Crunch TIme

We are heavy in to crunch mode... Mr Safety-Man and I are traveling this Friday up to Maine to round out and finish the organizing and sorting all of his Mom's things. We packed, boxed, cleaned, sorted, more boxes, last minute boxes, and even more TOTES... until our storage was almost full - during our last few minutes at his mom's house when we were there the first week in June.

It was a hard goodbye to the house - coming back home. I sobbed as we pulled away. I even took a few Hens-and-Chicks (no sillies... not the real ones... they're a plant!!). And snuffed, snorted, and sniffed the Peonies so HARD that a petal went up my nose. Yes, my friends, I kid you not - it truly went up my nostril and made me sneeze, and laugh, and giggle too. I wanted to try and remember the scent - after all they are truly one of my favorite smelling flowers. Yet as we pulled away I felt a huge loss again. I felt like it was the final step in the closing of a book... as we passed the house again (after the LAST "and I mean it Kymmie the last trip to storage - no more trips") - we tooted the horn like we always used to - and I sobbed even a little harder. But - this is the last chapter - this flight up this weekend and the L.O.N.G. drive from Maine to Florida in only THREE days... or maybe this is the Epilogue... you decide.

I just know it starts a new beginning, a bit more difficult as we try to adjust to not having Chris' Mom to send photos to, to call just to say - "hey we haven't gotten to talk to you lately and missed you", to visit, or to just be together. But time does heal, and the wounds will not be so raw soon enough...

Mr Safety-Man and I have decided with alllllllll the books coming from his Mom's library... that we needed to change a room we NEVER (and when I say NEVER... I mean NEVER) use from a "living" (I call it the non-living) room to a library. It really was just a catch-all and playground for the girls. That started me on a plan for "built-in" bookshelves all around the room. Well... we are SO running out of time before the books are getting here (one week now). AND our garage was filled with his other parental unit's C.R.A.... well you get that picture - junk. Soooooo - we've been in total crunch mode cleaning out the garage to getting OUR stuff cleaned up, organized, sorted, packed etc for a BIG. HUGE. yard sale! YAY US! I have been so good about just gettting rid of things. It was an inspiration going through San's stuff... I just needed to do this. We've been holding on to too many things.

But with all this sorting... no time to build - built-in's. OH NO... now what?!

Well Mr Safety-Man came up with a most FANTABULOUS revelation. Our home is VERY much ecclectic with a large assortment of family antiques (I am saying ecclectic because it sounds so much better than saying hodge podge or mix-matched or even GASP - OLD). SOoooooo why not get some barrister cabinets/antique cabinets to make the library and go along with what we already have? It's not light colored as I had hoped... but... I LOVED THE IDEA!

We searched all around and went to several shops (even a new wood shop that I could "shabby chic" something... only it was just as expensive if not more for unfinished wood!?!?!? Seriously dudes? Would MUCH rather have antiques for close to the same price). {I digress - as usual}.

Then Mr Safety-Man found a place that only dealt with Barrister cabinets that would match the ones I have of my grandma's... and I am in love. WAIT till you see the photos... this library will look good I think... I hope... I've been working late nights and hard hours getting them clean and assembled in my new library... I've been taking photos of the phases and will post them soon! But right now I need to get back to the grind...

After all... it is crunch time... that clock is ticking!!!

Cannot seem to get my mind engaged

I have a lot of things in my head going round and round... and yet I cannot remember a thing. NOT ONE THING! I usually pride myself on my memory. I will fully admit that once I got pregnant I lost some of my memory pride... HOWEVER... I thought it was all coming back!

There's a lot of things going on here... is it enough to erase my memory? I used to multi-task so much better! I mean I ran my own database group, had tons of meetings, ran meetings, deadlines, schedules, prioritized, that was me! ugh...

Today I missed my personal training appointment. NAMASTE my bottom. I was so mad. This is the second time. I wish I could say I had a good reason. The first time missed - the girls didn't have school on Monday. On Tuesday (my appt day) I thought it was Monday all day... so miss 1. Today... well there was- absolutely no reason... at all - except my minds been very occupied lately - and I just buried myself in cleaning. Big time. Well at least the house looks good - or at least is starting to look good! Boo hoo... I know.

It seems like a lot is going on all at once. And what started as a peaceful - yet filled with thinking - type of day - has turned in to kind of a stressful day. So maybe my mind's TOO engaged? Too many decisions to make, too many unknowns, too many emotions. I guess?!

But I did get in my exercising tonight! I still cannot believe I can do some of the things I have been doing lately! It is so refreshing... it's been TOO long. YES!

What does YOUR dog do while you are gone?!?

OK... Monday was truly a busy day for me... I had so much to do...physical therapy for my back in the AM, SEVERAL NEEDed errands, and several UNneeded errands (OUTLET MALL yay!!), plus I was trying to get this house under control in preparation for Blanche's visit with us on Thursday (2/4).

Chris was out of the home office all morning while I was gone too. I got back shortly before I had to leave again to pick up our girls from the bus stop...

Well...

Apparently Moose (our chocolate labrador retriever) decided that he was pretty TICKED off at me for being gone ALL morning/early afternoon and then only coming home for a short time before I ran an errand and picked up the girls from the bus stop - total time gone the 2nd time - 1.5 hours TOPS.

Upon returning home... rounding the corner to go to the dining room...

I was greeted by an interesting smell of old food... and some items that I hadn't left there less than an hour and a half ago... wait a minute... is that GARBAGE???!


I followed the trail... yes there WAS a trail and it was about 3-5 inches DEEP... He even tried to get in to the CLOSED (thank goodness) garbage... he was REALLY mad... I kept going following the trail... oh no... no please... not there too?!

Oh yes... in to the dining room and continued to go through to my family room floor. WHY - O - FOR GOODNESS SAKE - WHY?!?!? do dogs do ALL bad things on carpeting?! I mean SERIOUSLY WHY!? He could've kept all this NASTY garbage on my wood floors... or the tile... but no he drags it over to the family room carpet...

NOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooo!!!

Should I go in to detail about the CRAP that was in our garbage... no I think the photos are justification enough. HOWEVER let me just be GRATEFUL in the fact that I didn't end up cooking any of the chicken the night before!!! OH there is a God and He is SOOOO GOOD! (Truly He is!)!!!

Yes... that is a disgusting piece of orange, yes LEFT OVER CANDY from Halloween that I was tossing (Shhhhhhhh) - yes he got it all. OH but he had a helper whom I am SURE was egging (no pun intended since yes, there are eggshells in the mess on my poor throw-rug) him on - MUGSY our almost 10yr old Shih Tzu... And of course this was a hard week so Chris did drink some coffee... so let us just grind (OK, OK, OK that pun was bad and intended) that in to the rug... just to round things out.

I cleaned the floors with a rake first people... a small kids rake... but a rake.

I just didn't know how to start. I was so beyond words. My poor dogs... they totally shrank to the floor and scuttled away to make themselves scarce only to be dragged back and told (in not so nice words) how NAUGHTY they truly were and how unhappy their Momma was!

I actually made the girls go away - as I was so steamin'!!

Well now as I think about it... it was quite comic. I mean MAN that dog was some p-o'ed at me. I mean LOOK at the house!!! It was literally a foot deep in some spots! My girls - such angels - helped me get things cleaned up... Wearing my lovely fashionable green with white and pink polka dot gloves helped me get through it!!!

So I wonder what else he does to have fun while we're not looking!?

What's your 'animals' do while you're away (and doesn't necessarily mean a pet... hahahaha)?!

musings on naughty little puppies...