Yesterday i was looking for an additional trash can to have an extra one upstairs. I remembered seeing one in the garage. Sure enough i found it. The light was dim, and i looked in the bottom, and it was empty except for some laundry lint. No big deal. I grabbed the can and carried it toward the kitchen to put a garbage bag in it… and caught a whiff of something unpleasant.
The light was better in the kitchen, so i looked again, and still couldn’t see much, so i stuck my head partway down in the can. THAT was a mistake. Not only was the smell completely disgusting, i could now see that one of the pieces of laundry lint had a tail, and i had voluntarily put my head closer to it than necessary.
Involuntary shudders wracked my body. Not wanting to deal with it, i went back into the garage and put the trash can back precisely where i had found it. I’m not sure why - i think some part of my brain figured if i put it back exactly where it was, i could more easily pretend that i had not just smelled the aroma of dead mouse.
I then calmly went upstairs and asked Lance to please take care of it. Which he did. I think dealing with dead mice (or live ones!) is going to have to be one of “his” jobs.
The day my family helped me move-in to the dorm my freshman year of college is memorable for many reasons. One of those reasons was the check i wrote that day. It was the biggest check i had ever written up to that point in my life. $1,500 (read: nearly all) of the money i had spent two years saving while working at McDonalds, written to my Dad, as a down payment on my education. It was supposed to insure that i would take school seriously. All i remember is that it seemed like a helluva lot of money.
I write big checks all the time these days on behalf of the Raleigh Bridge Club. I’m the treasurer, and every month i write a check bigger than that first memorable big check in order to pay the club’s rent. No big deal.
Earlier this week, lance & i had to write the biggest check i’ve yet written. And unfortunately not for the bridge club. The reason: replacing the entire heating and cooling system in our house. The previous system decided to retire after 30 years of good work. The good news is that the new system is better for the environment and should save a good deal on energy costs. The bad news, it will take about 8 years for the system to pay for itself. 
At least, i think it’s my brachioradialis…
This morning i woke up and it felt like my forearms, moreso my right arm, were broken. Just propping myself up to get out of bed was hurting. So i lie there trying to imagine what weird sleeping position would have made my arms hurt like this.
And then i remembered - i trimmed the hedges yesterday. So i was holding a 15 pound electric hedgetrimmer out in front of my body for about 20 minutes. And apparently, that makes your arms feel like they are broken the next morning.
At least the bushes look good.
Peace, calm, serenity. That is what i feel right now. My parents have left. The extra dogs are gone. There are no demands on me right now, and won’t be for at least another day. It feels so nice.
The past two days, hosting my parents, have been hectic. Getting the house ready. Cooking. Cleaning up while also trying to interact and be a good hostess. Cooking again. Getting my Dad’s help with projects around the house. Setting up the grill. Cooking again. And again.
Man, cooking for a crowd is a lot of work!
Right now, everything is silent and peacefull. In the living room, the presents Lance and i received are still strewn about. I’ll put things away and straighten up… later. In the guest bath upstairs, Dad was helping me install some extra towel racks. I will finish that project and put away the tools… later. The kitchen is mostly clean, but needs to be tidied from breakfast this morning. I will do that… later.
Right now, i am enjoying intermittently reading, surfing the web, and blogging about my weekend. I’ll get around to the rest of it after i catch my breath… and maybe take a nap.
I have finally decided to put a price on what my free time is worth to me. I’ve hired a maid service.
I have mixed feelings about it. I’m able-bodied. I don’t have kids. I don’t work multiple jobs. I’m not an important person. I’m just a regular gal living with a regular guy. We have pretty busy lives, and between the two of us, we manage to keep the place pretty tidy. However it’s hard to keep up with 6 (soon to be 
rooms of hardwoods that have to be swept and mopped. Especially when dog hair is everywhere. Plus i haven’t been motivated to vacuum ever since it was my most-hated chore as a teenager. And you can forget dusting.
So while i could spend what little free time i have keeping up with housework, i’ve decided to outsource it. A team of 3 comes and tears the place up for 75 minutes every two weeks. I may never have to sweep or vacuum or clean the shower Ever Again. How cool is that?
