things i would do IF....

Okay, I've been giving this WAY more time in my thought patterns than is reasonably reasonable, so I thought maybe if I could put it in writing, I would be less distracted by all that I WANT to do, so that I can actually get done all that I NEED to do (and lucky me, some of the things I "need" to do, I actually want to do - do you follow?).

But first, some background (this is where all my students would sigh really loudly, shift in their seats, possibly roll an eye or two and be thinking, "Come on, just get on with it already" - feel free to do any or all of the above if you feel it necessary.)

I remember being a kid and saying, "I'm bored." And I guess I was. But it's been EONS since I've felt that way, or even thought that. What I wouldn't give to be "bored" just once in my life these days. Apparently, when you hit the downward slope towards age 40, starting somewhere around 35, your life literally shifts into turbo speed and suddenly there aren't enough hours in the day to do all that you need to do, all that you are expected to do,  and certainly not all that you actually WANT to do. Recreation? What's that? I ask with a snort! Leisure? Who is she?

So, while I wistfully watch some of my stay-at-home-mom friends make up their own schedule and be their own boss of their time (okay, well, except when anyone in their family is home, which is often, I admit), I longingly imagine what I would do with my time, if I had "my" time to do with what I wished...here are a few of my ideas...

1. You know those 2,362 books stacked up by my nightstand (where I never get to read)? Yep - I'd read them all...twice. Amazon.com and Books-A-Million have made more money off me in the past three to five years with all my book buying and non-reading activities. And here I am, BEGGING most of my kids to crack a book and read - if only I were given a slice of the day for nothing but pleasure reading....oh, the beauty of it all is almost too much to bear! *Ahem* Okay, excuse me while I try to regain my composure...

Give me just a minute.



Okay, carry on.


2. On the same note...you know all those Family Fun magazines and home decorating magazines and all those home catalogs I've been collecting for, oh, 2 years now (oh yeah, and don't forget the 322 issues of scrapbooking magazines I've held onto for over 7 years now??) Yep - I'd read them every one. Then I'd tear out the articles (the crafty how-to's, the recipes, the scrapbook page layouts, and the gorgeous pictures of the gorgeously decorated {and spotless} rooms in the gorgeous home decor magazines) and I'd file them in their proper places in my binders I keep. I know, I know. *Insert dork snort here.* But I really do. I love to file things and I love to have neat little binders with ideas and what-not that I can refer to back later. What can I say, I'm an office supplies junky who gets her kicks by filing and organizing information.

Anyhoo...

3. I'd learn to sew. I've come close a few times. I've even got a sewing machine that looks really, really awesome (we interrupt this blog post for a shout out to MomtheBomb's mother: "Thanks Mom! I promise I'll learn to use it before you're 100!") and I've bought some supplies for it (needles, thread, pin cushion, pinking shears, "Sewing for Dummies"), but I've never been unintimidated enough to actually set it up and take a crack at it. But I will. One day. Maybe sooner, if I can figure out how to harness the power of the universe and stop time - boy the havoc I could wreak with THAT superpower, Mwa-Ha-Ha! (evil laugh). That's for another post though.

Moving on...

4. You know all the crap/junk/stuff (the description we use depends on the kind of mood we're in at the time) that Kingdaddy is always complaining about? I'd Ebay so much crap so fast that we'd have to go shopping just to get by in our day-to-day lives. Hey, I love me some Ebay!

5. CLEAN. You can take a moment if you need to - I know - I actually said "clean" and I meant it. My goodness, when my family is out of the house (which is RARELY), the things I can get done are AMAZING when it comes to cleaning. I have no idea why this is. Perhaps they interrupt me occasionally (ya think?). Then again, maybe I don't want to shatter the image they have of me being all glamorous and diva-like and therefore I simply cannot be productive under their watchful eyes (uh, yeah, whatever). Regardless, I can't get JACK done with the house full, but buddy, empty it out for a few hours and let me loose. I would SO love to give this house the once (or twice) over....uninterrupted....glamor and all.

 

(You can actually purchase these beauties at this coolio-dude etsy store, IF you can convince the cool chich that makes them to make some more...just click HERE.)

Once again...movin' on...

6. Organize my photos on the computer. This takes me fifty-forevers, simply because I am so darn OCD that I make folders for my folder's folders and then get confused about where I put TMan's boot pictures or Chore Fairy Jr.'s birthday shots. Still...it would be nice to finally have a system up and running. And current.

Are you bored yet?

Good! 'Cause I'm not! Can you see now why I'm having a hard time concentrating on my blissfully full day-to-day life? :)

7. SCRAPBOOK - gosh I LOVE to scrapbook but it's been so long since I've done it, I'm wondering if I've forgotten how. This is one area Kingdaddy can gripe that I've got too much stuff/crap/junk (depending on the mood HE'S in - obviously since it belongs to me, it's my "belongings") - my scrap stuff takes up over half our bedroom (and we've got a HUGE bedroom). Then again, he's got a whole shop...no, no...he's got TWO whole shops, so wait just a darn minute...excuse me while I go yell at Kingdaddy for a minute....talk amongst yourselves...

Boy, did I tell HIM. Heh-heh-heh.
Okay, where were we?
Numero ocho! (That's number eight for those of you who don't speak Spanish - betcha' didn't know I was bi-lingual, huh? I said bi-LINGUAL - you know, speaks two languages - not whatever on earth YOU were thinkin'...get your mind out of the gutter for Pete's sake)!

8. Take a photography class. I'm already a pretty darn decent photographer. I know that sounds super duper ego-maniacal, but it's true. I'm pretty decent at it. Now, after saving my money for over a year, and finally getting the most awesomest, coolio-dude camera...I'd love for someone to show me how to turn the friggin' thing on. Okay, not really, but I WOULD like to take a real class for learning how to adjust the ISO or the white light or any of the doo-dads that were so necessarily expensive to have. I can operate the bells...just needin' a little help with the whistles.

9. Start some new hobbies (as if I NEED more things to do): candle-making and soap making have caught my eye here recently and I've bought a few books on the topics (if you're wondering where I keep my books, it's NOT in the TWO shops I DON'T have, but rather a more inconvenient space...see #1 above), but with all my free time I simply haven't carved the time needed to embark on the new escapades. Nor do I have two, count 'em Kingdaddy, TWO, shops to store my "new-hobby-belongings" in. My son sleeps in the dining room as it is...maybe I could store the new hobby stuff under his crib, I mean there's TONS of unused space under there....hhhmmmm....

10. Catch up on my Bible study. Yes, seriously. I've started this book (okay, this is ONE book I actually make time to read each day, besides my Bible) that is all about praying your way through the Bible. Well, I got a little behind, so now I feel stressed about catching up, being a little OCD and all, and if today is February 8th, then I want to be reading the page with February 8th at the top, not February 2nd. I hate feeling like I'm behind schedule, which is ironic since I'm almost always late to every single thing I attend.

11. Organize and prep all the Children's Church crafts for the next 3 months. Woo-boy, I'd really feel caught up then! As of now, I'm often up til 3am on Saturday night trying to squeeze out perfectly prepared foam craft thingies for the next day's Children's Church service. I love doing it - just hate that "gotta catch up" feeling.

12. Organize and prep ALL my stuff for ALL my lessons at school, so all I'd have to do each day is reach for a folder or whatever and go. That would almost be as awesome as having my own aide, like Mississippi does for all their K-3 teachers.But NNNnnnoooooooooooo....not Alabama! No, we gotta be all tough it out, do-it-on-your-own-you-wimpy-teachers and stuff.

13. PLAY - on Twitter, on my blogs, on my computer, on the Internet, on Facebook (I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Farmville). Speaking of Farmville, can you believe someone has actually gone and created some sort of program that will basically play the game for you when you aren't able to be online...how sad is that, that we are in demand of something to perform our leisurely duties??? Makes me crazy to think about it. Wish I'd have thought of it first though....then maybe I could quit my job, be a stay-at-home-mom, and feel as though I had stopped time by getting a few of these things checked off my list.

 

 

What would YOU do if you had an unlimited amount of interruption-free time (besides freak out because you know you'd be thinkin' you had died and had literally gone to heaven)? Leave your comments - I'd love to hear from you. And bless your heart for stoppin' by.