One thing always leads to another

It's been a whirlwind of a month. We all started the new year sick. L and I coughed, wheezed, and slept for two weeks while the kids battled the stomach bug that was going around. Once we were all recovered enough to at least sit up in bed, I settled down to start working on our income tax paperwork.  That was when we found out the zip drive with all of our 2012 farm records (and necessary information for some tax paperwork with a quickly looming deadline) on it was conspicuously absent.  Panic, on my part anyway, ensued. My husband's clear head prevailed, however, and we spent the better part of a week spelunking, treasure hunting, and peering into all those dark, dusty corners you forget are in your house in an attempt to find the missing zip drive.  Just when I was beginning to think it had gone to the same mysterious place dryer-eaten socks go to, we found it...in a box I had dumped out and searched during the first hours of our week-long hunt for the drive.  I breathed a deep sigh of relief anyway as I filled out the necessary forms and sent them in with plenty of time to spare.  Apparent tax crisis averted.

Then, just as I was sitting down to enjoy my sparkling clean house (well as sparkling clean as a house can be when it's in a renovation/construction mode), the hubby springs a new project on me-we were going to paint our living room floor and install laminate flooring.  After a few days of sweeping, furniture moving, and floor painting, we decided to amend our initial plans and install new flooring in our kitchen as well.  Contrary to my initial worries, it only added a few hours of work and moving the cabinets proved easier than I expected.  Due to the furniture moving portion of our flooring project and the addition of a new doorway, I now am enjoying a larger kitchen and living room.

It's been well worth the hassle of the last weeks. Due to the cleaning necessary for the flooring project, my laundry pile no longer resembles Mount Everest, the sink is empty of dirty dishes, floors are staying relatively clean, and all of our tax stuff is corralled in one place.  I can now sit down and work on just tax paperwork without housework intruding.  I think it's the first time I've ever looked forward to tax season.