I'm so excited about this week I can hardly stand it. This is the de-cluttering week I've been waiting for, so be prepared....I'll be big time bragging.
Dh and I had a talk last night about things we could toss into the garbage pickup tomorrow. I think he's finally getting tired of trying to work around *junk*. We have stuff we don't even notice anymore until it's actually in our way.
Tonight we're going to wander from room to room and junk out things that can go. The garbage guys are going to just weep when they see the pile tomorrow.
During the day today, I'll junk through my craft supplies. I'll just come back and ta da occasionally.
Yeehaaawwww!!! I'm feeling energized. Time to go and make the most of it. Later gals .
Well...not much I can do about it, so I might as well "deal" with it! I'm back from a morning meeting at the Adult Focus office on campus. (I serve as a mentor to first-semester adult students.0 They've changed the program to be more structured, but I was actually doing most of the now "required" activities, so the changes don't make much of a difference to me! One big change is that they're going to "compensate" the mentors who fulfill all their duties at the end of the semester with a $200.00 gift certificate to Barnes and Noble (the own the on-campus book store). Pretty cool!
(Had to go back and check which thread this was.....)
My house is in pretty good shape: the laundry is down to a respectable level and the rest of the house is tidy, too. I had a group of women over last night so DH and the DDs helped me get "company ready" after church yesterday.
My BIG project for the week is to complete my student teaching application (8 pages plus an essay!) and "fluff" my protfolio (which all has to be turned in for approval/review by mid February.)
I have a couple of things to get ready for scouts this afternoon, so I musy be off!
Have a great day!
Blessings,
Lenora
"Well behaved women rarely make history."
~Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
Today I reorganised the living room, had a friend to lunch and did a big pile of ironing for my Mum. I also changed both beds, washed all the bedding and dried it. I don't know what's happened to me the last few days....I feel almost energetic
Today quickly went to hell in a handbasket. I'll be starting a new job shortly and had made plans to be in town early to get some things done toward it. . . the business isn't actually open yet, but we're getting utilities, etc. lined up. I forgot until last night that DS had an orthodontist appt first thing this morning which threw everything running late. I accomplished quite a bit, even so, but am beat to the ground tonight!
Decluttered some dirty dishes and some garbage bags from the garage over the last day or two. DH got in the mix and made the kiddos help out a bit more than they care to, but they helped get the house looking good. Still have some clutter in the form of unpaced boxes. Its going slowly, but going.
Also have some clothing sorted to get rid of that the kids have outgrown. I finally decided its better to pitch it in the trash even if it could use some more wear. Its been in my way every time I pass that direction so garbage can it is!
January is always the time we get sick of seeing stuff that we can manage to ignore the rest of the year, or so I find anyway. I find my tolerance for extra junk gets very low after Christmas!
so far today... I've helped DD dejunk some homeowkr, and I'm still trying to dejunk something I'm helping DH with, but it's 38 pages of tediousness. At least I'm now doing bits I've clearly corrected in the past (if not written from scratch), so that's a bit quicker than the awful stuff that was rewritten by some Singaporean more recently. And not DH either. He knows better than to write that badly and leave me to do all the work!
My laundry's just about getting under control, but our bedding is long overdue. DS' daily sheet and blanket just don't help! Unfortunately, the natural side effect (I was gonna say something else but couldn't even spell it!) of getting my laundry up-to-date is that my ironing pile is growing apace. I just love having the kids back at school, but why don't they have uniforms that don't need ironing. At least the sports kit doesn't, including DD's new one - not even the t-shirts which is nice. I LOVE breathable fabris that don't crease, and I'm pretty keen on pinafores that cover up the less than perfect too!
If I ever get through all that I suspect I shall probably take a nap since I'm working on precious few hours, with allergies gone crazy (allergic rhinitis, or constant sneezing, though the antihistamine seems to have finally kicked in and dried me up!) and I feel like crap!
Other than that I may or may not dejunk more stuff. I need to start moving the charity bags into the car so I'd better check what DH is up to for this week. I'm bullying him into taking a day off during the week since he worked all weekend (compulsory, not his choice) and was out having a meeting till well after 2am last night. Maybe we can get a load of stuff dropped in the charity bin then, if we don't both collapse in an exhausted heap and sleep the afternoon away!
I was trying to get some energy here before carrying on with the correcting of the long document, but I still feel exhausted!
After completely cleaning and reorganising three rooms in three days, and catching up on all my laundry and ironing, today I am feeling lazy. It's nearly 4pm and all I've done is sit at the computer or chat on the phone. I do need to get DS' room sorted out for his new desk which is being delivered tonight, so I will have to motivate myself somehow.
Even Monday was late this week and arrived on a Tuesday!
I'm going to have a great Wednesday though... might even post about it later if I think it's inspiring.
Thanks again Honey for giving me the heads-up about Jamie Lea's DH - anybody here who doesn't already know?? He's not going to Afghanistan any more - isn't that wonderful?? DH called me just a few moment after I read that email and was thrilled to hear me sounding so chirpy for a change, especially considering that his parting words of love this morning were, "You look like shit."
so I'm off to get DS ready for school and then I'm going to have a fabulous day.
Morning everyone . Considering the widespread weather woes I'm not going to whine. Suffice to say DH headed out to the office this morning but will be home by noon, which is when they expect our newest storm to blow in.
I'm very glad to hear that Jaimies DH is staying put. That is good news .
Have a great Wednesday Kerri. Are you going to pamper yourself abit??
You deserve a nice day off too Honey. Sounds like you really got some momentum happening. Well done.
Fern, when exactly is your first official day of work?
Lenora, nice perk for your mentoring dities. I bet you can de-junk 200.00 in no time flat .
I was too lazy to post yesterday. I was here reading along, just lacking any wordy inspiration. I feel much the same today, but decided I'd get too far behind if I didn't checkin.
Big garbage pickup yesterday, besides all my regular garbage I had three big orange lawn & garden bags *full* . Also a regular green garbage bag. All full of stuff I junked out of my sewingroom and craft area. Also threw out a big old picture frame that I always thought I'd cut down and re-finish for a smaller picture(never did), and two large pieces of bristle board that had been used for presentation purposes, but that I'd saved thinking they could be used again. DH tossed some stuff in the garbage as well, but I didn't check what it was(his "stuff" ).
I wandered around the house with the primer yesterday and painted all the spots that DH had touched up. Did some laundry, dyed my hair, dishes and mucked out the fridge.
My embarrassing confession....10 years ago when we last painted this house, some masking tape was put down on the hardwood floor in front of the patio doors in the diningroom. In the rush to get window coverings on, the masking tape was forgotten, then hidden by blinds. Once in awhile , when I'd clean the floors I'd notice it, and think "I should get that off of there", then forget about it again. Until it would not come off easily. Then I would think "I have to find a way to get that off" , and forget about it again. Finally, armed with my blow dryer, Goo Gone, a knife, and two hours of my time I removed that green masking tape. Just in time to put new tape down so I can paint again(insert that eye rolling guy). This time I'll take the tape off immediately. Today I'll work at taking off the tape that got left on the floor in one of the closets(insert sheepish face).
I also plan to continue packing up my craft area, and see if I can talk DH into parting with these drafting tables. We have three huge ones downstairs, and I'm not sure where they'd fit in the new house.
Sounds like you are getting your share of icky weather and someone elses too, Hope.
Not sure when my first official day at work will be just yet. . .probably within the next couple weeks. I'm doing some stuff from home right now just to help getting the place opened up. My hours will be like 9 to 2 which is perfect for keeping up with my kids activities, school, etc.
I was relieved to hear Jaime's DH was staying put. Thanks to whomever posted that. I've thought about them off and on ever since she first said he had been called up.
My plan today is to dejunk some clothing and boxes from my living room area. They've been setting there a few days now and its time to go in the closet or in the trash.
I hope your day is fabulous, Kerri. Hope mine is too, but the weather isn't cooperating for good moods around here. Gloomy, cloudy and threatening rain.
Honey, I didn't know anyone ever caught up on laundry and ironing! I threatened the kids all afternoon yesterday that they were going to help with the laundry. They kept disappearing. I found myself folding clothing last night. Alone. Today's another day though. . .with at least 3 more loads, so they'll get their turn.
Where are you? You have GOT to see my office!!!!!!!!!
I cleaned it today and that kept coming into my head!!!
My office is wonderful. The desk is cleaned off. I dejunked tons of outdated stuff and boxed up all the '04 stuff. Made new '05 files. AND......
WE MADE A BUDGET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think I will be able to sleep tonight. We are broker than broke but we both know it now and we are both in it together! Whew..........misery sure does love company in this instant!
I still have some sorting in the office.....sort out my stampin stuff, scrapbooking stuff, BeautiControl stuff and college stuff but they are all in the appropriate places which will make it easier to pull out one at a time and focus on it!
Oh...I am so happy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Getting rid of clutter in your house and you mind is good!
Yay, Jana! Well done on your wonderful accomplishments! How cool that you can makr that "resolution" off as "FINISHED!"
I completed most of my student teaching application...except for the essay. I downloaded the topic and the rubric, but it will take some "thought" before I'm ready to sit down and actually put anything down on paper.
My big accomplishment is that I totally and completely cleaned out our big walk-in closet. Any left-over out-of-season clothes are in the basement, anything I don't/can't/won't wear is already gone to Goodwill, shelves are neat, shoes are in their proper spaces...I even sorted the shirts by color....it looks really nice!
I'm collecting a handful of high-schoolers in the middle of the day tomorrow, so I probably won't get anything done. Tomorrow night we're off to the Ice Arena to see "Finding Nemo" on Ice.
Have a great evening!
Blessings,
Lenora
"Well behaved women rarely make history."
~Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
I'm sure it feels great too. I know I always feel overwhelmed and icky if the office area gets out-of-control. I'm glad you and hubby were able to work out a plan to deal with the budget. Tackling a problem with a plan, head-on, is the only hope one has of solving the problem. Good warrior vibes coming your way >>>>>>>>>>>>
Fern, what perfect work hours for you when you have kids in school. About those disappearing kids. You reminded me of something I used to do when I needed some quiet time alone. I'd tell DH and his pals, who seemed to *always* be in my face, that I needed them to help me get the house cleaned up and some yardwork done since they were not busy. Poof......quiet, alone time .
Good job on the closet Lenora. I've often thought I might want a walk-in closet, but I know I'd be lousy at keeping it orderly. Mine would turn into a storage room. So I stick with a normal closet, and just dream about a walkin. Actually, I wish I had a dressingroom. That would reguire a *HUGE* house. Much more house than I'm prepared to clean, but I suppose if one could afford a house that big one could afford a staff to clean it.
Progress made yesterday. I have my entire craft area cleaned, sorted, packed, and neatly stacked in a corner of the basement. Today I'm tackling the sewingroom . It's even worse than the craft area was.
The cold is keeping me home today, so I will do my big city run tomorrow.
Right now, I have to clean up my kitchen and myself, make 1 more cuppa Joe and get busy. Later all .
there's nothing like a cleared out offce space to make you feel ready to tackle almost anything else!
I was going to impress you all with the number of bags I got out of here to charity yesterday, but I see you've mostly done at least the same amount if not more. Well anyway, we dumped 5 solid bags (not trash bags, just large grocery bags) of clothing and textbooks which was very pleasing. It never ceases to amaze me how we can still have so much to keep dejunking when we only have a flat. With an attic or a basement or a garage it would be easy to lose that much stuff, but in a flat?? And I'm pretty good at letting go of stuff so I have no idea how it keeps on accumulating! It's not like we have that many years of stuff!
Anyone who read my spiel over on New You will see that I've been trying to organise and streamline my life with the meal planning. I'm quite proud of being able to do something in that area, which is why you have to read about it on both threads!!
I still have a table full of Christmas stuff hanging around. Reason being that all the normal stuff got put away but this is the stuff we're taking with us and I just haven't a clue how or where to store it. I have to figure out some kind of temporary storage until we need to pack it up properly for shipping otherwise it will still be there in April/May when I really do have to pack it up for shipping!
I have bits of desk peeping through, which isn't bad, but the rest of the room looks like a bomb's hit it. There seems to be stuff all over the damn floor, let alone on every other surface. No wonder my desk gets to be reasonably clear!
I'm starting late today because my SIL went in to work late and spent an hour on here, so I couldn't write my moring pages and I couldn't do very much else either. Hate it when anyone sits in my control chair! Lots to do... though quite a chunk of will be cooking today (meatloaf and soup). Still hunting for the next charity items!!
I think I need to check my meds. They may have given me something different!
I think I am just tired of the "to do" baggage. It was one of my work things that I wanted to get done in the first 3 months of the year so I just decided "JUST DO IT" for Pete's sake!
Other than that no big plans for the long weekend!
Kerri - how big is a flat? I don't know what I would do without my attic!
but it doesn't have huge storage areas for losing treadmills in, and keeping spares of everything. It's about 1700sq ft I think, and don't anyone ask me for sq metres! There's a lot of built-ins, we have large wardrobes too (not the American walk-in variety though!) and a 'store' cupboard which houses all kinds of odd stuff from cleaning stuff to spare food to tennis racquets (haven't used mine since the first few months I was here - it's too hot for that kind of masochism!).
so most of my problem is things like free Company t-shirts that nobody really wants to wear but can't quite bring themselves to get rid of, and the other little bits of flotsam and jetsam, and kiddie paraphernalia. We haven' been able to keep any of the stuff that clutters up the attics and basements of many people, like high chairs and tons of baby clothes. I've kept the blankets they came home from the hospital in (each dated) and a couple of special outfits. The rest has all gone. Got rid of the baby crib as soon as I got chance (my eldest nephew!) and the high chair and play pen all went too. One of my biggest weaknesses is stationery and art stuff - I'm sure I'm not alone in that. I've lost count of the number of different kinds of glue I have but I'm sure it's probably close on a dozen. Not pots of, but different types of!
I'm off to look for some kind of weekly calendar thing I can print out for my countdown to D-Day. If DH resigns in about mid-April, and tells his family about then too that means it's about 13wks from now. Better start with a weekly calendar now while it's still in double digits, because anything less would be scary! You should see how far in advance I packed when we only moved round the corner from my BIL's place 6yrs ago!
I put off going to the city until yesterday, hoping for a break in the weather. As happens in my life, yesterday was the coldest day of the cold snap. I just couldn't go without groceries any longer though. It's beginning to warm up now. Today is going to be -52.6F and tomorrow -43.6F according to the weather office. That's with the windchill of course. Yesterday the wind was just howling across the mall parking lot, crap was that bad. Blessings sent for drive through grocery pickup. Yes I'm boasting...I'm a survivor!!!
I'm hunkering in for the rest of the weekend if I can. DH and I have some painting and odd jobs planned for around the house.
DH did get the ceiling in the front room painted yesterday. Today we bought the wall and trim paint, and the border. We painted the lower half (below the chair rail) this afternoon. I'm hoping to get the upper part edged and the corners done tomorrow before Dh gets home from work. We have a GS event from 10:00-2:00 which means I'll be out of the house from 9:00-3:00 by the time I pick up two of the girls, drop DD9 at my mom's, get to the center and then do it all backwards when we're done.
I do have a chicken carcass boiling on the stove as I type with veges and herbs, so dinner tomorrow just needs some noodles in the soup and some crusty bread...I might hop up and throw the dough together in just a minute. I have a french bread recipe that only takes three hours, and it's just 8:15 pm........it makes two good sized loaves so I'd have enough for garlic bread with pasta on Tuesday, too!
I start classes on Tuesday evening, then have a full day of classes on Wednesday. I can't believe this is my last full semester!!!
I've thrown off my "funk" from yesterday, and I also gave Aunt Flo a stern talking-to (and a dose of midol )so she's settled down, too. I'm getting up to make bread dough.....
...in my clean kitchen????? I must be nuts! Still, it will be yummy with homemade chicken noodle soup, tomorrow!
Blessings,
Lenora
"Well behaved women rarely make history."
~Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
which resulted in me sleeping 13hrs (10 without moving!) on Saturday night. Probably just as well since DH was up before 6am this morning and couldn't get back to sleep - he turned on the computer - IN OUR ROOM! I have not been happy the last few days and DH eventually asked if Flo was expected. You'd think he'd then have more sense than to keep me awake at some ungodly hour on a Monday morning.
Since I'm almost out of t-shirts (I wash mine separately in baby detergent, though I hardly know why since I still have rotten skin. Probably a waste of money and time) I've decided that pretty much any t-shirt still at the bottom of my drawers is there because I wanted to wear it even less than some of the skanky choices I picked out the last couple of days. So I'm ditching them. Except one with a collar which will be fine in the reduced humidity of a British summer (with a fleece over the top!). I bought a new pair of jeans yesterday (it's CNY already and I never pass up a good looking cheap pair of jeans when I'm trying other stuff on) so I'll be checking through some other clothes too. Need to check I'll fit a particular dress for the company dinner at the end of February. Should do. I think I'm just about at my skinniest/least bloated at the moment, in spite of veggie-related 'issues' recently. Or perhaps because of...
And after two weeks of hoping it will improve and taking away favourite soft toys for a whole week, I'm going in... to the kids' room with a flamethrower! I'll report back on that later. I'm going to remove a few of DS' thicker long sleeve shirts from his wardrobe since he doesn't really need them here. Their wardrobe's a nightmare really and those can come out ready for packing up. They'll be really useful in the Autumn, but right now they're as much use as a chocolate fireguard.
More menu planning too... I adjusted some things and went out for chicken wings last night! But we had the broccoli soup for lunch instead. I'd probably better save this for New You, except that I'm currently eating pineapple tarts for breakfast so I may prefer not to post over there just now! I'm testing them for CNY!
Over the weekend I reorganised all my clothes. I didn't manage to get rid of anything, but it is only a few weeks since I did that. There are quite a few things I don't much like, but I don't actually have all that many clothes so I daren't get rid of them until I have replacements! Same goes for undies, I need some new ones but until I have them I can't chuck any out. The prospect of new clothes is very unlikely as I will be paying for Christmas until at least April! Such is life
Today I have a few DS-free hours. It's lovely to have the house to myself for a while! I plan a leisurely shower, then lighting a nice scented candle while I listen to some restful music. I have to do my 'desk duty' - menu plans, groery lists, to-do lists, etc but it will be so nice to do it without any interruptions or the tv in the background.
This week I must get my room finished. I have been organising in there in small increments daily but it's not enough - it needs a blitz of a few hours in one go! I might see if I can do that today as rubbish collection is tomorrow! I also had a charity bag through my door today, asking for donations of clothes to raise money for Great Ormond Street Children's hospital, so I'll try and sort out DS' clothes before the collection for that.
I'm glad it's the rest of you entertaining pesky Auntie and not me . Oooooh....I'll pay for that in a few weeks won't I .
I'm in the thick of what will turn into weeks of painting. I spent yesterday doing cove moldings and baseboard, archways etc in the diningroom. It's slow going, but at least I have tv to listen to. I was not able to get the baseboard 100% finished yesterday so I'll do that this morning. I'm hoping to get the walls done today as well, and have that room totally done.
I also have laundry on the go, and plan to do some de-junking in the basement for garbage day tomorrow. I'm getting better at letting go of projects I've started but really don't care for and don't want to finish. I've got them hidden away so I didn't have to look at them all the time and feel quilty about them, but as we clean things out those stashes are surfacing . Out they'll go!!!
I'm finding it exciting, and inspiring to pare things down and keep only what I really, really want. I'm still probably hanging on to too much, but it's a whole lot more managable.
Must get busy now and do some of this painting....later all .
my brilliant solution for unfinished projects?? I sent them all to Honey!! Well I knew I wasn't going to finish them and she really can't spare the cash for such trivia, so it made sense. Except for the most evil, complicated piece of cross-stitching nightmare going, which I gave to my mother's next door neighbour - she's been cursing me since last June! I still have one left which I know I can't get rid of and which I know I have to complete - an old-style map of my county for my mother's 50th birthday. She's 60 next year.
I did the kids' room yesterday. It's sparkling now. The advantage of moving all the furniture around is that the kids are so excited to have a totally revamped room that they don't even notice how much crap I've thrown away. Very often they don't even miss most of it.
Today's big plan is to get all the warmer clothes into our main big suitcase. It occurred to me last night but since DH was already snoring I had to wait till this morning to check it with him. He's got a number of trips to do between now and April, but he'll only use his very large upright case for that. The Delsey case has a permanent divider in the middle which makes it a nightmare to live out of. So I can gather together all the fleeces, warm shirts, gloves and other oddments the kids and I have lying aorund all over, then they'll be ready to pack up properly when the time is a little closer. We can't ship those because we'll probably need most of them. I've been back in June before and bought fleeces, so I'm not falling for the old 'Summer' gag again! DH's winter clothes will be in use since he's off to the Ukraine once or twice between now and April. I doubt very much if he'll be travelling much after he's resigned! That will also help clear a lot of the clutter away from some hidden storage we have behind some cabinets (very sneaky previous owners!) which will make it easier for me to tackle the rest.
DD's teacher has apparently been asking why I can't wash her shoes. I believe my muttered response was unrepeatable, but since DD gets her shoes filthy within a single day I suggested that her teacher either offer to do them herself or put up with it. If there's a problem why don't they switch to black shoes like DS' school did this year, instead of plain white.
fell flat on its face when I opened up the case, only to find I'd already stashed a large comforter in there.
I'd already taken all the winter clothes out too, which is a mixed blessing, because at least that means I can't back out, but on the other hand, I now have a bed full of crumpeld dodgy-looking clothes. And that's after I weeded out the charity and dustbin stuff! Even the nicest of clothing doesn't look good when it's been stuffed in a plastic bag for a few years!
On the bright side, I'ved dejunked TONS already today, and am now nursing the beginnings of a headache. I've been tearing up cheques of the credit variety - never use that account, never wanted it, but it came with the credit card we agreed to several years ago! I'm on the 5th cheque book - the first three were old style cheques and the others were the newer ones. Also dejunked some kids' assessment books that had been mostly filled in. A couple of dresses have migrated to my SIL's room for fitting (my comment was, "buy yourself a push-up bra - I've found that black dress!" It's a very slinky black number in the smallest size I've ever had a dress in, but whilst she's now even skinnier than I ever was (even when seriously ill!) she may not have the upper body figure required to do the dress justice. Asian build! The other will be just fine because I bought it from the US in a size 6. She may be a 4 now though! I wouldn't trade even my present figure for hers though. She looks way too boney - but no, she's not anorexic, just a little obsessive!
better go see if I can find a Plan B rucksack to stuff those clothes in. It won't be ideal, but at least they'll all be together for me to wash at a later date. Washing them now would definitely arouse unnecessary suspicion! Decluttering she's used to seeing, but manic extra washing would make her send me for psychiatric evaluation in minutes!
So now I have all my unfinished projects AND all of Kerri's unfinished projects I'm working my way through them. Other people's unfinshed projects are much more interesting than one's own!
I have dejunked some of my unfinished knitting projects, wool I liked but then didn't enjoy working with, that kind of thing. I still really only knit dishcloths! Now that Lynn's teacosy generator pattern is working again I want to make a new teacosy (for the teapot I haven't bought yet - we managed to smash both my teapots before Christmas, so now I am potless!) I also have a lovely scarf pattern that Michele emailed to me ages ago, which I am going to make one of these days. I suppose NOW is the time to make that kind of thing and then stash them for gifts for Christmas........GROAN.
I didn't get to sorting my room properly yesterday, as I spent most of the afternoon and evening feeling weird and giddy, thanks to Aunt Flo. So today's the day.
I have a small crafty thingy I want to finish this morning, then I will attack the bedroom. I have a few DS-free hours again today, so I'll have no interruptions. I think the bedroom being a mess has a lot to do with me not wanting to spend any waking time in there at all. My bedroom is always the place I chuck everything out of the way, it was the same in the last place we lived too. I'm fed up with it.
Aside from the fact shipping these unfinished projects would be downright foolish, Honey would just want to throttle me if this junk showed up on her doorstep. It's fun to think of you digging through it though Honey. There'd be a whole lot of "OMG...what am I supposed to do with this?" or "What the heck is *that*?".
Kerri, when do you plan to tell SIL and the rest of them that you're moving? I'm surprised SIL hasn't picked up on it yet. At least that something is going on.
My days plan is to paint again. I did not get the diningroom walls done yesterday, as the trim took longer than I expected. I'm really slow and fussy about painting. DH has been doing some painting in the basement and I just have to stay right away from him. Watching him paint makes me just cringe. He's fast, but.....
When he sees me coming he just glowers at me. He expects I'm coming to find fault. Ahem, I did get 69 on the perfectionist test didn't I. So then, I stay in my corner of the house, where I can't see *how* it's getting done, then go admire the end results which are usually just fine.
What else??? Lots of garbage went out again today. My SIL gave me lots of good little boxes with lids, that stack neatly, so if I get tired of painting I can pack some stuff.
Off I go to paint now, have good one(day that is).
With a flurry of fresh activity on the bords we're almost dropping off the bottom??
I have nothing much to post because I forced myself to sit in front of the television yesterday afternoon to avoid getting caught up in something and doing too much. I clearly did too much on Monday and Tuesday and ended up paying for it by Tuesday night - ouch in so many ways! I'm a bit of a wreck this week and Flo's stay hasn't helped one little bit.
I think until Flo's gone I shall try to avoid further decluttering because it seems to lead to me overdoing it badly. I might walk on from DS' school to the nearby shopping mall, but it's quite a long hot walk back, and if I haveheavy stuff which I will I'll need to get a taxi. It's actually not that far, but I know from experience that I get halfway and want to die, but then it really isn't far enough to get a taxi!
So what's everyone else up to?? I want to get rid of the charity bags I've amassed (and my SIL has one too) but DH is going to be working yet another weekend. It's driving me nutso!
Soon Kerri, soon. Auntie will move on and all will be well. I love de-cluttering when I'm in a "state"... ... things really happen then. My RX for dealling with Flo, relax, pills if needed, a good book, nap her away . Note I did not add "good munchies", but the fact I even thought that says something I guess .
I did check in and read posts yesterday, but decided just to keep busy with what I was doing. If I sit myself down in front of this puter for too long I may as well give up on getting anything accomplished. So a quick peek it was, no post.
I have totally finished in the diningroom. It is real estate ready. I put all the plugs and switches back on yesterday, the hardware back on the window and re-hung the drapes. I gave the drapes a good vacuuming, and they looked fine so did not have to wash them.
Now that the diningroom is empty I can use it to store stuff while I work my way around the house. I started moving things out of the livingroom yesterday, it will be the next painting chore. It will be a big job. It's a large room, with a long hallway and a 2 story entryway. All of it with cove molding...yuk.
I also got my laundry caught up yesterday, did dishes twice, cleaned the bathroom, even made my bed. I'm happy with my efforts this past few days .
I have to go into the city this aft and pick out hardware for the new house cupboards. I'll also do some looking around for new major appliances, fridge, stove, dishwasher. They'll need to be ordered soon, if not now. Then it's over to the kids to play with the little people while mom & dad go to a movie.
In a minute here I'll jump into the shower and wash my hair so it can be dry and ready to go by this afternoon. The rest of the morning I'll spend doing little livingroom clearing tasks, nothing that will mess myself up.
Onward then ....must have some breakfast and check on the healthy gals thread.
...are my decluttering friends??? I hope you're all either having too much fun to post or are just so productive that you don't want the rest of us to feel bad! Either way....good for you!
I, obviously, am neither of those, so here I am!
We had friends over for dinner last night, and BIL is here for the week-end, too. Anyways, the main floor is clean and even the kitchen is back to normal from "dinner-party aftermath." I was good about getting most of it done last night...I even hand washed my crystal goblets before going to bed!
Today is MIL's birthday so we're going out for lunch/dinner (about 3:00 pm) I've got two assignments to complete for school tomorrow, and quite a bit of reading to wrap up after that.
I'm hoping DH and BIL will do some painting in the front room later...but I bet they end up playing computer games instead.
We got about a foot of snow in the last 24 hours. The sun is shining brightly this morning and everything is sparkly and beautiful! I love sunshine-on-snow!
Well, we slept-in and skipped worship and Sunday School this morning, so I still need a shower.
Have a lovely sunday, friends!
Blessings,
Lenora
"Well behaved women rarely make history."
~Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
I love snow. We haven't had any at all this year, where I live
I made a big start on decluttering and organising my bedroom last week There is still more to do, but I am really happy with how much I have done so far.
I am planning to paint my kitchen soon - I am using 'daffodil white', which despite the name looks like cream, not yellow, on my walls (I have painted a few small areas with a matchpot). I am planning to skip grocery shopping this week (I have the makings of plenty of meals in the pantry, just not many goodies, which won't do me any harm ) amd use the money I save to buy the paint!
We have a busy week this week so I am not sure how much decluttering will get done. It will be enough of a challenge just to maintain the house and keep on top of laundry.
Today I have errands to run, a vast pile of ironing to do, a few essential food items to buy (butter, bread, eggs, milk, COFFEE!!) and a possible trip to the library if I can fit it in.
Finally getting some decluttering of dresser tops done around here. Actually getting clothing hung instead of stacked and that sort of thing.
I'm finding that since we're in the new house there are things I "thought" I wanted to keep that don't mean as much to me all of a sudden. No place for them and now I'm trying to decide whether to pack away and save for the kids for later, or sell. Gobs and gobs of Tiara glassware. Not sure what to do with it all.
So far, the new job has consisted of working a bit from home and doing some running, getting utility deposits paid, repairmen lined up, etc., but even that much has slowed my efforts on the house. I did get some more tape peeled off the baseboards last night and will try to repaint that portion of the baseboard tonight. Its slow going. . .makes me mad to have to do it in a new house, but the concrete stain splattered on the baseboard a bit, even though I thought I had it covered well.
Off to clean the bathrooms. Company (relatives in town) stopping by one day this week, but I don't know which day, so guess that means I'll have to keep it clean all week.
I decluttered the undie drawer. Threw out some undies and some old bras from the nursing days....hello, I think I can buy new ones the next time around. Those made it through 2 kids, I needed to let them go. Straightened it all up and it looks nice and tidy.
All I have to offer. Just maintaining..............
Hope - how's the painting?
Honey - are you getting to bed on time or still reading until the weeeee hours???
Fern - funny what we move and then don't want. Maybe I need to move just to clear things out!
Kerri - Aunt Flo is here so she must have left you alone, any burst of energy?
Lenora - I know you are in the depths of classes this part of the week but hang in there, you are almost done! Won't that be a great feeling. You are wrapping it up and I am just getting started.
Waves to everyone else. I have a 4 yr old that wil not go to sleep. Any chance I could declutter him to the curb? JUST KIDDING!
Goal for tomorrow........just throw one thing out! Something that you have been meaning to do. That you have spent more time thinking about than it would actually take to do the deed.........you know what I am talking about. One thing girls!
yesterday's leftover chili?? I left it in the pan on the stove. My SIL kindly did my washing up and wasn't dumb enough to deal with that for me. I left it, and it's still sitting there. Since I now need that pan for some beans I really can't avoid it any longer. It's been 24hrs already, and you should see the rice leftover from Friday that didn't get decluttered until Monday.
as to the burrst of energy question... umm... no. Burst of lethargy is more like it. More downs this month than I really like, and I have nothing much to blame it on - no Flo, no monsoon season (it's sunny but still breezy!). Ok, so there hasn't been much DH either, and he's leaving for the Ukraine and UK tomorrow night, will be back for CNY and a holiday after with his eldest brother (yippee ) before leaving again for almost a month. Ok, so maybe that situation might speak a little as to why I've been so miserable. My rhinitis is driving me insane, my tastebuds are still AWOL so eating is somewhat dodgy, and I've tried music therapy of all kinds, retail therapy, moving my body regularly, sleeping more, eating the wrong kind of foods (eating the right ones seems to be worse than eating baby mush).
Anybody got any great ideas for getting out of a rut?? I'm thinking of moving furniture again, but I'm all out of alternatives. No wonder I keep moving the stuff in the kids' room so often. I've got charity bags waiting to go when DH is away and I havethe car - I hope that getting rid of clutter that's lying around will help a little, but I think this funk is a little too deep and a little too blue. Heading for indigo even!
At least I'm passing it on though, little by little, to my SIL. I sent her a link today to loads of photos of the county in England that I'm from. Made me miserable, but hopefully she'll be gradually building up a picture so she sees why I need to go back, and what it will mean to the whole family.
all dried up and crusty in the skillet. I actually got it scraped out, though, and the pan now soaking in soapy water.
I can tell after yesterday that Monday's are going to be long, tough days while this nasty weather lasts....after the snow is gone they'll just be long! I have three classes pretty much back-to-back which require me to hike from one end of the central campus to the other...then back. The middle class is Intro to Interior Design which also requires a monster pile of drawing and drafting supplies and a 4inch binder full of handouts which we must have at every class. I'm working on logistics, but I think I'm going to go to campus early, park close the the building where I have ID and get a locker. That will give me time to get a cup of coffee on my way to "China," (a World Civ. requirement.) After my thrid class, I either leave, or have a little longer break before my Monday night class where I can get my ID stuff to the car. The other option is to get myself a rolling crate like many of the instructors use...but that's not entirely convenient given the snow and slush right now
I've got laundry chugging and will go load up the diswasher with the family's mess from dinner last night in just a bit...I'm going to have to address that issue pretty quickly....it will not become a habit.
Kerri....careful with those blues. I'm sure you know that the deeper you get the farther you have to come back. Don't wait too long if you need help. I mean it!
Jana! Yes, it's pretty exciting...when I have time to think about it At the beginning (Jan 2001) it seemed like it was going to take forever to get my degree....and here it is already on the calendar! Woo Hoo! Getting started is the biggest step in getting finished! Now that you're started...every day takes you closer to finishing, too!
Honey, I wish I could send you some snow. We got another pile of it this week-end (about 12 inches.) Temperatures are holding right around single digits, with the windchill pushing them into the negative numbers...but really, I'll take zero and snow over Hope's -58 degrees, any day!
I need to switch a load of laundry then do some reading. Tonight is "Human Sexuality" class....wonder if I'll learn anything fun???
Blessings,
Lenora
"Well behaved women rarely make history."
~Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
I just need January to go away. I've had a few fabulous days, but my just ordinary days seems to have been replaced with some really rotten days. I'm fairly sure it's not blue enough to need help, but I promise to try and keep my mind open about that. I do crawl out occasionally but everything seems to be conspiring against me staying up for the time being. I'm definitely not indulging it or encouraging it. I even bought "Pollyanna grows up" last Saturday and sat in BK to read it while the kids had classes. Not a lot of help really. I've dug out an L M Alcott book that makes me feel good and I hsve "What Katy Did" lined up for after it. I also intend to burn my Shania Twain CD without the track that keeps getting stuck since that stops me playing it. I tried soothing and I tried depressing so it's time for upbeat! I'm hoping the rhinitis will ease up dramatically once we've been back in the UK a while. The indoor air quality in Singapore is actually worse than what's outside, which is pretty rare for a city!
Today's main job is packing because DH is leaving tonight. Tomorrow's main job will be getting the charity bags out of the house and delcuttering some blood tests before next Monday's appointment, so after that I should feel a bit freer to find the rest of the floor in my bedroom. I also intend to clear up and rearrange my desk again, possibly today in between packing. And I'm thinking of going to the doctor since I still have very little in the way of active tastebuds and less appetite. I'm gonna do a little research first though - anybody got any thoughts?? I'm checking thyroid first since it seems to cover everything!
I also intend to be more realistic about meal planning or a while. A cook with no tastebuds isn't the best person to plan a four ingredient, four stage potato dish, pan-fried chicken and a veg - we ended up eating meatloaf, chips and beans last night!
the potato dish sounds odd but is rather yummy... boiled potato and pasta topped with cheese and then fried onions. It's absolutely addictive thanks to the onions. I guess you could do it with just potatoes or just pasta, but believe me it does work. It's called A Swiss Potato Dish in my astrological cookbook, and it's the only rason that book hasn't gone to the charity bags yet. It went once then I fancied this dish and had to haul it back out. I don't make it very often so I couldn't remember which bit went on top. I really should write it down and release the book.
This is going to be a short post for me, I'm sick. I'll whine the details on the get healthy thread, and just say here that I have a nasty head/chest cold. I can't think, have read all the posts and don't remember any of it.
I have been a busy little bee though despite not feeling well. Painting is coming along slowly, but any progress is good. Today I will paint baseboards and hopefully get started on the stairway railings. At least I can sit on the stairs and paint them.
The new house is a hive of workmen. At last I can see some real headway over there. The outside of the house is pretty much complete except for some brickwork and eavestroughs. They won't pour the garage floor and driveway until spring. Plumbing and wiring are done, except for the finishing(fixtures).
I continue to pack things up here at home. I know I'm going to be in the same position as Fern when I get to unpacking. I'll just have a garage sale at the new place .
I have to go blow my nose now...and post on the other thread. Later all.
Actually one of the things going through my head when I consider whether I want to dump stuff is whether I'm going to wonder why I kept it when it finally comes time to unpack it. We'll be in rental for quite a while - possibly a couple of years or more, considering the way housing is in the UK at the moment - and that means that a fair few of our things will stay in storage until we have our own place. Do I really want to be decluttering what's been in storage for years because I can't remember why on earth I wanted to keep it?? And do I want to pay for the cost of shipping al that junk?? That's great for focussing the mind on the job at hand!
I did some research today and found out some interesting things which are clearly affecting how rotten I've felt lately. Since it's medical I'll throw it over on New You - save cluttering up over here.
I should really get the charity bags done since I haven't made it to the hospital for my tests today - tomorrow will do. I felt rough this morning and then I spent the early part of the afternoon helping DH sell some of our shares (he's transitting in Germany on his way to Kiev!) so we can finally pay back a debt to my SIL. She knows I'm instrumental in getting that moving, so hopefully she'll remember that in a few months when she feels more like killing me!
I definitely want to vacuum and wash this afternoon, but I've actually wasted a good chunk of the afternoon already, so I probably won't get much done. You'll see where the motivation comes from if you read the New You thread (that I haven't yet posted on!), but it's still pretty weak motivation.
My desk is almost clear and I'm probably about ready to rearrange it, which will help some. I'm all out of brilliant ideas for rearranging furniture. Our room is big but has very few real walls, thanks to several built-ins, three sets of windows, plus air-con, electricals and the rest of it! Looking at this room it's absolutely fabulous, but it has its limitations, and for somebody like me who moves furniture for kicks it can be a nightmare!
I'm not doing much today if I can help it. I painted baseboards yesterday after a night of very little sleep, and wore myself out gooood. I'm going to nap this afternoon away.
If I have any energy when I wake up I'll work at junking out and packing up the office. DH wants to paint in there, and needs to move the monster puter desk which is currently covered with *my* junk. He's been asking nicely and I've kind of ignored him. I'd hate it if he did that to me.
I have to go to a fancy ball on Sat night. It's "Formal" ! I'd rather be boiled in oil, but DH and his business partner are getting an award so I really have no choice. I dug through my meager selection of dress-up clothes this morning, and came up with something to wear. Nothing could be worse than an event like this in the dead of winter. If you wear your fancy shoes your feet freeze, and the only other option is to wear your boots and take your shoes along(I hate that). So I put together an outfit that would look just great with a dressy pair of black boots.
There then is another problem, I don't have dressy black boots. The only boots I have are the ones a person wears with slacks. Tomorrow I will have to go out and buy a pair of boots....and pantyhose(which I wear about once a year).
I really gotta get out more !
How off topic am I??? Oh well that's my todo list, have a nap and buy boots & panyhose. I think I can handle it . Later gals.
I think I'm really going to like having Thursdays and Fridays with no classes. I'm trying to schedule all my "out-of-the-house" stuff on Thursdays and leave Friday as my at-home day....so far, so good!
I've already tidied up the main floor and swiped the master bath this morning. I'm getting ready to pull out all my sylabi and set my Grand Plan up for the next few months. I have quite a bit of reading to do, and a couple of short writing assignments for next week, too.
I really need for DH to finish painting the front room this week-end. I might even have to resort to nagging and whining...which I rarely do. I want to move the office stuff back down there so I can get my study habits in order.
I hope all of you who are feeling yucky are getting better! We've been awfully lucky this winter...shhhhh! forget I said that out-loud!
Have a lovely time at your "event" on Saturday, Hope...even if you don't really want to go You should seriously consider stockings instead of pantyhose to make the evening more "interesting!"
Have a great day, friends!
Blessings,
Lenora
"Well behaved women rarely make history."
~Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
Friday and Monday posts back-to-back....hummmm...is that good or bad? Hopefully good! We had a nice weekend....not much on the schedule, which was really a change!
Today is a long day at school for me, and I actually need to hit an art supply store on my way into town.
I've done one load of laundry this morning and the kitchen counters are clear. My mom is coming up to spend the afternoon with the DDs (until DH gets home) and that is motivation to clean-up if there ever was! I need to sweep the floors; well, I NEED to mop the floors but I only have time to sweep, before I leave, too.
O-kay! I'm off to finish my face, sweep the floor, and get out the door!
Have a great Monday, friends!
Blessings,
Lenora
"Well behaved women rarely make history."
~Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
I considered starting a new thread this morning, but tomorrow is going to be Feb 1st so I decided to leave it alone until then.
I had a busy weekend, without really accomplishing much. The ball on Sat really took up most of my day, what with all the primping preparations. Having been a packing/painting woman for so long it took considerable effort to get ball ready. I had to shave my legs *twice*. That's how hairy they'd become. DH thought I should donate the hair to some place that makes wigs for cancer patients .
Sunday we spent at the new house wiring it for sound. It had to be done by today, as the builders are insulating and starting the drywall today. Most homeowners like to do their own sound wiring.
This morning I'm packing up some stuff in the basement that DH needs out of the way. It's a good day to do that as tomorrow is garbage day. This afternoon I'm painting stairway railings. I also have a load of laundry to go in, but only one. It seems I've been keeping up with that .
Onward I go...time for some breakfast and a post on the losers thread. I'll ta da a dejunk list later. .
. Have a productive week all.
Comments
Here we go
I'm so excited about this week I can hardly stand it. This is the de-cluttering week I've been waiting for, so be prepared....I'll be big time bragging.
Dh and I had a talk last night about things we could toss into the garbage pickup tomorrow. I think he's finally getting tired of trying to work around *junk*. We have stuff we don't even notice anymore until it's actually in our way.
Tonight we're going to wander from room to room and junk out things that can go. The garbage guys are going to just weep when they see the pile tomorrow.
During the day today, I'll junk through my craft supplies. I'll just come back and ta da occasionally.
Yeehaaawwww!!! I'm feeling energized. Time to go and make the most of it. Later gals
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Monday, huh?
Well...not much I can do about it, so I might as well "deal" with it! I'm back from a morning meeting at the Adult Focus office on campus. (I serve as a mentor to first-semester adult students.0 They've changed the program to be more structured, but I was actually doing most of the now "required" activities, so the changes don't make much of a difference to me! One big change is that they're going to "compensate" the mentors who fulfill all their duties at the end of the semester with a $200.00 gift certificate to Barnes and Noble (the own the on-campus book store). Pretty cool!
(Had to go back and check which thread this was.....)
My house is in pretty good shape: the laundry is down to a respectable level and the rest of the house is tidy, too. I had a group of women over last night so DH and the DDs helped me get "company ready" after church yesterday.
My BIG project for the week is to complete my student teaching application (8 pages plus an essay!) and "fluff" my protfolio (which all has to be turned in for approval/review by mid February.)
I have a couple of things to get ready for scouts this afternoon, so I musy be off!
Have a great day!
Blessings,
Lenora
"Well behaved women rarely make history."
~Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
Busy day
Today I reorganised the living room, had a friend to lunch and did a big pile of ironing for my Mum. I also changed both beds, washed all the bedding and dried it. I don't know what's happened to me the last few days....I feel almost energetic
Wrung plumb out
Today quickly went to hell in a handbasket. I'll be starting a new job shortly and had made plans to be in town early to get some things done toward it. . . the business isn't actually open yet, but we're getting utilities, etc. lined up. I forgot until last night that DS had an orthodontist appt first thing this morning which threw everything running late. I accomplished quite a bit, even so, but am beat to the ground tonight!
Decluttered some dirty dishes and some garbage bags from the garage over the last day or two. DH got in the mix and made the kiddos help out a bit more than they care to, but they helped get the house looking good. Still have some clutter in the form of unpaced boxes. Its going slowly, but going.
Also have some clothing sorted to get rid of that the kids have outgrown. I finally decided its better to pitch it in the trash even if it could use some more wear. Its been in my way every time I pass that direction so garbage can it is!
good ol' January!
January is always the time we get sick of seeing stuff that we can manage to ignore the rest of the year, or so I find anyway. I find my tolerance for extra junk gets very low after Christmas!
so far today... I've helped DD dejunk some homeowkr, and I'm still trying to dejunk something I'm helping DH with, but it's 38 pages of tediousness. At least I'm now doing bits I've clearly corrected in the past (if not written from scratch), so that's a bit quicker than the awful stuff that was rewritten by some Singaporean more recently. And not DH either. He knows better than to write that badly and leave me to do all the work!
My laundry's just about getting under control, but our bedding is long overdue. DS' daily sheet and blanket just don't help! Unfortunately, the natural side effect (I was gonna say something else but couldn't even spell it!) of getting my laundry up-to-date is that my ironing pile is growing apace. I just love having the kids back at school, but why don't they have uniforms that don't need ironing. At least the sports kit doesn't, including DD's new one - not even the t-shirts which is nice. I LOVE breathable fabris that don't crease, and I'm pretty keen on pinafores that cover up the less than perfect too!
If I ever get through all that I suspect I shall probably take a nap since I'm working on precious few hours, with allergies gone crazy (allergic rhinitis, or constant sneezing, though the antihistamine seems to have finally kicked in and dried me up!) and I feel like crap!
Other than that I may or may not dejunk more stuff. I need to start moving the charity bags into the car so I'd better check what DH is up to for this week. I'm bullying him into taking a day off during the week since he worked all weekend (compulsory, not his choice) and was out having a meeting till well after 2am last night. Maybe we can get a load of stuff dropped in the charity bin then, if we don't both collapse in an exhausted heap and sleep the afternoon away!
I was trying to get some energy here before carrying on with the correcting of the long document, but I still feel exhausted!
Kerri.
Lazy Tuesday
After completely cleaning and reorganising three rooms in three days, and catching up on all my laundry and ironing, today I am feeling lazy. It's nearly 4pm and all I've done is sit at the computer or chat on the phone. I do need to get DS' room sorted out for his new desk which is being delivered tonight, so I will have to motivate myself somehow.
Ho hum
See...
Even Monday was late this week and arrived on a Tuesday!
I'm going to have a great Wednesday though... might even post about it later if I think it's inspiring.
Thanks again Honey for giving me the heads-up about Jamie Lea's DH - anybody here who doesn't already know?? He's not going to Afghanistan any more - isn't that wonderful?? DH called me just a few moment after I read that email and was thrilled to hear me sounding so chirpy for a change, especially considering that his parting words of love this morning were, "You look like shit."
so I'm off to get DS ready for school and then I'm going to have a fabulous day.
Kerri.
Cold Wednesday
Morning everyone
. Considering the widespread weather woes I'm not going to whine. Suffice to say DH headed out to the office this morning but will be home by noon, which is when they expect our newest storm to blow in.
I'm very glad to hear that Jaimies DH is staying put. That is good news
.
Have a great Wednesday Kerri. Are you going to pamper yourself abit??
You deserve a nice day off too Honey. Sounds like you really got some momentum happening. Well done.
Fern, when exactly is your first official day of work?
Lenora, nice perk for your mentoring dities. I bet you can de-junk 200.00 in no time flat
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I was too lazy to post yesterday. I was here reading along, just lacking any wordy inspiration. I feel much the same today, but decided I'd get too far behind if I didn't checkin.
Big garbage pickup yesterday, besides all my regular garbage I had three big orange lawn & garden bags *full* . Also a regular green garbage bag. All full of stuff I junked out of my sewingroom and craft area. Also threw out a big old picture frame that I always thought I'd cut down and re-finish for a smaller picture(never did), and two large pieces of bristle board that had been used for presentation purposes, but that I'd saved thinking they could be used again. DH tossed some stuff in the garbage as well, but I didn't check what it was(his "stuff" ).
I wandered around the house with the primer yesterday and painted all the spots that DH had touched up. Did some laundry, dyed my hair, dishes and mucked out the fridge.
My embarrassing confession....10 years ago when we last painted this house, some masking tape was put down on the hardwood floor in front of the patio doors in the diningroom. In the rush to get window coverings on, the masking tape was forgotten, then hidden by blinds. Once in awhile , when I'd clean the floors I'd notice it, and think "I should get that off of there", then forget about it again. Until it would not come off easily. Then I would think "I have to find a way to get that off" , and forget about it again. Finally, armed with my blow dryer, Goo Gone, a knife, and two hours of my time I removed that green masking tape. Just in time to put new tape down so I can paint again(insert that eye rolling guy). This time I'll take the tape off immediately. Today I'll work at taking off the tape that got left on the floor in one of the closets(insert sheepish face).
I also plan to continue packing up my craft area, and see if I can talk DH into parting with these drafting tables. We have three huge ones downstairs, and I'm not sure where they'd fit in the new house.
Onwards then, I need to have some breakfast.
Sounds like you are getting y
Sounds like you are getting your share of icky weather and someone elses too, Hope.
Not sure when my first official day at work will be just yet. . .probably within the next couple weeks. I'm doing some stuff from home right now just to help getting the place opened up. My hours will be like 9 to 2 which is perfect for keeping up with my kids activities, school, etc.
I was relieved to hear Jaime's DH was staying put. Thanks to whomever posted that. I've thought about them off and on ever since she first said he had been called up.
My plan today is to dejunk some clothing and boxes from my living room area. They've been setting there a few days now and its time to go in the closet or in the trash.
I hope your day is fabulous, Kerri. Hope mine is too,
but the weather isn't cooperating for good moods around here. Gloomy, cloudy and threatening rain.
Honey, I didn't know anyone ever caught up on laundry and ironing! I threatened the kids all afternoon yesterday that they were going to help with the laundry. They kept disappearing. I found myself folding clothing last night. Alone. Today's another day though. . .with at least 3 more loads, so they'll get their turn.
Off to declutter.
Hope!!!! Hope!!!!! HOPEEEEEEEE!!!!
Where are you? You have GOT to see my office!!!!!!!!!
I cleaned it today and that kept coming into my head!!!
My office is wonderful. The desk is cleaned off. I dejunked tons of outdated stuff and boxed up all the '04 stuff. Made new '05 files. AND......
WE MADE A BUDGET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think I will be able to sleep tonight. We are broker than broke but we both know it now and we are both in it together! Whew..........misery sure does love company in this instant!
I still have some sorting in the office.....sort out my stampin stuff, scrapbooking stuff, BeautiControl stuff and college stuff but they are all in the appropriate places which will make it easier to pull out one at a time and focus on it!
Oh...I am so happy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Getting rid of clutter in your house and you mind is good!
Jana
Happy Dance!
Yay, Jana! Well done on your wonderful accomplishments! How cool that you can makr that "resolution" off as "FINISHED!"
I completed most of my student teaching application...except for the essay. I downloaded the topic and the rubric, but it will take some "thought" before I'm ready to sit down and actually put anything down on paper.
My big accomplishment is that I totally and completely cleaned out our big walk-in closet. Any left-over out-of-season clothes are in the basement, anything I don't/can't/won't wear is already gone to Goodwill, shelves are neat, shoes are in their proper spaces...I even sorted the shirts by color....it looks really nice!
I'm collecting a handful of high-schoolers in the middle of the day tomorrow, so I probably won't get anything done. Tomorrow night we're off to the Ice Arena to see "Finding Nemo" on Ice.
Have a great evening!
Blessings,
Lenora
"Well behaved women rarely make history."
~Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
It looks GREEAAATTTT Jana!!!
I'm sure it feels great too. I know I always feel overwhelmed and icky if the office area gets out-of-control. I'm glad you and hubby were able to work out a plan to deal with the budget. Tackling a problem with a plan, head-on, is the only hope one has of solving the problem. Good warrior vibes coming your way
>>>>>>>>>>>>
Fern, what perfect work hours for you when you have kids in school. About those disappearing kids. You reminded me of something I used to do when I needed some quiet time alone. I'd tell DH and his pals, who seemed to *always* be in my face, that I needed them to help me get the house cleaned up and some yardwork done since they were not busy. Poof......quiet, alone time
.
Good job on the closet Lenora. I've often thought I might want a walk-in closet, but I know I'd be lousy at keeping it orderly. Mine would turn into a storage room. So I stick with a normal closet, and just dream about a walkin. Actually, I wish I had a dressingroom. That would reguire a *HUGE* house. Much more house than I'm prepared to clean, but I suppose if one could afford a house that big one could afford a staff to clean it.
Progress made yesterday. I have my entire craft area cleaned, sorted, packed, and neatly stacked in a corner of the basement. Today I'm tackling the sewingroom
. It's even worse than the craft area was.
The cold is keeping me home today, so I will do my big city run tomorrow.
Right now, I have to clean up my kitchen and myself, make 1 more cuppa Joe and get busy. Later all
.
Well done Jana!!
there's nothing like a cleared out offce space to make you feel ready to tackle almost anything else!
I was going to impress you all with the number of bags I got out of here to charity yesterday, but I see you've mostly done at least the same amount if not more. Well anyway, we dumped 5 solid bags (not trash bags, just large grocery bags) of clothing and textbooks which was very pleasing. It never ceases to amaze me how we can still have so much to keep dejunking when we only have a flat. With an attic or a basement or a garage it would be easy to lose that much stuff, but in a flat?? And I'm pretty good at letting go of stuff so I have no idea how it keeps on accumulating! It's not like we have that many years of stuff!
Anyone who read my spiel over on New You will see that I've been trying to organise and streamline my life with the meal planning. I'm quite proud of being able to do something in that area, which is why you have to read about it on both threads!!
I still have a table full of Christmas stuff hanging around. Reason being that all the normal stuff got put away but this is the stuff we're taking with us and I just haven't a clue how or where to store it. I have to figure out some kind of temporary storage until we need to pack it up properly for shipping otherwise it will still be there in April/May when I really do have to pack it up for shipping!
I have bits of desk peeping through, which isn't bad, but the rest of the room looks like a bomb's hit it. There seems to be stuff all over the damn floor, let alone on every other surface. No wonder my desk gets to be reasonably clear!
I'm starting late today because my SIL went in to work late and spent an hour on here, so I couldn't write my moring pages and I couldn't do very much else either. Hate it when anyone sits in my control chair! Lots to do... though quite a chunk of will be cooking today (meatloaf and soup). Still hunting for the next charity items!!
Kerri.
I rearranged the video room at work today!
I think I need to check my meds. They may have given me something different!
I think I am just tired of the "to do" baggage. It was one of my work things that I wanted to get done in the first 3 months of the year so I just decided "JUST DO IT" for Pete's sake!
Other than that no big plans for the long weekend!
Kerri - how big is a flat? I don't know what I would do without my attic!
Jana
Our flat's big
but it doesn't have huge storage areas for losing treadmills in, and keeping spares of everything. It's about 1700sq ft I think, and don't anyone ask me for sq metres! There's a lot of built-ins, we have large wardrobes too (not the American walk-in variety though!) and a 'store' cupboard which houses all kinds of odd stuff from cleaning stuff to spare food to tennis racquets (haven't used mine since the first few months I was here - it's too hot for that kind of masochism!).
so most of my problem is things like free Company t-shirts that nobody really wants to wear but can't quite bring themselves to get rid of, and the other little bits of flotsam and jetsam, and kiddie paraphernalia. We haven' been able to keep any of the stuff that clutters up the attics and basements of many people, like high chairs and tons of baby clothes. I've kept the blankets they came home from the hospital in (each dated) and a couple of special outfits. The rest has all gone. Got rid of the baby crib as soon as I got chance (my eldest nephew!) and the high chair and play pen all went too. One of my biggest weaknesses is stationery and art stuff - I'm sure I'm not alone in that. I've lost count of the number of different kinds of glue I have but I'm sure it's probably close on a dozen. Not pots of, but different types of!
I'm off to look for some kind of weekly calendar thing I can print out for my countdown to D-Day. If DH resigns in about mid-April, and tells his family about then too that means it's about 13wks from now. Better start with a weekly calendar now while it's still in double digits, because anything less would be scary! You should see how far in advance I packed when we only moved round the corner from my BIL's place 6yrs ago!
Kerri.
I'm *bragging*
Bragging I tell ya...not whining.
I put off going to the city until yesterday, hoping for a break in the weather. As happens in my life, yesterday was the coldest day of the cold snap. I just couldn't go without groceries any longer though. It's beginning to warm up now. Today is going to be -52.6F and tomorrow -43.6F according to the weather office. That's with the windchill of course. Yesterday the wind was just howling across the mall parking lot, crap was that bad. Blessings sent for drive through grocery pickup. Yes I'm boasting...I'm a survivor!!!
I'm hunkering in for the rest of the weekend if I can. DH and I have some painting and odd jobs planned for around the house.
Must make coffee now, have a great weekend all
.
That's pretty cold!
We went from 67 degrees to 8 degrees in less than 24 hours.....can I brag about that?
I'm doing nothing today...my head hurts, my throat hurts, and Aunt Flo is feeling whiney and lazy, so I'm indulging her!
DH is getting ready to paint the ceiling in the front room...I'm getting ready to watch.
Happy Saturday, all!
Blessings,
Lenora
"Well behaved women rarely make history."
~Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
Well, gee, girls......
I'm posting back-to-back....I hate that!
DH did get the ceiling in the front room painted yesterday. Today we bought the wall and trim paint, and the border. We painted the lower half (below the chair rail) this afternoon. I'm hoping to get the upper part edged and the corners done tomorrow before Dh gets home from work. We have a GS event from 10:00-2:00 which means I'll be out of the house from 9:00-3:00 by the time I pick up two of the girls, drop DD9 at my mom's, get to the center and then do it all backwards when we're done.
I do have a chicken carcass boiling on the stove as I type with veges and herbs, so dinner tomorrow just needs some noodles in the soup and some crusty bread...I might hop up and throw the dough together in just a minute. I have a french bread recipe that only takes three hours, and it's just 8:15 pm........it makes two good sized loaves so I'd have enough for garlic bread with pasta on Tuesday, too!
I start classes on Tuesday evening, then have a full day of classes on Wednesday. I can't believe this is my last full semester!!!
I've thrown off my "funk" from yesterday, and I also gave Aunt Flo a stern talking-to (and a dose of midol
)so she's settled down, too. I'm getting up to make bread dough.....
...in my clean kitchen????? I must be nuts! Still, it will be yummy with homemade chicken noodle soup, tomorrow!
Blessings,
Lenora
"Well behaved women rarely make history."
~Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
Flo's here too
which resulted in me sleeping 13hrs (10 without moving!) on Saturday night. Probably just as well since DH was up before 6am this morning and couldn't get back to sleep - he turned on the computer - IN OUR ROOM!
I have not been happy the last few days and DH eventually asked if Flo was expected. You'd think he'd then have more sense than to keep me awake at some ungodly hour on a Monday morning.
Since I'm almost out of t-shirts (I wash mine separately in baby detergent, though I hardly know why since I still have rotten skin. Probably a waste of money and time) I've decided that pretty much any t-shirt still at the bottom of my drawers is there because I wanted to wear it even less than some of the skanky choices I picked out the last couple of days. So I'm ditching them. Except one with a collar which will be fine in the reduced humidity of a British summer (with a fleece over the top!). I bought a new pair of jeans yesterday (it's CNY already and I never pass up a good looking cheap pair of jeans when I'm trying other stuff on) so I'll be checking through some other clothes too. Need to check I'll fit a particular dress for the company dinner at the end of February. Should do. I think I'm just about at my skinniest/least bloated at the moment, in spite of veggie-related 'issues' recently. Or perhaps because of...
And after two weeks of hoping it will improve and taking away favourite soft toys for a whole week, I'm going in... to the kids' room with a flamethrower! I'll report back on that later. I'm going to remove a few of DS' thicker long sleeve shirts from his wardrobe since he doesn't really need them here. Their wardrobe's a nightmare really and those can come out ready for packing up. They'll be really useful in the Autumn, but right now they're as much use as a chocolate fireguard.
More menu planning too... I adjusted some things and went out for chicken wings last night!
But we had the broccoli soup for lunch instead. I'd probably better save this for New You, except that I'm currently eating pineapple tarts for breakfast so I may prefer not to post over there just now! I'm testing them for CNY! 
Have a great week all...
Kerri.
That Flo certainly gets around!
She's here too
Over the weekend I reorganised all my clothes. I didn't manage to get rid of anything, but it is only a few weeks since I did that. There are quite a few things I don't much like, but I don't actually have all that many clothes so I daren't get rid of them until I have replacements! Same goes for undies, I need some new ones but until I have them I can't chuck any out. The prospect of new clothes is very unlikely as I will be paying for Christmas until at least April!
Such is life 
Today I have a few DS-free hours. It's lovely to have the house to myself for a while! I plan a leisurely shower, then lighting a nice scented candle while I listen to some restful music. I have to do my 'desk duty' - menu plans, groery lists, to-do lists, etc but it will be so nice to do it without any interruptions or the tv in the background.
This week I must get my room finished. I have been organising in there in small increments daily but it's not enough - it needs a blitz of a few hours in one go! I might see if I can do that today as rubbish collection is tomorrow! I also had a charity bag through my door today, asking for donations of clothes to raise money for Great Ormond Street Children's hospital, so I'll try and sort out DS' clothes before the collection for that.
Onwards and upwards
Let me say
I'm glad it's the rest of you entertaining pesky Auntie and not me
. Oooooh....I'll pay for that in a few weeks won't I 
.
I'm in the thick of what will turn into weeks of painting. I spent yesterday doing cove moldings and baseboard, archways etc in the diningroom. It's slow going, but at least I have tv to listen to. I was not able to get the baseboard 100% finished yesterday so I'll do that this morning. I'm hoping to get the walls done today as well, and have that room totally done.
I also have laundry on the go, and plan to do some de-junking in the basement for garbage day tomorrow. I'm getting better at letting go of projects I've started but really don't care for and don't want to finish. I've got them hidden away so I didn't have to look at them all the time and feel quilty about them, but as we clean things out those stashes are surfacing
. Out they'll go!!!
I'm finding it exciting, and inspiring to pare things down and keep only what I really, really want. I'm still probably hanging on to too much, but it's a whole lot more managable.
Must get busy now and do some of this painting....later all
.
Did I ever tell you
my brilliant solution for unfinished projects?? I sent them all to Honey!!
Well I knew I wasn't going to finish them and she really can't spare the cash for such trivia, so it made sense. Except for the most evil, complicated piece of cross-stitching nightmare going, which I gave to my mother's next door neighbour - she's been cursing me since last June! I still have one left which I know I can't get rid of and which I know I have to complete - an old-style map of my county for my mother's 50th birthday. She's 60 next year.
I did the kids' room yesterday. It's sparkling now. The advantage of moving all the furniture around is that the kids are so excited to have a totally revamped room that they don't even notice how much crap I've thrown away. Very often they don't even miss most of it.
Today's big plan is to get all the warmer clothes into our main big suitcase. It occurred to me last night but since DH was already snoring I had to wait till this morning to check it with him. He's got a number of trips to do between now and April, but he'll only use his very large upright case for that. The Delsey case has a permanent divider in the middle which makes it a nightmare to live out of. So I can gather together all the fleeces, warm shirts, gloves and other oddments the kids and I have lying aorund all over, then they'll be ready to pack up properly when the time is a little closer. We can't ship those because we'll probably need most of them. I've been back in June before and bought fleeces, so I'm not falling for the old 'Summer' gag again! DH's winter clothes will be in use since he's off to the Ukraine once or twice between now and April. I doubt very much if he'll be travelling much after he's resigned!
That will also help clear a lot of the clutter away from some hidden storage we have behind some cabinets (very sneaky previous owners!) which will make it easier for me to tackle the rest.
DD's teacher has apparently been asking why I can't wash her shoes. I believe my muttered response was unrepeatable, but since DD gets her shoes filthy within a single day I suggested that her teacher either offer to do them herself or put up with it. If there's a problem why don't they switch to black shoes like DS' school did this year, instead of plain white.
GRRRR...
Kerri.
Today's big plan
fell flat on its face when I opened up the case, only to find I'd already stashed a large comforter in there.
I'd already taken all the winter clothes out too, which is a mixed blessing, because at least that means I can't back out, but on the other hand, I now have a bed full of crumpeld dodgy-looking clothes. And that's after I weeded out the charity and dustbin stuff! Even the nicest of clothing doesn't look good when it's been stuffed in a plastic bag for a few years!
On the bright side, I'ved dejunked TONS already today, and am now nursing the beginnings of a headache. I've been tearing up cheques of the credit variety - never use that account, never wanted it, but it came with the credit card we agreed to several years ago! I'm on the 5th cheque book - the first three were old style cheques and the others were the newer ones. Also dejunked some kids' assessment books that had been mostly filled in. A couple of dresses have migrated to my SIL's room for fitting (my comment was, "buy yourself a push-up bra - I've found that black dress!" It's a very slinky black number in the smallest size I've ever had a dress in, but whilst she's now even skinnier than I ever was (even when seriously ill!) she may not have the upper body figure required to do the dress justice. Asian build! The other will be just fine because I bought it from the US in a size 6. She may be a 4 now though! I wouldn't trade even my present figure for hers though. She looks way too boney - but no, she's not anorexic, just a little obsessive!
better go see if I can find a Plan B rucksack to stuff those clothes in. It won't be ideal, but at least they'll all be together for me to wash at a later date. Washing them now would definitely arouse unnecessary suspicion! Decluttering she's used to seeing, but manic extra washing would make her send me for psychiatric evaluation in minutes!
Kerri.
Unfinished projects
So now I have all my unfinished projects AND all of Kerri's unfinished projects
I'm working my way through them. Other people's unfinshed projects are much more interesting than one's own!
I have dejunked some of my unfinished knitting projects, wool I liked but then didn't enjoy working with, that kind of thing. I still really only knit dishcloths! Now that Lynn's teacosy generator pattern is working again I want to make a new teacosy (for the teapot I haven't bought yet - we managed to smash both my teapots before Christmas, so now I am potless!) I also have a lovely scarf pattern that Michele emailed to me ages ago, which I am going to make one of these days. I suppose NOW is the time to make that kind of thing and then stash them for gifts for Christmas........GROAN.
I didn't get to sorting my room properly yesterday, as I spent most of the afternoon and evening feeling weird and giddy, thanks to Aunt Flo. So today's the day.
I have a small crafty thingy I want to finish this morning, then I will attack the bedroom. I have a few DS-free hours again today, so I'll have no interruptions. I think the bedroom being a mess has a lot to do with me not wanting to spend any waking time in there at all. My bedroom is always the place I chuck everything out of the way, it was the same in the last place we lived too. I'm fed up with it.
Morning all
Aside from the fact shipping these unfinished projects would be downright foolish, Honey would just want to throttle me if this junk showed up on her doorstep. It's fun to think of you digging through it though Honey. There'd be a whole lot of "OMG...what am I supposed to do with this?" or "What the heck is *that*?".
Kerri, when do you plan to tell SIL and the rest of them that you're moving? I'm surprised SIL hasn't picked up on it yet. At least that something is going on.
My days plan is to paint again. I did not get the diningroom walls done yesterday, as the trim took longer than I expected. I'm really slow and fussy about painting. DH has been doing some painting in the basement and I just have to stay right away from him. Watching him paint makes me just cringe. He's fast, but.....
When he sees me coming he just glowers at me. He expects I'm coming to find fault. Ahem, I did get 69 on the perfectionist test didn't I. So then, I stay in my corner of the house, where I can't see *how* it's getting done, then go admire the end results which are usually just fine.
What else??? Lots of garbage went out again today. My SIL gave me lots of good little boxes with lids, that stack neatly, so if I get tired of painting I can pack some stuff.
Off I go to paint now, have good one(day that is).
What happened here??
With a flurry of fresh activity on the bords we're almost dropping off the bottom??
I have nothing much to post because I forced myself to sit in front of the television yesterday afternoon to avoid getting caught up in something and doing too much. I clearly did too much on Monday and Tuesday and ended up paying for it by Tuesday night - ouch in so many ways! I'm a bit of a wreck this week and Flo's stay hasn't helped one little bit.
I think until Flo's gone I shall try to avoid further decluttering because it seems to lead to me overdoing it badly. I might walk on from DS' school to the nearby shopping mall, but it's quite a long hot walk back, and if I haveheavy stuff which I will I'll need to get a taxi. It's actually not that far, but I know from experience that I get halfway and want to die, but then it really isn't far enough to get a taxi!
So what's everyone else up to?? I want to get rid of the charity bags I've amassed (and my SIL has one too) but DH is going to be working yet another weekend. It's driving me nutso!
Kerri.
I'm here, I'm busy
Soon Kerri, soon. Auntie will move on and all will be well. I love de-cluttering when I'm in a "state"...
... things really happen then. My RX for dealling with Flo, relax, pills if needed, a good book, nap her away 
. Note I did not add "good munchies", but the fact I even thought that says something I guess 
.
I did check in and read posts yesterday, but decided just to keep busy with what I was doing. If I sit myself down in front of this puter for too long I may as well give up on getting anything accomplished. So a quick peek it was, no post.
I have totally finished in the diningroom. It is real estate ready. I put all the plugs and switches back on yesterday, the hardware back on the window and re-hung the drapes. I gave the drapes a good vacuuming, and they looked fine so did not have to wash them.
Now that the diningroom is empty I can use it to store stuff while I work my way around the house. I started moving things out of the livingroom yesterday, it will be the next painting chore. It will be a big job. It's a large room, with a long hallway and a 2 story entryway. All of it with cove molding...yuk.
I also got my laundry caught up yesterday, did dishes twice, cleaned the bathroom, even made my bed. I'm happy with my efforts this past few days
.
I have to go into the city this aft and pick out hardware for the new house cupboards. I'll also do some looking around for new major appliances, fridge, stove, dishwasher. They'll need to be ordered soon, if not now. Then it's over to the kids to play with the little people while mom & dad go to a movie.
In a minute here I'll jump into the shower and wash my hair so it can be dry and ready to go by this afternoon. The rest of the morning I'll spend doing little livingroom clearing tasks, nothing that will mess myself up.
Onward then
....must have some breakfast and check on the healthy gals thread.
Where in the world
...are my decluttering friends??? I hope you're all either having too much fun to post or are just so productive that you don't want the rest of us to feel bad! Either way....good for you!
I, obviously, am neither of those, so here I am!
We had friends over for dinner last night, and BIL is here for the week-end, too. Anyways, the main floor is clean and even the kitchen is back to normal from "dinner-party aftermath." I was good about getting most of it done last night...I even hand washed my crystal goblets before going to bed!
Today is MIL's birthday so we're going out for lunch/dinner (about 3:00 pm) I've got two assignments to complete for school tomorrow, and quite a bit of reading to wrap up after that.
I'm hoping DH and BIL will do some painting in the front room later...but I bet they end up playing computer games instead.
We got about a foot of snow in the last 24 hours. The sun is shining brightly this morning and everything is sparkly and beautiful! I love sunshine-on-snow!
Well, we slept-in and skipped worship and Sunday School this morning, so I still need a shower.
Have a lovely sunday, friends!
Blessings,
Lenora
"Well behaved women rarely make history."
~Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
I wish we had snow.........
I love snow. We haven't had any at all this year, where I live
I made a big start on decluttering and organising my bedroom last week
There is still more to do, but I am really happy with how much I have done so far.
I am planning to paint my kitchen soon - I am using 'daffodil white', which despite the name looks like cream, not yellow, on my walls (I have painted a few small areas with a matchpot). I am planning to skip grocery shopping this week (I have the makings of plenty of meals in the pantry, just not many goodies, which won't do me any harm
) amd use the money I save to buy the paint! 
We have a busy week this week so I am not sure how much decluttering will get done. It will be enough of a challenge just to maintain the house and keep on top of laundry.
Today I have errands to run, a vast pile of ironing to do, a few essential food items to buy (butter, bread, eggs, milk, COFFEE!!) and a possible trip to the library if I can fit it in.
Onwards and upwards.....
Finally getting some declutte
Finally getting some decluttering of dresser tops done around here. Actually getting clothing hung instead of stacked and that sort of thing.
I'm finding that since we're in the new house there are things I "thought" I wanted to keep that don't mean as much to me all of a sudden. No place for them and now I'm trying to decide whether to pack away and save for the kids for later, or sell. Gobs and gobs of Tiara glassware. Not sure what to do with it all.
So far, the new job has consisted of working a bit from home and doing some running, getting utility deposits paid, repairmen lined up, etc., but even that much has slowed my efforts on the house. I did get some more tape peeled off the baseboards last night and will try to repaint that portion of the baseboard tonight. Its slow going. . .makes me mad to have to do it in a new house, but the concrete stain splattered on the baseboard a bit, even though I thought I had it covered well.
Off to clean the bathrooms. Company (relatives in town) stopping by one day this week, but I don't know which day, so guess that means I'll have to keep it clean all week.
I cleaned something out!
I decluttered the undie drawer. Threw out some undies and some old bras from the nursing days....hello, I think I can buy new ones the next time around. Those made it through 2 kids, I needed to let them go. Straightened it all up and it looks nice and tidy.
All I have to offer. Just maintaining..............
Hope - how's the painting?
Honey - are you getting to bed on time or still reading until the weeeee hours???
Fern - funny what we move and then don't want. Maybe I need to move just to clear things out!
Kerri - Aunt Flo is here so she must have left you alone, any burst of energy?
Lenora - I know you are in the depths of classes this part of the week but hang in there, you are almost done! Won't that be a great feeling. You are wrapping it up and I am just getting started.
Waves to everyone else. I have a 4 yr old that wil not go to sleep. Any chance I could declutter him to the curb? JUST KIDDING!
Goal for tomorrow........just throw one thing out! Something that you have been meaning to do. That you have spent more time thinking about than it would actually take to do the deed.........you know what I am talking about. One thing girls!
Jana
how's about...
yesterday's leftover chili?? I left it in the pan on the stove. My SIL kindly did my washing up and wasn't dumb enough to deal with that for me. I left it, and it's still sitting there. Since I now need that pan for some beans I really can't avoid it any longer. It's been 24hrs already, and you should see the rice leftover from Friday that didn't get decluttered until Monday.
as to the burrst of energy question... umm... no. Burst of lethargy is more like it. More downs this month than I really like, and I have nothing much to blame it on - no Flo, no monsoon season (it's sunny but still breezy!). Ok, so there hasn't been much DH either, and he's leaving for the Ukraine and UK tomorrow night, will be back for CNY and a holiday after with his eldest brother (yippee
) before leaving again for almost a month. Ok, so maybe that situation might speak a little as to why I've been so miserable. My rhinitis is driving me insane, my tastebuds are still AWOL so eating is somewhat dodgy, and I've tried music therapy of all kinds, retail therapy, moving my body regularly, sleeping more, eating the wrong kind of foods (eating the right ones seems to be worse than eating baby mush).
Anybody got any great ideas for getting out of a rut?? I'm thinking of moving furniture again, but I'm all out of alternatives. No wonder I keep moving the stuff in the kids' room so often. I've got charity bags waiting to go when DH is away and I havethe car - I hope that getting rid of clutter that's lying around will help a little, but I think this funk is a little too deep and a little too blue. Heading for indigo even!
At least I'm passing it on though, little by little, to my SIL. I sent her a link today to loads of photos of the county in England that I'm from. Made me miserable, but hopefully she'll be gradually building up a picture so she sees why I need to go back, and what it will mean to the whole family.
Kerri.
Leftover sloppy joe meat.....
all dried up and crusty in the skillet. I actually got it scraped out, though, and the pan now soaking in soapy water.
I can tell after yesterday that Monday's are going to be long, tough days while this nasty weather lasts....after the snow is gone they'll just be long! I have three classes pretty much back-to-back which require me to hike from one end of the central campus to the other...then back. The middle class is Intro to Interior Design which also requires a monster pile of drawing and drafting supplies and a 4inch binder full of handouts which we must have at every class. I'm working on logistics, but I think I'm going to go to campus early, park close the the building where I have ID and get a locker. That will give me time to get a cup of coffee on my way to "China," (a World Civ. requirement.) After my thrid class, I either leave, or have a little longer break before my Monday night class where I can get my ID stuff to the car. The other option is to get myself a rolling crate like many of the instructors use...but that's not entirely convenient given the snow and slush right now
I've got laundry chugging and will go load up the diswasher with the family's mess from dinner last night in just a bit...I'm going to have to address that issue pretty quickly....it will not become a habit.
Kerri....careful with those blues. I'm sure you know that the deeper you get the farther you have to come back. Don't wait too long if you need help. I mean it!
Jana! Yes, it's pretty exciting...when I have time to think about it
At the beginning (Jan 2001) it seemed like it was going to take forever to get my degree....and here it is already on the calendar! Woo Hoo! Getting started is the biggest step in getting finished! Now that you're started...every day takes you closer to finishing, too!
Honey, I wish I could send you some snow. We got another pile of it this week-end (about 12 inches.) Temperatures are holding right around single digits, with the windchill pushing them into the negative numbers...but really, I'll take zero and snow over Hope's -58 degrees, any day!
I need to switch a load of laundry then do some reading. Tonight is "Human Sexuality" class....wonder if I'll learn anything fun???
Blessings,
Lenora
"Well behaved women rarely make history."
~Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
I think
I just need January to go away. I've had a few fabulous days, but my just ordinary days seems to have been replaced with some really rotten days. I'm fairly sure it's not blue enough to need help, but I promise to try and keep my mind open about that. I do crawl out occasionally but everything seems to be conspiring against me staying up for the time being. I'm definitely not indulging it or encouraging it. I even bought "Pollyanna grows up" last Saturday and sat in BK to read it while the kids had classes. Not a lot of help really. I've dug out an L M Alcott book that makes me feel good and I hsve "What Katy Did" lined up for after it. I also intend to burn my Shania Twain CD without the track that keeps getting stuck since that stops me playing it. I tried soothing and I tried depressing so it's time for upbeat! I'm hoping the rhinitis will ease up dramatically once we've been back in the UK a while. The indoor air quality in Singapore is actually worse than what's outside, which is pretty rare for a city!
Today's main job is packing because DH is leaving tonight. Tomorrow's main job will be getting the charity bags out of the house and delcuttering some blood tests before next Monday's appointment, so after that I should feel a bit freer to find the rest of the floor in my bedroom. I also intend to clear up and rearrange my desk again, possibly today in between packing. And I'm thinking of going to the doctor since I still have very little in the way of active tastebuds and less appetite. I'm gonna do a little research first though - anybody got any thoughts?? I'm checking thyroid first since it seems to cover everything!
I also intend to be more realistic about meal planning or a while. A cook with no tastebuds isn't the best person to plan a four ingredient, four stage potato dish, pan-fried chicken and a veg - we ended up eating meatloaf, chips and beans last night!
the potato dish sounds odd but is rather yummy... boiled potato and pasta topped with cheese and then fried onions. It's absolutely addictive thanks to the onions. I guess you could do it with just potatoes or just pasta, but believe me it does work. It's called A Swiss Potato Dish in my astrological cookbook, and it's the only rason that book hasn't gone to the charity bags yet. It went once then I fancied this dish and had to haul it back out. I don't make it very often so I couldn't remember which bit went on top. I really should write it down and release the book.
Kerri.
Hi gals
This is going to be a short post for me, I'm sick. I'll whine the details on the get healthy thread, and just say here that I have a nasty head/chest cold. I can't think, have read all the posts and don't remember any of it.
I have been a busy little bee though despite not feeling well. Painting is coming along slowly, but any progress is good. Today I will paint baseboards and hopefully get started on the stairway railings. At least I can sit on the stairs and paint them.
The new house is a hive of workmen. At last I can see some real headway over there. The outside of the house is pretty much complete except for some brickwork and eavestroughs. They won't pour the garage floor and driveway until spring. Plumbing and wiring are done, except for the finishing(fixtures).
I continue to pack things up here at home. I know I'm going to be in the same position as Fern when I get to unpacking. I'll just have a garage sale at the new place
.
I have to go blow my nose now...and post on the other thread. Later all.
Me too Hope
Actually one of the things going through my head when I consider whether I want to dump stuff is whether I'm going to wonder why I kept it when it finally comes time to unpack it. We'll be in rental for quite a while - possibly a couple of years or more, considering the way housing is in the UK at the moment - and that means that a fair few of our things will stay in storage until we have our own place. Do I really want to be decluttering what's been in storage for years because I can't remember why on earth I wanted to keep it?? And do I want to pay for the cost of shipping al that junk?? That's great for focussing the mind on the job at hand!
I did some research today and found out some interesting things which are clearly affecting how rotten I've felt lately. Since it's medical I'll throw it over on New You - save cluttering up over here.
I should really get the charity bags done since I haven't made it to the hospital for my tests today - tomorrow will do. I felt rough this morning and then I spent the early part of the afternoon helping DH sell some of our shares (he's transitting in Germany on his way to Kiev!) so we can finally pay back a debt to my SIL. She knows I'm instrumental in getting that moving, so hopefully she'll remember that in a few months when she feels more like killing me!
I definitely want to vacuum and wash this afternoon, but I've actually wasted a good chunk of the afternoon already, so I probably won't get much done. You'll see where the motivation comes from if you read the New You thread (that I haven't yet posted on!), but it's still pretty weak motivation.
My desk is almost clear and I'm probably about ready to rearrange it, which will help some. I'm all out of brilliant ideas for rearranging furniture. Our room is big but has very few real walls, thanks to several built-ins, three sets of windows, plus air-con, electricals and the rest of it! Looking at this room it's absolutely fabulous, but it has its limitations, and for somebody like me who moves furniture for kicks it can be a nightmare!
Kerri.
I'm not doing much today if I
I'm not doing much today if I can help it. I painted baseboards yesterday after a night of very little sleep, and wore myself out gooood. I'm going to nap this afternoon away.
If I have any energy when I wake up I'll work at junking out and packing up the office. DH wants to paint in there, and needs to move the monster puter desk which is currently covered with *my* junk. He's been asking nicely and I've kind of ignored him. I'd hate it if he did that to me.
I have to go to a fancy ball
on Sat night. It's "Formal" ! I'd rather be boiled in oil, but DH and his business partner are getting an award so I really have no choice. I dug through my meager selection of dress-up clothes this morning, and came up with something to wear. Nothing could be worse than an event like this in the dead of winter. If you wear your fancy shoes your feet freeze, and the only other option is to wear your boots and take your shoes along(I hate that). So I put together an outfit that would look just great with a dressy pair of black boots.
There then is another problem, I don't have dressy black boots. The only boots I have are the ones a person wears with slacks. Tomorrow I will have to go out and buy a pair of boots....and pantyhose(which I wear about once a year).
I really gotta get out more !
How off topic am I??? Oh well that's my todo list, have a nap and buy boots & panyhose. I think I can handle it
. Later gals.
Friday!
I think I'm really going to like having Thursdays and Fridays with no classes. I'm trying to schedule all my "out-of-the-house" stuff on Thursdays and leave Friday as my at-home day....so far, so good!
I've already tidied up the main floor and swiped the master bath this morning. I'm getting ready to pull out all my sylabi and set my Grand Plan up for the next few months. I have quite a bit of reading to do, and a couple of short writing assignments for next week, too.
I really need for DH to finish painting the front room this week-end. I might even have to resort to nagging and whining...which I rarely do.
I want to move the office stuff back down there so I can get my study habits in order.
I hope all of you who are feeling yucky are getting better! We've been awfully lucky this winter...shhhhh! forget I said that out-loud!
Have a lovely time at your "event" on Saturday, Hope...even if you don't really want to go
You should seriously consider stockings instead of pantyhose to make the evening more "interesting!" 
Have a great day, friends!
Blessings,
Lenora
"Well behaved women rarely make history."
~Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
Monday!
Friday and Monday posts back-to-back....hummmm...is that good or bad? Hopefully good! We had a nice weekend....not much on the schedule, which was really a change!
Today is a long day at school for me, and I actually need to hit an art supply store on my way into town.
I've done one load of laundry this morning and the kitchen counters are clear. My mom is coming up to spend the afternoon with the DDs (until DH gets home) and that is motivation to clean-up if there ever was! I need to sweep the floors; well, I NEED to mop the floors but I only have time to sweep, before I leave, too.
O-kay! I'm off to finish my face, sweep the floor, and get out the door!
Have a great Monday, friends!
Blessings,
Lenora
"Well behaved women rarely make history."
~Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
I'm with you Lenora
Morning all
.
I considered starting a new thread this morning, but tomorrow is going to be Feb 1st so I decided to leave it alone until then.
I had a busy weekend, without really accomplishing much. The ball on Sat really took up most of my day, what with all the primping preparations. Having been a packing/painting woman for so long it took considerable effort to get ball ready. I had to shave my legs *twice*. That's how hairy they'd become. DH thought I should donate the hair to some place that makes wigs for cancer patients
.
Sunday we spent at the new house wiring it for sound. It had to be done by today, as the builders are insulating and starting the drywall today. Most homeowners like to do their own sound wiring.
This morning I'm packing up some stuff in the basement that DH needs out of the way. It's a good day to do that as tomorrow is garbage day. This afternoon I'm painting stairway railings. I also have a load of laundry to go in, but only one. It seems I've been keeping up with that
.
Onward I go...time for some breakfast and a post on the losers thread. I'll ta da a dejunk list later. .
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