How is it possible that I have borne a child who is a total slob?  Who doesn’t mind hiding dirty dishes in her drawers, hiding TRASH beneath a blanket in her big cushy chair?  Who doesn’t want to make her bed and organize her hair things and put the shoes in her closet?  Who doesn’t want to clean her rabbit’s cage until the stench literally makes her eyes water. 

How did this happen?  Really?  It’s no secret that I like things tidy.  Dirty dishes in the sink drive me nuts and clutter makes me twitch.  I clean the lint filter between every load of clothes.  I take my dishwasher apart and wash it, so that it can properly get my dishes clean.  Beds are made, laundry started, dishes are put away before we ever leave for school in the mornings so that I can come home and go straight to work.

And yet, I have a daughter who appears to have absolutely no interest in all things domestic.

She has begged for a trashcan for in her room so that she can put her garbage away.  I have resisted this for a long time because I would like her to put her trash in the big can in the utility room where it belongs.  Today, after hauling an entire tall kitchen garbage bag full of trash from her room–things that had been piled on her dresser, chest of drawers, under her bed, in her closet and just generally on the floor, I have finally admitted defeat.  I am tired of

Clearly she is not going to make the trek to the utility room.  I give up.  Maybe, just maybe, if I put an actual can for the garbage in her room, the trash will actually go in it. 

I am hopeful blogfriends, but I’m not holding my breath.

UPDATE:  Got a lot done today!  Woot! 

 I always make grandiose plans after finishing a book about all the things that I am going to accomplish when I am finished.  I thought I would share this with you, and then let you know what I *actually* get done. 

1.) Clean house

2.) Take down all light fixture globes and wash them.

3.) Move fridge and stove and clean behind them.

4.) Remove clothes from the kids’ closets that no longer fit. (Acutally did that last night–have oodles and free hangers and three hefty bags for goodwill, eBay and my neice.)

5.) Organize all my pictures, which are currently stuffed into drawers in the china cabinet. (Which doesn’t hold china, btw)

6.) Paint my front door a different color.

7.) Buy mums and pansies and redo all of my flower pots outside in the anticipation of a real fall (91 here yesterday, but… )

8.) Clean out my fridge.

9.) Clean baseboards.

10.) Read Susan Carroll’s THE HUNTRESS (Am almost halfway through this and it’s so lush and fabulous.  Beautifully written!)

So what about you?  Are you a list-maker? 

I took my whine to the Soapbox Queens Today!  Click on over and see why I’ve compared myself to Angelina Jolie.

Done!

The book is finished.  (Until revisions, but…

If I weren’t so tired I would do this. 

I have decided that, in the interest of preserving my sanity, I need a bigger office.

Increasing the square footage at Casa de Rhonda is not a viable option at the moment.  In addition to the Lack O Funds in order to finance such an endeavor, there’s the whole issue of a seven-lane highway which will be making its way EXTREMELY close to our house in a few years and adding on, when we’re not sure what our plans are at the moment, wouldn’t be a good idea.

I’ve mentioned in the past that we have a nice outbuilding out in the back–brick like our house and already wired–which we’re planning on making into a gameroom for our kids.  I can’t in good conscience take their game room.  We already have two smaller vinyl buildings that my husband has stored all of his stuff–riding lawn mower, chair saw, pressure washer, nail guns and various other things which need a dry home.  I’m considering buying another building–a nice one with a porch and a loft and windows, and having my brother wire and finish it out.  This would be my space.  My office.  I could have more than one small bookshelf and all the boxes that are stored under my desk in the current closet, er office, could be properly put away.  I’d buy hanging baskets and a rocking chair and call it “The Wordwam.”  (Kids didn’t get it because, through some gaping hole in their education, they’ve never heard of a wigwam.)  Anyway, that’s another post.

So.  I’m explaining all of this to my daughter and she’s appalled.

“Momma, if you put another little building back here, we’re gonna have a whole other neighborhood goin’ on!”

It’s true.  Even I realize that four outbuildings is too many.  (DH’s will have to go.)

My son, on the other hand, quickly jumps on board.  “Hey, I want my own outbuilding, too!  We can make little paths to each other’s houses.”  He smiled wickedly, imagining.  “Wouldn’t that be cool?”

Interestingly, I agree with both of them.

So what do you think?  Help me decide.  To outbuilding or not to outbuilding?  That is the question….  

Last night I’d gone to bed early, but hadn’t quite fallen asleep when I heard my youngest asking her father if she could come sleep with me.  I couldn’t make out what he’d said, but a few seconds later I heard her feet padding down the hall, then click of the doorknob turning.  I laid perfectly still, could tell that she was waiting to see if I was asleep or not, before trying to sneak into bed with me.  I waited until she’d just lifted the covers and then–

“Boo!”

She screamed bloody murder and because I am, as I point out in the subject of this post, EVIL, I laughed until I cried.

“Mommy!  How could you do that to me?”

“It was easy.  I said, ‘Boo!!!!!!’” and would you believe the kid screamed again?

What can I say?  A Mom’s got to get her entertainment in anywhere she can.

Jewelry!  (Or joo-ry, if you would have asked my daughter a few years ago) at the Soapbox Queens today!   Come on over and let’s  about it…

I have officially waited too long to have my hair done.

It has reached what I like to call The Triangle Stage, meaning that the ends that are still color- treated hold curl and the roots, which have grown out to a horrible length, don’t.  So the hairs closest to my head cling to my scalp and the ends stand out, creating the illusion of…a big frizzy triangle.

It’s another week before my hair appointment, so no doubt the clip will continue to be my friend. :::sigh:::

***Hair Update!  I *just* received the coolest hair doodad in the mail from Kimberly at The Writing Playground and am forever in their debt!  This EZBun thing is WONDERFUL!  Very comfortable, and in purple, which is my favorite color.   ***

Last week I bought myself an “I Love Me” present.  I don’t do this very often, just when Vera Bradley debuts new styles in the spring and fall.  I really wanted the Bucket Tote in Mod Pink, but since the store didn’t have it, I settled for the Bucket Tote in Mod Blue.  (Instant gratification, ya’ll.  I couldn’t help myself.)  Anyway, here it is…

It even matches my site.  How perfect is that? 

So, what was your latest “I Love Me” purchase?  (And if you haven’t made one, then tell us about it

here and I’ll be happy to corrupt you.  )

…Mangled Lyrics at the Soapbox Queens today.  Come on over and share the songs you’ve mutilated.  

I’m sharing a few.