Well friends, I've come to the end of a road. The 2010-11 school year has passed, Victoria's recital was a success, Hannah's horse activities are on summer hiatus, another VBS is in the books, and Patrick and Victoria are on their way to Haiti via Miami. Now, something's gotta give around this house. The piles of books, stacks of papers, and small mountain of boxes destined for the attic must be given the attention they've been needing for so long.
I should have started this week. VBS sucked all my energy last week, but this week...well...here it is.
Functional Avoidance Day 1: What DID I do on Monday...oh, yes...I went shopping (again?) for items to take to Haiti. I'm not sure why this took most of the day, but when you are trying to avoid unpleasant tasks, any ole excuse will do.
Functional Avoidance Day 2: The pictures say it all - well...most of it anyway.
A HUGE thank you to Kathy Lee for telling us about the corn available to be gleaned from her family's garden near Hortense. It seemed like a manageable amount when we were picking it.
It felt far less manageable after 3 hours of shucking. I'd burned the kids out with the bushel we put up on Saturday. Thankfully, Hannah and Victoria helped a little bit.
Thankfully my neighbor Naomi showed up to help cut it off the cob. Here's her daughter Reagan being entertained with, what else? Corn on the cob!
The final result: 49 quarts. Naomi and I prefer to think it was really 50, but one quart was spread across every available bit of counter top and floor space, with a healthy bit splattered on the cabinet faces and my shirt. Do you know, dried on corn is harder to wipe up than about any other spill I've encountered?
Functional Avoidance Day 3: Day 3...how DID I profitably spend Day 3. Oh, yes...Haiti packing. Though, for the life of me I can't imagine why I can justify spending a whole day packing Patrick and Victoria for Haiti. First, everything must fit in the overhead compartment and weigh less than 22 pounds. That's right, they had to pack for an entire week in a carry-on. And second, they packed themselves. Honestly, come to think of it, I didn't even check Victoria's bag. I sure hope she has everything...because there is no Wal-mart nearby to purchased what was forgotten. Okay...now I'm feeling like a bad mom. Maybe I should call Patrick and have him check Victoria's bag before they leave Miami in the morning. I think Day 3 was a fail and can't even be classified as Functional Avoidance. It was just plain laziness.
Functional Avoidance Day 4: More Haiti prep (Yikes - it's sounding a smidgen old, isn't it?) and dessert making for the team and parent meal. This really did take a better part of the day since I had to research recipes, make a grocery list, go to the store, AND make the goodies all in one day. I know, I know....you're thinking "Wow, Natalie, don't tax yourself and over do it." No need to worry. I won't.
Tiramisu Trifle
Yes, that really is the dessert I made. It looks a bit like dirt on top...and know...I should have shredded something other than baking chocolate on top.
Pistachio Layer Dessert - I have no idea it's proper name.
The TEAM!!!
Functional Avoidance Day 5: The team drove off at 9:55am and then I was left with the rest of the day to tackle projects looming over my head. I stopped by Carenet to deliver some coin filled baby bottles and chatted with the lovely staff and volunteers. Then I came home and caught up with e-mail correspondence and now am blogging. Hmmm....I think Hannah and I might need to go to Summer Waves this afternoon as our reward for...reward for...seeing the Haiti team successfully off! I'm grasping at straws now, but will enjoy a quiet moment reading Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet and will get myself psyched to really get going on the tasks at hand...tomorrow.
Oh, wait....Kevin wanted to go to Jacksonville tomorrow to look for shoes and pants for his trip to Europe. There's always next week.
Go, Natalie, go!
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