Perfect Timing

I had a long day at work today. I was up at 4am so that I could be at a seminar in Milwaukee. My coworker and I got back around 3:30 and then I had to meet with my boss for the semi-annual performance review.

Much to my surprise, I received compliments and some constructive advice in regards to joining service organizations within the community. The goal for the year is to increase my billable hours -- something I've mentioned in my reviews for the past 10 years. It would be great if that happens.

After my review, I had to contact the hospital in regards to my surgery time. I was a bit concerned because I couldn't get hold of the scheduling agent and it was almost 5pm by the time I called.

I ended up staying late due to client work that came in while I was out of the office. As I sat there doing it, I started getting emotional thinking about the surgery tomorrow. And the fact that I have no one to take care of me. It's my first surgery and I am afraid. Anxiety was at an all time high. I think what set it all off was finding out that my sister is not going to be at the hospital with me. She's going to drop me off and then pick me up after she gets off work.

I didn't know my coworker was in the office. Before she left, she gave me a hug and told me she would be thinking about me. I was very, very touched and the timing couldn't have been more perfect.

Another Day Goes By

Tomorrow is the big day. My first surgery. I am having my tonsils removed. Hopefully, this will improve my health. I am a bit nervous, being my first time and all.

I would thank all of you that read my blog regularly. It's come to my attention once again that there are several of you that thoroughly enjoy my blog and are regular readers. :)

I also want to say that I appreciate all the comments and support via private emails I've gotten over the past several days in regards to my situation with S. Seeing as he won't talk to me face-to-face or even on the telephone, I wrote him an email with my thoughts about conflict in regards to how it's affected my life, how I perceived our relationship up to this point, and what I wanted out of a relationship. By the response I received, my guess is that he does not want to work things out. I poured my thoughts and feelings out in a long letter, his response was two sentences. Basically he said my blog entry was harsh (which IMO is simply an account of the events as they unfolded) and then he asked: Do you have multiple personalities?

I feel I did not do/write anything to warrant such a statement. I don't always express myself as well as I should sometimes (but aren't we all like that?), but I am honest as to who I am and how I feel. I am still in shock as to how someone I've shared the the last 10 months of my life with can be such a... I don't know. I could understand if it we'd been arguing/fighting for 6 months, but we haven't. I still feel sad, hurt, disrespected, frustrated, as well as a myriad of other emotions. With that said, S has been an important part of my life and shared in two huge milestones/dreams of mine. I appreciate the things he has done for me and with me. Regardless of whether we work things out or not, I will have the memeories and no one can take those from me. I feel I have done my best to open the lines of communication... I can't do more than that.

I actually slept better last night. I don't know if it was out of shear exhaustion, or if it was due to my getting some clarity of the situation at hand.

Thoughts To Ponder

The smallest good deed is better than the grandest intention.

The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.

The heaviest thing to carry is a grudge.

We lie the loudest when we lie to ourselves.

Jumping to conclusions can be bad exercise.

One thing you can give and still keep... is your word.

A friend walks in when everyone else walks out.

Life...

Last night when I got home from work, I changed the oil in my car. I really miss having a man to do the "guy" things. My ex-H used to do all that stuff. I've impressed the neighbors to the north with my ability to change oil. Not sure what to make of them yet (They seem to yell a lot at each other, or the kids).

I received the phone call from the anesthesia dept last night, too. One of the things she asked was how much I weighed. I stepped on the scale to find somewhere along the way I've lost 15lbs! An interesting bit of trivia... at least to me... It turns out I went to the same high school as the nurse who was taking down my medical history. I graduated with her brother. Two more days until surgery.

I was in a fairly decent mood yesterday. I finally got rid of the migraine/tension headache that I've had since last Wed night. I still am not sleeping very well, nor do I feel much like eating. Today, I am feeling depressed again.

This morning, I text messaged S and told him I deserved to know whether he wanted to be a couple or not. If not, I needed closure to move on. His response: "I don't know yet." It's been 6 days since we've talked. Is it me, or does this seem like game playing? We are both in our late 30's... Too old for this kind of behavior.

I care about him, but this is not how I feel problems should be dealt with.

What Else?

As if skunks and relationship problems weren’t enough, I received notification that my chiropractic benefits have been used up for this year. I’ve gone to the chiro 3 times since the benefits have expired! Yikes. That’s $200 I don’t have right now. My arm isn’t totally better yet and the doc wanted me to come once a week. Since I don’t have insurance, we’ve extended it to 3 weeks until next year. Hopefully, that will get me by.

I had my pre-op physical and lab work done last week. It seems I’m healthy for surgery on Thursday. It’s my first surgery and I’m a bit nervous. It doesn’t help that when I tell everyone one that I’m having my tonsils out, they all have “horror” stories.

On top of that, I’ve had migraines since Wed and cramps started yesterday. (I know... TMI) Usually, I take Midol to take the edge off but with surgery coming up I can’t take anything. I’ve never not taken anything because it’s just too painful. Since I can't take anything right now, I’ve been miserable and suffering through.

Suffice it to say the past week was not a good week.

I woke up this morning telling myself “Today is going to be a good day. Today is going to be a good day.” Before even opening my eyes and getting out of bed. During my shower, I thought about several things I am grateful for. I picked out a nice outfit for work and made special effort with my makeup. I figured if I gave myself some positive self-talk and I looked really good, my spirits would be lifted.

Taking A Time Out

S and I are taking a “time out” as he puts it. Taking a time out is OK, but I found out 3 days after being put in time out. Why are we in time out? Because I became upset after S undermined my adult authority when I tried to correct his 3yr old son’s behavior. What made me angry about S’s actions is the fact he did it in front of the kid. IMO and that of professionals, you never do that in front of children. It only shows them there isn’t a united front and a child will use that little crack to wedge themselves in between, pitting one adult against the other. I have walked on eggshells in regards to the kid’s behavior and I have even talked to S about my stepping in a couple times when I did. His response was: “I need all the help I can get.” It seems that’s only when he chooses the timing. I don’t know.

It’s not like I have no experience with children. I started changing diapers and feeding babies at age 5. I grew up taking care of my brothers and sister while my mom worked nights. I also babysat during my teen years. I have 5 nieces and 1 nephew whom I’ve been a caretaker since the day they were born. I’ve been through nasty diapers, teething, colds, arguing, daycare, and most recently the teen years. I even subscribe to parenting newsletters! So, I am not clueless. I don’t feel that S’s tot should get away with behaviors my own nieces and nephew didn’t get away with at that age.

S and the tot had eaten before they came over. I had just gotten home from the chiro and started dinner when I found this out, so I made enough for myself. While still in the middle cooking dinner, S asked the tot if he was ready for cake and then asked me if I wanted any. (I had made a cake for S’s birthday) I thought it was rude to not wait for me, and to bring up the subject in front of the kid before checking with me. I had wanted to put a candle on and have a little celebration. I certainly was not going to eat cake before I had dinner!

After those incidents, S and the tot were amusing themselves with my aquarium. After about the 6th time of hearing the hood being dropped closed (Apparently the tot wanted to see the fish from the top – the side wasn’t enough) and hearing that the light was being clicked on and off 3 or 4 times, I calmly said something to S about stressing out the fish with all that activity. At that point, he decided to leave. He made a big production out of making sure the tot gave me a hug and S even gave me a hug.

Why do I say “production”? The above happened last Wed. When I got home from work on Thur, I found that S had been at my house and picked up his trailer that has been in my backyard since I moved. No note, no text, no call that he was coming or had been there. S has never gone more than 2 days without calling me. We talk practically every night. So, Thur night, no phone call. Friday night, no phone call.

I sent him a text message around noon on Sat asking if he was avoiding me. No response. About 3 hours later, I re-sent the message.

The response: “Yup. Pissed.” He is angry because I ruined his birthday. His perception is that I was acting like a b*tch. Keep in mind, I wasn’t yelling, screaming, or out of control. I wasn’t sarcastic or any of that behavior I think of when I think b*tchy. It seems whenever he doesn’t like what I have to say, I’m “grouchy”. Sometimes, I really think that his reactions to things I say are because of how his ex treated him. Most of the time I let it slide. Anywho, he made everything look hunky-dory with all the hugging before he left on Wed.

I tried calling him on Sunday, he refused to answer the phone. So, via text messaging we tried to discuss the problem. Know how hard that is? I shouldn’t have expected any better, since that’s how he deals with problems with his ex. I told him I didn’t like feeling abandoned and ignored. First he said I was PMS'ing. Then he said we were “Taking a time out.” Nice. We’re adults, we should be talking this out face-to-face. I also told him that if I’m to be a part of his life and the tot’s life, I am going to need some leeway in correcting the tot. S and I have been together almost a year now.

I should not still be feeling like an outsider when it comes to him and his kid. I've dated other men with children and never felt like an outsider. In fact, one of the children is an adult now and she is always happy to see me (She was 4 when her Dad and I broke up). I got a note from another ex's mother telling me that if I wanted to write to her granddaughter (who is now 8) she'd love to hear from me. Now, I'm not clueless and I understand a parent's need to protect their children from pain and getting attached when the relationship might not work out. It was S who brought up that our relationship was pretty serious a while back. I'm confused. :(

I thought we had open lines of communication, but it seems the lines are only open when everything is happy and good. I want a relationship where I am able to talk about how I feel, whether I'm happy, sad, frustrated, anxious... whatever, good or bad. I don’t want to have to worry about whether my partner is going to desert me when he doesn’t like what I have to say. I also want my partner to feel like he can talk to me.

How long is this “time out”? Who knows? The way this incident has been handled makes me very sad. It’s our first “argument” if you want to call it that. It has caused both of us tremendous anxiety. Can two people have an argument without even talking to each other?? I don’t want to just sweep it under the rug. I know first hand from my marriage that it doesn’t work. It only breeds resentment. We both agree that we don't want a relationship that causes anxiety. So how does it get resolved when the other person won’t talk about it?

I don’t like arguing. I don’t like conflict. Communication over emotionally charged issues has always been difficult for me. I seem to feel things much more deeply than most people. Over the past 6 years, I have worked hard on improving communication with the SO in my life. I used to have unrealistic beliefs that good relationships didn't have conflict. Conflict is a part of every relationship. If someone tells you otherwise, they're either lying to you or themselves. It's how the conflict is handled that determines how well the relationship thrives. Name calling, yelling, belittling, ignoring the problem - None of those are condusive to resolving the problems that arise. I'm not saying all those things happened here, but I've been on the receiving end at one time or another in other relationships. Such behaviors only cause retraction from each other and walls being put up. I don't want that in a relationship.

I guess the good news is that S text messaged me of his own accord Sun night that he’d been mountain biking that day and had an “awesome” time.

Who Stinks?

See this cute doggie? Her name is Ava.

My sister got her from the humane society when she was just 8 weeks old. Someone had found her abandoned, tied up under a bridge. I hadn’t seen Ava for almost 6 months since my sister has moved twice and now lives over an hour away.

On Saturday, my niece invited me to the Halloween parade that she was marching in. She plays the drums. My sister invited me to stay at there house after the parade. After we got to the house, Eva came to greet everyone and I called her name and petted her. My sister informed me that I am the only one Ava has not barked at when coming into the house. Awww... she remembers me!

Later in the evening, I was watching TV and Ava came in the house. She ran by me and into the room where I was going to sleep. Next thing I know, my sister is yelling and asking my niece if Ava got sprayed by the skunk. Apparently, a skunk has taken up residence and was found eating crackers on their back porch the other night.

Within minutes, it was confirmed by the gawd awful smell permeating the house that Ava indeed had gotten sprayed (in the eye no less!). The whole house reeked, including the room I was to sleep in!! It was that room where she was trying to rub the skunk oil out of her eye... at least that’s what we think.

The odor was sooooo bad that I had to cover my nose and mouth with a blanket so I could breathe. It also gave me a headache. My poor niece got in trouble for letting the dog in the house. Poor Ava not only got sprayed, but then had to spend the night out in the cold shed. And us? We had to deal with the smell by opening all the doors and windows. My sister went around spraying air freshener and lighting candles. For a while, we thought I’d end up sleeping with my niece. But the smell, eventually subsided.

Did I mention this was my FIRST visit to my sister's new home? LOL

No Place Like Home #4

No Place Like Home by Pine Mountain Designs
I actually finished this one a couple days after I moved into my new house. However, since I didn't get my scanner hooked up right away... It's taken me until now to post about it.

This one is for me and I tried to make it look somewhat like my home. Stitched with DMC threads, it took about the same amount of time to stitch as the other three (#1 - 2 - 3). I ran out of the parchment aida, so I used 14ct baby blue instead.

Monday Update 10/22/07

Up the stairs... down the stairs... up the stairs... down the stairs.... Who needs a stairmaster when I can just go the gauntlet to the attic and basement all day long?

Are you scratching your head wondering "What the heck is she talking about?"

Let me start at the beginning...

I had a chiro appointment bright and early at 8:05am on Saturday. Who in their right mind makes an appointment THAT early?! What can I say? Woke up with a migraine, but forged forward to the shower. Showered and tried to get dressed without the lights on. I was dragging myself from room to room, trying to function with little success. The chiro office doesn't open until 8am, so I had to wait until then to reschedule. Appointment rescheduled til 10am. I took a second Excedrin Migraine and laid down. When I got to the chiro, the headache was down to a dull roar (thank goodness!). I made an observation as I left the chiro's office. Usually the adjustment inflames the nerves and I have pain for 20minutes to a couple hours afterwards. The doc says that's normal. When I left the office on Saturday, I noticed the nerves had recovered before my feet reached the front door. Yay for me!

It was such a nice day on Saturday (in the 70's... pretty warm for this time of year). I decided to take advantage of the nice weather. You'd think I'd do something fun... but no... I cleaned/organized the garage. I managed to cut the number of boxes in half. I found 5 stash boxes that I unpacked. For those who took a guess on the number of stash boxes... That's 5 so far! This is also where the stairmaster comment comes in. The rest of the boxes I toted up to the attic and down to the basement. Up and down, up and down! On Sunday, my thighs and calves hurt SO bad! Even today, they are still sore. I spent 12 hours moving, organizing, and unpacking boxes. I was thrilled to get my bedroom closet somewhat organized and be able to close the door. I found more stash boxes in my closet, but won't count them until I unpack them - easier to keep track that way. By 11pm, I was tired but jazzed up because I had been on the move for so long. Time to unwind...

On Sunday, I finished painting two of the kitchen drawers. Two down, two to go! Since my legs were sore, I decided to take it easy. I spent most of the day stitching - Yes, stitching :) I stitched one Christmas ornie and started a second one, both gifts for exchanges. I like the pattern so much, I may do one for myself also.

Who's It For? - SBQ 10/19/07

What proportion of your stitching is for your own personal use versus gifts?

I actually went through all the items I've stitched over the years and figured out the percentage (analytical me!). 76% were gifts, and the following I've kept:

Bathtime Bear
Liberty Sampler
Little Seamstress
Magnolia
Stocking Ornie
Reindeer Ornie
All The Little Children
School Days
Starman the Snowkid Ornie
Love Scissor Fob
Stitchers Scissor Fob
Bees & Clover Scissor Fob
Wreath Ornie
Therapy Bookmark
Gingerbread House Ornie
Ascot Albert Ornie
Brass Hummingbird Bookmark
Je Brode Needlebook
Retreat Nametag
J is for Japanese Embroidery Needlebook
Cardinal Pinkeep
Biscornu
Victorian Pansies Scissor Fob
Dragon Pinkeep

Friday Update 10/19/07

~Pampering~
One day last week, I spent an hour over my lunch hour getting a bit of pampering from the local cosmotology school. First, was a facial. Ahhhh... Depending on the student giving them, I could fall asleep right on the table. They are so relaxing. Then some maintenance on the bushy brows... a brow wax. There were some strays coming in so I decided to get them done. After all, it's an ongoing 2-for-1 deal they have. So how much did this pampering cost me? A whopping $6 TOTAL. If only there was a local massage school!

And look what was waiting for me when I got home from work last Friday:


A giant Mum made into an ice cream sundae!
Isn't it the cutest thing?

It was from S and in addition, he bought me some really nice tulip bulbs as a little housewarming present.


~More Flowers~
Several months back, I sent Cherie in UT a bunch of cuttings from my Maternity Plant. This week, I received a bunch of iris bulbs from her garden! Knowing it was going to rain, I dug a patch and put the tulips and the irs into the ground so they will (hopefully!) bloom next year. Once I get my garden beds in order next year, I'll move them to a better home. :)


Stitchy Stuff
I had four hours to kill while waiting for my Dad to have a test done at the hospital. In addition to listening to my Mom jabber on about everything under the sun, I sewed on 3/4 of the beads for Pink Carnations. I told my Dad that I needed another 1/2 hour so I could get the rest sewed on. Couldn't he do something about it? LOL

After getting back into town, I stopped at a local consignment shop. You never know what you'll find! Among other things (for the house), I came home with these:

Floss wound on plastic bobbins, several pieces of evenweave, wood tray

A little enabling: Hobby Lobby has all their cross stitch fabric (packaged and on-the-bolt) on sale for 40% off. This also includes bookmarks, bibs, towels, etc.

In their clearance section, I found this:


What is it?? I almost walked by it... It's an Elan Lap Stand! Quite compact, isn't it? These stands cost anywhere from $70-95. I got mine for less than $15!!! Not only that, they had a chart holder for less than $15. Holders run anywhere from $40-$60.



~Freecycle~
Are you sick of hearing about it? LOL I have yet another Freecycle find! It's a Kodak Brownie Hawkeye Flash Kit. The kit came with the original box, flash cover, and user's manual. The flashbulbs came from rummage sale where I bought the Baby Brownie. These were made from 1950-61. Another nice addition to my camera collection! :)

Stitching the Night Away

Yesterday when I was searching for something on the net, I found a neat website. It's called Stitching the Night Away. I saw they had a blog, so I took a peek. Lo and behold, there's a Just Nan chart giveaway! Look HERE.

Monday Update 10/8/07

~Unpacking~
Last week, I tried to concentrate on getting things in order with my new house. Let’s just say that the previous owner didn’t take much care in cleaning. After cleaning the stove, S says it looks like a new stove (even though it’s probably 20 years old). I thought the chrome drip pans were corroded from being old. Nope. It was cooked on food! There was so much that they were black with a little silver showing. A couple treatments of oven cleaner and they are SO shiny!

I wiped down the ceramic tile on the walls of the kitchen and wiped out some of the cupboards so I can start putting things away. The drawers in the kitchen are/were bare wood so I decided to paint them white to match the cupboards. I used the Kilz primer/stain blocker. What I didn’t realize is I needed mineral spirits to clean up. When did it dawn on me to read the label of Kilz? After my hands were covered in the stuff. Yikes… Where did I pack the mineral spirits? Frantically, I searched for MS. Ahhh…. There you are, my savior! The alternative was to drive to the store looking like I was in transformation to a ghost. Kilz is a real pain to clean up after! Since I have two more drawers to do, I bought the disposable paint trays and a couple more sponge brushes. It’s worth the $2 not to have to clean up anything but myself. How do I manage to get paint all over myself??!

Most of my hanging clothes are put away in the closet... Only because the rack I had them hanging on collapsed and I was forced to clean up the mess. I am still going through them to get rid of ones I haven’t worn in the past 2 years. Can anyone say: Freecycle??

I even managed to unpack one entire box for the bathroom and one for the kitchen. Woo Hoo!

S helped me out by moviing the Christmas decorations from the garage to the attic. He also repaired the roll top desk that was damaged by brother movers. With that fixed, we were able to re-arrange the furniture in my office aka 4-season room and hook up the rest of the computer components.


~Exploring the Neighborhood~
S and I have taken a couple of long walks around the neighborhood. It makes for a very nice walk. Within walking distance are 2 large parks, tennis courts, public pool, skate park, and basketball courts. If I’m really ambitious, I could also walk to the shopping center.


~Adding to the Collection~
No, I'm not talking about my stash collection! I found this Baby Brownie Special at the Friends Forever Rummage Sale last weekend. I bought an entire box of camera "stuff" for $1.



Kodak manufactured these from 1939 to 1954. Mine has a date of 1941 stamped on the inside. This tiny bakelite camera (3 1/4" wide x 3" tall) camera takes eight images on a roll of 127 film. It gives edge distortion with center of the image remaining in focus. See this cute little pushbutton shutter to the side of the focus free lens? You can't see it very well, but there's a nifty little braided handle that goes across the top. The BB originally sold for a whopping $1.25!

In addition to being a bean counter, I'm also a photographer. I have a small collection of old cameras that I display in my home. Well, I did until I moved!


~Weather~
The weather was unusually HOT and HUMID this weekend. It was so hot that the Chicago Marathon was cancelled a few hours after it started because people started dropping like flies. Unfortunately, one runner died. I’m not one for extreme heat or cold, so I stayed inside most of the time.

~School~
I finished up my beginning Excel class, a week before the "semester" ends. I would've finished before the move, except the instructor decided he wasn't going to grade assignments turned in early. He wanted to grade the online assignments at the same time as the on-campus assignments. By the time, he changed his mind about it I was in the midst of buying and moving. Glad that he came to his senses in that it's unfair to hold students back who want to work ahead. He even commented on how rare that was.

Where is ....

... the box with the siverware in? Where are the bathtowels? Have you found the boxes with food in it yet? My underwear?!!

Oh yes. The fun begins!

Yesterday, I left the keys to the townhouse on the counter (per landlord's request). I am *finally* done there.

I have started unpacking, moving stuff from one room to the next so I can get to *that* box back there, only to move it back so I can get to things in the other room. What fun I'm having now! LOL

I've already had a mishap... I was cleaning under the cooktop of the stove (had to use oven cleaner 3 times!). I used a bucket of water to rinse the rag I was cleaning with. Dumped the entire bucket down the sink drain. Turned on the garbage disposal and at the same time looking around to see where I laid the rag. Yup! It was being eaten by the GD!!! Yikes... (I thought GD was sounding muffled. LOL) After shutting GD off, I fished out a mangled up rag. I'm sure that's not going to be the last time that happens...

Within 24 hours of purchase, my house went from this:


to this:


And this:


to this:

See little Celeste by the mattress on the floor?

Up until last weekend, I was sleeping on my mattress in the middle of the living room. S and I managed to get my bedroom set up, as well as the living room somewhat organized. I'm working on the kitchen... it seems like it's taking forever!

More pics of my house can be seen HERE.

Creative Shopping

I belong to a Yahoo Group specifically for the city I live in. Members can list things they have to sell.

-- Chapter One --
I had an electric fireplace in the basement of my townhouse. S really didn’t want to move it and “encouraged” me to get rid of it. I really liked it, though! (LOL) I had to see his point, though – My new house has a real fireplace... why did I need an electric one and where would I put it? *sigh* So, I listed it for sale on the group.

Had three bites right away. The lady who bought it, drove from 25 minutes away. She was adamant that she wanted it (without seeing it) and wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to sell it out from under her. LOL No problem...

As we’re loading it in the back of her SUV, she tells me she has to get it home and unloaded before her DH got home because he didn’t know she was getting it. Ha – Sounds like my Mom!


-- Chapter Two --
On this same group, someone posted an upright freezer for sale. $25 less than what I sold the fireplace for, plus they’d deliver within city limits (Can’t beat that!). Went to look at the freezer. Called back the next day and told him I’d take it. I was glad they offered to deliver… The poor guys. They ended up taking the door off the basement and the handle off the freezer in order to get it down the basement stairs. Had to use a butter knife as a screwdriver because all my tools were still at the townhouse. LOL They were so nice about it, too. Told me if I had any problems with the freezer to let them know. Oh, also gave me a 10-day guarantee that it worked fine.


-- Chapter Three --
After the move, I decided that I wanted a different bed in the spare room. I listed a c-frame futon bunk bed frame on the group. Within a day, a woman drove 40 minutes to get it.


-- Chapter Four --
S and I went garage saling on Saturday and we found a bed. $15 cheaper than what I sold the futon frame for, plus the bed included mattress, box spring, sheets and blanket. The people even threw in a hunter ceiling fan that didn’t sell during their sale.


How’s that for frugal shopping?!?

Moved!

I spent all day and night Thursday cleaning the townhouse – It’s way cleaner than when I moved in...

On Friday, I moved the fish and aquarium. Much to my dismay I had to hold funeral services for EIGHT little fishies that croaked within an hour of moving. Wouldn’t you know the pretty, colorful ones were the ones who went to the big aquarium in the sky. :(

Yesterday, the last of my things were moved from the townhouse apartment to my “new” home.

Adios! Good riddance to flooding townhouse and nasty, evil neighbor lady!!

S and I also managed to get my bedroom furniture in my room and arranged in working order. One of the dressers is a long one with a huge mirror. Six years ago, I bought the furniture before I knew where I was moving to. At the townhouse, the mirror was too tall to be installed so it was stored up against a wall for the last six years. S put the mirror on the dresser for me – Boy is it tall!! It works out, though since there isn’t much room in the bathroom to get ready. I’ll just do my hair and makeup in front of the big mirror!

We also arranged some of the living room and the computer room. Things are still stacked everywhere in every room, but at least people can walk through the house without having to step over boxes to get from room to room.

My goal for this week is to get the kitchen cupboards wiped out, lined with contact paper, and filled with some dishes.