Finally!!

A truly productive day. There's just something about waking up when the alarm goes off, getting a shower, and leaving the house right away to put me in that "I'm going to accomplish things today" mindset.


I visited Jarrettown today, which was really fun. The best part of leaving for a week is that, upon returning, you are a rock star. The kiddos pounce, hug, cheer...you can do no wrong!!


It's awesome.


I also went to Elcy's Cafe today, which is one of my favorite places to just sit and chill. I got lunch and a coffee, and I worked on some job applications. Woot! I shall find a job.


Then I came home and kept right on truckin'...until tragedy struck.


Our first casualty of Christmas 2011.


Cue the sad music.

Dun dun dunnnnn. And the culprit?

She seems wholly unapologetic. Stupid tail.


Anyway, I didn't let that stop me. I strung up the lights and garland outside:

And I had an inspiration this year. For the last two years I've wrapped the lights and garland around the metal rail (only a plumber would find it convenient to use a huge mental pole as a handrail), but when it gets snowy and icy the lights and garland make holding the rail rather treacherous. And our stairs are fairly treacherous as it is.

So this year I wrapped the decorations around the wooden part, below the actual handrail. Still pretty and festive, but much safer. I'll take some pictures after dark when it's all lit up, it's a very cozy effect.


Lastly (so far) I attacked the attic.


I know this sounds dramatic.


But our attic will be the death of me.


If the stairs don't kill me first.


I'm a neatnik, an organizer, and a pretty minimalistic person. I love a plethora of food and books; other than that, I only need one or two pairs of jeans, enough sweaters to not wear the same one twice in one week, and I was perfectly fine sharing a car (which we did, until just recently). Our attic does not conform to any of these standards.


The reason for this is pretty simple. When my parents moved, I took everything that I thought I might want to keep; thus, all of my sentimental, don't-really-use-it-but-can't-bear-to-get-rid-of-it crap is in the attic. Then, when Dan and I got married his parents indiscriminately packed up his room and dropped it off at our apartment.


So our attic is a dump.


I'm slowly and surely purging it, every few months I throw away a couple more boxes of stuff. Over the summer I donated about six trash bags of clothes we hadn't worn since high school, and the next to-be-donated collection is my old books. I'll keep Laura Ingalls Wilder, but the rest are going to the local library.


So today, I got rid of this:

It doesn't look like much, but let me tell you, it made quite a difference.


And no, you won't be seeing photos of the attic anytime soon.


Nice try.