Mondays suck because of chores

I think that is universally acknowledged.
I should be doing dishes, laundry, store returns, meal planning, and grocery shopping.
I am browsing the world wide web instead.
In order to feel slightly accomplished and less irritated at the week ahead, I will do this:
ONE load of dishes
ONE load of laundry
ONE dinner planned and purchased
NO store returns (that one is my favorite!)
I feel like this is doable and then I can just enjoy the day. It's Liz's birthday, after all, and it isn't her fault it is on a Monday.

Other than that, I am excited that our half bath remodel is almost completed. That project began a couple years ago. I had some cash, so I purchased tile and vanity for the half bath. That is also where the project stalled. Now, though, it is rolling on through because I hired my bro-in-law Jared. The tile is laid and grouted. The mirror is hung. The lights are installed. The paint is chosen. I'm so excited to have a not-nasty bathroom for family and friends!

Okay, so I'm off to do the chore list. I will put Pandora radio on the tv and blast it. It's currently shuffling country, gospel, R&B, Dixieland jazz, and James Taylor.

Nancy Drew Fabric line

And After

I went to church 45 minutes early and practiced the organ. Then a kid who knows some stuff came in and set the buttons for me. I played okay. As it turns out, it is harder to hear mistakes when everyone is singing. Plus, I did not pump up the volume so very much.

With that over (phew!), and with Andy home from his trip (double phew!), it is just the crow that is left. I hate pms.

I am supposed to clean downstairs so there is room for my half bath to get remodeled this week. As much as I want that, and I TOTALLY TOTALLY want that, I can't do it. All I could do was take out the trash - which included an armchair and a table - and scrub the toilet because I was embarrassed for anyone to have to unscrew it and carry it out of my house looking like that. Frankly, I think that is a lot.

The kids asked to buy lunch today because they had eaten all of their prepackaged lunch sack food for snacks. I smell teaching opportunity! Mwahahahaha! (I seriously doubt that is how our Heavenly Father behaves when we are ripe for a teaching opportunity. Or maybe it is.)

Today is my dad's SIXTIETH BIRTHDAY (60)!!!!! I wish I had some pictures here at the house to scan, and when I steal some from his house, I'll totally do that! I am excited for him even while realizing how young he is. I mean, he has seven adult children, 17 and a half grandchildren (the half will be a whole in July or August), and he's only sixty! Egad! Happy birthday, Dad!

I have been reading and sewing lately, which is awesome because those are two of my favorite activities. In preschool, we made mini-quilts for Q week. I had a million (okay, a hundred) half-square triangle patches prepared out of a lot of different colors and fabrics. They got to choose sixteen to make a four row mini-quilt. I know, that's ridiculous. If I had been smart, I would have had way fewer choices and only let them make a four-patch, but I got carried away. Besides, they enjoyed it. I just backed them with fleece which came from my fabric stash. All of the fabric came from the stash. They are totally messy and crappy, but they got the job done. I also have been working on ruffle curtains for my nieces. They are time consuming but SO REWARDING!!! Hopefully when I finish up a few more on-going projects I can start quilting just for me with my NANCY DREW FABRIC I got from my folks for Christmas and also the fabric they gave me for my birthday. Obsesssed anyone?

In case you were wondering, these are half square triangle patches. See, each half of the square is a triangle, and, um, you get it.

This is the Before

As in "Before Church" and "Before Andy Gets Home from His Business Trip" and "Before The Crow Leaves." A nasty combo.

Oh, here's a note: when you have PMS, don't have a severe seasonal allergy attack. And if that is outside of your control, DEFINITELY don't take all three of your kids to Floor and Decor on a Saturday afternoon to try to match tile that you bought two years ago. What, that's a given? Well, I must have been desperate because it was the will of the Lord that I didn't snap necks and kick faces. Of strangers, of children, of employees. It took a volcano nachos no sour cream, two chicken soft tacos, and a bean burrito from Taco Bell to recover. The kids had something else, but who cares, I was busy trying not to suffocate as I chewed since my nose was COMPLETELY STOPPED UP ALL THE WAY. I had to sleep off the whole event on the couch until 7pm.

Which means I did NOT do the very most crucial thing I had planned for Saturday which was this: practice the organ. BECAUSE I HAVE TO PLAY IT IN CHURCH TODAY! Yep. I have had one lesson. 1. Uno. And it is the same as the piano the way a guitar is the same as a ukelele. Oh they may both have strings, but there are some differences that make a congregational debut somewhat daunting. My biggest worry is which buttons to push - the ones that make it sound big and tabernacle-y or soft and funeral-y, I mean sacrament-y, and I am worried of course that I'll play like crap because I tend to, and that I won't follow the chorister because I tend not to, and of course there is all that prelude and postlude that my only saving grace is everyone talking over it. Egad. Plus no Andy to sit with the kids. And Uncle Tim is ill, so he won't be there. And I have to be there early which is nearly impossible on the best of days, which I don't even have to tell you this is not.

So why am I not in the shower? I'm about to be. Really. As soon as I stop looking at quilts on the internet and pinning them on pinterest because that is of utmost importance. Here's one, as a parting gift:

Farmer's Wife Sampler by Helen Philipps