Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Those Were the Days
What does this make you think of?
This reminds me of my crazy friends from high school. We were never as co-ordinated as these girls, but we used to do goofy stuff like this all the time.
Did you have friends like that, friends you'd go anywhere or do anything with? Once, we drove around downtown stripped down to our bras and underwear with our phone numbers written on the back windows of the car. We broke into an acquaintance's house at night to hide Easter Eggs, and into another's to wish her a happy birthday at midnight (we wanted to be the first!) And more. Nothing was too far, too loud, or too wild when we were together.
My only excuse for this behavior is, "Seemed like a good idea at the time."
I don't do stuff like that any more. Part of my problem is that I'm 37 now, and far too practical. Also, I wouldn't be caught dead in public in my bra and underwear (and not just for modesty reasons, ugh I gotta keep the works covered up these days!) I still have a ton of friends and a ton of fun, just not the same way I used to.
I don't know who these girls are (here's their myspace), but I'm glad for this excuse to meander down memory lane!
.*.*.
Friday, April 11, 2008
I'm Psychic! And it doesn't matter!
Tonight, I was sitting at dinner, and this random thought just popped into my head: "You know who we never hear about any more? The Harlem Globetrotters."
Can't you just hear that theme song being whistled in your head, right now as you read this?
Anyways.
So, we come home, I flip on the TV, and guess who's out on tour? Of course, the Harlem Globetrotters! They must have been beaming signals straight into my head, just so I'd be ready when the tickets went on sale.
Fat lot of good it did them, all that direct brain contact with me, because the closest they're coming to my house is OKLAHOMA CITY! That's a long way to drive considering I bet Meadowlark Lemon isn't even still on the team.
(He's not, I checked. He's 75 now.)
My point? Don't really have one. But, I'm not wearing my aluminum foil headgear (or saran wrap bra) right at the moment, so if you want to beam something into my head, feel free. But it darn well better be information I can use, and not about an event going on 700 miles from my house.
.*.*.
Can't you just hear that theme song being whistled in your head, right now as you read this?
Anyways.
So, we come home, I flip on the TV, and guess who's out on tour? Of course, the Harlem Globetrotters! They must have been beaming signals straight into my head, just so I'd be ready when the tickets went on sale.
Fat lot of good it did them, all that direct brain contact with me, because the closest they're coming to my house is OKLAHOMA CITY! That's a long way to drive considering I bet Meadowlark Lemon isn't even still on the team.
(He's not, I checked. He's 75 now.)
My point? Don't really have one. But, I'm not wearing my aluminum foil headgear (or saran wrap bra) right at the moment, so if you want to beam something into my head, feel free. But it darn well better be information I can use, and not about an event going on 700 miles from my house.
.*.*.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
We're in Topeka
It's a lot like Denver. In fact, it's the only city-type place we've seen since we left home. There's a whole lot of nothing on I-70 in Eastern Colorado and Kansas.
Davin and the kids are at a restaurant. We all tried to go, but Kaywinnet was barking and barking. I was worried that she would (she's in a new place, and she doesn't seem to be feeling well) so I performed an experiment. I called Davin's cell from mine, and left mine on her kennel as we drove away, sort of like a high tech nursery monitor. I muted it so she wouldn't hear us and start carrying on, but carry on she did! Oh my goodness, I'm glad we didn't just leave and hope for the best, we probably would have been asked to leave!
Oh yeah, to tell you why that would be a horror, I should explain to you why we're in Topeka, which technically isn't really on the way to Iowa from my house... We got online last night and tried a few different sites to book a hotel for tonight. Between the dog and the four kids, we're pretty extreme, I guess. The only places we could find on our original route wanted over $200/night. Or, if they had rooms for cheaper, they wanted us to pay for 2 of them! So, we bagged that plan and took the southern route, which only adds 60 miles so it's not that big of a deal.
Anyway, that's why we really didn't want to get kicked out of here. We have about 6 hours of driving ahead of us, and we didn't want to have to do it all tonight. We should get to my mom's house tomorrow afternoon/evening, and then on to Great Grandma Wanda's party on Saturday. Woohoo!
How are you all doing?
.*.*.
Davin and the kids are at a restaurant. We all tried to go, but Kaywinnet was barking and barking. I was worried that she would (she's in a new place, and she doesn't seem to be feeling well) so I performed an experiment. I called Davin's cell from mine, and left mine on her kennel as we drove away, sort of like a high tech nursery monitor. I muted it so she wouldn't hear us and start carrying on, but carry on she did! Oh my goodness, I'm glad we didn't just leave and hope for the best, we probably would have been asked to leave!
Oh yeah, to tell you why that would be a horror, I should explain to you why we're in Topeka, which technically isn't really on the way to Iowa from my house... We got online last night and tried a few different sites to book a hotel for tonight. Between the dog and the four kids, we're pretty extreme, I guess. The only places we could find on our original route wanted over $200/night. Or, if they had rooms for cheaper, they wanted us to pay for 2 of them! So, we bagged that plan and took the southern route, which only adds 60 miles so it's not that big of a deal.
Anyway, that's why we really didn't want to get kicked out of here. We have about 6 hours of driving ahead of us, and we didn't want to have to do it all tonight. We should get to my mom's house tomorrow afternoon/evening, and then on to Great Grandma Wanda's party on Saturday. Woohoo!
How are you all doing?
.*.*.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Gasping for air!
It's been a busy few days, and it's only going to get busier, but I wanted to pop in and say hi!
First of all, you should know that I trimmed Maya's bangs today. So, you can all sleep a little easier...
We're gearing up for a trip to Iowa. My grandma is turning 85, and mom's throwing her a big party. The party's not a surprise, but our attending is, so if you see Grandma, don't say anything! I'm really excited, she's a cool lady :-)
We leave Thursday morning, and we'll be gone until the 9th, but hopefully I will be able to check in from the road a few times. As always, feel free to break in and clean my house while we're gone! We won't be camping this time (brrrr!) but we are driving. So, if you think about us, we'd appreciate any prayers you're up for!
Anyway, it's late and I'm trying to get the laundry caught up so we can pack tomorrow, so I'd better run.
.*.*.
First of all, you should know that I trimmed Maya's bangs today. So, you can all sleep a little easier...
We're gearing up for a trip to Iowa. My grandma is turning 85, and mom's throwing her a big party. The party's not a surprise, but our attending is, so if you see Grandma, don't say anything! I'm really excited, she's a cool lady :-)
We leave Thursday morning, and we'll be gone until the 9th, but hopefully I will be able to check in from the road a few times. As always, feel free to break in and clean my house while we're gone! We won't be camping this time (brrrr!) but we are driving. So, if you think about us, we'd appreciate any prayers you're up for!
Anyway, it's late and I'm trying to get the laundry caught up so we can pack tomorrow, so I'd better run.
.*.*.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Cleaning! My brain and my house...
You may remember from way back in June that we've had a long-term houseguest. She's been staying with us while going through a nasty divorce (ooh, it's been hard to watch!) Anyway, the divorce isn't finalized yet, but she's able to get on her feet and she moved out Friday afternoon.
She wasn't a problem while she was here, and I miss her already, but I think her moving kicked me into gear to clean up my house a bit. And, when that happens, I can't let anything stop me, because that's awfully rare! So, over the weekend I've deep cleaned a lot of the kitchen, and the knick knack hutch. I cleaned the glass globes for the chandelier (man, between the dust on the globes, and on the bulbs themselves, it was DARK in here! Yikes!)
Also, I'm trying to sort my brain out. I was on a great medication a while back, but I stopped taking it because my insurance didn't cover it and it was kind of pricey. It wasn't anything I needed for any of my medical issues, but it did help me sleep well and wake up ready to have a day. When I quit taking it, I didn't notice any problems right away. But, one day I woke up and I just couldn't find my "give a damn." I just didn't care about anything! It took me a week or so to figure out what the problem was, and a little while longer to go pick up the prescription and let it work. But now I feel EVER SO MUCH better! Yay Rozerem!
.*.*.
She wasn't a problem while she was here, and I miss her already, but I think her moving kicked me into gear to clean up my house a bit. And, when that happens, I can't let anything stop me, because that's awfully rare! So, over the weekend I've deep cleaned a lot of the kitchen, and the knick knack hutch. I cleaned the glass globes for the chandelier (man, between the dust on the globes, and on the bulbs themselves, it was DARK in here! Yikes!)
Also, I'm trying to sort my brain out. I was on a great medication a while back, but I stopped taking it because my insurance didn't cover it and it was kind of pricey. It wasn't anything I needed for any of my medical issues, but it did help me sleep well and wake up ready to have a day. When I quit taking it, I didn't notice any problems right away. But, one day I woke up and I just couldn't find my "give a damn." I just didn't care about anything! It took me a week or so to figure out what the problem was, and a little while longer to go pick up the prescription and let it work. But now I feel EVER SO MUCH better! Yay Rozerem!
.*.*.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
I'm a loser!
And, worse yet, the most recent thing I lost was myself.
Before I start this story, I must reiterate that I am a genius. No really! I've been tested on more than one scale and scored consistently above the genius level. If IQ tests told the whole story, I should be running the world! Of course, I believe that's all crap, you can read why here, and here, plus there's proof all over this blog that being a "genius" doesn't seem to have anything to do with being "smart." At least not for me.
Anyway, we have been living in this house since 2001. I know where we live, I promise I do. Well, occasionally I pull into the wrong driveway and get mad when my garage door opener doesn't work on their door, but that's not my fault. It's the curse of the cookie-cutter suburb where all the houses look the same. Everyone does that, right?
The other night, I went out for a walk in my neighborhood. It was a nice night, and I had my iPod and I'd figured I'd have completed right around 3 miles when I was finished. I was enjoying the music and looking forward to getting home and putting my feet up when I looked around and realized that I had no idea where I was! If I'd been sworn in in a court of law that night, I could truthfully have testified that I had no recollection of having been in that part of town before.
I got a little panicky, and tried to decide if I should turn around and try going back, or keep trucking and hope that I was just confused and home was still ahead (does that ever happen to you?) After a few minutes of this, I ended up using my cell phone to call Davin to drive around and find me.
You see, cell phones are a Godsend to people like me! They're gadgety enough to make us feel smart, but simple enough that we can actually reach people on them. And, of course we can call for help when we're lost in our neighborhood.
It turns out that I had passed my turn quite a while back, and that I was pretty far from where I thought I was. But, it's not all bad, I got in more than the 3 miles I was expecting! That's always good, right?
And my parents had such high hopes for me.
.*.*.
Before I start this story, I must reiterate that I am a genius. No really! I've been tested on more than one scale and scored consistently above the genius level. If IQ tests told the whole story, I should be running the world! Of course, I believe that's all crap, you can read why here, and here, plus there's proof all over this blog that being a "genius" doesn't seem to have anything to do with being "smart." At least not for me.
Anyway, we have been living in this house since 2001. I know where we live, I promise I do. Well, occasionally I pull into the wrong driveway and get mad when my garage door opener doesn't work on their door, but that's not my fault. It's the curse of the cookie-cutter suburb where all the houses look the same. Everyone does that, right?
The other night, I went out for a walk in my neighborhood. It was a nice night, and I had my iPod and I'd figured I'd have completed right around 3 miles when I was finished. I was enjoying the music and looking forward to getting home and putting my feet up when I looked around and realized that I had no idea where I was! If I'd been sworn in in a court of law that night, I could truthfully have testified that I had no recollection of having been in that part of town before.
I got a little panicky, and tried to decide if I should turn around and try going back, or keep trucking and hope that I was just confused and home was still ahead (does that ever happen to you?) After a few minutes of this, I ended up using my cell phone to call Davin to drive around and find me.
You see, cell phones are a Godsend to people like me! They're gadgety enough to make us feel smart, but simple enough that we can actually reach people on them. And, of course we can call for help when we're lost in our neighborhood.
It turns out that I had passed my turn quite a while back, and that I was pretty far from where I thought I was. But, it's not all bad, I got in more than the 3 miles I was expecting! That's always good, right?
And my parents had such high hopes for me.
.*.*.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
As Col. Smith of the A-Team says:
I love it when a plan comes together!
Remember back in February of last year, when I blogged a list of people I hoped would contact me if they vanity googled themselves? Well, it worked! I got an email from my locker partner from junior high and high school. Yay!
So, here's hoping the rest of the folks get a hold of me, too!
We're still cranking on the Hogwarts unit study. I currently have 50 books and videos out of the library, most of which are for this project. So, if I've been a little quiet lately, it's because I've been busy educatin' the brood.
.*.*.
Remember back in February of last year, when I blogged a list of people I hoped would contact me if they vanity googled themselves? Well, it worked! I got an email from my locker partner from junior high and high school. Yay!
So, here's hoping the rest of the folks get a hold of me, too!
We're still cranking on the Hogwarts unit study. I currently have 50 books and videos out of the library, most of which are for this project. So, if I've been a little quiet lately, it's because I've been busy educatin' the brood.
Labels: homeschooling, life
.*.*.
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Someone's trying to tell me something
I found this in the letters on my refrigerator. Would this bother you? Maybe it's because I've been reading too many horror novels and true crime, but this about scared the crap out of me!
What does it mean? Now I'm waiting for something bad to happen...
.*.*.
What does it mean? Now I'm waiting for something bad to happen...
Labels: life
.*.*.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Yay, it's snowing!
I hope the snow will stay until Christmas, we so rarely have a White Christmas here in Denver.
We went to the party for Davin's work last night, and I'm really excited. I think I am starting to be able to pass for a grownup! I could actually talk about non kid-related things. *Not even one comment about poop.* Can you believe it? Ooh, it's like a whole new world for me!
Four days until Christmas, are you ready? Me, neither...
.*.*.
We went to the party for Davin's work last night, and I'm really excited. I think I am starting to be able to pass for a grownup! I could actually talk about non kid-related things. *Not even one comment about poop.* Can you believe it? Ooh, it's like a whole new world for me!
Four days until Christmas, are you ready? Me, neither...
.*.*.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Catching up
I still love Cube! I've been busy reading the book she sent me, and that's part of why I've been MIA.
We were extra thankful this year on Thanksgiving. We were rushing around and trying to get out the door on time, so we were a little frazzled when we hit the car. Then, we saw a nasty house fire! The house was completely destroyed, flames were shooting through the roof. Needless to say, we found our happy attitudes at that point!
I've also been playing a fair amount of Plant Tycoon. I've been cheating. Well, not really cheating, just not waiting very well. It's one of those "real time" games where the plants grow whether you're playing or not. So, I've been planting or pollenating, then dinking with the time on my computer to make them grow faster. Is that wrong?
I have a cleaning scheduled today at my dentist's office. Hopefully nothing too weird is going on. There's always something, it seems like.
.*.*.
We were extra thankful this year on Thanksgiving. We were rushing around and trying to get out the door on time, so we were a little frazzled when we hit the car. Then, we saw a nasty house fire! The house was completely destroyed, flames were shooting through the roof. Needless to say, we found our happy attitudes at that point!
I've also been playing a fair amount of Plant Tycoon. I've been cheating. Well, not really cheating, just not waiting very well. It's one of those "real time" games where the plants grow whether you're playing or not. So, I've been planting or pollenating, then dinking with the time on my computer to make them grow faster. Is that wrong?
I have a cleaning scheduled today at my dentist's office. Hopefully nothing too weird is going on. There's always something, it seems like.
Labels: dental, games, holiday, life, stephen king
.*.*.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
I Love CUBE!!!
I do, I love Cube! Probably more than some of the people she gave birth to...well, at least today I do!!!!! You should go check her out at The Blog, because I can't fully express her awesomeness here, you'll just have to experience it for yourself...
Do remember last month when I was telling about my Desperation Cleaning Method? I was sharing that when I declutter, I am really brutal and I get rid of just about everything. And that it works really well, but I did say "I'm an awful pack rat, and in all the times I've purged something out of my house, there's only been once that I wish I could get something back."
I happened to mention to Cube that *the one thing* I'd gotten rid of that I'd regretted was an early copy of Stephen King's The Bachman Books. See, in the time since I donated my copy, Stephen King has removed one of the stories from the collection and will no longer allow it to be printed. The story, Rage, details a school shooting, and was written back in the day when such things ONLY happened in horror novels. When they started happening for real, he understandably yanked the story.
Not that I remember it being a great story or anything, but I was curious and wanted to read it again and found I couldn't get a hold of a copy. So, Cube (who gets my vote for Queen and Guardian of the Universe) sent me hers, for FREE!
So, thanks, Cube, you've totally made my day!
.*.*.
Do remember last month when I was telling about my Desperation Cleaning Method? I was sharing that when I declutter, I am really brutal and I get rid of just about everything. And that it works really well, but I did say "I'm an awful pack rat, and in all the times I've purged something out of my house, there's only been once that I wish I could get something back."
I happened to mention to Cube that *the one thing* I'd gotten rid of that I'd regretted was an early copy of Stephen King's The Bachman Books. See, in the time since I donated my copy, Stephen King has removed one of the stories from the collection and will no longer allow it to be printed. The story, Rage, details a school shooting, and was written back in the day when such things ONLY happened in horror novels. When they started happening for real, he understandably yanked the story.
Not that I remember it being a great story or anything, but I was curious and wanted to read it again and found I couldn't get a hold of a copy. So, Cube (who gets my vote for Queen and Guardian of the Universe) sent me hers, for FREE!
So, thanks, Cube, you've totally made my day!
Labels: grateful, life, stephen king
.*.*.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Monday, Monday...
can't trust that day...
OK, it's not that I can't trust Monday, just that it came with too much baggage left from the weekend! I had a migraine yesterday, one of the really bad ones You know, where you're laying there in the dark questioning whether you actually want to live or not. So, I accomplished nothing. To add to that, we ran out of dishwasher detergent, and around the horde you REALLY need to keep up with the dishwashwer or there's just no hope. So, today I'm playing catch up.
We saw Into the Wild on Saturday. I had found the book to be very moving, and I had high hopes for the movie. I think they did a good job with it. The problem with the story is that the main character is an interesting person, but it's hard to have a lot of sympathy for him. He's self-centered, arrogant, and completely lacking in empathy. But, both the book and the film are able to show him, warts and all, yes still give you some insight into his actions. So, I'm glad we went.
Also, it was just a gorgeous film, definitely worth paying to see on the big screen.
I don't bash the public schools, even thought we don't send our kids there. But, this MadTV skit gave me some giggles:
I love Schoolhouse Rock, and I thought this was pretty well done.
Better go, I've got more dishes to do...
.*.*.
OK, it's not that I can't trust Monday, just that it came with too much baggage left from the weekend! I had a migraine yesterday, one of the really bad ones You know, where you're laying there in the dark questioning whether you actually want to live or not. So, I accomplished nothing. To add to that, we ran out of dishwasher detergent, and around the horde you REALLY need to keep up with the dishwashwer or there's just no hope. So, today I'm playing catch up.
We saw Into the Wild on Saturday. I had found the book to be very moving, and I had high hopes for the movie. I think they did a good job with it. The problem with the story is that the main character is an interesting person, but it's hard to have a lot of sympathy for him. He's self-centered, arrogant, and completely lacking in empathy. But, both the book and the film are able to show him, warts and all, yes still give you some insight into his actions. So, I'm glad we went.
Also, it was just a gorgeous film, definitely worth paying to see on the big screen.
I don't bash the public schools, even thought we don't send our kids there. But, this MadTV skit gave me some giggles:
I love Schoolhouse Rock, and I thought this was pretty well done.
Better go, I've got more dishes to do...
.*.*.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Lucky Me!
MIL is coming to watch the kids, and Davin and I are going on a date!
Wow, what a post. Could anything be more boring than two old married people going to dinner and a movie? Well, I guess NO post would be more boring, but not by much.
Sorry, I'll do better in the future.
.*.*.
Wow, what a post. Could anything be more boring than two old married people going to dinner and a movie? Well, I guess NO post would be more boring, but not by much.
Sorry, I'll do better in the future.
Labels: life
.*.*.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Reading, reading!
I can't blog a lot today. I'm leading a discussion for my homeschool group (the parents, not the kids) of Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings tonight and I want to quickly go through it again today. So, I'm going to pull a Bill Cosby for breakfast (ie, feed the kids chocolate cake) and get reading!
What do you think would be a good book for a discussion group?
When I asked the other day about who you all thought should be on any upcoming coins for circulation, these are the answers I got:
Zigggy Stardust
Boy George
Abe Lincoln (for the penny, he said)
The First Ladies
Shirley Temple
Spock
Ms. Frizzle
Albus Dumbledore
Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.
Francis C. Flaherty
Robert R. Scott
Thanks you guys, you are all so cool!
.*.*.
What do you think would be a good book for a discussion group?
When I asked the other day about who you all thought should be on any upcoming coins for circulation, these are the answers I got:
Zigggy Stardust
Boy George
Abe Lincoln (for the penny, he said)
The First Ladies
Shirley Temple
Spock
Ms. Frizzle
Albus Dumbledore
Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.
Francis C. Flaherty
Robert R. Scott
Thanks you guys, you are all so cool!
.*.*.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
I knew I was out of shape,
but I didn't realize it was this bad!
We all walked down to the park, and some of the kids took bikes. I took Kaywinnet on the trail around the park a couple of times, then we walked home. I'm sure it was no more than a mile, if that. Now I feel like I need a nap! Obviously I've been letting myself go! Well, I should add that we went to the pet store for fish filters, too, I'm sure that added at least 2 or 3 miles, since I couldn't find the right size right away (rolls eyes.) I'm a mess.
So, now I'm working on lazy lazy stuff. Have you done your Myers-Briggs test? Go take the test and see what it says about you. According to this, I'm an ENFJ, which seems to be about right.
According to this list I am most like Deanna Troi, which is sort of hilarious considering how much I ragged her that year at Captain Picard's Christmas Party.
I'm off to work on some tea towels. I'm trying to get the kids to draw some neat pictures for me to transfer and work... Wish me luck!
.*.*.
We all walked down to the park, and some of the kids took bikes. I took Kaywinnet on the trail around the park a couple of times, then we walked home. I'm sure it was no more than a mile, if that. Now I feel like I need a nap! Obviously I've been letting myself go! Well, I should add that we went to the pet store for fish filters, too, I'm sure that added at least 2 or 3 miles, since I couldn't find the right size right away (rolls eyes.) I'm a mess.
So, now I'm working on lazy lazy stuff. Have you done your Myers-Briggs test? Go take the test and see what it says about you. According to this, I'm an ENFJ, which seems to be about right.
According to this list I am most like Deanna Troi, which is sort of hilarious considering how much I ragged her that year at Captain Picard's Christmas Party.
I'm off to work on some tea towels. I'm trying to get the kids to draw some neat pictures for me to transfer and work... Wish me luck!
Labels: crafting, life, star trek
.*.*.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Two birthdays this week!
Not only did we get a new dog, but we've had two birthdays in the last week. Anya is now 12, and Tiernan is 6. My *BABY* is 6! How did that happen? When I started this blog I was wondering if we'd ever get him potty trained.
Check it out! This is a cross stitch kit I completed for a friend. It's a wolf with a Native American theme:
I'm glad it's done. I'm going to tell you all right now that if you want to be my friend, you can NOT have a favorite animal that's gray. This project was so difficult, because it was like 20 shades of boring old gray. There was white, dark white, cream, light gray, light blue gray, medium blue gray, medium purple blue gray, gray, dark gray, light black, and MORE! I will need to all to fill out applications, and if you like jungle frogs, you're in. Or toucans, or parrots or something. I'm sorry, but I have to draw the line somewhere. My sanity is precarious as it is...
.*.*.
Check it out! This is a cross stitch kit I completed for a friend. It's a wolf with a Native American theme:
I'm glad it's done. I'm going to tell you all right now that if you want to be my friend, you can NOT have a favorite animal that's gray. This project was so difficult, because it was like 20 shades of boring old gray. There was white, dark white, cream, light gray, light blue gray, medium blue gray, medium purple blue gray, gray, dark gray, light black, and MORE! I will need to all to fill out applications, and if you like jungle frogs, you're in. Or toucans, or parrots or something. I'm sorry, but I have to draw the line somewhere. My sanity is precarious as it is...
.*.*.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Meet Kaywinnet!
We got a dog! She came from our local shelter, and she's 4 years old. They said that she's a Shetland Sheepdog mix, but there must be a WHOLE LOT of "mix" in her, because she doesn't look like their pictures, and she doesn't have a similar temperament.
She's very sweet, quiet and patient. She even let me give her a bath. Her first day home, can you believe it?
Here she is, still a little wet from the tub:
Anyway, she seems pretty perfect for us, mellow and easygoing, quiet and small enough to easily take camping. I'm so excited!
We seem to be mostly done with all the tummy stuff, so I'm glad about that, too!
.*.*.
She's very sweet, quiet and patient. She even let me give her a bath. Her first day home, can you believe it?
Here she is, still a little wet from the tub:
Anyway, she seems pretty perfect for us, mellow and easygoing, quiet and small enough to easily take camping. I'm so excited!
We seem to be mostly done with all the tummy stuff, so I'm glad about that, too!
.*.*.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Coolest. Craft. Ever.
Can you believe this? I wish I'd thought of it! I absolutely adore this piece!
We're still pretty icky here, so I'm keeping us and our germs home. Thanks for your well-wishes!
.*.*.
We're still pretty icky here, so I'm keeping us and our germs home. Thanks for your well-wishes!
.*.*.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Renee needs help! ie Jen's Desperation Cleaning Method
Renee has a long-term guest coming, and she needs some help getting her house organized because she'll need to move some furniture, etc. You can read about her plight here. She and her husband have a daughter, Darly, and they will have her medical-needs mom come to stay for the holidays.
Even though I'm pretty disorganized in general, I'm pretty good at de-cluttering in short spurts when things need to be done! For instance, we went through the house and moved rooms and furniture, and cleaned out the whole garage in a short period of time this summer to make room for Mara to move in and for the camper. I bet we got rid of at least a ton of stuff, no lie. It was bad.
The first thing I would do is call someplace like ARC, and set a pick up date. It helps me to have a goal to go through all the stuff.
Then go buy a bunch of big black lawn and leaf bags, and white kitchen bags and have at it. I use one bag for garbage (you'll be shocked at how much crap kids squirrel away everywhere!) and the other for donations, just to keep things simple. I don't know that I've ever donated a bag of garbage (I sure hope not!) but I've definitely thrown away bags of donations on accident. Also, snag a laundry basket, and use it for stuff that you intend to keep, but that needs to be delivered to another room.
So, at this point, you'll have 4 ways any item can go. It can 1. stay right where it is, 2. stay, but it belongs elsewhere in the house, 3. get donated or 4. get thrown away. (You can save stuff for a garage sale if you like, but that's never worked for me. That's why I don't do it. If you'll actually get the stuff out, tag it and sell it, more power to you.)
Then you just start somewhere. If you're like me, you'll freeze up trying to decide the best place to start, so I just start randomly or I won't ever get going!
Say you're starting with a bookshelf. I take everything off of the shelf and put it in big messy piles all over. (To me, that makes it more likely that I'll finish it up before I move on, because the big piles will annoy me.) I dust off the shelves, and start putting stuff back. With each item I ask myself some questions: Do I really need this? Do I use this? If I donate it, will it get more use from someone else? Do I love this item? etc. The hardest part of this is choosing what to get rid of, so be brutal! When in doubt, get rid of the item. I'm an awful pack rat, and in all the times I've purged something out of my house, there's only been once that I wish I could get something back.
I read somewhere that Americans in general tend to regularly use only 10% of the stuff they have in their house. That means that 90% of anyone's stuff is just taking up space! I'm not saying that 90% of your stuff is clutter, but I bet a lot more of it is than you suspect. This is why people benefit from those Clean Sweep folks, it can be very difficult to recognize what to get rid of at times. I think they're a little too mean about it, but they do get the job done. With a little self-discipline, you can manage your own clutter pretty well.
As you start filling bags, stack any donation bags and items in the garage as you fill them, and drag them out the day of the pick up. Put any trash where you normally put trash. You won't believe how much stuff you can get rid of!
If you think there's going to be a lot of stuff to throw away, you may consider getting a dumpster. But, that's pretty extreme, in all of my major purges I've only had to do that one time, and that was mostly because of a build up of broken-down furniture that I couldn't put out with the regular trash.
If possible, I'd go through Darly's stuff on a day she isn't there. What I've done in the past is to explain to the kids what needs to be done, and give each of them a good-sized box and I tell them that I won't touch anything in the box. No matter what it is. They fill the box with the "treasures" they can't bear to lose, and then I go through everything else while they're gone, and sort it out into the four piles like I mentioned above. I really try hard not to get rid of anything they still play with, but there's still a ton of stuff that can go.
They're usually pretty receptive to the idea that some other kid out there would love to play with the stuff they don't use any more. It helps that we shop at the ARC sometimes, and that they've bought toys and clothes there, so they see how the cycle works.
Another thing I do with the kids' stuff, is that I stack their stuff in the garage for about a week. I tell them that anything they want back that they can ask me for specifically, I will dig out for them. It's never happened. If they could SEE all the stuff, they'd totally want it ALL back, but I figure if they don't even know what's gone, how can they miss it?
So, anyway, that's my method for trying to get a handle on the stuff in the house! As far as the rearranging of furniture, etc, only you guys can decide what will work for you, but once you've cleared out the clutter, you'll have a lot more freedom to decide what can go where. Then you'll know exactly what you still need to buy.
Let me know if you need any hands-on help!
I feel I should mention that there are a ton of plans out there for keeping your house clean and clutter-free on a regular basis, so that you don't need to do these massive pogroms. I have never gotten any of them to work for me for any length of time, so I'll let someone else comment on those. I understand them in theory, but apaprently I'm not set up to do things like that.
One last piece of advice. If you don't get everything done on time, you can always put stuff in boxes and pile them in the garage until after your mom goes home. I'm not proud, but I've done that in the past, too. The good thing about that is that you forget what's out there, and it makes it easier to get rid of on the next big clean out!
Best of luck!
.*.*.
Even though I'm pretty disorganized in general, I'm pretty good at de-cluttering in short spurts when things need to be done! For instance, we went through the house and moved rooms and furniture, and cleaned out the whole garage in a short period of time this summer to make room for Mara to move in and for the camper. I bet we got rid of at least a ton of stuff, no lie. It was bad.
The first thing I would do is call someplace like ARC, and set a pick up date. It helps me to have a goal to go through all the stuff.
Then go buy a bunch of big black lawn and leaf bags, and white kitchen bags and have at it. I use one bag for garbage (you'll be shocked at how much crap kids squirrel away everywhere!) and the other for donations, just to keep things simple. I don't know that I've ever donated a bag of garbage (I sure hope not!) but I've definitely thrown away bags of donations on accident. Also, snag a laundry basket, and use it for stuff that you intend to keep, but that needs to be delivered to another room.
So, at this point, you'll have 4 ways any item can go. It can 1. stay right where it is, 2. stay, but it belongs elsewhere in the house, 3. get donated or 4. get thrown away. (You can save stuff for a garage sale if you like, but that's never worked for me. That's why I don't do it. If you'll actually get the stuff out, tag it and sell it, more power to you.)
Then you just start somewhere. If you're like me, you'll freeze up trying to decide the best place to start, so I just start randomly or I won't ever get going!
Say you're starting with a bookshelf. I take everything off of the shelf and put it in big messy piles all over. (To me, that makes it more likely that I'll finish it up before I move on, because the big piles will annoy me.) I dust off the shelves, and start putting stuff back. With each item I ask myself some questions: Do I really need this? Do I use this? If I donate it, will it get more use from someone else? Do I love this item? etc. The hardest part of this is choosing what to get rid of, so be brutal! When in doubt, get rid of the item. I'm an awful pack rat, and in all the times I've purged something out of my house, there's only been once that I wish I could get something back.
I read somewhere that Americans in general tend to regularly use only 10% of the stuff they have in their house. That means that 90% of anyone's stuff is just taking up space! I'm not saying that 90% of your stuff is clutter, but I bet a lot more of it is than you suspect. This is why people benefit from those Clean Sweep folks, it can be very difficult to recognize what to get rid of at times. I think they're a little too mean about it, but they do get the job done. With a little self-discipline, you can manage your own clutter pretty well.
As you start filling bags, stack any donation bags and items in the garage as you fill them, and drag them out the day of the pick up. Put any trash where you normally put trash. You won't believe how much stuff you can get rid of!
If you think there's going to be a lot of stuff to throw away, you may consider getting a dumpster. But, that's pretty extreme, in all of my major purges I've only had to do that one time, and that was mostly because of a build up of broken-down furniture that I couldn't put out with the regular trash.
If possible, I'd go through Darly's stuff on a day she isn't there. What I've done in the past is to explain to the kids what needs to be done, and give each of them a good-sized box and I tell them that I won't touch anything in the box. No matter what it is. They fill the box with the "treasures" they can't bear to lose, and then I go through everything else while they're gone, and sort it out into the four piles like I mentioned above. I really try hard not to get rid of anything they still play with, but there's still a ton of stuff that can go.
They're usually pretty receptive to the idea that some other kid out there would love to play with the stuff they don't use any more. It helps that we shop at the ARC sometimes, and that they've bought toys and clothes there, so they see how the cycle works.
Another thing I do with the kids' stuff, is that I stack their stuff in the garage for about a week. I tell them that anything they want back that they can ask me for specifically, I will dig out for them. It's never happened. If they could SEE all the stuff, they'd totally want it ALL back, but I figure if they don't even know what's gone, how can they miss it?
So, anyway, that's my method for trying to get a handle on the stuff in the house! As far as the rearranging of furniture, etc, only you guys can decide what will work for you, but once you've cleared out the clutter, you'll have a lot more freedom to decide what can go where. Then you'll know exactly what you still need to buy.
Let me know if you need any hands-on help!
I feel I should mention that there are a ton of plans out there for keeping your house clean and clutter-free on a regular basis, so that you don't need to do these massive pogroms. I have never gotten any of them to work for me for any length of time, so I'll let someone else comment on those. I understand them in theory, but apaprently I'm not set up to do things like that.
One last piece of advice. If you don't get everything done on time, you can always put stuff in boxes and pile them in the garage until after your mom goes home. I'm not proud, but I've done that in the past, too. The good thing about that is that you forget what's out there, and it makes it easier to get rid of on the next big clean out!
Best of luck!
.*.*.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Big plans this weekend?
We don't have anything major going on, a birthday party and church on Sunday. It will be nice to be at church, we weren't able to attend during our trip.
Anya and Tiernan have birthday parties coming up, too. At least they will have them coming up when I get them planned!
We're going to meet friends at McD tonight. If you see us, say howdy! Yeah, we're pretty fancy around here.
I read an interesting book. It was about the cholera outbreak in London in the 1850s and it's effects on how we handle public health issues and how cities are planned. I know that sounds dry, but it was really kind of a page turner! If you'd like to read it, it was called, The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic--and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World.
Have you read anything worth recommending lately?
Sorry this is kind of blah, I'm having a fibro day. I played volleyball with some folks at church last night, and I haven't done that in probably 20 years. So, I'm in extra pain on top of the usual stuff. I had a lot of fun, though! I had forgotten how cool it is when you see the ball coming, and you just know you're going to get it, and you smack it right back over the net. Not that I was doing that a lot! I'm not a real sport-o by any means. I think I'll go back, though, I'm sure to do better than I did last night.
Have a great weekend!
.*.*.
Anya and Tiernan have birthday parties coming up, too. At least they will have them coming up when I get them planned!
We're going to meet friends at McD tonight. If you see us, say howdy! Yeah, we're pretty fancy around here.
I read an interesting book. It was about the cholera outbreak in London in the 1850s and it's effects on how we handle public health issues and how cities are planned. I know that sounds dry, but it was really kind of a page turner! If you'd like to read it, it was called, The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic--and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World.
Have you read anything worth recommending lately?
Sorry this is kind of blah, I'm having a fibro day. I played volleyball with some folks at church last night, and I haven't done that in probably 20 years. So, I'm in extra pain on top of the usual stuff. I had a lot of fun, though! I had forgotten how cool it is when you see the ball coming, and you just know you're going to get it, and you smack it right back over the net. Not that I was doing that a lot! I'm not a real sport-o by any means. I think I'll go back, though, I'm sure to do better than I did last night.
Have a great weekend!
Labels: books, church, kids, life
.*.*.
