Little Things

Hello, there.

It's only the second week of the year and I already feel behind on things. There are several things I want to write about, but for now I will make it quick and tell you five little things I did last year that vastly improved my life.

1. Parking in the garage The only time I've consistently parked in a garage was when we lived in Omaha, but somehow walking five minutes through snow to get to the garage took the fun out of it. I imagine that in heaven we can all park in a garage. It's that good.

2. Sock basket We don't wear socks in the house. My kids don't like to go upstairs by themselves. These two things make it hard to get out of the house in good time because someone (and sometimes it's me) has always forgotten to bring socks down and then no one wants to go up and get them. Finally I put a basket by the washer and every time socks come out of the dryer, they go in the basket. We always go out the door by the laundry room, so the socks are always right there. It's awesome.

3. Lamps in dining room Our old house was small and very open. You could have two lamps on and light the whole living and dining area. Not the case in this house. I spent $20 on two lamps at WalMart and it was like taking a whole bottle of Prozac. I love lights! Someday we will get around to putting things on the walls, but now that these lamps are there, I really don't care when.

4. Extra beaters I don't like a heavy hand mixer. I always buy the $6 mixers at WalMart. The problem is, they don't last very long, so I usually buy a couple at a time so I don't get stuck in the middle of making something with no mixer. The last time I had to toss one I forgot to throw out the beaters. Later I was making two things that had to be mixed and I realized that I didn't have to wash the beaters in between; I could just put in the other set of beaters. I know that makes me sound like the laziest person in the world, but it's really fabulous.

5. Saying no The older I get, the more introverted I become, but I still suffer from this condition that causes me to sign up for things without really thinking it through. This year, though, I tried to slow down and I even said no to some things. I'm even thinking of things to say no to next fall. It's nice.

I hope you're having a terrific 2012. I hope to have my Word of the Yer post done sometime soon, but in the mean time, you should check out Amber's Mind*Body*Soul Challenge!