Hot Christmas Eve Mess

I'm heading out of town in a few hours. The one thing I haven't done is call mom and make sure she knows I'm coming. I'd have done so earlier, but I've been too busy running errands that wouldn't need to be done had I been more organized over the past week. My excuse is that I was sick and couldn't bring myself to deal with anything. Anyway, here's the rundown of my week of chasing my own tail:

Saturday morning: Hit the Minute Clinic. I don't usually go to the doctor for a cold, but I also don't usually cough and sneeze up blood for a week. The nurse practitioner is unconcerned and tells me to get some expectorant and nasal spray. While I'm there, I get a polio booster for my trip.

Saturday afternoon: Get to town early so I can stop into a couple of museums and shop for holiday cards before going to see Second City. I find no inspiring holiday cards, but I do come across an amazing print that would be perfect for my living room. I buy it.

Saturday night: Wake up in coughing fits every two hours, in spite of expectorant.

Sunday afternoon: Volunteer for four hours.

Sunday evening: Go on a really boring, yet creepy date.

Sunday night: Wake up in coughing fits every two hours, in spite of another expectorant, this time with cough suppressant.

Monday and Tuesday: Work. Intermittently explain to Sunday date that no I do not want to see him again. Yes, I'm sure. Manage to sleep, thanks to Eastern European home remedy: sleep with a chopped onion (a quarter of one will do) by your bedside. No coughing fits!

Wednesday morning: Clean, make donations, pay bills, and head to Michael's for a frame for my print. Make a couple of other fruitless stops along the way, including Target, but can't remember what else I wanted to do while I was in the area. Park my car in the back because I think I'm done with it for a year. Parking out back is a huge pain; the gate leaves me little clearance.

Wednesday afternoon: Clean some, and realize that the plastic on the frame is scratched. Return it to Michael's, get a better one, albeit without a coupon, since I tossed them after the first trip. Still can't remember what I wanted to do while I was in the area.

Wednesday evening: Arrange and hang up print; rearrange other prints to accommodate new print. It looks awesome, except when the chandelier is reflected on the plastic. That's what I meant to do! Stop into ReStore and look at light fixtures, because the ones in my dining and living rooms have to go. Crap. Not going anywhere now; ReStore is closed and I need to write holiday cards. Write holiday cards.

Thursday morning: Do yoga. Wait for HVAC checkup guy. Stamp holiday cards. I'm six stamps short. Host HVAC guy, who notices the replacement windshield wipers (still) hanging out on my steps. Points out that there's no way that they match my car, which is out back (again). He explains that the measurement is from the middle of the wiper, where it snaps on, not the entire thing. I thank him and kick myself for not realizing that and returning the wipers when I was at Target the other day anyway. Guess I'm moving the car again.

Thursday morning-afternoon: Do a load of laundry (delicates). Take out the compost. Clean. A lot. Prepare pecan checks, only to notice that (1) I'm missing one; and (2) I'm $4 short in my check-writing bank account for the check I need to write to account for the people who paid me in cash. Had I dealt with this sooner, I'd have realized that in time to easily make that deposit on my way to or from the office from the metro, or the other day when I was out running errands. But I didn't.

It's as good a time as any to go through every single piece of paper in my living and dining rooms, since I'd planned to clean before the new year. That's actually a great exercise, and the house looks much better for it, but still no check. I probably stuck it in smaller pecan box and gave someone the box, with the pecans. Oh, well--small price to pay for being so disorganized.

Thursday afternoon-evening: Dust, vacuum, clean kitchen, iron, take out trash, move various prints around. Make multiple holes in the wall in the process, but I did finally get the right arrangement, if I do say so myself. Feel oddly lonely even though I'd have no time to be around other people, and am fully aware that I could have arranged to be among people. Good thing I didn't, though, because I last another few minutes before I conk out.

Friday morning: Do a load of laundry, put away the delicates that are dry, clean the bathrooms, pledge-brush the carpets, mop the kitchen floor, and put in another load of laundry. Head to Target to return the wipers (returning the wipers: five minutes; getting out of the parking lot, who the f* knows). Already in the car, so tempting to just drive to Old Town, so I do. And actually find parking. Make deposit and hit Walgreens for stamps, and thank heavens they sell them. Stamp additional holiday cards and drop them in the box. Stop into Banana and Ann because I can't help myself. Manage to get everything done in good time, thus not to fume at myself for having needlessly created three conditions (Target, bank, stamps) by which I had to leave the house when I'd have better been at home, cleaning and packing. After a twelve-point turn to get the car into the yard, come into the house and move the laundry to the dryer. Wipe down the counters another time. Admire the pot rack, and remember that RM was kind enough to help me install it, which is a good way to think, since I spent the morning annoyed at him for buying Lysol. It's already there so I may as well use it rather than spill it out, since it's going to end up in the air and water anyway. It's not only much more toxic than vinegar and baking soda, it is also less effective. But that's what RM did--the three times he actually cleaned, he didn't look for cleaning products or ask me--just bought them and wanted a medal (seriously: he would explain what a good roommate he was because he went out and did things like that). Fair enough--I once had a roommate who would wait for me to get home, only to tell me that the smoke detector batteries were low. Rather than go get them herself. There's got to be something in between, but whatever. The point is, I can't wait to get back to vinegar and baking soda, which is what I use in the kitchen.

Alright, time to put away the laundry and get packing. I expect I'll be checking in with you regularly over the next week or so. For now, happy Christmas Eve!