It Gets Worse First

When deep cleaning things always get worse before they get better, right? The view today (above) after the view last night:

Yesterday I made really good progress on the office. I cleaned up the floor in front of the bookcase. (full of stuff again - but the piles are trash, donate, move downstairs, and move to the kids bookcase.)

I even cleaned up the desk area quite a bit before calling it quits for the day yesterday. This was about 4 hours of work, believe it or not. I had a lot of stuff to go through piece by piece!

And today I tackled the pile on my desk (still have some to go on that) and the bookcase. Everything came off and was gone through. I listed some books on paperback swap, decided to donate some books that have been on there for more than a year, and organized and cleaned the entire bookcase! Another 4 hours of fun!

Hopefully Sunday I will have it all finished and ready to show. Bill is impressed. Annika said last night, "I don't see any organization!" Pfttt.....

Hitting the Grindstone

A long distance friend and I have decided to become each other's Cleaning/Decluttering Motivators. This is rather like a work-out buddy, but it is a cleaning-buddy instead. Neither one of us are great "neat freaks" so motivation and accountability is a good thing!

She is currently working on her home office, so I figured I'd join her. We actually have two "office" areas, one on the mail level and one in the basement. Both need work (of course!) but I thought I'd tackle the main level room, what we refer to as the Oval Office due to its shape, first off.

I've decided to divide the room into four main sections:

#1: I have a bunch of stuff on the floor in front of the bookcase- mostly girl scout stuff that needs to find an appropriate home, especially since GS is basically over now.

#2: The desk, which is a repository for all things being worked on. I actually have tidied this up a bit recently. Would you believe it?

#3: The desk drawers. There are things in here that I know not where they are! It is tough when you share your desk area with the rest of the family! This part will be tough for me to tackle!

#4: The bookcase - which needs to be dusted well, and the bottom part needs to be re-organized, nay, organized. It will give me a chance to cull some kids books and put some of the spring/summer topics back in the kids rooms.

#4: General dusting and cleaning. The piano is not so cluttered - a small stack of extra photos was set there last week when I tidied up my desk area, but that is it besides the dust ... can you see my finger mark in the dust? I'll also wash the carpeting and lights, oh, and add another part:

#5: paint the window trim.

So there you have it. Maybe I can accomplish it all by the end of this weekend? OK, I will commit to having it all accomplished by Sunday. Scary!

Hot and sticky

Yuck. Today is the first official hot and sticky day. It is only 73 outside, but it rained earlier and there is a "chance" of rain today, so the humidity is quite high. Silly me thought it was going to be cool, so the girls have coats, and Lauren wore a long sleeve t-shirt to school. Sorry kids!

It is just icky outside. I liked it much better when I thought it was grey and cool, not grey and sticky. Cool and grey fits my mood.

Job Report

Well, the job I have is nothing brain draining - that is for sure! Rather boring and mundane to be honest. But, I get out of the house and I meet some new people, and so far everyone seems like good people.

What I am primarily doing is sampling food made from Government Commodities. I am working at Food Banks and Food Distribution sites, so I am seeing many of the people and families this Great Recession of ours is affecting! It is humbling, to say the least. And, the truly amazing thing; all these programs where I am WORKING are run by volunteers. There are one or two paid folks, the rest are entirely volunteers. And they just happen to work much harder than any paid employee I've ever seen. Then, a majority of them leave their shift and receive the benefits of said program.

Good people, I tell ya, good people!

Domestic Day!

Hmm, I have to laugh at myself today. I have a "free" day with only one phone call to make for work, and that is to my boss/friend. So, armed with a to-do list a mile long, I am avoiding most of it and completing the fun projects I have been putting off the past month or so.

Today I have going: making yogurt with my new yogurt maker I received for my birthday. Spaghetti and meatballs in the old faithful crock pot I received for mother's day or my birthday when I was pregnant with Annika, homemade Samoa cookies (like the Girl Scout version) and soon I shall put a loaf of bread in the bread maker. I'd make it in the oven, but it is pretty busy right now! I'm dying to try out my pizza-peel and new oven stone, so soon I'll make my favorite bread recipe.

Now, I am off to hang laundry to dry on my little laundry line outside. Then I guess I'll have to attack some of the real to-do items on my list.

blechhhh

I Found Yet Another Job Possibility

Grunt!
I hate it when jobs keep showing up all around you. Well, this one is nothing more than a posting that was forwarded to me, with the preface, "KAY!" But I might, just might, apply for it.

**************groan**************

It is an 8 week temporary gig, that repeats each summer. I passed up on it last year, but the same person forwarded it to me yet again, thinking it was the perfect thing for me. Yea, it kinda is. And I'm ready to work now that the girls are older and in school full time.

But this job is ONLY during the summer months. (read, put the kids in some sort of daycare/babysitting situation, and lose part of my already small paycheck)

I would be coordinating a program provided by the Salvation Army providing nutritious meals to the kids that qualify for free lunches, but are not in school during the summer and therefore do not receive those free meals for three months. So the job has aspects of food service, nutrition, community service, program coordination and project management, and the bad one - religious overtones. yuck beyond all yucks!!

So, we'll see. I think the current plan is to apply and if I am interviewed I'll see what the scoop is. It is only like 15 hrs a week. Not bad, really.

And, that is if I am offered it. In this economy it is all up in the air! So many good people competing for the same few jobs. I almost feel guilty applying for a job when we can survive without me working. But, I really do want a retirement fund, and I am ready to do something else.

No, I'm not dead or the likes thereof

I have been really busy and trying to play catch-up with the family blog. There have been a lot of blog-worthy entries (like Grandma's visit and Lauren's awesome play -- which I have not even got to yet) that I have been spending my time doing. Oh, and then there was our new pet infestation. That ate my time for three week!

And then there is FaceBook. sigh Yea, that stupid Farm Town and Mafia Wars. Time wasters.

And ... I am starting a new, temporary, part time job this week. The biggest time waster of all :)

But, ummm, I'm a redhead now. Yea, I finally bought a home kit and colored my own hair. I like it. Except that all my usual favorite clothing colors are not quite right with auburn hair. Whatever. This too shall fade :)

Well, off to play catch-up on laundry and cleaning. I have a to-do list a mile long for JUST today. Oh yea, another new thing I'm trying. To Do Lists. Hate them, but my old age memory is fading... and I have SO much stuff going on now. Mom brain. ick.

So, no, I'm not dead. Just insanly busy.