100 Day Challenge Progress Report – v 5

Just a quick one for today because as usual I’ve waited till the last minute and have lots to do to get ready for the party on Sunday.

It was not a good week for decluttering.  I only managed to get rid of a few things this time around. Here’s the list –

donated items – one pair of driving gloves that got wet and shrunk and are now too tight and one metal pencil case that is too hard for my son to get open and no one else wants

trash – one stick type vacuum cleaner that ran over something and then dies a loud, lingering death

That’s it for this week – how are you doing with your challenge? Let me know in the comments

 

Tidbit Tuesday

Just another sloppy, unedited installment of the random thoughts rolling around in my head today…

I finally transplanted the irises into the island. I need to get some mulch to temporarily cover the soil around them until next spring. Hopefully in the spring I’ll be able to find mulch that will match the other half of the island.  I’d also like to make some garden stones for the island – some to cover the electric cord to the pump and some to use when we need to work on the waterfall.

The property across the street was sold and they have been clearing the trees. The hubby went over and talked to them about removing our stumps and they helped to loosen them up and they are out. He also started to rip out the weeds in that area. Not sure what we are going to do in that area but hopefully we’ll get a plan together over the winter.

This week I’m trying to get ready for people coming over for a Halloween cookout/campfire. Lots to clean up, some decorating to do and some games to plan for the kids.

No movement on the job front. Still struggling because I really don’t want to work – I know that’s wrong but it’s how I’m feeling. Need to keep looking to find something that I have skills to do and fits my schedule.

The sun is calling – so I’m headed out to do some outdoor decorating.  Until next time – have a great day wherever you are and whatever you are doing.

100 Day Challenge Progress Report – v 4

Another good week for decluttering. This time it was mostly clothing from the boy and myself. Except where noted everything went into a bag to be donated to VVA.  My total for this week is 18 items which puts me over half way to my goal of 100 items. Here’s the full list –

5 hats

1 pair of swim trunks

2 pairs of shorts

1 pair of rain pants

1 sweater

2 tops

1 scarf

1 coffee mug

2 books donated to my church library

2 tops thrown away – I had been trying to get stains out but finally decided to give up and toss them

Are you playing along? Let me know in the comments what kind of progress you did or didn’t make this week.

Tuesday Tidbits

Just another unedited, sloppy installment of the random thoughts rolling around in my head today…

I have got to figure out a way to roll with the punches – to not let changes in my schedule completely derail me and my efforts to do better. Last week there were two and a half days  of no school – one for the Jewish holiday and one and a half for parent teacher conferences. There were some good spots – I got a lot of garden work done because the boy wanted to earn money and I heard some nice things at the conferences. Then there were the bad things – some whining and complaining (mostly from the boy but I might have chimed in a few times as well), the disruption of my routine, the loss of solitude, and most of all the noise, noise, noise!

Time is running out – already the nights are getting cold and I still have much garden work to do. One bright spot – my lilac has a few small blooms on it. This hasn’t happened before so I’m not sure what caused it but it is nice to look out and see them.

We are having a church group over for a Halloween cookout/campfire so I’ve been working on cleaning up and decorating. This is my secret for getting my house in order – I invite people over and then I feel like I need to get the place cleaned up. I know I should be keeping it cleaned but it isn’t always a priority for me.

Still have no job. I left a message with the horticulturist people but haven’t received a reply. I’m assuming that I did not make the cut and wonder if my age, lack of experience or something else is the reason why. Need to follow up so I can move on.

The hubby’s birthday is this week and as usual I don’t know what to get him. He tends to buy himself the things that he wants so there isn’t much that he doesn’t already have.  There are some experiences he’d like to have but money, time and/or desire play a factor in my reluctance to go that route. Need to make a decision soon but for now I’m out to the garden to enjoy the sunshine and warm temperatures before they disappear.

Until next time, have a wonderful time wherever you are and whatever you are doing.

100 Day Challenge – v 3

This was a good week for decluttering. There was an art swap at an event on the weekend so I gathered up some stuff that had been my mother-in-law’s and took it to the swap. There were also a few items that got tossed in the trash. Here’s the breakdown:

to the trash – 1 liquid eyeshadow, no longer liquid; a dried up sharpie and a tube of toothpaste that expired 6/14

to the art swap –

9 tubes of acrylic paint

2 sponge brushes

12 paint brushes

1 painting knife

3 tubes of water color paint

1 Kemper B-3 clean up tool

1 bottle of artist brush cleaner

1 bottle of floating medium

1 bottle of acrylic paint

Total for the week 34 items

Total for the challenge so far 54 items – yippee! over half way there with plenty of time still to go.

How did you do this week? I hope you are having success with your chosen challenge. Please feel free to join in if you haven’t already and let us know what your challenge is in the comments. Thanks!

 

100 Day Challenge Progress Report – v. 2

Decluttering efforts for week two involved the big freezer, the garden and some furniture. Here’s the list –

Box of sliced/chopped steak slices – this suffered through a power failure and all the slices froze together into one huge block of meat. I kept meaning to figure out a way to chop it up but then we had another power outage and I decided to just toss the box. Between the thawing/refreezing and the length of time it was in the freezer I doubt that it would be any good now.

3 bags of chicken bones – I already  have several gallons of broth made and decided to just toss these.

1 partial bag of sour cherries – I bought these by mistake and no one really likes them. I thought I might make them into something but it hasn’t happened and probably won’t so out they go.

Half a bag of spinach – original date of purchase unknown but it had to have been awhile so out it goes.

Partial bag of red quinoa, expiration date over a year ago.

1 clump of ornamental grass – came up as a volunteer but it was too close to the baptisia  and it just didn’t look right

1 upholstered chair and 1 storage unit – the girl decided to take them for her apartment.

That makes 10 items for the week. I’m on schedule – hopefully I can keep it up and clear out some more stuff. How did your week go? Let me know by leaving a comment.

Tuesday Tidbits – The Job Edition Part 2

Just another unedited, sloppy installment of the random thoughts rolling around in my head today…

I had an interview for the part time horticulturist job and overall it went well. I didn’t make any glaring mistakes – at least I don’t think I did. After talking with them and learning about their training program, I am sure I could handle the duties. It s benefits are the part time hours, working with plants, not needing to worry about the boy being alone for hours after school and minimal interaction with other people. The drawback is that it isn’t the fabric store job.

Yes, I still can not get that job out of my head/heart. I talked with a friend and with my daughter about it and they both think I should try for it. However I just can’t seem to get it together. Every time I try to put a resume together I am struck by my lack of qualifications. I know you are supposed to sell yourself, tell why the employer would benefit from hiring you but all I can think about is how I would benefit. The girl says just go down and talk to them. It is a small company not a chain or franchise and they will be willing to hear you out. It sounds so easy – why am I having such difficulty??

Maybe because it means stepping out of my comfort zone. Or maybe I ‘d rather have the comfort of believing I could have gotten the job if only I had tried harder versus being not hired and knowing that I failed. Maybe I’m still not ready to be an adult and take on the responsibility of doing a “real” job and living up to someone else’s expectations.  Or maybe I’m just hoping for my “prince” to save the day and let me go on living a life of relative ease.

UGH! too much thinking going on here – I’m going to head out to the garden to pull some weeds and get some satisfaction from actually accomplishing something.

Till next time I’m hoping that wherever you are and whatever you are doing, you are having a great day.