decluttering and rearranging... 1 day 12hrs and 16some minutes..

In my house it's not unusual for me to have 4 books, numerous magazines, note pad, pen, paperwork, cup (of whatever), laptop, next to my favorite chair. I have a tendency to work even when I'm resting. While most of my actual paperwork gets done in the office and most of my garden planning, etc is done on the desk top I find it hard to just sit still and not be doing something to do with the farm.

As I'm walking into the house from being inside I tend to set tools, gloves, hat, etc. down on the closest counter, Next to my bed is another couple of books or misc reading material. The breakfast nook tends to have some project on it, the dinning room table is almost always half covered with half folded laundry that got left to do somethng that required more immediate attention.

The garage has a corner full of wood of varying lengths shapes and sizes that "might come in handy" and occassionally do. My garden shed has managed to turn into partial storage for all those boxes that "might come in handy", beer bottles that will get filled eventually, extra lawn ornaments.

Know the feeling?

Things pile up, stack up get covered up and left for another day or for later. Eventually you take a look around and realize why you havn't invited company over for 4 months.

The solution? Make neater stacks? Declutter at the end of the day? Find a better place to put it?

New task to take on in the new year... declutter and rearrange to make everything fit more efficiently?

rhyme and reason...

When you live a life that isn't 9-5 or set on someone else's clock it can sometimes be hard to put your to do list together. The when's are not as signficant and it's easy to get lost in all the what's.

You may find yourself making a schedule and trying to stick to it but things are not that simple because with out living by someone else's clock you have more flexibility and more room for forgetting (that 1pm lunch break got passed up and now it's 3pm).

Or you take the opposite route; you know what you need to do and you just hack through your to do list with the only direciton being to get it all done. That works to a point until you realize that the vacumming isn't done and the kids are now in bed, or you realize that those vita/worming/vac/med you're spose to give the livestock havnt been done yet and it's 10pm.

So the challenge is to piece together each day like a puzzle. Where you start and end up is a learning curve. Some start on the outside and work their way in. Some start with the easiest parts then work their way to the harder stuff. Some just wing it all the way through.

One week you find yourself making lists, the next you find yourself following someone elses suggestion, the next you find yourself behind with no direction written out..

Know the feeling?

Goal for the new year... put some rhyme and reason into each day.

3 days 14 hrs and 50some minutes...

Atleast that's what my count down clock says. Sundown for another year. Sun up for a new one. This time of year I start to feel the need to change something, end a bad habit, start a good habit. Change something in an attempt to make it run a little smoother for the next year.

This year I'm reminded of my divorce. The person I was when I walked out of that relationship. The person I became since then. It feels like it's been forever. 5yrs since I filed (though it took longer for it to become legit). I feel like I should be filing for something and waiting for it to become legit.

There was one word that helped me from being a lost lonely co-dependent exwife to who I am now. Reinventing. I decided who I wanted to be and made a game plan to become that person. Here I am. Though I feel like something's still missing. I feel a need to reinvent me again. Though I'm not sure to what extreme. Last time it was easy because it was a total reinvention. Now I think it'll be more subtle.

Wake up earlier, work harder, self reliant, independent..

The game plan? Take what I've done so far and take it to the next level.

counting down to 2010

It seems as if every year about this time I think "wow where has my year gone". Does that ever cross your mind? I think about last Jan; what was I doing then? What did I do all summer? I think about some of the things my kids did this past year. The things they've learned and tried.

I think of some of the similarities between now and 12 months ago.

This year is seeing another ltr end with confusion. Ofcourse it was so different then last year that there's no way I could have seen it coming. I didn't write down all the dates I had in between like I use to do. I did however have 3 dates from eHarmony. (yet I'm still single) Beginning of the year saw it ending with Chris. Feb till March saw me burning up minutes with Scott; eharmony's cutest Kansas farmer. then the coyote hunter. Dan; nice guy just way too pushy. Brian; eharmony's old and insecure. Mr. Hyde; the correctional officer. Aug till Nov Jeramie; he'll teach me never to settle for less. I even got a date with George (fantasy come true) I'm sure there must be a date or two in there I'm missing but those are the most memorable.

I spent 7 or 8 weekends camping this year. Not bad. I spent atleast 3 months of weekends hunting this year. Not bad. I didn't fill any tags but sure had some fun. Spent one day catching crawdads, spent one night camped out eating crab. Walked miles upon miles following game trail, bear scat and gravel log roads. Only spent about 2hrs lost. But I wasn't really lost just a little late. Confirmed that finding a hunting partner is just as difficult as finding a life partner and I should be just as picky.

My oldest turned 8 this year and the baby 1 (she's 22 months right now). My youngest healed from her surgery and is growing out of her problems. My oldest is becoming very independent and dependable. My two girls make me want to try for a boy but yea I think that'll wait a couple of years. October saw me standing back on my own two feet. No more public assistance for me! August and September saw me making plans for starting a Garden Share. This is what will help see the kids and I through 2010. I've some big plans. Though I guess to most, my big plans are pretty small. March will see me adding a couple of hives to my farm. Porklets and if I can talk the neighbor into it maybe a side of beef. Poultry. A couple more rabbits. I love this self-reliant thing.

Yea this past year has been busy.

Living, loving and planning for the future.

(Now to secure a date to watch the new year come in.)

Gotta love December

Yes, December is significant for Christmas and New Years but it's also a time that the farm slows down, plans get made for the next year and supplies are ordered. I love shopping! Especially for garden and farm stuff.

Though I guess it's not the active task of the past. I get to sit in my pj's in my big comfy chair, a hot cup of coffee at hand and my PC on my lap. Browsing through all the online catalogs. Daydreaming about buckets of honey from those beehives I'll be ordering in Jan, baskets of veggies from the seeds that are now in the mail and on their way. Contemplating should I try raising geese as well as turkeys next spring or just stick with chickens. A steer calf? One or two wiener piglets? Should I try mead this year or continue my quest for the perfect homebrew?

To me, the farmer chick, my stomach growls at the idea of all the glorious home grown food. That's what I get for shopping on an empty stomach!