A Surprisingly Sane Blog

I keep doing this stupid thing where I pull up the Seattle MLS listings and start browsing through houses.

And I keep finding ones that I want.  Desperately. And then I proceed to send James an instant message linking to whichever house fits my fancy on that particular day.

We booked tickets and a hotel to go to Seattle next month.  To say I am looking forward to this trip is a gross understatement.  We are going with the intention of checking out the different areas, looking at real estate, and spending some time in the city that we will call home sometime within the next year.

I’ve been doing my best to keep myself busy and have been trying to make the best of the fact that the temperature is lingering around 100 degrees, but it’s been hard.

This weekend, we took the girls to the park for a picnic and the sunlight and extreme weather seemed to suck my soul out of my ears.  It was just too hot.  Twenty minutes of strolling around and taking pictures after lunch was too much for all of us to handle.

James admitted that he has never spent much time outside, and now he knows why.  It’s just too damn hot and miserable here.  We are both looking forward to moving.

In the meantime, I really need to stop looking at real estate.  It’s becoming an addiction, and pure torture knowing that those houses are all going to be filled with owners other than us.  We just aren’t moving soon enough.

Current Mood: Bored

I had a little conversation with James last night.  It didn’t go anything like I expected it to.

This is what I hoped would happen:

Me: I’ve been feeling really frustrated lately because I can’t seem to keep up with the mess in the house.  It would make me feel better if you would help me out and clean a little more on a daily basis.

James: (not sarcastically)  Okay, sure honey.  I’ll start by cleaning my toenails out right this second, and first thing tomorrow, I’ll wave my magic wand and *poof* the house will be spic and span.  I love you.  Thanks for bringing this to my attention.  I’m sorry you’ve been feeling so frustrated.  I’ll make cleaning part of my daily routine.

This is what actually happened:

Fingers were pointed about who makes which mess.  Excuses were made.  And finally, the truth came out:  “I didn’t have to do any chores when I was growing up.  My mom did all the cleaning and washed all the dishes and stuff.”

Well, that explained a lot.  The conversation finally moved forward from there, and ended something like this:

Me: Look, I know you’re busy, but I am too.  I wish I was a better housekeeper, but I’m just not.  I kind of suck at it, to be honest.  I get overwhelmed having to clean up three other people’s crap in addition to my own.  All I am asking is for you to make a little more effort and clean a little more.

James: (big sigh) What you’re asking isn’t unreasonable, it’s just that it’s tough because I’m so busy.

Me: Well, living in a messy house isn’t an option for me.  I can’t stand it.  If we can’t keep it clean, then I’m hiring someone to do it for us.

James: No, we don’t need someone else to clean it for us.  We just need to do it.  I’ll make a point to help out more.

Success.  Well, maybe.  We’ll see how it goes over the next few weeks.  Otherwise, you’ll read a blog about how much I love my housekeeper in the near future.

……….

This, ladies and gents, is the reason why you should NEVER let your kids get away with not cleaning up after themselves.

’nuff said.

Current Mood: Alarmed