Goals and Deadlines

Goals are good to make, a mark to work towards and achieve. Deadlines. . . oh deadlines are probably deadly! I don't want to know, but a big one is rapidly approaching, and I've been nearly literally working my butt off to achieve the goal before the deadline! How's that for a long sentence?

How literally? Well, all this physical work has probably benefited my overall health, along with addressing the chronic health issues. This would normally be considered a good thing, but when one is on one's house roof trying to clean out gutters, well, that's just not a good time to have one's jeans fall off. . . or very nearly fall off. Had they fallen off, I probably would have fallen off the roof in an attempt to get them back on! I know, "wear a belt," but I despise belts; they don't work well with my body build. So while I'm happy it's nearly time to go find some smaller jeans, I'm frustrated in the mean while with having so much work to do that I don't get much time for laundry, and thus have to sometimes succumb to wearing my "nice" jeans (which I had to do today); my "nice" jeans fit fine (as in, they have enough "rump material"), but I really don't want to get them all nastied with the mudding and other construction-type work that I've been doing for a month! My favorite jeans, because they've been the most comfortable, are the ones that I'm having difficulty keeping pulled up to where they belong. Okay, so enough about jeans already, except this one last note: anyone whose known me longer than two years may realize that even wearing jeans is a step "up" from my normal wear.

On more exciting (for me) news. . . I finally found a dress I really like! I found a dress that looks pretty good on me! And it's a couple sizes smaller than what I wore not too long ago! AND. . . it was 1/2 off the clearance price! Does it get any better? The only 'negative' is that Hubby said I'm not allowed to wear it out of the house (cuz I looks good in it, I guess), which means I'm going to have to do my hair and make-up, put on the undergarments and pantyhose, then walk outside and put the dress on. Hehehehehe, I'll already be out of the house when I have the dress on :-) Hubby should have specified what tense he was using when he said "out." *big smile*

As far as the work on the houses is going. . . long and hard days! Tomorrow the second coat ("a light coat") of mud will be applied in The Hangout. After we get the main portion of The Hangout and its bathroom done, we'll have to move everything out of the back room so we can get it sheetrocked and taped and mudded and painted. It's looking and feeling great up there, and Hubby is extremely excited about the project (he has contributed a little bit towards the work end directly, but mostly being a big help by taking care of the homeschooling of our kids which allows me to learn and get out of the house. And learning I am.

Not that I could necessarily convey in any sense what I'm learning, but at least I'm almost keeping up with "the professional." I'm also learning that I'm going to have to find an expression to "Who is that?", which I've been getting asked a lot lately. This particular person doesn't like being called "contractor," though said yesterday it's better than "laborer." Shortly after one of our old neighbors asked, "Who's that?" I came up with the idea that I might just start using. . . "I'm going to start an escort service for military wives and I'm screening applicants." Not all military wives can do the "handyman" stuff that needs done while the hubbies are deployed, so I figure it would be a very beneficial service. Were it true, I'd have a few people who'd be ready for hiring, as there have been a variety of people who have helped the kids and I out a lot while Hubby was deployed. Much thanks, seriously, for their help.

As for our other house, I am very pleased to write "it's almost done!" The basement and bathroom have been sheetrocked and taped and mudded (today was finishing corners, which I wasn't allowed to do), I installed vinyl tiles in Girl's old closet where I had to rip out the carpet, closet doors are up, and even some minor cleaning done! I'll be "picture ready" to put the house up for rent probably by Friday, and it is our hope to have renters by May 1st. That also means Hubby has a lot more work to do, like finishing packing up the little bit that's left in the garage and a lot of yard work. It feels very satisfying to have come so far, and to have asked for and receive "help" from unexpected resources.

Life continues to be the greatest and most effective teacher. It is a flexible teacher, within the boundaries of certain restrictions. Deadlines, if you will. And what is the final lesson, but the deadline itself?

Though it's after 9pm already, though I can barely move because of how stiff and sore my overworked muscles are, it's back to getting more done. Today has been a very full day, what with the kids' homeschool group, Hubby hauling "stuff" from the old house to the storage unit;  me having to get more supplies and coffee beans (the only good coffee beans, in my opinion, is up at the grocery store where we used to live) I got us lunches and coffee beans, and the item needed for finishing taping, and picked up the kids to deliver to Hubby who... complicated. Then with cleaning and getting rid of more stuff from the old house while M___ finished doing the corner work on the sheetrock, then M___ and I heading back to The Hangout to do more sanding (uggg, thus the pain I'm in), I've managed to do some laundry here at home! What a paragraph to write! Perhaps it would have been simpler to say, "today I successfully multi-tasked in a variety of locations." Yeah, that's way easier, but definitely doesn't convey the day. Oh yes, and I made more yummy green salsa. Perhaps one day I'll get that recipe posted. One day... but don't hold your breath, because I'm not setting a deadline for that entry. :-)

I hope this entry wasn't as confusing to read as it has been in trying to summarize what our family has been up to lately. If it was confusing, well, "that's life," and welcome to it!

~Cedeham~