cold – Sweat & Sparkle

Spring Cleaning

At the beginning of each year, I launch an ambitious spring cleaning project. My goal is to empty every closet, drawer, cabinet, and box in the house, clean it out, wipe everything down, and then replace what we are keeping, but neatly and better organized. I started the process last year but fizzed out, so I am determined to do the entire house this year.

To stay on track, I created a checklist with every single item and area that I want to clean out and organize. This way, I can track my progress, and I can also choose what to clean out, based on how much time I have. For example, an entire closet will need several hours on a weekend or a day off, but if I just have a short window of opportunity, I can clean out and organize my box of nail polishes (yes, I have a bit of a nail polish problem, but I swear I use all of those colors!).

This past weekend, thanks to the polar weather, I mostly stayed inside and got started on the list. I cleaned out both bathroom vanities and medicine cabinets. All I can say is, I don’t need to buy any body lotions, body washes, or scented body scrubs for a looooooong time! But at least now they are all grouped together neatly, and I know I can sit out the next several Bath & Body Works sales.

This morning at work, I figured, why not keep the momentum going? I cleaned out my desk drawers and cabinets, then organized loose items like extra notepads into cute little containers in a drawer.

I just feel so much better when things are neat, orderly, organized. I can’t wait until the entire checklist is marked off, and the whole house has been de-cluttered and tidied.

Sometimes it’s funny to uncover something I forgot that we had. In the small table beside my seat of the couch, I had stashed some embroidery thread and small scissors. I couldn’t remember why I had those, since I don’t embroider. After wondering if I was simply going crazy, I finally remembered that I had used embroidery thread to decoratively stitch the edge of a blanket that I made for my husband a few years ago. How could I forget? I kept the thread and scissors in that little table because it took forever to go around the edges of that blanket. I cut the blanket extra long since my husband is so tall, and I would sit in the evenings, chatting or watching TV with him, working my way around that blanket one section at a time with the thread.

We’ll see what memories I uncover during this year’s round of spring cleaning!

Snow Days

Quotes about snow don’t typically get my attention here in the sunny, hot south, but the last few days have been anything but typical. After a long, cold night of freezing rain earlier this week, we woke up to a thick layer of white, glistening ice.

I remember the first snow of every season, growing up in the north. No matter how old I was, that first snow was always exciting. Before anyone stepped foot in it, or drove in it, or touched it in any way, it was so beautiful and peaceful, a smooth, calming blanket of sparkly white.

Something else that was exciting about those long-ago days was getting a day off school if the snow was heavy enough, and that thrill hasn’t changed, either. The best part of this oddball snow and ice storm has been this: my husband and I found ourselves with three straight snow days!

We couldn’t resist venturing out into the ice, crunching our way around the yard, dashing back inside, shivering, to warm back up before heading right back out. He thought he was clever and asked me to come out and look at something, just so he could throw a snowball at me. One look at his trouble-making, smiling face, and I knew what he was up to, but I went outside anyway, just so he could let loose and then laugh like a little boy (albeit, a very tall little boy).

This weekend will warm up quite a bit, and the sun will likely erase every speck of snow and ice, leaving us with mud, muck, and memories. I can’t say I want a repeat of the arctic cold and the polar ice any time soon, but I can say, there is no one else I would rather be snowed in with than my snowball-tossing, snuggling, laughing, best friend and blanket sharer.

Recharge

The weekend is close enough that I can almost taste it, and not a moment too soon! It’s been a good week, just a very busy one. Thankfully, a few meetings at work this afternoon were canceled, so I have a bit of calm and quiet right now before heading home.

We’re going to start off the weekend cold and rainy, so I am looking forward to sleeping in to an obscene hour tomorrow, wrapped up tight in blankets and my husband’s arms until we feel like finally emerging into the day. My goal is to relax and recharge as much as possible the next two days, then lay the necessary groundwork for some exciting changes next week (more on that later).

Happy Friday, and here’s to an awesome weekend!

Hot Chocolate Night

We are a few days into a string of below-freezing nights. I’m over it already, but we still have more than a week to go of this arctic fun.

My husband keeps reminding me that I hate summer and being hot. Well, I never said I wanted to swing to the other extreme and live in the North Pole. Whatever happened to nice, cool fall days with a soft breeze, when you might need a sweatshirt and jeans, not a parka and gloves and the temperament of a polar bear?

Last night, my husband built the first fire of the season in our fireplace. We have been in this house nearly a decade, and it is still exciting to me when we have a fire going. I loved snuggling on the couch together, cozy and warm on a cold night, listening to the fire crackling. The best part, though, is after we head to bed together, and the house is dark and quiet, but the fire is still glowing and snapping, peaceful and soothing.

Tonight is going to be even colder than last night. My husband and I already have a date night planned, then coming home to thaw out and relax by the fireplace again. This morning, he said, “We need hot chocolate tonight.” I agreed and said, “With marshmallows!”

If we absolutely must have freezing cold nights, well, I’m grateful for our fireplace, our warm house, hot chocolate in different flavors, and snuggling up with my best friend…oh, and of course, marshmallows!

109 Days

We haven’t even officially entered summer yet, and I am beyond over it. Ninety degree days, humidity, sweating just walking to the mailbox, caking on layers of sunscreen to protect my vampire-white, easily-burned skin…blech!

My husband loves summer and reminded me that without summer, we wouldn’t have our beach weekends or one of our favorite holidays (4th of July). Hmmmm. I’m still not sold on the idea.

There are 109 days until fall!