Yeah...so I took the day off work. I got a movie, left lesson plans, and got a sub so I could take the day off work, go home, and be with my dad for the closing of the house where I grew up. The day started off pretty well; I had to stop by work and take care of a couple of things; since I didn't know what time the closing would be, I knew I had time to take care of a couple of errands. After I left work at 8:00, I called dad to see if he'd gotten a time from the lawyer or the guy processing the loan for the buyer. He said no, but he'd call me when he found out something. I decided to stop at Hobby Lobby (big mistake; I could spend my paycheck in there) and look at some quilling stuff. I left there and called dad again. No dice. He said he didn't know anything, and advised that I probably shouldn't drive all the way to Washington until I heard a definite time. Went to the post office. Went home. Fixed Ruth and Ron's wedding present. Called dad again. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Took a nap until 2:30, woke up and fell asleep again. Woke up at 5:30. Yes, I took the whole day off to drive to Washington and I'm still in Conyers. Dad finally gave me the number for the guy processing the loan, and I called him. He told me that he'd tell the processing department (who the heck is that?) to let me know in advance when the closing would be so I could take off work (again) and be there. I tried to be nice, I really did....but I let him know that I had already taken off a day from work to do this and it was going to be difficult to do the same thing again since I live 2 hours away--it's a whole day's loss to go home. He said he'd let me know something. Yeah, right. I guess God knew I needed the break, so I'm trying not to be too frustrated. Anyway, that's all.

So...this blog is specifically for Marli Page...whoever else reads it, great...but Marli, I wrote it with you in mind :) As a matter of fact, I've been thinking about Marli for the last three and a half hours. Why, you ask? Because I've been cleaning my bedroom. By cleaning, you should know that I don't just mean "Becky clean." Nope, I mean "mother Marli clean." Yep...I windexed the full-length mirror and even moved it. I pledged the jewelry box, dresser, and even the DVD player and TV..and that little picture in the corner. I moved cords around to the back of my nightstand so they wouldn't stick out like a sore...and ugly..thumb. I changed my sheets, febrezed the mattress, and put a duvet cover on the comforter. I even went so far as to fill up my shoe hanger thingy (you know, the thing that goes over the door to hold all your shoes) with shoes I actually wear and pair up and either toss or store those I don't wear so often. I parted with approximately six pairs of holy underwear (sorry, I couldn't bring myself to say the P-word....), three old t-shirts that I never liked anyway, random trash on the floor, and a feather boa hiding in my closet. I moved two suitcases out into the living room to take to the cleaners next week and rearranged my entire dresser (my t-shirts have moved to my closet on the top shelf now because I'm officially out of room.) I am working on getting my second load of laundry done for the evening and every piece of clean, dry clothing I own is either folded and put away, on a hanger in my closet, or on my tired body. I grouped my skirts in semi-colored order (all the darks together, etc.) just for kicks and got up two bags full of clothes and other things to give to people. I put a nail in the wall of my closet to hold all my purses and bags and put all my belts (most that I don't wear...) together on a hanger in the aforementioned closet. While I was cleaning/folding/trashing/organizing, I caught an episode of Law & Order: CI, listened to the Crabb Family, and dried Kim's clothes. Finally, I put the toilet paper in the bathroom actually on the roll instead of it just being propped on top of the empty cardboard wrapper. :) All in all, it's been a productive night. Tomorrow I shall tackle the living room and dining room as such...or maybe the bathroom, I don't know. I figure I should probably get to the part that people see pretty soon. Or maybe (what a novel idea) I will just rest...with it being Sunday and all.

So it's 9:54pm and I just got out of an incredibly relaxing bath...yep, you read correctly---I, Becky Phillips, took a bath--just to relax! It had no functionality pertaining to personal hygeine, but I sucked it up and did it anyway (in case you're wondering, I do shower on a daily basis....for some reason, every time you hear comments pertaining to how long it's been since you've taken a "bath," you get that look...yeah, you know the one). My dad tells me at least twice every time we talk that (a) I am burning the candle at both ends, (b) I need to relax and take a break, and (c) I need to come apart and be separate or I'll just come apart. For this reason, He'd be so proud to know that I did just that tonight. I didn't even answer the phone (and you'd be surprised how many times it rang...why is it when I'm having one of those "stinks-to-be-single-I-wish-someone-would-call" nights where I lay on the couch and watch TV for hours that my phone seems to be broken...then one time in 6 months that I take "me" time....well, my home phone rang three times and my cell phone rang once....and this was all in the course of....30 minutes or so? (I know, I know...how long is a bubble bath supposed to last? I did good to stay in there for as long as I did.). I'm making progress.
At any rate, it's almost 10:00pm....I need to put my jammies on and get in the bed shortly for my evening of relaxation mania to be complete. That's all I have to say about that.

Stardate log....11:08pm (isn't that how Star Trek used to start out?) I have been cleaning my office for approximately three hours or more tonight...and when I mean clean, I don't mean dusting and stuff--I've thrown away one..two...maybe three bags of trash along with two boxes full of crap (yes, that's what it is...) from my desk, office closet, and bookshelves. I'm a packrat--it's official. Did I mention that I spent about three and a half hours last night doing the same thing? Well, actually...last night all I worked on was the closet. Until 2am. Then I went to bed. Tonight I decided to tackle my desk and bookshelves, and I have to say I'm quite proud of what I have accomplished. Am I done? Pshaw. I still have a pile of "I don't know where this stuff goes but I don't want to throw it out yet" to sort...and two more bookshelves to be reorganized. In addition to that, I have recently acquired what appears to be a sewing maching cabinet (ix-nay on the sewing machine; it's just the cabinet) that I have decided to use as my "craft station." Having said that, as I was cleaning last night and tonight I was making a new pile of things that could be considered crafty. The more I clean, the smaller that cabinet looks. I am not sure how on earth I'll ever fit every thing in there. So far the list includes...

1. Scrapbooking materials. I just bought a ton of new stuff to scrapbook with; what's on the pile doesn't include the portable case I have for markers, scissors, etc.

2. Quilling supplies. "What in the heck is quilling?" Basically you take a thin strip of paper, roll it around itself (using a slotted metal tool--kind of like a large needle with the end clipped off so that it's open) and then making shapes with it. (check it out-- www.quilledcreations.com )

3. Paint...and paint..and more paint. And chunky stamps. And foam brushes. And...well, there's just too much.

4. Sewing stuff. I may move that to be with my actual sewing machine (what a novel idea). This includes a big sewing box and a rather big bag of quilting squares. I have owned the aforementioned bag-o'-squares for a couple of years now. Do I know how to quilt? Absolutely not.

5. Crossstitching. There's not much of this...but it makes the list anyway.

6. Silk flowers and glass rocks. Had an idea to make a "bouquet of pens" that's actually pretty cute. Oh yeah...add floral tape to that.

7. Shells from Costa Rica, a Dremel drill, and hemp lace to make jewelry. Got this idea while I was in..you guessed it, Costa Rica.

8. An unwieldy ball of yarn and a crochet needle...that ball will one day be a scarf. Maybe by the time I'm married (this means basically that I've got a while.)

Packrat? Nah...this goes beyond packrat. For those of you who don't know, I moved across the hall of my apt. complex last year (1 bedroom, 1 bath...now a 2 bedroom, 2 bath) for more space. Keep in mind that the only residents of this place are myself, two cats, and a hamster in the summer. My second bedroom (which should be nice and airy) is full of a desk, four bookshelves, aforementioned cabinet-o'-crafts, a treadmill (have I used it? yes, I have.), and a papasan chair...oh yeah, and two cat scratching posts...Maybe the reason that I'm not married yet is that...well, there just wouldn't be any room for his stuff; he'd have to hang his clothes on the treadmill.

It's 6:41pm...I'm supposed to be at Cracker Barrel at 7, but I'm waiting on files to be copied...so I figured I'd write...enjoy :)

Day 2 of our Mexican Journey....Bro. Ridings has already told us that a new roof needs to be put on the church...he still really hasn't told us what the girls are doing...perhaps he's afraid of the reaction. Anyway, breakfast was at 6:30am (whoo hoo!) and we left around 8 to head to the church. We got there and Bro. Ridings told us that the girls are to move a huge mound of dirt....yep, dirt....plain ole dirt (in the words of Brian Reagan, "It's a cup o' dirt!")....The going bet is that (1) the girls will start complaining first, and that (2) the guys will finish their job (the roof) before we finish moving our beloved mound of earth. Both of these predicitons turn out be false--the girls finished their job around 10:30 or so and then we got to sit on the roof and watch the guys work (hee hee!)...The neighbors have a couple o' three ducks. They've been watching us all morning. I'm sure they're mocking us. We were supposed to leave at 11:30 (hooray), but Preacher Brock asked if we could work just one more hour to get most of the roof finished (they have hauled all this material up on the roof, and if it doesn't get hauled back down and taken home it will gone tomorrow. We finally left at 12:30. Spaghetti was served for lunch around 1:30--yummy! We all showered (well, until Lindsay got caught mid-soap with no water....note to self: the water pressure goes down during the day, and one must be careful). We left Thursday night around 5:45 to go to "Sendero de Luz" Baptist Church down the street (we walked). There were only 4-5 people in attendance besides us. Note....don't drink the water at this church or go to the bathroom (ask if you wanna know why). Supper was sloppy joes at the house. I did devotions and talked about pride (again, ask if ya wanna know....God taught me alot about that--Obadiah 1:3). Originally we were supposed to go to the market tomorrow (Friday), but we are working instead and going shopping Saturday...hooray.

Well, I made it back from Mexico with no more than a few bruises and scrapes (due only to my clumsy self----well, that, and a wheelbarrow and big piece of metal.) :) For those interested, I'm going to try to journal the week we had on here--it may take me a bit, but I do type faster than I write...so enjoy :)

We had to be at the church at 4:00am on Wednesday (the 21st), and I ended up staying up all night (that's right...no nap, no rest, no nothin'!)...the Page's called me around 2:00 and said they were on the way to pick me up so we could get breakfast at Waffle House..I love Waffle House, but it doesn't love me at 3:00am. :) All made it to the church on time and we went on our way. No major traveling problems--none of the youth (except the pastor's kids) had ever flown, so that was an interesting sight when we took off and landed. All of them got a big kick out of the flight attendants having to show us how to buckle our safety belts.

We got to El Paso around 9:45, and waited for Brother Ridings....I called him and was informed that I was the first group in 18 years whose arrival time he had missed...Lucky for us he was in El Paso already and not still in Mexico (for future reference: it takes approximately 2 hours to get across the border from Bro. Ridings' house---the majority of that time is spent in the line waiting to actually cross the border). We all piled into two vans and took off; he instructed us that we were not to take pictures at the border or we would all be detained....hooray. I was expecting some big show of documentation, baggage, etc. at the border. Instead, Bro. Ridings told the guard that he had two groups of young people, asked if they wanted to inspect our luggage, and the guard replied, "no, go ahead."...that was it?!? All that worry for nothing! I guess that was God trying to teach me the first lesson of the trip.

We cooked out hamburgers and hotdogs for lunch and we all napped until church time (the church is about 45 minutes away from the place where we stayed). The service was great (well, it was for me..but then again, I speak Spanish.) At 5:15pm, the temperature in Juarez was 107 degrees. Farenheit. We sang "I have decided to follow Jesus" in Spanish and Preacher Brock preached (through an interrupter...I mean, an interpreter--Bro. Andy/Andrew/Andrés Wolfe). Supper was coldcut sandwiches and we all went to bed without complaint! Yippee! We all survived our first day in Mexico. Luckily we have an air conditioner upstairs....well, lucky for us until 4:15am when we all woke up freezing our tails off.....earlier that day every one of the girls had made the same comment..."there's no blankets, but in this weather, who'll need 'em?"....I guess the air conditioner really showed us. We're really all glad to be here at this point, and have been told that there's a lot of work to be done tomorrow....I'm thinking the girls will probably be helping the guys by bringing them water, maybe carrying off trash, or maybe even staying home and cooking...we'll see, I guess.

Just so you know....

It's officially 2:15am. I have been up for....17 hours straight now, which in itself is not a big deal. Add to that the fact that I won't get to sleep tonight until late late, and well....yeah.
I drank two cups of coffee at 11:45pm and they made me sick to my stomach...or maybe it's my nerves...

I realized at 9:55pm tonight that I had left the folder containing all of our flight information, including our e-ticket printouts, at Office Depot when making copies earlier tonight. I told the guy on the phone to call me on my cell, called Office Depot only to find out they really close at 9:00 (not 10 like I thought), and begged my former student to stick around long enough for me to come pick up the aforementioned folder. It was either that or break into the store at 3:30am before I have to be at the church by 4:00am. Thank the Lord for insomnia and Laurence. She told me she'd wait for me, so I rushed out of the house and met her at the store. The lovely blue folder was completely intact (including driver's licens, better than $200, and 12 e-tickets). God is good. No, let me take that back....God is awesome.

I have showered three times in the last 20 hours. I have also laid on the couch to try and nap 3 times in the last 5 hours. I don't think the two are related.

Currently I am waiting on the phone call that says, "we're on the way to pick you up...be ready for Waffle House (did I mention Waffle House is my hero?)." And waiting....and waiting.

Leavin' on a Jet Plane....

Yeah, so we have to be at the church to load the bus in exactly 35 hours and 4 minutes. (I'm thinking to myself, *I will remain calm. I will remain calm. All will go as planned on this trip. I will remain calm.*) I had approximately 20 things on my to-do list for today, and I have narrowed the list to about 8. On it...balance my checkbook and pay bills, do laundry (almost check), pack (I've gone into my bedroom and looked at my suitcase about 10 times in the last 6 hours, only to think, "what in the world am I going to pack?" and walk right back out.), make copies, etc. etc. So far so good. I think I finally got in there and folded clothes and put them in neat stacks on the bed, but they have yet to actually make it into the suitcase. It will be done before bed so I can sleep.

I have decided that I am the queen of procrastination simply due to the fact that I work well under pressure. When I have a long list of things to get done, I get much more accomplished than when I only have a few. It's kind of like deposits; many I know (including myself) hold onto checks until they have one big deposit to take to the bank (for some reason it seems as though you have more money that way, doesn't it?)....my perpetual to-do list is like that. It usually has either a ton of stuff on it or nothing at all....Perhaps I'm the only one to feel this way? Comments?

Well, this is the fifth of 6th time checking my email today (procrastination to the rescue), so I think I will mosey back into my room to look at the stack-o-clothing again...what exactly will accompany me to Mexico and what will sit on the shelf longing for a road trip? Fate shall soon decide (well, that and the weather forecast.)