Gutter's log: Day One

Operation Gut the House is well underway.

Kitchen- DONE!!

Remember this?




Well, I finally found my counter!!

In fact, I discovered a whole new kitchen underneath all the clutter!

Even my pantry helps me breath a sigh of contentment.

(I had to take the picture quick, because there's no telling what all of these areas will look like tomorrow!)

I was so proud that I made my poor 8 year old open every cupboard to show her how organized everything is.  (after about the 4th one, her 'oohs and ahhs were a bit forced, but she patiently indulged me the whole tour :)  ).

Wahoo!
Now to go find out if my kids have starved to death yet...

The Party's over...

my personal pity party, that is.
Enough.
I'm done.
It takes too much effort to be depressed, and I'm just too lazy to go on any longer.

So today starts operation:  GUT THE HOUSE!!
(It always sounds better with a fun title)

Projects:
-- Clear out Pantry
-- Weed out office
-- Transform basement library/storage/'just put the box here until we find something to do with it' room that now houses all of our 'junk' that we haven't found use for yet (seriously, if we haven't used it in almost a year... I think the next stop for it is Goodwill!), and turn it into the craft/sewing nook (maybe I will actually unpack my sewing machine that I got brand new last January... that has yet to see the light of day!)
-- Organize Storage room and make it into a real live food storage room (so my 36 boxes of brownies are not scattered hap-hazardly around the room.  and yes, there are 36 boxes of brownies.  We will not be wanting for chocolate in the famine, that's for sure!)
-- Find a home for everything, complete with labels and everything
-- Clear out a 'prepare for Education Week' nook to prepare my nine presentations for BYU-I education week.

Wish me luck.
If you don't hear back from me, you will find me buried somewhere in the catacombs of clutter.

Just another *gray* day in paradise...

please, someone, remind me why we live here??

I have been feeling very 'melan cally' (to quote my latest favorite cartoon, Mastermind) lately.

As in, pretty unmotivated to do much of anything.
Okay, REALLY unmotivated to do much of anything.

... except each chocolate.
Lots and lots of chocolate.

And then write in my book about how not to eat lots and lots of chocolate...

And drive through the sandy/muddy-colored-snow filled streets
and try to envision that there really is some semblance of green buried somewhere underneath the 3 feet of snow on our lawn.

And walk outside only to have my lungs burn and nostrils freeze together and feel my baby's whole body go rigid and her tears freeze.

And try to get creative with the kids and do a Valentines Day craft...
... which bombed...
Really.
They looked NOTHING like the magazine picture!
... including the happy smiling child - I guess that's why they only had one child working in the picture... trying to do it with 5 became a battle of "she took my spot!"  "He just shoved me!"  "Hey, I wanted that piece of yarn!" "eewww, this is too goopy! mom, you do it!"
(at least I tried??!)

And having the spewing forth of germs make their rounds again and again through the family.
(I don't think I can change one more 'spewy' diaper (and clothes, and blankets) without losing it, folks!)

I am really, really, REALLY, missing my family right now.
I miss fun weekend trips
And late night talks
And laughing so hard our cheeks hurt
And introducing new 'legendary' stories that make me laugh just by thinking about them
   (thop waffing at me, I'm sthill weely mad at woo!... Honk, bonk, and toot... oh the list goes on!)
And just plain being surrounded by people that know me in and out
And still love me anyway.
... even when they send us off with the ROOSTER!!
    (we really did almost turn around when we found it!!)

Is it bad that I am just plain sick of trying to make new friends in this revolving door city,
especially when I know so many will be leaving so quickly

And we'll still be here, chipping away at the snow and ice
And spending every cent of extra money on trips back home to see family...
and actually making that happen usually takes planning of epic proportions (and months of advanced vacation day-counting-and-submitting-for-approval groveling)

Nope, I'm not bitter.
not bitter at all.
Just a wee bit chilly
And a wee bit melan cally

but other than that..

It's just another gray day in paradise :)

Juggling...

... has never been something that I have been good at.
I have been amazed when I can see people juggling all sorts of crazy objects, all with a huge smile, and all without breaking a sweat.
Amazing.

Lately, however, I have been feeling like everywhere I turn, I have been picking up more things than I can hold, and have therefore resorted to juggling to try to keep them all afloat.

Like my house:
I would post pictures... but it's just plain embarrassing.
I don't think there's a single area that is actually clean and organized.
I keep thinking that deep down inside me there is a meticulously organized, minimalist person...
but right now she's buried underneath loads of clutter.

And not very good and juggling.

And then the kids
I know in some circles 5 kiddos is just getting started.
But in my circle, it's all I can do to keep up with them...
Keeping then fed and clothed is an added bonus.
When I actually get them to different destinations on time, it's a hallelujah moment.

Juggling gets a bit more comical when all 5 personalities come shining through...

like when we sign up 3 kids for ski lessons,
and my 5 year old (who really is amazonian-like in largeness) decides to turn into a spaghetti noodle, slipping through my arms multiple times as he whines 'I don't wanna go, I don't wanna go...' about 5 minutes after I had explained to the instructor that he was the best one out of the 3...

Or when I'm dragging all 5 kiddos out of bed to make it across town to 7 AM violin lessons.
Really?!  Where was my brain when that scheduling idea came through my juggling arms.
(Is it bad that I almost started crying with joy when the teacher cancelled all lessons this week??)


Then there's my book...
I know I know, I've talked about it so much, you're sick of hearing about it.
Each day as the sands of time slip through my fingers, I vow to plow through the last bits of it when the kids go down.
and then something happens when the kids go down...
My brain suddenly melts into mush,
My Body suddenly reminds me how much I have tormented it at the gym,
And I generally turn into a zombie, not really able to juggle anything else besides the TV remote.

Or the invention...
Yea, that's still in the juggling mix right now also.
Although I'm barely hanging on to that one by my fingernails...
Plugging away... at about a snails pace on that one.

Just enough to keep it in the juggling arena... and on my guilty conscience.

Not to even mention the additives, like friendships and relationships, calling stewardships... and all other types of -ships.

Those, well, have pretty much been getting all mangled in the juggle.

Sorry if you are one of those and have been feeling a bit - neglected- lately.  It's not that I don't think about you and want to revive the -ships...
Right now I just plain don't have enough arms to keep everything afloat.

And I think we have established the fact that I don't really know how to juggle.

So, please forgive me as I set down the juggling pins and just hibernate for a while and dig out of the avalanche of 'stuff' that has suddenly collapsed all around me.

... and maybe sign up for some juggling lessons

My kitchen counter...

pretty much describes my life right now...
everything kind of crazy
mixed up
disorderly
and all meshed together
a bunch of things, all having relevance and a place to be,
but nothing actually in it's place, and creating general
havoc in life.

And so goes my life lately...
everything kind of crazy
mixed up
disorderly
and all meshed together
I have a bunch of things on my plate, and everything that I have chosen to include in my life right now has direct relevance,
but I can't seem to find a specific place in time to accomplish everything I would like in an orderly manner,
and it's creating general havoc in my world.
Crazy.
... and I only seem to be moving at half speed to get it all in order.


It could be that I am still trying to re-enter real life after living in our car throughout the whole holiday season

and criss crossing the country to surprise various relatives

and having not one,

but two Christmases :)

 (at least a few of us got in some naps along the way...)

 and teaching not 2,

but four kiddos how to ski

(... which could not have been even half accomplished without the HUGE help of the Fisher Clan...  Again, THANK YOU so much for giving up your ski days to help our kiddos
climb out of tree banks,
stop tormenting each other on the lift,
re-snapping their ski boots after each fall
picking up the face-planted bodies
and generally taking on the monumental task of introducing a bunch of newbies to the ski hill!)



Having a ton of fun on the sledding hill

 
(and bribing Joshy into leaving early with me, even after his much protesting "I JUST WANT TO GO SLEDDING!")

 and then spending way...

way...

 WAY too many hours in the car on the way home...

Don't get me wrong, the trip was amazing - and SO worth it!!

I'm just having a few re-entry issues...

 at least that's what I'm blaming it on this week.

or maybe I can eek that excuse out for the rest of the month...