IF (A Five Minute Friday Post)

IF only I had _______ (fill in the blank).

IF only I hadn't _______ (fill in the blank).

So many times, IF reminds me of regrets.

If only I had stood up for myself instead of giving in.

If only I hadn't married my first husband.

If only I had kept up with my best friend from high school.

If only I had gone to the doctor instead of procrastinating.

If only I had gone to graduate school.

If only I had applied for that job.

If only I hadn't allowed my child to _______ (fill in the blank).

If only I had pushed my child to do _______ (fill in the blank).

If only I could stop thinking about my regrets!!!

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This post is part of the Five-Minute Friday link-up.  Today's writing prompt was "IF."  For more information on Five-Minute Friday, click here.

FLY (A Five-Minute Friday post)

I know flying is usually done up in the air with wings, and flying can mean moving rapidly or running away (fleeing), but when I think of flying, I immediately think about home maintenance!

You say, what does home maintenance have to do with flying? Well, I've been one of FlyLady's FlyBabies since September 7, 2001. Yes, that's right - four days before 9/11. FlyLady helped me deal with the horror of that time by giving me something else to focus on - the mess in my house.

FlyLady is Marla Cilley, and her website, FlyLady.net is how I learned to keep my house in (better) order by decluttering and following a cleaning/maintenance schedule.  You establish daily routines (morning, afternoon and evening), then move on to working in your "zones."  The house is broken down into five zones that you concentrate on each week of the month.  If you don't get to it this month, then tackle it next month. There is no catching up - you just jump in wherever you are in the schedule.

Learning to "fly" means I don't get overwhelmed by all the things I feel I HAVE to do right now. It's not about perfection; it's all about progress.

So I'm flying through my housework, and making progress with "baby steps." If you want to check out her system (it's FREE), click here.

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This post is part of the Five-Minute Friday link-up.  Today's writing prompt was "FLY."  For more information on Five-Minute Friday, click here.

RETURN (A Five-Minute Friday Post)

Waiting for an ice cube.

This Sunday, I'm driving to Baltimore to RETURN our dog to his original mommy, The Girl.  When she first moved to Baltimore with her husband, they didn't have their own place, so she left her animals (two cats and a LARGE dog) with us.   

They recently bought a house, so the dog has been called to reside with them.  He'll have a fenced yard and kids to play with - dog heaven!!!  

Zeke with one of the grands.

It's going to be rough for That Man, though.  He complains that he can't accomplish much with The Dog around, because The Dog always wants to play, but I know it will be rough on him.  We will miss Mr. Zeke the Dog.  His soulful dog eyes, His sweet dog face.  His happy dog yips when he sees Dairy Queen and anticipates a "pup cup" of soft serve!

But he's her dog, and a young dog needs a young family, so he and I will make the long drive east.

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This post is part of the Five-Minute Friday link-up.  Today's writing prompt was "RETURN."  For more information on Five-Minute Friday, click here.