a Coffee Girl

Hello Company Girls!

Well, most of my time this morning has been spent trying to get a video of my Little Helper who just up and started walking on Wednesday.  She's been holding on to things and walking around but not really taking steps and then on Wednesday night she walked across the livingroom.  Thursday Eddy & I sat together with two different camcorders trying to get a decent walking video of her.  Eddy finally got the perfect one--shows a good walk and isn't too long--Good Job, Eddy!!!!!!!

My thoughts have also been with friends from college & early teaching days whose dad suddenly passed away from a major heart attack last night.  One of the sons told me that this is how his father wanted to leave this world--happy, busy, serving the Lord.  My thoughts and prayers are with the family who remains.  They have peace that their dad / husband is with the Lord but now life for them must go on . . .

I've already done Fly Lady's task for the day. . .clean the extra hangers out of your closet. . .thanks to the 21 day challenge.  Yea!!!!!!! 

My big task for the day is to finish putting away Christmas things.  Last night we had a contest to see who could gather the most Christmas things. . .if we'd counted the past month or so Heidi would have won since she's been bringing me things quite frequently.  She's also pulled down the Christmas tree several times and "helped" take some decorations off that way--always thinking out of the box!

It's a cloudy, rainy day here and I would much rather be curled up in a cozy spot with a book and a nice cup of tea than cleaning. . .maybe a few minutes can be snuck in. . .Helper is sleeping. . .tea kettle here I come!

. . .patient!!!!!!!!!!!!!

finally after hours and hours. . .Here she is!!!!!!!

a cheerleader!

**post edited on Friday. . .my computer was giving me fits last night that's why things looked kind of funny if you checked in before this edit--grrrrr!**

Exciting things happening in our house today!!!!!!!  Last night I was doing something at the table and I looked up and there was Heidi walking toward me from across the room.  It took a moment to even register what she was doing!  And today she's been everywhere and she doesn't want help--bats my hands away and takes off on her own!  Go, Heidi, Go!

**still working on a video. . .guess I need to try a different way to upload. . .

Heidi is a climber!!!!!!!  Whoo Hoo, Heidi!!!!!

Here's how she got up. . .by stepping on the pillows on the bed--smart cookie!

 not smarter than Mommy though--she moved those pillows!  ha, ha, ha!

 Eddy lost a tooth.  He was eating a Reeces cup, said, "Ouch!", and out fell his tooth!  Goooooo, Eddy!

an anti-procrastinator!

It was Fly Lady's Wednesday challenge. . .what are you procrastinating about?  Wednesday is Anti-Procrastination Day!!!!!  Guess what I did?  Take down the Christmas decorations?  No. . .  Finish Helper's 1st birthday outfit?  No. . .  Send out Christmas cards?  Yes!!!!!!!  I'm so excited!!!!!!!

 The Small Thing for today was to pick a candy and a task to go along with it--so fun!  I dug through the candy jar and found some Now & Laters.  I was going to bake an oatmeal cake NOW and eat it LATER but we didn't have any eggs.  So I planned to bake some bananas foster NOW and then bake and eat them LATER!!!!

 I did and the results were delicious!!!!!!!!!  Thanks, Rachel Anne!!!!!

Day 21

Day 21--can't believe A Bowl Full of Lemons 21 Day Challenge is already over!  Can it really be 21 days already?  I look back and can't believe how many things got organized around the house--Thank you, ToNi!

Day 21 was to show an area that we have already under control and organized.  Of course, I'm typing this up on Wednesday because of Tuesday's work schedule. . .I tried to check in last night but my computer wouldn't even let me stay online for more than a second--grrrrrr!  So I went to bed, woke up groggy because of fitful sleeping teething baby, and the only area that comes to mind of already being organized is the library spot.  Here it is:

DVDs and books kept right here by the TV.

 library bag ready to be filled with finished items. . .

 and the BIG picture of the entertainment area of the livingroom and Heidi's basket of livingroom toys.

Playing on the TV so early this morning is the Treasury of Mother Goose rhymes.  This is one of the few DVDs that Heidi will happily sit and watch--but not for long.  She is crawling through the cupboards as we speak. . .so thankful they are empty now;-)  It is a great place to play!

Another area that is organized is the homeschool spot.  We just have homeschool on Mondays so there aren't a whole bunch of supplies or books but what we do have has it's own spot:

 you can see the box of pictures peeking by the side there. . .you won't see a BIG picture here till the picture job is finished--I do have some pride;-)~

Here are some of my favorite cards from a Mary Engelbreit card set.  They are sitting on the table by my work spot to cheer up my day!  Love Mary Engelbreit!!!!!

I tell Eddy the "a place for everything and everything in it's spot" quote quite frequently.  How much neater things stay if we all put things back in their "spot" after we're done using them--habits, little habits that make such a huge difference.

Well, the challenge is over but I'm not through!  Many things are organized and now I need to do a thorough cleaning/dusting.  Not just the weekly things.  I mean like take all those books off the shelves and dust shelves, books, pictures; sweep around the baseboards then vacuum; wash the curtains; swiffer down the blinds--I have company coming!  The kind of ladies who are super duper wonder woman type housecleaners!!!!!  I mean the kind of ladies who mop their garage floors type clean.  Now I'm not that kind of lady and I'm not going to stress out trying to be one, but I would like all visible dust to be gone and it's time to get those bookshelves done--it's one of the seasonal chores on my list from Home Sanctuary--yea!




ConGratulAtioNs to all my fellow 21 Day Challenge ladies!!!!!

Day 20

It's a doozie. . .organize the pictures. . .let me just say that this is a work in progress.  Today I took pictures which won't upload, of course, and Wednesday - Saturday I will work on organizing and then the HUGE-e-MONGOUS job of scanning pictures into the computer.  I inherited all the pictures from my Grammer and want to get then scanned and on disks for the cousins and all. . .an overwhelming task that paralyzes me in it's overwhelmingness and so I just do nothing.  Being a perfectionist I think a job should be all done at once and not dragged out--on and on.  So if I can't accomplish a task in a sit down, my mind just blocks it completely out.  Enter Flylady and her 15 minute hotspot missions.  Just set the timer and work for 15 minutes and then move on.  It's amazing how much gets done and the overwhelmingness is taken away {sigh!}. 

We have till January 31 to finish the picture job--7 days--let's see how much can be done!

**edited to add before pictures. . .

boxes of pictures from Grammer--to be organized and scanned into computer then put into albums. . .

 some albums and pictures waiting to be put into albums, also need more albums. . .see the stack of flip pages that need a home?

 some more albums.  These are Eddy's baby albums and the mess next to it is our stack of "church things"--Bibles, study books, "stuff"--needs to be straightened, huh?  Will do. . .

so. . .it has taken almost three hours to get these pictures loaded thanks to a cloudy day and difficult internet connection--but it's finally done!  Back on the 31st with after pictures;-)

Day 19

ah!  a task to be dreaded. . .the master bedroom closet. . .

Our house has very little storage and so as I've been sorting and organizing and purging, the things that I needed to keep but really had no where to put have just ended up in my closet.  Oh my! 

well, here's the before pictures. . .

o.k. so make that picture.  My computer that teaches me patience is refusing to load pictures tonight.  I will try again tomorrow. 

**edit:  picture added--yea!!!!!  much better, huh?  still waiting for those storage boxes. . .

I envy Toni's tall tall stack of empty boxes and her huge closet.  I was able to get the top of my closet straightened and the hanging clothes sorted but the bottom. . .that's the mending, extra linens, sewing projects, and all sorts of crafty things.  I'm waiting for storage tubs which we have in storage {ha, ha} and I will finish organizing.  Wishing we had space for a big roomy dresser for all these material-ly treasures. . .  Someday. . .I shall put it on my someday list. . .

The 21 day challenge is almost over--2 more days to go.  Hardly seems possible!  Need some kind of new challenge after this, I guess;-)

Day 18

Today was organizing keepsakes for the children's papers & artwork.  I started a binder for Eddy when he was in pre-K for all those cute art projects and then started a binder for all the K papers but that soon became overwhelming and I stopped.  I liked Toni's idea of using the binder for special keepsakes because there are those and I have some sitting in a box with no where to go.  I got that pre-K binder back out and am going to copy Toni and put in dividers for different years.  My system simplified and those special things still have a special spot!  Thanks, Toni!

keepsakes binder all messy:

 tidied up and waiting for new treasures:

 meatloaf for dinner last night--and like all GOOD meatloaves, it is even tastier as leftovers!

 I found the main part of the recipe in this cookbook:

 A friend of my mom's passed this along to me.  Yes, we just purged our cookbook shelves and I sent pounds and pounds of cookbooks & recipe magazines off to Goodwill but look at the cover on this cookbook and tell me that you would've let it slip through your fingers!

 This isn't just a book with recipes.  There's history, stories, and pictures.  Those old fashioned-y pictures always draw my eye!  In the forward the author, Margaret Rudkin, says, "Some of these recipes are amusing, some elaborate and some just plain and easy.  That's a good pattern for eating and living--something for fun, something super for special times and something plain for the quiet days with just the family to say "Golly, that's a good egg!" and you sort of feel they mean you're a "good egg" too.  Few things are more rewarding to a woman than that happy feeling she has when she knows that the food she has prepared with love and interest brings pleasure to her family, served in a setting more important than any glamorous restaurant--dinner at home!"

So here's the recipe for last night's meatloaf--base of the recipe coming from said cookbook. 
** by things I changed.

**2 lbs. hamburger
**1 lb. mild breakfast sausage
**3 eggs
**3/4 c. bread crumbs
**3/4 medium onion, finely chopped
**2/3 c. milk
1 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
2 T. chopped parsley

**Place all ingredients in large bowl and mix thoroughly with hands. Shape into loaf and place in 13 x 9" baking pan. Bake at 375 for 1 hour. Remove and spread topping over meatloaf. Return to oven for 15 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.


**Topping: (this was my Grammer's special addition)
1 c. ketchup
1 c. packed brown sugar

mix well

hmmmm. . .looks like I changed a lot on this recipe. . .well, anyway I got the oven temp and spices from this recipe;-)

The Small Thing today was to clean dispensers.  So I cleaned the dish soap bottle, kitchen & bathroom handsoaps, 2 lotion spouts, & brushed and flossed my teeth since my mouth's favorite job is dispensing kisses & raspberries to this little one;-)

. . .a catcher. . .

a catcher-upper that is!  It's always so hard catching up.  I get very task oriented and that doesn't always work so well when there's this little person who thinks I should be playing with and entertaining her all the day long.  It's much easier when Eddy is home because just having someone sitting on the floor and playing is better than mommy trying to get stuff done.  I try to have all my "chores" done during the week so that we can relax on Saturdays but some "catching up" might just have to happen tomorrow when Helper has some Distraction;-)

Today I'm linking up with the Coffee Girls!  I'll be sipping my cuppa tea and getting to know some of the girls throughout the day.  Wouldn't that be nice?  Probably just a few minutes during nap time but I'll still enjoy the time browsing;-)

Yesterday I was having computer problems and didn't a post loaded from the Lemon Task which was to organize the command center of the home.  Well, this one for me is fairly easy since hubby takes care of all bills, papers, mail, and whatever else comes in.  My biggest job is keeping all of "that" stuff in his area.  Now, I've tried and tried many times to organize his command center and have bought bins of all sorts, file organizers, bill payer files, etc., etc. but none of that works for his "system."  I have learned to let him have his spot and do it his way; I just insist that this bill paying not take over the house.  It has ways of doing that.  At first it's just a corner of the table, and then half the table, and then all the table, and then the kitchen counter, sometimes stuff even ends up in the bathrooms--what?!?!?!  So over the weekend papers started taking over the table. . .to be fair. . .that's my stuff to the left of the flowers. . .to the right is "bill paying" stuff:

 after:  unfortunately I didn't get a picture when the table was empty.  Eddy & Gramma used the empty space for a Bakugan battle after dinner.

Off to get busy on today's to do list!  Did you know that it's National Hugging Day?  It is so get those hugs going;-)

the Momma is back!

When mommy's away the dishes will play. . .

 

 I think this is what we call job security!  But a fairy god-mother (my mom) showed up on Saturday and did the dishes for me.  Today I am finally getting caught up on the laundry--yea!

Happy Girl celebrated her birthday!!!!!  She was sick--vomiting type sick--then cut another tooth then I was sick--not the vomiting kind--then I got a sinus infection then we went in for Bible classes and today we are home and feeling mostly well again--yea!!!!!

 Thursday during Helper's sickness I accomplished a Lemon Task. . .Day 11 the freezer before:

 during. . .

 after:

 yes, Old Mother Hubbard's freezer is also kinda bare--thankfully!  much easier to clean;-)

 catching up on Lemon Tasks. . . Day 12--the spice cabinet before

 after:

 Day 16--that's today!  the fridge. . .before:  see the collection of cups?  Eddy likes to save them up in here;-)

 notice the Mary Engelbreit socks--love them!

 after:

Fortunately today the project for Home Sanctuary was to clean off shelves!  Spice cabinet & fridge give me 10 shelves which is worth 100 points--yea again!!!!!

It's good to be back and to have my house under control again!  Going to bed with a shiny sink, folded clothes, and a happy family!  Good Night!



SPECIAL DELIVERY

BABY STILL SICK  [STOP]

WILL ONLY STAY ASLEEP WHILE BEING HELD    [STOP]

MOMMY TEMPORARILY GROUNDED  [STOP]

WATCHING AUSTRALIA OVER AND OVER  [STOP]

Day 10

Today's Lemon Task was to clean out the laundry room.  Our laundry room is also the entry room and kitty litter & food room.  We do not have a garage so things that are waiting to go to Goodwill are "stored" here.  I plan to drop off things tomorrow so the pile is rather large and and the after pictures will be shown here tomorrow after that trip.  I managed to get into the laundry room today and start cleaning--everything is wiped down and sparkling again--yea!!!!  Baby's laundry is done.  But then Baby got sick--on her birthday of all days--and I never made it back to the laundry room.  I'm going to get my pictures posted and then sleep myself because I don't know how many times I will be up tonight with a throwing up little girl. . .

Laundry room before:
staging area for trash & Goodwill

 baby's laundry basket