We're All A Little Neurotic

I took a fantastic parenting class in college from an amazing teacher who had 8 children of her own - one of which was in our class. This, I believe, kept her very honest because her daughter would have spoken up, I'm sure, if her mom had said something that wasn't accurate. She would tell us stories about her family and raising her kids and I was always so impressed with her! Which is why I believe one of the things she said to us all - we are all a little neurotic. It can be as small as making sure all the cans in our cupboard face the same way or as big as having to walk through a door three times before entering a room, but it's all a little crazy.

My neurosis took over yesterday during my Water Aerobics class. I tried to fight it, but it got me thinking about the little things I do, for no reason, just because of that little voice in the back of my head. During my class we used barbells of varying sizes. We also use noodles. My instructor asked the lifeguard to get some out and he obliged. But when he tipped over the huge bin that holds the barbells, half of them fell into the water. No one was really using that are of the pool at the time, so they weren't really in the way, but the fact that they weren't neatly stacked inside the bin or along the edge of the pool made me CRAZY. Like - I could not stop thinking about how they were just FLOATING THERE IN THE POOL AND PLEASE SOMEONE PUT THEM AWAY!!! And no one did. People actually walked past them, moving them to the side, so they could exit the pool but not one person put any up on the side or back into the bin. My focus was all about those stupid barbells floating around the pool and at that moment I was like - oh look, my neurosis is kicking in. There was no reason they HAD to be in the bin or up on the side of the pool, like I said - they weren't in anyone's way - but the fact that they were all there all untidy was making me crazy. I decided I would fight the urge to stop my exercising in order to move them, but it took so much willpower and my brain kept on telling me to look at them and move them and take care of them and AHHHHHHHHH! But I fought it because I knew it was so stupid! Haha! In the end, after we'd all picked up our barbells for that portion of the workout, most of them were either in people's hands or on the side of the pool. There was one rogue barbell that, despite all my efforts, I had to pick up and put away. But it got me thinking. . . . about all the crazy things we do for no other reason than our brain tells us to do it.

Another example is my dinner plate. I am a separatist. I do not like my food touching. If my food touches another food, I either don't eat it or my brain complains about eating it the whole time it's in my mouth. "Just swallow and get it over with," I tell myself, but my brain is blaring sirens and screaming that the lettuce I just put into my mouth had actually touched the chicken and had some wonky sauce on it and it must me stopped - don't eat the lettuce! Don't do it! And check the chicken for signs of lettuce infestations! Luckily I am not so neurotic that I can't eat anymore if something touches something else, but I do wish my brain would chill-ax sometimes. I mean, seriously, it's all going to the same place anyway.

I think we all could do with a little 'chilling out' about certain things that aren't important. I stress myself out sometimes with the little things that have to be 'just so' and my dear hubby has to remind me to relax because the world will not end if the fruit bowl on the table isn't right in the middle of the table. After 10 years, I have definitely decreased the stress in my life by just having him around to remind me to simmer down.

In other, less contemplative news - I did practically nothing yesterday and it felt wonderful. This was followed by an evening of Girl's Night, which rocked. We played a game called "Nuh-Uh! No, He Didn't!" which is so popular that I can't even find a link for it anywhere . . . I bought it for $3 at Five Below. I'm all about the quality. It's a goofy, girly game where you just end up chatting about various things. There was much talking and a lot of laughter. We also snacked on treats (fruit with Nutella, which is love. However, I don't eat sugar, so I just had the fruit lol) and stayed up way too late. Oh well - Girl's Night is worth it.

Today I am suffering from a lack of sleep hang over. I need to go grocery shopping, get gas (what is WITH the gas prices going all stupid again!?!?!?!), and get some laundry done so there are clothes to wear. My boys might like being naked, but the world doesn't need to see that. I also have excessive amounts of work to do (web design + my Little Stars + voice lessons), so I should get all of that done as early as possible to leave time for work. Joys!

Cleveland Rocks!

Even though the Indians lost the AL Championships, I still have a soft, squishy spot in my heart for Cleveland. This is why I am excited for the weekend! Me and my boys are heading to Cleveland for 2 reasons: 1) My dad is going to be there on business (plus I talked my mom into joining him so we could see her, too!) and I haven't seen my parents in over a year and 2) I have not been back to my old stomping grounds since Dec. 1997 - 10 years! Squeee!

I really only lived in the Cleveland area for 2 years - my last 2 years of high school. However, those 2 years shaped who I am now in more ways than I can count. While I wasn't thrilled with the prospect of moving almost all the way across the country and away from the friends I had spent a large chunk of my life with, it was the best thing for me in the whole wide world. So - lots of warm feelings about Cleveland and Ohio in general. I am most excited to visit Kirtland again, as I know it has changed tremendously since I was there last. PLUS Soren has never been to Ohio, so that will be fun!

Today I must make my third attempt at registering our 'new' car (read: used). There was all kinds of drama and I almost yelled at the DMV (yes, the entire department! HAHA! - no, really, just the chica who sits at the front desk saying 'no' all day) yesterday because I seriously think all the bureaucratic nonsense we go through to register a vehicle is ridiculous. I understand WHY all the nonsense exists, but it is ridiculous. It seems the state... I mean COMMONWEALTH of Virginia is much worse than many other states. It took me 2 years to get my driver's license because of the stupidity. Oh well. At least the vanity plates are cheap. And yes, we are getting one for Alan's car: 2METER2 *giggles* That's how tall he is, after all!

Aside from the car drama, I am helping a friend clean her apartment that they just moved out of (I was assigned the microwave because I'm tall - hee hee!), and I have to go beg CVS to reprint some receipts because Soren, in his attempt to be as thorough as possible in taking out the recycling, made off with ALL of our receipts from the past 2 years. Yes. All of them. I almost had a heart attack this morning when I realized this. Now we just have to pray that nothing we have purchased breaks. Our Flex Spending card is freakish and doesn't accept transactions from CVS without a receipt to prove we aren't spending our money on junk food and cheap drug store merchandise. I keep the CVS receipts out usually so Alan can take them to work, but alas . . . I missed one.

Luckily, I do not have to work today! Wednesday and Friday are my days off, so I get to run errands, do service, do laundry, and clean the house! This is especially important on Wednesdays because Wednesday is girls night at my house. This is when I send the boys upstairs and I have a handful of girls over. Sometimes we just chat, sometimes we play Karaoke Revolution or DDR, sometimes we watch a chic flick, sometimes we play games, sometimes we even LEAVE THE HOUSE.... but whatever we do, we get time off from kids and husbands and just get to be girls together. It's awesome and I highly recommend it!

With that, I leave you. I have babbled on long enough for one day. It is now time for me to shower, as I currently smell of chlorine from my water aerobics class, and get ready to fight the demons at the DMV!!!!