Good Intentions

I had good intentions when I woke up this morning: I planned to get a few loads of laundry done, clean up the pile of magazines I've accumulated, perhaps work on cleaning my closet a little more, empty the dishwasher, all while feeding my children completely nutritious food, nurturing their little minds, and having fun with them. Well, the "day" part of today is beginning to expire, and I've not gotten a lot of that list done. You know why?

My new camera came today! At nap time, when I get the biggest chunk of time to devote to tidying our home, I sat down and read the camera manual while snapping pictures of everything I could to test the features. I have a lot of learning to do and it is just a point-and-shoot, . . . sort of. I wanted a tiny, pocket-sized camera that could take decent pictures without a lot of trouble. The budget was $200 max. We found a Nikon Coolpix S550 that fit our requirements -- now we just have to master the features before we go on vacation.

I did actually make a little time to get a few chores done. I worked on the closet a bit more (making room to hide Christmas and birthday gifts), got one load of laundry done, and neatened the kitchen a very little bit. This weekend, I gathered all the magazines from various rooms in the house, and I've been going through them. Some I am tearing out the good stuff and tossing the rest in the trash, some I sent with Allen to drop off at the library. I have inherited a bit of a messy trait (thanks, Mom). I am addicted to magazines. I love reading them a few times, dog-earring the good stuff, finding the folded up periodical several months later (under the bed, usually) and re-reading the juicy articles. There is something about the bright-colored glossy paper, smooth to the touch, with the odd smell of ink, that just calms me down. Luckily, I don't have to buy all of the magazines. I have several subscriptions, but some were free gifts with the purchase of a particular book from Amazon. After I gathered the magazines and piled them, the stack was probably a total of four feet high. None of them were more than a year old, but most were from the last 6 months or so. Just for kicks, I thought I'd list all the magazines in the pile (some were Allen's or Wills, but not many.)
Subscriptions or Memberships
1. MomSense
2. WonderTime
3. Parents
4. Family Fun
5. American Baby - discontinued the subscription
6. Cookie - - discontinued the subscription
7. Creating Keepsakes
8. Scrapbooks, Etc.
9. Guideposts
10. Readers Digest
11. Bon Appetit
12. Arbor Day
13. Better Homes and Gardens - discontinued the subscription
14. USAA
15. Rifleman (that's Allen's)
16. High Five (Will's)
17. Turtle (Will's)
18. Little Green (Will's)

On top of those were others that were given to us by a friend or were picked up at the newsstand when we were travelling and forgot to bring our own:
19. Parent & Child
20. Movies Rock
21. Memory Makers
22. Family Circle
23. The Economist
24. Prevention

And since the collection can't be complete without a million catalogs to pour over, there were plenty of those, too. I'm proud to say, I got rid of all but three -- and those were the ones I got this week.
25. Legos
26. Oriental Trading
27. Terry's Village
28. Pottery Barn
29. Pottery Barn Teen
30. Pottery Barn Kids (by now, you may realize I love Pottery Barn -- or at least their decorating schemes)
31. Land of Nod
32. Company Store
33. Yankee Candle
34. Sensational Beginnings
35. Little Tykes
36. Step 2

My piles are much, MUCH smaller now. I don't know how to slow down the supply. I love getting mail, I love reading magazines, I love browsing catalogs. I only wish my community could recycle them, but the best I can do on that matter is donate the periodicals to the library. . . at least others can enjoy them, too.

Now I need to get the wheel barrow to take out the trash, and then I'll go make dinner.