Odds and Ends

Good god, have I had a miserable afternoon. I am trying to transfer all the important documents from my old computer to my new one and it is seriously doing my head in. I FINALLY figured out how to re-install outlook express so that I could get at my old addresses (it was incredibly simple and I am v.v. irritated with myself for not getting to it before Christmas when it would have been more useful.) only to find that there are not so many as I had remembered there being. Hmmm. Either the data was corrupted or I was imagining things. All that work and finally it would have been more useful to simply have noted down on paper all the addresses from the Christmas cards I sent. Now, I practically have to start from zero for next year. Sigh.

I also started taking the photos off of that computer so that I could transfer them to the new one. I have to transfer from mid-2006 because as I mentioned the other day, I haven't printed out photos and organized them into albums since then. Today, I swung by the stationary shop to pick up another album so atleast I can get started on that; I am feeling slightly overwhelmed by the size of the job all of a sudden. I have nearly a year and a half of photos to organize! Luckily, I really cut back on the photo shoots after Ella's first birthday but still- I think I will fill the 88 page photo album twice easily. I'll try to see what I have printed out and send off another batch of photos to be printed yet today. I had a bunch of photos printed off with kodakgallery and they are so crap that I think I might just put them directly in the trash. I used to really like Fnac prints but the photo place on rue St Antoine closed last year and I don't know if their online printing service will be so good. A friend of mine who took a photography class this year told me that the best place to have photos printed is Negatif + in the 10th. I remember it from when we lived over in that neighborhood, although I had never used it. Not only do they do prints of a much higher quality than most places but you can also have things printed onto unusual supports like aluminium, cardboard, and PVC. Ugh- I am not excited about this job at all, although I am less excited about the idea of putting off yet again and having an even bigger project for the fall.

Anyways, there is no point in getting some big project started before the worst of the work on the kitchen is done. B called me to say that the builders will be here tomorrow,
8 a.m. to take out the dining room door. That is going to be such a horrific mess I don't even want to think about it. Then the countertops are supposed to be delivered Wednesday morning and the plasterer should arrive on Thursday for two days of work. This means I better count on doing nothing more than disaster management until next Monday. The nice thing is that me and the cleaning lady are on the same page- we've agreed that until that kitchen project settles down, we are in a holding pattern but the minute it finishes, there will be a blitz of spring cleaning. Everything in this house needs to be washed down- all the walls, all the furniture, every single object. God- even the leaves on the plants are disgusting. It would be super if I could get my hands on the the tiles in the next week so that we could just have everything done but that is wishful thinking. In any case, I need to get on the phone to see if I can't get some tile samples sent to me here in France. The trip to NYC is looking like it might not happen soon since the airline tickets are not budging below 400 euro mark, which I think is too pricey. Besides, B is already having me make plans for a spring holiday (maybe Phoenix and Baja?) and I should maybe conserve my jetlag energy for that.

I don't have my kitchen done yet but that hasn't stopped me from planning parties! Against my better judgement (and slightly against my will) I agreed to host a Tupperware party in two weeks. I am not completely overjoyed about it but I am hoping to just have my playground moms over for a fews hours, with the Tupperware as a bit of a novelty in the background. Of course, per the usual, I have been planning on doing this for about 2 months now and realize that it is just around the corner and I haven't even sent out invites yet. Yikes. Just another thing to add to the to-do list. Then this morning in the bath it dawned on me that Ella's 3rd birthday is coming up in less than a month. Double yikes! Last year we didn't do anything special since we were all deathly ill. I think if I skip her birthday two years in a row, I am setting a dangerous precedent and am veering into Bad Mommy territory. I'm sure that this year, Ella would appreciate A Very Diego Birthday so I better get my order in to my US suppliers (hi mom!) for themed plates, hats, etc. Luckily, this cupcake kick I have been on means that I am on the top of my game as far as birthday cake goes. Now all I need to figure out is how to contain the energy of a room full of preschoolers? Actually. That is a trick question. There is no way to contain it- the best you can hope for is to survive it.

Also on the to-do list: 1.) Send out the REST of the bloody New Years Cards!! I have them sitting on my desk and haven't touched them since we arrived back in France. This is getting silly. The New Year has not started out with a burst of productivity, unfortunately. I am also dragging my feet getting back into my yoga and making appointments for haircuts, etc (although I did manage to get Miss Ella in the other day. After about 2 months of talking about it...)

Thanks to B, I did get to cross one thing off of my list. This morning, I popped over to the Mairie and signed up Ella for school next year. Its a funny feeling to realize how old she is getting. It feels like I am standing at the top of the slide. Next fall, when she starts school, I'll start the ride down and the next thing I know, I'll be at the bottom and Ella will be 18 years-old and moving out of the house, everything having passed in a blur. Not that I am getting overwrought about this or anything...

And dare I say it, but I think potty training is moving along nicely (so its not all bad that she is growing up). Today, she made it through the morning at school without a diaper and we've been 100% princess panties for nearly 4 days now with no major accidents. Of course, Ella has been highly encouraged by the bag of leftover Christmas candy that we bought the other day. If she poops on the potty or goes to the bathroom by herself she gets a 'Tahnta Totlate!!!' She has gone so far as to make a special "bed" for the bag of chocolates under the coffee table so that they are always in sight. She doesn't try and sneak any, which I think is rather amazing. But she does like to lay down next to the bag and pet it gently, while gazingly adoringly at the foil-wrapped goodness.