I Threw Stuff Away!

That’s right.  I threw stuff away.  Now, for some of you who don’t know me well, I am a HUGE pack-rat.  Not quite “Hoarders” status, but pretty close.  I’m sentimental.  And I like to attribute my excellent long-term memory to the fact that I keep mementos from just about EVERYTHING.  So for me to actually throw stuff away…. yeah.  MAJOR accomplishment!

I spent about 6 hours on Memorial Day cleaning out our garage.  Now, we have a garage large enough to fit at least 3 cars… But there’s so much stuff in there that we can barely fit one!  So on my extra day off, I worked on the garage.

I usually have a hard time actually being productive when I go into the garage, because I’m usually distracted by all the wonderful, amazing artifacts from my past!  Old journals, books, mementos, stuffed animals, brochures, letters, photos…… SO MUCH STUFF!  I’m actually quite impressed that during those 6 hours, I managed to make as much progress as I did!  You can ALMOST fit another car in there!  

But it was so much fun going through old stuff, being reminded of awesome memories.  And then there were the few random things that I had no clue about….  Like a little stuffed shark.  I have no idea where I got it from, who gave it to me, or what it was for.  But I DO remember considering it one of my favorite things when I was in high-school… and it remained so up through my adult years, always finding a spot on my dresser.  But I have no idea WHY.

And I was super excited, because I found my long-lost box of some of my favorite books!  These books include many of my old Star Wars books, Harry Potter series, The Number Devil… Omg, I was just so excited to find them.  

I also found a lot of old VHS tapes I watched when I was younger…  We didn’t buy movies very often, so most of our movies were recorded from TV, making some very interesting video combinations!  For instance, Sound of Music followed by Look Who’s Talking.  Or My Fair Lady followed by Sword in the Stone and Dumbo’s Circus.

However, throughout this treasure-trove of memories, many things I found were covered in mouse poop.  Most of those were things I was okay getting rid of.  They may have been cool years ago, but once something is covered in mouse poop, you have to reconsider its value.  That’s just the way it is.  

So I threw stuff away, consolidated boxes, and pretty much got it more organized.  Needless to say, after handling so much stuff covered in dust and mouse poopy, I HAD to take a shower.  It was gross, but I felt so productive!  Yay!  And sore.  Super sore.  I’m STILL sore!  I mean, who needs the gym when you’ve got a garage full of stuff to organize?

But I’ll still probably join a gym.  (I have to say that, otherwise I probably won’t do it.  But it’s now online.  You all know.  So now I HAVE to!)

Anyways, I’m so exhausted, and my writing is getting really random….

What was I even talking about?  

Goodnight.

 

I Listened to ABBA

I’m the kind of person who has 1 or 2 CD she’s really into, puts them into her CD changer in the car, and doesn’t listen to anything else for about 6 months.  Lately, it’s been Taylor Swift mixed in with the occasional Sara Bareilles.

Now, I like Taylor Swift, but I’m not obsessed with her, despite what my music listening habits might convey.  It’s just that most of the CDs I have, I’ve already listened to a thousand times.  And I’m a little lazy.

But today, I said “NO MORE!”  At great cost, I dug through the glove compartment to find a different to CD as all the contents spilled out onto the floor.  But I found an ABBA CD.  I love ABBA.  So the mess was worth it.

So instead of my usual Taylor Swift, I listened to the classically happy music of ABBA during my commute.  

I love ABBA so much.  So many of their songs simply exude happiness!  I also have some really fun memories from a few years ago associated with the songs.  They remind me of some really good friends, a birthday vacation to Australia with my best friend Gingi (check out her blog!), and a cruise through the Mediterranean with my mom.  That was a year filled with some serious transitions, and the year I began to listen to ABBA almost exclusively.

So now that it’s been several years later, it’s fun to re-listen to those songs, sing along, and think of those awesome times and the awesome people I had (and still have!!) in my life. 🙂