Crossing items off the list...

I've been working on my to-do list lately, and have maganged to make quite a dent in it. Today I've been concentrating on things that are fun, but still things I have been putting off. Like what, you say?

Like actually using the teeth whitening product I bought a year and a half ago. Now tell me, do you see a difference? I spent two hours doing multiple repeated steps, including using a special light. I don't see any result at all, and don't plan to go to the trouble again.
before

after


Then my efforts moved from my head to my toes, which I gave a pretty sad attempt at a french pedicure.


After having two such taxing jobs crossed off my list, albeit not with a great deal of satisfaction, I thought I had earned some computer time. (I mean, come on, if I'm going to procrastinate, I might as well blog about it, right?)

So what do I find in my inbox? An e-mail from a service I subscribe to which is an aid to maximize efficient time usage. It asked 'do you put your energy where it counts the most?' And then suggests 'concentrating on tasks that produce the greatest rewards.'

Point taken.

Back to the laundry and decluttering!

So there we were, the two of us side by side with a light cotton quilt over us...

Saw this idea over at What's Happening At My House, and since I just went to the library and have two unread books sitting right beside me, I wanted to play along.

• Grab the nearest book to you
  
• Turn to page 56
  
• Post the text of the fifth sentence as a post title, and pass this meme on to who you like

The sentence in the post title is from Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See. I'll bet it had some of you wondering what the heck this post was about, huh? :) If you're reading this and want to play too, consider yourself tagged!

An inquisition from Joolz...

I just had to put up this photo for Joolz (cheeky girl) who asked the following questions on her blog.

# 1 What's for dinner tonight? stir-fried rice

# 2 What's your favourite cute animal picture? I'd show you, but my scanner and I are feuding.

# 3 Who does the dishes in your house? I usually clean up as I cook, then Carey puts the tableware in the dishwasher and washes up pans.

# 4 On a personal note, regarding toilet paper - Are you a Scruncher or a Folder... or a Fruncher/Scrolder, he he! Whatever it takes to get the job done!

# 5 What jar (brand) of (tomato based) Spaghetti sauce do you use for Spagetti Bol? Classico - Fire Roasted Tomato and Garlic

# 6 Do your children make their own beds and put out their clothes or do ... you? Alas, my nest is empty.

# 7 Can I have your favourite recipe for a dessert you love? Sure! Oh, you mean right here, right now? No.

# 8 My ironing board is permanently set up - do you labour over baskets of ironing or do you fold, put away then iron as you need.... like me? I try to never buy clothes that need ironing...but in the extreme case, I iron as needed...I have an over-the-door fold-down ironing board in our bathroom.

# 9 Do you wear makeup each day or go Phhhffft! Stuff it! How often do you go to thehairdresser? I always wear makeup to the office...other days, it just depends on my mood. When my hair is short, I have to go every six weeks or so, or it starts looking pretty scruffy...right now, it's pretty long, so I can go longer between trims.

# 10 What is your ultimate personal indulgence eg. relaxation/treat An appointment with my reflexologist. Aaaahhhh...

Look what I found...

headboard and footboard

(pay no attention to my quilt frame rails underneath)

A friend asked me to go to an auction with her yesterday. I didn't really feel like it. Definitely didn't need to bring home one more thing. But I hadn't spent any time with my friend for such a long time, and a whole day together is a rare thing indeed. So I said yes.

We got there early and walked the room, scoping out things we might want to bid on. I didn't see anything I couldn't live without. Then towards the end of the day they brought this beauty out of nowhere, and it was love at first sight. My resolve flew out the window, and my hand with its bidder number kept popping up with absolutely no resistance from my sensible side.

All my life my mother talked about her grandparents' beautiful tall bed, and how it had to be cut down to fit smaller rooms when they moved off the farm and into town. Apparently that happened a lot, as I have seen lots of the cut-down versions over the years. But I don't ever remember seeing an unaltered version before...at least not one that spoke to me like this one does.

You may remember seeing our current bed in a previous post. When we moved into this house five years ago, we finally had room for a king-sized bed, so we invested in a Select Comfort (LOOOOOOOVE IT!), but we had no headboard. We were hosting a big family party (Carey's side) with everybody coming from out of town, and I couldn't stand the idea of a naked bed. I bought the black metal frame from a friend's mother for $50. I like it and was glad to have it, but it's never been one I wanted to keep forever.

So all this time I've been trying to decide what style I would really like to have. I keep finding myself attracted to really tall headboards, and have been considering doing a DYI project of some kind. Actually, since antique beds don't come in king size, this one will require some DIY. I'm going to have to find a way to visually extend the sides without causing any damage to the head/footboard. Any ideas? I've been thinking maybe mounting the headboard directly to the wall and putting up narrow upholstered panels on each side. Or maybe painting a section of the wall (a mattress-wide section) an accent color, with the headboard centered on it. I'm afraid I can't think of any way to use the footboard at all.

I'll have to give this some thought. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. And I'll post the final results when there are some.

Frustration...

Know what happens when I enter my own blog address or click on it from my favorites?

I get an error message that Internet Explorer cannot open this website.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

I was able to get to the posting screen by going through blogspot.com and my dashboard.

Just venting...and letting you know there is a prob in case you don't see any action for awhile.

What's your sign...

There's a house that I pass every morning on my way to work. It's been on the market for awhile. It looks like a nice roomy house, and if I was interested in moving in to town, I might even consider it. But that would mean I would be 'somewhere' instead of four miles north of nowhere, and that's just not what I'm interested in.

Anyway, back to my story. Every morning the sign in front of this house catches my eye, and I think of the comedian, Bill Engvall, and his 'here's your sign' bit. This is the sign I'm claiming for my own...

No, I'm not for sale. LOL It's the addendum they tacked on the bottom that I love--I'm gorgeous inside. Indeed. Each time I see this sign it prompts a mini self-examination...am I a good friend, wife, mom, grandma...do I give thanks and praise each day...do I practice the golden rule...have I searched out the blessings that each day brings and felt joy? I don't actually tally up a score, I just know that this makes me smile.

Don't get me wrong, I am far, FAR from perfect. But I love and am loved. And I feel absolutely gorgeous inside!

Now as for the outside...

Paper Weaving Card...

Some time back, I saw some gorgeous cards and an awesome tutorial on paper weaving at Folding Trees. I kept going back and looking at it, and kept loving it. Today I was in the mood for some craftiness, and thought, 'today is the day!'

Of course I complicated the process more than need be by not looking at the tutorial again before starting...surely I had looked at the picture often enough to be able to remember what it was supposed to look like. Alas my results were far from satisfactory. Then I went back and read the directions. Ah...much better.

I'll find a way to use my first effort in some project or other.

Oh, and the '2' in the middle...it has a purpose.

Saturday...

think the Sound of Music and start humming 'Favorite Things'...

Waking up early
to cover the miles.
Audience families
and hundreds of smiles.
Little girls' tutus with butterfly wings.
These are just some of what Saturday brings.

Rainfall on tin roofs
and lightning in flashes.
Having my son-in-love
show off his gashes.
Lunch in a restaurant with yummy things.
These are just some of what Saturday brings.

Water fountain
intrigues small one.
Big brother's helpful way.
Mama-kissed babies and grandparents' fun.
All make this a cherished day!

Wishes...

on dandelions...birthday candles...first stars...and falling stars...fingers crossed...shed eyelashes...wishbones...coins in fountains...necklace clasps turned around backwards and kissed...can you think of any more?

I'm wondering if these are universal, or are they particular to a region?

Do you still make wishes? If so, is it from habit, tradition, or do you really believe wishes come true?

Oh, here's another one...I remember as a kid riding in a car, making sure to pick up both feet as you cross a railroad track, then scratch the ceiling and make a wish. This seems less like a wish and more like ritualistic behaviors.

I hate e-mails that tell me to make a wish, and forward the message to all my address book if I want the wish to come true. I tried it once...I wished I would never get another one of those kinds of e-mails...didn't work.

I use the phrase 'I wish...' but that's not a real wish. And I don't expect the materialization of something desired just because I have enough hot air to extinguish all of my many birthday candles in one breath.

But there's something sweet about watching a hope-filled child waiting for the first star as darkness falls so that they can make their wish. So I'll make a wish too. I'll wish that there will always be children to wish on stars. And I believe this one will come true.

Three...

...places I've visited: Mexico, Ireland, Washinton (state)

...cars I've owned: Jeep, Mazda, Mustang

...foods I love: Mexican, fresh seafood, chocolate

...jobs I've held: cattle pedigree clerk, legal secretary, BOA

...authors I love: Ken Follet, Thomas Perry, Barbara Delinsky

...places I've lived: Kingsville, Freer, Seguin

...favorite hobbies: reading, photography, card making

...bones I've broken: foot, ribs, hand

...tv shows I watch: The Office, Law & Order (all of them), Cash Cab

...songs that make me turn up the volume: Black Horse and the Cherry Tree, My Way (Los Lonely Boys), You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet

...favorite drinks: Coke (from Sonic), water, iced peppermint tea

...fun board games: Yahtzee, Sorry!, Trivial Pursuit

...stores I could spend a whole day in: Barnes & Noble, Michael's, SteinMart

...chores I put off as long as possible: paying bills, vacuuming, dusting

...chores I kind of like: emptying the dishwasher, scrubbing sinks, cleaning the toilet

...things I would rather chew glass than do: figure cost basis, attend parties, go car shopping

...reasons I hate attending parties: mingling, small talk, having my picture taken

...favorite dog breeds: Jack Russell, German Shepherd, mutt

...things I just don't get: tube tops, bungee jumping, reality tv

Day 10 toward health, and beyond...

I don't remember what I ate on day 10. I'm sure it wasn't stellar.

That was the day of my appointment for the health assessment at the wellness center; that went fine, so I can use their facilities now. I haven't worked out what schedule will work best for me.

At the beginning of the 10 days, I thought blogging my progress along with the other participants would be a helpful endeavor. I didn't expect it to be as much fun as it was. It really brought into focus where I'm doing okay, and what I need to work on. And I loved the incentive to scratch a few things off of my to-do list, too! A big thank you to Frugal Trenches for thinking it up and letting me join in.

Now I'll be doing my best to maneuver the road ahead, with all its curves and pitfalls.

Day 9 of 10 toward health...

As day 9 of the 10 toward health goes, today was a bit of a wash. But, oh!, what a blessing to spend the weekend with the little girls.

It was Chloe's first time to spend the night. Caitlyn is an old pro, and she came with her own grandma's-house-of-fun expectations. Chloe pretty much went along for the ride this time, but I have no doubt that next time she will have a list of her own demands. :) There were surprises, books (lots and LOTS of books), bubbles, tattoos, and treats.

I got a bit of a phone lecture from their father after they got home and ratted me out...but truly I think they understand that some things are only for at grandma's house, and I sincerely doubt they will be expecting ice cream for breakfast at home.

Of course, I was so exhausted after they left that I went into a bit of a carb frenzy, and that is all I'm going to say about that.

I wasn't scheduled to work tomorrow, but had a request to fill in for someone who had something come up. I had expected to have one more day to recover. :)

Day 8 of 10 toward health...

Today I have my two favorite little girls visiting me. So this will be brief.

Breakfast: skipped

Lunch: apple with peanut butter

Dinner: cheddar and grilled chicken quesadilla with guacamole (a little charred due to distractions in the kitchen)


Activity: trying to keep one step ahead of the girlies.

To-do list task: Before the girls got here, I did get some chores done...laundry, cleaning the bathroom, cleaning off one counter to make a somewhat permanent spot for the bread machine.

Now that they are finally asleep, I think I shall go collapse too, to re-energize for tomorrow.

Day 7 of 10 toward health...

Well, I did focus on health today...not really today's health, but tomorrow's.

All week I have pretty much rolled my eyes over the whole swine flu situation. The county that I live in was the first with confirmed cases in the state of Texas. Every day we hear of more school closings and warnings. The local hospital has set up a triage area just for potential flu cases away from the main hospital.

And still I scoffed.

Today my attitude started to slide over to the better-safe-than-sorry side of the scale. I went looking for some nutritional supplements and homeopathic remedies that I had heard were recommended. Stores were sold out, so I called my daughter to see if she could order them online. She was able to, and so got enough for their household and ours.

Then I went on over to the nearest wholesale club and shopped for staples. Visions of Y2K kept running through my mind as I lifted big packages of canned tuna and chicken, industrial-sized package of dried beans, canned vegetables, dried fruit, and twenty pounds of flour into my basket...I've been wanting to start using the bread machine again anyway. Then had to load it all in the car, then carry it all in the house (a workout in itself). If the situation turns out to be overblown, this is all stuff we will use anyway. If things get really bad, we'll be glad we don't have to be out in public.

I'm hoping that we will look back on this as we do on Y2K as 'that time Mom fell for the hype and went a little nuts.'

Anyway, in the course of the day, I let my emotions talk me into comforting myself with a Sonic Coke and deep-fried cheddar-stuffed jalapenos. I did nix the inclination to buy bulk packages of cookies and brownie mixes, though. :)

Breakfast: skipped

Lunch: cheddar peppers and a Coke

Dinner: Salad with grilled chicken breast. (Now that I've made the preparations that I can for the future, I can get back to the issue at hand.)


Activity: walking

To-do list task: I've been wanting to rearrange a poorly organized kitchen cabinet for ages. So today I set to it, relocated the adjustable shelf, and added in a space saver. Now it all looks and works better. I even was able to fit in a stack of plates that I had stored way across the kitchen before.