See Spot Bot Run

I always like the first Monday after a holiday.  I'm a creature of habit, and it always feels comforting to slip back into a routine.  I find it necessary to have a mental plan - which I rarely end up following - because it gives me great comfort and confidence to know that if my daily life were to suddenly become manageable and predictable, I could, and probably would, actually follow the plan.  So I like to have one in wait, just in case.  Today's plan involved a full day of school, pork roast for dinner, and outdoor pictures.  It was my goal to post pictures every day this week to make up for a lack of pictures last week. 

Plans are over rated. 

I was snuggled deep into the covers at 6am this morning, warm and comfy and so completely dead asleep that it took several seconds for it to all sink in.  Buzz was shaking me and trying to explain that the dog had gotten terribly sick all over the bedroom in the middle of the night.  I was trying to cling to the hope that this was all a bad dream and doing my very best to ignore him and continue drooling contentedly all over my pillowcase.  

I'm pretty sure it's in my own best interest to refrain from sharing any photographic evidence of my dreadful day.  I'm willing to bet those kinds of images don't do much for boosting blog ratings.  I'll just allow you to paint your own mental picture from the phrases "carpet crisis" and "comforter catastrophe".    You're welcome.

I purchased a new gizmo today called a Spot Bot.  If you have pets, or toddlers who dribble things, this is a handy contraption.  It is a mini steam cleaner that you fill with water, vinegar, and special soap that you travel to four stores to find.  The directions don't call for the vinegar, but that is what the reviewers online suggested, so I decided to give it a try.  I'm not sure I like how my bedroom smells like an Easter egg, but it isn't quite as off putting as what it smelled like at 6 am this morning.  Anyhoo, you load the Spot Bot with the proper proportions of liquids, then you set it on the stain, hit a button, and stand back.  It churns and spins and scrubs and sucks, and about six minutes later, starts beeping at you to come turn it off.  With a little luck, when you pick up the machine, you find clean carpet underneath it.  Some of my spots botted better than others, but I came a long way today.  

Used and filthy water collects in a little receptacle that needs to be emptied about every two spots or so.  It isn't advisable to turn that container over while standing over your clean carpet to figure out how to empty it.  I'll spare you the suspense and inform you that the valve  to release the filthy water is on the top of the container.  Turning that container upside down will do little to improve the carpet cleaning mood.  I may or may not be speaking from experience.  

The bad news is that the dog apparently found her way to some Easter candy last night.  On the plus side, she will likely not have the opportunity to do that ever again because I very nearly eradicated the entire Easter candy stash today.  I'll shoot straight and speak plain....spot botting was fierce work, and I approached it with germ-aphobic tenacity and a bag of Cadbury mini eggs tethered closely to my side.

It's late at night and I've had a huge and terrible day.  I'm headed to bed in a chocolate semi-coma with pale stains on my carpet and the faint smell of vinegar wafting in the air.  But as I drift off to sleep I'm going to formulate a plan for tomorrow.  Midweek is the perfect opportunity for a full day of school, a pork roast for dinner, and lots of outdoor pictures.

Please, wish me well.