Irritating

I don't know if I suffer from some sort of OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), but when I get a thought in my head, it often doesn't go away. You know how you get a song stuck in your head sometimes? (Like "It's a Small World"?) That happens to me not only with songs but all kinds of information. And it WON'T go away until the thought has been resolved.

If it's something simple like, "the litter boxes need to be cleaned," I can go about my business throughout the day. But it'll remain in my thoughts all day long. It doesn't go away until I have cleaned the litter boxes. And forget going to bed. Sleep will not come because that little voice gets louder and louder.

I've been known to get up at 1:00 in the morning to print something off the computer so I can take it to school with me later that day. Or clean the litter boxes. Seriously. I've tried writing notes or "to do" lists and leaving them on my alarm clock so I see them first thing in the morning, but even that is not sufficient most days. Luckily for me, most things I worry about are in my control and easily solvable. Sometimes, though, I run across things I can't resolve myself, and it's immensely irritating.

Want to know what's kept me up for the last few days (other than this annoying cough and stuffy nose that just won't quit)?

1. J couldn't think of anything he wanted for Christmas. He gave a list to my mother, but that was it. I have to call her and find out what she bought off that list so I know what to avoid, but I haven't had a chance to shop so I haven't called. So it's at the back of my head and it will remain there until I get around to making that call.

2. A few weeks ago I had a trivia contest / giveaway on my blog, and just three people entered. I guess I thought more people read this blog, but apparently not. But that's not what's keeping me up. The prize was a $50 gift card to anywhere the winner wanted (provided I could get the card at Safeway - have you been to their gift card center?? It's A-MAZ-ING!). Well, when I put the names in a hat and drew, my good friend Leah won. She wrote to me and said she wanted an iTunes gift card because she recently got a new mp3 player. Much like J and I, Leah and her husband don't share the same taste in music, so I was excited for her! That would be a lot of songs for her to have and enjoy! Well, I went to the store and got a gift card. Two days later I was out running errands again and I made it to Hallmark specifically for two things: a congrats card for Leah (believe it or not, in all my card collection, I don't have any congratulations cards except for graduation!) and a Christmas ornament for J. (Shh - don't tell him! Though I have gotten him at least one every year since we got married. If he thinks about it, it won't be a surprise!) I wrote a nice little note in the card, put the gift card in, sealed it and dug out Leah's address. I put a stamp on the card, and then put it on the counter where J leaves mail that needs to go out. He drives right by the Richland Post Office on his way to work, and can drop mail off pretty easily. If I had put it in my car to take to the mailbox myself, it may take me three or four days to remember to go to the post office. So I let J do it. He saw it that morning, and took it, and some bills, to the post office. Nobody has come to repo either of our cars, so I know the mail went out. But Leah never received the gift card. That thought has been bugging me for awhile now. I was imagining her choosing songs, and walking around the house singing with or to her kids, but that card never showed up. I'm glad it was my friend who won, because she believes me that I sent it out. She thinks that maybe it was stolen from her mailbox because she didn't get her normal amount of mail that week. But it still bugs me. It was a lot of money so I don't want to replace it (and Leah has NOT asked me to), but I also feel really badly about it. I just need to know what happened so I can resolve that thought and put it away.

3. It has been TERRIBLE weather here for a week now. It started snowing last Saturday, and has been so cold that none of the snow has melted. We just keep adding to it every other day or so. Temperatures yesterday finally climbed out of the single digits, but 12-18 degrees is still pretty darn cold. The roads were horrible on Monday, but we still went to school. It was a two hour delay, but it should have been canceled. Tuesday was another two hour delay, but the roads were a little better, so I wasn't mad about going to school. Yesterday was yet another two hour delay, AND we still had an early release. Classes were 24 minutes long. Lunch was 41 minutes long. There is still another two hour delay this morning, but it snowed again yesterday. I am waiting around trying to find out if we have a two hour delay or if school is going to be canceled. But KSD waits until the very last possible second to cancel if they are going to. This wouldn't be much of a problem except that if we are not going to school I don't want to take a shower and get up quite yet. I want to get back in my warm bed and snooze a bit. But I was up at 6 a.m. and have been compulsively checking the web page for more than an hour and a half now. Still no change...2 hour delay...