Our three 15-minute missions were:

1st - Clear any flat surfaces in the master bedroom that were not done yesterday.  So, I worked on clearing the headboard - wow - LOTS of dust on the top.  The top is now 100% cleared and NOTHING is on it.  That took the full 15 minutes.

2nd -   Choose something that needs to be done.  I started a load of laundry, cleared more clutter from the bedroom, and put some more items where they belong.

3rd - Clear the kitchen counters.  I unloaded the dishwasher.  Then I loaded and started it.  I cleared off three spots that way.  After that, I got rid of stuff on the counters and put all items needing to go into the dishwasher in one spot on the counter directly above the dishwasher.

Now, my 15-minute break is about done.  :)  

We have REALLY gotten a LOT done these past three days!!  Tomorrow will be three more missions - so keep tuned. 

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For our first mission, we started off in the master bedroom:  Clear the clutter from nightstands, bookcases, dressers, headboards - basically anything with a flat surface that has become a hot spot of clutter.  Then, polish/wipe and put only the stuff back on that belongs there.  Well, I got half-way through the top of my dresser when the timer went off!

For our second mission, we spent time in the kitchen doing dinner prep, dishwasher (unload/load and start), and table clutter.  I only got as far as the dishwasher before the timer went off.  However, I did get all of the bad/old food out of the fridge and either into the trash or the compost bin.

For our third mission, we went back to the kitchen to do whatever NEEDED to be done next.  So, I finished dinner prep and cleared some of the table clutter.

We have decided that after every third mission (45 minutes) that for our 15-minute break we will chat with each other online and post an entry to our blogs. 

Time for some more missions...

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I just completed the third 15-minute mission with a friend.  Our 1st mission was to walk into our master bedroom and clean that immediate area - if it was garbage, put it in the trash; if it could be recycled, into the bin it goes; if it needed to go to another room, put it there.  The 2nd mission was to strip and remake our beds.  The 3rd mission was to continue working on getting rid of the clutter in our bedrooms.  WOW - I was able to get rid of a lot of stuff in a very short amount of time.  I just LOVE doing missions with my "mission-buddy" who is in WV - we get so much more done when we know we're 'not alone' in doing it.

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I am not quite sure why this migraine is still hanging around.  It did not get triggered by my eating foods that trigger migraines for me.  I guess it could be stress.  It could be that I need to have my eyes examined (it's been three years) and that my prescription has changed.  It's happened before.  I think part of the problem may be that my neck is out of alignment and that will always give me migraines.  I have tried medication, ice packs, and sleeping in.  I need to stop staying up late and make sure that I sleep on my good pillow (my son likes to snatch it).  Hopefully it will go away soon...

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After church today, I spent a good two or three hours making homemade greeting cards.  I kept them simple and did rubber stamping on them.  I used a variety of colors and did some for birthdays, thank you, thinking of you, and some with flowers on them.  It was very relaxing.  I am probably going to make some more since I got a lot made in a short amount of time.  More later...

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I have been having problems falling asleep at night.  I think a lot of it has to do with the migraine that I have had for the past week and a half.  It keeps coming and going, but it's mostly staying around.  Whenever I get a migraine, I stay up really late and then sleep in late to make up for the late night of staying up.

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It's really early in the morning . . . but I can't sleep.  I had a stamping party last evening.  One of my friends stayed afterward to catch me up on the ongoings in her life.  She left about an hour ago.  :)  I think I'll try and do some family history research for awhile and then go to bed. 

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My cousin "T" come over for dinner & dessert and to visit with us for awhile.  She enjoyed practicing on the piano, too.  She's going to be spending Christmas in Japan this year.  It will be interesting to see what she brings back for us.  (Hint, hint, hint, "T", if you're reading this.)

I've been trying to work on the novel, I've had a rough couple of nights trying to get anything to really "work".  However, after discussing some things with Jonathan, I think I should be able to get a lot written tonight and tomorrow.

Is anyone else doing NaNoWriMo this year?

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I got the sewing machine set up this evening.  I have a list of items that I need to make for Christmas gifts.  I've been putting off making them for quite sometime.  I did get things working - it's been so long since I've used it that I had to remember how to thread it properly.  LOL  Hopefully, I'll be able to get some items made over the next couple of days.  I need to get some done so I can send them back to the east coast with my sister-in-law.  She's flying out for ten days to spend with Thanksgiving with us.  We haven't decided what we're doing yet while she's here - we may do a tour of cheese factory or two.  Perhaps we'll take a tour of the chocolate factory that we went on with one of our homeschooling groups awhile ago.  I'll post more as we decide what we're actually going to do while she's here.

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Well, I started Day 1 (November 1st) with a final word count of 1716.  I'm up to 3208.  I am way behind where I wanted to be by now, the 8th of November.  Due to the wisdom tooth I had pulled two weeks ago, I'm still not back to 100% and haven't been able to write like I had intended on doing.

More later....

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I just reactived my account for National Novel Writing Month that starts November 1st and goes for all of November.  The links for NaNoWriMo, as well as their Young Writer's Program, can be found under my links. 

The challenge is to write a 50,000 word novel within the month of November - not starting a day sooner or finishing a day later.  (All of the rules can be found on the website.)

I attempted this last year, but didn't get too far.  I have an idea for this year's challenge, so I'm hoping it will keep me going and writing more than last year.

Our seven-year old will probably do the challenge with me next year - well, we might have to drop the goal from 50,000 words to a number more attainable for him.  I'm trying to get him to see the joy of writing, so I've got a year to get him "hooked" on it.

I would love to hear about others' that will be taking the NaNoWriMo challenge for 2006!!

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It's been easier this year for all of us to continue our learning at home.  I think a lot of it is due to the fact that it's not so "new" anymore to us (or to those around us).  While there are still some who make comments (albeit not-so-nice ones), the comments seem to be fewer and fewer as the days go on (and I'd like to keep it that way).

K-Man's getting most of his work done each day.  Some days it takes more effort on our part to get him to just sit down and do it.  Other days, he does it and surprises us by having it DONE.

The three of us (DH, K-Man, and myself) are practicing the piano daily.  It's really NICE to see us doing something daily without too much effort or "nagging".

We just got done paying bills and going over our spending plan.  K-Man's finishing the last of his work for the day.  Munchkin is being himself by wanting to "help" Daddy "fix" the computer (even though DH doesn't WANT the "help" of Munchkin).  I need to get a couple of letters written to friends and family. 

Not much else is new around here.

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It's really cloudy today.  It feels and looks like it should be raining, but it isn't.  Well, at least, not yet!!  After all, we here in the Pacific Northwest DO get just a tad of rain come fall.

K-Man and I have been diligent in doing our piano practicing for piano lessons each and every day.  K-Man's even ASKED if he could do his lessons a second time in a day, who am I to say "NO"?

My hands are aching after I get done practicing, which means they're getting stronger.  :) 

Well, I need to go get the meatloaf mixed up so it can get baking.  We've got company coming over for dinner - in an hour or less.

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Today K-Man and I had our first piano lessons.  K-Man has never had piano lessons before.  I had piano lessons about 23 years ago for seven weeks.  After that, my mother tried to teach me, but it didn't work too well.  I taught myself after that.

It was really nice to have someone else teach K-Man.  I have to make sure he does his lessons everyday and answer any questions he may have.

I, too, have "homework" from the piano teacher, since I'm taking lessons as well.  It is REALLY weird to have "homework" since I haven't been in school/college for nine years.

We decided to start piano lessons now, because my mother gave me a piano for my birthday.  She gave me the piano a month before my birthday (which was just fine with me)!  I've debated about taking lessons for myself.  After today's lesson, I am SO glad that I chose to do it.

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This evening after dinner, DH got the soil mixed up and ready for us to begin planting seeds.  We'll probably start planting some of the seeds tomorrow as a family.

We're going to use egg cartons as our starter pots.  I've read it a few times in books and on one of the groups I'm on, that the egg cartons work well for starting seeds.  (Plus, they're free . . . and we have a few since we use a lot of eggs.)

I need to look over what seeds we have and which ones can be started now.

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Today DH and I got the rest of the garden boxes in the back row filled with soil.  They'll all still need a couple more wheel barrow fulls of soil before they'll be full enough to plant.  It is amazing how much soil compacts just from get wet!

DH also trimmed back the blue spruce tree in the corner of our backyard.  It is TOO close to our apple tree and we're looking to either give it to someone for a live Christmas tree this year OR cut it down.  The roots of the blue spruce will compete with the apple tree's roots, and we don't want that!

We spent a good part of the day working out in the backyard.

The plants we've planted are growing and we're excited to see their progress.

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A friend today called and asked if we'd planted all of our garden boxes yet.  I told him we hadn't.  He said that he had leftover compost mix from the truckload he had purchased this morning from the city.  He came and delivered it to our backyard this afternoon.  It's probably a little more than two wheel barrow fulls . . . but, when mixed with the compost we have here, plus the peat moss, and other compost mixes, it will make the rest go a lot futher!

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It was so nice this morning to walk into the kitchen (top floor) and look out to see that there is some green and yellow in one of the garden beds - the onions.  :)  It made me smile.

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After we got done with the branches in the front yard, we went to the backyard.  We cut up some branches by the wood pile for a few minutes.  Then we decided to put soil into one of the garden boxes so we could get it planted with onions.  We planted 60 Walla Walla Sweet onion starts, 68 Walla Walla Sweet onion seeds, and 128 yellow onion bulbs.  We LOVE onions!!

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Today we cut up more branches and filled up the yard waste bin.  After this bin gets picked up (in two weeks), we'll have enough to fill up the bin again.

It will probably take a few months to get rid of all of the branches . . . especially once we get all three trees cut down.

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