How did that happen? I’m glad, though, because it means there are only 5 weeks of the semester left (only 3 weeks left of my Tuesday night class, after tonight)! Just in time for the summer semester to start (I need to have a talk with whoever it is at Metro that thinks a weekend between Spring and Summer semesters is sufficient, because it totally leads to burnout). I have one class this summer, my Social Studies Capstone, but so far there are only three of us signed up, so who knows if it will actually happen. I promise I won’t complain if I have to take the summer off.

I have a goal for this coming weekend. I want to finally finish my nightstand. This requires finally settling on a white paint color. Why, oh why, are there so many colors of white? Maybe I should clarify that by finish, I actually mean paint. I plan on putting some paper on the front of the drawer (and maybe the top, too – it’s a bit beat up), and I haven’t picked that out yet. And I don’t have drawer pulls. Paper requires a trip to Paper Source (a short drive now that we live in a Minneapolis suburb), and drawer pulls mean a trip to Menards (their selection is so much bigger than Home Depot’s! oh, how I wish it weren’t!).

It’s good to have a goal, right? My lesson plans are coming along nicely, so I don’t need to spend much time on that project. My strategy log is nearly done (just 6 more left, I think, out of 25). I have a paper on bilingualism that I need to research, outline, and write, but it’s only a 4 page paper, so I think I’ll be OK once I figure out what it is I’m writing about. There’s a teacher interview to schedule, but my district is on Spring Break this week, so I’ll reserve that for next week. There will need to be some baking or cooking on Saturday or Sunday (to bring to Easter dinner), but that’s hardly a big deal. The house is basically clean, no need to dedicate much time to that. That leaves me plenty of time, right?

Question – since I plan on putting paper on the drawer front on my nightstand, and also on the top drawer front on my two dressers (partially to hide the carved design that I’m filling in), and those pieces will all live in the same room, and I plan on having the hardware (pulls) match, should the paper match too, or just coordinate? If it helps, here are some of my ideas for paper: Empress, Flora & Fauna, Birdies, Lokta Lotus, and Kraft White Flourish (it all depends on whether or not I can find a blue that matches the curtains, or if I need to stick to brown and white).

Oh, and for further help, here are some examples of what I’m thinking of (though some are much busier than I want): desk (infarrantly creative), nightstand (modpodgerocks), chest (thecozygreencoccoon), dresser (odilafreire), dresser (odilafreire), dresser (thewaythingsgo), mini dresser (~Gaile), and nightstand (poyzindrink).

On Friday, I posted a list of things that I “should” have done over the weekend. Let’s see how that went, OK?

1. Take down and put away leftover winter decorations, including all the Christmas mugs, the “let it snow” signs, and the snowman pillow. It’s getting to be embarrassing. Untouched. Guess we’re still feeling wintery at our house. I’d like to switch out the outdoor wreath before Easter. I know, I know, big goals.
2. Sew up the sheers and curtains for the patio door, and sheers for the transom window, and install all of it including the curtain tiebacks. Sheers for the transom window are 95% completed. (Actually, they’re 100% complete and hung up, but my method was flawed, and they sag a bit, so we need to figure something else out.) Patio door sheers are pinned for hemming, which is the hard part. They’re hanging up right now, so they look done, but I’ve got an hour or two of work on them. Curtains weren’t even thought about.
3. Go to the bookstore (Half Price is preferable) and get the next book after Two Shall Become One and try to find the remaining four books in the Pern series. I have nothing to read before going to bed. And by nothing, I mean I don’t have the books I just listed. Our house is full of books. We didn’t make it to Half Price, but stopped by Borders on Friday night and I found three out of the four books on my Pern list, and Loving Mr. Darcy too. Win!
4. To satisfy my own creativity, sketch out (on paper, not in my head) what I’d like the built-in bookshelves in the basement to look like. We’ve got quite some time until this needs to be for real sketched out (like with measurements and stuff), but all the ideas I have keep jumping about in my head, and I’m afraid one might fall out. Nope.
5. Re-acquaint myself with the gym. Not a chance.
6. Buy plane tickets. Suggested several times that this get done, but it did not. Would prefer to not nag. Enough said.
7. Drink lots of water. I think I’ve kicked the sore throat, but I’m not totally un-sick, and I think drinking water and consuming some Vitamin C won’t hurt. Apparently, I didn’t drink enough, because my sore throat is worse now than it was on Friday.
8. Watch the latest Netflix that came to our house. Netflix watched and returned.
9. Make serious forward-progress on the rest of the semester’s homework. I’m caught up, but I’ve been doing the bare minimum since Spring Break (and Spring fever). There are some big projects that are pretty much on track, but finishing them early wouldn’t be bad. I found a new assignment for my Monday night class that I didn’t even know about, so I kind of took a backwards step here. It should be noted, however, that I am still completely caught up, just not ahead of the game.
10. Clean. Houses always need to be cleaned. Apartments too, really. Especially if you live with two cats who shed a lot even when it’s not Spring. Nope. No cleaning. Well, that’s not true. I washed two windows. I may have wiped down my bathroom.
11. Attempt to clear off a significant portion of my cutting table. All of the ironing has been done, and most is put away. How have I managed to fill up a 36×72 table with stuff? Hah! I wish.
12. Do something with all the magazines that are stacking up on the coffee table. Didn’t even notice the pile.
13. Photograph the stuff in the “to sell on Etsy” box. Not even sure where the box is.
14. Call or otherwise speak to my friends. Hi, how are you? I have several gift certificates to restaurants I want to share with you. Spent Saturday with family and Sunday doing homework and working on the house. Fail.
15. Purchase and install handles on the doors of the cabinet in my office. (Have I mentioned that earlier this week, Ikea changed the status of the out-of-stock door from “we don’t know when to expect this” to “you can’t buy this at this store?” Grr. I don’t have any trips planned to another Ikea store anytime soon (especially since we live 5 minutes from this one). Nope. Still using the awkward method of trying to get those open. It’s so not a priority right now.
16. Finish/start/make progress on any number of painting projects that are in my head or around the house in various stages of completion. Again, no progress here. Did I mention I was busy all day Saturday?

So, that went about how I expected it to. Like I said on Friday, it was a completely unrealistic list. Regardless, I feel good about the weekend. I spent most of Saturday with and , as well as and and the boys. I feel good about where my lesson plans are, and am caught up on my strategy log. The bedroom looks much more finished, even if it isn’t. And the house, while not officially cleaned, isn’t looking too shabby.

1. Take down and put away leftover winter decorations, including all the Christmas mugs, the “let it snow” signs, and the snowman pillow. It’s getting to be embarrassing.
2. Sew up the sheers and curtains for the patio door, and sheers for the transom window, and install all of it including the curtain tiebacks.
3. Go to the bookstore (Half Price is preferable) and get the next book after Two Shall Become One and try to find the remaining four books in the Pern series. I have nothing to read before going to bed. And by nothing, I mean I don’t have the books I just listed. Our house is full of books.
4. To satisfy my own creativity, sketch out (on paper, not in my head) what I’d like the built-in bookshelves in the basement to look like. We’ve got quite some time until this needs to be for real sketched out (like with measurements and stuff), but all the ideas I have keep jumping about in my head, and I’m afraid one might fall out.
5. Re-acquaint myself with the gym.
6. Buy plane tickets.
7. Drink lots of water. I think I’ve kicked the sore throat, but I’m not totally un-sick, and I think drinking water and consuming some Vitamin C won’t hurt.
8. Watch the latest Netflix that came to our house.
9. Make serious forward-progress on the rest of the semester’s homework. I’m caught up, but I’ve been doing the bare minimum since Spring Break (and Spring fever). There are some big projects that are pretty much on track, but finishing them early wouldn’t be bad.
10. Clean. Houses always need to be cleaned. Apartments too, really. Especially if you live with two cats who shed a lot even when it’s not Spring.
11. Attempt to clear off a significant portion of my cutting table. All of the ironing has been done, and most is put away. How have I managed to fill up a 36×72 table with stuff?
12. Do something with all the magazines that are stacking up on the coffee table.
13. Photograph the stuff in the “to sell on Etsy” box.
14. Call or otherwise speak to my friends. Hi, how are you? I have several gift certificates to restaurants I want to share with you.
15. Purchase and install handles on the doors of the cabinet in my office. (Have I mentioned that earlier this week, Ikea changed the status of the out-of-stock door from “we don’t know when to expect this” to “you can’t buy this at this store?” Grr. I don’t have any trips planned to another Ikea store anytime soon (especially since we live 5 minutes from this one).
16. Finish/start/make progress on any number of painting projects that are in my head or around the house in various stages of completion.

*By should, I mean that it is highly unlikely that more than one or two of these things will get done. There’s no actual list for the weekend. That would ruin the lovely weekend-y feel of it. Have you noticed it stays light out until 7:30 these days? I’ve been feeling much more productive (but that doesn’t mean that I won’t sleep in past 9 on Saturday).

What are your shoulds?

I just ate plain celery for lunch. Blah. I would have added peanut butter, but I told myself that if I didn’t, I could have some chocolate later. Oh, the things we do. I need to wash it down with some yogurt, though. And an apple. Good thing I ate it first, huh?

There have been contractors working on the house next door since Saturday morning. Overall, they’re not too noisy, so there’s nothing to complain about. While I was driving by today, I made sure to check and see if the “For Sale” sign was gone, and indeed, it is, which means that their house was on the market for just a few months. And it is ug-ly inside (completely vacant, too, so it’s not like the previous owners had no decorating skills – its just an ugly house). And strange – there are two garages, one attached and one not. Someone obviously saw potential in it, though I can hardly see how. The point I was trying to make (before I got sidetracked by the ugliness of the house) is that I am incredibly jealous that they sold their house so fast. Their ugly house. Almost to the point of anger.

So, let’s talk ourselves down from that ledge, shall we?

One, I love our house. Love, love, love it. It’s ours and I don’t plan on leaving, ever. (Of course, you never know what life may throw your way, but if I had my way….) I’ve never lived anywhere else that I have loved so much,

Two, (courtesy of ), the time we lived in the townhouse taught us valuable lessons and skills, some of which I’ve been able to share with others.

Three, when I look back at the other two houses on our short list, I am so glad that we ended up where we did. I love the neighborhood, I love the style, and I love its potential (aka, the basement).

Four, have I mentioned that we live one block from the high school, and a five minute drive from the middle school? I drove to the middle school on Monday, and will go again tomorrow, and I cannot tell you how happy that commute would make me, if I could ever get a job there (you know, when I graduate, and then all the teachers’ retirement portfolios are built back up and they can retire, and miraculously none of my classmates find themselves wanting to work in Richfield – hey, a girl can dream).

So, it’s just a matter of not dwelling on certain things, like the $6,000 gutter quote we got last week (we’ll be delaying that project), or the fact that we missed the window for the homebuyer tax credit by just a few months, or all the rocks that we’ll be digging out of the gardens for the next decade.

Perhaps I can bribe myself to not think about those things. What can I use as leverage? Maybe more chocolate. It’s amazing how powerful chocolate can be.

When I woke up on Saturday morning (oh so gloriously late, with the sun shining in, sigh), I had a slight sore throat, which I thought nothing of, because that sometimes happens, and it goes away, and all is fine. And that’s what happened – it went away.

But then it came back, and at the most inopportune time. When, exactly? 4 a.m. I was so very, very tired, and lying awake in bed in so much pain – if you’ve roamed the internet today (blogs, Facebook, whatever), it seems like many others have this severe throat pain. The two kinds of cough drops we had in the house didn’t work (did you know it takes almost 15 minutes to finish one of those off?), but by 4:30 I was still ridiculously tired and I just forced myself to fall asleep before having to swallow again. (I liken this particular feeling of tiredness to what it feels like to be a parent, forced to wake up out of a really good sleep, to deal with an ailing child. Only, in this case, I was the child and the parent. Oh, and I didn’t cry. And if worse came to worse, I could drive myself to the store. But I digress.)

hopped out of bed on Sunday morning and got himself all ready for the day. He wanted to go to a computer store. He came and told me his plans (I was lying in bed, trying to be asleep, but not really being successful because of all the pain), and I said that I was going to get up and go to Walgreens. (Surely, they must have something there that will make this go away.) Well, unfortunately, his computer store wasn’t open yet, but he did volunteer to go to Walgreens for me. So very nice. Chloraseptic spray and three types of throat lozenges later, I was feeling better. The pain had subsided enough for me to know that things were swollen – they felt wrong, you know?

But, life goes on, right? I got myself dressed and we headed out to Home Depot and Lowe’s (we had three coupons for Lowe’s, so it was worth the 30 minute drive). Friday night we had gone to Restoration Hardware, Pottery Barn, Bed Bath and Beyond, and West Elm to look at curtain rods. I honestly did not think this was going to be the difficult part of the project. Alas, it was. Saturday morning I went to Home Depot, since a friend had mentioned they had exactly what she wanted (originally I was unimpressed with their website selection, but thought I’d give the store a chance) – they had absolutely nothing longer than 84″ wide, and since our patio door is 100″ wide, that just wasn’t going to work.

Home Depot matched our Lowe’s coupon (they do that you know, match each other’s coupons – handy to know), so bought his much coveted air compressor – nail gun set. Lovely. I had wanted some paintable caulk, which the internet had told me was the thing to use to make the paint job in the bedroom look professional (filling in the gaps between trim and wall/ceiling is where us amateurs usually fall short). There were two (!) staff persons in the caulk aisle, and they were very helpful. (Note to self: the best time to go to Home Depot is Sunday morning, when no one else is there, and the staff is more than willing to talk to you – we had multiple salespersons talk to us and offer assistance throughout the store.) I hoping that this small success would be repeated again at Lowe’s.

I was not disappointed. Their selection of curtain rods was potentially bigger than any other store we went to. Perhaps not by brand (only 2 main brands, with maybe a third brand of the really cheap crappy stuff), but by style and sizes, they beat out everyone. After much debate, we made a decision and used another coupon. Yay for coupons! We still have a $10 off $50 or more, after spending the 10% off and the $25 off $250 or more (the latter was spent on the air compressor, the former on the curtain rods). We actually decided on a hack, since they didn’t have exactly what I wanted (but, for half the price of something comparable at Pottery Barn or Restoration Hardware, which would have also been a compromise on style, I was willing to be creative). We bought a double rod set and a single rod set (both 72″-144″ wide! so luxurious!), as well as some tiebacks. We planned on replacing the finials on the front rod of the double rod set with the ones from the single rod (they only had one or two style options for double rod sets, and both were kind of boring).

Image courtesy Lowes

Image courtesy Lowes

(The color match in person is much closer.)

One small hiccup here – though both curtain rods were from the same company, they used different size screws to attach the finials, so boo on that. Unfortunately, allen + roth does not seem to have a website, so I cannot let them know that this small inconvenience could be easily fixed and then I would love them more. says we can fix it, so we’ll get around to doing that later. He worked hard at measuring everything precisely, and we got the hardware installed with relative ease (it’s always difficult to get the screwdriver at just the right angle in that small space they allow you), and the rods went up easily (when they get that big, they’re in three pieces instead of two, which is a lot easier for installation, trust me). The tiebacks are waiting for curtains to be made, so I can see exactly where I want to put them and what it will look like. (But I’m very excited about these tiebacks. Aren’t they lovely?)

Image courtesy Lowes

I had been wildly successful on my SR Harris trip on Saturday afternoon, having found the perfect curtain fabric. I’m going to keep it a surprise for now, so you’ll just have to trust me. Everything is washed and pressed, so I just have to buy some matching thread and we’re in business. (Actually, there are some logistics as far as adding a ruffle that I haven’t exactly figured out, but I think one of my sewing books may have the answer.) Hopefully there will be curtains up by the weekend (at least sheers – those just have to be hemmed). The sheers are actually hanging up right now, draped over the rod just shy of “in half,” because I wanted to make sure that the colors were going to look good. And yes, they do. (Here’s my inspiration photo from Better Homes & Gardens. Their instructions on adding a ruffle are severely lacking.)

While installing the curtain rods, I decided that though Valspar said it cured in one week, I am not going to trust that. I’ll wait a full month before putting tape on those beautiful walls (so I can paint the trim). I’d rather wait than end up pulling paint off with the tape. I can be patient. (You’ll have to too, since I won’t have any more pictures to post of the room until I make progress on these projects.)

So back where we started… my sore throat got much better throughout the day, but it wasn’t gone. I woke up this morning in the same state I had on Sunday, great pain, but I was happy that I’d slept through the night (I had planned ahead, though, and put some cough drops near the bed so I wouldn’t have to blunder about in the hallway looking through the medicine cabinet). More cough drops, Chloraseptic spray, and some Advil, and I was feeling OK by 9ish (I went to work – there’s nothing else wrong with me). The warm cup of Teeccino felt good too.

However, my head is starting to hurt, and the sore throat is not easily mitigated with cough drops. Alas. I think it’s time for more Advil, and a whole lot of water / Crystal Light. I am glad that I’m not stuffed up, nor do I have any other symptoms of a cold, nor am I nauseous (thank goodness). I should probably take my temp – it’s the only other real symptom of strep that I can test for at home. I find it unlikely that I have either strep or a fever, but if this goes on for another day or two, I may have to go to the doctor. (Edit: WebMD says that strep goes away by itself in 3-7 days, and while a doctor may give you antibiotics, it’s totally unnecessary. Perhaps we’ll just wait this out.) I have turned in so many leave slips lately that I’m hesitant to ask for more unless necessary (and I have to turn in yet another one for Thursday morning, so I can meet with the teacher who is reviewing my lesson plan – I also rescheduled Orkin to come out that morning, so I’m killing two birds with one stone, but it’s still time off work).

All that said, I am in a surprisingly decent mood, what with it being Monday and my being sick. Oh, and I have class tonight, and still have a paper left to write for tomorrow night’s class. Still not grumpy. Life could definitely be worse.

(Editor’s note: WebMD also told me to not share toothbrushes with anyone. Ew! Who does that? Well of course you’re sick if you’re using someone else’s toothbrush. You totally deserve that for being gross. Also, I’m glad I don’t have a red rash – that could mean I have scarlet fever. WebMD is a dangerous site and I think I’ll go somewhere else now, like perhaps cuteoverload.com.)

Monday seems like a good day for why questions.

Why, for instance, has it taken me this long to change an aspect of my blog that I find incredibly annoying in other blogs? Archives are no longer showing excerpts, but full posts. My apologies if that annoys you as much as it annoys me.

Why don’t I have any photos posted of the gorgeous paint job we did over the weekend? Quite simply, I forgot the memory card at home. Whoops.

Why haven’t I shown you pictures of the other projects I’ve completed (or started) lately? Worse than forgetting the memory card, I haven’t actually taken photos of some of them. Conveniently, the sun now hangs around much later, so it’s possible again to get good photos on weekdays.

Why haven’t I blogged since last Wednesday? I had Thursday and Friday off of work to paint our bedroom, as previously mentioned, and I had plenty of things keeping me busy. I didn’t even check my email (beyond what popped into the inbox on my iPhone, which is just a fraction of the emails I actually get), or look at Google Reader (1000+ in the Flickr category alone!).

Why did I have a Cinderella moment (and not in the good way) on Sunday morning? I was on my hands and knees scrubbing the bedroom floor with a sponge and some Murphy’s Oil Soap in warm water. Not exactly fun, but the floor does look great now (and all the paint drips have been cleaned up) – you’ll have to take my word on that until I get pictures posted.

Why, oh why, did both Valspar paint calculators (the square footage on the can and the one on their website) tell us we would need two gallons per coat? For the record, we used one and a third gallons of paint for the whole room, two coats. We’re saving the partial gallon to paint the spare bedroom potentially (the one in the basement that will get drywall in 2012).

Why would someone paint perfectly good ceiling tiles cream? Yes, technically they match the trim, also painted cream, but when I paint the trim in April (allowing plenty of time for the paint on the walls to cure so I can tape everything up), the ceiling will look stupid, and I have no desire whatsoever to paint the ceiling. Ever. I’ve never painted a ceiling, except for the tiny ceilings in closets, which hardly count.

Why is it not possible to keep the floors in our house clean? Three minutes after vacuuming, cat hair is clearly visible on the hardwood floors. It’s a lesson in futility.

Why is it that insists on eating weird things like plastic bags, leaves on plants, etc? I saw plenty of pretty things at Michael’s yesterday that would have made lovely decor in the bedroom (fake eucalyptus, other dried or plastic flower-like things, etc), but I’m quite sure they would have all ended up with little kitty teeth marks on them, and if they weren’t too big, he’d probably swat them all to the floor too. (Watching things fall off of surfaces is another past time of his.)

Why did I have to come back to work today? I was having such a lovely time. And why do I have to go to class tonight? I feel sufficiently learned (that’s learn-ed). Also, I was enjoying not doing homework, not being stressed out, and having time at home to spend doing non-homework things and being with .

Why is it that people ask me questions I have no business knowing the answer to or making one up for, and then get frustrated when I don’t give them an answer? I don’t have any follow-up on this, except to say that, again, I am not all-knowing, and for the fortieth time, I didn’t take the training on Outlook, and you will have to ask So-and-So.

Why does the combination of peanuts, caramel and chocolate taste so good? I don’t even like peanuts.

Why is it that the decorative stitch I attempted to use to hem ‘s pajama pants (her Christmas present) turned out so terribly? So hideous, in fact, that after just a few inches, I had to stop and rip it all out (which took half an hour). , they’re still unhemmed, though the hem is ironed and all ready to be stitched, once my machine decides to cooperate.

Why does it upset me when people think I’m Irish? I have no idea. I have nothing against the Irish. It just happens that I’m not. I must remember to not wear green on Wednesday (shouldn’t be that hard, I have very little work clothing that is green).

Why am I inside, far from a window, when it is so gorgeous outside? I think I need to take my afternoon break outside today.

What are your whys?