Brain Toss

The Whole Life Challenge this week is recommending we do a once-a-day "brain toss." It can be a to-do list, or another kind of list, but I think it could also be a rambling blog post. So here is mine.

I'm working on product descriptions for online, for work. Swimwear. We have a HUGE collection of swimwear (huge for us, anyway). It's 82 different styles, and while I can copy/paste and just reword some of them, mostly they do each have to be original. And they have to be at least 75 words. And they have to include the keywords, but be written authentically, and in the brand voice, and be enticing so that people will click on them and find them. And omg is it tedious. You would think I could write about 6 in an hour - or more. And I probably could, if I did nothing BUT write for an hour. But I get bored, and click something to take a teensy break, and then it's been 30 minutes and I'm still on the first one. And being here on the blog is not helping, but I can't help it. The thing I keep on thinking, that I most need to Toss from my Brain right now is, "OMG writing these descriptions is so borrrrrrring and mind-numbing! And it will never end! How many more do I have?..... too many to count, better not anyway or I'll get discouraged."

The kids have had as fun a week as they could at home, being that it's rained and/or been overcast every day so far. I think on Monday they went hiking at Pine Mountain, a trail I've never been on but their babysitter knows well. On Tuesday, they went to a movie ($6 movies in the summer is a great thing) after their long piano lessons. They barely got home before I did! Wednesday (yesterday) I think they hit the pool and had lunch there, but left when the rain started. They also made strawberry ice cream in my ice cream maker, but turned it green when trying to turn it pink with food coloring. Ha. Grabbed yellow instead of red, and then tried to cover that up with other colors. It still tastes good. Today I know they were running errands with Carli and visiting a lake house where she'll be house-sitting this weekend. That girl is making some good money this summer! I have been impressed because they're also reading this week! Kate read for longer than an hour yesterday -- without me doing any nagging at all! -- and Alex finished a book and started another. Praise the Lord. Who knows what they'll do tomorrow, but maybe I'll make them do laundry and clean my shower! ha! I won't either.

And then Saturday morning we'll leave for Destin. We're most excited about the new Dunkin Donuts that's been built RIGHT NEXT DOOR to our condo. I am sure we'll be regulars for the week. ;)

For now, though, I am going to go quickly walk around the building (if it isn't raining) and shake off my malaise so I can keep writing descriptions.

Summer Ease

Of many things I sometimes wish, one of them is that I was qualified and called to be a teacher, so I could have my summers off. But alas, I was not called to that life.

Nevertheless, there's a measure of ease this summer that I'm really happy about. It's Super-Ease this week, in fact, since the kids are at Winshape -- the first time both of them have been there at the same time, and thus, 12 full days of parenting freedom for Shawn and me! It's crazy. We know we're starting to miss them because we're talking about them a lot. But the break has been so good, as it is every year when they're at grandparents' houses. Guess what? We still like each other, and can find things to talk about with no trouble. Good news, right? ;) We were marveling over this freedom to just TALK with each other yesterday, and I said, "It's just that parenting is a REAL JOB." Of course we love it -- it's the best job we have -- but yes. It's full time. We're enjoying the vacation from it. We're doing nothing spectacular - watching TV, movies, eating out - but it is just what the doctor ordered.

Before they left, though, I was already getting used to the evenings of summer. There's no pressure to fix dinner by a certain time so we can get to lessons/choir/bed on time. There's no homework to nag about. There's no lunch waiting to be made. The mornings are slower. Yes, we still try to get out the door at the same time, but it's infinitely easier when we can leave the kids right there on the couch in their jammies, with the babysitter.

I like summer now, is what I'm saying. I'll like it even more in 2 weeks when I, myself, am on the beach. :)