December is here!

Oh my! the time has passed rather quickly this fall. I went from September making a skirt for my daughter to take back to England, to being gone on Thanksgiving vacation for a week.  Where or where did the time go?

I'm back and energized from a much needed vacation.  And December is here, so all I can say is bring it on! Mistletoe, cocoa, decorations, trees and icy sidewalks and car windows arise!

Of course like everyone else, we are in the deep cold that is freezing across the Northwest and heading east.
Its bitterly cold, I'd really forgotten how cold it can get. Its hard to get out and exercise for sure so I'm spending more time in the gym.

All of a sudden the end of the year looms and I feel there is so much to do.  Do you experience the end of the year rush?  Its not Christmas or holiday outings, but its the need to clean, and dispose of extra items. To divest one's self of all the excess. Prior to Thanksgiving I was able to clean out my closet, the  linen closet and my pantry.  I even emptied several boxes from our move last year.  I still have a lot of boxes to hit in the garage, but so far I'm still hitting the inside up.

I have lost 20 pounds recently and will be losing at least 20 more for a surgery that is coming up in February.  So most of my clothes are too big.  I hate wearing clothes that are like bags.  My pants get baggy about 15 minutes of wearing. Between exercise and weight loss,  I was able to go down 3 sizes so far, only a few of the things I own now do I want to spend time altering. Everything else is out the door.  7 bags so far donated, not including what went into the trash.  There are still  things I'm having a hard time letting go, but go they must.

graduating daughter 2014

 Then I have to attack my sewing room.  I'm a sewer and a crafter.  I have a ton of supplies for those different crafts. I'm trying hard to pare them down. I keep changing my mind how I want my sewing room to look.  I started with open shelving to get things unpacked, but I find that I would really like to have cabinetry along a wall and top it with my custom cutting counter.  Also I would like cabinetry  above that as well.  It would confine more of the items, and look less messy, even though I box a lot of it in matching boxes, over time there are many different styles, so behind closed doors would be more appropriate.  In the meantime, downsizing as much as possible would help. We have many adventures planned in the upcoming year and I really want to get to work on making a new wardrobe.  Not only out of need, but my daughter is graduating from college in July.   We will be traveling overseas for her graduation and then staying on for a vacation somewhere in the UK most likely, our treat to her.  I want to have one of those 12 piece wardrobes that I can mix around with a few accessories and look brilliant the whole time. Ideally I would love two travel wardrobes-one for summer and one for winter.

 We love going to the UK, I would like to live there for a few years to really get a more detailed experience.  My husband used to work quite a bit in London for several years. He was able to go earlier in November this year and check our daughters digs out.

 One of my dear friends moved to Ireland a few years ago, and I still haven't had a time to see her there. But it is on my list of things to do.

Time is so rapid at times. The more you want to do, the more you desire to do, the less time it seems available. When you have no plans, it seems that time lags. Like kids over summer, the can't wait for summer vacation, but soon get bored if we don't plan enough for them.  I have a tendency to get over extended. Which creates an incredible amount of stress which in turn  usually evolves into a physical issue of some sort.  I'm trying to not let that happen, but sometimes I don't know how to say "NO". Its like getting job offers, that sound great, but in reality would be more stressful and I want to say no when i give my self time to reflect on it.  I teach fitness classes so people want you to travel, but I want to be one place, I'll teach all day but just one place is all I want to worry about.

Miss Kitty exhausted  from the activity

Well, my Christmas tree is up but not decorated.  Its waiting patiently, since its artificial, it can wait a few more days.  It all happens at one time, the tree, the decorations throughout the house, then the front porch.  So I'll get there. Then I'm going to make a plan for next year, like actually putting on a calendar when things should be done.  Decorating, maintenance etc.  I need keep track better, and perhaps life will be less stressed. I suspect that February will give me plenty of time to do this, because, I will be out of commission for a month- no driving for two weeks, no work, limited upper body movement,. oh yeah that sounds fun uh? not really, but its long awaited fix, for my body to get a chance to heal.

I will be trying to post more frequently and smaller reads for sure, but time required a catch up.Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Too much stuff!

Oh i know its been a bit since i've been on here.  I was starting to feel like i was spending too much time on the computer, and i'm going thru this phase of trying to de-clutter my home.  It gets pretty ruthless when i do this.  I start off just annoyed with too much stuff, and then i start throwing things away, or putting them in the goodwill pile because i just dont want to deal with them anymore.  I started in my pantry.  I keep alot of appliances you use only a few times a year, but when you do, they make your life so much easier. So as i wander thru re-organizing every shelf, getting rid of old spices, attempting to put all the party supplies in one place, deciding i almost hate tupperware, because my family does not look for things in it. Do I need a wok? actually i dont think i do, so this will be leaving. I always use my black iron skillets and i prefer them for most of that kind of cooking. Yes it turns into a job of i think i want to throw all this out, rather than deal with it.

Next i started with my desk.  You know the horror, of you have things organized for you, but no one else can find a thing.  I had carefully placed and important card from my father in law, to return to him, and all of a sudden it disappeared under the mounds of papers that must be sorted, filed, placed in the shredder.  I found it! Yeah, now i would like to set a fire to every paper that needs to go into the shredder, rather than take the time to shred.  UGH. I'm all into recycling, and wish i didnt have to worry about identity theft when i do so.

We have officially lived in this house for 5 years.  I thought when we moved here it was my dream house.  And it was, but its in the wrong place.  Too far out from where i live my life, my old friends, and the places i like to hang out.  So now, i'm ready to move, and if that means leaving the perfect house, then so be it.  It will  have to fall to the house gods or whoever makes sure you sell your house, so you can buy a new one. 
I've been planning this for about 6 months now, and when i want to market the house etc, one more christmas & new years here.  All of sudden I see that my neighbor has put there house up for sale.  Our homes are very different floor plans, but to think of having two houses next door on the market at the same time, worries me as people will wonder if something is wrong with the homes or neighborhood.  Understand we live on the first hole of a golf course. These are very nice homes, there is nothing wrong with them, and we have gorgeous mountain views on one side, and the golf course on the back side.  I love the mountains, and clean feeling of nature, but i know i love the water more.  I have lived by water-lakes and beaches since i first went to college most of my adult life. I grew up in the foothills and thought i wanted to be back there but finally realized that its the water that keeps me going.  Unfortunately for my family, i dragged them with me, but we all have gotten something from the move.  Its not without some benefits.
So enough time spent worrying, and back to the clutter/toss/give away mode.