Really?

So before I go to bed tonight, I want to tell everyone about a recent discovery. I say EVERYONE because I recently looked at some blog "stats" and realized that there are actually people out there who are unrelated to me by blood and marriage that read my blog. I was honestly shocked by this. That, in fact, is the recent discovery. People read my blog.

Tonight I have a list which I came up with while running this morning. The list is: Stuff I Love But Don't Know Why

1. Vacuuming--I have to hold back so I don't ruin our carpet by vacuuming three times a day
2. Public Speaking--not a common love, but I find it invigorating
3. Cleaning my dogs' ears--like I said, I don't know why
4. Having blistered and callused feet--they seem "strong"
5. Cleaning anything and everything with large amounts of undiluted bleach
6. Cracking my neck
7. Being able to order stamps by mail
8. Obnoxiously strong scented candles
9. Mechanical pencils
10. Hydrogen peroxide for cleaning cuts/wounds
11. Running at cemetaries


I happened to come across the blog of an old friend from Ames tonight and she has a list of 100 things she wants to do in the next 100 days. Some are big things (regarding career changes/potty training her son/etc) and others are small things (like growing out her bangs/writing letters to her grandma).

I may try to come up with something similar. I like the sense of accomplishment I get when I do something I want to do, and it would help me achieve that. Mine might be things like cleaning out the air ducts in the house, throwing out all of my underwear with holes and buying new pairs, teaching my dogs new tricks, making a better system for keeping my socks in pairs...Maybe I am onto something. I will keep thinking about this.

Murphy had a big old lump on his neck this weekend which of course worried me to death. Turns out it is an infected salivary gland. He is going to be okay. I am grateful for that because I didn't want to call up Bill in Denver and tell him Murphy was seriously ill. I was even more worried because our friends' dog, Barney, just died from lymphoma.

So, all is well at our little home on West Third for the time-being, and it's even better because Bill will be home next Wednesday (a week from tomorrow) and stay about three days. He'll even get to go to a UNI football game while he's here. I am really looking forward to it. When he gets home, I think he will be surprised by a few things: 1) how clean and uncluttered the house seems, 2) how I have no food here as a result of my refusal to grocery shop, and 3) how I have totally given up on making the backyard easy on the eyes.