Bloggy Summer Camp - Day 1 - Where I blog

So carrieb is doing a Bloggy Summer Camp type of thing, and it sounded fun. (Creating Motherhood post here.) Basically, it's a list of writing prompts for the month of July. I have never once in my life been to summer camp, so I thought maybe this was my big opportunity. I suppose I should technically be on Day 6, but I'm going to..not do that. Also not going to do the signing up on the official link to participate. I'm really not much of a joiner, am I?

Day 1 – Provide a photo or sketch or dramatic rendering of the space where you normally blog

I was tempted to skip, or at least put off Day 1 again because my desk is in a fairly messy state at the moment. But then it occured to me that... that probably makes for a more interesting post than a pristine desk.See, I use my desk. I mean, a lot. The bulk of the mess is usually related to my coupons or household paperwork (all of which are my responsibility.) So, I took a deep breath, stood up and took a picture of it exactly as it is right now. Here we go:

It's not at its very worst, but it's certainly not at its best. First up--see the mug rug? I took a few hours on Sunday to make one, inspired by grain_damaged. It was so much fun! It took about three hours, but that's because I stopped a few times to do kid stuff or husband stuff, and because I stitched the binding on the back by hand, which is sort of tedious, but I sort of enjoy. It was totally a project that could be finished in an hour. I love quickies like that. Other things of note are mentioned on the image itself. I feel like mentioning that while I do have a coupon box on my desk, currently, I am in the business of filing coupon inserts whole, by date, in an expandable filing box that lives on the floor by my chair. I file coupons in the box that I clip for some reason (I clip things that I know I'll probably use, or definitely will need, or that I am planning to use at a store but don't find it in stock, etc), or that I find somewhere besides an insert, like a blinkie in a store or that's given to me by family. I don't *love* this method, but the processing of the coupons was beginning to take me hours at a time, and therefore, I wouldn't actually get it done.

We used to have a bedroom converted into our office space, but last year we moved it all into the dining room, and we're all happier for it. I can have Facebook open all day--which is probably kind of annoying to my friends since I'm rarely there by the time they send me messages--and just walk by and check what's going on without having to have a lot of time all at once. I have a laptop, too, but I rarely use it for computing elsewhere in the house. I used to use it on the couch, in the days before the room switch. I much prefer a dedicated space, with all my stuff close at hand, and my programs installed just as I like them, and with a real computer chair and a wonderfully oversized monitor (last year's Sam's Club shopping spree purchase.) Plus, Evie's desk is to my right, and I have Synergy installed on them so that I can just roll my mouse to the right edge of my screen and it moves to her screen--therefore, I can help her, as needed, with the games she's playing. That means that I actually can sit here for some extended periods of time on days when she's into her games, and I don't even have to get up to go fix something for her if she needs it. It's awesome.

*lol* M just came in here to tell me that, while playing Barbies with Evie, he picked up a Ken and offered it to her. She looked at it and said, "No, not that one. Too gay." M started laughing because...uhh...what?? Where does she come up with this stuff? He told her to come tell Mommy that, and she said that she didn't want to because, "i didn't think it was funny and you laughed right in my face." *giggle* He explained that he just didn't expect her to say that and he didn't mean to hurt her feelings and she was happy again. Incidentally... to be gay means to be too skinny and have the wrong color of hair, according to my child. That will be news to many, I suspect. It would probably be easier for those freako brainwashing programs though, if they could just show up at someone's house with a bottle of Clairol and a couple of doughnuts and job done! :) Not that I think those programs should exist, generally speaking. Oh, surely my audience here knows me well enough by now to know that I am not homophobic in the least, so I don't need to keep defending what I'm saying here?

Of course, I found out recently that someone in my audience thinks that I am neglecting my child by robbing her of the important half of cultural heritage via my laziness in parenting and in learning and teaching Swedish, so I guess maybe you never really know your readers, do you?