We Need to Get Back Here

I don't know what happens when that little girls is home from school for a long period of time but, it doesn't look like this right now:-(
Playing along with Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom and Wordful Wednesday on parenting By dummies:-)

It Is DONE!

Remember this mess?

How do you like me now?

I got a new alcove and...

...a new porch:-)

YAHOO!! Now, we get to pay for it:-)

Playing along with Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom and Wordful Wednesday on parenting By dummies:-)

Color Selection

This is what the house looks like now:

This is what we are planning on doing:

We chose the darker color so I could do a light shingle-type siding on the top of the side of the house (Pictures to come on this).

We are also planning on builiding a porch where my big garden used to be in front of that picture window. I never liked how the house wasn't square and that garden was always a challenge. I am still going to plant in front of the porch but will be much more manageable!

Playing along with Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom and Wordful Wednesday on parenting By dummies:-)

Our Finished Basement?

Well, the basement repair guys left yesterday and here are the results:

Yikes!!! Now THAT is a nightmare!

On a positive note, I have straight walls AND, the hubby is even considering really finishing the basement now! That IS a silver lining:-)

Playing along with Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom and Wordful Wednesday on parenting By dummies:-)

Disarray

I guess I still have work to do:

Playing along with Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom and Wordful Wednesday on parenting By dummies:-)

Organizing Your Calendar Part 5

This is the fifth and final installment of my time management series. Today, we are going to put it all together for a complete comphrensive time management system.

1. We started off with Part 1 writing or typing everything we did to gain awareness on how we spend our time.

2. Part 2 looked at lining our time up with our values.

3. In Part 3, we broke down our calendar into usable chunks and

4. Part 4, we talked about the difference between our calendar and our to do list.

Now, that you have all those piece in place, we have to put it all together. Remember that picture of my calendar I posted in the first post?



If you look closely, you will see that each piece of my advice is in play on this calendar. I have everything I do listed on the calendar. I have different colors for each family member and for the different things that I am involved in. I know when and where I can fit in to do list items. The last thing that takes it to another level...

You can import calendars into yours too! You don't want to schedule that romantic dinner right in the middle of the Super Bowl. So, import your favorite sports team calendar. Vacation planning helps when you know the National Holidays with a holiday calendar. And, if you are planning on gardening outside, wouldn't it be nice to know if it is going to rain that day or not? Import a weather calendar for your area to help with this. Keeping track of these details will prevent you from getting double-booked and you will use your time wisely:-)

I hope you found this series to be useful. If you have any questions about managing your time better, feel free to leave a comment here and I will get back to you as quick as I can. Better yet, I started a thread in my Blog Frog Community so that everyone can benefit from the answers to your questions.

Playing along with Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom and Wordful Wednesday on parenting By dummies:-)

I Blow!!

First time unsupervised with the snowblower...succcess!!! I don't blow, I rock!!

Playing along wit Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom and Wordful Wednesday on parenting By dummies:-)

Out with the Old, In with the New

Don't forget, now is a perfect time to do your year-end filing. I did mine this weekend and I am all ready to start chomping away at this year's bills:-)

Here is what I do:

• I empty all my files into one big folder and label it with the year that just past.
• This folder gets placed in an archive box with the last 6 years of documents.
• Then, I remove the oldest file in that box and shred it.

Now, I have all the documents that I need to retain for the IRS-required amount of time and a filing system that works:-)

This was not so Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom today but more Wordful Wednesday on parenting By dummies:-)

Girl Scout Ornament Exchange 2010

Every year, the Girl Scouts at my youngest's elementary school participate in an ornament exchange. The girls make three of the same ornaments: one to keep, one to trade with another Girl Scout and one to give to charity. It is a crazy loud event but one that reall speaks to the holiday and the spirit of Girl Scouts.

Here is what we made/traded this year along with the participation patch:

Happy Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom and Wordful Wednesday on parenting By dummies!

Go Pack Go

Happy Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom and Wordful Wednesday on parenting By dummies! As you can see...



...Packer Fever is back in our house:-)

My Day Planner Runneth Over

Happy Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom and Wordful Wednesday on parenting By dummies!

I really need to stop volunteering for stuff:-)

Picnic Basket Dreams

We all get them for our weddings: those beautiful picnic baskets .

We all have dreamed about taking our picnic basket to the park to catch a little jazz...maybe catch a kiss in between the chardonnay and brie course and dessert of cabernet and dark chocolate covered strawberries. Or we have visions of hiking to the top of Lovers Peak and enjoying a sunset cocktail you dug out of your picnic backpack. We all dream it but few of us get to do it.

Well, dust off your picnic backpacks and hike on over here next year. We are going to erect this beaut:


Ok...it isn't going to be that big or that amazing but...a girl can dream, right?

Happy Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom and Wordful Wednesday on SevEn cLoWn CirCus!

First Day of First Grade

Happy Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom and Wordful Wednesday on SevEn cLoWn CirCus!

Waiting for the bus...

The rain didn't dampened her spirits! She was so excited for school to start:-)

What I Learned on My Summer Vacation

My Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom and Wordful Wednesday on SevEn cLoWn CirCus shows what I learned on our vacation: Terracing:-)

I had never heard of this type of farming but we saw tons of it in Iowa like this:



According to Wickipedia:


In agriculture, a terrace is designed to slow or prevent the rapid run-off of irrigation water. Often such land is formed into multiple terraces, giving a stepped appearance. This form of land use is prevalent in many countries, and is used for crops requiring a lot of water, such as rice. Terraces are also easier for both mechanical and manual sowing and harvesting than a steep slope would be. Terracing slows down the speed of water and therefore allow more run-off to be sucked up by the soil.

My MiL said that each "step" is two combines wide which is best illustrated in this picture:


So, I get a nickle for learning something new:-) What did you learn on your vacation.

Beautiful Spring Centerpiece

My Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom is going to be more like Wordful Wednesday on SevEn cLoWn CirCus:-). I had to get some of my peonies before the rain washed the away.

Traveling with Kids

Check out more stuff at Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom or Wordful Wednesday on SevEn cLoWn CirCus:-) And, I have added Mostly Wordless Wednesday over at Ordinary and Awesome to my list too!! Go check them all out:-)

This week is going to be more Wordful than Wordless because I want to tell you about this beauty:

I love to being organized when I travel. With this binder, I can preplan and pack:

I can track mileage:

And, I can stay on budget:

Why did I title this post "Traveling with Kids"? Because in order to have a successful trip with your children you need to be prepared. With my checklists, I won't forget her favorite toys. I will remember to pack healthy snacks and things to do in the car. I will be on top of our schedule and leave plenty of time for potty breaks. And, by staying on top of our budget, we will be able to do the most without breaking the bank:-)

One of these days, I will learn how to publish spreadsheets in blog posts. If you are interested in any of my checklists, just email at sewing@wi.rr.com and I will be happy to send them to you. Happy Trails to you:-)

Making Room

Check out more stuff at Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom or Wordful Wednesday on SevEn cLoWn CirCus:-) And, I have added Mostly Wordless Wednesday over at Ordinary and Awesome to my list too!! Go check them all out:-)

Making room for big sister's return from college for the summer:-) Yahooo!!!!