My Name is Anne and I am....

suffering from PMS and a small amount of anxiety this week. My husband would likely use more colorful language if you asked him. I won't type all the things I think and feel on that topic, though.

We're co-hosting a little benefit for our local YMCA here on Saturday evening. Nothing fancy, just a little gathering of 30-ish folks who have been invited to our house to pay $15 for a fajita dinner. It's fair to say that I don't know a good number of these folks very well. As a result, I'm feeling a little edgy about getting the house and food ready. Above mentioned PMS is not helping matters any. Above mentioned husband isn't really helping matters either.

Husband is frequently telling me (and everyone else) I'm going overboard. Apparently, when you invite a group of people over (have I mentioned that a lot of them I don't know too well) to your house to pay for a meal, cleaning the house and the yard and making sure you put forth a decent meal are optional. I wish I'd known this earlier... I wouldn't have waited so long to host such an event. Hell, maybe I should open a restaurant. Silly, silly, stupid, dumb me. On the bright side, I guess there's no need to tackle this:

(yes, my son's room is a danger zone, once again)

Maybe husband is right on some level, but his delivery of news could be a little more, umm, shall we say, diplomatic. Perhaps he could find a way of saying as much so that I don't have a compelling urge to choke him with my bare hands??

In addition to this little fundraiser, we're celebrating Jerod's 9th birthday party (by playing a game of baseball with his buds) on Sunday afternoon, and running 18 miles on Saturday morning. I think I'll do a happy dance on Monday morning when all this is done.

Oh, and how's this for fun?? Check out the weekend forecast. Out-friggin-standing.

Minneapolis, MN 55436

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Friday

5/13/2011

Hi: 60°

Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of showers. Highs around 60. North winds 10 to 15 mph.

Lo: 47°

Mostly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of showers. Lows around 45.

Saturday

5/14/2011

Hi: 58°

Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of showers. Highs 55 to 60.

Lo: 46°

Mostly cloudy in the evening then becoming partly cloudy. A 20 percent chance of showers. Lows around 45.

Sunday

5/15/2011

Hi: 62°

Partly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of showers. Highs around 60.

Lo: 44°

Partly cloudy. Lows 40 to 45.

A Little Story about my Kitchen

Last Friday afternoon, before the kids got off the bus and before Chris got home from work, I really cleaned my kitchen. The half million pieces of paper that had come home from school during the week had been sorted and filed, as had the quarter million pieces of mail. The counters and table had been thoroughly wiped down, and the floor was swept.

It is perhaps important to note that I don't do this thorough of a 'cleaning' all that often, mainly because our next meal (a.k.a. mess maker) is usually just a few short hours away. Generally speaking, the wipe down mentioned above happens once a day at most. Please don't call child protective services. I'm building immunity in my kids. It will serve them well, we live in a dirty world.

But, the weekend was on its way, and I knew I'd feel good if I got it done. And I did. Fast forward to Sunday. The kitchen was a complete wreck. Normally this wouldn't phase me. It is messy more often than it is clean. However, the Sunday mess got to me, and I'll tell you why. WE HADN'T HAD A SINGLE MEAL IN THE KITCHEN. Friday night was the school carnival, so we ate there. After said carnival, Jerod and Elise went to spend the night with my parents so Chris and I could go for a long training run early Saturday morning. Saturday we had lunch with my folks when we picked up the kids, and dinner at the house of some of our friends. And, on Sunday we had breakfast at church, as it was the annual youth fundraising breakfast. Said breakfast was HUGE, so we skipped lunch. Yet, the kitchen was filled with backpacks, drinking glasses, and more paper (Anyone who thinks we're moving to a paperless society should visit my kitchen).