Today, I am...
-working on my summer bucket list.
(ok, well, not right at THIS VERY MOMENT because I took a break to write this post!)
-drinking a kale/yogurt/berry smoothie. Made with my Vitamix, of course.
And homemade yogurt.
-very happy that for the first time in forever, I don't have oodles of things on my schedule this week.
-happy that Mr. FG had a good Father's Day. It was pretty simple, but he picked some special foods to eat for breakfast and lunch, we played a game with the kids (I came in dead last, but that's ok.), and we gave him presents (all of them were a hit!) and cards.
Ever since his birthday in February (the last gift-giving occasion for him), I've been keeping a running list of gift ideas for him on my phone. That made shopping for Father's Day super easy!
-thankful that Mr. FG and I got to go away overnight to a wedding on Saturday. We left our kids home on their own overnight (only our second time doing that) and booked a hotel using my brother's friends and family discount.
Parents of small people: the day really does come when it's easy to leave your kids on their own. Woohoo!
-enjoying my colorful toes. I had a two-year-old pedicure gift certificate collecting dust, and I decided to use it before the wedding trip. So, my toes are looking fabulous.
I love how long a pedicure lasts vs. a manicure. Manicures are such a huge waste of money for me because I always mess up my fingernail polish well inside of 24 hours.
But my toes? They stay nice for ages.
-looking forward to getting rid of stuff this summer. I declutter my house from top to bottom every summer and as I worked on my bucket list this morning, I got all excited about the decluttering.
Maybe not so much about the process exactly...more about the result.
GIVE AWAY ALL OF THE THINGS.
-hoping to get Lisey out on the road for some driving practice. We got a little derailed due to her driver's ed classes, so we need to get back on it!
-planning to plan my week out after I finish this post. I often do this on Sundays, but we were busy with Father's Day stuff yesterday. Menu planning, here I come.
(I hate the process, but you know what's worse than menu-planning? Having no plan at dinnertime!)
Yes, some day they will be able to stay on their own! Congrats on reaching the stage where you can go away overnight and leave the kids. Wow.
- I am struggling through work with a cold I caught from my 3 year old (gotta love those daycare germs!) I am attempting to drown it with tea as you would say!
- I am re-branding and re-designing my blog to incorporate my the new side business my husband and I launched.
- I am recovering from a weekend full of yard-sale-ing. Our small town holds what is considered the largest yard sale in the world (Seville, OH). It truly is a sight to behold as thousands of people converge on our tiny, tiny town. We de-cluttered quite a bit and were able to sell over $800 worth of items. This money went straight into savings for a home down payment.
- I am actively researching natural tick repellent methods as they are everywhere out here. If anyone has any ideas - I'd love to hear them!
Here's to a good week! HAPPY SUMMER!!!!
Unbelievable ticks here in Illinois
Oh, I love your summer bucket lists! Can't wait to read it. 🙂
Today I am:
-Recovering from food poisoning. Urf. It's days like this that I'm grateful I work from home! I can wear PJ bottoms and work while lying on the couch.
-Also planning our menu. Since we were sick all weekend, nothing really got done around here, so I'm making up for lost time!
I was just thinking about your Summer Bucket Lists last week and hoping you do one this year. Summer seems to slip by before we know it and your list always motivates me to try and get a little more accomplished. Thanks for the motivation!
Sounds like a great week! Mr. FAF and I also went to a wedding on Saturday. I guess the wedding season is here! We just decluttered our house about a month ago, and now we're very careful about bringing stuff (new and old) home. =)
Good luck doing some declutter work! I try to do a purge of everything I haven't used about every 3 months or so. The extra space and donation tax write-off are wonderful! 🙂
I can't wait to read your productive summer bucket list!
My husband and I can't wait for that stage where we can leave the girls home on their own if we want to go somewhere. So a few more waiting from now (they're only 7 & 6).
- Mentally packing for the end of my vacation; the physical job comes tonight because of an early departure tomorrow morning.
- Putting away the sandwiches (tomorrow's breakfast) I made from today's breakfast buffet. Since breakfast is included in the room fee and I'm leaving before breakfast is served, this is the common sense solution to the problem of what tomorrow's breakfast.
- Using the room's minibar fridge for my leftovers: the sandwiches, some kickass local cured meats, a lot of fruit, and a couple of store-bought sodas. Just remember to tell the hotel that you removed the contacts rather than drinking them all!
- Happy we didn't buy many small things. I bought One Big Thing (significant year birthday present), a few magnets for my tourist souvenir collection, and 5 skeins of yarn from 2 different local companies. I only buy yarn-as-souvenir if it has a local connection. Best ever was the shawl kit I bought in Iceland. The lady buys the wool fleece from her neighbor, washes/cards/spins it, naturally dyes it, then packages it in kits.
- Putting away the undergarments that I washed by hand in the sink, and the shirts I can rewear.
- Using hotel internet made free by joining the hotel's loyalty club.
- Donating money to the national park I visited yesterday. The cafe messed up my lunch order and insisted on refunding the whole bill instead of just the mistaken part. I have no moral claim on that money so I'm giving it to the park instead.
So glad you've had a good trip!
Forgot to add that I take home the soap I used. I travel enough that taking the opened soaps is enough for me. Added bonus: hotels throw out used soap.
I'm thinking I need to write a post like this! I am catching up on many small things today before I take a break to rest before going into work (230-11). I potted a couple of ferns dug up from our property in Burnet - hoping they like my terra cotta pots and shady back yard. i bought groceries. Watered all of my plants. Cleaned off the patio and put the cover back on the BBQ grill. I doing a smidge of desk work, then its reading time before lunch and shower. Whew! Mondays are like that! (:
Today I am driving. Fifty miles roundtrip one direction this morning for a pre-natal appointment, and 60 miles roundtrip the other direction this afternoon for a speech evaluation for my middle son. Whee.
I am also simultaneously happy and bummed out about the end of the school year (finally!) for my older two on Friday. Hooray for not having to pull them out of bed to catch the bus or packing lunches! Boo to three small kids all day, every day requiring constant feeding and maintenance. It all balances out. 🙂
Oh my. That is a LOT of driving for one day!
- Enjoying this post!
- Relieved and thankful that I got two business-y phone calls out of the way this morning and they both had a great outcome.
- Thinking that customer service people probably get a lot of not-always-nice phone calls, so I try to always be extra kind and friendly when I'm making those calls. I find that people on the other end are generally super helpful; I'm not sure if it's because I'm making an effort to be kind or they're just that way with everyone.
- Grateful for air conditioning!
- Trying to schedule get-togethers with my kids and their friends this summer. At the end of last summer they said they would've liked more time with their friends, so I'm working on it!
Looking forward to your bucket list. I love watching your progress since I'm not overly productive even at fun stuff. But today I'm off and washing windows but had to stop while a t-storm passes, also planning to clean porch and do laundry before returning to work tomorrow to rest.
Today, I am:
Relieved I have the day off from work. With Gus Macker over the weekend, we were insanely busy during unusual hours and I worked some weird ones.
Thankful for the extra hours I picked up. They will cover the following week's extra day off!
Excited to plan for a fun weekend with my brother and his kiddos. Both of our families will be going to a theme park on Friday, and a dune ride on Saturday.
Lacking enthusiasm to make a grocery list for the week.
Accomplishing more than I had anticipated though!
I haven't heard mention of Gus Macker in a long time since only one school around here does it. I am having pleasant visions of smiling basketballs. Thanks!
Do you have a room makeover planned this summer? I know the last couple of ones you've done the kids rooms, so I was just wondering! I love seeing the before and afters!
I am... catching up on laundry, 'doing school' with the kiddos, and working on my own blog. It needs a bit of TLC. 😀
We are just getting to that first glimmer of autonomy with our oldest, who's almost nine. He's becoming more independent and helpful and it gives me hope! The three year old on the other hand....
Today we closed on the sale of our house!!!!!! It was a looooong time coming but we are so excited to move to a safer neighborhood with better schools. Plus, we will have more space (inside and out) and a garage. We don't close on the new house until the 30th, with occupancy on July 7th...but its still really exciting. This was supposed to be our 5 year, no kids house that we stayed in for 16 year (and had 3 kids). Lessons learned...make sure when you buy a house, it is something you can grow/live in for more years than expected because....well.....life happens.
Congratulations on the house. Life has many surprises for us. I am so happy that you got a new home. Have fun and enjoy.
Thank you!
Medical issues will leave us at home for a while. I am thinking,
Painting
Drywall
Mini blinds
Purge the attic and family room of boxes of stuff. We moved 3 years ago from a 5 bedroom house and have never completely unpacked. Figure if it isn't being used by now, I don't need it.
Yard needs some serious attention. Former neighbors pitbull was a huge deterent to outside activities. I have a 2 yr old as a replacement now. I much prefer the child over that man eater.
Declutter=Joy!!!!
We have been in this house for 10 years and have never really sorted the basement out, but continued to add stuff to the "storage" every year.
It's finally underway, and I am tackling it a couple hours a night most nights--after work, dinner, chores, and getting our preschooler to bed.
The progress is SO motivating. Five giant bags of clothes to Goodwill, two massive bags in the trash, and a huge pile of boxes of stuff to sell. ... And I haven't done even half of the basement.
The garage better be trembling, 'cause it's next.
I decluttered my bookshelves last night, and even though I thought I didn't have many excess books, I still found three full bags to give away. It's amazing how much unnecessary stuff one house can have! And also amazing how good it can feel to get rid of things.
Currently I'm finishing up my breakfast at work which is why I'm reading your blog 🙂
I love this section
(I hate the process, but you know what’s worse than menu-planning? Having no plan at dinnertime!)
Because that's exactly me.
I was interviewed on a podcast last week and I said menu planning was my best organising system. I hate doing it but I love not thinking about meals for a week 🙂
I am still recovering from the flu complicated by bronchitis. I don't feel like doing much but today I have kept up with kitchen and we have had oats and berries for breakfast, lunch out and dinner has been toast. Today mum had her annual mammogram and that is why we ate out. I am watching tv for the next 75 minute and I will detangle some wool the cat has played with.
Drinking my delicious iced coffee
Feeling motivated to come up with my own summer bucket list
Looking forward to Thursday (my day off)
Thankful for my husband
Summer bucket list:
-Uber frugal month in July!
-adjust to my 18 yo driving my car to work this summer, everyday!
-paint basement stairs and clean out basement
-declutter and toss old, too big clothes
-rework a method book I'm writing
-do one fun thing everyday!
Here's to a wonderful summer everyone.
Instagram follower here..hope you are feeling better.
Trying to recover from a broke & now new washer..sick dog..car tires..kids car tires..sick dog combined with a holiday so had to take to emergency vet..deposit on vacation..then a nail in the new tire. Of course it all hits at once. Ugh.
Thankful my dog is ok & my vet is awesome, glad my kid is driving on safe tires. Glad my washer is a nice one, the old one we could not find parts for. Happy that we are going to Asheville NC for about 2 weeks, I have never been to the mountains so our kids & families are all going so we are splitting costs.
Several more boxes packed up for Goodwill. Mostly glass things that I just don't need just don't want to dust or clean or move -out they go.
Summer is really expensive for me. I tend to go to the mall more often. It is really tempting. Now, I need a few shirts and things to wear. Need a plan to tame the spending.
Nice list! Can't wait for the day we will be able to leave the girls alone overnight, or just for the evening (they are 5 and 7, so we have a long time to go...)
Today I am:
* working a shorter shift and enjoying this very much (9h30-3h30)
* Planning my "divorce from sweets" by making a list of my 10 all-times favorites desserts, eating them all once in the next 2 weeks, saying a proper "goodbye" and quitting desserts for good (yeah, I know it might sound strange but I am addicted to sugar and I'm having a hard time controlling it, so I'm trying this method)
* Going to watch my daughter's soccer game
* Using my new-to-me treadmill (bought last week-end)
* Starting a new book (I looooove books!)
Have a great day!
It does seem forever away at that stage...but it does happen eventually! You'll have independent kiddos one day.