MIA

Yes, I'm back. I know I've been MIA for too long . . . and there's a good reason for that. You see, I'm going to let you in on a dirty little secret - I'm one of "THOSE PEOPLE". You know, the ones who prepare so far in advance everyone looks at them as if they have three eyeballs. I've been busy . . . crocheting. Random, I know, but it's like an obsession. I'm working on Christmas presents - not late ones, but early ones.

This year I decided to crochet 6 afghans for Hubby's side of the family. Yes, 6 in one year. And yes, before this year I've crocheted a total of 1 afghan in my life. Nothing like a challenge to step up to! My goal is to finish one a month - so either I'll be done by July, or I'll be far behind, but still able to kick it into high gear and finish before New Years! And it's working. I've already finished the first one, and I"m 32 rows into the second.

See, I also have an obsession with reading - and I figured out a way to read while I crochet. If I sit on my bed with a hard back, I can lay it on the bed and stick my toes on the corner of the page (so they don't flop everywhere), and crochet and read at the same time. So I get to be totally useless, indulging in my favorite pastime, but still feel productive, since I'm working on presents for others . . . .Of course this charade isn't working so well around my house.

The dishes only get done because we run out of spoons to eat the cereal with - I'm tempted to just go buy more so I could wait longer. Dinner each day doesn't even get started until after the time we usually sit down to it (my kids are loving all the cold cereal!) I don't have a clue how long it's been since I cleaned my bathrooms, and with Buddy currently toilet training, that's really not a pleasant idea. Even though the highs today are in the 70's, I still have flannel sheets on my bed. And don't even get me started about the rest of my kitchen.

And yet . . . .I hear the yarn calling my name. My book sits just out of eyesight, my eyes naturally straying in that direction. Just a few more rows won't hurt anyone. Really, I only have a few more months of work left and then I can be a normal person again. The kids are healthy -ish. Just slice up some apples to go with the lucky charms. That works, right?

It's a catch-22. On the one hand, I know I should be being better about the house work stuff. On the other, I love the idea of being so on top of the Christmas rush. And I do take lots of breaks to play with the kids, so I'm not actually ignoring them, just the house. Sigh. Someday balance will be a better part of my existence.

Now if you excuse me, there's a new skein of yarn just waiting to be unraveled. . . .