Homework...I Mean REAL Homework

Glubbedy, Glubbedy, Glub... When the plaster dudes showed up at our home last week, they turned on the big daddy of plaster mixers.

This machine could truly have an impact on my laundry. I could do an entire weeks' worth in 1 shot! They used some awesome "pre-mixed" plaster, as this allowed quicker timing, less strain on the machinery, and a lot less fuel use, as this baby sucked up the unleaded!Then, this morning the "Carpet Guy" showed up. Because I have the most awesome husband in the world, as well as a very helpful son, the entire floor surface was prepped and ready for him to begin immediately laying down the under-padding. We ordered "the good stuff," knowing we'd be in this home for many years, most likely. Prior to this, it's important to note that we removed all "popcorn" ceilings, re-hung some of the sheetrock, primed, painted AFTER the plaster dried, painted ALL wall surfaces, and have had no furniture in the house for about 4 weeks. We are survivors.

This is the view of the living room, waiting for the carpet. Notice the bright green walls! It's called "Geranium Leaf Green."Here's the hallway with padding down. The new color on the walls is "caramel sundae." Can you see the ceiling? Yeah, that's right...all new!Here's an odd view of our recently redone fireplace. It looks funny without furniture and decor.
This corner gives you a better idea of the living room color.
Here's a view of the dining room. The "Carpet Dude" saved us about $200 by allowing us to park the baby grand in here. See, if he'd been an ass, he would have said, "I won't be able to begin carpeting until this piano is out of here." Then, we would have had to hire those piano-moving-dudes we've hired before to dismantle, load, and move the instrument, for about $100...and then give them another $100 to put it back later on!
Here's the view of the corner in the dining room area. Those are the French Doors we put in last summer!
This is my son's room. He chose "Dandelion Green" for his wall, very rich and very energetic!
Here's his 1969 "Orb Light" that he salvaged when we originally began redoing this home in 2001. This was the original lighting in the dining room.
Here's the ceiling in my daughter's bedroom! Oooo! Ahhh!
Here's look back at the day the plaster guys came. We had to drape every single wall surface in our entire frickin' house in order to protect them from the splattering plaster. If you're super Earth-Conscious, you might want to look away at this point...

I'll update when the carpet's in! Yea!!

Planning and Predicting

I had to work with my Literacy Team for the school district today. We're planning for next week's "New Teacher" inservice and training session. Today, 6 of us gathered to review the entire reading curriculum and materials, set up a plan for training, wrote a lesson plan/agenda, gathered materials, and discussed what we envision. It was very exciting, but I left at 4:00 with a headache. For the next 2 days I'll be attending a retreat with all of the district administrators for an in-depth training session that will help all of us continue to move toward excellence in working with teaching staff to create magic for children.

When I got home, after watering all of my exterior potted plants and setting up sprinklers, I had to lie down on the couch and close my eyes for a bit. I was mentally drained, and physically exhausted from SITTING all day! When I arose, I cooked a very special dinner and convinced both of my teenagers to be home at 7:00 so we could share a meal for the first time in more than a week! It was awesome! We laughed, ate, ended up playing card games, and teased the dogs, just like we used to do when they were much smaller...the kids, not the dogs.

Just a minute ago, I told my husband that I have a desire to find a way to not have to work outside the home, and instead be a full-time putterer. He's completely not supportive of my joking about this. I will always have to work. I have always had to work. I regret that I didn't stay home longer with my children when they were little. It's something I guess many of us figure out too late...