Making Some Headway....I think...

Hello all!! I know you've all been waiting on the edges of your seats to see how I'm doing since my last very personal & cathartic post!! Well, to be quite honest, as usual, I'm really having trouble with the organizing part. Not that I'm surprised by this at all. And if any of you reading this, really know me, and know me well, can honestly attest to the fact that I do not have one organized bone in my body. But I keep trying. I think my biggest problem is really trying to figure out the best way to organize my home, my kitchen, and my life, and actually make it work for me, rather than me working for it! "It" being a relative term, of course!!

The other obstacle I'm facing is the decluttering. I don't have any issues with doing this, as I know it MUST be done. However, my biggest dilemma is basically finding the time to do it, and do it right, do it well, do it completely. You see, I hate starting something, and then having to stop half way through it, to tend to something, someone, or simply because I have to go pee. I despise it, actually. I find that when I start something, it's best that I keep at it, until I have either completed the job 100%, or I can leave it in a semi-livable state to which I'll eventually get back to it. Plus, have I mentioned that I can get side tracked very easily?!? I'm no one who can put things away as I go. You see, when I do this, I tend to lose sight of the big picture. Let's just say I'm cleaning out & decluttering the laundry room. (Stop laughing, I said "let's just say!") If I take a couple minutes to take some of our folded laundry to put away, I'll start cleaning something in our bedroom after I've put away our clothes. In my mind, I'm in "clean & declutter" mode, and that applies to every room I may enter until one of two things happen: 1.) I have to stop to make dinner, or 2.) my internal battery gets too low for me to function. And 99% of the time, I'll end the day with 3 rooms in shambles, but hey!! I am decluttering & cleaning....it just looks like an atomic bomb went off!

However, all is not lost. As I have previously stated, I have many goals I aspire to obtain. I am proud to announce that as of today, I have created a household budget (of sorts), and have stuck to it thus far. I know it's only been, what, 4 weeks since my last post, but me actually creating & sticking to a household budget is HUGE!! I've also managed to add to our savings, and thus far no over draft transfers have been made all month (and at $10 a pop, that can & will add up fast)!! Since, April 5th, we've only ordered out for pizza one time. Again, not a huge savings, but at $22-30 each time we order, it will add up quickly as well. I figure if we only order out twice a month rather than once a week, we'll save between $44 & $60 respectively. That savings could be used towards a family dinner out; a day trip to the zoo this summer; a day trip to COSI this summer; or even put back to be used for Christmas !! The possibilities are endless.

Speaking of Christmas, I do plan to start my shopping earlier this year than I did last year. I am hoping to scale back significantly on money spent this year, especially on our extended families. We tend to splurge at Christmas time, which is okay, but not when you are spending more on family who don't live with you, than you do on the ones who do!! For instance, Brian's mom & I have been scrap booking a lot together. I plan on giving her some new scrap booking supplies for Christmas this year. I know these supplies can get rather expensive, however, by shopping mark-downs, sales, and buying a little here & there, will help combat the expense. Also, I tend to be more of a practical gift giver. The last two years, I've filled a box with laundry & dish detergents, toilet paper, paper towels, napkins, personal toiletry items (razors, shave gel, toothpaste, etc.), a couple candles (Glade, that I got BOGO), and usually a bottle or 2 of anti-bacterial hand soap from Bath & Body Works, and given that to my MIL. Hands down, it was the gift that she oohed & aahhed over the most, and I know it was appreciated!! I am planning on doing the same type of thing for my mom this year; toiletry items, coffee, hand creams, bath stuff, & her favorite goodies. I figure with coupons & sales, I should be able to get these items at a fairly decent price. I used to be really good at getting or creating really nice birthday &/or Christmas gifts for relatively little money. I am hoping to once again find my creativity, and do more with less, so to speak.

Moving right along now....I've got my garden all planned out. Well, for the most part anyway. I know I'll be planting 15 tomato plants (maybe a few more), 5 or 6 pepper plants (2-3 bell peppers & 2-3 hot peppers), cucumbers, lettuce, radishes, onions, green beans, potatoes, & many herbs. All of my fruit trees have bloomed, even my plum trees! I am so very excited. I am hoping that we'll have plums for the first time this year. Praying that I'll have enough to make at least one batch of plum jelly!! Looking forward to canning some pears, and maybe even some peaches. Not too sure about our apple trees. They're not looking too well at the moment. My fingers are crossed though, that they'll come around, and begin to thrive. I got a wonderful idea from one of my cousins. She found and old feed/water trough, cleaned it up, and turned it into a raised bed of sorts; she calls it a salad bar. She planted lettuces, herbs, radishes, & spring onions in it. My MIL has one in the old barn of her property. Not sure what kind of condition it is in, but I'd love to give it a try. My problem is convincing Brian that it's a good idea. I'd love being able to have fresh salad fixin's at my fingertips, and just right out by back door. Something to think about, I suppose.

This is turning out to be quite the long post, and that was not my intention at all. With that being said, however, we only have 23 (22 not including today) days of school left this year. The kids last day of school is May 18th. I have lots of PTO stuff going on, and will be frantically busy trying to get it all done. Super Games (our field day) is Friday, May 7th, and our annual Walk-a-Thon was moved from our April date, to Monday, May 10th!! I am worried about not being able to get enough volunteers since the events are pretty much back to back!! And did mention that our niece graduates from Capital on May 8th? And that Mother's Day is May 9th?!?! No!!??? Well, can you just imagine how hectic my life is going to be from now until May 18th!?! Don't worry though...I've got lots of help from my fellow PTO peeps, and for the most part, we've got it under control! I think!! =) Anyway.....it's time for me to end here. I've got to shower, do some laundry, work on some PTO fliers, and run to pick up my son's allergy meds from the Kroger Rx in Sunbury. Hope everyone is well. I'm going to post some pictures soon, I promise.

Love & hugs to all!!