Mindy's Non-Adventures

  To further continue with the yearly theme of "Do new things to make my life_______(harder, fuller, more exhausting, brighter...),"  I decided to do something else I've never done before. Ready for it? This is exciting stuff I'm about to share!  I...no, you still don't get it. This is something I've NEVER done before. This experiment could be right up there with going to Maui! Okay, that Maui part is an exaggeration, but here it is. I made my own LAUNDRY DETERGENT! TADA!  Anticlimactic? Possibly. Still, it's another first. It was simple and probably took up an  hour of my time total if I include the time at the store buying the supplies. After all, this is my first ride on the spin cycle of DIY laundry detergent.  The step that took the longest was melting the bar of soap at the stove, but it was a good time for introspection.     So I'm standing at the stove, stirring the grated soap in water, waiting for it to dissolve, and I think to ...

    It's December. FINALLY. I have never looked forward to the end of a year like I have 2011. In every other year of my life, I've gotten to December and thought, "Wow, I can't believe it's almost  20?? (or 19??)!"  Not this year though. For the past  month, I've had to consciously think about what year it is when I write a date because I keep wanting to write 2012. I think it's my subconscious willing the year to be over! And yes, I know that the date change has no tangible meaning. It's more of a natural mental gap where I can put up a wall and definitively say that all of the craziness of the past year is OVER.     But anyway, the holidays are here. Our tree is up, exactly two presents have been purchased, and we've already kept up our tradition of visiting the James Island Christmas Lights. We started going to the lights 8 years ago I think, and it's nice to keep up with our little family tradition. We still have to make sugar cookies...