In theory, being snowed in with zero responsibilities and zero places to be for three whole days is awesome. In reality, being snowed in with zero responsibilities and zero places to be for three whole days gets old. FAST.
I mean, I hate to break it to you but there's only so much Bravo TV and How I Met Your Mother reruns a person can watch. And I've reached that limit.
In between the power flickering on and off throughout the day I have also: Cleaned out two closets. Finished the laundry. Ironed. Done the dishes. Played 3 games of Words With Friends. Made a pile of books I want to get rid of. Washed the sheets. Made lesson plans for next week. Taken pictures of two purses I want to sell on eBay.
About 3:00 today I actually started changing out the pictures in our picture frames. And that was when I knew I'd hit an all time low.
In case you didn't pick up on it, I'm not very good at sitting around doing nothing.
Nick went into the office for a little while today. What I wanted him to say when he came bounding through the door at 4:00 was, "The clean dishes/laundry/ ironing is remarkable! I've never seen such multi tasking or time management skills. And on a snow day at that! While the rest of the world is sipping hot cocoa by a warm fire, you've been hard at work. Kudos, babe. And my gosh! These closets are immaculate as well!"
But when he assessed the situation what he actually had to say was, "I really can't tell a difference in the closet. Did you even get rid of anything? And you didn't touch my stuff did you?"
That is really the wrong thing to say to someone who has just loaded SIX trash bags full of clothes and shoes in the back of their car in blizzard temperatures and is still in wearing their pajamas to show for it at 4 PM.
Before:
After:
Okay so it doesn't look THAT different, but trust me- it is. There is a lot more space in between my hangers and things are a lot more organized. And besides, I parted with some really sentimental stuff that was cluttering up my closet. There was the "I'm Not With Stupid Anymore" t-shirt Erin bought me back in 2005 and the tank top we all wore in New Orleans at Natalie's Bachelorette Party back in 2007- "She's tying the knot so buy her a shot." There was my Kappa Kappa Gamma pledge jersey and the brown belt that I swear I bought at Express my junior year of high school that might fit around my right thigh now-a-days. I let go of some good stuff today; that alone deserves merit.
Cleaning, organizing and home improvement projects are like crack to me. I do one and suddenly I start wanting more. This happens a lot in the summer, and it never ends well. Or cheap. Or without holes I didn't mean to put in the wall. When I have nothing to do but sit around the house I start to notice things that I didn't before. Like how badly we need new curtains. And new door knobs. And a different paint color in the dining room. And Nick's shelves in our closet. OMG Nick's shelves in our closet.
I actually develop a slight tick when I look at them. But I was given implicit instructions not to touch or throw away ANY of his stuff in my cleaning frenzy. So I get a little trash happy when I clean. What of it? What I'm envisioning here is brown wicker baskets. Or silver mesh wire baskets. And labels. Lots and lots of labels.
School is cancelled tomorrow too. And seriously people, I don't know what I'm going to do with myself! I asked/begged/pleaded with Nick to take me into the office with him tomorrow. He said a couple of people brought their kids today, so I don't see what the big deal would be. A little jaunt around Downtown, some small talk at the water cooler and a few secretarial assignments just might do me good. Nick said no. Absolutely no.
I can't imagine why.
But I do have to brag on Nick. He is going to Scotsdale in a few weeks for a nationwide conference of people who do whatever it is he does. He has been doing whatever it is he does for less than a year, and he got asked to lead one of the sessions at the conference!! GO NICK!
We did actually get out for a little while tonight and last night. Last night we went up to the gym and then stopped at the grocery store so Nick could make his delicious chilli for us for dinner. Tonight we went to BJ's and had dinner so I could bask in the joy of being around other life forms. It was glorious.
I'm really hoping to think up a new project to keep me busy tomorrow. Or a book to read. Or find new episodes of Teen Mom 2. SOMETHING. ANYTHING. I'M DESPERATE HERE!
Texas Blizzard 2K11- I'm over you.
9 comments:
i wanted marc to take us to dinner last night just so we could get out of the house. i didn't care if it was chick-fil-a, i just really wanted to get out. but at 6:00 pm he and the kids were still in their jammies. so, i made do with just going outside to get the mail. way exciting i tell you, but at least it was (freezing cold) fresh air!
I don't know if you are planning on staying home when you have kids, but you just described my life everyday. You do one thing, like laundry, but you have to sacrifice EVERYTHING else. So your kids run a muck while you are trying to take care of one unnoticeable thing (dinner, laundry, dusting, dinner, blogging...haha)but all that is noticeable is that the house is a mess with toys, unwashed bottles, etc. It really is a vicious cycle. It is rare that all rooms in my house are clean at the same time.
Fortunately for me, I am pretty good at sitting around and doing nothing. I like it. But you may need some more practice because when kids are napping, you can't leave and have to be somewhat quiet. So ya, I'm used to it.
Sorry this is a novel, but I totally related to this post. This is my life in a nutshell!!
You are certainly welcome to drive the 2.5 hours it takes to get to my closets. They need cleaning.
These 3 days off are really going to hurt in the spring when we have to make them up! It's not really fair that we have a day off but can't really get out and do anything fun. Hopefully we can go back tomorrow but doesn't look promising with snow in the forecast.
Love your blog! Julie
You crack me up on a daily basis, thanks! Genuinely, thank you!
Wow! Being snowed in sounds soooooo fun! The grass is ALWAYS greener on the other side isn't it? I have never in my life been snowed in. I guess it is one of the many things I have to look forward to when we move to Texas in 16 months!
Loved catching up with your blog and your life! What fun you have been having - and you are now so tidy and organized! I love that! I am jealous! :)
Love,
Kari
I was seriously laughing out loud while I read this! Todd kept asking, "What are you doing over there?" :) You should write a novel one day, Chelsea. This year in my classroom, I talked about blogging as an example of using voice in writing, and totally thought of you!! Thanks for the entertainment on my insanely boring snow week!!
I agree with Kristi...you should really write a novel one day! Your posts are always entertaining and extremely well written! :)
Kudos Chelsea...that closet is immaculate! ha!
Oh and I think we should declare tomorrow "take your wife to work day"! Tell Nick that all the cool kids are doing it, so he should too!
Chelsea, this post cracked me up! BTW, that closet looked great :) Also, I keep wanting to ask you where you get the Alphabet Steve(?) videos??? I want those for my class! They do look kinda creepy, but it looks like the kiddos like them!
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