Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Thursday Thirteen - 3 - 13 Things I Don't Do Every Day

As a proud Canadian, I often define myself by what I am not. Here are some common things engaged in daily by millions that I rarely do:

1 - I don't style my hair. I simply have hair. I wash it. I comb it. Styling consists of putting it in a ponytail or a braid. C'est tout.

2 - I don't put on make-up. I'm very allergic to make-uppy type things, even hypoallergenic brands. I'll wear it to super special events, but I always pay the price the next day.

3 - I don't pack a lunch. Not every day. I'm very sporadic on the lunch-packing thing. I'm better at packing a breakfast. I generally eat breakfast in front of my computer once I get to work. Not awake enough to eat before then.

4 - I don't get the kids ready for school. No kids! I get the dog out to the yard for her morning constitutional, pour dog food in her bowl, tell her, "I'm going to work. You stay with Brad, and I'll be back." Every day, I say the same thing. If I don't say it, she waits for me to say it. Then she 'nods' and settles beside Brad on her blanket. If Brad hasn't stirred enough to get up, I make sure he's up to take his morning medication. Then I stumble out to catch the bus. This is about all of the morning caregiving I can manage.

5 - I don't drive a car. Not every day. I'm a public transit taker. I borrow my mom's car to get groceries or for a few errands. But I try to do even those by foot power or on the bus.

6 - I don't skip meals. That's not something that I could forget. Maybe because diabetes runs in my family - fortunately I haven't developed it myself - but I'm aware of not letting my blood sugar levels dip on a regular basis.

7 - I don't tidy, sweep, vacuum, scrub, etc. as a daily thing. I'm the Anti Domestic Goddess. I'm more of a kick-things-out-of-the-way sort of person.

8 - I don't use a credit card. Neither my husband or I have one. We used to. We try to pay for things or wait until we can. We'll probably have one someday. If you don't, some commerce becomes difficult.

9 - I don't make to-do lists. Only when I was packing for my wedding, that sort of thing.

10 - I don't prepare dinner. I leave that for Michelina.

11 - I don't settle in to watch TV. Unfortunately, I'm conditioned to fall asleep once I stop doing all of the things I do. As soon as I sit down to 'watch TV' I merely lose consciousness. Sometimes if there's something I really want to watch (more likely a movie) I actually stand up so I won't succumb to exhaustion.

12 - I don't aim for or achieve a daily page count on my WIP. When I did the NaNoWriMo in 2005, I split the 50,000-word challenge into daily word counts and got them. But that was like Hell. I'm still finishing that book. It's 2007.

13 - I don't lay awake worrying about all the stuff that didn't get done. I'll try again tomorrow.

13 comments:

Camille said...

I'm right there with you on the hair and makeup. Although occasionally I do straighten my hair, I must admit, but then it goes into a ponytail anyway. I always feel like a clown if I have even a hint of makeup on. I am, though, a hardcore listmaker.

Julia Phillips Smith said...

Welcome, Camille! I guess I must be easing myself into listmaking, because now I'm a Thursday Thirteener.

Unknown said...

I love that you're an anti domestic goddess. I admire people who are domestic goddesses but I'm so not.

One of my daughters is a neat freak. She even colour codes her closet!! I swear she was switched at the hospital. Somewhere in this city is a mother screaming at my real daughter to pick up after heself.

Anonymous said...

Same here on the hair and make-up thing, as well as having just enough energy to get the dog outside (no kids) in the mornings.

Happy TT!

Rashenbo said...

What an awesome list!!!!! I am also an anti-domestic goddess. It's interesting that sometimes you have to stand to watch the boob tube. That would be a pain for me. I love going vegetative on my couch while watching my shows :)

Susan Helene Gottfried said...

Oh, I want your carefree life! (although, I do use credit everywhere -- and pay it off each month. If you keep track of what you spend and don't spend more than you have, it's easier to use credit)

I wish I could bike/ride buses more than I do around here. But it's hilly and although the area is considered bike-friendly, we've got a long way to go yet.

Happy TT!

Unknown said...

I hate makeup. I never used to wear it (and don't on the weekends), but fell into the habbit a few years ago at work.

My husband cooks so I don't have to worry about that. Baking is mine though!

Julia Phillips Smith said...

Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!

My carefree life...

Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!

Dara Edmondson said...

WOW! We're almost polar opposites. I do almost everything on your list;-)

Unknown said...

LMFAO @ #11! Seems like when I really want to watch something is when I fall asleep the fastest, LOL.

Anonymous said...

I'm with you on the anti-domestic goddess front. There are more important things to do when you aren't at work! I really need to get back into the whole TT thing some day.

Thanks for visiting my site!

Kelly Boyce said...

I pack a breakfast (2nd breakfast, 1st gets eaten when I get up to write), a snack, lunch, another snack, a back up snack and possibly a back up snack after that. And you can't pay me enough to eat Michelina. Cardboard flavoring. Bleh bleh bleh. I'm all over the not cleaning daily. Who has time??

Amy Ruttan said...

I have no credit card either. People think you're weird if you don't. I just don't want to run up debt.

Great list!!!

Happy belated TT.