Every Friday I’ll indulge my order-crazed brain in a list of randomness. Welcome to my Friday Fives.

It hasn’t felt like much of a summer so far. Maybe it has in its desserts and trips to the pool, but it seems like we’ve been jumping from one huge project to the next with little to no relief in sight. Luckily, our projects have dovetailed one another so we haven’t (yet) been stressed wrecks at the same time. That’s a very good thing for all involved.

As you can imagine, our already-wanting housekeeping has fallen to absolute disarray. There may or may not be dishes that have been sitting next to the sink for a week (rinsed, at least). There may or may not be a stack of laundry that reaches halfway up our dresser. Where’s Heloise when you need her? Forget Heloise, give me Mary Poppins or a magic wand. Send in the reinforcements!

Here are the top five things that have us turning us into total asses (work mules and otherwise) lately:

5. NWS

I still do contract work for my former employer. This season they asked me to write all of the concert descriptions for next season to use on their web, brochures, ads, you name it. I was flattered until they gave me two weeks to do it, and then I was panicked. Every free moment when I wasn’t working my real job or sleeping was spent writing. I think the word count came out to around 3500 altogether. #whew

4. Opera Festival

Joe (and Sean and Wallis) have been up to their ears in rehearsals for all of the festival’s operas/musicals this summer. There’s hardly been a day when all four of us have been free, which makes me sad. Luckily it’s about to be a bit calmer as the shows are now opening, but rehearsals gear up soon for all of the orchestral events, where yours truly will get to join them for a concert.

3. Retreat

Yesterday was my office’s annual retreat and I was a part of the planning committee. Like any group project, some always end up pulling more weight than others…which is why I abhor group projects. It all went well, but I was there 13 hours…five hours of which I won’t be compensated for, not to mention all of the other off-the-clock hours I spent planning. The worst part was that the facility we rented didn’t have A/C which was news to us upon arriving. Misery doesn’t even describe the hell I was in running around all day. I’m so glad it’s over.

2. Drill

Drill-writing has once again become a daily task for Joe, who started writing his high school shows this week. Drill writing to him is like blurb writing (#5) is to me. It’s all-encompassing. There’s room for little else in your brain or on your clock. You just have to put your head down and power through. Which is what he’s doing all day, every day.

1. Birthday

We had a brief reprieve mid-week with Joe’s birthday. The day was spent writing drill (#2) and making Sam’s runs in crazy heat (#3), but we decided to order a ceasefire come 5:00 to just relax.

You need those ceasefires to stay sane, which is why I’ll be spending a girl’s night with Wallis tonight. You know, to let Joe work.

Psst! In book news, for those who have been reading since last year, I started Anna Karenina today. #finally