Hello all! We’re finally back online… Things here are hectic. Tom has been busy with yard work. It’s hotter than hell out there (I think today had a 110 heat index) and I think he’s insane, but he wanted a yard and now he has one! On a bad day, he showers about three times. I tend to stay inside where it’s nice and cool! The only time I stray outside is when I have to do laundry—and the garage is ALWAYS a sauna so I try to make it quick. We have a few trees to plant (there were on clearance at Lowe’s) in addition to the finding the perfect home for the new lilac bush (thanks again, mom). Tom’s next big project, aside from the little honey-do lists I give him, is to put up major shelves in the garage to hold all the crap that won’t fit in the house. Remember me saying we’d have enough stuff for a three-bedroom house? I was wrong. We have enough stuff for a six-bedroom house! LOL Seriously, if we had a basement, everything would be peachy…but we don’t—and we don’t want to use the guest bedroom as storage again—so things are still somewhat crowded.
We’re in the last stages (I hope) of getting settled. Most of the major things are put away (food, dishes, kitchen stuff) but there’s so much little stuff left. You know, all that stuff that never really had a good “home” to begin with. And all the stuff that just doesn’t happen to fit like it did before (this shelf is 1/2″ too short or that cupboard is 1″ too shallow). And, of course, there’s lots of stuff that will need to be rearranged once the garage shelves are in. Dad, you would be thrilled to know that I finally broke down and let Tom get the table saw he wanted (we even had to drive an hour, one way, to get it). I mean, I had to if I wanted shelves any time soon! He’s in heaven and actually putting it together tonight…wait, was that a saw I heard in the background? 🙂 We also have to figure out the dresser situation in the bedroom (it’s quite small once the king bed and headboard gets in there) and until we do, there are five huge boxes of clothes sitting there, waiting. It’s official: WE HAVE WAY TOO MUCH CRAP. The good thing is we’re having a community garage sale soon. There are about four of us who thought it would be a great idea—and we’re all looking forward to it.
Speaking of neighbors, we love ours. They’re all wonderful. We usually talk to them every other day, if not daily (one couple walks their dog and baby and stop as they pass by the house and another walks her dog and stops by). Last night, there was, let me count, 13 of us out there (8 adults, 3 kids, 2 dogs). I LOVE HAVING NEIGHBORS! We’ve had dinner at Neil and Heidi’s about four times…we’re just waiting to get our house done so we can return the favor!
I’ve been back to work two days and it feels like I never even had a break. Sad, isn’t it? The customers haven’t been bad and my coworkers are nice enough…but my feet and neck/shoulders are so sore by the end of the day I can barely stand it. It’s all I can do to not collapse when I get home. I apparently need to start my Motrin regimen again. Unfortunately, it’s the same store activity-wise as Stafford, which means I stand around a lot and try to look busy. It’s not bad overall (at least I’m used to it and at least I have a job) but the hardest part (aside from taking the pay cut) is not knowing where anything is in the store. Blech. I’ve looked in the want ads but they’re a joke. When a security guard position is being offered at $6.75/hour, there doesn’t seem much hope for me. I am, however, heading to the sign shop Thursday and begging for a job if I have to. 🙂 I’d even take a pay cut to work there!
The only other news is that I think this house is trying to kill me—or at least maim me. No kidding. Remember the painting weekend when I smashed my toe? Well, it still hurts so I’m sure I broke it or fractured it or something. Well, since then, in a span of two days, I injured three more toes. (I really need to start wearing shoes around the house.) First, I stubbed a toe on a cooler while doing laundry (Tom moved it unbeknownst to me). That ripped the nail half off my big toe. Later that day, I smashed another toe into a dresser and there was more blood. Hoo boy. I also smacked my head into the dryer door. Then, to top it all off… getting ready for bed and doing one last thing… Tom opened a door to take a box out onto the porch but it wouldn’t fit so he shoved another box out of the way…and wouldn’t you know it…there was a heavy cooling rack leaning against the box, which fell and smashed yet another toe (more ripped skin, more blood, more Band-Aids). I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry—so I did both. It was so ironic that it was sort of Tom’s fault, because he had been blaming me and telling me it was all my fault and I needed to be more careful. So, I started work the next day with four “broken” toes.