Over the weekend we moved a little closer in my goal of making this house look like it has permanent residents and not just transients passing through. Two more rooms have curtain rods! Like, real curtain rods screwed into the walls, and not spring rods. That makes twice as many as we previously had.

The living room curtain rod (which I bought over two months ago and has been sitting in a box) is also now in place, although still lacking in anything to put on it. But now that it’s in place, I’m more motivated to buy curtains. Mira’s room also has a new curtain rod and new curtains. No surprise, she picked pink striped curtains.

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I’m also making progress on my desk area. I bought this file organizer at TJ Maxx and can’t wait to hang it on the wall and start using it:

I love the chalkboard panels on each pocket. I don’t have a lot of papers I need for work, but if I hang it just off to the side of the desk, I can also use it to organize school papers, tax info, etc. There’s a lot of possibility with it.

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Mira recently asked me to make her a shawl. She had noticed the shawl I occasionally wrap myself in and when she found out that I made it, she wanted one, too. It’s been over a year since I knit anything, mostly due to an inability to carve out time for myself, so I thought this might be a good way to get me back into knitting. I clearly had no idea what I was agreeing to, however, when I took her out on Sunday to pick out the yarn for her project:

Ouch. Hot pink with bits of metallic shimmer. Well, at least there will be no way to lose her when she wears it. She’ll probably be visible on Google Earth maps.

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I’m going to the Blissdom conference later this week in Dallas. This will be my first trip to Texas, not counting changing plans in Houston a few times. I’m looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting lots of new bloggers and generally immersing myself in the blogging world for a few days.

Going to blog conferences now (for me, at least) isn’t so much about picking up new tricks for blogging as it is about networking and getting inspired. I’m fairly set in my ways, but I love finding new folks to read and hearing the “we matter” blogger pep talk that refreshes me and keeps me writing.

I still have to pack everything for the trip, which is the worst part of going to any conference. It seems like the minute I need to pack for a trip, my entire closet of clothing is suddenly too tight, too loose, or doesn’t match with anything else. Frustrating.

And of course there’s the flying part. I still hate flying. Here’s hoping it’s a smooth flight so I don’t grab the arm of the person next to me if there’s turbulence.

Anyone else going to be at Blissdom? I’m usually not hard to find, since I rarely stay in one spot for long. As long as you’re in one spot, I’m sure I’ll pass by. On Friday night, you’ll probably see me in a dress that looks a lot like this:

I’ll be reviewing this dress soon. I received it for review from eShakti, and (spoiler!) I love the dress and the company. I’ve yet to find anywhere else that will customize a dress to fit you perfectly. (If you’re already interested in shopping for a new dress, I have a coupon code for your order – just use the code MMMYSTRY for 20% off.)

Now everyone think good thoughts that I don’t spill something all over myself or fall down stairs or completely offend someone with an ADD-moment or do something else to embarrass myself while I’m at Blissdom. (I’ll also chicken out on karaoke to keep myself from absolute embarrassment.)