Why oh why?! Why did I wait until that last day to do the 2 things I dreaded most? Of course they are also the 2 that have (now that they are complete) given me the most satisfaction. I tackled the boys dressers, cleared out outgrown clothes, sorted through their old clothes to save/donate, and got the next size ready for the drawers. I also tackled my linen/craft/laundry/pantry/tool closet. Any one else have one of those? It looks awesome now but as the day draws to an end, my back is KILLING me.
Well, here's to our awesome-ness and celebrating with you ladies tomorrow!
PS-do we venture to bring sparkling cider?
Friday, April 20, 2012
Procrastination
So I have 3 things left on my list. I'm going to get it done, they aren't the hard ones, I just don't want to do it right now. It's a flash back to 4 years ago, last semester of college, and it's finals week. I know I'll get it done, I just don't care anymore. I know I'll graduate, I've even figured out which finals I could totally skip and still graduate... I just don't want to do it.
Anyone else?
I guess I'll go wipe out those cupboards now. The brunch is here after all and from the sounds of it, the food will be delightful.
Anyone else?
I guess I'll go wipe out those cupboards now. The brunch is here after all and from the sounds of it, the food will be delightful.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
A Pat on the Back
Dear Richard (because I know you read this blog and you might even read this before Z),
I applaud the help you gave your wife yesterday. Bravo good man! I hope she brings you a good treat home on Saturday as we women celebrate our awesome-ness in doing we've-been-meaning-to-do-for-sometime-but-didn't-have-the-motivation-to-do-so-why-not-throw-ourselves-a-brunch, tasks.
Now...how to get Braden to help...more.
Sincerely,
Amanda
I applaud the help you gave your wife yesterday. Bravo good man! I hope she brings you a good treat home on Saturday as we women celebrate our awesome-ness in doing we've-been-meaning-to-do-for-sometime-but-didn't-have-the-motivation-to-do-so-why-not-throw-ourselves-a-brunch, tasks.
Now...how to get Braden to help...more.
Sincerely,
Amanda
A Cleaning Philosophy
I saw this on Pinterest today and thought I'd share, as it seemed quite relevant to our various cleaning philosophies. Happy cleaning!
Finished
So, yesterday, Rich comes upstairs after little man was down for his nap, finds me in the kitchen cleaning up after the pre-nap snack, and says, "I printed out your list."
And there, friends, was my list of 20 things to do for the challenge.
Me: "?"
Rich: "Mark off the things you've done, and let's see what's left."
(Since coming back from our trip to Utah, I've found 0 motivation for completing the items on my list. I've kind of been dreading actually looking at the list again. I don't know why, but I'll call it the post-travel funk.)
Rich leaves the room, and I grab a pen to start crossing things off. I've done this a few times in my head, and even looked online once, mentally crossing things off and seeing what I had left to do, but it didn't actually get much farther than that.
Rich comes back as I'm crossing things off, and then sees what's left. "Okay," he says, "how about I help you get this list done."
Could this be? He's already helped me with a couple of the items, wonderful man that he is. But here's my motivation, staring expectantly at me in the face.
"Okay."
So, he dealt with under the kitchen sink, helped me sort through the table linens (hello, I had a total of 3 table runners and 3 tablecloths, why did I think it was some monumental task to go through them?! and how did they get to look like piles of linens?), helped reorganize the kitchen towels and washrags, got the DI box ready to go as I cleared out the under-sink cabinet, and all that was left was....THE FABRIC. He even got the big bin of fabric down from the attic for this task for me!
I kid you not, I looked at the fabric items on the list, looked at him, and said, "Well, I'll go get the ironing done now while little man's asleep because it's easier then than when he's awake."
Seriously. Anything but facing the fabric.
He just looked at me and said, "No. Power through! Just get it done! And then you'll be DONE!"
So I turned, said, "Fine - Power Through!" and faced the fabric.
Two hours or so later...and the fabric was sorted. I have my rainbow of quilting cottons, my rainbow of knits, and I finally tossed all of the too-small-for-any-good scraps into the garbage. Later, we dropped off DI items, hit a store to get a couple of storage bins (one for fabric), and voila...
I can't believe it, but my list is finished!! Honestly could NOT have finished were it not for Rich!
And there, friends, was my list of 20 things to do for the challenge.
Me: "?"
Rich: "Mark off the things you've done, and let's see what's left."
(Since coming back from our trip to Utah, I've found 0 motivation for completing the items on my list. I've kind of been dreading actually looking at the list again. I don't know why, but I'll call it the post-travel funk.)
Rich leaves the room, and I grab a pen to start crossing things off. I've done this a few times in my head, and even looked online once, mentally crossing things off and seeing what I had left to do, but it didn't actually get much farther than that.
Rich comes back as I'm crossing things off, and then sees what's left. "Okay," he says, "how about I help you get this list done."
Could this be? He's already helped me with a couple of the items, wonderful man that he is. But here's my motivation, staring expectantly at me in the face.
"Okay."
So, he dealt with under the kitchen sink, helped me sort through the table linens (hello, I had a total of 3 table runners and 3 tablecloths, why did I think it was some monumental task to go through them?! and how did they get to look like piles of linens?), helped reorganize the kitchen towels and washrags, got the DI box ready to go as I cleared out the under-sink cabinet, and all that was left was....THE FABRIC. He even got the big bin of fabric down from the attic for this task for me!
I kid you not, I looked at the fabric items on the list, looked at him, and said, "Well, I'll go get the ironing done now while little man's asleep because it's easier then than when he's awake."
Seriously. Anything but facing the fabric.
He just looked at me and said, "No. Power through! Just get it done! And then you'll be DONE!"
So I turned, said, "Fine - Power Through!" and faced the fabric.
Two hours or so later...and the fabric was sorted. I have my rainbow of quilting cottons, my rainbow of knits, and I finally tossed all of the too-small-for-any-good scraps into the garbage. Later, we dropped off DI items, hit a store to get a couple of storage bins (one for fabric), and voila...
I can't believe it, but my list is finished!! Honestly could NOT have finished were it not for Rich!
 |
| Fabric in piles on the floor, arranged by color, except for the knits, which are in a big pile off to the right, kind of tumbling down. |
 | |
| Three bins of fabric, sorted into cottons, knits and batting, and big things like curtains being stored as potential fabric. Only TWO fat quarters made it into the DI pile. |
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Making Beautiful
I was just washing dishes and thinking about Martha's post--thinking about how none of my furniture matches, but that's because we've never actually bought a piece of furniture in our married lives. I was thinking about my home and what I love and what will be a relief to get rid of come salary days. And suddenly I remembered someone else's home, a Chinese mother's home in the middle of rural China.
I wish I could tell the story such that you could see it too, to feel the impact, but it won't be the same of course. And yet I figured I'd share anyway, since it's a good lesson for all of us.
Many of you know I taught English in Taiwan (like Martha) and went with my brother. Afterwards we back-packed through China. One day we hired a guide to ride bikes with us around the area, to caves and rock formations and such. We became pretty good friends (thanks to my brother) and in the evening he offered to show us his home. He was young (25 maybe) and still living with his parents. We rode the dirt path into his home. It was a compound of sorts, with a giant adobe barn and then smaller buildings surrounding a small court yard. Our friend said it was 500 hundred years old, and to look at it I believed him. There were ancient farming tools in the barn. The "kitchen" was a place with to dutch-oven type coals and fires. Not a modern appliance to be seen.
But in the middle of all this poverty and dull color, there was a 2 by 2 foot patch of ground in the courtyard--filled with flowers. I asked whose they were and he said "my mother."
I don't know, it just struck me, that this woman would create beauty in her home no mater what. What is it about womenly drive to create beauty? It's powerful. And today it's a reminder that beauty can be a 2 by 2 plot of flowers, or a painting, or a room filled with music.
I wish I could tell the story such that you could see it too, to feel the impact, but it won't be the same of course. And yet I figured I'd share anyway, since it's a good lesson for all of us.
Many of you know I taught English in Taiwan (like Martha) and went with my brother. Afterwards we back-packed through China. One day we hired a guide to ride bikes with us around the area, to caves and rock formations and such. We became pretty good friends (thanks to my brother) and in the evening he offered to show us his home. He was young (25 maybe) and still living with his parents. We rode the dirt path into his home. It was a compound of sorts, with a giant adobe barn and then smaller buildings surrounding a small court yard. Our friend said it was 500 hundred years old, and to look at it I believed him. There were ancient farming tools in the barn. The "kitchen" was a place with to dutch-oven type coals and fires. Not a modern appliance to be seen.
But in the middle of all this poverty and dull color, there was a 2 by 2 foot patch of ground in the courtyard--filled with flowers. I asked whose they were and he said "my mother."
I don't know, it just struck me, that this woman would create beauty in her home no mater what. What is it about womenly drive to create beauty? It's powerful. And today it's a reminder that beauty can be a 2 by 2 plot of flowers, or a painting, or a room filled with music.
The Brunch
You guys are fantastic; this really has been such a great challenge. I've been unorganized but all y'all have made it fabulous. So the winner's brunch will be
Saturday 21
10:30 am
Kids are welcome but not required (i.e. feel free to ask you husbands to keep them, as a reward for all your cleaning :))
And now, the best part...what to eat? I will have a Cherry Almond Punch and breakfast cake. Fruit, quiches, savory or sweet dishes, breads, ?? Also, for those who missed our on the swap today, feel free to bring your "DI" bag to share and get rid of. I'll take what's left over to the DI or Goodwill. So excited to see you there and for the motivation it will give me to finish my NINE items. Cheers.
Saturday 21
10:30 am
Kids are welcome but not required (i.e. feel free to ask you husbands to keep them, as a reward for all your cleaning :))
And now, the best part...what to eat? I will have a Cherry Almond Punch and breakfast cake. Fruit, quiches, savory or sweet dishes, breads, ?? Also, for those who missed our on the swap today, feel free to bring your "DI" bag to share and get rid of. I'll take what's left over to the DI or Goodwill. So excited to see you there and for the motivation it will give me to finish my NINE items. Cheers.
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