That went well

When I take a day to go shopping (other than grocery shopping) by myself, I spend more time debating and deciding than I do actually putting items in my cart. The conversation in my head goes something like this:

Me: WOW, 40% off on these cute little [tags/ribbons/beads/fill-in-the-craft-item-of-your-choice]! Wonder if I can live without them?

Me: Yeah, I probably can.

Me: But 40% off? That makes them practically FREE!

Me: I'll figure out something to do with them.

Me: But do I have room in the craft closet to store more [tags/ribbons/beads/fill-in-the-craft-item-of-your-choice]?

Me: Well, I could consolidate the paper stash and I think there's an empty bin taking up a lot of space on that shelving unit and, and, and …

And then I toss it in the cart, pay for it, bring it home, put it away and forget about it. Or I don't. Depending on how the debate with myself went.

When my husband and I take a day together to shop, we're a little more, um, streamlined.

It didn't help at all (or maybe it did, depending upon which of our perspectives you're looking from) that I lost my shopping list somewhere in the bookstore. OUR FIRST STOP.

As God is my witness, I will never take a paper list shopping with me again! That's what the Listonic app is for, and it works quite well, thankyouverymuch.

Three stores and lunch, and four hours later we were heading home. Seriously! The man is NOT a shopper. You go in the front door, ask someone where the remote-control cars for four-year-olds are, pick the one (or, in our case, the three) you want and head for a check-out line.

We'll definitely do it again. (Next year. Heh.) We had a good day together, and he was able to keep his sense of humor about crowded stores, traffic and my anguish at losing the list. He actually did better than I did. City traffic makes me crazy after all these years.

And since I did find some craft supplies I can actually USE to make GIFTS for THIS CHRISTMAS, well … it's time for me to get to work play.

If you're going to make glass magnets, be sure to use fabric,
magazine images or scrapbooking paper for the designs.
Ink-jet printed images don't work. Ask me how I know.

Next up …

I need to start making lists again. How is it that life gets so busy I can't remember everything that needs to be done in my head? Early fall always seems to be a hectic time here in the Middle of Nowhere. I'm almost grateful the deer ate all the tomatoes. I seriously don't have much time for kitchen duties these days.

I've moved my grocery list to my smartphone, which was a brilliant idea. I could never remember to grab the paper list from the front of the refrigerator, but I always have my phone with me. I use an app called Listonic, which categorizes the items for you, lets you save them, offers quick lists and favorite/recent items. It's easy-peasy and works great for grocery shopping.

I've downloaded Evernote, which is probably what I'll use to keep track of all the upcoming projects. I haven't started exploring it yet. One of its main features is that you can sync it across all your devices. Not sure if that's really a feature I need, since the device I use most often is the phone. But it might be easier to input things initially using the laptop keyboard.

Anyway. On to the projects.

We've set a date and secured a venue for the public screening of Iron Jawed Angels. Now I need to create a poster and get the word out to local papers and radio stations. That's today's job. (So why am I blogging? Because I signed up for NaBloPoMo! I'm so glad I moved the photo posts over here, it's the only way I can keep the daily blogging streak going sometimes. Oh, and thanks to both of you for looking at them.)

I dreamed about creating a poster. Remember when I first wrote about showing the film? I had dreams that night, as well. Last night's design dreams were very helpful, actually, all I'm going to have to do is find a high-resolution image of the film's poster (or scan the cover of the DVD), put the words I dreamed with the image and print it.

Another upcoming project involves running. We're not called Knit. Run. Reap. Eat. for nothing around here. The lovely Shauna and I were texting back and forth during the Olympics and she offered me a spot in the next 5K program of Up and Running. AWESOME! (I should have written this post yesterday, and I apologize profusely for not doing so. Shauna was giving away three more spots, but the deadline was last night. Arghhh. I feel like CARP for not being more on the ball. Another reason I need to start making that list.)

I'm excited to have the kickstart of a formal running program. When I've trained for previous races, I've printed out schedules from Runner's World or Hal Higdon, and they've worked – I've crossed the finish line each time I've started a race. But this will be different, more supportive and with no race on a future schedule. It's strictly for me-me-me, to get me back in running form so that I can maybe lose some lard and not have to buy bigger clothes for winter. (My closet is much like a department store at this point, with items available in every size. I'd like to clear it out, not add to it!)

My husband and I have an annual retreat coming up in a couple weeks, and we're trying to arrange a visit from his son and family. I want to visit my son and his family during my granddaughter's fall soccer season. I'll be going to the West Virginia Jefferson-Jackson Dinner as my county's Democrat of the Year in October, and we want to have a couple of election-season parties.

So. My plate is full. And I love it that way.

When's your busy season? What time of year do you wish you could add more hours to the day, or more days to the week?