Remember the other day when I felt like I'd spent the day in the coal mines? Well, I'm dirtier today than I was then....... However, I've spent the day wading through the stuff that was stacked in front of the credenza AND under it. I had no idea there was stuff UNDER it too! Do I need to tell you that the trash can is full again and there's a half full cardboard box besides?
All of what I've kept will have to be organized in some manner but that's for another day. Most likely it's for another year....... We'll see how I progress on my other goals for this year. I have a lot of decluttering to do before this becomes a priority.
One priority for today I almost blew. I had to order my tax software today to save $50. I am just now downloading it, having just now purchased it. Nothing like cutting it close. I was having so much "fun" with the cleaning, sorting, and filing that I darn near forgot! It's going to cause some financial hardship for the next couple of months til I start getting some decent money in from tax clients as I had to take the money out of my bank account instead of putting it on a credit card. Oy! That was totally unplanned.
So, that's it for now. I am exhausted and filthy. I don't think it will be long til I head to the other end of the house and climb into a hot bath. I think it's safe to do that today. For the past couple of days, I'd have worried about whether or not I could make it out of the tub IF I made it in. But, today, yes, I can do that! Now there's a good report for you! I've even been down on the floor a couple of times today and made it back to vertical afterwards! God is good!
I don't think I'll be back here today. If not, see ya on the flip side.
I am still somewhat gimpy. It is pretty obvious to me that I won't be pushing or pulling the vacuum cleaner much today or lifting heavy objects. I would just love to know what it is I do in my sleep that causes my back to go out overnight. I was achy and sore last night when I went to bed but I was fairly confident that everything was where it was supposed to be and I'd be feeling much better today. I woke up to find that it was out again. No clue how that happens...........
I think, now, with some twisting, that everything is back where it's supposed to be. But I'm understandably sore and cautious.
So, whatever gets accomplished around here today will be accomplished in small doses. I did manage to empty the "get the big stuff off the desk" box yesterday and most everything is filed. There are still a few things I'm not quite sure what to do with or that may require new file folders. So, for the moment, we are declaring the paper monster slain in this room. Now, I still have the pile of "stuff" behind me, in front of the credenza and I'm out of this room. Believe me, if I had time to burn, I could stay busy in this room for months, going through filing cabinets, desk drawers, and so on. But, I am determined not to let myself get pulled off in that direction til I have made some sense of other parts of the house that need attention. Tomorrow we start in the guest room!
I am a bit betwixt and between on design. I still want to revamp one or two more kits for the second store. However, I have questions and I kind of want to wait til I get answers before I do a whole lot more. So, I'm back on a kit I started last week. I'm doing my best to work on kits for which I own graphics without purchasing new stuff. We'll see how that goes.
Well, that's about all I have to say for the moment. We'll do some eyecandy and move on, okay?
Here is a gorgeous layout by Karla. That cluster down the left side is just fabulous. Isn't this a great layout? If you like it, check back this afternoon.......... Just sayin'
I have a feeling we're going to lose the right side of this masterpiece by Christy. She and her family just got home after a trip to LA for a family wedding. They stopped along the way and checked out all the stars' stars. I love the way the color of the stars in the photo works with the neutrals in this kit. And, of course, the touches of red provide contrast and draw the eye. Masterful, wouldn't you say?
Well, I ended up going back to bed. I could feel the muscles having a discussion of their disdain for my plans for the day. And I kind of had the shakes along with a level of fogginess, due to the muscle relaxers. I hate taking those things, but they DO break the evil spell when accompanied by much prayer and praise. So, I took two ibuprofen and went back to horizontal.
So, officially, we're starting today at 2PM. Hope that's okay with you. Since 2, I've managed to get clothes on. That's no small feat, considering the difficulty of getting legs positioned within pant legs and of reaching my feet so I could tie my shoes. But, I've done it. I also got really brave and drove down to 7-11. I've been out of milk since Monday night and I decided I really needed a Frappuccino. So, I walked from the desk to the car, drove to 7-11, walked inside and over to the far right hand of the store, picked up two gallons of milk, stood, holding the two gallons of milk, waiting my turn in line, paid for my milk and walked back to the car, drove home, carried the two gallons of milk into the house, and made my frappuccino. Then, there was no question in my mind that it was time to sit down! Muscles were talking back during the frappuccino-making process!
I will NOT be doing anything too strenuous for the rest of my day. Take my word for that! I may see if I can empty that "get the big stuff off the desk" box. I figure I can get it up on the desk and work without bending over so that's a pretty good possibility. I may try to do some dusting, but no bending will be involved. My feather duster has a LONG handle. I'd prefer to do the other kind of dusting, but you take what you can get and anything that involves a long handle is a good thing today. No vacuuming will be done, the bed will not be made. Primarily, I plan to sit here and look as much like a princess as I can!
I do want to give you some eye candy. My Creative Team ladies did such a good job with this kit and I do want to show you their layouts. Fortunately, no bending, standing, walking, or other forbidden activities will be involved, LOL.
Deanna did this and I just love it. What a wonderful way to scrap a family photo! Deanna comments that it's not often the whole family is able to be together since they live in various states across the country, so a photo is a must! I love the construction of this layout and I really love that she used that scripture in lieu of journaling. This is so pretty!
Nancy did this beauty and it has gathered much praise in the gallery. It's just beautiful as a layout and her journaling brought tears to my eyes. It is an "ode" to her DH, Bob. If anyone ever wondered there is now no question, she really loves the guy! What a beautiful tribute to him and perfectly suited to a Valentine's kit.
So there you have it for today. I may be back with more conversation later on, but for now, I'm going to turn on some sort of movie and every now and then get up and try to do something. YOU be BLESSED today!
Vertical is something to celebrate. Yesterday is lost in a haze of muscle relaxers. It was certainly not the productive day I'd hoped for......... It was bad! At one point I took another round of muscle relaxers and went into the bedroom to lie down. I sat down on the bed and then had no idea how I was going to get my legs up on the bed. I made it. It wasn't easy.
So far, I made it from the bedroom to the office in about half the time it took yesterday. And, it was not necessary to hang onto the walls to steady myself. We're on the mend! I do have a gigantic drug hangover from the muscle relaxers. So, I'm pouring water in as quickly as possible to clear the drug leftovers from my system. Today we survive on ibuprofen. No more of the strong stuff, I hope.
That was one pervasive muscle spasm. It is not unusual to have one in my lower back. It IS unusual for it to include my right buttock and my right thigh! And honestly, I have not dealt with anything that bad since Joe died. This stuff is healed, but Satan has to see if he can put it back on me. Well, I'm not accepting it. He might as well give up.
So, yesterday was not very productive. It was difficult, but I did manage to sort through a buunch of the stuff in front of the credenza. It was absolutely filthy and dust covered. Finally I broke down and toddled to the garage for a roll of paper towels and to the kitchen for Windex--that, by itself, could not have happened had I not quoted scripture at it the whole way there and back. About the time I got both of those things out here where I needed them, I more or less gave up for the night. So, at least they're handy for when I start digging in today. I added significantly to the trash can, and stashed some stuff in the file cabinets to be gone through and organized later. I have to remind myself we are clearing the surfaces in here right now, not sorting things down to the nitty gritty. That's for the next round..........
So, no vacuuming was done in this house yesterday. That is one of the worst things you can do when you are dealing with back problems. I doubt there's going to be any vacuuming done today either. We'll see. Bedtime is about 16 hours from now and I may decide differently by then. Pretty much, what got done yesterday was only what could be done from this chair. And really, that was not much! And I'm not even going to forecast or set goals for today. I am happy to be able to walk from the bedroom to the office with a minimum of pain. I'll pick away at whatever I can and that's it.
So, it's a little bit more than just bits and pieces aching and needing to be moved to feel better. It's a "back attack". Now I know this will be painfree tomorrow or the next day at the latest, but for now, it is not. I will be doing the two hours up, two hours down thing today. So, my goals for today are significantly reduced from what they were......... I'll be doing no vacuuming for a while. I think I can still sort through that last box here in the office or go on a treasure hunt of the stuff in front of the credenza. I may have to do the treasure hunt from the seat of this chair, but that still counts.
So, can I get some volunteers to pray about this pain? Yes, I see that hand in the back row. Yes, I see that hand. You, on the front right, I see that hand. Okay, let's get on it.
all the bits and pieces are still intact and functional. It's gonna be a great day! Some of the bits and pieces ache a bit, but they just need to be lubricated with some movement.
This is one of those mornings where I can assure you, if I know you, you are well prayed for. I went to bed around midnight and was still wide awake at 2AM. It was either lay there and pray for folks, or get up and do the same stuff I'd done all day. I opted for lying still and praying.
It's chilly in da house this morning, but we are looking at a high today that is 11 degrees warmer than yesterday. And, so far today, the tops of the trees are barely moving. That means no wind so it should be a pretty decent day, weatherwise.
Well I did some vacuuming last night. I didn't get as far as I would have liked. Had something to do with extreme amounts of dog hair and dirt on this raggedy carpet. I vacuumed the office and part of the living room/dining room area and had to empty the "dirt cup" 3 times. In fact, I had to resort to clearing the thing using a letter opener because the dog hair was wadded up in there so thick. Wow! Max is outdoing himself in his attempt to fill the holes in the carpet with dog hair!
So, I have the gift of Tuesday with which to make something wonderful. What shall I do?
Well, I need to take that vacuum cleaner through the rest of the house no matter how many times I have to empty that "dirt cup". Since most of you haven't seen this house, I should tell you that by the time I vacuum all of this office and the living room/dining room area, I've vacuumed a good 50% of the square footage of the house. So, I've made some progress with more to go.
Today is supposed to be dusting day. I guess I will work on that. Ugh! I think I'll start in the living room/dining room area. The area around my desk is very clean, having been dusted and then wiped down with alcohol. I'll give you a look at my progress on the "cord spaghetti" either later today or tomorrow. It's still not what I want, but it's a 1000 x better!
What's left on the office "project"? Well, still have the big pile of "stuff" in front of the credenza and the "get the big things off the desk" box. Pretty much the same exact spot I was in yesterday. Counting today, I have 3 days left to deal with that stuff before I hit my self-imposed deadline. I'd better get my butt in gear.
On the design side, I worked last night revamping a really pretty kit I want to put into store #2. I redid some elements. I resized a bunch of stuff. The stuff was BIG, way bigger than most people would ever use, so I reduced the size in an effort to squeeze more goodies into the kit. I also ditched a frame. It was a beautiful frame, but all by itself, it was chewing through 6 MB. By changing out that frame, I was able to substitute 2 frames in its place and still have room for more. And this morning I pulled out a really BIG bow and made room for a few more goodies. I thought this was a beautiful kit before; I love it even more now! So, once this kit is completely reworked, I still want to do one or two more. That should do it for opening the new store. Right now I have some questions in to the store owners.
I am quite sure it is the way my mind works. I have a very step-by-step mind. When learning something, I just want to know HOW. Tell me WHY later. Their instructions are very detailed, but I get lost in them. I could sit here and essentially rewrite them so that they made step-by-step sense to me, but I don't even know what "cart" system they are using so I don't think I have enough information for that. So, are you a "how" learner or a "why" learner?
Well, I think we should do eye candy. What do you think?
Here is a page done by Lori. I think this is just gorgeous. Again, it really doesn't have anything to do with Valentine's Day, but it has a whole lot to do with love! Darling photo and I love her title work and that cluster below the photo. Beautiful page!
Laura created this page and I REALLY like it. It has a pretty classic design, but the play of the colors is great. From everything I've heard Laura say, Mike is the ideal husband. She's used this kit to let him know he rates really high on her list of favorites--right next to chocolate, LOL. I love that Laura used the bookplate to accent the "Love" word art. And, Laura created her own layered flowers for this kit from flowers in the kit. I think she did a great job!
Okay, friends, family and countrymen, I have to get busy. I have a new kit that's only partially finished and kits to rework and make even more beautiful. And lots of sorting, filing, and pitching to do! YOU be BLESSED today.
Nope. Cut! Cut! That's wrong. That should say "The last time I went to Costco......." Anyway, the last time I went to Costco, I bought some frozen egg rolls by Minh. They happen to be pork and veggie egg rolls. And they taste great and you can nuke them in the microwave for 2 minutes each and the last 30 seconds they cook, they smell magnificent. Anyway, they have the added advantage of tasting good too. However, something was missing.
Yes, something was indeed missing--sweet and sour sauce. Who eats egg rolls without sweet and sour sauce? I tried it and it just wasn't cutting it for me. At first, I dug some old sweet and sour sauce out of the fridge, leftover from previous Chinese carryout meals of days gone by. Some of that sweet and sour sauce was pretty thick--more like jelly than sauce, but I dipped my eggrolls in it anyway. Soon, my petrified sweet and sour sauce was all gone.
Now, I've nixed a trip to Costco for budgetary reasons but, were I to buy sweet and sour sauce there, I'd probably be the proud owner of enough sweet n sour sauce to feed a small village in China. I am also avoiding El Cheapo for budgetary reasons. You know I spend 10 x what I planned to spend whenever I go there. But the simple fact is, El Cheapo is a stripped down store. It's hard to tell if they'd have such a "luxury" item as sweet and sour sauce. I've kind of given up looking for stuff like sweet and sour sauce at El Cheapo. Taco sauce, yes; sweet and sour sauce, no. What's a girl to do?
Somewhere in the middle of this quandry, I remembered that I a) know how to cook, and b) own pots and pans. So I found a recipe I thought might work. Not long after the revelation that I know how to cook and own pots and pans, I made a trip to the dollar store where I found a 1 pound jar of orange marmalade for $1!
Now, you need to know that I love orange marmalade, but I think you could work this little magic trick with apricot jam/jelly too. Anyway, that orange marmalade came home with me and today I put it to work. Here's my concoction: 1 tsp cornstarch, 2 Tablespoons ketchup, 2 tsp oil (yeah, I know, sounds weird but it was recommended in the recipe I was adapting), 1/2 cup orange marmalade, 1/2 cup cider vinegar, 1 Tablespoon sugar. Just dump that stuff in a small saucepan, turn on the heat and stir--a lot. Eventually the mixture will thicken and turn translucent and that will tell you it's done. In the meantime, the vinegar fumes will help clear your sinuses, an added benefit.
Most sweet n sour recipes I know call for equal amounts of sweet and sour. Hence, 1/2 cup marmalade= 1/2 cup of vinegar. Next time I make this, I will cut back on the vinegar just a touch and substitute some water. You need the liquid but a half cup of vinegar left the sauce tasting a bit vinegary.
Anyway, lunch was two Minh frozen eggrolls with homemade sweet n sour sauce. I have lots of sweet and sour sauce left over and I'm thinking it is safe to store in the fridge for a long time. All that vinegar ought to preserve it pretty well. Thankfully, I still have lots of egg rolls and I know where to get more when I finally decide to spend money on food again.
So, I have worked largely on design this morning--previews and previews and previews and......... I think I might have made a couple of papers in there somewhere. I also managed to whack about 50 e-mails out of my inbox. I had forgotten the great joy of receiving 1-5 e-mails a day from the IRS this time of year! I did swish n swipe the Master Bath and wash a load of clothes as well as putting some clean clothes away. And while the eggrolls were nuking I ran around in circles in the kitchen, grabbing ingredients from the sauce and putting them away and just generally straightening the kitchen. Oh, and the hardest task of all, I put on makeup and did a pretty decent job of it. I'm so out of practice, I've had to relearn all my old tricks.
So, that's my morning and early afternoon. At the moment, I've got the good old low blood pressure headache so I am going to swallow some ibuprofen and lie down til it goes away. I'm still surviving on the 3/4 dose of blood pressure meds and they are lasting well over the 12 hours they're supposed to last. Good thing I live with a blood pressure monitor within reach--helps me to decide when I really DO need more meds...... If I went by the clock, I don't know what would happen to me!
It's Monday and a windy kind of day. Worse still, the high for today is predicted to be 48 degrees. Brrrr.... That's cold for a desert rat. Actually, the temperature isn't bad but combined with the wind, it gets worse.
I am one busy busy little bee. Last night I worked on cord spaghetti. That didn't go as quickly as I'd hoped. I wanted to get the two surge protectors up off the floor. Well, I managed it with one, but not the other. I think the second one is a two-person job. It needs one person on the floor level to lift the surge protector for the person up above to grab onto. I did manage to grab one by myself but that is because part of the cord was looped around and standing up. I had thought to secure the surge protectors to the back of the computer desk with the "cord bundlers" from 3M. Well, because of the construction fo the desk and the fact that I am not Gumby, that didn't work. I just can't reach the part of the desk that I would ordinarily secure these things to. So, I ended up elevating the one surge protector clip a different way.
I don't have a photo of this, so you'll just have to follow along as best you can. I took a LARGE binder clip, opened it, and placed it on the back of the flat surface of the desk top. Then, by squeezing the silvery clippy part, I removed it from the binder clip. I slipped that silvery clippy part around the surge protector cord. Then I squeezed the silvery clippy part again and pushed it back into the binder clip. So, the cord feeds through the silvery clippy part at desktop level and is elevated off the floor.
Before attaching any "cord bundlers" the instructions say to clean the surface with alcohol. Wow! This desk has been in place for years. I've dusted under there, but I don't think I've ever thought to wash it. It was DIRTY! It's not only clean now, it's disinfected with the application of mucho alcohol. Once the alcohol dries, you attach the provided 3M command strip to the back of the cord bundler. Then you attach the cord bundler to the freshly cleaned surface. Then you have to wait an hour before you actually put the cords into the little loop that is designed to hold the cords.
The first cord I decided to work on is one of those with the heavy "power box" halfway between where it plugs into the 'puter and where it plugs into the power source. I am happy to tell you, I waited the hour as advised and then wound that baby up and secured it through the "bundler". Happily, it is exactly where it's supposed to be this morning. Hallelujah!
I thought it best to "install" the bundlers sequentially. The second one is in place. However, I didn't want to sit here for an hour watching something about as exciting as watching paint dry. Instead I went to bed. So, I'll get the second cord up off the floor momentarily and get a bundler in place for cord #3 next. By early afternoon, I'll be done for now with cords. Unless, of course, I hatch some brilliant plan for how to deal with that second surge protector. I'm thinking of trying a hanger. Maybe I can catch the cord in the "hanging" part of the hanger and lift the cord high enough off the floor to grab it and install it where I want it????? We'll see.
This whole process is a bit contortionistic. You should have seen me, laying across the surface of the desk, trying to grab that first surge protector cord........ I'll bet that was a sight! No, maybe you shouldn't have seen me, LOL.
So, I have the gift of a Monday with which to work. What shall I do?
Well, there are all my daily chores like advertising, deleting e-mail, and unzipping and organizing files. Also school/devotions.
I need to finish this cord thing. Next should be the "get the big stuff off the desk" box, I think.
There is also a big need for some serious use of the vacuum cleaner! I haven't wanted to run that because parts of the carpet were wet from the rain/muddy paw prints. However, I think it just might be sufficiently dry to get that done today. It surely needs it.
The kitchen needs a few minutes straightening. And, I need to wash a load of clothes.
On the design side, I seem to have about 53 projects going at once. Yesterday I finished the last of 4 alphas for the "time" kit. I also rebuilt previews and reworked two mini-kits for release at the second store. The biggie was to read the instructions and see how to save them, LOL. Things like title it "this way" and not "that way" and don't save it any larger than xxxMB. Phew! Anyway, I WILL get those babies saved today! And, I still want to go through at least 2 more kits for the second store.
When I opened my last second store, the one thing I wanted was to make the store look like I had really "moved in". I wanted a significant number of choices for first time shoppers. This time, with tax season approaching, I just want to get the ball rolling, in whatever way I can manage! So, if I only get 4 or 5 kits up, that's fine with me.
Well, that's my priority agenda for the day. How about some eye candy? I've got some CUTE layouts to show you with the Lovebirds kit!
I don't know about you, but I think the design on this is super. I love two things about the design: first, I love the very neutral background because everything layered on top of it just pops! Second, I think that whole line of horizontal photos, paper pieces, and ellies is so well done and is a bit unexpected as well. I can trust Jen, aka SarahWhithers, to do the unexpected and to do it well! She's also given you a peek at at least 5 of the patterned papers, the coordinating glitters, the alphas, and a whole lot of the ellies! Love this page! Do you like the way she's "screwed" her background papers together?
I've always been a sucker for blocked layouts. I think it is the bean counter side of my personality showing through. So, you know I love this approach to creating a page. I also love the concept behind these pages Laurie is creating--she's using photos from her family members, no matter where they're located, to create a "summary" of what has happened in the family that week. Isn't that a great idea? I love the little photo turns and I'm starting to anticipate just what she is going to do with her title block each week!
So there you have two really cool layouts, two really pretty layouts, that have nothing really to do with Valentine's Day, but created with one very versatile "Valentine's" kit. There's a link to the store in the first post above...... just sayin', LOL.
Okay, gotta get on with it. My cord bundlers and cords are waiting! YOU be BLESSED today!
It's probably the middle of my day as I got up late. Shortly, I'm going to have to go find food.
I have accomplished a good bit though not too much of it is house-oriented. I did go after the surface of that chest again and dust the desktop again as well. I am always amazed at the amount of dust that manages to accumulate UNDER things and on vertical surfaces.
Mostly, I've been working on design. I have 9 papers for a new kit and am busily engaged in reworking that second mini-kit. Good progress on both those things.
I am having my twice daily low blood pressure headache. By cutting the meds by 25%, it is not going as low. This means no dizzy and shorter duration on the low blood pressure headaches. It's all good!
It's decently warm outside, though still windy. However, the clouds have thickened up a good bit and are quite dark except around the edges. I suppose it's possible we'll get a bit more rain. But, it is 61 degrees and you sure can't complain about that in January, right?
I have the back door open. This makes it much easier for Max to go in and out and helps air the place out a bit. I love when it's warm enough to do that.
I paid the gas bill last night. WOW! I've decided to drop the thermostat another degree or two at night. I expect one of these nights to get up to use the restroom and find my tush has frozen fast to the throne. However, it's more than comfy tucked down under my down comforter and quilt, so I am a blessed woman!
Well, I haven't had lunch yet so I'm gonna go forage for food. Back later, I hope!
Do you realize it's less than 3 weeks til Valentine's Day? I'll bet you have photos of loved ones to scrap. You might even feel as though you would like to make some beautiful cards........ To do that, you need a beautiful scrapbook kit and I've got one for you today!
Isn't that beautiful? 16 patterned papers, 9 solid papers, and close to 100 Megabytes of elements to play with. You can make a whole lot of cards (or layouts) without duplication. However, they will all go together in case you want to make a coordinated mini scrapbook of your Valentine's Day celebration.
You can also buy the separates as well.
So, isn't that a pretty kit? Just think what you could do with that! Everything is on introductory sale in the HotFlashDesigns store at A Cherry on Top. Come take a look around--watch out, stuff is gonna jump into your cart! You're gonna love it!
