Ok, it's time to take down the lights

As I drove through town this evening on my way home from work at twilight, I noticed that a lot of homes still have Christmas displays up with lights on.

Really, people, it's time to take down the lights. Christmas was three weeks ago already.


Of course, even though the holidays are over, that doesn't mean we have to give up on the Christmas Spirit, which should last all year through anyway. And there are those people who enjoy Christmas so much that they have an entire room decorated in Christmas paraphernalia.

This house in the Phillippines is a tourist attraction.

Then there are those places that sell Christmas items or have Christmas fun all year long.

I guess I can't really complain. Here's a picture of my mantel. Yes, those are Father Christmases, and an Effanbee Christmas Patsy doll. :)

















And then there's this one, who stands alone by the tv:

Thursday 13

13 Things I Still Need to Do to Get Ready for Xmas

1. Make sure I have the ingredients to make gingerbread men.
2. Buy soda for family party on Sunday, 12/16.
3. Find book I plan to give to niece and finish wrapping her gift.
4. Wrap stuff to help out Santa.
5. Buy gifts for DH.
6. Clean living room.
7. Clean kitchen.
8. Put stuff in proper places.
9. Hook up new computer.
10. Organize ebay and half.com stuff in computer room (probably will wait until after the holidaze).
11. Find gifts for two white elephant gift games.
12. Finish Journal #72
13. Read library books I've had checked out since spring and keep renewing.

Other People's Stuff

So, in my last entry, I was bemoaning the fact that the house felt like a cluttered mess. DH did get things cleaned up, with DD's help. They straightened up the computer room and her bedroom, which really weren't all that messy. The thought of the mess was more overwhelming than the actual mess. However, guess what we've been doing lately...



That's right: going to auctions and buying other people's stuff.

Actually we've gone to four auctions in the past two weekends, partly just to get out of the house, but we also ended up with two great finds. The first was a library desk for only $175, which probably cost three times that orignally. I couldn't believe I won the item. The second piece was a lighted, mirrored curio cabinet for $70. It stands about 8 feet tall. Again. I couldn't believe I won the item. I didn't need the desk—I already have an antique rolltop desk that had been my grandfather's—but it was in too good of condition to pass up. If it had been more expensive than what I paid, I wouldn't have continued to bid on it. Same way with the cabinet. But I have a use for the cabinet. I can house many of my Fenton glass baskets and candy dishes in it. We were talking of buying a new one, but this one is probably much nicer than any we could have afforded to buy brand-new.

In other news, DH's grandfather passed away in mid-April. I haven't felt much like blogging or writing or anything else lately. It was expected; he had been sick with emphysema for years. All the same, losing a family member is difficult. It's been stressful to say the least.

This weekend, we will probably be going to another auction, just to get out of the house. I like to look through other people's belongings to see what kind of person they were/are. Both sales we attended this past weekend were moving sales, and one last week was also. The other one was a storage facility cleaning out non-paying people's stuff. We got a futon and a small, one-man kayak. :)

Also last week, we finally bought the lavender paint for DD's room. We found some cute Tinkerbell stick-on border and cutouts at Wal-Mart to add to the room once we're finished painting. It will be adorable. It was definitely time for the Noah's Ark theme to go.

We still have more spring-cleaning to do. The garage needs to be organized. The house is somewhat of a mess since I haven't felt like doing much of anything lately. Although I would like to live a minimalist life, it seems that I can't help but acquire more stuff. What can I say except I like the thrill of the hunt!

Looking for a good inspirational book to read? Check out Sue Monk Kidd's collection of essays titled "Firstlight." It is an awesome book, and not just for Xtians. A person of any faith would enjoy reading it. And if you're in the mood for a classic novel, read Theodore Dreiser's "Sister Carrie." It tells the story of a small-town woman who becomes a stage actress in the 1890s. She becomes a "kept" woman, almost accidentally, who eventually learns how to make it on her own.

Spring Cleaning

The mere amount of junk we have collected in a matter of the 8 years we have lived in our house is astonishing. (Of course, I had cluttered a two-bedroom apartment in a year, so why should I be surprised, right?)DD starts her spring break this Friday, and I told her that if she (along with our help) can get her room cleaned up and is able to keep it clean for one month, then we will redecorate her room. By "keep it clean," I mean for her to put her toys away when she's done playing with them. She is excited about the prospect, because it means that she can have a princess bedroom instead of a Noah's Ark bedroom (that was the baby theme).

But, I'm sure that she feels overwhelmed when she looks in her room because there is a tiny path from the doorway to the bed. I guess we should donate the toddler bed since she is in a full-size bed now, and her play tent should be taken down because she never plays in it. It's not as if we don't have places to put her toys. She has two big plastic tubs for toys, and several large boxes, and even a bookshelf for books, but things still end up scattered everywhere.

The clutter makes me crazy--so crazy that just thinking about it makes me frustrated. I am not a neat freak by any means, but everything has a place and everything in its place is all I ask. If you get it out, put it away!

Even with all these toys, she still tells me she has nothing to do. Yeah, right.

And let's not forget the whining that comes along with being asked to do a task. I guess I'm raising a procrastinator like myself. When I was growing up, my sisters and I were badgered into cleaning every weekend. I kept my room clean; that was expected, but it was all the other cleaning that I hated: wash the walls, dust the knickknacks, clean out the dishwasher, etc. etc. I hate chores to this day. But, rationally, I know that if I don't keep things clean, then the messes start to grow and grow AND GROW, to a tipping point.

And they're at that tipping point now. So, since DH understands how overwhelming the idea of cleaning is to me, he offered to help DD work on her room and also the other rooms of the house her stuff has overtaken. My main goal is to get her toys pared down to a manageable level, clear out her outgrown clothes, and have her keep her stuff in her room instead of all over the house. I think these goals should be do-able. Once it is clean, I plan to implement Flylady's methods so that good habits can be reinforced.

I myself am bad at doing things now. I put things off until I can't stand it anymore, which is a silly way to live. You never get anything done that way. Things sit and fester, which eventually get you to a point where your once-wonderful dream home feels like a prison. I've been reading a book called "Self-Coaching," in which the author speaks of each of us having choices. Strangely, I never though of life that way before.

Everything is a choice: I can put things off until I am upset and crazy, or I can do things now and then don't have to worry about them any longer. I can browbeat myself into the Well of Self-Pity or I can choose to think that this too, shall pass.

Anyway, it was a liberating idea.

Not only am I attempting to spring-clean the external, I am working on spring-cleaning the internal. This winter has been long for me. I charted 50+ days in January and February, and of those days, only I felt "ok" for only 20 of them, and it was a "blah" kind of ok. March has been better. I attempted some different ways of thinking: if I caught myself starting to listen to the endless "grass is greener" monologue, I immediately got up and did something or thought about something else instead. (Here is an excerpt from Barbara Ehrenreich's book on how the population has always struggled with depression. via metafilter)

Habits can be changed.



(I've been adding some stuff to this blog, like Amazon textlinks. Amazon tries to decipher keywords and phrases on the blog and then adds in the appropriate textlinks; however, some of them may be only tangentially related, and have no rhyme or reason.)