It's Now or Never...

And, I'd frankly prefer the "never" half of that phrase, but here I go.  The first pic of my kitchen as of 9:33 a.m. today, Friday 9/24/10.  I thought better of posting this after my Five Question Friday blog hop.  I'd hate for my messy kitchen to be anyone's first impression of me!  So, I'm working today but will post on Saturday or Sunday.  I am going to add a pic every couple of hours and hopefully see some improvements.  I figure I have a good stretch before the Hubs rolls in from work and it's time to pick up kids from school.  I'm going to refrain from answering phonecalls and checking to see what's going on in the blogosphere, so I can work uninterrupted.  It'll be just me and my latest Stephanie Plum adventure (Finger-licking Fifteen by Janet Evanovich) compliments of books on CD from my local library.  I may, however, need a nap after a little while.  I'm even going to forego my morning walk to get this project underway.  Here goes...photos #1 & 2

I tried to leave the mixer in both so you could see the layout

My kitchen counters are like a big horseshoe

Here's photo shoot #2 taken at 11 a.m. --not much progress to report r/t a phonecall from my sister and an unexpected visit from my mom to deliver my b-day gift!.  I'm headed back into enemy territory for now.

Okay, friends, let's fastforward to Saturday, October 2, 2010.  I did end up taking a nap.  Then, the hubs came home.  Then the kids came home. Then we went to the high school football game, etc... My kitchen still looks about the same, or dare I say it? even worse!  Gives a whole new meaning to "Hell's Kitchen" doesn't it?!  This snapping pics every couple hours is a real distraction.  Then, I have to download the pics from my camera to my computer and import them into my blog.  It is just too much!  I sent my pics to "domestic godlessness" and will let you know if they get published.  In the meantime, I just wanted to get on with my blogging and cleaning update.
On Thursday, I spoke to my friend John who has a bit of a clutter problem himself related to packrat tendencies.  (I loved Jinnia's comment about being a "recovering packrat" last week.  I look forward to the day that I, too, am a reformed/former packrat!)  We are challenging each other to conquer the clutter by November 2, 2010.  We didn't line up specific guidelines, but the gist is this: we e-mail each other photos of our respective clutter areas.  We call one another for progress reports and moral support.  Finally, we compare our accomplishments at the end of one month's time.
Switching gears...In the nursing world, one of the rules about documentation is: if you don't document it, it didn't happen.  Well, I feel almost the same way about my blog--so much happened this past week, but I can barely remember since I haven't blogged in a while.  Other than the clutter, here's what's been happening in my neck of the woods since my last post over a week ago:
Saturday, 9/25/10  I watched my nephew and two nieces while their parents all went to dinner for my SIL's birthday which was the day before mine.  I was invited to the party, too, but since it was a "couples" thing and my other half was working (as usual) I decided not to attend.  Instead I got to watch everyone else's kids.Sunday I attempted to make homemade whole-wheat rolls to go with my smothered pork chops, brown rice and salad for dinner.  The rolls didn't turn out all that great, but they were okay fresh out of the oven with a dab of butter, and the kids and I indulged ourselves a little.  Monday and Tuesday were a blur.  I just remember running lots of errands with the hubs since those are his off days and listening to him comment on how quickly his days off fly by.
Wednesday morning, I ended up watching my 2-year-old niece for a couple of hours while my mom attended a luncheon.   Later that evening the hubs and I attending a college planning workshop. It was one of those things like going to the doctor knowing he or she's going to tell you to eat right and exercise. The main idea of the workshop was that college is expensive and you have to know what you're doing in order to tap into the monies available to help you fund your child's education. Of course, the facilitator of the workshop just so happens to be in that very business! Well, will wonders never cease!

When I returned home after the workshop, I had a message from my other SIL.  I returned her call to learn that my 5-yr-old niece is recovering from pneumonia and still had a bit of fever.  Because they could not send her to school until she was fever-free for 24 hours, my brother and SIL needed somone to watch her Thursday.  I was just the woman for the job (do you see how I never get around to doing the stuff I'm supposed to be doing?  Have you all noticed a pattern of being utterly unable to say "NO"?)
Here I thought my poor little niece would be "puny" and napping most of the day.  I pulled out the hideaway bed in the living room so she could sip chicken noodle soup in bed and watch  her favorite VeggieTales (okay, so maybe they were MY favorite VeggieTales!) while I was a few steps away in the kitchen doing my thing.  But, nooooo!  She was obviously feeling much better and marched right in with her art kit in hand and a request for me to help her make some "signs" and posters for her room.  I'd try to linger in the kitchen, but she'd call me out in a minute, "E-ee! (that's the two-syllable version what she calls me) I'm rea---dy."  We ended up making and reviewing Kindergarten sight word flashcards and trying our hands at scratch art as seen on Nicki Woo's blog.  We read books and poems and finally took a quick nap before it was time to pick up my daughter from school.  Sasha's appetite was poor, but that was about all that was wrong!

Thursday evening, I went to hear my nephew sing in a choir concert at his school. My nephew had a solo part and sounded really good. I love to see his choir perform. It is so obvious that the music teacher at his school loves what she does. The kids all seem to have fun up there on stage.
For some reason I was exhausted by the time I returned home.  I went to bed "early" (as in around 11:30 p.m.) without ever even logging back onto my computer.  I even forgot about Five Question Friday, so you know I was tired.
Friday morning, I hit the ground running.  Had to get the trash out and get kids off to school in time to intercept my grandmother while my mom attended a meeting.  Then, I was up to my elbows in celery, carrots, onion and stewed chicken making chicken noodle soup to serve for lunch for the Women's Cursillo (this is like a semi-annual women's retreat in the Catholic church).  I worked the concessions stand to raise money for the band booster at my son's high school last night and got stuck on "nacho duty" once again.  Nachos aren't so bad, really--just messy and very popular!
*sigh* Ahhh, now I can feel that I did indeed do something with my entire week!
Now, it is after 3 a.m. and I'm about to fall into the warm spot my husband just vacated in my bed and catch some zzzz's  I will probably snore because I've been sneezing all evening and my nose is a little stuffy-welcome to fall allergies in Texas.  Lucky for the hubs, he'll be off to work and won't have to be bothered by it!  Good night all.  Until next time.