Tree Time

I'm cold. Being cold is good inspiration to collect all the Christmas decorations and the tree from the 'Little House" (storage shed). Sweat streaking down my face and saturating my clothes isn't a vision of sugar plums and reindeer. Living this far south, one has to adjust to warm holidays. Snow won't be ever anticipated for a white Christmas. It's not impossible but it's not probable either.

 

A corner of the dining area has been cleared of the 6 ft. tall white pedestal. Atop it sits greenery in a huge bean pot. I moved it cautiously to another area of the room. The tree will sit in a non trafficed area. Personally I think it is much too early to put up a tree. It's not even December 1st. Twenty five plus days till Christmas. Can I tolerate a tree for twenty five plus days?

 

I usually have all my Christmas shopping done at this time. I've decided to wait a while so as to be more "involved" in the holiday. Maybe that's not the wisest move?  No. I'll not wait. I'll just go stroll the mall and enjoy the decorations and watch the harried stressed shoppers safe in the knowledge that all my shopping is done and wrapped.

 

Now for that tree.........I'll be in the 'Little House" gathering those totes and tree.

An Itty Bitty Note

I think being healthy might be the death of me. My little battle with breathing a few months back have been mostly resovled; I might be trying to make up for lost time. I was sofa bound for 4 months and Predisone and a few inhalers put me back on track and breathing. I was extremely relieved and ready to move again and I did.

 

I'm not working on the daughter's home right now. I'm on hiatus. That's when I noticed the baseboards at my house. I've been on a binge. I'm cleaning.  I'm waiting for all those visitors to show up and point and exclaim over the bright shiny look of them. Wait until they get a gander at the overhead fans! I'll be the talk of the town.

 

You must be thinking I'm a little over tired. You would be right. I'm going to take my little white Ambien and crawl into bed but not until I stand under a hot shower for some long minutes.

 

I'm gone.

 

 

Turkey Dos

I'm clueless as to the adjective following the subject or vice versa in the Spanish language but today was the "dos" or "second" Thanksgiving meal I've cooked in less then 5 days.

 

The husband was in Kansas and enjoyed a meal of deli sliced turkey with mayo on bread. There aren't any holidays in the oil field. The rig celebrated the day as any other. They kept "making hole" as they say in the biz. The family spent the day here spread from the bedroom with an X Box, the living room with the Wii and the patio where a warm comfortable day was enjoyed. A little later we were all doing jello shots except for the underaged ones.

 

The husband left Kansas yesterday and put 4 hrs of the drive behind him and stayed overnight in Oklahoma City. He finished his 10 more hours of driving today at 1700 hrs. by arriving   home to find a turkey fresh out of the oven will all the side dishes set out on the  breakfast bar. A pumpkin pie and a pecan pie waited to finish off this second feast in less then 5 days at this house.

 

I'm more then a little tired. I've been on my feet since 0400 hrs this morning and I'm ready to  get a hot shower and into bed. I dismantled the vacuum cleaner this morning to clean it and replace the bag and filters. That went well. It was the work on the carpet shampooer that did me in. After removing a multitude of screws and figuring out how to pop off the plastic cover by pinching tabs hidden from view and only accessible by bending a few fingernails into the quick, I wasn't able to fix it. The rotating brushes no longer rotate. I dragged it to the "little house" and hit it with bursts of air from the air compressor. Dust and dog hair flew. Not my dog hair. I don't possess such an animal; it's from those that have borrowed this equipment. After a thorough cleaning and more time spent replacing the screws and bending a few more fingernails, the darn thing still doesn't have rotating brushes. I had to take a break and bury some frustration. Tomorrow I will try again. I'm just not ready to give up and chunk it into the landfill. Nothing lasts long these days. Look at the landfills for proof of this.

 

I'm off to get that shower.

Hunter, Gatherer

If a gun or a trap was needed to snare the bird for the upcoming feast, we would all be eating Spam from a can or noodles courtesy of Mr. Nissan.  Cruising the aisles of Walmart and dodging the other shoppers intend on hunting down each lane and gathering and pitching stuff into their carts has been enough exercise for me.

I never remember that I crawled out of bed at the ungodly hour of 0400 and I really should be a bit tired by 1400 hrs.  I'm staggering around and cursing myself for getting this old and tired.  I need a nap. I need to slow down a bit. I have much to do. I'l slow down after this coming Thursday. That's what I tell myself but I usually have another excuse for ploughing full speed ahead. 

Right now I'm cutting the lights and the laptop. An Ambien is in my very near future!

From carpentry to cooking

The repairs are now but a painful memory. Oh sure, a few thing are left to do and they will get done but all the big stuff that was tedious and time consuming is finished.

We put a queen size bed in Ted's room after painting the walls in a grey/green color. I have to use a bit of restraint in decorating a young man's room. Throw pillows on his bed would have been an annoyance to him. New curtains are hung, a mix of soft green and light brown checks on a cream background, a king size bedspread in the same soft grey green color drapes the bed and covers the sides of the three mattresses that elevate his bed to waist height. During my one day shopping for his room, I found exactly what I wanted in one day. Amazing! Usually I have to hunt for days and days. A 5X8 rug keeps the area in front of his bed and his X Box a warm place for his feet when getting out of bed or sitting in front of that X Box.

For a chest of drawers, I bought a storage unit that is usually used in a garage or a storage shed. It's durable plastic, soft grey with 5 drawers. We moved his clothes from the clothes baskets into this chest and the clothes baskets out of the room. He gained vertical storage and more floor space. I'm happy with the way this room developed. Everything from new walls to fresh paint and furnishings make it a nice space for Ted.

Next week we will concentrate on painting ceilings. While the daughter paints the living room, I will be working on the hall bathroom. Hopefully by Christmas the rooms will be painted and we can clear all of our supplies off the deck where we have stored our supplies while working inside.

 

I've purchased some clear lights that will be strung across the rafters of the deck. I want to make a winter wonderland for Carrie to enjoy. Reindeer, lights and wreaths..it's the Holidays!

 

Right now I'm off to the market to purchase Thanksgiving dinner foods and dig out my recipes. 

Taped

I have a personal relationship with my measuring tape .   After years of using a cheap metal tape that when extended over 5 ft, it would begin to seek ground level. This is not good especially if you are working alone.

I treated my self to a Fatty Tape Measure that costs well over 35.00 and it is MY tape with heavy emphasis on the "my". I keep it hidden in my tool carrier. It is never loaned and especially never loaned to the husband. I keep a one in his little shop area so he won't have to ask to borrow mine.

Why am I so stingy?  Cause people just don't take care of things as well as the owner of said item. As sure as it's loaned, it will be returned with a kink in it and it becomes useless to me.

I lost my measuring tape. I was heartbroken. I've been in and out of Home Depot for the past two weeks but when I recreated all those trips in my mind and ran them down the lanes of my memory, there wasn't a place there that caused me to pause and recall carrying my  meauring tape into Home Depot. I then gave my brain the chore of remembering the last time I had used it and immediately my brain rebelled. It knew it was sometime in this latest remodeling project so it knew the tape was at the daughter's house but more specific, my brain just sighed and refused to contemplate further. Occasionally my brain causes me to roll my eyes and bite my tongue. Angry comments, I've found, have no affect on it's memory.

Today I was in a cleanup mode and it was time for the overfilled garbage receptacles to be rolled to the road for pickup by the sanitation department. I bent over to pick up something from the ground and just by happenstance glanced beneath the deck. Nestled in the pine needles, the familiar black and yellow of my tape peeked out at me. Down on hands and knees, I crawled beneath the deck and retrieved my lovely tape.

 

My afternoon had a special lift to it. I had my tape back. Sometimes it's a special color lipstick, a hair conditioner that works wonders on ones hair and sometimes it's your favorite measuring tape  that lightens up you life. Kewl huh?

Ta DA! Paint!!

Yes siree...finally. We have reached the paint stage in the remodeling process. While the daughter did the trim paint, I rolled the soft grey green paint color on the ceiling. I would have preferred a nice white pristine ceiling but my preferences didn't hold a lot of impact so green it was. The walls, two of them were swabbed with the same brush and both the daughter and myself were satisfied with the results. Even before the paint was dry on the walls we were getting Ted's bed back in place with fresh linens and a warm comforter.

 

I thought I was done with all the trim work in this room. I had to make a trip to Home Depot to pick up some baseboards, wall trim and some trim for the windows. Tomorrow that room will be the first thing I tackle which should take up most of my morning since all the trim will have to be painted too.

 

I started at 0730 this morning and shut down around 1600 hrs. Though I was paint spattered, tired and hungry, I forced myself to go to Home Depot to pick up the things I needed to get my goals accomplished tomorrow.

 

I don't plan on working all day. I have a friend whose husband is in the hospital and as soon as I get a little done on the remodeling, I'll make a visit to the hospital to lend a little emotional support.

 

I'm exhausted. I literally stumbled into the  shower where I stood and let the hot water kneed the muscles in my back and legs. The weather man says it will be down in the thirties tonight so I donned a pair of warm sweat pants and a t shirt to sleep in. I will be up early to pick up Carrie and sit in the car with her until her bus arrives.

 

We just aren't used to cold weather here. Those winter months spent in Wyoming have long since been forgotten. We have lived in the south for too long and Carrie has never lived where snow was the norm. I'm headed for the bed and my Ambien. I have another busy day ahead of me.

Thank You so Much for Stopping By

Carrie is snuggled down in the King sized bed, usually where the husband sleeps when he is in town. Carrie sleeps in her bedroom on those occasions. She is beneath both the sheet AND the blanket this morning.

Our mornings are a bit on the chilly side now indicated by Carrie's use of both sheet AND blanket. Carrie is a hot natured child much like me. A little heat is sufficient for her and just a tad more is way way too much. I used to tuck her in after she went to sleep, fitting the blanket and sheet snugly around her body only to find on my final check of her before going to bed, the blanket and the sheet kicked of and sometimes even her gown was missing. When she gets hot, she immediately goes au naturelle.

 

Today she has selected a movie so this afternoon we will head to the theatre. I don't plan on doing much today or as little as required of me. Tomorrow will bring another day of construction.

 

There are a few more things that will require a saw and the compressor and nailers. Soon I will be able to pack all those things out of the bedroom Carrie occupies which is right now filled with everything related to this job.

 

The deck needs presssure washed and the outside of the home needs it. Hopefully, this week it will all get done and the bathroom remodel can get underway.

 

I'm out of bed much to early again this morning. I may need a nap around noon so I'll look for an early morning showing of the movie Carrie wants to see.

 

The husband remains in Texas on his job and it looks as though he may be there at least another 3 weeks. The problems have been sorted through and the client is calm. As I'm writing this, my eyelids droop and as my head tilts forward, I do that snap, raise, eyes open and find myself paused in my typing. I assume this means I should stretch out on this sofa and let nature take it's course.

 

On that note I'm outta here! 

My Day Off

Wow...a day off! I loaded up the small lawn mower and headed for the daughter's house. We haven't paid much attention to the lawn while doing our week long marathon remodeling project and it's lookin a bit shaggy.

 

Usually the daughter mows when I deliver the little lawn mower to her. We keep it at my house in the shed to keep it out of the weather. It's so light that I can load it in the trunk of my car when her lawn needs mowed. Since she and Shane (her S.O.) were working on the wall behind the washing machine today, I loaded it and mowed her lawn. Not much to mowing and the only reason it needed done was not for the height of the grass but because it just looked unkempt. This will be the last time this year it will have to be done hopefully.

 

I stopped in to see how the repair job on the wall was coming along. I just stared and was silently thankful that Shane took this job upon and not me. Two of the 2X4's needed to be replaced and the wiring was almost bare that goes to the light switches. Along with sheet rock, 2X4's and insulation, he will have to do a bit of wiring and then build a support to attach the light switches to. This might be an all day job and one that I got out of doing. THANK YOU SHANE!

 

Finally the pressure washer was started. Something I failed to get done a couple of days ago when I wanted to use it. I power washed the patio and planned on climbing aboard the riding mower to mulch the leaves on the front lawn when I heard a mower running outside. Peeking out, I found my neighbor on his riding lawn mower doing it for me! Thank you James!

 

The daughter's drapes are in the washing machine as we speak. I wanted to shorten them so they wouldn't hang in front of the window a/c unit and need to always be tied in a knot out of the way. That "look" drives me crazy. I hemmed them by hand to hang just to the top of the a/c unit and as soon as the washer is finished with them, I'll hang them on the line and drive back to the daughter's to see how that wall is coming along. THANK YOU SHANE! Can you tell how relieved I am that I am not doing this!

 

And..that's my "day off" so far and it's barely 1530 hrs!

I Might Be Too Old For This

I'm dragging tonight. Ten hours spent cutting wood and installing it and sweeping up the mess after each session and I'm so tired I can't think straight.

 

Tomorrow I'm taking the day off. The daughter and I have been working for the past 5 days on her home. Trim work and repair after repair and the difference is noted.

 

This afternoon we were finally able to start doing some painting. The deep deep green that covered the ceiling and walls was covered with Kilz. That was a story in itself.

 

I thought the daughter had some Kilz in her storage unit but when she dug it out and I opened the can it was in chunks with a mold like scum over it. Trashing it, I headed to Walmart to buy a fresh can. I dashed into the store already exhausted from all the work done during the morning, I just wanted to get back and roll on Kilz. This has to dry before we can paint it in the color the daughter wants. The grandson hasn't been able to use this room and I thought we might be able to get it done today. I'm never very realistic about how long it takes to get things done.

 

I opened the new can and gazed in astonishment at the contents. It was a milk chocolate color. We reread the contents on the can and it assured us it was white and also blanco. A double assurance.

 

"Maybe it's like the pink ceiling paint. It's pink in the can and when it drys it turns white." says the daughter. She dipped a paint stick in it and took the hair dryer to it and it remained chocolate. Undeterred, I poured some in a roller pan and headed to the grandson's bedroom. The ceiling remained chocolate and I was on the phone to Walmart. Apparently someone at the store had tinted it and mistakenly placed it back on the shelf. Among the 10 cans of Kilz sitting on that shelf, I had to select the one that wasn't supposed to be there.

 

I'm tired and irritated and short with the sales clerk. He told me they would replace it. I wanted to ask if they would deliver it as I was too tired to make another trip to exchange the paints.

 

Tired as I was, I stumbled into the store and grabbed the new can of paint and headed back to try to get this room started. Tomorrow it should be ready for the  final coat of paint and the grandson can move back into his room.

 

I'm taking the day off. The daughter assures me that she can finish painting. Shane, her fellow, has promised to replace the two by four that has rotted behind the washer and hang a sheet of drywall. He will also replace the soft floor in front of the back door and measure for a new door that we will order. I"m so grateful that this is one job I won't have to concern myself with.

 

I'll get back there on Monday and start painting hall ceiling move along to the living room and the master bedroom. I am so excited. We are back on track on this project. As soon as the painting is completed and the back door is installed, the remodel of the master bedroom will be enough for this year.

 

It's Ambien time. The 3 ibuprofen should be kicking in soon. I hurt!

Progress and that Light at the End of the Tunnel thing!

I'm so excited and it's such a good feeling. What is causing the rise in my pulse rate? Paint! Simply paint.

 

For the past six days I leap from my bed (figuratively only) and start preparing Carrie's school lunch, get it packed and then slip into her bedroom and nuzzle her awake. She stretches one arm then the other, arches her back and stiffens her legs. Soon her body goes limp and she rolls to her side, sits up and smiles. She is ready for her morning hug after which she stumbles barely awake into the bathroom. It's her morning ritual. We meet again in the living room where I have her school uniform, ID badge, shoes and socks waiting on the coffee table.

 

She is already beginning to chatter about something going on in her life. Little girls like to talk. Soon we head to the kitchen counter where she sips her chocolate milk, takes her pill and eats a few dry fruit loops. Carrie is not a fan of an early breakfast and her school lunch is served at 10:30 which is usually the time she is ready for some breakfast. I worry that since she eats so early in the morning, she will be famished by 1500 hrs. We pack a little snack for her for the afternoons.

 

That's my early morning. As soon as I deliver her to her bus stop, I hurry home to get my supplies for the days work. I have been doing a little carpentry work and some repairs on the daughters home. The wainscoting she installed around her living room and hallway had never had the chair rail installed nor the quarter round that sits on the floor against the walls.

 

Staining and installing these two things have drastically changed the appearance of this room and it makes me very happy to see it come together. We installed sheet rock to one wall in Ted's bedroom and repaired flaws in the wall with spackling in places and patched sheet rock in others. My goal is to do all the repairs before painting any part of this project. That was yesterday. We have now arrived to the painting part of this project and I'm excited at this portion of the project. I like the decorating part of a makeup and after 6 days, we have arrived!

 

I have some sanding to do this morning before I begin painting and the daughter has a little sheet rock work to do in her bedroom before she joins me with roller and brush.

 

During my shopping spree at my Home Depot, the employees know me on sight, I happened down the aisle that has the weather stripping. I added that project to my list of things to do.

 

Most of my days lately have been spent on this project. I'm tired at the end of my day and usually have missed lunch  so I'm also very hungry.

 

Although hungry and tired, it's a satisfying feeling to note how much has been accomplished and to see this home change so much after each days work. It keeps me motivated.

 

All this has not be done alone. The daughter is there everyday measuring and cutting and cleaning up the construction debris. I don't know if she enjoys doing this sort of work as much as I do but she is hanging in there.

 

It's now time to head to the kitchen and get the mac and cheese in the wide mouth thermos, the potato chips, spoon and napkin and the thermos of milk packed for Carrie's lunch.

 

It's time for me to make a run to the shed to get my light and sanding blocks to sand that sheet rock that was floated yesterday. Being busy is better then sitting around doing nothing isn't it?

 

I'll be in the kitchen should you need something.

 

P.S....Aunt Ev..sorry I had to cut our phone conversation so short. I'll get back to you later today..promise!

Ploughing Through Life: The Inside View

Ploughing Through Life: The Inside View

On this chilly dreary rainy morning, I sit here on my sofa, the TV on but the sound muted. It's too early for the daughter to be out of bed to go vote with  me so I wait. Waiting is my nemesis. Sitting idle is difficult for me. I feel as though I'm wasting time. Waste of anything is something I abhor.

Even with the chill in the air and the high humidity, I opened up the Antique Walnut stain and gave the quarter round wood trim a first coat. It might take all day to dry which slows down the other two coats of stain that wood requires. Best laid plans....and all that stuff.

I do believe I'm homesick. Homesick for the mountains. The link I posted is from 2010. I had been searching my blog archives for it for quite some time and today I did a search for some of the words used and it popped right up.

We spent 21 days in Farmington, New Mexico and while there we toured all the surrounding areas. This was a company paid trip so we were up and traveling every day. I'm ready to do it again.
The link on this page is blogged from a visit to a small dingy mountain hangout for the locals. Enjoy the read!

A Loosely Laid Plan or Two

Spring break. We haven't seen winter here yet but plans are being laid.

 

The daughter, her children and I are making plans to visit relatives 'back East'. A slow trip up the coast with frequent stops to check out the beaches is on our itinerary. From Lafayette, across the Gulf states and the panhandle of Florida, the first beach on the Atlantic will be in Jacksonville. With almost 9 days off, we should be able to leisurely travel up the coast and into New England where Providence will be our destination. Providence, as in the tiny state of Rhode Island.

 

We want to visit my mother's sister and all involved are excited about this trip. The daughter was three years old on our last visit there. Much has changed since that time. Most of my mother's family has passed on and what were once little children our now middle aged adults. It's time to reunite.

 

Aunt Ev I've mentioned here before. The youngest child of seven, she is my mother's sister. This evening we spent on the phone discussing food. When she tells me what was on her dinner menu, I immediately want to know the details. "Add a little baking soda to your tomato sauces" she says. "It will neutralize the acids and you won't have heart burn!" She laughs as she tells me this was learned from an Italian chef who wrote  a cookbook many years ago. "I've used the baking soda ever since." she chortles. "I'm gonna cook some wonderful foods for ya." she promises. 

 

I'm fortunate to have so many cell phone minutes rolled over. The time passes quickly when in a phone conversation with this delightful person.

 

Aunt Ev has plans.   We know we will be staying at a motel close to her house.  She will be our tour guide and direct us to her favorite places in the area. Right now plans are loosely laid but as the time approaches, reservations will be made and a more accurate itinerary will be developed. 

 

My second trip of 2013 will be a more lengthier one. My ex sister in law and her husband will be along for this one. As soon as the snow melts, we will travel to Wyoming. A small piece of property there will be the perfect place for a small one room cabin or an A-frame house with a tiny loft. We plan on building something and using it for a summer get away. The guys will use it for a hunting base camp. This is how we convinced them that this was a good idea. Hunting and no "out of state fees" caused their eyes to glisten. 
 From our base we will be close to Yellowstone Park, Mt. Rushmore and the Black Hills of South Dakota to the north. To the south we can plan a weekend trip to Cheyenne and Denver. The Rocky Mountains are beautiful and tame in the summer and a bit more exciting in the winter. Both couples on this adventure have weathered winters in the Rockies so we know what to expect and how to prepare. Our first of many trips, we hope, will be this summer one to get our hideaway built. Successive trips after that will be to explore and enjoy what was once a home to three of the four people involved in this project home building.

 

A list is being drawn up as I type. A cost estimate, house plans and time schedule is being perused. With enough help and based on the size, we should be able to rough it in quickly. I'll be a gopher on this project unless someone trusts me with a power gun. We shall work quickly as camping in a tent in the back yard is not my idea of a great vacation. I don't mind it being a working vacation though.

Early fall of 2013 should find us  somewhere across the big pond. The husband and I would love to spend more time in Italy but Spain and Portugal would be acceptable. Maybe the British Isle? I'm open for just about any vacation abroad. It's time to spend some of that savings and do it while I'm still healthy and mobile.

I like to do a lot of walking on these excursions. From hiking in the Rocky's to walking cobblestone streets, one has to be fit and ready. I plan on starting a walking program now that the weather has cooled off a bit.

It's election day and I'm ready to cast my vote! Happy Election day everyone! GO VOTE!

Ready Set,

The  husband left early this morning for a 12 hr drive. As his truck pulled out of the driveway, it disappeared into the heavy fog and he was gone. I dread seeing him leave in this weather and would have liked for him to wait until the sun burned off this fog.

0700 found me at the big box store for home improvement. Chair rail and quarter round shopping and back home to stain it all. Right now it is stacked  neatly perpendicular in a corner of the patio. Tomorrow it will go to the daughter's home for installation. One goal accomplished when done with it and on to the next job.

Carrie is fresh out of her bath, back from a visit with her father this weekend. She didn't stay in the tub for her usual amount of time. The Wii beckoned and she was told she would have to have her bath before she got to play the Wii. A carrot on the end of a stick, she allowed her hair to be shampooed and brushed with nary a whimper. She is snuggled beneath a blanket though the a/c unit is still kicking on. It's a typical November day in Louisiana.

On another note, I think I have the property sold in Wyoming. I received a second phone call today from an interested party. I don't plan on ever moving back to Casper and I should have sold this property years ago. The taxes have steadily increased as improvements were made in that neighborhood.

Christmas looms again and usually "looms" is how I think about it. I've started questioning the grandchildren about what they want this year. They usually have one   specific thing they wait all year for and this year is no exception. Ted has requested an Airsoft gun. I'm still waiting on Elise's decision.

I'm off to bed as soon as Carrie's bedtime rolls around. I have much to do tomorrow!

A Day of Glamour

Today was day full of glitz and glamour. Cherries in the Snow lipstick  and  deep brown eyeliner graced my face. A girl has to be prepared. This morning was dedicated to cleaning bathrooms. I prepare by trying to look my best. I figure it helps my attitude on this chore by attempting to NOT look like the cleaning crew.

I do enjoy shiny chrome. The bathtub has it's own sheen to it and the clear shower curtain is once again really clear. Soap scum and toilet ring has been banished for another week. As I do this dreaded cleaning I think about all the motels I have been in and the housekeepers that buzzed into that room to make the bed and clean the bathroom. Not one bathroom but one in a long line of many. It's bad enough cleaning your own bathroom. The thought of cleaning a strangers' bathroom makes me want to award a medal to those housekeepers who do this back breaking job day after day. You have my respect!

Carrie is spending the night and I'm uploading a video I shot of her tonight. Have you seen the Gangnam videos? All the rage now, and breaking all records on You Tube viewing, Carrie is wild about them. She studies the moves and attempts the dance steps. Silly as the Gangnam videos are, she can sit for hours watching them. Even after she is in bed sound asleep, the sound of that video still bounces around inside my skull. Gangnam Style!! The Korean that started this craze screams from the video. The music sounds part techno and the song is not in English. I'll post the link to the You Tube video on this blog so you can get the full effect.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_H7B15z6Wk&feature=share

It's shower time in my clean shiny chrome fauceted bathroom. I'll check my video upload before I go to bed. Uploading on this laptop is ridiculously slow and I'm too sleepy to stay up much longer. Cleaning bathrooms is exhausting.