Is it still Sun Tea if you have to rescue it from the rain mid-steep?

Oklahoma has had crazy rain all 4th of July weekend. It's nice from a temperature perspective, but even after 7 years here, I am still caught off guard by the whole "raining in July" thing.

Even my vacation can sound like a to-do list? Went to California to see brother. On way finished two books in my TBR pile, and upon arrival watched a Netflix I'd had for over a month. Then, walked brother's dog. Also bought a Bridal Magazine an the flight, and found myself lusting mostly over the honeymoon section.

And for anyone who missed my various (haphazard) announcements, J and I got engaged this past Christmas. No details are set yet, but we're planning on a May 2011 Wedding.

Every once in a while, I find myself with actual spare time. J is in class/lab/study group all day and since he was at drill this weekend, I did some serious cleaning. My car is in the shop so I am relying on the kindness of coworkers to shuttle me, and I am out of butter, so even if I wanted to, there could be no baking. I am sure I could find a project if I wanted to, but I'm in for a crazy weekend. Not to mention at the end of it, J's family is likely to spend time here, so it's patently unwise to have the house torn up. Not that I think they'd judge me if I did, but still.

So tonight it is the hot tub and HGTV (on my brand new HD TV), and harassing the cats with toys uncovered over the weekend. I'm also philosophizing on my definition of "clean" which is apparently code for "clutter reduced to less that 20% of total available surface area." Just like they say "mischief managed" at the end of the credits in Harry Potter movies now (or at least did in #3), I think I am going to have to start declaring "Clutter Contained." Some day, I hope to be at 100%, but right now I'm actually fairly willing to settle for a floor that is both visible and vacuumed.

The bathroom renovation isn't done, but it's to a convenient stopping point. I haven't quite decided what to tackle next yet, and I'm a little loathe to decide when I consider I am about to be saddled with a non-negligible car repair bill. I have to admit, I do miss my warranty. I have put 30K miles on the car in the last year and a half, and it does bring the wear & tear up. Not that J isn't worth it ;-)

But anyways, it's getting close to bedtime, and I have decided enterign bills into an excel spreadsheet is about my speed. So, good night everyone.

From a friend's parent:

"I swear. You take these kids and you raise 'em, teach them to always do the right thing; then next thing you know, they're all grown up and won't ever let YOU do the wrong thing!"

ALSO, I preordered Castle (the ABC Mystery) and now I cannot wait to receive it. Sept 22, get here soooner!

I like to labor under the delusion that somewhere, under it all, I am actually an excellent housekeeper. The kind who never has dishes on the counter or in the sink (past a reasonable soak time, or course), who can keep an organized filing system for bills and a coffee table clear of junk. It makes sense, right? I'm hardworking and highly motivated, and fairly good at organizing my priorities and acting on them. A house is no different than a job or a dance routine.

Evidence, however, often flies straight in the face of this theory. Stuff is clean when I clean it, sure, but the maintenance angle often proves to be a problem. I would LIKE to pretend that that is simply because I am busy - between dance and a medium-distance relationship, a reasonably active social life and an attempt at physical fitness, I do have a bunch going on - but although my level of other commitments has fluctuated fairly substantially throughout the years, the mess level seems to remain about the same. I blame my projects - but many of them are actually geared towards streamlining housekeeping efforts. I blame events - but I keep scheduling them. I try to blame my cats, but they unhelpfully remain FAR too earthbound to be blamed for knocking things over. A true source of blame for the concealment of my awesome housekeeping nature remains elusive. I refuse to consider the possibility that I am lazy.

So, the mess remains, and the puzzlement. How can I, a high-powered professional get bested by something as simple as hairbrushes and scrunchies? Why must dishes in the sink - which take at best 5 minutes to deal with - continue to pile even though I'd swear I haven't actually been home to pile them? One day, I swear I'll have the mystery solved. But in the meantime, I am learning to love Catch-Up. One day, though, I WILL have this thing mastered...

J and I installed them yesterday!

( Pictures! )

Also, a brand new shiny faucet has been installed and although plumbing was a nightmare (darn the lowest-bidder construction of my house! Yay for innovation and determination on our part, plus 3 home depot trips) it is all working beautifully now. Next up: walls, because between the white floors, white counters and white wall it's looking a bit like a sanitarium in there, and replacement shower fixture because the one I have is non-repairable and leaking fiercely. But total yay for progress! I'm way excited.

ETA: Faucet pic for AvivaLasVegas, since it turns out this stuff is regional:
( Piccie! )

( Pics of my new floor! )

And with that, the first step of my bathroom renovation is complete! For anyone who is curious I went with a Mannington Adura vinyl tile (Manhattan White Iron) and epoxy (fake) grout. The upside is it is warmer and tougher than ceramic tile, the downside is it might be a little bit harder to clean. But, only time will tell on that one. Freshly installed, I am pleased to say it looks completely awesome, and has me very excited to continue with my improvements. Next up are counters and painting.

I ordered my New Flooring and my Replacement Counters this weekend.

Yay!

Today, Quicken Online told me I was living beyond my means. I nearly died. Then I realized it didn't have my savings account listed, and both my net savings and my self-image as a Responsible American were restored. Whew!

Things I have been up to lately:

You name it, I've been on it. J's family came out over Memorial Day weekend, and I effectively hosted them for 2 of the 3 days. I made Mexican Lasagna (a double batch!), and Fruited Barbecue Chicken, Waffles, and Pumpkin Pie. I also got told I was "very Orgnanized" and "Had all my ducks in a row" - Boy did I pull a fast one. During that time we saw the new Terminator Movie (meh), went to an Arts Festival (yay!), and went Rapelling(!) I also got a pretty amazing (though thankfully so far non-peeling) Sunburn on my arm, and was going to make a few "white girl" jokes about with J's olive skinned half-Mexican family when someone pointed out that I could simply sit in the shade next to J's also sunburned Sister-in-law, who is a first-generation American and the only native Spanish speaker of the bunch. I also got along surprisingly well with J's 11-month-old niece, who toddled along after me pretty much whenever Mom was busy.

I bade 3 of the 5 visitors farewell Tuesday morning, and then Wednesday, J's "little" brother (age 26, and a professional concrete worker when not on vacation) came down to pour me a concrete extension to my hot tub pad in exchange for cookies. 59 bags of quick-crete later (all mixed by hand, because we're optimists and stubborn), he (with some help from J and I) had poured and shaped me a 26x3 patio extension. Then on Friday, we took the whole roving band back up to get J's key and start moving HIM into a new apartment, 10 minutes down the road from the old one. Moving was Friday and Sunday, with Saturday being my Sparkles-and-goodbye-to-a-troupmate party in between.

So now I am back at work, sorting through the damage to my credit card AND my motivation. I didn't go to any dance classes save the one I each last week/weekend, and the house *looks* like it's been used more than it's been cleaned. So, gotta get back on that. But, dance class tonight so they won;t think I've abandoned them entirely. The good news is So You Think You Can Dance has restarted, so I'll have something to entertain me as I vacuum and scrub during the upcoming weekend, where J will be at drill. It's certainly not the excitement of the past two weeks/weekends, but at this point, I'm kind of OK with that.

LJ, I have been remiss. In the past few weeks I have:

-Prepared for, made costumes for, and survived a dance showcase with myself, and the Sparkles.
-Survived J's Hell week, his finals week, and hung out with a subset of his family who's on vacation.
-Made Johnny Carino's Jalapeno Tilapia, approximately 8 million cookies, and pumpkin pie in celebration.
-Attended training in AutoCAD
-Become mildly obsessed with the insanity that is the FLDS church after reading Escape by Caroline Jessop.
-Seen Jeff Dunham live, which was hilarious. Bought the T-shirt. Sent it to my Brother.
-Seen Star Trek. I was prepared for the badness. To say I was pleasantly surprised would be an understatement.
-Bought a purse that I'd been lusting after for over a month online, only to see it in person and be unimpressed.
-Planted flowers and hung new curtain rods with J. Noticeably, no curtains, though.
-Made my way through "Kushiel's Mercy," the final book in a double trilogy I love. It was really good.
-Wanted to kill no less than two people for professional incompetence.
-Watched the finale of Castle, and now desperately, desperately DESPERATELY want that show to be renewed.

And, that's about it. OR at least, it's what i can remember on short notice. So, hopefully this will bring everyone more or less up to speed, and regular programming can return.