My little helper?

Clutter Countdown

3 . . . bags of trash going to the curb

2 . . . bags of clothes going to goodwill

1 . . . stack of cardboard waiting to be recycled

equals

an empty closet!

Before:

After:

Surprise

Today turned out to be surprising. I was expecting the entire day to be horrible because I started the day out behind.

I woke up at 10:40 (according to my alarm clock). This is about 40 minutes past the time I am supposed to be at work.

So I rushed through my morning prep. I was feeling a little droopy because I had slept too long. I glanced at the clock when I walked into the kitchen -- 10:05 (huge weight lifted off my shoulders). My kitchen clock is about 4 minutes fast -- ironically, to help avoid being late -- so I was only 15 minutes late for work.

Thankfully, I didn't have to open today.

Anyway, usually days that start out like today are horrible from beginning to end. Not so in this case. Besides making up the time at work I missed by being late I:

• talked to my mom for a bit (twice actually -- once in person and once on the phone)
• talked to the sister (I heart instant messaging)
• got everything I had on my list for today completed

Not too bad after such a poor start!

Music to my ears

Jesus, name above all names,
Beautiful Savior, glorious Lord.

Emmanuel, God is with us.
Blessed Redeemer, Living Word.

© 1974 & 1978 Scriptures in Song Admin. by Maranatha! Music
Words and Music by Naida Hearn

There is nothing like hearing these word sung out of the mouths of children.

Baby steps . . .

"I'm baby stepping. I'm doing the work. I'm not a slacker." ~What About Bob?

I just spent the evening cleaning out my computer clutter. Or some of it anyway.

I love my google reader but I have a tendency to add subscriptions and then never read them. So I just spent the past hour deleting unread subscriptions, reorganizing, and reading.

I need to do that with my bookmarks too . . . it is peculiar how my life habits translate into online habits.

In life, I make copies of, cut out, save things that I will surely use SOMEDAY. Rarely does SOMEDAY ever come. While online, I bookmark things that I don't have time to read or think will surely come in handy SOMEDAY.

I have determined that SOMEDAY is today and I don't really need it. Besides I could always Google it and bookmark it later! :-)

Kidding.

Frugality

I'm starting to really enjoy this frugal life of mine.

It is almost a game . . . finding the best deal, talking myself out of buying something I really don't need, clipping coupons, etc.

I think the most difficult thing is getting rid of the stuff I already have but do not need or use. One of the major reasons I don't like to clean is all the stuff I have to clean, clean around, or put away.

As I continue to become a more frugal person one of my goals is to get rid of (and not replace) some of the stuff in my life.

So I have decided . . . just today as a matter of fact . . . that my focus this month is to get rid of stuff. My goal is to spend at least a half an hour going through the piles of things I keep telling myself I am going to NEED someday.

I am going to re-evaluate these NEEDS. My stuff is either going to go into the Garage Sale Pile (btw - did I mention I am having a garage sale this spring?), the Good Will Pile, the Garbage Pile, Gift Pile (re-gifting is a beautiful thing), or the Keep Pile. Hopefully, the Keep Pile will be very, very small.

I love a clean house

I dislike cleaning. But only because I put the chore off long enough that it becomes a monumental task that never seems to end.

On the other hand, I love a clean house.

• It looks nice!
• It smells good!
• And I know exactly where everything is and can get to it quickly.

Clutter seems to be my bane. But I am gradually going through items and either throwing them out or storing them for a garage sale this spring.

Ah . . .

It is so nice to accomplish something!

Even just a little thing, or two.

Eh

I honestly can't say this has been the most productive day.

I started out with grand plans and great intentions. I have a list of things I wanted to get done -- none of which were excessively difficult nor time consuming . . . and yet not a single item on my list was completed today.

It all started at noon when I opened my front door to see if my mail had arrived. It had but so had a package. A package I had been waiting for for a week!

It was the mp3 player I had purchased with some of the Christmas money I got from Grammy.

So the rest of my day was sucked into the mp3 player universe. I charged it up during my lunch break. Then during my afternoon break I perused my "free" download selection to find a few tunes to add. This evening has been spent figuring out how to download, upload, and all other manner of loading.

But I am -- now, at this very moment -- listening to my new mp3 player.

Oh, and I called the brother -- so I guess today was pretty productive.

A little bit of cake . . .

I have had the urge to make a cool cake for a while now. By cool I mean more difficult than cake from a box and more decorated than icing from a can. I even checked out some books from the library on cake decorating, etc. But I didn't have time to do a good job with it so I put that little dream on hold for a bit. I still don't have time; but the urge pops up now and again.

Especially when I watch something like this.

Or read something like this.

They make it look way too easy and way too good!

This on the other had is something I can probably do.

5 things I remember

I am going to combine two posts today, as yesterday I was too lazy too tired to post. Recently, I have been thinking a lot about my childhood. I think it started when Santa (yes, I still get presents from Santa -- he loves me!) delivered some Skittles Lipsmackers in my stocking. Granted I didn't have Skittles-flavored Lipsmackers when I was younger but I did have Dr. Pepper-flavored.

Anyway, I have been craving Dr. Pepper Lipsmackers since then and I picked some up today while I was on my walk. My walk in the lovely 40 degree afternoon! The packaging has changed a little bit -- now it has a very shiny label. And I don't think it cost $1.50 either . . .

5 things that remind me of my childhood

1. Dr. Pepper Lipsmackers
   
   
2. Dum Dum lollipops
   
   
3. Mr. Bubble bubblebath
   
   
4. Orange or Raspberry Push ems (the brother, the sister, and I called them Push ups)
   
   
5. Jelly Shoes -- my pair were clear and I usually wore them with socks!
   

Doin' a jig

You can't see me right now . . . but I'm doing my happy dance.

Tomorrow it is going to be 10 degrees warmer . . . WARMER!

AND THEN . . . Friday it is going to be 10 degrees warmer than that! Almost 32 degrees. Almost freezing! Yea!

Maybe, just maybe, this weekend it will get up to 40. If it doesn't, I won't be disappointed . . . I simply be thankful for the 10 degrees warmer!

Pretty Poinsettia

Conviction

I really enjoy teaching Sunday School. I like to hear the thoughts and ideas that run through the brains of 4th through 6th graders. I like what they have to teach me -- the perspective they lend. I like the questions they ask -- questions I would never think of.

The curriculum I teach from is really fun. It puts the students in the role of detectives searching in the Word of God.

I read through yesterday's lesson before class and was ready with my visuals, worksheets, and Scripture markers. And thought it would be a great lesson for the kids: teaching from Proverbs 6:6-11.

The passage compares an ant and a sluggard.

An ant works consistently to gather and store food for the winter. While a sluggard uses excuses and procrastination (uh, here & here) to avoid work.

It is funny how something can have a completely different meaning when you speak it aloud.

I think I learned more yesterday than my students.