I almost forgot to blog my New Year's Resolutions this year. Actually, its taken me a while to decide on some.
1- Send cards. This started out as just sending birthday cards to my nephews for their birthday, but I've already had so much fun with it, I'm trying to find more reasons to send cards. I've sent a few "thank you" cards, a "get well" card and "happy birthday" cards to various people.
2- Pay off the car. This was the first time we went with a 4 year loan instead of 3 years. The lower payments were nice, but I'm a little bummed we're still paying on it. The last payment is scheduled for January 2015, but I hope to pay it off by October. Than we plan to try to put the payment money aside for 9 months and have a good down payment for a new truck.
3- I hate to admit it, but I've put a little bit weight back on. I lost 70 pounds total the first time around, but I've put about 25 of that back on. But I'm not going to whine about it. I'm just going to kick butt and loose it again. Josh and I both joined the gym in December. Its been great having an exercise partner this time around. When one of us wants to be lazy and sleep in, the other one is there to motivate the other one.
4- Eat healthier. When we moved to town, we vowed to not eat out. And we've done very well with that. But now we need to work on eating healthier. We've decided to start everyday with a glowing green smoothie and make sure we have a vegetable with every dinner.
5- Home improvements. First on the list is to plant some sod in the back yard. With all the snow melting it is a muddy mess. I also want to update some of our furniture. I'm still deciding which pieces, but I'm thinking a new dresser, new TV and new TV stand. We don't want to go into debt for any of it, so we'll see how far the cash stretches out over the year.
Showing posts with label New Years Resolutions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Years Resolutions. Show all posts
Saturday, February 15, 2014
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
New Years Resolutions 2013
1. Keep up with the healthier lifestyle. I get all warm and fuzzy when I think how far my eating habits and weight loss have come. I know I am a healthier, and happier, person now. Plus, I take great pride in knowing, I have set this type of goal for the last 2 years and been able to Stick.With.It! Last year, I spent a lot of time comparing "skinny" me to "fat" me. But I guess the fat has been gone long enough, because I don't think in those terms anymore. I KNOW I have the strength and mobility to do just about anything. I no longer have to stop and catch my breath. I LOVE that. I am proof a person can say they want to be healthier on Jan 1st and then 12 months later actually be that way, instead of feeling regret over not sticking to it.
2. Spend more time with family. Truth is, I am pretty greedy of my time with the hubs. Right now, this goal is easy to set because he is home every night. (Usually with dinner already cooked too!) Last year, well, I don't know if we were lazy or anti social, but if feels like we skipped a lot of family dinners, etc. And I know, once summer comes, and he is gone all week, I am going to want to just lock the doors and turn off the phones when he is home on the weekends. So I'm trying to find a way to compromise. I don't think that means Sunday dinner every single week, but maybe once a month we can commit to seeing at least one side of the family.
3. Find a home. We tried this last fall with no success. I don't think we were being overly picky, but maybe we were? I can't decide. I don't feel like we want much. Josh wants land for the horses and I want 2 bathrooms with a nice kitchen. Last summer, we feel in love with one home, but it fell through. Since then, we seem to compare every single home we look at to that one. But on the plus side, I've been able to slowly build our down payment and that is a good feeling.
4. Get ahead on some bills. A few years ago, I paid all our major utility bills ahead by 3 months. Then come Christmas time, I was able to skip paying them while we celebrated Christmas, birthday's and our anniversary. It was such a good feeling. Each year, I swear I will do that, but each year, I fall short. So I'm going to try again this year. It feels like a possibility right now, but I'm sure once we purchase a home, our budget may change. But we will deal with that as it comes. I did pay off our credit card last year and that was a good feeling. We still have it, for in case of emergencies (which we recently used for an after hours vet visit), but it is at a manageable point now.
5. Cook more in the crock pot. Josh and I both love the meals we make in the crock pot. But usually, the crock pot sits on a shelf, forgotten. So this year, we have decided to do more crock pot meals. Each time we plan out a menu, we try to look for a new slow cooker recipe too. I should also add to this goal, remember to use the crock pot liners. I have several boxes, but we never remember them until the meal is cooked and ready to be put away.
Sunday, May 27, 2012
40 Bags: Week 4 (The Man Cave)
I now know why they call it a "man cave." Cause that is exactly how they live in there, like they live in the wild. No sense of order. Thinking of this room filled me with dread. You couldn't step two feet into the room without getting lost in piles of stuff. Thursday night, I was going to just relax. But suddenly decided to start on that room. I didn't keep track of bags this time (I didn't want anything to distract me), just know that I was just as harsh in that room as I was in the rest of the house.
I worked the first night until the garbage was full. Then I took four bags and one box and took them to my Relief Society President. The box was full of fleece and yarn. One bag was full of blankets I had started YEARS ago, but never finished. One bag was full of various fabric, some of which was even cut into quilt squares. The last two bags had 18 pairs of old, holey jeans. I told the lady to turn it all into quilts for humanitarian stuff.
Today I got Josh to help me finish. Since it was mostly his stuff in the room, I had several piles of stuff I didn't dare throw away until he said it was ok. We quickly filled the trashcan. Then he went a step further then I thought he would by going through boxes and organizing even more.
We were both amazed by some of the stuff we found. I found a CD that I bought in high school and didn't even know I still had. Then later I found some other "missing" CD's. Josh found other stuff he thought was lost and stuff he didn't need anymore. We need to deep clean more often.
I did find one gem: a gun contract Josh signed YEARS ago.
Yes, I did hold him to it and it was pure torture since he wanted to buy a gun just a few months after signing it.
I have another pile of stuff to take to the DI or yard sale. I have an aunt that is putting together a yard sale to raise money for Relay for Life. I hope to take some of the stuff to her. I just want to be rid of the stuff, but if it can help a good cause, that is even better.
The thing I am most proud about is after cleaning that room, I decided to haul ALL the totes from the attic down to that room. I hate that attic and now I never have to go up there again. Its a little crowded in that part of the room, but in an organized way. I've walked in that room 3 times now, just to look at it and grin.
Project 40 bags feels near complete. I still need to clean out my closet, but that is mostly shoes since I've gone through my clothes several times as I've lost weight. Then I probably could get rid of some stuff in the kitchen, but I don't expect to find much since I went through it real good last summer.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
40 Bags: Week 3
Obviously when life got put on hold the last two weeks, so did my big cleaning project. It was almost hard to get back into it.
26. FHE kits to Richelle
I did get an early start on Thursday. Earlier in the week, I was talking with a friend at work about ideas for her to do for Family Home Evening that night. I told her she should do the Easter Egg lesson. Then I remember I had made it once and I might still have it. I found it, along with a treasure load of other lessons my mom had made in a group when I was young. I called my mom and asked for permission to give it all away. I think the most exciting part was realizing I now had an empty tote to use! I always need more of those. I put everything in 4 grocery bags, but it seemed the equivalent of one garbage bag.
I spent most of Friday in town and came home in the afternoon, planning a lazy day. But then I realized that we were going to Vernal the next day, and it would be the perfect time to take a load of stuff to the DI. I already had several bags, but decided to make it worth it and fill some more.
Originally, I was going to save the attic for last. Its been almost 2 years since the bats lived up there, but it still scares me to go upstairs. But I figured the attic would have plenty to fill the car for the DI. But to get to the attic, I had to first clean the stairs. Yikes!
Growing up, I hated having stairs because they were always cluttered. But since I never go upstairs, I let the same thing happen to my stairs. The first few steps were cleaning supplies, which have a new home under the kitchen sink. Which sometimes leaks, I think that is why they were on the stairs to begin with, but I'll try my luck.
After that, it was just bag after bag of junk. Old cleaning supplies where there was only like 2 drops in the container. When Josh got home, I made him look at the stairway, he was surprised to see we have stairs.
27. Garbage
28. Garbage
29. Empty juice bottles and egg cartons.
The empty bottles were going to be water storage, but 4 years later, they were still empty. So they went to the trash. The egg cartons I took to my in-laws. They have chickens and always need egg cartons. But now they won't for awhile, I took them 25 eggs cartons, most of which hold 18 eggs instead of a dozen.
Between the stairs and the attic, it took me only an hour to fill the garbage can. Sad thing is, I have a pile upstairs big enough to fill it at least 2 more times.
30. Garbage - old boxes.
31. Garbage - old boxes.
I found boxes to stuff we haven't had in years! Old telephone boxes, old camera boxes, etc. One box was 8 years old from when we bought a rechargeable flashlight. We always thought we had a second charger, but could never find it. I had finally decided it had been lost in a move. Nope, it was in the box, brand new.
32. Picture frames. I think I hauled 2 dozen to the DI.
33. Old Christmas ornaments for the DI.
34. Old Christmas ornaments for the DI.
35. Old Christmas ornaments for the DI.
Sad thing is, I didn't even really go through my Christmas decorations. I think if I went through all the totes, I could fill at least one more bag. A lot of the ornaments were in box, but I managed to clean out 2 more totes! I now have 3 empty totes.
I ended up filling the back of my car and the back seat with stuff for the DI. It feels so good to be rid of all that stuff. I've noticed how I seem to take more care in the rooms I've deeped cleaned to keep them that way. I took some time to scrapbook yesterday, but didn't leave my room until everything else was put away. The same seems to go for the bathrooms.
I've declared the attic nearly done. Life is going to be crazy the next few weeks and I might not have the time to dejunk like this. So if nothing else, I can spend 20 minutes hauling garbage from the attic to the can outside.
26. FHE kits to Richelle
I did get an early start on Thursday. Earlier in the week, I was talking with a friend at work about ideas for her to do for Family Home Evening that night. I told her she should do the Easter Egg lesson. Then I remember I had made it once and I might still have it. I found it, along with a treasure load of other lessons my mom had made in a group when I was young. I called my mom and asked for permission to give it all away. I think the most exciting part was realizing I now had an empty tote to use! I always need more of those. I put everything in 4 grocery bags, but it seemed the equivalent of one garbage bag.
I spent most of Friday in town and came home in the afternoon, planning a lazy day. But then I realized that we were going to Vernal the next day, and it would be the perfect time to take a load of stuff to the DI. I already had several bags, but decided to make it worth it and fill some more.
Originally, I was going to save the attic for last. Its been almost 2 years since the bats lived up there, but it still scares me to go upstairs. But I figured the attic would have plenty to fill the car for the DI. But to get to the attic, I had to first clean the stairs. Yikes!
Growing up, I hated having stairs because they were always cluttered. But since I never go upstairs, I let the same thing happen to my stairs. The first few steps were cleaning supplies, which have a new home under the kitchen sink. Which sometimes leaks, I think that is why they were on the stairs to begin with, but I'll try my luck.
After that, it was just bag after bag of junk. Old cleaning supplies where there was only like 2 drops in the container. When Josh got home, I made him look at the stairway, he was surprised to see we have stairs.
27. Garbage
28. Garbage
29. Empty juice bottles and egg cartons.
The empty bottles were going to be water storage, but 4 years later, they were still empty. So they went to the trash. The egg cartons I took to my in-laws. They have chickens and always need egg cartons. But now they won't for awhile, I took them 25 eggs cartons, most of which hold 18 eggs instead of a dozen.
Between the stairs and the attic, it took me only an hour to fill the garbage can. Sad thing is, I have a pile upstairs big enough to fill it at least 2 more times.
30. Garbage - old boxes.
31. Garbage - old boxes.
I found boxes to stuff we haven't had in years! Old telephone boxes, old camera boxes, etc. One box was 8 years old from when we bought a rechargeable flashlight. We always thought we had a second charger, but could never find it. I had finally decided it had been lost in a move. Nope, it was in the box, brand new.
32. Picture frames. I think I hauled 2 dozen to the DI.
33. Old Christmas ornaments for the DI.
34. Old Christmas ornaments for the DI.
35. Old Christmas ornaments for the DI.
Sad thing is, I didn't even really go through my Christmas decorations. I think if I went through all the totes, I could fill at least one more bag. A lot of the ornaments were in box, but I managed to clean out 2 more totes! I now have 3 empty totes.
I ended up filling the back of my car and the back seat with stuff for the DI. It feels so good to be rid of all that stuff. I've noticed how I seem to take more care in the rooms I've deeped cleaned to keep them that way. I took some time to scrapbook yesterday, but didn't leave my room until everything else was put away. The same seems to go for the bathrooms.
I've declared the attic nearly done. Life is going to be crazy the next few weeks and I might not have the time to dejunk like this. So if nothing else, I can spend 20 minutes hauling garbage from the attic to the can outside.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
40 Bags: Week 2
I didn't get any housework done on Friday, but since its a working weekend for the hubs, I have all weekend to tackle the 40 bags project some more. The garbage can is once again pulled up next to the porch so I can just walk out the door and throw stuff out. My goal today is to fill the garbage can again. And deep clean my craft room. If that room doesn't fill the garbage can, I might move to the basement and work in there for a bit. I love the hubs, but he can be a pig. I forgot to mention last week some of the stuff I found, like empty deodorant containers and empty shaving cream cans. No wonder he always complains he's out. All I check for it the bottles, I don't think to actually shake them to see if they are empty. I see all those bottles and don't think I need to buy him more. I know the garage and basement will be a great way to fill the garbage can because he does the same thing down there. Last night, I think I counted 5 empty bags of dog food. Its moments like that, that help me realize you may marry man, but you also take on a kid at the same time. :p But really, the craft room is in horrid condition, I bet I fill the garbage can just fine. And finally get a good DI pile going.
7. Hallway closet.
The empty shelves in my bathroom cupboards have haunted me. My house has literally no storage or closets. So I've been trying to figure out how to put the empty space in the bathrooms to a positive use. We have one small closet in the hallway. Well, its more like a cupboard I guess cause its just shelves. So I decided to move all of my Scentsy stuff from the hallway into the bathroom. Once again, I learned I'm a hoarder! I have probably 100 Scentsy bars and 6 warmers. But I did have a moment of pride. On Thursday, some one's granddaughter came to work; she was selling Scentsy for a fundraiser. I really wanted to look and see what new scents there was, but decided I already have enough so I didn't buy any. That really is a big deal for me. I'm going and try to stick to that until I've used up all the ones I already have.
I then threw away a lot of stuff from the closet that I haven't even looked at in years. Then I assigned the 6 shelves a new use that I think I'll end up really liking because it helped organize other problem areas. The top shelf is the few games we own and rarely use. The 2nd shelf is still empty, but I'm sure I'll find a good purpose for it. The next shelf down is our Wii games. Our tv sits on a very small entertainment center. It has storage in the bottom for movies and games, but because its so small, we are always scattering movies and games on the floor to see what all we have.
I mentioned getting rid of the bassinet, but not having anywhere to put all of my crochet stuff. They are now in the hallway closet. The fourth shelf is the blankets and burp rags I keep on hand for gifts. The fifth shelf is my grand collection of crochet thread. Apparently at one point, I decided I needed to stock up on brown and green. I have 6 things of brown thread and 4 of the green.
For now the bottom shelf is the few toys I keep on hand for when the nephews come visit. But I know I'm still missing a few toys (in one of the messy rooms I'm sure) and once I find them, I'm not sure if they will all fit.
8. My first bag for DI. It included a few hats, stuffed animals and then 11 bags. The bags are the free ones you get at things like conferences, meetings etc. I kept 3 of my favorites and threw the rest in the DI bag.
9. Craft room junk.
10. Craft room junk.
This bag include old recipes from an idea I had like six years ago and never followed through on. I have tons and tons of Taste of Home magazines. I had the idea to type up the few recipes I had tried and like and then the gazillion recipes I wanted to try someday. Then I was going to turn them into a recipe scrapbook. But thanks to the internet, I can find any recipe online, so I never got past printing all those recipes, in which I used up like 2 reams of paper! It reminded me that one of my resolutions this year is too be less wasteful. So far this year, I've done good with that, but now I am more determined to stick to it.
11. Picture frames.
I have several in my craft room that I have never used. I also think I have a ton more upstairs in the attic. They will either end up at the DI or in the garage sale pile. When I find the room to make a garage sale pile.
12. Craft room junk
13. Card making stuff. I never got into card making like I thought I would. I kept a few things, but I'm going to give the rest to a friend.
14. More craft room junk. Including some old wrapping paper that I know I'll never use.
15. Craft room junk
16. DI bag, including old containers I thought I would reuse some day, but never have.
17. Craft room junk
18. Craft room junk.
I was hoping to have my craft room all put back together by now, but I'm not that close. I still have one corner to tackle and then the closet. But I think most of it will end up at the DI. Turns out the hubs does get to come home tonight, so I think at this point, I better take a break from the craft room and get the front room and kitchen to look decent. Speaking of the kitchen, I think I'll really tackle it next week. I shudder to think of the expired food I'll find in the cupboards.
I decided to not publish this post yet and see how much more I can get done before the weekend ends. Which I'm glad I did, cause I got some more done.
19. DI bag of misc. stuff
20. DI bag of misc. stuff
21. DI bag of misc. stuff
22. Bag of stuff for Heather. I was going to DI it, but then I got looking at the 3 soft blankets and noticed that there was 2 girl colored ones and 1 boy colored one, which is just perfect for her family. Then I threw in 4 Build-A-Bear stuffed animals to finish the bag off.
23. Craft room junk
24. Craft room junk, including all my Scentsy testers and other stuff from when I was a consultant. I know you can use the testers by melting them in the microwave, but I have 87 bars in the bathroom. (Yep, I counted them.)
25. Bag of stuff for Vanessa. While cleaning the bathrooms, I found Josh's old hair cutting kit. Since he doesn't need it anymore, I think its time to pass it on. The I also found a few clothes that don't fit, but will hopefully fit her.
The last two bags of garbage are still in the craft room because my garbage is just over flowing. Right now, the closet is stuffed full of the DI stuff cause I have no where else to put it. I'm not sure when I'll make be able to take my stuff to the DI, but it will probably be a few weeks. By then I hope to have even more stuff so I can take a car full of stuff.
I wish I had been taking before and after pictures. Each room fills like it has undergone a complete transition. I love having my craft room back. But now the trick will be to stay out of it until I finish my big cleaning projects. And really, for now, it will be a great landing zone for the DI and yard sale stuff.
7. Hallway closet.
The empty shelves in my bathroom cupboards have haunted me. My house has literally no storage or closets. So I've been trying to figure out how to put the empty space in the bathrooms to a positive use. We have one small closet in the hallway. Well, its more like a cupboard I guess cause its just shelves. So I decided to move all of my Scentsy stuff from the hallway into the bathroom. Once again, I learned I'm a hoarder! I have probably 100 Scentsy bars and 6 warmers. But I did have a moment of pride. On Thursday, some one's granddaughter came to work; she was selling Scentsy for a fundraiser. I really wanted to look and see what new scents there was, but decided I already have enough so I didn't buy any. That really is a big deal for me. I'm going and try to stick to that until I've used up all the ones I already have.
I then threw away a lot of stuff from the closet that I haven't even looked at in years. Then I assigned the 6 shelves a new use that I think I'll end up really liking because it helped organize other problem areas. The top shelf is the few games we own and rarely use. The 2nd shelf is still empty, but I'm sure I'll find a good purpose for it. The next shelf down is our Wii games. Our tv sits on a very small entertainment center. It has storage in the bottom for movies and games, but because its so small, we are always scattering movies and games on the floor to see what all we have.
I mentioned getting rid of the bassinet, but not having anywhere to put all of my crochet stuff. They are now in the hallway closet. The fourth shelf is the blankets and burp rags I keep on hand for gifts. The fifth shelf is my grand collection of crochet thread. Apparently at one point, I decided I needed to stock up on brown and green. I have 6 things of brown thread and 4 of the green.
For now the bottom shelf is the few toys I keep on hand for when the nephews come visit. But I know I'm still missing a few toys (in one of the messy rooms I'm sure) and once I find them, I'm not sure if they will all fit.
8. My first bag for DI. It included a few hats, stuffed animals and then 11 bags. The bags are the free ones you get at things like conferences, meetings etc. I kept 3 of my favorites and threw the rest in the DI bag.
9. Craft room junk.
10. Craft room junk.
This bag include old recipes from an idea I had like six years ago and never followed through on. I have tons and tons of Taste of Home magazines. I had the idea to type up the few recipes I had tried and like and then the gazillion recipes I wanted to try someday. Then I was going to turn them into a recipe scrapbook. But thanks to the internet, I can find any recipe online, so I never got past printing all those recipes, in which I used up like 2 reams of paper! It reminded me that one of my resolutions this year is too be less wasteful. So far this year, I've done good with that, but now I am more determined to stick to it.
11. Picture frames.
I have several in my craft room that I have never used. I also think I have a ton more upstairs in the attic. They will either end up at the DI or in the garage sale pile. When I find the room to make a garage sale pile.
12. Craft room junk
13. Card making stuff. I never got into card making like I thought I would. I kept a few things, but I'm going to give the rest to a friend.
14. More craft room junk. Including some old wrapping paper that I know I'll never use.
15. Craft room junk
16. DI bag, including old containers I thought I would reuse some day, but never have.
17. Craft room junk
18. Craft room junk.
I was hoping to have my craft room all put back together by now, but I'm not that close. I still have one corner to tackle and then the closet. But I think most of it will end up at the DI. Turns out the hubs does get to come home tonight, so I think at this point, I better take a break from the craft room and get the front room and kitchen to look decent. Speaking of the kitchen, I think I'll really tackle it next week. I shudder to think of the expired food I'll find in the cupboards.
I decided to not publish this post yet and see how much more I can get done before the weekend ends. Which I'm glad I did, cause I got some more done.
19. DI bag of misc. stuff
20. DI bag of misc. stuff
21. DI bag of misc. stuff
22. Bag of stuff for Heather. I was going to DI it, but then I got looking at the 3 soft blankets and noticed that there was 2 girl colored ones and 1 boy colored one, which is just perfect for her family. Then I threw in 4 Build-A-Bear stuffed animals to finish the bag off.
23. Craft room junk
24. Craft room junk, including all my Scentsy testers and other stuff from when I was a consultant. I know you can use the testers by melting them in the microwave, but I have 87 bars in the bathroom. (Yep, I counted them.)
25. Bag of stuff for Vanessa. While cleaning the bathrooms, I found Josh's old hair cutting kit. Since he doesn't need it anymore, I think its time to pass it on. The I also found a few clothes that don't fit, but will hopefully fit her.
The last two bags of garbage are still in the craft room because my garbage is just over flowing. Right now, the closet is stuffed full of the DI stuff cause I have no where else to put it. I'm not sure when I'll make be able to take my stuff to the DI, but it will probably be a few weeks. By then I hope to have even more stuff so I can take a car full of stuff.
I wish I had been taking before and after pictures. Each room fills like it has undergone a complete transition. I love having my craft room back. But now the trick will be to stay out of it until I finish my big cleaning projects. And really, for now, it will be a great landing zone for the DI and yard sale stuff.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
40 Bags
One of my New Year's Resolutions was to dejunk my house. I briefly mentioned hearing about a 40 bags in 40 days project, but decided to give myself a full year instead of 40 days. Turns out this 40 days project takes place in the spring. Some of my swap group buddies decided to do the challenge and invited me to join them. They've got about a 2 week head start on me, but I'm finally starting. I thought I'd keep a list so I could keep track.
1. Bassinet
Ok, so it wasn't in a bag, but its big enough that I'm counting it as one. Also, its been gone for a week now, so now I can not feel like such a slacker. I gave it to a girl I used to babysit. Its so hard to believe she's now old enough to have kids of her own. I've now gotten rid of all the big baby stuff we had. I have some cute blanket sets I need to try and sell and then get rid of some adoption stuff. I'll have to include that as part of this 40 bags project.
2. Bathroom junk
3. Bathroom junk
4. Bathroom junk
5. Bathroom junk (This is when I started to feel like a hoarder.)
Bathroom junk has included lots of shampoo bottles from hotels, half used hair sprays, expired prescriptions, etc. I have a DI bag going, it has 2 hats and a cute bag in it so far. I also have another pile for Heather that included cute hair stuff for her growing family. Everything else has gone in the garbage! Both bathrooms cupboards are about half as full as they used to be, maybe even less then that.
At this point, I had to remind myself a few things. 1) If I haven't used it in a year, its time to get rid of it. This has worked pretty good. I did keep one items, its a gift from a friend and even though I have not used it in the last 5+ years, I just can't make myself get rid of it. 2) I'm grateful for some of the deep cleaning I did last fall, I think it will make this easier. As I've lost weight, I have given away all of my old clothes. Also, when I got all my Pampered Chef stuff, I cleaned out my cupboards and got rid of a lot of old stuff there. I'm not trying to count this stuff in my 40 bags, I'm just glad its that much less stuff to deal with. 3) I need to stay more organized. I spent all morning upset because I couldn't find a paint brush I KNEW I had. I finally used a different one and it worked fine, but while cleaning the bathrooms, I found that same brush I KNEW I had.
6. Several wicker baskets and puzzles that have never been opened.
I threw away the worst ones that were pretty beat. I was picky and kept only my favorites. Now that challenge will be not buying new ones at the DI. When I threw those away, I thought of something else I wanted to throw away, but couldn't find it. Yay for me, I think I threw it out a while ago, after holding on to it for several years. The puzzles, yes, they were in good shape. But 2 of them were white elephant gifts we got at Christmas last year that were clearly from the DI. I figured they already had a chance at the DI. If the previous owner didn't use them and I didn't then its time to just get them out of the junk cycle and save someone else the trouble.
At this point, my garbage can is full and the truck doesn't come until Friday. So I kept my momentum going and scrubbed my bathrooms real good. My housework gets pretty neglected during the winter while we work 5 days a week instead of working four-tens and having Friday's off. But next week we go back to our summer schedule and I have Friday's off again. I'm going to try to hit it hard for the next few Friday's and get rid of my 40 bags.
Next week, I hope to tackle my craft room. Its in the WORST shape it has even been. There isn't even a path anymore. I did tear it up to take half my stuff to the retreat last weekend so that is part of the problem. But the bassinet I got rid of, it wasn't completely useless. I was using it to store crochet thread and other things. Now those things have no where to be stored, at least not neatly. I think I'll try to find a nice shelf or something this week I know I will get rid of a lot of stuff in the craft room. I actually want to go grab a few things I know are in the closet, but like I said, there isn't even a pathway in there, so I guess it will have to wait for next week.
Now when I go to swap group on Tuesday, I can honestly tell them I've started on my 40 bags.
1. Bassinet
Ok, so it wasn't in a bag, but its big enough that I'm counting it as one. Also, its been gone for a week now, so now I can not feel like such a slacker. I gave it to a girl I used to babysit. Its so hard to believe she's now old enough to have kids of her own. I've now gotten rid of all the big baby stuff we had. I have some cute blanket sets I need to try and sell and then get rid of some adoption stuff. I'll have to include that as part of this 40 bags project.
2. Bathroom junk
3. Bathroom junk
4. Bathroom junk
5. Bathroom junk (This is when I started to feel like a hoarder.)
Bathroom junk has included lots of shampoo bottles from hotels, half used hair sprays, expired prescriptions, etc. I have a DI bag going, it has 2 hats and a cute bag in it so far. I also have another pile for Heather that included cute hair stuff for her growing family. Everything else has gone in the garbage! Both bathrooms cupboards are about half as full as they used to be, maybe even less then that.
At this point, I had to remind myself a few things. 1) If I haven't used it in a year, its time to get rid of it. This has worked pretty good. I did keep one items, its a gift from a friend and even though I have not used it in the last 5+ years, I just can't make myself get rid of it. 2) I'm grateful for some of the deep cleaning I did last fall, I think it will make this easier. As I've lost weight, I have given away all of my old clothes. Also, when I got all my Pampered Chef stuff, I cleaned out my cupboards and got rid of a lot of old stuff there. I'm not trying to count this stuff in my 40 bags, I'm just glad its that much less stuff to deal with. 3) I need to stay more organized. I spent all morning upset because I couldn't find a paint brush I KNEW I had. I finally used a different one and it worked fine, but while cleaning the bathrooms, I found that same brush I KNEW I had.
6. Several wicker baskets and puzzles that have never been opened.
I threw away the worst ones that were pretty beat. I was picky and kept only my favorites. Now that challenge will be not buying new ones at the DI. When I threw those away, I thought of something else I wanted to throw away, but couldn't find it. Yay for me, I think I threw it out a while ago, after holding on to it for several years. The puzzles, yes, they were in good shape. But 2 of them were white elephant gifts we got at Christmas last year that were clearly from the DI. I figured they already had a chance at the DI. If the previous owner didn't use them and I didn't then its time to just get them out of the junk cycle and save someone else the trouble.
At this point, my garbage can is full and the truck doesn't come until Friday. So I kept my momentum going and scrubbed my bathrooms real good. My housework gets pretty neglected during the winter while we work 5 days a week instead of working four-tens and having Friday's off. But next week we go back to our summer schedule and I have Friday's off again. I'm going to try to hit it hard for the next few Friday's and get rid of my 40 bags.
Next week, I hope to tackle my craft room. Its in the WORST shape it has even been. There isn't even a path anymore. I did tear it up to take half my stuff to the retreat last weekend so that is part of the problem. But the bassinet I got rid of, it wasn't completely useless. I was using it to store crochet thread and other things. Now those things have no where to be stored, at least not neatly. I think I'll try to find a nice shelf or something this week I know I will get rid of a lot of stuff in the craft room. I actually want to go grab a few things I know are in the closet, but like I said, there isn't even a pathway in there, so I guess it will have to wait for next week.
Now when I go to swap group on Tuesday, I can honestly tell them I've started on my 40 bags.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
2012 Resolutions
It was fun and fulfilling to set my own goals/resolutions in 2011, so I think I'll do it again this year. And just like last year, I've taken my sweet time trying to figure out what they will be.
1. Continue on my weight loss journey. It was a HUGE deal to loose 60 pounds last year, but I still hope to loose a bit more. I still haven't ever set a final goal, I am just going to trust my body to tell me when it is done. So for now, I'll just say, I'd like to loose another 10-30 pounds.
2. Exercise. Yes, I think this does need to be a separate goal. Exercise is what has helped me loose so much weight. I'm sure I could have lost weight just changing my eating habits, but not near as fast. I've also come to terms that I will probably have to exercise the rest of my life just to maintain once I hit my goal weight. I'm hoping at that point, I'll be able to cut back and not have to exercise as much. But still, I know that if I don't want to put the weight back on, exercise is key.
3. Get a handle on our finances. I know I'm overstressed because of all the upcoming things in the next few months, but I think if I had planned ahead better, the stress wouldn't be so bad. In 2010, I was paid ahead on all our bills so I didn't have to worry about them through the winter months when life gets crazy. I didn't do that last year and now I'm wishing I had. It has been so stressful, I even put off my own birthday presents! (But they will be here soon enough.) Then, I just want to spend less and save more. The cruise is just over 3 months away and I still need to pay a little bit more to get it paid off (which I think I'll be able to do in about 2 weeks). Then I just need to turn right around and start saving for excursions and souvenirs.
4. I want to cook more at home. Its so much healthier and cheaper. Well, actually we don't eat out a lot. Our problem is more that come dinner time we have no dinner menu and therefore no groceries. So then we rummage around in the freezer for elk streaks or frozen pizza. Steak is not my favorite thing and even I can get sick of pizza after a while. So I'm going to work harder at planning out weekly menus. Thanks to Pinterest, this is so much easier then it used to be. And when Josh is back to working out of town, I want to be better about cooking for myself and not eat cereal in place of dinner each night.
5. Don't be so wasteful. I am so bad at buying stuff for meals and either over buying what I need, or forgetting what I bought and then it goes to waste. One night we decided to make Pizza Monkey Bread. I was worried I wouldn't have enough pepperoni, but I found 4 packages! (Two of them were opened and half gone, so it was more like 2 new packages and 2 partial used packages.) Another day, I called Josh at home to check for cream cheese in the fridge. I thought I had some, but wasn't sure how old it was. He found two, BOTH were expired, one of which expired in February 2011. I need to find a better way to organize my small kitchen so this doesn't keep happening. I don't want to throw anymore food away. Already we've been working on this. I can't believe how much cheese was in my fridge! We've been working hard to use up what is the fridge before doing any grocery shopping. Next I need to move on to my cupboards and what horrors of waste lay there.
6. I follow a blog that has participated in this 40 day challenge. The first year she got rid of 40 bags of junk in 40 days. The 2nd year she completed 40 craft project in 40 days. So I'm not really sure what the whole idea is, or if this is something she made up on her own, or found on a different blog. But the point is that my house needs dejunked. So I want to try and get rid of 40 bags or boxes of stuff, but I'm giving myself all year to do it. I'm hoping to get in a yard sale this year and that will help me get rid of a lot of stuff. If not, there is always the DI. Or the garbage can.
1. Continue on my weight loss journey. It was a HUGE deal to loose 60 pounds last year, but I still hope to loose a bit more. I still haven't ever set a final goal, I am just going to trust my body to tell me when it is done. So for now, I'll just say, I'd like to loose another 10-30 pounds.
2. Exercise. Yes, I think this does need to be a separate goal. Exercise is what has helped me loose so much weight. I'm sure I could have lost weight just changing my eating habits, but not near as fast. I've also come to terms that I will probably have to exercise the rest of my life just to maintain once I hit my goal weight. I'm hoping at that point, I'll be able to cut back and not have to exercise as much. But still, I know that if I don't want to put the weight back on, exercise is key.
3. Get a handle on our finances. I know I'm overstressed because of all the upcoming things in the next few months, but I think if I had planned ahead better, the stress wouldn't be so bad. In 2010, I was paid ahead on all our bills so I didn't have to worry about them through the winter months when life gets crazy. I didn't do that last year and now I'm wishing I had. It has been so stressful, I even put off my own birthday presents! (But they will be here soon enough.) Then, I just want to spend less and save more. The cruise is just over 3 months away and I still need to pay a little bit more to get it paid off (which I think I'll be able to do in about 2 weeks). Then I just need to turn right around and start saving for excursions and souvenirs.
4. I want to cook more at home. Its so much healthier and cheaper. Well, actually we don't eat out a lot. Our problem is more that come dinner time we have no dinner menu and therefore no groceries. So then we rummage around in the freezer for elk streaks or frozen pizza. Steak is not my favorite thing and even I can get sick of pizza after a while. So I'm going to work harder at planning out weekly menus. Thanks to Pinterest, this is so much easier then it used to be. And when Josh is back to working out of town, I want to be better about cooking for myself and not eat cereal in place of dinner each night.
5. Don't be so wasteful. I am so bad at buying stuff for meals and either over buying what I need, or forgetting what I bought and then it goes to waste. One night we decided to make Pizza Monkey Bread. I was worried I wouldn't have enough pepperoni, but I found 4 packages! (Two of them were opened and half gone, so it was more like 2 new packages and 2 partial used packages.) Another day, I called Josh at home to check for cream cheese in the fridge. I thought I had some, but wasn't sure how old it was. He found two, BOTH were expired, one of which expired in February 2011. I need to find a better way to organize my small kitchen so this doesn't keep happening. I don't want to throw anymore food away. Already we've been working on this. I can't believe how much cheese was in my fridge! We've been working hard to use up what is the fridge before doing any grocery shopping. Next I need to move on to my cupboards and what horrors of waste lay there.
6. I follow a blog that has participated in this 40 day challenge. The first year she got rid of 40 bags of junk in 40 days. The 2nd year she completed 40 craft project in 40 days. So I'm not really sure what the whole idea is, or if this is something she made up on her own, or found on a different blog. But the point is that my house needs dejunked. So I want to try and get rid of 40 bags or boxes of stuff, but I'm giving myself all year to do it. I'm hoping to get in a yard sale this year and that will help me get rid of a lot of stuff. If not, there is always the DI. Or the garbage can.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Quilt Square Scarves
A few weeks ago Jessica and I went to Vernal together. While in Wal-Mart she wanted to look at fabric for a scarf Kim was going to help her make. She invited me too, but I told her no, that involves sewing, and I DO NOT sew.
Then I thought about how much fun they would have. And how one of my New Years Resolutions is to craft more this year. So I went and bought some fabric. Wow, that is expensive, now I was committed.
On Tuesday night, we were able to get together and Kim's house to make our scarves.
My fabric selection. I love the colors!
We started by cutting out 5 inch squares. At first we were going to make scarves that were 9 squares long, but then we decided to do 11 instead. So I cut out 22 squares total.
Then I laid them out in the pattern I wanted.
Then I stacked each side into a pile so as I sewed I could just grab from the top of the pile.
Then came the sewing. Yikes! I can't remember the last time I sewed. It didn't take me long to remember what to do. It also didn't take me long to remember that I don't have the patience to sew. I sewed each side by sewing two squares together with the pretty sides facing each other. Then I would sew on the next square.
After both strips were sewed, I ironed the seams flat. I ironed them open, but now I'm wondering if I should have just ironed them to one side.
Then I went back to the sewing machine and sewed both strips together with the pretty sides each facing outward. I started by carefully sewing a short end, with the trim. (That took a few attempts.) Then I went up one big side. Then sewed the other small end with a trim. Then back down the last end.
After that I cut the long ends in small strips up to the seam so they would get the frayed look.
I survived sewing!
(Top to Bottom) Kim's, mine, and Jessica's scarves.
When I got home that night, I hurry and threw it in the washer and then the dryer so it would get the frayed look. But when I pulled it out, one of the ends had come unsewn where I had tried to sew in the trim. Argh! That is why I don't sew!
I hurry and dug out my old machine that was covered in literally 14 years of dust. Luck was with me and it was still threaded after all of these years. Heaven help me if I ever run out of thread.
Hello World
"Well, hello world, how you been?
Good to see you, my old friend
Sometimes I feel as cold as steel
And broken like I'm never going to heal
I see a light, a little grace, a little faith unfurl
Well, hello world"
One of my New Years Resolutions is to try to find more joy in everyday life. Infertility has held me prisoner for too long. I became so caught up in my infertility that I lost everything else about me. Now I slowly feel like I am rediscovering myself. I can't be a mom, but I can still be other things.
I am a wife.
I am an aunt.
I am a mom to too many cats.
I am a friend.
I am a crafter.
I am a somewhat good cook.
I am a wanna be amateur photographer.
I am a over zealous blogger.
I am someone who enjoys good company.
I am someone who enjoys reading.
I am someone who enjoys girls nights.
I am someone who loves learning new things.
I am a child of God.
I think I still have a ways to go before I feel complete and content with the life I have, but I'm enjoying my journey as I look for other ways to enjoy life.
Traffic crawls, cell phone calls
Top video screams at me through my tinted windows I see
A little girl, rust red minivan
She's got chocolate on her face, got little hands
And she waves at me, yeah, she smiles at me
Well, hello world, how you been?
Good to see you, my old friend
Sometimes I feel as cold as steel
Broken like I'm never going to heal
I see a light, a little hole, and a little girl
Well hello world
Every day I drive by a little white church
Its got these little white crosses like angels in the yard
Maybe I should stop in and say a prayer
Maybe talk to God like he is there
Oh, I know He's there, yeah, I know He's there
Well, hello world, how you been?
Good to see you, my old friend
Sometimes I feel as cold as steel
And broken like I'm never going to heal
I see a light, a little grace, a little faith unfurl
Well, hello world
Sometimes I forget what livings for and I hear my life
through my front door
And I'll be there, oh, I'm home again
I see my wife, little boy, little girl
Hello world, hello world
All the empty disappears, I remember why I'm here
Just surrender and believe, I fall down on my knees
Oh, hello world, hello world
Hello world
(Lady Antebellum "Hello world" lyrics found on http://www.songlyrics.com/)
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Artful Delight January Sketch
One of my big goals this year is to craft more, especially cards. I'm a little nervous about making cards so I have found some new blogs to follow. One blog is Artful Delight. I'm still browsing through the website, but it looks like she does a challenge each month. She posts a sketch (blue print) and then you you it to make something be it a scrapbook page or a card. I thought this sketch looked pretty simple, so I thought I would give it a try.
I needed another thank you card, for a friend, so I thought I'd make one using the sketch. I used Close to My Heart paper, some ribbon and then a flower. I used liquid glass to glue on the accessories, I hope it works. I think it turned out pretty good for my first attempt. I'm little worried it will fall apart when I mail it, so friend who is going to get it, if it looks funny when you get it, this is what it was supposed to look like. If it falls apart, look at my picture and know that I love you.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Thank You Card
I was feeling crafty tonight, so while Josh showered I hurried and whipped this Thank You card together. I used my favorite Close to My Heart paper pack, Sarsaparilla. Its pretty simple, but I think as a beginner card maker, its pretty good. I left it blank inside and penned in my own message, but when I said I LOVE my car, I stamped the word LOVE with a few hearts around it. I'm going to send it to the dealership tomorrow to thank them for my new car.
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