Back in the Saddle

Grace and Tillman last night out on the ice at the SoJo rink.

It's January. Life here is returning to a routine. Slowly. I have been pretty busy - but surprisingly not-so-productive. You know how in December you kind of put everything on hold - because it's the holidays ("I'll take care of that when we're done with Christmas." - that kind of thing)? And then as soon as January hits you find yourself running crazy trying to do all that stuff that you've put off? That's me.
Christmas decor finally came down this week. Last night Mike hauled our tree out to the curb (except we missed the pick up this week - so it will have to sit out there till the 10th - classy).

Today I totally planned to make some progress in taking back our lives. I threw in the last load of laundry, and started a sweater soaking in the laundry room sink; turned on the faucet and walked away for a minute while it filled. That minute turned into like 30. As I sat reading in my room, the Space Donkey started barking outside at some loose dog - annoying (and we try to keep a tight lid on all that since the incident). So I made my way towards the garage to put him away...encountering a large puddle outside the laundry room as I went. Bad. I turned off the water, rounded up some towels and started to sop. 20 minutes later I was disgusted with myself but not overly inconvenienced. Lesson learned, crisis averted. I thought. Until....about an hour later as I hauled some Christmas stuff to the basement storage room on my way to the elliptical for a quick work-out. Opening the door, I caught the scent of water. Apparently there was some seepage from the laundry room above. Understatement. I don't know how many gallons had come through the ceiling. My sweet mother came to my rescue with her emergency management skills. Now the vampire room is filled with stuff airing out and fans are going. The end result: I didn't make much headway in getting my life back in order today - but on the upside, I don't think anything was permanently damaged in the flood. (Crossing my fingers. I'll be laying out the Springbar tomorrow to make sure it gets REALLY dry). Just one of those days.

The new year isn't all chaos and destruction. I also have a lot of positive vibes about the year ahead. I / We have plans for the year - plans to make life better, sweeter. Plus... what, are you kidding me? We got us a baby coming! (I had to throw in that vague allusion to "Raising Arizona". I love that movie.)

I'm feeling pretty good about 2011.