All The Crazy Things

I've had so much going on lately, but at the same time, not much really. I've had the last two weeks off. There have been a few days here and there where I had things to do (mostly involving that stupid fireworks stand...baaahhhh!), but mostly it's been up to me to decide what I want to do, how much I want to do...that sort of thing.

I've done a lot of reading. I love to read and I don't take much time during the school year to do so. I read every day, but usually just about 10 minutes before I go to bed; nothing substantial. I've stayed up late twice this last week reading into the wee hours of the morning. It's nice to be able to do that once in awhile. Hmmm...that reminds me, I've really got to update my list of books read on my blog...

I've had the whole cat-sickness-thing going. For over a week now my cats have had this terrible cold. They have sneezing fits that are sometimes scary. Then there is Noel who came back home after being lost for over a week. I am so happy she's home, but she has obviously been in a fight and her eye looks terrible. I started them all on antibiotics today and have been putting medicine in her eye. The swelling has gone down, but now it's all full of puss...yuck. I'm just praying she doesn't lose her eye. At this point, I don't think that's going to happen, but...

Noel the day she came home.

Then there has been the convergence of the commune down the road. They keep buzzing by my house at 60 miles an hour...as if it's not a gravel road and people don't live on there! I swung by on Thursday to see how many people were there; it wasn't as crowded as I've seen it in the past. I've seen it so crowded that the entire field is full of tents and RVs.


I've spent two separate days bleaching the floors and surfaces. One day I worked on the kitchen and just yesterday I worked on the bathroom. I can't do too much at once because the bleach smell is overwhelming and probably toxic at some point. I did get a lot done and feel so much better about the house. I'm not a cleaner by nature, but I grew up in my Mom's sterile house, so I sort of crave cleanliness...I just don't produce it on my own. While I was cleaning the bathroom, I decided to get the hard water build up off my shower head. It's really easy...all you have to do is tie a baggy full of vinegar over the shower head. The vinegar removes the hard water build up...no scrubbing!

Before/During

After

Next week will be my last chock-full week of the summer because it is Junior High camp. Although I don't have to be out at camp all day, I like to be out there as much as possible during high school and junior high weeks, so I probably won't be home much next week. After next week, I'll be out at camp a few days a week, but probably not all day long. I'm hoping to get more books read! And...more house cleaning done. Plus there is still the big project of the summer...Painting! I really need to get my bedroom and living room painted this summer.

Well, I guess that's it for now. We'll see how much trouble I get into this coming week...

So Far This Summer

The summer is finally here for me and I find myself staying away from the computer more and more...hence the long absence. I thought I would give a glimpse into what I've been doing the last few weeks.

• I finally finished summer school! I am so glad about that. It's good money, but it's a long 12 days.
• So far I've been out at high school camp and Intermediate camp (5th and 6th grade). I was out at hs camp every day after school, but didn't go out to intermediate camp but a few days.
• It rained and rained and rained until everyone was sick of it, now it is unnaturally hot with no real rain in sight. I warned people they would be begging for rain, but that's how it always is in the Ozarks! Now it has been in the 90s all week with heat indexes of well over a 100 degrees!
• I spent two days this week getting together the fireworks stand for our church youth group. It's a fundraiser they are trying for the first time. It was hot and miserable. There was too much work for the few people we had there, as well as being a disorganized mess. Needless to say, I will not be having anything to do with one next year (if they decide to do it again).
• Last week I took my (almost 5-year-old) niece out on a "date", just the two of us. We had fun going out to eat and shop. Today I took my 3-year-old nephew out on a "date". We went to McDonalds, the farm store, the western store and most importantly, John Deere. He got to pick out a toy tractor. He had a blast, and so did I.
• This was my first real week off, even though I did have stuff I was committed to doing (fireworks mostly) a few days. I managed to get a bunch of stuff done around the house, but at a leisurely pace that allowed me to read and watch movies as well.
• I haven't had internet access for the last few days because I exceeded my allowable bandwidth. I hate that I have to pay twice what the average person pays for internet access and then I am limited to how much I can use. It's ridiculous. My access was only supposed to slow down because of my overage, but I lost all signal. I called a little over an hour ago and upgraded my service package so I could have more bandwidth and higher speeds as well. Hopefully, that will help. I really only need the extra bandwidth during the summer and winter breaks when I am home more and thus on the computer more, but...

Anyway, that's about all I can think of right now. Nothing too exciting happening here. I will try to be a little bit more on top of things, but it is the summer and I promise nothing!