1. Over the long weekend Dan skim-coated the kitchen ceiling. I don't know who ever though this was a good idea but at some point in history this textured ceiling must have been THE thing because they're all over our house. The kitchen ceiling was a particularly aggressive form of this texturizing. Curls and whips of plaster big enough to house small spiders and their webs. So now, after scraping it down (thankfully before we moved in) he has put a few layers of mud on the ceiling to smooth it out and in turn highlight our sloping old-farmhouse ceilings. I'm not ungrateful though--it's really an improvement. But, I do NOT do well with a torn-apart kitchen. Especially on New Year's weekend when my resolve to clean-out, clean-up and get organized is at hyper-levels. Usually, he does these kinds of things when I'm out of town. I'm thinking for my own emotional well-being, it would be a good idea to leave town when it's time to tackle the next step in the process--sanding the newly mudded ceiling.

2. Emily and I are beginning our fourth(!) year at habit. We decided for the month of January, to post as we began--just the two of us. I know, it's only January 5th, but sharing that space, just the two of us again, has been pretty magical. 

3. I've been revisiting the Camp Creek Blog lately. So much good thinking and inspiration there. 

4. This is one of my favorite resolution posts of the season. 

5. My mom asked me the other day why I wasn't blogging anymore. It's been months, she says, since I've gotten an email notification that you posted! Ummm, still blogging mom, but apparently, my email subscriptions are broken. Turns out when I deleted an old domain name for this blog, I also deleted all those email subscribers. So, if you're a subscriber, you hopefully got a little email from me this morning with instructions on how to subscribe again. Otherwise, the box in the sidebar should be working now, or you can subscribe by clicking on this link. 

6. I'm all for resolutions despite the trend to pooh-pooh them. I have a running list in my head of things to think about for 2012. I need to write them down.

7. Speaking of things on my mind, Amanda's Squam story really resonated with me in some way. Oh Squam, how I'd love to see you....sigh.

8. I've been writing this post since 9am this morning. It's now 3:52pm. And I have no plan for dinner. Oy.

xo.

molly

Hi.

I decided last night, that even when I feel like my brain is too full to put together any kind of profound or coherent words, I still need to show up here and write. 

This weekend, I'm heading to New York City representing the Babycenter blogs for the premiere of War Horse. I found a dress (In black. And no, I didn't pay that much!). And I ordered some tall black boots with a kitten heel. "Kitten Heel" being terminology that is both new to me and now used regularly in our house because it's just fun to say. And a ridiulously large and dramatic glitzy necklace. I tried the outfit on for my kids and they said I looked like somebody else. And the boots weren't my style. My dear children, I try not to make a habit of wearing knee-high black boots around the house, but mama can get a little funky when she needs to. 

So, I'm sandwiched between still recovering from our Thanksgiving roadtrip last weekend and preparing to leave the brood behind with my husband for three days this weekend. I'm trying to make everything a little easier this time because on my last jig away from home, one child almost died and they survived on hotdogs at every meal. (The hotdog part possibly an exaggeration from my oldest child.) And just on cue with my imminent departure Elizabeth has an ear infection, and the baby is going through another phase of scream-only communication. Not to mention her uncanny ability to sniff out EVERY marker in this house (despite my attempt to HIDE every marker in this house), color both her cheeks, inside her ear, between her toes, and on any flat surface. 

Today I made a brain-dumping to-do list in my journal. It was simultaneously cathartic and overwhelming. 

But. BUT. Despite all this craziness, I'm pretty sure this weekend is going to be amazing. In a last minute exciting change of plans, my mom is coming too--riding the train up to NY with me, spending our free day Sunday together and lounging around in the swanky hotel with me (and without me). My husband, despite my attempts to drown myself in guilt for leaving, has been nothing but encouraging and all "everything's under control". And the stuff will get done. And some won't. And my house will probably be messy still when I leave. And there'll be laundry to do. But there will be meals in the freezer. And grain for the chickens and food for the barn cats. 

The End. And that's all. That's my brain dumped out for all to see. I promise, there's some good stuff hiding in the back of it. But for now, this is what you get. In all it's un-profound glory.