One Last Thing

I'm sitting in my messy/incompletely unorganized office with the dog curled up at my feet and feeling really content.  I wanted to do some work on the house after work today -or at very least,  the everyday upkeep: laundry and dishes- but ended up going out for a bite to eat with a co-worker after the faculty meeting. Glass of wine and girls impromptu night out vs. washing dishes...no brainer. Plus, one of my alternatives to yelling as part of my self-imposed  "no-yelling" challenges is to actively focus on doing things for myself instead of being so overbearingly concerned about The Teenager.  

Even though i wanted to work on the house tonight, I still feel like I get to check something huge off that massive to-do list.  I FINALLY managed to get the what I think are the right curtains and curtain rods. Since last Saturday, I have made over 10 trips to various stores to purchase and/or return curtains and rods. Wrong size, wrong color, wrong type. I ended up at a cute store I had never heard of until someone at Lowe's tipped me off to it. Coincidentally   I found myself passing it on my way home from dinner.. Turns out, this place was fantastic. I just wish I could remember the name of it! I found curtains for the master bedroom and the Teenagers bedroom. Check that off my to-do list. 

One Last Thing: 

I have been following Tina's blog, Carrots 'N' Cake for a long time now and found this survey. It reminded me of those facebook/aol/mass email surveys my friends and I used to (still) do....

LAST SPLURGE: Hmmm...probably the kitchen sink. Our house has the ugliest, most inconvenient sink. Inventing in a new sink was eventually going to happen but we just couldn't deal with it any longer.  When we purchased the  new sink, we knew it would have to be a specialty order because of the dimensions but apparently didn't realize JUST how expensive a kitchen sink was. Even more shocking was how much the faucets cost. But it came in today and I am looking forward to Ryan installing it soon. 

LAST ROMANTIC GESTURE: I found these silly/cute flip flop things with cleaning pads on the bottom so you clean the floor while wearing them. Since Ryan is secretly proud of cleaning the floors on a daily basis, I couldn't help but think of him when I stumbled upon them. Funniest thing is that they are clearly made for women: bright green with polka dots. 

LAST THING I COOKED: Last Sunday  I threw a bunch of stuff in a crock pot and called it soup. Turned out to be really good. I literally threw in a bunch of stuff: chopped celery, potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, can of cannelloni beans, can of kidney beans, a bunch of vegetable and chicken bullion cubes  some water, can of diced tomatoes, a handful of spinach, and two chicken breasts.  Cooked it on low for 8 hours, put the chicken in the mix-master to shred it, and called it soup. Best part is that I made a good amount and froze about half of it for the future. 

LAST HOME IMPROVEMENT: Even though the curtains are not installed yet, I am still considering the purchase of them to be the most recent home improvement. 

No-yelling challenge: 

I can officially say I made it through one full day without yelling. Granted I wasn't around for most of the day but when I asked the Teenager to take care of a few things (i.e. empty trash in the bathroom and bring down his dirty clothes-all stuff that he should be doing without having to be told anymore), there was no yelling involved despite the disgruntled noises coming from the Teenager. 

Today feels good.