I left home later today than I did yesterday and got to work earlier. On the way, I got to see Booie's class in their busses on the way to their Science Center field trip. They saw me and were all excited and waved. It was so cute. I may have smiled the whole way to work once I encountered them.

A shuttle came almost immediately, like it was there just for me. I was the only one on it. I thought the day might turn sour when I went in the office and the secretary looked unhappy, but it didn't. I was in the clinic for a bit, but they were doing fine, so I went back to the office and helped a happier secretary catch up from her time off. Then I finished getting some info out of charts for the project I've been doing. There's only a few straggler charts to find and demographic info to get from IS. We'll see how long that takes to get. They aren't the epitome of timely. I can get started on what I need though. I should be busy the next few days. And that's good too.

I'm tired now though. I could take a nap, but I don't want to make it hard to go to sleep tonight. I am going in to work again tomorrow, and I don't want to be pooped. It should be the last day I have to go in this week. The rest can be done at home. I can sleep Firday if I like.

I feel good, even though I'm tired. Maybe my whole good day is because I finally remember my medicine this morning. I've been forgetting and blowing it off for days. I figured I shouldn't bother since I felt so crummy anyway with it. I know, great logic that is.

I feel the need to do things. I actually want to clean and organize. Since that is such a rare occurance, I'd best get myself moving and do it. Can't let opportunities like this pass. I started working on our bedroom the weekend before last and got the top of a dresser visible again. Must have really worn me out, because I haven't done a thing since.

11:01 p.m. - Space to Breathe

The little bit I did in here helped much more than expected. It amazes me how much better it feels in here, and I didn't even take anything out yet. There is still a grocery bag of garbage and two more for donation, a small pile of stuff to put away elsewhere, a smaller pile of mystery items (haven't decided what to do with them yet), a bunch of hangers for the laundry room, and a few winter clothes for storage. Mostly, it was organizing that made the difference. I'll get rid of the piles tomorrow and maybe do a little more work.

As I was cleaning, I noticed yet again how I need to find places to keep certain things. This happens all over the house, and that's because I don't have anywhere to keep the supplies or books or pictures or whatever. It's going to take time, but to get it any bit closer, I have to start. So I'm going to make a list of some of the categories in which I find these items.

I wonder what color I should paint our bedroom. John and I had talked about a soft metallic gold. Barely metallic, like a powder. I considered even starting with gold leaf just for something idfferent, but it would end up looking gaudy. We already have dark red velvet curtains and a dark red comforter with a bit of a muted shine. I love red and gold, but I'm not sure how to work the gold in. I don't want too much contrast. I'll have to look when I go to get the paint for Booie's room.

Her room is going to be so fun. She wants lots of crazy colors, especially bright yellow. I wanted to do gigantic polka dots of random sizes, colors, and placement. She added the idea of stripes too. It will end up being very cool. I plan to start the very week she gets out of school, and she's going to help. She's very excited. I want to think of some other fun things to do in there too and have it all done by her birthday so she can show it off to her friends at her party.

She wanted a daybed at Ikea that was really nice. Even with Ikea's low prices, we can't afford it though, so I was thinking I may be able to build something using her existing bed, which is actually very nice. A daybed would work so nicely in her small room. Or maybe I could put it on a platform and have broad steps up to it. I may be getting ahead of myself.

I have a coupld projects planned for the summer already. Who knows how those will turn out. One is taking up the rest of the carpet upstairs. It's nasty, and we have hardwood floors under there. Even the beat-up floor looks better than that carpet. I would really like to refinish the floor too. Since we certainly can't afford to have someone do it, that means I would be doing it. No, I haven't refinished a floor before, but I'm willing to try. I don't think I'd screw it up at all, and I actually think I could do a nice job. But it is a huge project and would be a major disruption.

My other big project is making a patio out back for my patio furniture. Yes, I got the patio furniture before the patio. Good thing though, because it's not available anymore, and it's what I really wanted. But if I want it to last, I have to get it off the lawn and mud. Originally, I planned to just get cheap concrete pavers to get the furniture off the ground without hurting the budget. But now I think I'll just do a little at a time as we can afford and do something nicer that's permanent. The furniture will survive. We won't have to redo a patios, and we can expland later. I would really like flagstone, but I'm not sure that's affordable, even if I bout a little at a time. It definitley wouldn't get done this year. So I may do brick or some other stone for the porch and lay flagstone walkways later. That might be nicer in the long run anyway.

I'm not going to be getting the sleep I wanted tonight. I forgot about John's band practice. I'm thinking too much now anyway. I'm ready to go start digging now. It will have to wait though. Digging in the dark isn't the smartest.

I'll probably take some measurements tomorrow and make a plan. I love doing those.

I was just thinking how cool it would be to cover the side porch in shale sometimes. It would require redoing the screening though. I don't know about that. It sure would look nice though.

Eventually, I'd love a wisteria-covered pergola over the patio I'm going to make. Someday I'll have that whole back yard transformed. Maybe I can dream-plan it.

I'm tired, but I'm not feeling like I can sleep. Stupid band. Ruins my life.

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One Year Ago Today: