Alternachick Chat, Week of July 14th
 

Hey, you wouldn't believe what I did on the weekend. Something I haven't done in ummmm, three years.
I washed my dust ruffle. It's a Martha Stewart red plaid that I got at Big Bud's for 5 bucks. I don't think Martha would be impressed with my housekeeping habits.

My DH informed me that there were dust bunnies under the bed the size of his head, and sure enough there was quite a bit of crap under there. I had to practically take the whole damned bed apart. It's one of those old-timers with wooden slats to support the box spring and mattress. I found a Smartie under the mattress. And half a chocolate bar under the bed. You'll be pleased to hear that I refrained from eating either of those delectables. (although it was touch and go with the Smartie for a few minutes)

It's really important that you label the slats if you don't care to spend 45 minutes trying to get them back in the right spot afterwards.

Also under the bed were a couple of sticky puddles. You should never let the children drink Coke in your bed. They spill it, clean up what they can see, and the rest runs under the bed.

Good for you for showing restraint with the smartie and chocolate bar Ellis! :cp:

I ain't no Martha either! :lol: and I don't feel the least bit of guilt about it :devil: My place is tidy but I'm afraid it would never pass the "white glove" inspection ;)

My place isn't even tidy!!!!! :D

I am not sure mine passes for clean right now! I do say my dust ruffle is clean but that is cause I just put it on to cover up the black magic marker that Grif used all over it!

:)

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!! There's a big moth in my bedroom. I was trying to read and it attacked me! curses. Don't tell me I have to sleep in the TV room. curses.

Have you all seen the web site FlyLady.net? A friend told me about it just this morning... It is apparently happy, humorous suggestions on how to get clutter/housekeeping/ etc. UNDER CONTROL. (I'm not going there..... but that's because I can only concentrate on one thing at a time... and right now it is getting strong.

Yup! :) It is a great site....I've been taking baby steps to get my home and life under control...I have found this to be a great help!
:df:

Painterwoman, yes! It's helped me a LOT!!

Heard of it, started it, failed miserably!!! Actually, some of the suggestions stuck, and I should start up again. Just had too much going on lately.

Oh oh...
 

I hate those wooden slats Ellis. We have this futon on a regular bed (IKEA) with this special wooden platform that you set into the bed frame. The wooden slats are connected with this tape but they still slide around and sometimes fall off the track. Inevitably when DH and I are having (great) sex, one of the slats slides off the track and the futon starts to cave in. :lol: But we can proudly say that we "break the bed" when we have sex. :s:

What the :?: I was eating a fortune cookie at lunch today and my fortune said "What' vice today today may be virtue tomorrow."

What the heck kind of fortune is that? I am supposed to embrace all my vices and feel virtuous about it ???? :devil:

:lol: Sojo!! :lol:

Mauvais, that is TOO funny! :lol: Wouldn't it be a riot to write those things!? Imagine the stuff you could print!

NOW I'm taking apart a sofa that's in our rental apartment. My sister left it behind when she bought a house. I don't know how the heck she got it in the house (yes I do. Three big men lifted it up over the balcony!), but I can't get it down the stairs to our TV room. So it's coming apart. At least I'll be able to wash it in the back yard... it's been sitting in the apartment while we renovate, and it's COVERED in dirt, insulation, etc. blah.
It's too cool to throw out. It's something from the sixties, I think. Green velvety fabric, very comfortable, and it folds into a bed. For a midget. Any of you short girls coming for a visit will have somewhere to kip down. :D

My favorite fortune so far is the one DH got that said "**** is paved with good intentions".

Apparently the fabled road to **** has not been properly constructed yet but **** itself is paved over - that's progress for you :devil:

Ellis-That's fine for ME, but where will DH sleep?!?

Mauvais-Too funny!! I got one once that said I could do no wrong!!!!!

We've got a coffin in the backyard for your DH.

He's scared of bugs......:eek: :fr: :stress:ESPECIALLY bees and wasps.....

Oh darling... I'm sure you'll both fit just perfectly in our bed. (I don't mean that QUITE the way it sounds. :D )

HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!! I thought you said you WEREN'T swingers!!!!!!!!

Shine your sink, flyladies!!! :rolleyes: Like it's EVER empty enough to worry about seeing the shine through the dishes. Sorry, but with a teenager in the house any attempt at cleanliness is immediately countered with additional mess.

I clean on Saturday. If you want to come see my clean apartment, come then. Otherwise make an appointment. The rest of the week, if something is in your way and it won't move for you, walk around it, 'cause Saturday is coming! I get up before 5am, work until 6pm, have to cook dinner and sometimes do dishes, so it's 8pm before I have any time....and I'm sure as heck not spending it cleaning!

And I thought dust ruffles were to hide/contain the dust under the bed, not to mention give our little dust bunnies or larger dust elephants some privacy? :mag:

:bubbles: just 'cause I really like that one!

We're NOT!!! :lol:

Yeah, Wildfire... my sink is never empty, either. :no:

Grrrr....
 

I hate that the flylady starts with shining the sink. See, I just could never do that first step so the whole system failed for me. Really, it has nothing to do with the fact that I hate cleaning... :nose:

DH and I went to the Lebanese funfest last night! It was great fun! They had live music, folkloric dancers, some stalls to buy stuff from, games and rides and lots of yummy food :T

We had Shish Taouk ( chicken kebabs with rice and garlic sauce), hommus, tabouli, falafel patties, Kibbe( ground beef with bulgar pine nuts and seasonings), stuffed grape leaves and for dessert a huge piece of baklava and Lebanese coffee-delicious!

I also bought a cd of arabic music for my collection of Bellydance music :D ( I need a Bellydancing emoticon for me and Aphil :lol: )

Ellis- if you get a chance to go it is on until Sunday :D

What a hoot, Mauvais. We went a few years ago... I loved it.
We may go... thanks for the reminder. It's amazing how "out of tune" you can be when you live right in Centretown. :lol:

I LOVE Lebanese music. It's very sexy.

Me too, Mauv!
<------------- Belly dancin' fool.

I love festivals like that. Makes ya wanna be lebanese or greek or whatever festival happens to be going on. :)

Yeah. I'm just plain old British white. BORING!!!

Hi girls! :wave:

I'm home, but very tired. I had an awesome time.

Trying to catch up on everything. Post more later/tomorrow.
:bubbles: <-- my fav new icon.

:mouse:

HI SQUEAK!!! Did you have a good time?

Mauvais-Sounds like a fun time!!! (Also sounds like a 10 pound weight gain if I went!!!)

Ellis-NONSENSE!!!! We have MARMITE!!!!!!!

Hi you-all! Back from England at last...it was good in a lot of ways and also had plenty of tiresome moments which I was much too gracious to mention (I really was very polite for 2 weeks and it nearly killed me! the 2 times I was alone with DH walking into town from in laws' house I nearly bit his head off I was so cranky!) It was very hot indeed and there is no A/C and no ceiling fans and we were in a house/hotel in the ATTIC. Trying to all sleep at 11 pm, girls twisting around in hot sheets or else giggling and getting on everyone's nerves...

Put them in their own room last night to sleep & closed door. Ah, paradise!

Ellis, a propos of your first entry on thread (bed with hidden old chocolate) on the plane yesterday when I took the girls on a field trip to the washroom (imagine us all 3 in one! like the staterrom scene in Night at the Opera! never again! what was I thinking!!) I noticed one DD had been sitting on 2 Smarties from the tubes we got to sustain them en route. And I ate them! Without hesitiation.
Ugh!!

More later - youngest is awake and wants to chat.

Ellis my dear, I sent you a PM!

I love you all and will be back as soon as I chat to DD and have coffee and throw the first of 10 loads of laundry into the wash...

Lidian

Well I'm Scottish so I get to go to the Highland games and kick up my heels doing the highland fling :dance:

And we have haggis! :T

Actually I'm Scottish too!! Love those Highland games! Can do without the haggis though!!! :P

Ellis-Please note the time......Didn't think I cold do it, did ya? DS13 has an appointment or else I'd still be sleeping.

Lidian-WELCOME HOME!!!!

Quick good morning as Lucy and I are off to Advanced Obedience. I'm not sure if it's for me or for her. I suggested Harry attend but he just ignored me and told me he is going to bottle wine!

I love the Highland Games! Is it still the August long weekend? I also read about the curent season at Stratford and want to go! Then there is the Oompah Stomp and Wayne Rostad and Jimmy Flynn at Delta Fair. Be still my heart!

Have a good TGIF!

I love the huge log throwing thing, I forgot what it is actually called...

Lidian - I am glad you had a good time. :)

Well, it was a good week, though a little annoying at times. A little too much togetherness even if we did have 2 cars and 2 hotel rooms.

We went on a bus tour on Monday that stopped at Central Park, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Ellis Island & the Statue of Liberty, Rockefellar Center, & Grand Central Station.

Spent the other 2 days exploring Times Square, Broadway, 5th Avenue, Central Park, FAO Scwartz - Toys R Us in Times Square is much cooler, the Empire State building, Southside Seaport, the UN, and a whole lot of other stuff.

I missed Chinatown, Little Italy, Soho and the Financial District. Next time. :)

Now just trying to unpack and relax.

Have a wonderful day chickies!!!

Kaber toss!! (Don't know if I spelled that correctly!!)
Sounds like you had a good time! Glad to hear it. I agree with you though, a little togetherness goes a LONG way!! That old saying about fish and houseguests applies to traveling too!!!

Thats it! I couldn't for the life of me remeber what it is called.

It was great fun Den. Your DS and I will have to trade stories sometime. While I got to go into the UN building, we couldn't go on the tour since we had the baby with us.

Squeaker, I'm glad you had a good trip - and I know EXACTLY what you mean about a little togetherness! The only time I had a moment to myself was if I didn't have to go the the washroom at the same time as one or other of the DDs. And the only time DH and I had together alone was going to run boring errands two times (in 2 weeks) and we hardly spoke to each other - too hot for one thing - except stuff like "mind the nettles" and "it certainly is HOT" :D

Welcome home!

Lidian

Welcome home Squeak and Lidian! We missed you!! :grouphug:
What wonderful trips you had you lucky girls!!

Squeak, you did all the stuff that I did ummmm, 19 years ago. :D
What a hoot NYC is, isn't it. Yeah, get to Chinatown next time. It's amazing. Was that your sister and her baby that you were with?

Lidian, I hope you're enjoying some "alone time" now that you're back. Trips like that are wonderful, but they certainly make you appreciate your own home and life-style, don't they.

Den, are you suggesting that we smear Marmite on our skin to darken it? Because it's actually not a bad idea...

The Highland Games!! Maxville? We keep meaning to go and never get around to it...

Going to work on the upstairs apartment. :(
Later darlings...

:grouphug:

Ellis - I went with both of my sisters (16 & 23), nephew (11 months) and mom. My mom had been there before, and sis#1 had been there for a day before. The other thing I must do next time is the museums and library. I am a geek. My big thing was Strawberry Fields in Central Park, and the UN even if we didn't get to go on the tour. I really wanted to see the NY Stock Exchange, but it hasn't reopened to tourists yet.
Good luck with getting that apartment ready. :)

Lidian - I loved my 2 hours of alone time I took. The rest of the fam went to Yankee Stadium, I went to Central Park. It was wonderful :D I hope you get some much needed time, now you are home.

Glad you both had great trips Lidian and Squeak!

Speaking of travelling....

I am going to Indiannapolis next week so I will be AWOL from the boards for a while.

Can't wait for the break from work :stress:

WOW!! Lots of traveling goimg om here.....NEAT!!!

Mauvais-Why are you going to Indianapolis? Convention or something else?

Squeak-WOW!! DS didn't get to see Strawberry Fields. He is going to be Jealous!! He won't admit it though. He is being an adolescent stinker right now!!! We are all Beatle fanatics here, AND Lennon fans. It is great that you got to see that.

Lidian-Sounds like you are GLAD to be back!! I can relate. Love travelling/visiting; love coming HOME!!!!

Ellis-YUP!! It stops the burns, and also gives you a take along convenient snack!!!

I was NOT leaving NY without seeing Strawberry Fields. I went twice. Once on the tour, once by myself. I bought purple roses from a store on my way and left them on the Imagine mosaic. It really was an incredible experience.

Have fun Mauvais! We promise to behave while you are gone. :D