Tortitude

So like I said, on Friday, we got a note from our old CEO saying that even though they didn't have to (because our benefits with NewCompany start on January 1) --because all of their employees have Columbus Day off, they wanted to welcome us by giving us Columbus Day off, too!

I have never had Columbus Day off, it's sort of a weird day to have off, BUT I AM NOT COMPLAINING! WHEE!!!

I have that giddy sense that comes with such an unexpected boon, ya know? *twirl*

I'm going to put this day (and my hyper energy levels) to good use and I SWEAR I AM GOING TO CLEAN THE BEDROOM.

No, really. I'm not just going to sit here typing idle blather all day. I am going to put on some music and GET CRACKING. Even if nothing else gets done (the kitchen, frex) the bedroom is going to be in good shape by the end of day.

Um. That means I have to leave the computer now, doesn't it? *clings*

Okay. I'll be visiting throughout the day because I am a giant nerd.

I have:

- made my bed
- reorganized my dresser drawers
- reorganized my hanging clothes in closet
- set aside bundles of clothing for goodwill
- put away laundry, and gathered a new load
- cleaned the kitchen (everything done except big pan and pot which are soaking)
- waded through pounds of material on my desk and at least shoved things into reasonable piles
- shoved things into office close to deal with later

Not having done any of the organizing I'd hoped to do over my vacation, I think the only reasonable penance is to assign myself 'homework' nightly after work. So many areas need organization, it's a little daunting, so I think I will baby-step my way through it all in the weeks to come.

Things that need work:

- shoes
- big blue bucket full of random things in bedroom closet
- top shelf of bedroom closet
- sewing machine table/area
- bookshelves in office
- office closet
- hall closet
- filing cabinet (must shred all things prior to 2003)
- desk drawers
- cubby thing in office
- must print/hang pictures in new frames

Also, I'm rethinking the office shelving crisis. Maybe I could do an entire wall of shelves, move the filing cabinet to where the little bookshelf is (move that into the closet) and have the club chair at a different angle. Then I could stain the existing two bookshelves (which are beech) to a darker color and stick those into the bedroom, or even stick one in the dining room to hold the more attractive dishes.

The biggest problem I have right now is that I don't have any place to put my damn things. That would really solve a lot of problems in one swoop.

A moment of product plugging: The SpotBot is spectacular. Poor Hobbsie goes through phases of puking all over the house, and I've spent many unexciting hours on my knees with my old Bissell Little Green Clean Machine, scrub-scrub-scrubbing. And it was okay--I was grateful for it, because it really got cat-puke stains out excellently. But when I saw the ads for SpotBot on tv, I wanted one. Because I really want my life to be that easy.

And Jeff was skeptical, because he thought it wouldn't do as good of a job without some muscle doing the scrubbing--but it works like a freaking charm! I love it! I set it on top of the stain, hit the button, and I can run around doing other things. The stains come out just as promised. There's a neat, damp, circular spot that takes about a day to dry on my light Berber-y carpet. And the only thing is, that unlike the Little Green Clean Machine, the range is limited to this one circle. But, I mean, you just pick it up and move it and start another cycle for any stain that is larger than its circumference.

The unit's configuration is nicer, too. Instead of a long, awkward panel that you have to remove, with a grimy filter thingie, this just has two discrete containers. One with the clean water + solution and the other with icky water, that you just pour down the toilet. But it's much neater, with much less chance of icky water spilling or say touching your fingers and making you barf.

So all the cat spots are cleaned, which is very exciting. And the dishes have been put away, and a new load put in. Garbage has been collected and placed by the door. Laundry is folded and put away.

I just need to make my bed, take a shower, get dressed, and be at work in time for my 11AM meeting.

And of course, Hobbes needs to not run around throwing up so that the first thing my mommy sees is a spray of cat puke in the hall.

I can't believe my mom will be here tonight!!

I just cleaned out my wallet!

No, no. Hold your applause. For this weekend I shall endeavor the Herculean task of cleaning out my

*dramatic pause*

DESK.

I know, I know. It's a terrifying thought. All those papercuts, just poised in the wings, eager to offer my blood as a sacrifice to the hungry gods of Papyrus.

Yes, I will in fact be filing the entire dead, sliced tree required to sell me a home. It's not entirely impossible that I will locate the body of Jimmy Hoffa underneath it all.

Other nerdy tasks I hope to accomplish this weekend:

- make a master address list to print for Christmas card labels
- buy supplies to make cards, hopefully with Emily who has mad art skillz
- take my sewing machine in for repairs, because she's-a not-a feelin so good-a
- take my damn black pants in to be hemmed
- tackle the monstrosity that is my trunk (I like to pretend this is possible, just humor me)

Oh, and then there is the sloth I plan to enjoy. Planning to go see Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang with a coworker and former classmate (Melissa) on Saturday afternoon. Having dinner with Judy's family on Saturday night. Sunday is the Seattle Marathon, in which my very studly friend Jeanne will be running, so I will be there to cheer her on. And then lunch with Jeanne's parents, which I'm very excited about. I love meeting the parents of my friends, is that weird? It's always so fascinating. Siblings, too. Finally, sofa shopping with Judy! Sale at the Bon! And they don't need to deliver for like a month or so! Perfect!!

Clearly I've stocked up on all the !!!s I'll be needing throughout the holidays. Because I freaking love the holidays! They make me very cheerful! Be! Very! Afeared!!

I got to work a bit late this morning because I really wanted to split up some of the day's work so as not to be overwhelmed tonight.

I finished off the mashed potatoes, did the dishes, and set the bread out to stale (for the stuffing, I like using potato bread as my base). I also finished sewing Ellie's sofa cushion. Since my machine is on the fritz, I did it by hand and was fairly pleased with the results. It's at least as good as it would have been by machine, if not better because doing it by hand gave me more flexibility.

I even dropped the cushion off this morning on my way to work. How's that for efficiency! Tonight, after Emily and I see Rent, I'm going to come home, finish the stuffing prep (onions, lots and lots of onions to be chopped, bleh) and make the carrot cake cheesecake. I'm positively giddy about using the 9.5 spring-form pan. I've never used one and they seem impossibly exciting.

Cleaning up never actually takes very long once I start, so I'm going to clean tonight so when I wake up tomorrow, I can just get to it without stumbling around half-asleep and annoyed. Mostly I need to get the turkey in the oven early enough so we're not sitting around dying of hunger at 6pm. I was excited they had a decent sized (11lb) fresh turkey. It's still pretty big, but at least it's not a 20lb-er.

It's going to take some creativity to figure out how to set up the food in my tiny little space. I'm thinking of using my sewing table as a buffet stand. We'll figure it out! God there is so much freaking food for just the three of us, but they've both promised to take heaps home. AND THEY BETTER OR FACE MY WRATH! I also want to set aside a little Thanksgiving dinner plate for Hobbsie, Brutus, and Buffy since Sarah's sitting them for Jeff.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, I love Thanksgiving! *hop* *hop* *hop*

Today was interesting. Woke up with spliting headache and decided to call in sick and stay in bed until desire to vomit passed. Which, blissfully, it did. Hauled self out of bed around 3:30 and spent next hour dealing with DMV on extending expiring license. After dialing the number 57 times I connected with a nice woman who is going to grant me an additional 60 days so I can do this when I go home for xmas. Whew! Spent rest of the day cleaning up the place, which had lagged in my crapped out state. Dishes, laundry, tossed trash, paid bills. Took a long hot shower. I feel at least semi organized again.

No pain so far today, which is good, though last night was kinda awful. Kept tossing and turning and ow ow.

Leftover chinese for my first meal of the day, not bad. Purr. Weirdly though, I want to go to sleep again.

I WANT TO BE BACK TO NORMAL ALREADY *bellow*