7.4.15

List #267: Reaons I Dislike April

There are a lot of good things that happen in April. Mostly some of the people I love the most were born this month. And I always enjoy celebrating the birthdays of loved ones. But I'm coming clean with a dirty little secret, I hate April. In fact, it might just be my least favorite month. 

April is the worst, here's why.

  • April Showers. 
  • Trying to remember to pack an umbrella nearly every day of the week.
  • Always feeling sticky and damp.
  • There are no good hair days in April.
  • Long days and long nights filled with a lot of responsibility. 
  • Never feeling comfortable after shedding winter layers.
  • Not having the money to spend on an entire new wardrobe.
  • No big trips happen in April.
  • Sinuses. 
  • Allergies.
  • Cats going bonkers at nesting mourning doves outside bedroom and office windows.
  • Breaking in flats.
  • Blisters.
  • Growing tired of hot drinks in the morning.
  • Cold mornings that still require hot drinks.
Perhaps I'm just being a curmudgeon. But I'm going on record; spring is my least favorite season. It's moody and unpredictable. I'm over you April, I want the May flowers.

2.4.15

List #266: Things I Think About Before Getting up on an Early April Morning

I tend to wake up before my alarm goes off in the morning. And since I am the first one in our household to rise and take a shower and since the boyfriend works from home and since we typically go to bed at the same time, it's really one of the only parts of the day where I am alone with my thoughts. You can get a lot of thinking done between hitting the snooze bar a few times and stepping out of the shower.

  • What day is it today?
  • Why in the world does the cat take up more of the bed every single day.
  • Oh, the toddler is the cutest (on those mornings he manages to make his way into our bed for extended sleep)
  • Don't forget to do work-related things x, y and z. 
  • What should I bring for lunch today.
  • You know, if you got up just a smidgen earlier you could get a workout in.
  • I really hope the cat doesn't wake up the toddler.
  • You know, if you got up just a smidgen earlier you could read a chapter of your book.
  • Ugh. I don't want to wear what I ironed last night.
  • Do you think I could get on Jeopardy!
  • Oh, the yinzers that call in to morning radio shows are special.
  • Why aren't I on an honest-to-goodness spring break?
  • "Unbreakable! They alive, damn it!"
  • Assorted Taylor Swift lyrics.
  • There are so many things to get done.
  • Our house is entirely too cluttered.
  • I really want to get back to crafting more.
  • How many weeks until a vacation is near?
  • I want to go on a shopping spree.
  • Listen to the quiet.
  • What was the boyfriend mumbling in his sleep? I want to tell him when he wakes up.
  • Should I shave my legs today?
  • I wonder what we'll get into this weekend.
  • I wish I could go hang out with my Mom today.
  • I should email X today.
  • I should text X today.
  • When is the boyfriend traveling again?
  • I really should write more letters.
  • Oh, I think I hear the toddler starting to wake up.
  • I better hurry up.
  • Ugh, why does the cat need to be petted as soon as I get out of the shower.
  • Today better be a good day.
I'm really all over the place in the morning. It's the hardest time of day for me and just recently have I started to feel that we're really acing mornings...relatively speaking. Now that the toddler is getting older and doesn't full on meltdown when one of us leaves the room, it's not as stressful as it once was. But even getting up as early as I do has been an adjustment for this night owl. I don't know if I'll ever not be a whirl of emotion and though in the morning, but just having this little bit of time in-between the alarms and turning off the shower helps my mind rest, just a tiny tiny bit.

What about you, dear readers? What runs through your mind in the morning. 

1.4.15

List #265: Val the Writer

For the past few years, the one and only amazing Pittsburgh Blogger Alex from Everybody Loves You...has rallied the troops to put together one big blog swap. Just in time for April Fools Shenanigans. And this year's blog swap is bigger and better than ever! 40 bloggers are swapping their regular writing haunts and venturing over to different lands today for some fun. I'm writing over on Everybody Loves You...about what kind of fun you get into when you share custody of a toddler. And fittingly, the talented Val of Small Town Dad is writing about working from home as the guest post on Librarian's Lists & Letters.

Meet Small Town Dad from Beaver, PA

Val is a freelance writer who works from home. He's a super dad of two adorable children who loves his town, his typewriters, and his books. So you know, he's write up a librarian's alley. I'm in awe of how well can balance his life because mine feels like I'm jumping from one muddy puddle to the next.


Working From Home—A Love/Hate Relationship

I’ve had 15 jobs since graduating from college back in 1997. (That’s right, 15.) They told me you could do anything with an English major. And, boy, they weren’t kidding.

From hocking storm doors for a big-box retailer, to bussing tables for a flair-flaunting restaurant chain, to shipping truckloads of fireproof brick cross-country to line the interior of industrial cement kilns (I’m not kidding), I’ve done just about everything. And hated every single minute of it.

Through it all I’ve always maintained two goals that I wanted to reach before turning 40:
  1. Make a million dollars
  2. Work for myself
Since I’m sitting here writing this blog post and not off drinking margaritas on some secluded tropical island, you can probably guess I fell a little short of Goal No. 1. I did, however, achieve Goal No. 2 last June, when I set out on my own to become a stay-at-home-dad/freelance writer. And, I am happy to say, so far things are going rather well.

I haven’t lost my house yet.

Working from home is awesome! Sometimes. Other times, not so much. That said, the following lists detail some of the best and worst things about being a solo-preneur. Enjoy!

10 Things I Love About Working For Myself
  • The coffee is always perfect (because I make it).
  • Showering is optional.
  • Afternoon naps are mandatory.
  • I get to hear things like my son singing “Uptown Funk” while going #2 (true story).
  • No emergency meetings (or any kind of meeting, for that matter).
  • Four-hour workday (if that).
  • Working (ahem) while watching “American Pickers”.
  • No fear of the dreaded boss “pop-in”.
  • Daily afternoon walk break to pick up my daughter from school.
  • A 30-second commute.

10 Things I Hate About Working For Myself
  • Distractions abound (my kids, the dishes, my kids, the laundry, my kids, etc.).
  • There’s never any leftover office birthday cake.
  • I have to actually pay for my own office supplies.
  • The constant fear of a Nerf gun sneak attack.
  • No Christmas bonus.
  • The lack of water-cooler gossip.
  • You only get paid if you actually work.
  • I am my own I.T. Department.
  • Custodial, too.
  • Quite honestly, the benefits stink.


If you're interested in exploring the other 40! blogs you can can find them all linked below. It might take you more than just a lunch hour to read them all, but hopefully you'll discover something new! Many thanks again to Alex for putting this all together. Happy April Fool's Day!