Absolutely Bananas: Seattle stay-at-home mom blog

Where does my time go?

Written by bananas on June 8, 2007 – 7:30 am -

A funny thing happened to me the other evening. Well, not really funny, but interesting.

I was at a charity dinner with many of my ex-colleagues, having a rather lovely time. It’s great to get together with people when there’s no politics involved. Hello Mr. Senior Vice President, that’s really a very ugly tie you’re wearing and, oh my, what IS that big black thing between your teeth? By the way, have you put on weight…?

Yessiree, not only to you get to treat people in accordance to their PERSONALITY and BASIC HUMAN CHARACTER rather than silly stupid things like title and WHETHER THEY’RE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR RAISE, but additionally you learn who your true friends are. But I digress.

I chatted and gabbed and hugged and schmoozed, and in all this socializing I quickly recognized a pattern. Everyone wanted to know what I was doing with my time now that I’ve quit my job. And oh, by the way, was I bored yet?

Call it irony, or fate, or just happenstance (now THERE’S a word I’ve always wanted to use), but whatever you call it… today I am being asked THE SAME QUESTION again. But this time with the allure of cash and glamour at the end (see contest details below).

So, here goes. What HAVE I been doing with my time? Where DOES it go?

If only I knew. Maybe it would be easiest for me to start with where my time DOESN’T go.

I do NOT spend my time:
1) working or earning money in any way
2) cleaning house
3) cooking healthy and delicious Martha Stewartesque meals
4) organizing fabulous dinner parties
5) traveling, modeling, hanging out with celebrities, or curing diseases

Wow. How depressing. I’ll bet you’re REALLY wondering now, aren’t you?

What DO I spend my time on? It’s hard to say really. Back at the dinner, I found that I struggled to respond. All I could do was come up with what I’d done THAT DAY. Because it varies. And some days, I really don’t accomplish much at all, while others I’m a whirlwind of effective efficiency (but usually the former).

And in the spirit of confessions (I’m not sure why I’m in that spirit, but I’ll go with it), I will tell you that USUALLY when someone asks me this, I try to put myself in the best light. “Oh, nothing really, just little things like reading important biographies, cooking nutritious meals, practicing my yoga, and providing a nurturing and highly educational environment for my son.” But because YOU are my dear friends who I love deeply (along with assorted spammers, stalkers and plagiarists), I will be honest and open to the point of nausea. You can thank me later.

So here’s a random sampling of some of the ways I’ve spent my time:

• downloading new music
• creating new playlists based on the new music I purchased with the money I don’t make
• playing the new playlists with said new music while dancing wildly with son through the house I didn’t clean
• photoshopping my head onto strangely formed figures
• spending inordinate amounts of time pondering the search terms that led people to my blog.
• running my car into our other car
• calling insurance to fix damage from above incident
• reading books about 1) harems, 2) how to get rich*, and 3) ghosts.
  *One thing I learned from the book about how to get rich is that it’s best NOT to run your car into your other car. And if you insist on engaging in this behavior, it’s best NOT to drive a BMW. There you go, some free advice for the day.
• Exploring the glorious beaches, parks, playgrounds, zoos, museums etc. that Seattle has to offer.
• Picnics at the drop of a hat
• etc.

In response to Daring Young Mom’s question as to what’s on my resume (great post, by the way)… just see above. Wouldn’t YOU want to hire me?! (DON’T ANSWER THAT!)

So here’s my takeaway. Since quitting my job, I am hands-down less efficient. I am hands-up (?) more happy. And really, isn’t that what matters?

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This is an entry into a contest to have BlogHer conference fees paid courtesy of the Parent Bloggers Network and Light Iris. For more contest details, see here (hurry, because you have to post TODAY to enter!)

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If you’re happy and you know it… list 10 things

Written by bananas on May 25, 2007 – 3:34 pm -

Lene at Families are Like Fudge tagged me to list out 10 things that make me happy. I decided this would be a good exercise for me today, since it seems like this is a week of people who DO NOT make me happy. But that’s another post for another day.

1. Sunny days



2. Bubblegum
3. Sand between my toes
4. Yoga
5. Photoshopping my head onto other people’s bodies
6. Paris Hilton in jail (petty, I know, but what can I say? It makes me happy!)
7. Seeing that someone voted for me at the Blogger’s Choice Awards… so come on, make my day already!
8. CJ telling me that he thinks I’m beautiful. Awwwww….
9. A good foot rub
10. All the very amazing people who leave such kind, funny, and thoughtful comments on my blog… making me aware that I’m not alone and I’m not (entirely) crazy.

Oh… and if you’re linked in #10, consider yourself tagged (evil laugh). And I guess that’s #11… tagging unsuspecting innocents.

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ABCDEFG, seven monkeys up in a tree…

Written by bananas on May 9, 2007 – 6:51 pm -


Posted in meme | 3 Comments »