five days to go

Now would NOT be a good time for a panic attack, but I feel panicking. B found hooks for the ornaments at K-Mart - from the Martha Stewart collection no less. Two packs for a buck. Simple and in two sizes. Of course while he was out, I decided to move the string of lights around. In the process a red one got smashed. I cleaned up the glass, but now need to find a replacement bulb if I want to light the extra lights. Ugh!! Why didn't I buy replacements when I was out last night?! I feel so stupid, and like I am seriously losing this game.

The laundry has caught up to me as well. I thought this would be a week to do the sheets, but forgot we brought back two bags of laundry from San Diego. The real issue is the rain. The house feels damp, meaning the clothes that I line dry will take twice as long.

Meanwhile, I still have not gotten the kitchen entirely under control. We really just need to stop eating. I think it is in better shape than I give myself credit for, but there is still work to be done. Remember, every surface of every counter must be empty, or the things on it will get moved into places I would never even think of looking.

I am not sure if I should focus on a room until it is done, or go about in the way that I have been. The scary part of the way I have been going is that it looks like nothing will ever get done, and I get a bit freaked out. It is still doable. I know I can get everything done. I just need to focus and be like a Nike commercial and Do it!



on the night stand :: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst

it is beginning to look like christmas

We got a tree today! This is a huge deal. Aside from an ornament tree, in the 20 years we have known each other, this is our first tree. It is 6.5 feet tall, artificial and pre-lit. We got the floor model, half price, at Lowe's. It has a bit of Charlie Brown flair to it.

Growing up, once we moved to California, it was rare that we had a Christmas tree. This broke my heart in ways I can't explain. My paternal grandmother loved Christmas. She has a 9' tall tree in her living room. She often left it up until Easter. She had boxes of ornaments and a little village that went around the bottom of the tree.

One year my Mom's on and off live-in boyfriend, affectionately known as Bozo, decided we could get a tree. I think this may have been because the previous year, I managed to get a tree on my own. Our classroom had a tree, and I asked if I could have it when I realized it would just be tossed before we left for the holiday break. I even convinced the mother who had donated it to drive it to our house.

Bozo decided the tree we got should be real, and we should chop it down ourselves. I decided I wanted the "perfect" tree, and we went to three Christmas tree farms before I was coerced into agreeing I had indeed found the "perfect" tree. Then my sister and I each took a handle of the saw and tried to cut it down, sawing back and forth. Honestly, I was lucky Bozo didn't take an axe to me. We didn't have the strength to actually complete the tree cutting, and in the end, he had to step in. We got it home, but didn't have any decorations.

We did get him to agree to buy three strands of lights. It really wasn't enough. And I don't remember what else we found to put on the tree, but it was perfect.

Now all I need to do is find ornament hooks. Didn't they used to sell these at the check out aisles? Now it is all gift cards and candy. Witnessed a woman buy over $1000 worth of gift cards at the grocery store tonight. She said she was giving them as presents at a party she was having.


on the night stand :: The Lump of Coal by Lemony Snicket

one week to go

A week from now, the insanity officially begins. We spent the last two days in San Diego. Work commitments gave us the opportunity to get away. Unfortunately we ended up in a room next to some serious partying. They didn't call it a night until the wee hours of the morning. I almost called the front desk around 1am, but feared that might escalate things. It was a bit of a bummer. It is a nice hotel.

Overall though we had a good time. Practically had the hotel restaurant to ourselves on Thursday night. Loved that they served tea from Forte. It also showed up on our breakfast tray.

I made some progress on the holiday cards. Made a list. Got most addressed. Still need to look up a bunch of addresses though. I forgot how much work this is. I complain, but I truly do love sending these cards.

Another highlight of the short trip was finally getting to meet a friend's baby girl. She is now 7 months old, and born exactly a year after another friend's son. The last time we were in town we were at the baby shower! San Diego really isn't that far from Los Angeles.

Per usual, we overpacked. We had computers and library books. The staff helped us out with our stuff. In the confusion, the bag with the cows got put in the trunk! I had driven about a mile when I realized they were not in the back seat. I pulled the car over to a yellow zone, and B got out, stepping in a puddle, and moved them. Yes, we really did.


on the night stand :: The Story of a Marriage

box kicking

Remember those puzzles where you had to move tiles around so that all the numbers were in order? I loved them as a kid. Today I realized cleaning this house is a bit like one of those puzzles - you keep moving things around until everything finds its space.

The big moment today was cleaning out one of the drawers in the kitchen and moving the tin foil and such from the cabinet into said drawer. Suddenly there was room for the glasses and the bowls. It was like getting 1 through 4 in order.

Tonight I had B put the replacement panel in the light fixture in the kitchen. A few months ago it just fell out for no apparent reason. Crash onto the floor it went. Thankfully no one was in the kitchen at the time. We bought a replacement, but never put it up.

The other thing we seem to never get around to doing is tearing the boxes down for recycling. Sometimes I think it is easier to do a bunch of them at once. It is certainly satisfying to jump on them to further flatten them. I definitely kicked some boxes tonight.

I am now officially at the midpoint. I have ten days left. Progress has definitely been made, but there is still lots to do. I am officially caught up with the laundry, but know that a chunk of next week will be spent washing bed linens. Can't wait. Somewhere in there I need to write holiday cards and put up a tree (we still need to get). I found my Mrs. Meyer's Gingerbread spray and so at least it is starting to smell like Christmas.

We had leftovers for dinner tonight. That made things easier. Next week will definitely be about easy to clean up meals for sure. Maybe PB&J?


on the night stand :: A Penguin Story by Antoinette Portis

naked and starving

Today it dawned on me - if we just don't eat or wear clothes for the next 11 days I am absolutely sure I could get everything I need to do finished. Of course hunger might make it hard. And cleaning the shower naked is one thing, cleaning the oven without any clothes on is probably not a bright idea.

It is true though that I do spend a great deal of my time on the dishes and the laundry. Part of the problem is that they really can't be done at the same time. The water system in this house is weird. I think it has something to do with how the sprinkler system was installed. When the grass is being watered, you can't do anything involving water - especially not shower.

Speaking of the shower - well the tub, really - I awoke to find a large black fuzzy spider sitting in my sparkling white freshly bleached tub. I, of course, was sitting on the toilet at the time. My first instinct was to scream like Little Miss Muffet. Instead I went downstairs and had some oatmeal. Secretly I hope the Three Bears show up and eat me.

When I got the nerve to go back upstairs later in the afternoon, the spider was gone. My plan was to drowned it. I really didn't want to clean spider guts from the tub. Now I am really freaked out because I know it isn't really gone. And when I have to use that tub to take a shower in less than two weeks, I will be anxious the whole time, thinking about a big fuzzy spider coming to get me while I stand there naked with shampoo on my head. At least it will force me to be quick. I am sure B's parents feel I spend too much time (and water) in the shower.

When I look around I see bits of progress. Yet I know there is still much to do. There are dishes being cleaned in the dishwasher. Practically the same ones I used earlier in the day. There is also a load of laundry to hang, and another to fold. B is stuck in traffic, so I guess I should go do that after I check on dinner in the oven.

p.s. This week's holiday single on iTunes is Faith Hill's version of O Holy Night. It's free this week only. Go download it.

on the night stand :: 2009 Flowers Calendar by Smith & Hawken