Just Peachy in Dixie

Operation Craft Room Part 1

2017-03-05T10:13:00.000-05:00

Hi all,

Time sure does fly by! In a blink my daughter has gone from needing a playroom to hold all her Littlest Pet Shop, Polly Pockets, crayons and coloring books to a beautiful young lady who is more interested in sketch books, you tube, and clogging practice. So, we have decided to turn that little girls playroom into a fun craft room for us to share and create in.

I meant to take a picture of the play room before any moving around began, but I thought about it a little too late and took a picture after some clearing out had already begun.

I plan to repaint the armoire, and fill it full of crafting goodies!

I'm seeing a sewing curtains project in the near future here!

I plan to clear out the old toy bin and put a nice wall decoration that I saw on Pinterest made with pallets.

I was discussing my craft room ideas with my husband and said I wanted to have a table the my daughter and I could both sit at and would hold my sewing machine and cricut. After a long day at work I came home with a surprise from him….

I was thrilled! He is just tinkering around with wood working and learning as he goes, but I'd say pretty good job for just a quick discussion of what I was going for. He even tried painting it the colors I mentioned. It's a bit too turquoise for me, but nothing a bit of robin's egg blue won't cover. I'm so appreciative of the thoughtfulness and time he took to do this! The rug is going to go, but will leave it there until after I put another coat of paint.

More to come as the room transfers into my creative oasis!

Happy creating!!

Jennifer

30 of 52 Weeks of Living Full 2nd OHC this week!!

2016-08-03T12:50:00.000-04:00

Hi all,

Another OHC (One Hour Challenge) done this week!! A One Hour Challenge is when I set my timer for one hour and see how much I can do in that time frame. I literally run from one task to the next. It blesses my home and gives me a good workout!

Here's what I completed…

Bedroom #1:
-Stripped bed and remade with fresh sheets
-opened blinds
-set out clothes for tomorrow
-put away a stack of clothes sitting on dresser
-vacuumed (also did the hallway and steps while I was at it)
-put away stuff on bathroom counter
-S & S mst. toilet
-wiped down sink faucet countertop and wiped mirror
-lit candle
-started load of clothes

Kitchen & Dinning Rm:
-put dishes in dishwasher
-started dishwasher
-washed and dried coffee pot
-washed and dried sink/faucet
-sprayed and wiped down countertops and stovetop
-cleared off kitchen table of knick knacks
-emptied out lunch box and put away
-dry swiffer'd kitchen, dinning rm, foyer and foyer steps
-put away stuff that has accumulated in dinning room chairs
-lit candle
-set out pork chops for dinner

Downstairs:
-Vacuumed fm rm, bedroom #2
-stripped bed #2 and remade with fresh sheets
-opened blinds
-lit candle in fm rm
-turned on candle warmer in living rm
-fluffed fm rm couch, chair and folded blankets from last night's family time in front of boob tube
-put clothes from washer into dryer
-fluffed couch, chair in living rm from morning coffee/family time
-S & S'd guest toilet
-refilled pup's water bowl

Whew! Glad that's done. That was really a lot crammed in that hour! That was a workout…now need a nice shower!! Going to take care of that then off to fix some lunch and watch an episode of Lost with DD and the dog. Woo Hoo!!

Anyone else up for a OHC? It's amazing what you can get done in that time! If you don't have a solid hour, break it up into four 15 minutes increments throughout the day. It feels great to bless your family and home this way!

Join me at these link ups…

Happy Cleaning!

Jennifer

29 of 52 Days Living Full!! OHC

2016-07-31T13:00:00.001-04:00

Hi all!

Today I decided to do another OHC! (One Hour Challenge) Here's what I was able to accomplish in that time….

-folded two sets of sheets that have been sitting on coffee table for days!
-put load of clothes in dryer
-started a load of clothes in washer
-made bed #1
-S&S'd toilet #1
-dry swiffer'd kitchen, foyer, dinning rm, living rm, and foyer steps
-vacuumed downstairs fm rm and bedroom
-vacuumed upstairs bedroom, hall and steps
-made bed #2
-picked up random knick knacks thrown on night stand and dresser and put away
-put a load of clothes that was already folded
-swept front porch
-cleaned what we lovingly call "snot circles" on the atrium windows at front door that my dog is now already dirtying up again because the neighbor and his dog did not ask my dog's permission to go for a walk! (will try to post the before picture, not sure how well you can see his mess, there's one for each side perfectly symmetrical!) Failed to get the after picture before he already put them back the way he likes them.
-made homemade S&S wipes with paper towels and tupperware bowls (3 sets for each bathroom) found from this link
-washed 1 pot and pan left over from breakfast

It is truly amazing how much you can get done in that amount of time! I have to say, I didn't dilly dally! I went fast and furious from one tasks to the next. I was dripping with sweat by the time it was over! The fact that it is 86 degrees here at 12 noon while sweeping the front porch didn't help with that!

I'll be sure to let you know how the homemade wipes turned out. ;) For now, I'm just going to enjoy how my home is now smiling at me. Spend some time with the family and enjoy the rest of the day doing whatever my heart desires with no guilt of housecleaning lingering over me. :)

Anyone else up for a OHC? Take it from me…it is quite satisfying once all said and done!

Happy Cleaning!

Jennifer

28 of 52 Days of Living Full!!

2016-07-29T07:59:00.000-04:00

Hi all!

Yesterday I whipped up a quick little crochet project. I use my dry swifter A LOT! Our sweet little doggie sheds. I don't mean just a little. When he walks you can literally see the hair just falling around him. So vacuuming and swiffering regularly is a must. This is what happens when I don't vacuum for just 2 days…

That's really embarrassing to show, but I want to keep it real. I emptied the canister before I vacuumed! I haven't washed the canister in a while so the dust in the center is not from just one vacuum session. So, as you can see when I lax on the vacuuming/swiffer duties it's not good! Which brings me to the point of this post. I made another reusable swifter pad….

Since I wasn't making it as a gift, or getting paid by someone to do it I didn't do a fancy pattern. I just used up the green I had and added on white once I ran out. It's nice to have a nice clean one ready to put on while the other one is in hamper.

My little fluff puff causes extra work, but who can resist this face….

Happy Swiffering!

Jennifer

27 of 52 Weeks of Living Full!!

2016-07-27T18:23:00.000-04:00

Hi all!

Just thought I would share my day of homemaking success today. I decided to give myself a OHC= One Hour Challenge. I set my timer for one hour and literally run from one task to the next to try to get as much done as I possibly can in one hour. Here's what I was able to accomplish….

-Stripped bed #1 and put on clean sheets (I always have a clean set of sheets ready to go, so that once I strip the bed I can immediately put on a fresh set)
-Stripped bed #2 and put on clean sheets
-Swished and Swiped toilet #1
-S & S'd toilet #2
-wiped down sink and faucet in guest bath
-Threw off all cushions from family room sofa and vacuumed out (One of the Missions for this week's zone cleaning...see my Flylady series to read more about that)
-Did it again for Living room sofa
-Dusted with furniture polish in family room
-Dry Swiffer'd kitchen, foyer and foyer steps with my homemade Swiffer pad
-Vacuumed Family room
-Vacuumed upstairs bedroom, hall and steps
-took basket of clothes up to bedroom to put away
-put sheets from both beds in washer so they'll be ready for next time
-put few dishes left on counter in dishwasher and started

In the meantime my daughter made up two loaves of banana bread with bananas that were going to end up in the compost bin if not eaten soon.

All in all I call that a successful day of homemaking!

Happy Homemaking!

Jennifer

26 of 52 Weeks of Living Full!!

2016-07-24T15:55:00.000-04:00

Hi all!

Clearly I would have to post A LOT in the next few days to catch up and complete this series before my 52 weeks are up. I will try to post as many as I can however, to give it a go. I have to be honest and say that my original plan of less internet/tv at the beginning of the series has not been what I would call a very successful venture. While I have cut back, it's not been near enough to really not just waste away so much of my free time.

Work continues to drain me, even though in the whole scheme of things, as far as traditional jobs go I do really enjoy it 90% of the time. I am typically pretty tired though after a long day at work and just don't have the desire to much more than the kitchen, dinner, shower and sofa plop. I really need to find that drive and joy I once had when I didn't work full time when completing homemaking tasks. One thing I've learned about myself is that I get more accomplished early on in the day. When I say early, I mean super early. Like, get up around 5am, go straight into a cleaning routine shower, then BAM! I've completed what really needs doing before I even have to start my brick and mortar job. Once I'm home, I can then do whatever I want without guilt. If I have the energy to crochet, or try a new craft, blog, or just go for the plop, I at least know that I've blessed my family, myself and my home first.

So, this week will be about me doing my best to maintain rather than letting things pile up. I'm sure I'm not the only one who says…"Oh, I'll just do that later." When later finally comes you have spent a majority of your free/off time to do a major clean, when if I had just stopped for a few minutes here and there to maintain I could spend about an hour and have a super clean house! I have to remember what I used to tell my daughter all the time….it's easier to keep a clean house clean, then to clean a dirty house!

With that…off I go to fold the clothes that are now washed and dried rather than continuing to pull clothes out to wear one by one until the basket is empty! ;)

Happy Maintaining!

Jennifer

25 of 52 Weeks of Living Full!!

2016-07-04T13:03:00.002-04:00

Happy 4th of July, everyone!!

I haven't posted in a long while. Been really busy with work and trying not to spend too much time on computer. We are still on the hunt for land. Have made a few more crochet dishcloths for myself and for a housewarming gift.

Today I went out and clipped a few of my flowers for a last minute arrangement for the cookout later. Hope you all are having a wonderful 4th!

Happy Celebrating!

Jennifer

24 of 52 Weeks of Living Full!!

2016-03-27T19:53:00.000-04:00

Hi all,

Today I will be able to check off another item on my Happy Easter list. You can read all about my goal lists here. I will be updating the 2nd "E" in Easter.

Hunting hat still needs crocheting
Artistic craft with my daughter
Today my daughter and I enjoyed some artistic time together by coloring in her adult coloring books. It is really relaxing. The adult coloring books are just about everywhere you look these days. In all sorts of designs and themes. We used a nice pack of coloring pencils in order to have some control for the small intricate spaces.

My before

I chose a nice woodland owl for my coloring pleasure. :)

After

We purchased 13 bags of this compost (since our compost bin is too new to have produced any of our own black gold). This filled our 4 x 8 ft. bed up almost to the top and we had one extra bag left to add to our compost bin.

I never knew I would be so excited about dirt that I would want to take a picture of it. I couldn't wait to start ~~playing~~ planting. We bought 8 tomato, 4 yellow crockneck squash, 12 strawberry, 2 bell pepper, 9 broccoli, 2 cucumber and 12 lettuce plants.

While most of these clothes just needed to make their way up to my closet, there are some that are just not worthy to wear to work anymore. Many of my white work blouses are dingy and have gray stains on the cuffs from the boxes that I have to open at work. I am looking to find ways to repurposing those. If I don't find a good useful way of doing that within the next day or two, I'm just going to let go and throw them out.

I also have a couple of old faded black pants and old sweatpants that will be cut off to make shorts for working outside and/or sleeping in. My old t-shirts that are faded and/or stained will now become sleeping shirts or cut up for a great cleaning tool I plan to post about soon. Hopefully I can find a good use for those old dingy white blouses. If so, I'll be sure to post what I find.

Well, that definitely looks much better!

Read daily I've been reading everyday….a lot (not all) of the reading has been off the internet, researching how to's, etc. I plan to add more time reading good ol' turn the page book in hand reading time as that is one of my most favorite past times.

Until next time….

Happy Living Full!

Jennifer

23 of 52 Weeks of Living Full!!

2016-03-26T19:33:00.000-04:00

Hi all,

Just popping in for another update to my Happy Easter list. You can read what my lists are all about here. So far, I've posted two of the completed tasks. Today I will update you on the 2nd "P." We planned, and planted our garden! :)

Hunting hat still needs crocheting
Artistic craft with my daughter
Today my daughter and I enjoyed some artistic time together by coloring in her adult coloring books. It is really relaxing. The adult coloring books are just about everywhere you look these days. In all sorts of designs and themes. We used a nice pack of coloring pencils in order to have some control for the small intricate spaces.

My before

I chose a nice woodland owl for my coloring pleasure. :)

After

I just love our very first garden! I look forward to walking out in the backyard everyday to tend to our beautiful vegetables. This is all new to us, so this will be a learning experience for us and lots of trial and error, but I think this will be a fun adventure!
Yarn is very close to being all untangled, organized and made into balls ready for projects

Eliminate all clothing in closet that I no longer wear
Apron will no longer be my nemesis!!!
Sachets to be made with repurposed shower curtain
Try a new homemade cleaning or health and beauty recipe
Every piece of clothing hanging in the laundry room will be put in it's proper place
Read daily I've been reading everyday….a lot (not all) of the reading has been off the internet, researching how to's, etc. I plan to add more time reading good ol' turn the page book in hand reading time as that is one of my most favorite past times.

Happy Gardening!

Jennifer

22 of 52 Weeks of Living Full!!

2016-03-24T16:57:00.002-04:00

Hi all,

Just going to update my Happy Easter List.

Hunting hat still needs crocheting
Artistic craft with my daughter
Today my daughter and I enjoyed some artistic time together by coloring in her adult coloring books. It is really relaxing. The adult coloring books are just about everywhere you look these days. In all sorts of designs and themes. We used a nice pack of coloring pencils in order to have some control for the small intricate spaces.

My before

I chose a nice woodland owl for my coloring pleasure. :)

After

Here's my daughters beautiful spring heart of flowers. She was well into her picture by the time I thought about snapping our before pictures.

Post enough to get caught up on the Living Full series (behind 11 posts still)
Plan square foot garden (still reading the All New Square Foot Gardening)
Yarn is very close to being all untangled, organized and made into balls ready for projects

Eliminate all clothing in closet that I no longer wear
Apron will no longer be my nemesis!!!
Sachets to be made with repurposed shower curtain
Try a new homemade cleaning or health and beauty recipe
Every piece of clothing hanging in the laundry room will be put in it's proper place
Read daily I've been reading everyday….a lot (not all) of the reading has been off the internet, researching how to's, etc. I plan to add more time reading good ol' turn the page book in hand reading time as that is one of my most favorite past times.

We had a really nice time just chatting, giggling and coloring. Amazing how something so simple can be so much fun!

Happy Coloring!

Jennifer

21 of 52 Weeks of Living Full!!

2016-03-23T09:08:00.000-04:00

Hi all,

I'm so excited to show you what my husband surprised me with just over a week ago….

A lovely compost bin!!! It lives right next to my raised garden bed he built that I recently posted...

No, we haven't found the perfect land for us yet….the search continues…but that doesn't mean that we can't fulfill as many homesteading wishes that our neighborhood will allow. I think he did a fine job! For right at $100 in lumber and screws we have what should make for a nice beginners garden I would say. So, let the composting begin!

Be sure to join me on the following two link ups.

Happy Composting!

Jennifer

20 of 52 Weeks of Living Full!!

2016-03-22T18:43:00.003-04:00

Hi all,

Today I made a nice new batch of homemade liquid laundry soap. I used the recipe from this site.

The only thing I did differently is I chopped up the bar of Zote for a quicker melting process. The soap is very soft, so not much elbow grease involved.

I use an old pot that from a set that I no longer use for cooking. I fill it half full, melt the Zote and then add the Borax and Washing Soda.

I fill the 5 gallon bucket with cold water, and fully melted soap mixture, then fill the bucket up almost to the top with cold water. I let it sit overnight, then transfer into a more manageable 1 gallon vinegar bottle saved for this very purpose.

I absolutely love the smell of the Zote soap. My husband and daughter are not so impressed with the smell while melting in the pot, but doesn't mind it once cooled and used in the washer. I have found this recipe to do great with our clothes. I do have to pre treat stains with a little applied straight on the stain and work in with some rubbing and cold water.

I use 1/2 cup of soap per load. This happens to be one scoop from a left over Oxi Clean container. Here's the break down per load….

1 bar of Zote: $.97
2 cups of Washing Soda: $3.97 for 1 box (55oz) = $1.15 per 2 cups
2 cups of Borax: $4.09 for 1 box (76oz) = $.86 per 2 cups

So all total a 5 gallon batch costs $2.98 which equals just under $.02 a load. Woo Hoo!! Now that's what I call frugal!

Now, to just figure out a way to hang my clothes outside in an unobtrusive manner….since we are still in a neighborhood….hmmmm…..

Happy Washing!

Jennifer

19 of 52 Weeks of Living Full!!

2016-03-02T14:49:00.001-05:00

Pups favorite spot while blogging!

Hi all!

Wow! We are already into month three of the new year. How did that happen? It's amazing how time flies and faster with each passing day. All the more reason why I want to make the most of each day. I'll have to be honest though, working full time has really made it hard for me to stay motivated to do some things on my off days, when all I really feel like doing is laying on the couch and not moving. This is another reason why living a simpler life through voluntarily downsizing, homesteading, and learning to live with less in order to fully live sounds better and better to me with each passing day. My husband I'm happy to say, seems to be mulling the concept over in his mind more these days as well. The search still continues for the perfect land. In the meantime I will continue to learn all I can to live a more natural, self sustaining life as a neighborhood while allow. :)

For now, how about another goal list for this month? I will repeat some of the items that I didn't accomplish last month and going to do my very best to have a full out successful checked of list this time. Since Easter will fall on March 27th this year how about…..

Hunting hat still needs crocheting
Artistic craft with my daughter
Post enough to get caught up on the Living Full series (behind 11 posts still)
Plan square foot garden (still reading the All New Square Foot Gardening)
Yarn is very close to being all untangled, organized and made into balls ready for projects

Eliminate all clothing in closet that I no longer wear
Apron will no longer be my nemesis!!!
Sachets to be made with repurposed shower curtain
Try a new homemade cleaning or health and beauty recipe
Every piece of clothing hanging in the laundry room will be put in it's proper place
Read daily

I look forward to working on this list and posting extra this month. With a week's vacation right around the corner for me, I'm feeling optimistic! Anyone out there making your own monthly goal lists?

Have a great day!

Jennifer

18 of 52 Weeks of Living Full!!

2016-02-28T17:24:00.000-05:00

Hi all,

Here's a new update on my Valentine list. I won't be getting everything checked off again, but that's ok. Throw in working full time, weekly errands, family time, and rest and I feel this month had some great accomplishments!
Hunting hat for me still needs to be made
Add getting completely dressed first thing back to my normal daily habits
-I have been much better about this since my last post. Only lapsed a couple of times and found myself drinking my coffee and on the computer before getting fully showered and dressed for the day.
Post on blog enough to get caught up on my 52 Weeks of Living Full (behind 11posts at this point)
Plan my square foot garden
Yarn still needs finishing touches with organizing

Vanquish all expired coupons from my coupon binder
-All coupons are now current in my coupon binder. I also, with the help of my daughter, have all the coupons clipped and filed. You can see my coupon binder here.
Aldi price match at Walmart
-I had a nice trip to Walmart today for the sole purpose of matching the produce from the Aldi ad. Here are the results of that trip….

Need to print out planner I won by random draw and put to use
-I won a planner by random draw. I downloaded and printed it this month and began checking of the list daily. I really love this planner that gives and nice daily chore list and daily Bible reading. I've got it on my refrigerator and check things off as I go.

Try homemade body wash recipe
Infamous Apron needs completing
Need to get back in the habit of weekly savings with coupons
Exercise with my daughter by learning one clogging routine
-Now I haven't learned the whole routine, but I did practice with my daughter some this month.
Super Bowl Sunday Favorites (make everyone's requests)
-So we all agreed on Chilli. I made a big batch so that I could take some to work for lunches. It's a very simple recipe.
Brown 2 lbs. of ground beef, add 2 packs of chill mix with a little water. In a big pot pour 2 large cans of tomato sauce, 2 small cans of diced tomatoes, add ground beef, I usually add a few more spices to taste like Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Chilli Powder, a little Cumin. This is how I like to eat my chill…..

Crumble some Fritos

Add Chilli, Lots of Cheese, Sour Cream, Jalapeño Mmmmm! :)

Declultter for 15 minutes a day as often as possible
-I only did this a couple of times this month. Definitely need to work on this more often.
Artistic craft of some kind with daughter
Yellow sachets for drawers/closets/gifts (by repurposing an old shower curtain)

I will soon be posting my list for next month. I will also be on vacation next month which should give me some time to blog and check off lots of things on the list.

Have a great day!

Jennifer

17 of 52 Weeks of Living Full!!

2016-02-11T22:27:00.000-05:00

Hi all!

Just posting another thing I can check off my list. Super Bowl Sunday Favorites is complete!

Hunting hat for me still needs to be made
Add getting completely dressed first thing back to my normal daily habits
-I have been much better about this since my last post. Only lapsed a couple of times and found myself drinking my coffee and on the computer before getting fully showered and dressed for the day.
Post on blog enough to get caught up on my 52 Weeks of Living Full (behind 11posts at this point)
Plan my square foot garden
Yarn still needs finishing touches with organizing

Vanquish all expired coupons from my coupon binder
Aldi price match at Walmart
-I had a nice trip to Walmart today for the sole purpose of matching the produce from the Aldi ad. Here are the results of that trip….

-Quart size freezer bags $2.98
-1 dozen eggs $2.47
-Great value peach yogurt $1.82
-Organic Spinach $3.26 Matched Aldi at $1.99 saved $1.27
-Bananas $.68/lb. bought 2.53 lbs. = $1.72 Matched Aldi at $.29/lb bought 2.53 lbs. = $.73 saved $.99
-Baby Carrots $1.68 Matched Aldi at $1.19 saved $.49
-4lb. Naval Oranges $3.48 Matched Aldi at $1.99 saved $1.49
-3lb Mandarins $4.47 Matched Aldi at $2.19 saved $2.28

Before: $23.19 After match $15.79 Savings of $7.40!! Pretty good I'd say for some great produce!
Library trips to satisfy need to read/learn
-Checked out 2 books….
All New Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Eat our traditional Valentine's Day meal
Need to print out planner I won by random draw and put to use
Try homemade body wash recipe
Infamous Apron needs completing
Need to get back in the habit of weekly savings with coupons
Exercise with my daughter by learning one clogging routine
Super Bowl Sunday Favorites (make everyone's requests)
-So we all agreed on Chilli. I made a big batch so that I could take some to work for lunches. It's a very simple recipe.
Brown 2 lbs. of ground beef, add 2 packs of chill mix with a little water. In a big pot pour 2 large cans of tomato sauce, 2 small cans of diced tomatoes, add ground beef, I usually add a few more spices to taste like Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Chilli Powder, a little Cumin. This is how I like to eat my chill…..

Crumble some Fritos

Add Chilli, Lots of Cheese, Sour Cream, Jalapeño Mmmmm! :)

Declultter for 15 minutes a day as often as possible
Artistic craft of some kind with daughter
Yellow sachets for drawers/closets/gifts (by repurposing an old shower curtain)

Have a great day!

Jennifer

16 of 52 Weeks of Living Full!!

2016-02-11T09:51:00.002-05:00

Hi all!

Here are a couple of updates to my February goal list…..

Hunting hat for me still needs to be made
Add getting completely dressed first thing back to my normal daily habits
-I have been much better about this since my last post. Only lapsed a couple of times and found myself drinking my coffee and on the computer before getting fully showered and dressed for the day.
Post on blog enough to get caught up on my 52 Weeks of Living Full (behind 11posts at this point)
Plan my square foot garden
Yarn still needs finishing touches with organizing

Vanquish all expired coupons from my coupon binder
Aldi price match at Walmart
-I had a nice trip to Walmart today for the sole purpose of matching the produce from the Aldi ad. Here are the results of that trip….

-Quart size freezer bags $2.98
-1 dozen eggs $2.47
-Great value peach yogurt $1.82
-Organic Spinach $3.26 Matched Aldi at $1.99 saved $1.27
-Bananas $.68/lb. bought 2.53 lbs. = $1.72 Matched Aldi at $.29/lb bought 2.53 lbs. = $.73 saved $.99
-Baby Carrots $1.68 Matched Aldi at $1.19 saved $.49
-4lb. Naval Oranges $3.48 Matched Aldi at $1.99 saved $1.49
-3lb Mandarins $4.47 Matched Aldi at $2.19 saved $2.28

Before: $23.19 After match $15.79 Savings of $7.40!! Pretty good I'd say for some great produce!
Library trips to satisfy need to read/learn
-Checked out 2 books….
All New Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Eat our traditional Valentine's Day meal
Need to print out planner I won by random draw and put to use
Try homemade body wash recipe
Infamous Apron needs completing
Need to get back in the habit of weekly savings with coupons
Exercise with my daughter by learning one clogging routine
Super Bowl Sunday Favorites (make everyone's requests)

Declultter for 15 minutes a day as often as possible
Artistic craft of some kind with daughter
Yellow sachets for drawers/closets/gifts (by repurposing an old shower curtain)

Off to a nice start I'd say on my list, have more to post soon!

Happy Living Full!

Jennifer

15 of 52 Weeks of Living Full!!

2016-02-03T10:59:00.003-05:00

Hi all!

Today I will share my February goal list. I really enjoy making a goal list like this. It makes for a fun challenge! So here it is….

Hunting hat for me still needs to be made
Add getting completely dressed first thing back to my normal daily habits
Post on blog enough to get caught up on my 52 Weeks of Living Full (behind 11posts at this point)
Plan my square foot garden
Yarn still needs finishing touches with organizing

Vanquish all expired coupons from my coupon binder
Aldi price match at Walmart
Library trips to satisfy need to read/learn
Eat our traditional Valentine's Day meal
Need to print out planner I won by random draw and put to use
Try homemade body wash recipe
Infamous Apron needs completing
Need to get back in the habit of weekly savings with coupons
Exercise with my daughter by learning one clogging routine
Super Bowl Sunday Favorites (make everyone's requests)

Declultter for 15 minutes a day as often as possible
Artistic craft of some kind with daughter
Yellow sachets for drawers/closets/gifts (by repurposing an old shower curtain)

Ok, now that looks like one big, fun list! I'll post as I go along checking off my list with each accomplishment. Anyone else making a goal list for this month? Would love to hear about it!

Be sure to join in on these great blog hops!

Happy List Checking!

Jennifer

14 of 52 Weeks of Living Full!!

2016-02-02T08:05:00.001-05:00

Hi all!

After having a nice breakfast Sunday morning, my husband said he needed to run to the store. While he was gone my daughter and I set in to our cleaning routine to get prepared for the upcoming week. Not to much time had passed when my husband called and asked me to head outside that he would be pulling in shortly. When he pulled in I was so excited to see that he had been to the home improvement store and bought the wood we needed to make a raised garden bed! I had no idea when he mentioned this the day before that he would be ready to go full steam ahead the very next day, but…..I'm in!!! We set to work. We have never built anything ourselves before….ever….so this was a new experience for us. My husband has been doing quite a few DIY projects around the house and I had no doubt that woodworking would be just another thing that he could do and do it well. Despite some equipment issues, he made me a raised bed that I am just tickled pink with!

I think this is a perfect spot.

I love it so much! It's 4 X 8. I think this will be a

perfect size to start since gardening is also a new

project for us. I did grow up on a farm, but moved

into the suburbs before I learned all the how to's of

gardening, canning, etc.

We picked a spot just beyond our grass line. This spot will get a good dose of sunshine for most of the day.

Isn't it beautiful?!

I'll be able to walk right off my deck, go sit in the swing, that's begging to be sat in more often and watch our garden grow. I can't wait! Hmmm….what to plant….tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber for sure! My husband would like potatoes, so I will definitely be adding that to the list as well. I see gardening posts in the near future! Yipee!! :)

That's all for the moment, but stay tuned for my new goal list for this month!

Have a great day!

Jennifer

13 of 52 Weeks of Living Full!!

2016-01-31T17:08:00.001-05:00

Hi all!

Today I'll fill you in on the rest of yesterday's full living. After soaking up the sunshine and appreciating the nature that we have right in our very own suburban backyard, we made a trip to the store to prepare for the week ahead of packing lunches and quick dinners. Since I didn't have a specific coupon shopping plan in place, Walmart is the go to place for reasonable prices for us. I really want to get back on board with my coupon shopping/planning and begin posting those savings again. Maybe you will see more of that in the near future.

After getting home from the shopping trip we decided to wash all three vehicles….

Before

After

The car was pretty dirty from all the salt on the road. Yuck!

and give the dog a bath. So I was able to check off some of my Happy New Year list in just one afternoon. Speaking of the list…..let's see how I did….

Hamper (determined to wash, dry, iron, put away all clothes and get back to 1 load a day)I would say this was a success since I now am down to a manageable one load a day amount of clothes! Check!

Before

After

Appliances in kitchen need a good cleaning
I thoroughly cleaned the outsides of the refrigerator, toaster, oven, microwave, dishwasher and coffee maker. So…check!

Prepare a meal that I can freeze for quick lunches.
My daughter and I had a hankering for some Black Bean Soup, and while I didn't make enough to freeze, I do have enough to take for lunch a couple of days next week. I would say that's a successful Check!

Pup needs a bath

Before

After

As usual, a good snuggly nap was in order directly after! Check!

Yarn needs organizing
I did get several skeins of yarn untangled and rolled into a ball, but still a lot to do. It's a start!

New recipe (daughter and I will have fun looking through cookbooks passed down from her great-grandmother--Love you, Nanny! We miss you!)
We didn't try anything new, but I'm hopeful to do this in the upcoming month.

Exercise with my daughter (join her while she practices clogging). EPIC FAIL!!

Wear my new stylish bright orange hat I plan to crochet for myself for hunting.
I didn't make a hat, but I did make some more dishcloths and started a new project. Not what I was planning, but an accomplishment none the less. ;)

Yield a nice batch of homemade dishwasher soap
I made a nice batch of dishwasher soap with this recipe. Works great! Check!

Evaluate and exile the dreaded unused kitchen supplies cluttering up cabinets
I managed one cabinet. This particular cabinet was dangerously close to becoming one opening away from a plastic avalanche! Don't ask me how a box of light bulbs ended up in there. I threw away all non matching pieces, stacked the rest and put round lids in one baggie and square/rectangle lids in another baggie. Check! Definite success!!!

Before

After

Apron (finish apron that was begun 2 years ago!)
I have got to get over the procrastination of learning this new craft! Put off once again. :(

Rest (I need to force myself to go to bed earlier, so that I can get up feeling refreshed and ready to go)
Several nights I averted the temptation of getting on Netflix and accomplished going to bed at a decent hour. Check!

All in all I'm ok with what was accomplished. I will start a new list for next month. Stayed tuned for my Happy Valentine's Day goal list. ;)

Talk to you soon,

Jennifer

12 of 52 Weeks of Living Full!!

2016-01-30T19:53:00.000-05:00

Hi all!

Today, we went out for a family breakfast and came home full. My husband stayed outside to do some tinkering around while my daughter and I went on inside. After a bit of putting away some clothes, checking emails, daughter hopping on the computer to watch clogging videos and some lazying around, I asked my daughter if we wanted to make some popcorn and snuggle up with the pup and watch a movie. She said sure. We had no sooner sat down to watch the movie, popcorn and pup in tow when my husband asked me to come outside to help him with something. So we put the movie on pause and out I went. He wanted to discuss some ideas he had for some outside yard improvements, and the possibility of us making a raised garden bed for the spring. Yes please!! While we may live in the suburbs and haven't found our dream house on property there's no reason we can't start a small garden right here. Right? Right! So we will be studying how to do this and deciding what we want to grow. I love new projects!!

After discussing the future garden a bit, my husband went off to finish his tinkering that he had started, and I started looking around and noticed what a gorgeous day it was! The sun was out, the sky was blue and the temperature was in the low 60's. Just perfect! So instead of heading back inside I sat in the back yard on the swing that needs to be sat in much more often and just listened. I heard some squirrels scurrying around, and the rat a tat tat of a Woodpecker nearby. I sat real still and noticed the most beautiful Golden Finch flitting from tree to tree. I could feel the warmth of the sun, but the breeze was just enough to keep it comfortable. Ahhhh…..I was in heaven.

Why don't I do this more often I thought. I pulled out my phone, not to ruin the moment with technology, but to text my daughter (I didn't want to take a chance of getting sucked back into the house by getting up) to come sit with me and bring the bowl of popcorn with her. A few moments later she comes with the bowl of popcorn and says, "What are you doing?" I said, "Shhhh…just sit here a minute and listen." What a nice moment to remember. She and I just sitting eating the popcorn and watching nature instead of the iPad.

The squirrels have certainly been busy with the acorns….

That was only part of our day….I'll finish the rest tomorrow….going to go spend some more quality time with the family. :)

In the meantime….next time you think about watching some tv/movie….make some popcorn and go sit outside a spell. The show was quite captivating today!

Have a great day!

Jennifer

11 of 52 Weeks of Living Full!!

2016-01-29T09:09:00.000-05:00

Hi all!

Yesterday instead of zoning out in front of the computer, my daughter and I opted to play a good 'ole game of Monopoly. We love this game! We play it so much that we have gotten quite fast at it. My daughter and her grandpa have played up to 3 full games in an afternoon. She even got Papaw the Hallmark Monopoly ornament this year to hang on our tree so that they can always remember all the great afternoons they've spent playing and laughing!

If you all could just be a fly on the wall listening to the friendly smack talk that goes on before, during, and after these games! When my daughter approached me yesterday with the idea, it's never…."Hey, Mom? Wanna play Monopoly?" It's more like, "Hey, Mom? Up to getting your butt sopped in a game of Monopoly?" Of course I respond with a more mature comeback, "Bring It!!!"

Yeah, it's serious bragging rights around here! So, I have to be a grown up and admit that my daughter kicked my tail yesterday……No worries though…..we have a tally sheet going……

Mom 24 to Daughter 20!!! Oh yeah! Uh huh! Totally doing the cabbage patch right now! So, what games do you like to play at your house?

Until next time! Have fun with your family!

Jennifer

9 of 52 Weeks of Living Full!

2016-01-14T09:57:00.000-05:00

Hi all!

Pretty busy at work the last several days taking down Christmas, building new displays, and preparing for inventory. However, I managed to finish up getting down the rest of our Christmas decorations at home.

Before

After

As for my Happy New Year list….So far I've accomplished getting more rest. I am making an effort to go to bed earlier and I have to say, I have felt so much better! I really needed some good solid rest. Slow start but a start none the less. ;)

Hamper (determined to wash, dry, iron, put away all clothes and get back to 1 load a day)

Appliances in kitchen need a good cleaning

Prepare a meal that I can freeze for quick lunches.

Pup needs a bath

Yarn needs organizing

New recipe (daughter and I will have fun looking through cookbooks passed down from her great-grandmother--Love you, Nanny! We miss you!)

Exercise with my daughter (join her while she practices clogging).

Wear my new stylish bright orange hat I plan to crochet for myself for hunting.

Yield a nice batch of homemade dishwasher soap

Evaluate and exile the dreaded unused kitchen supplies cluttering up cabinets

Apron (finish apron that was begun 2 years ago!)

Rest (I need to force myself to go to bed earlier, so that I can get up feeling refreshed and ready to go)

I did manage to crochet myself a nice washcloth with some of the yarn my daughter got me for Christmas.

Purple-my favorite!

Love this pattern!

I have made so many cloths with this pattern, that I can do it by memory. Makes it go much faster! This time I just went with one solid color throughout for a super duper quick project. I've decided despite the quicker satisfaction of a finished cloth I prefer using two colors and will most likely do that from now on as it shows off the edge much better.

Be sure to check out the two Hops I jumped onto this week!

Hope you all are having a wonderful New Year so far! Thanks as always for stopping by!
Jennifer

8 of 52 Weeks of Living Full!!

2016-01-06T09:14:00.000-05:00

Hi all!

One goal I am achieving is taking more time to do the things I love rather than wasting that time on mindless tv watching and surfing the web. I have been crocheting away. My employees reap the benefits, as I often have this homemade goodies as prizes for fun contests at work. The last contest I held was that the winner was to get a ruffled scarf made by me with the color of their choice. The winner happens to be a huge Green Bay fan, so she opt'd for the Green and Gold Team Spirit Sashay yarn by Red Heart. I really love working with this yarn. I fun twist to regular crocheting with traditional yarn.

As promised here is the finish project from the yarn in my previous post……..

I don't know why the green looks so black, but it is definitely Green Bay green and gold! Again, I need to learn how to take better pictures. I think I should add that to the list of goals as well. :) If anyone knows of a good website to help me out with that I would love to hear it!

Have a great day everyone!

Jennifer

7 of 52 Weeks of Living Full!!

2016-01-03T18:27:00.001-05:00

Hi all,

Seeing as how behind I got on my weekly posting, I figure I'll post more often when I can in an effort to get back on track. This month I have several things I want to accomplish on my journey to living full. I'll list several of the things here, then post about each one individually as they come about.

First, as you all may have read in previous blogs, I am a Flylady fan. If you are not familiar with this you can read all about it here. While I do fall off the wagon often, I try to just hop right back on. I also have to adjust the cleaning goals/expectations as life/schedules in general changes. With the new year upon us I have decided to get back on track with just making sure that my sink is clean, and stays clean throughout the day. So, I did a nice thorough cleaning of my sink this weekend, and between my daughter, husband, and I we have managed to keep our dirty dishes in the dishwasher and clean stovetop and counters as we go.

Secondly, I need to get down all of my Christmas decorations. Since I have so many decorations out, and don't want to burn myself out by taking my entire off day working at home, I have decided to do this in stages. Today my daughter and I took down our outside and family room decorations and they are now packed up and stacked away in the basement.

Before

Yes, that is a pile of laundry on the coffee table waiting for me to fold and put away. Just keeping it real. ;)

After

I gave the room a nice vacuum and lit a candle to give some warmth, since the rooms always feel so empty after taking down all the Christmas.

Now for the outside before and after pictures….

Figured I would show the night shot, since that is when the decorations are the prettiest. :)

After

That's good enough for me on the Christmas decoration take down for one day. Will continue on another day with the rest.

Third, I like to have fun when making goals for myself. No matter what the goals are, cleaning, work related, recreational, giving to others, making a game of it puts a fun spin on it. So for the month of January I'm going to make a list of things I want to do by using each letter in the words "Happy New Year!"

Here's my list….

Hamper (determined to wash, dry, iron, put away all clothes and get back to 1 load a day)

Appliances in kitchen need a good cleaning

Prepare a meal that I can freeze for quick lunches.

Pup needs a bath

Yarn needs organizing

New recipe (daughter and I will have fun looking through cookbooks passed down from her great-grandmother--Love you, Nanny! We miss you!)

Exercise with my daughter (join her while she practices clogging).

Wear my new stylish bright orange hat I plan to crochet for myself for hunting.

Yield a nice batch of homemade dishwasher soap

Evaluate and exile the dreaded unused kitchen supplies cluttering up cabinets

Apron (finish apron that was begun 2 years ago!)

Rest (I need to force myself to go to bed earlier, so that I can get up feeling refreshed and ready to go)

It was challenging to come up with something for all these letters, but will be a lot of fun checking off this list. :) I'll keep you posted as I complete things.

Fourth, I held a contest at work for my employees. I will be working on crocheting a prize for the winner who is a big Green Bay fan. Here's the yarn…

You'll have to visit again to see the result. ;)

So, what do you have going on/planned in this fresh new year? Feel free to play along with me and make a list of you own. Would love to see your goals in the comments.

Have a great day!

Jennifer

6 of 52 Weeks of Living Full!

2016-01-02T08:48:00.001-05:00

Hello all!

Seems I have some catching up to do! Christmas preparation, and holiday rush at work just took more out of me than I expected. Couldn't muster up much more than getting the basics done, and even that was a challenge some days. While still always going from one season into the next at work and constantly being busy, I feel I have a moment or two to just breathe. So, back to doing things I love!

For Christmas, I received some new cotton yarn from my daughter. Woo Hoo!! I just love working with it and making useful items to keep and to give away. I couldn't wait to get started on something. Right after the morning Christmas celebrations I showered, snuggled up on the couch and crocheted away.

I've given most everything I've made away lately, so this time I made some washcloths and face scrubbies for myself. I just love the color combinations. (Sidenote: Adding to my goals for the 52 weeks of living…..learning to take better pictures for blog. ;) )

Happy New Year!!

Jennifer