by Michelle
14. October 2010 15:02
Monday 6 a.m.
Badgered Tucker out of bed. Made coffee and waffles. Processed Memoir of Me Gift Certificate Orders. Emptied the mud room of every shoe, jacket, and sport paraphernalia. Washed the walls and floors. Walked into the laundry room to do a load. Looked in the freezer. Walked upstairs with a frozen chicken. Forgot the laundry. Saw fuzzied noodles in our backed-up sink. Called Walter -- a plumber from Craigslist -- to fix our garbage disposal.
11:30 a.m.
Ate a peanut butter bagel. Put on my shorts to go for a run. Jumped over a gartner snake and sprinted 5 miles home. Remembered I used to pick those suckers up and get an orange, stinky secretion all over my hands. While in the shower, thought maybe I should go back and see if he secreted orange stuff. Decided not to.
3 p.m.
Made two Memoir of Me calls. Walked to bus stop to get Alyssa. Got asked an inappropriate question by a teenage boy. Heard his female friend say, "She's a mom!" Heard the boy say, "She doesn't look like it." Decided not to answer the question and skipped up the rest of the street.
4:30 p.m.
Picked Tucker up in my Memoir of Me mobile. Got super irritated when he scolded me that he doesn't like it when I pick him up in a car with kid characters all over it. Bare-footed out to the garden to pick tomatoes. Squished a a rotten one between my toes. Gagged a little. Cooked pasta to go with my roasted chicken. Opened a bottle of wine.
6 p.m.
Saw Eric walk in with a new iMac computer. Marveled at the sleek beauty of it. Ate chicken dinner together. Made a comment that was misconstrued by Eric. Had a spat. Watched Dancing with the Stars. Showed Alyssa how I can do the very same dance moves. Saw the skepticism in her face. Helped Tucker with his Spanish. Made up with Eric.
Tuesday 6 a.m.
Got up and did the same thing as yesterday except raisin bran. Processed orders for 9 Memoir of Me books. Made Alyss breakfast in bed. Got super mad when she yelled at me to come and get her tray. Ran eight miles. Did not see the snake.
11:30 a.m.
Met my BFF for lunch in downtown Minneapolis. Ate a tuna melt. Saw a bunch of cute guys who don't work in my closet. Thought about renting an office downtown.
3 p.m.
Called 3 friends. Wrote two letters. Made a 66 item to-do list. Decided to get a big blue exercise ball to sit on, to to replace my black office chair, in front of my Memoir of Me iMac. Wanted to go buy the ball right then. Instead, went home to let Walter in to fix the garbage disposal.
6 p.m.
Went to family reading night with Alyssa. Looked at other parents and wondered if they wanted to be there? Ate a piece of cake. Chatted with the librarian. Gave Alyssa a bath. Noticed Tucker on Facebook. Took the laptop away. Told him to do his homework. Saw the youtube video of "United Breaks Guitars" with Eric. Thought about making my own song. Wondered if anyone would like it?
What about you?
by Michelle
21. September 2009 16:38
My dad retired after 34 years at the State of Minnesota. I admire, so much, his commitment and dedication in his career. I can't be focused, committed enough to last 34 minutes with any one thing! (except Eric) I remember the day, clearly, that he got his job. We were all so excited and celebrated together as family. I don't remmeber the socks he had on the day he got the job. Now, 34 years later, we celebrated together as a family and I will remember his socks.
Below is a picture of my dad's socks at his lovely garden dinner party. Mom said she hid these socks in the dirty laundry. Dad hunted them down to ensure that this was part of his party dress ensemble. Great job, Dad! Way to go out in style. This is definately a memory I would put in a keepsake Memoir of Me personalized kids book. Create your story to enhance relationships. What about you?
by Michelle
14. September 2009 06:08
Pleasure is basic a human need. Pleasure is a need with which humans play games. Games called deny and hedonize. We deny ourselves of our basic need of pleasures in beauty and desire and love and intellect and sustenance. At other times, we hedonize these same pleasures.
Pleasure list -- 8 things to do before winter.
1. Ride a bike without a helmet. If you are girl, ride in a skirt.
2. Hold someone's hand and read their palm with a story from your gut.
3. Stare directly at the sun at sunset until it's vibrance makes you squint.
4. Breathe, deep. Inhale through your nose and imagine the soft air satiating your innards.
5. Write a personal story capturing the warm earth smells and save it for a winter day.
6. Spread your barenaked toes flat in the green, just cut, grass. Then sprint, super fast.
7. Feel the word pleasure on your tongue as you say "pleasure" over and over.
8. Do the first thing pleasurable that comes to mind.
I am not a gardener. Tending to plants is not a natural gift for me . Therefore, the beauty of my pots pleasures me in the front of my house. One of my best summer pleasures is about 5 p.m., I put on a sundress and water my pots. I pleasure in the heat of the sun on my back. I pleasure in the sounds of fluttering insect wings and Alyssa's feet tramping over earth to get to me. I pleasure in any new pale-purple, funnel-shaped buds proliferating in my pots. What about you?
by Michelle
9. September 2009 19:06
Monetize is word that I have been thinking about. I guess twitter and facebook even have a hard time monetizing. Monetize means figuring out how to convert your passion into money. I wonder how I can monetize when the only thing I am really good at is buying Steve Madden boots at second hand stores for $8.00. Eric says my new Madden's look like Moonboots. I think my Madden's make me feel creative and snappy. Both are things a personalized children's book author might need to figure out how to monetize.
by Michelle
8. September 2009 17:54
Our neighbor had a garage sale last week. Emily and Anna made book marks and had a stand at the sale. Alyssa really wanted to have a business stand, too. So we made popcorn! Tons of popcorn. And bagged it up. Alyssa set her stand next to Emily and Anna. This is all three girls first start at owning their own business. I think I should've put up a Memoir of Me stand right next to them. There is definately synergy in the book mark business and personalized kids book business! Way to go Alyssa, Anna and Emily.
