when you're too busy but nothing gets done...

 ...a day late and a dollar short, maybe that's apt for the tombstone, to replace what Aaron suggested years ago:  She Tried.    How funny is that, when a teenager tells their mom that She Tried should be their epitaph?  

Anyway.  The days are full to overflowing, but each morning there is still much to do, so I feel like I never accomplish anything.  Yesterday, Camille and I went to Target...I had a dress in my online cart, but it wasn't on sale...imagine my delight yesterday morning when I found out there was 30% off clothes online only?  Order pickup, and I had the dress, for $21 rather than $30.  We wandered around Target, found baby clothes for Sam and Grace's baby girl, and for Molly and Josh's baby boy, but not for Margaret and Adrian's baby yet, because they don't find out the gender until birth.  Yes, we're getting THREE new grand babies this summer.

Camille and I also stopped at Aldi to get things to make fajitas, and some more coffee to make cold brew, and more cream.  Then home to marinate chicken and put cold stuff away...

And now it's Saturday morning!  I had to leave for the pool yesterday, so I ended the post in the middle of a sentence.  After the pool, Kathryn and her little ones, Camille and I, went to a big Mennonite store to get an assortment of sprinkles for a cookie frosting/decorating activity for our church summer conference.  We also got some fresh maple sausage, the very best chocolate covered raisins I've ever had, Cam had them open last night, and I was going to taste ONE, ha.

I grilled the chicken breasts last night, marinated them two days in lime juice and seasonings.  I drained, the coated the pieces with olive oil before grilling.  It was so moist and delicious!  We had fajitas with peppers, onions, and all the fun stuff.  I didn't eat, however, I was hurrying out the door with Paul to get our "new" couch!  

This is a very big deal for me.  Our leather couch was from the thrift store, it was $46.99 I believe, and I had a seven dollar coupon.  Through our years with it, rips and tears happened, and it started looking dumpy.  You know how once something turns into an eyesore you just have to get rid of?  Add a few years of procrastination, and phew.  It was known as "the dog couch".  So we have two confused pups.  We got rid of the big sectional, too, which was hard for me, but I am NOT a hoarder, ha.  It was an England sofa, very well built and comfy.  But, seventeen years of kids and dogs, there were tears and stains, it had to be kept covered...all the covers needing washing and straightening all the time...it got old.  Still, I wasn't ready to say goodbye...

We found this on marketplace:

The guy's apartment was on the fifth floor, thankfully there was an elevator.

We got skill, we got game, played Tetris and fit it in.  Paul's trusty dusty ratchet straps come in handy.

Of course it rained on the way home....and the couch suffered on small tear on the way in, but shh, I put clear Duck Tape on it.

The "other side" of the living room...there's a futon, which Sunny is on, and a couch facing that...then behind the bassinet is an Ikea cube storage for toys....it's the play area...it HAD a nice big furry rug that Kathryn got me for Mother's Day, but a certain chocolate cake hogging dog had tummy issues that night.

It's not hooked together yet because it's still damp, we've had the fan blowing on it.

This is the ottoman that came with it, an Ikea chair, and my comfy chair...that's my fancy footrest, the Little Tikes chair.  (My chair has a footrest, it's a rocker/recliner, but it's too high, I just like my feet up a little.

This is the pic that was on marketplace.  It looked gray, much lighter....I was a little disappointed, but it's in really nice condition, and hey, for $275, not bad.  You can barely buy a futon for that, new.  

So even though it was quite reasonably priced, I don't want it trashed.  I've managed to keep the dogs off it, they have the futon and the other couch, plus their dog beds. 

The girls were troupers, they helped so much last night.  They had already taken the old sectional out when we got home with the newer one.  But they have their opinions.  They say we still have to get rid of some things, that our house looks like a furniture store.  ha, it's been called worse.  Sonja doesn't like how I mix stripes, plaid, florals...oops.  I just like them all!  

Getting the couch was an unexpected Friday night adventure.  I had enquired about it last week, the guy was asking $300, I offered $200, he said $275, but someone else was planning to get it already...so I thought it was sold...he messaged yesterday and said the other person didn't show, did I still want it?  I did.  I was sorely tempted to revisit my $200 offer, but didn't.  We got there and he was moving out, it was one of the last things left in the apartment...I think he would've accepted the $200, but oh well.  

Paul was a really good sport about the whole thing.  He isn't picky about things, our old couch was fine, but he's nice to me, and had a good attitude about it all.  Honestly, I still expect him to start throwing things around, as my father would have done.  My father wasn't mean, but he had a short fuse, and it's just ingrained in me to flinch when anyone struggles with anything, just waiting for the expletives...but Paul is NOT my dad, and I'm still pleasantly surprised at how nice it is.  (I'm sure he has to work on being patient!)

It's raining out.  It's an extremely cozy dark day, and I don't have to water the garden or the flowers.  Paul is fishing, and the girls are all working today.  So I've vacuumed and mopped, washed dishes, put laundry through, and shh, enjoyed intermittent rests in the comfy chair.  It's hard to get used to my chair being here, but moving things around is a nice change.  

We finished the last episode of "Happy Shiny People" last night, the documentary about the Duggar family.  I'm rather shocked.   I never liked the way Michelle obeyed JimBob, or the way he exerted so much power and control over the kids.  We are not, nor ever were, like the Duggars, but that's for another day, another post...