Staycation, All I Ever Wanted...

...Sung to the tune of Vacation, by the Go Go Girls (80's flashback!)

What a week it's been! What's that? It's only Wednesday? Daaaang, we've managed to cram a lot into this staycation of mine!

What have we accomplished so far?

We've got Mom moved over the mountain and 75% settled into the new house. As of today, the kitchen is unpacked and organized (with the exception of the pantry, in which Hugh will be building new shelves because the current set-up wastes a lot of vertical space), the living/dining room is almost done (Mom still needs to organize her knick knacks on the shelves of the entertainment center and curio cabinet), and the garage is organized enough for Mom to park her car (Hugh is still planning to install some ladder hooks to hang ladders, which will free up more shelving for boxes and he has to pick up her new freezer and install it).

Kitchen Before

Kitchen After

Today, we will attack the bedrooms and bathrooms and that should be it. Then, Mom can decorate for Halloween, which is something she has been anxious to do. All in all, she is loving the new house and looking forward to getting used to her new town (she's been staying at our house while we work on her place).

When I haven't been at the new house helping Mom unpack, I've been knocking items off the To Do List that I've been meaning to get to for, well, forever. I've hauled seven large trash bags full of clothes to the Salvation Army, including two that have been sitting in a corner of Hugh and My bedroom for at least three years (wish I was kidding). The rest of the bags had been tossed in the Man-Cub's old room, and, with them gone; I am working on taking down The Shrine (all of the Cub's old sports memorabilia from High School) so that I can redecorate the room for guests.

I have also scheduled routine maintenance appointments for myself this week, including a hair appointment,  yearly dermatologist check-up, my annual physical and a mammogram; where I received a swag bag! Just for letting a total stranger grope my chesticles! 

Things still on my To Do List for the remainder of the week include harvesting my garden, helping Hugh set up my annual Halloween skeleton display, purging the remainder of old clothes from my closet, attending a surprise 21st birthday party for Shanti, and finally cleaning out and organizing my office/craft room.

I return to Not So New Job next Tuesday (thanks to the federal holiday on Monday) and I'm hopeful that I will have accomplished everything that I want to and that Mom will be settled and comfortable. The rest of the month will be a whirlwind of Halloween activities and fun fall stuff that I am looking forward to introducing Mom to (the corn maze, pumpkin patch, fall craft fairs, Punkin' Chuckin', etc., etc.). I'm grateful for having had the time to devote to all of this and owe my staff a huge debt of gratitude for holding down the fort for me.

Also, this week barely puts a dent in my accumulated vacation time, so, with any luck, there will be an actual vacation vacation in my future.

A girl can hope.