are you totally serious right now?

So, here's the thing: we are getting our internet changed up a bit, (it's so slow it almost goes backwards). The internet box-y thing, the router, is of all places, in our bedroom. Now, you can walk into my house any day of the week and agree it's not out of a magazine, unless it's maybe a "before" picture, but my bedroom is in a category all of it's own. Do you see where I'm going with this? Yes, the terror is real, Paul texted me yesterday, "The cable guy is coming on Friday morning to change the box in our room."

Now my room hasn't always been so scary. About five years ago when Paul was in India for over two weeks, I surprised him by painting the room, redecorating it a bit, even moved a dresser that hadn't been moved since, shh, we moved in, and cleaned under and behind it, and painted back there. I put up new blinds, new valances, the whole bit. And I vowed to keep it pristine. Since then, I have gone in my usual cycles...the drape and drop, which gets unbearable after a few months, when things find their way to the floor, then you add a backpack with stuff still in there from the beach, and a box of pictures, and a few rolls of wrapping paper, a stray Christmas stocking (or four), a few shopping bags with good deals in them, Paul's four guitars, his bow, his tackle box, maybe an armload of things I didn't know what to do with when someone was coming over. So yeah, a nightmare.

Then I clean it all up, organize it, sift through my clothes, wash them, keep too many, put them away...and re-vow to keep it clean.

Well. I've been planning on doing a deep clean in there for months now. I can't just pick a few things up, that's not how this works!

I'll admit, I was fuming that I had to hurry up and clean it, fuming at the thought of the technician stepping on all of my clothes, but I was honestly quite thankful for the extra SHOVE to hoe it all out.

The kids laughed at me, asked me why I let it get that way. Suze said she couldn't stand that, would never let her room get that bad. Jonathan smirked because I've been on his case to clean up his nice new room, he has the new flooring and new paint and all. "Ironic, isn't it Mom?", he had the guts to say last night. (But he cleaned his up as I cleaned mine up.

A minimalist I'll never be. I see those vast empty spaces with nary a towel hung over a chair in some of those Marie Kondo-ed homes, and oh how I love it. But. It just ain't happenin' here.

I have a pile of things to sell on eBay. I have an electric blanket I haven't used this year, but what if I want it next winter? Bathing suits that might fit me again, socks I might find the match for, cards from the kids...it ALL makes me happy! It fills me with JOY! I just need more space to put it, is all!

Anyway. I am not quite finished with the room, I took a half hour break to watch the Jeopardy tournament last night, then finished up for the evening so I could take a shower and go to bed. I still have some dusting to do, and more vacuuming.

Who knows? Maybe our internet will be spotty and difficult and we'll need the technician to come more often...that might be terrifying but effective.



That's me, being nice. We got more snow, so I went out and shoveled a path for the school girls, down the steps and driveway. Wouldn't you know, the snow shovel that's supposed to be outside the door was at the foot of the deck steps, and the one from down there I found accidentally, buried in the snow. harrumph.

Sam is coming for the weekend! YAY! He does have Army Reserves drill on Saturday and Sunday but he's coming tonight and will be here all day tomorrow. As fate would have it, I have a lunch date tomorrow and will be gone for a few hours. My older brother is having a birthday, so my sister and I are joining him and his wife for lunch. We're going to a place up on Lake Ontario that has the chicken wing special...on your birthday, free wings, one for each year of your life! Some of us are getting to the point where it's well worth it to go there.

Sam will be teaching the kids for me tomorrow, he's an excellent history teacher.

Then, one week from today, I'm leaving for Norway!