Just a Little Thing

After the Republicans repeal health care reform* I would like them to do something really useful and make more hours in the day. Not, mind you, work hours. 8 of those a day is plenty. My request is very simple, too. I would just like 2, maybe three more hours in the day. One of them would be wedged between 6 and 7 am and the other between, well, as it turns out, 6 and 7 pm.

The extra morning hour would give me time to blog before I go to work AND still have time to actually get the day started, maybe do a thing or two that would advance the household agenda and maybe even eat a damn breakfast. The evening hour would allow me to just muddle around doing things before I have to put food on my family.

Is that too much to ask?

I think not.



*Oh, and btw, I get why the Republicans are going to go after health care. But if they had some class the FIRST thing they'd do, before stripping millions of Americans from the new security they are beginning to enjoy, is opt out - every one of 'em - from the government health insurance they receive as federal employees. If they don't want government to provide health insurance for regular folks, it seems a little, uh, disingenuous to be taking government health insurance for themselves, don'tcha think?

First off, I neglected to blog the finale of "Project Runway". Seth Aaron, deservedly, won. Emilio, who demonstrated his snarky, I'm-better-that-everyone self-absorption lost. And was a real baby about it. When you see his uninspired sportswear in Target walk on over to the Jessica Simpson department.

Speaking of Jessica Simpson, she "designed" the new roll-y suitcase I bought for my trips. It's really cool. I didn't know it was Jessica Simpson until after I'd bought it. So I'm ok with it. Plus, it's commodious.

I leave for DC tomorrow morning and I have 412 things to do today. Including dying my hair, which I'll have to do at work. (Which will be fine because I dyed MAB's hair at work the other day. Priorities). And I have to get a mani and a pedi and buy some insoles for my black flats and I need to pack. It's really too bad I have to work today. Good news on that front, I'm this close to finishing up the things I need to finish up before being away from the office for a week. And that includes having finally written an outline for the presentation I'm giving on Tuesday. Now I just need to design a useful and alluring hand-out. (I totally decided against a Powerpoint presentation. So last decade).

86 that about the hair. I'm doing it now.

I will be able to blog, I expect, from DC but the photologue may have to wait. But there will be lots of pictures. Me on Lincoln's lap, me in Julia's kitchen, me with blog buddies, like that. I can't wait.

Everyone be good while I'm gone. Do your homework and eat an apple every day.

Love.

What? Me Worry?

I've been having a recurring dream wherein I am somewhere important, expected to provide information to a person or group and have nothing to share.

This couldn't possibly have anything to do with the presentation on website development and content that I'm supposed to deliver in 2 weeks at the conference in DC that is as yet unwritten and sans materials.

The subconscious is a mysterious beast.

Ah Ha

I had a break down.

Saturday morning I was looking at the family calendar and noticed that The Child missed an orthodontist appointment last week. And I lost it. It was an internal "lost it". I didn't go all medieval on the family. But inside I was crying.

"You missed a damned ortho appointment," says you. "Come on now".

Sometimes in life, it's not the momentous things which teach us. That missed appointment clarified for me a simple fact: the only thing I'm doing well right now is work. At work I do not lose paperwork, miss deadlines or forget appointments. At work I get things done. That is much less true at home.

Aside from providing a necessary swift kick to the hind quarters, it also gave me a topic of conversation with The Child, who likewise did everything required of her for her participation in the play but who has slacked off on everything else.

At one point in our conversation she wailed about how hard it was to come home and not have me there. "I have to learn how to make myself do things without you to tell me". Well, yes. I pointed out that this was going to be more and more the case in her life and that she did have to learn to manage herself. "But more to the point," I told her, "I've been using that 'I'm learning how to have a job and manage the rest of my life' excuse, too. But the fact is, I've been back at work for over a year. It's really time for me to get it together".

Over the weekend I didn't entirely succeed in digging out from under the list of neglected tasks. But I did scrub the bathroom within an inch of its life. That's something.

Why Blogging May be at a Premium for the Rest of the Month

Please note this list does not include the fact that I will be working, preparing my resume (it's getting to be time to apply to keep my job on a permanent basis), cleaning the house, or, you know, sleeping.

August 19 - Eye appointment, buy school books and finish back-to-school clothes shopping with The Child.

August 20 - Hello? Project Runway is back!

August 21 - 50th birthday bash for The Child's god-mother

August 22 - Dinner with Jane Austen & Mr. Darcy

August 23 - Begin pilgrimage to Forks, Washington in search of all things Twilight

August 24 - Forks

August 25 - Forks

August 26 - Take Child to registration then run back to work to prepare for a big ass tour of D.C. mucky mucks without MAB present

August 27 - Bloody Mary Thursday and Hello? Project Runway.

August 28 - Rehearsal for Big Wedding

August 29 - Ree & Jerry's Big Wedding ("big" in importance, not size - but The Child is in the wedding party so you see how it is)

August 30 - Get my bangs trimmed and recover from Big Wedding

August 31 - Baptism seminar with Kiki's parents

On another note, my 4th blogoversary has come and gone. Whoo hoo.

Busybusybusy

I think I need to take tomorrow off.

"But wait," you say. "I'm paying taxes so you can have Monday off. Isn't a three day weekend good enough for you, you gold-bricking government hack?"

Normally, it would be. But the weekend isn't going to be a leisurely lie-around-and-do-nothing-except-grill-in-the-"summer" sort of three day weekend.

Saturday I'm going to some wine making thing with The Neighbor.
Sunday is Pentecost and we have the traditional spooning of the split pea soup made from the Easter ham bone, complete with guests and possibly karaoke.
PLUS, around 9pm on Sunday a cab will deliver Monica(!) from the train station.
Monday will be devoted to hanging with Mon and grilling up something for dinner.

There's no time for grocery shopping or making soup and cake and sanitizing a perch for Monica in that schedule. Never mind that my gardens are completely overgrown, winter junk is piled up everywhere and you can't see through the windows when the sun shines. Nope. I just don't see a way clear to managing without some extra time.

"You could not play ""Fallout 3" when you get home," says you.

"Are you mad?" exclaims me.

MAB kinda owes me. She's left me holding the bag quite a lot lately. First she was in SF for a week and yesterday she had the nerve to stay home sick. I think a day off is more than reasonable.

Hope I'm not the only one who thinks so.

Twas 2 Days Before Christmas

You know I love my job, right?

Because today is the first time ever since I started working when I feel really pinched between what what I have now and what I used to have. To whit, a year ago I was at home, at leisure and busily making preparations for Christmas. This year the list in my head of things to do keeps getting longer. Last night, in the middle of the night, there was a lot of "oh, my yord, and another thing"...sorts of moments. (I had some awake time, what with the terrifying dream I had last night, so terrifying that The Spouse had to wake me up because I was crying out.
"What was the trouble", you kindly inquire? It's a tossup. In the dream I was watching a youth try to break into The Neighbor's house with a broom handle while I tried to call 911 on my cell because our phone line was out. But I was also 4 or 5 months pregnant and had missed all my prenatal visits, because apparently my subconcious self is the Queen of Denial. It was terrible).

Point is, tomorrow is Christmas Eve and there's stuff to do and up until this year that just ocassioned a day of happy hustle bustle as I put the finishing touches on celebrations but I don't know when I'm going to wedge in any of it now. Not to mention, everything is completely up in the air because the snow is still everywhere (except, you know, where it's turned to treacherous ICE) and no one really knows what this week is going to be like anyway. Will the next storm come as predicted? Because if it does, we won't be making it to church on Christmas Eve. Which will be the weirdest. thing. Ever. The last time we had a white Christmas we lived downtown and could walk to church. That's over.

"But," you say, being practical like you are, "you have all day Christmas Eve to decorate and start the brioche dough for Christmas morning and wrap the last of your presents. You'll even have time to clean the corners, start the soup and update Quicken. Silly goose".

"Nuh-uh," says me. "I have to work on Christmas Eve and so does The Spouse".

"Oh," says you, "that kinda sux".

"Yep," says me, "it really kinda does".

(Although I did forget to mention one good thing. In fact, I am about to praise George W. Bush. No. Really. He gave federal employees Friday off, with pay. Snaps to him. But that doesn't really resolve my pre-Christmas issues. Still, it was really nice of him).

Bottom line, I really wish I had today off because then all I have to do would feel like joyous hustle bustle and not a list of oh-mi-goshes.

On the other hand, I'm not really 5 months pregnant.

God Love the Italians

I haven't celebrated Columbus Day since I was in the 4th grade and we had to color pictures of the Ninã, the Pintã, and the Santa Maria. It's pretty much universally acknowledged that he was a hired thug for the Spanish and had a poor sense of direction. But you know what? It's still on the books as a holiday and that means the banks are closed, the mail isn't being delivered and, oh yeah, I have a paid holiday. Gotta love being a fed!

Today is going to be superfantastic. All the stuff that I haven't done since I started working is going to be tackled with a vengeance. I'm also going to read blogs AND comment on them, drink good, strong coffee (MAB and I have differing opinions on what constitutes "strong") and I may even watch my stories. Or as The Child said last night, "You should eat an egg salad sandwich, drink juice and watch your stories".

"Why egg salad?"

"That's what you always used to do".

Really? Well, then so be it.

Man, I can't tell you how fun it was this weekend to know that I still had a whole extra day. And I have to tell you, much as I adore my job, I still haven't gotten the hang of managing the house stuff plus work. I know it can be done; I've figured out how to hold the tall sticks, I just haven't figured out how to get the plates to spin on top of them. Well, once I got one going but as soon as I tried to put another one up there the first one fell and broke. And I still haven't swept it up. But I'll get to that today.

Also, here's some happenings from the weekend, categorized under the heading of "Things You Wouldn't Expect":

The Child spent more time reading than watching television.

John McCain took on a hate monger (too little too late, but snaps for the effort, John).

The Child cleaned her room and threw out a bunch of stuff and filled a donation bag with things that were too small. More to the point, she did this on her own.

In other news, I still haven't found my cell phone. Calling Credo is on my list of things to do. But The Child found her wallet, which has been missing for 3 weeks. Which we totally didn't get because one minute it was in her hands and we both saw it and the next minute it disappeared. There is a black hole in our house. I blame the Swiss.

Have a dandy day.

Sticky

I began yesterday with a plan. A good plan. A plan that listed all my most pressing to dos, neatly prioritized and assigned approximate time frames for accomplishment. I so enjoy those sorts of plans, prettily drawn on a nice, crisp sheet of paper, happy calligraphic little notes just waiting to be crossed off with a firm and triumphant stroke. Yep. That was how it was going to be.

And then every single bloody thing that I did ended up taking 3 and sometimes 4 times longer than it should have. And not for any good reason. It wasn't like the phone was ringing off the hook or that people kept coming to the door or that The Child frantically needed me to drop everything and attend to something pressing. Nope. Nothing like that at all. But somehow all my efforts were swimming in molasses and only about 1/3 of what I hoped to accomplish was even addressed, let alone completed.

Will today be syrupy? (Syrup-like? Syrupticious?)

Anyone else think "syrup" is a very funny looking word? Oh, but it is delicious...provided it is on your pancakes and not the tenor of your day.

Today Rainey Makes Like MacDonald Carey and Intones...

"Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives".

Partly that's for JP, for whom I have pledged to feel sorry every hour on the hour so long as he is holed up in New Jersey. Partly that's a fitting description for the whirlwind that has suddenly become my life.

This was my last full week to do pretty much as I pleased until September. It hasn't exactly gone according to plan (does it ever?) and now here I am, it's Thursday and I realize, as those grains of sand go trickling through my fingers, that I can pretty much fuggedaboudit.

Would you like to know what my schedule now looks like? Sure you would:

Today
Take kids to school
Get soup for The Child's lunch
Move money from off shore accounts
Blog
Shower
Pick up The Child and take her to the orthodontist.
Return Child to school & remind principal to call First Choice High to see where we are
Go home and start packing
Wrap present for The Child's teacher
Pick up kids from school
Eat hamburgers for dinner

Friday
Grocery shopping
Pick up kids at noon
Wait tables for staff appreciation lunch
Make travel arrangements with Alameda host
Babysit my Charlie baby & eat his little toes all up

Saturday
Try really hard not to do too much even though I'll have to thoroughly clean the house

Sunday
Baccalaurate Mass for graduates
Potluck
Try really hard not to do too much even though I'll have to do something I'm quite sure

Monday
Work for Big Client
Take car in for tune up
Finish packing
Get guest accomodations ready
Make sure I have all the charging devices necessary for electronics
Print out Google maps
Collect phone numbers
Find pin number for the debit card I don't use

Tuesday
Pick up Hat
Bake applesauce cake
Shop for road snacks
Take out second mortgage and fill up gas tank

Wednesday
Take kids to school
Drink coffee with Hat
Take The Dog to his sister's house*
Dot i's and cross t's
Pick up kids at noon
Take Child to get our hair done
Take Child to orthodontist
Get ready for graduation
Be at school by 6pm
Watch Child graduate
Stay at cake and punch reception only as long as absolutely necessary
Go somewhere to celebrate for just a little bit
Go home and get everyone (including 2 giggly graduates) to bed at decent hour

Thursday
Hit the road for California

See?

* The Dog going to his sister's is a point of contention in our home. The Spouse doesn't want to sleep without his puppy. Too bad, I say. It is not fair to The Dog to be home alone for 12 hours every day. Oh, sure, he's perfectly capable of being alone that long, but it isn't fair. The Spouse understands this but he doesn't like it.

---

I read a really nice thing in the Times this morning. About switching his superdelegate support Walter Mondale said, "I was for Hillary - I wasn't against Obama". I believe that sentiment sums up a lot more voters than the pundits want to think.

---

Time to hit the list. Yes, I promise to remember to breathe.

Things I Have to Do Before the Appraiser Gets Here at 1

Try and clean the mildew off the bathroom ceiling.

Retouch paint on the living room door.

Hide the horrible stain on the living room floor created by sick cat peeing on dog bed. (I think she's not long for this world).

Vacuum.

Dust.

Mop the floors.

Scrub down the Big Ass Stove.

Sweep front porch and clean window trim in vain attempt to distract the appraiser from the fact that the house really needs to be painted. (Good thing we're just refinancing and not trying to sell).

Do enough laundry that the laundry area looks like it is not about to take over the house. (Which it really is trying to do. Stupid laundry. Why do these people need so many clothes?)

Hide the big cat pee stain on The Child's bed because I don't have time to launder her bedding as well. (Did I mention that I don't think The Cat is long for this earth?)

Patrol for dust bunnies and assorted other dust creatures.

Tidy up the back deck.

I really should do something about all the weeds in the gardens but that so isn't going to happen. It's winter. They add a touch of vibrant green to the brown of all the dead stuff. Yeah. That's it.

Build a fire so that the living room looks charming and cozy and will perhaps distract Appraiser's eye from the leak stain on the ceiling. Never mind. Cowbell says that's a bad idea.

Bake cookies right before Appraiser comes to distract him from any other failings that could cost us.

Thank God I can brag about the fact that the house has all new wiring and plumbing. Hope the toilet doesn't clog right before Appraiser shows up.

Degrime the family room.

Pray that Appraiser is in a very jolly mood today. I'll have to do that while I'm scrubbing the bathroom floor.

---

After Appraiser leaves:

Make vet appointment for sick cat. Start planning funeral.

---

Wish me luck.

Things To Know

Even though it is Thanksgiving eve, I am going to watch "Project Runway" tonight and I'm so blogging about it tomorrow. Even though you are probably going to be way too busy to read it until next week. I don't care. It's how I roll.

I bought a super cute ruby glass turkey compote dish today, to complement the ruby glass turkey candleholders I already own. It was on sale.

I think he is very handsome and it will be amusing to fill him with cranberry compote because it will be the same color as he is.

I'm feeling ambient anxiety today, the sort where you can't put a finger on the cause but just feel sorta jittery anyhoo. I hate that feeling. I don't think it has anything to do with the fact that there are still bunches of things to do to prepare for our house guest and the feast, because those are joyful things. Maybe I'll take a nice long bath when I get home from grocery shopping for all the last minute things I realize I need. Like a leek and another box of bread cubes (just to be safe) and some nouveau Beaujolais. Oh, and brandy. I need brandy for the yams.

I'd better get on it, huh?

Manic Monday

Just finished up what was more or less a cat weekend. The Spouse was pretty focused on editing the movie and he spent all day yesterday out making a movie with friends. But The Child and I didn't do much. Until yesterday. Yesterday we went to church, which was especially nice because it's October, which means a Marian hymn after mass which in this case was Biebl and I love me some Biebl. Then I did my monthly stint in the church bookstore, which was nice because I really like the woman I work with plus it wasn't too busy and a man came in looking for music from our choir and they just happen to have a CD and I mentioned that the Biebl was on it and it made him happy because he had really enjoyed that piece.

This isn't our choir singing the hymn but it's a pretty good version. Gives me chills. In a good way.



What didn't give me good chills was the frakking 8th grade fundraising trip meeting that I had to attend afterwards. It was all I could do to not chew off my own arm. 2 hours that I am NEVER getting back. 2 hours going over the same old ground, making very little headway toward anything new and generally just making me feel stressed out. I want to fall into a bucket of money, preferably today, so that I can just pay for The Child's trip and everyone else's and then I never have to sit through a meeting with those very well-intentioned and sweet people again. Really, they are all seriously nice but HMOG. We spent 1 hour talking about the flyers for a frakking rummage sale. ONE HOUR.

Have I mentioned that I hate meetings? Yes, I give thanks every day that mine is not a life that involves large quantities of meetings. (The PTA board stuff doesn't really count because we actually get things done, they are held in the a.m., which is just a really civilized time for a meeting, and part of the reason we are really productive in the meetings is because we use email with mind-bending efficiency).

The good news is that there is very little on my calendar this week...first time since school started...and I think this is the week that will be "normal", that will allow me to finally finish up all the projects that have been weighing on me. And that's my goal because pretty much after this weekend everything starts ramping up again and looks to be rather insane up through, well, the new year.

Things that make me feel like I'm not completely out of control:

Bills were paid this weekend. On time.

I ordered a birthday present for a friend. For a birthday that is in November.

I pulled weeds in my front garden. Only for about 15 minutes but it made a difference.

And in the category of "Things That are Really Super Exciting", Buck is joining us for Thanksgiving. He was supposed to come for my birthday and his boss made him go to Disneyworld instead. Then he was going to come for The Spouse's birthday but he has to go to some other stupid place so I invited him for Thanksgiving. Well, actually, he invited himself but I readily agreed. This is the first year that we aren't doing Thanksgiving with my family and it will be nice to have the other sort of family around the table. Like Buck. And The Neighbor. The Spouse and I already planned the menu. The Child is making the pumpkin pie. See? Organized.

I fell asleep during "Brothers and Sisters" last night so I have to go online and see if I can find what I missed. And I need to thaw some chicken breasts. And get rolling on my list of projects.

Friday Frenzy

Can't chat. Tons to do. Could go for a cute Scottish boy singing. Oh, here's one:

Things I Do Every Day

Unload the dishwasher.

Load the dishwasher.

Laundry.

Wipe down the bathroom.

Make the bed.

Something related to money: buying, writing a check, paying a bill, checking the balance online, setting up a payment, entering an ATM slip in Quicken, etc. etc. etc.

Wipe up something sticky.

Cook something.

Think about things to be done for school or church or home.

Pick up and put away something that doesn't belong to me.

Recycle.

Feed the animals.

I was thinking about this yesterday when I was transferring a load of laundry to the dryer. There's a lot of stuff to do every day that isn't particularly gratifying but I have to do it. Not only are these things not always particularly gratifying but they never end. Thankless tasks, one would say. Why, when there are so many more interesting things to do in the world, is a portion of my everyday life spent on that which is routine, boring, thankless, neverending?

The short answer is because I don't like squalor, can't think in squalor and I'd have to do this stuff even if I lived alone so whatever.

But there's more to it than that. Once upon a time I had a friend who went to jail for something she didn't do. (Don't get me started on the problems with the "justice" system in this country. That's a whole other blog). This was an ordinary woman. A woman like me. A woman with a husband and a home, who gardened and cooked and decorated and watched "Martha Stewart" on television. And then she went to jail. For over a year.

But I learned something from her experience. Because while she was incarcerated, the things she missed were the ordinary things. She missed cooking. She missed unloading the dishwasher. Because all of a sudden, those things mattered. She missed them because she used to do them all the time and suddenly she couldn't. Being able to do them meant her life was her own, she was in control. It meant she was free to do them. When that freedom went away, she missed them; even yearned for them. In her phone calls and letters she'd ask me to tell her about my day. She'd ask what I was cooking. Because she missed that stuff.

Ever since that time, I've been able to stop myself from whining much about my "to dos" because I understand the intrinsic value of the ordinary. It's mine. I get to do it. No one tells me when to get up, what I can do all day, when I have to go to bed. Add to that the fact that while I'm free to get up, do and go to bed as I please, I'm not doing it with bombs dropping on my street or with militias roaming the 'hood or my child starving to death. I'm not dying of AIDS or washing my clothes in a river or carrying the days supply of water from a dicey well along a dirt road.

Sometimes I'm overwhelmed by my daily list. Sometimes it feels kinda boring or pointless. But I'm thankful every day that I get to be bored. Those routines might seem pointless but they are my precious routines and no one is taking them away from me (knock wood). And when I think like that, even sweeping up the persistent detritus of life with two other people and their pets is a blessing.

Here are some other things I do every day:

Pray.
Shower.
Drink coffee.
Read blogs.
Pray some more.
Talk to someone who loves me.
Admire my lavender.

Life is good.

Crumbs

It must be fall. I'm in the throes of that seasonal lament: could I please just have a normal day?

There's always the expectation when school starts that things will get back to normal. It's such a myth. The "normal" of which I speak doesn't usually hit until somewhere around early October. I should know that by now.

There hasn't been a normal week all month. First the movie, then last weekend's festivities. I don't begrudge any of it but geez. I'm so ready to not do anything, to not have to run anywhere. But the second school start there came with it the meetings and fundraising and volleyball schedule. Normal? This IS normal.

I'd probably be more ok with it if there weren't still birthday cake crumbs on the dining room table, if the laundry was caught up and if I knew for sure there weren't any end-of-the-month bills to pay without having to look it up.

I need to make grape jelly.

It probably didn't help that I've been sick. I feel better now. A lot better. But at least when I was sick I had an excuse for ignoring the mountain of things that are calling for my attention.

Instead of whining I think I'll make a to do list using my fancy Venetian glass pen. And maybe see if the remnants of birthday cake are edible.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

The weather has definitely turned, with the apple-crisp tang at the back of the breeze that means fall is around the corner. Historically, the days between my anniversary (21) and birthday (23) are the most beautiful of the season...sunny and warm but with brisk, promising air. I'm still holding out hope for some of that Indian summer magic...the party is set to be outdoors, the dinner part at least, but so far this week it has been rather rainy. We'll need a Plan B. (I'm thinking buffet, Nayb). And JP, I'd pack a rain coat if I were you. Just in case.



Tonight The Neighbor and I are making large pots of daube for the party. It's going to be gorgeous food.

The mountain ash tree is wearing its autumnal garb. Isn't it beautiful? It fills me with delight. Almost as much delight as the fact that the Countdown to JP is now at 2 days. Giddiness ensues.

My to do list for today stretches from my elbow to my wrist so I'd best get to it. Happy busyness.

Ii Yi Yi

I'm well aware that my blogging lately has been largely inane. Sorry about that. Ready for more?

My "Things To Do Before We Leave for Chicago" list is getting longer, not shorter. Last night The Spouse queried whether we needed ID for The Child. Crap. Her passport is expired and that's all she's got. I just called the airline and the good news is that since she's travelling with us, she doesn't need it. I thanked the agent for saving me an hour or two at the DMV this morning. Because, as it is, we've got to go to the dentist.

Earlier this week The Child was complaining about a swollen spot on her gums. I figured it owed to a luncheon of popcorn. She flossed and everything seemed to be fine but last night she woke me up, complaining of pain, and the spot was very swollen again. We obviously have to deal with it now because emergency dentistry in Chicago is not on the itinerary. We're on our way to the dentist right now (a new one, who happens to be just a few blocks away; that's super convenient).

Depending on the diagnosis, I'll either have an insane day or just a very crazy one.

But think of it. Regardless of how nuts things feel right now, the reality is that somewhere in the midst of it all we will get packed, keys will get to The Neighbor (who's watching the house, feeding The Cat and watering the garden). And then we'll be in Chicago and I'll be able to regale you with the fascinating details of our little adventure.

We now return you to your regular scheduled programming.

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Update: The Child now has one less tooth in her head. She's very happy as the traumatic removal of a tooth necessarily bumps up the price the Tooth Fairy pays out. And check this out: the dentist put the tooth in this little box. I'd never seen anything like that before.

The Child is now relatively pain-free and to ice the cake, we were back home by 9am. So, yay!, Mommy has time to go get her hair cut. Must represent in Chicago, after all.

Getting Ready

Sorry about the sneeze earlier but motivated by the sudden realization that we're leaving town this week I had to go run some errands. The search for a kicky skirt will resume tomorrow.

Oh, so much to do when you leave town: cleaning out the fridge so it doesn't reek when you return, likewise the laundry basket. Setting up the bills that have to be pungled while we're gone (love that online banking). Planning a travel wardrobe that covers all the bases for 3 people while all fitting into one suitcase. (We did it when we went to Europe, I'm sure we can manage for Chicago). Making sure there's tinned food in the house for The Cat. Programming Jon's cell number into my phone. Busy busy busy.

So while I was out running around The Child called. A friend invited her to go swimming and she asked if she could do that instead of going to her Mother's Helper gig. Of course I said 'no' and of course she was mad, but the kind of mad where you know it was silly to ask in the first place but worth a shot anyway. Work ethic, baby.

And speaking of work ethics, I've got more to do so do it I shall. (Like get the ladder out so I can find my faux alligator red pleather capris for the 4th of July party).

All of a Sudden, It Hit Me

We're leaving for Chicago in 3 days.