A few little gems from an insomniac...

So, here it is -- early morning/middle of the night. Again. (I do this quite often.) Miss G screamed her little head off at about 2:45, and even though my wonderful husband got up to get her settled back down, I've been awake ever since then. I was in bed praying for awhile and then I decided to get up and tackle a task I've been putting off for months. And I mean months, people.

Yes, that's right -- I finally cleaned out our email in-box.

1262...that's the number of emails we had in there. Can you believe that? I've been weeding through them for months and months because I couldn't get myself to just sit down and go through everything. Here's how I spent my time:

• I unsubscribed from several things that I'm not sure I ever subscribed to in the first place.
• I looked at some friends' pictures again before deleting them.
• I saved pictures people had emailed me of the kids before deleting them.
• I finally put some phone number and address changes into our email address book. It will be so nice not to spend that extra 3 minutes digging through emails to find the one that contains the new contact information.
• I read every single Mom-E-Mail from MOPS. The little stories are all so good and such good things for my heart. I really should try not to digest 32 (yes, 32) of them in one sitting from now on.
• I deleted shipping notices for things that I've bought online, including things I bought in February.
• I saved all of the things my hubby had emailed himself for work into his own special little folder. I don't know what's clutter and what he still needs so he'll have to do that one himself.
• I saved documents for M's preschool, my work, MOPS, etc into the folders that have always been waiting for them in My Documents.

I actually sort of got semi-addicted to the feeling that de-cluttering my house gave me as we were staging it before we put it on the market. I just got that exact same feeling as I de-cluttered our inbox. I'm sure that sounds silly, but it's true. It's easier for me to breathe when I lose the clutter.

I thought that as long as I was going through all of that random stuff, I would share a few favorites that I stumbled upon. Nothing earth shattering, just things I enjoyed reading. I figured better to share this way than to clutter up my friends' inboxes, right? Off to work out and THEN I'll go back to bed for a little nap. I am willing to bet my sweet hubby will get the kids up and fed. Happy Saturday!

"My mother was the making of me. She was so true and so sure of me, I felt I had someone to live for." - Thomas Edison

"You may feel guilty about leaving your children for your work and guilty about leaving your work for your children. You will no doubt also feel guilty about feeling guilty." - Harriet Lerner

"There is no such thing as a non-working mother." - Hester Mundis

"Fortunately for children, the uncertainties of the present always give way to the enchanted possibilities of the future." - Gelsey Kirkland

"A mother is a person who, seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie." - Tenneva Jordan

"Before I got married, I had six theories about bringing up children; now I have six children, and no theories." - Lord Rochester

"Where we love is home; home that our feet may leave, but never our hearts. The chain may lengthen, but it never parts." - Oliver Wendell Holmes


Okay, and a little humor at the end. FYI, I am definitely feeling like a "Maxine" in most of these things!

Martha vs. Maxine

*Martha's Way*
Stuff a miniature marshmallow in the bottom of a sugar cone to prevent ice cream drips.

*Maxine's Way*
Just suck the ice cream out of the bottom of the cone, for Pete's sake! You are probably lying on the couch with your feet up eating it, anyway!

Martha: To keep potatoes from budding, place an apple in the bag with the potatoes.
Maxine: Buy Hungry Jack mashed potato mix; keep it in the pantry for up to a year.

Martha:When a cake recipe calls for flouring the baking pan, use a bit of the dry cake mix instead and there won't be any white mess on the outside of the cake.
Maxine:Go to the bakery! They'll even decorate it for you.

Martha:If you accidentally over salt a dish while it's still cooking, drop in a peeled potato and it will absorb the excess salt for an instant "fix-me-up."
Maxine:If you over salt a dish while you are cooking, that's too bad. Please recite with me the real woman's motto: "I made it and you will eat it and I don't care how bad it tastes!"

Martha:Wrap celery in aluminum foil when putting in the refrigerator and it will keep for weeks.
Maxine:Celery? Never heard of it!

Martha:Brush some beaten egg white over pie crust before baking to yield a beautiful glossy finish.
Maxine:The Mrs. Smith frozen pie directions do not include brushing egg whites over the crust so I don't.

Martha:Cure for headaches: take a lime, cut it in half and rub it on your forehead. The throbbing will go away.
Maxine:Take a lime, mix it with tequila, chill and drink!

Martha:If you have a problem opening jars, try using latex dishwashing gloves. They give a non-slip grip that makes opening jars easy.
Maxine:Go ask that very cute neighbor if he can open it for you.

Martha:Don't throw out all that leftover wine. Freeze into ice cubes for future use in casseroles and sauces.
Maxine:Leftover wine??????????? HELLO !!!!!!!