5 BY 5 RULE

Can't recall having written before about the 5 by 5 rule, but have been giving it some serious thought.

What is the 5 by 5 rule?  The five by five rule means we shouldn't spend more than five minutes worrying about something that won't matter in five years.

Okay, having said that.  Think about this.  Can you remember one little thing that sent you in a tizzy five years ago?  Chances are not. 

It's the little things, the pebble in our shoe at the moment, that drives us over the edge.  How does one take control and obliterate that little thing from one's mind?  Easier said than done, but possible.  It's the business of closing a door and locking it.  Reason?  Well, one of these days we're all going to be non-existent, so why the hell allow some other half-baked brain drive us crazy.  Makes zero sense.

The day a baby is born into this world, he or she is destined to endure drama.  What is suffering to one......may be joy to another.  Different tastes, different interests, different opinions, different passions and different cultural influences make for one brewing batch of unending drama.  Probably the one thing that drives me the craziest is when people act like their frickin' universe is positively perfect.  Especially now when our world is turned upside down.  The meanie guts inside me would just love to tell 'em to 'shut the f__ up.'  

The advice I give myself is to "think higher."  If someone pisses me off, the only thing that helps me is to smother my brain in a project that requires a lot of thinking on my part.  When something weighs on my heart, as it does from time to time, I try hard to put the 5 by 5 rule into gear.  It's easy to give oneself this good advice, but actually doing it is something else. Think it's that business of being human. 

Below zero temperatures.  It's 6 below zero and feels like 20 below.  I'm able to keep my sorry little rear inside, but the boyfriend takes our fuzzy house guest out three times a day.  Four times if we stay up past midnight.  Already the fuzzy one has taken over the household and decides what time he and I go to bed.  Guess that's what happens when a person falls head over heels in love.

Set up an online account for ordering groceries at our local Hy-Vee Store.  Want us to have shopping access to all grocery stores in town so we can pounce on the sale items, 'specially meat.  They had pork butts on sale for $1.27 a pound, so we ordered three.  The lad who's filling our order just texted to say they're out of the pork, but he'll give us a rain check.  With the meat prices high as they are, we're definitely taking advantage of that.  Ordered ten pounds of chicken thigh quarters at 79 cents a pound.  Bet we'll soon have a kettle of homemade chicken noodle soup in the crock pot.  Ordered a couple bags of egg noodles, too.  In sub-zero weather, nuthin's better than a hot bowl of chicken noodle soup with hot chicken sandwiches.  

The boyfriend chose the pick-up time slot between 11 and 11:30 this morning.  He'll run down for the groceries, and I'll stay home with Cuddy.  Had another surprise outside our door this morning......a red poinsettia still in perfect bloom that someone must've had left over from the holidays and didn't want.  Will put it in front of our patio door where it can get some sunshine.  Am not one to baby along a poinsettia so it stays alive, so the poor thing's life span will be short.  Neither of my thumbs is green, so it's best this girl sticks with fabric flowers and not bring on board any plant other than our beloved Mabel.  Ours is a weird household when a vintage plant earns equal status as the two of us.

Last night we dined on tater tot casserole, one of our favorite meals.  Easy to throw together and let the oven do the work.  This morning we have another one of those glorious sweet rolls awaiting by Mr. Coffee.  Will soon be time to cut it in half and each of us partake of its avalanche of carbs and calories.  Can already feel the spit building up in my mouth!  (giggling)