Sonja’s Guide to Life: Dishes

Because the dishes won’t wash themselves, and letting the dog lick them doesn’t really count.

To give yourself a real sense of accomplishment, be sure to leave the refuse from several meals on your kitchen counter before attempting to do the dishes. It’s really not a problem until they start to smell. Or get bugs on them.

Step 1: Load the dishwasher. If you have a dishwasher and you don’t use it, don’t tell me, because I will come and slap you myself. It’s a dishwasher. Its only function is to wash dishes. You are not a dishwasher. Load the damn thing and use it. It doesn’t use that much more water/energy than you would trying to get your dishes clean in the sink under water that burns the top layer of skin off your hands and having to throw away your nasty sponges all the time and still not getting your dishes really really clean. Just use the dishwasher.

Continue reading

Your List: How to Make a Good One

I told you on Friday that I’m doing the 30 Before 30 list. Still working on filling it out, but I’ve got a pretty good start. Want to try making your own list? Here are my tips for making a good one:

1. Be specific. I’m talking get down to the essence of what you really want to do. If you want to go on a camping trip specifically so that you can sleep under the stars, then your goal should be “sleep under the stars,” not “go camping.”

2. Make your goals measurable. Each of my goals are set up so that I can say a definite “Yes” or “No” to the question, “Have I completed this goal?” That means I’m not putting stuff in there like, “Master the art of forgiveness.” It’s a nice goal, but it’s not very measurable.

Continue reading

#8 Grow My Own Tomatoes: Progress & Side Effects

A happy side effect of taking on my 30 Before 30 list is getting a lot of other stuff done while I’m at it. Saturday’s goal was to plant my tomatoes for goal #8: Grow my own tomatoes. We started the day Saturday at one of my favorite places in the whole wide world, a garden center called For Garden’s Sake. If you live in south Durham or Chatham county, don’t buy your plants anywhere else. Seriously. This place rules.

There are swans. (They bite, though.)

There are goats. (They bite too, but only because they think you might be food.)

Continue reading