No, I didn't get tagged...I snagged. It's been a hell of a week with the 2 kids down with strep and the little one with a double ear infection and then pneumonia and then an allergic reaction to the antibiotic which we hope to remedy today. So yeah, a meme is just the thing.
The living room, which is currently torn apart while we guerrilla paint the walls.
Do you have a dishwasher?
Yes. Thank goodness. The teenager uses 23 glasses a day. It's his job to empty it.
Is your living room carpeted or does it have hardwood floors?
I'm told there's decent hardwood underneath the brown almost-shag. I hate the brown, but kids and cats. It hides the dirt well.
Do you keep your kitchen knives on the counter or in a drawer?
In a knife block on the counter. I want to get one of those magnetic strips to hang them from one of these days. They go dull so quickly.
House, apartment, duplex or trailer?
House. I love this house!
How many bedrooms is it?
Three. Two upstairs (us and Lila) and one downstairs (Tyler). His is off the dining room and emits odors and spills garbage daily. Someday that will be the office. Not that I'm wishing for him to grow up fast or anything.
Gas stove or electric?
Gas.
Do you have a yard?
Yes! We are so fortunate to have 4 city lots in one!
What size TV is in the living room?
I think it's a 36". About four years old and going strong.
Are your plates in the same cupboard as your cups?
No.
Is there a coffee maker sitting on your kitchen counter?
Yes.
What room is your computer in?
The living room. Someday that office, though...
Are there pictures hanging in your living room?
There were, but everything's down while we paint and I'll probably print and frame some new stuff to change it up a bit.
Are there any themes found in your home?
Not yet, but we're working on it. First step: gorgeous red wall.
What kind of laundry detergent do you use?
Arm and Hammer Free. I need to start buying something biodegradable.
Do you use dryer sheets?
Sometimes. Especially if I'm drying fleece (which we have a LOT of in this house).
Curtains in your home?
Dining room and bathrooms. I'd like to do roman shades once these walls are all painted.
What color is your fridge?
It's stainless with an ice blue finish! We bought a floor model for 60% off at Sears, a model they had only (nationwide) sold maybe a dozen units of... hello, blue! But we love the blue. We don't care if our other appliances don't match--they're black and that's good enough.
Is your house clean?
Never as clean as I wish it was, but I'm not very good about regular maintenance. We'll call it good enough, okay?
What room is the most neglected?
Tossup between Tyler's room and the basement. They're equally disastrous, it's just the basement is 6x bigger ... but his room rivals it in many ways.
Are the dishes in your sink/dishwasher clean or dirty?
Dirty, waiting to finish loading the dishwasher.
How long have you lived in your home?
2 years in June.
Where did you live before?
About 45 minutes east of here in a much bigger house on 4 acres with crazy neighbors. I miss the peepers in spring, the night sky and the daily geese, but otherwise not a bit.
Do you have one of those fluffy toilet lid covers on your toilet?
Ew, gross.
Do you have a scale anywhere in your house?
A really ancient kitchen scale that's probably not very accurate. I've never owned a bathroom scale.
How many mirrors are in your house?
Two in the bathrooms, a crazy collage of odd mirrors in the dining room (4), one in the living room and one in each upstairs bedroom. So 9 total. The dining room ones are coming down, it's too much energy in there.
Look up. What do you see?
Sand painted white ceiling. Why do people do sand painting? Textured ceilings are ugly.
Do you have a garage?
Yes, but according to Chris there's no such thing as enough garage space.
Aarrgh. Bad blogger.
Coming off of the holidays I've been in slow, thick liquid mode. Molasses. But I'm finally on the road to good health due to some big dietary changes and stretching/yoga. This weekend I think I have enough stamina to add in some real exercise. I have to say, it feels so excellent to be detoxing. The early part of the week was rough from wanting to stuff my face with a big plate of pasta or slabs of toast with butter, and it's taking a while for the stomach to shrink down enough from my single portion meals (no seconds except for salad). I was feeling constantly hungry. But that shifted midday yesterday.
I've also put the nightly cocktail or glass of wine in the back seat for a bit. As soon as I walk in the door in the evening I make a cup of hot herbal tea (a digestive aid blend of mint and fennel) and set about making dinner. I haven't missed it and I've slept so much more deeply, ending the evening with a short session of deep stretching and a few key yoga poses for relaxation and balance. For the first time in over a year I felt good in my pants yesterday. Comfortable. I had a date with my friend Cheril to do our annual Xmas stocking exchange dinner and didn't even feel the need to change into something else after I got home.
I did have some bread and wine at dinner last night and while it was scrumptious (the bread was grilled with pesto and served with this pot of hunks of chévre sitting in a pool of pommadoro sauce that had been put under the broiler for a few minutes and topped with slivers of basil. Oh, yum. But I did feel kind of poisoned by the time I got home. Two glasses of red wine and the bread, well, woulda-coulda-shoulda, right? Had a big cobb salad with tons of goodies--roasted chicken, house smoked salmon, half an avacado...
So getting healthy is a lot of stopping throughout the day and asking myself, "how's that going to feel afterwards?" and it no longer feels like a punishment or a denial. It just feels like awareness and self-care.
The winds of change are swirling all around me.
Health
Fitness
Work
Home
It truly is a new year for once. Usually it just feels like January is more of the same old shit. But I'm changing inside instead of just looking outward hoping to see something different. And I'm not going to beat myself up by saying "took me long enough." I am where I am.
The Cowboy Junkies are going to (or have, I'm too lazy to look up the details of what I heard on World Café yesterday) go back into the church to revisit The Trinity Sessions.
Here's the original Sweet Jane. Martha has the sexiest voice.
