A Bowl of Fun

"And by tomorrow we shall be moved."


Did I say that? What the crap was I thinking?


It's Saturday night. I can't find a clean pair of jeans. That is because they are still at the other house. I also cannot find all of the hand soaps. That is because they are still at the other house too. I hate moving. And might I just add...


SOMEONE DIDN'T FOLLOW THE PLAN!! 


Several someones didn't follow the plan. The plan was to move big things Thursday, personal belongings and living things on Friday, baby shower and clean on Saturday, rest on Sunday and unpack. That was the plan. In real life, though...we moved about half of our personal belongings on Friday. And then we left the rest there until tomorrow afternoon. Poo. 


Wait...did she say baby shower?


Yes. Yes, she did. 


Did I really try to host a baby shower during a move? Yes. Yes I did. 'Cause I'm crazy like that. And because I had already settled on the date before we found out we had to move. And because I am limitless. Or so I think sometimes. But, also...because I needed to spend a few hours among friends during this crazy time. I needed to do something good for the soul. Something that makes me feel a little less discombobulated. I needed to do something for someone else. Something that didn't revolve around the aftermath of our house fire.


So, I did what any self-respecting, super creative, limitless woman would do. I spent some time on Pinterest and I picked out some cute ideas I could totally pilfer. It was a perfectly ducky day!


(Thanks to Hostess {with the mostess} for the inspiration)

Do not make fun of my bubbles. I know that they are not round. I was under pressure dammit!

My favorite glass bowl. 

My kids say I fill this bowl with EVERYTHING. I do. I love it. I have decorated it for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine's Day, baby shower, and I will put Easter eggs in it next week. That is precisely how many holidays/events I have decorated for since the stupid crock devastated all of my holiday decorating fun. My decorating joy has been reduced to a glass bowl. It is the thing I do to make the rental houses and temporary life feel normal- set a bowl on the table and throw something seasonal in it to make the place feel homey. It is amazing what a bowl can do for my happiness. (I packed and transported that bowl myself. I would have cried if it didn't make the move in one piece.) 

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I got to reconnect with some former coworkers, celebrate the joy and anticipation of a friend's new baby, eat really bad-for-you cake, and drink shower punch. It really was good for the soul, if not good for my schedule or my thighs. 

And then it was back to moving hell. Cleaning. Fussing at the kids to help. Packing. Yelling at the kids to help.   More cleaning. Threatening the kids to help. More packing. Shaking my fist at the kids. And so on. 

As I sit on my bed now, too tired to settle down to sleep...I realize a few things about my new temporary home.

Master bath.

One: the master bath is HIDEOUS. The strips of wallpaper don't even match. The silver-gray arch seriously clashes with the beige and mauve wallpaper. And yes, the mirror is actually that dirty. My first priority was to lay shelf paper in the nasty cabinets after attacking them with Clorox wipes so I could set my toothbrush and make-up down without cringing. Hideous I say. 

Two: The wind is whipping strong outside and I realize someone nearby has wind chimes. I don't know this person, but already I like them. 

Three: I have silver-gray bedroom walls. Just like MY bedroom had. I love that color. In fact, the whole house is that color. I wouldn't paint a whole house that color, but I do like the color. I like it much, much better than the house we just moved from with pale yellow walls. 

It really is the little things, you know? The little things can make you really happy, or they can really piss you off. I'm trying to decide if the hideous bathroom will piss me off more than the wind chimes and wall color will make me happy. 

Maybe after a good night's sleep on yet another rented bed, the bathroom won't look so HIDEOUS. 

But if it does, it does. It is only another temporary home. 

And guess what?

My home-home is officially CLEAN! Woot! Woot!

Clean means it is ready to be sprayed with the sealant that will contain all of the icky burnt-insulation post-fire smell that is lingering in the framework. This is the last step before Operation Rebuild commences. 

And that, my friends...is a BIG, BIG thing.