! (Click picture for direct link)

#SoulAndSurf

#RandomActsOfKindness

#HarwoodPhotographicArt

#GiftsAndGratitude 

As mentioned in several of my ramblings, I place all of my stress in my neck and shoulders (see  Shoulder Boulders).  My absolute favorite thing is for someone to rub them, but I rarely schedule a real massage.  Most of the time, I ignore child labor laws and enlist my children (see I’m A Baller).  If that doesn’t work, I beg a rub from the nearest member of my inner core of friends. And if that doesn’t work, I throw a hand over the hurting shoulder and squeeze whatever I can reach as hard as I can.

But yesterday, after weeks of trying to fit our schedules together, I got a real massage from a friend who used muscle and elbows to get these real knots out. Hands down, the best massage I’ve ever gotten.

As I was laying quite cozy on the heated table with my face in what always reminds me of a padded toilet seat, I could feel my sinuses filling up.  But it felt too good to complain so I just sucked it up (literally).

That’s when “cupping” came up.  I’ve never done it before.  All I knew of it was what I saw during the Olympics.  It looked like Michael Phelps had slabs of bolgna all over his back.  No thanks!  But according to my friend, the cupping genius, the trick is to keep the cups moving and stretching the muscles.

We started with a small cup.  I could barely feel it until about the fourth squeeze and even then it felt more like a child’s pinch.  So we stepped it up to the larger cup and oh my… that’s good stuff.  It felt like it was stretching the muscles from the inside out, and pulled a moan out with it.

After the massage, I laid there for a minute to enjoy the quiet.  It was the first complete quiet I had experienced in days.  There were no dogs barking, no phones ringing, no kids arguing, just quiet. I was completely relaxed, completely grateful and completely stuffed up.

I stood up to get dressed and all the stuff in my stuffed up nose just started to pour out.  I was oh so lady like and oh so without a tissue.  I dove in the Mary Poppins bag I call a purse and found the first thing I could to stop the faucet.

So now I’m counting the days until I can be cupped again, but this time I’ll pop a Sudafed beforehand.  And I’ll be sure to put another tampon in my bag, just in case the Sudafed doesn’t work.

#IPreferLargeCupSizes

#IWonderIfICanSwimLikePhelpsNow

#CuppingIsSoMuchBetterThanSpooning

 

​That moment when you desperately pull every article of clothing out of your perfectly packed suitcase because you are positive you packed underwear for both the kids AND yourself for this trip.

Nope. 

Crap.

It was pointed out to me that I had three options:

1. Spend my time away going commando (sans underwear).  The basic flaw with this is the wind and the dress I brought to wear.  If there was any kind of Marilyn Monroe moment, my family (and quite a few strangers) would have gotten to know me a little too well. 

2. Squeeze these hips and toush into my little girl’s flower power pair and hope for the best. I know there are worse things, but having the elastic in your underwear break at a family function and then having to waddle to the bathroom to rectify the situation is no one’s good day.  

3. Google Map the nearest Walmart and get a nice pair of cotton granny panties to tide me over.  Problem there, I discovered my little predicament mere minutes before attending the previously mentioned family function.  No time for a shopping spree.

Much like the presidential election, there really was no good plan.  So what’s a girl to do?

I don’t know whether to be thrilled that I fit into my daughter’s pair, sad that she’s old enough for that to be an option or worried that I have absolutely lost my mind. 

Who forgets to pack that?!

#SansQuintEssentials

#IRockedThoseThingsLikeCameronDiaz

#NoOneWasHarmedByShootingElastic

I am fairly easy going. I don’t care if the kids pull every sheet and blanket out of the closet to build a fort in the living room. I don’t care if they dirty every dish we own while making a special (inedible) recipe. And I don’t care if their rooms are a hot mess and every toy they have is on the floor (as long as that mess stays in their room). Life is just too short to sweat the small stuff. 

But I am a 100% bona-fide OCD list maker. Projects at work, honey-do lists for the house (that are now figure-out-how-to-do lists), Christmas lists, birthday lists… the list of lists goes on and on. 

Travel only increases my need for lists because 2 children + 2 dogs + a memory sucking thyroid = I’m going to forget something. 

I am blessed with travel. I have called Germany home, I have walked where Roman Gods readjusted their togas, I have eaten my weight in baguettes and croissants in front of the world’s most famous selfie, waved hello to Lady Diana and again after she got the family jewels, and I’ve line danced with true hillbillies at any rednecks Disney World … Dollywood. 

I’ve seen good stuff.

But even though travelling is my absolute favorite thing to do, for me, the packing is comparable to the prep for a colonoscopy. The lists start a week in advance and grow by the page the further out I start. It’s not that I need to pack the kitchen sink, it’s that I would forget the sink if I needed it.

Toothbrushes and toothpaste, socks and underwear, vitamins and prescriptions, turning the front light on and the thermostat off… I’m sure it’s simple for most, but I need my list.

Every day this week I thought of something new to add to the list for our weekend away. I kept the list at work so I could randomly add things during the day.  It was a great list. One that will be used on the next trip because I left it at work. 

So Wednesday night I put my big girl panties on and tried on my common sense for a change. In the end, I just threw clothes in the suitcase and hoped they matched.  

I packed 12 pairs of underwear for each of us for a 3 day trip though, because you just never know.

What I forgot to do that night was run the dishwasher, take out the trash and that sort of thing. Because of that, I had to wake up at the cool crack of dawn to play Cinderella before it was time to leave for the airport. 

I ran around like a crazy person for two hours getting chores done, getting the kids ready, getting me ready, packing the last minute additions, the toiletries that have to be packed last, playing referee to the children, convincing them to give up looking for the missing right shoe and just pick another pair…

By the time White Horse (car service) knocked on the door, I needed another shower and an Irish coffee. He packed the car with my 2-ton suitcase, 2 energetic children, 2 carry-ons, and the too good to be true deep breath of a vacation starting.

Let the weekend begin!

Has anyone seen my charger? Ugh.

#YoureOnMyList

#AWeekendAwayEqualsTenLoadsOfLaundry

#HateHeightsButLoveFlying

This stuff only happens to me…

I am at a light on Glenwood (big road in Raleigh). As usual, I am rocking my own concert in the car with the windows down – I love the nip in the air.

A car pulls up, I finish my ballad, then turn my head to find her rocking to her own beat. We smile at each other in comradery… it’s not just anyone who can make this look cool, you know. I switch stations and find what she is singing and join in. We harmonize beautifully, of course, just two crazy ducks in our own little pond.

The light turns green and she says “Have a good night” in the deepest voice I have heard in a long time. It caught me off guard and since I don’t have the ability to separate my thoughts from my facial expressions quite yet, I know my eyebrow shot up to give her the “HUH?!” face. SHE laughed out loud and said, “Oh yeah, I’m a dude.” and drove away.

I am so thrown by this … first of all, where did the voice go while he was singing?  He had an Adam Levine quality, there was no baritone there.  Second, and more importantly, he drove off before I could get tips on concealers and mascara. And how did he get his eyeliner to do that sweep thing at the end but still look natural?

Sigh.

#OhYeahImADude

#ImWatchingForHisCarEverywhereIGo

#HisMakeUpWasWayBetterThanMine

#LancomeCanOnlyDoSoMuch

I need to do laundry. I should have done some yesterday but dinner at a friend’s house trumped clean clothes.  I’ll just throw something in the dryer to fluff and freshen tomorrow’s outfit.  It will be our secret.

I need to cook dinner.  I should have had it on the table an hour ago but my little man wanted to help.  As you mothers know, this adds a solid 30 minutes to even the simplest of dinners.  His willingness to learn and help cancels out the late plating.  Now if I could only get him interested in dish washing.

The dogs need a bath.  I should have hosed them down today but my big girl wanted to read her book curled up next to me.  Cuddling on the couch wins every time.  The house is dog-funky but a little air freshener should mask the eau de puppy, at least until bed time.

The yard needs sprucing.  I should have been out there picking up sticks and trimming wild stems but the mosquitoes are insane and my 14 bites are just now going away (see “I’m a chick magnet” for that back story).

Bed time is 8pm.  I should have had the kids in bed and drifting off by now but Charlie Brown’s Great Pumpkin is on and I’m a sucker for tradition.  I love that the kids love the old cartoons and plan to support that cause no matter the bedtime delay.  I’m tired of Pokemon and Minecraft.  I need some Snoopy.

So basically, I am completely useless at home but have solid alibis for at least a few of my failures.  I call that a motherdom win.

#DefensibleUselessness

#TheseDogsSmellSoFunky

#LaundryIsTheBaneOfMyExistence

​Never miss a chance to sit down at the table with your kids and just listen…

Me: What made your day special?

The boy (6): I got a new job.

Me: That IS exciting! What are you doing these days?

B: I’m the Supplies Supervisor.

Me: That’s awesome! Does it pay well?

B: I don’t know… huh…

Me: Well, what are your duties?

B: I sharpen the pencils. I’ve only had 1 day on the job though, I bet there’s more.

I bet he asks his teacher about the benefits package tomorrow. 

#TableTalk

#KidsAreTheFunniestMembersOfTheFamily

#MyChildrenLikeJobsUnlessItMeansCleaningTheirRooms