Happy 2009!

I was planning to stay up and play Wizard 101 with the kids all night, but I'm fading fast. The fire is dying down, both kids have quit the game, one of them is asleep and the other is yawning.

So much for ringing in the new year together. Well, we got close. But I'm going to bed. Midnight will arrive whether I'm aware or not.

Signing off 2008 and looking forward to 2009.

Best wishes to you all!

PS We picked out the carpet today!

Random Musings

I was musing today. You know, in between sweeping the floor, folding holiday tablecloths, divesting the tree of its decorations, cleaning bathrooms and washing dishes, I was thinking about stuff.

This year was the first year our decorations didn't stay out of the boxes longer than two weeks. Kind of seems silly to put them out, then put them away, but hey, I had a lot of coffee this morning and now the job is done.

My blog was a year old as of the 26th. That's kind of cool. Especially since I didn't think I would stay with this journaling things more than about three months. Thanks to my family for nagging me when I missed a few days. At least I know four people read my blog regularly. And I appreciate it. Really, I do.

I got a tooth filled yesterday. Just a teensy filling that had popped out because I thought it was a popcorn hull and attacked it with a fury. Whoops.

The new year is almost here. And you all know how much I love beginnings.

My sweet honey's car has a malfunction, so he's driving the Behemoth to work this week. I offered to let him take my car, the one with the sign on the back that says, "Caution: Unsocialized Homeschoolers on Board." But he declined, saying he couldn't smoke his cigars in my car. He is soooo right. Plus, the bumper sticker on the van says, "Teaching at Home is a Work of Heart." That'll do.

The carpet guy is coming to measure the upstairs this week. Looks like we'll be back in the throes of home renovation whether I'm ready or not.

I've discovered Wizard 101. It's an online game the kids and I can play together, and it's nearly as addicting as "House" reruns.

I did NOT gain any extra weight over the holidays. YAY. ME.

See, just random stuff. Nothing exciting.

A Holiday Parable

Once upon a time there was a fair maiden who had all her ducks in a row.

This row included:

• making over the house in record time in order to host a holiday tea party for her homeschooling friends,


• baking 200 dozen cookies to give to neighbors and friends and for the cookie exchange,


• creating a year-end letter to rival all others and sending it out in handmade cards with an accompanying family photograph sure to elicit all manner of oohs and aahs,


• purchasing presents for birthdays and Christmas giving,


• wrapping said presents in a timely fashion,


• actually getting any number of decorations out of their boxes and putting them in their places, spending quality time with her family doing all sorts of seasonal activities,


• all while taking care of herself personally.

The duck named Home Renovation plummeted off the roof of the tower of High Expectations, and having totally forgotten she was too old to be doing stuff like that, ended up in a pile of aching bones and dashed deadlines.

The duck named Good Intentions flew right up into the ceiling fan of the Passing of Days, scattering birthday plans, holiday decorations and missed appointments like so many feathers in her wake.

The duck named Norman Rockwell was served on her own platter of Victorian days-gone-by.

The duck named Perfect Timing was devoured by the feline of Surprise! It's the Wrong Size/Color/Model Number!

The duck named Winter Clothing outgrew all her downy coverings and had to flap her naked wings and hide in shame.

The duck named Good Health succumbed to every passing germ and finally decided that simply removing her beak was infinitely more desirable than constantly wiping at it with tissues.

The duck named Holiday Cheer choked on her own Good Will.

The only fowl left remaining after the carnage was the duck named What the Heck. She knew the truth.

There's always Next Year.

The Day After

We're still playing with our new toys, only today we left them lying all over the floor and headed back to Grammy and PapPap's house to visit with Grammy's sister and husband for a yummy lunch.

After that...yep, we went right back to our toys. Nothing like a lazy day of post-Christmas loafing.

Interestingly, our personal video games all began to irritate us, so we turned off everything and made popcorn and watched a movie together.

The pink one and I actually worked on the schoolroom a bit more, getting all the wrapping detritus back into the storage space and vacuuming the floor. I think we're officially ready to begin spackling the holes and painting.

I just hope she changes her mind from the fuscia pink she wants on the walls. Yipes.

Happy Boxing Day.

The End of a Beautiful Day

Another holiday celebration full of memories. Sigh.

Everyone was up bright and early to finally end the anticipation. We all enjoyed ripping into wrapping paper and boxes, we all oohed and aahed over the delightful selections the others made for us.

We went over to see Grammy and PapPap and Aunt and Uncle and a couple of friends, ate a delicious dinner, opened presents, drank some wine and talked and laughed. A lot. And then we had coffee and dessert and talked some more.

What a wonderful time, and now that we're all home safe and sound, we can continue to play with all our toys and work on digesting all that scrumptious food.

I will keep this short and sweet because I have some gifts I want to enjoy myself.

I wish you all peace and goodwill and love beyond measure.

One More Night

Ah, a roaring fire, holiday music playing in the background, kids that haven't gotten out of their pj's all day...uh...did Christmas come a day early? Did I miss it?

I guess not. Everyone in the younger set is hopping around with excitement, so I suppose everything's still on track.

Speaking of track, that's what the kids are doing at the moment, tracking Santa on NORAD. Hey, it's a major distraction and a geography lesson all in one. What homeschooling mom could ask for more?

Just a moment ago, the pink one asked me what we were going to leave Santa for a snack. Oops. Since I didn't do mega-cookie baking this year, we don't happen to have any cookies set aside for the jolly old elf. She suggested we leave him a sandwich, but that just didn't seem right.

Fortunately, one of our neighbors dropped off some of her homemade cookies this afternoon, so I suggested we leave out a couple of them. I don't think Santa cares one whit who made the cookies, and everyone is happy that we've made the appropriate offering in exchange for whatever gets left under the tree for us.

So, right after I let the cat in again, I'm going to ply the kids with melatonin and head to bed.

Cats. They go out, they come in. All. Day. Long.

Their little personalities are so different, though. Domino scratches at the door glass like a dog. Luna meows VERY loudly. But Sparky? Huh. He just sits at the back door and wills it to open. And very often it does. I wonder what he thinks about that.

Now, the bedroom door is a totally different story. Domino meows, but his voice is so soft, that very often we don't even hear him. Luna lies on her side with her front paw under the door, kicking at it with her back paws to make it sound like she has a battering ram. But Sparky? He asks, specifically, if we would be so kind as to get out of bed to let him in or out. He meows several syllables, with various inflections, that leave no doubt as to what he wants.

Yes, I speak cat. It's a talent I've mastered only after years of practice.

So, once the felines are settled, it's off to try to get the kids into bed. She's ready to go now, but I don't relish the thought of rising at four in the morning. He'll stay up until NORAD shows Santa in the Atlanta area, and then panic and race to bed.

Me? I'll try to get up before they do so I can get a sneak preview of what goodies we got. Heh.

Christmas Eve Eve

Two more days! The kids are fairly crackling with expectant energy. That, or I forgot a dryer sheet in the last load of underwear I washed.

I took them out today to get Daddy's and the grandparents' presents, plus stocking stuffers for each other. They are so funny to watch as they choose gifts. They are so enthusiastic that it pains me to have to turn down 75% of what they pick. They don't always understand too expensive, too large/small, wrong style or just inappropriate.

Eventually, though, we got everything in the car, home and upstairs for wrapping. Remember the empty schoolroom? Er, not anymore. I had to squeeze into the storage space (which is currently holding everything that would fit,) and pull out the wrapping supplies. Then the three of us worked to get all the gifts decorated and ready for under the tree, and I slipped in their stocking stuffers while they were playing a video game.

You know, this year, I didn't do nearly as much as in previous years, yet I feel much more fulfilled. I think what I've done before was more about being the perfect holiday mom, and yet this year, I've been less stressed and more relaxed and spontaneous. I'll have to take notes.

Not that I'll look at them. I kept a detailed journal of last year, because I thought it went very well. Did I refer back to it this year? Heck no! I couldn't even FIND it this year. So much for following a plan. Maybe spontaneity has it's advantages. I've been spontaneously deciding to eliminate seasonal projects left and right. And it's been very nice.

Well, except for 4:00 this morning when I was shocked into full consciousness when I realized I'd purchased NOT ONE GIFT for my sweet honey. And after all he's done for me this year! Sigh.

Hence the last minute dash to the store. I say store because we found everything we needed at one place. Gotta love Steinmart.

(Actually, there is a substantial present for him on the way, but he picked that one out himself, so that only kinda counts.)

So, after a fun-filled, non-stressful day, we went out with our friend for pizza, salad and chocolate cake.

My work here is done. For today.

Creative Dish Stacking Is Not An Option

For those of you who celebrate...Happy Hanukkah!

Today was a wonderfully productive Monday, as usual. I followed FlyLady's Home Blessing Hour and dusted, swept, mopped (!) and did all the laundry.

As of the posting, though, the clothes are still in their baskets, but we can easily remedy that with a 5-minute basket race right after we get back from a tour of neighborhood holiday lights. Right after the coffee is brewed and the popcorn is popped. Nothing halfway about our annual tour.

We just finished up dinner, and the kids helped me with the dishes. I've found through experience that trading out nights just wasn't working for us. Since I can go several nights without cooking, the constant disagreement of "who washed them last" was prevalent in our after-dinner conversation.

So, to make things nice and even, and to be assured that the dishes were done to my stringent criteria (aka kitchen control syndrome,) I decided that both kids would help me wash the dishes every time. I wash and they get to choose who washes and who dries, and so far that hasn't caused too many "but I did that last time" arguments.

Anyway, tonight, the three of us were at the sink doing our thing: me scrubbing, him drying and her putting away.

:Mommy, where does this pan go?"

"The same place you get it from every time you make eggs in it."

"Oh"

And I wonder why my house stays a mess. It's because my children's short term "item placement" memory is either underdeveloped or completely inoperative. I have to work on that.

At one point, the boy got ahead of the girl and was making a stack of dried dishes. I watched him attempt to balance a saucepan on the upturned stem of a crystal wine goblet.

"STOP!" I shouted. He froze like a deer in the headlights.

"Don't put that pan on top of that glass!"

"Why not?"

I recovered from the shock and attempted a logical answer. It came out like this:

"Because it will result in the instant ignition of..."

At this point I dissolved into peals of laughter against the sink.

"What??" she asked. I tried to answer, to no avail. I was gasping for air.

"The instant ignition of WHAT??" they both demanded to know.

I finally caught enough breath to squeak out between gasps for air,

"OF...YOUR...BEHIND!!"

The kitchen was bedlam at that point, I'm not sure how we did it, but we managed to finished the dishes in the sink without breaking any crystal or lighting any rear ends on fire.

"Mom, you have to put that in your blog!" *snort*

So I did.

Winter Solstice Celebration

I was up at dawn this morning to welcome the sun in honor of the Winter Solstice. The kids and I have been working on a research project about the origins of winter celebrations from ancient times to the modern day and have really enjoyed all we learned. As a result, I feel compelled to acknowledge all of the holidays, and have had to draw the line at presents for the kids for each day of Hanukkah and Kwaanza, plus the 12 Days of Christmas. Sheesh. Let's keep our perspective here.

But since I was feeling festive, I made biscuits and gravy for breakfast, followed by a roaring fire to shake off the outside wind and chill. We had a cold front whoosh in today.

Anyway, after that, I was pretty much good for nothing and wound up taking a nap over my Nintendo DS Sudoku game. I think it's those darn cats. Whenever one climbs up in my lap, I get this overwhelming urge to nap with them.

Later in the afternoon, my sweet honey and I hit the grocery store for a dozen items, and once I was home, I started in on the solstice feast for dinner.

I made a couple of homemade soups (Tomato Rosemary and Sweet Potato/Acorn Squash) along with a loaf of bread, plus some mulled cider and gingerbread for dessert. While we ate our treat, we sat around the fire as I read to the kids from several holiday books.

Now, I have to decide whether I want to play an online game with my daughter or watch House with my husband. Frankly, I'd rather sit in my chair under a cat and read a book, but I know I'd just fall asleep. Again.

Which doesn't sound like a bad idea...

Slow Day

Yay, me, I did a few things around the house today. Like list a bunch of my books for sale at Amazon.com, read blogs, read emails, watched Eragon (finally,) and baked brownie cookies.

And you know what? That was just enough.

The rain moved in and gently drenched everything again, so hopefully this drought is coming to a close and I can finally light a bonfire in our lakeside fire pit without the neighbor calling the fire department on us again. (Don't ask.) At least it wasn't a snowstorm like one of my friends is experiencing on her trip to Massachusetts.

I also moved more books from around the house to our new library location. Then I stood back and analyzed the science section again, only to realize it wasn't just so. I was in the process of rearranging the botanicals apart from the horticulturals when...

What? You don't do that? Oh, never mind.

...when my sweet honey came downstairs and reminded me that until we get the special plug installed upstairs, the tanning bed has to be plugged in BEHIND the science section.

So, we stripped the books, being careful to keep them in order (!) and slid out that bookcase just enough to plug in the bed. Mr. Fix-It wanted to drill a hole in the back of the case (!) for the plug, but I nixed that, reminding him that this was just temporary until we get the upstairs done.

Now we have an incentive to get to work. Even more so than before because my science bookcase is not in line with the others.

And that just won't do.

No, really, I'm not that anal retentive...

I don't think. Stay tuned.

PS. To my book club friends: True to my absentmindedness this week, not only did I forget karate and gymnastics, I forgot book club last night, too.

Sigh. Sorry. Wanna cookie?

Deck the Halls Against All Odds

My sweet honey took the day off from work today in hopes the weather would be nice enough to take a road trip, but alas, it was not to be.

So, instead...

We decorated for the holidays! Yipee!

I believe that was the quickest we've ever gotten the loot out of their seven or eight bins and strewn around the main level. I did take a few shortcuts by keeping all the upstairs and basement trappings tucked safely away until next year or until I decide to dump them all into the trash, whichever comes first.

Anyway, the deed is done and it looks so doggone festive around here, I may just work up the energy to bake cookies for friends and family after all.

And because of all the holiday adrenaline flowing through my veins, my sweet honey and I took total advantage of his being home to buzz out and nab all the presents needed to bring delight into the faces and hearts of all those near and dear to us.

A little wrapping paper and bows, some strategic concealment in various hiding places, and voila, Holi-la-dee-do-dah-day.

Know what cast a small but significant shadow on the day's achievements? When we got home, I spent some more time picking up the house and making small changes to the knick-knacks around. I was so ensconced in the moment that I forgot all about karate and gymnastics. At least until the cherub reminded me an hour after the fact.

Sigh.

I Really Shouldn't Post This, But

I'm a little out of mental sorts this evening, mainly due to my delightful offspring. Seems puberty just can't wait to rear its ugly head around our home.

I'm speaking specifically about the pink one, but who am I to lay her troubles out for all the world to see? Suffice it to say that nothing, not one thing, went her way today. I can totally sympathize, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

This afternoon, the kids made a gingerbread house from a kit, and while that should have been a warm and fuzzy holiday experience, it turned out to be a contest of wills between the pink one and the blue one with the pink one assuming control of the whole operation, in steamroller fashion.

I wisely stayed out of the way, thinking the project would be a good opportunity for them to practice cooperation and cultivate some patience. Puh-leeze.

After her power play, I pointed out how utterly rude she was being to her brother, and that conveniently ended in an all-out tantrum. Maybe I should cultivate some tact, ya think?

Consequently, I, being the resourceful mom that I am, called her father, explained the situation, then handed her the phone through the crack in the bedroom door.

My sweet honey, being the wonderful father that he is, and being completely wrapped around the girl child's pinky finger, offered to take her out for pizza when he got home. It is still, after all, her Birthday Week, and I didn't want her to miss out on something fun because I was irritated with her.

Actually, that worked out quite nicely for all concerned. He and she were able to get out of the house for a while and have a slice of pepperoni pie, and the boy and I hung out and played with his new Lego creation after we ate some homemade chicken and rice made from yesterday's (yummy!) roasted chicken carcass.

Alright, maybe I will advertise her woes for all the world to see. And then one day, she can read my blog and say, "MO-OM!" and be mad at me for an indeterminate amount of time.

I really, really cannot wait for the actual teenage years. *Big ol' eye roll*

You'll Never Believe What Happened Today

Well, my one of my dreams has officially come true. I wanted to be a published author (other than this cool blog,) and now it seems as if that will become a reality in a very short time.

See, I made The List.

I totally made the list. When I read the list this morning, I cried. Real tears of thankfulness, disbelief, rapture, euphoria, you name it, they were there, wet and salty and all over my face.

When the call came several months ago to send in posts for consideration for a book by bloggers to benefit one of our own, I didn't hesitate one instant. I opened up my email program and began sending in what I considered my best posts, hoping against hope that someone on the other end would feel one of them was worthy of publication.

I am humbled beyond words.

Please check out the link above. Please read the other links regarding the fund for NieNie. And please, for her sake, not mine, buy the book when it comes out. Buy a dozen and share them with your friends and family. I'll keep you posted on how to get yours.

Why I Love Mondays

Alright. No decorations yet, BUT, we did clean the house, er, upstairs today. You know, those kids' rooms that you tend to ignore until you're afraid to cross the threshold for fear of disappearing forever under all the debris? Yeah...those rooms.

Plus, I vacuumed the floors of said rooms once we found them, I managed to cajole the boy into donating a great big box of toys, I went through drawers and eliminated clothes that didn't fit, and then I washed all the dirty laundry, mopped the laundry room floor, sucked all the lint out of the dryer vent with the vacuum extension, and then I cleaned my bathroom.

Quite enough for one day. Mondays always give me these huge energy boosts that make me feel invincible.

But, no decorations. Yet.

At this rate, the holiday trappings will only be out of their boxes for a week.

Sigh.

You know, it would be oh, so much easier if we didn't have a forty-foot tree that requires eighteen boxes of ornaments and three days to decorate.

Okay, I'm exaggerating a bit, but still.

Anyway, I was smiling as I was driving the boy to and from karate this evening, which is very significant. Because I never smile while I'm driving, therefore, I must feel pretty good about what we did get done today.

I think I have enough energy to address cards tonight!!

Wait, Where Did We Have It Before?

We had fun today! We went to a local indoor karting track/arcade to play for a couple of hours. It was a holiday party to which we were invited, and we had a blast. Plus they had delicious food and PEACH COBBLER for dessert! Yum.

After that, the grandparents took the kids to see a play, "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever," and we came home and moved furniture around.

First, we put the tanning bed back in the basement so the boy can get his light treatments because goodness knows WHEN we're going to be finished with the upstairs so we can move the thing up there and his skin could just melt away before then.

Next, we brought all the gazebo furniture down into the basement 1) so it will be out of the winter weather and 2) so we can have somewhere to sit downstairs until we can find a decent couch at a yard sale next spring.

Then, we brought in the artificial tree that we stood out in the garage last year. After I rearranged most of the furniture in the office and living room several times in order to place the tree in the "perfect" place, I threw my hands in the air and went to get a glass of wine. (Or is that Whine?) Sigh. I don't think this tree has been in the same place twice in all the years we've had it.

Maybe tomorrow I will have enough of what it takes to drag in the boxes of decorations and make this place look festive. Don't hold your breath, though. I still have four more days of Birthday Week to celebrate. You think decorating the tree counts? Hm.

Like Sand Through the Hour Glass

Confession:

I did NOTHING today.

Why is it I pop out of bed rarin' to go in the morning, start in on tasks that I've imagined will magically transform my chaotic home into an abode worthy of a Southern Living photo-shoot, and then crash and burn within an hour?

Sigh.

Then I get distracted with emails. Always with the emails. The one that got me today was the "Due Date Notice" from the library.

Holy smokes! One of my books is due back Monday, and I hadn't even cracked the cover.

So, in the interest of being a civic-minded soul, I decided to read it today in order to get it back to the library on time so the next person in line can check it out.

Sadly, it wasn't worth the read, but I didn't find that out until three quarters of the way through. And because I'd so far invested, oh, four hours reading it, I felt the compulsion to at least find out what happens in the end. Ugh. It didn't get any better during the next hour.

All the more reason why I try to stick to non-fiction books and classics. I should really stay away from "My Totally Favorite Books!" lists on blogs. The blurbs always make the story sound incredible, yet I realize way too late that apparently my tastes and the other person's are diametrically opposed.

Anyway, I finished the darn book and will return it tomorrow, if for no other reason than to get it out of my house. My chaotic house that looks exactly the same, if not worse, tonight than it did in the bright light of this morning when I felt I could conquer all.

And I wonder how time passes by so quickly. I think it's my fault, and you can all blame me. Because if I'd stuck to mundane household chores, this day would have dragged on for hours longer than it seemed, and you all would have had much more time to get to the ends of your to-do lists.

Whoops.

Tomorrow. Yep, that's my out. Know why? IT'S ANOTHER DAY!

Whoo hoo! Let's go have the spaghetti my sweet honey made for dinner while his lazy wife lounged on the couch under a blanket and an orange cat, reading a ridiculously boring novel.

Milestone Eleven

My little baby isn't so much any more. She turned eleven today at approximately 2:59 PM, so we made the very best of the day.

Actually, we started her birthday week last night at her gymnastics "Parents Watch" day. Afterward, we stopped by our favorite pizza place for dinner, then sent the boys home while us girls raided the grocery store bakery for a plain cake and the decorating section for all kinds of accoutrements for the blank slate of chocolate icing.

Then we hit the dollar store for fun goody-bag items. That would have been a quick stop had I remembered to take cash. Oops. I had to hightail it home red-faced from the checkout line, grab the checkbook and head back to pay for my purchases, which they wound up having to void and re-scan because I had said I was bringing back cash. Sigh.

Anyway, after that, we faced a mad frenzy of decorating brown paper lunch bags with cut-outs of old-fashioned ice skates and each kid's name. The OCD child among us (aka the blue one) was in charge of dividing the loot between each sack, and without fail, everything was apportioned just so despite his sister constantly harping for him to JUST PUT THE STUFF IN THE BAGS.

Well, then it was time to decorate the cake. We had five different kinds of icing in tubes, a bottle of sprinkles, curly candles, plus those little candies that spell out Happy Birthday and have enough letters of the alphabet to spell almost any name. Of course, we ate the leftover letters, including the Q, X and Z.

Once that was done, we raced upstairs to watch a recorded episode of "House," and then it was off to dreamland.

We hosted a birthday party for her and our homeschool friends this morning at a local ice skating rink. After two hours of slipping, flying, sliding and sprawling on the ice, the kids were ready for pizza, popcorn and cake.

Yes, I have pictures. No, I don't have them ready to post. Sorry. Again.

In the spirit of the day of celebration, we headed to Wal-Mart, mainly because it was right down the street from the ice rink, and everyone under 13 around here was in desperate need of socks and underwear. But you didn't read that here, because I can't stand the whine that goes with the word, "MO-OM!"

The pink one also got cash for her birthday and immediately put it to work to help rescue the economy by purchasing two video games, one of which she began to play as soon as we arrived home. At last glance, she is still playing it and may not stop until we need to go back to the store to buy the next in the series.

Personally, I took a nap when we got home because I was worn out from laughing at the antics of all the kids on the ice this morning, and I was also crashing from all the sugar I ingested throughout the day.

This evening, we went over to see Grammy and PapPap in order to eat more sugar in the form of coffee, tea, hot cocoa and a cheesecake dedicated to the back-to-back birthdays of granddaughter and grandfather and pass around presents for the same.

Now, some of us are crashing again, (me,) some of us are bouncing off the walls from all that sugar, (the blue one,) some of us are unbelievably irritable despite all the attention today, (the pink one,) and some of us are hiding down in the basement smoking a cigar...you figure out that one.

Oh, and a couple of us are chasing the new catnip mice around on the hardwood floor. Meow.

Eleven years ago tonight, I was sleeping in a hospital bed next to the most precious baby girl I'd ever seen. Today, I recalled how quickly time passes and made a point of cherishing every moment I have with her and her brother and their wonderful father.

Happy Birthday, Pumpkin.

Beware the Briskly Moving Conveyor Belt

Well. I did absolutely nothing today unless you count falling on the treadmill this morning.

Oh, I got out of bed at the crack of 7:30 with the best of intentions. I would walk while watching an episode of "House" and then get to work rescuing the kitchen and put a little more effort into the schoolroom.

Typically, I read a book on the treadmill, but the last book so far in the Outlander series is present in my house as a big ol' hardback and is kind of difficult to hold and read while walking at the brisk pace of 3.6 mph.

My son got this cool plastic brochure holder out of the trash a few weeks ago, and I was looking forward to making it a neat over-the-treadmill-controls book rest. Actually, I was musing on how to turn two wreath-hangers into a laptop holder, but I thought book rest would do.

Anyway, my sweet honey turned the thing into what seemed to be a safe place to rest not only a book, but also my brand new laptop for the sole purpose of entertaining my brain while my feet trudged a few miles.

Since we've had the basement torn apart, I really couldn't walk until a couple of days ago, and it took me that long to work back up to donning my track shoes and workout clothes. But this morning, I was set to go.

A little more history, if you please. I have also recently discovered the TV show "House," and have spent some time in the evenings catching up on old episodes online.

So, I thought, hey, I'll just work on my cardio while House works on his patients. Win-win for all.

I popped out of bed, pulled on my workout things and headed downstairs with my freshly charged laptop already opened and running on the video site. I placed said computer on my new handy-dandy laptop holder, started the video, started the treadmill, and commenced walking.

Not three minutes later, several things happened, in roughly this order:

1. The support under my laptop broke.
2. My laptop fell. (Thanks a lot, Newton.)
3. My laptop landed on the front of my left ankle as I was in mid-stride.
4. Expletives were uttered.
5. The force of the laptop knocked my foot from under me and I fell.
6. Right onto my bare knees.
7. On the running treadmill belt.
8. Freaking OUCH.
9. The laptop hit the treadmill and zinnnged backwards shortly before my behind did the same thing.

At this point, I had decided I was going to die, chewed into tiny shreds of human by that maniacal beast of an exercise machine. In rather slow motion, I did the following:

1. I rolled sideways off the treadmill onto the floor.
2. I saw, out of the corner of my eye, my laptop as it bounced off the end of the belt into the newly-installed bookcase at the end of the treadmill.
3. I watched as the door to the disk drive did a graceful swan dive across the room and pinged into the window.
4. Finally, I found my legs again and reached up under the broken book rest/laptop killer and pushed the Stop button.

When my heart reached a semi-normal rhythm, I assessed the damage. My knees were bleeding, but not in a horror-movie kind of way. More like a skateboard-accident kind of way. My laptop was still playing the online video, and everything else seemed to work except for the disk drive button.

I suppose after that, I should have found a paperback book and gotten back to my walk, but instead, I sat down in the nearest chair and finished my "House" episode, after which I went upstairs and had a cup of tea.

And, with the small exceptions of taking a shower and vacuuming the floor in the master bedroom and bathroom, I haven't done another thing all the livelong day. Other than wincing every time I sit down and my pant-legs come in contact with my knees,. And feeling every unhappy muscle in my body. There's that.

Oh...I did manage to read several chapters of several other books I have in progress around the house, one of which made quite an impression on me and allowed me to revel in my lack of accomplishment today.

The chapter was about taking it easy. It said that we are "human beings, not human doings," and should strive to balance our days between running around trying to cross things off the to-do list and just sitting and enjoying the fact that we're even here.

I liked that. It made me realize that, although renovating our house is a good thing, I don't have to mope around on days when I don't do a single thing to move us closer to the end of that list.

Because there will always be lists...but we won't always need to finish them.

Seeking the Bottoms of the Piles

I think I've lost my nerve where the schoolroom is concerned. The bookcases and books are out of the way, but the sheer minutiae left behind is overwhelming. Boxes of art supplies, reams of paper, craft doo-dahs out the wazoo, piles of things that can only be labelled "miscellaneous." Yipes.

Yesterday, we worked a bit in there, but spent most of the time on laundry. I headed to the grocery store to buy baking ingredients, then came home to make cookies and an appetizer for the cookie swap.

Then I bid the family adieu and drove to my friend's house to eat cookies and snarf hors d'ouevers. Lot of fun.

Today, I slept in, despite waking before sunup. I kept thinking, "I should get up and do ABC," but then I'd doze off again, only to snap to consciousness thinking, "I should really get a move on."

Anyway, when I did finally rise, I chose to work at the desk for the morning, paying bills, balancing the checkbook and filing paperwork. Mesmerizing stuff. Zzzzzz.

When I looked at the clock and realized it was 2:00, I panicked and darted to the schoolroom to do more sorting and purging. Let's just say a dent was made, but no more.

My sweet honey took the boy to karate, but that's really the extent of our accomplishments over the last two days. Not entirely a waste...I mean we DO have clean underwear on top of the dryer and all the bills are paid...but beyond that...er...not much more.

Sigh.

Remind Me Again Why We Started This Project

Egad. I can't feel the base of my spine. Nor my toesies. And my sinuses are totally rebelling against the sheer volume of dust we've animated today.

I had NO IDEA how many, I mean REALLY how many books I own, until today. We finished moving all the books to the dining room (which mysteriously vanished under the landslide,) and mopped the floor in the basement.

Then my sweet honey and I carried all those empty bookshelves down what felt like thirty flights of stairs. Hence the lack of feeling in my various body parts.

However, not only are the shelves in their places, but the kids and I hauled ALL the books from the dining room to the basement floor (which vanished just as quickly as the dining room.) Just in time, too, because right then my hubby and our friend arrived with lunch, which we inhaled at the now-liberated dining room table.

After that, the kids and I sorted and organized, alphabetized and shelved every last one of those little paper friends of mine. What a relief.

All that hard labor has (almost) made me never want to bring another book into this house. (GASP!)

Almost.

Now, we have a tremendous mess in the schoolroom. I'm not sure I even want to go back in there. I'm going to give the pink one a few boxes and let her gather up what's left, which includes enough art supplies to open my own craft store.

We should be done with her room by spring, if we're lucky and I don't nail the door shut this week.

Partying and Painting

We're making progress!

Day 7 of the Great Renovation/Household Musical Chairs was a half-day, but we still got a lot done. The kids and I tackled some more of the school room moving marathon. The dining room is flooded with chaotic stacks of books. I cringe every time I pass by them.

When my sweet honey saw the piles today, he said something to the effect of, "So, all these books get donated?"

"Uh. No. This is the keeper pile. These *waving my arms over the books* are my friends!"

That was his cue to sigh and go back to cutting mitered corners on the moulding.

Anyway, yesterday afternoon, I headed to the salon for a quick 'do, and got back home just in time to get dressed for the party. And, yes, I found something to wear that actually fit and looked nice. Turns out, I didn't need to lose 16 pounds after all to have a good time. But it was exciting to think I did.

We had an awesome time, but needless to say, we got home WAY too late for me to post, and we all slept in this morning instead of going to the local holiday parade. No matter, when we finally got up, we were ready to get to work. For Day 8 we did the moulding and finished the paint touch-ups, ordered pizza for dinner and retired upstairs to watch TV.

And here you find. me. We start moving bookcases tomorrow, and then I can get all my paper friends back in some kind of order. After that...well the schoolroom is a nightmare.

I may even have to snap a couple of photos so you can see the changes. Oops...I forgot to take a "before" picture again--before we started moving the books out. Dang.

Oh well. I'll just have to worry about that tomorrow. I'm too tired tonight.

Taking a Wee Break

After two days of pseudo-rest, I can actually say I'm ready to get back into the work in the basement again.

Day 5 found us doing touch-ups all around the walls and second coats in some places, but that was about all we could do until my sweet honey got home. So, we schlepped books down from the schoolroom to the dining room all afternoon instead of going to park day.

I made a half-hearted attempt to keep all of them in order as we moved them, but it was just too stressful, and I wound up piling books in random order just like the kids were doing.

Sweet honey got home too late and was just too wiped to start on the moulding. I concurred, and we hit the hay.

Day 6 was a day that should have been spent hauling more books downstairs, or at least painting the bookshelves, but that's not what happened. I think I went downstairs once to look around, but that was the extent of my exertions down there. Sometimes you just have to say "Fuggidaboudit," and do something fun.

Which is what the kids and I did today. We lit a fire and hung out looking up Advent calendars online and making reservations for the pink one's birthday party next week.

And also realizing I'd set up appointments for hair cut and baby sitter for the WRONG day for the party this week.

Sigh.

At least I didn't fail at my diet in vain. I can sit home and pity myself in my robe and slippers, which fit just fine.

Actually, I have a back-up plan, and I was able to move the salon date up one day. Whew.

Anyway, we did the karate and gymnastics circuit this evening, and we've just had soup and sandwiches for dinner.

Now, I'm off to recline and play a game on my computer. And tomorrow? Full speed ahead...at least until it's pampering time. Then maybe, just maybe, I'll get to socialize with my sweet honey's business associates for a couple of hours.

Wearing something "fitting" I hope.

Still in the Basement

Groan...

There are parts of me that hurt that I was sure were no longer attached. DIY? Just say NO, people.

Actually, it's not all that bad. I can move my head, sort of. And my eyes. And I can see progress. Day 3 of the Great Renovation found me and the kids starting at 7 AM, being joined by my sweet honey at 5:00 and working straight through until 10 PM. It's no wonder parts of me mutinied.

We finished (most of) the wall and ceiling painting, unloaded the flooring from the van (OMG, I thought I'd die before my son and I got all 30-odd cases downstairs,) ripped up the old carpet padding, dragged all the old carpet plus the bagged padding to the street for trash day pickup, scraped the concrete floor, painted all the moulding and started the arduous task of emptying the bookshelves. Oh, and washed all the laundry in between.

Here's the thing about the library. My books are in (roughly) Dewey-decimal-system order. So, my grand plan was to take them off the shelves and stack them on top of each other on the floor, so they only need to be carried downstairs in their stacks to stay in order. Easy, right?

Dewey had no idea. Just because they're in HIS order does not mean they are STACKABLE!! Big books on top of little books...what a nightmare.

Now I have stacks of books rising up out of the toppled ruins of their neighbors, each one just waiting for the right moment to succumb to gravity on one side or the other, hoping to take out that haughty looking stable stack next to them.

On the bright side, I did manage to give away 200 books yesterday to a homeschool lending library that's just getting started. I can't get smug about it though...that still leaves 800+ to relocate. About those body parts...

Day 4 was just more of the same, except that we spent the morning out of the house at the King Tut exhibit at the Atlanta Civic Center. Y'all...I actually DROVE there myself! My first time of driving downtown without needing sedatives! Let me tell you, my GPS rocks!

Anyway, the exhibit was awesome, the kids were on their game, pointing to things, making intelligent comments enough to swell this homeschooling mom's heart with pride that I actually got through to them.

Afterward, I took them out to lunch and then back to the work-in-progress at home. My sweet honey was at home, too, so he and I finished laying (most of) the flooring last night. We just have two closets left to do, plus a tiny bit more painting. Install mouldings this afternoon, mop the new floor, and I think we can start hauling bookshelves down the stairs.

We decided to hold off painting the stairwell simply because Murphy will have us filling in holes in the drywall from sharp bookcase corners if we paint it first. It just makes sense to wait on that small detail.

Okay, I've loitered enough at the computer. I have to get back to work!