A Once-lazy housewife turned Neatfreak...for all the wrong reasons :(

Okay this post was written a few days ago...I will update again tonight if it kills me!  Well, if it maims me?

Since last I wrote life has been full of...well, life.  I shall expound.  First, we moved into our house.  We like it very much.  The one thing I have found that is difficult to deal with (besides the other terrible thing, which will be addressed later) is that we live right off a major road and the noise is unbelievably loud at all times, but especially at night.  Part of that is due to the slat-style windows which make these houses more like huts in my opinion but are great for allowing the trade winds to breeze through your entire domain.  I have been assured that we will get used to the traffic and eventually be able to sleep.  This is encouraging, as I have been contemplating boarding up all my windows. :) Beware, all you who are thinking of coming to visit.  Bring earplugs.

But there are good things also.  My favorite is having a washer and dryer in my house again.  They have been missed terribly.  More than an entire kitchen, or yard, or anything else I can think of that I missed.  I like having a second bathroom.  I like having a yard- even if it is the size of a closet.  I like my neighbors, and that my kids can run around on the huge expanse of grass in front of the house.  I like the friends they are making here.  And I absolutely love living directly across from the church (also the stake center).  My ward is great, and I adore the stake choir I am in.  (There’s an orchestra yo )

Other events have included buying hundreds and hundreds of dollars of food and supplies to stock fridge, pantry, laundry room, etc; surviving our first tsunami warning (complete with the entire stake center full of people from evacuation areas) and learning about the dynamics of the homeless here (whole nother world); and encountering cockroaches for the first time in Hawaii.  In my HOUSE.  The new cockroach alarm is my blood curdling scream, shriek, or whooping and hollering “Kill it! ”  So far I have seen seven. Four of them were alive (someone must have sprayed before we were here).  I am now armed and getting ready for battle.  I am reading everything I can get my hands on about roach eradication, and I have Raid, traps, cleaners, and I’m learning tons more.  This event has marked a serious change in the way life goes around here.  All food is put in the fridge, down to the crackers and cornmeal, unless it is in a sealed, hard container.  No dishes are left in the sink overnight.  The floors are swept and mopped twice a day, after breakfast and dinner.  There is nothing on my counters, and they are sanitized with bleach water morning and night.  All pots, pans, silverware, cooking utensils, plates, etc. are in sealed containers.  Yes, I hate cockroaches that much.  Plus one of the sighted creatures was in my silverware drawer, and I just about gagged.  Then I washed everything, and made a note to buy waayyyy more of those new tupperware sets at Costco.  It’s been keeping me rather busy.

In other news, the baby has picked climbing the stairs as his entertainment of choice, Demetri started cub scouts again, and we have tried four different times to buy a car.  You know, sometimes craigslist can be creepy instead of helpful.  And it’s annoying to have long conversations with someone who never intended to actually meet with you and show you their car.  We have internet :), and decent reception at our house, unlike in California.

The very short version of the past week.

I'm getting in the habit of going to bed earlier, but my house is getting messier and messier all the time. I think I'm going to have to revert back to my old habit of cleaning the house after the kids are in bed but before homework. Life is just easier when I start the day with a manageable house.
Goal for the weekend: tame whatever living things have taken up residence in the refrigerator.

"We" started violin lessons today. I'm learning along with my son so I can help him practice at home. I'm dubious about how much help I'll be, and crossing my fingers that we can keep the violin away from little fingers.

The Raingutter Regata (comparable to the pinewood derby, but not as big, and with boats) took place yesterday. It was a success, as far as those types of activities go, but I'm rethinking my position on competition. Other than that, yesterday was a pretty difficult day...but today was much better. In the end it probably all balances out.

My research paper is on music and art in public schools. I'll feel better about it when I can see the progress.

If you can't tell from my short disjointed paragraphs, I don't really have a lot to say...but I felt I've been neglecting this blog, and I just didn't have the energy to write about some big political, moral, or other reflection-worthy issue.

Home, not unpacked yet, but home.

I'm home. I was not sick for about 2 days in the last two weeks. Thankfully long enough to drive home. Now I'm getting sick again. I'm drinking tea, searching for my vitamins, making a point of not eating sugar, and going to bed before 11:00. And just hoping it all works out.

I have so much on my brain that it feels like it's spinning, much like a carnival ride. I guess traveling really throws off a schedule too, so I'm working on taking one day at a time and engrossing myself (well, attempting) in the domestic life for a few days.

At the moment I'm having shipping problems with this not-even-fledgling-yet business of mine. I'm working out some related financial woes, and trying to keep the whole deal from stalling for another several months. Optimism is key. I'll just smile and tell the shipping clerk it's all okay, rub my magic ring, and he'll stamp everything "okay" and send it on over. Okay, okay, I'll do the research on the shipping companies like I'm supposed to.

The semester is pretty much over, at least for me. No finals and all of my homework (except a couple of little quizzes) is done. A needed respite at the moment so I can concentrate on the work at hand.

I'm cleaning my house up, mad at the guestroom bed- I know, it does tons of good to be mad at an inanimate object- and now looking for a futon, attempting to get back into menu planning, and wondering how to get a very nasty smell out of a rug. Trying baking soda next. Also slightly more than irritated at some cute little Army regulations designed to drive people nuts. Ah, well, I'll just keep watching my good old movies and pretending that the Army is like it is in the movies. Some days reality just isn't my thing.

The kids had a great time at Grandma's. And they have absolutely no concept of time. Olie wanted to come back home to see Dad. We're back, saw Dad. Now he wants to go show Grandma a new toy, so he wants to go back to Idaho. I don't even think they remember the drive! Oh, but I do. And it'll be a little while before I voluntarily take it on again. Yeah, like, a month.

Demetri is super excited about getting baptized sometime in the next couple of months. The date keeps changing but I think we're pretty set now with May 21st. The other family whose child is being baptized as well asked if it could be changed to then because they have family flying in from Hungary. Sounds great to me; I like being flexible.

Uh oh. Make that getting to bed by 11:05. I'm going, I'm going...

The mind-numbing powers of television, and other thoughts

If I had a television right now, I think I’d be utilizing its powers of distraction and entertainment. It’s not that I’m bored, just tired of what I’m doing, and the routine I’ve been in for the last several weeks. My leisure time has included stolen moments, invaded by the knowledge that I should be doing something else. Underneath it all, the problem is that productivity breeds satisfaction, and I haven’t been feeling very productive lately. Of course, my school work is getting done, thanks to deadlines, and marks one of the only areas where I can see progress- on paper even. I think that’s the reason I liked working so much (um, depending on the job!); I could see my contribution to society, or what I had done over the course of the day that moved me closer to a goal. This idea does not apply to my short stint at a fast food establishment many years ago, where I felt that I was contributing to the decline of society J. I’m sure even fast-food places have their role, and I must confess I love Subway and frequent Wendy’s, I just didn’t enjoy working in one of them. And when a person does not enjoy his or her job, neither the person nor his employer is happy.

Yes, back to the subject at hand. I’m going to reestablish my menu, so that I’m less stressed at the grocery store and when it comes time to make dinner. Crockpots tend to make my whole day better because it’s one less thing I have to worry about in the evening. That knowledge spurs soothing thoughts during the day (such as, “Well, at least we’ll have a decent meal when my husband gets home, even if I don’t accomplish anything else”), provides an early check-mark for my to-do list, and the yummy smells emanating from them throughout the day make me a nicer person. I guess I just like food. Particularly dessert.

Keeping my house clean and orderly is an accomplishment, just…one…that….is…never…quite…finished. I have a new goal to make housecleaning less a part of my life without seriously diminishing the state of the house. That is to say, I want to establish a schedule and routine which require minimum investments of time for the largest returns. I know, big dreams, but I’m working on a plan. (Which will be implemented AFTER the huge unpacking project next week when all of my “worldly goods” arrive from Indiana.)

I am also going to rethink my business plan. That will help. And if I do things just right (do some of the things on my husband’s to-do list to free up his time), I may even get my husband to help me- on Monday, which he has off of work.

As is usually the case, writing has boosted my spirits. I love words, especially on paper.