I added some books on kid friendly recipes. I also can't say no to productivity titles.

I like checking things off my to do list. Part of the reason I use a bullet journal is because I take such satisfaction in putting a little "x" next to the things I finish.

We have a white board on our fridge for the priority things we want to get down around our house. There is one task that has been on there for weeks now - changing out the living room pillow covers.

It's not hard. All I want to do is remove the outer "winter" covers to show the interior "summer" covers. But I can't seem to make myself do it. When I remove the outer covers, it leaves a snow shower of felt and other puffy stuff behind. I usually do this task over the tub where I can handyvac out the worst of the mess and wash the rest into our drain trap.

All together, this is a 10 minute task. Just 10 minutes... and it has been languishing on the fridge list for weeks. I keep telling myself that I will get around to it, but I just don't want to deal with the mess.

Maybe I'll get around to it this week. Maybe.

What little thing have you been putting off?

We've had a small leak in our toilet for a few weeks now. Nothing major, just random trails of water out of the base that occur sporadically and without any pattern. We both knew all we probably needed was a new wax ring, but neither of us is comfortable with plumbing. Somehow, I managed to avoid a Google rabbit hole looking for possible causes. That likely saved me a lot of stress. Today, we had it fixed by a professional. His solution - a new wax (well, rubber) ring. I'm just glad it's fixed.

Here is what I looked up this week:
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• What temperature does chicken need to be cooked to? - 165. One day, I will remember this.
• How old is Jennifer Lopez? - 51. We were watching one of her recent movies and I knew she was older than I thought.
• Rotate PDF - I was sent a PDF file but all the images were scanned upside down. I either need to print it out and lose the color, or flip all the images. It can be done but usually with a third-party app.
• Dry White Wines - A recipe I was making called for a dry white wine. I wanted to know what my options were.

I work in a small team. We have a standing weekly meeting. When we need to reschedule said meeting, it's often hard to find a time to meet. Why is it so hard to schedule a group of five who all work at the same organization? I swear, calendars are black holes of intentions.

Here's what else has my attention at the moment.

WORK

• I am doing a lot of cutting and pasting as I work on my cohort of research guide handouts. These are basically revised versions of our online LibGuides that we plan to share with faculty. It's a mix of "here's stuff for your research!" and "pretty please use us to teach information literacy and/or research to your students." We're making one guide per department in the hopes that highly targeted information will reel more faculty in.
• I finished my first edit of the University customer service proposal. I shared it with my immediate team for their edits and input. My plan is to get this to the faculty senate committee I wrote it far during our first fall meeting. Fingers crossed!
• Last Friday, I polished off the common read for the upcoming year. On deck - working on the support LibGuide for the program... which is always a lot easier after I have read the book myself.
• More LOEX recording viewing. I'm about two-thirds of the way through what I wanted to watch.

PERSONAL

• My various Trello boards and cards have gotten rather unwieldy as of late. I'm taking some time to review and condense. That will help me focus and work on the things that actually need to get done.
• As an off-shoot of the project above, I'm making plans for how I want to spend the two days off that I gave myself later this month. I want it to be a mix of productivity and lazy self-indulgence. I scheduled a haircut for one of the days which, I think, fits in both categories. 

The Moonfire Bride 
Syliva Mercedes

I put this book on my TBR board only a few weeks ago. It was not available through an of my local libraries so I went ahead and bought it... and the sequel. I was in such a mood to read this story that I started it the day I arrived. So far, it has lived up to my reading mood. I find myself excited to sneak in a few pages throughout the day and dive in deeply each night.

Oh Crap! Potty Training
Jamie Glowacki

My side read is in preparation for this upcoming parenting milestone. I am terrified. I am reading this book to help me be less terrified. I'm not sure if it's helping. Also, reading about potty training causes me to have to go to the bathroom all the time. Glowacki is sassy which helps but her tips are straightforward. It's a good combination and makes for a surprisingly enjoyable read.

Once a month, I sit down and plan on what projects I want to tackle. The priorities get placed on the monthly page of my bullet journal. I then use that short list to decide what steps in these projects I want to add to my daily to do list. It's a system that works for me, but I couldn't make these lists without the good ol' brain dump.

I am a clear surfaces, tidy spaces sort of person. I dislike clutter whether it is physical, digital, or mental. When my mental clutter gets too great, I sit down, open Trello, and brain dump everything that is on my mind. No matter if the idea is big or small, it goes on a Trello board. That way, whatever is on my mind ends up in a central location where I can deal with it as necessary.

Long ago, I realized that that writing things down helped keep my stress level low. When I don't brain dump, I grind my teeth which leads to a tight jaw, tight shoulders, and, ultimately, lower back pain. (It's weird how mental stress shows up physically.) When I get a knot in my lower back, it's usually a good indicator that I need to brain dump to take stock of everything that is on my mind.

Do you brain dump? If so, what's your favorite way to track everything?

DC was walloped with a series of bad thunderstorms last night. We even went through a tornado warning which is a rare event for this area. I spent a lot of the evening watching radar and looking at photos of the aftermath. Twitter is a remarkable tool for local information.

Here's what else I looked up this week.

• Bannock - We're rewatching Outlander and the Husband asked what a bannock was. I knew the general idea, but I wanted to see a picture.
• Pippin Hill Farm - Wanted to see if they still made a wine I love. They do!
• Open First Box - A friend asked about tips for moving, and I wanted to send her a link to the page where I learned about the open first box idea.