The big clean up

My husband is leaving for Michigan today.  He's all better now. 
It was a long process because of the steroids he was given, but his cold has been gone for days now.

I ended up being sick just a day and a half.  Honestly, it was mind over matter.  If I needed to rest and take some breaks, fine I'd do it, but I wasn't going to be taken down by a cold.

Tom packed up his truck last night and took with him a chair and ottoman that was in our bedroom.  It was just a chance suggestion by me that turned into him asking if he could take the chair with him to his cottage in the U.P.  I said that I really dislike the chair because it's too slippery.  I can't sit in the chair, especially in the reclining position, without sliding down into an uncomfortable position.  Truth be told I didn't like the chair when we purchased it, but he did and I gave in.

Since the chair is gone it has opened up a GIANT space on my side of the bedroom.  We have another recliner-chair-thing that I purchased years ago, that never even made it out of the box.   (I bought it in an attempt to replace the chair I disliked)  Now it's in our garage buried under a table and who knows what.  When Tom gets back from Michigan we'll go and dig it out and see if it has survived the years of neglect.  I think I'm just going to enjoy the extra space for a few weeks.  I might even have some different ideas for that space.

 The odometer in my car even likes all ones.

I'm cleaning house like crazy because I'm having a party for 11-11-11.  I rarely ask anyone to come over because my place is so disorganized and I'm embarrassed by it, but it drives me crazy that I can't show off my home.  I've got a great place, if I do say so myself.  I've been working for weeks on getting things condensed, tossed and given away and I am really seeing a difference.  I also haven't dusted in goodness knows how long, so I've been doing that, too.  The ceiling fans are all clean, the kitchen cabinets have been cleaned real well, the tops of all the art on the walls.  It's your basic spring cleaning for several years all wrapped up into one massive effort. 

The neat thing is that I think I can get all I want accomplished by the end of today - which will leave me several days to get crafty and make some fun stuff for the party.  I've been resisting the urge to get crafty first and clean later!!

I am having trouble coming up with a food menu though.  I'm going to make dinner for everyone and I'm just scratching my head.  I'm thinking pasta, salad, bread - but what pasta? what salad? what bread?  If I did this a little more often I wouldn't be so clueless. 

I'm just grateful that I didn't back out of my party plans.  I've been wanting to have a party on 11-11-11 for years now, but I was thisclose to blowing it off because getting my house organized enough just seemed too daunting a task. 

If you want to come to Jacksonville, FL on Friday night around 6pm I'll be having a party. 
Come on over!

Have a great day!
Kristin