Monday, May 30, 2011

The lack of posts over the last little while....

turned out to be a problem with my Blog settings. So, for the faithful that have kept coming back to see what I have to say, I can only apologize for being lost in the cyber maze of technicalities!

Flylady and My Recovery

Years ago, I stumbled upon a phenomenon. I was searching for a way to remove a stain from my driveway, when I happened upon this woman's website. She promised me the world...starting with a shiny sink.

Well, one thing led to another. She eventually wrote a book called Sink Reflections, and I was pleased as punch when she asked if she could use an email I had sent her in her book!(Check out the email about bath time - I am Linda from Winnipeg!) Of course, she sent me a copy, that I subsequently lent to someone and then forgot WHO. If it was you, would you please give it back?) Anyway I digress. Over the years that I have subscribed to her emails,I have found no end of good advice, not to mention solace and comfort when I was feeling overwhelmed by it all. I am a bit of a perfectionist, you see, but thanks to Flylady? I am in recovery.

It was absolutely liberating to find that it wasn't a universal requirement to vacuum daily (although in my mind, you have to get the tracks just so....she isn't a miracle worker, you know)or empty garbage when there was a single tissue on the bottom of the basket! Clearly, the woman was a godsend. Now that I have my house on a weekly cleaning schedule, I no longer dream of hiring a cleaning lady for three hours a week...I can do it all myself in an hour so why on earth would I pay someone else all that money for a simple 'House Blessing' that I can do Flylady style in an hour? With my memory being what it is, and if the mood struck, I could do my house blessing, leave the house with the saved money and the mall programmed into the GPS, then return to a "maid has been here" moment, if I wanted to experience a shiny house and an empty wallet simultaneously!

Anyway, part of the system is to work on a zone weekly. This week? It is the master bedroom and bath. St the least? I simply follow missions - at the most? I dig out all manner of evil things lurking in my drawers and cupboards and toss with wild abandon! I enjoy doing "girly stuff" - it is a little bit of Me time that I have been able to reclaim in my old age. When I was young, Saturdays were spent putting my room in order, organizing my drawer (yes, singular. The joys of having two older sisters!) Strange child, I know. ANYWAY, now that I have all sorts of things for my inner child to play with and appreciate, I quite enjoy the tasks! So, this week? My personal goal is to organize all my makeup that I have received lately from E.L.F. and toss out all the expensive stuff that no longer is necessary. I will be on the hunt for pretty organizing boxes that approximately 4.75 inches square.....preferably white. Ah, the joy of combining a compulsive personality with an external schedule.......

S P R I N G

The sun is shining, the birds are singing, the breeze is blowing and my sneezing is never ending! Yep, I am living proof that allergy season is upon us! I finally smartened up and closed the bedroom window last night, and am planning on hibernating in the house with the air conditioning! The desired effect is starting to be accomplished. I don't quite feel like death warmed over anymore. But, it remains to be seen if this body is capable of motion! My list of TO DO's is rather short...eliminate visible dust, vacuum what I can't see. Since I have decluttered our home quite well, it is simply a matter of running my micro cloth over the surfaces and pushing around that dandy little purple marvel. Our furniture upstairs consists of of a desk, bookcase, file cabinet in my office, a dresser and two night tables in our master, and a highboy and night table in the spare room, a coffee table in the living room and chairs and a buffet in the dining room, it takes more time to type the list than it does to dust the furniture! It is great living simply, and scaling down even more will make things even easier one day. For now? We are content with the present things. For now? Time for a real Flylady Home Blessing!

Monday, May 16, 2011

Life is so much sweeter with a grandbaby in town!

Giselle spent the afternoon yesterday busy with the easel we picked up for her at Ikea. She was using the paint and paper, and has yet to discover the chalk board and whiteboard features! That will come during the week. MARKERS! Is there anything better, really? She certainly has a long attention span for a little one, and kept herself occupied painting away in the corner for ages, with just a little help fromher Mum. Her very smart mother had stripped her down to her Pampers, so there was absolutely no worries about "mess"...something that always gets in the way of creativity!

The child is such a joy,and possibly the brightest star in the heavens...for her old grandparents that is! She wore Rick out at the park accross the street, using the play structures in unusual ways. Of course, Grampa (Dampa) has all the patience in the world, so they were out there for ages while my dear, dear, daughter-in-law and I finished our tea and discussed the woes of the world!

There is something really special about being a kid in the spring time. The smell of new skipping ropes does something to me stil! I think in our little minds, we think that winter will never end, and there will be snow forever! Especially those north of 60, since basically, you do have snow forever, don't you?

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Using one carry-on suitcase when travelling...

has long been my goal. I am getting somewhat better at choosing the right clothes to take, although there is always a lot of deliberation before we leave. This recent trip to Banff was definitely a step in the right direction.

My travelling outfit was a pair of grey yoga pants and a pink zip up top from Pennington's. The fabric used in the AE Sport line is really good. The pants do not bag after hours and hours of sitting. I don't think that was the original purpose of active wear, but hey, this is my life, right? I also needed two nighties and of course undies, a pair of black jeans, a purple T-shirt with a motif (for my 'my generation invented cool ya know' look!) a leather biker jacket, a gold T-shirt with long sleeves and coordinating scarf, and a dress up or down black velvet tunic with leggings. I also needed a pair of leather dressy shoes. My daily go to shoes are uber comfy black slip on style athletic shoes...so easy to slip off when I am in the car! Of course that isn't all I took, but it is what I actually wore! The weather was so varied, that I found myself wearing my black leather jacket every day, with every thing. The zip top showed a couple of inches below the jacket hem, and to my surprize, did not look bad. I think it is a generational line to cross. Back in the day, it would not be a good thing to have something peeking out from the bottom of your jacket! Thank goodness we are living in a new century, where things like that are acceptable! The total number of garments that I could get away with is TWELVE! If I add a skirt, and panty hose, it is still an easy number of things to pack and tote. Now I have to figure out a similar wardrobe for a warmer season, and I think I will have have (please assume the voiceover for the DQ 'lips commercials') "NAILED IT!"

Friday, May 13, 2011

Hello out there.....

we are home! Banff was a wonderful place to be in the spring...the air was clear...NOT. Seems that all the tree huggers like to burn them too, and the smoke in the air was choking at times! So much for clean mountain air! But the drinking water was amazing! Our room was the one right by the tree on the second floor. Since the hotel was right downtown, we were able to walk out at night and take advantage of a lot of good eatin'!

We were able to see our niece in Calgary on the way out, and on the way back? We made a quick stop at IKEA. I can hardly wait until one opens up here. The organizing items are the best. Well, the next best thing to getting rid of everything, that is!

Our stop in Regina was as good as it gets, with dinner at a Chinese restaurant that had fabulous food. Unfortunately due to language difficulties, I was given a spring roll that wasn't made out of rice flour - didn't really notice any change in symptoms from the self inflicted harm done by having fish and chips at my favourite pub in Banff! Okay, I admit it. I knew I would be sick, but it has been so long since I have had to deal with a massive amount of gluten in my system that I forgot how awful I feel when I eat the stuff. But, that is the way it goes. Live and learn...hopefully! I will be home fr the next couple of weeks, so I will be on the straight and narrow, and get my system back to normal.What a pain it is to go through though! Don't tell, but I really don't think I will ever do that again, willfully. It just isn't worth it.