My house is a mess. Some of it is due to the fact that I simply haven't had time to clean it. I was so sick on my last day off that I could hardly care for the baby, let alone clean anything. However, I also think that at least half the problem (no, it's got to be more than 50%) is the direct result of my yard-saling, thrift store frequenting propensities, which were compounded when I joined up with TIm. So I've been categorically whittling away at the possessions that aren't worth keeping. I've acquired a reputation as a "high maintanence woman" at work, due to my White's boots, which bemuses me considerably, because I've never thought of myself on those terms at all. My sister was high maintanence, I went dumpster diving (as a teen). But maybe there's some wisdom to being choosy about what material items you allow to accumulate around you, because after all, you're the one who has to pick them up and clean them. If I'm going to clutter my life up with *stuff*, the less of it the better, it should last, and I should enjoy looking at it and handling it enough that the daily chores of keeping up with it are less odious.

On that note, I bought myself a new set of dishes, blue glass, for less than $10. They are so pretty!!! And, they are slippery so they don't make nasty unpleasant sounds when I handle them, like some of the old ones did, eeek! I'm getting rid of the old ones (to the thrift store, not the trash). I will enjoy washing these. Eventually I want to get ALL cast iron or stainless steel cookware, no teflon or aluminum at all. No plastic utensils- bamboo or stainless steel. Perhaps a set of stainless steel silverware that matches for a change.

Another thing I splurged on was a really cheap full length mirror. Using this mirror, I tired on most of my clothes last night. Many of the ones that I wear all the time make me look fat, chunky, thick waisted, shorter than I am, or even more androgynous than I am! I got rid of all those...about half my clothes.

I think I'm going to be pretty discriminating about what I buy from now on. It's such a pain to get rid of it.