I have finished packing the big suitcase for this weekend.

And I have taken all of the donation stuff out of my trunk. By actually going and donating it! It's exclamation point worthy because now your suitcase (and you) will actually fit in my car. That was not the case earlier today.

Sometimes I still like the home repair books better

I've hung onto a couple of useful books, mainly Fix It Fast, Fix It Right and a fat Time-Life Complete Fix-It book, plus books about things I think I might do in a hypothetical future in which I have money, health, time, motivation and a chop saw.

I would like a book--I would trust it more than the internet.

Sadly, smonster, I have no plumbing help.

Oh dear gods am I tired. I've been cleaning, sorting, and organizing for the past seven hours and every part of me aches. I still have to do both bedrooms (the guest room will be quick; our bedroom nsm as I plan to begin the Great Spring Clothing Purge of 2012), and I couldn't finish the floors because I ran out of Swiffer wet thingys, but the rest of the house SPARKLES. And smells good, which is always tricky with five furry critters. I think I need to call it a day, though. Not only am I sore as hell, but I haven't eaten dinner yet and still have to work on taxes with ND when he gets home. I am torn between feeling really too old for this level of deep cleaning and really proud of myself.

Coffee: I even did some sorting through stuff that had been piled in corners for ages. I have a ton more to do when it comes to going through closets and drawers and such, but it's a start.

Pix, that's what I'm planning to do this weekend! Massive cleaning. Ouch. But it will feel great when it's done! (Right?)

It will feel great when it's done! You may not, if I'm any judge, but it will!

Wow, Pix, that's awesome. I need to do that.

I'm at that stage where I keep walking around the house just to look at (and smell!) it. I do wish I'd managed to get to the bedroom (clean sheets would make tonight even better), but I'll tackle that tomorrow after tax prep and tax meeting.

There's something so deeply satisfying about manual labor when you work in a brain-heavy job. I am exhausted and sore, sure, but I can see the results of my hard work. So often my results at school are nebulous at best. I'm actually really looking forward to starting to go through my clothes to get rid of everything that is faded, worn, or dated. I rewarded myself with an Old Navy shopping trip today so I have a few pieces to freshen up my look, which always helps to motivate me.

I also have to tackle preparing the patio for a BBQ of ND's work colleagues from the conference in town. That's a daunting job. I need to replace the cushions on the patio furniture since Byron really destroyed them in the last months of his life, so I need to measure them and see what's out there. It isn't going to be easy; they're full cushions, so I can't easily cover them or find cheap replacements. I also need to replace the patio curtains from Ikea and clean the whole yard up. Yeah. Just a few things to do before Saturday.

Sorry to be all me!house. I'm babbling, I'm so tired.

Ha, no, that's how my brain works, too.

Flylady made me throw out ten pieces of clothing last week, which I resented and fussed over, but I already can't remember what all they were. So it was obviously a good toss, and someone will get good use out of them.

I am thinking about swapping out my winter wardrobe, but it's still, like 34 at nights, so maybe wait until after Easter.

I need to clear the deck too, but I thought I was doing it for guests this Friday, which turns out not to be the case: we'll be going to their place. So the next thing we need to tidy up for is our buddies coming in on April 7th for their concert.