Sisters are doing it for themselves

You are wondering why I haven't written in so long.  I know, I know...you have missed me.  And I have missed you.  I worry about my throngs of adoring readers checking into my blog every thirty minutes to see what new clever missive I have fired across Al Gore's Internet.

Would you like to know where I have been and what I have been doing?  I think the picture below says it all.

Why does this picture explain my absence?  Because this is a plant that was given to me by my company to adorn my office, also known as "where I have been."  Art will follow, though I plan to supply my own.  My job which initially was part-time has become quite busy, and when I am not toiling away in the office, I am working from home.  This is of course in addition to my other three jobs: mom, wife, and aspiring golf professional (I drove the ball 240 yards testing a driver the other day!  Needless to say, I purchased it).

In my efforts to become an all-around SuperWoman, I also recently attempted (and succeeded) at something I never thought would have been possible: I assembled a piece of furniture.  Tom and I finally purchased some teak loungers for our deck about two months ago, but we never put them together because as some of you may recall, it rained all May, June, and well into July.  However, one evening recently I found myself home alone with nothing to do.  I looked at the boxes holding the chairs and they challenged me to challenge myself.

This is what the chair looked like out of the box.

These are the materials I used to assemble the chair: screws, phone, directions, a screwdriver, and a Screwdriver.

Making progress!  The sliding tray and the legs are firmly attached.  OK, the legs were backward at the time, but I figured it out eventually.

Voila!  Those of you who are wondering why the assembly of this chaise is blogable don't know that I attach symbolic importance to many mundane activities in my life.  It makes me edgy and deep, much as my blog name does.  The fact is, there was a time in my life when I never would have even attempted to put this thing together.  Furniture assembly definitely fell in the "ask a man to do it" category of tasks, along with anything having to do with the car, the electrical panel, and killing bugs.

My first husband (a.k.a. The Canary in a Coal Mine) loved doing projects like this, and all other jobs which could be deemed manly.  Luckily for me, he also did all of the cleaning and laundry.  Oh Patrick, sometimes I really miss you...

Tom also loves to do manly tasks, but since he has been working so much lately, I wanted to surprise him with a nice chair to relax on when he got home.  Unfortunately for him, I was on it.

I am thankful every day for my husband, whose charm and sex appeal know no bounds.  However, it is nice to know that I can do the boy jobs myself.  I earn my own living, I assemble my own furniture, and I recently found the electrical panel.  While I draw the line at Bug Duty, I did manage to shoo a spider out the door the other day, which I call progress.  I can't imagine being taken care of, like a child, not willing (and therefore eventually, not able) to do for myself.  Where is the pride in that?  Why be a barnacle, when you can be a boat?