Five Simple Rules

I am a random and unorganized person, but there are certain things that I'm so rigid and downright unreasonable about that everyone in my family knows to just not even try.
 1. My side of the bed.  I have slept on the left side since before we got married.  Don't judge. The only time I willingly broke this rule was a night we spent in the haunted Crescent Hotel and the only lamp was on the right side.  But I only stayed there about an hour before the presence of of our ghostly visitors made a couch and chair in front of the lobby fireplace a much more restful option.  See?  Bad things happen when I don't sleep on the right (left) side of the bed.  Even the ghosts knew something was "off" in the universe and began convening to check it out.
 2. My bed must be made.  I don't care about the kids beds, but mine MUST be made. My entire house can be a vortex of dog hair, dirt and disorganization, but my bed must be made. If Charlie gets up last and doesn't make it, which I prefer because he doesn't do it like I do,  I will make it when I get home. Even if the sheets are dirty and I'm going to change them later anyway.   Even if it's only to get in it to go to sleep.    I blame my Mamaw Davidson.  Our fireplace was smoking and the first thing she did after calling the fire dept was to tell me to go make my bed so they didn't see the mess. And I did without questioning.  My Mother found me in my smoke filled room, making sure the sheets and comforter were even and the throw pillows positioned.  
3. If I don't like what I order the first time I go to a restaurant, I will never want t go back.  This makes the first ordering decision VERY important.  Especially if others in the the family have already eaten there and they really likes the food. Sometimes, In these cases I will try to order a tried and true dish that I know no one can mess up, like chicken fingers or a grilled cheese sandwich.  That way, I won't hate it so the restaurant won't be off limits, it just won't be a place I suggest.
 4.  If I LOVE what I order the first time, I will order it every time from then to eternity.  Just ask Jade China- When they hear my voice, they say "Hi Ms. Palmer.  Spicy Chicken extra spicy, extra baby corn? I've been ordering it since my 18 year old daughter was still a zygote. I've never tasted another thing on their menu.  At Stoby's I have ordered the French Dip sandwich since I was in 6th grade.  The only other thing I have ordered for lunch/dinner is the Vegetarian Quesadilla when I was going through my vegetarian phase.  FYI- My intense craving for Jade China Spicy Chicken was the Achilles Heel that finally weakened my vow to not support factory farmed meat producers with my dollars. In the moments when my heart, brain and stomach were having a moral heated moral on the subject, I actually tried to justify a decsion to make an allowance for Jade China based on the urban myth that chinese restaurants serve cat and call it chicken.  If it WAS cat, I knew there were no huge factory farms where thousands of cats were cramped, shoulder to shoulder, as they fattened up on canned tuna before being herded into the slaughter house. Everyone would hear them howling and meowing and know it was there. If they served cat meat it  would have to be from free range cats who were obtained by a fair hunt in the open streets and alleys. They had a life of freedom and a means of escape when hunted so if they were caught, it was obviously their time to go.  I could live with that.  This makes it vividly clear that  I am, indeed,  a dog person.  By the time it hit me that part of my rationalization had an obvious flaw, everyone knows that you can't herd cats, it was too late.  I had already called and let the lady place my order.  Again, don't judge.  Everyone, even you, has a price.  Mine just happens to be Spicy Chicken.
5.  Again, this one is focused on restaurants.  If I like the food AND love the owner I am fiercely loyal. I love the food at Tokyo Japanese Hibachi on Oak street.  But more than that I love the owner.  I love that she not only remembers us, but that she KNOWS us so well.  She remembers our kids don't like vegetables, she knows how old they are, she knows that one of the girls graduated from Vilonia, one home schooled and both are currently attending ASU at Beebe.  She also knows Jack attended Vilonia but switched to St. Joseph in 6th grade. That is impressive.  Especially since sometimes I can't even keep it straight.  What I don't love is that now it's almost empty every time we eat there.  Everyone goes to Fuji's so they can have sushi and alcohol.  I've never tried sushi and have no desire to do so.  I tried cooked fish once and hated it which meant all fish was placed on the "I didn't like it so I'll never eat it again" list. I  like a good cocktail as much as the next person, but give me a warm welcome and visit with the lady at Tokyo over an alcohol buzz any day.  The fact that my daughters go to Fuji's on a regular basis brings about the same sadness and disapproval Amish parents would feel if the they discovered their child had rigged up a solar generator and was watching the show Good Christian Bitches on a tv they found on the side of the road and had pulled home in their little wagon after dark. It makes me wonder where I went wrong...But I digress.
SO! Those are the five rules. But now, I have a dilemna that is very much throwing a curve ball to one of my rules.  The my side of the bed rule.  I like to edit photos on my bed (made of course) and the power plugs into my laptop on the right side.  This means the power cord drapes across my legs weighed down by the very large and heavy connector. The only alternative to this is to run it behind me but that damned connector gets hot and it either makes my back hot or makes me worry it's going to catch my freshly made bed on fire.  The whole thing gets on my nerves.  Badly.  Not to the point that I'm willing to change sides, just enough that when I have to buy a new laptop the main requirement will be that it plugs in on the right side. This must be the frustration my family feels when adversely effected by one of my five rules.  Thinking about this makes me sad.  But not sad enough to bend the rules...