Miscellany Monday

1.  Working on that spare room.   AGAIN.

Yes, I know.  I've posted about the dreaded spare room before.  I've even started sorting and organizing the spare room before.  Somehow it always ends up being pushed aside, forgotten, left as-is.  Life is a busy thing and that spare room just isn't the top priority.  But I am SO tired of it being....well, what it is.  And what it is is a disgusting mess!  It's cluttered with stacks of books, outgrown toys the kids no longer want in their rooms but don't want to give up just yet.  There were piles of clothes they've outgrown, but I already sent those out of here, to the Hope Shop, where someone else can benefit from them.  There are home decor items I'm not currently using but may again someday, therefore I don't want to toss them or put them in a yard sale.  But what to do with all this STUFF?  The mood will strike me and I will toss most of it.  I love it when that feeling comes over me and then things look all clean and fresh and ready to clutter up live in again!

I thought about hanging this sign:

But the room isn't really that bad.  Not worthy of an episode or Hoarders or anything like that.  Yet.  ; )

Do you hold onto things for the usefulness or pleasure they brought in the past and the good they might be again someday?  Or am I the only one who does this?

Please tell me I am not alone in this.  I already feel ridiculous because of it.  I mean, really.  Just how useful is that barnyard decor from Tucker's nursery ever gonna be again?  He's 9 years old.  Its time has come and gone.

I'm guessing the Hope Shop will be getting some more bags and boxes soon.

2.  I am ready for all illness and extreme discomfort to leave this house.  It started with the stomach virus I endured through Thanksgiving, followed by the terrible sinus infection I endured through Christmas.  Then there was the strep that Perri contracted around NYE, and the sinus infection/cold that caused The Hubster to miss work on Thursday and Friday of last week.  He is getting better but is still on antibiotics and cough meds.  And now my back is attempting to give me fits.  Lower back pain, tightness in the muscles, lack of flexibility and the inability to sit, stand or lie in one position for very long.  It has been back to back to back YUCK here for WEEKS!

If we don't all get well soon and stay that way for at least a couple of weeks, you may see us all dressed like this when leaving the house:

Please wave and speak and don't make us feel awkward.  I'm just tired of sickness.

I need a break from it.

Really.



3.  We're supposed to get snow on Wednesday and Thursday!  This, my friends, makes me happy!

 A shot from last winter.

We haven't had a good snow yet this year.  Very little snow at all, actually.  I like a good, deep, school-cancelling snow once in a while.  I don't think what is coming will really amount to enough to cancel school, but even a delay will do.  ; )



4.  I am going to make this a good day.  I'm going to cross at least a couple of things off my to-do list.  I have a little organizing project I'm going to do today, as well as the work in the spare room.  Little by little, it is all coming together.  : ) 

 Hope you can make it a good Monday, too!  Hang in there.  Only 4 days until the weekend!  ; )

It's All Good....or: What I learned this Christmas

Last month, just a few days before Christmas, the feeling washed over me like a tidal wave.  You know how it is.  You're just living life, minding your own business, trying to get it all done.  Then....BAM!!!  There it is!  You know it as sure as you know your own name and there is nothing you can really do about it.

You're.  Getting.  Sick.

And just four days before Christmas!  So I did what any level-headed (that point is strictly debatable), red-blooded American woman would do. 

I acknowledged it's presence, started drinking lots of orange juice, and I dared it to take me down.  (Oh, and I also bought lots of OTC remedies.  I now have a mini pharmacy in my medicine cabinet.)

And that, my friends, is how I ended up sitting in the doctor's office Christmas Eve morning.  Luckily I had managed to get most everything done prior to the onset of THE PLAGUE the nasty sinus infection that I let go a little too long before getting antibiotics.  Still, there were lots of last minute things that I just didn't feel like tackling. 

I'm usually the cookie baker.  I have always baked pretty much all of the cookies for our family Christmas celebrations, and that means dozens and dozens of different kinds of cookies.  This year I managed to get one kind mixed.  Brie did the others.  And you know what?  It was all good.

The Hubster stepped up and took care of several of the last minute preparations for Christmas Day dinner.  He pared and prepared potatoes, carrots and onions.  He kept up with the messes being made in the kitchen and washed dishes and did whatever he could to keep it under control.  And again, it was all good.

My MIL brought her usual array of sweets and treats, as well as a tray of fresh veggies and dip and all manner of pies and cakes.  And it was all good.

I felt like doing very little and that's pretty much what I managed to accomplish.  I made the oyster stew and the homemade blueberry muffins.  I did not manage to make the Scotcharoos or the pineapple tartlets.  But you know what?  It was all good.

The one thing I can say about Christmas 2011, even though I was physically incapable of truly enjoying it the way I normally would: 

It was all good. 

I have so much for which to be thankful.  I have a family who kicks in and picks up the slack when I'm unable to do my usual stuff.  Our Christmas was saved even though I wasn't able to do my fair share.  And this after I had already ruined Thanksgiving!  I managed to come down with a terrible stomach virus the night before and ended up being sick for two days.  Brie ended up picking up that slack and having everyone to her house for dinner while I remained quarantined in my bedroom. 

Yes, there is just something about holidays and me choosing them as the perfect time to be sick.  This makes three Christmases/birthdays in a row that I've been under the weather.  (My birthday is on the 27th and always falls prey to either the illness itself or the process of recovery.)

The morals of this story?

1.)  I am capable of letting others pick up the slack.  I have not always been able to say that.  This is MAJOR.

2.)  The world will not stop turning if the Scotcharoos don't get made.  Figuratively speaking, of course.  You may certainly insert any long standing holiday tradition into this sentence and know that it is the truth.  I can't think of a single thing that could truly stop the REAL Christmas from coming.  Just like Dr. Seuss said:   

It came without ribbons.  
It came without tags. 
It came without packages, boxes or bags.

It's just not about the stuff.   


Not that I didn't already know this.  But this Christmas was my personal reminder.  : )

A New Year... A Clean Slate?

 

Maybe not.  

I know that most folks look at a new year as a great time to start anew.  If the previous months have been tougher or less promising than usual, they may be desperately grasping at straws, searching for any promise of better days ahead.  And that, my friends, is typically a recipe for disaster.  Or at least a great deal of disappointment. 

Like most folks, I've done the whole New Year's resolution thing.  

Also like most folks, I've failed miserably.  

Exercise more, eat better, be kinder, spend more time doing something I love...it doesn't matter.  Any time a person pins that much expectation on someone (even herself; especially herself) it's like having this huge thing hanging over them.  It can't/won't be ignored.  It defines every move they make, every thought they think.  Its presence is felt in every moment of every day until finally, one day (usually a couple of weeks into the new year), the pressure of it all becomes overwhelming and SNAP!  It's all over.  You stash the exercise DVDs where you don't have to see them, indulge in a bag of Hershey's Miniatures, snap at the next person whose attitude is less than perfect and you forget that 'me time' you were going to spend on the great book you started reading because you have too many other things that need done. 

It isn't pretty.

I have decided to stop looking at a new year as being a clean slate.  After all, who is really starting everything perfectly fresh?  The same people, the same situations, the same responsibilities that were there on December 31st...they're all right there looking you in the eye on January 1st.  As much as we'd like to forget some of those things, it just isn't that simple. 

So I've decided that I'm not going to view 2012 through that same pair of rose colored glasses.  It is not a clean slate and not even a completely fresh start.  Sure, there are advantages to that train of thought, but the fact of the matter is that at some point (typically sooner rather than later) that train is gonna jump the tracks.  I simply don't want to set myself up for failure and then have to deal with the guilt, disappointment and feelings of defeat.

Here's my new way of thinking:

I will look at the past year's successes and continue to build on them in 2012. 
For instance, I've changed some of my bad eating habits and I feel so much better than I have in a long time.  I'm avoiding artificial sweeteners and many dairy products.  After a little research and a few hours of Dr. Oz ; ) I discovered that some of the symptoms I've been suffering could be eliminated by making a few changes on my own.  And it's working!  Plus I've dropped a few pounds due to the fact that I'm just eating more healthily.  My tastes have changed and many of the rich and fattening foods I used to enjoy no longer appeal to me.  I am, however, craving fresh vegetables and foods that aren't heavy with grease.  I don't do deep-fried anything (except for the occasional small order of french fries from Burger King...don't judge me, please ; ) ) because I simply can't anymore.  
 
I will allow myself to enjoy these little victories without the 'do more' pressure that resolutions cause. 
Whatever I manage to accomplish, I will be happy.  If I don't happen to reach a particular goal exactly when I hope to, I won't feel defeated.  I will relish the progress I have made, just like I've been doing the past few months. It's a long-term goal; a lifestyle change.  It isn't going to happen overnight.  The old habits took years to form and they won't be undone in the blink of an eye. 

I will treat myself the way I want others to treat me.
Yes, that's what I said.  TREAT MYSELF THE WAY I WANT OTHERS TO TREAT ME.  Why oh why do we have such a difficult time being good to ourselves?  It's bad enough to let others treat us in a way that brings us down, but it's even worse when we do it to ourselves.  I've been trying to practice this one over the last several weeks by cutting myself some slack.  I expect too much of myself because I don't want to let anyone down, especially my family.  Then I proceed to wear myself down to the point of uselessness.  I make myself ill, emotionally and even physically.  The thing that is most difficult for me to remember is that if I don't take care of myself, I can't take care of everyone else.  Period. 

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So how about you?  Did you make resolutions for this brand new calendar year?  There is nothing wrong with that!  If it works for you, go for it!  But do me a favor:  DON'T be too hard on yourself if you don't make it to the gym 5 times a week or beat yourself up if you don't drop 20 pounds by the end of January.  In other words, don't make unrealistic goals that put you under so much pressure that it breaks you.

*A little footnote: I guess the last few weeks I've spent away from my blog have been productive in more ways than one.  : )  Yes, we've been busy with the cupcakery and there have been days when I've barely had time to breathe.  But I've also had the opportunity to create and to see that there are things outside of my comfort zone that I am perfectly capable of doing.  I've had a chance to see myself in a slightly different light and to realize that there is more to me than what meets the eye...even my own eye!   And while I may not look all that different on the outside, I'm definitely growing on the inside.  Right where it counts.  : )  

Well, hello there! : )

I miss my bloggy friends!  There just aren't enough hours in the day and my need for sleep outweighs my need to blog, I'm afraid.  A bakery will sure wear you out, I tell ya!  ; ) 

I wanted to stop in and wish all of you the merriest of Christmases and a most prosperous 2012!   I miss interacting with all of you, reading your posts and keeping up with what's happening in your lives, so between now and the end of the year I am working on a schedule for myself.  I want to get back to my blog, find the time to write about my day and share my experiences with you.  I want to read about your families, see what new things you're doing in your homes and learn from your amazing insights and experiences. 

We are busy getting ready for the big Christmas weekend and have plans to enjoy the time with our families.  I have so much for which to be grateful, not the least of which are my kids and grandkids!  We'll all be here, along with a few other family members and friends, eating too much good food and opening too many presents and, most of all, enjoying the blessing that is Christmas.  How I LOVE this time of year!  : ) 

God bless each and every one of you and may you have a most joyous Christmas and a safe and healthy New Year!  : )  I'll be back soon!