Dallas, part 1

I have no idea how long this little series will be, but it will definitely be more than one post. Thus, the Part 1.

Caleb & I made the trip to Dallas a couple of weeks ago with my sister, brother-in-law, and two nieces for the Girls Junior National Championship in volleyball. My oldest niece has been playing volleyball for quite a few years now, but this was her first year playing club. I had hoped to make a couple of other out of town tournaments, but things never came together, so I was excited to make it to the national championship.

We drove straight through from Colorado Springs to Dallas, which went fairly well. It was nice driving at night and I think I was actually less drowsy than during the day. We headed out around 7:30 p.m. and, other than getting stuck behind a semi on a two-lane highway in the middle of the night a bit northwest of Amarillo, made great time. We did stop every couple of hours, either to refuel or stretch our legs or use the restroom or all of the above.

Ironically, there's pretty much no pictorial evidence of this trip. My brother-in-law's a fairly focused guy and I didn't think he'd appreciate me stopping for pictures. Actually, I sneaked in a few iPhone shots - the kind where you just hold up the phone and shoot out the window with no idea what you'll get.

Pre-sunrise somewhere in Texas.


Beautiful sunrise {disrupted by the disgusting bug mess on my window}


Okay, one more. Just because. Even if the picture isn't that great, the sunrise really was.

When breakfast time rolled around that next morning, about 12 hours later, we finally stopped at the Armadillo Grill. They say things are big in Texas, well, the short stack of two pancakes that I ordered were HUGE. I shared with my sister and still couldn't finish one.

Of course, driving in Dallas traffic - even on a Saturday morning - was loads of fun. Not. But by about 10:30 (9:30 our time), we made it to the Westin Galleria. Unfortunately, our rooms weren't ready since it was somewhat early. We were so tired, I think we could've probably slept on the benches in the hallway. But we didn't. We wandered around the Galleria mall since it's attached to the hotel.

Naturally, our first order of business was to locate a restroom - in Nordstrom's - and take a picture with a silly head in the men's department. Then we just wandered aimlessly. Finally, around 12:30 or so, my sister and her family's room was ready to check in. Caleb's and my room, however, wasn't. So we brought our stuff up to their room anyway. Some opted for a nap. My nieces and I opted for a second wandering of the mall. Actually, we went and got hot soft pretzels. Yummy.

Palm trees in the mall. Of course.

We were at last able to check into our room around 3:45 and since it later than it should've been and we had to wait so long, the hotel clerk was kind enough to give me free wi-fi in our room {sweet}. So we relaxed in our room, had dinner at a little Italian joint in the mall with the rest of the family, came back to our room and watched some Pixar goodness, and went to sleep. I had been awake for 38 hours. It was definitely time for some sleep. My brain was slightly melted and quite loopy.

Why Purging Clothes is so Hard

I'm purging my closet (again) and I think I've figured out why this can be such a challenge. Two reasons, really. For me, anyway, and I imagine a number of other people.

1. Happy Memories - Some clothes remind me of times past when I wore them and the great memories that accompany those particular times. Ergo, wearing them again will bring fun and happy times. Rather a false conclusion, but I found myself reminiscing about a variety of good memories. It's great that I have those memories, but keeping extra clothes in my closet which I no longer wear isn't producing more wonderful life experiences. So they have to go. If I feel that attached, I could always take a picture of the item. But then I'd be cluttering up my hard drive. Just be happy with the memories and photos I already have and move on.

This was one of my favorite shirts for years - warm, cozy, comfortable. With a button-down front, I could wear it alone or as a jacket. Definitely a lot of good memories here. But I haven't worn it in...I don't know, maybe 5-6 years (probably longer). So here's a picture for posterity.


2. Expectations - Then there are those clothes which almost fit and surely they will fit...as soon as I drop a few (or more) pounds. This is just ridiculous. If I am actively losing weight right this moment and may possibly be able to wear an item in the next few months...then maybe they would be worth taking up space. But the reality is that I'm not. I'd like to be. I want to be. But until I actually am? Fuhggetaboutit. Let them go. Buy new clothes if/when I lose the weight. Much better to have the free closet real estate and potential shopping later, anyway.

Having these two explanations helped me. A lot. I will admit that I hung onto a few more items than I probably should, but if I haven't worn them by the end of the season (switched out winter for summer), then they can go to a better home this fall. In the meantime, I have breathing room in both my half closets, which makes me very happy.

The clothes squished on the right hadn't been gone through at this point. Interestingly, they represent how crowded this space was, all mashed and wrinkled together. The clothes on the left are an equal number, but given some space. Much better.

A Week or a Year Unplugged?

Yesterday, I posted about my week of being pseudo-unplugged. I also came across a post by a gentleman who actually unplugged entirely for a year. The timing seemed rather fitting, so I thought I should share his thoughts on the issue, too.

You can read his post here.

I suppose the reality is that the internet is very much an integral part of many lives these days and I don't know that it's just a simple flip of the switch to sail off to some imagined, idyllic life. As he mentioned, part of the equation is still you and your priorities and choices. That remains whether it's on- or offline. I suppose it's like many things in life - we have to learn how to handle it in moderation, knowing that sometimes we won't succeed, but plenty of other times we will. It's just a part of life.

What I learned Being Pseudo-Unplugged

Recently I decided to take a week off from that parts of the internet which become huge, time-sucking vortices. Vortexes. Vor Texas. For Texas....

As much as I think I'd like to unplug entirely, I know that it's just not that feasible. Too much of my life is connected - banking, paying bills, proofing, setting up a website, and so on. But I posited that I could gain a lot of valuable and, hopefully, productive time if my only internet time were spent upon specific tasks. I wrote about it here.

Monday was fantastic! Of course. It was the first day and I was highly motivated. I even started making journal entries to keep track of how my week went. I also decided to implement a Three Things system for each day. Every morning I wrote down three things that I felt really needed to be accomplished that day. It's much more palatable than a five-page To Do List. I completed one and a half things (one of them involved looking through 5-6 years of photos and scanning some which were specifically requested - a hefty project). One and a half items? Okay, not too bad. I suppose. However, I accomplished a whole bunch of other things, in addition to playing games with my kids, spending time outside, and dealing with all the dreaded hand-wash dishes. I felt great at the end of the day.

On Tuesday, I pulled off two and a half items. I also got out for a walk with Caleb, remembered to pick up Mother's Day cards, got a super deal on my B Complex, and had some fun time downtown with my mom. I walked a lot more than normal, which felt wonderful.

Wednesday rolled around and we had a drizzly, cooler day. I completed one item from my list of three. Ran some errands. Enjoyed Starbucks' Frappuccino Happy Hour with my boys and a sweet time of fellowship with friends.

By Thursday, I didn't write down anything. Not three or any other number. I don't know why. Things had just begun to fizzle, I guess. Plus I still had some leftovers from the first three days. I took Zach to bowling. I sat in my chair and finished reading a book. I ordered pizza for dinner.

But I also had a light bulb moment. From my little journal:

This week is a perfect example of how I roll.

That's exactly it. Over the years, I've had a number of times when I've "taken the week off" to accomplish something or another. Every time I do, the first day is amazing. The second day is just a notch or two lower. The third day's not bad. But by the fourth day, I'm pretty much done. Maybe this means that in the future, I shouldn't take an entire week off, because days four and five are usually somewhat guilt filled. Even if I need more time, just take three days sometime soon again.

As for the internet, I did quite well at staying away from Facebook and Twitter. I also was relatively focused when I was online. All in all, this was a good experiment.

I learned that three days holds my Maximum Accomplishment Potential.

I accomplished numerous things.

I had some fun hanging out with my kids.

A Week Unplugged

That's what this week will be. When I say unplugged, what I really mean is unplugged from the excessively great time sucking vortex portion of the internet. You know, like Facebook and Twitter and other such things. I may need to check the balance in our bank account, pay a bill, edit some images, or some such thing. But nothing that leads to trolling around the web, losing all track of time, and frittering the day away. It's an experiment in what can I accomplish if I free up some time and space in my life?

I'll be back to report my findings on Mother's Day or the day after.

In the meantime, how about a photo or two?

My youngest. Who is now 18.

I never thought of ducks as curious.

Have a great week, everyone! Catch ya' later.