A Few Things on My {Scattered} Mind

It's well past Veterans Day and, as much as I love the veterans out there, I figure it's time to post something new here. I was going to do a book review about this great book I just finished, but I think I'll wait. My brain hasn't been all it usually is (blame the hormones) and I'm not sure if a book review would be so coherent right now. (For example, you should have seen how I just struggled typing 'coherent'. Conherent. Coneret. Cohrent. Kinda ironic.) 

So, I figured I'd write a list of the things that have been on my mind lately. It may be rambling, but it's something new.

1. I'm doing a sort of Facebook "fast" (not that it's anything spiritual -- just a sucker for alliteration). I'm not entirely sure why I decided to except that I felt I was wasting way too much time checking other people's statuses, looking at pictures of people I don't know that well, and taking those scientific quizzes (by the way, did you know that my true calling in life is to be a lawyer?  Or if I worked on the president's cabinet, I'd be the Chief of Staff? Those quizzes may be misspelled, but I'm just sure they're accurate). And besides being a time-waster, I just felt like it got negative so many times. I got so tired of hearing people complain about the weather (It's winter, people! Deal with it!), their kids, their jobs, their health. Blah.

Don't get me wrong, I think Facebook is kind of fun. It's easy to stay in touch with relatives and friends. Through it, I got a hold of my childhood friend that I hadn't seen in nearly twenty years. That said, now that I haven't been on Facebook for well over a week, I just feel a little better. I think I was comparing myself to other people too much on there. I've pulled a little back on the blogging for the same reason (though not so much -- I love to check out my friends' and some helpful blogs still). So many people seem to have everything so together and I feel like I'm the complete opposite. As a result, I just beat myself up for not being as crafty/smart/clean/organized/pretty/well-dressed/happy as everyone else. Taking a break from the computer has helped me cut myself some slack. Serenity now!

2. My son has recently discovered live-action Disney movies from the 1960s. As a result, I've developed a minor crush on Dean Jones. There, I said it.

It all started with That Darn Cat.  I only let Max watch one movie a day and he watched it every day for a while. He would walk around reciting one of his favorite parts, acting as theatrical as Roddy McDowall does in it and even saying to our cat, "Bad, bad cat. Aahh." just like Hayley Mills does in the show. (Quick aside: love that movie, but it kinda creeps me out how much the kidnapped lady in it looks like post-plastic surgery Michael Jackson. To see what I mean, go to this link and go to about the 8:30 mark. Totally distracting.)

Then the boy moved on to The Love Bug, driving his little cars all around the family room as he watched. Currently, he loves The Absent-Minded Professor (which he calls, "The Flying Car Movie"). In fact, he's watching it as I'm typing right now and is laughing his little head off.  It's been a ton of fun watching these movies again and it brings back memories. I watched them as a kid but kind of forgot about them until we ordered them through Kevin's work (since he works for Disney, we get a deal on DVD's and such).  I wonder what I'll introduce next. Son of Flubber? Swiss Family Robinson? One of those old Kurt Russell Disney movies?  Any suggestions are welcome.

3. I never, never, never want to come off as ungrateful, but I'm totally a mess with this whole pregnancy thing. I'm a big, weepy, uncomfortable mess and I'm only 24 weeks along. Let me say now, it's a pet peeve of mine when people complain about being pregnant publicly because I know that there are others who can't have a baby or who have suffered pregnancy losses (I know first-hand how gut-wrenching it can be to hear others complain about being pregnant after you've suffered a loss and how it feels to be wishing you had all those problems). So I'm not complaining.  But I cry at the drop of a hat now. I'm anxious, self-conscious, self-doubting (can I really handle two boys?), achy, and I don't know if I'll make it until March without going nuts.

4.  I still really want to learn to knit. I think it may make me less crazy as I wait for baby boy #2.  Last year, I spent an hour or so with a friend of my sister-in-law's and I got the general idea, but it takes me forever to learn something new.  Whenever one of my favorite bloggers, SouleMama, mentions knitting, I get so envious. Plus, I saw this awesome book at Barnes & Noble a couple weeks ago and  I want to do every project in it. Trouble is, I've got to learn how to knit first. Anyone out there know how?

5.  I don't feel that stressed out about the Christmas season this year. I feel totally content with doing the best I can. We've got our Christmas budget in order and everything pretty much figured out. Watch, I've just jinxed myself by typing this and now our refrigerator will stop working or something...

6. Speaking of Christmas stuff, I'm making gingerbread cookies with the boy today. And not to brag or anything, but I happen to have a really, really good recipe my mom got from a pastry chef. I'll post the recipe soon on my frugal blog, I promise.

7. First draft still isn't done. I'm making hardly any progress. I have to finish it before March. It's a moral imperative.

8. Last week, we went and saw the new Disney movie, Tangled. I loved it. A lot. I was kind of ambivalent about seeing it but now I realize that the movie was marketed totally wrong. When I saw the first trailer, complete with a song by Pink, I thought it was going to be this telling of the Rapunzel story with a modern twist. Kind of like the Shrek movies (which I don't really like in the first place), full of pop culture references.  Plus, I'm all for girls being assertive, but I didn't want to watch a Rapunzel movie about girl power and how her hair could beat guys up. But being the loyal Disney geek that I am, we went to see it anyway. It's not how I thought it would be at all. It's way, way better. It's actually reminiscent of the musical Disney fairy tale movies we grew up with. The characters are great, the art and animation are beautiful, and the story is much better than I expected. Go see it. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

9.  I love the snow. I've always liked winter -- that is, until mid-February. I don't know why, but it kind of makes me giddy to get up in the morning and see everything covered in snow. This could be due, in part, to the fact I don't have to drive in it. But still, I love it. Last week, we were supposed to get this epic blizzard. People came home from work early. Schools shut down. People stocked up on batteries. Then the blizzard blew in and out, leaving only a skiff of snow. Totally disappointing. Thankfully, we got a good amount this weekend. I love bundling up the boy and watching him have a blast. And I love bringing him in, helping him get all unbundled, and making him a cup of hot chocolate, just like my mom always did.

10. I was going to do a post last week about all the things I'm thankful for, but didn't. So, I'll just mention a few right now for kicks:  my husband, my son, the baby coming into our family (despite the crazy hormones), my mom and dad, my crazy brothers, my religious beliefs, America, freedom, my health, my husband's job (and that I get to stay home), our home, our car, our awesome neighbors and friends, my five senses, books, indoor plumbing, Indian food, Disneyland (and that we get to go for free), sleep,egg nog, and anything that makes me laugh. Like I said, just to name a few.