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Sunday, 15 August 2010

100 Things Challenge

Inspired by this article in the NY Times everyone has been sharing (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/08/business/08consume.html?pagewanted=all), I was pumped to try the 100 things challenge! I was ready to sell our condo and pitch our tent in the Redwoods with our dog, a few good books, and the clothes on our backs. My husband, on the other hand, was not. He his version of the the 100 things challenge would be having 100 items of camping gear, 100 items of fishing gear, and 100 items of hunting gear...and that's just in the garage. So I started the 10 things challenge (http://simpleorganizedlife.com/10-things-challenge-week-four/). I'm thinking of it as a step towards the 100 things challenge, but not as intimidating to my other half. The plan: get rid of at least 10 items a week and donate or sell them to others. My goal is to be completely de-cluttered by the end of 2010!! No more knick-knacks and no more having 2 or 3 of the same book, tool, or shirt. I've never really been a hoarder or held onto things for sentimental reasons, but I do have a lot of things that I simply do not need or use often enough to deserve valuable real-estate in my little home. They will have better lives being well-used by another, or maybe even making me some money to fund my next vacay or beef up my savings.

Progress so far this week:
5 bags of clothes - donated to Goodwill
5 boxes of books - sold to Half Price Books
3 bags of random, but still in good shape, household items - Goodwill
2 TVs - Craigslist
3 purses - Craigslist and Goodwill
plus, 2 bags of recycle/shredding and 3 bags of trash!

Clutter free life and home, watch out here I come!!! Clutter-free mind...that's another story

Friday, 26 June 2009

There are fairies at the bottom of my garden...

There are fairies at the bottom of our garden!
It's not so very, very far away;
You pass the gardener's shed
and you just keep straight ahead
I do so hope they've come to stay.
There's a little wood with moss in it and beetles,
And a little stream that quietly runs through;
You wouldn't think they'd dare
to come merrymaking there,
Well, they do!

There are fairies at the bottom of our garden!
They often have a dance on summer nights;
The butterflies and bees
Make a lovely little breeze,
And the rabbits stand about and hold the lights.
Did you know that they could sit upon the moonbeams
And pick a little star to make a fan,
And dance away up there
In the middle of the air
Well, they can!

There are fairies at the bottom of our garden!
You cannot think how beautiful they are;
They all stand up and sing
When the fairy queen and king
Come gently floating down upon their car.
The king is very proud and handsome;
The queen, now can you guess who that would be?
She's a little girl all day
But at night she steals away.
Well, it's me!

[Rose Fyleman, 1877-1957]
World, meet Dilbert, the newest addition to our little family...

Soon and very soon, around 10 am, when the doors to Costco open, I will become the proud mother of a Dyson DC17 vacuum. He has Level 3 Root Cyclone Technology and is certified by the Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America to clean my house with extra awesomeness. I know I'm old when I get excited about a new vacuum, but my little Hoover has served us for 5 years and is now ready for vacuum heaven. Here's a picture of what my new baby will look like - isn't he cute?! The Costco model comes with a slightly different package of attachments, but you get the idea. Chloe is probably mortified by the thought of a new, more powerful vacuum/nemesis coming into our home, but personally, I can hardly wait to have him in my arms and see all the cleaning tricks he can do! Chloe, carpet, and World, prepare yourselves for Dilbert Dyson!!!!

Monday, 08 June 2009

Mmmmm Malbec...

I just came across this picture from a night out in Stillwater a little while back. I had been wanting to try a Mablec for a while and that was my first. If you like red wines, you should try one too! It was very delicious and robust :) Cheers!

Sunday, 29 March 2009

another Monday-not-so-Funday on the horizon...

Once upon a time I kept a blog with blogspot, but that was back in the college days, with an old email and password long forgotten, so here I go again, officially writing my first entry! I don't like openly being a deep person, but sometimes the lyrics of the good ol' Indigo Girls have that magical power over me. Lately the song "Hammer and a Nail" has been "that song", which needless to say is where I got my name for this new blogticle. Here are those lovely magical lyrics:
Clearing webs from the hovel
a blistered hand on the handle of a shovel
I've been digging too deep, I always do.
I see my face on the surface
I look a lot like narcissus
A dark abyss of an emptiness
Standing on the edge of a drowning blue.
I look behind my ears for the green
Even my sweat smells clean
Glare off the white hurts my eyes
Gotta get out of bed get a hammer and a nail
Learn how to use my hands, not just my head
I think myself into jail
Now I know a refuge never grows
From a chin in a hand in a thoughtful pose
Gotta tend the earth if you want a rose.
I had a lot of good intentions
Sit around for fifty years and then collect a pension,
Started seeing the road to hell and just where it starts.
But my life is more than a vision
The sweetest part is acting after making a decision
I started seeing the whole as a sum of its parts.
My life is part of the global life
I'd found myself becoming more immobile
When I'd think a little girl in the world can't do anything.
A distant nation my community
A street person my responsibility
If I have a care in the world I have a gift to bring.
~Emily Saliers
I'll leave any interpretations be, but I will quote a coworker by saying, "the more I listen to Indigo Girls, the closer I am to fine"...I love puns.
For one last bit of joy before I spend another 40 hours chained to my phone and computer keeping my Spanish skills fresh and polishing off some things on my reading list, I think I'll make some soup. Then I'll watch an episode of The Office to help me cope with the micro-managing in my life. I do have some singing with some lovely people to look forward to tomorrow, and I did have a relaxing weekend, complete with two of my favorite things: Nature time and a scary movie.