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.