A Million and One

I have a million things to do today.

I wish I could spend a few hours sharing what a great weekend we had, despite 16 hours+ in the car.  But that will have to wait, because writing about important things, like amazing family togetherness, takes time.

I can certainly spare a few moments (while waiting for Lowe's my local home improvement store to call me back about WHEN my carpet might possibly be installed) to post about all the stuff I need to be working on today.

Like watching this little girl:

 We are taking care of her for a few days.  Kind of like a practice run on having a dog of our own.  So far she has been quite easy, although I feel like she wants some serious entertainment.  Unfortunately, all the entertainers are in school, so she's stuck with watching me.  

On the entertainment lineup this morning:  

sorting laundry (I've started, but not finished) -- she apparently enjoys rolling in the dirty clothes

making a-least-a-million trips up and down those UNCARPETED basement stairs in an attempt to find a home for all the crap items in the garage

wiping down the new cabinets, and figuring out what would be the best use of the space

then filling it, hoping to not have to shuffle it all around after a realization that it works better elsewhere

deciding if I will ever need that much craft paint again in my life

loading up those awesome shelves that are here, there, and everywhere

clearing off the gorilla racks in the garage so I can haul them down to the storage room and get the food storage in a more desirable and accessible location

removing the extra slats in the solitary blind hanging in the basement (two are still waiting for installation by America's Best Handyman, Bill), and figuring out what the heck to put in my oh-so-perfect baskets

digging through the chaos of our crawl space to locate our boatload of books, then organizing them in an aesthetically pleasing way

transferring our gallon of Round-Up, currently unusable due to a faulty sprayer, to an empty Febreze squirt bottle, and clearly labeling the change, so I can begin the arduous task of weed killing

(forgetting that I should have a leash on the dog before opening the door -- then bribing her back into the house)

registering Shi for swim (practice starts tonight), and emailing the coach as promised

running Mar back to the salon for re-feathering (which came out after only 4 days)

calling on the status of the carpet install (I just heard back from Lowe's, and it wasn't good news -- I'm trying not to go ballistic)

thinking about how I can procure a better refund from the dance studio that robbed me

(The long of a short story:  I registered Mar for a dance class at a small local school online the Friday before classes were to start.  I had hoped to get her into another dance school, but the class she wanted to take was full, and I had yet to hear back from the owner.  The following Monday morning, I heard from the first-choice school, and there WAS a spot for Mar in the class.  I called the second-choice school BEFORE class that day, and left a message on their answering machine explaining the situation, and notifying them that Mar would not be attending their school.  I never received a call back, so I called several days later and talked to the owner of the school.  She was very friendly and polite on the phone, and asked me to consider their school in the future.  Certainly.  My account was initially billed $91 for the registration and first month's tuition.  I received a $14 refund.  I called the school again concerning the apparent billing mistake, again leaving a message.  My call was returned by a guy (the owner's husband?), who proceeded to explain that he could give me another $14 refund.  How generous.  They charged me $63 for enrolling in their school for a weekend.  Will I consider going back?  No way.  Not ever.  And I intend to at least TRY to get more of my money back.  AND to contact the BBB to file a complaint.)

coordinating finances

coupon clipping

unpacking

mothering.

Gotta run.

Post post:  I almost forgot these beauties.