Mother Nature is laughing her ass off. I can't believe the amount of snow, water, snow, ice, snow, rain, ugh! I'm so sick of it. I almost am ready to welcome the mosquitoes...but then, with our luck from this bizarre weather forecast, we'll most likely have a drought!
The water table has risen and the sump pump is running, although now at a non-constant rate. The Worcester girls had a good 4 inches in the basement and a lot of crap that had to be hauled out. What a mess! At least now we know where NOT to store items. A very messy lesson learned.
I am looking forward to planning out the garden this spring - that is, if I can ever see the backyard again (it's currently still buried in snow and dog piles). Unfortunately, I forgot to till up the soil before it froze, so it's going to be a mess when the ground finally thaws. I'll have to haul in the compost.
As for the winter blahs - they definitely have hit. Enjoying driving to school in the light (barely) and coming home in the light (barely) rather than the darkness of the deep winter. Days are getting longer and the school year is on the downhill slide (although the kids have been sliding downhill since Christmas...)
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Post Winter Vacation Clutter Update:
Have I made the grade? Status report after one week of tackling the crap in my house...
1) Credit cards will be paid off monthly. Have to check in on this, however, I did add some to the cards to complete the insulation in the attic. Hopefully the tax rebate will offset the expense, and I'll save money on the heating oil.
2)Join the Do not call registry. Cross this one off the list
3) Clean out the closets and Rotate seasonal clothes. Waiting on this one for the warmup in the weather. Maybe Spring Break will be a better check in point.
4) Train my kids to clean up after themselves. Still working on this...it's a daily battle of wits, though they're better at emptying the dishwasher and (partially) folding clothes...cleaning up their own rooms is definitely an uphill battle.
5) Extend this new mantra to my classroom. Of course, didn't set foot in the school over break, so I can't claim I did anything to chip away at this one...seems that I can work on this one one piece at a time. 5 minutes of cleaning each day is a good way to start. Break out the timer!
6) Eat through the pantry and freezer before shopping for more. Breadmaker is running; muffins in the freezer; this one is in progress, but can't quite cross it out yet.
7) Pay bills online and automatically. Still in progress here, but making more steps to complete it.
8) .Automatic savings transfers CHECK! Both the kiddos accounts and mine are automatically added to each month. Every penny counts.
9) The year of the backyard vacations. Once the mortgage situation gets finished and I can figure out what my work status is for the summer, I think I can start thinking about this one...but we certainly are taking a journey to the river this summer!
10) Assault the piles of junk. Worked a bit on this one, but still need to hit the boxes of stuff that I've set aside. But the basement workshop got sorted (still need to go through the drawers, organize & label). Once the weather warms up, we can tackle the garage (yet again, this seems to be an annual event!)
So, after one weekend, we are in progress. I may not have completed EVERYTHING on my list, but did get several big things accomplished. Vacation week is a success!
1) Credit cards will be paid off monthly. Have to check in on this, however, I did add some to the cards to complete the insulation in the attic. Hopefully the tax rebate will offset the expense, and I'll save money on the heating oil.
2)
3) Clean out the closets and Rotate seasonal clothes. Waiting on this one for the warmup in the weather. Maybe Spring Break will be a better check in point.
4) Train my kids to clean up after themselves. Still working on this...it's a daily battle of wits, though they're better at emptying the dishwasher and (partially) folding clothes...cleaning up their own rooms is definitely an uphill battle.
5) Extend this new mantra to my classroom. Of course, didn't set foot in the school over break, so I can't claim I did anything to chip away at this one...seems that I can work on this one one piece at a time. 5 minutes of cleaning each day is a good way to start. Break out the timer!
6) Eat through the pantry and freezer before shopping for more. Breadmaker is running; muffins in the freezer; this one is in progress, but can't quite cross it out yet.
7) Pay bills online and automatically. Still in progress here, but making more steps to complete it.
8) .
9) The year of the backyard vacations. Once the mortgage situation gets finished and I can figure out what my work status is for the summer, I think I can start thinking about this one...but we certainly are taking a journey to the river this summer!
10) Assault the piles of junk. Worked a bit on this one, but still need to hit the boxes of stuff that I've set aside. But the basement workshop got sorted (still need to go through the drawers, organize & label). Once the weather warms up, we can tackle the garage (yet again, this seems to be an annual event!)
So, after one weekend, we are in progress. I may not have completed EVERYTHING on my list, but did get several big things accomplished. Vacation week is a success!
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Declutter and de-debt my life
As I'm working towards streamlining my life, I am officially on the 'declutter' and 'lower my debt' campaign.
I have too much stuff. I routinely clean out the junk drawer, sort through the closet for Goodwill, clip coupons, and send the hand-me-downs to my nephews. However, there also seems to be a perpetual wave of stuff...I have a new mission to assault the debt and clutter in my life.
1) Credit cards will be paid off monthly. This will be a challenge for me. I typically haven't had this as an issue, but realize that I need to use the cards as only an emergency lifeline, not as a normalcy for life.
2) Join the Do not call registry. and are resources that can begin the process of eliminating junk mail and phishing phone calls. I also will begin calling catalogs that I don't want anymore (somehow I keep getting added to many more mailing lists...) and removing my name from their registry.
3) Clean out the closets and Rotate seasonal clothes. I like the idea of having a new wardrobe each change of season, but often I forget what I have until I open the box. Feel the need this year to organize a bit more, so in the 'off season' I will remember if I have a pair of khaki shorts or black wool pants. Getting the body in shape is also affecting my wardrobe (a good problem to have I suppose) but I also need to not go crazy over work-out clothes, hiking shoes, or flip flops.
4) Train my kids to clean up after themselves. A never ending battle, but still a valuable skill that I alone am responsible for. Cleanliness = rewards. Whatever their currency is, I need to capitalize on it.
5) Extend this new mantra to my classroom. Clutter and my classroom seem to be attached at the hip. I need to make an effort to clean up and organize a piece at a time, then maintain it. I'd like to see my desk BEFORE the last day of school.
6) Eat through the pantry and freezer before shopping for more. A slow process, but a necessary one. The pantry doesn't have to be full, but does need to be eaten. I think I can save money in shopping this way if we just ate what we had and didn't throw away food. I also want to utilize the breadmaker & wafflemaker more this year.
7) Pay bills online and automatically. This will allow me to save money on stamps as well as manage the bank account with more accuracy, especially with only two paychecks per month.
8) Automatic savings transfers. That 'rainy day fund' and 'college savings account' that doesn't get added to needs to have constant attention, without getting ignored with some excuse. To I pay myself first? That's a goal for this year. Get the accounting in order and take care of those emergency funds NOW!
9) The year of the backyard vacations. This year will be the year of the 'staycation' where we will visit family & friends, rather than the monumental trip. Documenting these trips also make the journey last longer - a DVD of pictures or a scrapbook book that we can look at over and over again.
10) Assault the piles of junk. Each day, I'm going to tackle a pile of junk in my house...and not just to 'move it to another room'. I want to trash it and pop it in a box for later. If I haven't looked at it in 2 weeks, maybe I don't need it. The problem I do have, is I put much of it aside until I 'have the time to deal with it'. This is the week to deal with it...
Status report in a week. We'll see what kind of grade I'll give myself!
I have too much stuff. I routinely clean out the junk drawer, sort through the closet for Goodwill, clip coupons, and send the hand-me-downs to my nephews. However, there also seems to be a perpetual wave of stuff...I have a new mission to assault the debt and clutter in my life.
1) Credit cards will be paid off monthly. This will be a challenge for me. I typically haven't had this as an issue, but realize that I need to use the cards as only an emergency lifeline, not as a normalcy for life.
2) Join the Do not call registry. and are resources that can begin the process of eliminating junk mail and phishing phone calls. I also will begin calling catalogs that I don't want anymore (somehow I keep getting added to many more mailing lists...) and removing my name from their registry.
3) Clean out the closets and Rotate seasonal clothes. I like the idea of having a new wardrobe each change of season, but often I forget what I have until I open the box. Feel the need this year to organize a bit more, so in the 'off season' I will remember if I have a pair of khaki shorts or black wool pants. Getting the body in shape is also affecting my wardrobe (a good problem to have I suppose) but I also need to not go crazy over work-out clothes, hiking shoes, or flip flops.
4) Train my kids to clean up after themselves. A never ending battle, but still a valuable skill that I alone am responsible for. Cleanliness = rewards. Whatever their currency is, I need to capitalize on it.
5) Extend this new mantra to my classroom. Clutter and my classroom seem to be attached at the hip. I need to make an effort to clean up and organize a piece at a time, then maintain it. I'd like to see my desk BEFORE the last day of school.
6) Eat through the pantry and freezer before shopping for more. A slow process, but a necessary one. The pantry doesn't have to be full, but does need to be eaten. I think I can save money in shopping this way if we just ate what we had and didn't throw away food. I also want to utilize the breadmaker & wafflemaker more this year.
7) Pay bills online and automatically. This will allow me to save money on stamps as well as manage the bank account with more accuracy, especially with only two paychecks per month.
8) Automatic savings transfers. That 'rainy day fund' and 'college savings account' that doesn't get added to needs to have constant attention, without getting ignored with some excuse. To I pay myself first? That's a goal for this year. Get the accounting in order and take care of those emergency funds NOW!
9) The year of the backyard vacations. This year will be the year of the 'staycation' where we will visit family & friends, rather than the monumental trip. Documenting these trips also make the journey last longer - a DVD of pictures or a scrapbook book that we can look at over and over again.
10) Assault the piles of junk. Each day, I'm going to tackle a pile of junk in my house...and not just to 'move it to another room'. I want to trash it and pop it in a box for later. If I haven't looked at it in 2 weeks, maybe I don't need it. The problem I do have, is I put much of it aside until I 'have the time to deal with it'. This is the week to deal with it...
Status report in a week. We'll see what kind of grade I'll give myself!
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Groundhog Day
The last three weeks have been like the movie Groundhog Day...I feel like I'm constantly snowblowing, shoveling, roof-raking, and trudging through the snowdrifts. My backyard now looks like a white wasteland...I think there was a swingset and a chimnea back there, but they are now covered...a 20 gallon Tupperware bin is completely covered.
Yet, the groundhog in Pennsylvania predicts an early spring. We'll see if it happens. I predict the weather may warm up, but the next prediction will be when the last of the snow pile out front will melt away and I'll get my front yard back. And if I can ever get to wear my flip-flops again. At this rate, I'll be wearing a hula skirt and flip-flops to teach class in July!
Yet, the groundhog in Pennsylvania predicts an early spring. We'll see if it happens. I predict the weather may warm up, but the next prediction will be when the last of the snow pile out front will melt away and I'll get my front yard back. And if I can ever get to wear my flip-flops again. At this rate, I'll be wearing a hula skirt and flip-flops to teach class in July!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Winter Wonderland
Well, as Mother Nature decides to grace us with her coating of ice, my back is deciding that it doesn't like her as much. It's invigorating working out in the cold though...who needs a gym to get a workout! However, I'm noticing that the snowblower handles are a bit too low for me and when I run out of gas and have to push the monster back into the driveway I feel extremely OLD!
I'm looking forward to sledding and snowshoeing again...unfortunately, finances aren't going to allow for skiing this year. My eyes are open for a good deal on skis though. The boys are becoming more adventurous in the weather, but, like me, also enjoy hibernating in the cold months. The TV does need to be shut off on a regular basis or they will be sucked into that catatonic state.
I also have to get going on my vacation plans for next month...can't wait to go south and visit with my sisters. We'll see what chaos ensues.
I'm looking forward to sledding and snowshoeing again...unfortunately, finances aren't going to allow for skiing this year. My eyes are open for a good deal on skis though. The boys are becoming more adventurous in the weather, but, like me, also enjoy hibernating in the cold months. The TV does need to be shut off on a regular basis or they will be sucked into that catatonic state.
I also have to get going on my vacation plans for next month...can't wait to go south and visit with my sisters. We'll see what chaos ensues.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Tis the Season of Stress
As God opened a window, I didn't need to vent on this blog as much as I think I needed to earlier this fall. I survived the stressful time of the kids being away for 2 weeks halfway around the globe. I survived the field trip to DC. I survived the paperwork onslaught that work brings (though the pile is becoming greater as there are more responsibilities asked of us...I may be questioning my employment and looking for a transfer yet again).
As the season of giving approaches I am trying to take more time to reflect on my spiritual self, but that certainly is difficult to do with midterms and meetings and all that that entails. I need a few more hours in a day just to get by. And I also notice that the winter brings me to my hibernation phase, where I just want to hunker down under a warm blanket and catch up on the Twilight Zone or Seinfeld reruns. I think I was a bear in a former life.
I will, however, take on a new year's resolution: write a thank you note every day. Appreciate the people in my life, friends, neighbors, family, students, colleagues. Everyone needs a pat on the back for a job well done. I certainly appreciated the ones I've received in the last year, and I think I'm in a place to return the favor.
As the season of giving approaches I am trying to take more time to reflect on my spiritual self, but that certainly is difficult to do with midterms and meetings and all that that entails. I need a few more hours in a day just to get by. And I also notice that the winter brings me to my hibernation phase, where I just want to hunker down under a warm blanket and catch up on the Twilight Zone or Seinfeld reruns. I think I was a bear in a former life.
I will, however, take on a new year's resolution: write a thank you note every day. Appreciate the people in my life, friends, neighbors, family, students, colleagues. Everyone needs a pat on the back for a job well done. I certainly appreciated the ones I've received in the last year, and I think I'm in a place to return the favor.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
What a difference a month makes.
Interesting how God works. He sends you someone when you aren't even looking. Neither was he. Somehow, God knows - and the whole neighborhood does, too! Is this a good thing? It's, well, interesting. And comforting. And comfortable. Especially since I've known his family for what seems like forever, good and bad, but from afar. And neither of us were really looking for anything until it basically fell into our laps. And feels like it's been there all the time, even though it wasn't.
This will be interesting to see how other things progress. But I'm very relieved to know that I was able to stand on my own - looking forward - and quite unexpectedly, he surfaced in my life. And I'm glad.
This will be interesting to see how other things progress. But I'm very relieved to know that I was able to stand on my own - looking forward - and quite unexpectedly, he surfaced in my life. And I'm glad.
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