Wednesday, July 31, 2013

#212/365--Shelving

My son
has always kept
his books
in
a basket
by his bed
but
as he has grown
...so have the books he reads...
and
the basket
no longer
holds
all the books.
While he is away at camp,
I got a bookshelf
for his room...

...didn't really pay attention to this...

but
"I am woman, hear me roar,"
I worked
about
...an hour...
putting it together

 ...and another hour...
--- or so ---
...going through...
another large amount
...of boxes...
...of books...
...and "accessories..."
...and set up...
this surprise
for
my BaseballBoy
...when he gets back...
from camp.

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

#211/365--Not so Funny

...unpacking yet another...
...box...

found
a ceramic truck
...that Mikey painted...
...when he was a lot younger...
and inside the
"cavity"
of the
piece
...he had placed...
...plastic spider rings...
but
they
looked
real
to
me
...and...
I freaked out

...glad I was home...
...alone...
or
more
to
the
point
...glad they were...
fake!!

Monday, July 29, 2013

#210/365--Throwback...um...Monday?

...I was unpacking boxes
...today...
and
came across some older
pics
this was me
circa 1991ish
...so...
...like...
age 20
or...so
...and this one...
goes back a little farther
...like...
1989
...this was actually taken...
the day I graduated
...from...
High School
...my brother, Erik, and me... 
...and this one...
...goes back...
a little farther, still
1987
...age 15...
Jr/Sr prom
((I cut out my date)) 
heehee
just funny
...when..did..I..get..so...
...old...

Sunday, July 28, 2013

#209/365--Birthday Surprises

...my stinker daughter...
...worked together with...
my mom
and
my bests
and
...put together...
a
birthday dinner
for me.
Sweetness.


...most blessed...

Saturday, July 27, 2013

#208/365--What You May Not Know

...a few posts ago...
I took pics
of the house
"move-in"
ready

...but...
by that
I didn't actually mean
...completed...

I'm still living out of two houses
but
we are gradually
whittling down
the
"to-do" list

moving stuff back to the house
cleaning
unpacking
breaking down boxes
packing away trash
more cleaning
more boxes
more trash
more items to donate
(oh...and finish painting)

I
neglected
to
share
the following
pics

...my restoration company...
came in
and
cut out
...all the mold places...
(garage)


 ...MasterBedroomCloset...

...MasterBathroom...

 ...and...
in doing so
they had to move
a few things
out of
the way
...things...
I had already
worked my way through
and
packed away

(you know the items
I'm talking about...
...baby clothes...
...stuff from my childhood...
...photographs...
...other random items that I don't need
but
want to keep)
...and...so...
I kind of
have to wait
for them
to patch it
back up
before
I can finish


...I spent the evening tonight...
working through
...all of this mess...

doing more
unpacking
cleaning
putting away
sorting
breaking down boxes
etc., etc., etc.

It has been
a headache.
I am super
thankful
that my mom
has been here
helping me.
And my kids.
I couldn't have done it by myself.

172 boxes at one house
...needing unpacked...
not to mention
another
50 (or so) boxes
at the other house
...needing to be moved...

And at times,
I have gotten
quite overwhelmed
...by it all...

Sometimes
I'm smart
and I just walk
...away...

Sometimes
I
breakdown

Sometimes
I
...pray...

On a positive note...
I have gotten the opportunity
to
clean out
clear out
purge
donate
reorganize
shift
resettle

...and by the time school starts...
I think
we
may
just be
...ready...

Thursday, July 25, 2013

#206/365--Morning After

...caught...
...together...
...being...
...kind?
...that morning look...
never
ever
gets
old
<3thesekids<3

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

#205/365--Nestled, all Snug

...let's see...
where did we leave off?

Oh.

That's right!
The children
were nestled
...all snug...
...in their beds...

...seven months...
is
a long time
to be
out of your home.

...and...
seven months ago
...tonight...

--- December 24, 2012 ---

...was...
...the last night...
we fell asleep
in our own beds
...and...
were
-- jolted --
awake
by fire
ripping through our
...townhome units...
(complete story here: Six)

Life begins again for us
...tonight...
--- July 24, 2013 ---

We've been on pause for so long.
And yet.
So
much
...has happened...

...I would that it were...
...a dream...

I'm certain
...this will be...
a long night for us

...but...

it is
a
milestone
...we must...
conquer.

And
...conquer...
--- we will ---

Somebody hit
the
"play"
button
...we're ready...

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

#204/365--Setup

Got the Internet
...set up...
today
(but even that...
...couldn't be done...
...without drama)

...apparently...
townhomes/apartments
-- multiple unit homes --
are all wired together
...somehow...
(( ?? ))
and
my coaxial cable
is destroyed

...non-functioning...

but
have
no
fear
...AT&T Superman...
was able to
hook me up
thru
the
phone line!

Meantime...
I worked on setting up
...the dinosaur...
...which has been unable...
...to connect...
to the Interent
...for...
years.

...Today...
I
got it all
put together
...and...
connected
all...by...myself

...also unpacked a few...
...boxes...

Monday, July 22, 2013

#203/365--Tweet

I
am
a
Social Network
...dork...

I
only got
on twitter
because
I
like to
stalk
...my teenagers...

however
I
have come
to
like
the 
whole "social" scene

...and now...
I
"follow"
some famous people
who have
 "spoken"
to me
through
writing
or song
or
...other...

Today
I commented
((or tweeted...?))
back
to
one of my fave
authors
and
HE RESPONDED!!
(who knows if it was really him or an "agent")
but
drat
 if only
I could go to
this
because
most of you know
that
I
really
want
to
be
a
...writer...

Unfortunately,
the whole
"moving - back - into -
 - the - house -
- after - the - fire"
thing
...takes precedence...

Sunday, July 21, 2013

#202/365-Finished...For Now...

...We still have...
boxes
to unpack
but
...for the most part...
the bedrooms
...are move-in ready...


...I guess...
that we will be
...unpacking...
boxes
...until Christmas...

#201/365--All in a Saturday

...drove up to my home...
...and saw...
...the workers...
tearing off
shingles
...re-roofing...

then

I unpacked
a few more boxes
and
became overwhelmed
...because...
one (1) box
contained
...all this...

...wait...
you misunderstand
I don't mean
ONLY
one box

...I mean...

each box
...and so far...
we have unpacked

nearly 20 boxes
so
you can imagine
the amount
of
...paper trash...
and broken down boxes
...that are in my house...

Later...
...upon leaving...
I noticed
...the latest...
"item"
that needs
fixing
...the tiles...
...on my front porch...
...are buckling...

...the whole...
"one - thing - after - another"
is
discouraging

--- but ---

my day
...ended...
with
this
...in view...
...hope...

Friday, July 19, 2013

#200/365--Cupcakes

...why I've gained 20 pounds...
...Sprinkles Cupcakes...
cupcake ATM

 ...yumminess...


#199/365--Rocks

When my kiddos were little, 
they would bring me
 "presents"

...as little kids do...

...things they had found...

I remember
...once...
Michael brought
...a rock...
to me

I remember
...making a big deal...
saying how precious it was
and
"how did you know I collect rocks?"
and
"rocks are my favorite thing!"

That began
my
...rock collection...

Almost daily,
my kids
began to bring me
...rocks...
of all

sizes
shapes
colors

Most of them
...I kept...
in a candle holder
...but...
after the fire
...when they took everything...
((to restore))
I thought for sure
they would
...get rid of...
my rocks
but
to my great surprise
...I found these...
...wrapped in tissue...
...packed...
...in one of the many boxes...

...it's the little things...
...treasures...
...memories...
that bring me
...joy...

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

#198/365--Gain

...found my scale...
...in one of the many...
...boxes...
that
I
unpacked
...today...

---  and  ---

immediately
...found...
TWENTY
extra.pounds

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

#197/365--Growing

We've been moving
...a few...
boxes
every other day
...or so...
back into
the house.
Along with

...painting...
and
...unpacking...
and
...rearranging...

today
I
came
across
more
...mold...
growing
in the corner
of the
...master closet...
and
...a water spot...
in
the
...master bathroom...

makes me wonder
...what...
is
...growing...
in the
...unseen...
spaces

Monday, July 15, 2013

#196/365--Soft Turquoise

When you
secretly
...paint...
your daughter's
bedroom
while she
...is away at camp...
and
...you want to surprise her...

make sure
you
hide
...the evidence...

otherwise
she
will
know
...what you've been up to...

Friday, July 12, 2013

#193/365--My Main (Young)Man

While my
...SweetGirl...
is at
-- camp --
...I...
get extra time
with
...my BaseballBoy...

Thursday, July 11, 2013

#192/365--Raindrops

...do you...
...remember that song...
by
BJ Thomas?

When I was little...
...my mom...
...used to sing it to me...

...in case you don't remember it...



...I thought of that song today...
when
I
took
these pictures

...we did some...
...walking around...
in
...the rain...

--- and ---

it was
...physically...

and

...mentally...

refreshing
cleansing
cooling
renewing
reminding
...peaceful...

Wednesday, July 10, 2013