good riddance!

Yesterday we had a yard sale. We've been tossing things in the garage for months, and Marc and I spent a large part of last week sorting, deciding, and pricing.

But the best part of all is that the kids went through their rooms thoroughly, with an eye for getting rid of whatever  they don't use anymore! Max and Lucas pulled everything out of their closet, threw away multiple bags of trash, and even cleaned out under the bed! I walked in and found Lucas using the vacuum attachments to vacuum under the bed and declared it the best day of my life.

(They were highly motivated, as we let them keep the money they earned.)

Michelle came down from Salt Lake on Friday evening to help out. She made signs while I made dinner. She slept over and helped us during the whole interminable-feeling sale!

Sadly, it was too busy at the beginning to take any photos. We advertised 9am as a start time, but of course people were there as soon as we started pulling everything out at 8.

Pictures I wish I had taken: the collection of Monsters, Inc. and Toy Story toys that my kids got so much play out of, Max's collection of Star Wars figures, Lucas's bins of Bionicles. The kids were good salespeople! Eva even went around the neighborhood, inviting her friends to come...

Marc tried to sell the Predicta television that he bought his exhibit at BYU years ago. He had several people interested, but he was holding out for more than they wanted to pay. (He's going to go the eBay route.) We gave Jill our black kitchen chairs, and she traded us for the ones she's not using anymore. We've had Jessie's wedding dress in our garage for 7 or 8 years! I tried to sell it on craigslist several times, to no avail. Still no luck.

This was our cash box, with envelopes for each of the kids. Michelle ran to the store for us at one point to get small bills, as we had several buyers come with a $100 bill (and want to buy a small item)! What the?

We had so many books. This isn't even all of them. It shocked me, since when we had our last yard sale about 7 years ago, we sold tons of books. How did we have so many more to get rid of since then? Marc says it's because we're a bookish lot. Amen.

The funniest part of the sale was that our neighbors the Coxes ended up buying tons of our stuff. Between Heidi and her daughters, they bought Eva's play kitchen, the chairs, my glider rocker, car seats, and various decor items. (There were quite a few things that I was secretly hoping the Coxes would buy. I wanted things that I love to go to people I love!)

Michelle has never had a yard sale (but is planning to soon), and she was intrigued by the strange traffic patterns of the beast: basically tons of people would come, then there would be a lull with absolutely no one for a little while, then the hordes would arrive again. She told Max that she wanted him to do a study of this enigma so that she could understand it, and he said he would get his best people on it.

Garage sale pros: we earned $400, and the kids earned $230.  (They got their new wii, with money to spare.) We got rid of a TON of stuff. We organized our garage. The kids' rooms, at least, are clean and tidy.

Garage sale cons: it took a lot of man-hours to get ready for the sale, we had to take two van loads of stuff to D.I. afterwards, we still have a few heavy items in our driveway driving me crazy, and the garage is still disappointingly full and messy.

Yesterday, my nerves were shot and I was not sure that the pros outweighed the cons. Today, after a nap, I concede that they did, if only to rid us of so much stuff we didn't use anymore!

But I don't want to do that again anytime soon.

another dream come true

In an academic world where very few people ever read the work that you agonize and toil over, Marc has always yearned to write something that would appeal to the masses.

With his photography, as well, he has dreamed of creating something with such wide appeal that he could see it on the shelves of Target someday.

In the last couple of years or so, he has been licensing some of his work to an art agency. He heard recently that there was a European company that wanted to make a few of his photos into postcards. He mentioned in passing that it would be thrilling to happen upon his postcards while in Paris.

A couple of days ago, I opened my email to find these:

Here he is, outside of a store that carries his postcards! He bought them just as the store was closing.

Hooray for dream fulfillment!
{Of course, he still wouldn't say no to a deal with Target.}

a dream come true

Tuesday was the big night of Max's All-Star Evening with the Utah Symphony! All of those rehearsals and hours of practice were leading up to this.

Sadly, both Marc and his parents were out of town, but Jill, Lucas, and I went to Abravanel Hall in Salt Lake. Michelle, Nicole, and Kristen met us there. (Eva was home with a babysitter.)

The first half of the concert was the Utah Symphony and a guest 13-year-old violin virtuoso. She was incredible. They played Tchaikovsky's Concerto in D Major for Violin and Orchestra.

Jill had to resort to counting the lights above the performers when the movements went long.

setting up

Ready.

From our original seats, we could only see the cellist's feet, since this symphony uses a non-standard arrangement with the cellists in the center. Fortunately, Max's teacher found us some empty seats in the center where she was seated, and we moved at intermission. Then I had a perfect view of my boy! I was thrilled.

We were not supposed to take video, but I couldn't resist getting just a couple of snippets:


{part of Finlandia by Sibelius}


{part of "Montagues and Capulets" from Romeo and Juliet by Prokofiev}

They also played Wagner's "Siegfried's Funeral March"

I didn't take a single picture of the whole symphony! (I guess I get a bit short-sighted.) Jill took this one, where at least you can see the entertaining Russian conductor.

When the performance was over, Max received a bit more instruction from his mentor.

A section of the Chihuly installation in the lobby.

I'm never downtown at night! (Well, except for seeing the lights at Temple Square at Christmastime.) 

I loved seeing one of Max's dreams come true, and I was so proud. It was a wonderful night.

our little brainiac

This is Max. When he is home, he is most often found doing homework and studying, or practicing the cello or piano. He seriously does little else. (In this photo, he is talking to a classmate, walking through chemistry problems together. It sounded to me like he was speaking another language.)

At times, I wish he had a little more balance in his life. More time for social activities, or relaxing, or whatever. But I guess he must like it this way, because he keeps his school chock full of difficult classes.

Recently, he has had two big pay-offs to all of his hard work:

1. He got a 34 on the ACT! (33 the first time, 34 the second, thus fulfilling the dream he had where he got a 34.)

2. He was selected to play as a guest youth artist with the Utah Symphony! Another dream come true, and a rare opportunity, especially for juniors.

I am so happy for him, and so proud.
It's pretty cool being surpassed by your children!

a happy return

{name tag from our ward party on Friday night}

I feel like I've been absent from my life (and my blog) for far too long. Man, that was a long sickness. Happily, I'm back!

(I noticed in iPhoto that I only took 86 pictures in all of January! Unprecedented! And very telling.)

Yesterday morning, two sweet friends from my neighborhood came over to help me clean my house! Laurel proposed the idea at church on Sunday, and I feebly protested that I thought I was getting well enough to clean. But she insisted that, after such a long illness, the house probably needed a lot of work (all too true). Chris heard our conversation and said she would be coming as well. Let's face it, I was in no position to reject this kind offer.

Laurel brought her vacuum, since ours recently stopped working, and they both brought cleaning supplies. They stayed for 3 hours! And when they left, my whole house was clean. (It is hardly ever all clean at the same time. True confession.)

• Clean kitchen.
• Clean bathrooms (I even washed the walls!).
• All floors vacuumed.
• Couch and chair cushions vacuumed.
• Blinds vacuumed.
• Tables cleared of all clutter and detritus and cleaned.
• Tile mopped.
• Piano cleaned (badly needed).
• Everything dusted.
• They even washed the windows and glass doors in our living area!

I got some laundry going and heard that satisfactory hum of a washing machine and dishwasher going at the same time.

I have no words. It was one of those times when I felt utterly rescued. I went from feeling quite overwhelmed—like I was surfacing from the depths—to feeling on top of things, energized, and ready for re-entry.




Oh, and my kitchen is finally finished! I polished up the last remaining bit of painting during the first week of January (before I got sick) and installed the hardware a couple of weeks ago on a day when I thought I was better. (It was disappointing to learn otherwise, but at least I accomplished something big!)

I love it.

Anyway. After my sweet friends left, I just sat and looked around for about 15 minutes.

Then I decided to go get dog food, as we were completely out. I also ran to the grocery store to get some necessary items for an afternoon of baking (I had to make 3 double batches of muffins to take to Lucas's play practice today).

It was the first day that I didn't spend any time in bed! It was a very full day, and I was exhausted at the end of it, but absolutely thrilled that I could do it all. Doing laundry, errands, and baking bring a whole new satisfaction when you haven't been able to do anything for awhile. So thankful. I feel like I could conquer the world!

Happy Pioneer Day

I'm not much of a parade girl (although we did watch part of the Days of '47 parade on tv this morning), so I honored the pioneers the best way I knew how:

industry.

After being sick for almost two weeks, the house and yard really needed some attention. I spent most of the day cleaning bathrooms, doing laundry, vacuuming, and watering the lawn. Very satisfying.

Spring run-off

Yesterday was the annual 3K Spring Run-Off at our elementary school. Lucas had absolutely no desire to participate. (He has mild asthma and really hates running. I can't blame him.)

Eva surprised me by wanting to run. Well, actually, she wanted to walk it. It was only later that she realized no one was walking... They have a 1K route for the kindergartners and first graders.

She was quite pleased to have a special race day t-shirt. Never mind that the smallest size came down to her knees.

The little guy on the bottom right is her "boyfriend." That is what she calls him, but apparently he has a crush on his cousin. Oh well, can't win 'em all.

Being completely inexperienced with the whole race scene, I didn't realize that parents were running alongside their children. As in, holding their hands through the race. But you had to be registered as a runner and have an official t-shirt to do so – if Eva decides to try again next year, I'll know what to do!

Even though 1K really isn't that long, I don't think Eva has ever run that far (surely she never had a reason to before!). She quickly fell behind and got a stitch in her side. I told her to walk it out, but she was not happy that everyone was passing her by. With a good dose of encouragement, she started running again.

Heading for the finish line.

While she wasn't dead last, she was definitely one of the stragglers at the end. I praised her for finishing, and fortunately she seemed proud of herself.

Cooling off post-race. (Note the utter lack of appropriate running footwear.)

She told me that she had fun and wants to do it again next year! Also that she wants to submit a design for next year's t-shirt.

wish BIG, revised

I first posted this list on March 14th in 2009. I am pretty disturbed by how many of these things I have not done yet and still need to work on. That was two years ago, people! It's upsetting. Ahem.

Okay, then. Well, I'm not going to let it get me down. I am going to press forward and continue working on my goals. Perhaps I need to implement a system of review, so I can check in on them more frequently...

I was really inspired by Hannah's list of 101 things she wants to do. I started working on my own and found it much harder than I anticipated! In fact, I could only come up with 50 items. (But I reserve the right to make additions to the list, if/when I think of new ideas.)

I'm posting this on my birthday as a personal reminder of the things I hope to accomplish in this new year of my life. I will add it to my sidebar and update it periodically. Here's to wishing BIG!

1. learn to knit
2. finish Bob's Blurb book (!)
3. finish bookshelves
4. implement the chore stick system
5. sort through the kids' clothes
6. get the black shelf hung in the entryway
7. purge/organize hall closets
8. brush up on my French (for real this time)
9. remove 20 pounds
10. start strength training again
11. increase duration and difficulty of cardio
12. publish year 1 of my blog
13. stay in a bed & breakfast
14. make family prayer a habit
15. get everyone involved in planning FHE (rotation)
16. paint touch-up in main living area
17. get garage completely cleaned up! (although it needs to be done again)
18. organize food storage and make a plan
19. read the manual for my new camera
20. use tag books more frequently
21. figure out solution for Max's schooling for Fall semester in Paris
22. learn more about couponing
23. print photos monthly
24. sew a dress for Eva (or maybe just more skirts)
25. (re-)learn to crochet
26. send out Christmas cards
27. get back to piano lessons with Lucas and be consistent
28. enroll Eva in swim lessons
29. read 5 books in one month
30. remove another 20 pounds
31. come up with a new blogger birthday gift (and now I need to do it again!)
32. pay off credit card debt with our tax refund
33. check into a pediatric immunologist
34. expand my bread-making repertoire
35. turn Eva's room into a big-girl room
36. purge and organize my studio
37. do better at remembering nieces' and nephews' birthdays
38. enroll Lucas in a sports camp
39. give Eva her first real birthday party
40. stretch
41. write and send more notes just because
42. re-commit to regular flossing
43. plant something with Eva so she doesn't lose her interest in gardening
44. take the boys on more dates
45. seriously look for meaningful service opportunities
46. be a better visiting teacher
47. be more mindful of taking opportunities to teach my children
48. strive to return to intuitive eating
49. keep looking for handmade gift ideas and keep good records of said ideas
50. pray always
51. teach Max to drive!
52. implement a little-bit-every-day cleaning routine, for real
53. paint my kitchen cabinets
54. make doing my knee exercises and wearing my braces a habit so I can keep them in good shape
55. think of a good 20th anniversary gift for Marc!

to be continued...

tales from PT

My 8-week course of knee treatments is coming to an end and this is my last week of physical therapy!

My 24th and final visit will be on Friday. Each visit lasts an average of 2 hours long, which means that I have been spending 6 hours or more a week at the facility. It's funny – when you spend that much time with a group of people, you get to know a lot of things.

I calculated that there are at least 12 employees that I have worked with and talked with on a regular basis.

There's Candace, who was 7 1/2 months pregnant when I started the treatments. As time went by, she had a countdown and her co-workers had an office pool going to guess her delivery date. One day when I was there, I heard that she wasn't feeling well and went home. She delivered a beautiful baby boy a few days later!

Brittany is newly pregnant and a little green around the gills. She eats oranges to keep the nausea at bay, and sneaks candies out of the treat drawer to give to Eva.

Katherine is very petite, I think 4'10", so she often puts on/takes off ankle weights to help out her co-workers, especially the pregnant ones. She and her husband just bought their first house and moved in and she is happily unpacking and organizing.

Jeb is the loudest guy in any room. He is comfortable conversing with anyone, on any subject. He likes to talk dinosaurs with Eva because she knows about the newer ones he has never heard of before. He teases everyone, and the older patients seem to really enjoy it. He sees me reading and keeps telling me about his favorite book, Vertical Run. It is apparently a real action page-turner with quite the body count. I've told him it's not exactly my style, but he hasn't given up trying to persuade me. He has a 5-month old baby girl and lives for the weekends when he gets to take over her care and spend lots of time with her. He's got a gruff exterior, but he's really a softie.

There are about 10 other patients that I see frequently, as well.

There's Pat, who seems to be an ex-military guy. I think of him as a show-off. When he does his leg raises, he puts his foot all the way over his head and touches the wall. I don't like to do my exercises next to Pat. He always has a book with him, though, so I guess we do have something in common.

There's the woman with dark spiky hair (I never caught her name) who is always bubbly. She is cheerful and talks to everyone. I am even more reserved than usual when she is around.

There's the man who turns the speed way up on the anti-gravity treadmill and runs on his tiptoes. When the PTs ask him to slow down and walk heel-toe, he is belligerent and demands one good reason. (They have many good reasons.) I can't really blame him, it is a delightful feeling to be able to walk (or run) without pain.

Then there's the woman who comes to work out with a different, ginormous ring every time. What a character!

Blaine, a distinguished-looking older man, is polite and cooperative. He wears pink oxford shirts and jeans and has a quiet, dry sense of humor. I found out yesterday that he has made 9 trips to Ghana to help build a school. I love Blaine.

I've learned all kinds of things by talking to people at physical therapy.

I heard a terrifying story about a woman who unknowingly got a spider bite. She had a little red mark on her hand and didn't think much of it. She went out with some friends that night and they noticed a dark line going from her hand up to her elbow. They persuaded her to go to the E.R. (she didn't have insurance and was trying to avoid it). By the time she got there, it was up to her shoulder. She had blood poisoning and the doctors told her that if she had waited until morning, it would have gone to her heart and killed her! A cautionary tale.

I learned about a shooting app for smart phones. Apparently, you can enter in the type of gun you are using, and it looks up your location and factors in the wind direction and speed and tells you how to compensate. There's an app for everything!

I learned about a diet I had never heard of before – The Carbohydrate Addict's Diet. I got it from the library, read it, and am now on day 5 of following it! Who knows, maybe I'll lose all this weight and have physical therapy to thank for it!

I'm going to miss some of the people. I'm going to miss the anti-gravity treadmills. I'm going to miss the end-of-workout shaking machine. I'm definitely going to miss the knee massage and icing sessions – the reward after the pain. I'm not going to miss the big chunks of time (close to 3 hours with travel time).

I'm not sure how I used to spend all of that time when my kids are all at school, but I'm excited to find out!

p.s. My knees are feeling much, MUCH better than they did before I started!

merry & bright

Today was a good day. Holiday-ish, without being stressful.

I got the last remaining stocking stuffers, put gas in my car for the trip to Salt Lake for our Christmas Eve dinner with Michelle's family, bought groceries, packaged my neighbor gifts and had the boys deliver them, and finished my wrapping.

This year I made English toffee, dipped in chocolate and chopped almonds.

And then I got a little ambitious. I decided I had to try my Grandma Nita's famous pecan log recipe, which was handed out at her funeral earlier this year. I had never tried her pecan logs, but I figured if she had a famous recipe, I really ought to give it a try.

I will be posting it on my recipe blog soon, but be warned: it is not for the faint of heart. It is a two-day recipe.

Only when I was nearly finished making these treats did I realize that both of them were covered in nuts. Oops. My apologies to our neighbors who don't like nuts!

It takes me by surprise each year how long it takes to put together these packages. Landon was here playing today, and I was glad to have willing treat delivery boys in he and Lucas.

They played chess by the Christmas tree, which I thought was adorable.

My mom's packages arrived today! A highly anticipated event. She sent two giant boxes of gifts. My kids keep saying over and over again things like, "Grandma sure is generous!" and "Grandma sure does like to give gifts!" and "Grandma must really like Christmas!" It's all pretty exciting.

And now our tree is completely overflowing.

Jill came over, twice! We got to chat, always good for the soul. We had many friends and neighbors stopping by, dropping off little treats and tokens.

The roll dough is mixed and chilling. The children are nestled all snug in their beds. I am headed there myself, with a new book. Oh happy day.

every mother crow...

thinks her baby's blackest!

On Monday night, we went to see Max perform with the Utah Valley Youth Symphony Orchestra at Provo's Covey Center for the Arts.

This is the third year he's played with UVYSO. The first year, he was in the Sinfonia, the second year he played in the Youth Symphony, and this year he auditioned for and was admitted to the most advanced group, the Philharmonia.

It's interesting – when the Sinfonia plays, I find myself thinking, "hey, they're pretty good!" Then when the Youth Symphony plays, there's a big jump in their ability. But when the Philharmonia takes the stage, they blow you away.

I was thrilled for Max when he made the Philharmonia. But listening to them play, I was even more thrilled for him. It must be so much fun to play with a group that is so great!

Marc's parents came to the concert. They are so good to support the kids in their activities, and they always bring a card as well.

We went to The Chocolate afterwards to get some cake. (I got red velvet, but wished I had stuck with their vanilla, which I know is really good. Max helped me out.)

Also, Max brought home his first report card since he started high school. 4.0. I'm a proud mama!

teamwork

Today I recruited the kids to help me wash all the shutters. Even Eva helped! In all, we have 6 sets of plantation shutters over the windows, and 5 sets of louvered closet doors. We used a solution of Murphy's Oil Soap, ammonia, and hot water. The kids were not keen on the smell, especially Lucas, but we were professionals and we rose above it. It was a major job -- I think it took 2.5 hours -- imagine how long I would have been at it alone! I think they felt the satisfaction of a job well done.

Yesterday I cleaned out the pantry. Another pretty big job.


Other things I've done in the last couple of days:

• picked up the vacuum from the repair shop and vacuumed (ahhhh!)
• designed a couple of advertising emails for my mom's store
• purchased and packaged birthday gifts for niece Fiona and brother-in-law Timm
• stocked up on children's medicines
• bought the last of the books Max needs for English
• paid the bills
• signed us up for all paperless bills
• went to my last YW activity (finished aprons)

I haven't been as super-productive as I would like. I still seem to be adding things to my to-do lists about as fast as I'm crossing them off. I have to get to a point where there are no more things to add, right? And soon. T-6 days.

Now, off to read my book club book!

more progress

Yesterday was not a great, productive day. Eva woke up in the night and woke up early for the day, which left me tired and grumpy -- not the ideal start. My visiting teachers came and stayed for an hour. Then we went out to lunch with Marc's parents which was fun, but, you know, not productive. After that, I got locked out of my house and had to kill time by running some errands. I was so tired I had to go to bed at 9:30.

But today -- oh ho, today! -- Jill took Eva (and Lucas) for the day and I again found my super-productive mojo. (Incidentally, Jill called last night and offered and I was hemming and hawing, thinking I didn't really need the help and surely she had better things to do with her day. But by the time she came this morning I had come around to the beauty of the plan and was blessing her name. When will I learn??)

More items checked off my list:

• went to the dollar store and bought treats and stuff for the (10 hour) airplane ride
• called Old Navy customer service and found out that, contrary to what the store employees told me, they do not make jeans in 28x32. We will wait and look for some in France, where more people are super-skinny
• went to the bank
• bought pink thread just in case I have time to make the skirt for Eva (thanks for the tips on the Gymboree one, but it wasn't what I was envisioning)
• returned a pair of shoes I bought for Eva that she refuses to wear
• started boxing up clothes that I will not be taking with us
• cleaned the oven, the stove, the microwave, and the toaster oven
• totally cleaned the rest of the kitchen
• totally cleaned the bathrooms
• bought some of my favorite lipliner
• mopped
• took the vacuum cleaner to the repair shop
• **talked to the principal of Electronic High School and she resolved our problems and answered all my questions!! This is HUGE!**

So, I'm feeling really good right now, thanks in large part to Jill. The Relief Society president called me today to see if I needed any help, and I could honestly say I was doing fine! This is unprecedented, people (in a pre-Paris crunch time).

I realized that one reason I'm able to get so much done and not be so stressed is that, unlike the last time we were preparing to go on Study Abroad, I did not just have knee surgery! I am not bedridden, I am not in pain, and I can move about freely. Such a blessing.

My reward for crossing so many things off my list is: Creative Friday!

progress report

I'm happy to report that I've been crazy busy over the last two days and that I have done tons of things on my pre-Paris to-do lists!!

It totally helps that Eva has started sleeping through the night again. I know how wrong it is that I'm thrilled my 4-year-old is sleeping through the night, but... it is what it is. And when I get a good block of uninterrupted sleep, it's like I'm a whole new woman. An energetic woman, capable of accomplishing much. Yeehaw!

Anyway, here's what I've done since yesterday morning:

• went to Kohl's and bought Eva 3 pairs of good, comfy shoes (also a couple of outfits on a really good sale)
• took Max to cello
• went to the distribution center (ahh, new garments)
• stocked up on knitting needles in different sizes
• had UPS pick up the package
• went visiting teaching
• made my apron for YW and had part 1 of the apron activity
  
• took Lucas to get a tooth extracted
• went to pack meeting -- Lucas got his Bear
• made bread
• bought Max a camera bag
• sent FSA documentation to the insurance company
• sorted through all of my shoes and culled quite a few more pairs to donate

This morning, I had accomplished two things on my list, baked bread, and put dinner in the crockpot, all by 10:00 a.m.! I was seriously on fire.

(Not all of these things were on the list in my previous post, but they were all on various and sundry lists I have -- my daily lists, my weekly lists, and my master pre-Paris lists.)

The bad thing: I've been too busy to take any photos. The good thing: I've been super-productive! Now if I can just keep this up, I'll be in great shape...

garage assault

I had determined that when Jessie's family went to their family reunion, I would tackle the seemingly insurmountable job of cleaning the garage. When Jill heard of my plan, she volunteered to come over on Tuesday and help me carry out a Garage Assault!

She came just at 9:00 a.m., armed with her ipod and speakers and beverages. She was ready to get down and dirty. Seriously. How many friends would make an offer like that?!

It was incredibly great to have a buddy to help me tackle this job. There were countless times during the process when I would have wanted to give up. As it was, I couldn't keep from sighing repeatedly and practically wringing my hands because I just didn't know what to do with stuff. Jill kept me going with good humor and gentle prodding.

We only stopped for lunch, otherwise working straight through from 9:00 - 4:30.

I took a vanload of stuff to D.I., and Jill filled her car with broken down boxes and broken down appliances and disposed of them for me! We got so much more done than I ever imagined -- if I had done this myself, I'm sure it would have taken 3 days.

I don't think the before and after photos really do it justice, but suffice it to say that the difference is like night and day! I had to move some stuff back in that we are going to sell, so it is a little more cluttered than it soon will be. My family is totally amazed by the transformation.

After we finished, I was hot, exhausted, and supremely satisfied! And the best part is, this mammoth job is out of the way and now I don't have to even think about it (except to gloat) before we go to Paris!

This was one of those times where I felt rescued. Thank you is definitely not enough. But thank you, Jill!!

progress report

I just thought I'd report that the water damage reconstruction from our flood is finally, finally done! All the drywall, painting, and baseboards are finished. We got new carpet downstairs (charcoal), we had a mold test (negative), and the contractors sent someone to clean up the mess they made. And it only took 9 weeks...

I brought in and cleaned up everything that had been moved to the patio.

We decided not to move back our old sofa, the treadmill, and the elliptical machine (but now the garage is so full we can't walk in it.) We thoroughly cleaned out the closet in the laundry room, for the first time since we moved in.

Marc painted the downstairs (Sherwin Williams Anonymous).

And he's currently painting the downstairs fireplace (Sherwin Williams Intellectual Gray). It's all part of his transformation of our second family room, which has really been more like an exercise room/music room/guest room, into his "man-cave." Now he can finally have the modern media room he's been pining after (eventually, pending additional $$).

And when Marc moved our bookshelf back into position and re-organized all of the books, he also added this to the top.

I guess some positive things came out of that blasted flood after all.