Task-Oriented and Toddler-Oriented

If there is one thing that would help you get to know me, it's the fact that I am a task-oriented person, not a people-oriented person.  This one tiny fact can help you understand so much about why I do what I do.  I mean, of course, I like people.

Well, I like some people.

I like you.  You're cool.

And of course, I am always trying to get better at focusing more on people than tasks.

For example, if I ever get snippy, impatient, or bossy, check to see if I'm trying to get something done.  Usually, that's it.  (Or I might be hungry.  That's it sometimes, too.)

Not that I use this as an excuse.  I am always working to moderate this side of me, but it is a natural part of who I am.  A people-person would rather sit and chat with someone for hours and leave their kitchen half-cleaned, or their laundry half-folded, or their Facebook half-checked.  That's just who they are.  It's wrong, but it's who they are.

I'm kidding.

Mostly.

Having a toddler around has recently thrown my task-oriented self for a huge loop.  I get really frustrated when I start something and then get interrupted.  It's like a part of my brain just shuts down and ignores everything else until it's finished.

But obviously I can't do that with a toddler.  Everything is interrupted when there's a toddler around.  And you can't really blame them.  They need help with just about everything, even in our house, where we've really tried to give her as much independence and access as possible.

So I've been working on coping mechanisms.  They're  not perfect, but they are the result of over a year of relearning how to do just about everything.  And in the spirit of the article, I will interrupt what I am trying to say periodically with pictures of Cricket trying to distract you.

1)  Make Tiny Tasks

Don't try to tackle an entire project.  Break it up into smaller pieces and focus on completing one of those.

Instead of trying to empty the whole dishwasher, I just try to empty the silverware.  Then the top tray.  Then the bottom tray.  Three separate goals for three separate times.

If I'm trying to prepare for a meal or make something during the day, I just do one step at a time.  I might chop onions, and then go push Cricket on the swing.  Later, I'll come back and wash all the potatoes, then leave and change a diaper.  I might boil the pasta, put it in the fridge, and then go read books to Cricket.

It's not just in the kitchen, either.  I might upload pictures from my camera in one sitting, go through and edit them in another, and then upload them to Facebook in a third.  (I don't have an iPhone.)

Or, instead of cleaning the entire bathroom at one time, I might only clean the sink.  Then later, or even the next day, I might clean the toilet.  Then later, the floors, etc.

Sometimes I even prep during nap time things that I can't do until she wakes up, like putting things in the food processor but waiting to turn it on.

If I think of each step as an individual task, it makes it much easier for me to break things up throughout the day.

2)  Prioritize

I plan my day in terms of what I call "time units."  My time units right now are basically broken down into five parts:  Before She Wakes Up, Morning, Nap Time, Afternoon, After Her Bedtime.  I prioritize what I do, not just by what is most important, but by what it is most important to get done during that time period.  For example, she's a light sleeper, so I save quiet things like folding laundry for nap time, and do things like washing dishes in the morning when she is content to play independently.

This prioritizing by time units helps me get the most out of the day and not feel like I'm spinning my wheels trying to do things that I can't seem to finish.

Well, not feel as much like that, anyway.

3)  Constantly tell yourself "My baby is more important."

This is self-explanatory, but worth including.  If I get really frustrated, this is my mantra.  Even if nothing at all gets done all day, I've played with Cricket, she's healthy, and she's cared for.  Mission Accomplished.

4)  Make lists

I know some people don't like lists, but they are my life-support system.  Because of our real food emphasis and my trying to save money by making stuff myself, I have a never ending list of things I need to do or make, like granola bars, cereal, chopping and freezing veggies, making bread, making bath salts, etc.  (That last one is not applicable to the real food part of the conversation.  I do not recommend eating bath salts.)

I also have a list pad on the fridge that is our running grocery list, so when we are out of something, or I think of something we need, I immediately write it down and don't have to remember in a week when I go shopping.

As a task-oriented person, lists help me feel in control.  I can point to my list and say, "Look what I have accomplished!  I have done things!"  I have even been known to add things to my daily to-do lists just so that I can cross them off and prove that I did stuff.  Hey, it works!

5)  Be realistic

I have slowly and painfully realized that I have new limitations now that I am chasing and being chased by a small person.  I've gotten to where I won't put more than about five things on my daily to-do list, because it's almost impossible for me to accomplish more than that.  I just had to adjust to a new normal, and that's ok.

If you are not a task-oriented person, first of all, you probably quit reading this a while ago because it doesn't apply to you, and because you don't feel the need to finish reading just out of obligation like the rest of us.  You also probably think I'm kind of crazy and very uptight.  While that may be, hopefully some of the things I've said ring true to a few people.

Right?

How to Be Awesome at Your Morning Routine

My morning routine has evolved over the years.  At one point, it involved taking a shower every single morning.  (I've since moved that to nights, because then Brian is home to listen for Cricket.)  At another point, it involved a Caboodle full of makeup. (Dude!  They still make those!)   When I was teaching, it took almost exactly an hour for me to get ready.  Now, it takes 14 minutes.  Yeah.  You heard me.  Fourteen minutes from the moment I get out of bed to the moment I'm ready to walk out of the house.

I'm a freakin' morning ninja.

1)  The Basics

Wash face, brush teeth, put in contacts, etc.  Take 7 minutes.  (Eight if my contacts are being rebellious.) 

2)  Clothes

Getting dressed takes way less time than it used to for a couple of reasons.  One, I care way less about what I'm wearing these days.  And two, my clothes are clean, folded, and easy to find in my drawer, compared to when I was teaching and my clothes were clean and heaped in a gigantic pile beside my bed.  Fishing through to find matching socks or the specific shirt I needed took up a lot of time.  Not at all kidding.

Remember this post?

Now, pulling out and putting on a t-shirt and one of the like, two pairs of jeans I own takes 2 minutes.

3)  Hair

I would wear a ponytail every day, but my head is freakishly round.  Like, cartoonishly round.  Ponytails accentuate this to the point where I would be scared to hang out with soccer fans.  So usually I just pull back my would-be bangs.  (I haven't had real bangs since middle school, as a service to society.)  Takes 2 minutes.

4)  Makeup

It strikes me as odd that the older I get and the more I need makeup, the less of it I wear.  I would like to say this is because of my growing self-confidence and natural beauty, but it's really just because I care less and less.  Also, most of it would rub off on Cricket, which would look weird, so I'm down to eyeliner and mascara.  That's it.  Takes 3 minutes.  (Two minutes to apply, and one minute to get off the mascara that inexplicably always ends up on my face somewhere.)

And that's it!  After that, I'm ready for:

5)  Facebook/Blog/Email/Pinterest

45 minutes. 

How to Be Awesome at Fantasy Football: The Draft

I have never been really into football, which is kind of unusual because I live in the South, where even animals are into football.

Photo from Zara Windsor

Photo from Kendall Hill

But yeah, never been that into it.  I mean, I was in band in high school, so I went to every football game for four years in a row.  I even went to a game in college, which is impressive because our college was not known for it's football team.  In fact, I think they'd only had one like, two years by that point.  I'm pretty sure there might have been people at our college who didn't even know we had a football team.

Anyway, all that to say that I decided to join the party this year.  I am going to totally care about football.

So I joined a fantasy football league.

My friends and my sister are always talking about it, and it sounded like kinda fun, maybe, so I thought, "What the heck?" And I signed up.

I'm sure this will be a series of posts, but today's post is just about the draft.  I worked very hard to get ready for my draft, so I will share my tips for everyone else.

1)  Learn the Basic Rules of the Game

I cannot stress this enough.  If you don't know how the game is played, you won't understand why a running back is more valuable than a tackle and you will draft nine kickers because you think they score a lot.

As I said, I have watched football before, so I know the basic basic rules, like, "the ball should go the direction your team is facing," and "when they kick the ball through the Y, it's extra points."  I know you aren't supposed to grab someone's face mask and I know "First and ten, do it again!" from the very helpful cheerleaders.

What I didn't know was...everything else.  I had to spend several nap times (my most valuable unit of time) learning the positions of the different players and what each position did.  I had to learn why sometimes it's ok to tackle a guy and sometimes it's super not ok.  (That part still seems funny to me, but whatevs.)

Turns out, Wikipedia is actually a fantastic source for football 101.  I now know my quarter backs from my running backs and my safeties from my interceptions!

2)  Learn The Players

In order to play fantasy football, you have to draft players to your imaginary team, and you will look stupid if you just draft the ones who's names you recognize.  You'll end up with Tim Tebow, Plaxico Burress, Michael Jordan, and John Madden.

I spent a lot more nap times combing through lists of players.  Most lists only agreed on the top three or four, so I read the ups and downs of the different players and tried to make my own top 20 lists for each position.  I also talked to my sister a lot, because she has been doing this for a while.  It's a good idea to try to find a Jedi/Sensei/ to help you get started.

I can't say that I really know that much about all the players still, but I have a notebook full of stuff I've written about them, so I can sound like I know what I'm talking about when I say, "Yeah, he should be ok now that the Falcons have moved to a more pass-friendly game," or "Yeah, he has a pretty good receiving average, and there are high expectations for him to carry the corps this year."

3)  Make Your Lists

You want to make lists of your top 20 for each major offensive position.

Geez, I sound so awesome saying that.

Anyway, when you draft, you take turns picking people you want on your team, so you need to have a long list ready if/when people take the guy you really wanted.

You only need like, ten kickers though, 'cause they're not that important.

But for all the other positions, you need at least 20, plus some sleepers, which are players who maybe haven't done great yet, but who might have a break out year and get you lots of surprise points.  If someone makes fun of a choice you made, always say he's a sleeper and smile like you know something they don't.

(Note:  This strategy does not work for Mark Sanchez.)

Source

4)  Decide on Your Strategy

This is where your Jedi/Sensei can help you a lot.  You need to decide how you are going to draft your players.  Apparently, drafting quarterbacks first is so like, five years ago.  Now, it's all about the running backs.  But what then?  Do you go for an elite quarterback next?  Or do you go for Megatron, the super awesome wide receiver who, as his nickname suggests, looks like an actual transforming robot stuck midway between humanoid shape and diesel truck form?  Do you get two pretty good running backs or do you sacrifice so you can snatch up a tight end while the good ones are still out there?

You have to decide, and you need to be flexible.  Depending on where you are in the draft order, your strategy can completely change.  This is where the next step can help you.

5)  Do a Mock Draft

I was really intimidated by the idea of doing a mock draft, but I'm so glad I did it.  It helped me first of all figure out the platform that I would be using, so I knew which buttons to click and how to set up my customized lineup ahead of time.  It also helped me get used to thinking through my strategies on the fly.  I was last in the draft order, which is pretty much my worst case scenario, so it was a good chance to see how that would go.

Turns out, I did pretty well, partly because I think some of the other people in the mock draft were either drunk or they know even less than I do about football.  Some of their picks made no sense whatsoever, and coming from me, that's saying something!

6)  Draft Away! (Easier Said than Done)

Our league had kind of a saga trying to draft.  We went to the local Buffalo Wild Wings for their "Official Draft Day."  We made our reservations ahead of time, and told them we were doing a live online draft.  We get there, get all our computers set up, and then realize they have no Internet.

No.  Internet.

Please keep in mind, this is the establishment that has been doing an advertising blitz for the last month about being "Fantasy Football Draft Central," and we went on their advertised "National Draft Day."  We had two IT guys in our group, and they tried every trick they knew to get us online.  It kind of worked, and they finally got us on, but the connection was so slow it wouldn't load the page.

Fail fail fail.

We decided to go back to our house and try it.  By then, it was way past our scheduled draft time, and the computer had auto drafted for us.  We got all set up to redo it...

...and then we discovered that we couldn't reschedule the draft until at least the following day.  So frustrating.

So our "Third Time's a Charm" draft happened a few nights later, but instead of getting together again, we all just drafted from our homes.  It was not nearly as epic, but what are you gonna do?

I got a pretty solid team, although the host site didn't think so, and projected me to finish dead last in our league.

Whatever, Yahoo.  You don't know me.

Here's my team, for those who are interested.

Beginner's Luck

QB:  RG3
RB:  Marshawn Lynch
RB:  Jamaal Charles
WR:  AJ Green
WR:  Vincent Jackson
Flexi: Reggie Wayne
TE:  Gronk/Owen Daniels (Since Gronk is out for the first few games)
K:  Sebastian Janikowski
DEF:  Texans
D:  Ray Ventrone
D: Rashad Johnson

Bench:  Darren McFadden, Montee Ball, Zach Sudfeld, Mike Williams, Andrew Luck, Chris Ivory, and Carson Palmer

See?  Not bad.

If you really want to see how awesome they are, I made a Pinterest board of them all doing awesome stuff. It makes me feel better when I worry that my team sucks.

I didn't get any super elite players, mostly because everyone kinda freaked me out by doing not at all what I was told everyone would do, and also because I was 7/8 in the draft order.  No worries, though.  It'll be cool.  I have high hopes for RG3 now that he is 100% recovered, and my RB's are solid.  We can do this!

Play ball!

er...

Hike!

How to Be Awesome at Hiking and Camping: Part 2

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.

Last time, I talked about the basics of packing for a hiking trip.  But before you set foot on a trail, it's important to take some time to change your mindset.  This is a big focus of all the books and magazines we studied for years, and it makes sense.  Most of us start out with very little experience outside of a very developed society, and the rules and expectations are just different.  You have to think like a hiker when you're in the backcountry, or you and others around you will not have a great time.

Think Like a Hiker

1)  Every Ounce Counts.

Let's talk about those first disaster trips for a second.  What kind of stuff did I pack in my bookbag?  (Because it was a bookbag at that point, not a hiking backpack with padded shoulders and a waist strap.)  Let's see:  hardback books, jeans, cans of beef stew (gross), and an entire canister of Gatorade powder.  Like, enough to make 30 gallons of Gatorade.

Why?  Why would I bring those horribly heavy, terribly impractical things on a three-day (ended up being a one-and-a-half day) hike?  Because I wasn't thinking like a hiker and because I was terrified of forgetting something.  This is why it's so important to make your master list and go through it many, many times.  You don't want to be impulsively throwing extra things in your bag at the last minute "just in case you need them."  That's a good way to add another ten or so pounds to your pack.

The "Every Ounce Counts" rule means that you get rid of all the extra packaging when you pack your food.  It means that you take zip-off pants instead of a separate pair of shorts.  It means that you try to plan your hikes around water sources so you don't have to pack three days worth of water, one of your heaviest items.  This is the number one rule of packing, and it affects everything that you bring.

Some people get really extreme with this rule and drill holes in their toothbrushes, or take off the zipper pulls on their clothing.  Some people buy cheap books and just tear out the few chapters they think they will read on the trip.  If you keep those things in mind, all of a sudden, your debate about whether or not to bring toothpaste doesn't seem so crazy.

2)  Be Prepared

Yes, the old Boy Scout adage.  This seems to contradict the first rule, but they actually work together.  The challenge, and I think the fun, of packing for a hike is to take everything you need and not one thing more.  When you get back from your trip and unpack, you should be able to look at everything in your bag and think, "Yup.  That came in handy."  On the flip side, you shouldn't have to say, "I really wish I'd had that."  (I mean, besides pizza.  Everyone wishes for pizza while they hike.)

Brian is the master of efficient packing.

So when you pack, you are always going back and forth between needing to be prepared and needing to pack lighter.  Again, thinking back to those early trips, I may have had tons of unnecessary stuff, but I didn't have a foam mat, so I froze at night as the ground sucked all the heat out from under me.  All the jeans in my pack couldn't insulate me as well as a thin foam mat would have.  Choose carefully.

3)  Hope for the Disney Ending.  Prep for the Shakespeare Ending.

This kind of goes along with the whole "Be Prepared" thing, but it's a little more specific than that.  You need to think about worst case scenarios.

Because this guy is definitely worst-case scenario.
This guy happened.  To me.

In regular life, worst case scenario usually means we call 911 and have someone available to help us in minutes, or we have a car that we can drive to or away from wherever we do or don't want to go.  In the woods, worst case scenario is pretty bad.  Someone gets hurt, you have no phone signal, and you're several hours away from the nearest road.  Plus, you have no Google to tell you whether or not that little guy up there is going to make your finger fall off, or if the pain is just for funsies.

You need to spend some time reading up on first aid and emergency care.  Learn how to splint a broken bone.  Learn how to signal with a mirror.  Learn how to treat a burn.  Learn to recognize venomous snakes, and whether or not you have flesh-eating caterpillars in your area.  And most importantly, carry the right supplies in your first aid kit.  Carry sting-ease to treat insect bites and evil (but harmless) saddle-back caterpillar stings (see above). Carry burn cream, topical antibiotics, bandages, and medicine.  If there are snakes in your area, take a snake bite kit.  You'll probably never need it, but take it anyway.  Always, always always take a map.  Even if it's to a trail you've been a hundred times.  You never know when you might need to find the quickest route to the highway, and it's probably not that lovely switchback down the mountain you just spent five hours on.

In the ten or so years we have been hiking, we have only had to deal with minor injuries, the worst of which was some second degree burns, so odds are that probably nothing will happen.  We're also really careful, we think through situations to make sure we are not putting ourselves in danger unnecessarily, and we always have the supplies we need in case something does happen.  We hope it won't.  But we're ready if it does.

4)  Leave No Trace

This is a huge one.  It is your personal responsibility to make sure that any trails, campsites, or other locations you visit show no sign that you were ever there.

Pictured:  Unspoiled beauty.  Keep it that way.

Of course, first and foremost this means no littering.  Everything you pack in, you should pack out.  Don't try to bury your trash.  Animals will just dig it up.  If you bury your TP, make sure the hole is 6 inches deep or deeper.  (There are actually entire books devoted to the issues of using the restroom in the woods.)

Don't, I repeat, DON'T try to burn your trash on your campfire.  The fire is rarely hot enough to burn it completely, and it just makes a trashy mess for the next camper to clean out.  If you do find someone else's trash, pack it out when possible.

Beyond just trash issues, though, if you made your own campsite, when you leave, no one should be able to tell you camped there.  Re-cover the ground with leaves or pine straw, cover your fire pit with dirt (after it is cool enough to rest your hand on), and double check for ropes tied to trees.  Leave. No. Trace.

If you use an established campsite, still make sure that it is the image for a perfect campsite.  No trash, chopped branches, food on the ground, or whatever.  Leave. No. Trace.

When you're hiking, make sure that your foam mat isn't brushing up against trees and leaving little foam crumbs like Hansel and Gretel.  Move branches aside as you pass instead of hacking them down with a machete like you're Crocodile Dundee.  Take the switchbacks instead of cutting a path straight down the mountain, which increases erosion and adds wear to the landscape.  Walk single file in a group so you don't widen the path.  Talk softly so you don't disturb the wildlife for the group a few minutes behind you.  Leave. No. Trace.

5)  Share the Trail

There are lots of basic policies and customs for hiking that are rooted in courtesy and safety.  Spend time reading up on these in hiking books, blogs, and magazines.  For example, there are lots of do's and don't's when you are hiking on a trail with horses.  You always give them the right of way if they need to pass you.  You try to stand off on the side downhill and don't make any sudden moves so you don't spook them.  You try to find another trail so you don't have to hike in horse poop all day.  Those kinds of things.

Not familiar with "Leave No Trace" policies.

Generally, you pass on the left of the trail, and smaller groups tend to get right of way because they move faster.  When you stop for a break, move completely off the trail so other groups don't have to step over you.

Of course, don't litter on the trail.  Even sunflower seed shells, apple cores, and other "natural" trash is still trash that no one wants to see while they are out in the woods.


There are lots of other things to keep in mind while you are hiking and camping, which is why I highly encourage you to read some books about backpacking.  Here are few I recommend.  These are books we have read over and over, and they've been really helpful.

       

  Click here for Part 1 of this series.

How to be Awesome at Comebacks

Image Credit

 

 

I know it's been a long time since I've posted, but I had a baby.

Ugh.  Worst excuse ever.  Cats have babies all the time, and do they take a year off of chasing that little red dot?  No!

I was trampled by therapy llamas and have just now finally recovered.

Yeah, that's better.

Yeah, I know I said it before and then like, did one post, but it's for real this time.  I've been kicking around blog ideas for a while now, and I thought about starting another one, but honestly, I love this one, and it's lots of fun, so I'm sticking with it.

I will (hopefully) be posting regularly on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

So what am I going to post about?

Since I have a one year old now, some of the posts will be about stuff I do with her, BUT I know what you're thinking.  The world does not need yet another mommy blog, and you're right.  There are thousands of blogs tracking the growth process of individual babies or cataloging all the efforts of super moms.  That's not what this is.  I'll just do some posts about her, and other posts about other stuff in my life.  My life is not just about my baby.  I'm not going to go there.

Also, we (my family and I) are working hard to pursue a more natural, real food lifestyle, so I'm sure that will come up as well.  But this is not a food blog.

Probably home improvement stuff too, stuff I find on Pinterest definitely, and exercise stuff, 'cause I'm trying to get back in shape.

Basically, just like before, it will be about all the random things that I do or that happen, in no particular order and with no real rhyme or reason.  After all, it's about how to be awesome at everything.

I'm going to do a short post today, so y'all can go back through some of my older ones.  There's a list on the side of the most popular, so check one of them out.

Fist in the air, guys.  I'm back.

Awesomeness Update

It's halfway through June now, so I think it's a good time to stop and evaluate how my plan of awesomeness is working out.  Let's start with List One, the stuff I'm supposed to be doing every (week)day.

1)  Clean/Organize--Check!  I don't always do a lot, but I do something every day.  My problem is, the stuff insists on de-organizing and de-cleaning itself, which is just making it harder on itself.  I think that I need to attach everything to little retractable cords, and then when I'm finished with it, it would just zzzzippp! back into its place immediately.

Wow.  That is an awesome idea.

2)  Pack--Well, yes, technically I am doing this every day.  I pack at least one box a day.  Of course, at this rate, I will be ready to move by Christmas of 2012, but you know, it's the spirit of the thing.  I'm doing what is on my checklist.

3)  Read for Pleasure--This one is actually the one I have the hardest time getting in every day.  I  mean, Brian and I read together at night, so I guess that counts too, but reading by myself is hard to squeeze in with all the other things.  I guess listening to audio books should could too, so that makes me feel better.  Again, it's the spirit of the thing!

4)  Work on One Hobby--I've been pretty religious about this.  Even if that "hobby" is the Rubik's Cube, I've been pretty good about doing something.  And I do realize that it's kind of depressing to look at your to do list and say, "Yup.  I'm totally good at doing the fun things on that list!  I got those down!"

5)  Exercise--Yes.  Yes, I have been doing that.  I think there have been three days in June so far when I didn't go to DT, and I made up for it by going to two or three classes on other days.  Again, I've got the fun stuff down!

As for overall awesomeness, I have made some strides.  I planned two weeks of dinners yesterday before I went shopping.  That's a huge improvement.  Usually, I just write "food" on my list, and then pick up whatever sounds good when I'm there, which is why I usually end up with four boxes of rice-a-roni, ten boxes of Reece's Puffs cereal, and no meat in the house.  But this time I planned.  Well, I planned the meals.  What I did not plan for was my grocery bill doubling, but you know, I planned for something.

The only other thing I've really had time to do is spend time with friends, which was on my goals for the summer list/flowchart.  I've done that (see above re. awesomeness at fun things).  But besides those things, I really haven't had time for other awesomeness. 

Oh, and Brian and I learned some sign language.  Not like, a ton, but like, specific words and phrases we can use to communicate to each other when we don't want other people to hear.  Very handy.  Mostly I just use it when I'm brushing my teeth, but, you know, I'm sure other occasions will arise.

So basically, I give myself a B-, mostly because of effort.  (Waking up at 5 am in the summer has to count for something, right?)