About 2 weeks ago - or is that 2.7 blogging years? - Anastasia over at Apathy Lounge posted a bit of a meme challenge. She asked her reader's to post a photo of their dining room table to offer a glimpse into their "real" life. Jay, the Cynical Bastard that he is, actually took on the challenge, and if Jay can do it, so can I! But, as you are about to see, if my dining room table speaks volumes about me, we are in BIG trouble! Let's start in the formal dining room, shall we?
What? You don't see anything on that table? That would be correct! Of course there are decorative items - my basket of balls, a table runner from Target, and if you look really close I'm sure you'll find some dust, but other than that, nadda! What's even a bit more sad is the fact that we've had this table for two years and there has NEVER been a meal served on it.
Next up, the table in the informal dining room.
This is actually where we eat all of our meals, almost every night. Yes, we are a "family dinner table" family. Of course, there isn't much to see here either - just some place mats from Target, salt and pepper grinders from Costco (I *heart* fresh ground pepper and sea salt), assorted trivets and napkins. Yes, this is how this table always looks - there was no cleaning prior to taking this photo!
I know you all are thinking I'm some freak of nature. I mean, everyone has a table full of daily activities, right?? Well, my secret is the desk in the kitchen. This is where "real" life accumulates!
The two stacks of paper on the left? Those are hubby's - much of which needs to be shredded (note the shredder under the desk) - but will likely continue to accumulate for another 3"-4". The red book under the stack of papers on the far left? A photo album that never found it's way home.
As you move to the center of the desk you'll see two cordless phones. One has speaker phone capability but a short battery life, so they both sit there. This is also where the quick charge for the rechargeable batteries stays.
The right half of the desk? Well, that's all mine. You'll see the local weekly paper waiting to be read, the Tuesday Morning circular left there to remind me to stop by next week, a copy of Railroad magazine (I've got to get that on the coffee table) and more stacks of paper waiting to be shredded. You'll also notice a stud finder on the far right - that is there waiting for me to use it to finish the bathroom update project - I need to hang a storage cabinet in the "water closet." Oh, and the photo cube - a $2 garage sale find which holds all the miscellaneous little junk that gets in the way. I've got chap stick, Dave & Buster's game cards, keys - all that kind of good stuff lives there.
You'll see that we also use under the desk for overflow. This is where the shredder stays. That white bag behind the shredder? A bag full of paperback books given to me by a friend about 5 months ago. I put the bag there and haven't moved it since. You'll also see my son's backpack and his oboe. This desk is right next to the door that goes out to the garage, so my son uses this space for the things that he needs to take to school each day. The red leather squashed bag on the far right? That would be the bag I bought for the commute downtown when I secured my "perfect" job - the one I was let go from back in November. I think I likely keep that bag there as a daily reminder of what I had and lost.
Maybe it's time to clean?
As I was writing my dining room table post yesterday, I realized two things:
