Clean Door

My mission: Spring Cleaning. Monday I did both bedrooms; the closets, the dressers, under the beds, you name it. Tuesday I did the living room, hallway, and purple bathroom. Every drawer, every shelf, every piece of furniture. But Wednesday I went to a whole new level. I did the office.

Brian took the little guy with him in the morning, so I started with the office closet. So. gross. We had a mouse living there. Should have charged him rent. Or at least a $100 deposit. Which he would not have gotten back. It took me three and a half hours to do the closet alone. But... it is finished! It sparkles. It shines. There isn't a single cobweb, mouse dropping, or dust bunny.

I stood back, admiring my work.

And then I shut the door.

At least it is a clean door.

More on Music

A link to this video was in my mailbox yesterday, along with a newsletter about Chris Filer, the musician we met at Farm Bureau. Apparently this little single is on the charts nationally (not number one, but hey!). The kids are his kids (well, not the Asian girl...) so it was fun to see them, but the funniest part was watching Chris's face. He was telling us about making the video and he said they kept telling him not to look angry. His reply: "You put make-up on me. I am angry." I actually don't think he looks mad, but it made me laugh anyway.

Not Today

Thanks to the mysteries of technology, I am not actually blogging today. Nope. I wrote this a few days ago. Because today I am not walking freely around my house with easy access to a computer. My floors, drum roll please, are being cleaned!!!

I've never had my floors done before. Growing up, we vacuumed and Resolved and Shouted and all that. And since my carpet is somewhat new (about four years old) I have not yet had this experience. But the heavy traffic areas are really bothering me and the throw-up from last year's flu bug really changed my carpet forever. Please let it change back!

So I'm sure this is a very interesting process and I should tell you how well the cleaners are coming along.

But I can't. Because it's not today.

Pretty Please

Yesteray was my birthday and Easter is still a few weeks away, but my favorite day of the year might just be today. For any of you not counting down, today it the first day of spring!

I used to teach my kindergartner's the seasons do not just *bang,* change like that. Some of the days before March 20th will seem like spring and some of the days after will seems like winter.

But please.

No more winter.

27

Today is the day! My birthday actually. So, just for the fun of it, I'm leaving you with 27 random things about me. Please do not take this as an indicator of my age.

1. I'm making Ribs with a Kick and Strawberry pie for my birthday dinner-- my faves!
2. Latest book: What She Left for Me by Tracie Patterson
3. I used to be certified to teach lifeguarding.
4. I have made five quilts.
5. My newest craze is baking my own bread.
6. We have two cats and I'm looking for just the right dog.
7. I am scared of fire. Especially related to lighting a grill.
8. If hubby hadn't vetoed it, my little guy would be named Landon.
9. My engagement ring has a heart shaped diamond-- just what I wanted!
10. I teach Sunday School and Junior Church and miss my kindergartners. (but not too much ;)
11. I need a watch and ponytail holder at all times.
12. Must.have.chapstick.
13. I'm looking forward to squeezing the soon-to-be-released Twilight into my Wal-Mart budget...
14. Brian is the only guy I ever dated, unless you count fourth grade.
15. Prized possession: great-grandma's china
16. College friends are shocked to know I married a farmer.
17. I've never left a facebook newsfeed, but I plan to today.
18. Fav Scrapbook supply: paper. yep. just paper.
19. I am one of those moms.
20. Currently drinking peach-mint tea and contemplating making more...
21. At weddings, I eat the cake and my sister eats the icing.
22. Sunday night is movie night-- laptop, projector, big screen, and popcorn.
23. I'm hoping to have fruit on the trees I planted a few years ago. Green thumb here I come!
24. I love hostessing.
25. Just found out my American girl doll is being retired. Wish I'd bought more of her clothes...
26. I dream of moving to this house just up the road.
27. I still work to overcome my childhood shyness.

Confession #3

I am a Harry Potter fan and I nearly sent a Howler to Warner Bros when they moved the release date of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince from November 08 to July 09. The fact that Twilight was moved up three weeks did little to make up for it. After all, I would have seen both by now.

That said, I'm always on the look-out for more HBP info. About a week ago this new trailer came out.


I watched it several times to see any new bits of the movie I could, but I must admit I prefer this one.

And as you can tell, my next confession will entail the number of hours I spent at youtube finding these...

Its Not Easy Being Green

Literally. For the past several days my family and I have all been quite green. With the stomach flu. Very apropos, being March and all. Really, it was our turn. Brian was sick in January for a long time, but he hasn't been sick in years, so I figure he was just due. The little guy and I have both been bug free all winter long. And that is just not fair.

So we have now done our part to promote justice and equality.

I have learned how many loads of laundry my washer can handle if you stay up all night just waiting for the dryer to ding. Little guy has learned how to say "tummy hurt" (but not what to do about it...). Both of us now know how to subsist entirely on Sprite. So in addition to being fair, this whole thing was also a learning expereince.

But I've learned enough to last at least another year I think...

Overload

My brain is fried. Mush. Overloaded. Why? Because I have been on the Internet for hours. Looking for the perfect swing set.

Which, by the way, does not exist. This one (from willygoat.com) comes close. But I have to pay shipping. So is it really a better deal than the one from betterplaysets.com? Or berfeldrecreation.com? What about Home Depot or Lowe's? And can I add a taller tower someday when he gets older so we can have a fireman's pole and tunnel slide? I wish this one had a lemonade stand like the other one...

So I keep looking. In the entire world there must be a set, reasonably priced, which has all of the six options I'm not compromising on and at least a few of the "prefers." Of course, I actually have the entire world's worth of play equipment at my fingertips.

Must. keep. looking.

Of All Things

You will so laugh when you read this.

Yesterday was our 5th anniversary, of course. And I told you Brian was taking me some place that was a surprise. I also shared that the 5th anniversary is the year of "wood."

This just kills me.

My surprise was shopping for the dinning room table I've been wanting for like four and a half years! Grandma came and picked up the little guy. Then we rushed off to an "appointment." Before we left the driveway, however, Brian tied a scarf around my eyes so I couldn't see. I followed all the turns until we left C hwy, then I got lost and truly had no idea where we were going. He took the scarf off at my fav furniture store!

We had a great time, looking through all the selections without worrying about anyone climbing on top of the tables. I found two that I like a lot, one of which we could get at a great price as it was returned with a *tiny* nick on one corner. I understand not wanting flaws in furniture you paid full price for; I also have no problem getting a discount on something I'll never notice!!!

I'm going to do some more shopping (any excuse, right?) but I'm so excited about my anniversary gift! Wood! Who'd a thunk?

The Year of Wood?

Happy Anniversary to me! Today marks five whole years together-- which sounds so much better than saying we've been married for four. Why is that?

Curiously, I looked up that whole "year of the ___" for anniversaries. You know, 1st anniversary is paper, give your spouse a book etc. Year five is wood. Dandy. Now we can have a fire.

But even more curious to me is what we are doing tonight. We have a babysitter. We have plans. I even have clothes. I just don't have a clue about where we are going.

I've been warned it's nothing too fancy. Frankly it has been so long since the two of us went out (last May) I wouldn't care if he took me bowling.

Although, it might not matter if he had told me. The other day I was cleaning a closet and I stumbled across a Wal-Mart sack. Inside was something we both wanted, something that seemed suspiciously like an anniversary present. So I wrapped it up and put it back. And I'll be durn if I didn't completely forgot what it was. No clue whatsoever.

But I do remember where it is...

Wishful Thinking

Did you know there are 15 days 'til spring?

I did.

In fact, I'm counting down each one of them.

Winter is a nice season; it is just that most of the nice things about it are already over. So on to spring! And just to assure myself that spring is actually coming I have made a list of the signs of spring.

• magnolia tree has blossoms!
• Brian is getting the anhydrous wagon ready
• talk about getting out the planter is more common
• chives are sprouting in the flowerbed behind my house
• swimwear is appearing in clothing stores
• cats are slimming down
• people don't think I'm nuts when I talk about Easter
• daylight savings is this weekend

So there you have it. Spring is coming!

Just a Thought

I had to show my husband the video clip I posted yesterday; and we were hooked. We watched nearly all of the shows that pop up after the video plays.

And I had a thought.

In 2048, when at $1000 computer will exceed the computational abilities of the entire human race, do you suppose it will still perform errors and have to shut down?

Just wondering.

Fascinating

I came across this yesterday on another blog. I have no idea what the answer is to the final question, but I find it all fascinating. Thought you might too.

Missouri

Last Thursday my husband reported the farm had considered putting on anhydrous. Prerequisites for applying this liquid fertilizer: ground thawed and dry. At nearly 70 degrees, Thursday was nearly ideal for getting started.

Today the thermometer on my computer screen tells me it is 18 degrees and the sunlight is bouncing off the drifted snow, causing me to squint when I look out the window. Naturally, I could close the curtains-- but that is not the issue here! What happened!

Admittedly the weather man is calling for a warming trend by the end of the week.

But at least the little guy will get to use the snow pants I bought him for Christmas...