Camping preparations! OCD much?

I mentioned in an earlier post that the kids & I are going camping next week. Now, you need to realize that, except for camping out with 2500 cyclists and roadies a couple of years ago during the AIDS LifeCycle, I don't think I've been camping since I was about 10 years old. And I'm not so sure it was real wilderness camping. It may have been cabins...in a campground...with lots of other kids & camp counselors and tons of supervision.

Did I mention that we're REALLY camping? Tents & sleeping bags type camping? Making your food over a fire (which you have to build yourself, btw) camping? OOOF! What HAVE I gotten myself into?

Well, I figure it's gonna be an adventure of epic proportions at the very least. I'm totally excited about it...and the kids were too. Until...

Their dad. Yeah. Their dad is afraid of trying new things. He's not exactly the adventurous type. He's afraid of the water. Told the kids he couldn't float. They were afraid to go in our pool for the first 2 years we lived here. Now their starting to really learn to swim and it's great!

But in the last few days their dad's been telling them about how hard camping is, that they might run into bears, the weather could be bad, all sorts of things. So they're beginning to get a little bit less excited now. They're worried...mainly about bears.

It's hard to combat that. I can tell them about the precautions we'll take, the very miniscule chance that we'll even SEE a bear, tell them how to act if we DO see a bear, etc. But they've already got that fear in their heads.

Regardless, I fully intend to show them as great a time as I possibly can. MY one fear is that it ends up being boring and too hard and they don't end up enjoying themselves.

I guess I have one other fear: Having enough food. I sat down over the last couple of days and planned meals, including a couple of snacks, for each day we'll be gone. I made a list of everything we needed to take. And I went to the market today. I SWEAR I didn't buy things that were not on that list. Yet I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I bought WAY too much food. Now, if we had a big SUV for the 3 of us and all our gear, that would be one thing. But all we have is a little 2001 Prius, with a half-way decent trunk...into which we need to fit all that camping gear (tent, chairs, stove, utensils, sleeping bags, pillows, etc.) AND food.

Perhaps the solution is to just take a ton of ziploc baggies filled with individual portions that I do up before we leave, hope that I figure enough for us not to go hungry, and leave the rest at home. Yes? ACK! I'm thinking something along the lines of LifeCycle-style packing: All your gear for each day stored in one really big bag...7 bags in your luggage. Or in our case, 5 bags of food for each of us, portioned out into sub bags for each meal & snack.

Oy, I feel my OCD coming on full force!

This is gonna be interesting.

Let's be honest...

I like stirring the pot. I get a little perverse pleasure out of seeing certain kinds of people get all in a huff over something I've said - especially when it was truly meant completely innocently. At the same time, I get really annoyed at intractable, heel-digging "ideals".

I don't pretend that some of my political and religious beliefs are shared by many others. I'm liberal. Really liberal. I'm not a Democrat. I'm an Independent. But it pisses me off that I don't get a real vote in the Primaries because of this (yeah, I'm even annoyed at the fact that we don't get more than 2 choices on the ticket at the end of the day either...grrrrr).

But I absolutely believe in the right, and even duty, of the public to engage in conversations about the issues facing this country - us, as individuals in this country - today. So when someone on my Facebook page says he's going to block posts from anyone who posts anything minutely political, I get annoyed.

Look, there's no question that we're all entitled to have whatever we do or do not want appearing on our homepages. But this person was suggesting that those of us that post our opinions shouldn't do so because our views aren't shared by all - regardless of our political leanings. I couldn't disagree more.

This person also suggested that a forum such as Facebook was inappropriate for such "discussion". Again, I couldn't disagree more. I personally find a place like Facebook to be PRECISELY one of the MOST appropriate forums to generate conversation.

What it comes down to for me is this: The only way for there to ever be change in this country is if we, the People, get involved. Even if it's simply having conversations amongst ourselves - between people who happen to agree, but even more importantly between people who disagree! For how else are the various "sides" going to find common ground except to discuss the issues from all perspectives?

Wouldn't it be nice if Washington could figure out how to do that as well? Then again, if the humble masses are incapable of doing so, why should they?

SALE! Quick, ends tomorrow!

The kids & I are going hiking this next week. I figured it was the cheapest way to still give us a vacation away from home. We're borrowing camping equipment from friends and neighbors, and packing tons of food (yes, we'll find the food lockers at the campgrounds so we don't attract bears! But I realized a few days ago that the kids & I didn't really have any hiking-appropriate shoes. Their dad pretty much just buys them Vans-style shoes. They're great for school, and of course I'm not going to complain since I can't afford to buy them shoes at ALL right now. But it was a concern. So I asked him if he'd be willing to find hiking shoes for them before we go. He agreed (WOW!), but understandably didn't want to spend $50-$60/pair for shoes they'd use this one week then outgrow before getting to use them again.

Well, since I needed a pair as well, and being unemployed I don't HAVE much money to spend, I went hunting for a deal yesterday. Tried the big sporting goods store at the mall - nothing under $100. Awesome. I don't know why I even bothered. But then I went to the Big 5 not too far away. They had a GREAT sale going on!! Select shoes (and other items in the store as well) were at deep discounts! I managed to get these shoes for $20 for each of us! Ok ok...the kids are gonna kill me that we all have THE SAME SHOE! I took them over for the kids to try on at their dad's and my DD's first comment was "Mom, I'm not really into brown shoes. Couldn't you get them in pink? Maybe with Hello Kitty on them?" Ummmm...nope. We're gonna be shoe triplets.

All that to say that if you're needing any camping or sport supplies, head on over to Big 5 right now and see about this sale. I've been immensely pleased with them the last few months! Even got air mattresses for $20 back in June.

One caveat: These are cheap-ish shoes. Not bad quality, so far as I've been able to determine. But the interior foot cushioning leaves a bit to be desired. I recommend getting insoles for support and comfort. They don't need to be the expensive ones though. Just a simple, little insert at Rite Aid would do (3 for $15).

Vote for my friend!

April & I have known each other since attending an arts high school together. We've had a few ups & downs in our friendship, but I'm very happy to be able to call her "friend". She writes a truly excellent blog. I know I've got a grand total of 2 followers here (LOL), but you should still check her out and vote for her page. She's been nominated as a Top 25 SoCalMom blogger (rightfully so, I might add)

Vote here.

Oh hi again!

Boy, I'm not very good at keeping up with this, am I? Ok, new resolution: I will post 1 new entry each week. I need to hone my writing skills anyway, so why not here. No one's reading it anyway :-P

So, since my last post in March there've been a few events:

1) I was let go from my job
2) Got to spend a week in Tennessee making music and hanging out with dear friends
3) Am now on the CalFresh program (what used to be called Food Stamps. Gotta love re-branding)

So, what do I do? I'm not really sure yet. I'm applying for jobs all over the place, and in the meantime trying to put my skills out into the universe to try and get at least *some* income from working at home. I've just gotten my business cards in the mail (and I must say, they look great), my business website is about to relaunch, I'm working on inexpensive marketing materials, trying to become a social media "expert" (I'd say I'm already a bit of a power user, but I wouldn't say that I've learned how to monetize that use yet - since I spend so much time within the social media realm, it might be good to figure out a way to get PAID for it, no?), planning my school strategy, volunteering for the South Pasadena Arts Council, making a half-hearted attempt to be more fit, potty training my cats (yeah, you read that right), figuring out how to deal with my ADHD/OCD, and most of all...trying to be the best mom I can. Afterall, I've got all this "free" time right now. What a shame it would be to waste it all!

I find though that I have way too many things to pull my attention every day - this is especially bad for someone with ADHD. Where I used to think I was this amazing multi-tasker, I've had to come to grips with the fact that just having all these balls in the air isn't multi-tasking. Nothing...and I mean NOTHING was actually being done well. Most things were kinda sorta eventually mostly getting done. But there wasn't a single activity that I could sit back at the end of and say "yeah, I did that the best I possibly could have done. I'm pleased with it on all levels."

Clearly I haven't figured out how to modify this behavior yet though. I'll keep trying. In the meantime, I guess I figure I've got all this "spare" time...why not fill it to the brim!!

How do YOU manage to find a balance?