the procrastinating girl

Spring Cleaning

It's late.  I had intended to start this post earlier, but my house was bombarded with a relentless electrical storm along with golf-ball-sized hail.  Apparently, spring is here.  Aside from the petrifying dose of mother nature, how else can you note the change of seasons?  This morning pre-Grape Nuts, I began to attempt to declutter.  It's truly an annual phenomenon.  And I have to move slowly or I'm liable to pull something.  I started upstairs.  Back in December for Zoe's birthday party, we had moved all the playroom junk up to the office.  And. there. it. has. remained.  The path from door to desk chair had become a life-threatening obstacle course.  Dramatic?  Have you ever mistakenly stepped barefoot on a wooden block?  Oh, it's a world of hurt.  As I was making 'keep' and 'give away' piles, I found a white plastic bag from Target.  Hardly unusual.   This one contained school supplies.  At the beginning of the year, I had bought different notebooks and folders, not knowing exactly what kind Sydney needed and assuming I would return the extras.  Right.  Of course these now unreturnable items can be used in a second by my songwriter-poet-artists-to-be.  I wish I could say the same for the toddler size 7 shoes I found in a bag next to my dresser.  Any takers?

The Bright Side

Ok.  The world is in a tail-spin.  The market is tanking.  The Mets are self-destructing (again).  And Sarah Palin is visiting (I think I can actually feel her weird bun 40 miles south).  But.  BUT.  There is hope.  A glimmer.  Today at Bedford Village Chase, I experienced my own private victory.  Ladies and gentlemen, say hello to my correct safety deposit box key:

Keys Please

It's been longer than I'd like between posts, but I've been preoccupied by Sydney's party, which came off happy and hitch-less yesterday afternoon.  So now I am free to attend to everything that has fallen by the wayside.  And fall it has.  Seeing as it's now September and, well, fall, I decided to change bags the other day.  Into the closet went my favorite beat-up canvas Orla Kiely and out came my brown leather whipstitch Sundance saddlebag.  I am a bagaholic.  And for me, the transition de stuff is always enlightening.  But this time I may have come up big.  First, I moved over the wallet, the tissues and the bag of fun (Motrin, headache drugs, lip stuff), then I threw out the embarrassing detritus no one should see (change covered in mildew, gum that's taken on the property of its wrapper, unpaid parking tickets... ok, nevermind).  Once I cleaned the gunk out of the old bag, I checked out the other one to see what I had left over from last year.  Hiding in the little-used front pocket were two small blue envelopes marked Chase Manhattan Bank.  Oh baby.  One of these may contain the missing key to our safety deposit box.  For years now, pretty much since we moved, I haven't been able to find it.  What's in the box?  For starters, my engagement ring.  To break in sans key, you only need a locksmith and hundreds of dollars.  So it's been avoided and ignored in the hopes that the key would present itself.  Maybe it has?  Cross your fingers and stay tuned.

Home Base

Just a few days ago, I first heard the term 'staycation,' the trend of people spending their days off at home since they can't afford a real getaway.  As often happens, now it's everywhere I turn.  Even the cover of the Sunday Styles section of the Times ran a piece on it last week.  So I've been thinking.  If I had a free week in my house, what could I do? 

• Watch borrowed DVD box set of first season of Arrested Development.

• Work on novel.

• Draw to-scale floor plan of house so I can plan what furniture to buy.  One day.

• Update address book so it would no longer read:  Grandma, Silver Spring, Maryland.

• Remove remaining 2-year-old clothes from almost 4-year-old Zoe's closet.

• Work on novel.

• Scrape encrusted art-project glitter off floor mats of car.

• Acknowledge existence of cookbooks.

• Work on novel.

So, tell me, what would you do???

Sales Days

There are a few quirks of our society that actually encourage true procrastinators.  Like sales.  Of course it only really works if you have what no one else has (like my size 5 shoe) or want what no one else wants.  That's where I am now.  For several weeks I have been convinced that I want orange dining room chairs.  I know, it's a little crazy.  But after my impish daughter Zoe took a turquoise marker and colored in the white design on a chocolate brown rug (in between the lines, but still), I knew my dreams of vintage Wegner chairs and other designer furniture were out the window.  So I'm going a little whimsical.  Orange chairs are not exactly easy to come by, then I found some great modern choices at West Elm.  But I only got as far as periodically checking them out online.   Then, just yesterday, I got an email alert that one set I've  been eyeing has been ridiculously marked down for Memorial Day.  Apparently, no one was up for orange this year but me.  Great.  Waiting around paid off and my sense of urgency, or lack thereof, is status quo.

Hanukkah Comes Early, I Mean, Late

Well, this is a big week for the Jewish holidays. We have Yom Hazikaron coming tomorrow and Yom Ha'atzmaut right behind it on Thursday. You heard me. As the excitement rages, it's only natural that my mind drifts to that real family crowd pleaser, Hanukkah. With the forecast regularly reaching the 70's and the May flies making me rethink buying property with wetlands, the festival of lights feels like a faint memory. Fortunately, I still have a gift from my mother, a check as yet uncashed, sitting in my wallet as a pleasant reminder of those winter days we shared together. Of course it is still money. And Bedford Village Chase even has a drive-thru window. I swear Mom, I'll do it today. Or maybe by Lag B'Omer.