...and before I knew it...

...this is not the post I was going to write. I wrote, I deleted. And, now, I am just going to "get up and do it."

You'll hear back from me tonight.

True Savvy

Well...what a virus can do. I haven't been posting, and, quite frankly, I haven't been cleaning, either. My voice is gone, and I get tired just walking across the room. To complicate things, Halloween is tomorrow, and I've been trying to figure out how to make it happen. Of course, my VERY practical husband offered his suggestion (via Skype, as he's been out of town for the last three days): just postpone it.

My first reaction?

Internally: "Oh, no way; not when I've gone through and written up our family's guide to Halloween!" (seriously; I did). "Not when I've put so much thought and effort into this, and I've bought the stuff for Big Boy's costume...",

Externally: "He's going to be so disappointed, and I told him we were going to carve pumpkins, and..."

Hubs' counter-question: "Does he even know it's going to be tomorrow?"
"Of course," I answer.

Five minutes later, during father-son conversation:

Hubs: "So, what are you going to do tomorrow?" (with faux-innocent gleam in eye)
Big Boy: "I dunno."
Hubs: "Really? You don't know what's going on tomorrow?"
Big Boy: "No."

I refuse to admit defeat over video-phone, so when he says (with large, generous shrug) "Just think it over," I type back (remember: laryngitis): ok.

I close the laptop lid and suggest to Big Boy that we re-think our Halloween celebration. Perhaps postpone it. His cries of protest aren't too large, and seem to be centered mostly on candy. Easy to fix, as we have a chocolate bar, some cookies, and Gummi Bears on hand. If we can find pumpkins at the village store tomorrow, we'll buy them. Otherwise, we can carve the one I had bought for baking. And as to costumes; we can save the supplies for his costume of choice and make it for "Fasnacht" (think Mardi Gras or Carnival; February-ish). We can make some cool masks tomorrow instead. Those items covered, he's happy enough.

As to my concerns: we certainly won't be getting trick-or-treaters over here, as no one really celebrates Halloween (and if there happen to be that random handful that show up every five years, I have a few leftover lollies in a candy jar). And the hard work? Well, it's not gone to waste. You see, the main purpose of all that hard work was to think about why we even do Halloween; what is the point of it for our family? Why celebrate this holiday in a country that until about 7 years ago didn't even know there was such a holiday? The answer is: to have fun. And, since it is NOT fun to stay up until midnight making a costume you were too sick to make during the week (and still are too sick to make), and it's NOT fun to hunt around the city for a pumpkin to carve, it's time to evaluate the situation and do with what you have.

Which brought it all home for me: true savvy-ness is not what you do, it's knowing why you do it.

It's Nice to Share

Okay, admitted; I fell off the face of the planet. I needed a little space, but now I'm newly refreshed, and understand a bit more clearly what I'm doing with this blog. That said...

I'm going to do something nice (well, or maybe not, but it's my intention), which is to now share my favorite websites with everyone. I've opened up a delicious account, so that I can share all of the really great ideas I'm finding (and hopefully implementing). The thought is that it will cover whatever I'm focusing on, or whatever great "later" sites I find, from individual articles to entire websites. There's a link on my sidebar called "Delicious Stuff!" which is the link you can use to check it out (i.e. not a link to recipes, although there may be some recipes in there...).

Confused? Just click on "Delicious Stuff!". I'm sure you'll figure it out.

Mental Illness Aids Housewife

First of all, happy first day of Autumn to all! In our home, this day is traditionally dedicated to the apple; we eat apples for almost every meal (not exclusively), and we watch the adorable Disney rendition of "Johnny Appleseed." Big Guy noticed this year (as he's five) that this "is a sad movie, mommy!", and where last year he wanted to watch it, "again", this year it was "no thank you, mommy" after I asked him. We talked about it, and I explained the positive message of the movie, but the topic kept him a bit busy for the rest of the evening, I think ("Mommy, did the ANGEL know that Johnny was dead?"). Yet I digress...

Today I didn't get a whole lot done; the internet can be your friend, or it can be your foe. I think I spent too much time tinkering with websites (you know, for ideas, or, as I could call it, "research"), when I should have been cooking. Of course, I was exhausted, so it's to be expected that I didn't do too much on my cooking day. I can always try to catch up on housework tomorrow. You see, I have a strange little system of housekeeping that I affectionately call "Schizophrenic Housekeeping" (which, I realize, is technically the wrong title, as you'll see, but it sounds cool). Every day of the week (except Sunday; this is my day of rest) I am a different "main character" of a grand household staff. I even have a motto for every day. I know, I'm crazy, but it helps me. For example, Mondays are my "Butler Day", where I organize linen closets, clean and repair serving pieces, check our stock on drinks (butlers were traditionally in charge of the wine cellar; they bought, stored, and kept account of all the wine for the household). I also throw a glance over the cellar and see what needs to be done (in my case, this is a lot; you may recall that I call my cellar "the dungeon" at the moment; it is totally appropriate). My Monday Motto? "Style and Order." Tuesdays are my "Chef" days, where I go shopping, take on one cooking project (like baking pumpkin to freeze, or baking bread, or making cakes to freeze for guests, etc), and plan the meals for the following week, along with shopping list. Wednesday is my Groundskeeper / Handyman day, but when I have nothing to repair or "groundskeep", (which I don't at the moment, as I cleaned the balcony last week, and we're in an apartment, so no lawn to mow), then I can catch up on stuff.

Thursdays are my "Housekeeper" days, when I clean the house, and Fridays are my "Laundrymaid" days, as my designated wash day is Friday (the building shares the washer and dryer). Saturdays are left to the "Estate Manager", who balances the books and plans out jobs for the upcoming week. I also take on another role, which is the "Lady of the House" (these are double-schizophrenic days); time for correspondence, planning parties (not the details, just the ideas, guest list and framework), etc.

It may seem like too much work or effort, or just plain nuts, but I find that it gives me the opportunity to continue being a little creative while getting my work done, and it really does allow me to focus on certain tasks. I have an appropriate outfit for each day (no, I do NOT wear a french maid's costume on Thursday), and I know what I'm doing at the beginning of each day (or, approximately where I should be looking for what I'm doing).

May sound nuts, but it's working for me.

It's all about sticks

Mondays are "order and style" days around here. I take care of my deco, and try to bring things into order that aren't very orderly. Sometimes these things combine themselves quite well, like trying to get a handle on my son's stick collection. Since he started kindergarten in August, Big Guy has been bringing sticks home with him, and giving them to me "for decoration." How could I POSSIBLY designate these things to the trash can? I HAD to find a use for them. Slowly, all around the house, little stick centerpieces have been popping up. Surprisingly, they look good, especially in combination with other autumn items.

Then, he brought home a couple of scrawny ones. I couldn't really put them anywhere, because while skinny, they had broad off-shoots. Along comes a MOM moment (you know, "Move over, Martha"): I needed a new autumn wreath for outside the door anyhow; why not do something with sticks? Sticks and ribbon! So, we went on a little "nature walk" one afternoon, gathered a few more sticks to fill out the swag, and I put together a rather lovely (I find) door deco piece.

Take it from me: sticks are the in thing for autumn!

welcome

Like I said, I'm a SAHM with a plan. This was a chosen career path; I stepped off the stage and into the living room. As an artist-in-the-making, no easy feat. I did it for my son, my husband, and in the end, myself as well. Not an easy feat, but certainly a worthy journey. I'm learning to do things, and do them well, all the while, doing it with style.