When Chaos = Peace

Are you sick of hearing about my kids yet?

too bad

The other night I was surrounded by total chaos. 

It started when my cousin DF, who travels for his job, said he'd be in my area.  I love it when he can stop by, so of course I said YES. 

Then it turned out Daughter would be home.  YEAH

Then it turned out Daughter invited a couple friends to sleep over because they were going to get up Friday and drive to UDel to visit another friend.  Of course I said YES!
 
Then Daughter informed me her college friend/roommate and her sister would be in town and gee could they come by.  And sleep over.  YES!

Daughter volunteered to make dinner.  Daughter has had a few kitchen disasters in the past, but she keeps trying.  I left her with my recipe for Chicken Marsala (her favorite) which isn't totally hard but not exactly easy.  I wrote out three or four additional tidbits and tips for getting it right.  And said a prayer.  And left her an easy baked ziti recipe for her veggie friends.  I left her the credit card to go grocery shopping and asked her to make up every bed she could find. 

And I went to work.

I called at 1pm to see how things were going - friends were supposed to start coming around 3. 

She was asleep.  Napping.  Hadn't done a thing yet.  KIDS!

I got home at 6, dinner was to be at 7.  Various kids were around, helping to set the table.  Dinner was done and in the fridge waiting for a warm up.  Then she had to disappear to the metro to get yet another child.

As we called everyone to dinner, SON showed up from college!!!!  A few hours early!!  YES!!!  There was tackling on the front lawn and hoots and hollers.  And a big hug for Mama.

Then Tor Tor, high school buddy, showed up (angry with me about the For Sale sign, another story).  YES!

Not sure how many we ended up with.  The first dinner shift was 10.  Stragglers came and went all night.

After dinner, DF surprised me with my remade wedding quilt (that needs a post all its own!!)  Yes of course I cried.  duh.

Son played the piano and kids attempted to swing dance before heading to the basement for scary movies.

At about 11pm DF and I took on two of the kids in a mean game of monopoly.  All kinds of crazy rules from our childhoods - but we still managed to lose!

YES IT WAS TOTAL CHAOS - AND MY HEART FELT SUCH PEACE!!!


At 1pm, I finally had to say goodnight to DF and sadly go to BED!

5:30 am came early.  Too early.  So I went back to bed until 6 which meant scrambling to get out the door. 

It was all so worth it.  I discovered yet another kid in yet another bed that I didn't know was sleeping over.  And smiled.

The house was reasonably in tact when I got home Friday night.  And deathly quiet. Yuck.

I am so looking forward to this summer!!!!

Professional Painting and Expectations

Quick Question for you all about expectations:

I hired a nationally known professional company to paint my kitchen, hallway and a bedroom.

I was told prior to the job and on the day of the job, by the owner of the franchise, that the Foreman would be here "90%" of the time. He might have to leave for paint, but he was in charge. The Owner showed up this morning as promised, hung out with the Foreman as promised, then left. So far so good.

About 2 hours later, Foreman leaves. 3 hours later he is not back. This is a 1 day job.

Now the other painters seem to be doing their jobs. They are polite, quiet (they pretty much don't speak English, but I was told the Foreman would be here, who does. And yeah I speak Spanish anyway), seem to be working. But we have 4 different colors going on. We have spackling, trimming, repairing. How do I know that the right guys are doing the right thing? How do I know they are being thorough without monitoring them?

Isn't that what a Foreman does?

So when I call Owner and say, "Hey you told me Foreman would be here 90% but he's been gone for 3 hours - what's up with that?" And he explains that Foreman had to go somewhere else but I was also told Other Painter was good, too, and all painters are professional, all employees not day laborers, yaddah yaddah yaddah. I wasn't necessarily questioning Painters' work. I was trying to say that the expectation set by Owner was that Foreman would be here 90% of the time to supervise, etc. If Foreman had emergency and needed to make someone else in charge, why not tell me before he left 3 hours ago??

And why doesn't either Owner or Foreman (who has now returned and wants to know what the problem is) why don't they understand any of this?

Am I being picky?? Wait aren't I paying pretty heftily for the right to be picky? So that this will be done TODAY and I don't have to go back another day and complain?

Thoughts??

Dirty, Embarrassing Confessions

I didn't know about it. I swear. I'm not normally this naive. But somehow I missed it - even after all these years. It's embarrassing. And not just a little bit disgusting. My discovery horrified me.

But at least now it's clean.

And I'm here to save all of you who might not know.

That bottom shelf in the fridge - the one that holds the big drawers for the fruits and veggies -it comes out of the fridge AND it also comes apart.

I'm still sick and work is slow, so I decided to stay home today. I felt some energy kick in around 9ish and decided to tackle at least one big project. No kids this week means a fairly empty fridge, so what better time to clean the thing? It has been weeks, months, years a long time since I took everything out of the fridge and wiped it all down.

As I got to the bottom of the fridge, I took the big drawers out and began wiping the very bottom of the fridge. Somehow I bumped the shelf - the one I thought was stationary and immovable for eight years when suddenly it popped up somehow. And I realized I could take it out.

Then I became afraid. Very very afraid. What would I discover if I took it out?

Are you sure you want to know?

I discovered a little mini 4" shelf in the waaaaaay back of my fridge that this glass shelf sat on top of (the very back of the glass shelf being opaque so you can't see the mini shelf - stupid design). And red and black and blue and green things have oozed under and created quite the menagerie of disgusting, sticky puddles.

The puddles have been eradicated, and my fridge is so clean and happy.

If I have saved even one person, my personal shame and embarrassment have been worth it!

Redefining Dreams

"Life is what happens while you're making other plans."

That's one of my fall-back quotes from college days. Still true every day of my life.

This weekend, while down in Florida with the Captain, playing dominoes with my Pirate friends and having lots of good laughs, it comes up that a certain house is for sale. Deco Dave, our Jamaican/New Zealand friend is in town. Deco Dave (who I'm pretty sure is my long lost brother, we have an amazing relationship like that) has a gorgeous house in the Grove that he kept despite moving out of the country. I love the location, the house, the guest house out back, the tree HOUSE with marble flooring, everything about Davy's house (ok ok it's worth well over a million so yeah, it has some "amenities.") Mostly I love the neighborhood - walking distance to town and the marina, lovely address with lots of Pirate friends in the neighborhood. Turns out the house for sale used to be the Captain's house - before his then wife decided it wasn't a place to raise kids and made him sell it and move across the state. Sigh. A few years later, Deco Davy's brother bought it and lived there for a number of years. Pirate neighborhood indeed.

I suddenly got the craziest ideas of buying the house. Ideally, I'd buy the house in 1.5 years, when my house is being sold and I have equity and all that. But the house is for sale now and at bargain basement prices. We start scheming and doing crazy math and coming up with creative financing plans. To be neighbors with DecoDave? priceless.

Next day Captain and I went to see the house (listed by another Pirate friend who gave us the code for entrance). The yard is perfect - lots of room for Queen Bee and Stinky to run, and already fenced in. Amazingly, much of the work the Captain did on the house is still in evidence 15 years later - clearly he has a good and careful hand for such improvements. And the latest owner revamped the entire (tiny) kitchen in very good taste. The windows have the original lead panes of 100 years ago. It already survived Hurricane Andrew back in '92, so we know it's hardy. Hardwood floors throughout. Nifty pass-throughs from the bedroom to the kitchen where the Captain's kids used to peek out and say, "We'd like cheeseburgers fries and a coke" while the Captain and his wife were making dinner 15 years ago. Much charm. My corner hutch would fit nicely in the dining room, as would the buffet and dining room table....

But as I walked around the house, it didn't feel like my next house. I have been toying with moving to Florida in 1.5 years. Where? I don't know - probably east coast, probably miami-ish. On the water? In a house? In a condo? I don't know.

At least now I know where I won't live. I realized this 100 year old house, while full of charm and in a great neighborhood, isn't me. I don't have the skills of the Captain to fix the many things that are likely to go wrong. [and NO the Captain and I won't be living together] I don't have the time or energy to "take back" much of the overgrown vines and plants in the way I would want to to make it My yard. I don't have the energy to revamp the bathrooms that haven't been redone since probably the 50's.

And so the Dream is redefined or maybe just given some definition.

At least now I know that I think it will be a house - I can't imagine not having at least a small yard. And it will be newer with a master bathroom and walk in closet like I've always wanted. And a decent sized kitchen. And a garage. And the charm of the neighborhood in the Grove where the Pirates live.

Where? I still don't know. But where not, well, I guess knowing that is some progress?

Pure Sweet Bliss

Today for the first time since we lived in Spain 12 years ago and help of the kind I am currently experiencing was $20 for 4 hours, I have experienced Nirvana. Bliss.

Chalk it up to the excellence of living Alone and Making my OWN decisions....

Today, the Housecleaners/maids/helpers - call them what you want - they showed up. And as I am typing/blogging/quasi working-from-home- my house is becoming blissfully CLEAN.

Why yes I have worked ridiculous hours for the last 7 years and never had any housekeeping help. I was not allowed to. Ex would not hear of it. We fought about it - I even said, "FINE if you won't hire help and want to clean instead of spending time with the kids, you clean and I'll pay YOU." He actually did pick up most of the slack. But I was miserable with a dirty house (not messy - we are pretty neat people. But worse - DIRTY). Oh and folks out there? We could afford it - while not "rich" we certainly had excess income although we were never certain exactly how it all magically disappeared every month. (Um wait, kids, boat, cars, tuition, mortgage, yep that about says it all)

I have paid the kids - mostly Daughter - at various times to clean the house. And she's pretty good. But not really reliable, particularly with her full school/activities schedule.

So the other night when I was really cleaning off my desk, I came upon the cell phone number of people my neighbors use, and I. Called. Them. And They Are Here. Cleaning. Chatting. Being wonderful. I think I am In Love.

For now I am only hiring them 1x a month. The kids are only here every other week. We can vacuum and clean in between. And if I need them 2x a month, we'll try that.

Seriously, I didn't know having help could feel this good. Almost makes working 16 hours yesterday worth it....

And as Dear Abby used to say, "Confidential to Broccoli": When you come this weekend, you'll get to sleep in a clean house - Please take time to NOTICE! Haha.

BLASTING MY CAREFULLY PLANNED LIFE...

I have had a little trouble focusing at work lately, despite mountains of work (finally - lots of billable work) to do. I think life and challenges and summer and anniversaries etc just made it too hard. So last week I put together a list of all the work items I can and must accomplish over the next three weeks, accounting for deadlines and home-stuff and a day off here and there to visit with Sisters and Friends. I even calculated approximately how much time I think I'll have to bill to each project to get it done. (This is my world, people, my daily life is billed in 6 minute increments. Really. Not kidding).

I had a FAB weekend as the 2nd Annual Sister Act Tour hit Atlantic city (translation: my sisters and I met there for a weekend. 8-8-08 had to be great! Last year we did NYC). Perfect sunny weather, great fun. Yes will blog more when I get photos...my digital camera died, so I'm countin' on the Sistahs. It took me 5.75 hours to get home, instead of 3.3 because of a mere hailstorm and tornado. I waited them out at a local pizza joint, ate some stromboli and watched Olympic badmitton and finished my book (yep, trashy strikes again). But I wasn't really in a hurry to get home, so that was ok. For once no deadlines there.

I get home with time to spare - time to clean up my whirlwind messes from last week's working marathon, put out the kids' new towels, make the place all nice and clean smelling for their arrival that evening, weed out the damned plant boxes up on the catwalk (see header photo - those pink boxes are hell and I'm never doing them again...yet another postfor another day), and I decide to unpack and do some laundry. This is huge for me; I like to put off the laundry. But something was telling me..."Go to the basement." And as I descended the steps, I thought, "Gee the basement seems damp and hot for a basement with a dehumidifier running......."

And I went into the laundry room - to see water on the floor. And hear water leaking out of my fairly new hot water heater..... first I cried. Yep. Just cried. The water heater is wedged up against the dryer (the dryer I hate that Ex picked out and installed a couple years ago - just after the water heater) which is wedged up against the old, ginormous side-by-side fridge that I hate being in the basement and loved being in the garage but got overruled by Ex last year so 5 boys hauled it down the stairs, giving my son a hyneria in the process and how it's there forever and I hate it, which is wedged up against the furnace.

Can I move the dryer away from the water heater to figure out what the hell is leaking? NOOOO. the washer is in the way at a 90 degree angle.

I cry some more. Lest you think I'm all "Wonder Woman" - nope after the long trip and weekend of no sleep, and admitting some honest personal decision flaws in my life to myself on that long, solitary drive, I'm pretty much tapped out.

Friend calls, I cry to him but only for 3 seconds because my cell doesn't get good reception in the basement.

Then I brainstorm and remember Son is home alone next door and make an emergency call to Mr. Son the Man (no longer crying). Some might think this twisted, but he really loves being the Man around here and knows I will listen to his advice (I heard through a secret source that Ex doesn't give him much credit in the problem-solving arena. I hope that will change. He's really his Father's and Grandfathers' kid in that area). We empty the fridge, move it a little, after moving the old metal "closet" with rags in it, move out the dryer, find the shut off lever for the water heater, but only after Son SHOVES the sink next to the washer before I can say DON'T so he disconnects the pipe that drains the sink and I have that mess to figure out, too.

And now I'm wondering why this fairly new water heater is leaking? and yelling inside my head, "I HATE THIS HOUSE I HATE THIS HOUSE I HATE THIS HOUSE."

And thinking this is what I get for "taking" the house and "making" Ex move out. OK So not true but at the moment I was wishing I were in a beachside condo in Florida already....

Drag my sorry butt up 2 flights of stairs for the 15 millionth time to the office to find the hot water heater paperwork. Yes it's under warranty but all that fine print about getting approval ahead of time. On a sunday night when the hotline is closed, uh-huh.

And I'm looking at the water heater and thinking the top of it looks a little funky. did it explode? Did the pressure valve not release? Or is that gunk up there normal? And I know that Ex would know by looking at it for 15 seconds.

So I make the call. Which he doesn't answer. Surprise surprise...

But eventually I talk to him and he agrees to come over and look. I tell him I don't want him to fix it or anything - just want him to look and see if the top is "normal" or not. "Because, you know, you installed it."

He arrives - and walks past the 2 dozen pink roses on the foyer table next to the Card my parents gave me - and does a double take. I let him.

As he walks down the basement stairs he comments, "You need the dehumidifier on down here" and I tell him, "I just shut it off when I discovered the leak" Pompous ass. like I don't know it's damp and humid in the basement? Duh.

And he is baffled by the sight. First thinks the pressure valve didn't release. then thinks it did. Then says nope it's just lime buildup. And the tank shouldn't leak. (Um no duh - I kind of figured that but then why is there a steady stream of water dripping out of the bottom? Oh yes I did get my sorry butt flat on the disgusting basement floor and shine a flashlight under there and slide a paper plate under there to catch the drips. i know it shouldn't be leaking but it is). So he tells me to call someone. Duh.

Check. I had already called a local hot water heater hotline. Have they called me back? Nope.

So here I sit on Monday morning, unable to take a shower to wash the beach grime out of my hair, waiting for a call to repair my hot water heater. Wondering why I left all that work sitting on my desk at the office and didn't bring it home.....blasting my carefully planned life all to hell and back.

PS Edited to add: happy to report that indeed old friend Brian, who has maintained the heating and air conditioning in our houses for 20 years, was able to drop everything and come out. Home Depot/GE honored our warranty and gave Brian a brand-spanking new heater with no fuss, well except that he had to drag the old one out there. $633 later, I have a new hot water heater, my furnace has been inspected, my air filters changed, and I feel better about everything. I must learn not to panic and to know that with a little time and money, all will be well....
thanks for the support out there bloggers!!

Now back to work for me...

You Know Things Are Twisted Up When...

Life must be a little unbalanced when....

• You are excited to find a lean cuisine in your Freezer at 11pm when you get home from work;
• You forget where you parked your car in the garage at work because it has been there so long;
• You're reading blogs on your crackberry while driving home from work to try to catch up;
• You think jott.com is the greatest invention ever;
• You realize in July that your dining room table runner is your Easter runner (um, I think this happened last year, too);
• Your winter snowman decorations are still on the kitchen wall - but at least you've put away the valentines and st pats day front door hangings
• Your car has been at the repair shop nearly a week - and it only took them 1 day to fix it but you keep forgetting to pick it up or get home too late to do it;
• Your other car has been in need of a front license plate since....you bought it in November but you keep forgetting to get one;
• Owner's manuals for those used cars you bought last November? Oh yeah, you'll get those too, one of these days...;
• You look at your Netflix account and realize that you've had the same two movies for over a month;
• You decide to "work from home" because all of your office-appropriate clothes are in a heap in a bag to go to the drycleaners, but, yep, you keep forgetting that, too;
• You are thankful that your children are teenagers who can feed themselves and like macaroni and cheese and sandwiches and cereal and fruit;
• You know that none of the important bills in your life (mortgage, insurance, utilities, etc) would ever get paid on time if you didn't have automated payments set up from your checking account and the 1 or 2 un-automated ones sometimes get forgotten...;
• despite these lists of "things to do, to remember, to get control of" you find that BLOGGING still manages to get done almost every day....

So How Close is NEXT DOOR

Some of you got to see into my "heart of the home" as I took you into my bedroom. Not surprisingly, this was the subject of an early post on this blog, too, which explains a lot about me.




Now my college Friend Marie, when told of the new living arrangements and the pink thing, suggested I take that M pillow (click on "my bedroom" above), put on some spike heels, get scantily clad, and do a little victory dance in front of my bedroom window. Huh? Well, putting aside that Marie is a little wacky, a whole lot funny, and incredibly supportive, why would I dance in front of my bedroom window?



Why?


Have any of you out in blogger world ever wondered just exactly how close is "next door"? Let me show you, my cyberfriends.....






How's that for close??




I kid you not, this is the view from my bedroom window...


And in case you think I'm exaggerating, here's a view with my interior window in the photo.
Yep, that's is junk out there, his window in mine. I can almost hear the toilet flushing over there...I lived in that house for 2 months while the twins were "cooking" - lived there a couple months when we were between houses before the twins were born. Lived there between SC and spain when the twins were 2.5 years old. I know that house.

Jenn at Juggling called me "bold." I think I might be just "stupid."

NO MEMORIES TODAY

Memory Monday has been interrupted by technical and general difficulties.

Things currently going wrong in my home/life:

• Computer has wicked spyware viruses (Although my cousin DF may have sent me a few ideas to fix it - but I need a couple hours apparently to finish the job. Sigh)
• Living room ceiling is leaking - kids' bathroom is flooding and I need to get BossMan's repair man over to fix this. What's that I hear? The sound of money going down the drain?
• New Puppy has been hijacked by EX. He now has 3 dogs, and I have none. OK It's Daughter's new puppy, but we were going to keep her at my house. Yes I know it's best for Daughter if puppy travels with her so that Puppy can actually be HER puppy (see new photo in sidebar) AND it actually works better for me to have no dog when I have no kids (I travel a LOT), BUT I JUST WANT TO WHINE A BIT HERE AND BE A BRAT! He trumped me by saying, "Oh you can bring her over here when you're here) He stole my puppy. Not technically correct, but I'm just going to leave that one out there for now.
• My Pilot/SUV has the "Maintenance required" light on full time and is overdue for repairs.
• My convertible with just 17,000 miles on it is making chunking noises and has a ding in the back fender by some nasty DC parker (no for once I didn't back into anything....) and while all of the above is covered by warranty/insurance, I still have to find the time to deal with it.
• Is it any wonder my face has broken out in nasty cysts? Oh no, I don't get just normal acne, I get the cyst variety. Yes I get these under stress and they are genetic (my oldest brother gets them, too). There is nothing but time to make them go away. Indeed, the more you try to do something about them, the worse they get. Gee, just in time for a visit to see Friend, too. He will go running and screaming in the other direction.
• My roof leaks when it rains and the wall in the office (where the water runs down the chimney) is crumbling. We have had 2 separate roofers in the past few years try to fix this. Can I find the paperwork/receipts for this? Nooooooo. Time to spend another $3000 on someone else who won't be able to fix it.....
• My plants in my window boxes on the far right insist on dying. I have replanted twice. Can't figure it out. Yes I've tried new dirt and everything. The other three are perfect. Perhaps we will just have 3 boxes this year...
• There is an unknown fungus growing in my front garden. Again, likely fixable if I could find the time.

So Memory Monday became "want some cheese with that whine?"

Feels better just to get it out there...

On the bright side:

• I'm going to see Friend in a few days
• I'm very busy at work
• I got to see my parents and most of my family this past weekend
• the puppy is a great traveler and was good in Gram's house
• Daughter is ridiculously happy and responsible with new puppy
• Son is happy with puppy even though he wasn't involved in the picking out and arrived home from vacation to discovery puppy (I was worried about this - even though it is Daughter's 16th birthday present)
• BossMan has a great handyman who will work for me and fix all my house problems and is reliable
• I have a great mechanic who is trustworthy and reliable who can fix my cars
• If I put a little effort into it, I will remember that God is with me - everywhere every time in every place and hears me and He will get me through. My Faith is a wonderful gift.

OK feeling even better now. Thanks!

FINALLY Welcome to my Favorite Room....

Mrs. G, in a way that somehow only Mrs. G can, created this wonderfully fantabulous idea for the Heart of the Home sharing among bloggers. (check this out - it's a free giveaway). I am a little late, but it's still Friday so I'm ok. After all, I did get a last minute visit from my wonderful, supportive, loving and awesome cousin DF last night (more on that later maybe) so I couldn't take the photos last night, and well, I do have a day job people. SO it had to wait until tonight. But here it is - the heart of my home. My ROOM. Yes, I have posted previously on the whole pink thing, but here's more on why this, above all, is my favorite room of the house...

Here is MY ginormous king size bed. Ok accent on "my," yes. This is new, this sleeping alone and being myself thing. I love sleeping alone, in my own bed. And I love it that it's PINK. I love the comforter. I love the "M" pink pillow in the middle (does that stand for my first name or "mine" the world may never know). I am NO martha stewart and in fact a horrid decorator. I have made more home-fashion faux pas in the past 20 years than anyone would ever admit to. I am a lousy decorator. Oh well, next, move on, I have other talents. But when Ex moved out and I realized I couldn't keep the wedding quilt on any longer and I could go out and do my own thing with my room, well, it was better than sex with George Clooney liberating to say the least.

Ex was Bob Vila and redid and redecorated most of the house, using his own ideas and his own tastes, with me getting in a snippet here and there. To be fair, Ex and I generally had the same tastes and he was better at it, so I didn't always mind that he was so dictatorial opinionated suggestive on what we would buy or decorate with. And there was just a smidgen of angst when I would actually endeavor to buy something for the house, knowing I had to get by Captain Bligh. So Exit Ex, enter answering to me, myself and I. Enter Pink Comforter and My Bed and My room..... (why yes, I do make my bed every day. Do you? I wonder...am I weird or normal?) . No I don't usually blog from my bed - I have an office for that. but I read there, I sometimes watch late-nit-Nextflix movies on my laptop there, and, well, I get to be ME there. Sometimes My kids hang out with me there. But when it's time for bed, all are banished...

Here is the top to what used-to-be-ex's cluttered and totally ugly chest-on-chest (I think that's what you call it). Now it has MY stuff, stuff I didn't have "before. " Stuff that I look at and smile. Like the pink build-a-bear named "Candy." My sisters gave me a gift card for my 40th birthday and I made her. And She cracks me up. She's dressed for skiing and so cute. OH in my former life I collected Bears. I don't anymore. I still have the ones I did collect, in a box somewhere, but Candy Lives. And the cute little champagne glass candles? Target. My favorite store. And a cute, whimsical "spa day" bank that my mommy (and dad) gave me for my last birthday. It's silly and reminds me mommy loves me. And an old doll I bought Daughter in Spain when we lived there. She outgrew it, but I think it's precious...

And here is a jewelry chest that I always wanted but never had. Now I do. My sister helped me buy it on QVC. I adore it. Really. And my sewing basket is below it. Lest you think I am at all talented with sewing, I do buttons and the occasional crooked hem.

This is my triple dresser. (please ignore the crooked miniblind hanging down in my bathroom off to the left) I have always loved my triple dresser. The first suite of "real" furniture that we bought was our bedroom set. (sans the bed - that came later). We saved and saved and saved. And I love my triple dresser. I just realized I didn't take a photo of my lingerie chest - oh well, I like that, too. But this dresser, it has stories. And memories, old and new (see below)

My photo shop abilities are limited: here's the stories of my dresser treasures:

1) that's a jelly fish in a glass enclosure. The jelly fish glow in the dark. I think that is so cool. Friend Gave it to me as a present. And I love it. My kids think its creepy. I just think it's cool. And I like it. And it's my room. If you think it's creepy, leave.

2) that's a statue of the Virgin Mary that was given to my mommy by the "Mother's Circle" when I was baptized. That puppy is old. And it reminds me of my mommy and my heritage and my religious base. It says, "Home."

3) Those are shells that Friend and I found in the "Great Clam rescue of 2008." Some day I'll blog about that. It was a great day. A smiley day. And I look at those shells and smile.

4) That's a crazy jeweled blue crab that I found at Friend's Son's art boutique. It's cool. it's different. I bought it for myself b/c I like it. Another silly smiley thing.

5) OH my goodness, it's my Velveteen Rabbit. I got that bunny for Easter when I was like, 3? 4? I love him.... again "Home."

6) That's the only photo taken of my on my 30th birthday. It's Daughter and me in Portugal at the entrance of a Portugese version of "Sea World." It wasn't really a happy time - it was the first time Ex said, "I don't love you - I want a divorce." But it is a cute photo of Daughter and Me. So I like it. Plus she's holding a live parrot and she's so cute (my daughter, not the parrot) I can't help but smile.

So welcome to my world - my heart - my room. Thanks for stopping by...

P.S. "interesting mail" and Same Keys

A number of you have asked for a follow-up, "What is interesting mail to a teenager?"
Answer: the latest netflix movie and a lovely thank you card from her Aunt regarding some get well flowers we sent. She is also getting inundated with college materials since taking her PSATs and is always looking for information on colleges.

As for the keys - remember that the in-laws used to live next door. FIL is a regular McGuiver. Seriously. He does stuff like built me a light (the actual light) so that when I open my corner cabinet under my sink, a light magically goes on. And when you close the door, it goes off. And that's small potatoes for him. Anyway, FIL keyed ALL the locks in both houses (deadbolts, everything) to work to one key. And the alarm codes on both houses? the same. Made it easy for us when they lived next door to check each other's houses, FIL could come over at will and fix things (I used to joke about the Fix-It Elf who visited while I was at work - lights in pantries magically appeared, new electrical outlets, etc. Oh he's a licensed electrical engineer...). When they moved out and Ex moved it, it made sense to leave the keys and alarm codes as is so that the kids could move between the houses freely. NO I do not worry about him coming over here. He won't step foot on "my property" as he calls it. literally will not. And He has asked that I "stay off his property." Yes, he is many things, and many strange things at that. But he does have an interesting set of morals and ethics such that I do not worry about him sneaking about in my house.
And yes, I do leave things a certain way and can always tell when someone has been here. But I can also tell that the "someone" is a child....they can't figure out how to come and go without leaving a trail. And that's not a bad thing when they could be trying to be sneaky teenagers!

Still Keeping Up With the Jones..

Remember the story of the Determined Lawn Girl? Well, I have gotten used to mowing the lawn, and yes, I still find it fun. And great exercise. And I can do the whole front in minutes flat (God Bless my chemlawn man who told me not to bag and to let the grass clippings send nutrients back to my lawn. ILY lawnman). AND I am happy to report that the planting is done and almost all the mulching is done. And I can get really really dirty ....

Yeah that's a good 8 hours of 80+ degree hot, sweaty, dirty me! So gross Daughter came by and said, "Hey mom, clean up. And I don't mean the House. You're disgusting..." THANKS FOR NOTICING!

NO that's not razor burn, razor stubble or razor anything. It's a giant scratch from the new rosebushes. I don't remember getting it - my body looks like I was attacked by a CAT! My arms, my legs. cool. And that's dirt where a white sock and shoe once stood.

Now when I pull up to the house, there's a happy basket on my pole and flowers all around. And leetle tiny alyssum growing growing growing....

The boxes of wave petunias on the catwalk are starting to cascade after only 2 weeks! and there are 2 new rosebushes (but I didn't get a closeup and I don't have photoshop to draw funky arrows...). And mulch. and containers by the front door of (gasp) yellow (not pink!) petunias!

And finally, 3 flats of impatiens around the cherry tree in the back. plus pots and containers of flowers. And a freshly blown off patio free of debris, sticks, mud, etc. Love that blower. Just some mulching around this tree and I. Am. Done. Oh, then I get to start attacking the weeds, planting some grass seed, clipping the hedges, painting the iron furniture that's rusting....

But you know what? I DID IT MYSELF (daughter did help with some initial planting a couple weeks ago). And I love that. So Much. maybe next summer I'll be looking for help, but this year, it feels so tremendous to JUST. DO. IT. and not have to explain why or ask permission or any-thing...

The Pink Thing

I admit it, since he moved out, I have a pink fetish. Blue has always been my color. I have seriously blue eyes (the one feature I honestly love about myself - oh and the new boobs I bought myself, but that's another post for another day...), I look good in blue, I love blue. Fortunately, the ex loved blue, so the whole house is blue and white, some yellow, mostly BLUE. I am not much of a decorator and have limited creative talent, hence lots of blue - go with what you know! But for the last year or so pink has been creeping in - pink clothes, pink shoes, pink purses, pink polka dot purses (two), pink socks, pink IPOD case, pink accents in my wardrobe and my life here and there.

Then he moved out, and it was time to reclaim (claim?) MY bedroom. MY bed. Where I get to sleep ALONE - YIPPPEEEEEEEEE. I bought a ginormous superpillowtop bed a few years ago and finally got my sleigh bed. It's mahogany and gorgeous. I love it. But the blue and white handmade wedding quilt my Aunt made with all the family names on it (including my long-since dead grandparents who signed the squares before they passed, God bless people who plan ahead), well duh it had to GO. Despite being blue and beautiful. But what to replace it with? I looked at lots of blue - blue flowers, blue nautical, blue blue blue. And then, on a whim in TJMAXX it jumped off the shelf and into my basket, and I knew it was perfect. The pinkest, cotton candy pink, fluffiest Nautica Comforter you have ever seen. Pink Pink Pink. The back is white with pink and blue ticking stripes. Perfect. And the sheet were there, too. I got the whole set - king sized mind you - for under $150. Crazy sale. Crazy comforter. Happy Me.

My teenage son saw it in the back of the car when I picked him up from school - "WHAT IS THAT?!" Followed by "Mom You really seem to have a Pink PROBLEM."

Yes, yes I do have a pink problem. And It's My Problem. My House. My Bed. And I love it. I added cute white and pink lamps from Target, some cute tiny pink candles in little champagne glasses in various shades of pink. Tossed some blue throw pillows on the bed to pick up the blue ticking. Perfect. The curtains were white, so it all works.

The Icing on the Cake [bed]? my daughter and I were shopping, killing time, and I found the perfect pink throw pillow with my initial on it. A beautiful "m" in script. Although daughter agrees with her twin brother that mom's gone a little pinko, she also agreed the pillow must be purchased. She doesn't know that secretly, the M stands for "MINE."

The frosting flowers on the icing on the cake? The day he came over to do something for the kids in their room, walked by MY room and did a double-take when he saw the PINK bed. He hasn't been upstairs since...

Such a silly thing to make me so happy, but it does....

(this is pre-"M" pillow)