Sarah Vs. the Black Thumb (part whatever the second)

After returning from Indy I wandered to my back yard to water my plants that had been neglected for four days. Apparently there was a really windy day at some point because the umbrella from our patio set had been whipped from its stand and the main post wrenched in two. Seriously...the metal just sheared off...I'm amazed.

Anyway, it landed on my garden. My heart stopped when I saw it. Rob has sincere doubts as to my ability to successfully grow a functional garden and I saw another year's efforts flash before my eyes. I peeked under the umbrella and dropped it in stunned amazement. Apparently it acted like a greenhouse. My tomato plants that I purchased at a farmers market three weeks ago at less than six inches tall are over four feet tall. Of course they weren't that big when I left so they are a sprawling undisciplined mess right now. And I have no idea where Rob stashed the tomato stakes and cages post move. Actually I'm not sure I have tomato stakes taller than four feet as it has been years since I had a plant get that tall.

So instead of trashing the umbrella or letting Rob fix it, I may mount it on a pole and plant it in the middle of my garden.

My Kind of Chaos

After weeks of being overwhelmed by all that has been thrown at us in such a short time, I finally woke up this morning with my head screwed on straight. I am ready! In the last month, we have looked for and found a house, had our offer accepted, done the inspection, applied for our loan, had the whole house struck down with the plague, and started packing. All this with only a few mental breakdowns. Now I have my deadline, I have a plan, and best of all...I have a list!

Yesterday, I went through a pile of mail four months deep and filed everything. I started to pull everything for taxes out so it doesn't get packed (I do learn something new with every move!). Patted myself on the back for not finding any unpaid bills in that stack (whew! can't say that has never happened before). I put aside everything needed to run errands today in an organized manner. Finally, while I was working I listened to a seminar on how to begin teaching discipline to very small children. I did a couple weeks worth of laundry, washed diapers, washed dishes, cleaned up the living room, got a massage and spent some quality time with Gus.

Today, I woke at an ungodly hour (did you know there is a 630 in the morning? I didn't...), ran errands for a couple hours before the boys woke up. Then I fed the small creatures of the house, picked up all the small bits of trash from the yard that have finally been released from the icy grasp of winter, worked in the garage for a little while, washed the fake greenery so it can be packed, and ran more errands at places that keep more civilized business hours. Now I'm blogging for the first time in a while and drinking a big glass of water.

Next on my list is packing the rest of the decor and breakables and then the serving dishes and more bizarre kitchen gadgets I can probably live without over the next month, canning supplies, and extra bedding. It is so nice to have my motivation and energy back. I am woman, hear me roar!

Sundays

Sundays are one of my two days off. Other than church and homework, the agenda is pretty much cleared for catching up on my projects (see resolutions). Today's parade of daily adventures includes playing 10,000 with Syra while procrastinating on my projects, blogging while procrastinating on my projects, grocery shopping while procrastinating on projects, playing with Ryan's iPhone while procrastinating on projects (it has an application called iBanjo, fun stuff!). You get the point...pretty much that I would rather do anything else than clean out my closet. It would probably help if I was actually at my house, but having not seen Ryan since a week before Christmas, it is hard to tear myself away.

Other interesting happenings...

Our friend Scott is moving to Chicago...he will be missed and he is providing further motivation for the much speculated move to be to the Chicagoland area. If my parents would just move to Chicago then it would be an ideal location. Unfortunately, I am pretty sure that the mild Tennessee weather has spoiled them for the north. I distinctly remember complaints about the Indiana November when they were up for Thanksgiving. Personally, I love winter and this has been a fun one already and we have at least two more months of it. Were it not for winter, I wouldn't be able to appreciate the summer. Mostly I find the heat uncomfortable and tedious, but after a nice cold winter, spring and early summer seem nothing short of miraculous to me. It is very easy to see the hand of God in the changing of the seasons and the life cycles of our planet. I think that is why I hated Alabama so much. There were no seasons, no rebirth, no wonder in the new life, all the seasons just ran into one another with glaring monotony.

Gotta love the tangents...I will be back later to update on whether the desire to procrastinate triumphed over the need to cross things off the list.