This weekend, I had an invitation to a Halloween costume party. Did I go? No, no I did not. Did I plan to? Yes, yes I did. What happened?
The house. The house is what happened. Sadly, a visitor (as opposed to someone who actually lives here) would not notice the result of the flurry of activity that was my weekend. Hence the beauty of bullet points:
- Tested the chemicals in the spa water and used effin' Spa Up and Spa Down until I finally figured out the nuances of the effin' spa chemical testing apparatus, with several "run the spa filter for at least 30 minutes" intermissions throughout the day before comprehension gleamed. Effin' spa.
- Did laundry. It is almost as if there is laundry to do Every Week. It cannot be, yet it seems so. Odd.
- Cleaned the floors, toilets, and sinks All By Myself because, now that I am a homeowner with a laughable amount of disposable income, I am too cheap to pay someone else to do it for me. Dammit.
- Installed a curtain rod in the master bedroom from which to hang the tab-top curtains that have been thumb-tacked up there since September in true Trailer Trash Chic fashion. Now I can open and close my bedroom curtains at will. Imagine.
- Hung the former owners' fake bamboo shades back up in the two front bedrooms because 1) I could not decide what style of window covering to put there, 2) I have no money to buy new window coverings, and 3) it freaks me out that anyone can walk up off the street and see into my house, including the master bedroom if all bedroom doors are open and aligned 'just so.' They look good, actually, those fake bamboo blinds. They are technically see-thru when it is dark outside and a light is on inside, but I am pretending I do not know that for the time being.
- Recaulked the master bathroom marble vanity, after getting a back ache scraping out the old disgusting caulk. It is still a Builder's Special cultured marble vanity with gold sparkly designs in it, but at least it no longer looks like something dead is going to crawl out of the caulking seams at any moment. ( Still to do: guest bath vanity and tub caulking.)
- Hung the DustBuster on the wall as well as a plastic bag holder from IKEA that looks like an alien when it is full of plastic grocery bags.
I also paid my bills online, updated my Wish Lists on Amazon.com and Wishlistr, and reconciled my 401K account for the past 21 months. (They hide the fees and no longer show activity detail on the quarterly statements. Bastards.)
I know I should have gone to the costume party, but I was tired and sweaty and in no mood to clean up and put on a full face of makeup, a wig, and a costume just to go to a house full of people, of which I knew all of two. (Maybe four, but they are all related so it doesn't count.) I will apologize to the party host on Monday.
My favorite motto (and one I have been using for at least a decade): it is better to ask forgiveness than permission.
What did you do this weekend?
Tags: home repairs, homeowner

