September 2008

I’ve got a problem, friends.  My whole house, shattered sliding glass doors aside, is a hot mess.  The living room looks like hell.  The kitchen looks like hell.  The half bath is starting to look ragged around the edges.  Harry’s bathroom became a biohazzard in record time, let’s not even TALK about my bathroom, or our bedroom, the loft is cluttered as usual and the boys’ room is a disaster area.  About the only room that is halfway decent is Evie’s room AND THAT’S BECAUSE SHE DOESN’T EVEN SLEEP IN THERE.  Still, there are a bunch of old gift bags piled up in the corner that I need to do something with.  Oh, and a bunch of clothes that either need to be put away or stored or given away or sold or whatever.

And Kile’s parents are coming on Thursday.

And Evie has her controversial doctor’s appointment on Wednesday (still not sure if I’m going or not).

We also need to get some window guys in here sometime this week to deal with the sliding glass door of death, not to mention the windows in the boys’ room and the loft as those are BOTH fuxed up and have been for an embarassingly long time (the sliding glass door just gives us a good reason to go ahead and file the claim on the insurance policy).  I haven’t checked the living room window but I wouldn’t be surprised to see a crack in it as well.  The windows in this house SUCK.

The dishes are piled up as ALWAYS.  I’m not sure how good an idea having Kile in charge of dishes was.  He never seems to have time (or when has time, never seems interested) to do them.   Of course, the garbage desperately needs to be taken out but the glass incident has made me less than willing to venture too close to the can.  That’s my bad and I’ll be taking the garbage out at lunchtime before I can think of any other excuse not to do it.

BUT DANG.  My house is a wreck. I’ve got family visiting.  I’ve got potential strangers that will need access to some of the messiest parts of the house.  I’ve got little time.  WHAT DO I DO?  Do I just get garbage bags, throw everything away and start over again?  HALP!  (In case I haven’t made it obvious, this is a call for quick, effective house cleaning tips.  Spam me, people!)

Better a day late than a dollar short, right? (Though, come to think of it, I’m a dollar short too.  Damnit.)  I had to post this week’s list because there really were some good posts on it and I felt guilty for not giving them their due.  And I know I shouldn’t feel guilty anyhow and that’s what I was trying to avoid by taking the break and all, but… what can ya do?  I’m going to try to tackle this list a little differently than I normally would too.  So bear with me.  And thanks for your patience too.  You guys are faboo.

First off, I have Let Flickr Take You On A Picnik! from Blissfully Domestic by Kayla Meow.  Have you heard about Picnik yet?  I played with it a little this weekend and I think it’s love.  Best of all?  Most of it’s features are FREE, you just need to sign up.  This picture below is a good testament of what can be done with Picnik:

BEFORE and AFTER

Convinced yet?  Go read that post if you aren’t and you will be!

Also on this week’s list is Trauma from loraleeslooneytunes.com by Loralee.  This isn’t an easy post to read.  Chances are, you’re going to need a box of tissues to get through it.  I know I did.  Her pain is so palpable in this post that you want desperately to be able to reach through the computer screen and hug her, bake her a lasagna, SOMETHING.  I know enough of her pain to know how soul-shattering it is, but in the end, I have no idea the trauma she has experienced.  She’s in my heart.

Next is an issue that is near and dear to my heart. Boys Will Be Boys? from Dutch Blitz by Angella.  I take (and always have taken) large exception to the notion that all boys are rough, wild and obnoxious.  If anything, I think what makes boys that way is their parents expecting that’s how they’ll be.  And I hate it when people excuse rude/poor behavior by saying “boys will be boys”.  That’s no reason not to have manners.  Whether you’re a boy or a girl, you should be able to say you’re sorry.

This next post is just as awesome and is about a very important issue. Guest Poster: Bugfrog from Greeblemonkey by Aimee’s husband Bryan.  He talks about how and why some people say they don’t or won’t vote and how exactly that line of thinking is flawed.  We should ALL vote if we even remotely care about this country.  Republican or Democrat.  We need to make our voices heard.

I always love to see a new post from Y up.  File this one under “afraid to hit publish.” from Joy Unexpected by Yvonne was yet another post from here where she lays it on the line.  And this time, she lays it on the line about her thyroid, her weight and how it’s affecting her.  And she basically says she refuses to let it affect her any longer.  She wants to get healthy, darnit, and I want to get healthy right along with her.  I just love her honesty.  I wish we could all be as honest in our writing.

This next post is actually something I’m worried about.  In the Voting Booth, No One Knows You’re a Dog from MOMocrats by Cynematic discusses the possibility of people getting to the voting booth and, though intending to vote for Obama, will not be able to for one reason or another.  Mostly?   Because he’s black.  I am scared to death of this happening, people.  That we would turn away from the best hope our country has right now simply because of the color of his skin.  Prove me wrong, people!

And while I’m feeling all aggravated, here’s something that’s been making my brain bleed: High Fructose Corn Syrup Is Your Friend! from MamaPop. Have you seen these ads?  They drive me CRAZY.  I’m sorry, Corn Refiners of America (or whoever you are), but your campaign is stupid, insulting and DANGEROUS.  I guess that’s my way of saying that I’m not convinced and I will still be looking for ways to cut HFCS from our diet.  Because, seriously, I don’t need this stuff in EVERYTHING I eat.  Do you?

And that, my friends, is the list.  If you’ve seen my previous post today, we’ve had some strange happenings here at Casa de Porter.  This morning, we heard a loud BANG followed by the sound of ice crackling in a glass of water.  And lo and behold, our sliding glass door in the kitchen SHATTERED.  Just like that.  Why?  Your guess is as good as mine.  Some of the glass has already started falling out of it and I’m at a loss as to what to do.  FIGURES.  Sometimes, I really, really  hate this house.

You might be expecting to see my weekly “You Need to Read” feature here.  I hate to say, however, that if you’re looking for it that you’re about to be disappointed.  However, I’m reassured by the belief that not that many of you will be looking for it anyhow.  Could be that the only person who will really notice it’s absense is me.

I’m taking a little break from YNTR.  I may even take a little break from the blog altogether.  I haven’t entirely decided yet.  I just know that I woke up this morning and the last thing I felt like doing was putting up that list.  And once I got over feeling guilty about it (okay, that’s a lie, I still feel guilty), I decided I should post something.

Something.

Heh.

It’s probably just your average blog-funk.  Everyone gets them.  First, I didn’t feel like doing the WordPress Bootcamp, now the YNTR list and maybe next week it’ll be blogging altogether.  I don’t want it to really come to THAT, so I’m trying to cut this funk off at the pass.  Stop it in it’s tracks, if you will.

For now, let’s just call it a break.  Not just a break from YNTR, but a break from the blog.  Chances are, it’ll only be for the weekend.  Shoot, it might only be for a couple of hours.  I may be back here tonight with some frittering nonsense to bore you to tears with.  In the meantime, I’ll leave you with this precious moment…