A lot of women on Splitcoaststampers set goals for themselves. For every page/card/project they complete, they add a preset dollar amount to their supply budget. I told Dan that I wanted to do this, but with other aspects of my life.
Clean the kitchen – $10
Every minute on the exercise bike – 10 cents
Cook a meal that does not involve the microwave – $5
Cook a meal that does involve the microwave – 5 cents
Clean the litterbox instead of making Dan do it – $1 million
Each load of laundry – $1
Do a homework assignment – varies. $1-$3 each

I’ve been at it for only a week but I feel that I am making progress. So far, I only owe two kitchen cleanings, 7 loads of laundry and about 27 hours on the bike. I’m heading to a Grand Opening of a new store, so after tonight I might also owe a litterbox cleaning or two…

I read once on Martha Stewart that the average person spends 55 minutes a day looking for things. With this in mind. Dan and I held the Great Spring Cleaning this past week. In reality, we were cleaning for the new housekeepers who were coming on Monday. But saying that we were Spring Cleaning makes us seem less crazy. Anyway, whenever I read something in Martha Stewart, Dan gets worried. I suddenly have visions of our pristine house, our organized life and hand embroidered booties for our cats that just happen to match our floral arrangements and tablecloths. Martha Stewart articles tend to make me obsessed with the idea of perfection.

So we uncluttered and tossed trash. We sorted and filed and folded. We organized and purged. We were like the Dynamic Due of Spring Cleaning. “Our” house sparkled. Even my crafting stuff was organized into 3 distinct groups – stuff I’m working on, stuff I won’t get to for awhile and tools that I use everyday. However, with the large amount of swaps I am participating in, my lack of messiness is throwing off my groove. I spend over an hour each day looking for various swap items. Sometimes dragging Dan into it, when he finally sighs with frustration because surprise surprise, the missing item is where it belongs. In its proper place. He said that he wanted to punch me in the face but wouldn’t because he hears it’s illegal.

Martha Stewart is out to get me. She’s showing off AND she’s trying to sabotage my relationship.

I had a bad day yesterday. I got a bad grade on a writing assignment. I had a jerk steal my parking spot. I was late to my 2nd class and had to sit next to the TA, who takes off her shoes in class. I should take the time to mention that she normally wears sneakers and no socks. However, all this was a pleasant day in a sunny meadow compared to what happened to me after my last class.

I experienced blatant racism. I joke about all kinds of things, so I feel I’m pretty perceptive when someone is joking. (i.e. when Dan tells me he wants to punch me in the face. I know he’s totally joking. Most of the time.)

With this girl, I was at a complete loss of words. I couldn’t even come up with a witty jab back at her or even an eloquent way of saying “eff you.” Instead, I stood there with a shocked look on my face as she walked away. The classmates standing around me immediately began swearing and saying nasty things about her, but I couldn’t speak. Looking back at it now, I’m ashamed that I didn’t stand up for myself, my husband, my family or my culture. I am mad at myself for not saying anything. I am sad that there are still people in this world who feel it is okay to judge a person by the color of their skin.

As I was silently fuming and trying to write this blog without lots of swear words, I realized something that made me happy. Something that made me forgive her.

Have you seen our president, you close-minded, shallow-hearted bigot? Yeah, that’s right. The leader of the free world isn’t your idea of perfection and I couldn’t be more proud.

Boo-yah