It's the Final Countdown!!

I am trying everything in my power not to get super over-the-top excited before it's time but Dan should be home soon. Dan should be home soon. Holy Cow, Dan is coming home! See how good I am doing holding down the excitement? I am torn between restraining myself and acting out in frenetic energy cleaning and organizing. What else would I do but organize something, right?

First victim was my pantry. Every closet in the house is painted with flat paint and the shelves are a not pretty plywood. So, over the Christmas break I emptied it out and organized. And primed and painted the beast.

Some befores:







The Afters:





The feature I like the most is the sound system that I installed so that every time you open the door an ethereal choir sings out heavenly soft ahhhs to serenade me to my pretty pantry.

I've already started on the bathroom. I got some matching organizer things for the cabinets and went through the thousands of items under the sink. I had no idea that we had that much medication, that much lotion, or that much junk. This coming from a person who doesn't wear product in her hair and hardly ever ears make-up. Where is all this stuff coming from? I got rid of a lot of stuff but I think I need to be more cut-throat. So much stuff that we hold on to because I might probably use it one day, possibly.

Last week was a great week for productivity. There is nothing like feeling like your husband is never coming home to depress me into action. On the flip-side, I also feel like there is not enough time to get it all done. This dichotomy was one of the shocking realizations this last week. But I think the most astonishing thing was finding out that it is no longer possible for me to be a depressed lump.

On Thursday last, I realized that morning that it had been over 36 hours since I had heard from Dan. That is very rare. We have been so fortunate that I normally hear from him twice a day. I didn't hear from him all Wednesday and his normal time to call in the morning on Thursday had come and gone. So I figured this was the perfect day to lay around and watch bad TV. I laid down for about twenty minutes and then got up and cleaned the kitchen. Went back to be pathetic and lasted only ten minutes before I was up and doing laundry. What?! I can't lay around and eat ice cream? What has this deployment done to me? It's so shocking. He called while I was folding the laundry.

Well, anyway, I am not wasting this energy. This house is getting clean and organized. The cars are getting oil changes, fluids checked and filled, cleaned and ready. One car down, truck next. All sorts of errands are getting accomplished. The list I got down last week makes me feel all gooey inside.

This week I look forward to more stuff getting done and one more week closer to the end. Also this week my new semester starts. Two classes, I switched to both online classes so I am home-schooled this semester. The kids were so jealous. The switch comes from me changing my major and deciding on a different path on what I want to be when I grow up. But that is for another post. Kind of burying a lead there, huh? Onto the mighty list!