Meanwhile, Back At The Ranch...

I want to send a BIG Thank You to Mamma Mia, who reminds me constantly to give myself a break! I have been hoping that I could get the house together and pretty in a week, two weeks, a month.... and here we are at very close to two months, and I sincerely don't feel very accomplished at all. I want to have a clean home. I really do! The trouble I run into is that I have given myself way too many breaks. I have essentially locked myself in the house, and while I can see progress, it is moving far too slowly for my taste. I want to do more work in less time. I don't know how to go about the housework efficiently. I have a new goal. Maybe stating it out loud on the blog will encourage me to work harder for it. I am hosting a baby shower in my home on the 27th. I have two weeks. I don't want to do all the work in the last two days. (I do work extraordinarily well under pressure.)

Zipper is getting stretched on Monday. We are hoping that she just gets stretched, and doesn't need new rods just yet. She will come home from St. Louis at least 3 inches taller. I am sure of it. Ferret had tried to give her more nutrition, to grow out and put some fat on her very skinny frame, but Zipper took it all and grew up instead, which means she is curved pretty badly. So, if you will please lift her and her family up to God, I would appreciate it.

I have a new Facebook Username. I don't know why I bothered. They wouldn't let me even look at "mychelf", but "chelf" went through just fine. I don't know how my moniker could be construed as vulgar or questionable, but I respect their choice. I have no idea what to DO with the Username, and am taking suggestions. If you are on Facebook, look me up: www.Facebook.com/chelf

I need some suggestions. I have a very dark and somewhat bland matte brown living room. The ceiling is even painted! I like it, it is different. However, it absorbs all the light in the room, allowing for no reflection at all. I find that light colored decorations look pretty good on it. It might actually get to be my Oriental themed room, with lots of pink cherry blossom art and brushstroke letters. What I am looking for is ways to make it a little brighter, without taking away the base color. I have considered sponging on a lighter Mauve or a red-toned Cinnamon to give it a bit of a glaze. I have considered repainting altogether, but don't want to do that right now. Does anyone have tips to making a dark room less intimidating?

Jumping June Bugs! I have to be up so early tomorrow! Back in May, my Honda Fit got bumper tapped. I was driving, and the big van in front of me stopped. I hurried to stop, and then tried to avoid getting hit from behind by angling to the right a bit. The green sedan behind me tried to avoid me by going into the left lane of traffic when he realized he could not stop, but we still glanced off each other. I did not hit the van, and the other driver did not hit anything other than my bumper. It is amazing how much it costs to fix such a light tap. His insurance is paying for the repairs, and I am delivering the car to the shop at the way-too-early hour of 7:30. It will take me 20 minutes or more to get there, so I plan to leave by 7. Ugh. I am a Garfield (TM) sort of person. I don't do mornings, and I despise Mondays. Both will happen tomorrow. I suppose complaining won't help nearly as much as getting to bed before midnight tonight will.

His insurance is also paying for the rental car replacement. They approved me for a full sized car! To replace my compact hatchback. I have no idea what make or model of car I will come home with. If I can save them a little money by downgrading what I get, I may try. Depends on what they offer me, I suppose. I might like to try out an SUV. (I can dream, right?)

Enjoy your own cars this week, everyone!