Garbage Disposal

When we bought our house a year ago this month, the first thing my husband bought to "fix-up" was a garbage disposal since this house didn't have one and I was pretty sure that I couldn't live without one. When he first examined the pipes, he realized that it was going to be harder to do than he had first thought, so he procrastinated. Then came the other things to fix and somehow the box hiding under the kitchen sink didn't bother him...that is until yesterday.

I came home from a quick run to the grocery store for a last minute dinner item (I forgot potatoes! How could I have forgotten the potatoes???) to find my husband sprawled under the kitchen sink. He had decided that now was the time to install the garbage disposal. After the we ate the chicken casserole that I made, Eric had to run to the store to get the specific pipe pieces. (Apparently, we had black pipes and that makes it more difficult). He ended up having to install a new outlet under the sink because the dishwasher was hard-wired, which he didn't expect. So, he ran the electrical wires and installed a new outlet so that our garbage disposal would have power. It was right about then, maybe 10:00pm when he realized he had forgotten a pipe. No more installation could be completed because Walmart doesn't carry the part and Home Depot closed at 8:00pm. He would have to finish after work the following day, today. He stopped at Home Depot on the way home from work and less than a hour after he began, we had a brand new garbage disposal in our kitchen sink!!! HOORAY!!!

Now, let me tell you, this thing will grind up a chicken bone, and you won't even hear it working! It can handle all sorts of things and aside from a slight vibration in the counter (like a cell phone in your pocket, not loud at all) you would never even hear it grinding!

This, of course, has sparked a new wave of "kitchen protection" where I redo the kitchen and somehow remember that it is the "heart" of our home and I should maintain it better than I have. Ahh, sigh. I love my husband!

What on Earth is Going On???

So, I don't regularly search YouTube, but it appears I don't have to, because I found this on a blog that I read and I just think it is the scariest thing...watch and be amazed!

The Simple Woman's Daybook

Yet again, I am not doing this on Monday, but it is really the beginning of the week for me because of my strange schedule. If you like this idea, you can get all the information here.

TODAY IS TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2008.

Outside my window...a cold front has moved in to replace the wonderfully sunny weather we had over the weekend. The blustery day just makes me remember that it is Fall.

I am thinking...about the million things that I want to get done today and the slightly smaller list of things that MUST get done.

I am thankful for...my children. I have been feeling so inadequate lately which I am beginning to think is really just Satan trying to undermine my position as their mother. If I fail at my job, then what? I am thankful for a husband who tries so hard to understand when I have a bad day and who works with me to solve my problems. I am not the easiest person to live with and he supports me whenever I am down and encourages me to get back in the game when I want to quit. It doesn't always come in the way I want to hear it, but as I reflect on it- I see God's wisdom speaking through him. What a wonderful blessing!

From the kitchen...I will make that chicken casserole I was talking about on Friday. It isn’t Eric’s favorite dish, but we haven’t had it in a long time, so I don’t think he’ll mind.

I am wearing…my PJs…again, still. I never wore that outfit on Friday (I wore something else) so I will wear that: my long khaki skirt (that I made…poorly), a green t-shirt, brown tights and brown boots.

I am creating…my Fall and Winter wardrobe. I have enough material to make a complete wardrobe because my trip to Goodwill did not produce anything for a plus-sized woman. When I am done sewing, I will have 5 dresses, 3 skirts, and a brown corduroy jacket. I also bought material for matching outfits for our family for a nice Christmas picture.

I am going…. to Target to finally buy crayons for the kids, along with a special bag to put them in (cardboard boxes rip too easily). Then, to the grocery store to buy some veggies for a nice cleansing soup, since it is October and I am trying to do another Perfect Weight American cleanse.

I am reading…my King James Bible…. another finally.

I am praying…for Jordyn’s teeth to heal, for our family to come together as one unit, for my unsaved family members (and children) to come to know that salvation is through nothing but grace and faith in Jesus Christ

I am hearing…the sound of my children playing under the kitchen table, which has been transformed into a “fort” for the day. We have already done trains, “food” and are now moving on to Play-Doh when they clean up the remaining toys underneath. It is my goal to completely eliminate the TV from my children’s existence; we have worship music playing in the background.

Around the house…the clutter from several days has still not been picked up, but today is a domestically focused day for me. School comes second.

One of my favorite things…a nice hot cup of coffee while reading on the couch or surfing the Internet in the morning. I love lazy mornings!!!

A few plans for the week…I really want to get the house back in shape and I want to post pictures of it. I also want to get some serious sewing done through this week, but I am having a pretty demanding week of school ahead, so maybe I’ll just focus on one skirt and one dress

A picture I am sharing…pictures from the pumpkin patch we went to over the wonderful weekend.

The Picture that I just couldn't attach...

The Simple Woman's Daybook

I have been surfing "blogland" for a long time now, and while I have had blogs for several years, I had never completely realized the network they provide. One of the things that I have seen is this "simple woman's daybook" which I didn't really understand, but enjoyed reading. I like that it was just such a simple way to chronicle your moment. I know that I am not following the instructions exactly (it is supposed to be Monday!), but if you like this idea, you can get all the information here.

TODAY IS FRIDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2008.

Outside my window...wait while I open it, we have a cloudy windy day that is challenging my attempt to leave the heaters off in our house until November. The best part is that this drop in the temperature is causing the leaves to change color...and there are a lot of trees here. I really like seeing the mix of evergreen trees and fall colors.

I am thinking...that I have a lot to do and should probably NOT be writing about my life right now.

I am thankful for...Eric getting a day off today; he has worked incredibly long hours resulting in over 40 hours in the first four days and while Eric would love to work overtime, the company won't let him.

From the kitchen...I will probably surf around the web later today to find something new to do with frozen chicken breasts; maybe my mom's casserole: chicken in a 9 x 13 pan, frozen corn to cover and two cans of Cream of Mushroom soup- bake until chicken is done (30-45 min) at 350 degrees, serve over mashed potatoes. I wonder what would happen if I used fresh broccoli?

I am wearing…my pjs (sheepy face) but I will be wearing my long khaki skirt (that I made…poorly), a green t-shirt, brown tights and slippers.

I am creating…a twenty page research paper about motherhood.

I am going….to take a shower soon and hopefully to Goodwill to find some winter dresses/skirts.

I am reading…hundreds of pages on historical motherhood, feminism and how one affected the other, along with all my other school books.

I am hoping…to move to Colorado in the next few months, we need to sell our house first, so I suppose “sell house” would be my biggest prayer right now.

I am hearing…the sound of Backyardigans playing in my bedroom so I can shower (hopefully!)

Around the house…the clutter from several days of not picking up consistently.

One of my favorite things…staying in bed late, when the room is really cold and I am nice and snuggly warm underneath my covers.

A few plans for the week…mostly homework (I need to play catch-up) and a stabilization to our routine to help me find some time to “homeschool” or at least have a dedicated time for the kids.

A picture I am sharing…(TBD), hopefully I can take and post one later today.

Housing Market?

This is a video that I found on another blog, Keeping the Home, and though I am not convinced with all her political ideas and end-of-the-world scenarios, this video is important. It is how my husband and I were able to purchase a home that we couldn't afford and it is the reason that we are unable to move now that we want to. The banks aren't wholly culpable, we are also to blame for not listening to good advice when it was given and for blindly trusting the people selling us the house, thinking that they were the "professionals" so we could trust them- for surely they were telling us the truth...

New Cleaning Routine

It's been almost two years since I found the Fly Lady system. Her 15 minute baby-steps are crucial to my survival, however, I never managed to quite make the routines that are so essential to her system. So, while I was an advocate (and I'm still on her mailing list!) I am not a follower. Then, I read from Candy on www.keepingthehome.com and Candy doesn't use "zones" like Fly Lady, but instead has broken down the house by surface, so you would clean flat surfaces on Monday, and windows on another, appliances on another...so on. This system is more thorough than Fly Lady's but I have a problem with its specificity. In my case, I needed something extremely simple that I could use to help thwart my procrastination. Both of these programs has valuable aspects, so I want to pull from them, and I did, to create my own system.

First, I started with a goal: Biblically, we are called to hospitality and I (thankfully) have a natural inclination toward opening my home, which I have carefully suppressed because my home is filthy. When my family attended a new church last Sunday, two of the elders dropped by on Tuesday evening. How embarrassing!!! Thankfully, our house was not at it's worst, but it was not pretty either! So, my goal became the ability to show a presentable home at a moment's notice. The main living areas (and bathroom!) need to always be tidy or in use. We are a family with small children and children have toys, so I won't get rid of all the toys, but I will teach my children to put them away when they are done with them. The second aspect is that I would like my house to be ready to entertain guests within 30 minutes. Maybe this is less attainable than the first part, but I think it is a good goal for our family to keep in mind. Entertaining involves so many different things, but I would like for say, my mom, to call and say, "Hey, I'm on my way home from work, can I stop by for a visit?" and I will not be ashamed at whatever she sees. The other aspect is that I would like to keep the house clean and organized for the health and happiness of the family. It is amazing the difference between the kids just because their bedrooms and living room are cleaned! They actually want to play, instead of just staying in front of the TV all morning. I never realized how much mess affects you physically and though I keep saying that I just "don't see" it, my body knows the mess is there and it causes stress to build up. What a pleasure it is to come into a clean home.

So, how am I going to do it? First, I have a conversation with my husband about what tasks needed to be completed on a regular basis. Then, I broke the house into five sections: living room and hallway, kids' rooms, kitchen and dining rooms, bathroom and laundry area, and master bedroom. I took the list of things I wanted to accomplish on a weekly basis and put it all down by room. I want to clean 5 days a week and I have scheduled 2 hours, one in the morning and one in the afternoon to do that. So, I took my list of tasks to be done and my schedule and I plugged in one room per cleaning session. This means that I will "hit" every section of my house twice during the week, once in the AM, once in the PM. I did choose particular tasks to do on those days, so that if I needed to, I could go right to the directions to follow for that day, change the sheets and vacuum the master bedroom on Friday morning, for example. However, I think the key for me is that it gives me direction. Today is Friday, so I know that I will be spending time cleaning the master bedroom this morning (starting at 10:00am) and then I will go into the living room for this afternoon's cleaning. What I have yet to do is to establish "monthly and yearly" cleaning lists but when I do, I will divide them out through the month or year on the day that I would normally do my cleaning routine. The other thing is that my husband is going to be working a 6 day rotation, so I might end up with a Wednesday off, in which case, Saturday is my stand-in day. As is stands, I have planned for Saturday to be a "special projects" day which could include cleaning, but also includes sewing and crafting. Sunday's are my day to rest so I am not planning anything for that day (excepting of course, the standard dishes and tidy-after-you-finish-playing-with-that-toy variety).

The last aspect of this, is that I am taking pictures of each room when in a state of "tidy" and when completely clean and I am posting them in my Home Management Binder so that I have an easy reference of what it could look like. I like that I have freedom with this plan and I can still get my work done. It is my job to provide for my family's health and happiness and a clean house is a great beginning. I would encourage anyone who is trying to clean their house to do this as well, make a list of ALL the most necessary jobs, schedule the cleaning and divide the way you prefer. If you like to do all the floors one day, you can always arrange for Monday to be your floor day, Tuesday windows and dusting, Wednesday wash day...whatever works!!!

I'm off to get some cleaning done!!!