Just Another Day

Things I Appreciate Today:

1)  Rainbows.  Is there another natural phenomenon that instills so much hope and happiness?  There was a huge rainbow across the sky on the way to pick up Jonah from preschool, and I couldn't keep my eyes off of it. 

2)  Noodles & Company.  It's not the greatest restaurant in the world, but I can take my sons for a little lunch and all three of us happily consume:  the two of them a moderately-priced bowl of mac 'n cheese and me whichever pasta/salad combo I've chosen for the day.  And it's all topped off with a gigantic rice crispie treat.

3)  Trader Joe's non-fat plain frozen yogurt.  It doesn't sound like it should be good, but good heavens. . .it is.  It's brand new, so don't feel bad if you've been missing out all of these years.  It's kind of like that astoundingly overpriced ("Did I really just pay $7 for 1/2 cup of frozen yogurt?") Red Mango, but it's better.  Top it off with a little TJs fresh or frozen fruit, and you have a guilt-free, ridiculously delicious dessert.  If you don't live by a Trader Joes, you should move.  You won't regret it.

4)  Schizophrenia.  Today was a typical Oregon day.  It has rained 412 different times.  But my favorite part of the Oregon weather is the unpredictability of it all.  Sure, it rained at the most inconvenient times of the day, like every time I got out of the car to take my two boys into preschool, the store, or the above-mentioned Noodles, but now they're doing this:

I can wash those pants with the muddy knees because he just slipped and fell on the soaking wet grass later.

5)  Texting.  I don't even have a text plan on my phone, if that gives you any idea how inexperienced I am with this new-fangled technological phenomenon.  My husband is in San Antonio for 4 days and in constant meetings, but with texting, I can keep my finger on the pulse of the meeting happenings (like how much Tex-Mex they're eating, and who makes the most annoying comments) and it only takes me 45 minutes to compose each text and only costs me 50 cents to say something like:  "Are you bored yet?"  Genius.

6)  Realizing I don't have to watch the season finale of True Beauty until my husband is back in town on Friday.

Things I Don't Particularly Appreciate Today:

1) Human-produced train sounds.  Loud, long train sounds, produced from the vocal chords of my 4-year old.  All. day. long.  Make it stop.

2)  Emptying the dishwasher, vacuuming and cleaning the bathrooms.  All of these things SHOULD be completed today.  But I'm not sure I can empty the dishwasher again. . .ever.  It's the least satisfying household chore in the world.  You do it, and 30 minutes later it's full again.  And even the Dyson can't increase my desire to vacuum.  But look at this great blog I wrote?  And I caught up on the CW's Privileged, so I consider this day productive.

3)  When Trader Joe's runs out of stuff.  Which they do frequently.  Today they were out of stir-fry mix (a fairly important ingredient for my menu item titled "stir-fry"), and, more importantly, suckers, which my boys earned with their stellar detective work.  And no, the banana-nut granola bar is not an adequate substitute.

4)  The entire "cast" of the 10-11 AM hour of the Today Show.  Sadly, this is usually when I'm getting ready for the day, and I turn the TV on in the background.  But seriously, Hoda is bad enough.  Al Roker makes me cringe.  And Kathie Lee?  Is there anyone in the world more innately unlikeable?  Maybe Miley Cyrus.  Maybe.  Sometimes I switch between the Today Show and The View to see how much my body can endure.  Some people do an Ironman. . .I do this.

5)  Realizing I won't be able to watch Lost until my husband is back in town on Friday.

6) Realizing I forgot to put that frozen yogurt in the freezer when I got home. . .oops!  Gotta run!