What is the first thing you do when you come home from work? I have to have a routine, mostly because if I don’t I lose things. J has been really good at pointing this out to me. For example, when I’m running late for work in the morning and I’m frantically running through our flat yelling “Have you seen the car keys?” He will calmly point out to me that if just put them in the same place everyday, they would be easy to find. Simple, right? It’s not that I’m a disorganized or messy person. It’s just that I have a very short attention span. Easily distracted. So when I get home I usually have a million things running through my mind that I want to accomplish right this second.
Having a routine helps with this, but sometimes I still get side tracked. I’m getting better though, I swear. Everyday when I come home now, first I put my lunch bag back in the kitchen and empty out the dirty dishes. Then I put my car keys on the table by the front door and my school bag in the bedroom by the dresser so O can’t go digging through it. Then I take off my jewelry for the day. My bracelets and necklaces go on the pretty blue dish and the big sparkly ring goes back in its little box and then I can go about relaxing and enjoying the day.
I feel like most people are divided on this. Do you take off your engagement or wedding rings when you get home? I understand the school of thought that if you take it off you’re more likely to lose it. But it’s hot in the desert and my fingers swell like little sausages so I get home and it comes off. It stays cleaner this way too. Have you ever tried to clean dried dough or eggs out of the little crevices on a ring?? Or for that matter dried dough off of anything? There’s a reason they use flour and water to make paste! It sticks, for like, ever!
The other day I came home and was in a hurry to get into the kitchen. I think I was making pizza dough for dinner, some kind of dough. And I’d skipped the remove jewelry step and was about to plunge my hands into a bowl of sticky, flour-ry dough and get to kneading when I realized I still had on the big sparkly ring. Ooops. Dilema…do I stop what I’m doing, wash my hands, head back to the bedroom and put the ring away? Or do I just wiggle it off and plop it on top of my kitchen notebook on the counter?
I chose the latter. J didn’t seem to amused however when he came in to check what I was cooking and noticed it, plopped there on the counter, surrounded by flour and other impending goo.
However, once he pointed this out, I thought it was a really pretty picture. But probably not the best place to put your engagement ring. Particularly if you’d like to remain engaged.

Happy Eating!
~Nikki