Thankful!

You're not going to believe the week I've had.  Where do I even begin?

Saturday morning I realized my dryer wasn't heating.  Loverly.  I counted the minutes until Monday morning when I could call an appliance repairman.  As the pile of dirty towels, socks, shirts, jeans, sheets and underwear grew, I waited for the dryer guy to show up.  And he did.  Because nothing is easy, our dryer is apparently "exotic" and he would have to order the heating element replacement.   The replacement arrived and was installed on Wednesday.  We were in business!  I may or may not have done a happy dance when he left.  Skipping 6 days of laundry?  STINKY!

I'm thankful it could be repaired and that we could afford to have it fixed.

Monday afternoon I took Dancer Girl to her orthodontic appointment.  She needs a new and improved retainer with bands.  I've never even heard of that.  But it's better than putting the braces right back on!  Once again, nothing is easy.  The top retainer did not fit.  After much apologies, the tech had to make a second impression and we scheduled another appointment.

I'm thankful that her teeth are beautiful and that we managed to pay for the much needed braces.

Our gas fireplace isn't working.  The repairman just called.  He's on his way!  Just in time for a cold front that is supposed to pass through tonight.

That's nice. Now let's talk about me

I have finally hit my limit of listening.  It seems every time I run into you, you're eager to tell me about about YOU.  It can be nice to catch up, to hear what's happening with your kids, your pets, your life.  But there is a limit.  If you've been talking bout yourself more than, let's say, 4 minutes?  That's long enough.  Move on.  I'm feigning listening.  I mean, I am listening.  How can I not hear?  But in my head I'm thinking, "SHUT UP!"

I've actually been caught off guard when the endless updates pause and I hear, "So, what's happening with y'all?"  Wait.  I think I heard you say that.  Maybe I was imagining it.  No, you're not talking.  You're waiting impatiently for me to answer.  Like an obligation or something.  I manage to say something polite like "We're doing fine.  Busy as always."  That's about as far I usually get.  Then we fall back into our usual pattern of YOU TALK ME LISTEN.

Well, I'm done.  D.O.N.E.

I refuse to continue along this train track.  I refuse to be invisible anymore.  I refuse to allow you (and really, I'm enabling you) to continue with the bad manners.

I once told you "If you have to tell people how good you are, you ain't that good"  Yep.  I said it.  You just kinda guffawed.  Now, guffaw.  That's an underused word for ye.


I guess I'm feeling overwhelmed.  Let me just list stuff about ME.  Just this once.

1.  I am supposed to call today after 12 noon for my colonoscopy pathology results
2.  My dryer isn't heating.  Appliance Repairman scheduled between 1 and 4pm
3.  My gas fireplace won't stay lit.  Repairman scheduled for Thursday between 8 and 4.
4.  Lightbulb is burned out in the bathroom toilet area.  It's dark in there
5.  Dancer Girl has an orthodontist appointment at 4:30 and a Lacrosse Team meeting at 5;30.
6.  My back hurts.
7.  My house is a wreck and because I can't do laundry I have nothing to wear.
8.  I think Dancer Girl wore "dirty" jeans to school today
9.  I tried to help The Engineer buy auto insurance yesterday and he kept yawning.  Barely hanging in there.  Yes, I was frustrated.  And he was disinterested.
10.  Ironman is working from home today which means he'll be in every single room of the house.  He does not sit still.  He is not quiet.  And he likes to depend on me to find things, figure out things, sign things, do this, do that.

I am Debbie Downer today!

One final quick note:  Did you watch The Good Wife last night?  WOWZA!!!!

Favorite shows:
3.  Dog The Bounty Hunter
2.  The Good Wife
1.  PARENTHOOD.  LOVE< LOVE< LOVE:




.

Exercise and Me

I know I'm supposed to exercise to stay healthy.

I know I should exercise to stay healthy.

I just have to exercise to stay healthy.

Then why don't I do it?

I go through stages.  Stage 1 I'm enthusiastic and ready and all into the newest craze.  Sometimes it's walking in the neighborhood, sometimes a new exercise CD like P90 or sometimes it's a group class.  My determination lasts about 6 weeks.  Then it disappears.

Do I get bored?  Do I get frustrated with lack of infomercial worthy results?

YES.

I've just got to get over it.  I've heard it said that with effort comes discipline.  Something like that.  In other words, just do it and discipline will follow.

Colonoscopies are Us

Bright and early Monday morning, I had a colonoscopy. 

It all began when I, out of frustration, called a new doctor.  I had just left the yearly visit with the OBGYN and was feeling totally put out.  I had a list of questions.  NONE of them were answered and I was D.O.N.E.  When I got home, I picked up the phone and made an appointment right then and there with a new doctor.  

Sitting in the exam room with the Wonder Woman Doctor, she began to question me concerning my medical history.  

WW:  Have you had a flu shot?

Me:  No......... I've never had a flu shot........ and I've never had the flu.  I think maybe I've become immune to those kind of germs being a preschool teacher for all those zillions of years.

WW:  (not amused)  Do you want a flu shot?

Me:  No.  **I don't want a shot.  I never want a shot.  Especially when I'm well.  

WW:  Well, we'll just have to cross our fingers on this one.

WW:  When was your last mammogram?

Me:  July 2012.

WW.  Okay, I'll order one.  

(I had already explained to her about my  OBGYN yearly visit where I did have the pap.  But nothing else)

WW;  Have you had a colonoscopy?

Me:  (oh great)  No Ma'am.  All of a sudden I get polite.  Ha 

WW doctor just looks at me.

Me:  Last year I was given the take home test thingie.

WW:  That's not accurate.  I'm ordering a colonoscopy.  I also want to see you in one week.  Please come in fasting.  Nothing after midnight.  

We talked a little more but frankly, I don't remember.  All I can remember is COLONOSCOPY!!

Fast forward a month and.... boom.  It's colonoscopy time.

Five Things I Learned From Having a Colonoscopy

1.  Everyone will tell you the worst part is the prep.  (We'll get back to that in a minute)

The worst part for ME was waiting in the the waiting room.  The room was full of people who were there for....... well, to have a camera shoved up their colon!  All of us were hungry.  All of us were anxious.  Nobody made eye contact.  And time just ticked by.

I'm sure every single person in that waiting room got up to visit the restroom.  A couple of them more than once.  I thought about going as I'm sure I needed to go but I have this quirk about public bathrooms.  Especially when everybody knows what's happening in there.  And especially when you can hear the FLUSH.  

2.  The prep liquid tastes like snot.  No, it tastes like goo.  No, it tastes like salty snot.  It tastes disgusting.  Why does it have a taste?  Why can't it be tasteless?  The texture is bad enough.  You see, you will be given a Rx to take to CVS.  They will give you a huge gallon size plastic jug filled with a little powder in the bottom.  The morning of your prep, you fill with water to the fill line.  Shake it.  Chill.  Mine came with flavoring packets.  But guess what............ I didn't read the directions.  You add the flavoring BEFORE the water.  Dang.  Messed up.  I tried to sprinkle a little flavoring powder into the already mixed up solution but it wouldn't dissolve.  Dang.  Could I drink it without the flavoring. NO!  So I used crystal light.  Lemonade flavor.  (You can't drink anything red, purple or orange)  

3.  I've read that others experienced immediate ......... results.  Me?   Nope.  It was HOURS AND HOURS.  I started drinking it at 4:30.  I was very mathematical about it.  Actually set the stopwatch timer on my iPhone for beep every 10 minutes.  I planned to drink 10 swallows every 10 minutes.  What do they say about plans?  I quickly adjusted that to 5 swallows every 15 minutes.  The directions said to drink 1/2 the jug in 2 hours.  Wow.  That's a long of salty snot!  I managed to drink 1/2 of the jug's contents in 3 hours.  That is the very best I could do, thank you very much.  Then I waited.  And waited.  And waited.   By 7:30 I felt like I would explode.  This stuff needed to GO.  Get up.  Get going.  Sound the bugle.  Let's get this party started!  After walking back and forth, back and forth, I finally just ... well, you don't want to know.  Let's just say, the party started.

4.  I did not feel crampy.  I really expected to.  I did not feel rumbles.  I did not feel the urge.  It was a fairly faint urge.  And surprisingly, although I'd fasted all day, I did not feel hungry.  I had some chicken broth and some sugar free green jello.  I did feel anxious.  And in the back of my mind I kept pushing back the feeling that the prep wouldn't work thoroughly and they'd send me back home unable to perform the test.  Hurry up morning

5.  And then I'm sitting in the waiting room.  Looking around but making very sure not to make eye contact.  No one is chatting.  There's one wife there with her anxious husband.  He's filling out patient info forms.  Why didn't he fill out the ones they sent to him in the mail?  The wife keeps pointing out blanks he missed or information he's gotten wrong.  I want to slap her.  Two women sit on the side.  Both are reading the newspaper.  Not speaking.  An older couple arrives.  The man has much trouble getting up and out of his chair.  He's called to the desk several times.  The last time he breaks the chair arm as he attempts to get up.  All the while people are rushing to the bathroom.  Is there only one bathroom?  Maybe I should go.  I'll wait until that lady comes out.  No.  I don't want to go.  Or maybe I should.  I hate to go when everybody knows I'm going.  I'm weird.  Do they make any LOUDER flushes?  The whole building seems to vibrate.  Is it hot in here?  

6.  Then they call me.  

Nurse #1 enters my information into the computer.  Takes 5 minutes

She then walks me to the gurney area.  (What do you call that?)  Tells me I can leave my shirt on.  Remove everything waist down.  Lay on the bed and cover up with the blanket.  The blanked turned out to be warm.  Straight from the dryer.  Okay. Let's get going

Nurse #2 enters.  Starts IV.  Tells me it's only saline which immediately cools me.  She asks me what I'm going to eat when I get out of there.   Takes 5 minutes.

Nurse #1 returns to tell me the anesthesiologist is here and will come talk to me in just a minute.

Anesthesiologist comes in.  Where do they find these young guys?  He tells me he will use propafil.  (The Michael Jackson Sleep IV)  He said the advantage is that you are out immediately, and wake up immediately.  I'll not feel groggy.  I remember all those times at the dentist when the anesthesia did not work.  Oh, and baby #2?  Epidural didn't work.  Baby #3 epidural didn't work.  I get tense.

Doctor comes in.  Says we're ready to go.

They wheel me into a little exam room.  I see a large monitor.  I see a stainless table with instruments.  I see the anesthesiologist.  He asks me to lay on my left side.  Reaches over and begins to administer medicine into my IV.  I did NOT feel myself falling asleep.  I did NOT feel any change.  I went from wide awake to sound asleep.  OUT.  In a nano second.  

The next thing I remember is hearing a voice say "She'll be awake in a minute"  And Ironman answering, "Ok"  Then I woke up.  I was all the way back in the first area.  Back to my starting point.  What happened?  Nurse #3 comes in.  She looks 15.  She enters some information in the computer, removes my IV.  Tells me I can get dressed and go home.  Ironman leaves to pull the car closer to the door.  I got dressed.   I could have walked out just fine but Nurse #3 wheels me out in a chair.

That's it?  Piece of Cake.  I'm not kidding.  

I did skip the most important part.  After I woke up, the doctor returned to tell me he had removed one polyp.  It was too small for him to identify.  I will get a call in a week as to the status. 

All of a sudden the inconvenience of the prep and the test and the anxiety just zipped out of my mind.

If I had NOT gotten an appointment with a new doctor I would have never had this test.  At least I wouldn't have had it for another year!!

Wow.

If you are 50, DO NOT WAIT.  It's a piece of cake.

Prep Day

Yes, it's prep day.  And I'm not talking about veggie prep like you do when you are preparing to create a salad masterpiece.  I"m talking about the Mother of all prep - colonoscopy screening prep.

My screening is in the morning.  Therefore, today is prep day.

I decided to blog minute by minute (or hour by hour at least) mostly for ME but also because I looked for other blogs from women doing this and really I didn't find much.  Okay, I didn't find anything.  I found lots and lots of medical blogs and stuff like that.  I have that from my own doctor.  I wanted the anecdotal version.

Do I have to do everybody's job?  Geez.

Day started at the usual time.  I had coffee.  (rules say I can have coffee.  Just no creamer, etc. which I don't like in my coffee anyway.  )

8:00am Ironman makes blueberry muffins.  Luckily he made them from a boxed mix.  Duncan Hines is good........ but easily passed up.  So didn't bother me.

I kept myself busy watching cooking shows.  (shhh!  I enjoy cooking shows.)  I read, talked, cleaned the kitchen, etc.  The Engineer was here this weekend so I went through the coat closet and tried to pawn a few jackets off on him so I'd have more room.  He took one. )

1:00pm Ironman orders pizza.  PIZZA!  Listen, it was fine.  In fact, I'm glad he ordered food instead of cooking food because the fragrance of something delicious in my oven would have made me a little anxious.  I like pizza as much as the next girl, but I can pass it up.  So once again, didn't bother me.

2:30 I settled in by myself to catch up on my DVR shows.  Dined on fine green jello.  Drank a big glass of water.  Then got a little sprite.  Yes, I still don't like sprite.  I test out my sprite hatred every 10 years or so.

3:00  First official move.  I took 2 dulcolax.  I did NOT chew them or CRUSH them.  The instructions are very very detailed.

It's now 4:10.  In 20 minutes I have to begin drinking the prep liquid.  The directions do say that I only have to drink HALF of the jug.  If I'm "clear" then I can stop.  If not clear,  I have to drink the rest.   Of course I'll let you know....... that's why I'm doing this!

I'm going to post this first part and then return to finish it.  I don't want it to get lost or something.... besides it makes it more suspenseful.

BTW, this morning at about 9am I mixed up the prep and put it in the refrigerator where it's waiting for me right now.

The Day I Cleaned My Kitchen Sink

Am I a party animal or what?  Good times at my house today.

I cleaned this house.  Top to bottom.  Even vacuumed the crown moulding!  Oh the glorious smell of a clean house.

Recently I saw a post on pinterest about cleaning your stainless steel sink.

Here's my story:

 Welcome to my kitchen.

  

 Say hello to my kitchen sink.

 Materials needed:  vinegar in a spray bottle, baking soda, olive oil, paper towel with holiday design and goo be gone.  I didn't have goo be gone in a squirt top thingie.  But I found Goof Off wipes which.. well, don't want to spoil the ending.

 Step 1.  Spray the entire sink with vinegar.  Sprinkle with baking soda.  Wait 10 minutes.

 While you are waiting, boil a pot of water.  

When the timer beeps, rinse the sink with the boiling water.  I could not take a photo of that.  I then

wiped down the surface with a dry paper towel taking extra scrub time in the nooks and crannies.  Things were looking shiny and clean.

Then here's the big surprise.  After I rinsed the sink, I scrubbed it down with a Goo B Gone Wipe.  

OH MY GOODNESS!!

What is happening??

  Fresh wipe on the left compared to the one I used to scrub my ALREADY SCRUBBED SINK!

Whose sink is this?

I wiped the sink with olive oil.  Buffed it to a shine. 

 Stood back and thought,   "You really need to get out more"  

I love a clean kitchen.


Almost forgot.  Colonoscopy Countdown:  4 days

Color-Helper Pro

I can not WAIT to show you my new toy.   

Ladies and Gents, introducing my new color wizard.  Officially called Color-Helper Pro.  I first saw it on the Discovery Channel show Cool Tools.  And oh yes, I thought it was super cool.  Here's how it works.  

Push the little black button to turn it on.

          Color Helper Pro

Press the bottom against the painted surface and.............. 

 like magic it will identify the color by name and manufacturer!

I pressed my new little friend against the wall in my master bedroom.  When we bought this house the former owners did not provide us paint information.  

Ironman enjoys painting.

So I needed to know the exact color!

If the photo were better, you could see that the color-helper pro identified the paint on my master bedroom walls as

Sherwin Williams Morning Fog #6255

Aren't paint names fun? 

Nail Polish Names are fun, too.

So now I know the official paint color.

That's when I made a glorious discovery.  Have you been to www.sherwin-williams.com lately?

They have a new magic page on their website called Chip It.  It's similar (in a way) to Pinterest.  

Upload a photo.  Or download a photo from the web.  You can identify up to 4 colors in the photo by using Chip It.  

Ironman and I had new wood flooring installed in our master bedroom.  And with new flooring MUST come new bedding.  (It's the law, isn't it???)  I'm teaching myself interior decorating trick with color, pattern, texture and shine.  So Chip It will be invaluable to me.  Thank you, Mrs. Sherwin Williams.

It's so, so nice to meet you.



Colonoscopy Countdown:  6 days to go!  

Front Door Wreath

LOVE!

Easy Sunday Morning

Hello All.

I've done N.O.T.H.I.N.G. today.  And I mean NOTHING.  I.T. girl was home for the weekend - her first visit since leaving for college.  So we talked and ate and shopped and watched a movie and all that fun stuff.  It was almost like a vacation.  She left this afternoon to return to campus.

Sundays are often lazy around here.  We come home from church and become slugs for the rest of the afternoon.  Yep.  It's been a slug day for sure.

Often on Sunday late afternoon/evening I get a second wind.  I begin to think about the week ahead and decide to tackle a few things to make Monday morning easier. One of those things is cleaning.  Yes, I often clean on Sunday evenings.

Here is how I clean my microwave.  Easy as 1,2,3.

Oh, dirty microwave.  Plus it smells like popcorn.

One microwave safe bowl and one cup of vinegar.  As you can see, it doesn't have to be fancy vinegar.

Place in microwave on high for 5 minutes.  Yes, you will smell the vinegar but it will fade quickly.

I usually let the bowl sit in the microwave to cool for a few minutes.   All the spills will wipe out like magic.  I just take a paper towel and wipe all the surfaces.  No scrubbing required.  Love a sparkly microwave!

It rained this weekend.  I sat outside for a while and just listened.  

Mammogram and Colonoscopy

How's that for a title?

My annual mammogram was Thursday morning.  It was the first time I had it done it in our current city.  Although we moved 3 years ago, I continued to drive 2 hours back to our former neck of the woods for that yearly xray.

I feel more comfortable living here now.  So I decided it was just silly to drive all that way when I could have it done here.  So that's what I did!

People watching in the waiting room was so funny.  People are funny.  People are ridiculous!  And people will talk about ANYTHING!  Shhhh!  I really am not interested in listening to your conversation, thank you very much.

As you know, the procedure is so quick and easy.  I can think of many WORSE procedures.

Speaking of WORSE PROCEDURES I have one scheduled for next week.  Ironman has had 2.  This will be my first one.  I'm not looking forward to it.  Friends tell me the prep is the worst part.  The actual procedure is a piece of cake and that I won't remember a thing.  I hope they are right.

I'll tell you all about it!  Ha!  I told you people will discuss anything.

In the meantime... I've been in the crafting mood.  I've spent hours on pintrest pinning away.
That's when I saw this pin.   I LOVED it at first sight.
I could not get to Hobby Lobby fast enough to buy the few things I needed.  I actually already had the colored felt.  Here's the photo I pinned:

And here is the link for the tutorial:  Halloween Porch by Jen

You will find the step by step directions on that link.
Read through them.  And then read my tips.  Because I made that wreath this morning and I figured things out as I went along!

 I already had the black and white felt.  I bought the turquoise felt at Hobby Lobby.  I couldn't find orange felt, but I loved the bright orange polka dotted fleece.  It worked just fine.  I followed Jen's directions and wrapped the wreath form in the striped jersey.  By the way, I just used a straw wreath and kept the plastic on.  Pinned the fleece in place.  Easy peasy.

 I made a few rookie mistakes with the flowers.
1.  I tried to sew on the machine.  Nope.  Even with the longest stitch length it was still too short.  It's actually quicker and easier to do it by hand.
2.  Another mistake:  I did not stack the cut felt.  I tried to wrap it around and around and around.  That's how I did these turquoise flowers.  It's not horrible looking.... but the next ones I stacked the cut felt and it was much easier.
3.  I sewed the ends together with COAT AND JACKET thread.  That was the ticket.  The first flower I just used all purpose thread and it kept breaking.  It's not fun when your thread breaks and you have to begin all over again.  So choose the heaviest thread you have.

  I varied the length of the cut felt so the flowers were vary in size.  

This orange fabric is fleece.  I needed to cut it out with pinking shears as it was raveling pretty fierce
Also, I discovered that as long as the straight side is even, it's okay if the cut side doesn't match.  In fact, it made the results more interesting.  So don't fret about that.

 I placed them around the wreath form as I finished them.  

 Meet Martha Glue Gun!  She helped me glue the little circles in the center.  I did consider using contrasting colors for the circles but in the end I'm glad I used matching colors.

 Martha Glue Gun glued little buttons in the middle and I pinned, pinned, pinned.

And here's my front door!!  I love it!  Thanks, Jen, for the idea and the instructions.  

Stories From My Closet, Part II

I never made it to the donation site today.  Tomorrow it's on the top of my list, though, because if I don't donate these dresses (and more) they will find their way back into my closet.  And that won't do anybody any good.

I've been thinking about these dresses, though.  I can remember buying each one, wearing each one, and wishing I looked thinner, younger, fresher. Memories were hidden in the back of my closet.  Like secrets, they are only real if you tell somebody.  Pulling these dressed into the light was truth.  And truth will set you free.

Disclaimer:  The photos were not the best in the world.  It's been a long few days.

 I bought this dress at Banana Republic.  It had to be on sale or something because it is horribly uncomfortable.  See how it hangs on the hanger?  That's how it hangs on my body.  It wraps around and it clings and it suffocates until I'm so sweaty and uncomfortable and I have to get it off NOW NOW NOW.   GET IT OFF ME NOW!!

 I bought this dress at Macy's.  It's cool and flowy.   The sleeves are the perfect length - long enough to  cover the bat wings but short enough to show off the bracelets.  The v-neck is body lengthening and I usually wore a wide belt that created a waist.  Have I ever told you I've seen every single episode of WNTW?  Stacy and Clinton - my BFF.
With all the rule following this dress does, I can't wear it.  I wore this dress on a Sunday morning.  It was just a regular Sunday.  Ironman and I had been going to this particular church for several months.  Our daughters left us in the parking lot to their Bible study Class.  As Ironman and I entered the room we were told (yes, TOLD) that the men and women were splitting up.  The women would be way down the hall, turn left, go through the glass door, up the stairs.  Seventh room on the right.  Okay I'm exaggerating.  But that's basically what I hear the woman TELL me.  Blah blah blah.  She lost me at "Split up".  Ironman is my definite safety blanket.
The story continues.  I'm ushered into a room full of women none of whom I've ever seen before.  It's a new church in a new city and although I'm a married mother of three, I suddenly feel like the new 7th grader.  It was awful.  I was embarrassed and out of place.  I attempted to introduce myself to the woman sitting to my right but just as I opened my mouth she suddenly turns to greet her long lost friend whom she probably saw three minutes earlier.
It should come as no surprise that I never returned to that Bible Study class.  And I can never wear this dress because of the feelings it invokes.
Stacy and Clinton - you can have this one.

 This is a dress I bought at Stein Mart.  I had been exercising daily and really putting my nose to the grindstone (or the treadmill) to lose the weight from three pregnancies.  I bought this dress because it fit.  It's actually not as boxy and it looks in this photo.  I remember I was wearing this dress one late afternoon when I pulled into the driveway of one of my neighbors.  As I got out of the car, her husband appears from the garage with a quizzical look on his face and says, "I just have to see what you look like dressed up"  Oh.............. can you say IMPROPER and TACKY?  And let's not forget CHEESY!
It wasn't the first time he said some sexist remark to my face.  
But that's not the only reason I'm donating this dress.  I can't fit into it.

 I bought this dress at Belk's.  I paid $15.  FIFTEEN DOLLARS.  It was on clearance.  I had a coupon that was $10 off any purchase.  $25 dress would have been a steal.  But $15?  For a dress that wasn't horrible?  I'LL TAKE IT.  And it's not a horrible dress.  It's actually slimming.  Has that optical illusion thing going on with the grey waistband.
I'm donating it because I've worn it several times.  I've had it for several years.  It's time.

 Now this dress.  One time I was DRUNK SHOPPING and I bought this dress.

 I wore this dress on a date with Ironman.  Hey, it was 1986 okay??  Big poofy sleeves were stylin'.
We drove to New Orleans.  Went to dinner with some friends.  Laughed and talked all night.  I thought about keeping it just for the sweet memory.  It's the only time I ever wore it.  Poofy sleeves didn't stay fashionable after 1988.  Hmmmmm.  REsist the urge!  Donate the dress.

I end with the ugliest dress in my closet.  First, it's not a nightgown.  It's a true daytime dress.  It just looks and feels like a nightgown.  What.......... I can't defend the purchase.  I may have worn it?   It's more likely that I put it on and tried to make it work, but changed before I left the house.


This was fun.

I'll have to go through the keepers in my closet next time.

Stories From My Closet

Well, it happened.

Ironman and I decided top pull up the carpet in the master bedroom and the closet.  The Carpet Fairies could not save it.   The workers arrived Monday.  Which meant that Sunday afternoon was spending removing everything from both areas.  It was then and there that I decided out of embarrassment determination that the closet situation has got to be addressed.  

No!  I did not take a photo of the before.   Besides, there was no time.  Once Ironman decides to  tackle a task he is like the Tazmanian Devil!

Closet cleared.  Furniture taken apart and moved out.   Well, hello dust bunnies!

After a long day of sitting around (for me) and working (for the floor guys) the room was complete.

And here is the closet.  A few of the hanging items on the bottom rack were hung there right before I took the photo.  We had to move everything on the bottom OUT.

I didn't want to move everything back in.  Now was the time.  It had come.  

Sort.  Purge.  Return to it's rightful home.  

See these magazines?  

They are now living in their new home.  And the basket is.....

 w

 ....on the closet floor holding my flip flops.  I really dislike flip flops.  And yet I have enough of them to fill this basket.  My life is a series of curious habits.

 These shoes - oh the places they've gone.  But they didn't make the cut.  To Goodwill they go.  Just makes room for new shoes!

 Here's how it's looking.   I know everything that is in the closet.  And everything in this closet fits.  That in itself it worth the effort.

So...... on to the bedroom.  

 Wow  I think I'll have to have help.  

So I'll take these things to Goodwill.  

There's the dress I bought online that is some kind of odd fabric that makes you feel like you are being strangled or smothered.  

I only found one online fail.  I guess I'm getting better with returns.

There's the blue dress that I wore one time to a ladies' Bible Study.

No one spoke.

It was my first time there.

And it wasn't like there were hundreds of women in attendance!

I never wore that dress again.

Everything I saw it hanging in the closet I felt anxious.

There's the black taffeta dress I bought when I was dating Ironman.

I had lost a few pounds and easily slipped into the size 6.  

We spent the evening in New Orleans.

Maybe I should keep that one.

Even though it has those puffy 80s sleeves.

Hmmmm

I did keep my going away dress

And I kept all my daughter's play dress up dresses

And I kept my son's graduation sashes

And the baby shoes

I should take more photos.