Ordering a new passport...

I'm officially declaring myself the world's worst, "I'm going to place this important thing in this exact spot, so that later, when I'm looking for it I'll find it immediately."

I'm going through the process of unpacking boxes in our new house in Houston. We were blessed enough to have had all of our belongings packed for us in Tulsa, however this has led me to reliance on my memory for the finding of important things. Example: Would my wardrobe be in the box labeled, "Girl's Room" or "Office?" That one is pretty easy, which is why I used it as an example. I'd hate to confuse my readers and lose their interest within paragraph 2.

For smaller, or more random things like, say, my PASSPORT, I'm having a harder time locating. This is due to my habitual need to place things in tricky places, convincing myself that this chosen spot is not only more convenient but also clever and more efficient for my future use. Thanks to certain organized family members of mine, I have started placing smaller things into larger organizing mechanisms such as accordion folders. I then place the organizing units in tricky and mysterious places completely negating its function.

You're probably thinking, "Well, I do that too," however I am convinced that your placement choices cannot be as ridiculous as mine.

When I am searching for a missing item, the quickest way to end my search is by looking in the most random places first: Car keys? Check the blender. Cell phone? Probably in the fruit bowl on the kitchen table. Lap top? You're thinking, "Check the office." Nope, under the couch next to the remote...and other electronics. Where did I put the bag of puppy food? The attic. Gosh, where is my spare tire? That's obvious, when I break down on the highway, it will be conveniently placed next to the tools in my garage.

So, knowing this about myself, I'm sure that I have placed my passport in the most secure spot I could think of prior to the move to Houston. Of course, I can't remember where that spot is. So far, I've torn open every office, extra bedroom, craft room, bathroom, and garage box left unopened. Following that I started checking the kitchen drawers, the pantry, and the stereo cabinets. I've rummaged through every old purse and backpack in the house. I've checked my car several times. I honestly just went and looked amidst the pile of cookbooks...twice thinking I may have missed the brown zip-closed organizing unit in which I previously stored said passport.

From now on, I think I'm just going to make two large piles in my room: Stuff I will need later, and, Stuff I will never need until I've lost it.

Lent without my 'friends'

Turns out there's 24 hours in each day. I discovered this recently by way of my Lenten sacrifice.

I'm typically not a proponent of sharing this type of thing with tons of people, however, the impact it has already made on my basic existence has been so dramatic, that I had to share.

I've given up watching television.

Within the first 15 minutes of 'day one' I went to turn on the television out of sheer habit. Day two ended at 9:30 pm because I ran out of things to do and was bored. It's taken some adjusting and I'm not being a legalist about it: if the TV happens to be on in the waiting room while I'm getting my oil changed I don't plug my ears and recite Psalms.

I've taken up reading like a mad person, and now that my mom and I are officially moved to Houston, I've made more progress in two days on unpacking my room than what I would have in three months had I been watching television.

I've always been a little TV obsessed, but it had gotten out of hand recently as I was in job-limbo land and pretending to be a stay at home mom. My days consisted of my dog and me hanging out with our friends on The View, Ellen, and Oprah.

It hasn't been as difficult to give up TV as what I expected, either. I imagined that from the boredom I would be drawn to the big talking box on regular intervals (particularly when my "friends" were on), but I've found that I can be extremely productive without access to the television. It's truly been incredible how great I feel after a day of complete productivity.

It's the healthiest thing I've done in a while. I can catch the news on the internet, I can take time to do devotionals and read my enriching book, and I have acknowledged the length of the day for the first time in a long time...woot.