Oh Waiter, Is This Spam Kosher?

I got a fun spam tonight...

SUBJECT: A bigger schlong awaits you efbu mmz.

Yiddish spam I'm now getting? Oy. I don't mean to kvetsh, but this meshugine takes me for a mentsh, eh?

A Day of Firsts

I saw my first bumblebee of spring today. :) I also saw the season's first mosquito, at least the first one to try to bite me! Either way, spring is padding its way in through the muck and I couldn't be happier to see it. I saw a couple tiny leaves of my huchera plants (coral bells) coming back, so something beneath the sycamore survived the winter. It looks like my digitalis (foxgloves) in that area may have all died. We'll see, though; maybe they'll surprise me and come back after all. I hope the ones by our patio bed do make a return; they were so pretty last summer. I'm putting together some pictures of the garden. Be watching!

Is there hope for Messies?

Confession time here. As those who know me have heard me say, I am an "all or nothing kind of person". I procrastinate cleaning the house until it's a cluttered, awful mess and then...then...I dig in and clean the hell out of it.

Daily maintenance is such a struggle for me, for whatever reason. I am an admitted perfectionist and feel like I have to do something absolutely right, or it's not worth even doing. But that overwhelms me and I can't face the actual starting. It's an ugly, vicious circle. And I've lived under a cloud for decades now, feeling like a real failure when it comes to getting my life in order.

I am mortified if people drop by unexpectedly because the house is in a shambles. What? You say my house looks so nice? Open the closets, dears. Stop by sometime when I'm not expecting anyone. If - and only if - I let you in the front door, you will see. I've tried making lists, I've tried setting aside one day to clean, spreading it out throughout the week...I've tried just about everything.

Ack! Is there hope? I sure hope so, and I believe there is. Last week I listened to an archived broadcast of Focus on the Family, entitled Coping as a Messie. When I wasn't laughing aloud at this lady's humor, I was sitting open-mouthed as she described this old girl to a T. When she said the majority of the messies she speaks to overwhelmingly use the phrase "I'm drowning", I knew I'd found someone who knew me.

You can listen to it at OnePlace.com, where archived broadcasts are available in both RealOne and Windows Media formats. Scroll down a bit to find that show.

Even if you're a cleanie, listen. It will help you understand why some of your friends, neighbors, roommates, family members and others are the way they are. Most of them aren't just lazy,and they don't do it just to irritate you. Honest.

Take me...It's not just that I am online now; shoot, I've always been this way, even before we had a computer. Sandra says messies are highly sentimental and surround themselves with personal momentos. Yep! They are practical and keep things because they, or someone else, really might need that thing someday. Yep!

I ordered Sandra Felton's book, The New Messies Manual (no tax or shipping!) and it arrived today. The first chapter just smacks of me. Can you imagine the relief I feel? I've also been lurking around her website, Messies.com and have a tiny glimmer of hope in me that things can change.