Reboot

Calm down. I'm not actually crying. I just have a little
photophobia, and that's not fear of photos. It's sensitivity to light.

Time to reboot my whole system. I'm not talking about my computer. I'm talking about me. It's time to do a little organizing; time to do some cleaning; time to get healthier; time to find me in this chaos I call my life; it's time for a total overhaul.

Ok, really it's not that bad. Really!! So don't start worrying; I'm fine. I have this tendency to over exaggerate. But I have been sick the last few days and I seem to be staying sick. This made me think back to certain times in my past. I seem to remember these frequent telephone conversations with my mom when I was in college, which seemed to go something like this:

Me: I'm not feeling well.
Mom: What's wrong?
Me: I have a stomach ache.
Mom: No, what's wrong?

Yep, this is a good representation of how I feel,
but I think Buddy2 actually likes sleeping like this.

Yep, usually if I am sick it is because something is bothering me or something is stressing me out; the secret is out. Oh I am genuinely sick. But I have gotten myself so stressed out, or so upset that it has physically made me sick. It's funny how that works.

Everything feels so cluttered and in disarray. I feel like I need to get some organization back in my life. Yes, there are other little things, but I think some of those 'little things' will work themselves out once I get more organized. It's amazing how something as small as being organized can affect how you feel.

Right now I feel like I want everything to stop so I can catch up. While I can't make the entire world stop (that would be kind of scary), I can make myself stop, if just for a moment. All I need to do is stop, take a few deep breaths, pray my little heart out for whatever guidance and strength I may need and then begin from there.  Sometimes the best way to catch up is to just stop.

I Am Not You

This is a reminder that I am not you; I am me. I am an individual. My life has taken me on different path than you. You can not compare me to anyone else, because I have life experiences that you do not have. My lifestyle, my beliefs, my personality, my everything is different than you.

I am Catholic; I am a musician, a military spouse. I am kind, sensitive, tolerant, adventurous, quirky and bit nerdy. I am also disorganized, clumsy and impatient. I am forgetful and am always losing things. I love my cats, husband, friends and family. I love God. I will always have your back and I am always striving to live a more Christlike life. I am not perfect and this Christlike life is a constant work in progress, but I always try to do my best and to be the best I can be.

These experiences, my friends, my family, God have all helped to shape me into the person I am today. No singular person is exactly like anyone else, and that is what is so amazingly wonderful.

My point is this; just because I don't believe in the same thing or have the same politics as you doesn't mean I am better than you or even a bad person. Choose your words wisely; treat others as you would want to be treated; don't judge and whether you are Christian or not I think leading a Christlike life is a good thing for everyone to live by.

A Few Bumps in the Road

This past week I have been visiting my husband in Florida. It didn't quite go as expected; I had a few bumps along the way. First there was a little scare of a possible gas leak in my apartment. When my cat sitter first mentioned the gas leak I thought maybe she was talking about the cats. The blond kitty, Buddy2, does tend to get a little gassy. But it actually turned out to be the stove and all is fine now. As long as the kitty cats were fine than that was all that mattered to me.

By the end of the week I realized all of my keys were gone. It was a bit frustrating. I honestly have no idea where they went. I remember seeing them when I was grabbing my big pile of clothes to put in the washing machine. I don't have a washer or dryer in apartment so I jammed as much stuff as I could in my suitcase so I could take advantage of the washer and dryer in my husband's place in Florida. Unfortunately that was the last time my keys were seen. They seemed to have disappeared into the same place that those lone socks go when doing laundry. Coincidence? 

Fortunately, I was able to find replacements for all the keys including the car key, which is costing me an arm and a leg to replace. I have the locksmith meeting me at the airport to take care of that issue. It is kind of nice having someone meet me at the airport even if it is just the locksmith and even if I have to pay him money. My cat sitter can leave my spare apartment key at work and I can pick up my work keys when I go and pick up my apartment key. My only hope is that when I get into Norfolk tomorrow everything will go smoothly. 

I seem to be a person filled with mishap. I have this strange tendency to be a bit unlucky and a bit clumsy; Ok maybe more than a bit clumsy. I need to take it day by day and learn to laugh at the mishaps. It is what it is. I can't change these little things about my life. 

The most important part of this trip was to spend time with my husband and out of everything that's happened this week (there were other small issues, which I will not mention) nothing bad happened while I was with my husband. I completely enjoyed every minute I had with him. I am able to go back to Virginia a happier and more rested person.  

On a different issue, concerning living apart from my husband this year, I have learned that sometimes you have to make some sacrifices in life. It hasn't been easy, but you learn to make adjustments and move on from there. I can live this year being depressed and upset about not being with my husband or I can continue living my life. And in those times I feel a little bummed I need to stop and just pray that God will give me the strength to make it through. Life is an adventure and I plan on taking advantage of all it has to offer, including all the bumps in the road. My husband and I will join together again when we move back to Wisconsin a couple of years down the road. In the mean time there will be lots of visits, lots of calls on the phone and lots of text messaging.

Day 365- Make a Commitment

A week after starting this blog I suddenly had this feeling of panic rush through me. I thought to myself, "What have I gotten myself into? How am I going to do this for an entire year?" But the days passed by and before I knew it I was on day 365.

Some days were more difficult than others. Some days I wanted to cry; some days frustration and stress got the best of me. But I eventually came to the realization that these negative feelings were steering me away from my goals. I needed to just go with the flow and enjoy the whole process. If I made a mistake or wasn't completely faithful to my tasks I needed to learn from them and move forward. 

The toughest part was writing everyday, but somehow I managed. I had days in which I was tired, sick, upset or I just plain didn't feel like posting in my blog. Some days I had no idea what I was going to write about while other days I could just go on and on. Much of the time I found writing in my blog very therapeutic, whether it be writing about cleaning the sink or striving for sainthood. I think I found a new passion in writing. This passion for writing has been one of my greatest accomplishments and a definite boost in my happiness level for the year.

I am not perfect, I haven't succeeded with all of my tasks, but I have done the best I can. I refuse to say that I failed with anything I have done, because many of these tasks are still a work in progress and even if I don't continue with some of them at least I gave it a try. Yes, there have been setbacks, but there hasn't been failure. I will continue on and do the best I can, continually working on the goals I want to achieve in my life.

This is not the end this is just the beginning. I plan on making these tasks a part of my life. I plan on working on the ones that still give me trouble and who knows maybe I'll even continue with my blog. But after writing every day for a year I plan on taking a little break. If or when I do come back it won't be something I write in everyday. Right now I will sit back, relax and enjoy the life I was given and I will continue on with my ultimate goal of living a healthier, happier and more organized life.

Day 364A and 364B- Double Post (Don't Get Bogged Down With Laundry/Watch Those Hot Spots)

I have never done a double post before, but I don't have enough days left to do each of these on their own so I'm combining them. These are two ideas I got from flylady.net, and I've been wanting to do these for awhile now. I thought instead of scrapping one of these tasks I would just do both of them.

So the first task is pretty simple. I have had so many things pertaining to laundry, but it's one thing I have a hard time really keeping up with, so I decided I would put a load of laundry in the washer in the morning and when I got home from work I would put it in the dryer. The one thing I don't want to do is leave my home while the washer or dryer is running. Who knows what could happen; the washer could flood or the dryer could cause a fire. I want to be safe.

The idea is to be able to do a load of laundry a day. This should be pretty easy since there is only two of us, and I don't have that much clothing, which is kind of the point since I run out clothing a bit quicker than the average person. But I also have some extra laundry too, because of the extra linen I've gotten. This task overall should be very helpful.

The second task is an important one for me since I've gotten so organized and that is to avoid hotspots. If I don't have a place for something I have the tendency to toss it in the closet in my room. So all I want to do is make sure I spend some time on this little spot to make sure it doesn't get too bad. But the best solution is to avoid those hotspots all together.

Day 363- Put Together a Household Binder

Awhile ago in one of my posts I talked about the possibility of getting a binder because I have so many different lists. Well I have decided that I probably should get going on this task.

I have so many lists and so many things I need to remember to do and while technically I only have a few days left on this blog, I need to remember that this is not going to be the end. I need to continue doing many of these tasks and make them a part of my life.

My household binder will include: all my lists from this blog, a calendar with different schedules, and a list of needed items and anything else I can think of. It will be a useful source of information that will help keep me on track, while I continue to improve on my organizational skills, health and everything in between.

At the end of this post I have a link that gives suggested dividers for your household binder. I figure this will be a good guide for me to go by. I of course will fit this according to my needs. Not everyone is the same. What I want to include in my binder may not be something someone else would even consider.

organizedhome.com

Day 362- Become a Local Tourist

It's funny how when you live in a certain place you are less likely to see all of the different sights that there are to see. Too often we move to these different places and we never see many of these sights in the local area. The only time I usually see any of these places are when people come to visit us.

Today we went on a boat tour of Norfolk and it was a great opportunity to get a different perspective of all these different places we drive by on a daily basis. Of course we went to these places because my dad was visiting. So here I am only seeing these places when we have visitors again. We had a great time though and I'm glad we went.

I have decided from now on I will take advantage of the different places we live and tour the different places we have available. I will become a local tourist.