Today's TO DO list

-walk the sad faced happy little dog

-wake up ol Sleepin Beauty without letting him drag me in beside him, no matter how tempting it me be, because we both have to get outta the house and get stuff done today no really can't stay even if it's really cold outside and really warm in here....(realize that it could end up being a shortened list today...)

-get in my pickup truck and limp it to the gas station where I'll coax another twenty bucks worth of fumes into the cavernous and voracious tank

-drive over to Susan's place

-swing that manure fork and clean up the stalls

-check water buckets, chip out ice, make sure they have hay outside

-sweep the barn aisle

-go get lovely Tia, bring her into the barn, saddle up and ride for a cold half hour, or a very cold hour depending on how it goes

-go in for lunch

-babysit the little fella while his mommy does a Level 1 Rider test with one of her students

-turn out of the lane and go south, downhill, to get to Van Dorferdork Road instead of turning right, north, to get to Erorer Road, and therefore avoiding that slippery situation when I have to back a quarter mile downhill before I can get enough traction and momentum to get back uphill again....just thinking it through better this time.

-come home to pile of laundry and messy kitchen

-drink tea

-put towels in washing machine- remind self that my mother grew up without electricity and running water

-"fill dishwasher" which means, fill the sink halfway with very hot water and dishsoap, then let everything sit there for ten minutes while I check up on some blogbuddies

-wash dishes

-say hello to kids and tell them to put lunchbags away

-nag the Girl to get ready for dance class

-drive her to class, take Bucky to library

-inform him that we won't be buying a treat at the library cafe because that would cost a whole whopping two bucks that I don't have

-bring computer, write another paragraph of my Next Great Book, get frustrated, look at four pages of People magazine, write four more paragraphs, read People, worry about the Bucky's winter boots situation, peck away at the book for another few sentences, then gather up both kids and go home.

-invent a supper all 3 of us will eat by combining the last four ingredients in the kitchen.

-feed the dog

-feed the cat

-muse that in the future I'd be heading out to the barn right about now to feed the horses

-call husband and ask if anyone's fed him today, since we have no leftovers

-assign a household chore to each kid and announce that there will be no whining and that dammit when I was your age I was castrating piglets and for cryin out loud suck it up it's just a broom and when you grow up you can have your own kids and mistreat them terribly by attempting to teach them some basic life skills

-bark at everybody to get ready for bed

-double check teeth to make sure they got brushed right

-complain that I shouldn't have to do a tooth check anymore

-read book- Alex And The Ironic Gentleman by Adrienne Kress- with the kids- giggle a lot, use funny voices, feel happy that they're 13 & 11 and we still read together a few nights each week

-chase the pug outside for his last nature break before 4:30 tomorrow morning (grrrr)

-hugs and kisses

-get into my jammies

-read book- The Highest Tide by Jim Lynch- very slowly because I don't want it to end, it's so good

-write in my journal

-call Jethro again and beg him to come home

-rub cold feet against flannel sheets, give up, get socks

-call Jethro again and ask if he's coming home

-tell God things are okay, thanks, seriously, I'd really like to pray for a million dollars but feel that would be rude, so just...thanks.