I'm a Paper Girl

My annual attempt at keeping myself organized. I am a paper girl, I love the smell of newly printed paper, the feel of it in my hands, thumbing through a brand new planner, it just doesn't get any better.

Try as I might, I just can't go digital with my planner. I'm not a techno girl. I don't function as well. That's not to say that my functioning with a paper planner is without fault. I struggle, more so at my current job than any other before. There's very little structure, way more e-mail than any one human being should ever receive, and constant interruptions are a way of life. But I try, I make lists, cross things off, go to meetings and make notes, and keep a phone log, but usually somewhere around June it all goes to hell, and I throw my hands up and give in to the chaos.

I've got my sights set on making it through July this year!

Taking back the House

This was supposed to post yesterday (1/4/09), but I'm guessing that I hit save when I thought I hit publish, so a day late and a dollar short, oh well.

So, the trees came down today. Well, two of the three anyway. The live ones had to go, their time had come. They were completely dry. Pete had decided on Christmas day to stop watering, so there wasn't any trace of moisture left in those babies by the time they came down.

I have a love-hate relationship with this part of the holidays, I Love getting my house back, and this is the earliest I can remember us taking the trees down. I was ready. Our tree this year, while beautiful, was huge. Tall, and really big around, we named it FATSO! It took up a ton of space. So, as I said, I was ready. This is where the Hate part comes in, I despise taking all the decorations down, individually wrapping each ornament, packing them up in the little boxes, putting those boxes in the Rubbermaid tubs, and then lugging the heavy tubs back upstairs to be put into storage for another year. It is such a pain in the rear. I know it didn't all go up in a day, and it by no means came down in a day, but I swear, if we win the lottery, I'm paying someone to come and do this for me!

So, (I've got to stop using "so" to start a paragraph) this is my house back to normal. The chair has been returned to it's rightful place, and there is (clean)laundry, on it, and all is right with the world.

My Space

Working on Day 3. Doin' good! Yeah, I know it's stupid to be proud that I've done something three days in a row, but for me, it's a BIG thing. I have trouble staying committed to things. I'm not afraid of commitment, I just suck at it. Maybe its the whole staying focused thing, or maybe I'm just lazy, but I really think it has more to do with not believing in myself enough. At least that's my guess.

Anyway........... This is my space, it brings me joy each time I look at it. My little vignettes, the pic of E and her friend, a scrapbook page she made! My dolls from the ill-fated Chocolate Crop, my jars, that make me remember great times with two really special people. And, let's not forget the stuff, lots of stuff, this could be part of the reason Pete put me on a spending freeze, but hey, this stuff is already here, and it brings me JOY!

Day 2

So, they say it takes 21 days to make something a habit, to affect a change, well, I'm here to tell you it feels damn good to have made it to Day 2! I took this photo tonight while making dinner, our traditional New Year's Day dinner, a day late, because time got away from us yesterday. It was quiet in the house. Erin was, as she has been since Christmas Day, attached to her DS, Pete was pouring drinks for dinner, and I was thinking of just how lucky I am.

I have to make an unrelated note about dinner, because I don't want to forget it. Pete and Erin rebelled and insisted we have some other lucky food, anything except sauerkraut. Well, they didn't want black eyed peas and collard greens either, but anything other than that. So we settled on water chestnuts. Now, I have no idea if they are considered lucky food anywhere in the world, but they were at our house tonight. Pork tenderloin, water chestnuts, corn and mashed potatoes, that's our lucky dinner for this year.

365

It's been a long time, and I know I'm not good at this type of thing, but I am going to give it a try again. I'm not going to pressure myself to write long posts or attempt to impart words of wisdom, just make a daily note, and keep record. A Photo and a few words.

I want to try this daily, document my life for me, and hopefully see some things with more clarity. So here's to 2009, and finding my way.

This was taken yesterday, January 1, 2009, and I can't think of better people to kick off a New Year with. I love these two!