I am deep in the midst of a home renovation. You see, Jason and I had a battle of wills and apparently my will was not strongest on this topic. I wanted to hire someone to do it. He wanted to do it himself. So he is. ‘What is it?’ you might ask. We’re in the middle of a Pergo floor laying down… thingie.

It all started innocently enough. We bought some samples.. selected the one we liked and then Lowes up and dumped that color. So we picked something else (and I’m happy with our selection) and then 29 boxes of it ended up in our basement. I’m not quite sure how he talked me into allowing us to do it, but we are.

Currently, most of the carpet is ripped up, some of the vinyl in the kitchen is ripped up and some of the floor is laid in the dining room/living room/never ending double wide hallway.

Thankfully a few of our close friends have volunteered to assist with the process (and they’ve done it before so they know what they’re doing!) and all should go smoothly.

I, however, will not participating much in this process. Oh sure, I removed staples from the subfloor and cut up some of the carpet but the actual laying of the Pergo? I want no part of that and the thought of it makes me semi anxious.

Thankfully, Jason agreed with me and has exiled me to the deck until further notice where I plan to create an oasis with the tropical plants I purchased at Home Depo this afternoon and as many margaritas as I can drink without throwing up. I figure if I’m drunk enough any mistake or mishap will roll off me like water on a duck.

I am truly in awe that Jason, who has never laid Pergo before, can read a few directions and can just start using power tools and saws and create a beautiful masterpiece. Everyone has limitations… and I know that I am not capable of doing what he’s undertaking. I work with mediums that I can easily correct; yarn and paint. If I fuck up some crochet or knitting I can (in most cases and with the assistance of experienced knitters!) undo what I fucked up and redo it correctly. With painting I just put more paint on the canvas until I see what it is I want to see. Doing things that are very final.. like cutting floor boards scares the dickens out of me.

I think it’s because I hate to mess up. I’m a Virgo.. I need order (at least an order that my mind calls order). I need exactness. I feel like I have to know exactly what it is I’m doing or I can’t do it unless I know I can pull a string or slap some more on to undo it.

I give kudos to those that are able to throw caution to the wind and live in the moment.

How did it happen to become February already? My year is flying by me far too quickly for comfort. I remember last year that I couldn’t wait for 2010 and threw weeks at the trash like they were used up and moldy before they’d even been born and now I can’t seem to cling to weeks as someone comes and rips them from my claw like hands.

Its movin fast!

Aside from the mountain of homework that accumulates each week (and that I have to work on every day.. which I’m not used to or liking in the least bit!) I’ve undertook a new project. I’m knitting my sister in law a baby hammock for her photography and I’m very excited about the prospects. She chose the yarn, we found a pattern together and I’m going to do the actual work. I was a bit nervous at first when we started to talk about it and I offered before I’d actually seen a pattern. Who knew what crazy new stitches I’d have to learn? Who knew what obscure piece of machinery I’d need to conquer just to be able to mangle it into some semblance of shape? As it turns out it’s just the knit stitch along with a few increases and then a few decreases. This thing is going to practically make itself!

In other news, we were supposed to receive 4-8 inches of snow from some storm that has the eastern US in it’s clutches. Yeah… we’re at over a foot right now. If anyone out there is missing about 5 inches of snow, you left it in Pennsylvania and we’d all appreciate it if you’d come and pick it up. I know that in some portions of the country a drizzle is cause to drive erratically, panic and call off work. What am I going to do with an extra five inches of snow and a Saturday? Besides shovel it.

I actually really like when we have big storms like this because everything, no matter how disgusting, looks so pristine and white. Everything looks like it has the most delicate layer of frosting imaginable on it. It’s only when I’m hoisting it off the driveway and sidewalks that I raise my tiny fist to the heavens and shake it violently.

So here’s to February. The groundhog saw his shadow (though how he’d NOT see it with all those lights shining on him is beyond me) and I blame this snow fall on him. I’m buried under a pile of meteorology and writing assignments and I’m pretty sure that the next time I write in, it will be because we have another major snowfall that I’m trying to procrastinate from shoveling or because school has ended and summer is here.

I hope neither of those things are the case.

Since I declared that September at the little, white box was going to be Getting Rid of (Sh)It Month I thought I should tally my efforts quickly and see how I’ve done.

This past weekend, Jason and I spent the better part of a morning and shredded about 8 months worth of junk mail. The amount of loan and credit card offers I received made me ill. It amazes me how quickly it all piles up. We’ve got a fairly large basket that we toss the mail into so it’s not scattered wherever the winds land and it was full to the point of over flowing. So much waste. I wish there was something cool and also not very taxing that I could do with the junk mail after it was shredded other than recycling it. Some other way to recycle or use it perhaps?

The week before that, I went on a clothes frenzy and filled a ginormous bag full of old old clothes. You know, the tshirts that have holes but are so comfy, and the jeans that have seen better days or the pair(s) that you keep around to paint in because you never know when you might need painting clothes!! Does anyone really paint that often? I know I don’t. They all went.

It’s feeling so good to get rid of things that I’ve held onto for so long for no apparent reason. The next project is the bedroom. Wish me luck!

I’ve written August off. Sure, there are few more days but I feel like summer is over because classes have started so why even bother with the rest of August? Do you hear me August? You’re dead to me. I have huge(!!!) plans for September though.

One of my sister in laws and I email back and forth everyday. I’m hoping that eventually we’ll be able to figure out a way to wire some warm weather and sunshine through email, but as of yet we haven’t figured anything out. She lives in Florida and I live in the annex of Antarctica that is refered to as Pennsylvania.

Lately we’ve been chit chattering about decorating ideas, clutter and just general life disarray. Something which I’ve felt kind of overwhelmed with and by lately. Where do you start? How do you go about it? She thoughtfully sent me a post with some really awesome before and after pictures that were on Design Sponge, and I sent her a link to Ikea Hacker’s website. So much inspiration!

We both decided that September will offically be Get Rid of (sh)It Month! I (embarassingly) have boxes that I haven’t even opened since we moved in 2 years ago and it’s time. I need to make space in my life (and my tiny white box) and get rid of all the old things.. I figure if I haven’t looked at it in 2 years, I probably don’t need it and if for some reason I do then I have to find a spot for it or else it goes anyway. I’m really hopeful that this will help alleviate some of the self inflected stress I feel about having people over.

So, once a week during the month of September I’m going to try and declutter my pad! I’m hoping that if I do some before and after photos it’ll help motivate me further. We’ll see