Cleanliness Next to... Impossible

So, I didn't really get any housecleaning done over the weekend, and I am paying for it now! I finally made myself knock off for the night just (except for the last load of laundry in the washer).

Went to a yummy dinner on Sat with Clare after doing some heavy duty lint rolling of cat hair in Shaun's apartment - he is supposed to be back today, I think... Welcome back to the US, Shaun! We missed you!

On Sunday, I went to see Robin's new place in Annapolis. The plan was to hang out by the pool (I am usually not a sit-by-the-pool kind of girl, but what the heck, it was 55+), I was supposed to be there by 11. Well, when I had gotten back to my apt on Sat night, I found Sheila on IM - Welcome back to the US, too, Sheila! We chatted for several hours, then I realized I had no idea where my bathing suit was. So I pulled my whole apt apart at 2 AM. After I couldn't find it, I thought that I had probably left it at my parents home in NJ last fall. Darn. So I ran to Target as soon as I could get out of my apartment in the morning on my way to Robin's. I was shocked that a) I was able to find a bathing suit that fit and b) it ended up being 65$! But oh well, I needed another anyway. Then off to Robin's - after a slight unplanned tour of the region while lost, I finally found my way to Robin's.

Robin's place was really fabulous. It felt more like a beach cottage than an (*active*) 55+ retirement community condo. It was still under development (the community, not her condo), but it was really nice, even so. We went to the Broadneck (Diner?, Cafe?) where the "Greek Goddess" omelet had pico de gallo, but it was really good. Then we sat at the pool for a while. It was really relaxing, and as I told her, I think I needed that. Traffic was surprisingly light on the way home.

Had a good work day today, pretty productive. Went for a walk with Clare. As soon as we got there, it started lightly raining. I was ready to call it quits, but Clare said "Come on," so I figured what the heck. It continued raining the whole time, but light enough that it didn't really bother us! I am now deferring all rain out decisions to Clare, atmospheric oracle extraordinaire!

I started cleaning tonight, concentrating on the kitchen with a bit of bathroom and laundry thrown in. It has been so long since I did laundry, I had forgotten about some of my clothes!

Time to get in the shower - maybe I will clean out the tub while I am in there - nothing like multi-tasking!

Far from the Maddening Crowd

Yesterday, we went to a really yummy place for lunch - Marathon Deli in College Park - although I was supposed to get a "vegetarian gyro" - melted provelone, lettuce, tomato, onion, and feta. Well, there were no tomatoes because of the salmonella scare, and no cheese either! So basically, it was lettuce on a pita. But it was good, anyway.

I stayed late at work, then wanted to catch "The Happening" in Silver Spring. I have been gone so much, I haven't noticed that it is full-on summer now. There were 10 million people in downtown Silver Spring. Between several accidents on the beltway and the insane crowds in Silver Spring, and then there was some craziness with fire trucks in the free parking garage... it took me almost 2 hours to get there. By the time I got close (but not into the garage, as there were emergency vehicles all over), I would have been late for my movie, so I just headed home. I rented "The Other Boleyn Girl", but didn't feel like watching it.
So, I will not be going to that theater again until the fall!

Today, I am putting in a few hours at work. I have MAJOR housecleaning to do - I have been out of town 6 out of 7 of the last weekends, and didn't do much maintenance in the meanwhile. If I feel like it, I will maybe try for the movie again tonight. I got to see a bunch when I was flying to Aus and back a month ago, so I am pretty caught up on all the ones I really wanted to see, but there seem to be a bunch of good ones this summer. Ususally, I am not interested in summer movies, but I am looking forward to several.

Check out my friend's blog - aquagmireofcontradictions.blogspot.com
Aly just started one, and is going to talk about art and other things. We will be BBB - Beginning Blog Buddies.

Yes, I know I am a dork. But really, check out Aly's blog. Especially all you artsy types.

Hope you all are having a great weekend. Stay cool.

Big Brothers Big Sisters

I had my 3rd of 6 sailing classes today. We had a different teacher, and all of a sudden I realized I have no idea what any of those bizarre words mean. So, I am going to study them before our next class in two weeks.
I also had orientation at Big Brothers Big Sisters, whose office is on the top floor of our building. All the standard stuff - references, background check, etc. I have to fill out the form and then I will have an interview next week. They keep telling me that they need big brothers, so if you want to do something, volunteer or get a guy friend to volunteer. I am really excited to get into the process. A great excuse to get to a kids movie!

Other than that a boring day. But I am glad tomorrow is Friday!

Re-badging

Today I got re-badged. I was very pleased because not only were my previous two badges combined to one, but the one I got was the one with the better picture. Clare and I walked at "Greenbelly" Lake, aka Greenbelt Lake. It was a nice day today, a touch on the warm side for me, but all in all pretty nice. Nova Science Now http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sciencenow/ is on again, I think the best science show out there - I always watch it and think "Wow!" Usually on around 9 PM on Tuesdays in the summer. Check it out.

Welcome!

Hi! I have been feeling frustrated lately by my inability to keep in touch with all you beautiful people. Then all of a sudden, I had a thought (no snarky comments, please). I thought about starting a blog. This will keep you all more or less updated on my general goings-on. Also, it will serve as a way for me to keep a journal, which I have always wanted to do, but never really got around to doing. I am really excited about this now, but we will see if I can keep it up! I appreciate all of your support through the growing pains of this process. Of course, I don't intend to displace real conversations, rather to keep the slack out of the line when I am unable to be in touch in person.