State of the Union Address

Here's a riddle for you: what's covered in three inches of dust, makes a disturbing popping sound and is covered in plastic and extension cords?

That would be my house.

Things are coming along fine, thanks for asking, after four separate concrete pours we now have beautiful front steps that are so pretty I impulsively run up and down them several times a day in a Rocky Balboa move that has the neighbors staring. Our contractor started framing the addition on Saturday so you can actually tell we're in motion here and already it's starting to look exciting (I catch Andrew sneaking home at lunch to peak at the progress).

I knew it would be this way but we're heading into the part of the remodel that we shall not dwell on too much for fear of sounding grumpy. The part where they've shut off power in the bedrooms, shut down my garage door and covered the flooring in protective plastic to keep the mud at a minimum. The boys have long orange extension cords threaded through the house to various working outlets so they won't miss a beat of their precious Olympics but even with that the breaker keeps tripping from all the construction equipment plugged in so we get the occasional *POP* followed by silence. It just adds to the ambiance.

I can't complain about the state of things because it just means that we're working towards the goal right? This too shall pass and that which does not kill us makes us stronger. All those platitudes that I can't remember when it comes down to having my lawn overgrown because the lawn mower is stuck inside a garage that can't be opened.

My house is a so filthy I won't walk across the floor without my slippers, there are flies around all the windows because with traffic coming through the house the doors get left open to bugs and now I've got to figure out where the kids are going to sleep for the next two months when we tear down their bedroom walls this weekend. The boys however are unconcerned and figure that being without a bedroom just means they'll have license to stay up as late as they want every night. No worries, it'll all be alright.

The cars that pass are starting to slow down when they go by to see what's going on. Neighbors we've never talked to before are coming over to ask what it is exactly we're doing and I watched the man two doors down who was out walking his dog this week stop and stare at our beautiful new steps for a full two minutes.

We're turning heads I tell you.

So as a parting note, this morning I'll be hiding out in a quiet closet somewhere, locked far away from the sounds of table saws and nail guns, while I enjoy a turn on Blogger Talk Radio for "Behind the Blog." I'll be talking with Karen from Simply Amusing Design and Melanie from Blogging Basics 101 who will thrill you with their lovely southern sounds while we discuss all sorts of interesting blogging issues.

Missed BlogHer? Got some blogging questions? Well here's your chance to catch up and I'd love to talk even if it's just to say hello. The program starts at 12 pm CST and you can call in (347) 826-7594 to join the conversation, go to the website at Blogger Talk to hear the program live or go back later at your convenience to hear the archived program.

You can also send your question by email or through the chat room on the Blogger Talk site. See you there!

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