Getting there...

I was just looking over my posts and I was surprised to see that I've been writing here for almost 3 years.  Where did the time go?  I feel like I'm starting to get my stuff together.  You'd think that 3 years was more than enough time to get fit, organized, and healthy, but it's been a journey for me.  Baby steps here and there, and some steps backwards a few times too.  The important thing is that I am moving forward bit by bit.

I think I've come a long way in 3 years.  I've reclaimed my basement from the stuff that was piled there, gotten rid of a lot of stuff by donating it or just throwing it out (or recycling when appropriate).  I've been following a mostly vegan diet for a little over 2 years and I've been antidepressant free for about 8 months now.  Without the medications, I actually don't feel as depressed as I used to.  Funny how that works, isn't it?

I still have a long way to go, but I'll get there!  Overall, I feel a lot better than I did 3 years ago.  I think I'm more fun to be around too.  People don't tend to enjoy spending a lot of time with people who are negative, and I know I was very negative before.  I'm working on reducing stress and being more positive.  It's a process, but I find that it's helping.

I find this quote to be true:

Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing.  ~Phyllis Diller, Phyllis Diller's Housekeeping Hints, 1966

I would add that the same applies to husbands, especially if they are nerds and tend to accumulate a lot of computer stuff.

So, that's me for now.  Moving forward, step by step.  And now it seems appropriate to add this video:

Getting Organized Feels So Good!

I never thought I'd be able to post the above title, but it's true!  I had a friend visit from out of town and our house needed a major decluttering.  It wasn't something we could baby-step any more.  It was all out!  I lost count of the number of garbage bags and recycling bags that we racked up as we decluttered.  Since we live in a pilot area for waste collection, it made things interesting.  We can currently put out garbage every other week, maximum of 3 bags.  Recycling and composting have no limit and can be put out every week.  Needless to say, we had to make a trip to the dump this week.

The result is that we can eat at our dining room table again and have been doing so for the last week.  We were able to entertain and have friends and family drop in without feeling humiliated.  I had a great visit with my friend and was sad to see her go.

Our house isn't perfect, and there are lots of things I would change if I could as well as some changes I'm working on, but it's home and it feels so much better to be here now that it's more organized.  We still have a a way to go, but it's much more livable now and I can see us becoming more social again since we'll be able to invite people over.

Slightly More Organized, A Lot Healthier

I can't believe how fast the summer has passed me by. It was pretty good as far as getting more organized and more healthy. Getting fit? Not so much. I was able to declutter a lot this summer. I got pretty ruthless, but I'm hoping to be able to telecommute for my job soon, so I need office space. To get office space, I had to stop procrastinating and start doing. I've said it before, but it feels really good to let things go. Getting things out of the house releases the guilt tied to them and releases the space they were taking up. Still have a little way to go to complete the main area of the basement for my office.

The best part is that I was able to use a desk that my husband had taken apart but never delivered to his sister. When enough room was cleared out, he put it together for me and now it's not cluttering up my basement any more. It would be really nice if my family would stop putting stuff on the desk though!  I don't have my computer yet, but I will need somewhere to put it when they come to install it.

As for healthier, I really attribute the way I've been feeling to visiting our chiropractor. We've gone through the most intensive part of our treatment and we're now down to 1 treatment a week. When we started, I could not look over my shoulder to see in the back seat of the car. The first time I could turn my head that far, I was amazed. I hadn't even realized I was in that bad shape! My headaches have been greatly reduced. I have maybe take acetaminophen two or three times in the last few months. Considering I was taking it daily and sometimes multiple times in a day, this is a huge improvement! I've had a headache for most of the day today and I think it's mostly because I am very tired. It's nice when pain becomes something you're not accustomed to. I had to take my prescription for my headache today and it has been weeks since I've done so. I'd love to be able to say that I have boundless energy, but I suspect that the fact I'm always tired is because I'm working a late shift at work. I work from 5pm to 10pm, and I take awhile to unwind after work. Hopefully I can go back to a day shift next month and this will start to get better again. I do have more energy than I did before, and I can get more done in a day than I could before I started treatment.

The best part is that I am able to spend more time and energy on my kids. When I was feeling yucky, I was no good to anyone and I think my kids suffered for that. Now that I'm feeling better, I'm making it a point to spend more time with them. They are pretty incredible little girls and I would hate to miss out on getting to know more about them.

Getting Organized: Decluttering

OK, so we know that I fell off the exercise train again, but I've been pretty good about staying with decluttering. I honestly don't know how we've ended up with so much "stuff" in our little house. Stuff seems to own us and it seems to multiply when we're not looking.

I've taken 2 garbage bags full of clothes out of the closet my husband and I share. He has clothes that he has owned since before we got married 13 years ago, so I'm not sure how long he's really had them, but I put them in the bag weeks ago and he hasn't gone looking for them. Time for the bags to make the trip down the street to the Sally Ann.

My oldest daughter and I have spent some time decluttering her closet as well. We are blessed to receive a lot of hand-me-downs. I used to love getting hand-me-downs as a child and my kids love them too, but there comes a point when it's too much. We currently have more jeans and long sleeved shirts than she can possibly wear, so we're reducing what she has and donating the rest so that another little girl can have the benefit of them. We've got a box of "too big" clothes that will go back into the closet, and some "too small" that have been boxed up for her sister and a box of clothes to donate. Next step is to get her some pants hangers so that her dresser can be used for shirts and other stuff and pants can be hung in the closet. Her room is such an odd shape that it's hard to fit furniture in without taking up all the space. We have to get creative when it comes to finding ways to fit everything in without making it too cramped.

I'm still working on clearing out the basement for my office as well. It's a work in progress right now. When the kids go back to school, I will be able to spend more time down there purging and organizing. I just hope I don't get the news that they're ready to come and install my computer and stuff before I get a chance to finish or it's going to get chaotic! I've been able to source a floor mat for my office chair through freecycle, so that's one more thing off my list. Just need to pick up an office chair from my parents' house and I'm pretty much set.

My niece is sure to get tired of me bringing her toys for and other accouterments for her little boy. We've taken her a couple of boxes of things that the girls don't play with any more. Goodness only knows why we still had some of the baby toys, since my "baby" is now 5.

And that is my life right now. Planning on sending hubby to the Salvation Army today with a few boxes and a couple of bags. Once they are out of the house, there will be more room to get around things.

Getting Healthier and a Little More Organized

It feels like a rare thing, but things are coming together for me. Getting to the chiropractor has put me on the road to health. Looking back over how I had been feeling, I can now clearly see that a lot of what I was feeling was related to my spine. The part of my neck that is out of whack is where all the nerves for things like mood, depression, anxiety, etc are. The fact that the nerves were being choked explains a lot of how I depressed I had been feeling. I'd gone from rarely having panic attacks to having them fairly regularly.

Now that I've had a few adjustments, I can feel a difference. My mood is still out of whack, but it's getting better. I can usually feel when a panic attack is coming on and try to warn my husband so that he knows that I'm not myself. There is nothing quite like seeing yourself being a bitch to the people you love and not being able to stop it. It feels like you're watching yourself be this way. I'm hoping that as my chiropractic visits continue that the moods will even out as my body starts healing itself. Seeing a light at the end of the tunnel and the possibility of feeling better is such a huge relief. It was just a couple of weeks ago that I cried in my husband's arms in despair, afraid that I would never get better. It's amazing what a difference a few weeks can make.


As for getting organized, my husband and I spent Father's Day clearing more stuff out of our basement. He had to take a load of stuff to the dump today and we've dropped a lot of stuff off at the thrift shop. Some stuff we were holding on to for silly reasons. My rocking chair was broken and had been broken for years, but it was something he was going to fix. We let it go, realizing it was never going to get fixed and it was just sitting down there making us feel guilty. It feels good to get rid of stuff like that. I'm pretty sure we had two non-functioning VCRs, some blankets we were saving for the local animal shelter and a few other things. It felt so good to get the stuff out of here.

We were able to fold up the futon that has been a dumping ground for years and we finally got the sheet off it so we could wash it. Today he set up my desk for my "office" space. I'm getting psyched to work at home! As much as I like seeing my friends at work, I think going home is going to be a good option for me. I can hardly wait for the approval to happen so I can start working here. No more juggling the single car we have with the kids and who needs to be where. Can hardly wait!

Decluttering and it Feels so Good!

Yes, I sang that title in my head as I typed it. What can I say? I've been baby stepping the past few months, getting some clutter out of our house in drips and drabs. Today was my day off and I stepped up the game a bit. I think the reason that I was able to get so much done has a lot to do with having a chiropractic adjustment yesterday. Now that I feel better, it's a lot easier to do stuff. I am looking forward to feeling increased health as we continue going there.

I worked on the basement today. I found out that there was an opportunity to start working from home for my job, and I was on the waiting list, so I decided I'd better get it cleared out so that I can have an office. It was a good thing that I got started in earnest today because I found out that I'm no longer on the waiting list. I'm going to get to work from home! Yay!

I had such a productive decluttering day today. Our empty aquarium and stand have been freecycled as has a box of crafting supplies that I had to admit that I was never going to get to. We took 3 boxes of stuff to be donated and set aside some of the old baby stuff for my niece. It feels so good to let this clutter go. A huge weight off my shoulders. :)

I should invest in this book!

Things have been humming along here at home. We're making lots of progress in getting rid of stuff. Decluttering takes a lot of effort! The biggest thing I've found is that it's a lot easier to do something now rather than wait until later. I'm trying to do this and get the kids on board.

We spent most of the Victoria Day weekend cleaning out our front garden. When we moved in here, there was a lovely garden, but we discovered that the plant that was used as filler wasn't the best because it completely took over the garden. We have pulled it up numerous times and had a neighbour with a background in gardening tried to help us too. This year, we pulled it up, used this black cloth that supposedly blocks weeds, put some cedar mulch down and now we are hoping for the best. I planted some peonies because I just love the big, colourful flowers that used to grow in the garden we had in the house I grew up in.

Next plan is to tackle the back garden so we can plant some veggies. Being vegan, it would be nice to be able to eat the fruits of our labours here at home. We shall see how it goes.

In the meantime, I'm still culling items from the house. It feels good to get rid of stuff, especially when it can be given to someone who can really use it. Or to toss it when it's simply not good any more. I'm considering working from home in the near future, so I'm going to need a clean area to work in. Of course, I won't get preference for working from home yet, so we shall see.

And that is about it!

Getting Healthy & Organized

I've been a little quiet lately, mostly because I haven't had too much to say. I'm still working on being healthy by following a vegan diet and it's been working well for me. I have the odd day where I think that life would be easier if I was a vegetarian, but it's usually a short-lived feeling. When I think about how animals are abused in factory farms to give milk and eggs, it pretty much seals the deal for me. Truthfully, I wish it was easier to find vegan foods some days, but I'm becoming a pretty good label reader now.



I'm getting organized too, very slowly, but it's happening. Every time a charity calls us to see if we have any items to donate, I always say yes. If I don't already have something ready, it gives me a chance to get a box or two of things out. This week, I happened to find some pull-ups in a drawer and since my little one doesn't need them, I posted them on freecycle and was able to give them and a box of clothes away to the same person. It felt good to know that they were going on to someone who could use them. I especially love being able to pass on kids clothes, because we have been so blessed with receiving hand-me-downs from friends and family for my girls.

I'm also on a tossing spree. There is so much stuff laying around the house that just needed to be put in the recycling bin. I've been able to get rid of a few boxes in the basement--sad to think that we moved and stored some of this stuff.

Bit by bit, I'm getting rid of the crap in my life, and it feels pretty good. I find decluttering has a positive impact on my mood as well because it releases some of the stress I feel. It lifts away some of the weight that I carry around all the time. Clearing the clutter from my home also helps to clear the clutter in my head too. Maybe all I have to do to be rid of depression is to completely declutter my life...now that would be something!

Wet Basement A Blessing in Disguise?

The carpet at the bottom of our basement stairs has been a little damp before, but this weekend, we discovered it was actually wet. Not just a little wet, but sopping wet. We pulled up the carpet tonight and discovered mold. We were kind of expecting it given how wet the carpet is.

When we bought our house, the home inspector told us that due to the age of our house (a little over 30 years), the downspout from the eavestrough should be moved. It was going right into the ground at the side of the house--in other words, right into the weeping tile. He told us that it could potentially become clogged and cause a leak in the basement. We moved in 7 years ago. This fall, hubby finally took the down spout out of the drain and moved it to pour on the driveway (not much better). Perhaps if we had moved it 7 years ago, we might have avoided this debacle? Who knows.

We've all been sick a lot this winter too. Now I'm wondering if it has been caused in part by the mold in the basement. We are letting it dry out for now and then we'll clean the walls and floor. We'll also have to figure out how to keep the water out. I have the feeling it is going to be an expensive project.

But there is always a silver lining, right? Right??? I'm choosing to look at this as an opportunity to declutter my basement. When we moved in 7 years ago, we had moved out of a bad situation. We discovered that our landlord at the time (who lived in the basement of the house we rented) was schizophrenic and not taking his medication. At least, that is what the police officer who came to investigate his claims that we were trying to kill him told us. We literally packed up everything in our house over a weekend. We lived with my parents for 3 months while we looked for our house. Everything was in storage and when we moved in, anything that we didn't have a place for right away got shoved in the basement. We packed up a lot of clutter and moved it which was also a big mistake.

Our basement was finished, so I had planned on making it an area where the kids could play and keep their toys since our family room is so small. With all the clutter sitting there (and possibly multiplying), it has never happened. Now that we have to deal with this mess, it is going to be a good opportunity to go through the stuff that is sitting there taking up space and get rid of it. It can be given away to bless others, or it can go in the trash (or recycling). The important thing is it is going to get out of my basement and out of my house. It's going to be an opportunity for me to release some stress by releasing my clutter and some of the stress it has caused.

Yes, I realize that fixing the leak is going to be a huge undertaking and may necessitate hiring a contractor and it's going to require money I don't have to fix it.  I'm choosing to look at it from a positive angle because if I focus on the negative, I'm just going to stress myself out and be unbareable to live with.  I will post updates to our wet basement ordeal as they happen.

Tonight, removed 2 bags of garbage (including wet carpet and underlay) and one bag of recycling.  Finally put paper products away in storage area (they were sitting at bottom of stairs--glad they didn't get soaked!).  Moved dirty laundry piled at bottom of stairs into laundry area.  Baby steps.

I have been spending some time on Mike Holmes' Web site tonight to figure out how to clean up the mold.  As soon as our daughter heard we had a wet floor, she said, "You'd better call Mike Holmes!".  If only it were so easy!

Allergies! Itchy, blotchy, scratchy!

Shandra Stephenson
Originally uploaded by Sydigill

If I was doing what the girl in the picture is doing, I'd be broken out in hives and probably sneezing too. Of course, first I'd have to lie down in the grass and since I'm already experiencing an allergic reaction, there's no way you'd get me to do that! After being doped up on Benadryl all weekend, I made it to the walk in clinic and my doctor's office today. You know it's bad when you get mini hives on your face and arms and torso...well, you get the drift. Thankfully I'm not sneezing. Because when I have that kind of reaction, it's pretty crazy. You feel like your brains are going to come out of your nose at any given moment. And yes, you're welcome for that lovely picture.

Anyway, the doctor gave me a steroid pill (only 1 dose) to supress my immune system, then some prescription allergy pills and some topical cream. Hopefully this helps!

I've been keeping busy with some writing off line over the last week or so. And I'm trying to tackle some of the baby steps around the house. Which seems to involve a lot of trips to Rona. I should have purchased shares in Rona...I wonder if I still can? First it was fertilizer and grass seed, then the airconditioner blew the fuses again, so hubby installed a breaker and he installed another outlet and goodness only knows what else. He's been great about getting the stuff done that he wants, but my bedroom is still not painted, even though we bought the paint and everything we needed back in October! One day, it will be done.

We've been purging a lot of stuff from the hosue as well. I had a couple boxes of clothes that the youngest grew out of that went on freecycle and we went through all the shoes in the front closet (it was so bad we couldn't close the door) and I've got a box of those and another box of clothes just about ready to be picked up or dropped off depending on what happens first. Lots of paper going out in the recycling every week. It seems to just multiply when I'm not looking.

That's all for now. I'm going to go and take my allergy pill and hope that I can sleep tonight!

Getting Organized, Baby Steps!

timer
Originally uploaded by Aunt Owwee

I've been focusing on the getting fit part of the blog lately, so today I thought we'd take a look at getting organized again. I must admit, I have a reason to get organized right now. I have to find the little one's birth certificate for kindergarten registration. I know it is somewhere in the paper clutter on my table, or around the table or just somewhere! So I have to declutter to find it!

We've been working on potty training our special needs daughter by using a timer. We set it for every half hour, and when it goes off, she knows she has to try to go potty. Well, what I've been trying to do is declutter for half an hour in one place and then take a break. The first day I did this, I had a garbage bag full of trash and another bag full of recycling! Where does this junk come from? Junk mail, newspapers, pieces of the kids' toys that they have left lying around, and just pure junk.

By working for half an hour in one spot, it helped to focus me on the task at hand and I knew it was going to end, so it wasn't too overwhelming. I have a long way to go, but there are some clear spots I can see now. I even cleaned around the hubby's chair, and he thanked me, saying that he had been overwhelmed and just didn't know where to start.

What I've learned is that you just have to dig in and start somewhere. Who knows how far you will go or who you will inspire?

Catching up

Three girls making a "sandman" at the beach
Originally uploaded by State Library and Archives of Florida

With the cold weather here, I went searching for a picture that showed somewhere warm so I could pretend that I was there too. I liked this one since it shows a "sandman" instead of a snowman. I wish it was warm enough to make a snowman, but the snow we have right now is not the right kind for making snowmen. Oh well.

I'm still working on decluttering the house. It's taking longer than I would have liked, but as Flylady says, it didn't get this way in one day. My biggest trick is keeping a box to put the little one's outgrown clothes in as soon as they come out of the wash. I've also got one in the little one's closet for the clothes that are too small for the big one but too big for the little one. When the box with the little one's old clothes gets full, it gets donated.

I'm also trying to keep our recycling clutter under control, so I got some clear recycling bags to put it in. It keeps it from spreading across the house until pick up day.

The kids are starting to help out more around the house. They are both now responsible for putting their laundry away in their drawers and they collect up their dirty laundry as well. They like to help with filling and emptying the dishwasher too. I'm trying to get them into the habit of putting things away when they are finished with them, but that is an ongoing struggle.

And last but not least, I'm trying to use my Wii Fit more often. I'm enjoying the Wii Fit Plus games. I haven't tried any of the other things on it--the games are just too much fun! And if a workout isn't fun, I won't do it because then it feels like punishment instead.

Now that I think about it, that's probably how the kids feel about cleaning up too. I'll have to make sure to keep cleaning up fun for them.

Decluttering bit by bit

Toybox
Originally uploaded by benfulton

Yesterday, I decided it was a good idea to declutter the kids' toy box. I'm still not sure why I thought it would be a good idea, but before I knew it, I was surrounded by bits and pieces of toys on the living room floor. I was able to throw some broken things out and donate some of the more babyish toys as well. I was planning on putting all the puzzles together, but my sanity returned and I decided it could wait for another day.

In the process, my little one found a whole bunch of toys I don't think she'd ever seen before. She thinks it's great, and I'm just happy to have the area around the box clear.

In other news, to my surprise, my husband actually started clearing up the basement office area. No, it wasn't because I had asked him to numerous times before (or at least asked for his help)....oh no, he decided to clean it up because his dad has offered us his old computer desk. To take the new desk, we have to dismanlte our old one and make more room. So, yeah, he cleaned because of his dad. The sad thing is that he really just moved the clutter from one spot to another rather than get rid of it. It's so frustrating because I'm glad that things are tidier, but since he's not actually getting rid of anything, it's just going to be a bigger mess in the long run. He's also got a habit of starting things and not finishing them, so once he gets the desk in, I'm pretty sure the clutter will stay where he's squirrelled it away to. Arg! At least our old desk will be getting out of here and going to his sister's house, so that will be one less thing to worry about. (the funny thing is that my parents have had a couch to give us for about 4 months, but he couldn't find the time nor inclination to move things around for that, but as soon as it comes to something for his computer, he's right there getting it done.)

Sick and tired of being...sick and tired.

PICTORIAL REVIEW
Originally uploaded by George Eastman House

My little darling got sick this week and when she's sick, she's all about Mama. Daddy is the cool parent, but when she's sick, she would rather snuggle with me than him. She will climb into my bed in the middle of the night and lay on top of me and go back to sleep. I'm always surprised to wake up with the weight of a two year old pinning me to the bed. The fact that I can stay asleep when she climbs into bed should give you an indication of how tired I have been.

Now I know why I was feeling lethargic last week. My body must have been fighting off the illness--too bad it lost that fight today. I woke up coughing and I felt lousy all day. I had a huge list of things that I wanted to get done this weekend but instead spent much of my time in bed, putting most of the chores off to a time when I feel better. Of course, looking at the chaos that is my house, I don't feel better at all. Here's hoping I feel better enough tomorrow to get back to trying to declutter the mess that is my house. And maybe if we're feeling good enough, we'll go out and get some sunshine too.

L-A-Z-Y

Lazy stance
Originally uploaded by clofresh

I've been trying to come up with a word that describes how I've been feeling this week. I started with relaxed, then changed to sloth-like and I've settled on lazy. I don't really feel lazy--there is lots that I want to do, I just have no get up and go. You might think that my lack of energy is because I gave up caffeine, but you'd be wrong. I am still drinking cola! I'm blaming my husband because he bought a case last week, but I have to be honest and admit that I didn't tell him not to. I thought I could handle the temptation. It turns out I can't.

I'm drained partly from dealing with my 2 year old this week. She's been sick and we took a trip to the emergency room this week (waited 5 hours for them to tell me she was fine--grr!). She hasn't been sleeping well and has been crawling into my bed part way through the night. As you can imagine, I'm not sleeping well. (I woke up this morning to her pushing me with her feet. I was on the very edge of the bed and my husband was already up--she had almost all of a queen sized bed to herself and she was still trying to get me out!). And when she's up, my darling ray of sunshine is into everything you can imagine. I really hope we have nice weather tomorrow so I can take her out for awhile.

Of course, it could be allergies as well. And the rain. I really don't know. I've been trying to eat better this week and I am doing some time on the Wii Fit even when I don't feel like it.

You would think that cola would help with my energy levels, but it doesn't seem to work. And to top it off, I'm still not showing any weight loss on the Wii Fit. I thought I was getting it, but then my weight crept up again (of course, I am bad about weighing in at the same time every day too).

Oh well. I've made a few small strides in decluttering this week. My timer comes in very handy. Set it for 15 minutes and then do something else when I'm done. I feel like I'm getting nowhere even when I know I'm doing the work and getting rid of stuff.

And then that makes me feel like not doing anything because what's the point? Depression sucks! I'm going to keep at it though. I have to believe that exercise and decluttering are going to make a difference because I really need it to be true. Here goes nothing!

Upbeat Me

My last post was somewhat...well, depressing, and I haven't posted to let you know I've been much better since then. I found myself on the way to work the next day thinking that I just couldn't handle it anymore. I caught myself thinking that way and I started to repeat out loud, "I can do this, I can do this." It made a difference because I stopped focusing on the depressing thoughts and got out from underneath my dark cloud.

I'm still working on getting my exercise time in on the Wii Fit. I'm getting really good at the rhythm boxing. The trainer mentioned that you get double points if you hit in time with the music and I'm working on getting my points up there. My high score is 1062 and I'm trying to beat my best score every time--of course, that works a lot better when I get the footing right!

I spent some time and money on me last week and made a trip to the Body Shop to stock up on cleanser, moisturizer and body wash. I was completely out of all three, so it was time for me to get in there for sure. It felt good to be taking care of me, knowing that using the products will make me feel better about me. It was kind of fun to "spoil" myself, even though they are products I needed.

As for organizing, well, I'm not getting very far there. I just can't seem to keep up with the mess. I can get a whole bunch of papers picked up and into the recycling and the next day there is a whole whack more. Where does it end? I'm still trying to declutter a bit at a time though. This month my company is asking us to bring re-useable items in to the office to be donated to a youth center which will use the items in a fundraising garage sale. I'm going to try to find some items to take in every day if I can. That way I'm decluttering and I'm also getting it out of the house--and if I can help someone else with my items, so much the better. Wish me luck!

Getting Organized!

Since I post about the Wii Fit pretty much everyday, I thought I'd post a little video about it here. I wish my house looked as clean as all these other houses where they're using the Wii Fit! Anyway, I have been using the Wii Fit now for a full week--I did a minimum of 15 minutes plus the body test every day. I found it funny that my weight fluctuated quite a bit this week, but as the machine pointed out, I've been weighing in at different times each day.

Organized: I spent some time yesterday emptying out the laundry baskets. I'm really good at getting them washed, dried and folded, but then the baskets sit all week instead of being put away. Sigh. At least it's done for now. What I need to do is spend some time going through our closet and take out clothes that hubs and I are no longer wearing, are really old or just plain don't fit. The T-shirt I'm wearing now I've had since I was in university--and my 10 year anniversary is three years in the past. How sad is that? Time to thin out the closet a bit. That will be one of my focuses this week.

I also went through hubs' receipts that he finallybrought in from the car. Now I have to input them all in my spreadsheet so we can get them out to the accountant to take care of.

Today, I got all Flylady and actually shined my kitchen sink! I've had it done before, but it never lasts long. The idea is that you should start to build the habit by shining your sink every night before bed and by a month, the habit should be well, habit. So, I've got a nice clean and empty sink right now. Hopefully it will stay that way because it makes the whole kitchen look better and it makes me feel less stress. To put it simply, my shiny sink makes me smile.

Getting Fit, Organized and Healthy

Sounds like a lot to do, doesn't it? Well, I have big dreams-dreams of being fit by losing weight and getting in shape, of being organized through de-cluttering my life, inside and out and of being healthier in general by eating better. Is it doable? I surely hope so!

You may be wondering how I'm hoping to do all this. Well, I've got a few plans up my sleeve. First off, I asked for a Wii Fit for my birthday and I got one (a few days early, but I'm not complaining). I wanted one for awhile, but I was truly inspired by Julie's story at Cool Mom Guide. So I was very excited to get my Wii Fit today. I read all the instructions before I set it up, got changed into workout clothes and got on. Can I just say that my Mii looked great until they weighed me? Then she blimped out. I'd like to think that it's not a good representation of myself, but I might be wrong. Let's just say that I wasn't all that impressed when my 6 year old said, "Wow! Mama's fat---on the Wii." She was smart to tack on the last bit, don't you think? According to the Fit, my BMI is obese. The good news in all of this is that I had lost about 14 lbs last year using Weight Watchers and I have kept off some of it. I gained back 8 lbs because I stopped following the points system.

Anyway, on to organization. I'm all about the Flylady. I understand her principles, but I haven't been able to put them to practice yet. I'm still working on that--baby steps, as she says. I am working on decluttering, trying to reduce the amount of stuff in my house slowly but surely. It feels so good to be able to give away or donate things that we no longer use and I feel so much better without having to look at these things.

As for getting healthy, that's kind of tied to getting fit. I want to take care of myself better by eating healthier foods so I can lose the weight and be healthier overall.

So that's my plan right now. If you feel like coming along for the ride, I'd love to have the company! I can't promise that it won't be a bumpy ride, but it sure should be interesting!