Get off the internet!

That's what I've been doing lately and I feel like I've doubled the amount of work I'm getting done every day. I literally don't sit idle for more than 15 - 20 minutes at a time during my "work day" and it's been revolutionary. I feel like I've said this before but it's amazing every time I get back around to realizing it.



Anyway! I made the trip to Cedar Rapids, IA last weekend to see Alexis Mateo and it was super awesome. With horrible rain and thunderstorms starting right before the show did, it was a rather small crowd. This turned out to be a great thing for those of us who braved the weather since we were granted a decent amount of time to visit with Alexis during the meet and greet. She was SO nice and I didn't freak out nearly as much as expected to even though I was so wildly excited to see her again.



I'm really looking forward to Sharon Needles (shown above) this Friday night in Des Moines. WHOO! The show is 21+ and tickets were pre-sale so I'm happy to know that it won't be full of teenagers (Sorry 'bout it little people! I was once young too. You'll live.) and hopefully not too over crowded. I have no idea if there's a meet and greet after this show but I'd LOVE to meet her and grab a photo too. I'm expecting her to take the title on Monday's season finale of Drag Race so it'll will be an extra special show to see her so close to when she officially wins.

Prompted by some rabid internal motivation, I've spent most of this week cleaning, organizing, and getting rid of things. I'm all about having more open space and less mess to clean up and, so far, I'm really pleased with the progress that's been made. My house is starting to get that "really clean" echoing sound, which I absolutely love. It's no where near spartan or anything and that isn't my goal. People (and cats) live here and it will always look that way. I just want to get to the point where the house is full of nothing but useful things that we all love and couldn't imagine parting with. The kids and I have been working in their rooms and the playroom and they've been blowing me away with how well they've been doing letting things go. I expected to have to fight for every inch but, so far, that hasn't been the case. We're getting down toward the end of what they just kind of liked so we'll be getting into some harder decisions soon. It's my goal to unload about 50 - 60% of the stuff in our house so I also have some work cut out for ME. Mike doesn't give a crap about 99% of what's here so, if we have too much stuff, that's on me. (I also realize that one of the reasons the kids have so many toys is because of me too. I'm really wishing I had been better about that now.)

Speaking of organization, I'm hosting a meal planning party at my house from 10:30 AM to 1:30 PM on April 28th. There will be childcare and lunch provided if you want to come. I sent out an invitation to those who I thought might be interested on Facebook but it's entirely possible I missed someone or would be surprised about your interest. Let me know if you're interested in coming and need my address.

I received my final grade in my first class, Intro to Communication, and it was a very solid 'A'. Whoo! Not a bad way to start off going back to school. My next class starts tonight and is Interpersonal Communication. The three chapters I had to read for tonight were really interesting so I'm looking forward to these next five weeks. Following this class, I have almost a MONTH off before Summer session starts. June, July, and part of August will bring Intro to World Media and Communication in Organizations. Introduction to World Media is online for all but the first session so that will be a big change. I actually like getting out of the house for class and having it happen in a separate place.

This Sunday I'll be using a Groupon for two hours of time at an archery range and it should be pretty exciting. Hopefully I get to use a big ass bow and can get a picture taken with it. Yay weapons!

I wish I made more time to read for fun. I miss it.

Progressing Progress

I need to record, for posterity, how much easier life is when I do monthly meal planning because it is. It REALLY is. I just hated doing it but the dividends it's paying now during the month are so worth it.

I picked up a magnetic white board calendar that also has a place to a "to do" list on it to hang in the kitchen and that's also been helpful for any changes I've had to make to the menus. I did well with my goal of not repeating meals more than twice a month. I think, for the most part, most meals are only served once which is a HUGE change. We used to have pizza at least once a week because it was quick and crazy easy. This month? ONCE. To give you a sampling, here's a list of what we've had this month so far: (I'll link to recipes where available)

Special weekend breakfasts:

• French Breakfast Puffs - I want these EVERY day but my wasitline would not appreciate it.
• Buttermilk biscuits and sausage gravy
• Sour cream pancakes

(All of these recipes are from a cookbook called The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes From an Accidental Country Girl which I'd highly recommend as everything I've made from it and her website are DELICIOUS.)

Lunches:

• Spaghetti Pie
• Potato & cheddar pierogies
• Grilled cheese
• Cheese bagel bites
• Macaroni & cheese
• Potato cheddar soup

(We like cheese in this house if you couldn't tell..)

Suppers:

• Corn dogs and fries
• Tacos
• Mini meatloaves
• Chicken fried rice
• Sloppy joes
• Lasagna roll ups

And leftovers. Lots and lots of leftovers. I have to say that's definitely at the top of my favorite things about meal planning list. Tomorrow, for example, I will only cook breakfast and then that's it for the rest of the day since we'll have lots of leftovers from today. Whee!

I picked up a very cheap six month subscription to a meal planning site (Relish) through one of the daily deal sites I get e-mails from, so we'll see if that makes planning for February even easier. All in all, I'd have to say that meal planning has been providing a large and lasting happiness boost.

Results!

As one of my resolutions for boosting energy, I'm trying to get organized. I feel like I've always been a fairly organized person but have been trying to do some reading along with online research into how to do a better job of it.

Last week I read The One Minute Organizer Plain & Simple: 500 Tips for Getting Your Life in Order by Donna Smallin. The book was a REALLY quick read since it's exactly what it says it is: a book full of quick tips. There wasn't much that I didn't already know in there but a couple of things did stick with me that I hadn't really considered before.

The first was that you shouldn't confuse neat with organized. Once I read that, I could see that I definitely had been confusing the two, or was at least assuming they were the same thing. I keep the house clean and neat, but is it organized? Not as well as it could be as it turns out. So, with that revelation in mind, I got to work on the house.

Per the author's suggestion, I wrote up a One Month Organizing Plan and prioritized the rooms I really wanted to get done. They are as follows:

1. Playroom (which is pretty much our whole upstairs)
2. Storage eaves (the space upstairs that isn't playroom)
3. Kitchen
4. Bedrooms
5. Man Cave (Mike's computer room in the basement)

Even though this is how I prioritized them, I don't seem to be doing them in that order. Today I finished our bedroom, one of our hall closets, the bathroom, and part of the upstairs. Some of the changing up of the order has to do with where the kids are playing and if anyone is around to help me watch them so I'm cutting myself some slack there.

Anyway, even if I didn't do it in the order listed above, I've made some excellent progress. I have SIX boxes of donations to take to Savers tomorrow and the house is looking GOOD. How good? I'm so glad you asked! Here are the results of my labor today:

Closet in our bedroom

Top half of hall closet #1

Bottom half of hall closet #1

Storage cupboard over the toilet in bathroom

Medicine cabinet in bathroom (just to prove I didn't stuff this full to empty the other cupboard)

Toiletry stock pile cupboard in bedroom

I didn't take before photos and I really wish I had. Ah well. I can do that for the other rooms on the list I suppose. (If I remember...)

The other bits of information that I read in The One Minute Organizer which are turning out to be helpful were related to trying to decide what you should get rid of. Here are the questions that I've been asking myself that have proved useful when I'm not sure to keep/toss/donate something:

• Have I used this in the past year?
• Do I need it on a definite date in the future?
• Do I need it for legal/tax purposes?
• Would it be difficult/expensive to get another one if it became needed?

If the answer to all of those questions is no, then off it goes. The author also suggested that if it takes you longer than 60 seconds to decide, then you probably don't need it. I didn't think this would prove to be as true a statement as it has been. It's also been quite useful to ask myself "What useful purpose does this serve?" since I'm have a history of hanging onto things for sentimental reasons. Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying you should toss out everything you have an emotional attachment to (Heavens knows I'm certainly not!) but I just got rid of nail polish from HIGH SCHOOL today. That's sad and I can't even tell you how many times I moved it around with me for no real reason other than it reminded me of happy memories. I didn't wear it and didn't even really like the colors anymore. I just HAD to have them... for some reason. Awful and I'm glad to say good bye to them so I can enjoy a less cluttered cupboard.

I'm expecting a book ordered from Paperback Swap soon called SHED Your Stuff, Change Your Life: A Four-Step Guide to Getting Unstuck. It gets great reviews on Amazon so I'm hoping to find something new there to help me get this place even more organized.