"Pencil in Hair"

"Pencil in Hair", a new catchy tune? A yoga move? An Indian name (you know like, Runs with Wolves)? No, it's me, at the end of a long "hairy" day at the elementary school/church where I work!

One of our pastor's is actually the one who first called my attention to the correlation between a very busy day and the pencil in my hair.

Something happens to me about halfway through the day.

I just can't make one more lunch for an adorable 3rd grade boy who has forgotten his lunch for the 6th time this month. 

I can't put one more band-aid on a sweet little girls blistered hand who won't stay off those darn monkey bars. 

I can't type one more urgent memo or newsletter or bulletin that parents never read anyway.

I can't help one more wonderful pastor figure out how to get a jam out of the copier. 

I can't do ANYTHING, until I get my hair up.

"Why a pencil?" you might be asking right now. It's not very stylish, not very classy, not cool. 

The answer ... it's on my desk, it's fast and then  ...

I can get on to the 100 other things that are going on around me.

Pretty is

a Pencil

Lists

OK, I know the rule of blogging is "No Copying" but I just have to comment on the fact that two of my  best friends have written on this very subject the last two days. One of them is Becky and the other is Ree. Alright, alright, Ree might not consider herself one of my best friends (since she has never met me or heard of me for that matter) but Becky, now she really is my dear friend!

Annnnyyyywaaaayyy,

Becky's post was all about the lists she makes and what their subjects or categories are. There was even a photo of a few of her lists. The lists were typed. Need I say more?

Ree actually wrote out a list. The list did not have a particular theme, just a group of random facts and thoughts.

What I want to say is that I also LOVE to make lists. However my reason is not always to get whats on the list accomplished but just to get the information OUT of my brain. It brings me great relief. Really. 

The problem is that just getting things out of my brain and onto paper does not mean that it will actually get done.

For instance here is one of my lists (not typed). 

 (notice I don't know how to blur my list)

It's actually a list of blog ideas I jotted down one day when I was overwhelmed with creative inspiration and didn't want to forget any of it. Now here is a dilemma, I can't remember why some of these ideas were so wonderfully inspiring!

For instance, one of the topics is "Fly Free". I do have the privilege of flying free since I started working for an airline but what amazing insight or inspirational thought was it that I thought I would want to share with you? Who knows! Not me. It's not on the list.

What I do know is that the day I made that list, I felt great! I felt like, "whew, now I can write on my blog all the time because I have this whole list of wonderful ideas to write about, and I won't forget any of them 'cause they are right here all written down for me!"

Pretty is a list (even if you never do one thing on it)!

"Mom Says" Monday

"If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all!" 

I can't even count the number of times I was told this growing up. It could have been anything from talking about my sister or brother, my teacher or even if my mom was overhearing a conversation between my friends and I on the phone. She was always reminding me that I should look for the good in every person and every situation.

Mom's are so full of wisdom! If only we knew when we were teenagers how smart our mom's were.. If only my girls knew that just how smart I really am!

This particular "mom-ism" is one that I still need to be reminded of once in a while. It is a quick stopper to any gossip. It is also a reminder to always look on the good side of people, the sunny side of every circumstance.

Pretty is, "having something nice to say".