The past couple of months

It's been a couple of months since I've blogged. My mind has been a whirl, so I haven't known what to blog about, really.

1. Well, since my last post was about Avon, I'll start there. I meant to quit the whole thing. But every time an order came due, I thought "Well, I'll just put one more order in . . . " so I've basically been ordering for myself. Occasionally, some random person at the office will have an order too.

I know I bashed Avon pretty good in my last post. I think I was in a snarky mood. I think I was just mad at myself for getting myself into yet another commitment, yet another mental entanglement, and yet another diversion from things that I want to focus on.

Of course, at the time, I rationalized it, as I always do. I always find a way to smush my new interests into my 3 areas of focus. I told myself Avon would bring in more money. And I'm sure it would have, if I'd have had the gumption to promote it properly. Maybe it still will. I haven't quit yet. And as it's Christmas season, I ordered extra brochures for this campaign. I'm going to spread them around at work, distribute them in the neighbourhood, and reassess in the New Year.

2. I decided several months ago that I was really going to get behind this Law of Attraction thing to see if it really works. What it has done is to bring to my awareness the number of times during the day that I have counterproductive thoughts. I've always thought of myself as an upbeat, positive person, so I figured if anyone could get a handle on this quickly, it should be me. What I'm realizing is that using the Law of Attraction is simple, but not easy.

For one thing, many of the proponents & promoters of the Law of Attraction (and there are a million of 'em) insist that all you have to do is think about what you want with feeling. No action is necessary. In fact, to embark upon action towards your desires indicates a doubt in the Universe, which will block what you want from getting to you.

Are you laughing? I'm laughing.

However, if you look at the line-up of experts quoted in The Secret (which has become synonymous with the Law of Attraction), you won't find a single one of them who sat on their butts while their successes came to them. Every single one of them has been out there writing, working, developing, networking, thinking, stewarding, fanning the flames, hustling, and promoting themselves.

And if you read their quotes in the book, none of them say that you can just sit around & wait for the ship to come in. You're supposed to be swimming out to meet your ship. But the Law of Attraction is supposed to bring that ship in more quickly.

Anyway, the whole point of this is that although I decided to test the Law of Attraction, I can't offer a valid assessment because I haven't been doing enough swimming.

Or haven't I?

As I said earlier, learning about the LOA has led me to be more aware of my thoughts. And this has attracted other stuff.

For instance, I learned about the Sedona Method. I had heard of it before, and hadn't paid any attention to it. I thought it was just another hot air salesman peddling something New Agey. But I heard about it through an interview at Self Dev Radio, and for some reason, this time, it caught my attention. I downloaded the free mp3 and tried the technique. To my astonishment, it worked pretty well. I have a free package in the mail that hasn't arrived yet. (Mail takes a long time to get over that really cumbersome, geographically complex, high-security U.S. - Canada border, for some reason.) Anyway, I'm looking forward to trying it some more.

It's also led me to meditate. I need to get back into that practice, actually. It does take some time. But I like how it makes me feel.

I think these might be some groundwork kinds of things that I need to allow the LOA to work in my life.

3. And the reoccurring theme of wanting to do "something" has come back. I've often thought I'd like to be self-employed. I'd like it to involve writing, creating, helping others, speaking, teaching, training, etc. I keep coming back to this.

In the past, I would get these notions when things weren't working out on the job. It usually happened when I ended up with a crummy boss. I've ended up with a lot of crummy bosses, for some reason. I've had to ask myself - is it that there are so many crummy bosses in the world, or am I a crummy employee? (By the way, if your name is Sue, Pat, Lana, Carol, Scott, Bernadette, Marcia, Kathleen, or Patti, you weren't one of my crummy bosses. If you don't see your name listed, and you were my boss, well . . . guess what? Oh, for Pete's sake, you weren't that bad, Ken, Kevin, Jin, and that tall red-headed guy at Bob Evans where I was a waitress for about 3 months. But everyone else - bad!)

Here's me as an employee:

- I totally insist on lots of flexibility. I will come in late many days a week. Count on it. I will sometimes come in early. Sometimes I work through lunch. Sometimes I take long lunches. Sometimes I work on weekends. Sometimes I take long weekends. Is this a problem?

- I can't abide micromanagement. Every time I've been micromanaged, I've stalled out. If you didn't see your name listed above, and if your criticism of me was that I stalled out, you just might be a micromanager. You should cut that out.

- I get bored if I'm not allowed to generate & act upon my wonderful ideas. I'm okay if I can't pursue EVERY idea. But I do need to be allowed to play with at least a few of them. (Ditto above. Those of you who kiboshed every single wonderful idea I had, shame on you. You know who you are. *shaking finger*)

- If you piss me off, I will confront you. Bosses don't like that. But I can't work in a pissed-off state. I might as well just go home. I'll just get all passive-aggressive on you if I'm now allowed to confront you. Okay, let's be truthful here: I don't "confront." I "address." I don't just barge into my boss's office and demand satisfaction. I do it the appropriate way. I say "Can we talk?" and I say "Here is my problem with this - maybe you can help me." I don't get confrontational. But I also do not let things fester. If I've been unfairly treated, someone will know about it.

I looked at my list of good bosses and not-so-bad bosses, and I realize that I have had a lot of good bosses. So maybe I didn't attract as many bad bosses as I thought I did. And let me also add that I have been a "people manager" myself, so I know it's not an easy job.

Nevertheless, let's stay on topic here . . .

I always thought about launching out on my own when I've suffered under unfair, micromanaging, pain-in-the-ass bosses. I've always figured that the only reason I fantasized about being self-employed was to get away from bad bosses.

But now I have a wonderful boss who lets me generate as many ideas as I want to - we don't pursue them all, but there are enough to keep me entertained. And I show up & go home just about whenever I want to. (I do keep something similar to standard office hours, but I just flex on both ends and in the middle.)

Yet I'm still thinking "What can I do? What can I do?" I have this itch to create something uniquely my own, and then launch it.

Well, there you have it. More than you ever wanted to know about what I've been doing over the past couple of months besides blogging.

I've changed my mind.

I don't want to be an Avon lady.

It was fun at first, when my coworkers ordered from me and I got to sort all the orders into bags, throw in some samples, and then deliver the stuff.

But orders from my coworkers have petered off, and frankly, I don't feel like pestering them with perky reminders to check out their brochure or blah blah blah.

The first few times I went around the neighbourhood distributing brochures was fun, but then it got old.

And it's not about whether or not I can be successful at this. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that if I persist and if I get brochures out there and follow up and build relationships, I know it can work.

But even if it works, I just don't want to do this.

Why did I want to do it in the first place???

Let me think . . .

Well, it all started when I just wanted to order some lipstick, but then got to thinking, hmmm, maybe this would be a way to earn extra money.

So I thought I'd give it a try.

And I gave it a try. Granted, it wasn't much of a try, but I've tried it enough to know that I'm just not that into it.

Frankly, while some of the products are good, there are too many products that are only mediocre, so I just can't wholeheartedly endorse the Avon brand.

Secondly, I can't seem to shed the notion that Avon is . . . well . . . of a certain calibre. Too many people rolled their eyes at me when they found out I was selling Avon. Too many neighbours that I met for the very first time through Avon now see me as the "Avon Lady." Do I care what they think? Somewhat. Let's just say that as little as I care about their opinions, I care about them more than I care about Avon. So clearly Avon isn't worth it to me.

I feel like I'm letting the woman I signed up under down. She is so very nice & encouraging.

So, if I don't want this, what do I want?

I'd rather spend time on my too many blogs.

Which brings me to my next point - I just love complicating my life. There was no room in my life for Avon, but I brought it in anyway. I don't have enough time to keep up with one blog, so I started 3 more. I have a tendency to launch into things, bite off more than I can chew, and then drop everything! Then after I've dropped everything, I noticed that there's space in my life, so I quickly fill it up again.

I should figure that out.

I've revisited my 5 year goals, and even those are too diverse for me to get a handle on. I need to focus on just one, but when I do that, the other two scream for my attention. For example, when I spend the bulk of my attention focused on health & fitness, our finances seem to teeter on the edge, and then I realize I need to focus on finances instead. So I focus on finances, and then have a health scare of some sort. So then I try to focus on both, and then come to find out I'm not spending enough time with my daughter, and my house is a mess.

I think I need to give things some serious reflection, get clarity on what I want, and then focus on what I want, and just manage everything else.

Even this blog isn't turning out how I wanted. I wanted this blog to be more insightful, maybe more humorous, and certainly not as much of a "Dear Diary" as it's turned out to be.

But maybe a "Dear Diary" format is what I need now for some reason.

And still more pondering . . .

Let's just say, for the sake of argument, that the Law of Attraction works.

I really wanted a play structure and a bunk bed. We now have the play structure, but not the bunk bed. We do have a trundle bed now, though, which serves the same purpose.

However, I've had this concern all along about a bunk bed - what if, in spite of the railings, she falls out? What if she's trying to get out of bed in the middle of the night to get to us and she falls? What if, what if, what if . . . ?

So a few weeks ago, she really did fall out of bed in her sleep. She was unhurt but very startled, so she began to cry. After a little hug & a cuddle, she went right back to sleep.

So perhaps my mixed signals to the Universe is what brought the trundle bed to pass, rather than the bunk bed.

A lot of reading lately

As I mentioned in my previous post, my sister bought me the book "The Secret." So I read that, which led to a desire for further inquiry.

This let me to read two Abraham-Hicks books. I was skeptical about Esther Hicks' channeling, especially when I listened to the mp3 files on the site linked above - if she's receiving "blocks of thought" as she says, which she translates into English, what's up with the funny accent?

This led me to the more credible Wayne Dyer, to The Power of Intention and You'll See It When You Believe It, which led me to open my mind to the possibility that maybe Esther is channeling - who am I to say she's not? And interesting that he indicates that he's not impressed with his title of Dr. yet his website refers to him as such.

And this led me to The Soul of Money by Lynne Twist, which is an absolutely transformational book that I highly recommend. I just finished the book today.

Now my mind is a blur.

Law of Attraction?

So my sister bought me a copy of "The Secret" - - not the film, but the book. It's all about the Law of Attraction, which isn't a secret.

(Law of Attraction; Michael Losier; Wayne Dyer; Joe Vitale and others too numerous to mention)

ANYWAY, I decided to put the principles into practice, just for the heck of it.

Yesterday I thought "Okay, let's try something really simple. I'm going for a penny." So I put my request in to the Universe and expressed gratitude for the penny that was coming my way. The whole day passed, and I didn't find a single penny.

Today I delivered an Avon order to a new customer. She paid in cash. The order was $42.44. She gave me $42.45. Her change was one cent. I said "I'm so sorry, I don't have any pennies on me." She said "Oh, don't worry about that!"

On my way home, I realize I'd just gotten my penny.

1 down (sort of) and 1 to go

The play structure has been delivered today! It's in boxes in our back yard. We can try to put it together ourselves, which everyone assures us will be easy, or we can hire it done.

Because we have out-of-town company coming, and because we really wanted it to be in place by the time they arrive so all the kids could play on it, we're opting to have someone else do it, if we can get it done more quickly. We'll see . .

In Avon news, there were some misunderstandings about my ambivalence towards selling it. Just to be clear, I never said I was lowering myself. What I said was that other people would perceive it as lowering myself. Thanks to everyone who assured me that I'm not lowering myself, but you're assuring the wrong person - I stated in my previous entry that I see it as entirely neutral.

Anyway, who cares, I'm selling it, so there. I use the products, I like most of them, and I love some of them, so it's all good.

Also, recently, I posted a to-do list. I think to keep myself accountable, I'll post it again and include updates. Sorry to bore anyone . . .

Finish trim in Garielle’s room - This might not happen until July. There are other things that I'm more anxious to get done.

Paint that white spot - there's a square of unpainted wall in Garielle's room - she asked me to keep a square unpainted for awhile so she could see the old & new colour. Now she says I can go ahead & paint in that square. Again - July.

Get her a new bed - She has a "new" bed - one of Eric's cousins gave it to her. It's a trundle bed. She's okay with it but disappointed that she doesn't have a bunk bed - hence the selling Avon.

Get a play structure for backyard - It's in our back yard waiting to be assembled - woo hoo!!! Now I'd like to take it off Visa. Again, hence the Avon.

Measure back yard - This is so that I can draw up back yard to scale. See next.

Draw up back yard plans to scale - This is so I can start drafting some long-term landscaping plans. I'm so happy about the play structure that I think I'll just focus for the rest of the summer on cleaning the back yard up.

Hang Garielle’s wall things - Need to paint the trim & paint in that square, as stated above. Again, maybe July.

Decorate wall plates or buy new ones - Ditto above.

Start walking at least 4x a week – don’t stress about distance/speed now. - ha ha ha ha ha!

Start a journal to capture things I want to include in scrapbook – funny things Garielle has said, achievements, reflections, important moments, etc. - Maybe I should start a blog. It seems to be easier for me to capture info on the internet.

Start bat mitzvah savings account - Why haven't I done this? I can do this online. Maybe I'll do that right after I hit "post."

Explore feasibility of Avon as income stream - I'm exploring!

Get house in shape for visitors coming end of month - This is a 20 pt to-do list unto itself!!!

Well, those are my updates. I'm very happy about the play structure, and I'm very happy that I'm selling Avon and will be able to buy my daughter a bunk bed.

More on bunk beds & play structures

Well, my first Avon campaign deadline is next week. I bumped it forward 2 days to give me time to get the order in & to handle any last minute orders.

So far I have 3 orders. I can see I'm going to need to torque up my efforts here. Of course, one could argue that my efforts thus far have hardly been heroic or valiant. All I've done is distribute some brochures quietly to 9 colleagues that I trust and think might be interested. So, three orders out of nine, and nobody refused a brochure.

I think if I want to make serious money at this, I have to be more proactive about finding a customer base, I have to be less apologetic when I approach people, and I have to get into leadership.

With all apologies to Avon and to its many, many fine reps, the thing is, selling Avon isn't exactly something that would make my family proud. It wouldn't make my husband proud either. They would all suggest that I'm "lowering myself."

I have to decide for myself if I'm lowering myself. Am I? Well, truth be told, I'm neutral on it. I don't think it raises me or lowers me - it's just something that is. Clearly what I'm struggling with is that stupid "What will other people think of me?" And that's not like me, because I'm not usually one to care.

I have to focus on why I'm doing this. I want to buy my daughter a bunk bed, a play structure, and then pay off my credit card. Well, actually, we'll buy the play structure soon, but I want to pay it off. The point is, I have noble reasons for doing this.

On the other hand, do noble reasons justify the means? What if I were selling illegal drugs to buy my daughter a bunk bed, a play structure, and then pay off my credit card?

Ah well, Avon products aren't illegal drugs.

And besides, I have a secret agenda. If I do manage to save up for a bunk bed, pay off the play structure, and then pay off my credit card, I could go on to do some other things that I've not had the money for - improvements on the house, travel, and so on.

But first, I must focus on a bunk bed.

When I distributed the brochures at work, I actually stapled a note to the front with a picture of the play structure. At that time, it was just the play structure I was saving for. I don't think an image of a bunk bed would be as compelling, so I might keep doing that (the note with the play structure).

I already have my brochures for the next campaign, and I've already given away 3. So I have 7 brochures, 3 of which I'll give to people who placed an order this time, and the other 4 I'll distribute to the coworkers who seem interested but have not ordered.

But I get to choose the quantity of brochures I want for every campaign after that.

So for Campaign 18, I think I'll hit up my own neighbourhood. Yes, it will be difficult. But I have a plan. I think I'll go around ahead of time and distribute door hangers announcing that there's a new Avon rep in the neighbourhood, and I'm going to be leaving brochures on their doors from time to time. I'll enclose a stamped response card for them to indicate that they do NOT want brochures. If I don't receive a response, I'll assume it's OK to drop off brochures. After all, if they are adamant enough about it to screw around dropping a postcard in the mail, they really must not want brochures, and I'd just as soon skip their house.

It will also include my email & phone number in case they want to contact me directly.

I figure I can do 20 houses this time around, and maybe add 20 each campaign until I've maxed out my walking limit (because I'm not going to drive all over town with gas prices being what they are).

Then maybe I could rotate brochures - it would be expensive to give everyone a brochure every campaign, if they're not ordering, so maybe divide the neighbourhood into thirds or quarters and deliver brochures to these people every 3-4 campaigns.

It might be fun - it would get me out walking, my daughter could do it with me . . .

Eric still doesn't know.

Bunk bed & Avon

So we went to the furniture store and bought a bunk bed. Garielle got to try it out & everything. Then Eric's cousin told him that she had a trundle bed Garielle could have for free - it was her daughter's, very girlie, and hardly used. So we went to have a look. Garielle insisted that she still wanted the bunk bed. Eric couldn't see past the $800 we would save if we took this free bed, but I couldn't see past Garielle's extreme disappointment at not getting a bunk bed.

Eric kept pointing out that we're already spending $2,000 on a play structure - we couldn't very well afford the bunk bed too. (Uh, then why did we buy one?) You can read about the play structure at Can This House Be Rescued.

Finally, I proposed this to Garielle - let's take this bed for now, and as soon as we could afford a bunk bed, we'd get one. I told her that I REALLY wanted her to have a bunk bed and I promised I would get her one.

She agreed.

I still haven't told Eric that I'm selling Avon. He'd shit a brick. But by God, I'm going to sell it and I'm going to make a profit, and I'm going to get my daughter a damned bunk bed. So there.

June's to-do list

Ø Finish trim in Garielle’s room
Ø Paint that white spot
Ø Get her a new bed
Ø Get a play structure for backyard
Ø Measure back yard
Ø Draw up back yard plans to scale
Ø Hang Garielle’s wall things
Ø Decorate wall plates or buy new ones
Ø Start walking at least 4x a week – don’t stress about distance/speed now.
Ø Start a journal to capture things I want to include in scrapbook – funny things Garielle has said, achievements, reflections, important moments, etc.
Ø Start bat mitzvah savings account
Ø Explore feasibility of Avon as income stream
Ø Get house in shape for visitors coming end of month

5 Year Plan

I just posted this huge thing about how I'm going to post my 5-year-plan, and something happened and I lost the post. Hate it when that happens.

So basically, I've been ignoring the 5 year plan I drew up in 2005. Actually, I followed it until about this year, and I really have been ignoring it lately. Sometimes I just forget about it, and I drift instead of taking specific actions towards my goals.

I need to get back on track. I decided that this blog would be a good way to keep it in front of me and maybe even add some accountability to it.

Here are the values which form the foundation of my 5-year-plan:

Family & Lifestyle

This value refers to the well-being and quality of life of my family and the time we spend together. It also refers to my vision of myself as a mother, wife, sister, daughter, and daughter-in-law. This is my top value as everything else on my values list means nothing without this.

Health & Recreation

This value refers to my personal well-being, my physical and mental health, and anything I can do to give me energy to support my other values. I include Recreation because I have come to accept that I require a certain amount of fun and leisure in order to be fulfilled and to keep my “axe” sharp in other areas of my life.

Independence (Finances & Career)

Over the years I have come to accept the fact that I strongly prefer to set my own course, I am a self-starter, and I prefer to set my own agenda whenever possible. I realize that to achieve my ideal state with regards to this value, I must be both self-employed and financially secure. However, I've drifted from this mindset since 2005, and my values may be changing. Or I may be going through a phase.

Here are my 5-year goals:


Family & Lifestyle

1) Be Canadian (done by the end of this month)

2) Our house will be a comfortable, peaceful, visually pleasing and reasonably well-organized haven for us to relax, work, and play in. It will also be an attractive and inviting place to visit.

3) In five years, Garielle will have sampled a variety of experiences, such as dance, swimming, art, literature, music, competitive sports, travel, opportunities to develop solo, and opportunities to develop collaboratively with peers and with her parents. Her interests will be supported, and she will continue to be encouraged to explore new interests as well.

4) In five years, Garielle will have a wonderful repository of documentation, memorabilia, and history that will chronicle her life thus far. This will be in the form of scrapbooks, boxes of carefully chosen memorabilia, and video footage.

5) Before five years, my affairs will be organized as if I had a year to live. (This sounds morbid, but it comes from an exercise I did asking what I would do if I had a year to live. Why wait for such bad news to get my affairs in order? Why not get them in order and keep them in order for the rest of my life? That way, I have piece of mind and my family will have an easier time of it should the worst happen.) This includes my papers being sorted and organized, significant memorabilia identified (so that people won’t say “What’s THIS?”), and my business affairs documented. I will keep a document on my computer listing my bank accounts, all online business with passwords, etc. plus details about what Eric should know in the event I die.



Health & Recreation

1) Be an athlete. Be a runner and be able to perform at least one other sport moderately well. (ha ha ha ha! Oops, excuse me . . . )

2) In five years, I will have had at least one “cosmetic” procedure done (teeth bonding, tummy tuck, etc.)

3) Take at least 3 trips to places I’ve never been before.

4) In five years, we will have space in our home and yard for our hobbies, for Garielle to play, etc. This could also fit in the first value.


Independence (Finances & Career)


1) Become self-employed by December 31, 2008 as an online entrepreneur through the following businesses:
a. Holly Zenith (decided to nix this one)
b. New & Improved You (nixing this one too)
c. A career or life coaching business (not sure.)
I need to revisit this.


2) Be securely employed in a job I can enjoy by July 1, 2007. (done, unless they fire me.)

3) Become financially savvy, comfortable with our own portfolio, understanding money, be a skilled budgeter and a saver, be confident in my financial decisions.

4) Have at least 3 months salary in reserve.


So from this, I actually developed yearly plans, which I broke down even further into months. I followed them pretty well until, oh . . . maybe this past December. So now I need to look at my monthly plans.

I find that I stall out quite easily. If I give myself little bits of an overall goal, I sometimes can manage it.

More in next post.

Citizenship, money, and all the things I want!

I passed the citizenship test, and on June 27, I go to my swearing in. And then I'll be a Canadian. How funny is that! I grew up in a small Ohio town between soybeans and corn, as white-bread as can be, got myself baptized in the local Methodist church, said the Pledge of Allegience before school assemblies and so on. And now I'm a Canadian Jew. Ha ha ha ha ha!

So we went out today to try to buy a bunk bed and a play system for Garielle. If you read "Can This House Be Rescued," you'll get the whole grisly story.

It's time to come out of the closet with something. We are in a little more debt than we're happy with. Oh, I know, lots of people are in debt. I don't know why it's so shameful for me. It's just awful.

We've never missed a payment, and we always pay way more than any minimum, so we're still fine, upstanding people.

But now we're talking about buying these things for Garielle, and we're talking about all the things we need to do to this house to make it tolerable, things that won't improve the value of the house at all because of the ridiculously high property values here - anyone buying this house would just level it and build a new one, like everyone else in the neighbourhood is doing. But we can't afford that.

We need to beat this debt down. It seems to take all of our current income to maintain our standard of living. When we look at things to cut out of our life, we just don't want to. And Eric's income is precarious -he's on contract, and who knows how long that will last. And I work in a non-profit. I just started a new position with the organization I've been with for 4 years, so I don't want to go somewhere else.

So . . .

I'm doing something really nutty. I'm signing on as an Avon rep. God. I know. Have I sunk this low?

On the other hand, every time I encounter an Avon lady, I order from her. I just can't think of myself as an Avon lady. I mean, every time I go into a restaurant, I order something from the waitress, but that doesn't mean I should wait tables, right?

Well, truth be told, I used to wait tables, a million years ago. Wouldn't want to do that again. You work your ass off for next to no money. If you ever want to hire someone with a proven slave work ethic, find a waitress.

And, more truth being told, about 80 million years ago, I did sell Avon. My cousin and I did it together when we shared an apartment at university. As I recall, it was a pain in the ass. But we only had 1 car between the two of us, and we kept spending our profits on products and we ended up owing more than we sold.

So it seems there are 2 ways to be an Avon rep. One can just be a rep, sell products, and keep the profits. Or one can go the Leadership route and build a team. That's probably where the real money is. But who has the time?

And here's the other nutty thing. I haven't told Eric yet. I can't believe I am posting a secret in a public blog, and that I'm telling the entire world before I'm telling my husband, my best friend, the person I trust more than anyone else on the planet. It's because I know what he'll say - he'll say it's a lot of screwing around, it won't be worth the money, it's a bit of a scam, I'm "above" this sort of thing, Avon ladies are high-school dropouts with mall hair and no career aspirations, Avon is for people who don't have what it takes to get a "real" job, and on and on and on and on . . . that's what he'd say. Well, that's what he WILL say, because the truth will come out sooner or later. It will probably come out when I ask him to take brochures to his office - hee hee!

But! If I can sell some orders and NOT spend a lot on stuff myself, but only buy the stuff we have to buy anyway (shampoo, etc), maybe I can make a little extra money to tack on to our debt payments.

It's worth a shot, right?

P.S. forgot to mention something

Tomorrow I'm taking my citizenship exam.

If I pass it, in a few months, I'll take my oath to become Canadian.

Competing priorities

*blowing dust off blog*

Well, it's been awhile since I've posted! Last week, we went to S. California - went to Disneyland, visited cousins, did the touristy thing at Hollywood, and so on. Before that, seems we were getting prepared for the trip.

So now I'm home, and like I always do when I return from a trip, I'm thinking about all the things in my life that I want to accomplished this very minute, things that I think should already be in place. They rattle around in my head and keep me up at night. There are too many things to accomplish, so I can't even begin. I try to prioritize, but each priority is as important as the next. (So I guess they're not really a "priorities" then, are they?)

I'm going to list them here, but it won't be a complete list. I'll remember more of them later, when I'm not at my computer.

What I really want right now:

A posh home with an enjoyable yard.
A jungle-gym type thing in the back yard for Garielle to play on.
To throw dinner parties in my posh home.
To lose weight & be in shape.
To have a snappy wardrobe, some of which I've sewn myself.
To have a TIDY house!
For my daughter to take dance lessons. (Time is the issue. She starts piano lessons tomorrow night.)

What we need:

A new furnace
A new (or new to us) car - not right now, but at some point in the foreseeable future.
To save money for future trips back to Ohio and for our daughter's bat mitzvah and for future trips to resorts and for retirement

So basically, we have no time and not much money and present & future claims on what money we do have & will earn.

I think what happens is that I draft great plans for myself, but then I lose track or even forget about them!

I should probably go spend more time in "Can This House Be Rescued?"

Oh, by the way, over the past several months, I've lost about 12 pounds. I started a low carb thing last week and lost an additional 3. So truth be told I really am losing weight.

Our nature walk

Yesterday evening, Garielle wanted to go on a nature walk. She asked me to take pictures of things she pointed out.

Here are some shots of Garielle in the park. (This is the park where we released the mouse we caught in the humane trap, as described in my other blog, Can This House Be Rescued. Don't go there if you're squeamish.)

My daughter's plans

My five-year-old daughter has been making plans for her future.

She would like to run an orphanage. She's given this a great deal of thought lately. She's planned most of it out. She says she'll take both boys and girls, probably totalling about 12 kids. She says she doesn't want to have TOO many, because it would be too hard to take care of them all.

She's come up with a list of policies. Every child will get present on his or her birthday. Every child will get to choose what they want to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. No child is allowed to chew with his or her mouth open.

The orphanage will have 2 bedrooms - one very small one for herself, and one huge one for all of the children. The children's bedroom must have a bookshelf full of books. The children won't go to school because she will be their teacher.

She has roles for us to play as well. I'm in charge of cooking, and her father is in charge of lining them up to go on field trips and so on. Also, in the evening, when she wants a night off, I'm in charge of babysitting, and her father is in charge of reading them stories when they go to sleep.

Last night, she even asked me, "Mom, what do I have to do to become someone who can run an orphanage?" I said "You probably need a degree in social work and a degree in early childhood education." "Where do I go for those?" she asked. "You can get them at Mount Royal College," I said.

She fell asleep continuing to think about her plans.

Counting my blessings

It's a hard time for all of our families. On Eric's side, there have been two recent deaths of very good people who were too young, and another relative who is also a dear friend of my mother-in-law's is dying right now. It's supposed to be a matter of days, or even hours. On my side, I have an uncle who has been to hell and back, and then back to hell and back and then, just to make sure it was covered off, back to hell, and is trying to work his way back. And my sister's husband's family is falling to pieces - the mother passed away recently, the father is dispirited and dying, a daughter and a daughter-in-law have been in the hospital, and two sons have had the flu.

My big beefs have been my disgust at what the clothing stores are offering, dissatisfaction with my house, and the fact that we've had housemice. (Read all about that in my blog "Can This House Be Rescued?")

And we're getting ready to go to Disneyland soon.

So my life is pretty damned good.

I'd like to finish an outfit I began sewing awhile back, and then start on some of the vintage patterns I ordered from ebay. Everyone else's lives are full of sturm und drang, and all I can think about are my clothes.

Will Spring EVER come?

So it's April 5. Why, pray tell, is it snowing?

I am sick of all the black winter clothes in my closet.

Well, that's my update. Sorry.

Retro me

So I've been getting my patterns in the mail that I ordered from Ebay. While I was waiting for them, I made it to a fabric store, where I bought patterns and fabric for a tunic, a skirt, 2 shirts, and a pair of pants. I made the tunic - it's splendidly long, covers the tummy nicely and goes an inch below the crotch, which is the perfect kind of garment for lumpy middle-aged women like me. Right now I'm making pants and a top. They're actually quite a bit more stylish and current, but I can control those critical elements, like how much cleavage (if any) is visible, and whether or not the midriff is sufficiently swathed in material.

Tomorrow begins Passover. Every year, I think I'm going to get my shit together for the holiday, and every year, it seems like the weeks and months leading up to it are a mad rush, so the holiday is upon me before I have time to say "Unleavened!"

All we managed to do to prepare for the holiday is buy a box of matzoh. Well, Eric bought the box. I had nothing to do with it.

Thank goodness Eric's mother is still willing to have the first seder. The second night, Eric wants to go hear Arlo Guthrie. And there's still bread and pasta in our kitchen.

For those of you who are curious, Passover takes a heck of a lot of prep to do up properly.

How to prepare for Passover

And in other news, I started two more blogs. As soon as I hit "post," I'll put the links over where the links are. If you don't see them, either I have JUST hit post, or I got called away from the computer.

A few more blogs?

It was suggested to me that I should consider starting a couple of separate blogs that are more topic specific. For instance, someone told me that she enjoys the home improvement stuff, but isn't that interested in sifting through concert & family info to get to it. Someone else said she really looks forward to reading about concerts I've gone to and wishes I'd spend more time reviewing them.

So I think I'll be doing that over the next couple of weeks, and will have links to those blogs here.

Stay tuned!

My daughter, the skater

She likes to build up speed and glide!
















Skating with the class.

Saw Eric Clapton last night

What a wonderful, wonderful concert. It was just a wall of great music, basically. Clapton didn't talk to the audience at all, except to shout "Thank you!" after every 5 or 6 songs. He didn't need to talk to the audience - he & his musicians said it all through their music. It was just an amazing show, with amazing musicians: Eric Clapton (guitar / vocals), Doyle Bramhall II (guitar), Derek Trucks* (guitar), Willie Weeks (bass), Steve Jordan (drums), Chris Stainton (keyboards), Tim Carmon (keyboards), Michelle John (backing vocals), Sharon White (backing vocals).

For some reason, the pic doesn't include the two backup singers. But they were beautiful and did a splendid job as well, as one might expect, with Clapton.

And the icing on the cake: Robert Cray opened, and on the last song, he came out & performed with Eric & the band. It was fantastic!

Sewing, weight loss, and funny thing my daughter said

So I ordered some of those patterns from Ebay, and I also went to the fabric store & bought a few patterns.

Garielle asked me to make her a St. Patrick's Day shirt. I thought that might be a good project to start with, so I threw one together. I'll post a pic of it if I get a chance.

Tomorrow I'm going to the fabric store to start on one of the patterns I bought for myself.

In other news . . .

Several months ago, I bought a pair of jeans to wear to an after-work thing. Because I had lost some weight, I was able to wedge myself into this pair of straight-legged jeans that was a size smaller than my usual. The only way I could wear it was with a girdle that extended well above the waist, to prevent that ugly flesh spillover that we all find so attractive.

I'm happy to report that I'm wearing the jeans today, with no girdle. So, apparently, I've lost even more weight.

Garielle said the funniest thing in the car today. She asked me to name everything that should be recycled. I began naming things: aluminum cans, newspapers, bottles . . . then she jumped in and added batteries, plastic, cars . . . so I jumped in and began naming silly things, like hair, rainbows, and people.

She laughed and said "You don't recycle PEOPLE! When you're done with them, you throw them underground, in boxes!"

If I can't be stylish, I can be way OUT of style!

So Eric & I are going to a big band dance this Saturday. I figured I probably should get something to wear. So the other night, I went to a few clothing stores. I came back with one top.

I'm telling you, the pickin's were SLIM. Everything is thin polyester, gauzy, clingy, and low cut. It's like someone went back to the 70's, got really drunk, and began designing shit intended for Wal-Mart.

I went to three stores, and could find nothing! I was hoping to find something suitable for work, but none of the stores had career wear in plus sizes. I said to a salewoman "Where's your career wear?" She said "Well, career wear really isn't IN this season."

I stomped into work the next day and bitched to a coworker. I've been bitching to her for quite some time about how I hate everything in my closet and how I really need those "What Not To Wear" people to come into my life.

This coworker tends to wear a lot of vintage clothing. She also sews. She mentioned that she likes to go on Ebay and bid on vintage sewing patterns.

Inspired, I went on Ebay and surfed vintage clothing patterns. So now I'm all obsessed with the idea of sewing some vintage clothing for myself.

Take a look at these. They're close to some of the things I see in the stores today, but with more of that groovy, 70s thing going.

Aren't these great???

Reset button on life

So today I'm hitting the reset button on everything in my life. I'm probably 90% recovered - still a little tired and a little "off," but much better.

For the past couple of weeks, everything has fallen apart. I've run out of clean clothes, the goldfish have been swimming in their own waste, everything in the refrigerator turned nasty, and the house is in shambles.

I have laundry going, I tidied up the kitchen, I changed the water in the goldfish tank, I cleaned out the fridge, and after I hit "post," I'm going to tidy the house.

The rug for Garielle's room arrived. Eric went to pick it up. It should look cute. Now I just need to finish painting the trim, and then I can move the furniture back into her room.

But now I'm thinking . . . . hmmmmm . . . . I'm not sure I'm liking the yellow walls. Garielle's favorite colours these days are pink & purple. I'm thinking to repaint the walls some nice lilac colour. Besides, she wants a sunset on one wall, and a sunset on a yellow wall just won't show up as well.

But that's a way off into the future. Maybe this fall. We'll see.

Updates, addictions, and confessions

I didn't mention in my previous posts that our dishwasher finally arrived. It took a lot of shopping and screwing around to come to the stark realization that we are married to the Maytag brand, because they're the only ones who manufacture a slightly shorter model that fits into our friggin' slightly shorter counters.

You might ask: Why would a 5'10" woman move into a house with slightly shorter counters? Oh, the things we do for love . . .

Basically, Eric wanted to move to Calgary for a variety of reasons. It's where he grew up. So we moved here & took over his parents' house. They moved to a condo. Here is the post where I explain it all, and is the root of all this bitching and do-it-yourselfing: Going Art Deco

My stupid addiction that comes and goes: Freecell. Yup. What a dumb game. I first encountered it in the early 90's when they upgraded our computers at work. I read in the description that it is said that every single combination of cards is winnable, even though some of the combinations seem impossible. Well, I rose to the challenge.

You know how Freecell lets you pick which game you want? I began with game #1. Then I played every single game after that. I stopped for a year, started again, stopped for another couple of years, started again, each time starting approximately where I left off. I probably overlapped a few times and played some games more than once.

I'm up to 20397.

I'm still recovering from this whatever I've had for the past 3 days, and instead of spending time with my daughter, she's in front of a movie and I'm playing stupid Freecell.

I'm thinking that today I will make a Big Outing. I think I'll take her to the library.

Ernie, are you reading this?

I've been trying to post comments on your blog, but this wretched new version of blogger won't let me. It keeps circling me around to the sign-in page.

So if it did post after all and if I'm repeating myself, apologies! All I said was that I wish I could come to Florida with you, and that your pendant is absolutely beautiful!

If anyone wants to see Ernie's beautiful work at Gypsy Gold Studios, go here: http://gypsygoldstudio.blogspot.com.

Good news & bad news

The good news is that I made a lot of progress in Garielle's room last weekend. I got the quarter round nailed all around the perimeter, and I primed all the baseboard, and began to paint it glossy dark blue. I also ordered a rug for her room. It will be in in a few weeks.

The bad news is that this weekend I feel like absolute shit. I have a raging sore throat and don't feel like doing anything. I can't remember the last time my throat hurt like this. I'm totally OD'ing on ibuprofen - it doesn't get rid of the pain, but it makes it more tolerable.

Eric says I should go to a walk-in clinic and get on some antibiotics. But they're not prescribing antibiotics like they used to, and besides, I can hardly remain upright long enough to sit in a waiting room. I just don't have the wherewithal to patch myself together, drag my sorry ass to some waiting room, sit in misery while longing to lie down, only to find out that there's nothing they can do but prescribe rest, fluids, ibuprofen, and all of that.

My throat hurt so bad the other night that I couldn't sleep. So last night I took 2 over the counter sleeping pills - my God, I need some sleep to get better, right? But my throat hurt so bad that it kept me awake anyway!

Eric is going to go get some of that stuff that you spray into your mouth that numbs your throat.

So, there goes another weekend, down the drain. Damn.

Designers are kidding, right?

The hottest look for Spring 07 is the "mini-dress." Clearly, folks are confused. These aren't dresses. Are these dresses? Tell me these are dresses. If you believe these are dresses, contact me as soon as possible - I have some tropical beachfront property in Saskatchewan you might be interested in. Heck, you can wear your mini-dress there.

Here's what Saks Fifth Avenue is offering:




































And here is what Nieman Marcus is offering:
























I have a newsflash for you designer fruitcakes out there. These aren't dresses. They're undergarments.


I just had a great idea - let's all of us women over 40 who are a little "overweight" actually wear these dresses. Let's wear them to work, let's wear them to church, let's wear them to the grocery store. The results will be so ridiculous and visually disturbing that rioters will storm the garment districts, demanding mumus for all.

Tomorrow: Happy Birthday, Mom!

Well, tomorrow you would have been 75. As you were eternally youthful, I can't imagine you at 75, but I'm sure you would have made 75 look positively smashing.

I'm drinking a martini tonight to celebrate your birthday, just in case I can't have one tomorrow. I'm going to a work-related function after work, so I might be able to get a martini. But, like you always said, martinis make you take back things you didn't even steal, so I might have to forego that in the name of professionalism.

I had three olives in the martini, as I always do - one for me, one for Sharon, and one for you.

I tried to play some songs on the piano tonight that you used to play, but it made me too sad.

If I really wanted to honour you, I'd wash the damned dishes and tidy the house. You never did like dirty dishes and a messy house.

If I had a cigarette tonight, I think I'd even smoke it.

I still think about you every day and you're still a big part of my life.

Chomping at the bit

Well, I'm back from the conference. It was a good conference.

However, after spending 2 days shut up in a board room all day, I now face 3 days shut up in a board room all day when I go back to work tomorrow, because we're having our on-site. This is an intensive review & analysis of our campaign, and helps determine our course for the coming year. Philosophically I'm on board with it, but I'm going to really go out of my mind at having to spend three more days in a board room, especially after I lost the weekend to a boardroom, basically, and have not had time to do what I want to do for quite a stretch.

And what do I want to do?

I want to move forward on Garielle's room, because I'm getting backlogged in my mind with ideas of things to do for the house!

So NEXT weekend I'm going to measure the perimeter, get the quarter-round, and . . . well, I was thinking about getting finishing nails and one of those counterset thingies, but I'm daydreaming about investing in a nail gun instead.

And I'm also going to put wood filler in all the craggy parts that could splinter.

If I can do all that in one day, then I'm going to paint primer on all the trim the next day.

Woo hoo!

In other news, I think I'm ready to go back to the gym. I'm feeling fully recovered. I can't go until next Saturday though.

Nothing like out of town visitors to inspire a cleanup!

So on Tuesday of this week, we have a visitor from Windsor coming to stay with us for a night.

Our cleaning lady is still in Fiji, and I haven't been feeling well for a month, so as a consequence, our house is in shambles.

Today we did the Big Cleanup. We're not done yet, but by the end of day tomorrow, we should be.

One of the things we're doing is taking a bunch of stuff from our basement to storage, which is something I've wanted to happen for awhile. Our guest room is in the basement, so we need to clear it out a bit. It's a finished basement, so it's not too dungeony for guests. It would be great living space if we got rid of all the boxes and piles and junk.

The only downside is that I was hoping to work in Garielle's room this weekend. The only chances I have are on weekends. Next weekend, I'm going to a conference in Regina. So that extends our current living arrangements, with all our daughter's furniture in our bedroom, for two more weeks. Urgh! And of course, that defers all the other things I want to get at.

This week and next week are a wash - there's so much going on in the evenings that I can't hope to do anything in Garielle's room on a weeknight.

Looks like I can't move forward until after the middle of the month.

Happy Valentine's Day to Me

So Eric & Garielle came home from Shabbat school yesterday -Eric was lugging a big box into the house. It's an early Valentine's Day present, he explained.

What was it? A compound mitre saw. Ha ha ha! Now I'm committed to following through on this do-it-yourself streak I seem to be on!

Michael Jackson and white design trends

The two aren't related, but it makes a catchy blog title, don't you think?

First of all, let me say that I'm short on time and short on common sense. I have only a couple of hours to take a shower, whip the house into shape, and get a bunch of things done before Garielle's play date arrives. I have no time for this blog entry.

So I was reading in the paper this morning that Michael Jackson is coming back to the U.S. Yes, this made the news, somehow.

I don't know why every fart this man toots is something of interest to the media. Is it something of interest to the public? One might say that it is, otherwise the media wouldn't run it.

The truth is, I'm an admirer of Jackson. I won't go so far as to say I'm a "fan," because I don't own any of his CD's. (Okay, I did pay to download some of his tunes off the internet, but that's it.) But to say that his music isn't totally rockin' and to say that he's not a major talent is to tell a lie. I totally dig his music and his videos. And I think as he aged, he got better. Sure, he's a little weird looking, but that's not a crime. A lot of people are weird looking.

Jackson personally? I don't want to know.

In fact, I hate meeting "stars" in person. I have no interest in knowing what they're "really" like - unless of course they're exceptional, such as passionately philanthropic about an interesting cause, or committed to some noble principle. But I don't have that expectation of stars, and I'm not not disappointed when they're just plain old people. Because you know what? Most of them are.

I just want to enjoy the fruits of their talent.

Of course, if we happen to run into each other at a cocktail party or a fundraiser (because I go to so many of these where stars are present, you know), and if they happen to be interesting people, sure, I'd like to get to know them, just as I would be interested in getting to know an interesting person who is totally anonymous.

What I'd really like is for Michael Jackson to get back into the studio and make some more music and some more videos.

"Oh, but what about the time he jeopardized the safety of his baby by dangling it over the balcony?"

Yes, that was bad, bad, bad. He really shouldn't have done that. Thank God nothing happened, and perhaps upon reflection, Jackson regrets that.

Any parents out there? (show of hands) Okay, when Garielle was probably a little too young for it, I put her in the "big" bathtub to see how she would do, instead of her little plastic baby bathtub. She was able to sit up well, and the water wasn't very deep. Nevertheless, she was nervous.

After she seemed more okay, I turned my back on her to attend to something on the counter, and she said "Mommy, Mommy!" I said "You're okay, sweetheart," but I didn't turn around. She cried "Mommy!" again, so I turned around. She had accidentally lopped forward into the water. Thank GOD her head was turned to the side so her face wasn't submerged. She wasn't able to pull herself back up to a sitting position.

If she had her face forward, she would have drowned.

Someone told me that every child seems to give their parents one "warning" incident, and if you ignore it, the next time is fatal. I don't know if that's true or not, but that was my warning. Believe me, I was MUCH MUCH MUCH more conscientious after that.

Am I stupid? Am I a bad parent? No to both. My IQ tests above "genius" level (it's true, which is why everything I do is sheer genius - ha!), and I think I'm a pretty good parent.

Anyway, this is why I can't crucify Jackson for the balcony incident. Yes, it was a lapse of judgement, and it was a dangerous one. But thank god it's okay.

On to the next topic:

I also read in the paper that it's official - the design trend is the "absence of color." According to the article, taken from USA Today, we've had so many years of being bathed in all that color that white is "refreshing."

No it's not.

All that white is boring. It's like looking at an endless maxi-pad. It's sterile. It's even a little frightening. ("Am I in Heaven? Dang, it's dull.")

I'm going forward with my red room, damn it. Maybe in five years, I'll be tired of being bathed in all that color, and I might "refresh" by going white. We'll see.

Light at the end of the tunnel

I haven't felt good all month. It's been frustrating, because I haven't been nearly as productive as I want to be, and I haven't been to the gym, either.

So I finally took a sick day yesterday. Today, I feel better than I've felt for weeks. I'm not quite to 100% yet, but I'm really happy that I seem to be on the upswing. Feeling sick is so annoying, and I just hate it. I have too much to do for that crap.

I hope to find time this weekend to finish ripping that carpet out of Garielle's closet. It seems every weekend gets taken over by other priorities. For instance, this weekend we have visitors on Saturday, and we have to finish Garielle's school project on Sunday, and Sunday evening we have dinner plans. So Saturday morning I have to use to get the house tidied up. Maybe Saturday evening I can do some work while Garielle watches a movie. (Eric has a concert to attend.) Or maybe Sunday morning.

I really want to get at that bedroom so I can start putting the shoe molding in. Eric & I agreed that I should go ahead & buy this compound mitre saw that is on sale at Canadian Tire. I know that I don't need it for shoe molding, but it would certainly give me the opportunity to play with it and see how it works.

Have I posted in here about my frustrating at getting into a woodworking class? I finally found one, an all-day Saturday thing, coming up in Feb. I was prepared to sign up, but then was invited to attend a weekend conference in the place of a colleague who is on sick leave. So there goes that weekend.

So it looks like I'm just going to have to figure this stuff out on my own. I brought a bunch of books home from the library on power tools, woodworking, and carpentry. Each book goes to great lengths to talk about safety, so I'll be sure to heed that advice.

Of course, I don't even have a place for the saw to live. I want to create a workspace in our basement . . . excuse me a minute - HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!! . . . . so maybe some day that will happen.

So, changing the subject without a transition:

Also on my mind is that we need to incorporate a few more Jewish rituals into our home. I'm thinking that we should start having proper Shabbat dinners, with the candles and the whole bit. I think it's a good tradition for Garielle.

So on tonight's menu - homemade pizza - ha ha! It's what we have on hand. I have some white candles and some Star of David candle holders. Off we go.

Designers are in a rut

In my previous post, I said that interior designers are either sifting through the old Sears catalogs for the tackiest stuff, or they're just copping out and doing everything in whites. I thought I'd offer some examples of what I meant.

Here is a very sterile room. I just know that if I ever visited and sat on their furniture, I'd start my period.














Please tell me nobody actually lives here. Do you get the sense that guests are not welcome?














I think we've been watching a little too much Antiques Roadshow.













Precious, precious, precious! Undoubtedly, what the camera didn't capture was the teddy bear collection off to the right and the Precious Moments display case on the wall.














This room screams "We are old and we are Republicans, but we have damned good taste." Nobody explained to them that the department store isn't where to go for your wall art.















Sears - circa 1985. It screams "finer hotel room."














Is this a room or a salad?














This one wins an award. It's bland and chaotic at the same time.














The images above were borrowed, without permission, from the HGTV website.

More living room ideas

It's really hard to find living room ideas that I like. It seems that a lot of what's being done these days is just chaos. It seems designers are sifting through the Sears catalogues of the 1970's, tossing what was groovy, and keeping what was tacky. And it seems to be a growing trend to pack rooms with as much crap as possible, OR to go virgin white.

Anyway, I found a few rooms that I like and that I might use for inspiration when the time comes.

I like this room a lot. We could use our existing living room furniture in this room. We already have the yellow chair, and the sofa needs reupholstered anyway.

I like this room too, except it's just a tiny bit bland. I do like its crispness, however.

Now here is an example of way too much stuff going on in a room. However, I do love the colors, especially the green wall.

What a crazy week. What week - - what a crazy month!

So my first week on my new job went pretty well, but I felt like I was coming down with something the whole time. I'm not alone - seems everyone at the office is straggling around, not quite sick but not quite well. It's very annoying.

I haven't had a chance to rip that final bit of carpet out of Garielle's room. There just hasn't been time. (Why am I not doing it now, you ask?) Because I'm online researching dishwashers while laundry is going in the other room.

We did get a new garbage disposal - hurrah! The next piece is the dishwasher. We shopped today but may have hit a height snafu. Our old dishwasher was a Maytag Jetclean II. It came with the house. The repairman said that Maytags are awful and they konk out early. I went online and rating at places such as epinions seem to back that up. So I swore I wouldn't buy another Maytag.

Alas, Maytags are slightly shorter than other brands, apparently. The space we have available is 34" and a smidgen. The Kenmores we looked at today all require 34.5". The salesperson said that most models require 34.5" but for some reason, Maytags are shorter than standard.

So we came home and measured one more time, just to be sure. And yes, it appears that we have 34 1/8" available - barely. Eric said "Well, let's just get a top of the line Maytag."

I went online and it looks like what we HAD was a top of the line Maytag. Urgh.

I emailed the Miele people and asked them if any models were 34". I said "Please don't make me buy another Maytag!"

Then I googled "dishwashers 34"" and came across site after site indicating that 34" is the standard height for dishwashers.

Really???

So now I'm all confused.

Is 34" really standard or not? If it is standard, why is it that Maytag is the only one who adheres to it? That would make it rather not standard, wouldn't it?

Okay. Here are my issues to resolve:

- get a dishwasher. Not a Maytag!!!!
- get the oil changed in my car & get new wiper blades while I'm at it.
- get the dog groomed.
- pull up the carpet in Garielle's closet

When those four things are handled, I'm having a martini.

Progress

So today I ripped out the rest of the carpet in Garielle's room, except for her closet. I'm so glad I invested in a set of really high quality knee pads - they cost like $40 and look like part of a space suit. But they really helped when it took me 2 hours to crawl around on the floor pulling out staples and nails.

The next step is to pull up the carpet in her closet, pull up the nails, etc. Then I have to figure out how to get shoe molding in. See, the wood around the perimeter of the room indicates that there was once some shoe molding, because it's quite a bit darker than the rest of the wood. And the ends are uneven, not quite being covered by the baseboard.

So I guess I need a miter saw. It's hard to believe I need to invest the $150 - $200 in a compound miter saw. I thought the only other alternative was a miter box, but I see in this woodworking manual that I bought yesterday that there is a non-power miter saw outfit kind of thing.

There's a Lee Valley woodworking supply shop here in town. When I get to the point where I'm ready to put in the shoe molding, I'll go there & visit & pick some brains.

In the meantime, I started reading this woodworking manual last night. It's so interesting!

There's sooooo much to be done with this house, and progress is so slow. It's just about impossible to do anything during the week. Weekends are necessarily full of all the stuff there was no time for during the week - laundry, tidying the house, and so on.

As I've been intermittently trying to clean out our basement as well, I have about 5 carloads of stuff to take to storage. Plus the carpet that I ripped out remains in garbage bags in our hallway. I was going to put them out with the garbage, but Eric thinks there's a better way to dispose of them. He's not clear on what that is. However, I don't want those bags to sit in the hallway much longer. So if they're not out of the hallway by next weekend, I'm taking them to the landfill myself. And I guess I can't keep waiting on him to help me take stuff to storage, so I might have to do that by myself.

Here are other things that desperately need to happen in our house. If they're not handled by the time I get around to them, I'm doing them myself:

The back door needs replaced entirely - including storm door. I think the frame needs some work. Before now, I figured we'd have to bring in a professional. But now I'm starting to think perhaps I could do it, with the right tools and some instructions.

The front door needs replaced entirely. For this, we will have to call in the pros. That whole wall upon which the door resides needs completely reworked. There are these fake glass blocks along the side of the door, in the actual wall of the house. Turns out they're plastic stuff, and one good kick will knock them right in. Fortunately we don't have much worth stealing in our house, but still . . .

The door to our den just sort of ripped off the hinges. It's a french door thing, you know, glass all divided into squares. Eric took the door down & put it in Garielle's room, against a wall. I moved it out and put it into the hallway because HELLO, I'm renovating in there, don't be putting a bunch of stuff in there! Problem is, Garielle saw it and pretended to open it. I about had a heart attack envisioning the door coming down on her head. I asked her to never, ever touch it, and she hasn't done so.

Anyway, after I finish Garielle's room, that's next on my list to fix.

We haven't replaced the dishwasher or the garbage disposal yet. Again, the pros for that.

What's left to do in Garielle's room:

• Pull up carpet in closet
• Install shoe molding
• Paint baseboard, shoe molding, trim
• Touch up walls where I accidentally put my feet while yanking out carpet, nails, and so on
• Decoupage the wall plates & put them on.
• Move furniture into her room.
• Hang paintings, mobiles, etc.
• Lower the clothes rack & shelves in closet.
• Decide what to do about her doors. They're ugly.

Then, unless there are other emergencies, I'm going to rehang the door to the den, then turn my attention to the back door.

After that, I'm going to look at the living room floor and decide if I want to install laminate flooring. I think I do want to.

If I decide to do that, I think we'll see about painting the living room first, while the hideous gold shag is still on the floor. Eric doesn't want me to do this myself. He wants to hire pros. The thing is, the wall curves into the kitchen - there's no sharp corner. So we almost have to paint the kitchen at the same time.

Which brings me to the kitchen ceiling issue, but I'm not that far along yet. We'll get there.

I have tools.

I went to the gym this morning, and then had a massage. Ahhhhh!!!!!!

Then I went to Rona to find a few things - kneepads, a toolbelt, and so on. I ended up buying quite a few things for myself. Instead of a toolbelt, I got a tool apron - it's a big, guy-like apron. I also bought some protective eyewear, kneepads - really nice ones, work gloves, a utility knife, a small thingy of spackling compound, an adjustable wrench, and a few other things.

I just can't figure out this "saw" business. I posted a question on the Be Jane message boards, and we'll see if I get a response. A lot of the instructions say to make this or that cut with this or that type of saw. I just don't know - can I use a manual saw or do I have to buy an electric saw? And can I just buy one and start using it? Don't I need someone to show me how to do it? Seems like I need to take a class or something, or have my dad show me how to use one. Well, having my dad show me is not an option.

So this afternoon, I ripped out half of the carpet in Garielle's room. I could have ripped it all out but then I might not have had the time to get all the staples & nails out, which is a bad, unsafe thing. So I opted to do half very well and make sure the floor was very clean and safe. Then tomorrow I'll do the other half.

And now I need to go consolidate and accumulate tools and stake out which tools are MINE, MINE, MINE.

Plans, glorious plans!

By the way, if you don't see my picture posted in the profile, it's because the domain where it lives has expired. I should probably consider renewing it. I haven't decided yet.

So we've had something going on every single night this week, and we have something going on tonight as well. I hope I can get a few things accomplished over the weekend!

I'd like to pull the carpet out of Garielle's bedroom. I never did find a utility knife in the house. I know we have one. I'll find it soon after I purchase a new one, surely.

Then, of course, I have to make sure the floor is safe. That's the thing about these projects. I can't just do some now and finish it later. It's now or never. I have to pull out those strippy things along the edge of the floors and then make sure there are no nails, staples, or large, pointy wood protrusions emerging from the floor.

At that point, I have to make a decision about the floor, based on what I discover after the carpet is pulled up.

And here's my other project. This should really impress Eric. Our bathroom sink keeps clogging. Eric keeps dumping Drano down the drain, and using the plunger. It gets a little better - - for a time.

Well, this weekend, by God, I'm going to fix that damned thing the right way. I'm going under the sink.

Before I do either of those two ambitious things, I'm going to reread the instructions to make sure I have the right tools. And I'm going to buy myself a toolbelt. So there!

I will be a Jane.

So Eric is cautiously supportive of this do-it-yourself enthusiasm I seem to have sucked myself into of late. His reservations make me all the more determined. He has a good point though - I do tend to start projects and not finish them. He said he doesn't want me to get into something and then never get around to finishing it, or get in over my head and have to call in professionals.

I mentioned in an earlier blog entry that I tend to get obsessive. Now, my obsession seems to be getting the house into shape. Last night, I couldn't even sleep. I sent Eric an email of the tape recording loop that was going around in my head last night. I'll copy paste it here:

Need to rip out carpet in G's room, then fix up floor and/or get rug, then paint trim.
Then start living room. Could I paint it myself? Sure! But would it take me a year? Could I do it in a week? It would save us a lot of money.
Why do I keep fantasizing about being a handy woman? I've been having this fantasy for years and years. So far, I've painted a couple of rooms and occasionally changed a light bulb.
I need to get our tools consolidated and organized.
I wish I had a tool belt. If I had a tool belt, I bet I could lay laminate flooring in the living room all by myself.
If the basement were organized, I could set up a little area just for tools and things.
I bet I could replace the back screen door all by myself. I bet I could replace the toilet downstairs all by myself.
I bet I could put a second story on our house all by myself.
I wonder if I could get all that done by the time the Tokols got here.
We should have a seder. I should sew a nice, elegant tablecloth for the occasion. I should set up a sewing area. We don't have the space for that. Maybe I should build an extra room off the back of the house.
Let's paint the living room red! I really want to!
Where do we move the furniture in the living room and dining room during the floor renovation? Do we shove it into the kitchen?
We should move that marble topped sideboard downstairs, it's aesthetically wrong upstairs.
We need to take a load of things to storage.
We really can't move forward on the basement until we do that.

So, damn it, the first thing I need to do is FINISH GARIELLE'S BEDROOM!!! I'm getting so close! Maybe I can work on it tonight. If I just rip out the carpet . . .

But I need a utility knife. I'm sure we have one somewhere, but who knows where. I can't buy something new when I have one in the house, right?

So I need to find a place to capture our tools and things. Maybe I should do THAT tonight. And maybe I'll uncover the utility knife in the process. And if I've gathered up & organized what tools we do have, and I still haven't uncovered a utility knife, I'll buy one.

And maybe I'll buy a tool belt.

Could I be a Jane?

I love going to this website:

Be Jane

I've been peeking in from time to time, and yesterday, I bought the book:

I've just begun to read it. This morning, Eric asked me how I like it, and I said that I love it, love it, love it!

So, here's the thing. Eric and I had the "serious talk" a few days ago about how we really need to be more economical in 2007. However, we have this house we're living in, and in addition to needing major beautification, we also have some practical repair jobs that need done. The dishwasher is still on the fritz. The roof is going to need repairing. We need a new furnace. The front and back doors are not acceptable, nor are they safe. Additionally, we need some serious yard word done. And, although this isn't about the house, our cars are getting up in years and we're going to have to replace them eventually.

I've been reading the blurbs from all the Janes who contributed, and so many of them got started in the do-it-yourselfer realm because they had no money to hire things done.

I wonder if I can be a Jane.