Feb. 6: Daybook

Today…

Outside my window... the sun is shining and it’s gorgeous. It was like this all weekend too. I think it was just last week I was saying how dreary it was, but WOW, the gleaming outdoors right now sure makes up for that. It looks like spring outside. Still feels like winter, but looks like spring. This makes for some very happy Portlanders.

This weekend, I… went to Seattle (more on that below) and watched three more episodes of Downton Abbey, on which I’m currently hooked—note to Mother Mary, YOU WILL LOVE THIS SHOW. We also got a LOT done around the house… cleaned the outside of all the kitchen cabinets and doors… swept and vacuumed… hung pictures in the living room… cleared off the dining room table (our catch-all spot)… organized PTO papers… bagged up donation stuff… did the laundry that piles up and never gets done unless my mom visits… so much work! I was a 409-wielding housewife, yessirree.

I am thinking... that if I can keep this momentum going, I might actually get a lot done during the week too.

I am thankful for... the love and support of very dear friends. Victor and I went to Camille’s memorial service on Saturday. It was a heartbreaker, for sure. She was loved by so many, and this is a loss keenly felt by her adoring family and dear friends. As people talked about Camille’s artistic ways and sensitive nature, I was reminded of so many times I was on the receiving end of her talents—she sketched my favorite picture of me and my dad from my wedding day, made me a set of beautiful sparkly earrings, and prepared many a fancy plate at our parties, to name just a few of her many gifts. She was CAMILLE. So special.

I am also thankful for… the pharmaceuticals that kept me from turning into a blubbering, wailing mess that day.

I am creating... a school carnival! Well, I’m having a lot of help. A LOT. We have our big-deal WinterFest coming up at the end of the month, and it’s unbelievable how much planning goes into it. WinterFest is the biggest event of the year, with games and food and fun and prizes and raffle baskets and much excitement. This year we got donations of some really amazing stuff to raffle that I think I’ve blathered on about already, but here we go again: four Disneyland park hopper passes, this year’s American Girl doll of the year, a Keurig machine, $300 of Stampin’ Up supplies, a $900 Electrolux vacuum cleaner, gift cards, and tons more. We be a thrilled PTO!

I am hearing... peace and quiet. I have a meeting at 1pm, but until then I’m catching up with emails and PTO stuff and enjoying a semi-leisurely morning—this starts once the kids have left for school and the dogs finally stop romping. Ahhh.

I am wondering… how I have a 12-year-old. Katie’s birthday is Thursday—seriously, how did this happen? I remember wondering WHAT WAS I THINKING like it was yesterday, yet it was ten days after she was born. She’s a pretty good kid; for that I credit the village that’s raising her, not so much me. But her height? Definitely a Saltmarsh thing. That girl is TALL. I know Sunrise, Sunset is a wedding song, but I think I could sing it to Katie just about every day. And she would smile and hug me sweetly and tell me to please stop singing right now.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Several meetings, a little work, a visit from Mother Mary, and Katie’s party on Friday night; she’s invited just one friend for bunches of fun, girly things. A mani/pedi for everyone? Yes please!

Here are a few things you should see because they are funny and I like funny:

 

 

Here’s to a week full of joy. You deserve it.

Want to blog your own Daybook? Here’s the info: The Simple Woman’s Daybook.

Jun. 26: Daybook

Today…

Outside my window... it’s absolutely gorgeous. I’m not going to go on and on about it because Mother Nature might hear and change her mind. She’s kind of a bitch, and that is something she would totally do.

This weekend, I… worked in the front yard, pulling weeds and grooming plants. Turns out I have some muscles I haven’t been using; I’ve been achy and waddle-y ever since. Ouch. The yard looks better, though, and I have a little sunburn on my neck.

Today the four of us went to Cars 2. It was a pretty fun movie. The CGI, in some parts, looked more amazing than ever. They’ve really improved the way they do water, for instance—there were several splashes, and lake/ocean scenes. Beautiful. Oh, and the short film beforehand was a Toy Story thing, mostly starring Barbie and Ken—very, very funny.

This weekend I also ordered a new dining set for our kitchen. When Vic and I pulled our table apart to put the leaf in before the big party, I guess we were a little over-zealous, because a part snapped off. When we went to remove the leaf yesterday, the table absolutely would NOT go back together. We put the leaf back in and took it right to Goodwill (it’s fine with the leaf in—we didn’t donate broken furniture!). I hate surprise expenses, but I admit to being eager for a new table and chairs.

I am thankful that... I have the most fabulous friends ever. You think yours are fabulous? You’re probably right, but they can’t possibly be as fabulous as mine. For realsies. Last week Sherilee came down and let me hang with her in her hotel overnight—it was a lovely little break from being at home. The next morning we made a quick run to IKEA (yay!), and then headed down to Bridgeport for lunch. There we met up with Loveliest Lori, Kim F’n-W, Sunshine, and Val for a long and enjoyable chat over pasta.

You know what’s cool about this group of girls? They’re originally from very different parts of my past and present, and I love that they now come together and make my life so positively wonderful. This is part of what makes me the luckiest girl, like, EVER. Happy, happy.

Oh, but it doesn’t end there! Friday night was another girls’ night; I joined Sunshine, Val, and my new friend Jessica for the very hilarious Chelsea Handler show. We started with dinner at Higgins, and went back after the show for drinks and dessert because it’s not only a nice little restaurant, we had the best server—he even curtsied for us. He must know that curtsies get the big tips.

I am working on... getting my phone in shape again. The other day the home button stopped working, and today I went to the Apple store to get it repaired. They replaced the phone, and while syncing it with iTunes put almost everything back where it belonged, there are little things missing everywhere. It’s frustrating, but at least it’s working again. For a while there I thought I might D-I-E die.

The other thing I’m working on is getting the last few connections to our wireless network back up and running like normal. I went to look up our password to get my phone on the network, and thought maybe it was a good time to change it to something that’s easier to remember. In the process, I totally farked up the connection for all the other computers and devices that access our network. I finally got it working (I think) with an auto-generated password, which is even harder to remember than the other one. Grrr.

I am kind of excited because… some of our summer plans are coming together and our calendar is filling up. So far, so good.

That’s it for now. Have a great week!

May 22: Daybook

I think the Daybook is supposed to be a Monday thing. Meh.

Today…

Outside my window... there are things happening about which I’m not complaining... much. We had a beautiful few days of weather, and today we had some rain showers. ‘Tis okay, as long as the sun promises to return. Our yard came alive with new blooms last week, but it’s still got a long way to go. Come back, sunbeams in the yard!

This weekend, I… worked on getting my office better organized. Somehow, even with all my screaming and griping and cursing, it’s still the room where everyone dumps stuff, and it gets super-messy super-fast. Grrr. One huge task I actually completed was organizing all my PTO stuff into a file box. As co-prez, I sense I’ll be a bigger PTO nerd than ever before, so organizing that stuff is high priority.

This weekend, we did some family things: on Friday night we played poker—well, Katie watched the Disney channel while the rest of us played poker. Jack had a bad night, and he was really bummed. In our last hand, I went all in, even though I didn’t have anything, and so did Vic. Jack won the hand, and he was the happiest little guy EVER. It was so cute, I didn’t even bother explaining side pots and all that; we just let him have everything. We acted all angry that he beat us and were all FINE, THEN YOU CAN CLEAN UP THE CARDS AND CHIPS. Sneaky, huh?

Today we went to the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie. We all really liked it. There were several fun action sequences that got me a little sweaty-palmed, and overall the movie was better than I expected it to be. We give it eight thumbs up.

All the talk about pirate movies this weekend reminded me of how Jack used to be obsessed with Pirates of the Caribbean. He was five years old, I think, when he “read” the DVD cover and said, “See, it says ‘Pirates. Of. The. Carrot. Bean.’”

Also, this weekend we… were not raptured. Huge surprise.

I am thinking... that I am NOT ready for school to be out. There are only 12 school days left. I haven’t even begun to plan the kids’ summer activities and I just know they’re gonna be bugging me every day: I’M BORED! I’M HOT! I WANT TO EAT! So demanding, those kids.

I am thankful for... my friends and how they make me chuckle. Today April texted me when we were at the mall and said “Does your friend Val have a green and white lightweight jacket? We’re at Nordstrom and see someone who looks like her in your pics on Facebook.” I texted Val to ask if she was at Nordstrom and freaked her out a little. She said that yes, she was shopping, and I said my friend April saw her and I think that freaked her out a little more because she doesn’t know April. Unfortunately, April was on a very short shopping trip, so we didn’t get to meet up. We stalked Val to Jamba Juice though.

I have to say that the first time I remember ever seeing Val, I immediately knew who she was because I recognized her from Sunshine’s Facebook photos. April’s really not creepy, Val, I promise!

I am creating... piles of things to take to Goodwill. It’s such a good feeling to fill up the trunk with donations, or better yet, the back of the van. I went through kitchen cupboards and filled up the empty boxes our new dishes came in, so I’m getting rid of as much stuff as I added. Yay me!

One of my favorite things… is when Justin Timberlake hosts Saturday Night Live, like he did last night. He’s right up there with Alec Baldwin as BEST HOST EVER, at least in my mind. Every episode he’s in is so, so funny. LOVE. Watch it here if you want.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Work, a party, a trip or four to Goodwill, hopefully a date with my girls.

Here is a picture I gotta show you: This is the Google street view of my mom’s house. At first, I thought it was probably from before my mom lived there, but then I recognized Erin’s car in the driveway and Erin’s husband and Erin’s dog. I guess if we know the date Erin and Kevin visited Mom, we can pretty well pinpoint when the Google camera came down her street.

I’m so disappointed; there’s nothing exciting on the Google street view of our house. It’s obviously autumn, and this was done before we tore down our front porch rail and re-landscaped our yard. Booooring. Pouty/yawn-y face.

Want to blog your own Daybook? Here’s the info: The Simple Woman’s Daybook.

Apr. 4: Daybook

First and most importantly, happy birthday to my dear friend The Lovely Deanna Gutierrez! Today I send you my very best wishes for an utterly enjoyable day.

Today…

Outside my window... I see rain, rain, and more rain. Pffft.

This weekend, I… had lots of down-time. My throat is hurting so much that it makes my whole body hurt. For the last several days I’ve awakened thinking I NEED TO STAY IN BED TODAY TO GET BETTER, but every day I find a reason to get up and go out and make my body fight harder. This is not good.

One other thing I did this weekend was watch Deliverance. I’d never seen it start-to-finish, and I was flipping channels and it had just started, so I settled in. What a disturbing movie—me no likey. I can see why it was such a big deal at the time, though. This afternoon I ran across an episode of SVU in which Ronny Cox played a physician, and I felt kinda sorry for him even though he was a bad guy, just because of what happened to his character in Deliverance.

It’s OK if you’re doing this right now:  

I deserve it.

I am thankful that... the kids’ report cards that came home last week show they’re both doing well in school. Proud momma.

I am working on... art projects in my office. If I feel they’re complete enough this week, I’ll post pictures.

I need to tell you about something I love: the iPhone app iAssociate 2. It’s a word association game and really fun.

I am kind of excited because… this weekend is my 25th high school reunion. Actually, the class of 1986 is celebrating in October, but it’s alumni weekend at the school so I’ll play along. And by playing along, I mean that I might go into the school building around church time on Saturday morning but there is NO WAY I’m going in and sitting down for the actual church service because, well, me sitting in church could very well start the apocalypse. Our class is meeting for lunch at Spaghetti Factory, and because of Lisa’s and my very delinquent planning, it’s most likely going to just be me, Lisa, and April there. At least I know we’ll have fun.

A few plans for the rest of the week: work, port flush appointment, lunch with Kim F’n and other fab friends, and a tour of the school Katie will be attending next year.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing: It made me giggle.

Have a good week, my pretties.

Want to blog your own Daybook? Here’s the info: The Simple Woman’s Daybook.

Mar. 28: Daybook

Today…

Outside my window... there are tons of new blooms in the front yard—the daffodils, crocuses (crocii?), and hyacinths have all popped open, and the tulips are well on their way. It’s so cheery and lovely that even with the grey skies today, it seems like spring is on its way.

This weekend, I… enjoyed Poker Night with friends. It was a blast, as always. I remember a lot of loud talking and grabbing of Val’s boobies and way too many kids downstairs and at one point I looked down and all my chips were gone. Someone stole them, I just know it, because how else would they have disappeared? I spent all of yesterday recovering from Poker Night. Yep, this girl overdid it just a bit, but it was worth it. **

**It wasn’t actually worth it. I still feel like someone kicked my head in.

I am thankful that... we went to Medford last week. It was good to get away from home—it almost felt like being on vacation. Thanks for having us, Mom! We found a new bead store that we loved, and got to visit with Uncle Paul and Claire, Nana (stories later, I promise!), my favorite cousin Deanna, and GILLY GILLY GILLY.

I am working on... some new décor ideas for my office. See, I have these IKEA boxes:

…and I want them to look less boring. I found this paper (the photo is a super-duper close-up of the teeny-tiny print):

…that has the new wall color in it, and I hope to combine it with other colors to pretty up those plain white boxes. I’m not sure yet how it will all come together, but if it looks even halfway purty, you can be sure I’ll share a photo or seven.

I need to tell you about something I love: stamped metal jewelry. You know what I mean:

etsy has tons of it, and I am going to learn to do it too. I don’t think metal stamping can really be just a hobby—the supplies are far from cheap—so I might just have to start my own etsy shop. That’d be a darn shame, right? I found this site that tells all about metal stamping, and I’m very excited to get started! Can you just imagine how satisfying it will be to pound out letters on metal? The hammer! The noise! The dents in all my furniture! I predict my anxiety levels will decrease dramatically with the first strike.

I am kind of excited because… Fancy Anthony™ is talking about creating a Stuff Jen Says iPhone app! I have no idea what it’s supposed to do, but it sounds way cool, because, um… STUFF JEN SAYS IPHONE APP. Hello! Suggestions friends came up with while playing poker: a drunk Facebooking translator, a keyboard that creates gibberish, a breathalyzer that locks me out of Facebook if my blood alcohol content is above “legally shit-faced,” and I just realized all of the features have to do with me being a drunk. Hm. Not so excited all of a sudden.

A few plans for the rest of the week: work, a visit with Sarah Vowell tomorrow night, PTO thangs, more work. Tentative plans: daily naps. One can hope, can’t one?

Here is picture for thought I am sharing: It’s more art from Curly Girl Designs. I just can’t get enough of her creations.

Have a good week, my pretties.

Want to blog your own Daybook? Here’s the info: The Simple Woman’s Daybook.

Mar. 14: Daybook

Today…

Outside my window... the sun is shining. Happiness. It’ll be overcast later, but I plan for the happiness to continue.

This weekend, I… worked on my office a little more. Did I mention that I painted it last weekend? I did. So now comes the fun part of putting it all back together. We moved two of the bookcases upstairs and Victor secured them to the wall (he doesn’t trust that I’d get out of the way if they fell over, I guess). I filled up the shelves with a selection of books. As I organized the books (by genre, not by color—I tried; I can’t!), I kept asking myself if I really needed them… so I made a stack of “fine, I’ll get rid of these books!” The stack wasn’t nearly as big as it should have been, but I filled up a large box for Goodwill. That’s at least a shelf’s worth. Yay me!

Oh yeah, this weekend I also met Curly Girl!

I am thinking... about going to Medford for a few days next week. We have no plans for spring vacation. How dumb is that? It’s like it just suddenly snuck up on me, six days off school to try to keep the kids ocupado. Vic has to work all week, so it’ll just be me and the kids traveling, which sucks, but it’ll still be more interesting than staying home all week.

I am thankful that... last week’s tsunami did relatively small amounts of damage along the west coast. Considering how hard Japan was hit, I’d say the long term effects of our suffering is MUCH smaller.

I am working on... a nervous breakdown with all I’ve taken on lately. I’m only kind of joking about that. I need to take advantage of my free time to refresh my soul, and my busy time to optimize productivity. Oh, and the Law & Order: SVU marathon. Can’t miss that.

My favorite word/phrase lately is... “crap on a cracker.” I especially like to yell it: CRAP ON A CRACKER!! Hey, it’s better than dropping an F-bomb in front of the ever-alert pre-teens in my house.

And speaking of crackers, I need to tell you about something I love: Cracked Pepper & Olive Oil Triscuits. This is kind of a big deal because I HATE regular Triscuits because they’re like eating shredded wheat cereal without milk (which I also hate, duh). Sunshine had mentioned these new Triscuits many times and I was kinda YEAH WHATEVER THEY’RE DRY AND GROSS but then I tried them once and now I love them. With a thin slice of sharp cheddar? Mmmmm. Or maybe a little melted cheese? Oh yes. Very yummy.

A few plans for the rest of the week: a work meeting, a fun meeting, a Silpada party, a PTO meeting, a basketball game, another restaurant night at CPK, and probably more high school reunion planning. Oh, and RECRUITING! Have y’all joined my Relay for Life team yet? You oughta. Right now there are just five members—my family and Val. I need more than five.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing: It’s art from Curly Girl Designs. I’ve decided I can’t pick a favorite, but there are definitely some that touch me in a special way, and this is one of ‘em.

Want to blog your own Daybook? Here’s the info: The Simple Woman’s Daybook.

Feb. 28: Daybook

Today…

Outside my window... it’s very, very cold. It’s not as bad as it has been the last several days, but it’s still cold. I’m done with this. Soooo done. Spring can get here any second, please.

This weekend, I… got a bit of a bug up my butt and decided to do some thorough cleaning. It was the kind of cleaning where the mattress and box spring are put out of the way so the whole underneath area of the bed can be vacuumed four times and the storage boxes are cleaned out and refilled. But it didn’t stop there; the project continued into our office and even downstairs. The good thing is that our bedroom is as clean as the day we moved in, and our office is well on its way. The bad thing is that Victor’s not speaking to me.

I am thinking... that I’m almost decided on a new color for the office and before I get all the bookcases re-stocked and other furniture in its new permanent place, I want to paint the walls.

I am thankful for... my very dear friends. As I work on the compilation of the past year’s blog posts, I’m RE-reminded of how often they’ve been exactly where I need them. I love them all mushy-like. So much.

I am creating... some monster projects in my head, and I’m going to have to say NO to more than one, I’m quite sure. I’m thinking of putting a team together for this year’s Relay for Life. I want to finish up my office décor. I’m trying to make practical menu plans for our family that we won’t be bored with after one week. I’m working on ideas for upcoming PTO events. My 25th high school reunion is being planned by two delightful girls (I’m one of them) who are possibly insane for taking on the responsibility. I’m thinking about going to my 20th college reunion in Walla Walla this spring. That’s a lot of things.

I am hearing... the sounds of Flight Control, a game that Val introduced us to and Victor’s playing right now. It has consumed us ever since Thursday night. It’s completely addictive and unrealistic but SO MUCH FUN OMIGOD SO MUCH FUN.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Work, some meetings, more cleaning, maybe some fun.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing, and I dedicate it to my friends who have been suffering from insomnia recently:

Want to blog your own Daybook? Here’s the info: The Simple Woman’s Daybook.

Feb. 7: Daybook

Today…

Outside my window... there is sky and clouds and trees and things going on. Pretty sure.

I am thinking... about how very, very tired I am, and that this week I’m probably not going to be as productive as I’d like to be. My mom is spending some time here this week, though, so it oughta be fun being unproductive with her.

I am thankful for... a successful school carnival on Saturday night. We did well $-wise, but most importantly, it seemed like the kids had a great time. We went through over 10,000 game tickets! That’s way up from previous years. We’re not sure how this year was any different than others, but we had a great turnout and we’ll take it.

I am creating... a vision in my head of what I want my office to look like. I’m picturing a variety of wall colors, trying to decide which one is best, and also picturing a different arrangement of furniture. And fewer papers. I’d looove to have fewer papers piled up in there.

I am going... to get busy planning some activities for Katie’s birthday slumber party on Friday. Why do I find all the cute ideas when it’s too late to actually use them? I curse my belated planning! More specifically, I curse that school carnival for taking all my attention these past few weeks. Katie’s chosen a cupcake theme for her party (cute!), and she wants to watch Beverly Hills Chihuahua II (god help us). Victor and Jack are being sent away.

I am hoping... to recuperate a little this week from the sheer exhaustion of all the work that went into making the carnival happen. Today I slept in until 8 (not nearly late enough) and fell asleep again at 11 and slept ‘til after 3pm. That was quite lovely. I hope for more and more naps this week, but I’d be happy for a short one every day. Yes.

I am hearing... Victor snore. (I’m writing this at 1am Monday morning because I can’t sleep.)

A few plans for the rest of the week: Work a little, spend time at the school a little, go to the bank a little, see my mom a little. Good stuff.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing. I stole it from Sherilee’s blog:

Want to blog your own Daybook? Here’s the info: The Simple Woman’s Daybook.

Jan. 17: Daybook

Today…

Outside my window... the sky is a bit blue and a bit bright, not the usual grey. My doctor suggested I may have seasonal depression—common in the northwest, or so I hear—and I should get more light. This morning I have the blinds open more than usual, and honestly, the light is kinda burning into my brain. How is that helpful? I think it’s making me stupid. I actually just typed an ‘e’ on the end of ‘brain.’ That is not good.

This weekend, I… shopped for prizes for the upcoming school carnival, read a little bit, napped some, did concessions at the school’s movie night, and tried to get the scent of theater popcorn off me. Two thorough showers later, and I swear I can still smell it.

I am thinking... about the happy news we got the other day: Victor’s sister and her family are moving back to the states! Over the past several years they’ve lived in Montreal, Yokohama, Brussels, Paris, and Shenzhen, and we’re thrilled that they’re finally coming home to Seattle.

I am thankful... that the forecasted snow never came last week. There was some freezing rain, but it wasn’t bad in Clackamas. I am not a fan of the super-cold weather, nor am I a fan of snow days, and the weather gods finally listened to me last week. ALL HAIL JEN, I believe was exactly what they said.

I am working on... my school carnival doodies and a big project at work. Bizzy bee.

Can I tell you something? I love this cereal box game—you can guess why. Thanks for sharing a pic, April!

I am going... to have to find a positive-thinking way of dealing with my port-flush. Every 4-6 weeks I’m supposed to go to the oncologist’s office and sit in the chemo room so a nurse can inject my port with saline. This is done to keep it clean and accessible, so as long as I have the port (which could be the rest of my life), I have to have it flushed regularly. Last week was my first time, and can I just tell you? I HATED being back in the chemo room. It was so depressing. Yes, it’s only for a few minutes at a time and much less often than the chemo schedule I was on, but I just want to be DONE with all things chemo, y’know? It’s not easy to put a positive spin on being in that room—I spent a year there that I sooo want to put behind me.

Around the house... it smells delicious! There’s a pot roast in the crock pot that’s surrounded by carrots, potatoes and mushrooms. It’s almost overflowing, in a totally good, this-is-gonna-last-several-meals way. Yum.

One of my favorite things... is the fabulosity of my friends. Yesterday Val texted me and insisted I get to her house right that instant. Of course, I did, because when Val says “JUMP!” I ask “How high?” Victor and the kids joined us, and later Val demanded Sunshine and her fam get over there too. The first thing Sunshine said to Val was “Why can’t I say ‘no’ to you?” (See, I’m not the only one!) We all ended up spending an impromptu many hours together. I L-O-V-E love those folk.

Plans for the rest of the week: Lots of work at school and lots of work at work. PTO meeting on Wednesday. Poker night on Saturday. In other words, all good things. Happy things.

Here’s a link I want to share: The Monkeys You Ordered. You remember the Seinfeld episode in which Elaine goes to the New Yorker, demanding to know why one of its comics is funny? That’s pretty much what this site is about. Here’s how Comics Alliance describes it:

Because science has determined that no more than 23% of New Yorker cartoons are comprehensible to humans, the good people at The Monkeys You Ordered have repurposed that unexplainable material into something more helpful and entertaining to everybody. Updating weekly, The Monkeys You Ordered studies the latest variously mystifying New Yorker cartoons and gleans through an algorithmic process the artwork's true meaning. From there, they simply caption the cartoon accordingly.

Have a great week, youse!

Want to blog your own Daybook? Here’s the info: The Simple Woman’s Daybook.

Jan. 10: Daybook

Today…

Outside my window... it’s beautiful and sunny but I know that’s just that nasty bitch Mother Nature trying to distract me from the forecast. We’re supposed to get nine inches of snow tomorrow night. While I love to look at snow, I do not like when I have to drive in it or people I love have to drive in it—nobody around here knows how to drive in snow because we so rarely have any (thank GOD). I’m also not super fond of the snow keeping my kids home from school, although that’s never as bad as I expect it to be. And this year we have toboggans, so it might actually be fun. The hill around the corner is perfect for sledding. OK, maybe the anticipation of the snow is actually worse than the snow itself. I’ll let you know.

This weekend, I… broke the PTO web site and then fixed it again. Took me almost all day Saturday. Technology is just pffft sometimes. Yesterday I worked on more PTO-related things and in the evening I went to a surprise birthday party for Jenn K. She wasn’t totally surprised, but it was still lots of fun. Plus there were super-cool people there. And there was a shower in all the bathrooms. McMenamins Edgefield is a strange place. Anyway, a blast was had by all. I’ve got some really fun friends, I do.

Jen, Sunshine, Dina, Birthday Girl Jenn K, Wendy

All of the above, plus Teresa

I am reading... that Gregory Maguire book I mentioned last week. I’m having a hard time getting into it, and still not sure I’m going to stick with it. The description sounds intriguing, but it’s moving awfully slow.

I am thankful... for many things, but especially those girls in the pics above. Yes.

One of my favorite things... is how much the little penguin in this video makes me laugh:

Goofy little bird

Plans for the rest of the week: a couple doctor appointments, a couple meetings, a couple days’ for-pay work, probably a snow day or two.

Here’s another video I want to share:

Back to it.

Want to blog your own Daybook? Here’s the info: The Simple Woman’s Daybook.

Jan. 3: Daybook

Happy new year!

Today…

Outside my window... it’s beautiful and sunny and clear… and FF!! At 9:30 am it was only 27°, and that, my friends, is FF—or more accurately, F’nF’n. But not F’n like Kim F’n. Toooootally different kind of F’n.

This weekend, I… sprouted a giant zit on my forehead that looks like herpes. Can people get herpes on their foreheads? I also relaxed a lot, because I think this is the kind of zit that zaps all of one’s energy. That’s how I justified laying around so much, anyway. I watched the first half of Season 2 of Flight of the Conchords on DVD—so, so funny. I cleaned up my desk and got caught up with the PTO accounting. I made a list of things to get done this morning, which was very, very long and means this Daybook is gonna be a quick one.

I am thinking... about paint. When we moved our office stuff into Jack’s old room, we decided not to re-paint because there’s nothing wrong with this paint. Here’s the thing, though: this dark royal blue color was fine when all of Jack’s pirate décor was in here, but now? Now I hate it. It’s dark, and it’s not mine. I want to choose the color for this room, because that will make it feel more like mine, right? Right. Now, how on earth am I ever going to choose the perfect color? PANTONE says the color of 2011 is honeysuckle. (<—You gotta click that link to see what PANTONE calls “honeysuckle.” That is soooo not going on my walls.)

I am thankful... that we got all our Christmas things taken down. As much as I hate to see the season end, it’s nice to move forward with the new year, knowing that I’m free of Christmas for at least another few months.

I am going... to run errands like a madwoman this morning. It’s very nice (for me) to have the kids back in school.

Around the house... it no longer looks like Christmas. The house doesn’t have a look of anything right now, really, but-cept that it’s neat-ish. I like. I like very much.

Plans for the rest of the week: I’ve got lots of PTO doodies and some for-pay work, there’s much reorganizing to be done in my too-crowded office, and I’ll relax a bit to watch the rest of FOTC.

Here’s an image I stole from someone else that I want to share with you:

This is just like the light fixture we got Katie for Christmas. Victor installed it yesterday, and it looks so sweet in her room. The colors of the beads go perfectly with everything in there. Best of all, she’s super-excited about it. I love that part.

Want to blog your own Daybook? Here’s the info: The Simple Woman’s Daybook.

Dec. 21: Daybook

Last week my laptop started acting strange and I ran a bunch of diagnostics and it said everything was fine but it wasn’t. I cursed my laptop and and its mother and copied a bunch of files to another computer so I could still get some things done, and then I bought my vajillionth USB drive with plans to back up everything. It took a few days to get around to it and this morning when I turned on my laptop it was working fine! This kinda reminds me of when my mom pulled the plug on my grandma last summer. I know my laptop’s thinking NEENER NEENER I’M STILL ALIVE AND I AM GOING TO PISS YOU OFF SOME MORE BEFORE I FINALLY DIE. See, just like Grandma.

The good thing about my computer working again, of course, is that it has most of my files on it and I don’t have to go looking for the latest version of them on all the different computers I’ve been using. The bad thing is it appears that Microsoft Office no longer resides on my hard drive. Microsoft Office, y’know, the suite of applications that absolutely helps me sort out my life and work and inner child and alternate personalities. Don’t act like you don’t feel the same way about Office. You know you do. Until I find my original setup CD, I shall curse without ceasing. You might want to plug your ears.

…

OK, all done for now.

Oh, and I fixed the comma key that wasn’t working by shaking my laptop upside down. Beads dropped out of the keyboard. Teeny, tiny, little seed beads. I need to do my computing and my beading in different places, it would seem.

Today…

Outside my window... there are boys wrestling in the middle of the street. One of them is my boy and this makes me wonder what on earth is wrong with him. I don’t know one of the kids out there, but he’s beating up on my kid and part of me wants to let him so my kid will learn his lesson, but part of me doesn’t want to buy Jack new glasses for the sixth time this year. I just went out and yelled at them to knock it off and they did. (I’m not an idiot; I know they probably just moved down the street.)

This weekend, I… did some shopping, wrapped lots of gifts, finished our Christmas letter, made some gifts, dragged my husband to stores he hates, and watched holiday movies. Except for a little stress, it was loads of fun.

I am thinking... that I might be done feeling overwhelmed, but I’m probably not. Even though the Christmas cards are almost all delivered—and that was a huge project—I still have Poker Night on Thursday to prepare for, as well as our Christmas Eve bash. This might just be the last of my sanity you’ll ever see, people.

I am thankful... that Victor’s been so willing to help me with our holiday preparations this year. I typically don’t ask him for help, or can’t count on him to help, but this year he’s really come through for me. Us. Whatever. We only got our cards out because he did most of the work. Yay, Vic!

I am working on... straightening up the house because we’ve got people coming over for the next several evenings. I’m super-excited to host these events, but I would d-i-e-DIE if anyone saw my kitchen table right now.

I am going... to go shopping for something scary today or tomorrow. I need some kind of goodie for a gift exchange party tomorrow night at Cindi’s, and it has to be “scandalous.” I don’t do “scandalous.” I do “sweet” or “adorable” or “funny” or “weird.” Not “scandalous.”

Around the house... it definitely looks like Christmas. Such fun!

One of my favorite things... is how much Scout loves the Christmas tree (see below).

Plans for the rest of the week: somethin’ fun at Cindi’s tomorrow, Poker Night on Thursday, our traditional Christmas Eve Chinese food dinner on Friday, and The Big Day on Saturday! Hooray!

Here’s an image I want to share:

So much for using the bears to keep the dog out from under the tree.

Want to blog your own Daybook? Here’s the info: The Simple Woman’s Daybook.