I had some folks up to the lake this weekend -

On Friday, I left work, picked up the kids from school and headed out to Costco. By the time I made it to the cabin, 2 van loads of kids were already unloading their stuff onto the front porch. In the end there were 34 of us squeezed into my parent's place.
I was the host/cook/only-adult-over-21 for our church's youth group this weekend.
Lotsa fun. Very tiring.

Then on Sunday 50 Creationfesters joined us for a BBQ. A few of the kids are pictured above.

I left Cultus very tired.
Got home at 11 pm and realized I'd left my make-up up there. And my curling iron plugged in.

So, Monday, after I took the kids to school, and before I went to work, I zipped back.
Made the mistake of sitting down for a sec. Woke up an hour later, very late for work.

Can I mention here that my house is a mess?


Last Sunday, a friend dropped in just as I was getting out of bed. I didn't let her in.
On Monday, my dad was in my driveway as I pulled in after work. I didn't want to let him in. As I was leaving to take Max to his night school class, my sister and neice pulled up. I didn't even let them get out of their van.
On Wednesday night, another friend stopped by. I told her she couldn't even look in the front door - we went for a walk.
A few nights later, my cousin's husband came over. I made him visit in the driveway.

Today, I was in Vancouver all day, planning a Gala. When I got home, my dad and uncle were inside my house.
"Whoa. Pretty messy in here," my dad points out as I come through the front door.
"Who was walking around with mud on their boots?" he asks.
"I swept the entire main floor before I went to bed last night," I explain. "But when I got up this morning, concrete mud was everywhere. I could follow the tracks from the front door right back to the kitchen. I didn't have time to clean it again before I left for work..." I fade out feeling stupid. I KNOW my house is a mess. The last block of free time I had, I worked in the back yard. You should see my shed. Now that's tidy. But does anyone look in my shed?Nope. They inspect my front hall.
"Anyways," dad continues. "I was embarassed and thought that Uncle J must be disturbed by the mess so I had to clean it up. But I couldn't find a broom. So I used your vacuum. Which didn't work very well. I don't think he's ever seen such a dirty house."

Oy.
Don't drop in.
Unless you want to visit in my shed.
Or my closet. I've cleaned that too.


Three things I'm thankful for:
1. I'm not married. Do not need a husband pointing out how messy things are.
2. I have two new books. They're from my favorite used book store: Eats, Shoots, and Leaves (The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation) and The Lexicon (A Cornucopia of wonderful words for the inquisitive word lover) I am SUCH a nerd.
3. I have a grapevine. With grapes. That apparently are quite tasty. I've been giving them away. Want some??
4. Max is going to the "Pray at the Flag Pole" event at his school tomorrow at 7 am. I'm kinda bummed that I'll be doing the driving, but thrilled, absolutely thrilled that he is going.

Were you counting? Didja notice I slipped in a bonus praise item at no cost? That's just the type of gal I am. Generous to a fault. (Insert smiley face.)

If I don't blog for a few days, it's because I'm cleaning.
In case you were wonderin'