I'm a flybaby... and I'm almost ready to fly!

I’ve had a problem with my cable connection ever since our recent ice storm and power outage. I don’t know if it’s a loose cable connection outside, or if perhaps the electricity going off and on so much damaged the cable modem; it’ll work fine for a while, then suddenly my connection gets so slow it’s unreal, or I’ll get completely cut off. I’ve lost a couple of entries that way. Someone is supposed to come and check it out Tuesday. Early this morning I made a lengthy addition to my journal, proofread it all, added a couple of links... and when I hit "enter", I got this message: "AOL journals is not available; please try again later." I couldn’t believe it! My cable was working, but AOL wasn’t. From now on, I’ll type my entries on WordPerfect, then copy and paste to my journal. In fact, I did that after this morning's misplaced entry, went back to my journal to add it, and my connection failed. It’s a good thing I don’t cuss.

I’m still working with Flylady (click here) on decluttering and getting my house in order. I’m not really in step with her zone-work and such, but by george, my sink is clean, and there’s no dishdrainer full of clean dishes on the counter. I’ve started my control journal, although I’m not really following it yet. Cliff loves this. I keep reminding him that I’ve often gotten on the housecleaning bandwagon, only to get bored and hop off after a week or a month. But we’ve agreed, if the only thing accomplished by this is a clean counter and sink, we can’t complain.

Those of you who are, or have been, related to me, (my daughter and her husband, my son and his wife, my ex-daughter-in-law) know what a slob I am . And I’m sure you all have as many doubts as I do about this thing working. So, it’ll be an interesting test. All my readers get to watch and see whether this lasts, or if it’s just another phase. I promise to be totally honest with you folks about this brave experiment.

I’m not a filthy person. I do wash my dishes, and I consider myself a clean cook. But I let little piles of things accumulate, and I don’t dust or mop nearly as often as I should (shall we say hardly ever?). Any improvement is a step in the right direction. I have some home-canned stuff that’s been around so long, I’m ashamedto tell you the year I put it up. That food is going to the pigs, a few jars every day. Yes, it’s work and money wasted. But if I haven’t used it by now, it’s only getting older, and I sure won’t want to use it in another several years.

By the way, guess what I had for breakfast? WAFFLES! My new wafflemaker arrived via UPS yesterday. I made extras so the granddaughters can have waffles heated in the toaster tomorrow, if they like.

Check out my hit-counter: I’m going to pass 10,000 this weekend. I started this blog in June, thinking it was a good way to keep friends and family informed on the happenings around here. I was never really concerned with trying to attract new readers, although I’ve certainly enjoyed the folks I’ve "met" here. And hey, I’m learning so many things. I’ve taken some of the comments to heart (like Faye’s suggestion that I check out Flylady). I try to remember my favorite Shakespeare quote: "This above all, to thine own self be true; and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man." Hopefully, when you read my journal, what you see is what you get.