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New Stuffs, Week of 5/19/13

Another soft and beautiful kit for you this week. Great colors and mostly blended papers and lovely elements.

Of course, you can buy just the elements, just the papers or just the alphas.

And, for something a little extra, how about some templates?

You can find it all in my store at Scrapbook-elements. 

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New stuffs, week of 5/11/13

A special Friday.....

Fridays for me are pretty much like Saturdays or Mondays. But I know, for most of you, this is Friday before a 3-day weekend. So, I've decided to celebrate with you!

Got up at something like a normal time and did my CT update. They now know pretty much everything I do, LOL.

I had a bang up design day yesterday, but didn't accomplish much in the house. I will try to "balance" things out a little better today. That "balance" thing is so elusive and it seems we are all searching for it......

The "sickie" kit is nearing completion. It has a lot of elements in it but it doesn't look like it does because many of the elements are light on megabytes. In fact, by my count, it has 100 elements at the moment. I have plans for a few more, but then, I'll be doing the solids and moving onto alphas and details. Then I need to drop back and do some word strips for the girl scout kit.

Today, in this house, I need to run the dishwasher, wash a couple of "delicate" loads, run the vacuum cleaner and do whatever dusting I can squeeze in.

Someone jokingly commented the other day that they weren't too sure about buying stuff by a designer with "hot flash" in her design name. I suppose I understand. If it's any comfort to anyone, my "hot flashes" have nothing to do with hormones. They have to do with blood pressure. If my blood pressure goes low, I get a hot flash. And if it goes really high, I get a hot flash. I mention this because right now, I'm having a hot flash. My BP is 112/69. Yeah........

I mentioned a few days back that I had done some research on dog food and promised I'd update you. So, I think today is the day.

When my daughter was at home, she turned into an enforcer if she saw our dogs being fed table food. She had read or heard all the ads for dogfood that said it was necessary to feed Alpo or Pedigree or Purina or whatever so dogs would have a balanced diet. Unfortunately, she drank the koolaid.

What I found out in my research about dogfood is pretty interesting. First, did you know that "dogfood" as such did not exist until 1934? Yup, that's the truth. Prior to that dogs lived on table scraps. I wonder how they did that?????

We feed our dogs that stuff (yes, me too) and we WANT to believe those commercials. We WANT to believe we are giving our beloved pets stuff that is good for them. Well, maybe not........

First, you will find that many dogfoods are full of grains. Now, there may be some animals for whom grains are a natural "go to" food. But, I ask you, have you ever heard of a pack of wild dogs invading a wheat or corn field and gobbling down all the wheat or ears of corn? I'll bet not. Grains are NOT a natural food for dogs and there is a lot of speculation that their systems are not built to break them down and receive any nutrition from them. Instead, what they really are, in dog food, is "filler", there to bulk up the food.

Second, we want to think that our dogfood has healthy ingredients in it. However, did you know that the beef in dog food is substandard--WAY below what we'd like to think it is. They use beef that has died en route to the slaughter house or that is diseased. They cannot legally sell that for human consumption, but they can and do get away with it in dogfood. There are no or very limited FDA standards for dog food and no enforcement. If I don't want to eat a steak from a diseased animal, why would I want to feed it to the 4-legged members of my family?

Third, we like to think our pets' food is chock full of beef and chicken and other high protein ingredients that will appeal to our pet's palate, and that will give them the protein they need to maintain an active lifestyle. Well, that is an illusion. The illusion is supported by that "meaty" smell we get hit with when we open a bag of dogfood. Do you know the source of that "meaty" smell? It's an oily substance sprayed on the dogfood to make it smell that way, to comfort us about what we're feeding our pets and to make it smell like something edible to your dog.

I have made the decision to supplement my dogs' food with "real" food. Punkin will eat pretty much anything I give her. The only exception so far is cabbage. She LOVES carrots. She's pretty happy with yogurt too. Parker is pickier. Wanna guess which one is fatter? From now on, they are going to be presented with more opportunities to eat little bits of "real" food. After what I have read, I think they will be better off for it.

One argument I've heard in the past is that the crunchy dog food is better for a dog's teeth. Hey, how often does your vet recommend getting their teeth cleaned? If crunchy dog food, served daily, is so good for cleaning a dog's teeth, why do we need to take them to a vet to get their teeth cleaned? Why are we being sold chicken-flavored doggie tooth paste in all the pet stores?

So, that is my little sermonette on dog food. My research has really changed my opinions about what is best to feed my dogs. You may want to do some research on your own (obviously, not on a manufacturer's website) so you can make your own decision.

I'm gonna get started on my many tasks for the day. YOU be BLESSED today.

When it's 10:45AM,

it seems too early for lunch and too late for breakfast. But, no matter what the clock said, my body said it was hungry! I think that's a natural consequence of starting so early. So, we're having a smoothie.

I was digging around in the garage freezer the other day and found buried treasure: a BIG bag of frozen pineapple from Costco! I LOVE pineapple. How did I manage to forget I had something I love so much? I think it makes just about anything (possible exception: meatballs) taste better. So the ingredients for today are about 6 frozen strawberries, 1/2 frozen banana, and about 6 chunks of frozen pineapple. Also remembered to throw some kale in there today (forgot that the last time I made a smoothie). Then added orange juice and Greek yogurt. I whipped that up, tasted it, decided it was just a bit tart and threw in a sweet n low. Now it's just right and a real treat! I'm almost out of Greek yogurt. That probably means either 1) I am restricted to strawberry or blueberry smoothies, or 2) I need to go to a grocery store. I do have flavored strawberry and blueberry Greek yogurt so I guess those could still be used but I think I would prefer them with the same fruit as what's in the yogurt itself.

Hey, I was going over my bank statement for the last 30 days and I have only spent $80 on groceries. I think that's pretty good. And, believe me, I haven't been deprived! Of course, that doesn't include my extra milk purchases which run about $5-$6 every 6 or 7 days. But, still, I'm proud at keeping that expense down and still eating healthy food.

My two big expenses for the month really chewed into my bank account. That included all the expenses for Max--vet bills, drugs, and cremation. And, that garbage disposal I need to install.The other expense that was kind of optional was my running shoes which I will wear pretty much every day for the next year. I say this was "kind of optional" but I don't really think it is--I need the support and shock absorption I get from these shoes and they come in really handy on the treadmill as well.

Another thing I'm proud of is that for the whole month, I spent only about $10 on purchases at fast food places. One day when I was out and about I was hot and bought a "tall" Starbucks frappuccino (Do you find it funny that the smallest size is called "tall"? I do). And, one day I stopped at Mickey D's and tried one of their new "wraps". I tried the one with bacon and chicken and ranch (which I don't really recommend).

I've been hot after the design thing this morning. I now have 32 elements. Progress.......

Not as much progress on the home front. When I set out to remake the bed, it means shaking out the featherbed and then shaking out the down comforter. Those things were easier to do when there were two of us........ Just another reason why I need to get stronger!

I got curious and decided to check on the nutrition of my smoothie.... Orange juice contributes Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Niacin, Potassium, Magnesium, Iron, Vitamin B6, Thiamin and Folate. Banana contributes Vitamin C, A, B6, K, Riboflavin, Vitamin B12, Calcium, Potassium, Manganese, Copper and more. The kale contains more of the above, but get this: it offers 684% of the daily recommended amount of Vitamin K, 200% of daily Vitamin A, and 134% of the daily recommended Vitamin C! Nutrition power house! Pineapple contributes small amounts of all of the above. However, it does contain a good bit of dietary fiber as well as lots of Vitamin C and Manganese! Holy Moley, I'm impressed. I knew these smoothies were full of vitamins and minerals and good for me. But, there's really a LOAD of nutrition in them! So, I should be as strong as Schwartzenegger shortly!

Alright, I can't avoid work forever. Gotta get back to it!

Let's hear it for Thursday!

So, I worked myself into the ground yesterday and I'm going to try to do it again, LOL. I'll at least be getting an early start and that's a good thing!

I mentioned yesterday that I had started a kit we're calling the "sickies" kit. Well, I made some progress yesterday, between cleaning bouts in the master bedroom. The "sickies" kit now has all of its papers and 13 elements. Obviously a long way to go on elements, but we'll get there!

Around here, I need to vacuum in the master bedroom and make up the bed and I'm outta there. My next project will be to list and bag up a bunch more donation stuff to take to the donation center. That will clear half the dining room table. Then, I'm going to be very brave and venture into the garage and see if I can find a drill. Then, I need to take a really good long look at that plastic piece that is the drawer support and try to figure out the best way to proceed with it.

Since I'll have the vacuum out anyway, I guess I should do some vacuuming. And, it is time to start another round of dusting. Yuck! And, there's more laundry. I have done at least one load of laundry every day for a lot of days running now. Where is it all coming from? I live here alone!

I still have 3 advertising sites to hit with previews of this kit. And, as always, I need to delete e-mail, unzip files, and tag stuff in ACDSee. I tried to do some tagging last night but I just couldn't get motivated. I think I was just too tired to care. I have, however, now tagged all my commercial use frames. Another step in the right direction! I find I am referring to my ACDSee files over and over as I design so it's certainly been worth the time I have devoted to it.

Well, let's do some eyecandy and then move along.

This darling page was created by Lori, featuring her sweet granddaughter, Carmen. Lori used one of our color-coordinated templates for this page. Lori always does such nice work with clusters of elements and that cluster at the bottom of the page is just beautiful!

I'm on my way. YOU be BLESSED today!

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An anniversary, of sorts......

Shopping..........

Nearly miraculous........

Alright, by now, you are probably aware that I follow FlyLady. Do I have everything under control? Absolutely not. If you've read this blog for more than two days, you know that. But, I believe it is improving and as long as I can keep after it, it will continue to improve.

I own a few FlyLady products. Most of them are good. I don't rave about them like some folks do, but they're good. Today, I am going to rave about something. The purple rags. Oh, just wait til I tell you. YEARS and YEARS ago, a chemical more or less exploded onto one of my nightstands. I can't tell you exactly when, but I know where I was living at the time and I moved out of there 35 years ago. Did you get that? THIRTY FIVE YEARS AGO. Everyplace on my nightstand that that stuff landed there has been a yellowish mark for THIRTY FIVE YEARS. I've scrubbed at that stuff and used various cleaners on it and have never succeeded in budging it. I honestly thought the chemical chemically altered the paint and that those stains would be there til forever or til I refinished the furniture, whichever came first.

Tonight I was wiping down the front of the nightstand with water and a purple rag. Yes, I had some elbow grease behind it. And, guess what? About 75% of those stains are gone. I ran out of elbow grease before I got it all, but I'm pretty confident that I can get rid of what's left next time around. I am astounded!

I am happy to report that I have dusted, wiped down, scrubbed everything that doesn't move in that room. If you know any really hot, really rich guys who have been avoiding me simply because they were afraid the dust would set off their allergies, send 'em my way now. In at least one room of my house, dust has been eliminated!

I am not going back in that room til it's time to crash. I don't care that there are no sheets on my bed. I'll sleep on the featherbed and cover up with the comforter and call it good for tonight. I'm tired, physically tired. Tomorrow, I'll do a thorough vacuuming in there and install sheets and I think that will be all I can do in there in any sort of concentrated effort for a while. I need to take care of some things in other rooms of the house! Sadly, I don't know that anyone but me would notice the improvement in there unless they were doing a white glove test, but it IS improved and I know it and that makes a lot of difference. I still have boxes that need to be unpacked from when I packed up everything because I was promised that folks were coming to do my floor in the bathroom. They never came, and now I need to unpack that stuff and find homes for it. THEN you'll notice the change!

I got slammed with a "revelation" today. I want to record it so I don't forget it.

There are two situations in my family that I have not blogged about. One is relational. The other is physical. Both are extremely disturbing to me and have been the subject of much prayer, many tears, and much gnashing of teeth, LOL. Certainly, if God didn't know my every thought, He would be thoroughly familiar with the problems because they have been discussed with Him "without ceasing".

Today, I listened to a sermon by a minister I admire and believe speaks the Truth. Here is what he said:

"If you and I don’t take that command authority and use it in our realm of authority, our God-given rights of redemption from the curse just lie unenforced. We’re in the time of the end. It’s our time to rise in faith as soldiers in the army of The LORD and BE who we really are—THE CHURCH TRIUMPHANT! That’s who we are, and that’s what we are. And, Jesus is LORD over all this Earth, and all that’s in it belongs to us!"

And it struck me, like a hammer, that while I've cried and prayed about these two situations, I've never really claimed authority over them in the name of Jesus. Well, that has changed as of this afternoon. You know, Joshua said "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord". Did you know that tradition tells us that Joshua's "house" included everyone to whom he was related, his servants, even the shepherds who watched his sheep. If Joshua had the authority under God to claim they would ALL serve the Lord, then I think I can exercise some authority over these two situations and expect them to change. And, honestly, I've been surprised that my phone hasn't rung with the news that one of them is solved already. You could say I'm "expecting", LOL.

My limited sleep is showing.........

I have not accomplished as much so far today as I would have liked. I did declutter the second half of the dresser, scrub down the rest of the top, the sides and the front. I think it might be a different color, LOL. And the bed has been stripped and the sheets and pillow cases washed.

I've been working on a new kit. We'll call this one the sickies kit for purposes of discussion. The sickies kit now has 7 papers and 3 elements. Not too bad for a morning's work......

I think I am off to see if I can get a nap. I'm pretty sure it will make my afternoon more productive, at least in the area of house cleaning which is NOT my favorite sport. But, before I leave you, here's something cute I grabbed from Facebook.

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Shocked, that's what I am.........

Two days in a row I have rocked this housekeeping stuff! Quick, pinch me! Maybe this is all a dream?

Yesterday I ripped into my bedroom. I did some cleaning! I washed the inside of the window. Took several tries to get it clean. I washed the walls around the window several times. Scrubbed down the window sill--trust me, so I don't have to keep repeating myself, everything took several tries! Then, whoa! I discovered I have a venetian blind in that window. I shoulda known. I think the previous owners put blinds in pretty much every window. For me, stuff just blends into the landscape and I had no clue that thing was there. Lowered it and it was FILTHY. Scrubbed and scrubbed at it. Got it cleaner but it is still not clean. I would have liked to take it down, soak it in the bathtub, and then maybe be able to go after it with the rubba scrubba. BUT, I remember how Joe carried on when he was required to reinstall one of those blinds and I am a bit put off by that whole process. In the meantime, I washed and dried the curtains and washed and dried the sheers.

Getting the curtains and sheers down and back up was not a lot of fun. I am not quite tall enough to do that from the floor, so I hauled in a stepstool and climbed up on that. Getting the sheers back on the rod was a trip. There is a rough place on each end of the rod, so over and over I had to deal with snags as I tried to push those babies onto the rod. I managed to put two of the four curtain panels on backwards on my first try, so I got to do that again. Finally, I got them back up where they belonged. I cleared clutter from the chest and scrubbed it down and made it through about half of the dresser.

I wasn't sure how much difference it would make in that room to lower the blind. But, I figured, since it gets full morning sun, it couldn't hurt. It would block some of the heat and it would keep the sun off my ancient sheers. It has REALLY made a difference. I can hardly believe I am in the same room this morning. A lot of summer mornings, I end up getting up before I want to because it gets warmish in there. But, I think that problem has been dealt with.

By the time nightfall rolled around, I was whipped. Boy, was I tried. I crawled into bed at 10:30 and laid awake til 11:30. That disgusted me, particularly since I'd prayed for everyone I know, for missionaries, for pastors, for TV evangelists, and more. So, I got back up and came out here and piddled around for a while. Finally around 1:30AM I want back to bed. At 3:30AM I got up and took a benedryl. Not because my allergies were acting up but because benedryl acts like a sedative in my body and I NEEDED to sleep! Three and a half hours later, I got up and here I am! Don't know how long I'll last on 3.5 hours of sleep, but I'll do my best.

I had two funny thoughts while I was working on those curtains/sheers. First, I first hung those curtains in the master bedroom in a little house about 30 miles south of here when my DD was a toddler. Then they moved to the big house I lived in for a few years. Then they moved here and have been hanging in that window for 20+ years! In each of the houses, the window/windows in which they hung have enjoyed full sun for at least some part of the day. Can you imagine that these 30+ year old curtains are not sun rotted? I hate to say it, but they pretty much look as good as the day I got them. I just wish I knew what has happened to the matching bedspread......... Of course, they match absolutely nothing in my room now, but they still protect from the sun and give privacy, so.......... I'll be using them at least til I find my sewing machine and a whole lot of time to use it!

Second, at one point while Joe was still around, I washed these self same curtains. I was busy with something and asked him if he would please put the curtains on the rods and hang them back up. Well, Joe was a guy and he knew nothing of rod pockets and headers. So, he threaded the rods through the headers and hung them up. I never said a word, just used them like that til the next time I washed them (which MIGHT have been a bit sooner than usual, LOL). Then I rehung them myself, with the rod through the rod pocket.

So, today? Well, plans for more laundry and more scrubbing in the master bedroom. Soon, however, I'm going to have to pay attention to the rest of the house! However, by the time I deal with remaining clutter on the dresser, nightstands, etc., scrub them down, and strip and wash the bed linens and reinstall them, I will have done a lot. If I can do more, there's always more to be done.

I've mentioned several times that I have boxes of stuff on my dining room table. This stuff was unloaded from a cabinet where the support for one of the drawer slides broke. Initially, I thought a screw had worked its way loose and all that would be required would be to fit the support back under the screw and tighten it down. Wrong! The support itself is made of plastic and is broken.

That plastic support piece is in bad shape. It is hanging together by a thread. I really thought the reason I hadn't made any progress with this was that I just didn't want to face going out to the garage to search for a drill. Well, it came to me last night that this is not the problem at all. The real problem is that I don't think this is going to work because the plastic thing is so badly broken. The guy at Lowe's recommended I stick this self same plastic piece back on the slider, get it into position and screw it in. Then, there are two areas below where the original screw came through where I could position additional screws. I was to put the plastic piece in place so I would know where to drill to get those additional screws in place.

Well, the truth is I have no confidence in this at all. That thing is not going to stand up to much handling before it breaks completely. And then what do I do about lining everything up with the original screw? I finally figured out I'm going to have to come up with some other solution before I try to afix that piece to the back of the cabinet wall. Maybe duct tape it in place? or use Liquid Nails on it? But, something that is sturdier than trying to work with that piece alone. Now that I've got that figured out, I'm feeling better about tackling that job. And I'll be ever so grateful to be able to see the surface of the dining room table again! Maybe tomorrow..........

So, let's have some eye candy. I have all my usual sit down jobs to do as well--deleting e-mail (I've cancelled 3 e-mail sites so far today), unzipping files, tagging stuff, advertising, and so on. Need to get all this going!

I love this layout by Laura. I have a hard time getting past that cute photo to the layout. I thought her journaling was really cute and I love all the paper layers. I love how the repetition of elements leads the eye through the layout!

 

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A successful day......

The whistle blew.........

Fortunately, in Nevada, that is not any kind of alarm whistle for approaching tornados. No, here, it's the lunch whistle.

I have been hard at work this morning and don't really feel that I have a whole lot to show for it. I have worked on deleting e-mail and on unzipping files. However, since I started this ACDSee thing, I don't like to move the unzipped files to where they belong until I am ready to tag them. So, it doesn't look like I've done much there, as the number of files in that downloads folder is not much lower than when I started.

I began the morning by taking down the sheers and curtains in the bedroom. I figured I could start one load washing while I was doing other stuff. The curtains are now clean but need to be dried. Silly, I should have started with the sheers as they need to go up first. Oh, well, I'll be moving the curtains to the dryer in a few minutes and I'll start the sheers then.......

I washed the inside of the window. Filthy isn't enough to describe it. I went over it twice and it's much better. I wouldn't guarantee "clean" though. I also scrubbed down the big window sill in there. Then, after all that, it occurred to me that I have a blind in that window. I couldn't tell you the last time that blind was lowered. I literally did not remember it was there! But, when I lowered it, it was beyond filthy. It is cleaner now after 3 wipe downs with vinegar and windex and water, but it will need many more applications to be "clean". I left it down and think it will stay that way. That will facilitate cleaning it and block a bit more sun from the room. With summer coming on, that is important.

I keep the bedroom door closed. It is a "dog free zone". I'd take Punkin in there, but she won't go. Max would have gone in a second, but I just couldn't handle the dog hair. And Parker is like that Charlie Brown character who is followed around by a dust cloud. I let him in there occasionally, but no more than maybe once a month. The cleanup is prohibitive, LOL.

So, I had hoped to have dusted the entire bedroom by now, but, alas, window, window sill, and blind cleaning has put a major delay on that. I'll try to get started on that after I eat something.I wish I could have taken those blinds down to clean them, but, enough is enough, I guess. I remember the last time I tried that, I had to have Joe help to get them back up and he had quite a mumbling and grumbling session over the whole process. So, not practical at this time in my life......

Getting those curtains and sheers down was a truly unpleasant task. First, I had to climb. That reminded me that though my legs have slimmed down, tightened up, and shaped up in the 6 inches above the knee, they are nowhere near what could be referred to as "strong". This, of course, just means that I need to do more climbing! Well, I have several opportunities to do that......... Secondly, they were just covered in dust. I had several sneezing fits before I actually got all 8 panels down. NOT fun!

Yes, I need to do more climbing. I need to replace a lightbulb in the ceiling fixture in the hall. And, I need to replace the air filter in the intake duct for the HVAC system. Sadly, that little bit will not be enough to make my legs any stronger, LOL.

Okay, eating now and then taking a break. Later..........

 

Ready for a new day.........

I rated yesterday as successful. In fact, I pretty well shocked myself, I accomplished so much. So we'll see if we can keep the pace today. I'm starting off later and with a headache, but I'll have help as I go through the day and it's bound to get better.

I think today I am going to work on surfaces. There is just too much stuff sitting around and it's getting to me. Some of it I don't think I can do much about--all the stuff I unloaded from that kitchen cabinet, for example. Until I get that cabinet fixed, I'm going to have to look at the stuff. But there are other things that I might be able to find homes for or get rid of or whatever.

I also should probably start the vacuuming process again today. Parker and his webbed paws.....so many little hard clumps of dirt make their way into the house.

And I want to spend some time dusting in the master bedroom.

Today's laundry will be the curtains and sheers from the master bedroom. I probably shouldn't tackle that til the afternoon when the sun is on the other side of the house, but it's kind of overcast so I just might get away with it this morning. The sheers don't accomplish much in terms of sun blockage, but the curtains are room darkening so, yes, they do make a difference.

AND, I need to start another bag of clothes to donate. That will help the dining room table, though it won't "fix" it because of the stuff in boxes from the kitchen cabinet.

I have kind of made up my mind that I am going to have to carve out some time each day for dusting and vacuuming. Maybe if I go after one room a day I can keep the dust down. I think I've tried about everything else!

I decided to add one more set of elements to the girl scout kit. I have room and I like to offer my customers as much as I can stuff into a kit. Then I will declare it officially DONE. This additional stuff won't make it into the preview, but it will be in the product description, so anyone who can read will know it's there. Once I get that done, I'm going to drop back and work on my spreadsheet of "completed inventory"--make sure it really is "complete".

And, of course, there is all the usual stuff--

I whacked about 25 e-mails out of my inbox last night. Stil much to go.

I need to unzip files. About 800 of those waiting for me.

I need to advertise. I hit a bunch of spots yesterday but there are three I didn't hit.

And tag. I'll work on frames if ACDSee will cooperate!

So, I can certainly fill my day. What have you got facing you for the day? One of my friends has been renovating her two bathrooms. I really envy her that. She posted a couple of photos on FB last night. It looks so fresh and clean in there!

I don't have my usual ration of eye candy for you with the Hugs n Kisses kit, but I do have some really nice pages. Let me show you........

Christy contributed this beauty of big brother Henry loving on baby brother Will. I love the BIG picture. I also really like the ribbons running down the side. Such a pretty layout.

Christy also did this page:

I love the idea of summarizing Will's development as of 3 months. (I noticed Christy has done a number of these as Will has grown. I love that "strip" of photos. I think Christy did a great job with adding those little blocks of color amongst the photos. They really pick up the colors in the photos. How do you feel about the softly blended papers in this kit? I think they're perfect for this type of layout.

Alrighty, I've laid out an ambitious list of "to dos" for today and I won't get far if I don't start. YOU be BLESSED today with your very own successful day!

Time for a break..............

Dinner is in the oven. After I've eaten some of it, I may feel better, but for now, I'm pretty darned tired. I've done pretty well this afternoon.

What have I accomplished? Well, I washed the kitchen floor again and cleaned up the last of the dishes, etc., from yesterday's cooking spree. I have to admit, I don't think the floor looks any shinier after this washing than it looked before, but maybe some of the "dimples" are cleaner.

I started the day by drying the drapes for the dining room. Then I washed the liners. Well, the drapes and the liners are now back up where they're supposed to be.

That hanging thing was a challenge. Primarily because there are these teeny tiny screws that had to be unscrewed and I had a terrible time finding a teeny tiny screwdriver. Then there was the logistics of getting the drapes/liners up without disassembling the entire hanging mechanism. But, it's done.

I also lugged that bag of donation stuff to the van and the last of a bag of dogfood into the house. I have to admit there was more food left in that dogfood bag than I thought and it was a chore getting it in here. There's still a 40 pounder in the van...... At the rate the kids are eating, I'm not going to have room for that here in the house for a while.....

I also washed the hall bath floor and started a load of laundry which includes those "unmentionables" so that worry is being solved.

I finished tagging all that clip art. I also started on the frames, but ACDSee didn't cooperate. I think the computer probably needs a reboot. Did my Qcheck on the girl scout kit and separated out all the elements--too many for one file.... Got all the stuff set up for previews. Time to ship them off to my design assistant....... Also got next week's kit uploaded for the CT. 

And I pulled together donation stuff from a couple of locations. I know I have at least one more bag full. I just need to get it all listed out and bagged up.

And I almost forgot to mention that I did a bunch of advertising related tasks.....

So, my dinner ought to be about ready. I'm hoping I garner strength and energy from the food to keep it going a while longer. Later........

Found a fabulous restaurant for lunch.........

It's located very close by. In fact, it's in my very own kitchen. On the menu today is more of that one-pot cabbage ground meat dinner I made the other night. I'm not sure how it's possible. Maybe I'm just super hungry, but I think that stuff tastes even better today! Yum! For some reason, though, eating that stuff makes me want a slice of bread with butter on it. That's not going to happen, but to me, at the moment, it seems the perfect accompaniment to my lunch.

I've kept at it this morning. The dining room curtains are washed, dried and rehung. The liners are washed. I may have to wash them again--they were in pretty bad shape.

I put together my eggplant parmesan casserole. It's ready to bake, but that isn't going to happen for a while. It's afternoon now and the sun is moving to the west side of the house where the kitchen is located. I'll wait til dinner time (and plan a late dinner) before that goes in the oven. I was shocked. Considering all the time I put into peeling, slicing, soaking, and frying that eggplant, I would have expected to see more in my casserole dish. I'm disappointed. I know what they charge for this stuff in restaurants. It must be to defray the labor costs because the ingredients just aren't that expensive. But, it is quite an investment of time.

The kitchen is in pretty good shape. All the dishes from yesterday's cooking extravaganza are in the dishwasher. The counters could use a wipe down, but other than that.......... I went to put that casserole together and went looking for my mozzarella. Holy Moley! I had this HUGE block of mozzarella. At first I didn't want to open it. I was so concerned that once I opened it, it would go bad if I couldn't use it all really quickly. Then I remembered that I am the proud owner of a seal-a-meal and suck 'em up bags. Hooray for suck 'em up bags. My cheese is back in the fridge, all sealed up and ready to keep for weeks to come.

My clip art tagging is now just about done. I needed to stop to get lunch and to give ACDSee a break. It's been on circuit overload--shut down 3 times on me this morning! When you open ACDSee, there is this drop down menu from which you can navigate to the files you want to tag. I counted this morning--I think that list of clip art files goes on for something like 16 pages. That's not a full screen page, but the font is pretty small so it's a lot of files. I have less than one "page" to go in this category! I think I hear the angels starting to sing already!

I also spent some time putting away clean laundry. I need to stop all this auxiliary laundry and wash clothes soon, LOL. I can't wear drapery liners, and I will be running short of unmentionables soon. It's a shame as I wanted to do the curtains and sheers in the master bedroom next. But, those can wait a day or so til I catch up the other stuff, right? I've washed extra sheets and blankets and pillows, found stuffed in the bottom of the hall closet, and the dining room window coverings and a load or two of throw rugs since I last washed anything to wear. I think it's time!

Anyway, that's been my morning. I think I will take a break from ACDSee when the clipart category is finished. It needs done and it is important, but I need to do other things as well.

For now, I'm outta here. Later........