TODAY I WILL JUST BE HUMAN

I called a plumber. Last night, after it was brought to my attention that there was no way I could get a rented 100 ft drain snake into my car let alone down into my basement by myself, I called a plumber. I am still amazed at the relief that washed over me as I made that phone call. So, here I sit waiting for said plumber to arrive. My original intention was to get up at 5 AM, take a camp style shower, go to work for a few hours and then come home to meet the plumber at 9 AM. But it was too easy to give in today. Today, I let myself sleep until almost seven. I took my camp style shower. I got on my yoga mat, something that hasn't happened in over a week. I lingered over my breakfast. I peeled an orange for Chris.

Then, when Chris realized his wedding ring was missing, I searched until it was found. And when we realized it went missing because it's too big for him now, I found a chain from an old necklace and placed it around his neck. Then I allowed myself to cry. Because today I am human.

RETURN TO NORMALCY

Cancer is a fucking asshole. In the last week and a half, I've had a crash course in all things suckage that is cancer. It's a gremlin that wants to come in and tear apart everything. It wrecks any sense of schedule and routine to smithereens. Suddenly easy to grab crap foods are consumed and general filth begins to creep into every corner. All sense of normalcy gets kicked to the curb. Today was my day to begin to set things right. Today was my day to get the schedule and routine train back on the rails. I made a grocery list and a meal plan, bought groceries and went to the laundry mat. I cleaned and put things back where they belong. I made pancakes. All (maybe futile) attempts to regain a bit of normal.

I know the next few weeks, years even, are going to be filled with doctors, treatments, recovery from treatments, and rinse and repeat. Our days ahead are bound to be filled with crazy disruption. I also know that if I don't gain some control over regaining our routine, cancer will be able to claim a tiny victory. And I'm in no mood to let cancer have any more points on it's score board.

Today I bought flowers for my kitchen table. Today I picked up my camera for the first time in over a week. Today, I scored a point.

BECAUSE I KNOW YOU'D WANT TO KNOW

Chris is home! The shower is fixed! Chris still has cancer! Wait...that's not really all that awesome. Forgive me. I'm still having a hard time forming complete sentences. Chris is doing better. He still has internal shunts draining bile from his liver. His bilirubin levels are dropping and the liver doctor seems pleased with his progress. So they let him come home. You don't know how ecstatic this makes me and him. He's tired, but feeling better. Now, let's talk tumors (we can pickle that). Chris's tumor is in tricky spot on his liver. Right now, surgery is just not an option. The next step is chemo. We meet with the chemo doctors on Friday. Here's what we want to happen. We want Chris to respond well to chemo and shrink that tumor. If they can shrink it down, then they could go in and remove it. This is the plan we are clinging to with every fiber of our beings.

First of all, I can't thank you enough for all the kind thoughts and good juju you've been sending our way. The road ahead is going to be hard. Really hard. Harder then any thing I've ever had to deal with ever. And Chris and I are more than willing to give this a fighting chance. I've already threatened him with gallons of wheat grass juice. Things will be changing around here for sure. Hopefully for the better. Chris still stands by his belief that the Universe brought us to KCMO for a reason. The Universe just couldn't be all that cruel to give us one year of awesome only to abandon us now. I think he's right. Actually, I know he's right.

We take each day as it comes. We rejoice in tiny triumphs. That's just how we roll.

THAT OTHER SHOE JUST DROPPED

Poorly Differentiated Adenocarcenoma. Thems big words. Words that will never stop ringing in my ears, but maybe I need to rewind and fill in some gaps. Chris has been suffering from what we thought to be Hepatitis A for over a month now. Early Friday morning, the pain became too much for him so I rushed him to the ER. Tests and bad news. They found a mass in Chris's liver. He never had Hep A. Suddenly, in a blink, I've become one of those blogs. I've become a cancer blog. Yup. Chris has cancer. We know what kind, but we don't know all the facts. More tests to come before we get a game plan. Until the news, we still believed that the mass was just an impossible tortilla chip. That's just not to be.

Yesterday the voices in my head were talking so loudly that I thought I'd peel my skin off. All the what ifs played around and around. Do you know, I don't know how to pay the bills? It's true. Chris does all that. We're a team. C & C music factory. Now, we're a scared team. But we are on our way to a plan to get Chris better. Our new motto? It's going to suck for a while and then it's going to get better. Because that's really our only option.

ALL WE CAN DO IS KEEP BREATHING

The last thing you want to read is a to-do list of things I need to do. I came home with a mission. First step: clean the house! The Christmas tree is still up. Balls of Hooper hair random roll across the floor like tumbleweeds. Actually, our living room is very much like an old Western. The house. It's making my skin crawl. But that's not the real problem. The real problem comes down to time. We only got back home yesterday and I started back to work today. Everything from our trip is unpacked, the refrigerator cleaned out, and things put back in storage that goes in storage. I took care of all of this before allowing myself to collapse on the couch. And this is when I realize I'm out of shape. Not physically really, maybe mentally. You see, Chris is still sick and probably will be for another month. This means all physical labor required, right down to grocery shopping, is done by me and me alone. I'm not used to it. I know there was a time (B.C. = before Chris) when I did all this stuff by myself and I know I have friends who deal with this everyday. But I've let myself get a bit lazy. I got used to someone helping me out. And now that it feels like I have more to do, I also feel like I'm further behind.

Then I think "behind on what and whose time schedule?!". Mine? Why do I need to get this stuff done right this minute? I'm not going any where. Chris is definitely not going any where for a while. No parties. No concerts. No eating out. We're on a tight budget. All of this means I have time and plenty of it. It's a reminder that all I can do is keep breathing. Just like going to the gym. It takes some practice and getting used to, but it gets easier every time you get on that treadmill. One step at a time.

GUILT OF HAPPINESS

I know I said I was a taking a break from the blog, but here I sit, all alone at the Picasso Cafe, with Internet, a cup a coffee and peace and I thought it seemed like a good time to put some thoughts down. I have to say, this trip hasn't been everything we dreamed it to be. Chris's illness has put a damper on things making our visits with friends brief. He's so disappointed and frustrated and mad about all the things he hasn't been able to eat. Because he's not eating, I forget to eat. Yesterday around 4:00 in the evening, I realized I hadn't anything to eat since a donut that morning. I settled for a fast-food bean burrito. Not my best choice. This morning, I woke up late and decided to treat myself to lunch at Picasso's even if it meant eating alone. But despite it all, the illness, the doing things alone, all of it, I have to say I'm still pretty happy. I can't help it. I. Am. Happy. Sometimes I feel guilty for saying it. Actually, I feel really guilty for saying it out loud. There is so much talk of finding happiness these days, countless books devoted to the art and pursuit of happiness. I'm beginning to wonder if there's a book for the aftermath. How do you deal with happiness once you've finally obtained it? How to control the joy that sometimes feels like it's just going to burst free from your chest? How to just allow yourself to be happy even when some of those around you are not?

I think my lesson for the coming year will be learning to be OK with myself being happy. I know where the guilt comes from. Sometimes I feel that it's not fair that I'm this happy, so I feel guilty. Or I worry that if I'm allowed to be happy, what might be waiting in the wings to take that away? If the Universe sees me this happy, will it conspire against me? Yes, that will be another goal for 2012: learning to shed the guilt and worry and just enjoy being happy. No apologies happy.

Happy, happy, happy New Year.

THE YEAR IN PICTURES!

It's really hard to stay on top of the blogging thing while traveling. So I've decided to not beat myself up over it and just give in. I'm taking a blogging break until we get back to KCMO. As a way to mollify you, I've put together a lovely slide show of the year in pictures. I don't need to tell you that this has been one BIG year. Babies were born. Our friends' kids got older. We moved! We bought a house! We ate! We ate some more! And through it all I tried to capture just a bit of each event. So, enjoy! And I'll see you in the New Year. Who knows what 2012 will bring?!?

ONE TOE OVER THE LINE

For the life of me I swear that was what they were singing in that song and the only reason I now know it's "One toke over the line" is because I just looked it up to make sure I had the lyrics right. I did not, but "one toe over the line" fits the content of this entry better than "one toke over the line", unfortunately (?). This is one of those entries that really belongs later down the road like in the end of December or the first of January, but my head is swirling with ideas and things for the New Year that I just can't stay present. I had some vague plans for myself last year, but I kind self-sabotaged them with this whole life changing moving event. All plans went out the window and the new plan became "just keep swimming, swimming, swimming". I'm tired of swimming. Also, my fingers are all pruney. It's time to dry out and stand still for a bit. Settle. Hang shit on the walls. Empty some boxes. Get organized. Clean out. All those thing we put on our resolution lists every year. I want that.

But I think the biggest (and most important) plan for 2012 is to get my health under control. I know. You're over there shaking your head and mumbling "what the Hell is she talking about?!?". Well, the truth is, I'm not quite as healthy as I'd like to be. My yoga practice has been pretty slim lately (sinus issues + down dog = bad news bears) and my meditation practice never really recovered after the move. I really need to fix this and get back on a schedule. I keep waiting for I don't know what. It's one excuse after another and that's all it is, an excuse. Excuses are not obstacles. Obstacles are things like broken limbs, uncontrollable vomiting, things that physically keep you from doing. Speaking of which, I must deal with the issues going on with the right side of my body.

Back in June, I fell out our back door. Literally. One second I was on the back step turning to pull the door closed and the next I was laying crumpled on my right side in one of Hooper's recently dug out "cool spots" (a hole). I got up, shook myself off and everything seemed fine, but the next day, I got out of bed and my ankle hurt. Then my knee started to ache and then my hip and now if I've been sitting for some time I'm all gimpy when I get up to walk. That's just sad. So, in 2012 I am finding a chiropractor and getting the gimp taken out of my step.

I think if I get my health in order all the other stuff will fall into place or at least be easier to accomplish. One task at a time.

NEGLECT

I realize that I'm only blogging twice a week these days. I don't mean to be neglectful, but I'm dried up. I'm a creativity black hole. That, and there's just not much going on these days. I'm busy at work, busy at staying on top of things with the home, busy with Christmas cards and presents. Busy. 'Tis the season ya'll. Our friends Tiffany, Tom and Allison are in town visiting his family and we were able to meet them last night for dinner. Afterward, we all came back to our house where I gave a tour of our home (I will never get tired of showing people our basement). Allison and I played and played while the adults got caught up on all the news. And after many yoga poses, twice through the Peanut-butter-jelly song, little piggy performed on every toe and finger, and cooking up my arms and legs for an act of cannibalism, Tiffany and Tom declared that it was time to go home. And Allison cried. It was not the "I'm so tired" cry, but the cry of a heartbroken child. She cried the tears of "you just killed my puppy" cry and it cracked my heart. All I could do was hug her close and cry with her.

And that's where we are today. We are warm from the love of friends visiting and a bit sad over goodbyes. Mostly we are looking forward. We're looking forward to better health, to more visits with the people we love, and to just more. It's really hard to write entries for now when my head is swirling in the future. But I promise, I've got some entries in here somewhere to keep us going.

CHARITY

This time of year it's really hard not to think of giving. I mean, not just presents for the kiddies, but charitable giving. We hear the Salvation Army Bell at every door of every store you're about to walk into to. Angel trees pop up every where covered with angels listing children in need. December is the month for giving. And every year, I get frustrated and upset and feel guilt over not being able to give. Long ago, Chris and I just gave up on gifts for the adults in our lives. Instead we put the focus on the kids. There's a long list of kids that seems to get a bit bigger every year and some of those also have birthdays in December. It gets tight. Compound this with the need to put money in every bucket of every bell ringer I pass and "adopt" twenty angels off the angel tree and we are looking at three bean dinner night for the next two months. What happens, in reality, is that I give some change to one bucket and I buy a book for one child at the local bookstore. Then, for the rest of the month I feel guilty for not giving enough, not doing enough, being not enough.

Saturday, Chris and I went to Whole Foods and ended up with nothing but cookies and a bottle of multi-vitamins in our cart and when we were checking out I noticed at the register you could donate $5 to feed breakfast to a family of four or $10 to feed them lunch or dinner. As Chris was handing over the bank card, I punched him in the arm and said "let's buy breakfast!". So we did. From there we headed to HyVee to buy cheese for nachos (don't ask, we'll get back on track in January) and as we were checking out Chris noticed a coupon for feeding a family of four for $5. So we did that.

The thing is, every time we buy food for Hooper at Pets Mart, Hooper donates a $1 to a local animal shelter. I think of this as teaching our dog to be charitable (yes, I realize Hooper has no idea, but I believe deep down that he does because he gives his treats up for my Dad's dog all the time). Every time Hooper buys treats, some less fortunate dog out there gets a treat. Why can't I do the same? If I'm going to buy myself treats (aka cookies), someone less fortunate then me should also get a treat (in this case a healthy breakfast). Treats for everyone! The real treat is convincing myself that this is enough and that I am doing what I can. I'm still working for that treat.

MUPPET CHILD

We all know that I was raised by a village. What you may not realize is that part of that village included The Muppets. Hours of Seseame Street, multiple viewings of Muppet movies, and numerous Saturday night evenings of The Muppet Show shaped my ideas and strengthened my imagination. When Kermit The Frog told me that I could be anything, I believed him with all my heart. When I was old enough to realize that Jim Henson was the brilliant brain behind The Muppets, it was almost too late. I mourned the passing of Mr. Henson like I would mourn the loss of an uncle. He was a beautiful creative mind that taught us to be kind to one another, to be silly, to dream, to be ourselves. He made us believe.

These are the reasons the new Muppet Movie turned me into a puddle mess of tears and snot. Chris said he hadn't had to dab his eyes so much during a movie since Schindler's List. It was full of nostalgic flashbacks, quirky musical numbers and crazy convoluted plot lines just like we saw in all the other Muppet Movies. It was classic and perfect. Kermit sounded like Kermit, Fozzie told the same kind of jokes, and Mrs. Piggy's flare for drama has not diminished. This movie is a reminder that The Muppets are timeless.

GOBBLE GOBBLE

I have this whole other entry buzzing around in my brain right now. It's like a swarm of bees and I'm afraid I'm not ready for the consequent stings if I release the bees. That and there's a lot of fact checking and source identification. It's a research paper really. Maybe over the weekend I'll put on my school girl outfit and work on it, but right now I've got other things to do. Like cook a turkey. Yeah, that's right. I conned my parents into coming up here for Thanksgiving. I kind of bribed them by saying "I'll even cook a turkey!". Some times things just fall out of my mouth. I know you've heard me say that something like 80% of your thoughts are not your own. I think I'm conduit for those thoughts. To be fair, when I said "turkey", I really meant a large turkey breast. I mean, how much turkey are three people going to eat? But because of a series of unfortunate events (roofers that refused to show up to work, I'm looking at you), we were not able to get to COSTCO until Sunday. They were out of turkey breasts. I elbowed my to the "all natural" turkey section and dug through the turkeys until I surfaced with the smallest bird, an 11 pounder. At $.99 a pound, it came out cheaper than our original plan. So..yay!

I've never cooked a whole turkey. One year, I cooked a turkey breast for Chris and (he said) it turned out fabulous. But a whole bird is different. I don't even own a meat thermometer. I have a candy thermometer. I have priorities people. Two weeks ago (before we even had the turkey) I dreamed that I had forgotten to thaw the turkey. Two nights ago I dreamed about making brine and storing it in pitchers in the refrigerator. I woke up the next morning wondering if this was even a possibility and if I even had a pitcher (I think I have a Kool-Aid type pitcher....dear God what has happened to my kitchen?!?!). Today, I've reached a sort of Zen calm about the whole thing. The turkey will go into the brine tonight. Mom's going to bring a meat thermometer so that we can be sure I won't kill anyone with raw turkey. It'll be fine. What? I have a tendency to channel Lucille Ball? That's crazy.

I am marking off a lot of firsts this year. First house; first thanksgiving in new house; first turkey. Let's just hope it's not my first time to kill people with food poisoning.

SOMETIMES I GET MAD

Chris and I have been talking about black and white situations a lot recently. Not racially speaking, that's a whole other entry unto itself, but right or wrong type issues. It seems to me that the line between black and white has become so far blurred that it's not even considered gray anymore. Case in point, the Penn State scandal. I have no idea what motivated the students to riot at Penn State over the firing of Paterno. I'd like to think that they just weren't thinking it through and just wanted to riot for riot sake. But to me, this is a perfect example of a black or white issue. Paterno was in a position of power, but chose to do nothing. Shame on him. EVERY PERSON THAT KNEW OR SUSPECTED JERRY SANDUSKY OF CHILD ABUSE BUT DID NOTHING SHOULD BE FIRED. Actually, if it were up to me, they would also be prosecuted. There's no gray area here. You see a child being hurt, you stop it and call police. I can't even imagine or wrap my brain around any reasoning otherwise.

My second example is Occupy Wall Street. I've been really quiet about this issue, but enough is enough. I've been reading Mocha Momma and her fight with Bank of America and it just makes me mad. It makes me mad because she's done everything right. The bank fucked up. But yet, she's the one in danger of losing her home. The last couple of days, I've seen ads on TV for Chase and Bank of America about how they provide jobs and they do all this good and blah, crap, blah and it just makes me sick. Don't let these commercials fool you. These banks are responsible for kicking good hard working people out of their homes.

All of this just makes me think that we need to go back to kindergarten. We've forgotten the basic rules of how to behave and treat each other. I don't consider myself a Christian, but it seems to me that there's a universal verse of "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you". Would you want the abuse to continue? Would you want your home taken away by no fault of your own? There is zero gray area here. The answer is no.

I know this is a small time blog and most of the people who read this are all on my side. I also know there's not much that I can do. But I can let you know that our country's behavior problem is making me angry.

DEAD MAN'S PARTY

Earlier last week, I got word of a Day of The Dead Celebration at the Nelson-Atkins Museum. Best of all, I heard that it was free. So I printed out two tickets and this is how Chris and I spent our Sunday afternoon. We started talking about how this was something we just wouldn't have done in Oklahoma. There was too much hassle involved like finding a parking space, not to mention the cost of the event itself. Suddenly we're in a position where, if we wanted to, we could walk into the museum any time we want. Parking in the underground parking garage is $5, but worth every penny. And that's the only expense.

For free, we participated in an alter dedication and honored our loved ones that have passed away. We witnessed traditional Mexican dances and listened to a real Mariachi band. And then we were treated to a parade of art students festooned in crazy costumes.

And then we found (a really good) place for Mexican food and ate our weight in chips and salsa.

WE WENT TO THE ZOO!

Our friends Amy and Roger came to visit us this weekend. Weeeee! We had two days to cram in as much food, laughter and fun as these old bodies could muster. We also went to the zoo. This was the first time for us to see our new zoo (we got in for free!). It's not really a new zoo, just new to us. In fact, the KCMO zoo is in the process of renovation. These are the plans for the new tiger and orangutan exhibit.

That's right folks. Your kids will be able to frolic right in the midst of Bengal tigers. Yeah!

But seriously. The Polar bear exhibit is brand new and I think the polar bear really likes it because she kept flipping around in the water and being all cute.

And they've done a nice job with the Australia exhibit. The kangaroos are not fenced in. They are free to roam. Crazy! I did here some guy telling his dad that kangaroos are not carnivorous. But then I heard a kid tell his little sister "that they will kill you, kill you to death". So....I don't know. But they're free to choose.

We also liked the skyride through the African Safari. It was a really great way to see all the grazers like gazelles and rhinos and giraffes. The camera battery had died by then, so I couldn't take a picture of the giraffes nibbling at our shoes. OK. They weren't that tall, but it sure seemed like it.

All in all. It was a good day and a great weekend.

SHAKE IT OUT

This morning, I hopped onto my scooter only to find that the back tire was too low for me to ride. That tire became a reflection of my mood. I brooded in the car as Chris drove me to work. I pouted as I stomped up the stairs to my office. I scowled as I cleaned microscopes. I imagined a dark thunder cloud forming over my head, lightning shooting out in several directions, and I realized that this storm has been brewing for some time now. It's that time of year were my mood turns adolescent. I hate my hair. I hate my body (there is nothing wrong with my body). I hate my clothes (there is probably something wrong with my clothes). I feel ugly and unattractive. I'm tired and lazy and un-creative. I am this close to ringing my eyes with the thickest layer of black eyeliner, adorning my black leggings and a Rage Against the Machine t-shirt, then crawling under the covers and only listening to The Cure or Morrissey. This mood settles in every year at this time, probably because of the weather change and the time change. I also used to always have a sinus infection this time of year that would last for weeks and weeks.

This time of year also seems to move faster. Once Halloween hits, it's a mad dash to the finish line. I am reminded just how unprepared I am for the end of the year. I call it scramble time, but this year I plan on changing that. I'm going to shake it off and shake it out, sit back and relax. I think I've done plenty for this year and I know all the year-end loose ends will tie themselves up neatly in a bow with no worries.

So. Shake it out.

THE GIRL EFFECT

When I was little it was constantly drilled into my brain that I would go to college. It was my mantra and it never occurred to me that there was any other option. Everything I did in high school, all the activities, all the hours spent studying and doing extra credit assignments, was done with the intention that this would get me into college. I didn't really date. I didn't go out and party (much). I stayed focused on the goal of getting an education. And I completely believed it was all possible, because it was. I had (and still have) the support system to make that all possible. I couldn't imagine my life any other way and I realize just how lucky and blessed I am. Because I know that there are (too many) girls today who do not have the option of an education.

That's what the Girl Effect is all about.

Suebob has a really good post up on the project with all the statistics. Go read it. It's mind boggling. It doesn't even make sense to me. "25% of girls in the developing world are not in school." Think about the world population. 25% is a big number.

We want to talk about "Girl Power". Well, this is where it starts. It starts by being aware. It starts by realizing that even the smallest donation can make a difference. It starts by educating ourselves of this problem and spreading that knowledge to others. I know I can't do much, but I can do something. I hope you'll join me, and do something, too.

"It's great to learn, 'cause knowledge is power".

You Can Start The Girl Effect!

AGRITOURISTS

I've been hearing commercials for the Louisburg Cider Mill for weeks now going on about their apple cider and apple cider donuts. Somehow I managed to convince Chris that this was something we had to experience and for some crazy reason we thought Cider Fest weekend was the time to do that. So, Saturday morning, we hopped into the car and headed down to the cider mill only to be greeted by a crowd of people with lots and lots of strollers (we witnessed a woman pushing a stroller that had a pumpkin in it, no sign of the child...it was creepy). Apparently Cider Fest has a big pull on the family crowd. Something about pony rides, bouncy slides, pumpkin patches and corn mazes. We dived straight in and headed for the country store, immediately jumping in line for hot apple cider and donuts.

After a fortifying snack of donuts, we jumped in line to see the mill. Making apple cider turns out to be a pretty simple process. Apples are washed, they go into the mill and they get mashed up. The end. But it was good apple cider.

After the mill we realized we had some extra time, so we decided to go try out the corn maze. On our way to the maze, Chris pretended to be the Great Pumpkin in the pumpkin patch. He's so cute.

Have you ever done one of these corn maze things? I hadn't before and I found it to be a little eerie. The wind rustles the dried up corn and it sounds like somethings in there getting ready to come and attack you. The paths tend to be littered with half eaten corn cobs. Your mind begins to wonder what gnawed on the corn and if it's got the taste for corn how long will it be before it gets the taste for human blood. We didn't spend much time in the maze.

To counter the maze, we thought it would be a good idea to visit the winery a few miles down the road. Somerset Ridge Vineyard and Winery seemed the place to go after you've fed your children sugar and then let them run crazy in a pumpkin patch. Babies napped in strollers while parents sipped wine on the patio. We didn't mind. The weather was perfect for patio wine sipping. I think it was my favorite part of the day. Light cool breeze. Not bad live music. A cool crisp Riesling. Perfection.

BUT I PLAY ONE ON TV

I am not a photographer. I like to take pictures. I like to capture the things that happen around me. I like to take pictures of the people I love. I like the gear and fancy lenses because they sparkle and they are shiny. And I have been known on occasion to do a little research on lighting and techniques. But I'm not a photographer. Lately it seems that this is very apparent. I've gotten lazy with my 365 Day Project and it seems that half my pictures are of me stuffing food into my mouth or of plates of food that we are about to stuff into our mouths. There's this big beautiful cemetery I pass on my way to and from work every day and every morning I think I should stop on my home and take some pictures. The lighting is perfect in the evenings and bounces of the hills and monuments in a magic way. But every evening I'm tired and anxious to get home and I pass by that cemetery.

Today, I stopped. Today I followed the light all the way towards the back of that cemetery. I crossed little stone bridges and Virgin Mary statues and I found this. This old mausoleum was hiding in the back waiting to be discovered. And I stopped and I even took the time to futz around with the manual settings on the camera.

I didn't spend as much time as I should have, but those few moments of peace where all that I needed. I'm glad I stopped. Today, I played photographer.

WEEKEND UPDATE

Many of you know that I have a weekly chore list. Mondays, I clean the bathroom. Tuesdays are dust and vacuum days. Wednesdays, I water the plants and on Thursdays we do our laundry. But there's always other things that pile up like all the cards I got at BlogHer in a heap on my desk. Sometimes the house just needs a deep clean and that's what we devoted our Saturday to this weekend. We cleaned out and re-organized the kitchen. We dusted every nook and cranny. Grout was scrubbed. Floors were mopped. Cobwebs vacuumed away. Those cards were rubberbanded and put away. Chris even mowed the front yard (the lady across the street guilted him into it by mowing hers). By the end of the day I was walking through the house saying "this house is clean" like the little creepy lady in Poltergeist. As a reward, we treated ourselves to our favorite little Chinese take out place and a bottle of wine we discovered while cleaning.

And the next day, after breakfast at our favorite place and grocery shopping, we went to the Plaza Arts Fair. I didn't take a single picture. It was perfect. I spend a lot of time thinking about how I'm going to turn things into a blog entry. We go to these fun things and the camera is out and at the ready. And I'm only half present. Leaving my camera in the bag today was the best decision I could have made for this weekend.

We came home, took a nap and then I made a simple spaghetti dish with some good bread. When we said our evening grace, we gave thanks to a weekend of clean, rest and fun. So say we all.