One down!! The guy came today to put in our new shower. We went from a tub & shower combo to a walk-in shower. I'm excited - thinking I would be able to be the first to use it - nope.... It has to sit for 24 hours so that the silicon caulk can set.... awwwww, dang it!!! I get this new toy & I don't get to play with it. I can only look at how pretty & fun it is... grumble, grumble, gripe....
Tomorrow is MY first day of school. I have a Superintendent's Conference meeting tomorrow, and another again on Tuesday. Classes start on Wednesday. Speaking of school & just one more thing to add to the gazillion..... I got the Lego King's bus schedule - morning pick-up will be at 7:08 a.m. 8/10 of a mile up the road. Yep! So I call the Transportation Office and do you know what they told me? Well, they were trying to have the bus driver go in a big 'country-type loop', and since he's the ONLY student down our road, can't I just bring him up to the corner or let him walk? It's so the bus driver doesn't have to come down ALL that way, because it's out of the way for her. Oh puh-leeze.... I PAY my school taxes & just because he's the only kid on our road this year (there are 2 other kids, but they're still in elementary school)... the school district is REQUIRED to pick up my kid.... I'm disgusted.... and it's even my home-district... I just told them forget it. He will ride in with me, UNLESS I am sick & THEN I will call them and they can COME & pick him up AT our house.
Friday is the day the pool is going in. And I can't forget to take Willy to his first (whispered) V.E.T. appointment - at least with our vet.
Then Saturday, King Turd will get home in the morning, sleep for a couple of hours & then we'll leave & head camping. It's supposed to be a crummy weekend - 50-60% chance of rain on Saturday & Sunday, nicer on Monday. Who cares - a bad day camping is better than a good day at work!
I decluttered some today when I cleared out the bathroom closet for the shower guy. I actually didn't have to do that, but didn't know, so I thought I was being helpful. It's ok... I got rid of a garbage bag full of stuff that had expired or we didn't use anymore. I put the new unused stuff in the donate box. It's so nice to know that I don't have to store that box when it gets full.... It can just be GONE!! *doing a little happy dance - hey, no laughing!!!
I also made 18 breakfast sandwiches for the freezer. I'll try them & let you know how they turn out. I made 2 of each using a bagel thin, english muffin or croissant; ham, sausage or bacon; they all had 1 slice of cheese & one egg on them. We're each trying one for dinner.
Bye! Love you! Have a good day, Dear!
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
Back in the Saddle...again
Well I'm back in the saddle agaaaiiinnnn... (can't you just here Gene Autry singin' away?... No?... maybe it's just me then). That's what I was really hoping to be singing today.... a lot..... at least a lot more than I did.... I was hoping to get back in the swing of decluttering. Last week was chaotic with the yard sale (We did pretty good, I was VERY surprised) & not much nothing in the way of 'keeping house' was done around here. Now it's a last minute rush before school starts next week.
I did vacuum the rugs.... yup... I vacuumed the rugs.... woo hoo for me! Ok, so sometime before I go to bed, I'll throw a load of laundry in and I'll empty the dishwasher & load it. Oh wait... I DID take the trailer with all the yard sale trash to the dump, I forgot. THAT is something!! AND I stopped & got a permit for the pool to be put in. Yesterday at my family reunion, my Uncle told me that if I didn't, they might make me take it down & THEN put it back up AFTER I got the permit.... so, to avoid that scenario I decided I'd best get a permit first... So there, I guess I did three things today that were on my list.... Did I tell you we were given a pool? Our wonderful, former neighbors, GAVE us their pool! We had a guy come last week & check to see if it was ok to move. Yep!! Woo hoo, can't wait!
The Princess, the Lego King & I did go to the library & spend a good hour or two there. This month some of our local libraries are displaying memorabilia from 9/11. The piece that is at our local library is an aluminum piece of facade. It's twisted and scratched & it still has dirt/cement dust clinging to it. It evokes such strong memories. I wanted to reach out & touch it, but it would have been like touching something sacred. I wanted to see if it felt cold or warm. I wanted to know if a shock would run through my body - knowing all of those people died touching this piece of architecture. I wanted to sob again for them, for the people still living, for their loss. For America's loss. It's funny, how my life changed that day - how my safety was shattered. I haven't ever felt the same. I remember how quiet our world got. Seriously. No planes flying - no sounds in the air. I believe that that silence was a once in a lifetime experience. One that I stopped & truly listened to.
It seems funny - funny strange, not funny ha ha - to carry on, ten years later, still moving forward, living, decluttering, having yard sales, getting ready for school. And then there's the day when it seemed like the earth stopped. The kids were watching cartoons & King Turd called me & said 'Some jerk just flew into one of the Twin Towers!' I can remember switching to the Today Show & Katie Couric was reporting live from the studio - watching live footage of the crash, when we watched the second plane hit the other tower. The stunned look on her face & in that instant knowing that it was deliberate & not just a random accident. I can remember saying to King Turd. "Oh my God, oh my God! Another plane just hit the second tower. We're under attack!! I could not wait for him to come home that night to hold him. I remember hugging the kids & then asking the them to please play in their room that day.
Do you remember what you were doing on that tragic day? Is your life 'normal' once again?
Bye! Love you! Have a good day, Dear!
I did vacuum the rugs.... yup... I vacuumed the rugs.... woo hoo for me! Ok, so sometime before I go to bed, I'll throw a load of laundry in and I'll empty the dishwasher & load it. Oh wait... I DID take the trailer with all the yard sale trash to the dump, I forgot. THAT is something!! AND I stopped & got a permit for the pool to be put in. Yesterday at my family reunion, my Uncle told me that if I didn't, they might make me take it down & THEN put it back up AFTER I got the permit.... so, to avoid that scenario I decided I'd best get a permit first... So there, I guess I did three things today that were on my list.... Did I tell you we were given a pool? Our wonderful, former neighbors, GAVE us their pool! We had a guy come last week & check to see if it was ok to move. Yep!! Woo hoo, can't wait!
The Princess, the Lego King & I did go to the library & spend a good hour or two there. This month some of our local libraries are displaying memorabilia from 9/11. The piece that is at our local library is an aluminum piece of facade. It's twisted and scratched & it still has dirt/cement dust clinging to it. It evokes such strong memories. I wanted to reach out & touch it, but it would have been like touching something sacred. I wanted to see if it felt cold or warm. I wanted to know if a shock would run through my body - knowing all of those people died touching this piece of architecture. I wanted to sob again for them, for the people still living, for their loss. For America's loss. It's funny, how my life changed that day - how my safety was shattered. I haven't ever felt the same. I remember how quiet our world got. Seriously. No planes flying - no sounds in the air. I believe that that silence was a once in a lifetime experience. One that I stopped & truly listened to.
It seems funny - funny strange, not funny ha ha - to carry on, ten years later, still moving forward, living, decluttering, having yard sales, getting ready for school. And then there's the day when it seemed like the earth stopped. The kids were watching cartoons & King Turd called me & said 'Some jerk just flew into one of the Twin Towers!' I can remember switching to the Today Show & Katie Couric was reporting live from the studio - watching live footage of the crash, when we watched the second plane hit the other tower. The stunned look on her face & in that instant knowing that it was deliberate & not just a random accident. I can remember saying to King Turd. "Oh my God, oh my God! Another plane just hit the second tower. We're under attack!! I could not wait for him to come home that night to hold him. I remember hugging the kids & then asking the them to please play in their room that day.
Do you remember what you were doing on that tragic day? Is your life 'normal' once again?
Bye! Love you! Have a good day, Dear!
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Are You Stinkin' Kidding Me?
Are you stinkin' kidding me? I cannot believe how much crap stuff one family can have. Yesterday the kids & I* set up the portable garage to get ready for the yard sale on Friday & Saturday. Today the Lego King & I* moved stuff from our shed to the garage.... and we haven't even moved all of it yet..... There are still some camping things that we're going to get rid of (we don't use or our family has out-grown them. Then there are round clothing racks that I bought when I had my dream of opening a children's clothing consignment shop. Plus the hangers & cash register & all of the stuff that goes with it. THAT'S all still in there.... I didn't get that out yet.... Holy crap!!! I haven't even started unloading the stuff from the house yet!!
I'm really quite amazed at all of the excess that I could get rid of easily. The stuff that didn't cause too much 'pain' to get rid of - the stuff that was a 'no brainer'. There is still stuff that I could have gotten rid of had I had more time.
There are two ways of looking at it. The first is to go through each room and FULLY purge, rearrange & organize your stuff. I started out that way - it got too overwhelming for me. Too many things to detach from, too many details & things for me to do to see some type of result. The second way to do it, is to go through fairly quickly (giving about as much time as you can in that moment) and get rid of the no-brainer stuff. Things that don't take alot of thought. Things that don't matter much in the big scheme of things. Things that your family definitely no longer uses or you've out grown. This is what I ended up doing. I have been able to get through many places alot quicker than if I'd reeeeallly done a full & thorough job. Now the disadvantage is that I'll have to go back through it again. The advantage is that I have piles ofcrap stuff in a short amount of time for this yard sale.
Here's the deal. At least this is what I think I'll be getting out of this process. By the time I get to the end of my first round of decluttering, I should be pretty good at it. Right? So I'm thinking that when I go back around again I'll be able to detach from things even more & get rid of even more. I know that it is a process, one that will take me quite awhile to accomplish. Every time I have cleared an area in a room - or organized it - or whatever, I feel I can take even bigger steps to get rid of stuff. And the super weird thing? I LIKE it!!!
*Lest you think that King Turd of Poop Mountain & the Princess were slacking, he was working and she was invited to her best friend's birthday dinner.
Bye! Love you! Have a good day, Dear!
I'm really quite amazed at all of the excess that I could get rid of easily. The stuff that didn't cause too much 'pain' to get rid of - the stuff that was a 'no brainer'. There is still stuff that I could have gotten rid of had I had more time.
There are two ways of looking at it. The first is to go through each room and FULLY purge, rearrange & organize your stuff. I started out that way - it got too overwhelming for me. Too many things to detach from, too many details & things for me to do to see some type of result. The second way to do it, is to go through fairly quickly (giving about as much time as you can in that moment) and get rid of the no-brainer stuff. Things that don't take alot of thought. Things that don't matter much in the big scheme of things. Things that your family definitely no longer uses or you've out grown. This is what I ended up doing. I have been able to get through many places alot quicker than if I'd reeeeallly done a full & thorough job. Now the disadvantage is that I'll have to go back through it again. The advantage is that I have piles of
Here's the deal. At least this is what I think I'll be getting out of this process. By the time I get to the end of my first round of decluttering, I should be pretty good at it. Right? So I'm thinking that when I go back around again I'll be able to detach from things even more & get rid of even more. I know that it is a process, one that will take me quite awhile to accomplish. Every time I have cleared an area in a room - or organized it - or whatever, I feel I can take even bigger steps to get rid of stuff. And the super weird thing? I LIKE it!!!
*Lest you think that King Turd of Poop Mountain & the Princess were slacking, he was working and she was invited to her best friend's birthday dinner.
Bye! Love you! Have a good day, Dear!
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Livin' High on the Hog!
Recently, I've been feeling like we've been living 'high on the hog'! It's a cross between having everything die at once, awesome Opportunities, Emergency Savings and a little Disposable Income.
This past fall we got a new-to-us-Motor Home/RV/Camper that my Aunt wanted to sell (Thanks, Aunt Gail!). It's something that King Turd of Poop Mountain always wanted to have and we got it at less than half of it's Blue Book value! (Opportunity + Disposable Income).
Then we got a new kitchen stove when we found out our oven had a gas leak. Not because we wanted to, but you know, we didn't want to blow up. I know - we're weird like that. (Emergency Savings)
We've gotten a bunch of little things - things that make my life easier, nicer, prettier... Things like the new apothecary cabinet for the bathroom (Opportunity + Disposable Income) - Found it at the VOA for $50 - a steal!
Our kitchen faucet started leaking so we had to get a new one. We decided that we liked the sprayer in the faucet itself (because over time, the one that is separate leaks back down under your sink - ask me how I know). The thing is, if we got that we couldn't put our water filter back on the faucet. Sooooo, we got a water filtration system + the cute little faucet that we get water out of now. (Emergency Savings)
We've had to replace lights - over the kitchen sink - they're halogen & they've dried out the little clippy things (we didn't want to catch fire - I know, weird) - so I wanted to replace the lights only - but they've since changed the channel-track thingy that they clip into & I had to buy a whole new light unit. (Emergency Savings)
Two new hanging lights in the kitchen (over the stove & over the table) Two glass shades at the Salvation Army for $2.99 (they're $17 @ Lowe's), 2 pendant lights $5 each on clearance @ Lowe's (regularly $16) and 2 swag kits $12 each. Two new lights for $40!! That's a $50 savings!! Yeah me! (Opportunity + Disposable Income)
We just took a trip to North Carolina to pick up Willy. It would have been cheaper to have him transported up here than taking a trip down there. However, that was our part of our family vacation (the first was going camping at an Amusement/Water Park over 4th of July). We saw parts of the country that none of us had seen before PLUS we adopted another rescue. (Totally ALL Disposable Income)
We can't forget the medical bills for poor Ozzy (upwards of $1000), our Jack Russell who ended up having a rare form of cancer this past fall. Then our rescue adoption of Jill - our Mountain Feist. (Thank God for Disposable Income!!)
We've got our winter's supply of wood pellets (Opportunity + Savings) Got a reeeeallly great deal at Lowe's. We were looking at $250 a ton for wood pellets.... Anyhoot.... happened to be at Lowe's & their pellets were on sale for $197 a ton!!! We haven't seen that price in about 4 years! Ka-ching!!!
Thennnnn, if that's not all enough..... we're having our shower re-done. They're coming next week. We're having the tub/shower removed & putting a big walk-in shower in. One of those in & out in one day type of deals. It was more than what I really wanted to pay - but again, King Turd really wanted it (he makes the bulk of the money & pays the bills) and he felt it was worth it (Savings).
I happened to be at a local plumbing & heating supply store (that has this wonderful outlet center) just before we left for NC & saw this bead board that you put along the bottom of the wall.... for $2.88 a sheet! For $30 I could re-do the bathroom. I found a $5 oops paint color that I love at Value Home Center a month or so ago. So I think I'm going to run & grab enough to do the bathroom. (Opportunity + Disposable Income)
And finally - we were given a pool.... Yup!! The guy is supposed to come today to see if it's worth it to move it. If it is, it would be $1000 to have them take it down from where it currently lives & set it back up here at our house. A new pool of the same size would be about $4000. (Opportunity + Disposable Income).
It's weird. To have all this money... for years & years my ex only gave me $40-$60 a month to feed & manage a household of 4 (The Princess was a baby at the time & still in diapers. That amount was for my gas & any incidentals that I might need to purchase). Then, after he left, we lived off of Child Support & Alimony, which was not steady - so I paid ALL the bills I could, WHEN I could.
Fast forward 15 years, new husband better life, me working - my income is, as King Turd says, 'Gravy'.... It's the topping on the cake, the best part.... the Disposable Income.... the pretties, the nice, the extras.... I am so blessed to come across or be offered Opportunities, to have Disposable Income and a most of all a wonderful, husband who saves for those Emergencies.
My life is SO different. It's amazing how things change so very, very much. To go from barely scraping by to Livin' High on the Hog!
What makes your life 'High on the Hog'?
Bye! Love you! Have a good day, Dear!
This past fall we got a new-to-us-Motor Home/RV/Camper that my Aunt wanted to sell (Thanks, Aunt Gail!). It's something that King Turd of Poop Mountain always wanted to have and we got it at less than half of it's Blue Book value! (Opportunity + Disposable Income).
Then we got a new kitchen stove when we found out our oven had a gas leak. Not because we wanted to, but you know, we didn't want to blow up. I know - we're weird like that. (Emergency Savings)
We've gotten a bunch of little things - things that make my life easier, nicer, prettier... Things like the new apothecary cabinet for the bathroom (Opportunity + Disposable Income) - Found it at the VOA for $50 - a steal!
Our kitchen faucet started leaking so we had to get a new one. We decided that we liked the sprayer in the faucet itself (because over time, the one that is separate leaks back down under your sink - ask me how I know). The thing is, if we got that we couldn't put our water filter back on the faucet. Sooooo, we got a water filtration system + the cute little faucet that we get water out of now. (Emergency Savings)
We've had to replace lights - over the kitchen sink - they're halogen & they've dried out the little clippy things (we didn't want to catch fire - I know, weird) - so I wanted to replace the lights only - but they've since changed the channel-track thingy that they clip into & I had to buy a whole new light unit. (Emergency Savings)
Two new hanging lights in the kitchen (over the stove & over the table) Two glass shades at the Salvation Army for $2.99 (they're $17 @ Lowe's), 2 pendant lights $5 each on clearance @ Lowe's (regularly $16) and 2 swag kits $12 each. Two new lights for $40!! That's a $50 savings!! Yeah me! (Opportunity + Disposable Income)
We just took a trip to North Carolina to pick up Willy. It would have been cheaper to have him transported up here than taking a trip down there. However, that was our part of our family vacation (the first was going camping at an Amusement/Water Park over 4th of July). We saw parts of the country that none of us had seen before PLUS we adopted another rescue. (Totally ALL Disposable Income)
We can't forget the medical bills for poor Ozzy (upwards of $1000), our Jack Russell who ended up having a rare form of cancer this past fall. Then our rescue adoption of Jill - our Mountain Feist. (Thank God for Disposable Income!!)
We've got our winter's supply of wood pellets (Opportunity + Savings) Got a reeeeallly great deal at Lowe's. We were looking at $250 a ton for wood pellets.... Anyhoot.... happened to be at Lowe's & their pellets were on sale for $197 a ton!!! We haven't seen that price in about 4 years! Ka-ching!!!
Thennnnn, if that's not all enough..... we're having our shower re-done. They're coming next week. We're having the tub/shower removed & putting a big walk-in shower in. One of those in & out in one day type of deals. It was more than what I really wanted to pay - but again, King Turd really wanted it (he makes the bulk of the money & pays the bills) and he felt it was worth it (Savings).
I happened to be at a local plumbing & heating supply store (that has this wonderful outlet center) just before we left for NC & saw this bead board that you put along the bottom of the wall.... for $2.88 a sheet! For $30 I could re-do the bathroom. I found a $5 oops paint color that I love at Value Home Center a month or so ago. So I think I'm going to run & grab enough to do the bathroom. (Opportunity + Disposable Income)
And finally - we were given a pool.... Yup!! The guy is supposed to come today to see if it's worth it to move it. If it is, it would be $1000 to have them take it down from where it currently lives & set it back up here at our house. A new pool of the same size would be about $4000. (Opportunity + Disposable Income).
It's weird. To have all this money... for years & years my ex only gave me $40-$60 a month to feed & manage a household of 4 (The Princess was a baby at the time & still in diapers. That amount was for my gas & any incidentals that I might need to purchase). Then, after he left, we lived off of Child Support & Alimony, which was not steady - so I paid ALL the bills I could, WHEN I could.
Fast forward 15 years, new husband better life, me working - my income is, as King Turd says, 'Gravy'.... It's the topping on the cake, the best part.... the Disposable Income.... the pretties, the nice, the extras.... I am so blessed to come across or be offered Opportunities, to have Disposable Income and a most of all a wonderful, husband who saves for those Emergencies.
My life is SO different. It's amazing how things change so very, very much. To go from barely scraping by to Livin' High on the Hog!
What makes your life 'High on the Hog'?
Bye! Love you! Have a good day, Dear!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
