FORGET THE LOST WEEK: WHERE DID FEBRUARY GO?

I have yet to figure out how a person can be busy all of the time and not get things finished. I remain DETERMINED to continue to finish the "Clean Sweep" we have started, but for the life of me, I believe I am dragging around a 100 lb. ball and chain. It feels like I need dynamite to get me going.

At least this week we managed to shred enough papers to fill a 4-foot tall box! All this to keep our identity secure. That's certainly a sign of the times we live in. I have been going through some other old documents and items that I refer to as "memorabilia". Some of it makes me laugh, some of it makes me cry. But, I came to a really liberating decision. If it only brings back a sad memory--TOSS IT! Now that really feels good. I also decided that if it's "worth keeping", get it out of the boxes and put it in an album. Now, I'm not talking about fancy scrapbooking; I'm just talking about getting it out of a box or folder and placing it in a top-loading photo album page. At least I can flip through it easily and so can the kids and grandkids. When we are done, we don't have to shove it all back into a box, we just close the album and put it back on the shelf. It seems so simple. When I feel like it, I can go back and add a little bit of journaling to give some insight into why I wanted to keep it or what it represented to me.

Jim has been busy, when it's not raining, building a three-tier water fall in our back yard on the hill. It is a place that has been waiting forever for a water fall. I am including a picture of the "in progress" work and will update later with the finished project. Did I mention I have a very "handy" husband? Wow, the water fall doesn't look so big in this picture, but from where my husband is sitting, to the top, is about 10 - 12 feet.

Lost Week

I feel like I lost a week. Last week came and went and I hardly have anything to show for it. But wait! Maybe it wasn't really lost; maybe it was just that I didn't get things done that I planned on getting done. Because as I look back, there was a lot going on, but I didn't make progress on the CLEAN SWEEP. Here are some things we did get done:

• attended a Stampin' Up group meeting. At the end of the meeting, my group helped me to make my deadline for the card swap that was due on January 28. Thanks to my stampin' buddies. Got my swaps back yesterday and they are awesome. The whole set is done with Sale-A-Bration stamp sets that can only be earned through the end of March. Pretty cute stuff. Tried to download some pictures, but had problems--maybe later
• purchased fabric for the office curtains and cornice board (sure is nice to have a handy husband). I decided I want the curtains for be full length, so I need to go back to IKEA for another panel of fabric.
• started a new Bible study--very intense--hope I can keep up. It's a 10-week "precepts" study, developed by Kay Arthur. It covers the Sermon on the Mount.
  went to two doctor's appointments--yucky eye infection
• picked up prescriptions
• shopped at Costco, IKEA, Home Depot, WalMart
• shopped for my mother-in-law
• visited my mother-in-law
• spent hours trying to resolve computer and telephone problems....
• did a little work in my Retired Annuitant position with the State of California
• attended worship team practice
• watching the Super Bowl (as I type this) and doing laundry--always need to multi-task!

Well, like I said, maybe I did more than I thought, since what I listed above is only what I can remember. Here's to the first week in February. I'd love to send pictures of the finished office!

Sidelined

Well, while the rain comes down, down, down and Kristin and Mark are vacationing in balmy Maui, I've been spending the week with my grandson Alex. Alex is very self-contained and doesn't require much in the way of care. It has been good to spend some time with him. Of course, he goes to school during the day. That being said, it left Jim with the clean sweep activities--painting the kitchen, updating the lighting in the kitchen and living room--that's why I say I've been sidelined.

Since my last post we located a great new desk and small storage cabinet for the office. The office painting was completed last week, but I continue to work on getting everything back in place. My goal continues to be a streamlined room where it is easy to work. To think, this all began because I needed to get all of my stamping and scrapbooking stuff organized. Plus, Jim and I made a vow to go through everything in the house and garage and eliminate excess. Look for pictures when everything is back in place.

I have a card swap that is due on Monday--2 designs, 11 cards of each design--so I've been trying to work on the card designs. I've been carrying everything back and forth between my house, Alex's house and Evelyn's house--working out the design and cutting the pieces. I've completed all of the preparation for the first card; one more to go!

Tonight Alex and I are off to cheer on big brother, David, at a basketball game. Noelle is going to take Alex for the weekend. Mark ad Kristin return late Monday night. That means I won't have any excuses for not getting things done.

Who Said Clean Sweeps Were Clean?

So, there was a bomb that went off in my house. Luckily, no one was injured. Since my last post I have been going through every item pulled out of my office, sorting, tossing and trying to make progress. There are shelves and computer programs and books in my living room. My second bedroom still has all of the empty rolling storage drawers and files that need to be sorted. I have a box full of office supplies that is headed to my church's neighborhood Connection Center. Another few boxes of gift items I've purchased that I need to actually give away. There is a large stack of "who wants this good stuff" or garage sale items--really, WHERE did this all come from anyway? It doesn't sound as bad as it really is--trust me on this.

Today we purchased primer and paint and got the primer on the walls. Our goal is to get the painting done by this evening. After we paint, we want to clean and reseal the tile. Then we can decide on a desk and start putting the office back together.

Clean Sweep

Well, the holidays are over and my new year plan is to do a clean sweep of our house, room by room, including the garage. My husband, Jim, and I started by moving a side board out of an inset in our living room and creating a built-in cabinet that holds all of my papercrafting materials--stamps, papers, punches, embellishments, tools, projects, etc. It is an awesome space--it works out to be about 56 square feet to a depth of 2 feet. It's almost embarassing to have so much stuff. All of the items were stored in the home office or spare bedroom. My goal is if it doesn't fit in the cabinet, then I can't keep it.

There was a side board in the inset that was moved into the dining area. We eliminated a few things out of the side board, but one great advantage has already been realized. Because the side board is nearer to the kitchen, I have actually used my china twice since moving it! Who knew?

The next project was to open an access point on the living room side of a kitchen cabinet that was not very useful. I'm afraid I called it the cabinet "from H@##" because it was impossible to reach the items in the back corner and the opening was so small. With the new opening, I can use every square inch.

On to the office...now we are really talking about a mess. We emptied everything out except the furniture and it is truly amazing how much "stuff" I had managed to cram into one small room. There was an L-shaped desk, three 2-drawer filing cabinets, one 4' x 6' bookcase, three stacking shelving units, four 4-drawer storage boxes, three rolling storage units, a keyboard, a small roll top-type desk. We sold the L-shaped desk and one filing cabinet. The bookcase is moved into the closet. Now I'm going through everything to see what I can "give up". I want to finish within the week. Jim is painting while I am sorting. I have actually moved a few things into the closet. I have a fairly decent pile of things I'm letting go. Perhaps there is hope for me.