good and not-so-good

When the kids were younger we used to share the Good and Not-So-Good highlights from our days at the dinner table. When I was the YW president years ago, I used to do the same thing for a few minutes at the beginning of our lesson time. It proved to be a fun tradition and a great way to get a feel for what was going on in each other's lives.

So with that theme in mind, I'm going to share some of the Goods and Not-So-Goods of my week:

Good: Today I finished returning costumes and can officially "put this show in the books," so to speak. I feel good about how the show looked and especially enjoyed watching the leading couple dance in these costumes I made for them.

Not-So-Good: Because of the musical, I missed Sarah's clogging competition at Thanksgiving Point last week. She received a first-place ranking in all her events--individual and team!

Good: I finally made it to Petsmart to buy dog food and a new Nylabone for Moosey.

Not-So-Good: I didn't realize that the Nylabone was the "flexible" (a.k.a. easier to chew) kind. It was $8 and in less than 24 hours it looks like this, which also means that there are tiny pieces of it strewn about the carpet. Good thing I love her so much.

Good: I cleaned up and vacuumed my sewing area (and even got a little ironing done)! Now Mark won't have to worry about the possibility of embedded gold glitter in his work clothes.

Not-So-Good: The process of cleaning up one area always leads to a pile of things that migrate to another area to be put away.

Good: I was asked to teach another ward's YW class two weeks ago on the topic of Virtue and used this photo of my two exemplary daughters as a visual aide. Not-So-Good: I felt like I was giving the lesson to the pillars at Stonehenge.

Good: I've been flossing faithfully every night for over two months! I'm converted now.

Not-So-Good: No, actually, this one is truly a BAD. Despite my improved dental hygiene habit, I still need a new crown on one of my back molars.

Good: My life has been made immeasurably better by the addition of this Bluetooth wireless devise that Mark gave me for Valentine's Day. Not-So-Good: My Blackberry disappeared at the high school during the musical so now I'm back to using my old phone. Oh, Wo is me for the loss of my Sim card!

Good: After three weeks I was finally able to do much-needed grocery shopping at both Sam's Club and Costco. I found these magazines and can't wait to try some new-found recipes.

Not-So-Good: Before I could put away the new groceries, I had to face the stacks of molding food in Rubbermaid containers that inhabited my refrigerator--one since Christmas vacation. YUK!

Good: Jacquelyn came over for a round of family haircuts! Now John, who hasn't cut his hair for more than two months so he could look like a prince in the musical, can return to his more clean-cut look. Not-So-Good: Time to get out the Oreck again!

back in the rafters

I finally managed to dismantle my Christmas decorations and put them all in plastic bins, ready to stow in the garage rafters until next year. I'm sure glad that Storage of Christmas Boxes falls under Mark's job description, as I am not very good at standing on high ladders while hoisting large, heavy bins over my head.

The tree always seems a bit lonely after all the decorations come off, but I still think it's pretty (though I did notice a few strands of lights are not working--oh well, I'll deal with that next year).

Susan sent me a large box of beautiful assorted red ornaments to add to my tree this year. It took me way longer than in years past to sort and wrap everything. One idiosyncrasy of mine is that I like to dust the ornaments before I put them away. After all, they've been on the tree for about six weeks and no one dusted them while they were hanging there!

Moosey kept me company, cuddled up on the dirty table cloth (from John's birthday dinner) that hadn't yet made it into the laundry pile.

So now I feel a little blue and rather tired, but mostly relieved that I can now clean my house and move on with January.