Wow! The holidays came and went but I sure as hell didn't show up around here, did I? I miss everyone so I will for sure be spending the day checking you all out - not while I'm working of course!

So, about 5 or 6 months ago the hubby and I were all ready to start major renovations on our home. We had all of the drawings, we had the builder lined up, we were preparing to pull our permits from the county and then we tried to get a loan...and well, we all know how that goes. It's not even necessary to explain the state of the economy and the fact that TSO and I clearly don't make over $100 Million a year so getting a loan was just not happening. I've never had such problems and even started to worry when financial institutions that we were dealing with just up and stopped calling us back. I guess they figured there was just nothing more to talk about and boy did they have a way of letting us know. Very professional, let me tell you!

Anyway, that's when we decided, well, best not to put the rest of our lives on hold, and we decided to try for a baby. Well, we obviously succeeded at that. Who knew! And hey, you don't need to make $100 Million a year for that little project.

So over the holidays the "nesting" instinct kicked in. We have been very busy. Now, don't get me wrong, our home is small, however, it is very comfortable for hubby, pooch and I and the soon to be intruder, I mean, baby. Hubby's bro and our SIL just recently had a baby and they live in a condo that is a hundred times smaller than our house, has no storage what so ever, no yard, and they are making it just fine. Our problem is our poor use of space. So, we've decided to tackle this problem since it looks like we'll be staying in our house, as is, for a little while at least. And hey, I bet many families, with multiple children, were raised in our home before we came along and I'm fairly certain they all came out unscathed!

So over the holidays we made trips to IKEA and Target. We bought shelving systems and large storage containers, trash bags and suction storage bags...we bought it all! We have been doing a MAJOR purge of our closets, our attic, our basement, our junk. Let me tell you, I think I saw the trash/recycling men flipping us off the other day. I know I would if I were them!

We made our back, enclosed porch into a bit of an organized storage unit. We worked on it for hours and hours and it looks spectacular! All of our overflow dishes, platters, decorative "stuff" and 2 full book shelves now have their own room. I took my clothes down from 3 full closets to 1 !!!! This also has something to do with the fact that I can't wear any of my "normal" clothes right now so they are safely stored in the attic with 3 bins full of shoes that I also can't wear, but the fact that I have everything in one closet baffles even me! AmVets is going to shit themselves when they see the pick up they're gonna have to haul off from our house.

And so, when everyone is talking about their winter vacations and holidays spent with family, I can tell the story of dust bunnies that have been behind things for the last 7 years, clothes that I didn't even know I had, splinters and dirty hands, an aching back and making head way towards a clean, simplified house. YAyyy! Next...the movement of furniture in preparation for an actual BABY ROOM! Yikes...

Oh, and I would post pictures but I bet you'd like to see my organized back porch and my closets as much as I'd like a hot poker in my ass. So, here's Lucy, being cute as usual instead!