In expectation of my parents’ arrival tomorrow – they’re staying the weekend with us – I have been running around like a chicken with its head cut off (which is very sad, especially for a vegetarian). A tired chicken, a chicken who got finished with work at 6:30 tonight and came home to change into pajamas and make supper (a homemade pizza, which is in the oven).
In order to help remind myself of some of these Very Important Things I (we) must do, mostly before I (we) go to bed tonight:
make supper- vacuum the living room
vacuum the hallway- put more toilet paper in the bathroom
- put the laundry away
wash the new sheets(!!)take out the kitchen and bathroom trashwatch “The Office”(a critical part of the list. Importance: HIGH!)clean the fishbowl(Jacques is very appreciative – he’s one polite betta!)take all of the storage boxes in our second bedroom to John’s Uncle’s house for storagefinish the art project I have planned for the second bedroom; hang it on the walls(I’ll post a picture of it soon – I like how it turned out!)- dust the living room
scrub the kitchen floor
Today at work, I was fretting about this list, and my older coworker turned to me. “Have you cleaned the toilet? Did you get down on your hands and knees and scrub under it?” “Yes.” “Then you’re ready. Nothing else matters! You have a clean bathroom; you’re all set. They’re not coming here to see a clean house!” Ohhh yes, but I want it to be a clean house.*
Also, I got a used copy of this knitting book this week; whenever we get cooler weather, my fingers start itching to knit again.
This book arrived for me through Inter-Library Loan this afternoon, and it looks amazing – one that I should just go ahead and buy, as it’s full of information that I can use for years. I made the “emmolient cocoa butter mug soap” (shaving cream) on Monday, after finding the recipe online. oh my, is it lovely. It was quite simple, and what with the glycerin, cocoa butter, rosewater, and lavender essential oil, it smells dreamy. and it is sooo nice for my skin. The book says it makes 1 1/2 cups; I don’t know why, but mine made 2 1/2 quarts. I originally had looked for an alternative, organic shaving cream with fewer chemicals after looking at the ingredients of my off-the-shelf brand, which contained, among many other things (many unpronounceable), isobutane, and being horrified beyond belief. I don’t want that on my skin! Urrgh!
Off to the laundry room!
* note: it’s never exactly a dirty house. but there’s a difference between “clean” and “company clean,” you know? like when we were kids, whenever Mom asked us to do more chores than our usual, one of us would inevitably ask, “Who’s coming??” It always drove her crazy. :P
le moineau 
Did you know that?:
1. Beta fish could care less if their fishbowls are clean. They live in puddles in Taiwan. Or wherever they are from.
2. Dove soap or shampoo works lovely as shaving cream.
Hi Jen!
Yes, they do; but the flaked food that I feed him + his poo create ammonia, which, I’m pretty sure, isn’t present in puddles in Taiwan. Or wherever. :) He was one happy fish after I cleaned it, though, he’s been flitting all around, waving his beautiful fins and swimming over to the side to stare at me. You’re actually supposed to change out at least part of the water every few days.
Ever since I had mono when I was 20, the smell of Dove soap + shampoo just makes me sick to my stomach (it wrecked all varieties of Herbal Essences for me, too). It’s too bad, because I used to love them.
Did you use that soap while you were sick and it brings back unpleasant memories? Or did your sense of smell change?
My sense of smell totally changed. Those scents, as well as many other strong soapy/chemically scents, make my head and stomach go crazy.