There are few things that I take the time to collect, mainly because collecting takes, well, time. I usually don’t have the long-term patience to scour the earth looking for things that I admire. I have, however, finally found an object that fuels my eBay feeding frenzy: WNAX Neighbor Lady recipe booklets. Continue reading “Hello, good friends!”
A weekend of family … and a return from the dark side
Just returned from Minnesota about an hour ago. The 3-hour trip home was rather uneventful, aside from two VERY tired boys screaming for about half the time. I stopped at a Casey’s and bought enough snacks to feed a small army; that seemed to make them forget about fighting for a bit.
I’m sad to say that I was a participant in Black Friday, but I’m happy to say that, without a doubt, that was the last Black Friday that I will ever participate in. Continue reading “A weekend of family … and a return from the dark side”
Quiet Sunday … and weekend
It’s been a nice, quiet weekend — one where I actually felt productive because I had time and energy to get things done. Why? Well, my mom took the kids for the weekend. I don’t think my house has ever been this clean. Continue reading “Quiet Sunday … and weekend”
The remains of the fall
Well, it’s happening — at this very moment, in fact. If I look at the radar for my neck of the woods, I see it: the blue churning mass of precipitation that means SNOW. It’s always a peculiar feeling the first time that blue blob appears on the radar; I feel a strange compulsion to go out and load up on groceries and scented candles. I suddently wonder if K Mart has a sale on fleece blankets. I have to fight the urge to make a gigantic-sized batch of chili, which would come darn close to hitting the spot right now. Continue reading “The remains of the fall”
Time flies … and sanity diminishes
Wow, do I hate the end of the quarter. Every year I swear that I’m not going to let the work overload me, but every year each quarter’s end finds me clawing at the last shreds of sanity as I try to conquer the piles of paper on my desk. Grades are due tomorrow, and I only have a couple more grades to enter into the grading program. If you hear a cheer float by your ear (there’s a cheer in my ear … or a tear in my beer?), that’d be me proclaiming to the world that I’ve won the war. Continue reading “Time flies … and sanity diminishes”
In for the long haul
Contractor update: Still waiting. Insert MP3 of crickets chirping here.
On the plus side, however, we have a new door to our garage. Previously we had a plywood door that made a satisfying SLAM when it closed — satisfying, that is, if I was angry about something. The sound was not so satisfying when the kids decided to play a game that involved Spider-Man (or whatever character) going in and out of the garage in quest of the latest Bad Guy. Nothin’ like a Saturday afternoon of BAM … BAM … BAM! Continue reading “In for the long haul”
An excuse to be lazy
Today is a rainy, cool, September morning. One of those morning where, when you wake up and hear it’s raining, you feel perfectly content to stay in bed for the entire day. It’s also one of those days where you feel as if you could be extremely productive doing one of those long put-off projects such as organizing photos or cleaning out closets. You can’t go outside, so the options are limited. Apparently, this type of weather tends to bring out the ultimate creative instincts in my boys. Although this day makes me feel like a lazy pile, I also realize (now, anyway) that these are the types of days where I have to be extremely vigilant. Continue reading “An excuse to be lazy”
Forging ahead … and waiting
Well, the house was appraised today (a step in a looooong succession of bank steps we’ve been through, it seems), thus clearing one more hurdle. After this it should be smooth sailing. No, really. In a matter of weeks this blog will actually chronicle renovations rather than my rather uninteresting and pathetic life. Continue reading “Forging ahead … and waiting”
The soundtrack of the fall
Who knew that such an ugly bug would become a part of my life? I’m talking about cicadas — big, ugly bugs that molt on tree bark and leave behind shells that make you shudder when you find them. There’s been more than one occasion where I’m walking under one of the trees in our backyard and I happen to see a big chunk o’ somethin’ stuck to the tree. Squinting and gradually drawing closer, I see that it’s a cicada molting. (I mean “molting” as a noun there; I don’t torture cicadas trying to shed their shells by letting my boys molest them in mid-process.) Then I like to pluck it off the tree and let it serve as entertainment for my two bug-lovin’ boys. Continue reading “The soundtrack of the fall”
A breath of fresh air
I really hate having the A/C on 24/7, but I do so for my husband’s sleeping comfort and for the kids. Oh, all right, I guess I don’t exactly want to be sleeping in a room clogged with 80% humidity, either. But it makes me feel like such a wuss. It’s almost as I can hear one of my Swedish ancestors while he shakes his head, muttering “WE didn’t have air conditioning when we lived in the log cabin, and we survived just fine.”
Then I realize that my Swedish ancestors probably would have sawed off their right arms in order to enjoy A/C in the middle of a Midwestern August, and it makes me feel better.
(Now, if I can only get my ancestors to quit talking to me, I can shake this guilt complex once and for all.)