Things are a-changin'

Things are changing here at home. Again. My son moved out and into an apartment he's sharing with some friends half an hour away, but you would never know it. He's been eating and cooking here, bringing his laundry here, sleeping a few nights here. I don't mind. Actually, I get to still know what all is going on in his life. Now, my daughter will be moving back home this weekend which is all well and good except for one thing. The room she's moving into is the room my son supposedly moved out of. You see, he only took the bare necessities with him to his apartment. I'm trying to picture how we're going to manage this. I was so hoping for at least a week with an empty room so some good thorough cleaning could be done but that's not gonna happen. This will be tricky. This is going to be an interesting weekend, stuff going out, stuff coming in. It'll be nice to have my daughter home again, even if it is only temporary. How long is temporary has yet to be determined. It's great to see my kids grow up and become independent. Great and sad at the same time. They don't need me like they used to. At least not in the same ways. I'm proud of them. But then I pinch myself 'cause there's no way I can be old enough to have kids that are grown! Yep . . . things are a-changin'.

Anticipation . . .

My vacation is less than a month away and I can already smell the ocean air! I'm so excited to be headed to the beach! It's all I think about. There will be 5 of us going and my parents may join us for a few days while we're there. Lots to pack, but not lots on the agenda besides relaxing. I'm so incredibly grateful I have the opportunity to take a vacation like this once a year but it leaves me yearning for more. So I've decided I'm going to retire to an itty bitty cottage by the ocean. I don't care if it's a one room shack, I'm moving in! Of course hubby reminds me that we would need about a million bucks to buy even the smallest itty bitty cottage if it's to be right on the ocean. I've decided to ignore the facts and enjoy this fantasy retirement in my mind. I just know that I'll start exercising once I have a sandy beach to jog on every morning. I can already taste the freshly squeezed juice that I'll make twice a day with the juice machine we bought ages ago. Once I'm settled in my itty bitty cottage, which will have bare wooden floors and a wooden screen door that slaps shut behind you, I'll be more productive and will finally get around to all those projects I've been meaning to get around to all these years. I'll quilt, I'll write, I'll get the photos in order, I'll spend loads of time with the grandkids, I'll learn to not only cook but I'll love to do it too, and I'll actually enjoy housework - afterall, I'll be living my dream and everything is perfect in a dream. For now, I'm going to start savoring every anticapted moment of my upcoming vacation. It's too precious not to!

This System Ain't Working

I'm a "piler". I like to make piles with my papers. I don't mind filing, in fact, I do file things away when I get around to it. But for all of those "to-do" items, well, those get piled up in order of urgency. Trouble is, eventually I forget what's towards the bottom of the pile until they are almost obsolete. I've tried using a slanted vertical file folder holder. Interestingly, I never seem to use most of the files this thing holds - even the "Calls to make", "Items pending", and "Decide" folders! These folders are right beside my computer - practically in my face, yet I just don't "see" them. So things continue to get added to the pile to the right of my computer. I want a better system. I'm going to try something new. I've purchased some delightfully bright index cards and a cute little index card box that snaps closed. I'm going to start making notes to myself of things that need to be done on the appropriate colored index card: pink for Immediate Action items, yellow for actions relating to my clients, green for my NAPO activities, and so on. I'll keep a supply of blank cards with me at all times and a set on my desk. I'll file the ones I've written on into categories in the cute little card box that will sit right in front of my computer. I'm considering labeling the outside of my box "My Brain". I can still pile my papers to the right of my workspace but I'll no longer be dependent on those papers alone to jog my memory of what I'm supposed to do. Yes, I've tried To-Do lists. I make several on different note pads and they end up in different places. I think this index card trick might work. I love bright colors. I love things in small packages. It doesn't make me stop my piling habit cold turkey. I'll let you know how it works after I try it for a few weeks.