Tag Archives: Simplifying

Some Home Updates!

Good afternoon!

We are having a lovely four-day weekend here at the manse!! LOL! 😉

I thought I would share some new pics of some things going on around our place this weekend! 😉

Here are some pics of our garden! It is so fun to watch the plants grow and getting out there and weeding, pruning, and making everything look lovely!!

We are so jazzed to see how much lettuce we are going to have! They are growing so much faster then us newbie-farmers could even imagine!

Here are our snap-peas, and 3 strawberry plants! We already have one red strawberry!! We will have to flip a coin to see who gets to eat it!! 😉

Here are the two blueberry bushes! I can’t wait to see how much they produce! 😉

Here are a few of our herbs!

Here are a few more! We have 3 pots of herbs growing! 😉

Next, on to our living room!! As many of you know, my sweetie and I are getting ready for Bariatric surgery. One of my goals before surgery is to make sure that the house is clean, organized, purged, and no muss, no fuss ready for us to just concentrate on getting better!

One of the things we have been hearing from past patients is that a recliner is almost imperative to post-surgery resting! Well, I have been a long time naysayer of recliners. They are large, ugly, and I have just really never liked them! So, when I picked up two leather ones this weekend, I was sure that I was losing my mind, but my rationale behind doing that was twofold! 1. I know that we will both be having surgery, and I don’t want either one of us to have to sleep on the couch! 2. It has been really hard to have company over when there is just not enough seats in our place!

So after a ton of time spent cleaning, purging, and redecorating, and along with the help of my FABULOUS sweetie, we were able to take our living room from this:

To this:

Aaaaaaah…SO MUCH BETTER!!

The feeling in here is now so much more calming. We moved the large television out from in front of the window, so the room is now awash in sunlight! What a much more positive feeling, and way less drab and gloomy!!

 

Also, now that I have a bunch more of our favorite art work on the wall, the space feels sooo much more like us!!! I can’t wait to see what the rest of the house looks like once we are finished, but we are really so close!! I will make sure to share pictures with you as more progress is made!!

Here is to a FABULOUS evening!! ;-)

 If you want to have a different life, you have to live differently!

Where Did the Day Go?

Good evening!

My sweetie just came in and asked me if I knew what time it was, and when he told me it was past 10 my bottom jaw almost hit the ground! IT JUST COULDN’T BE!?!?!?

But, apparently it is!!

I got home late this evening because I had to take a huge bag of stuff back to The Craft Warehouse this evening – apparently, I had momentarily lost my mind this weekend, and gave myself a insane crafting supply shopping spree!! 😉

Anyway, that took me almost 2 HOURS, all by itself!! Then I grabbed dinner, got home, watched a quick show with my sickie hubby, and then went straight to the art studio to continue progress on getting the room clean!! It is soooo close!! I think I will have about one more trip to the thrift store, and a couple of more trips out to the recycle bin, and I will be officially DONE!!! I CAN’T WAIT!!! 😉

I know I had told you that I would get a couple of pics posted tonight, but I let time get away from me, and pics of any kind are just not going to get done this evening!! I am sorry!!

I will have them posted tomorrow evening!! FOR SURE! HANDS DOWN! I will make sure to post them AS SOON AS I GET HOME FROM WORK!!!

Anyway, I am soooo excited about the next chapter of my life – WHATEVER THAT IS GOING TO LOOK LIKE!!! I am going to take my tired self to bed so that I can dream about the rest of my week!!

Have a FABULOUS evening!! 😉

A New Evening!!

Good evening!

For most of the day today, I have been frantic whirlwind of cleaning, organizing and purging!! My art studio/office is starting to look better, but it seems that as soon as I clean up one pile, two more show themselves!! Those sneaky little pests!!! 😉 I did not take any pictures this evening, however, I’m confident that I will be able to in a few days, and the room will be completely done!!! WHEW!!

In the process of cleaning, purging and organizing my office/art studio, I am learning to realize just how important a safe place to create is for me. This is ABSOLUTELY priceless!! I am excited to see where my imagination can take me, and I know that having a clean, organized, clutter free space that truly represents my personality is something that EVERY GIRL should have! Especially, if one is trying to tap into one’s inner artist! I can honestly tell you that I don’t know where I will end up in 1 year, 5 years, 10 or 20, but I CAN tell you, that it is GOING TO BE GOOD!!

I want to give a shout out to my husband, Jason!! There were many times today, and this whole weekend, where I have been completely overwhelmed and needed either some moral support, cheerleading, or just someone with a stronger will then I to physically remove some items from our place that just needed to get donated or recycled!! Jason has done that for me, as he has on many occasions!! I love you, Sweetie, and I could not have gotten nearly as far as I have without your help! YOU ARE MY ROCK! You make my life so much better, and I still thank God that you are in my life. I TRULY am one lucky girl, and I OWE YOU SOOOOO BIG TIME!!! Thank you, Jay!

As for this week! I am not sure exactly what to expect yet, but priority number one is to get this art studio/office finished!!! Mamma needs a place to create!!

Work will be busy, but really, when is it not?? I also need to make sure that I get a couple of weeks on the calendar for our vacation! We are planning on camping with my sister’s family at the end of the month, but even that time has not been approved just yet! So, I will have to do some negotiating with some of my co-workers on that!

I am wanting to take a Zumbe class! I was planning on starting that next week, but I was burning my candle at both ends, still am, and that is going to have to wait a little while longer!! 😉 That is part of the reason for uncluttering my home so that I have more time and energy for doing the things I want to do – like Zumba!!

Have I told you that I am still doing my Artist’s Way morning pages, and weekly artist’s date with myself. I am, and I am still loving it! I was surprised to see that I was on week 9 of that process!!  The old Christina really never did very well with following through on things like this. This new Christina can’t imagine never not doing it!! They have radically changed the way that I look at my life, which in turn has changed me!! For the better!! I am so much happier than I was in the past, and I have reconnected with my creator, and now have hope for a different future than the dismal one I was settling for!! now, if only this new Christina could just lose some weight, and figure out world peace, all would be DIVINE wouldn’t it??? LOL! 😉

Until I speak with all tomorrow…

Have a FABULOUS evening!! 😉

 

Slowly But Surely!

Good evening!

I know that these pics may not look like I am making much headway in my art studio/office clean, up but I feel like I am doing A LOT!!!

My sweetie helped me locate, and assembled this perfect little bookshelf to put on top of my craft dresser, My new motto is storage, storage, storage!! I have spent a good portion of my day sorting supplies and putting all like items together. Tomorrow will be more about getting things out of there for donating to charity, recycling old magazines, and papers, putting everything into their new homes, and decorating like a banshee!! That is my FAVORITE part!!! 😉

I am loving the green on the walls, I had dabbled with the idea of changing it, but to be honest with you – it is just too much work!! So, I am sticking with my gut and just working with it! I am adding baby pink, silver, and baby blue into the mix!!  Also adding the cubicle bookcase on top of the dresser and some lovely white curtains, is making this place feel so much nicer – even though there is still sooooooo much left to do!!! I think the room is taking on a much softer  girlier-glam feel! I know that is hard to believe when looking at these pics, but it really took me 5 years to get it into the state that it was in, so it is going to take me a little while to get it back to ship-shape!! 😉

I must confess, that I was so overwhelmed when I went in there to start this morning, that I decided to go shopping instead! Nice, right??? I bought some replacement essentials like bed pillows, and towels, which we were in desperate need of new ones!! Then when I got home, Jason helped me first thing, and I was still sooooo overwhelmed!! WHERE THE HECK DO I START??? Well, when I had taken Linda and GG’s craft class, they started with a meditation, so I thought I would give that a try! It TOTALLY worked!! I realized I had to stop feeling guilty and forgive myself for letting the room get to be such a disaster. I then made the decision to open my eyes, find one thing to toss, and one thing to put away. That seemed easy enough to commit to, so I did it, and then did again, and before I knew it I was on a roll!!

Anyway, I have a lot of work ahead of me for tomorrow, but I am excited to see what I can get done!!

TO-WANDA!!!!
(a la Fired Green Tomatoes, for those who are not in the know!)

Have a FABULOUS evening!! 😉

A Rather Productive Day!

Good evening!

I realize that I have been doing a lot of late night posts, but I am pushing the envelope to get AS MUCH done as possible!! 😉

Today, my goal was to start uncluttering my nightstand, bedroom, writing desk, walk-in closet and dresser drawers!! It took me most of the day, but I am very happy to report that I have gotten that done!! I was able to gather 3 bags and 2 boxes worth of clothing that will be either given away or donated to charity!! WHEW!! That was about 60 items of clothing that will no longer be cluttering up my closet!! I also have completely reorganized the sort order of everything, it used to be by color, but now it is by type of clothing. All dresses in one section, pants, in another, skirts in another, etc. etc. I have never organized my closet that way, but I am SERIOUSLY loving it!! The colors are all integrated together, and somehow it feels much cheerier the way it is organized now – more like me, if that makes any sense??

Tomorrow, my goal will be to unclutter the upstairs linen closet, bathroom, and craft room/office. THAT room is going to be the SCARIEST because there is just sooooo much stuff in there that really needs purging!! HOWEVER, the task seems to be much easier than I had orinally would be because I am able to look at each item and say, “Does this truly represent me and our new lifestyle?” No? then out it goes!! I know there will be someone else who will be able to use it, if not I!! 😉

I had planned on taking before and after pictures, but in all honesty I was so excited to get started this morning, that I didn’t do ANYTHING else when I got out of bed! I literally, sat up and started cleaning my nightstand off! Ok, that might be a little bizarre!!

Anyway, this evening my sweetie and I went to dinner and a movie with some friends of ours, Dawn and Erin. We had a nice dinner, and then zipped over to go see Pirates of the Carribean III, in 3D. It was a long movie, and it was alright. However, the scenery was FANTASTIC, the costumes were MESMERIZING, the soundtrack was HYPNOTIC, and the relationship between the Christian and the mermaid was HOT & STEAMY!!! YUM!! It made me want to spend tomorow reading a lust int he dust book, which is what we call romance novels in this house!! 😉 but, I will stay focused!! I have brought soooo much new stuff into this house, and I have to do all I can to make sure that EVERY SINGLE THING IN THIS HOUSE HAS A HOME WITHIN IT!! 😉 I will get there, it will just take me some time!! Ok, maybe a LOT of time, but it will happen slowly but surely!!

As for now, I will just be happy to be able to “shop” in my newly cleaned, purged, and organized closet!! It is SIMPLY DIVINE!!!

Have a FABULOUS evening!! 😉

A Productive Sunday!

Good morning!

NORMALLY, I have a hard a fast rule about not working on Sunday! However, today I have to make an exception. I am sooooo far behind in my work, at work. Our team of 4 has diminished to essentially 2, and I am waaaaaay behind in my portion of the work. Being salaried does have it’s perks, but getting paid to work overtime isn’t one of them. SO, I am going to be heads down for a while today, and just work work work to get some of my tasks completed, so I don’t have to try and squeeze them in while I am dealing with all of the interruptions, and other fires to put out, so to speak!

As for my sis moving back to AZ, I think I have come to terms with that. Ok, well, at least I am no longer bawling about it!!! Her bravery has given me cause to take a look at myself and see what things I have possibly been settling with, and what changes Jason and I can make to get closer to where we want to be. Little farm, here we come!!! 😉

As for my simplicity project, I made a HUGE dent in my magazine collection yesterday!!! I am not sure I am ready to deal with what the appeal of having so many magazines are, why can’t I just up and recycle ALL OF THEM??? but i think I decreased it’s size by 1/4th and I am hoping to be able to say that I have decreased it by another 1/4th by the end of the week!!! I find that it is easier to deal with the stacks, if I just take a few out every day, instead of trying to deal with it all at once.

Talking about dealing with it all at once, I am planning on putting a HUGE box together to go to Goodwill this morning!! I know, how am I supposed to get all of this done if I am working??? I don’t know, I will figure it out. All I know, is that I am SO determined to get rid of all of the THINGS that are taking up to much space in my life, both literal and mental!!! I have been selling a lot of stuff on eBay, but it has been time consuming dealing with so many questions for buyers, packaging purchases, dealing with the post office, then having to  bend over backwards to make sure everyone is happy, just so they won’t give you a back review score. I am trying to decide if all that is worth it. Maybe, maybe not!! I will let you know what I end up deciding!!!

Anyway, onward and upward!!! I am off to go get my day started – and a late start it is, at that!!! 😉

Have a FABULOUS day!!! 😉

Project Simplify!

Good morning!!

My mind is racing a bit this morning – I have A LOT of stuff to get done!! I just have to stop in my tracks and decide what is important to the big picture and what isn’t! As you may know, I have been really trying to simplify my life/home/work etc. etc. etc. Some of it is working BEAUTIFULLY and some of it is proving to be a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. You see, I have a sponsor child in Mozambique. I have been sponsoring her for about 2 1/2 years now and I try to write at least one letter to her every month. She has basically nothing, and lives in a one-room hut with her entire family; so when I write to her I am not supposed to comment about what we have, or give too many details about anything that might make her feel bad about not having much herself. That really wasn’t leaving me with too much to talk about and I was really having a hard time not repeating myself to her letter after letter – how often can you talk about the weather???

Anyway, about 6 months ago, while trying to come up with topics for my little girl’s letter, I made the realization that my life had become more about things and possessions then it did about people and experiences – that is what started me on this journey. I wanted to, and am currently working on transforming myself into a people focused, experience loving person!!! I finally understood that when I die, none of these ‘things’ are going to go with me, why had a placed so much importance in them???? So, that is where I am and how this whole journey came about!!!!

There had been some basic housekeeping-type duties that were falling by the wayside, and it was really starting to depress me, so I started looking for ways that I could make those weekly duties much more simplified!! What I came with, so far, looks something like this:

  • Make the bed and empty the dishwasher every morning
  • If needed, cycle the laundry as soon as I get home from work and then fold the clothes in bedroom, so that they can get put away right on the spot
  • Every evening set out clothes the night before to make getting ready in the morning a breeze
  • Tuesdays is the dogs’ bath day
  • Saturday mornings are cleaning mornings, including sweeping/ mopping/vacuuming floors, thorough cleaning of  bathrooms, and changing bedding
  • Sunday is cooking day: pre-prepare foods/meals/lunches to help make preparing meals a little quicker and easier (for example: making a large pot of veggie soups in handy to-go containers so that you can just grab and go for lunches)

So far this has been going really well, and has made it possible to get a lot more important/fun things done during the week!!! Spending more time with family and friends, and more time getting out there and LIVING MY LIFE!!!! 😉

Other, bigger, simplifying things I have been doing have been:

  • Getting rid of unwanted book
  • Magazines
  • DVDs
  • Purging old/unnecessary paperwork in my office/craft room
  • Deciding what craft supplies to keep/donate
  • What clothes/accessories/jewelry I wear/don’t wear
  • Really taking stock of what is important in my life and what is not

So far, not everything has been easy, but it has been worth it! I can’t wait to see where I end up with all of this, but I really want to get off of the materialistic rat race that I had seemed to stuck on. I think that is where my idea of living on a small farm stemmed from, and the more I dream about it, the more excited I get about actually winding up there!!!

As for now, my morning chores are done, and I am heading off to work!!!

Have a FABULOUS morning!!! 😉

Getting a Move On!!!

Good morning!

I have found my pep again this morning! WHOO! HOO!! I can see a good day coming on!! YEAH!!! I didn’t go to sleep any earlier than I had been ( I drank too much caffeine yesterday to actually go to sleep early), but I did get in bed for an extra long reading session by 9:30 last night – that always seems to recharge my batteries, so to speak!!!

Another thing that I think really contributed to my feeling of get-up-and-go syndrome is that Jason and I tried something new last night before heading upstairs! NO! Not that!!! 😉 We did a guided meditation together last night. I was rather impressed with it, really! It took less than 10 minutes, and after we were done I felt more relaxed, but also rejuvenated at the same time! Does anyone else out there meditate? What are your experiences with meditation? I would love to hear your stories in the comment section above! 🙂 Anyways, I am so motivated by that one experience, that I am wanting to try it again tonight, and see if I get the same effect as last night!!!

Also, I had been telling you that dreaming has been something that I have done my whole life, and I have found that within the last 2 years I really haven’t dreamed too much – at least not that I can remember, but I dreamed seemingly all night last night!!! They were GOOD dreams too!!!  HELLO, PATRICK SWAYZE!!!! YUM!!! 😉 That was SAH-WHEET!!! 😉 I am wondering if I can attribute that to the meditation too, or possibly the fact that I ate several smaller meals yesterday verses 3 big ones??? I will have to test that again too!!! 😉

On another note, it is swim night tonight, I HOPE!! I can’t wait to see Nette and her family, it has been over 2 weeks since we have spent any quality-time together! They just got back from Hawaii, and I can’t wait to hear how everything went, but I will be able to know if it was a good trip just by seeing Megan’s face!! She is sometimes like an open book!! MAN, I LOVE THAT LITTLE GIRL!!! I MISS YOU, MISS MEGGY!!! 😉 I found this picture of her when she was younger, and I JUST CAN’T BELIEVE HOW FAST SHE IS GROWING!! She is 7 going and 22 – she just wants so much to be a grown-up!!!

Well, I have got some business to attend to this morning! I am working on simplifying my life, and right now that means selling loads of stuff on eBay!!! It takes a lot of work, but I am LOVING the extra money that is coming in because of it! Money has been tight, and right now, every little bit helps!!!

I will write again this evening, and keep an eye out for today’s quote – I will be posting that sometimes later today too!!!

Until then,

Have a FABULOUS day! 😉