Progress

Woo-hoo! Just crossed four things off my list. I'm feeling motivated to get things done now, which is probably a good thing since I have dishes to put away and two loads of laundry looking at me begging to be folded and put into their perspective homes. I also need to straighten up the house in general from a long and crazy week.

I just checked online and Jackson's library books are overdue (oops) and apparently the movies we borrowed a few weeks ago were taken back late, so I better make my way over to the library to drop off the books and pay the fine (ouch). I have come to the realization that the Library just does not work for us. I can't tell you have many fines we've payed for books and especially movies over the years. What I need to do, is take the kids once a week on the same day so it becomes a habit and our items are never late. Hmmmm, I think I will add some schedule type items to the next list.

I think I will make myself some hot chocolate to sip on.... darn, I'm out of milk now. I'll have to add that to my shopping list. People are going to start thinking I'm obsessed with lists! Maybe my sudden craving for lists is a cry for more order in my life. You would think a single mom of two busy kids, who works and goes to school along with doing freelace design work on the side would have plenty of order! hahaha

High of 38

It's cold. VERY cold. The high was only 38 degrees. Normally this wouldn't be an issue however, our heater is completely broken and my house is freezing. The good thing is that I'm getting a new furnace installed on Saturday. The bad thing is that my finger tips and nose are quite cold in the mean time. All in all it's not that bad. We have 2 space heaters to keep us from freezing to death and it helps us to appreciate things a little more.

When I picked up the kids from school today we went to a second hand store to get the rest of Ashleigh's costume for Halloween. She is a fairy. The highlight of the shopping trip was when Jackson (unknown to him) leaned up against the emergency exit only door and the store's alarm system started blaring throughout the entire store!! It was deafening. Jackson, of course was mortified and started crying. I told him it was ok and gave him hug. In his defense... the door didn't even say anything about an emergency exit or that an alarm would sound, just a simple hand written note that said, "please use other door". After about 5 min, someone finally came over to the door and locked it, causing the alarm to stop. We did end up with a pretty cute costume in the end so the shopping trip was a success. Just a very eventful one!

I didn't do anything on 'the list' today. In fact I thought of a few things to add! Ahhh, I'm moving backwards. Maybe I will start a second list after I finish the first, that way I wont get too overwhelmed.

Well, time for bed. But before I go.. I just wanted to say we had the most delicious dinner tonight. It was Ashleigh's idea. Soup in a bread bowl. Ash. had clam chowder while I opted for creamy tomato soup with some cheese shredded on the top, a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of chopped bacon. Yummy!

Pumpkin Guts

I checked something off the list tonight. *pats myself on the back* I love progress, even if it's baby steps.

After our first snow of the season today, the kids and I carved the pumpkins we got from Grandpa Madsen's garden. I think Ashleigh picked the heaviest pumpkin there was. I'm pretty sure it weighed as much as Jackson! It took us 20 min to get the top off of it because the pumpkin was so thick and there were a ton of 'pumpkin guts' holding the lid on. R.I.P. to the kitchen knife that broke off at the handle trying to wrestle with that darn lid.

After all was said and done, the jack'o lanterns turned out very cute. We rolled up all the slimy guts in the newspaper that we had covered the table in, and washed off a few handfuls of seeds... which we roasted (and I am snacking on as we speak). I think it's time for warm PJ's and I'm going to try to get to bed early tonight.

A List

After watching Julie&Julia with my Mom and Aunt recently, I am inspired to start Blogging again.

So, here I am... Sunday evening, in all my sweatshirt-ponytail-no makeup glory. I have been in a slump this last week. Not a HUGE slump in which I eat peanut butter for dinner and feel the despair of the world closing in. Just a small slump which I'm bored with the same old same old that most of us deal with at one time in our lives or another. You know, the old 'day late', 'dollar short', and normal stresses from work, kids and a never ending messy house... that kind of slump.

With that being said, it's time to revamp things a bit. I'll start with a list:

• Find a system that WORKS for the kids to keep the house clean
• Plan some quick & easy meals for dinner
• Fix the leaky pipe under the sink so I can use my dishwasher again
• Get a copy of the laundry room (which is downstairs but always locked since my brother lives down there) key so it's not such a pain to do the wash.
• Make chore charts for the kids...but stick with it this time so the kids can earn allowance (easily ties into the first item on the list)
• Get new flooring for the Kitchen
• Have the new cooktop I bought a month ago installed
• Find an inexpensive chimney service so I can actually use any of the 3 fireplaces I have in my house this year
• Do the finish work on the window that was installed in my bedroom recently
• Look into duct cleaning services to come out after my new furnace is installed next weekend - done (company installing the furnace does that also and will give me a discount)
• Research what local companies are charging for logo and webiste design 
• Makeover my own website
• Start marketing my design services
• Schedule another charity pickup for things we are getting rid of 

There we go... a starting point. I am giving myself a month. I have a list of future things I am keeping in the back of my mind also.

• New flooring in the whole house
• Remodel both bathrooms
• Organize the garage with shelving
• New kitchen countertops

baby steps though. I did go through Jackson's room with him earlier today and got rid of clothes and toys he no longer uses. It was quite productive. Then spent an hour or two on the computer looking at everything from new logo and business card ideas to tile and faucets for the bathrooms. It was overwhelming yet inspiring at the same time.