Busy day today. Do you want to see what my kitchen looks like?
I did some rearranging around my place today. I now have a bar - not much of a drinker, but I think it's pretty. Hard to capture it well in a picture, the flash comes on and washes it a out, but you can kind of get the idea. My margarita glasses blend into the back ground. Can you see the purple martini shaker? I got that for my birthday from my sister, along with the tall glasses next to it. The shelf is meant for a microwave, but I've always felt that a microwave up high is dangerous for kids and Sarah's the one who uses it the most, for her cocoa and popcorn.
Here is another shot of the counter. I have two things from the girls up there. One is a jar of soup mix that Bay gave me and the other is a bottle that Sarah decoupaged - they are all the way to the left, on top of the stove. There's a little dog next to the kitchen witch, right there by the salt shaker. Sarah gave me the dog for.... Christmas or maybe my birthday. She loves dogs so much. Today she went through a stack of t-shirts, trying them on, and putting those that did not fit in a box of donation things that I was clearing out (like the dehydrator that I haven't used in 12 years). A lot of the t-shirts had dogs on them and she was so torn. She wanted to donate them, but they were
dogs. I suggested saving some of the shorter shirts for sleeping in. No need to get rid of all her favorites.
This is where the microwave used to sit, right where the plate and the candle are now. Oops, don't look at the messy craft and hallway - I'll get to them tomorrow. It looks like somebody is hanging on Sarah's coat rack. Ooh, creepy. It's her hat and backpack, I think.
Here's a close-up of the girl's pictures. They both did the same art project, different years, with the same teacher. Her name is Mrs. S and she's been the art teacher at our school for as long as I've had a child there. She's a little lady and this year she doesn't have her own class, so she has to push all her art supplies around in this cart-unit. She
needs, but this year we've got the budget thing and we've absorbed kids from a small school in the next town - we are packed in pretty tight. Sarah's boot is on the left and Bay's is on the right. I love these boots. Bay's has been hanging in my kitchen (the previous one and now this one for 4 years) since........ probably about 2000.
I'm tired. I got down on my hands and knees and scrubbed the carpet today, then I moved things around the kitchen, 3 shelving units, which formed my "pantry" areas. I moved the fridge and cleaned underneath, the coils, and the sides. I moved all my cookbooks from what is now the "bar." I've got a lot cookbooks- used to get them for free when I did book reviews and worked for the vegetarian magazine. I did a lot of laundry and took about 4 loads to either the garbage or the recycling. I vacumed and scrubbed and cleaned most of my glass candle holders. I talked to my friends and my daughter and my grandma and my daughter and my boyfriend and my daughter on the phone (tricky me - I even talked to Jackie while I bathed Max). My new partner taught me how to better set up my posts (using bolding) and what each thing on the post toolbox is for.
Tomorrow I tackle the craft area. I want to clear out the items that my kids don't use anymore and get them ready for Ashlee. She loves art and I think she will like to do some of the crafts. I have to clean my room, set up my new bookshelf (one of the old "pantry" shelves), change my sheets, and vacum, because Steve is coming tomorrow night. I'm going to remake Bay's bed, clean the guniea pig's cage, vacum, and tidy things up in her room before she gets home tomorrow.
I'm watching Kitchen Impossible with chef Michael Symon - I think that's how he spells it. He's a pretty hot chef - great voice, bald head, black shirt, my favorite kind of facial hair - the little bit under his lip, and a goofy laugh. I love a goofy laugh. One of the things that they are making is lobster and goat cheese pizza. He says a lot of words that I associate with Guy Fieri (again - sp??). He says "money" and "sexy" to describe his dishes. He's one of my favorites, behind first Jamie Oliver, then Bobbie Flay. What did I watch before cooking shows?
I love to cook with Steve when he's here. He's going to have more room to do his thing now that I've cleared the counters off. I love to watch him cook. And sleep. And interact with Sarah. And pretty much anything. He does this thing before he kisses me, he licks his lips and leans down and forward - he's a lot taller than me. For days I've been picturing him doing that. My head is full of him. I'm definitely ready for a good visit. We will get about 34 hours - he drives 12 hours to visit for that long (6 down here, 6 back up).
Goodnight.
Then, one year I was at Walmart and I saw the cutest little tree all done up in pink, purple, and a funky lime-green. I loved it! So, I picked up a little tree, set it up on a table (eek, so not what we did growing up), and I decorated the rest of the place in girly colors. My little tree saved me so much money and I liked the idea that I wasn't hurting any live trees.
I know that a pink, purple, and blue is not for everybody, but I really enjoy it. It's fun to change things up - to hang purple stockings and ropes of pretend pearls (I hung those above the artwork in my living room). 
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