Only one more week...

I only have a week left before the fundraising party. I'm no where NEAR ready for it, either! There is still just so much left that needs to be done by Thursday night. This fundraiser is for my daughter. She is trying to raise money to go to the International Key Club Convention in Dallas, Texas this summer. She has to raise $1800.00 to go. So far she has $123.00. Still has a long way to go.

Anyway, she has been invited to give a speech at the sponsoring Kiwanis Lunch on the same day as the party. That happens at 12pm and then the party is at 6:30pm. So I really want to have everything done and ready to go by the time I leave here for the Lunch. I'm hoping that maybe some of the members may have some ideas on how to help her raise some of this money that she needs. So far she is just selling the jewelry. She has tried to sell some AVON as a fundraiser, but that isn't going very well. She may do some Tupperware later, but I have to get with the lady to get the books for that still.

My kitchen is just about done (again!). I need to wipe down the counters and appliances, clean the windows and ceiling fan, and do the floor. But the dishes are done and the cobwebs have been removed. The living room only needs to be tidied and vacuumed, and a quick dusting. The bathroom still needs to be completely cleaned, as do the girls' bedrooms. There will be several kids here, so I want the girls to be able to have the others in their rooms without embarrassment! LOL I would like for DH to mow the yard before the party, but the lawnmower needs some maintenance before he can do that, so I doubt that is going to happen. He is the world's WORST procrasstinator! LOL

Well, time to get back to work on the house! The clock is ticking!

The Weekend...

After having my kitchen almost completely done on Friday, I have to start all over again today. Something about the weekends just mess my whole routine up! LOL Of course, not everything got done last week because of some issues that happened to throw me off track...but this is a new week, and I plan on making the most of it.

It is WHB (Weekly Home Blessing) day for FlyBabies. It is the day that we spend 1 hour to get all the little things out of the way that we tend to overlook. Things like changing the sheets on the beds, dusting, culling old magazines, shining mirrors and doors, sweeping, mopping, and vacuuming. This is not the time to do all the heavy detail cleaning. We spend only 10 minutes on each task and "catch the middles" so to speak. And we do this throughout the entire house. The detailed stuff gets done when we are in each zone.

I'm getting a bit of a late start this morning. But I am dressed to shoes, and ready to get started now. See ya on the flip side!

Lack of Motivation...

I have been suffering from a severe lack of motivation lately. I can't seem to get up the energy to get anything done. Because of this, the kitchen has gone right back to where I started from. And I don't like it!

Now I HAVE to get this stuff done! I am hosting a fundrasier party in my home on the 27th. That means that my home needs to be looking REALLY good by then. And once it's looking really good, I have to KEEP it that way. So I'm going to list here, all the things that I need to get done. Maybe that will help to motivate and inspire me. I'm going to list things by room, and I will work in one room each day. Hopefully I can complete each room in a day. Shouldn't be too difficult, right? Don't forget that I'm a SHE that is addicted to my computer! LOL

KITCHEN

• dishes
• counters
• cabinets
• stove top
• stove front
• dishwasher front
• fridge front
• top of fridge
• windows
• table
• bar
• trash
• hoosier cabinet
• floor
• fan

LIVING ROOM

• fan
• blinds
• windows
• bookshelves
• air hockey table
• computer desk
• lamp table
• mantle
• fish tank
• dust
• trash
• clothes/toys/books
• movies
• vacuum
• storage things to basement

KIDS BATHROOM/LAUNDRY ROOM

• windows
• clothes/laundry
• trash
• tub/toilet/sink
• mirror
• tops of washer & dryer
• fronts of washer & dryer
• floors
• shelves in laundry

HALLWAYS

• clothes/toys/books
• top of dresser
• Goodwill things hauled off
• ladder to basement
• pictures
• floors
• trash

MASTER BATHROOM

• tub/toilet/sink
• counter top
• mirror
• shelf
• windows
• walls
• floor
• trash

GIRLS' BEDROOM

• bed
• dresser
• clothes
• toys
• trash
• closet
• toy box
• floor

OLDEST'S BEDROOM

• clothes
• toys
• books
• desk
• bookshelf
• dresser
• closet
• hutch
• bed
• floor
• trash

MASTER BEDROOM

• bed
• under bed
• dresser (mine)
• dresser (DH's)
• top of my guncabinet
• top of DH's gun cabinet
• my closet
• DH's closet
• my nightstand
• DH's nightstand
• bookshelf
• clothes
• books
• trash
• Goodwill items hauled off
• windows
• blinds
• fan
• floor

Well, that's eery room in my house. Only 3 of them should take more than one day to complete, and that's my room, the oldest's room, and maybe the kitchen. If I work steady each day, I should be able to get them done fairly quickly though. Some of the rooms should take less than one day to do, in which case I may be able to get more than one done in a day. I am going to try to get on here each day to update on what I've managed to get done. I have 23 days! LOL

Menu Week of 3/1/09

Monday: Pizza

Tuesday: (DH @ work) Hot Dogs, Mac & Cheese

Wednesday: Spaghetti

Thursday: Baked Spaghetti (made form the leftovers)

Friday: (DH @ work) Breakfast

Saturday: Fish & Fries

Sunday: Roast Beef Hashitos

Sorry...

I didn't realize that I hadn't written since Sunday! And even then, all I did was post my menu for this week! LOL It was a busy day.

Monday: I wasn't feeling very well at all. I laid in bed or on the couch most of the day. I had a bad headache, and just couldn't get motivated for anything.

Tuesday: WOW! What a day! LOL The septic people came out and worked on my field lines. They got here at 9:30 in the morning, ad finally got done around 5 or 5:30 that evening. My backyard is now one big pile of dirt! Well, not PILES...they did even it out, so it won't look to bad once the grass comes back. But I spent most of the day outside, watching the progress of hte wrkers. That is, when I wasn't running to town for this and that.

Today: I called the insurance company yesterday to send out the Service Master folks to clean up the basement again, now that the lines were fixed. Sevice Master called me back today and said they would be here this morning. The guy didn't show up till noon! He didn't realize that it would take so long to get here from where he started from. Anyway, he couldn't do what needed to be done and would up leaving without cleaning the basement. I don't know if they will be back today or not. I'm still waiting to hear back on that. And here I already called DH to tell him that the basement would be ready for him to get in there when he got home from work in the morning! YIKES!!! Maybe I should call him and tell him there has been a change in plans...

Menu for the Week...

Monday 2/23- Spaghetti

Tuesday 2/24- Leftover Spaghetti

Wednesday 2/25- (DH @ Work) Breakfast for Dinner-Pancakes

Thursday 2/26- Country Fried Steak, Mashed Potatoes & Gravy

Friday 2/27- My DD9 wants to cook dinner for me and she has picked something called "Chicken in Rice Nest". DD7 wants to make me cookies called "Chocolate-Coconut-Toffee Delights".

Saturday 2/28- My Birthday. Hopefully DH will take me out to eat! He's supposed to work, but may not! But just in case...Hot Dogs, Mac & Cheese (I don't want to cook! LOL)

Sunday 3/1- Blackeyed Peas and Cornbread

Super Fling Boogie...

For those of you that are not familiar with this term, it is a FLYism, from the FlyLady herself. Each year FlyBabies around the world dig into their deepest clutter spots and FLING their unwanted STUFF. When we are done, we go to www.flylady.net to post how many pounds we have taken out of our homes. I have not had the honor of participating this year, but have in the past. And boy is it FUN! Not to mention, liberating!

Anyway, FlyLady sent out an email yesterday that got me to thinking. She says that in June 2002, there was a membership of around 80,000. Those 80,000 members decluttered over 3MILLION POUNDS out of their homes and lives...in only 2 weeks. What an amazing feat! I am proud to say that I was one of them!

This year's Super Fling Boogie has lasted 4 weeks, and there are now around 518,000 FlyBabies. In the past 4 weeks, only 639,000 pounds have been posted to the meter. She sounded so discouraged by this. But, I don't think she should be! The reason I haven't participated this year? I don't have any visible clutter left! Until I started writting this, I didn't "see" the clutter that still needs to be dealt with. As soon as things become unuseful/unloved/broken, I go ahead and fling it! I no longer stick it in a closet, thinking that I will use it later, or that I can fix it. The fact that the clutter meter doesn't go up as much as in the past is a testament to FlyLady and her teachings! I have NO VISIBLE CLUTTER!

I know there are still a few spots in my house that need to be gone through (all closet/storage areas). And I'm sure I will get to them eventually. Right now I am trying to focus on the visible aspects of my home. What people see when they walk in the door. And I have to tell ya...things are looking pretty darn good! I happen to have a LOT of storage space in this house, and more closets than any woman has a right to (LOL), and a few of them are full of things that have been there since we moved in. Some of these spaces contain totes that I just threw the contents of drawers, etc. in when we were moving, thinking to myself that I would go through it at the new house. We've now been in the "new" house for 2 years. And I haven't thought much about these things because I haven't needed them. And the fact that I haven't decluttered this stuff is only because I don't think about needing to, because I no longer have to hunt for storage space for the junk I used to store. I am sure that there are many FlyBabies out there that have this same problem.

Marla, it's not that we don't concider decluttering a priority anymore. It's the fact that you have gotten us to a place in our lives/homes that we don't think about the older stuff that has been stored. They are in closets and storage areas that we no longer NEED, so we don't go in them anymore to realize that they need decluttering too!

So FlyBabies, we have been challenged by the Decluttering Queen herself! She wants us to find, declutter, and post 10 pounds each today. Find a storage area that you have "forgotten" about and work on decluttering it!

My home is no where near perfect. I don't WANT it to be. But it has become so much more manageable! Writting this has given me the motivation to start working on at least ONE of my extra closets/storage areas each week until I can honestly say I HAVE NO CLUTTER TO FLING! LOL

Miscommunication...

Due to a little miscommunication, the people that are supposed to fix my septic lines will not be here until Wednesday! This upsets me on 2 fronts...

1) I am convinced that the reason behind my general illness lately is due to the fact that I have sewage backed up into my basement. UGH! The smell!

2) I allowed certain thing to go in order to try to let the ground dry out before they came to fix it. So now I'm going to spend today catching up on laundry and dishes that have gone undone since Wednesday night.

I have a few loads of laundry that need to be done, not very much, but enough to have to spend the day doing it. And there are enough dishes that it will take me at least 30 minutes to catch them up. And I need to get them done in order to get tonight's dinner started in the crockpot.

I also didn't get very much done in the bathrooms this past week. I really meant to, but between feeling sick and trying to use as little water as possible, it just didn't happen. The basics got done, such as picking things up and throwing things away. But I didn't get any DEEP cleaning done like I wanted to. That's okay, though. I'll catch it next month when we hit that zone again!

Well, DH is up now, so he will want to get on the computer! LOL More later!

Sick...

I've been "sick" for a few days. I say it that way, because of lack of a better word. I just haven't been feeling right. General body pains, fatigue, tummy upset, that sort of thing. So I haven't been doing much the last couple of days.

I have people coming to fix my septic lines today. It should have been done 2 weeks ago, but the bank wanted to give us a bad time about cashing the homeowner's insurance check that we got so that we COULD fix it. We had to wait 10 days for it to clear. So today is day 10, and they are going to cough up my money! LOL

Hopefully I'll be feeling better in a few days.

Crazy Storms...

Yesterday afternoon we were under tornado warnings/watches for about 5 hours. Both storm systems went right over my head. As far as I know, there were no tornados in my area. They *think* a funnel cloud was spotted to the south of us, but last I heard, it was still unconfirmed.

As soon as I heard the warnings, I filled up the tub so that we could flush the toilet if we lost power (we're on a well). DH started a fire in the fireplace, the 2 younger girls toted in as much firewood as they could, and I got dinner going. It was just leftovers, but I needed the power to reheat them, and didn't want to wait till our normal dinnertime, in case we lost power before then. So we were eating dinner when the first storm hit.

The first wave contained pea to marble sized hail. There was some that got as big as a quarter, but not much. That was probably the scarrier of the 2 systems that passed over us though, because it was still light enough to be able to see what was going on.

The second storm brought my neighbors up. They live in a mobile home, and didn't want to be in it in the storm. I live in a brick home with a full basement! This one is the one that gave us the softball sized hail for about 15 minutes. We never even took cover. LOL We stayed in the living room, chatting with the neighbor and her 4 kids. Trying to make it seem as normal as possible for the kids. We had the computer on, showing www.weather.com as well as www.11alive.com so that we could keep track of what the storm was doing. Got a few good laughs at folks we went to school with being interviewed on the news about the storm.

We have no damage at my place...not even from the hail. Although the yard looked like Noah would have been right at home! LOL Anyone want to come swim in my yard??? There's plenty of room! Hopefully most of it will either run off, saok in, or dry out today. The septic folks are supposed to come tomorrow to fix the field lines.

Today brings us a beautiful, cloud free morning. It's a little chilly, but not unbearable. I think it may be the perfect day to go out and plant my potatoes...

The Garden...

YEAH!!! DH finally got done getting the garden ready for me! That means I can start planting the things that need to go in the ground now. I will be putting English Peas in on the 25th & 26th of this month (going by the Farmer's Almanac) and will get my Carrots & Potatoes in the ground on March 12th-16th.



I'm going to be trying to plant potatoes in old tires. Sounds wierd, I know, but from what I hear, it's a great way to do them! You start out with one old tire. Fill it with your planting medium, and plant your seed potato. Once the plant has grown to about 12-18 inches above the soil, flip another tire on top of the first and fill with mulch. o this till you have 4 tires on top. Once the plant flowers, you should have some pretty decent "new" potatoes. If you want them to grow bigger, just leave them in longer. When you are ready to harvest, you just flip all the tires off. By using mulch instead of soil for the upper 3 tires, most of the potatoes will be clean of dirt. From what I hear, you can get about 30# of potatoes with just ONE of these setups! I can't wait to try it! I already have 2 old tires, and the guy I got them from told me to come back and get as many as I'd like.



Other things that will be going in this year are corn, squash, cukes, sunflowers, pumpkin, green beans, blackeyed peas, sweet potatoes, and of course my tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants that are already started in the house.

I'm really looking forward to this year's gardening season!

It's A Good Thing...

I'm glad that I managed to at least do a little work in MY bathroom today, because I won't get a chance to work in the other bathroom or the girls' bedroom today!

I went to order (and prepay) for a new gasket seal for my fridge. While I was waiting for one fella to look it up, I got to talking to another one. He asked me some questions and according to my answers, my biggest problem isn't my gasket. He said it sounded like it might be either my fan (which I happen to know is working), or the heating element inside the back of the freezer (it takes care of the automatic defroster on frost free models) is froze up.

So my work in the kitchen isn't done by a long shot. He told me how to check several things, and depending on what I find when I follow his directions, I may wind up with a new fridge. Not that we can afford one at the moment, but I'd rather know that I need a new one than to throw money at an old one that isn't going to do any good. I may just go out and find a decent used one if I can.

This wonderful young guy also gave me a tip on how to plug the hole that was melted into the bottom of my dishwasher. I will look at taking care of THAT issue as soon as we have the septic system straightened out. DH doesn't want to worry about it until then, anyway. But at least I have an idea of what wil work to make it not leak anymore. Then I can use it for it's intended purpose, instaed of an extra large dish drainer! LOL

Well, I'm off to transfer all my cold items to the fridge in the basement.

ZONE 3...

The Bathroom and One Other Room

I have 2 bathrooms. One belongs to the kids, and one to DH and I. Currently, the kids are having to take baths/showers in my bathroom because the faucet was broken off in their tub when the 2 little ones were playing aorund one night. Maybe I need to put that on my "Anti-Procrastination" list for this week. I'll have to see if I have the supplies to fix it, and if not, find out how much I'll need to get it fixed. Shouldn't be too hard of a fix though. Anyway, instead of grouping my bathroom with the Master Bedroom next week, I'm going to take care of it this week. But my "other" room is going to be the bedroom shared by my 2 younger girls.

Already this morning I have tidied up in my bathroom. It's probably the easiest one to keep picked up, but I always forget to get the trash for some reason! LOL So the trash got taken out this morning. I picked up the dirty clothes that DH can't seem to put in the hamper, and picked up wet towels out of the floor. I also put away spare thing that got left on the counter. I'm going to tidy up in the kids' bathroom today, and try to get something done in the girls' bedroom.

I would like to finish up the touch up painting that needs to be done in my bathroom and start painting in the kids' bathroom this week. I don't know if I will actually get that far, but it's a thought to keep me focused and going. I think I'm going to change the shower curtain out of their bathroom and put it in mine. As long as it isn't getting used in theirs, I may as well put it in a room that I'm in all the time! LOL It has lighthouses on it, which I collect.

Well, time to take another stab at it!

A Suprise Visitor...

I am so proud of myself!

When DD15's friend dropped her off at home last night, the friend's dad came in to talk to me. Now, in the past, this would have been the most embarrassing situation for me! But as I looked around, I realized there was nothing for me to be embarrassed about. There were a couple of things laying around the living room from the younger 2 girls playing, but it was tidy for the most part. The kitchen was clean, except for the floor and the dishes that were used to cook dinner. We had just sat down to eat when they got here, so a pan needing washed wasn't a big issue for me. He could see that we were eating, so I wasn't worried about the kitchen.

DH remarked about it later when we went to bed. He said something about being so proud that I had been working so hard to get the house cleaned up, and how he wasn't as stressed about someone coming into the house anymore.

Makes me feel pretty good that he's noticing!

Sunday Morning...

Why is it that the ONE day of the week that I have absolutely no reason to get up early, I'm up before the alarm would have gone off?

Here I am, not needing to be up before 8am, and my eyes popped open at 6:15. I tried to just lay there and enjoy being in bed, not having to get up. I couldn't do it. I had to get up. Now I'm regretting it. I'm SURE that if I had REALLY tried, I could have gone back to sleep. But had I done that, I wouldn't already have a load of laundry going. I wouldn't already have the living room picked up from where the girls drug blankets and such out to watch TV at 6 this morning.

I still need to get out the crockpot and get it fixed up with dinner for tonight, but it's still a little early for that. I'll take care of that around 8.

I'm thinking that since I got up so early, I just might make a big breakfast for everyone. Baccon and eggs and biscuits and sausage gravy. Sounds SO good! LOL And I don't often make a big breakfast like that. The kids and DH might enjoy it. And I don't mind doing it as long as I can get the kitchen cleaned up afterwards! LOL I don't want to come home from church to a messy kitchen to clean up.

The Grocery Store...

Well, I did my grocery shopping this afternoon. For a family of 5, for an entire week, including toiletries and stuff for DH to take to the firestation (things I wouldn't normally by for the house), I spent $165.00. No coupons. And that was also getting an "extra" meal that I didn't have on the menu. They had salmon on sale for a really good price, and we haven't had it in a good long while, so I bought some...$5 extra, big deal. LOL

I got my potatoes on sale. Actually they were marked WAY down. A 10# bag for $1.99, just because a couple of them had those itty bitty sprouts starting. I also got the gallon of milk for $1.50 because it's getting close to the sell by date. I really should have gotten more and froze it. All you have to do is open the jug, pour a little out and put the lid back on, stick it in the freezer. I usually pour the extra into a quart size mason jar, put a lid on it and use it first from the fridge. Or I'll send the excess to the firestation for the guys to use in their coffee or whatever.

DD15 is spending the night with a friend. DD9 is washing dishes (she actually volunteered for the job!). DD7 is watching a movie on TV. DH is playing a video game in the bedroom. A fairly quiet night. I don't seem to get very many of those anymore. No special plans for Valentine's Day. At least DH got a home cooked meal from me! LOL

I'm hoping to be able to call it an early night. I'm really tired and not feeling good. So I can't wait for 8 pm to roll around so that the kids can get in bed.

Weekends...

Usually I make out my menu and grocery list on Saturday so that I can go shopping after church on Sunday. This time I'm having to go to the store on Saturday. Which is fine with me. I won't feel quite so drained/rushed tomorrow. So here is my menu for the week. I usually try to shop for Sunday, even though I go to the store that day. This way I can have something in the crockpot before we leave for church and I don't have to worry about it. Works out great because then I don't have to rush home from the store and start dinner. It's already done for me.

Saturday 2/14: Hamburgers, Baked Beans, & Homemade Fries

Sunday 2/15: Blackeyed Peas & Cornbread

Monday 2/16: Hot Dogs & Chips (DH will be at work this day)

Tuesday 2/17: Spaghetti & Garlic Biscuits

Wednesday 2/18: Leftover Spaghetti & Garlic Bread

Thursday 2/19: Soup & Grilled Cheese Sandwiches (DH will be at work this day)

Friday 2/20: Cowboy Casserole & Cornbread

Saturday 2/21: Pizza

Sunday 2/22: Breakfast for Supper (DH will be at work this day)

I am going to start posting what my menus are each week so that I can detect a pattern, if any. I know we have certain things on a regular basis, namely the spaghetti or blackeyed peas. The spaghetti I do differently sometimes, just to mix things up. I'll use a different type of noodle each time, just so it doesn't get boring. Then at the end of the month when I have a bunch of odds and ends of different noodles, I'll mix them all together. The kids REALLY like the spaghetti this way for some reason! LOL I guess because it is so different from the norm.

I never did get the stovetop or floors done yesterday. Maybe I can get them tomorrow, since I won't have to go to the grocery store. I'm hoping that my MIL will take the kids for a while after church to give me some time to get it done. It will probably depend on if DH has anything planned, though. I know that I need to clean out the fridge before I go shopping, so I will get to that as soon as I get off here.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Tomatoes!

I put in a BUNCH of tomatoes to start for the garden this year. I expected maybe half of them to actually come up. Well, of the 72 Roma type that I planted, I have 69 of them sprouting! I only put them in on Monday, 2/9, and the packet said 7-10 days to germinate. Here it is, only 4 days later and nearly all of them have come up!

Still no sign of germination from the Big Boy tomatoes, or the bell peppers & eggplants. There is still plenty of time for them though. I'm not worried yet!

Dirt Roads...

We live on a dirt road out in the middle of nowhere. Usually it is very peaceful and quiet. No one comes down this road (usually) that either doesn't live here or is visiting a friend out here. Very little traffic.

There are 2 very bad curves on our dirt road. 90 degree turns that are banked and they are both on hills. I've always thought that there would be some horriffic accident in one of those curves one of these days, because you also can't see oncoming cars around them and the road is very narrow. In between these 2 bad curves is a blind hill. A small hill, but it's steep enough that you can't see if someone is coming from the other direction unless it's dark and then you can see the headlights.

Anyway, I left the house early this morning to take DH to work. He's a firefighter and had to be at the station by 7 am. It was still fairly dark as we topped the blind hill I just mentioned. We see a glint of chrome. DH slides sideways to a stop and jumps out of the truck with me right behind him. It's a truck over turned on it's back, and it looks pretty messed up. We check the truck out and find that there is no one in it, that it must have happened several hours ago (exhaust and such was cold), and several empty and broken beer bottles. Neither one of us had our cell phones on us, and there were no victims in the area, so we went on to the firestation so that he could call it in to dispatch.

On my way back to the house, I see one of my neighbors pulling up to the accident. So I stop to let him know that it's already been called in. We looked around a little and you can see where the truck had been back in the woods (where they were drinking most likely). The tire tracks make it look like they pulled out really fast and came over the hill, only to meet another car. The truck swerved out of the way, hit the ditch and then the bank, came across the road and hit the opposite bank. At some point it spun around and flipped, because the nose was pointed back the way it had come and it's laying on it's roof.

Whoever it was that was driving must have realized that they were in for a DUI, because they took off. They were lucky to have been able to walk away from it. It was that bad. I just wonder how long it's going to take them to find out who was actually driving it. Won't be hard to trace the owner...just run the tag. The driver will be a different story.

Well, time for me to get back to work on the house. Needless to say, I didn't manage to get the floors done before the kids got up. They were up before I left to take DH to work! LOL Figures that they would get up early on a day that they don't have to go to school! They are outside right now, watching the lights on their dad's firetruck that they can see through the trees. They are waiting for their dad to drive by and blow the air horn at them! I'm waiting to see if he'll stop for a minute and tell me what the state trooper thinks of the accident!

______________________________________________________________

They just went by. DH didn't stop because the trooper was right behind him. The wrecker truck came just a minute after they did. The truck that flipped didn't look near as bad as I thought it did in the dark and on it's roof! It'll be interesting to find out more about it later though.

Kitchen Update...

I managed to get the counters taken care of. The floor still needs to be done though. I will probably get that first thing in the morning after I take DH to work and before the kids get up. I hope so, anyway! Then I will work on my cabinets.

I'm going to start with the worst one, I believe. That's the one under the bar. I know I have a couple of those shallow under bed totes stacked in there. They were sitting on a dresser in my old place when we moved, and I didn't even bother to go through them. I just moved 'em! LOL Typical SHE!

You know...I have too many pots and pans. HOW do I know this? Well, now that all the dishes are clean and put away, I have to shove the darn things in the cabinet and then the doors don't want to shut all the way! So that will be my second area to attack tomorrow. The pots and pans cabinet.

I've already gone through my silverware drawer once since the begining of the year. I think I may need to do it again. I have more knives and spoons than any one household has a right to! One would think I was planning to feed the entire county if they opened the silverware drawer! But it's only the spoons and knives. I don't know what has happened to all of my forks. I think the same force that makes socks disappear in the laundry is at work in my kitchen, and it's decided that forks are a useful item to take. I know I think forks are useful...I wish the entity would switch to the spoons and knives for a while though! Well, maybe not the knives...I'm afraid that they might decide to use them on the sheets next week. ;)

Anyway, I'm interested to see if I can keep things up over this loooong weekend. The kids tend to undo every bit of good that I manage to do around here. I just can't let them get me down. I HAVE to stay on top of things this time, or I'm going to wind up in a funny farm!

"They're coming to take me away, ha ha!"

Spring!

It must be SPRING! The bluebirds are flocking to my magnolia tree and just playing like crazy! They are so pretty! I've never seen so many in one place before. It looks like my tree is actually moving, there are so many of them. I tried to take a picture, but they are moving around to much to catch them.

I'm really enjoying the warmer weather the last couple of days. I've had the doors wide open to catch the nice breeze. I walked around the yard earlier to check on my plants. The yellow bells are blooming now. I have daffodils blooming. The tulips are showing flower buds already. The snowball bushes are starting to show a little green. The maple tree already has little red leaves popping out of their buds. I love spring!

More About Me...

I love to learn new things! If I could be a career student, I would have it made! I always loved going to school. The problem with this is that I get bored easily, and once I have mastered one thing, I'm off to hunt up my next challenge. Not very productive in the work force at times.

I have held many jobs over the years. I've worked in fast food as a lowly cashier/cook, and as management. I've worked as a cashier and management in grocery stores. I've been a waitress in hole-in-the-wall type places, as well as more upper-class establishments. I've worked in a deli. I've been an assembler in a factory as well as a parts inspector and a machine operator. I've worked as an EMT on an ambulance running emergency and non-emergency calls. I've been a Vet Tech working in a veternarian's office. I've done security work, worked in a fabric store, thrift stores, department stores, video rental stores, tanning salons, auto parts stores, bicycle repair shops, home health care agencies. I've been a ride operator at the local amusment park, and worked as an EMT there one summer as well. I've worked as a volunteer for churches (secertary, VBS Assistant Director, VBS Director), Girl Scouts (Leader), the Red Cross, and in nursing homes. Needless to say, I have worked ALOT of different jobs! My problem is that I get BORED!

So what do I do with all of this experience? How can I best utilize it to my and my family's benefit? I think my best answer would be to start my own business. The question is, "What kind of business would I enjoy the most?" To that I don't have a ready answer.

I love to cook, and always thought that I would like to open up my own place. But start up costs are outrageous! So I don't think that one is going to work.

I love the idea of working with animals and we live out in the country, so what about a small farm operation? Great idea, but it will take several years to get it running in such a way as to make a profit (if any!). We are slowly working towards that goal right now. We already have a veggie garden...didn't get much out of it last year. We planted late and it was our first attempt, so it was interesting to say the least! LOL Eventually we will raise turkeys. I would like to be able to have them to eat whenever we want (we like turkey better than chicken around here!) and to sell them to locals for holiday dinners, etc. We still need to clear the land needed (it's mostly wooded right now), build fences and "houses" for the birds, and some other farm related tasks before we can get started. But I think in the long run, it will be well worth the time and effort. We are also going to put in a berry patch this year. Blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries are mostly what I want to put in. I will make jams and jellies for home use and sell the excess at the farmer's market, along with excess veggies, to make a little cash.

I love plants! I have planted crepe myrtles, yellow bells, azeleas, rhododendrons, dog woods, magnolias, red buds, snowball bushes, butterfly bushes, roses, hydrangeas, jasmin, lilac, gardenias, and I don't know what all else in the various places that I have lived. I've thought about starting a small nursery business. We have the old fashioned off-white/cream colored dogwoods growing all over our property. The birds love the dogwood seeds. Because of them, we have more "baby" dogwoods on our place than I can even count! I've thought about digging them up, caring for them for a couple of years, and then selling them off. Have you ever noticed the price of dogwoods in the home improvement stores or bigger nursuries?? I could make a killing on these little guys! Not to mention all the southern magnolia "babies" that I have out in the woods! And if I enlist the aid of DD9 (who started 5 oak trees by sticking some acorns in a plastic jar, capping it off, and forgetting about it, and 2 pecan trees by sticking the pecans in my geranium pot! I think the child is part squirrel!) I'll have it made! LOL

Anyway, I'm still not sure just WHAT I'm going to do. I do know that whatever it is, I'm going to have to do it on my own. I don't think I will ever be truely happy working for someone else. Now where did I put my shovel...

The Kitchen...

Well, I finally have it back under control. It looks so much better! I still need to scrub the floors and counters, but I will get to that this morning, after the kids have left for school. I think I will spend tomorrow working on reorganizing all the cabinets.

I have cabinets under the bar that have stuff in there from when we first moved in 2 years ago. I don't think I've even bothered to look in there since! So that stuff needs gone through and tossed. I also need to rethink the food cabinets. I only use two for groceries (they are REALLY big and go all the way to the ceiling), but it isn't very well thought out. I may need to spread out to another cabinet so that I can reach everything. I don't have a stepstool in the kitchen and rely on DD15 (she's 6 ft tall!) to reach many items that I need. I have pots and pans in my lower cabinets that I never use, so they will get tossed. The only "extra" pots that I WON'T toss are my stockpots. I use 2 at a time at least once each week, and then I have one more smaller one that gets used on occation. The smaller one is in better condition and used to belong to my grandmother, but that isn't the only reason for keeping it. Come Thanksgiving, I need all my big pots at one time!

Well, time to get the girls up and ready for school. Thay have only a half-day today, so will be home at lunchtime. Then they are out on Friday and Monday. So it's going to be a VERY long weekend for me. I'll post more later if DH will let me on the computer! LOL

The Best Laid Plans...

DH came home and lit the pilot light on the water heater. I've been waiting for the water to heat up so that I could go finish washing dishes. Well, after a couple of hours, one would think I would have hot water. No such luck! The light went out again. Of course, DH is laid out across the bed taking a nap, so down I go again to cut off the gas to the water heater. I need to let it air out for a while before attempting to get it lit again. So there is now pots of water on the stove to heat up. Told you I was determined to get this kitchen done today! LOL

The other plan that got nixed this morning was working in the garden. DH was going to take the disks to it so that I might be able to get my english peas in the ground. Well, the ground is still too wet to work with. Better than yesterday, but still gets caught on the teeth of the disks. So we are supposed to have thunderstorms this afternoon, and that means it will be that much longer before I can get out to play in the dirt. Because it will have to dry out AGAIN before it can be worked. :(

I really shouldn't have put a movie in the DVD player this morning. I got all caught up in it, when all I was trying to do is have some background noise. Next time I'll just turn on the radio! I wound up sitting in front of the TV wacthing it instead of getting anything done. I did get my morning routine done, and I went through some old socks and undies that the girls said didn't fit anymore, just to make sure they WERE too small. So that is done. I did some other general picking up while I was on the phone earlier. Just bits of paper that had scattered in the hallway. I'm about to go in and work on the last of the dishes. Then I'll try to hit the counters and floors. I should have done all that instead of watching TV...I'd have been done by now! Water is boiling...back later!

Accomplished Today...

Well, I didn't manage to get everything done that I wanted to today. I meant for the kitchen to be completely finished. There are still a few larger items that need to be washed, but it won't happen tonight. I think the pilot light went out on the water heater, and that will have to wait for DH to come home and take care of. I'm a bit of a chicken when it comes to lighting pilot lights! LOL I'll check in about half an hour to see if the water has heated up from the girls' baths, and if it hasn't, I'll go down to the basement and turn it off.

So I have accomplished my morning routine, my afternoon routine, and my evening routine. I have also managed to work in the kitchen zone most of the day. Washing dishes, cleaning counter tops, taking out the trash, etc. And of course, I started this blog! LOL I also got several loads of laundry washed, dried, and put away. There is one load that I will have to rewash though. DD9 thought the blankets in one of my baskets were dirty, and she dumped them in the floor to mop up some spilt water. Needless to say, I wasn't too happy about that!

If I can manage to actually complete the kitchen this week, I will feel like I'm getting somewhere. Once it is finished, it will become part of my daily routines of making sure that everything is wiped down every evening. I've managed the sink since the first of the year, with only a few slip-ups. Mostly from not having any propane for about a week. And I didn't feel like heating water on the stove. So I was lazy about it. Of course, I'm the only one I hurt with that. And I refuse to let it happen again. The sink part that is! No garantees on the propane issue! LOL

I've actually done the WHB (Weekly Home Blessing) twice this year so far. It really made a difference. I didn't get to it this week. DH was home yesterday, and it just didn't work out that I had the time to get it done. He'll be home tomorrow, but maybe I can work around him. I know I need to at least get the hall swept. The dog is shedding really bad, and her hair gets into the return vent. For some reason all her hair winds up in the hall where the vent is. So I need to get that cleaned up. I may wind up having to make it part of my everyday routine once summer gets here and she's shedding more.

For those that wish to follow my blog, please note that on the days that my DH is not working I may not update till late in the evening. Since we no longer have the satalite, he gets on the computer as soon as he gets home, and pretty much stays on it all day. Unless he decides to either go take a nap or go do something else, I have no access! And he calls it a boat anchor that isn't good for anything! LOL

I hope that everyone has a good night. I'm about to get off here, finish getting the girls in bed, and call it a night myself. I've been up since 5:30 and going strong all day.

Routines...

Morning Routines, Afternoon Routines, Evening/Before Bed Routines. My life revolves around routines. Without them my life/home would be a shambles. And on top of all of MY routines, I have to worry about getting my kids and DH to follow routines. The kids are in for a rude awakening!

My two youngest, ages 9 and 7, need a routine more than anyone. They already have a bedtime routine that they follow, although the 9 yo bucks it more than the 7 yo. As a matter of fact, the bedtime routine has become so ingrained in the youngest that when she went to spend a couple of nights at her great-grandmother's house last weekend, she made it a point to tell her that she had to take a bath after supper and be in bed by 8pm! Sure enough, she got her bath, crawled into bed, read a book for about 20 minutes, and went to sleep! My 9 yo would have stayed up as long as she possibly could. LOL But by being in bed on time that first night, my youngest was well rested and ready to climb a mountain the next day, which she did with one of DH's cousins. She had a blast!

Anyway, I've learned that the girls haven't been getting their homework turned in. So today the girls came home to pencils sharpened and laying on the coffee table along with erasers and paper. They are doing their homework as we speak. Once they are done, the work will get put back in their bags and the bags will be put up for in the morning. I'm tired of the rush in the morning to find bags and shoes. Each of the younger ones have little plastic boxes that have their names on them that their shoes and bags can sit in next to the front door. That is where they will go. And it will be checked before bed to make sure they are where they are supposed to be before they go to bed each night.

My morning routine consists of getting dressed first thing, picking up the living room each morning as the girls are getting ready for school (they tend to leave things in here as they run out the door in the mornings!), and starting a load of laundry. I also go ahead and pull out whatever is going to be for dinner that night if it needs to thaw. Once all that is done, I can sit at the computer and play for a little while. Usually until about lunchtime, unless there is something that I need to really work on in the house.

My afternoon routine depends on if DH is home or not. If he's at work, I might fix me a hot dog for lunch (something quick with no clean up!), if I haven't swapped the laundry to the dryer yet, I do that. If I have already swapped the laundry, I fold/hang everything and get it put away. I also get ready for the girls to get home: snacks, homework space, etc. If DH is home, I will wind up cooking something for him for lunch. And then I have that cleanup.

We eat dinner at 6 pm just about every night. It's a rare night that we eat any later. Wednesday nights we may eat a little earlier because of church events. I'm usually in the kitchen by 5 pm to get started on dinner. Unless it's something that doesn't take very long...I might wait til 5:30.

The before bed routine starts as soon as dinner is over. The kitchen gets cleaned up (usually!), clothes are laid out for the next day, showers/baths taken.

Those are my routines. This is what saves my sanity. In between routines is when I try to get cleaning done. It depends on what zone we are in as to what I'm doing. This week is the kitchen, and that's the room of mine that needs the most work anyway. So it's a good thing. For more on zones check out http://www.flylady.net/. She's great!

Well, I need to get back to the kitchen. It's almost done. I really want it done before I go to bed tonight so that I can suprise DH when he comes home in the morning!

Finances...

I haven't always been a SAHM, although I have always been a SHE! My most recent stint of working outside the home came to an end right before Christmas 2008. It really sent us for a loop! DH and I counted on my paycheck to make ends meet each month. One of us worked for the house, the other worked for all the other bills and groceries.

I jumped right in to hunting for another job. Needless to say, with the economy the way it is right now, there aren't many to be had. I have applied EVERYWHERE! Even the fast food places aren't hiring right now! So we have tightened our belts, cut where we could, and with the help of a great MIL, we have been managing for the most part.

I have been working on getting the house in order. DH has been bringing home his check every two weeks. His mom has been helping with groceries. I've found that I tend to spend a LOT less money on groceries when it's not my money. And I have found ways to save at the grocery store. I've never been much of one to use coupons. I'll clip them in good faith, and then they get left at home, or I decide that I really don't need the item that the coupon is for. I have come to the conclusion that if the coupon isn't for something that I normally would buy, then I don't need it. And since most of the stuff I buy is store brand, it's usually cheaper than the name brand stuff even WITH the coupon. So why waste my time? Anyway, if I find a good deal on something, I will buy a LITTLE extra. Not great huge amounts, but maybe one or two more than what I had planned to buy. I've noticed that my local store tends to put certain things on sale about every 4-6 weeks, and it's the same sale each time. So I know that if I don't catch it on sale this week, it'll be on sale in about a month anyway. So why worry. I've also been cooking more from scratch than I used to. I have the time to do it now. So that saves a good deal of money in the long run, grocery wise. I currently spend about $150/week on groceries, dog food, and toiletries. This is for a family of 5.

We let the satalite go. We don't REALLY need it. We have plenty of DVDs and VHS movies for the family to watch. We have so many, as a matter of fact, that we could start our own movie rental company! LOL So that's one less bill to have to pay. We also let the cell phones go. Yes, they are conviennt, but hey, it wasn't long ago that we all did without them! It's just killing DD15 (Dear Daughter 15yo) that she doesn't have a cell phone! All her friends have them. Well, I'm not paying for her to have a cell phone. It's not a NEED. It is a WANT. No cell phone, no cable...well, that just cut about $350/month out of our budget. We do have a home phone that only costs us $20/year. It hooks into the computer and we have to have internet service for it to work. But like I said...$20/YEAR for unlimited service anywhere in the USA and some international locations. It's called a magicJack, and you can find more information on it at www.magicjack.com. My internet service is through AT&T and is called "stand alone DSL". All that means is that I don't have to pay for a landline every month on top of the internet. It runs me around $35/month. You can check to see if this service is available in your area by going to http://localization.att.com/loc/controller?cdvn=landinglocalization&pid=1080&ltype=res&prod-snip=res_internet_services and putting in your zip code.

My car broke down right before I lost my job. Not even thinking about it, we kept paying the insurance on it for 2 more months, even though it wasn't running. So when it was time to renew the policy in January, I had the car removed. That has saved us about $50/month. Of course, it's going to go right back up, because DD15 is about to take her test for her learner's license...

Propane gets delivered on an "as needed" basis. This way we only pay for what we NEED each month. Once winter is over, we won't need as much, and won't have to order it as often. The power is another story. We try to make sure that lights are turned off when we aren't in a room. We keep the thermostat set at 70 year-round. We open doors and windows in nice weather (like today!). But there is only so many ways to cut power usage. Speaking of power and propane usage...I think I'm going to try to convince DH to put up a clothesline for me...it may be more work for me, but it will save a little bit more on the power/propane bills!

Another thing I need to do to work on the energy side of things is to replace the seal on my refrigerator. It's not working very well, and it's time to get it fixed. That will save us a bit, as will fixing the seals around the doors. There are some pretty big gaps there, and I need to go get the materials to fix them. It won't cost much, and it won't take long to do. I just need to get off my Franny and DO IT!

Right now I need to get off my Franny and work some more in the house. My "business" won't run itself, you know!

And So It Begins...

This is an attempt to work out my thoughts and feelings on various subjects. Somewhere to write down my ideas and dreams. I always seem to have so much going on in my head, and I can't manage to separate one thing from another in order to do anything with any ONE thing. So I will use this space to separate out those things. But first...a little bit about me...

My DH (Dear Husband) and I have been married just over 14 years. We have 3 children, all girls. The oldest will be graduating high school in 2 years, and the 2 younger ones are still in elementary school. So we still have a ways to go to get our kids raised.
We live out in the country on 5 acres of mostly wooded land, and we LOVE it here! I have so many thoughts and ideas of what I would like to do with this place...but that's for later.
Anyway, I'm what most people would call a Stay-At-Home-Mom (SAHM), but I'm so much more than that. I am a SHE. A Sidetracked Home Executive. What that means is that I am the manager of a home. I am the CEO of my own little company. I am also the CFO, the Executive Chef, Head of Housekeeping, Chief Transportation Officer. I oversee every aspect of the running of a very fragile corporation. The pay isn't what it could be...kinda difficult to barter goods and services in hugs and kisses, but it works for me. The "Sidetracked" part of my title is because with so much going on, it's easy to loose focus on what needs to get done each day, so I become sidetracked. Thank goodness for Marla Ciliey, aka: The FlyLady! You could call her my Personal Consultant. When something isn't going right in my home, I turn to her for advice. I found her at http://www.flylady.net/.

So that's me in a nutshell. It's time for me to get back to work right now. I have things that I need to do before I can allow myself more time on the computer. In my business, the computer can be a REAL problem. Talk about getting sidetracked! More later when I have some "ME" time!