Thing 8 - Step 2

Clearly, I'm making this up as I go along. As I said in my last post, I have no idea how many steps Thing 8 (Be a Non Smoker) will entail and much as it kills me (yes, I'm a classic Type A), I'm actually trying very hard not to plan this out too far in advance... too much pressure! That said, I love making lists (thus the 5 Things blog to begin with), so here is Step 2, my quick list of reasons to quit smoking. I know there are a million more and I may add them later, but here are the ones off the top of my head, in no particular order. (Purpose of this list, by the way, is to remind myself later when my head is splitting and I can't remember exactly why I put this Thing on my list in the first place.)

1. I want to stop having nightmares about telling my little girls that I won't be around to watch them grow up.
2. I want to be around to watch my little girls grow up, and their kids, too.
3. I want to stop feeling "ugly" for being a nasty smoker.
4. I want to stop hearing the comments and getting "the look" when people I know learn that I smoke.
5. I want to taste food again.
6. I want my husband to stop telling me I'm only pretending that I can't smell the baby's diaper as an excuse to not change it. (Gross, I know... and it's not that I really want to smell the baby's diaper, but, well, you get the point....)
7. I want to stop spending $3.00+ / day on something that's literally going up in smoke.
8. I want to stop planning my schedule around "will I have time to smoke?"
9. I want to stop smelling like an ash tray.
10. I do not want my next x-ray to look like the picture on the right:

11. I want to chase my kids around without getting winded.

12. I want to be the person that I want to be. (Smoking is not on my "to be" list.)

13. I want to say that I did this, once and for all... and then, I'll know I can do anything.

Thing 1: Before

Thing 1: Organize my craft closet


They say the first step to recovery is to admit you have a problem. Well, here goes: Hello, my name is Kat, and my craft closet is out of control!

Yes, the doors do close, but I'm leaving them open in the hopes that seeing this mess more frequently will inspire me to clean it out more quickly! And if the closet itself wasn't bad enough, all of this stuff is also supposed to be in there....

As is all of the stuff in here:

Yes, and all of the stuff in here:

Strangely (??), organizing stuff is one of my favorite things to do. Problem is, I know I'll end up making a MUCH bigger mess before this closet gets organized, and I have a feeling I'll get discouraged when I realize how much money I've spent over the years buying the exact same craft items over and over again. BUT... it's on my list, and I know I'll be thrilled when it's done. Wish me luck, I think I'm going to need it!

My Next Five Things

When I stumbled across Adam's blog one Sunday afternoon, I was immediately smitten with the idea of 5things. It took me a few hours to come up with my list, and I'm afraid that it might appear (to some) to be just a glorified to-do list. But to me, these are all things that I've been trying to accomplish for years and haven't ever put high enough on my priority list. They're all things that will make me a happier person in some small way, and who couldn't use a little more "happy" in their life, right? I've got some of my next Next Things in mind already, and they're all much bigger than these, but hey, a girl's got to start somewhere!

So here they are, in all their glory (??), my Next Five Things. I'm not putting a timeframe to any of these, but I'm looking forward to every one of them!

1. Organize my craft closet
Sounds so simple, doesn't it? The guest bedroom in my house has a huge closet, which has been over-run with craft "stuff".... fabric, batting, paints, foamies, scrapbook paper, styrofoam balls, googly eyes... stuff I don't even remember I own. I have no plans to downsize or purge anything from the closet, I just want to organize it well enough that I know what's in there and where to find it, so that I don't end up with a 13th bottle of Elmer's glue because I can't remember if I already own one or not.

2. Frame the tobacco leaf and flag
The tobacco leaf is a long story, if you're interested you can read a post on my other blog from May, called "The Power of a Ladybug." Suffice it to say, the dried leaf has been carefully packaged between layers of cardboard and newspaper for 6 years, and it's time to get it in a frame. Along with it, the flag from my grandfather's funeral.

3. Finish 1 more quilt
At the end of 2002, pregnant with my first daughter and due in August 2003, I stumbled across a message board of other August 2003 expectant moms. We've been together in cyberspace ever since, and several years ago decided on a very ambitious project to make a quilt for each of the kiddos using fabrics that represented all 25 babies. Very long story, but let's just say that years later, I still have 6 more quilts to make. This goal is to finish one more, though once complete, it'll probably be replaced by the very same goal. Hey, one quilt at a time!

4. Go an entire day without getting frustrated
This will be the most difficult of all my goals. I have a full-time job, a 120 mile/day commute and 2 small children. Need I say more?

5. Donate my unused clothes to charity
Sounds so simple, but I'm a sentimental pack-rat. I still have flannel shirts from high school, and not only did I graduate 14 years ago, but I now live in South Florida where we get about 4 "cold" days a year, and that's still in the 60's! No logical reason to have any flannel shirts, let alone those from high school. Getting the picture? **sigh**

Not sure what I'll start on first, but I'll post my progress (or lack thereof) here as often as appropriate.