Perception, Vicodin and DVDs

I have some shocking, gasping, breath taking news!  I’ve actually gotten something together!!!  You can too!   I sent all my old VHS videos (30 years worth) to a company who turned them all into DVDs and mailed them back to me.  You don’t know how many times I’ve purchased some sort of transfer equipment over the years and threatened to actually do this myself.  Yes, maybe I spent a little more turning to one of these companies, but time wise, this was completely worth it!  I know there are lots of local places who do this as well but I used a company called Southtree (www.southtree.com) http://southtree.com/http://southtree.They did a great job and labeled what I had labeled and left blank what I didn’t. After having minor surgery last week, I was laid up a couple of days (huge bummer having to rest) and used some of this time to watch a DVD here and there and label what is actually on there. There are many options of how to convert these videos.  For me, I thought DVD would make the most sense.    

It was interesting to watch a 10 year old video of my family at Christmas and remembering what I thought at that time compared to what I thought as I viewed it ten years later.  Granted I was pretty loopy on Vicodin watching the video, I still noticed so many great things I hadn’t thought of before.  I remember at the time the video was made I didn’t want to be on camera because of my weight and I also remember wishing we were in a bigger house, and I also felt pretty overwhelmed a lot of the time having four kids and not getting all things done I wish I could.  As I watched the video I didn’t think I looked that bad and all I saw was a very happy family in a nice cozy living room laughing and enjoying each other.  It’s interesting how our perception changes with time, experience, wisdom and maturity (and Vicodin). We focus on the negative so easily but with time we realize that there are times in our lives we should have just cherished instead of worrying so much about how we were perceived.

I’m thinking about that picture where you can see a young woman's profile one way when you look at it or an old woman's face if you look at it another way.  I don’t think there’s a right or wrong about what you are supposed to see – unless the lady is moving, then back off the Vicodin.  Truly, what matters is not what others see but it is what you feel about yourself.  If you are not that crazy about yourself right now, find one good thing you like and let it shine through.  What we put out is what people see.  I’m a firm believer in a cup half-full attitude.  Between being positive and praying it seems like life is much easier to handle.  When I get a “poor me” attitude it seems like I am surrounded by negativity.  Notice when someone tells you something negative it’s easy to answer with some negative of your own.  It’s harder to spread positive energy but it’s much more productive.

So, because of my drug induced rambling, I’m feeling good about myself.  One, I got my video project done that I’ve been wanting to complete forever and two, I’m realizing that even though I don’t like myself in videos now I’m going to look great when I watch them ten years from now!

Sure, just drop by............. but please call first!

You know the moment.  You are sitting with your husband watching a movie knowing you should probably be folding the load of clean laundry you threw on the floor in front of you an hour ago and you should probably move the dinner dishes from the sink to the dishwasher.  You should but what the heck, it’s just your family at home, and you are relaxing by golly.  Ding Dong.  Oh my gosh, the door bell!  We didn’t order pizza!  We already bought our girl-scout cookies!  We aren’t expecting anybody.  The dogs are barking.  Maybe if nobody moves, no one will know we are home.  Too late, your youngest daughter inquisitively just answered the door.  Oh great!  The next door neighbor wants to come in and talk to your husband about something.  Quick!  Operation Unexpected Guest!  As your husband awkwardly talks to the neighbor in the entry-way you quickly throw all the unfolded laundry behind the big recliner and start piling the dinner dishes into the microwave.  Your older daughter, who’s already very familiar with the drill starts wiping down the counters and the kitchen table.  The façade must take place.  No one needs to know that we don’t live in a picked up house all the time.  No one needs to know that the only time it’s extremely clean, with organized cupboards and all is when the in-laws are scheduled to arrive. Only after your friends really know you well can you allow them to see the real you – your real house.  Hopefully when people come in they think we just carried the 3 big bags of donations down the stairs that afternoon and they really haven’t been sitting in the living room corner for two weeks.  Only our family and the pizza delivery guy know how long we’ve really left them there.

To be able to actually invite someone into the main level of my home I would prefer an hour notice.  Fifteen minutes notice will get you in the front door but you may or may not be permitted to use the bathroom.  As far as overcoming this dilemma the best thing you can do is give others the same courtesy you would like.  Give a little notice.  If I have to drop something at someone’s house, sometimes I’m even so courteous that I drop off the item and then call them to tell them the item is out front.  This is okay unless you are dropping off their child or their pet.

Please don’t think I don’t like having company for all of you who are saying, “Oh shoot, now I know why she only pops out her head when I stop by!”  I actually love having company but I also like to be prepared.  If my husband is wanting the house looking spectacular all he has to do is invite some friends over, or at least tell me that he has.  I have fallen for it a few times too many.  I can’t believe I actually cleaned the house for no reason whatsoever!

Seriously though, come over, any of you, anytime!  But if you didn’t give me any notice please do me two favors.  One, don’t go in the laundry room for fear you may not find your way out and two, don’t ask me to drive you anywhere – because my car is an entirely different blog post!

Attention all Losers!

So you’re a loser.  Not a Loser loser, just a person who loses or misplaces things.  If you are like me, you always find what you lose, but it does cost you some time and frustration.  As a fellow loser, let me share some tricks that have helped me along the way.

KEYS:  Keys are one of the most common things to lose or to misplace. You leave them in your pocket, throw them on the desk, throw them on the table, leave them in your coat or even your car.  You are at your destination so keys are just a nuisance at that point and you are ready to put them down.  I’ve seen this gadget where you attach this special key chain to your keys and then you whistle to find your keys.  This requires two things, 1) you know how to whistle, and louder than a whistle-like blow and 2) you don’t have a dog that thinks you’re going to take him for a walk every time you whistle.  If your dog comes every time you whistle then your solution could be to attach a fancy key holding collar to your dog.  You would always know where your keys were as long as you always knew where your dog was.  Too bad you couldn’t attach your phone or remote control to him too.  But honestly, the easiest thing is to have a cute dish to throw your keys in or a cute key holder hanging on your wall like I do.  You get yourself in a habit of putting your keys there and trust me, after awhile, it’s a miracle; you never lose your keys at home anymore.  This solution does not help you with people who lock their keys in their car when they go places.  That’s what Onstar is for! You just call Onstar and they say, “Oh, hi again, Mrs. Costello, do you still have that cold you had last week….how did Megan’s test go”….. and then they unlock your car.

SUNGLASSES:  Sunglasses are another item easy to put down and forget where you left them and you run late for your appointment because you are in a mad search to find them before you leave the house.  Again, solution is a cute place to put them.  We have this hanging rack in our kitchen that seriously has like twelve pairs of sunglasses hanging from it.  It’s quite a conversation piece when people come over because it’s a bit obnoxious but everyone in our house can always find their sunglasses.  (The dog won’t keep these on, so don’t even try my other idea.)

ATM/CREDIT CARD:  If you’re like me and you’re a pocket girl and even though you have over fifty purses (and continue to buy more because one can never have too many purses) you still want to throw your cards in your pocket instead, then you have probably laundered money….or at least your debit card.  Twice when I have misplaced my debit card I have found it in the dryer.  Yes, it still works and it’s nice and shiny too.  However, I do not recommend this process.   Instead, buy one of those cute little rectangle, folding card holders with a clasp.  You can easily throw this in your pocket or your purse without the risk of a single card falling out.  And if it goes through the wash, you will still be able to see your security code afterward.  Note:  putting debit cards, etc. in your pockets drives your anal, organized friends and family members crazy to see you do this and they will continue to buy you cool purses for every occasion in hopes you get the hint.

REMOTE CONTROLS:  First of all, you must have a universal remote because your odds of losing the remote controller increase with every additional remote controller you own.  Second, make sure it’s fairly large, so you can see it or feel it in the cushions or under the couch. It seems as if no one can return the remote controller to the cute designated basket.  So my only advice is to purposely misplace it a few times and make the kids operate the TV as if in the olden days and actually have to push the buttons on the television (which many will not know how to do) and after they realize all the exercise they will be partaking in with getting up and down to control the TV, they will then begin to remember to put the remote control back in its proper holding place.

CELL PHONES:  If you are like my family you constantly hear, “Call my phone so I can see where it is” and then later after you find it you’re like, “Shoot, I missed a call!” Hopefully if you have an IPhone you have the “Where’s my IPhone?” app.  I’ve never used this and am hoping it will work if I lose my IPhone someday but I have a secret concern that I will somehow need my IPhone to use the app to find my IPhone.  I’m sure that’s not the case but make sure you have the app anyway.   In my household, we have six people and six cell phones.  Phones get misplaced but always seem to turn up (and one time went through the wash) but our solution is a little odd.  We keep an old cell phone around so that until the lost phone magically appears again you can program and activate your old phone until you find the lost one.  Tip: Don’t just keep the old pink phones.  This tends to irritate the boys in the family while they are missing their phones – but it does make them seem to find their lost ones quicker.

Don’t feel bad for being a loser.  Just adjust your habits to adapt to your loser ways. Click on Comments below to leave a tip for fellow losers.

Just in case Hoarders is looking for a new client

I have to confess, a Hoarders fan I am not.  It’s not that the shock factor isn’t amazing how much stuff these people keep in their homes but it’s the fear they will either discover a dead body underneath all the rubble or that I might find something a little too familiar about the things these people hold onto.  I’m actually not that bad.  I make myself go though the excess at least twice a year but I think my problem is the same as every other woman who holds onto things too long.  It’s a phrase each one of us uses when we are deciding whether to “keep” or “get rid”. “Just in Case”  Here are some examples that may or may not apply to me:   I better save this size 3T Halloween costume of Winnie the Pooh “just in case”  I someday have a grandchild that wants to be Pooh for Halloween even though imaginary said grandchild may not know who Winnie the Pooh is by then.   I better save this beaded black cocktail dress “just in case” my husband (who is a Painting Contractor) throws a big fancy company party and I think I can squeeze into a size 6 after all these years.  I better save this giant tub of child size hula skirts “just in case” my youngest daughter, who has a March birthday, wants to have a big Hawaiian themed luau for her birthday party.  I also better save this giant bag of Beanie Babies “just in case” they all become Collectors items and I can find all the missing Ty tags and get thousands of dollars for selling them.  The worst “just in case” excuses have to do with” just in case” they come back in style (mom jeans never will!), "just in case" 8 tracks or cassette tapes make a comeback,  or “just in case” I decide I want to start selling on E-bay.

Just get rid of it.  Now!  Never use “just in case” as your excuse again.  You don’t need it.   If we got rid of every single thing that we keep “just in case” we would actually have room in our coat closets for guests coats, be able to close our drawers without smashing things down  and we would actually be able to put our cars in our garages. (you know who you are!)  If you find you actually need the item that you got rid of, smile to yourself and give yourself permission to buy another one.  I guarantee you will have more times you won’t use something like that than you will.

So take the “Stop the “just in case” mentality oath! “ “I solemnly swear to not say “just in case” when I’m determining whether to get rid of something or not.”  Instead, we will now be able to open our cupboards without the fear of something falling out because we refuse to throw away 100 reusable containers or ten year old Sippy cups when our kids are teenagers!  And if there are gadgets we own that we’ve never used because we’ve never learned to use them or we think we will find the missing piece some day, get rid of it.  

I better state a disclaimer here.  Now it is possible there may be a couple of instances when “just in case” is a very reasonable and logical reason not to throw something out.  You could save your wedding dress or a family baptism gown “just in case” your child wants to wear it or use it someday.  And you better save that huge Giraffe lamp your next door neighbor gave you last Christmas (at least until next Christmas) just in case they come over and wonder where it is.

Throw away, give away, donate, and just get it out of the house and out of your sight.  If you put it in storage or in the garage you will find yourself rethinking it all.  Get rid of it “just in case” the Hoarders producers knock on your door.