So, I thought this was going to be a crazy week. We are leaving for a two week trip to Israel this Thursday, Anna has doctors appointments left and right, my husband’s been working late nights to finish a project he’s dealing with. We have to pack, finalize details for our vacation and leave our house in reasonable order before we depart. And I have to go into work tomorrow to finish up odds and ends before the position is transitioned to the person taking over for me.

And then the hard stuff began to fall. Literally. The ceiling came down in one of the bathrooms. Yup. This is really, really, really not what I need right now. It looks like it might be a cracked pipe or something lovely like that. Welcome to life in 100 year old houses.

So, add dealing with plumbers and repair men, and I’m suddenly reconsidering the amount of spending money I was going to allot us for the trip.

Okay, so here is what I have managed to do so far:

- Bought Anna her own “suitcase” – it’s really just one of those Dora the Explorer backpacks that has those wheels and the retractable handle - you know what I’m talking about. Anna saw it when I bought it on Friday and ever since then has been wheeling it up and down our hallway.
- Got a new ATM card to replace one that Anna had ‘borrowed’ from my wallet and never returned, I think back in September. It’s probably around here. Somewhere. I thought that would be useful so, you know, I could get money to consider spending while on vacation.
- Confirmed delivery of our cell phone that we are renting.
- Arranged for someone to check in at our house daily, water the plants and, er, potentially deal with workmen while we are away.
- Figured out plans for our last Shabbat in Israel. Sort of. Kind of. Maybe.

So there we are. How are you?