April 7, 2014

Things I don't do

I DO always wash strawberries.  Sometimes they're kinda gritty.

I'm currently making my way through Bittersweet by Shauna Niequist. The chapter about things she does and things she doesn't do was really interesting.  I agree in that we really need to pick our battles.  Despite what some of us portray, we really can't do it all.  I got the idea for this post after reading Things I Don't Do on this blog, but I'd ironically already had Bittersweet sitting on my shelf waiting to be read.

What I don't do…

1.  Volunteer.
(I feel like) I spend an awful lot of time serving the public.  To spend my weekends looking for/doing volunteer work would be way too draining.  I don't even feel bad about this one.  Judge away.

2.   Iron.
That's what a quick spin in the dryer is for.

3.  Yardwork/landscaping.
Maybe it's because we've been in rentals for the last few years. It's just not my thing.

4. Sew.
I don't know how.

5. Run.  More than once or twice a year anyway.


Things I do.

1. Clean the floors.
I vacuum several times a week and mop when everyone husband-and-dog-related is out of the house.

2.  Cook dinner from scratch.
It wasn't always this way, but I'm glad this is something we started focusing on.

3.  Spend 9 hours a day teaching 2nd grade.
Soon, I won't be able to use this as an excuse, as my letter of resignation went in last week.  However, you can't say I haven't kept myself busy for the last 4 years.

4. Keep my car clean.
This is a new development.  A new car will make you want to keep it clean.

5.  Get up early.
I'm not really a fan of sleep.  I find it to be wasted time.  I'm usually up by 7 on the weekends.  I do hatehatehate my 5:21am alarm on the weekdays though. No one wants to be told they have to get up, right?

What would be on your short list of things you do and the things you don't?  Do you pick your battles wisely?  

12 comments:

  1. I used to volunteer...I probably will again someday. The church I grew up in always had some projects going working with low-income kids (and when you're talking low-income in a developing nation...they don't have anything) and I plan to get involved in that again someday...but I don't volunteer for anything right now.
    I do sew and iron but for the most part I try to avoid buying clothes that will require ironing. Of course Angel's dress shirts need it but he's more of a t-shirt and shorts guy...and he wears scrubs to work...so those dress shirts don't get used often!
    I am so not a fan of sleep. There's life to be lived! Even when there's no reason, no alarm, I regularly wake up at 6.

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  2. I am the same way with volunteering, I work for a non profit, so I spend most of my weekends there. I was thinking about joining a board of some sort to maybe volunteer some time there. I also do not iron....we don't own one haha!

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  3. Now I need to go get Bittersweet too. I totally forgot that I wanted to read it.

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  4. I own an iron, and an mini iron board from my college days...and I've probably touched it only 5 times in my life.

    My car is very clean, still smells new too :)

    So...if for some reason your CO move doesn't happen, will that school take you back?

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  5. I do not iron either, the dryer works just fine. :)

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  6. I can't remember the last time I ironed either. The dryer is good enough for me!

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  7. I never iron. My husband will iron his uniforms, and he sews. I just give it a good spin in the dryer like you and call it good.

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  8. Does anyone iron? I sure don't. I've been known to rewash clothes that are too wrinkled from sitting in the dryer too long. I never used to volunteer. I did in Okinawa, but that was more like a job. I never felt like a volunteer. Now, I have no desire, mainly because I don't have time.

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  9. We (I) never iron either. None of my clothes require it, and Isaiah always pulls his dress shirts/pants out as soon as the dryer stops to hang them up. Problem solved.

    I don't technically volunteer but at the same time almost everything we do for our church is kind of like volunteering since obviously none of it is paid...next week I'm baking cupcakes for the youth group's bake sale, we volunteer our time for the 4th of July booths every year, etc etc. Good enough for me for now.

    I'm going to start running again. Today, actually. After work. Ugh.

    I don't clean the floors as often as I should. It's hard when your floors are hideously ugly and even when they're sparkling clean you can't tell.

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  10. Oh I don't run either. Unless my life is in danger. I am, however, great at keeping my car clean!

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  11. I don't volunteer. I use up all my "servitude" by not strangling 6th graders each day. I'm good. ;)

    I rarely iron. It only happens if something looks REALLY bad and there's no time to use the dryer.

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  12. Short list of things I don't do:
    1. Run
    2. Iron
    3. Blow dry my hair
    4. Read nonfiction (some memoirs, not many)
    5. Freak out about dog hair (it's everywhere)

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