Jun. 10, 2009 - Update

I thought I'd take a few mintues to post an update.  My job is going very well.  I don't need my trainer to sit right there with me now.  I still ask a lot of questions, but they told me it will take about a year to feel fully comfortable on the job.

At the unit meeting this month, our boss (Kathy) wanted each of us to write out our own schedule for the month of July.  She told us that she couldn't promise us that we'd get the hours or days we wanted, but wanted to try something different to see how it works for the dept. 

I brought my schedule home that evening and sat down with dd and we discussed what shifts are available.  We both agreed that 12-8:00 PM would be the "perfect" shift.  (I put that in quotes because what "perfect" would really mean is that dh's work would have stayed steady to the point that I would never have had to get a job.) 

A couple of days later, one of my coworkers got wind of what shift I requested as my #1 choice for hours.  She walked up to my desk and asked, "Why in the world would you request those hours?"  (I discovered that the hours I requested are the most-hated hours on our unit.)  When I explained to her that we homeschool, and that shift would allow us to get most of school done before I left for work, you could see the  go on for her.   

Needless to say, the entire department seems to be happy that someone actually wants to work those detestable hours. 

Stay tuned to see if I actually get those hours in July........

I have the day off tomorrow.  I was really looking forward to sleeping in, only to come home and discover that dd has a dental appointment at 9:00 AM.   Oh well, even if I only sleep until 7:00, that will still give me 2 extra hours of sleeping time. 

Our lovely neighbors sprayed some kind of chemicals on their yard over the weekend.  I could immediately feel my throat getting sore from it -- my allergies kicked in BIG time.    I have been coughing ever since.  I don't know yet whether or not I should see the doctor.  I had to take cough syrup with codeine last night, just to be able to get some relief so I could sleep.  At night, I have times when there is a terrible rumbling in my throat and my chest when I exhale.  It is really weird.  That is another reason why I'm debating on going to see the doctor.  I've never had those kinds of symptoms before.

We are having issues with the neighbors on BOTH sides of us.    About the time I'm ready to go to bed, the neighbors on the side where my bedroom is, decide to come out on the patio and party.    Dh did approach them last night and explained that I was trying to sleep.  I hope they will use some common courtesy from now on, but somehow I have my doubts. 

One of the things I plan to do on my day off is to start working on planning dd's 13th birthday party.  She turns 13 on 7/11.  Though we don't have my work schedule yet for July, we could at least plan who we want to invite, what food we will serve, and what activities we will do.  (I'd post a couple of activities that we plan to do, but my friend Linda will see this, so it won't be a surprise to her and her dd.) 

For a look at my Ebay auctions, click here.

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Feb. 28, 2009 - Preparing to go to work

Now that I know I will be starting a job soon, I have gotten into the "organized chaos" mode.    Here is an example of what I mean:  I have been brainstorming for things I can do now, before I start working, so that I don't need to do them quite as often once I start my job.  IOW, my kitchen was constant chaos until I finished all of my projects.    After going to the post office and the grocery store, I started a load of bedding in the washer.  While that was going, I got 10 # of leg quarters cooking on the stove.  Next, I made a double batch of grape nuts cereal. (Posted under recipes) 

Once the chicken was done cooking, I started working on making a huge batch of Cincinnati Chili.  While I waited on that to simmer, I washed up all the dishes, and finished running the grape nuts through the blender to grind it. 

DD and I ate the Cincinnati chili for lunch so that I didn't need to make anything else, other than the spaghetti.  I still need to bag up the chili into meal-sized portions and freeze for later use.  Usually, when I make a recipe myself, it is much better than the store-bought stuff.  I'm not sure that is the case with the particular recipe.    We will have to eat it anyway.    I added a few more spices to it to give it more zing because I thought it was rather bland in taste. 

I still need to de-bone all of that chicken and put it in meal-sized portions, but right now, I needed a break.    Now, back to kitchen.......

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Nov. 5, 2008 - No Procrastination

I started changing my wardrobe around a couple of weeks ago.  Since I took items to the consignment shop this week, I had some room with which to do some more switching around.  Friday we took the day off from school since the ps kids were also out for the day.  I spent quite a bit of time in my room, revamping my closet.

I also took several items up to the attic -- like the fans, along with some extra hangers that I will use for my next trip to the consignment shop.

I made a large, basic mix for cornbread so that I won't need to make it from scratch for a while.  Since it's cooler weather, we'll be eating more beans and cornbread.

That same evening, dd went to spend the night with my parents.  It was nice to have some quiet time with my hubby.  Plus, on Saturday, I was able to attend my first women's meeting at the new church we've been attending.

Saturday evening I managed to revamp the bathroom closet.  I also made some cappuccino mix.  Yum!

Monday afternoon I managed to tackle some of the kitchen cabinets. 

In this next photo, you can see my bottle of homemade maple syrup.  Yum!  Also, on the bottom shelf, I keep a narrow box which holds my potatoes.

Another cabinet I revamped:

Here is a close-up view of the mixes:

I also did a little work in the laundry room cabinets:

In the above photo, you can see my stroke tallies on the box of borax.  I do that every time I make a batch of laundry soap so that I know how many loads I can get out of that box.  I also use borax for other things, so not all of it goes to the laundry soap, but so far, I've gotten 13 loads, which is 26 gallons.  Not bad!  And......I still don't need to replace it!

Tuesday I managed to make a huge batch of granola.  I put half of it in a container in the closet where I keep all of my mixes.  I used the other half to make energy bars. 

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Oct. 29, 2008 - Under the Bed

     Ok, I have to admit something to you gals.  I rarely clean under my bed.    Now I will admit -- I do have a very good excuse for it.  I have had a lot of back problems for the last 20 years.  Doing strenuous work can easily throw my back out of whack for at least 7 days. 

However, we reached the point where we had to turn on the furnace.  I've had nothing but misery ever since.  The dust that is blowing about, due to the furnace, is causing me to have itchy, watery eyes, bouts of sneezing, along with constantly blowing my nose.  Ok, I know, that was TMI.   

     I was desperate by Thursday of last week.  I decided I was going to tackle my bedroom.  Thankfully, I was wise enough to only do half of it.  I will have to wait to clean the rest of it when dh is here to help me move the furniture.  There is no way I can do that myself.  What I did manage to do was pull the bed out far enough from the wall that I could wash the wall behind the bed.  I also pulled everything out from under the bed.  Thankfully, I have an Oreck (dh's wonderful gift to me a few years ago)   so I was able to vacuum under the it w/o moving the entire bed.  I also pulled all of the drawers out from my jewelry armoire, moved it out, and cleaned behind it.  Next, I pulled out the drawers from the night stand and moved it so I could clean that space.  Now half of the bedroom is clean!   

     When I washed the walls, I added a few drops of mango mandarin essential oil to make the room smell nice and fresh.

     Later that day, I got inspired to do Fly Lady's 27 Fling Boogie.  I cleaned out two kitchen drawers and the cabinet above my in-wall oven.  I found more than 27 items to either pitch or add to the boxes that are going to the consignment shop soon.  It is nice to have some extra space in the kitchen.  I am seriously considering pulling EVERYTHING out of my kitchen cabinets and completely revamping them to see if I can find a better way to do things.  Those of you who have been in my kitchen know that will be no small undertaking.

     Another thing I may do soon is change the contact paper in some of the cabinets.  The marbled-looking stuff that I've had in there for years is looking rather worn.  Perhaps I should buy that first, then follow up with revamping and "kill two birds with one stone."  For those of you who actually visit my home occasionally, be forewarned -- if I get this done, I will have to show you what I've done. 

Here are a couple of pics from when I decluttered in the kitchen:

     The measuring cups you see in the above photo had previously been stored next to my plates in the previous photo.  It made more sense to store them in their new location because now I can use ALL of the shelf space and store crackers, etc. next to the plates.

Here is one of the drawers after I cleaned it:

In the bottom, right corner, I have a small box where I keep some family sized tea bags handy for when I need to brew some tea.  It makes it nice and convenient for me.

Here is my catch-all drawer:

It's hard to see, but on top of the bag of rubberbands, there is a homemade funnel.  It is the top part of a 2-liter bottle of pop.  I often use it when I make fabric softener and laundry soap.

     I also cleaned out our CD-roms.  There were several there from early elementary that dd never plays.  I am getting rid of over 1/2 the computer games!    In fact, I use some creative thinking,   and managed to clean out the large CD stand that dh never liked.  DD's CD-roms are in a small plastic basket.  My educational CD-roms are in a basket.  The music CDs that I wanted to keep now fit in my nightstand drawer where they are completely out of sight.  I rarely listen to music, so not having them in an especially accessible manner isn't important to me.  Hiding them is! 

     Here is a photo of our old CD-stand (which was completely filled):

Here is where our CD-roms are now:

     Obviously, we got rid of a LOT of CD-roms!

Here is a photo of our computer table after I decluttered it.  (Yes, that is my blog on the screen.) 

     Dh pointed out a stain on the bedroom so I managed to clean it with rubbing alcohol -- a much easier (and cheaper), way to take care of it w/o using harsh chemicals.    

     Saturday I cleaned out the big cabinet under the oven.  It is very wide, and very deep.  I managed to make things a little more accessible:

I also organized all of my essential oils.  Can you tell I have a weakness for those? 

     Monday, I managed to brainstorm and start the planning for a  "gifts in a jar" afternoon with some of the hs girls.  I have the ideas in place as to what we will make and I also have a list made out for what supplies I need to purchase.  If we do pull this off, I will try to remember to take lots of pictures and post them.       

That's all folks!  Have a great day!

~~Stacy~~    

    

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Oct. 22, 2008 - No procrastination

I took the car in yesterday to have the oil change done.  I was only two months late in doing so. 

I have been busily working on decluttering.  Every three months, I can take 2 medium boxes of items, plus 30 hanging items to a consignment shop.  They mail me a check after the 90 days for what I've made.  I am due to take things there in less than 2 weeks.  My boxes and my clothing items are all ready to go.

I am constantly brainstorming for ways to make the household work more efficiently.  This past weekend, I got an empty basket and put all of my essential oils (and there are LOTS of them), in it.  When I need one, I grab the entire basket and have it right at my fingertips.

Last night I managed to switch my wardrobe around for winter.  I have cut way back on the amount of clothing I have on hand.  After all, I find myself wearing the same 8-10 shirts, so why keep 25 shirts on hand if I'm not going to wear them?  Instead of feeling like I'm losing out by getting rid of the shirts, I feel like I'm gaining some freedom because I'm not so burdened down with all of that clutter.

Currently, I have so many books that they don't all fit on my bookcase, so I'm busily trying to get them read so that I can get them out of here.  OTOH, I must be careful to make sure that my quiet time with the Lord doesn't get pushed aside because of my goal to declutter as quickly as possible. 

I have found that if I am diligent to spend time with the Lord, my spirit is decluttered, so the other clutter doesn't seem to bother me quite as badly because my spirit is in the correct balance.  At the same time, when I keep my spiritual life on the right track, it is amazing how often my role as a wife, mother, keeper at home, and woman of God seems to fall right into proper balance.    I get motivated to do the things that really do matter, and I have a joyful heart while doing them -- even the most mundane, like cleaning the toilet. 

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