Metal Meredith

Ugh. I hate resolutions, but I decided to take things month by month.

Month one: No shopping. I will not buy things I don’t need or anything that doesn’t fall under food or necessities. Already I have perused the Old Navy website and two different specialty kids site I have seen. Each time, I found things I liked and had to remind myself that I am not buying, I am looking for fun. Argh.

I have a few things to sell on Craigslist, a few things to return from Christmas (things I bought, not received) and a few things that can hold off a while that I do want but don’t need. Maybe I could be in the black instead of red by the end of the month?

I must have been concentrating on this hard last night, as I had a dream that I was attempting to catch or save some animals. I allowed to escape a bobcat and another animal from cages, that turned out to be a pet store. When the cost was tallied, I owed $10,000. I handed over my Amex and thought to myself “How in the hell will I explain this to Phil?” Then I woke up.

So, yeah, I must be having a hard time committing to this resolution. 

I know everyone says this, but this year has just flown by. I seriously think that I could recall every single day if I wanted to try that hard.

This time last year, I was 120% miserable. My mother had taken Vivienne for 2 days so I could get a few days of sleep. I was almost ready to have Henry and get on with it. In fact, I had posted an eviction notice to him on January 1st.

I have few resolutions this year. My main and most enthusiastic one being to ‘declutter’ and reduce what we have. In fact, I started about two weeks ago.

I broke the news to Phil today that I will be having the house cleansed in the next few weeks. He thinks I am a nutjob, but we all know that, right? I got the idea from Stacey, who says she feels so much better now that all the bad juju is gone from her house.

So that is all my news. I can’t say good riddance to 2007, because that sweet baby of mine was born this year. I can, however, be thankful that we will get a damn tax exemption this year because of him. It is about time.

Stay safe. Be loved and love someone else. Take care and we will see you in 2008. 

I needed some new shoes. Depending on where you are from, I needed some sneakers/ running shoes/ tennis shoes. I headed over to New Balance because my feet have been killing me and I trust the people over there to get the fit right. I also thought that I could pop in, try on a few pairs, ask about colors and style and go home to shop on eBay for quite the discount.

Henry was with me and I decided against lugging the stroller into the tiny store. So when I got in, picked some shoes and tried them on, I just sat him on the floor next to me. He crawled a few feet one way and a few feet the other then sat and pounded on some big machine. He was quiet and gentle and not making a big mess, so I kept on trying the shoes on which now featured a new set of (ultra comfortable) insoles.

The problem with these shoes is that they were BRIGHT WHITE. For anyone knows me and how very goth I am, white shoes just don’t fit into my wardrobe. Figuring those to be about $85, I was in the process of asking if they came in any less hospital-like sterile colors and as she was replying “no’, I looked over to see Henry drooling all over the shoe box.

At first it didn’t hit me. But then I quickly realized that I really should buy these shoes now that the box was tainted with baby spit. Our Hertzler DNA was all over that box and it would soon be all mine. Happily, the lady took the bundle over the register and started ringing them up. I heard one something teen something and figured the shoes were $85 and the insoles were near $20. I left kicking myself because I paid so much for shoes that I don’t like. At least they felt good.

When I got home, I took out the receipt to read the total was $160, $115 for the shoes and $40 for the insoles. After scraping myself off the driveway, I immediately went inside and started listing things on eBay to make up for it (which all have sold for a good amount) and I felt much better. Fortunately, my feet no longer hurt. But they are still white and still ugly. 

Like I have mentioned before, I am on a message board with 50 other women. We became friends on one of those public baby sites where all of our kids were born in June of 2003. After all hell broke loose, we decided to take our little circle of people and go private.

Every year for the past four, we have done a swap during the holiday season. We do not allow gifts for the kids, because we figure kids get enough crap. We just do one for each other. This year is no different.

I enjoy setting these things up. I like the work of hashing out a plan, setting up a time line and instructions and making it all happen. Sometimes without errors, most of the time with a few, it call comes together and I get to enjoy the Thank You posts on the board with photos of what people have received.

I am selfish in the fact that I like who people swap with to be a secret. I like to buy for one person and receive from another. It is always more fun to not know who might be shopping with you in mind. To get that present on the doorstep and have no idea what might be inside is pretty cool. I have also been lucky enough to swap with my friend in New Zealand two times now. Nothing is more fun than getting items that can’t be found at my local Target. I love to buy local for gifts that are being sent away.

This post really has no other function than to show you what a freak I am when it comes to organizing this thing. Everyone thanks me and says it is ‘such a big job’, but I just love it. I have a system that changes yearly. Allowing myself to become completely focused on creating an even exchange list lets me get away from the every day life that is my family and house.

I believe that I have a sickness. I have always enjoyed ‘busy work’ and puzzles. This is just the best of those worlds, combined. Perhaps I have a future in party planning or corporate contact organization.