I am a little overly-pleased with my Christmas Eve badassery.

But now I have a problem. I resent my $12 IKEA curtains.

When we first moved into this house 10 years ago, our kitchen was a minor disaster. Formica and particleboard cabinets. Dull off-white paint on the walls. A flickering fluorescent light fixture. Stairs covered in drab gray paint. No countertops to speak of. A refrigerator in the middle of the frickin’ room. Oh, and the dirt. 70 years worth of dirt, everywhere.

We soon learned I was pregnant, resulting in the famous declaration “No pregnant wife – and no child – of mine will be eating in this kitchen.”

And thus we began the 5 year 7 year 10 year renovation.

I’d be hard pressed to say if the low point was the month we went without a working stove and microwave, or the Christmas Eve when Saint Paul tried so worked himself into full body cabinet-hanging, floor-sanding exhaustion… followed by a bad case of the flu… followed by me hauling 125 lbs of This End Up tables down flights of stairs to set up for the holiday dinner while simultaneously cooking for 18 people and taking care of two toddlers.

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I got so lucky with the header picture.

Yes, I’ve posted this picture before. I took it at South Beach, trying to capture my boys in silhouette.

It’s now among my very favorite pictures, ever. Sure, Alison Shaw, you’ve got the pole position (and the second… and the third…) in my dining room. Truth be told, your prints are the first and only serious pieces of art we’ve owned.

But I’m claiming the blog header as my own.

I have so very much to say. But It’s going to have to keep for a bit while my brain attempts to make sense of the impossible. Back soon.

Did you know yesterday was stop lurking because you’re freaking me out day?

No, wait, it was called something else. National delurk day? Take lurch to lunch day? Hey you ole lunk c’mere and give me a hug day?

No?

Anyway, the idea is for people who typically don’t comment to stop that and say something.  In fact I’ll make a deal with you: go ahead and leave a comment, and I won’t go all Harriet the Spy and google your IP address*.

Deal?

* a hollow threat at best. There isn’t a whole lot google is going to tell me about you based on your IP address.  Still, I’d love to hear from you and maybe get an idea about why you read the wingdangdoo.

I’m not here.

(OK, OK, you’re right, I’m here. I’m trying to make it look like I’m not here. These people with their questions and their projects and their deadlines and their delusions that I have answers won’t leave me alone. I’m staying here until they all go away. Or until I’ve emptied my email inbox. Whichever comes first.)

So, I’m not here. Now where could I be?  Why, look! There I am! Over at Whit’s place, prattling on about god knows what*! Go, go, check it out! And bring the irate, pitchfork-wielding crowd gathered outside my door along with you!

*I’m pretty sure the little guy made it. I found something dead in the basement this morning, but it definitely wasn’t him. Too big.

Today was the double whammy: closing on the refinance and my boys’ birthday party.

I tend to approach major financial decisions with a debilitating combination of irrational fear and panic. Given that our estimated closing costs varied wildly today from three times what I anticipated all the way down to a third of the original estimate, I was a mess.

Thanks to our good friend Brian (and if you need a finance guy, boy do I recommend him!), we ended up on the low end of the out-of-pocket range. That’s some kind of black magic, making a mortgage point disappear in just three hours.

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We’re powered by WordPress here at the WingDangDoo media empire. Commenting elsewhere, I stumbled upon the CommentLuv plugin.

Add your blog URL to the form when your comment, and your brilliant insight will be signed with both your name and a link to your most recent entry. My throngs of readers will undoubtedly click through, driving your blog traffic to unrivaled heights.

Try to keep your excitement to a dull roar, peeps.  It was a late night for me.

Why yes. Yes I can.

I downloaded the wordpress app. The interface is clean and very easy to use. I like the navigation buttons at the bottom of the apps I’ve tried to date.

Two thumbs up.