So about an hour after I posted the last post, my parents came in to my room and said, let's see if we can sniff out the rat. So we pulled everything away from the wall where the smell was the strongest and began sniffing that wall like blood hounds. We agreed that the smell was strongest in one spot and it wasn't coming from the wall but the ceiling. So my dad changed his clothes, put on some rubber gloves and went up in to the attic. I got up on the ladder to see what was up there. It is a sea of cotton like insulation. It's the perfect nesting ground for rodents. My dad had a small rake in hand to sift through the chaos. Suddenly he spotted the rat. I cheered as my dad almost passed out from the smell that came up from the rat once he had moved the insulation from on top of it. He picked it up and put it in a plastic walmart coffin. It's now resting in peace in the trashcan outside. The smell went away almost instantaneously. ahhhh

Today is the beginning of week 4 of the bog of eternal stench in my bedroom. Something has died in one of the walls and I can't figure out which one. The window is open and the fan is on 24 hours a day even though the temperature at night has been dropping in to the 30's. I don't know what to do other than sledge hammer the walls and find the rat or whatever it is. But then I would have to re drywall and paint. Do I take the time and spend the money? Or do I hold out two more weeks and let the smell dissipate? Yesterday I bought a monster size bag of baking soda from costco. I feel a little bit deranged and psychotic carrying jars of baking soda in to my bedroom and placing them around. Sometimes I like to picture that I'm being watched by someone that has no idea what's going on.

I used to make fun of it every time I saw the infomercial: a bunch of people sitting around a fake camp fire, dressed as if involved in some kind of catholic ritual...or maybe they're all jedi knights? And who really can't figure out how to position a blanket and a remote control? Well, my vision has changed and I am a new woman with a new perspective. Michelle bought me my very own snuggie complete with the complimentary book light for my birthday. (Jason says all I need is a bunch of cats and I'm set.) At first I was a little bit leery on this thing. She pretty much bought it as a joke...I think.
I opened it up.
I put it on.
I haven't taken it off since.
Unless I leave the house but even then, I've contemplating bringing it along. It's light weight but it's so warm and so soft. I can do stuff with my hands and still be covered up...like eat ice cream, read, and, as advertised, hold the remote. So now I'm a true convert to the one and only snuggie. Don't knock it 'til you try it!