Yesterday was not so busy.  I did some writing in the morning and then started a household inventory process.  It’s one of those things that doesn’t have to be done on any schedule, so I can work on it as I want to.  And it’s good to have in case you ever need it.  It’s just a bear of a project at first!  Oh well…

Last night I hung out with some girlfriends at Panera to discuss a girls’ bible study we’ll be doing for a few weeks.  It was nice to get out for a bit and catch up with them.  When I came home, Eric had started installing the undercabinet lighting in the kitchen, so that will probably be his project for this week.  It’ll be nice to be able to see my counters!  The lighting in my kitchen is not particularly great.  Anyway, today I’ll probably try to clear off the counters and tops of the cabinets as much as possible so he can work without those things getting in the way.  Boy it’s a pain to have your kitchen in pieces, though!

It was a very busy weekend!  Saturday was one of those days where you were busy the entire time, but can’t really say what you accomplished.  I cleaned a bit, Eric and I ran to Lowe’s to buy a new grill he’s been wanting, then I ran to WalMart to get some things for the parties we had this weekend.  Then we headed to Cedarville for dinner with Mom & Dad and Karen & Erik.  Then we had Holly’s b-day party over at their house.  It was fun…but as Holly actually becomes more and more of a person, you can see how difficult it is for Kelly to understand and accept the need to share everyone’s attention.  But they did pretty well, and Holly LOVED her chocolate cake!

Sunday, Eric didn’t have to play in the orchestra (YEAH!), so we got to have a leisurely morning.  The family was coming over for Father’s Day, so after church, I got to work on the house and getting food ready.  Eric had to make a quick trip into work.  Then everyone arrived, Eric got to use his new grill, and we hung out.  It was fun.  Everyone left by 4:00, though, so we cleaned up a bit, then went for a walk in the newest area of the Prairie Oaks Metro Park.  It’s got like 3 lakes with trails around it.  There were LOTS of people fishing, but the trails were pretty nice.  Then we came home, relaxed for a bit, and watched Batman Begins so we could return it to NetFlix today.  Then we went to bed!

Today, I don’t really have plans, so we’ll see what happens!

So I worked outside all day yesterday.  The mulch never came, so after I finished working on the flower beds, I washed and cleaned my car.  It’s so much better than it was!  I even vacuumed the carpets and cleaned the dashboard and vinyl.  By then it was almost 4:00, so I came in and got a drink.  Then I showered for the day.  Eric got stuck in really bad traffic coming home, so it took him about 45 minutes to get here.  We had supper and then he worked on the last bit of edging that needed done.  It wasn’t that exciting of an evening, needless to say!

I was going to run some errands this morning before working on the yard for the afternoon. The mulch arrived just a few minutes ago, however, and it’s actually coving the middle of the driveway, so I can’t really get my car out.   I guess that means I should work on my yard first and then run errands.  Oh well!

Some success on my errands yesterday.  In the morning, I got my hair cut.  Then I ran to WalMart where I found a couple of things (including a big section of clearance baby clothes, so I bought a bunch for a baby shower later this month), to JoAnn Fabric to return some stuff, and to Strader’s Garden Center to buy some garden things.  Then I went home for lunch.

After lunch, I headed north to Sawmill.  I went to (in order) Pier 1, Hobby Lobby, Bed Bath & Beyond, Babies R Us, a Christian book store and Target.  I was looking for decorations for our newly repainted kitchen at most places.  I found a great ceramic pot at Pier 1 (on clearance!).  Then I bought a couple of those vinegar filled decorative jars at Hobby Lobby (though they are too tall for where I was hoping to put them).  Then I got a paper towel holder at BB & B; we have for the last two years just left the roll of paper towels on the counter, but I figured since I now have a theme in my kitchen, I could buy one…so I did.

By this time in the afternoon, I was hot and had a small headache, but I needed to finish my errands.  Holly (my niece) turns one today, and her party is on Saturday, so I went to Babies R Us to find a toy she had really liked while we were there once before.  Unfortunately, it was no longer on the shelves…how annoying!  Then I made quick stops at the other two stores, but didn’t buy anything in either place. 

When I got home, I made banana bread to take to a picnic we had for church.  Then I unpacked my purchases and started putting them up in the kitchen.  Eric helped some when he got home, handing me things and giving his opinion.  Overall, I’m going to like the effect when it’s all done.  We went to the picnic, but didn’t stay long.  I still had an echo of my headache, and Eric wanted to get some yard work done before the large pile of mulch he ordered arrives this morning.  So we worked on that and then showered off and went to bed. 

Today…I’ll be finishing the yard work we started last night and then starting on the mulch.  No fun errands for me today!

Yesterday was quite full…and I didn’t start out planning for that!  I was planning to just run errands all day, so that’s where I started.  I went to the mall in the morning and then came home for lunch.  While I was in Macy’s, my mom called to see if Eric could come down and help my Dad move the furniture back upstairs.  So I called Eric at lunch to make sure that would work for him and told him to call me when he left work so we could head down somewhat early.  Then I ran some more errands though the afternoon stops were not very successful…oh well.  We went to Cedarville, and I ran up to CU to do a grade change since I was there.  Then we helped them move stuff upstairs.  The new carpet looks really nice, and the house is still pretty messy because my mom is sorting as she goes (what will and will not go back upstairs).  But the heavy stuff is done.  We had supper with them and then chatted for a while before coming home…and not even terribly late (though later than I’d wanted to get home). 

Today, I’m going to try to finish my errands.  I may also need to run some errands for a picnic the Music & Arts ministry is having for its people tonight, but we’ll see.  The sky is very cloudy right now (I needed to turn on some lights!), but it’s supposed to clear off and warm up…that’s good!  I don’t like running around in the rain!

So far…no luck with people for my “living picture” for the weekend of July 1 & 2.  I have to start this early asking people because it’s CRAZY hard to find men who are willing to help me do it.  It can be very frustrating…especially because it wasn’t my idea, but I have to somehow pull it off. 

Yesterday, I did some desk work in the morning, then I cleaned the mirrors in the house and spot-cleaned the floor.  After lunch, I washed the baseboards, trim and doors in the kitchen before mopping the floor.  Then I changed my clothes and worked in my flower beds for the rest of the afternoon, weeding and turning the dirt and pulling out rocks.  It is amazing the size of rocks that we have been extracting from our flower beds!  Eric got home about then and he worked outside too (mowing, rehanging my porch swing).

After supper, we went over to see the house Karen & Erik like.  It’s nice…it needs cleaned and repainted, but it’s nice.  So hopefully, it will work out for them to buy it!  Then they went to dinner (our parents and Erik’s parents also saw the house) and we went to Home Depot.  It wasn’t the most successful trip to Home Depot, but we did get a few things we needed.  Then Mom & Dad stopped by just long enough to see our new kitchen colors before heading home to buy & deliver pop to Chris and Deb’s house (both of them and Kelly have the stomach flu…Kelly got it on the weekend and the two of them came down with it yesterday.  Yuck!). 

Today I have lots of errands to run…should be fun!

For the upcoming patriotic weekend at our church, I have to re-create this picture.  I think it’s going to be a lot of work…especially for the 5-seconds they want it up there!

Our weekend wasn’t too exciting. We went to Lisa Hamer’s surprise b-day party (she turned 30) on Friday night.  I got there and volunteered/was asked to organize things, so I did.  It was actually a lot of fun to hang out and see a bunch of people I don’t get to see much anymore. After a while, we ended up with the boys inside playing Atari, and the girls outside chatting, which was a lot of fun…we laughed VERY hard.  Then we “played” Scene It (we only watched the dvd…but didn’t use the board).  We didn’t leave until 11:00!

Eric worked on Saturday, so I did laundry, finished the jam making, and cleaned a bit.  In the afternoon after it FINALLY stopped raining, I also planted some impatiens in the front flower beds, so that’s starting to look a bit more complete again.  I still need some more of them, but they aren’t hard to find!  We looked at our various plants (my veggies are really growing well!), and then Eric started edging the beds, so I worked on cleaning up the dirt clods he’d made. I also deadheaded the roses so they keep blooming as well as they have been!  Sunday was less exciting. Church, dinner, read the newspaper, finished the laundry (I even ironed everything and put all the clean clothes away!), watched some tv with Eric and then watched a movie before we went to bed.  We watched The Island. It had been highly recommended to me, and it was definitely worth the watch.  I liked it, but I also like Ewan McGregor, too, so that helps!

There’s a circus coming to Columbus for the next couple of weeks.  I really want to take Kelly…I think she’s old enough to really enjoy it now!

Not much to say today.  Yesterday Eric came home from work before noon because he didn’t have anything much to do at work and he wanted to de-grub the lawn before it rained (the stuff is supposed to be watered once it’s down).  Then he just hung out and read a book at home for the afternoon.  Karen came over and we pretty much finished up the strawberries. That was good…now there’s LOTS of jam.  I think I need a bigger freezer.

Today Karen is coming over and we’re heading to Cedarville for the day.  I need to send a couple of emails in my office and then we’ll have lunch with mom (and maybe Deb and the girls).  Then over to see Trisha and Kayla for a bit.  Can’t wait!

Strawberry picking and making jam makes a body very tired and sore!  Karen and I both woke up today pretty sore from the bending and standing.  And my feet were VERY tired by the time I went to bed last night. 

But it was lots of fun anyway.  The day was perfect: warm, but not too humid.  The weather has been great, so the strawberry crop was excellent.  The girl working the U-Pick field told us which rows hadn’t much been touched yet, and she was right! We found tons of really good berries.  We picked for about an hour and a half and then came to my house for lunch and to start making jam.  And we did it!  It turns out that jam making is time-consuming, but not difficult.  As my Grandma Campbell told my mom once, if you follow the Sure-Jell directions exactly…you just can’t mess it up.  So we made 5 batches of jam yesterday.  I froze some in the evening.  Karen is going to try to get back over here this afternoon to work on the rest of them, but we’ll get it done pretty quickly now, I think.

So other than finishing strawberry stuff, I may run some errands and do some smaller cleaning chores. Such fun, huh?