If you give an OCD mouse a cookie...

So there’s a book that I used to read to my brother when he was little – it was called “If You Give A Mouse A Cookie.” It was about how this little boy gave a mouse a cookie and then the mouse needed a glass of milk to go with it, and then it snowballs into pretty much an exhausting day long experience of activity that ends full circle with the mouse being hungry and asking for a cookie.

Stuff like this happens all the time, especially when I’m cleaning. I decided to clean my bathroom the other day, and got distracted by the drawer where I keep all my makeup. So I tidied that up and in the process had to put something in the bathroom closet, at which point I noticed that the closet was a disorganized mess. So I cleaned THAT out and after a couple of hours and a ton of stuff to get rid of, I finally got around to the actual cleaning of the bathroom.

Saturday, I wanted to start putting up my Christmas decorations and so I was looking at some of the places where I usually put them and I decide I need to dust and tidy up before I put anything new up. So I take down the 85 million picture frames on the shelves over the t.v., dust them and the shelves, put some of the frames back up and put some in another location, and hey! It’s time for lunch and so I’m making myself something but while I’m waiting for it to cook, I’ll just unload the dishwasher and clean these counters and oh yeah! I told Dan I’d give him the paint I used to paint the second bedroom so I need to get it out of the storage closet on the patio. Hmmm. I forgot that this pumpkin was out here – gross. I’ll just put it in a bag and scrub off where it was all mushy on the porch. Ok, done. You know, maybe I’ll rearrange this coffee table and see if I like it better this way – yes, yes I do. Where’s the Pledge? This table needs dusting. Hey! My lunch is ready. I’m just going to eat this and start burning Jeff’s cd. Oh wait – I need to load on a couple more songs that I want to put on it. I’ll just check out some blogs while I’m waiting. Hmmm, Becki hasn’t updated in a while – I should call her. Ok, now I’m going to make the cd cover – hey! “The Wedding Singer” is on! I love this movie. Man, I want a guy who would sing a song like “I Wanna Grow Old With You” to me. That is SO SWEET. Damn – is that really the time? I better take a shower and get ready to go to dinner.

The moral of the story is, if you give an OCD mouse a cookie -- or an idea that involves putting up decorations and therefore cleaning – well, it’ll turn into an all day activity that ends with the mouse still needing to put up the decorations. Sigh. I swear, this week I’m putting up ALL the decorations AND the tree. I’ll tell you one thing, I’m going to ONE tree lot this year (instead of last year’s 4) and I’m just going to pick out a tree. It’s not rocket science. It’s not life or death – IT’S A TREE. That’s the thought process, but whether I’m actually chill about it remains to be seen. Yeah – wish me luck.

I'll leave you with a picture of me and my boy Dane -- Merry Very Early Christmas!!