hula hoops and hampster wheels

So -- I've been pretty bad about getting rid of clutter in my bedroom -- it's building up actually.
The plan is to attack it this weekend -- but as you can see -- I'd rather write about it now, than actally do it...

I just haven't been in the mood -- I know shocking, I'll clean anyone elses mess but my own. I have 4 heaping laundry baskets and a couple random piles -- it's all clean, some is even folded -- I just want it to magically find it's way on to hangers and into drawers... but Tinkerbell or Mary Poppins is not coming to my rescue and so it sits -- and grows. Plus --- another part is that a lot of it doesn't fit -- it might be as little as 5 pounds from fitting -- or as much as 20 pounds from fitting -- and I'm sure there is a few pairs of pants that will never go past my knee caps again...
I can't part with it since I like it - and I'm hopefully that Mary Poppins or Tinkerbell will not only help me with my laundry but auto-transplant me to the gym and make me work out and stop me from buying tasty sweet or carbo-liscious treats.

I couldn't find the sheets I wanted to put on my bed so I had fleece sheets on... but then after a couple nights -- I realized hey It's spring now -- fleece sheets are not the proper bedding attire -- Miss Emily Post would be so pissed at me. So now -- I am equally taboo and have miss matched sheets... I think the other halves are buried somewhere under my laundry -- but alas I am not motivated to look that hard.

The garbage -- is also building up -- the floor has now become a drawer if you will -- empty tic tac boxes -- clothing tags from when I stocked up on polos for work -- hangers that landed on the floor and some how I didn't have the energy to pick them up at the time. Empty pregnancy test boxes from a couple monthes ago when I was in freak out mode just finally made it to the trash... my home made card crap -- who has time to make homemade cards? Well I do, if I wasn't so unmotivated to pick them up from the floor. Water color paper and paints and paintbrushes -- books I've finished reading take up a corner on the floor -- why I couldn't put them in the bookcase is they are leaning up against is beyond me, could be that my junk mail is taking over the bookcase -- I don't know why I save random solicitations... ads etc I probably meant to make a little pile of credit card offers and then shred them -- but I forgot... Laziness -- apathy to clutter? I'll just do it later -- it's my new motto -- diet coke cans get discgard weekly -- otherwise my room would be silver and reflective... not good.

I should also clean out the car- more diet coke cans there --- random directions floating around the seats - glove box and trunk -- with reciepts and empty packs of gum, cds that got tucked somewhere or are floating under seats with my snowbrush -- I think the snow brush can go in the trunk -- with the 20 pairs of shoes-- most of which are ones that hurt my feet or require a pedicure.

That's another thing -- I should go get a pedicure and manicure -- again too much work. I also need an eyebrow wax and to shave my legs --

So that's the goal this weekend -- to clean and get organized - get pretty-- but it might be a better idea to take a nap -- read a book -- watch grass grow -- anything but just get to it.

Well -- Date night with Dave has always been fun! But lately we're more about the quality of time together. Cooking together and watching tv -- then the end result is usually me squealing from being tickled.

The other night we tried this recipe Dave found in the paper -- the original recipe was from Gordon Ramsay's collection - It was supposed to be sticky chicken... and well it was good - but a little too done. Next time we will have to watch the heat settings.

I'm going a little domestic -- last night I made a simple dinner - tomato soup and grilled cheese - but Dave's likes bacon on his sandwhich -- I think I burnt the bacon -- opps and then the house filled up with smoke.. double oops. Then after dinner - I did the dishes and this morning I made his lunch. How prescious. Is it wrong that I get all giddy cleaning up and making lunches? Maybe a little bit. Yep, but it makes ridiculously happy.

We are tentatively planning to go to the Star Wars exhibit at the science museum -- no, we are not that nerdy -- but we do love the science museum. Ok, maybe we are nerdy - well I am anyways.

Ok - maybe I'll more entertaining stories later.

So It looks like I'm moving to Canada -- don't fret, what I mean is that I'm moving into the Canadian region at work -- so I'll get a cube on the dark side of the office -- get to brush up on my French and leave Texas behind.

I'm excited and apprehensive about the change -- but there is no use in fighting it- they'll just move me if they want to move me.

So wish me luck!

There were many adventures with my dad and he taught me so many things. But aside from the adventures there were just ordinary days.

My mom and dad were sitting at the kitchen table as I woke up to watch Saturday morning cartoons. They were drinking coffee, laughing and talking. Soon they were speaking in some sort of code, calling out numbers. I came out to see – and they were playing cards.

I loved to play games with my dad, but this is a game I had never played before. It was not Go Fish or War. There was a wooden board with a million holes in it, and a pair of green and blue pegs, I asked if I could play. My dad replied: “Do you want to win?” I nodded. “Well, we will be a team and try and beat your mom.”

We sat, side by side as the cards were shuffled and dealt. He said I might have to whisper so Mom couldn’t have any hints. The cards were top secret and so he carefully showed them to me and asked me “Can you add any of the numbers together to get 15?”
I pointed out a combination and he grouped together more. He told me we would have to give Mom two cards and asked which ones I thought were the least important. I picked the cards and the game started in play. 5. 10. 15-2. 25. 31 for 2 and a go makes 3. What were they talking about – the cards flew out of their hands so fast. I was frustrated – so they showed me what the numbers meant as I counted points off on the board. Dad said I’d have to watch a couple times to learn all the rules and how to play – but as I’m watching I could be on his team.

Soon we would play cribbage on our own and he would always win – he said it wasn’t going to help me learn if he just threw the game. For the first few times I’d beat him – he’d say in his teasing way “Congratulations Pumpkin, but you know- I let you win.”



Not too long ago, we resumed our cribbage sessions in our assigned seats at the kitchen table – the same spots for twenty years. “Peggty peg peg” is what he’d chant at me when he was getting close to winning the game. When he would win, he would brag a little, on the rare occasion that I skunked him he would look at me, smile and say: “I’m ready are you?” and we would play again as we would talk and laugh.





Kristen – May 2008