5 of 52 Weeks of Living Full!!

Hello all!

  I know I'm behind still one whole week, but I plan to catch up hopefully this week with posting twice.  I fell off the wagon being tempted to sit and watch mindless tv.  However, my worst enemy….the internet!  I am so easily tempted to read work emails, work on schedules, read upcoming tasks that need to be completed, which then leads me into free time internet time wasting.  I love the internet!  I will always take time on it because that is where I learn crafts, home decor ideas, recipes, etc.  However, I have figured out the key to a successful balance.  Work first, play later!  Here's how….

     I am not a morning person in respect to hoping out of bed whistling Dixie…..OH NO!!  I want a cup of coffee, no talking, please!  Although on the flip side of that I have discovered I am at my most productive early in the morning.  The further the day goes, I quickly run out of gas, I figure…..it's so late now why bother making the bed now or I'll do that load of laundry tomorrow, and then I am tempted to just sit.  Another wasted day!  So, my new mode of operation…..all started last night with going to bed at a decent hour to get a nice full night's rest.  This morning I woke up feeling fully rested. The minute my feet hit the floor, I made the bed.  Nice! On thing off my list….check!  I resisted the urge to check emails….this was sooooooo hard!  Quickly ran away from my phone and into the bathroom to go ahead and shower/dress…..another pothole averted by not even leaving my room to get coffee (which was freshly brewed and awaiting since I prepared it last nigh ;) ).  Again!  Success!  Once completely showered and dressed hair/makeup and all, I then fixed myself a cup of coffee and turned my head away from the couch and laptop that was beckoning me to sit a while.  Nope! Not going to do it!  Instead I took the dog out, filled his food/water, read a daily devotional, started a load of laundry, made two beds, swished and swiped to toilets, emptied dishwasher…Woo Hoo….now that's ready for dirty dish maintenance throughout the day…check! check! check!…cleaned two bathroom countertops/sinks thoroughly, set out something for dinner….check! check!...then spent 15 minutes walking through the house fluffing couch pillows from last night's lounging, picked up any things that didn't belong/put away, then still had time to clean/declutter two drawers in the bathroom before the 15 minutes was up!  Now, the only thing left to do is to fold/put away the clothes that I transferred to the dryer.

  Yes!  Victory!!!!  I resisted the urge to waste time and now I can sit here guilt free, doing something I love while candles burn filling my home with wonderful smells, and looking all clean and fresh.  Yes, I actually think my house is smiling at me this morning! :)   ahhhhh…… Once I had completed my tasks, I looked at the clock and realized I did this in exactly two hours on the dot from the moment my eyes opened and looked at the clock this morning.  Wow!  Just two hours of my day and I'm dressed and house is company ready, and I have the entire rest of the day to work, run errands, craft, read or whatever, completely free of thinking about all the things I didn't get done today!

  Now, I can do more things like this on the inside of my house…..

 My daughter and I just couldn't wait any longer!  We decorated the front door for Fall this past weekend.  Can't wait for the mums to burst in full bloom.  I'll take another picture when it does.  

Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Happy Living Full!

Jennifer

4 of 52 Weeks of Living Full!!

Hi all,

  So sorry for the delay on my mid weekly post!  Since my last post, I finished the rest of my vacation with more successful goal achievements.  First to report, there was I know for sure four….possibly….five days that the tv did not even get turned on.  Now, I did hop on the computer a few times but even those lapses were under an hour each time.

  Second, we had a great time spending time outdoors on our ATV.  We rode trails, had some fun target shooting, found a couple of great spots to put our trail cam and got some great pictures of deer, and turkey.  I really prefer being outdoors in cool/cold weather.  It's just much more comfortable, not to mention the cold keeps many of the scary critters away.  Which brings me to this story…..

  While riding along in our Rhino enjoying the scenery of the woods, spotting tracks, laughing while going over all the bumpity, bumps, we end up on a very narrow trail.  Lots of low hanging branches smacked the windshield while we leaned in toward the middle to avoid being smacked ourselves.  We had done this for three days off and on with no issues, only a few small bugs to swat away some of which were tiny little spiders.  Now I have to just say here….I am no fan of spiders!  They terrify me!  No joke!  So even the smallest of the small cause me to squeal with a quick swatting away to stomping them repeatedly to there death, with a few more good stomps and drag of the shoe just for good measure.  So again, we are just riding along smacking into limbs when all of a sudden I feel a thud on my forehead, and see something just like this……

Researched here...

 
Now just imagine it dangling from a silk thread from the rooftop of the ATV, swaying closer to my face from the momentum of the vehicle, splaying it's legs out in a defensive display of aggression!  I did what any rational thinking person with a severe case of arachnophobia would do….screamed bloody murder, and since my door was not an option due to the menacing, furry, eight legged monster, I chose to dive over my husband out the drivers side.  Yep, that's right….it was all out Dukes of Hazard style head first and out as fast as I could move!  My husband didn't even have time to put the brakes on from my clamoring over him.  The minute I hit the dirt he and I had to grab the ATV in order to keep it from continuing on down the hill without us.

  As a result I incurred some terrible bruises!!!!

  Needless to say, I had my fill with nature at that point for the rest of the vacation!  I'l be perfectly happy to not go out again until the cold weather hits and I see the creepy crawlies more rarely.

  On a much more mundane note…I was able to crochet some more.

 I love doing this!  My employees love them in the prize bucket!  It's a win, win. 

  We also made attempts to find a home on property to begin our more sustainable living.  We saw a house but it just wasn't The One.  The search continues.  I know that when it's meant to be we'll find our perfect little farmhouse on a nice piece of land. 

  Well, that's it for now.  I'll post again soon revealing what I accomplished in week five.  

Happy Living Full!

Jennifer