Almost Wordless Wednesday

I found the perfect shirt to go with the skirt which my fabulous neighbor, Gina, made for Baby Bear. (Yes, she cut out all the squares from different fabrics and sewed them together.) I bought it in a 3T because last summer I learned that circo brand t-shirts shrink at least 1 size, and the skirt has lots of stretchy elastic in the waistband and is nice and long... Baby Bear will look like a cute little peasant girl!

For more Wordless Wednesday posts, visit Hannah Bear's Cave, 5minutesformom and the Wordless Wednesday Headquarters.

Play along!

It's raining, it's pouring, Baby Bear is snoring....

so far, Baby Bear takes after her parents. Both of us are fairly heavy sleepers. However, now that I have a little one, I find I don't sleep quite as soundly as I used to.

Our sole TV is upstairs... not the part of the house you should be in during T-storm warnings and tornado watches. Nights like tonight make me wish we had a basement, preferably finished. Dad had finished the basement of our first house in MI. I was a toddler when we transplanted to the midwest from the east coast. Our house was a simple 3 bedroom 1 1/2 bath ranch, but with the basement it seemed huge. There were plenty of nooks and crannies and closets in which to play hide and seek. The house was situated on a hill, and a long, narrow deck ran most of the length of the back of the house. Both the dining area and my parents' bedroom had sliding glass doors out to the deck. Nights like tonight, we would watch the storms from my parents' bedroom. If a tornado warning went into effect, to the basement we went. During the winter months, we spent many a snow/ice storm around the iron wood-burning stove surrounded by a brick hearth. And then there was the old brown leather lazy boy, or maybe it was vinyl that was supposed to look like leather. We would climb on that and tip it backward the way Baby Bear climbs on her toddler chair. Except it was a little more difficult to move around... we couldn't just toss it.

Our next house was a little larger, but to get to the laundry room (basement), mom had to go down two flights of steps instead of just one. The basement was still a work-in progress when we moved... it had a storage area, the utility area, and what was to eventually become a bedroom. It never quite got finished. But when the tornado warnings came, guess where we huddled with our sleeping bags, flashlights, and pillows? Yep, that unfinished basement... the closet of the craft area/bedroom. And then there was the time the neighbor's "pet" fox got loose, but we didn't know it was their pet, and then the news guy ended up filming the pop-up hailstorm from our back deck and doing a story on a seemingly tame, stray fox from our backyard. The fox belonged to the scary neighbors, the ones who blasted heavy metal and I truly thought were members of a strang occult. (Keep in mind the church we went to at the time taught that singers like Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith, those so-called "contemporary Christian musicians", were misguided heathens who were really going straight to hell with their music. And culottes were somehow more modest than pants for playing sports or on the playground... though in reality, the boys could see UP them if they tried, so they were actually less modest than pants. Thank God our parents got us out of that church. Though the funny thing is, the time spent in THAT group prepared me for understanding the mindset of my future husband's grandparents. Well, a little better understanding, anyway.) Anyway, back to the neighbors... they were one of 2 homes in the small subdivision that I remember we NEVER went to for trick-or-treating. If they weren't nice to us most of the time, and we suspected them of keep pets for strange reasons, why would we want to trick-or-treat there? And the man who mowed the lawn in his speedo at the other place was just plain gross.

Ah, the memories. I don't think the thought that I would be laying in my bed as an adult, remembering thunder storms past ever really occured to me as a child. I certainly didn't think my random mind would wander to culotte-wearing churches, fox-hostage-keeping neighbors, or speedo-wearing middle-aged men. UGh.

I want my hubby to come home. I've gone from having my usual weird dreams to really strange flashbacks in his absence.

All is quiet through the baby monitor. Good night, friends.

Inkling's Homemade Resurrection Eggs

Are you trying find a way to keep the true meaning of Easter from being overshadowed by the Easter Bunny?

As I wandered through a dollar store yesterday, I considered puchasing an Easter basket and some small toys for Baby Bear. They also had adorable little hats and purses. I reconsidered, and ended up buying what I went in there for- a spray bottle so I can spritz her curlz with water to help tame them. And bottlecap candy, and some barrets and a headband. Ok, so those weren't on the original list.

Anyway, I'm by no means opposed to the Easter Bunny. One of our family's treasured childhood traditions was finding the Easter basket. We had the same basket every year, filled with candy, perhaps a small toy or two, and as we grew older... nylons (in their large egg, of course) and chapstick. Hubby and I haven't talked about when we'll start this tradition for Baby Bear. It's not like she needs the candy or the toys. (It's not like she needed the happy meal toy yesterday, either. Or the fries.)

Anyway, my friend Inkling has been working diligently on a project for the kiddos at her church. Check it out.

Here's an article I found on crosswalk.com about family Easter traditions.

perfect timing

hubby is working out of town this week. i am hormonal. perfect timing for him!

my dad said i can have one of his regosa rose bushes if i dig it up myself. i'm tempted. they are pretty, and if i ever decide to eat rose hips or make rose hip tea for extra vitamin c, i will only have to walk out my back door. plus, they are not as fragile as other roses. they are white with pink centers- very pretty. i could still plant a butterfly bush, too. we'll see.

my flowers seem to be taking very well so far. the celosia are already growing. i watered them again tonight, just in case we get less rain than we're supposed to. i want them to have a good start getting roots so they don't die when we go out of town.

i want to check on baby bear, but i don't want to wake her up. we need to buy some WD-40 because her door squeaks.

no deep thoughts tonight. anyone wanna come help clean my house?

don't eat chocolate ice cream after dinner...

unless you want insomnia. i should be exhausted. i am. yet i cannot sleep. so i've spent the last hour browsing online for ideas for a flowering hedge at the top of our cliff. Ideally, at least 4 feet tall when it grows up. Right now, there's some pink phlox that actually came back from last year. And that ugly cliff. It's too steep to mow, so why not plant a bush or hedge to take over? I figure planting 3 in a row should make a nice natural fence at the top of the cliff.

Here are some ideas I've come up with so far:

• rosa regosa (white)
  
• crimson king rose hedge
  
• yellow forsythia
• peony (white)
  
• hydrangea
• lilac
• butterfly bush
• rose of sharon
  

The ideal hedge must not clash with the red brick of our house (scroll down to previous post), and must be very hardy. It has to tolerate the extreme TN summer heat and not-so-good soil. I'm thinking something that flowers more than just a couple of weeks would be really nice, too. Preferrably cheap enough to replace if something happens, or not care about if a retaining wall does get put in. Cut-able flowers would be a nice option, too.

Any thoughts (other than the obvious "you need help with your blogging addiction")?

CHANGES

I grew tired of scrolling down to find names to link to blogs, and don't feel like clogging our bookmarks in our browser. So, I have added some more blog links to my sidebar, as well as removed some. These are blogs a peruse at least occasionally. The soujourners who publish the blogs listed in all caps are people I have actually met in real life. Well, for a couple of them, I've only met half the couple, as far as I know. Anyway...

Hubby and I watched the movie Stranger Than Fiction tonight. Yes, I blogged the whole time.
We'll have to buy it, it was much better than I expected. So much better than your typical Will Farrell slapstick.

super springtime saturday!!!

landscape improvement

18 purple verbena
12 yellow/gold celosia
4 white snap dragons
25 "firecracker" gladiola bulbs (yellow with red tips)
7 bags natural hardwood mulch (3 cu. ft. each)
2 cherry tomato plants

We made our trip to the previously mentioned home-improvement warehouse. (It's closer than the one younger BIL worked at and we had a $10 off coupon.) By the time we pulled out of the parking lot, we were glad we drive an SUV. It's a small-medium sized one. A good balance. The plants fit in the backseat, the mulch in the back. Baby Bear charmed little old ladies around every corner, and pretty much everyone she caught eyes with or blew a kiss.

Came home, planted tomatoes in the earth-pot out back, and found a fuzzy caterpillar to show Baby Bear. I carried Mr. Caterpillar up front, set him on the porch, and Baby Bear was entranced. We put her in her saucer on the front porch, and the neighbor girl from across the street came over to chat with her. She had a grand time between visits from the big kids and watching her parents get sweaty. The weather was PERFECT. It took 2 1/2 to 3 hours to prune shrubs, spread mulch and plant everything, but we got it done. Plus, I'm sure prospective buyers for the home across the street were glad to see friendly neighbors who attempt to keep up with their yard at least once in a while.

Now it's time to run to Publix and get some well-earned ice-cream. (Hubby just finished bathing baby-bear- what a great man!)

p.s. The last time I saw Mr. Caterpillar, he was crawling across the sidewalk toward the street.
Hopefully he didn't get smashed by someone's unsuspecting tire or a cruel child.

p.p.s. The flowers are still small, so they are hard to see, but you get the general idea.

spring cleaning

Well, that laundry pile that i intended to tackle on Tuesday is still there. It's not quite as large, well, maybe it is, just with different articles now. Laundry is a never-ending journey. This morning I awoke with a strange impulse. A couple of them, actually.

The first of these strange impulses was to thoroughly wipe down the exteriors of our kitchen cabinets with Clorox wipes, including baseboards. I don't do that often enough, and white shows a multitude of spills.

Next, it was time for the windows. You see, I've been fighting clover mites around our windows. It happens every spring, and has something to do with all the clover in our yard (which is a lot less this year, I might add.) When the exterminator came a couple of years ago, he said the only thing we could do would be dig a little trench about a foot from the exterior of our house. um, no... I don't remember if he said something should be spread in it, but somehow this little trench was supposed to act like a barricade against the mites. The other option he gave was to wash the windows with windex (or the generic) on a regular basis. Well, you regular blog friends can guess how often I voluntarily wash windows. (Not very.) But come spring, the clover mites and I are at war. A few times a week, I take a clorox wipe and get rid of the pesky critters that have gathered around the window cills. (They are always worse after a lawn treatment, which hubby did yesterday. Kill their food, they come running.) Today I did a good cleaning of the main windows in the living areas downstairs, including the inside and outside of the storm door. (You can imagine the multitude of finger prints Baby Bear leaves as she peers through the glass.) A neighbor even honked as I washed the front windows. I bet he was as shocked to see me out there doing that at 9-something a.m.

Oh, and I'm not done. I was ashamed that I didn't tackle my fridge before having company this week. It just didn't clean itself for some reason. So, I emptied out all the science projects, wiped down the glass shelves, and am no longer worried that Baby Bear will get sick from touching the bottom shelf as I open the door (I hope it's not too late.) Tech Mom would have had a blast showing Monarch and Purple Princess slides of the microorganisms which had taken up residence on the shelves and in old food.

Last, but not least, the kitchen floor got a good sweep and swiffering. I think a thorough mopping cleans better, but I find that the swiffer is an acceptable "in between" solution that requires far less effort on my part. Plus, I like not having to clean out the sink after I'm done... just toss the maxi-pad thing attached to the mop into the trash.

Baby Bear definitely seems to be fighting something. Could just be teething. While she slept well last night, she has been on edge all day. She is currently napping in her crib. (I'm so glad she hasn't figured out how to climb out of it yet, like her cousin Juliana.)

I've got an itching to plant some flowers out front... we have a $10 coupon for Lowe's that expires tomorrow. We may just have to find $25 worth of plants and mulch for the flower beds. That shouldn't be too difficult.

Even though a casual observer might still think our house is a wreck, and rightly so, it feels good to know that some of the grime was tackled this morning. Especially now that I've showered.

Oh, I forgot to mention that before I tackled the windows, I removed larger bits of aluminum foil from the bottom of the oven and ordered it to clean itself. Two hours later, it finished its' task. I can't remember ever cleaning the oven since we moved here, which is pathetic. Not to mention disgusting. I remembered a horrible stench from the oven in our apartment that came out whenever I set its' self-cleaning mode. Thankfully, our oven did smell half as badly as I expected. Makes me wonder what was living in the nooks and crannies of that old electric-coil-range.

Please, everyone... keep praying for Grace...

Pray for the Lord to comfort her and heal her of her Crohn's disease.
Pray that the surgery she just had will be effective.
Pray that Jehovah Jireh will provide, however it takes, for her family's finances as well as Grace's medical needs.
Pray for Grace's husband, Smart Guy. Pray for him as he serves a congregation that includes people who failed to keep promises that are drastically affecting his beloved's healthcare.
Pray for this congregation to take care of the members of their flock.
Pray for the Sara Orang Gang (Grace's kids). Watching a parent suffer is hard. It sucks (not a great term, but it fits) to know your parent is in pain and wonder why God is allowing them to be so sick. It's got to be almost as heartbreaking as being a parent with an ill or injured child. Pray for Prophet and DK to be able to focus at school when Spring Break is over, because struggles at home do go into the classroom in some way.

For more details on Grace's situation, please visit her best friend's blog here. And while you're at it, pray for Inkling and other close friends who are not able to be physically present to meet their loved one's needs.

oh, what a night...

when i peeked at baby bear before going to bed last night, she immediately awoke and wanted me to hold her. so, we rocked in the wonderful rocker that tech mom and audit guy brought over, and she fell fast asleep. around 11:30, hubby carried her back to her crib.

2 a.m. - the sound of an angry cry woke me through the baby monitor. upon peeking into the nursery, i saw baby bear's leg sticking out between crib slats. i gently removed her thigh and leg from between the wood, then rocked with her for a few minutes.

3:30-ish- another painful cry through the monitor. this is abnormal. my baby is usually an angel baby when it comes to sleeping at night. "it's your turn." i told hubby. he groggily went to check on her, and picked her up. a few minutes later, i heard him call, "i need your help. bring a towel." baby bear puked on him twice. apparently the canteloupe she had at supper was a little too old and did not settle well. either that or she is suddenly developing an egg allergy. (we had breakfast for supper last night.) thankfully, most of the chunks were caught on bear's clothes, blanket and hubby's shirt. (he wasn't particularly thankful for that). we moved her into the bathroom, removed her clothes, and he started the bathwater. i tackled the laundry, dumping as much of the solid matter as possible into the trash and setting the washer to the "ultra clean" cycle. hubby took his shower and i took over bath duty, and baby bear was happy as a clam. wet as one, too. thankfully, by the time her bath was over, she did not smell like one. (though i like to eat cooked clams, the smell of one fresh out of the bay is not very appetizing to me. having been squirt in the face by many a clam, i cringe at the thought of being peed on by a clam. even if the clam's pee is just ocean water. and not the sonic kind of ocean water. ok... anyway... back to the story.)

around 5 a.m., i put baby bear back in her crib and turned on her lullaby cd. she slept til a little after 8, and played until 8:30.

all seems well today. hubby mowed the lawn, and it looks really good. the aeration/seeding experiment from last fall seems to have succeeded. baby bear is in relatively good spirits... napping as i type. the weather is beautiful... sunny, breezy, seventies... can't ask for better!
ginger-garlic-chicken is in the crockpot, and i may add some canned pineapple and fresh snap peas later.

5 minutes for Mom is quite the contest headquarters!

Are you sick of using a vacuum that barely sucks? Is your current vacuum effective but hard to lug up and down the stairs? Are you tired of remembering to change bags and filters?

We've heard about the uber-expensive Dyson vacuum cleaners. Their commercials make them sound like Kirby, Electrolux or Oreck were in their day. When it came time to purchase a new vacuum, hubby and I (after having Tech Mom consult consumer reports) decided not to splurge on a fancy new Dyson. After all, our basic Oreck XL had seemed like a great deal until something cracked the tube and it stopped sucking 6 years later. Anyway, just because I can't afford the newest and "best" does not mean I would not want one. It just means it wasn't in my budget, and the less expensive bagless imitations didn't have the ratings behind them.

Well, there's an all new slim version of the Dyson that the company wants us to know about, and they are sponsoring a contest. Maybe one of us will win... go enter at 5 minutes for Mom!

Here's another reason i should get a sewing machine and learn to sew!

rain!

we're FINALLY getting a gentle Spring shower. our poor grass was turning brown, it's been so dry the past few weeks. i put baby bear in her saucer on our front porch, and she watched as i planted some seeds which were left as a marketing ploy by an area realtor. if they germinate and bloom, they will be forget-me-nots.

i figured the gentle rain would help them germinate and save me the trouble of watering for now. yes, i am that lazy.

pray for grace...

we're not sure if we'll be able to get together after all. she and smart guy will decide today whether the trip south is still on. she has been having some health problems that make travel difficult, and was not able to get the prescription filled until last night thanks to nobody having it in stock. today is definitely out for our get together, not sure if she'll have time later in the week if they make it down.

I found this over at Musings of a housewife

Things I've done are in boldtype.

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree- now i'm going to have to just to cross it off the list!
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars (In a tent – does that count?)
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs (they didn't stay that way)
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day (too many times, i'm afraid)
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business - if direct sales/party plan business count
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music- almost forgot this one from the ensemble days!
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently-conversationally, yes... not quite fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children/currently raising child
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach (killed one in the chs teacher's lounge)
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating- rainbow trout
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident. the truck i hit didn't feel it. it drove away seemingly unscathed.
150. Saved someone’s life

Let me know if you decide to play!

p.s. no, i'm not done tackling the laundry piles.

p.p.s. 8:50 p.m.-minimal progress made on the laundry piles. bathed baby bear. If you're surprised you really don't know me, do you?

Ok, folks. I've been online for almost a full hour. It's time to get OFF my bum.

1. Baby Bear's diaper and bath. She stinks. 'Nuff Said.
2. The neverending laundry piles. Notice the plural. I think I'll start with this one:

and then tackle this one...

It's been a while since I sorted Baby Bear's clothes (ya think?),
and we just learned of a 7 month old little one who is in need of a few things.
Good thing I've been hoarding boxes.
I am sure we have some cute clothes to spare around here.

These are not the only piles, by the way. But I'll start here.

Achievable goals are always good.
See you when I'm done.... next week, maybe?

i had a dream...

now i can't sleep. we were on our vacation. for some reason, upon arrival at our destination we stopped in the touristy area before going to our rental house. it was frighteningly crowded, and the boats were all way too close to shore, leaving no room for swimmers. it did not seem to bother anyone. hubby went on ahead to the house without me, so i had to walk the couple of miles. when questioned, he simply stated "i knew you'd catch up."

our room appeared ok, but in addition to the view of the lagoon,it held several aquariums and terrariums. with tops open. crt said she didn't think the girls would actually sleep if given that room (the creatures woud make it too much fun) . it was humid and smelly, and hubby was sure the extra oscillating fan wuld be useless.

downstairs, the furniture was upholstered in classic brown and orange floral velour with wood trim. i was the first to find our private pool.... unlevel, so one end did not seem full, filled with pine needles, sand, and pebbles. audit guy/tech dad was irate when he saw this. the cover was useless.

baby bear was perfectly content playing in her exersaucer and watching the creatures in the aquarium and terrarium. she wanted to pick up the horseshoe crab.

it was at this point my strange dream ended, as i awoke to use the bathroom. i share this dream hoping none of you have made a habit out of dream interpretation. oh, and you can scroll to the bottom of the blog to see the countdown to when this fabulous family trip should occur.

huubby's alarm has sounded, but he is not yet up. perhaps i'll go try to get back to sleep.

Baby Bear naps, I prop my feet up...

the WAH gathering went great! You know, it is a miracle that hubby let me have a bunch of women I had mostly only met online over to our house. I mean, with all the talk of scary people on myspace, etc...

well, I've been a part of the Women at Home message board for a few months now, after discovering it through Steph, who I actually did know in real life. So when Dana mentioned she would be in town to visit, and we realized her parents live less than 3 miles away, I figured it made more sense for me to host than to ask someone who had spent the week on an indian reservation with her youth group or another someone who is a very expectant mom to host. Of course, the introvert on me kicked in. but everyone pitched in and brought something, which I REALLY appreciated. Part of me did not want to ask anyone to bring something, but the reality was that I could not have provided on my own. And while the thought of meeting at a restaurant crossed our minds, with the # of kids involved (see the pic), I knew that our playroom would be much more kid friendly.

Anyway, the came, stayed a few hours, and left. My freshly mopped kitchen floor needs another mopping, because that is what happens when kids invade. I thought Purple Princess and Monarch have energy. They do, but so did all these kids. And there were more of them, so theor presence was slightly overwhelming. I'll let the other ladies share the quotes and quips of the day, pick on my tablecloth (if you've been to one of my jewelry shows you've seen it), or share more pictures on the women at home board.

Most importantly, we have faces and voices to match with names. Now, as we read eachother's posts, we will be able to visualize mannerisms and laugh at individual quirks, like I do when I picture my other online friends that I know in real life. Tears shed for prayer requests will be even more meaningful, as the personal connection will be stronger.

On Wednesday, I get to meet Grace!!!! Woo hoo!!! (But I don't have her sister's number, so hopefully she'll call me so we can make the arrangements!)

i accept orgjunkie's challenge.

here's the text of a comment i posted on her blog. you see, although i posted about her 30-day organizational challenge, i had not thoroughly read it. i was too scared. of what? i dunno. after all, this is the blog of the self-proclaimed queen of procrastination. could it be that i am afraid of change, even if it is for the better?

i procrastinated 90% of the weekend. consequently, the main living area and kitchen are acceptable for company. the guest bathroom is acceptable for company. our master bedroom just might be locked when 11:00 a.m. comes and my lunch guests begin to arrive. i mean, just because i am able to be honest with these women in our message board doesn't mean i am ready to reveal just how unkempt i am, does it? nope. unless there's an emergency and the bathroom is taken, then i might unlock the master suite so someone can use the master bath.

oh, to have been born with just a little bit of that type "A" personality that my younger sister apparently got in her genes. and hubby's younger sister.

anyway, the kitchen floor is mopped, and the house smells like murphy's oil soap. the toys are picked up, the living room has been dusted. a quick run of the vacuum.

and now, it's time to get into "editor" mode and read something hubby has been working on all weekend. so, i leave you for tonight, with the text of that comment that i said i'd post (for those of you who don't feel like clicking over to orgjunkie's blog and reading it there):

"As I lay here in my bed and look around my unkempt bedroom, I need look no further for the project to tackle. I could enter both categories, if it were allowed... the dresser or the whole room. (ok, so the dresser is part of the whole room.. i get it now.) Anyway, I remember once upon a time, a not-so very long time ago, when dh and I moved into our first apartment. I actually kept our bedroom fairly clean, the dresser top organized enough so lighting candles would not be a fire hazard. Yes, it's time for me to accept your challenge."

9:33 PM

Come April, my pet project (along with scrapbooking) will be to do something about the chaotic mess in our bedroom. Good thing I don't scrap in here.