But I leave you with the little bastard that wakes me up every morning by scampering through the attic and chucking things at my window.

Hopefully this is the photo we will use at his/her eulogy.

After I fire bomb him/her.

Take work for example. I’ve repetitively said I would quit when I became licensed. That’s just not happening, even if I wanted to. Between shortages, schedules and hiring freezes, there is no way in hell I’m leaving my office high and dry right now. But here’s the truth of it: I don’t want to. Since starting the application process and becoming licensed, I find myself much more energized. I no longer feel like a second class citizen, doing the same things as everyone else and getting over looked and paid half. Mostly because, well, I’m not any more. That’s helped, I have to admit, but there’s more. Somewhere in this process I have found my bliss again. I have relearned why I do this. Part of this is due to some successes I’ve had and part of it is just really being needed. But what ever it is, it’s working. At least for now. I’m not saying I’m now immune to burn out. It is still there, I feel it below the surface, but for now it is staying below and as long as it does, I’m going to keep my head down and keep working. And hopefully helping and making a difference for some people.

So this is where I sit today, as I try to wrap up some projects around the house before heading out to Beach Week ’09. Which is no easy task, because I’ve recently discovered decorating blogs. (I know, as usual, I’m really late to the party.) I started building a new bench for the mud room at eight o’clock last night. Jeff has threaten to put parental control software on my laptop to monitor the use of my newly discovered porn. (Yes, it is that bad. How did I not know this stuff was out there people? I blame you.)

But I’m gonna keep sitting, and working and killing Jeff with my late night/heel wearing projects, because I’m liking where I’m sitting right now. It’s different, but it’s really comfortable.

Now let’s get packed people, ’cause we head out early in the morning. No pushing or shoving and last one on the beach is a rotten egg.

*Completely stolen from Rae, who stole it from her nephew.

This morning, while I was installing hooks and molding in the mudroom . . .

Jeff said to me . . .

“You do realize that we just built and entire addition to our home, just to store our kids’ crap?”

I just smiled and said. “Yes we did.”

It is probably time for a state of the family address around here, it’s been over a year. Yeah I’m a slacker.

So in the past year, DRY Ink has managed to see both younger cherubs deposited into the gifted program and Jacob safely enrolled in welding school and continuing to run his own business. In more recent developments, Jacob has begun to acknowledge that he does in fact need a GED. This has nothing to do with me saying it for the past 2 years. Nooooo, his boss has put the hammer down and told him to get his GED. (Thank you.) Jack’s has been on break from sports, but is returning to soccer shortly and we have pledged to allow football into his life in the fall. He has also managed to achieve straight A’s. Emie continues to dance, dance, dance and despite the recent drama with her dance teacher being fired, is looking forward to her review, in which she has less than 9 weeks to learn a brand new routine. Big fun here at DRY Ink. She continues to do well in school also, earning AB honor roll.

Jeff is still kicking butt in his job and stays fairly busy. He has managed to carve out time to join a baseball team of his own. They have been practicing for a few weeks and games start up at the end of March. Jeff is in heaven. As for me, I continue to tear apart the house, lament that it is not finished and see a few clients. It looks like I’m on track to actually be licensed next spring. But yeah, I’m not excited yet, I’ll believe it when I see it.

As far as the family as a whole, big things are on the horizon there too. In addition to my birthday coming up in a few short weeks, we are hitting the Utah slopes later this month. I am so excited to share with the cherubs a sport that I love with a purple polka dotted passion. I can’t wait to spend time with them in the snow.

In the category of bomb shells; we here are DRY Ink are in the process of exploring the possibility of adopting another cherubs. We are gluten for punishment around here. We are really feeling like we were beginning to be able to handle things. Nooooo, we can’t have that, chaos will rain, or we will work to create it. So were are nearing the end of our home study process. We should be wrapped up by the end of the month, and we’ll see what happens from there.

So while good things have happened in the past year here at DRY Ink, we always have room to improve. I am looking forward to more family time, finishing up some major construction projects at head quarters, (including that damn mud room), and possibly increasing DRY Ink’s over all size.

As for me, right now, I’m recovering from a nasty bout with the flu, the weather acting like December in March, and fireplace mantel rebuild that won’t cooperate, so I am taking myself to the movies today.

Stay tuned, there’s sure to be never a dull moment. We’ll make sure of it.

You can fit approximately 2 adults or 1 adult and 2 children comfortably in the shower. But 2 adults are a lot more fun.

Shower p-traps smell like rotten eggs. If you drop a very important stainless steel screw down the drain and don’t figure out it’s stainless steel until after you stick a magnet down the drain and stir things up, it will smell like rotten eggs in your new shower for days. While you cry about the lost stainless steel screw.

It’s a lot harder to pick paint colors in rooms that don’t get much light. But you still want the room to be warm. Because, you know, you’re gonna be naked in there. But your favorite color is blue. It’s hard. I’m just saying.

My mother in law rawks. She sent over a shower warming present. Who sends over shower warming presents? My awesome mother in law that’s who. She sent these incredible white waffle textured hotel towels. A full set. Which is perfect because all my old towels are bleached from all the jams and jellies I use on my face in an attempt to make in not look like a pizza pie. How she knew that I’ll never know. My MIL is better than your MIL. Nenner neeeeener.

It is impossible to take too many showers. I’m averaging about 3 a day. My husband says I no longer shower for cleanliness, showering is now a hobby. He says that like it’s a bad thing. Hey it keeps me off the streets.

You should always go with the clear shower curtain. It’s really hard to see the TV through the striped one.

If price were no object, which Jeff kept insisting it was, I would have put in more shower heads. Shower heads are just one of those things you can’t have too many of.

You can’t marry a shower or claim it on your income taxes. Who knew?

Other people have enlarged/remodeled their shower. I’m not the first in history to do it. And they didn’t whine about it half as much as me. I know, shocker.

That’s it. Really. I’m done talking about my shower now. Promise.

Probably.

Well it did take nine months.

My only resistance to all this? I would have to de-construct a cabinet I built, install a power outlet AND displace my spices.

Needless to say Jeff won and we are now the proud new owners of a wine cooler. Yea, I know, just try to wrap your mind around the ridiculousness of that. Mormons, practicing Mormons, with a wine frig.


Other issues? My sanity. I stumbled into the kitchen this morning for my AM dose of the DDP, opened the frig and nearly had a heart attack. “No Diet Dr. Pepper! What?! How did this happen? What am I going to do? Wait. Oh yea, it’s in the wine frig now. Carry on.” Hearts just aren’t meant to take that kind of stress before 9 Am.

There’s not nearly enough DDP in there to make this all okay. And don’t even get me started on where I’m supposed to put all my homeless spices.

I’m thinking of putting them in the wine frig.