The Weekend

The wedding truly was a lot of fun.  I mean, who doesn't enjoy getting all dressed up and seeing their man dressed even better?  This picture is from right after the mass, taken in front of church.

There was a LOT involved in the weekend which meant a lack of sleep.  When I finished cleaning at 10 PM Thursday night, I just stayed up until Josh and Doug arrived at 1:30.  The alarm went off early on Friday so we could go help at the hall, then we had to pick up their tuxes.  I rode along for something to do.  A quick stop at my house to grab what we needed, and we hung out at Josh's pool until the rehearsal dinner.  After that, there seemed to be a mini-after party at my house.

The wedding was wonderful.  Really and truly.  Dan and Amber have been together for a LONG time - 7 years I believe!  It was so nice to be present to see the start of their marriage, there was so much love in the room.

So, you see the nice picture from above.  Immediately after, this one was taken.

They were trying to do that while we were getting the first picture taken, but were kind enough to wait.  Guess they got thirsty during church!

Josh's portion of the toast was to begin singing "That Loving Feelin'" a la Top Gun style.  Later in the evening, the song came over the speakers, and the boys all started singing it to Amber.

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from left: Josh, Dan (the groom), Doug, Jared, and Amber (the bride)
It was a fun evening with a lot of dancing.  Josh was on the dance floor almost the whole night, I'm not quite as much of a dancer.  If I sat down, a groomsman was usually trying to pull me back up.  It really was fun though.
 One more picture, cause I think it's my favorite from the night!

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all pictures are from my camera, and were either taken by me or Chantelle, Doug's date 

Happy House Challenge!

By now, you know the drill.  Quick update on last week (now that we're halfway through the next week!)
Make the Bed: 77
Empty the Sink: 7/7
Clear the Clutter: 6/7
Sweep the Floor: 2/7
Sort the Mail: 7/7

You'll notice I'm really good at some... and I totally stink at sweeping the floor every day.  Maybe because it takes me so long when I do it.

This week's addition is to spray the shower with a cleaning spray.  This would be easy to do.... if I had some.  I don't yet, and with my houseguests and the wedding, there was no shopping time in my schedule!  In a class for the next 4 days, so I will probably be going 0/7 on this one.  Maybe I can get to the grocery store tomorrow after the class?

I'll try to do a wedding/houseguest post in the next few days, I have some pretty good pictures from the weekend!

Operation Clean - success!

Just a quick update - it was 10 o'clock last night, but I got EVERYTHING finished!  Even things that weren't on the list (like grocery shopping!) got accomplished.  Was definitely worth it when Josh walked in and said "Man, you REALLY cleaned."  Surprising, but it sure does look nice!  Off to enjoy wedding festivities now!

Giveaway!

So.  You all know I love free things.  Winning them is always pretty cool.  Also, if you noticed, I have nothing hanging on the walls of my bedroom.

W, over at wendiwinn, is giving away a print.  Not just any print.... your choice from lemon drop studio on etsy.  Check out the details here.

Now, I really don't want oyu all trying to win.  I've already picked out the print I want.  And decided where I want it to go.  And since I just bought my house, there's not a lot of extra dough for pretty stuff.  So if you decide to enter, you can go ahead and get me my print.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/48622982/keep-calm-and-buy-new-shoes-8x10-print
I'll have to get back to you on the colors... there may be some re-decorating happening soon that would change the color choices.

Cleaning Update!

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You might remember my post here with the laundry list of cleaning I want accomplished before tomorrow.  I also mentioned yesterday I was having problem getting motivated.  Well, motivation finally sunk in, and I can cross 5 ROOMS (and gorcery shopping!) off of my list!  Finished at this moment are: full bathroom, half bathroom, guest bedroom, master bedroom, hallway.  I started on the outside list as I just got a trimmer, but found that the heat index was already WAY too high for that.  Hoping that I can get up and moving in the morning to get the grass cut - weeding just isn't going to happen, but I'm ok with that.  Still have a lot to do, but now I know it will all get done!
How do you motivate to do the tasks you really don't want to?  Do you have any time-saving tricks (besides daily maintenance) that help you when you need to clean top to bottom?

Happy House Challenge

By now, you've figured out that I'm taking part in the Happy House Challenge over at My Happy House. I didn't do too bad  this past week:
Make the bed 7/7
Empty the sink 5/7 (better!)
Clear the clutter 5/7 (better too, I just had to get it clean to start with!)
Sweep the floor 2/7 Mopped and swept once, only swept one other time. Should have been more with two dogs instead of one!

Sweeping daily is the hardest for me, as it's not a habit that happened when I was growing up.  Things like that were done weekly or sometimes twice a week.  Going to work harder at it!  This week's addition will be relatively easy for me, as I don't get much mail to start with.  Junk mail goes right into the recycling, and bills have a specific home.

It looks like I am going to have house guests next week.  I've never met them*, so I feel like I need to present the absolute best side of my little abode.  It's kind of hard to do as I am in the midst of unpacking/organizing still, so I made a list.  I am the kind of person who does much better when it is all written out.  I have every room listed, and the things I need to do in each room.  Now, in my head, I know that some things can't happen too early - if I dust the coffee table today, I will need to do it again Thursday before they arrive.  Anyway, I thought I would share my list, and see if there is anything that I am forgetting!  Some things are automatic - I always make my bed anymore, and the guest bed already has clean sheets.

Full Bathroom
Clean Tub/Shower, including scrubbing the grout
Sink
Toilet
Mirror
Floor
**also need to try to have all of my towels clean and dry!

Half Bathroom
Sink
Toilet
Floor
Window
Mirror


Hallway
Sweep floor (yes, it's just a carpet alleyway, but I will forget if it's not on here!)
Close closet where furnace is (open now so I don't forget to check that the reservoir is draining properly)

Guest Room
Clear Bed (currently home to my many stuffed animals)
Clear off Desk
Get things I will need for weekend out of closet, and close
Sweep Floor
Window

Master Bedroom
Clear off furniture - I think a room always looks nicer without junk on the dresser
Window
Mirrors
Sweep floor

Living Room
Dust furniture/shelves
Clear tables of extra things (Happy House Challenge step as well!)
Sweep floor
Windows
Sweep Couch and chair (my dog thinks they are his)

Kitchen
Clear Tables and Counters of clutter
Dishes washed/away (big deal as my dishwasher still isn't functional
Sweep Floor
Mop Floor
Windows/Door

Outside
Clothesline down after all laundry is done - I am trying not to use my dryer and save myself some money!
Clean table and chairs (in case we want to eat outside)
Cut grass Wednesday or Thursday (just finished yesterday)
Sweep/detail car (will probably be the driver for wedding events)
Wash car
Weeding (just sprayed Thursday with weed killer, guessing I will still need to pull them after they are dead.  Will have to be done Thursday if there is time)

So there you have it.  My complete to do list at my house for the next week.  What am I missing?  Is there something you do to prepare for overnight guests that I have missed?

*Josh is in a wedding next weekend.  To save a groomsman some money, he asked if Doug and/or his girlfriend could stay with me.  Josh will also be staying at my house so I am not alone with people I don't know!

**If you are really observant, you will notice the office is no where on the list.  I haven't even begun to unpack/organize in there - that's my plan for today.  If I get it presentable, I'll add it to the list, which would include sweeping and window (I dust before I put anything out).  However, I'm figuring it will still be full of boxes and assorted things, so they will just have to grant me understanding on that room!

Exercise Log 6

Um, it's been a while since I did one of these.  Unfortunately, that's because I haven't been doing as well :(  I was on a roll, and I allowed myself a break because things got stressful and crazy.... and it's been even harder to try again.  I am the QUEEN of excuses when it comes to exercising.  So, what have I done you ask?  Last Tuesday I rollerbladed 1.2 miles.  Tried again on Wednesday, only to discover that blading when it is wet is a BAD idea.  Only went half a mile.
Sunday I tried the Jillian Michaels - 30 Day Shred.  It's hard.  Or I'm really out of shape.  Or maybe both.  But I tried, and made it through most of level 1.... only to be sore until yesterday.  I'm all for working through the pain, but Monday I could barely move!
Went blading today.  Took my dog, Jager with me.  Only went a mile, as I haven't had him out exercising that hard in a long time.  He kept up though, only stopping twice to sniff at something.  He kept slack on the leash too!

Hopefully I can get back into a mixed routine.... I want to!  Mentally I am ready for a steady routine, physically I'm just so tired all the time it's a lot harder.  Maybe this will be my turn around!

The rain rain rain came down down down....

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It's raining.  More like pouring.  I looked out this morning, and my front sidewalk is under water.  The funny thing is, some of my mulch is floating on it.  So much for working outside today - probably a good thing I cut my backyard yesterday, as I don't think the mower will survive out there for a few days at least!

The good thing about the rain: I can work inside my house!  I've decided where I want things to hang in my living room, hall, kitchen, and both bathrooms.  I still don't know what I want to hang in my bedroom, office or hobby room.  I have LOTS of things that I could hang, but I want to make sure that I'm hanging them because I'm in love with them, not just to put stuff on the walls.  My bedroom at my parent's house had walls that were COVERED.  I'm trying to minimize and make everything more meaningful - it's a little harder to commit to stuff.  I am really excited about the decisions I have made though - I think it will help this feel more like home.

I'm not doing so well on the Happy House Challenge, as last week's new thing was to clear the clutter.  Since I am making MORE clutter to decide where stuff needs to go, I feel like I got maybe one day out of 7 where I succeeded on that one.  At least I'm making some headway on all the boxes, right?!?

Happy House Challenge

Have you all seen the Happy House Challenge? I'm all about it, as it makes my house just a little bit happier each week. The first week was simple - make your bed every day. I've been doing pretty well on this since I moved, but now that it is part of the challenge, I make sure I do it within the first hour I'm awake. The second week was a little harder - make sure you clear your sink every night. If I had my dishwasher functional, this would be easier (as dishes in there or drying after being washed count as being cleared). I did ok last week, I'm not doing quite as well this week.

This week's challenge is the hardest part of all: clear your living space of clutter. I haven't done well at this AT ALL. You are supposed to pick the one room you "live" in the most. Obviously, that's my living room. I started off well the coffee table and sofa table cleared Thursday night. Friday and yesterday - not so much. I use the sofa table as my catch all - mail, stuff in my hands when I walk in the door. It also is my bill spot right now, as my office is NOT ready for that responsibility. As soon as I'm done writing this post, I'm off so that I can at least be 2/4 after today. I'm thinking that if I can make myself do THAT every night, picking up the clutter in my bedroom will be easier too.

What is your motivation for cleaning clutter? Do you have a system to make sure everything gets done?

Post It Note Tuesday