Loving the Laundry Room!

To borrow (and manipulate) a favorite movie line of mine:

"Wherever we go, whatever we do... I'm taking this laundry room with me." :-)

I LOVE IT.

I'm getting to use it tonight (for it's intended use, for a change) and it's just soooooo nice. I LOVE having a separate room to do laundry in instead of just a hallway. I love it that it has a door and you can close off the noise. I love it that I have cute red cabinets in which to store all manner of things. I love that I can pull the detergent out a titch and push the button and ~shlurp~ it drops right into the washer with no mess and no fuss. I love it that I have a utility sink (!!!) and it's all nice and clean with fresh shelf paper in the cabinet below. I love it that I have a little bar to hang clothes on and a great big shelf around the corner to use for a folding table. I love it that I have carpet in there instead of a hard floor of some kind--carpet always feels so much cleaner to me. I love it that the carpet is just in squares so if we ever have a leak and have to replace some of it, we can just pull up a square or two and use some of the extras we bought. I love it that I HAVE carpet squares, but I can't SEE the squares--it just looks like regular carpet. Shall I go on???

I washed dishes in my utility sink tonight. :-)

I ran three loads of laundry tonight. :-)

And it didn't flood my kitchen or anything!!! :-)

Yes, life is grand and I am LOVING my new utility room. One more thing that I love...

I LOVE IT than I can have clean clothes whenever I need them!!! For the past two or three months we've been hauling suitcases of clean clothes and bags or baskets of dirty clothes back and forth from one house to the other, sometimes two or three times a week. I did laundry when I was at the house with a washer, and I waited when I was at the other house. But now! Oh, now I can do laundry any ole' day I please!!! I can't remember ever really looking forward to doing laundry but this is just oh-so-exciting!!! And it's sooooo nice because the room is so bright and happy and cute and FRESH and CLEAN! What a happy place to be. :-) I am soooooo thankful--and have been sure to thank God a dozen times today (is that all?) for the best laundry room in the whole wide world. And it's FINISHED. That's a rare jewel of a phrase around here and it is ever so sweet to be able to say it.

That's the big news around here. You might have guessed.

Yesterday didn't go according to schedule (do we EVER have days that go according to schedule?) but it turned out to be a nice day anyway. I helped the kids with school for a while, then we had some errands to run with James. Got home just in time for the plumbers to show up and surmise our problem (though they didn't have time to fix it), then worked on school stuff with the kids for a while longer before heading out on more errands. First stop: the Foundry. I don't know how he managed it, but Sam has strategically outgrown all of his clothes immediately after I got them sorted out and knew what (used to) fit him. I had those boys try on every stitch of clothing they own just a few weeks ago when we were packing up from the Powells' house and I got rid of everything that was too small. But suddenly all of his pant legs and sleeves are too short! Crazy. We did find several pairs of pants for Joe and Sam, so that's good.

The trip to the Foundry also had a very negative affect on me. I tried on several super cute, super nice, super cheap shirts and jackets... only the grimace and quickly re-hang them. They should have fit. A year ago they would have fit. I noticed a week or two ago that my favorite skirt is no longer loose and in need of adjusting all the time. That's the good news. The bad news... is obvious. Something has got to be done. I don't typically worry too much about weight, but this is getting gross. Ha! Actually, I'm not the least bit worried about weight. I have no idea what I weigh and I couldn't care less. I just want to feel good, have energy... and not look totally gross in my clothes. I determined years ago that I would not be one of those old ladies whose clothes showcases her rolls of flab. Hahahahaha! Is this getting too graphic? I'm sorry. Let's just say it's time to get things under control before they are completely out of control. ;-)

Don't know where all of that came from. Again, my apologies!

After we left the Foundry we stopped next door at the giant building that says AUCTION across the front. The parking lot has always been vacant when we've been there, so we didn't think it was actually in use. We have now discovered that they have an auction there every Tuesday night. You can go in on Mondays and see what's there to be bid on, place a silent bid if you want to, or come back for the actual auction the next night. James thinks he has died and gone to heaven. Did I mention this place is less than 3 miles from our house? I will never see my husband again on a Tuesday night for as long as we live here. ;-) I'm happy for him. He LOVES stuff like that. He and his dad love to go to auctions together and Sam already has the bug, too. The two of them will have a blast. Even though it's a bad, bad thing. Can you imagine how much junk he's going to start hauling home now?! And the worst part of all... I can't even say "We don't have ROOM for that!!!" anymore! This house is just way, way too big. Ha!

We washed the car yesterday, too, then vacuumed it out--something that has needed done for a couple of months now. Gross. It feels sooooo much better. Then we went to Wal-Mart to get supplies for school projects for the kids, then to the church for dinner. Joe had been jealous when Michael told him at church on Sunday that they were going home for lunch because his Gran had made a pot roast. Joe is DYING for home cooked food (or even "home slapped food" here lately--meaning you slap together a PB&J or something) and is soooooo tired of eating out. Aren't we all! Anyway, Michael felt bad for him and brought a big plate full of roast and potatoes and carrots and peas and mac-n-cheese and I don't know what all and gave it to Joe at church that night. Since we don't have a fridge yet we just kept it in the fridge at the church, then last night James and I took sandwiches to the church for dinner and let the boys polish off the "home cooked" meal. They happily scarfed down every bite, then we washed the plate up and delivered it back to the Ridlespurges. It was nice to stop by and see them for a little while--seems like it's been ages since we've done that!

Today the plumbers showed up and replaced the wicked pipe whose fault it was that my washer flooded my kitchen (let's pretend that sentence makes sense), so THAT was exciting--though pricey. Plumbers are always pricey. You can feel the OUCH just picking up the phone to call and talk to 'em, you know? But in the end we are now up and running and able to do laundry. And have I mentioned that I'm a little excited about that?! ;-)

The accomplishments of the day around here were that I got the dining room and the foyer all primed. I don't know how, but it already looks so much better! I'm feeling really encouraged about the possibility of getting some big things done around here in the next two weeks and perhaps (dare I say it aloud?) getting some flooring put in! ~gasp!~ Wouldn't that be grand??? The term "two weeks" seems so attainable and makes me feel encouraged. Although I just realized that I've been saying "two weeks" for several days now... Do I mean two weeks from today or two weeks from when I first started using the term? Ha! Either way, if it serves to motivate me and make me feel encouraged and primed to keep working with drive I'm going to keep saying it--and trying to believe it. :-) Two weeks... :-)

In other news, the boys miss Katie but they won't admit it for at least another day or two. At least that's my opinion. :-) It sure is a lot quieter around here without her! HA! There is a marked difference when she's not here and I'll be glad to have her home, but I'm so glad she's getting to spend time with my folks. And James is so glad that my Mom is sewing lots of new skirts and dresses for her! That girl really needed some and you just can't find them anywhere. What a blessing to have a Mom so talented and willing to help out! I'm anxious to see all of the new stuff.

That's about it. I'm going to try to get to bed at a decent hour tonight so I can get a fresh start in the morning. Lots to get done this week--Mom's coming next week! :-)