I quickly got "behind" on my scheduled plans for the week because I didn't have the spackling I thought I had here.  Last night I worked around on a few other tasks instead and picked up the goods on the way home tonight.  That work is done and tonight's scheduled sanding will push back to tomorrow.  That means I will be playing nimble with the hopes of crossing off everything scheduled for the week at some point during this week.  To try and get myself out ahead of the curve I'm going to wash down a couple of walls and some fans/lights.

I've scored a few more boxes, so that should help keep me packing up.  I keep thinking of other things to add to the list though, so... fingers crossed that I get ahead of schedule and the weather cooperates so I can do some work outside this weekend.

I've had a few days off from my work about the house because of the holiday weekend. I went to see my Favorite Egg and enjoy the holiday with two celebrations with his family. We also met a realtor I've been talking to and looked at a couple of places to get a feel for some of the areas. The first two houses were gorgeous, particularly the first one - but on a postage stamp of land. The second had land, but was older, and the square footage was misleading because it was a split level (which I'm not overly desiring of to begin with). Saturday was a little shopping, a little looking at options for a fix I'm trying to do here at my place, and a couple of DVDs (Mockingjay Part 1 and Hotel Transylvania 2).

Now that I'm back I sat down last night and tried to give myself a game plan for each night the rest of this week and into the weekend. There is still so very much to do and I'm not even touching the bigger jobs that will likely take a day on their own (mostly outdoor things like mulching, evening up some ground, etc). I just need to keep plugging away. I feel bad, but when my Favorite Egg is back in I'm going to put him to work on a few things that I could use a strong hand with. Hopefully a bunch of those tasks will crank out in a day.

Rex is in too for the holiday, so I slacked off last night, heading to the Orchard for a bite to meet him and Lori there too. It's been so long! Then we had the unexpected surprise of Mithy walking in!

I requested some information... I get an email saying "Please contact me so that we can discuss your mortgage financing needs.  All of my contact information is listed below."  Uh huh, and you just contacted me... so why didn't you send the information I originally requested?  Lemme guess, you want me to call, then I have to WRITE DOWN everything you tell me, instead of you just EMAILING IT TO ME!  Clearly, since I provided my email address and did NOT provide a telephone number, I'm trying to tell you something.  If you want my business - you are the one that should be working for it, not me.

Tonight I gave myself a break.  That doesn't mean I sat watching TV, instead, it means I did some things I wanted to do, like make dinner and some bread, ran for some ice cream, and buzzed into Ollie's where I found a niece neutral rug for in the bathroom at a good price.  I also didn't set an agenda for the rest of the evening, so I just randomly moved about tackling what I felt like tackling.

What I did achieve was clearing out the medicine cabinet in the bathroom, scrubbing the shelves and storage bin in the bathroom, further clearing the mantle and bookshelves in the living room, including 'prepping' one of them.  Now, I'm going to soak in the tub for a little while and go to bed earlier than I have in a few nights.

Dani got the first bunny of the year before bed last night.  Even this is early, usually our first catch is in April or early May.  Congrats girls.  Let the slaughter begin.

Despite having a delay in my start this evening to attend a youth group leadership meeting, I still managed to finish the remainder of the kitchen cabinets.  There are still a few things that didn't work out safely in a box sitting out on the counter, but those will get tended to at some point.  Of course now I'm sitting here with itchy sinuses and sneezing like crazy, but that much is done.

What to start tomorrow?  I'm quickly getting to the point were there isn't too many other places in the dining room to put boxes.  I did get additional empties from a coworker, so that'll keep me going towards filling the living room too.

I called the place I talked to on Saturday since I hadn't heard from them.  They needed another measurement... uh, ok, why didn't you call me?  Sigh.  Time is ticking here people.

I have 6 more cabinets to do.  Yes, things are moving that slowly.  I swear I'm not slacking off - I finished 6, including the deep one that goes along the side of the dishwasher and the one under the sink.  Tonight I came home, reheated leftovers, ate, and got at it.  Things are getting tossed, they're getting boxed, they're getting scrubbed.  I do hope I'm thinning things out enough to make things spacious enough.

I really do have a lot of cabinet space, I just tend to get more crap than I need.  If I get it in my head that I need, let's say cream of chicken soup I'll buy one, then the next time I am out I'll forget I bought one and get another.  You can see how this becomes an issue.  I really need to get better at creating a list when I use the one and only of an item I have and then shopping only from that list.  Even then I'd struggle.  Being a big fan of Ollie's and Big Lots I often find things I love at mega awesome prices, then I can't just buy one more, no, no, no.  Gah.  Need to change.

I also filled a box in the basement of extras because I took some extra sammie bags down and then decided to gather other sizes of bags, tissues, and the like.  Does that count as distraction from the kitchen?  Maybe, but it too needs done.  Everything needs done.  *sigh*

The kitchen has been a much more involved and tedious process than I had expected.  I'm still not done with the cabinets, I'm not even half way, but what is done is C.L.E.A.N. and organized.  I also smell delighfully of liquid gold.

I did watch the Walking Dead and cook both dinner and some stuffed bread tonight, so those things detracted from my time spent.  I also gave a little time to someone who needed to chat.  I don't mind it, I just wish I felt like I had anything to say that would help sort things out or inspire.

Remember the curtains I was complaining about being unable to locate at the end of January?  I found them!  I didn't buy new ones yet, so that's kind of good, but I do think given my current activities I may still need to find lighter/brighter ones.

Yesterday only added one more box of books to the tally, but I did have a nice dinner with Beff. It's been a while since we've gotten to see one another.  I neglected to note that I did order a shower curtain, so that's coming.

Today I was up early and did a bunch of running around, and spending more money than I'd like.  First I ran out towards New Germany to check in with another place regarding the cabinet doors.  On my way back in I was at Home Depot.  I left there light handed with just a couple of tray liners for painting and some cabinet pulls (I'm trying to will those into happening).

To the mall where I admit was frivolous shopping.  There were free body washes and underwear to snag!  While there I also picked up some things we'll need for Beff's shower and a couple of pairs of shorts.  I have plenty of shorts, this is a fact, but they're all either jean shorts or shorty around the house shorts - nothing cloth and more suitable for hot days in cruise ports.  So that issue has been resolved.  I'm also doing some routine cleaning (laundry).

From there I was Aldi because I have a craving and needed a baguette to make that happen tomorrow, and then on to Big Lots (I had a coupon) and Ollie's - which I at least left those places with some premium paint for both the bathroom and outdoor tasks that are on my to do list and paint brushes.  I also stopped at Michael's, Hallmark, and the Christian bookstore, where across them all I found a few more items for the shower.

Tonight I have bagged some gifts for upcoming things (it is on a to do list), peeled off some of the one wall stickers, removed all of the magnets and papers from my fridge and washed the outside down (minus the top - I'll do that again when I put the things up there into boxes and pull the whole thing out to clean underneath again).  The rest of my productive time (until I give up) will be spent pulling everything out of drawers, tossing some stuff to donate, tossing some stuff to pack now, and wiping out the drawers and then liquid golding the outside before putting things away again neatly.

I had my yearly visit to the regular doctor today.  Girl dr is next week, but since my regular doctor and I know they're complete slackers, we went ahead and took a little bit of action.  TMI warning on the rest of this paragraph:  You might remember me complaining last year about lower back/menstrual type pain that was pretty intense and long lasting.  It has gone away, but my longer term issues of bleeding even when taking active pills and in sudden bursts - that remains.  I'm going off the pill and after a cycle I'll take a prescription that is to, for lack of better phrasing trigger my period and 'clean me out'.  She mentioned that while fibroids were spotted on the tests for pain last year, they wouldn't spot any polyps, so she was leaning towards a d&c to try and deal with things... but I'm putting that off and going this other route for now.  Fingers crossed.

I also had a massage after work, and I was starting to feel the ache in my back heading towards my neck, so it was good timing.  From there I stopped for a bite to eat before coming home to get back to work.

Speaking of that work, today ... It took 6 printer paper boxes to handle 99% of my cds, dvds, and ps2 games.  But that's done.  I also have one mega box (one that Amazon used to ship a 32 gallon garbage can) full of hangers, winter coats, and living room pillows.  I emptied the dishwasher too, does that count for something?  Oh, and I emptied a bottle of vodka (don't misread that, it was almost there) - so that's one less thing to box up!

Today I ...
... Cleared a ton out of the bathroom to free up shelf space
... Thinned out under the bathroom sink
... Threw away some conditioner and other bathroom goo that I will never use
... Organized and labeled the boxes in the basement that contain all of my goo products
... Contacted someone about the doors I want for the storage area in the bathroom
... Emailed my realtor

I also went to youth group.  It feels like forever since I've been there.  I will miss my church.  I also got my allergy shot.  Get this - if I relocate I'd either need to:  start all over again with a new allergist or come in once a year for an appointment and twice a year to get refills of my syrum, then find someone who is willing to give me the shots when I need them. You'd think there would be some type of 'prescription' or information that could be handed off and used by another allergist.  I'm going to have to press to get my records from them to see if another allergist wouldn't tell me something a little different.

With my large must do list looming over me, we starts what is likely to be a frequent occurrence in the next few weeks:

Today I ...
... cleaned the inside of the oven
... scrubbed under the vent hood
... attempted to shop for a neutral shower curtain with less than overwhelming results, but there are a couple saved in a wish list for me to ponder further

I've said it years in the past, so I will understand if you don't believe me, but I've started trying to get myself prepared to move away.  The list of things I'd want to get done (mostly small but exhausting) around the house before I would list it has been created.  Talk about feeling overwhelmed.  I think the biggest punch in the gut is not knowing where to put everything in order to get it "out of the way".  Yes, I'm sure I'd purge more in the process, but heaven knows there would remain things that just put somewhere else to make things less crowded.  I guess I should just start boxing things and then figure out where I should rent some space.

I saw my first robin of the year!  Actually there were three of them hopping along the road this morning.  Right on time!

It has been a lovely weekend, despite the rain sprinkles today.  The weather is so incredibly unseasonable.  My tulips are up a couple of inches, so I need to get out there and rake as soon as possible, even if I'm not ready to take a chance on mulching just yet.  So many things feel like they need to be done.  I always get that surge in the spring, but I know why it feels so much stronger right now.

I did not however get much of anything done this weekend because my Favorite Egg came in.  It was nice to play vacation one more weekend at least.  While he was here we went to see Deadpool. I haven't been at the movies in so long!  It was pretty good, but that's my sick sense of humor and drool for Ryan Reynold's talking the loudest.  I also did pull Drake out since March is here.  Now I need to get the stickers ordered for the vehicles.

I have addresses now, so I can at least get cranking on some envelopes for my gal pal's bridal shower.  So so many things to do!

I'm back.  For real this time.  So, just shy of a week after the wedding, my sister, her friend R, and I headed south to Galveston for a cruise on Liberty of the Seas.  We had booked the cruise before my nephew announced his engagement, and I had the flight booked, I just needed to go earlier to attend the wedding, so it was a nice loooong visit.  In the mean time, as previously noted, I worked part time from their house.

We drove down, just past Houston on Saturday and settled into a hotel for the night.  Up early we drove around for a short while in Galveston taking in the some of the local art.  When a hurricane came through and knocked down some of the trees back in 2008, someone took to carving them where their remnants stood.  They're pretty neat - check it out:  http://www.galveston.com/uploads/files/treesculpture.pdf

From there we met Liberty for our 7 nighter.  She was recently in refurb, but if I hadn't known... let's just say I think they focused their refurb time on adding the new water slides, rather than tending to loose banisters and replacing worn fabrics.  It was still very comfortable and clean.  We had an aft balcony with a pullman bed rather than a sleeper couch.

We had: 2 days at sea, Roatan Honduras, Belize City Belize, Cozumel Mexico, 1 more day at sea.  This was my first visit to the first two ports, so that was exciting. We moved from a private dinner table to one with a couple from the Netherlands and they were a delight.  I also met a sweet lady and chatted a couple of nights up in the concierge lounge.

In Roatan I booked us a snorkeling trip with Roatan Ocean Adventures (ROA), and it was an awesome pick.  We made three snorkeling stops, the first a warm up with plenty of clear and shallow areas to stand, but still lots to see.  At this point there was a total of maybe 10 of us.  The second stop was pretty nice, lots of coral and lobsters.  This is where the other 7 went off on some other adventure while we headed to the third - just the three of us and our guide.  There were so many fish at this stop and a huge drop off!  It was amazing.  From there they dropped us at Little French Key to relax for a little while.  It too was quite nice as was our lunch there.

In Belize we did the ship cattle call to Altun Ha.  Nearly 15 years after my first attempt to see Mayan ruins I finally did it.  I'm reminded again to avoid the herds.  But I did it because it remains a tender port and I read things about delays and traffic.  The tour guides made you stay with them and only allowed us to climb one ruin.  Prb for the best since my legs were ACHING for two days after as a result.  Then we went down the River Wallace, where we saw all kinds of critters:  monkeys, alligators, birds,bats.

In Cozumel I led us to Mr. Sancho's by taxi.  It's an all inclusive at a great price.  We had a lovely day.  Lots of shade as to protect our already burned flesh, a nice beach, good drinks, ok food, swim up bar, hammocks, the works.  On a whim we headed out parasailing! That too was quite the good time.  It's amazing how quiet and peaceful it is once you get up there.

It was a nice relaxing time.  I worked for another day and a half at my sister's before returning to PA on Tuesday.  Tuesday morning was a bit nerve wracking however.  We were under a tornado watch, the tornado sirens were going off in town, and man was the wind and rain coming down hard.  I could even see the house behind theirs from the kitchen.  I admit, I was nervous.  Fortunately, things didn't get too backed up and my flight was only 50 minutes late.  My honey picked me up at the airport and we had a nice short evening together before I drove home this morning.... and then into the office.  I picked up the girls after work and boy are they whooped.  They didn't even want to bother with the neighbor puppy. Rest up kids.