…and we’ll be done. The drywall dust wound up being better to deal with than I thought it would. The joint compound was only mildly smelly. The paint was a little worse, and it went on for longer. Thankfully the weather cooperated and I could keep the windows open. The carpet glue, however, is going to kill me. I remember when we moved into our office while I was pregnant. I’m very sensitive to smells and when I was pregnant, it was even worse. I had to wait a few weeks before I could start working there. Now I’m dealing with carpet glue and allergies. I keep reminding myself that we are almost done and I am going to be so happy to have a finished basement, but all I want to do right now is curl up in a little ball and cry. That would make my sinuses hurt, though, so I think I’ll just go lay down and call it a day.

Bella and I went to the mall last Friday to meet Christy and Eva for some fun time at Play Town. Afterward, Bella and I went to the food court to get something to eat. We were in the restroom changing her diaper when the fire alarm went off. I gathered up our stuff and headed out. That’s when things got weird.

No one in the food court was acting like there was an alarm going off. The sample ladies were still giving out itty bitty sandwiches, shoppers were still lining up for lunch and people were still coming into the mall. I thought maybe there was a sign somewhere that I had missed saying that this was all a test or I was dreaming and the only one who could hear the alarm. I headed toward the exit by our car, looking around for some message from mall management. None. When I got outside, we were the only ones there. I could hear sirens wailing in the distance.

In a post-9/11 world, this lack of concern about a fire alarm in a mall baffles my mind. Was everyone waiting for a special invitation from Jack Bauer to get the heck out? Are we so comfortable that we haven’t been attacked on US soil for six years that we forgot about all of the threats to our shopping malls? Do we think it can’t happen to a small mall in the middle of The Heartland, so we completely and casually ignore a fire alarm that is going off for five minutes? I just don’t get it.

I like football. I don’t LOVE it like a lot of people, but I like it well enough to watch. Football to me means Fall weather, leaves changing colors, soup simmering all day in the crockpot and the occasional beer. It also means time in front of the tv to knit. Let’s face it: the Formula One season is almost over and I need something to carry me through the off season. Football gets me half the way there!

Washington is on Monday night football tonight. I’ll be working on my parents’ afghan and might do a few rounds of my current sock. Go Redskins!

More info here.

MSNBC is showing the Today Show news broadcast from September 11th in real time today. Last night I discussed with T why anyone would want to watch this. I also wondered if I would (or should). T asked me what I thought the positives of watching would be. It took me a long time to answer. On the one hand, watching simply to relive the fear, anxiety, anger and sadness seemed pointless to me. It was such a tragic day. Why would someone want to relive that?

On the other hand, so much of our present day lives have been molded by this day. I can’t think of any aspect of our country that hasn’t been affected, both nationally and internationally. Even if Iraq didn’t have anything to do with the attack, the war has created a link that can’t be broken. I think it’s important to remember the events that are having such a profound effect on our lives.

To say remember sounds weird, though. I don’t think I will ever forget sitting in my office on 16th and K taking a phone call from my brother: They are saying there is another plane headed toward Washington, DC. I think that changed me forever. Unfortunately, I don’t have the words to explain how, so I’m not even going to try.

It’s easy to sit in Lincoln, Nebraska and feel safe. We have, in my opinion, a false sense of security living out here. (We meaning T and myself. I’m not speaking for anyone else in Lincoln.) This sense of security can cause you to not deal with your feelings. When you’re not faced with overcoming your fears everyday, they get stuffed down inside. You start to wonder if you have really dealt with them or if they are just living inside somewhere swirling around in your head.

So, I decided to watch. I’m watching right now as I write this. I’ve decided to remember. I’ve decided to deal with those feelings. I have dealt with them every year since the attacks and I probably will continue to do so. And I sit here watching my daughter happily taking bandaids out of the box and stuffing them back in over and over while the news is on in the background and I hope and pray that she doesn’t experience anything in her life that changes her this way.

I never thought I would ever say this: I was glad to spend a week in Maryland to escape all the ragweed in Nebraska. Crazy, huh? I thought I had bad Fall allergies when I lived in MD. Ha! Halfway home from the airport I was miserable. Some days are better than others. Friday I walked to Wilderness Perk. The crazy heat is gone and I just wanted to be outside. That was a really bad idea. I think I’ll be staying indoors until the first frost. It really bums me out because I love this time of year.

There’s a problem with staying indoors, though. I am really sensitive to smells and we’ve got a lot of them going on right now: drywall dust, joint compound, new carpet, paint… you get the idea. We spent the weekend looking for carpet and every time we went into a showroom I almost about died. I’m not sure what is worse: the non-stop sneezing or that weird feeling you get in your nose before the sneezing. (You know that burning feeling like you just accidentally snorted pool water?)

This is where I get to the unproductive part. I did pretty much nothing around the house this weekend. Friday was the worst, but I spent Saturday and Sunday walking around in a fog. Laundry is piling up. I need to dust and vacuum again. I really need to continue with the baby-proofing. The only thing I did was knit. It was good to keep my hands busy so I wouldn’t claw off my nose or scratch my eyes out.

So, I’m starting over as of today. The only thing that will help me until ragweed season is over is my control journal. Last time I updated it was right before Bella was born. I’m going to dust it off, (ha, ha!) and start tackling things in baby steps again. I don’t know what else to do. I can’t spend the entire month of September walking around my house in a fog and not getting anything done.

Just so this post isn’t completely depressing, I’ll leave you with this vision: Bella is dancing around the living room (to the CD from her Great Aunt and Uncle) wearing one of T’s dress socks around her neck like a boa. It really is the cutest thing ever.

It was so cool to come home yesterday to a basement with walls. It wasn’t fun to come home to all of the dust, though. It was all over the porch, hardwoods, flat surfaces and the stairs were a mess. Scary thing is, they haven’t started sanding yet! The last thing I wanted to do after eight hours of travel was vacuum, sweep and dust. Luckily I made dinner ahead and froze it before we left. Even though we were tired, we also managed to bathe M and unpack before going to bed. I already have some Before pics. Once the guys are gone today, I’ll snap some After pics and post them to the blog. I’m so excited!