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.