A weekend to do the things I do

So D left for the weekend – yep, drove out Friday morning and won’t be back until Monday evening. I have constantly been torn between being pissed for being left alone on a long weekend and being gleeful for having several days to get some stuff down around the house that never seems to get done. I am trying to focus on the glee.

So what have I done, you might ask. Well, I carried all the books downstairs to begin the laborious process of alphabetizing them all again. The problem is I have two boxes of books we have read since we packed them away which need to be added to the nicely packed alphabetized books. Sighhh. As I was moving them, I was trying to remember how I got them up the stairs. These were huge boxes packed with books. I don’t remember D helping, which means I maneuvered them all by myself. Sheesh – was I an idiot? Teehee.

Yes – this means the bookshelves are pretty much done. I say pretty much, because there is still work to be done. Several people commented the backs of the bookshelves looked too light, so today I hit Rona for a new color to darken the backs. If it doesn’t match after this, I don’t care!!!! It will all be covered by books and movies! You won’t see it people! We also need to attach the new bookshelves to the wall – obviously after painting. Then we have to get the trim to match so the old bookshelves and the new ones will match more. Then install the lights we found from Ikea. So still lots of work, but at the very least, I am filling the old shelves. My office looks amazingly empty without the piles of boxes. It is almost unnerving. :)

I have also washed all the upstairs walls. I washed the curtains in the bedroom and after all the dusting (fans, books, shelves) washed all the bedding. I washed the shower curtains (all three – washed the window one as well as the two hanging ones) and recaulked the tub…. Ooh did I do a lovely job caulking. Teehee.

I have also watched several shows. I have tidied the kitchen. I have washed windows several times in the bathroom and laundry room (see previous post on worm composting).

J and I spent a lovely afternoon checking out interesting stores – we visited 3x a Lady, Nightshade corsets, and Frog Kissed Den. 3X a Lady was nice and had a lots of interesting plus size clothing. Some very interesting shoes, if I could handle 4 inch heels. Not my kind of clothes, since most are just fluff clothes. I wanted something with more substance. And boy did I find that at Nightshade Corsets. I have wanted to visit this store for ages. It is probably good for my pocket book, that I didn’t. Oh – My – Goodness!!! J found a corset we noticed in a catalogue at 3X a Lady. She tried it on and it was very cute. I decided I really wanted to try a waist cincher. I have lovely ample breasts and I find if I can get something to fit my breasts, it doesn’t do my waist any favors. I am very much an hourglass with a very tiny waist. You just don’t notice it. Well, I tried on a couple pretty ones and then the girl asked if I was looked for something that actually did something. I said sure (what woman doesn’t want a tiny waist). She brought me two cinchers. The second one was perfect. Oh – My – Goodness! My waist was so tiny. I looked so HOT! My ego got this fantastic boost. And then reality set in. Where would I wear it? How much weight can I lose and still fit in to it. She tightened it a bit more since it was a little loose by my breasts and when I turned there was an inch between the two sides. If I make my goal, this would no longer fit in a few months. Did I really want to spend $395 (oh yes – you read that correctly) one something I could wear once or twice and then have to find a new home for?!? I chose to think about it. I wish I had been thinking clearly and gotten J to take a picture of me in it. If that is not motivation, I don’t know what is. My breasts were perky, my belly flat, my waist small and my back looked long and lovely. It is a day later and I am still dreaming about it. Sighhh!

And while I dwell on that wondrous image, I will tell you my other annoying news (see worm composting for other annoyances). SIL has, with one week’s notice, decided she and her daughter are coming to visit and want to stay with us. She is arriving Thursday evening and not leaving until Monday at noon. Wow – how convenient for other people eh? Not like D and I work for a living or anything. What I have really discovered is I don’t like people staying with me. Friends who stay after an evening of debauchery and fun are one thing. Someone who is staying with you sucks! We have not set up our lifestyle or our house for guests. I am quite proud of this. There had better not be any demands for a babysitter – though I imagine I will get no alone time and no recovery time next weekend. I should be a bitch for work the next week. Yep.

Hmmm – pretty tiny waist. Good thoughts. ; )

Anyway – J and A also spend the evening with me. We went to New Asian Village – where I followed peer pressure and went for the buffet. I should know better. And next time, no buffet. I suggested it because of Taste of Edmonton where I had tried both of their items and thought them yummy and the Entertainment book had 4 pages of coupons. My stomach was not as impressed today with the choice. I liked most of what I had and I tried just about everything. I think it was just too rich and the sauces too varied. Maybe if I had just stuck with tomato based or the yellow cream based, I would have been happier, but I like to try things. Plus – I still think $20 is flipping too expensive for a buffet! I would have only paid $16 at the most for an entrée, so to spend more seems frivolous to me. At least we got 10% off the food portion due to the coupon. Yeah – entertainment book!

So left to do this weekend: paint backs of shelves; alphabetize the books; and do dishes. I put the domestic in domestic goddess. Alas none of my lovers were available for a tryst this weekend. What is a girl to do.

Worms to eat my garbage

So in the course of being more environmentally friendly, I decided to try indoor worm composting. What better way of having even less garbage than I have now? Plus, I get my own compost for my veggie garden – no icky smelling mushroom or animal manure for me. Off to Earth’s General Store I went and a mere $75 dollars later (eeks!), I walked out the proud mama of worms. Oooh. A new pet! D and I bragged to our respective families that they had new grandchildren – worms! My mother said until each one was named, she wasn’t counting them as grandchildren. Sighhh!

I had picked up a pretty stainless steel container from Lee Valley (ahhh – porn for gardeners) for beside the sink to gather the food scraps. Alas, the lid fit poorly and I could not get the smell of rotting food from the container when I washed it. I moved on to yogurt tubs in hope of adding more regularly and thus less smell.

Things seemed to be going well. The moisture level seemed fine (a miracle since I usually either drown or dehydrate my plants). The worms seemed to be doing a good job at eating everything. And then I started to notice the flies.

A side story here – I have a Bachelor’s of Science degree with a concentration in genetics. I spent many a semester in a lab working with fruit flies. I HATE fruit flies. They are harmless, but they are dreadfully annoying and they just circle and fly in front of you and I have memories of sitting alone at the back of the bus after lab, smelling like ether and watching fruit flies fly around my head because of that teeniest bit of hairspray I used that morning. Sighhh.

So yes, I had a few flies. Okay, I can deal with that. I tore apart the house looking for the fruit fly trap I had left over from last year’s banana infestation. I couldn’t find it, so over to Rona to buy some traps. I got these cute little pegs, which I immediately put one in, adding a second one two days later as I replaced the sticky parts. And then I noticed them in my bathroom. D was sent to Lee Valley for more traps. Then I noticed them in my kitchen. At this point, I am pissed. I do some research on the net. I am doing things well. I add some food and noticed tiny little red bugs on the lid. I try to squish them and instead they climb on me. EWWWWWWW!!!!! I manage to get them off me and into the nearest garbage can. More traps are put out.

At this point, the flies are driving me nuts, my curtains are dirty from squishing them, the windows are covered in live ones, the sills covered in dead ones, and the garbage can is covered in red bugs!

I do more research on the net. The red bugs are probably spider mites. Harmless, but annoying. The flies are mostly likely fungus gnats and not fruit flies (hence the traps not working so well). I have a few things to try to get rid of the bugs which may help. I am also thinking of getting a small dust buster to suck up the bugs on the window and on the sill. While I appreciate what bugs do, I just wish they would leave me and my house alone. Supposedly this is all natural, but I tell you, I have seriously considered finding a new home for my worms. I know D has thought what a stupid idea as well. One and half months in and already, I am not cut out to be a parent. Thank goodness for the cat. She makes me feel much better. I hope this doesn't count against my domestic goddess score. :)