Whoops, There Went February

Oh, hi.

When did it suddenly become March?

What have I been doing the past month?  Well, I'll tell you.  In list format.

- I bought a new car.  We needed something bigger than the Sentra (remember we got in a car accident back in December?), but I still wanted a Nissan.  Enter the Rogue.  I really like it.  A lot.

- We babysat Michael while Amy was in the hospital for an emergency appendectomy.  Ouch.

- We flew to Atlanta and saw my family.  Nana and Pop loved getting to hang out with her again!

- Pop pushed Sophie in the stroller through the airport!

- She played piano with Pop.

- She met Uncle Jon and Aunt Mandy!

- She met her cousins, Riley and Jeremiah!

- Sophie was dedicated at my parents' church.  She wore a very cute dress and didn't even have a blowout in it.  I was so grateful.

- We brought her a backup dress in case there was a blowout -- it was a smocked dress that I wore as a baby back in the 80s.  I think she looks sort of like a historical photo from the Pioneer Days in this picture.


And then, suddenly it was March.  Aunt Kristen and Uncle Matt came to visit us also, but somehow I didn't get a single picture of them!  We had granite countertops installed the same weekend, so it was a bit of upheaval in the house in general.  That's my excuse for my sorry lack of photos.  Here is a before and after of the counters:

Before -- green laminate countertops, circa 1992.

They sort of made the whole kitchen look dark.


After -- granite countertops in "Giallo Fioritto."

Huge improvement.

My kitchen almost feels too nice to use now. :)

So, what besides the above has kept me from the almighty internets lo these many days?  Well, I started working on some new routines for our household, based on the system from FlyLady.  Yes, the website is a bit hokey, but the idea behind it makes perfect sense to me.  Chart out your life into a series of routines -- morning, after work, and bedtime routines.  Fit tiny chores into each routine so that your tasks don't become unsurmountable on the weekends.  Always dress yourself all the way to shoes every morning, even if its a Saturday and you are just going to be bumming around your house, because you'll get more done with shoes on.  (Crazy, but true.  I have my shoes off right now, and look at me, I'm doodling around on the internet again...)  I'm still trying to get the hang of all the cleaning and decluttering tasks, but bit-by-bit we are starting to get a handle on it all.  The downside?  All that productivity has kept me from getting online at all during the week -- I get home and do all the routine stuff, and my house is clean and then suddenly its time for bed.  Its probably for the best, but I miss those long pointless hours of trolling around Facebook. :)