Tales of a Shoebox Princess

Back in Feb when I had just sent EJ off to get some Spanish learnin' for to prepare him to live in Tijuana for 2 years, we were also dealing with Paul's last few months in high school and in the Scouting program. We wanted Paul to get his Eagle rank, but after two years of lackluster nagging on our part, and a few project ideas on Paul's part, nothing had happened yet. I decided that I would leave off the nagging (because it is quite tiring and it makes me angry) about the Eagle project until Paul graduated. And then we got the letter of acceptance from BYU Provo, which said he was to report to school June 15, a week after he graduated. I gave up. I said, "Fine. I'm ok with him not achieving Eagle rank. He's done well in sports, he's been a leader, he's a good kid, blahblahblahblah... rationalize... make excuses..." and let it go. His Scout leader did not let him off so easily. Br G pestered and reminded and met with Paul... And last n...

1. If ever I enjoyed cleaning, it was today. I cleaned the living room. I removed the trombone and the music pertaining unto it. I washed a plastic cabinet thing on wheels and moved it to another room. I removed backpacks. I went through all the clutter on the half walls. I put away the Valentine's day and Easter decorations. I dusted the piano. I put up a few of Paul's senior picture boards. I arranged the missionary shrine and hung a signature tie that EJ sent home (it's a white tie with the names of all the elders in his MTC district). I vacuumed (including baseboards). There is now NOTHING in the living room that doesn't belong there. 2. I am tempted to not let people in the living room for at least a week, just so I can keep it looking nice. 3. Adding unto the cleanliness of the upstairs, I also decluttered the kitchen counter yesterday. 4. Although, looking at the counter now, someone has put a pizza box (with pizza in it) on the counter. And a couple of plates...

Before I get into what my new office/sewing room/pantry looks like now, I have one more picture of the before end of things to share. Cluttered, innit? And if you can't remember what this room used to look like from another angle (assuming you want to remember or care what is happening in this room), just find the post from July 13. After some cleaning and reorganization and installation of three new bookcases and the slight shift in placement of an already-owned bookshelf, this is what the room looks like: And this is what it looks like if you paste words in it: (click on pic to make it bigger) Here is that corner: That black thing doesn't go there, though. It will eventually go under my desk. It's a troll-food fermenter (aka paper shredder). Here is where the black thing goes. Right over it will eventually be my desk. And speaking of trolls, here is one I found in an empty dresser drawer: But you have not seen my desk yet. Jim has taken the legs off and sanded the top. It...

(subtitle: I'm cleaning my room) Did you know keys can multiply? If left alone to their own devices in containers on your dresser, two keys can turn into several dozen. I know this because I recently cleaned off my dresser, and in the process of going through two containers that held odds and ends, I came up with enough keys to outfit several janitors. I have no idea what the keys unlocked, so I threw them out based on the popular theory that if you haven't used something in the last year, you should get rid of it (this theory does apply to children, which is why I try to use mine as often as possible). I had no idea these keys even existed. You know what else multiplies if left alone, untouched for many years, on a dresser top? Old cell phones. I had no idea we have gone through so many. I don't think you are allowed to throw them in the garbage, so I did the only thing I could think of to get rid of them--I complained to Jim that we have way too many old cell phones on th...

I'm just popping in to say: I AM SO DANG BUSY TODAY. So you will have to wait until tomorrow to read about Paul's upcoming prom date with accompanying picture (or two). I went grocery shopping this morning, but I still haven't brought in the grocery bags. I hate bringing groceries into the house. It's anti-climactic. I already BOUGHT them, now I gotta drag them around? Sigh..... Now I have to prepare for an activity at work tomorrow. It involves chopping up red cabbage and boiling it. See you tomorrow!

No, it's not a half-sized ten things list; it's a piece of advice I gave out recently. A certain person confided to me that he/she had a messy car. In fact, the trunk, she/he said, contained a relic from 4 years ago, namely a hot chocolate covered mug that probably still had remnants of the hot chocolate in it. And it was buried under years of detritus. I told this person that every time he/she got out of the car, no matter where she/he was, he/she should grab five things from the car (not including things she/he was transporting from place to another such as DVDs to return and groceries). This way, the giant task of cleaning a messy car was turned into a little thing like finding five things to either throw away or bring up to the apartment. And it gave the person permission not to worry about the trunk until the inside of the car was cleaned out. I also advised this person that when the layer pertaining to the hot chocolate cup was unearthed, that the cup should be taken imm...

It really is a GOOD Friday! I don't have to work! It's a very rare day when school is closed AND my work is closed too. Usually I have to work a full day on no-school days. Even more GOOD, Jim is off work! His department relies on the stock market, which is CLOSED! So we have Jim home, the kids home, and me home! Commence...CHORES! In sporting news, Paul had a track meet yesterday, which I was unable to go to (because it was in Stillwater and I was in Prior Lake working). He ran both the 1600 and the 3200 (first time this season). He did ok in the 1600, but got a personal best in the 3200: 10:37! He says the coach is now going to put him in the 3200 more often. He's still the top guy in the 1600 too. Yay for Paul! I have no pictures of the race (having not attended) and usually I would just "borrow" some from the woman who goes to all the meets and takes many metric tonnes of pictures, but she hasn't put them out yet. While I wait, I might as well make out ...

This post is in no way a cry for help. I am not at the end of my rope. I do not complain of serious issues that threaten my well-being on this blog. This the place where I whine superficially about superficial things or I post stuff that if my children had said it, I would tell them 1) chill, 2) wah (in my most sarcastic voice), or 3) if you would like to complain, please complain to the cats because I don't have time to hear it. Or I post about the kids. I've been working outside the home since September and I still can't seem to get a schedule down. I've had a tough time adapting to being gone part of the day. It's taken me 7 months to finally realize that I can do only three things per day. 1) Seminary and all that pertains unto it, 2) work, and 3) make dinner. And sometimes, only two of those things. Today, because I did not fall into a sleep-deprived coma as I did yesterday and the day before, I was able to make dinner. Hooray for me! Not only that.... get th...

The summer job chart has been a mainstay here in the shoebox castle for probably ten years. It started out as a way to help a certain child retain some of the schooling from the previous school year. The job chart included school subjects like math, writing, and geography but it also included chores . I included the chores so that I could teach the kids how to clean (in reality, I included them so that I could be driven crazy by kids who are reluctant to do chores, do them badly, or complain about chores, evil mothers, and homework during the summer. And yet, I'm still implementing the system. You would have thought I'd have learned my lesson by now). This summer, so far only Matt and Hayley have participated in the job system, only because Other Jim and Paul have been gone for nearly a week and half to EFY (last week) and the church history trek (they'll be back tomorrow). I eagerly await their return so that I can get a full rotation of jobs done around the house! I re...

I'm in project mode. It started with my newest class. I have an assignment to reflect in writing on my letter-writing experiences. I'm supposed to quote from some of my letters. In order to avoid doing what I'm supposed to but still make myself think that I'm doing it, I chose to get out old letters that people have sent to me and organize them into piles. Pile #1 is in a dark blue binder. These are letters from my sister Jenni. They are in order, but will be added to once I get through all the letters. But for now, they comprise letters from 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, and 1997. And even one or two from 1989. Pile #2 is made up from letters from my mother. #3 is a grouping of letters from Jim's family: his dad, his mom, his grandma Wright, and his sisters. #4 is a slew of letters from my college and high school friends (only one of them wrote me after 1990, and even so, I haven't heard from her in 10 years) and from my grandparents. #5 is a pile of secret mu...

It's the end of the year, and amid tonight's bingeing on store brand Doritos, cheese puffs, and sour cream dip, I'll be thinking about the past year. Just for a lark, I decided to look at my first post of 2009, and whaddyaknow, I had made some resolutions. Hmmm. I don't remember doing that. Might as well check to see if I actually completed any of them. from my first post of the year: Therefore, I, Shoebox Princess resolve to: 1. Buy a new pair of pretty pretty walkaround shoes this spring (maybe even two pairs!). My old sneaks are disintegrating after severe bullying and multiple piledriving by the teegage boys' muscular tennis shoe-boats. Why did I not remember making this a resolution? I love shoes! I actually did buy a new pair of walkaround shoes but not until November. And I threw out the pairs that were destroyed by the boys' shoes. 2. Restrict the use of pizza delivery to once a week, unless I really need a break from making dinner. Hey! I did rea...

The long MEA weekend is over and the kids are back in school. How did they spend their extra three days off? Jimmy frolicked about the state with friends. OK, he only went to Mankato for part of a day. He and his friend drove down to Mankato to make caramel apples and break kitchen appliances of a friend. Sigh. Paul camped out on some very cold and rainy days. He came back Saturday night and got mad at the weather when Sunday was nice and very near 60 degrees. Why couldn't it have been nice on the campout? he wailed. They did a 50-mile bike ride too. Hayley did some jobs around the house for a little extra green and then spent Friday night at a friend's house. Matt had his birthday party (you saw the birthday recap, I assume) and successfully turned 11 (I would hate for him to be unsuccessful at it). He didn't go anywhere, but hung around with me the whole weekend. I did manage one outing with Hayley and Matt (and fake child)--we went mini golfing at the local mall....

Well, THAT went well! I floated through the pasta dinner on fluffy white clouds of easiness and danced through glittery rainbows of I-can-handle-this. What made this dinner so easy compared to the last one? Two things: other people and Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol. Five other families signed up to contribute to the food so there was no underabundance and frantic casting about for spaghetti sauce. I prepped for the lasagna yesterday by grating cheese and browning the meat. Early this afternoon I made the four lasagnas and then after I washed the dishes necessary for the lasagna prep, I filled two pots with water and sat them on the stove, ready at a moment's notice (or 4:30 p.m.) to boil for spaghetti noodles. I heated up spaghetti sauce in the crock pot (on the deck--no sense in heating up the house more than I had already). Then I sat for 15 minutes to read The Lost Symbol . After 15 minutes, I cleaned for half an hour. Then I read for another 15 minutes. Then I cle...

I finished Hayley's shrug. She can barely contain her excitement. (Meh.) I think perhaps I'll get her a different shirt to go under it. Or not. Whatever. (see, cuz it's a SHRUG.) This is the back. I think the shrug is the largest thing I've ever knitted. It was pretty easy. I love the blues with just a hint of purple. Hayley loves blues too. Tonight is Prom night for Jimmy. Beware my prom post tomorrow; you might have to suffer through a ton of pictures. Jimmy is much more excited to wear a tux for tonight compared to the last time he had to wear one--for my brother Mike's wedding. I had to bribe Jimmy with gum just so he would allow me to help him put it on. He was 5 at the time. Notice the "I am NOT happy about this" face: And he didn't stop complaining about it until a man jogging past told him he looked really cool. Then Jimmy perked up, smiled, began to strut around, and got into his role as ring bearer. (Cousin Morgan is standing bet...

Today I will plant peas. I have had it on my to-do list for several days, but the ear infection and several unexpected events (like missionaries showing up unannounced and chatting for over half an hour after using the bathroom, and another vehicle scare involving inability to shift into overdrive and going 45 mph down a road on which people like to go 65. I think my car might need a walker to help it get around) prevented me from getting out into the dirt and shoving seeds into it. So my mantra for today is "I will plant peas. I will plant peas. I will plant peas." But first I have to blog. Which I am doing right now. I don't know WHY I have to blog, and WHY I feel compelled to do it most every day. Most blogs I read don't update every day. And what I post surely isn't earth-shattering, earth-shaking, or even earth-twitching. Perhaps I blog to remind myself that I did something nearly every day, even if it was only thinking a few thoughts and writing the...