Monthly Archive for November, 2009

It’s NaBloPoMo Day 13!

Today’s confession: I love numbers.

We’ve reached Lucky Number 13! Oddly enough, today is also Friday the 13th! Sweet! I love it when things like this happen!

Numbers and I get along really well. I joke that math is hard and I should go shopping (a reference to that skit in SNL that makes me laugh!), but the truth of the matter is that numbers and I are great friends. In fact, my love of numbers not only helped me reach my goals with Weight Watchers, it gets me through the day with a smile.

Everywhere I look, I see number patterns, and they make me smile. I make wishes at 11:11 and at 12:34. Look for the number 23, and you’ll see it. I’m one of those dorks people who knows Pi to more digits than I care to admit out loud.

My dad made us learn our social security numbers at a very early age. I still know my College ID Number by heart.

So, because of this, it’s no shock that I love number games. Here’s one:

What is…
8 + 6
6 + 8
7 + 7
7 x 2
2 + 12
13 + 1
7 + 7

What’s the first vegetable that pops into your head?

It was carrot; wasn’t it?

(They say 95% of the people polled will say carrot. Don’t ask me why.  Regardless of how it works, it’s a really cool party trick and especially effective if you write down “carrot” on a piece of paper for your “reveal.”)

Another number game from my childhood is one that I only remember the punchline. I don’t remember the formula used to get there. My cousin and his friends would do this to us, and it was hilariously embarrassing. (I rode the bus with the “older kids,” and…need I say more??)

Anyway, they’d tell us to punch in different numbers on a calculator, adding, subtracting, multiplying, and when we were done, they’d burst out in fits of laughter, hardly able to contain their glee. They’d tell us to turn the calculator upside down and read the answer out loud:

55378008

(Read that upside-down while pretending to be a 12-yr old boy.)

Here’s another one of my favorites. Last year, I made this list to help people pick a New Years Resolution. This time, let’s do something a bit different. I know! What’s the ONE THING you should do today?

Let’s find out!

1) Pick your favorite number between 1-9.
2) Multiply by 3
3) Add 3
4) Multiply by 3 again (it’s okay to use a calculator…I won’t tell anyone.)
5) You’ll get a 2 digit number…
6) Add the digits together to obtain your score.

Now, let’s find out what your score means!

Remember:  No cheating and just picking one that looks good…this is scientific! It’s based on numbers! Let the numbers do all the work…don’t peek ahead and then try to get the answer you want!

(Not that you would ever do such a thing…)

Now…with the number you got from above, you’ll see your personalized answer!

WHAT IS ONE THING YOU SHOULD DO TODAY?

1. Drink more water.
2. Exercise.
3. Take a daily vitamin.
4. Use a moisturizer.
5. Read a book.
6. Floss.
7. Donate to a worthy cause.
8. Plan a trip.
9. Leave a comment here for The Casual Perfectionist.
10. Watch a good movie.

Okay, stop picking different numbers, and just leave a comment already.

It’s NaBloPoMo Day 11!

Today’s confession: I named my BlackBerry, and I refer to her as a she.

Ancient civilizations personified nature, and I’ve named my BlackBerry. We’ve both embraced things we don’t fully understand and feel comfortable doing so.

Is that so wrong?

I forget that most normal people don’t name inanimate objects. In fact, I’ve had people look at me funny when I refer to her as a she. I do it without even thinking, because my BlackBerry IS a she, and her name is Glenda.

“Where’s Glenda!?” I’ll ask. “Momma! Glenda’s playing that song again!” my daughter will say when someone calls me. “Don’t forget to take Glenda,” my husband will remind me. “Just call me on Glenda,” I’ll say. Even my friends refer to her as Glenda.

How did we name her Glenda? Well, it all started when I got her way back in June. Really? Has it only been since June that Glenda has been in my life? It seems like I’ve always known her.

But, I digress…  Anyway…

The GPS on Glenda talks out loud. This is one of my favorite features. This allows me to keep my hands on the wheel and my eyes on the road, even when I don’t know where I’m going. When we were trying it out, Claire told me she sounded like a Glenda, and I agreed. Because her initials are GPS, her full name Glenda Princess Sign was pretty easy to figure out.

Glenda has a mind of her own, yet she almost always does what I tell her. She’s an excellent assistant and very calm in the midst of even the worst traffic. I never leave home without her, and just knowing she’s there is a huge comfort to me. Glenda has gotten me out of more than a couple binds, and she asks for so little in return.

If I could just teach her how to unload the dishwasher, my life would be perfect.

It’s NaBloPoMo Day 9!

Today’s confession: If I complete something that wasn’t on my To Do List, it takes every ounce of my being not to write it on there anyway, just so I can cross it off.

I love lists. I really love my To Do List. The thrill I get from checking things off the list gives my heart a little jolt.

Back before all my life was computerized, I had a physical To Do List. I’d physically write things on the list and physically cross them off the list. When I switched to an electronic version of my To Do List, I wondered if erasing pixels on a screen would give me the same satisfaction as crossing things off a list.

It does.

There is something about seeing that blank space where there once was a task that just makes my heart go pitter-pat.

That being said, if I happen to do something that wasn’t on my list, I don’t get the same feeling of satisfaction by completing it, knowing that it won’t be crossed off (albeit electronically) my list. In fact, there are times when I will put it on the list and immediately remove it.

Oh, the feeling of accomplishment! The sense of achievement when I cross it off the list is almost worth the silliness of putting it on there in the first place.

Plus, it could be worse. I mean, I stopped putting “make a To Do List” as the first item on my To Do List years ago…

It’s NaBloPoMo Day 7!

Today’s confession: While cleaning, I’ll bend over, pick a small piece of trash up off the floor, and if it’s small enough, I’ll drop it in the path of the vacuum.

I take great joy in doing this. The louder the sound it makes when it goes in the vacuum, the better. Dried pieces of play-doh make an especially nice rattly sound.

What’s your favorite thing to suck up with the vacuum?

It’s NaBloPoMo Day 5!

Today’s confession: I tried to learn how to be patient, but it took way too long, so I gave that up. Now, I just pretend.

It’s true. I am not a patient person. I’m not. I want things done. I want things done now. I want things done correctly, and I want upwards of 94% success rate on all projects, real or imaginary. And, if they’re not perfect, I want you to want them to be perfect.

Is that so wrong? What’s wrong with perfection? It pains me to type something less than 100%, but I’m trying to be casual and realistic. What’s wrong with wanting perfection?  Come on, slackers!

But, just like I remind Claire: What does Mick Jagger say?

We can’t always get what we want.

I’m slowly starting to accept this, or at least I’m getting better at pretending to accept it. Ever since having a child, I’ve gotten really good at pretending that I’m a patient person. People accuse me commend me all the time for how patient I am with Claire, how calm I remain in various situations.

And to those people I say, “Really? Cool! The façade and filter are still working; I’ll tell the engineers.”

Seriously. You can’t hear the screaming in my head? I mean, I know I’m not going to get perfection when it comes to a toddler or preschooler, so I consider the “journey toward learning how things are supposed to be done” to be the important part. (See how I justified that so nicely in my head?  Whatever works, I say.) But, it’s the impatience that is driving me crazy. Hers and mine.

Every time I hear the voices in my head scream, “I want my child to learn how to be patient right now!” you probably hear me laughing. I love Irony. Irony makes me giggle.

The irony of the situation is not lost on me:  Not only am I impatient about her being impatient, I understand her need to want things to be perfect, which feeds her impatience…and mine.

Wheeee! This is a fun ride! Look at us go!

So, that’s my confession for today. I may appear to be patient, but I’m not. It was taking too long, so I gave it up. Now, I just pretend.  I can only hope that I’m a good enough pretender that Claire will think it’s normal to be a patient person.

And, yes, that laughing you hear is me.