January 7, 2012

Good morning! It's beautiful morning! So far it's mostly bright and sunny, with only hints of clouds. The forecast is for mostly cloudy; but it will be in the upper 60s! Here we go, the "normal" NC winter see-saw! :)
Yesterday: I actually got a lot accomplished, even though right now the house looks a bit like a disaster. I had my appointment in the morning, and go back in 3 weeks (to see if new drops are working). I got most of the daily chores done. Then my friend helped me bring about 30 empty boxes of various sizes downstairs. A few of the boxes weren't completely empty, but those have been sorted. Four of the boxes have gotten started, and I'm trying to keep similar stuff together.
Today: This afternoon I'm going to a birthday party. Then I will work on getting the upstairs better organized so that I'll actually have room to pack Christmas back up again. :)



Maggies favorite daily spot is looking out at the front yard.

January 6, 2012

Good morning! It's a beautiful morning. It's bright and clear, and will be a much warmer day. It'll be mid to upper 60s and sunny all day - maybe my ice fountain will melt away! :)
Yesterday: We got everything done that was planned! Yay! Lots of trash got gathered up and dropped off, as well as a bag of recycling. We went by and paid the rent, and then finally rescued my (old) sewing machine. I didn't get anything else done, but it's OK. I did at least cook dinner (for a change! LOL!)
Today: I have an early appointment this morning. Later this afternoon I plan to do today's scheduled chores - vacuum & change sheets. Also, a friend and I are going to start bringing empty boxes downstairs. Sadly, it's getting nearly time to pack up Christmas decorations.

Oops, sorry, forgot to attach a picture and post this yesterday.

January 5, 2012

Good morning! It's a beautiful morning. The forecast said cloudy to start with; but I must have slept later than I thought, because it's already quite clear and bright! The warm back up has begun, today will go to low to mid 50s.
Yesterday: It turned out a little busier than I expected; but since I planned nothing, I did it very well! LOL! We made it to DH's appointment on time, and were there longer than expected (to discuss some issues). Then we hit Wal-Mart for some groceries, and WalGreens for some refills. On the way home we dropped off a few things at a friend's house (per an "emergency" request while we were out). It was fairly late by the time we got home and got groceries put away.
Today: I already have laundry started. Since it's the first (well, nearly) of the month, today we'll go pay the rent. While out, we'll take trash to the dump, and *maybe* go retrieve my repaired sewing machine. I think it's been held hostage long enough! LOL! What else does or doesn't get done will depend on how long everything takes. :)



These are some bits of Christmas in my kitchen cabinet .. I'm thinking they just may stay awhile. :)

January 4, 2012

Good morning! It's a beautiful morning. It's bright and clear, and will be "warmer" (mid 40s) than yesterday. The pond is almost completely frozen over now, but in another day or two it will thaw back out.
Yesterday: I did not rush to get anything done, but I did manage all the things I planned to do anyway. My "project" for the day was to clean the kitchen floor, which I did. I also managed to get off the computer long enough to do a few other odds and ends around the house. :)
Today: DH has a doctor appointment this morning, but that usually doesn't take very long (not clinic!). While out, we'll check for any refills, and probably pick up a few groceries. I don't have much else "planned", but if we get home in time I'll probably do some of the never-ending laundry. :)



I love the look of all the pretty jars of jellies and pickles!

January 3, 2012

Good morning! It's a beautiful morning. It's clear and bright, and very cold! They're saying mid to upper 30s today; it's below freezing so far, and extremely windy. The ice mountain in the fish pond has begun!
Yesterday: I didn't quite do everything on my list; but the things I didn't finish are things I have all week to complete anyway. My "main chores" of cleaning the bathroom and watering the plants got done. Last night I put a big (frozen) baggie of leftovers in a pot and made soup .. it was very yummy!
Today: Because it's so cold, I will not be leaving the house today. I don't even know if I'll go get the mail! LOL! My "main" chore is to clean the kitchen floor; and I will continue to work on getting my calendar updated for the year. Since it's such a cold day, I *might* get ambitious and bake something. :)

January 2, 2012

Good morning! It's a beautiful morning! Winter weather has truly arrived, as today will be mostly bright and clear - but only in the upper 40s! There looks like no chance of rain for another week (when, of course, it will "warm" back up again! LOL!)
Yesterday: The day was a odd mix of quiet time and frantic activity. All of the "company" was tired, so everyone but me slept very late. Once they all got up, there was a lot of confusion as all belongings were gathered to pack for their trip home. Wow, was that little car crammed full! LOL! After they left, it was quiet again, and I was very lazy. I decided I wanted to start the new year off being relaxed and calm! :)
Today: I am hoping to get myself onto a regular schedule of sorts, and not goof off on the computer all day. This is a good day to get started, so the "plan" for today is to watch the training video for a new (easier to use) computer program; finish putting away all clean laundry; put away most of the Christmas china (because it's cluttering the table now); clean one room (today will be bathroom), and water the plants.

OK, I admit, it's "fudging" a bit to copy-and-paste from my newsletter; but it still counts some, right?
Today is "National Motivation and Inspiration Day". So I'm really hoping to be both motivated to accomplish the things on my TO DO list, and inspired to create and maintain a comfortable home.




Maggie, of course, has other ideas. Every day I pick up the M&M toys and put them in a basket. Every night she pulls them out and scatters them somewhere in the house. then she lays around looking "innocent"! :)

January 1, 2012

I had thought to follow the prompts for January for NaBloPoMo. But there are two issues with that. The first, of course, being that I am really horrible at keeping up with daily blogging. I want to. I always mean to. But I already spend too much time on the computer, and the days just get away from me. The second one being that I can't for the life of me figure out how to find the daily prompt! I keep clicking on different links, but nothing takes me there. So, I guess I'll just wing it!
There is also the problem that I'm having such a hard time seeing things on the computer screen. I'm desperately hoping new glasses are going to fix that ... appointment next week.

So, without a prompt, not sure what I should be writing about; only that I should. Since it is the first day of another new year, I think I'll "think out loud" about my goals for this year.

My biggest goal at this moment is to figure out how to make the curser behave; to learn how to use "Dragon" (and eliminate typing by hand which has become more and more difficult).

During the past year, I have done a lot of changing things around in my home. Some of it was for convenience, some for comfort, some just for fun. I think (for now at least) I'm pretty well satisfied with the arrangement. Well, I may tweak things from time to time, but doubtfully anything major this year. So, for this year my big goal is to be organized. These are the areas I plan to try to work on:
1. Keeping a calendar up to date, so I acknowledge ALL birthdays, anniversaries, and don't miss any appointments.
2. Making and sticking to a household schedule that keeps me on track on cleaning, detail organizing, and still allows for fun time.
3. Paying a bit more attention to *ME* - meaning time to do my nails, to read, to sew, to blog, etc.
4. Getting a budget in line with what is realistic, and learn to stick to it.
5. Do something every single month towards being better prepared for next year's Christmas.
6. Work harder on healthy eating.

I may think of more things, but that's enough to start with.



This is the Gorgeous quilt my sister gave me for Christmas, made from antique pieces of embroidery and patchwork that match a wall hanging she has. Beautiful and precious!