A protocol firm called Advancing with Style has declared March to be National Email Etiquette Month (note to self: figure out how to declare September National Give Me Birthday Gifts Month). I'm 100% confident that everyone reading this post has an email account. I'm somewhere in the 80-90% confidence range that everyone has more than one account. And the vast majority of those multi-account folks probably check their email on multiple devices - desktops, laptops, phones, and tablets. The technology frontier sure is a connected place.

That said, email is also a frontier ripe with technological faux pas. You know the feeling. You sit down in the comforting glow of your computer/tablet/phone, click on your email, and then feel an uncomfortable lump rise in your throat when you realize that someone forwarded a sensitive email about the upcoming PTA fundraiser to every parent in the school. Or your boss shot off a missive about the project you're working on and it's written in all capital letters. You think to yourself, "OMG. I am going to be fired!" and then waste 2 hours setting up your Monster.com profile. 

It's easy to hide behind computer screens, and to forget that there's a person on the other end of the email. From the get-go, someone else is using email to dictate your time. And if they're rude about it, you'll feel pretty cranky. Give some thought to email etiquette the next time you fire up your 'puter, and see if there are some ways for you to do better. Be sure to let me know what steps you're taking to make the information highway a more pleasant place! 

I am down in the dumps today, but I am trying hard to pull myself out of this funk. I did a Google search for "great day lyrics," and stumbled upon a website gem called Lyrics. It's a tool that allows users to search lyrics, artists, and album names for certain keywords. (I can foresee a ton of wasted time in my future.) So that's how I found the little nugget above from Paul McCartney. I'm not sure if I'm familiar with the song, Great Day. It's from 1997, so totally last century. And it's not even on Spotify.No bother, though...

Although I'm sleepy, I'm awake
Although I'm grumpy, there is plenty of good, for goodness sake.
Let's say it aloud together - it's gonna be a great day.

That wedding was beautiful, and the tulle really served well. But what to do with the leftovers after the "I do's" are proclaimed and rings are exchanged? Of course, I stuffed the tulle in a bag and forgot about it (that's what I do with most wayward things in my house. Perhaps a future post will be about a self-inflicted bag ban). 

If I recall correctly, I had about 5 yards worth of tulle. Of course, my first step was checking out Pinterest to figure out a new use for the netting. I considered making pom poms, but then what would I do with a whole bunch of white fluffy pom poms? Then I thought about a wreath, but it would have to be an inside wreath in order for it not to be filthy in a couple of nanoseconds, and I don't have any interior doors in need of adornment. 

Then I spotted a tulle tutu tutorial (say that three times fast). Disclaimer: I've actually attempted a tulle tutu before, but quickly abandoned the idea once I figured out HOW MUCH it would cost using rolls of tulle. Instead, the one I bought on Amazon cost half as much as one roll of tulle. But I digress... the bottom line is that this is a great project if you buy yards of tulle and make your own strips. If you go the convenient route, expect to pay for the convenience.

Yesterday was a snow day, and I dearly needed it. I feel like my weekends fly by. I still have a mess in my dining room from Christmas (um... wasn't Valentine's Day just the other day?!), and I sorely needed some time to hang out in in my house and do stuff. So yesterday I tackled the chaos of gift bags, wrapping paper, and gift tags still lingering about. I found a wad of tulle that I originally purchased for my mother-in-law's wedding (we hosted at our house, the weekend after Turkey Day). Here was its original purpose:

Happy Valentine's Day, y'all. I made you a mixed tape.

Or at least the 21st Century version of one. It's a Spotify playlist of only good songs. Not good as in "this song is awesome" and then the lyrics are super dark and Pumped Up Kicks-ish. So disturbing. No, this is a playlist of songs with uplifting themes. More in the vein of "everything will be just fine, everything will be alright." It's a good soundtrack for your good deeds. I hope you enjoy it, and feel free to follow it on Spotify. More music to come!

One of the challenges last week was to come up with a Valentine's Day tradition that values substance over fluff. I decided to do a different take on a card, and make something difficult to lose in a pile of junk mail. I cut small circles out of cardstock (I had orange on hand), and wrote some reasons why I love my sweetie pies.

The messages are simple, but heartfelt. I stuck them on the back of the powder room door, where I thought they wouldn't be missed. Funny thing, though, hubby hasn't noticed them yet. But the kiddo did! When I read the messages to her aloud, the smile on her face was priceless. Happy Valentine's Day everyone.

I'm a Southerner, and "bless your heart" is my all-time favorite insult, hands down. There are some other doozies as well, like "oh, honey," "how nice for you," and "thanks for sharing." I saw on some blog once that a non-native speaker was really confused about how those those types of phrases could be insults. On paper, well, them seem so nice. Southerners know what makes these insults has to do with one's demeanor, and how a drawl can add just the right inflection to turn sugar into vinegar. 

I draw your attention to Southernism insults as a counterpoint to the kind of filth that surfaces on internet comment feeds. Consider the comment feed explosion that followed a recipe for this super cute tie-dyed rainbow cake. It all started with a simple question about how long one should freeze the batter, and quickly snowballed into snark, profanity, and ill-conceived political sparring. 

I wonder about the people who post such comments. I doubt they are all nasty people. They probably have friends, and family members who love them. They may even have been sitting at work, answering the phone saying, "Good morning. How can I help you?" while simultaneously engaging in conversations like this this super  tame example from the rainbow cake comment apocalypse:

I thought about making the title of this post Confessions of a Recovering Messy, but I'm not sure that I'm really on a path to zen cleanliness. No judgment, but that's just not my status quo. It's not that I'm a slob, mind you, but my actions are often governed by inertia. Because creating order hasn't been a priority, when I open a package I leave the wrapper on the table (hence the need for this week's good dirt challenge of buying stuff with less packaging). I kick off my shoes in the middle of the living room instead of putting them on the shoe rack by the door. I pile bags at the bottom of the stairs, but never take them up. These little bad habits can quickly add up to a big clutter-ful mess. 

I hate it.

I am one of those people who are strongly affected by disarray. Tripping on some wayward object can keep me metaphorically stumbling through the next few hours. Articles about the negative effects of clutter often include people describing how messy surroundings make them feel: exhausting, draining, suffocating, overwhelming.... I am one of those people. I know this about myself, and yet I. still. make. messes. The fact that I do so lessens my potential - my potential for a relaxing evening with my family; my potential to enjoy an impromptu visit from a family member or friend; my potential to actually finish a DIY project; my potential to start my day feeling calm and unhurried. You get the idea.

Sure, there are times that call for making a big ol' mess. A pillow fort during playtime with the kiddo, a kitchen full of detritus from baking an elaborate birthday cake, a towering pile of photo albums while making a family scrapbook. Fantastic messes. But great messes shouldn't still  be there tomorrow, or next week, or... ahem, in a month or more. Even a fantastic mess past its point of utility can become a nightmare.

This week's good living challenge is to declutter something. Anything. I'm not encouraging you to become an overnight minimalist, but rather to pick what ails you and clean it up. Or, maybe you will choose to focus on a behavior instead, like pledging to actually throw away your trash for an entire day (I'm looking at you M&M wrapper, gas station receipt, junk mail!). My hope is that you will feel less stressed, breathe a little easier and see the good that comes from creating space. 

It's good to let things go sometimes.

This isn't a religious blog, but at the end of the day, goodness and faith are somewhat inextricably linked. As I say on my bio page, I'm an Episcopal by choice and the following prayer is one of my favorite parts of the liturgy.  While it's not actually true that I say a little prayer for you before I put on my makeup, maybe it's not such a bad idea (thanks for the inspiration, Dionne Warwick).