Going from "To Do" to "To Done"

I make a lot of lists. I make lists of things I need to buy. Things I need to make. Places I need to be. Movies I want to see; others I want to buy. Events I need to go to. And things I need to do. Yep, I make a lot of To Do Lists. I also have slight OCD; enough so that I hate having things crossed off my list because it makes it "messy." I'd rather rewrite the entire list and re-organize things. It's frustrating because my OCD makes me feel like I *HAVE* to rewrite the list, but the good thing is I tend to remember everything I need to do. The more often I write my lists, the more likely I am to remember even the most minute "to do."

The thing about making lists, well they are almost like the Lernaean Hydra from Hercules. Every time you knock one out, cross one off, etc; you end up adding like eight or nine more. It's a never ending cycle! Doesn't it make you want to pull your hair out? You sit there and think you're making progress when all of a sudden WHAM! You have an almost entirely new list of things to do. Urgh so frustrating. 

The question then becomes: Do you knock out the little things on your list? Do you take care of nearly 75% of the list just by doing the simple things? That's a real sense of accomplishment, I know. Suddenly you go from having 10 things to maybe 3. Wow, feels good right? And it didn't take that long either. Oh but then there's the downfall. The fact is those 3 things you have left are large projects. So large, in fact, that completing even one of them would take the same amount of time as completing the seven others put together. So then what?

So I ask the question again: Which do you do first? Me, I like to get the small ones out of the way. I like knowing I actually accomplished something. So even if I end up having a ton of work still left to do, I feel good. I think that's a big part of the lists. Every time something is added, you feel like you've sort of failed because you're that much farther away from your goal again. 

My To Do list this weekend? (In NO particular order): Edit video I shot at my aunt's wedding to make her a DVD; take pictures of the books I've read to update the ones on my hubs; reorganize my DVDs with the new ones I've bought recently; make a baby basket for a friend's baby shower with handmade gifts (blanket, personalized chalkboard, and baby hair project); make more personalized chalkboards for some of my god-babies; transfer my recipes from my computer to a recipe book and organize it; laundry; and do my scrapbook for 2011. 

What have I gotten done? Edited the footage and made 10 copies, plus put it on youtube; reogranized my DVDs; made the baby basket with the blanket and the baby hair tie project, 4 chalkboards, and another baby project; laundry; finishing up the photos for HubPages; and now actively working on the recipe book now. 

So I've done almost everything (or at least started almost everything). Except the scrapbook. And that I think I'll wait on working on. It's something I set aside and look forward to working on every weekend but never seem to get around to working on. And that's okay because that scrapbook is way too important to just throw together just so I can say it's off my list. 

And I'm totally okay with that.

When the going gets tough...

With the good comes the bad. Life is about balance, right? Well I had an amazing time at my aunt's wedding this weekend. It was beautiful and fun and low-key... It made me realize I don't want a church wedding. I don't need one. If God and Love can be found anywhere, then I want to be married in a place that means something to ME and to the relationship I'm in. A church can't offer me that, I don't think.  Okay, off the soapbox now.

So back to my blog. I get back from Kentucky and I don't feel 100%. Then, on Tuesday I feel like I'm working on level 2 instead of the necessary level 7. Tuesdays are "Ortho-days" and it's just me and one other assistant working 5 chairs of patients for 3 hours. That may not mean a lot to most people, but anyone in the dental field can appreciate how difficult that is. So imagine running on 1 cylinder vs 4. It was rough. I get home, go to bed...only to wake up Wednesday with NO VOICE! I felt slightly better than I did Tuesday, but my throat felt like... Well imagine if you will when a cat gets a hold of a toilet paper roll still on the holder. Yeah that's what my throat felt like. Finally, after lunch it started to feel better.

Go to today. I had made it up to level 4, maybe. Voice was back, somewhat. Then I go get a filling done. Apparently at nearly 27 years old, my mouth's the same size as a 5 year old! lol It's no wonder I had to have my wisdom teeth extracted: there's absolutely NO ROOM for any more teeth! Which seems like an okay thing until your dentist slices your cheek/gums because of how little room there is. So now I still have a sore throat and a cut/bruised gum. Oh, and my phone has decided it does what it wants. My best friend called me twice and instead of indicating I had a voicemail, I accidentally found them.

To counteract the crudiness of the past four days I decided to make a list of all the blessings I have coming up. 

• The SuperBowl is in 2 days. I don't have a team in the game, but that just means I can get to truly enjoy the game. It'll be just like when I officiated: I'll watch the game and watch the officials. I am actually looking forward to making the square bets and eating fun finger foods.
  
• My co-worker is having a baby shower on the 10th. It's her first baby and I can't wait to work on another baby basket! She's having a little girl and you know there's just so much fun stuff to make or buy or get for little girls!
• Oh and on the same day as the baby shower, the movie "The Vow" comes out. Hmmm Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams. That's gonna be a great way to spend my evening! My sisters and I have a tradition: Every year, for each of our birthdays, we go to see a movie together. We've been doing this since I was  13. This year though, we're going to one of those CineBistros where you get gourmet food, reclining chairs, blankets, pillows... Ahhh I can feel the relaxation already!
• The day after, I get to go to a good friend's wedding. It'll be the third one in 4 weeks. That's a LOT of I Do's, but honestly, I can't be happier for each of them. To find true happiness and contentment, well I guess we could all use more examples of that. Even if they do come at us full steam in the middle of winter, when NO ONE is looking the best or in their best shape!! LOL
• The weekend after that, well that's when I get to go see my best friend and her three little girls. I can't believe how long it's been since I saw my friend. I can't wait to see how big the girls are; I've never even seen the baby who's almost 2 now. 
• The weekend after that my stepbrothers and stepsister are coming into town for a few days. I don't think they have a "legit" reason, but they just want to make a trip and hang out. I didn't get to hang out with them too much when I was younger. Nowadays though, we get to hang out and party like big kids. There's none of the friction that comes with being younger and wanting to be the center of your parents' attention. It's a lot more fun when you can be friends with your siblings.
• Oh and I've started a countdown until Hunger Games the movie comes out. I've got the newest poster as the background on my phone. I've got Katniss on my computer. I've been watching the previews.... I can't believe it's only a few weeks away!

So there we  go. There's my list of the immediately upcoming gifts. The joys I'll be focusing on when things are frustrating and difficult. When I feel like I want to curl up and take a nap. When I can't seem to get it right and just want a break from the stress of it all. There's my plan for ya!