Getting It done party!!!!

Love this book cover--it inspires me to get it done!!!

Okay, friends!! It's that Monday I've been talking about......where I host the Getting It Done party....are YOU in?  I want to make my list of things I want to tackle in September so I can be held accountable by you all; yes, I am sort of putting myself out there, but a little peer pressure can be good, right?  I want to make my list of things I'd like to accomplish, but I do realize it's got to be practical, measurable, and doable.  I'm not the spring chicken I used to be.....ahem.

So my list (and I do have the right to add or take away, just sayin.......) for the month of September is as follows:

1. Get both college kids rooms a) CLEAN........I don't intend to change much, except maybe box some things up, straighten some things, dust and clean some things, and we've talked about changing the carpet, but I doubt that will take place before the end of September.  It's a crazy deadline month for hubby at work, and that job is something that takes two of us.  I will limit myself to tasks I can actually do myself.  The cleaning, I can do.  However, in daughter's room, there is a wall that needs to be painted, so I'd like to get that done, as well.

2. Decorate for fall, but that's later in the month.  I love, love, love pumpkins, mums and fall colors, but I cannot bear putting them out while it is still near 100 degrees!  Hopefully we'll have some cooler temps by the end of the month (which, let me just say makes me pure giddy!) and I will want to begin to take out the fall decor!

3. Get my flower beds back in good condition....the one in the back yard is nasty, full of weeds and overgrowth...(I am sure my husband will be overjoyed when I tackle that one!!)  Just getting it weeded and mulched is the plan; any added additions, which usually are inspired when it's cleaned, are extra!!

4.  Plan a getaway for hubby and I...he needs a vacation, and I've always wanted to go to the northeast and see the changing colors, see part of the US we've not seen, so I think that is our destination....for later this fall.
Any ideas/suggestions are welcome as I plan this!

5. I would like to tackle all three of the bathrooms in this house.....now this does require a little assistance from the hubby, but once the plan is made,  I can carry out some of the wallpaper removal, which my neighbor has offered to exchange help on.  This plan is a little vague, but hopefully as the month moves on, I can make  more measureable steps in actually getting this done. 

5. Make steps toward adding back some disciplines in my life:
a) Read through Joshua in the month of September (our ladies Bible Study will be studying this, so this helps accomplish both discipline and getting the Bible Study done!)
b) incorporating some regular exercise back into my life...I'll have to be doing some physical therapy, too, so those exercises count toward this goal as well.)
c) I'd like to get back to eating a whole foods, healthy, sugar free lifestyle....in small steps, and would like to lose at least five pounds in September...

6) BONUS ROUND.....need to finish up/decide HOW TO finish up my laundry room....middle son put in some cabinets this summer, and I have this cool laundry vinyl cut out from the twins (www.twiceasnicelettering.com) that I want to put up...but I think the paint he used is too stark and I'll like to soften it up.  That room is also awaiting new tile, but that won't happen before the end of September for sure!...so I'm deciding how to proceed.)

I am going to stop here, as this is the Remedial Version of Getting it Done.  I need to feel like I can accomplish these things, so that next month, I can add a little more.  HOWEVER, I will at this time, add in a disclaimer for the month of October....I will have my first grandbaby coming in October, so I reserve the right to strike any or all personal goals from my list if it means getting to love on her!!!
So who is in for the month of September?  You can link to the party if you like, and inspire other bloggers to join us, OR feel free to just write in the comments the things you would like to accomplish for the month of September.  Feel free to add to your list if you surprise yourself and get all motivated, and get the first five done already by the the tenth of the month!!!  That's MY plan!  Y'all are just going to be amazed.....ha.  I'm also planning to write some motivational posts on how to set goals, and encourage us all to Get it Done!!!  Come on and join me...there might just be some party favors given out along the way.....oh, this is a party I can get into, how about YOU????

Get It done party......

Gee where did the week go?  Did you think I was home eating bon bons, mourning the exodus of my college students??? Well, gee, I just haven't had time to grieve!!!
Somehow the week flew by, without me getting a whole lot done...I guess I was too much "in the road"!  I was wrapping up some volunteer items at church, actually passing them on to another volunteer.  I was running errands with my hubby yesterday; before that I was getting ready to do one Willow House party, and now am getting ready to do another one tonight.  Add in there two doctor appointments, and you can see why I haven't had time to post anything this week.  I missed y'all!

So about that Get It DONE party.  Debbie asked if I was planning a get it all done in one week party...oh heavens NO.  It is just a way for me to set some goals, and invite you to do some as well.  And maybe a giveaway once we've met all our goals....just some incentive and accountability to get our goals met.  I know many of you thought you'd join in, so now's the time.  And link to the Get It Done party if you want to...we can start a Get it Done Revolution, of sorts!! Ha.
So on Monday, I will post my list of things I'd like to see get accomplished by the end of September......and I'll make a plan to get those things happening!  What about you..does that sound like something you could benefit from?  Can you muster up a few goals and work towards getting them done?  I'll also be posting some things to help break them down into reasonable steps, and workable plans.  ARE YOU IN????

Moving in Day!!

And I only got a few pics, but mucho memories!!
When we arrived, seven friends were there to help us.  I had arranged to borrow two dollies and had a cooler of water.  Turns out I was over-prepared, as the dorm had dollies everywhere for our use, and they were giving out water at every corner.  It was so hot, so that was definitely helpful!  Thanks to my middle son and his friends, we moved in everything in one trip!  How awesome is that, not to have to trudge back to the car numerous times???!!Thanks so much to the friends who helped!

Callie, the LEADER and her entourage!! 

The dorm Allison is in had just replaced all the furniture so they really have a very nice set-up, and the beds were already lofted, so we didn't even have to do that.  And because I know someone in the  housing office, I know that they use dogs to sniff out for bed bugs...isn't that good to know?????!!!!

  They have a nice sized room that was already painted blue, which works well with the bedding Allison got!   We got her bed made and most things unpacked, although our picture hanging system needed some work, so we left that to her to fix.  She met her roommate, Amanda, who actually is from our town, but went to another school.

Amanda and Allison, roomies fall 2010

Then we decided the things we needed to make a WalMart run for, and left to do that....We were in WalMart with a million other people, so we tried to get in and out asap!  After a day of moving in, seeing friends and family.....oh, we also went to see middle son's house, which we had not been in yet.  Turns out, unbeknownst to them, he lives right across the street from my niece!  (We did find this out earlier this year, but we did get to see my niece's house and her!  So cool!

Big Brother is always near!! Love that!

We went to dinner as a family, and then David, my son, whisked Allison away back to campus.  It was easier leaving her, driving off with him, as we've seen so many times before, and knowing that he is ten minutes away if she needs something, plus there with so many who are already friends......wasn't as bad leaving as I thought it would be.  Do I miss her? You betcha!  Do I think she is going to have a great year? You betcha.  So begins the getting used to the empty nest.....excuse me but I have a little cleaning to do....and coming up this Thursday, our first installment of the GETTING IT done party...who's in???

What we'll be doing this weekend.....

Packing it in the car....."oh remember, honey, whatever you take, you have to pack up in your car to bring home!"

Will it all fit????????

Welcome home......sigh.

How cool is this???? I've been featured on Tip Junkie!

 


I just received an email that my post last year about my Rubber Duckie shower is going to be featured on Tip Junkie!!!  Click on the button to go check it out!!
I am so honored.  I have been so in and out this summer that my posting has been lacking; I am so glad to be near the end of the summer so that I can get back to regular blogging!  If I can just get through the next five or six days and get my baby to college, I will be back home with my "let's get it DONE!" party.  I have SO MUCH to get done this fall, that I am going to get y'all to be my accountability partners!!!  We'll all challenge one another to make things happen!!
See you soon.......

College themed Friday Fives!!!

Clearly, I have college on the brain....as it isn't long before I have TWO kids in college....

So let's have a college life themed Friday Fives!!!

1.Did you go to college? Where?

2. Do you keep up with your roommate(s)?

3. What was your major in college?

4. What is the most vivid memory of your college life?

5. Do you have any children in college or that have graduated college??

Have a great weekend, Y'all!!

How do you DO it???

By it, of course I mean organize........piles of paper.  Coupons, receipts, recipes, newspaper ads, photos, magazines, etc.  Do you have piles the way I. HAVE. PILES????  For instance, a voucher for an airline that is worth $25, actually two of them, as well as a premium drink on one....I'm saving it for a bumpy ride!! :D

Where do you put things like that so you'll remember to actually use them?  And how do you organize coupons?  If they go in a drawer, they may not come out again, until after they are expired...that makes them pretty useless!  So I've wasted the time I took to clip them!  Recipes that you intend to try.......buried in a drawer, they don't get sampled..they just add to the problem, rather than helping!  Stacks of magazines with recipes and ideas that are worthy of further investigation!!?? You see a pattern here, no doubt.
Add in my business and I've got more piles of catalogs, receipts, order forms, postcards, business cards, etc.  I guess I missed the organizing gene......I can create, but that one is hard to muster, to change into......so I am looking for ideas! Let's compile a list in the comments of things that work for you!  I will take any and all ideas to plow down the piles!  Seriously, they suck the life energy right out of me!  But I can't seem to just throw them in the trash can.  I see possibility in each of them!!  Or is that just a procrastinator's mantra that is empty and void of meaning!?!  Tell me, tell me, how do I make a right brain into a functional, left brain!!??? Ha....I may not be able to change my brain, but maybe, just maybe you have a system that works for you that might just work for me!! DO TELL!!!

The Whole Showcase!

I made a Shutterfly share site with ALL the pictures from our Product showcase from our Willow House convention. They do AMAZING things with our products and I thought you might enjoy seeing the real thing, rather than just the few shots I've shared so far!
If you'd like to take a few minutes to view them all, head on over.....let me know what you think.  Also, you can read a behind the scenes blog from our design staff if you want to go over to Plate and Pattern.....

Here are the pics:
http://willowhouseshowcase2010.shutterfly.com/pictures/8

Monday.....

I am contemplating today, just what will happen in the next three weeks of my life.....
Some travel, packing up daughter's room and moving it to college, saying bye to both college kids, and then coming back home to clean the empty house.........I need today to just soak it all in.....what are you looking at for the next couple of weeks????

Okay....finally back to Friday Fives!!!!

Although I don't like to be too rigid or scheduled, some routines just feel good. It feels good to be back to Friday Fives!!!

1.  Do you play a musical instrument; which one?

2.  Do you feel creative today?

3. What would you like to redecorate in your house?

4.  What is a talent you do possess?  (might be rolling your tongue, photography, or balancing a checkbook!)

5. What do you look forward to about the fall?

I realize all these are totally random and unrelated....but it IS my blog, and when I go back to question #2.....well, today my creativity is being totally random!! :D

Working on the blog....

Whew, finally got my border fixed back up again, after Tanya, from FrouFrouBritches told me it was as simple as getting an updated code...thanks, Tanya, my friend!  Now I just have to get my header updated with the Willow House catalog cover, rather than the SLaHOME catalog cover.  And let me just ask you to answer this in the comments...are you tired of me talking about Willow House or are you interested in knowing about it?  I wondered if me continuing to talk about it caused less people to be interested in commenting.....so would you mind letting me know if you like the posts about Willow House? thanks, friends!

Oh, and yesterday, I got a package in the mail.....woohoo!!! I won a giveaway from Kristin at We are THAT Family not too long ago, where she gave away a Panini maker, an apron and some DeliDeluxe coupons from Kraft.  It was a promotion from Kraft...so my package came yesterday!! Thanks, Kristin and Kraft!!  My son will be home for a few weeks so he will enjoy trying this out!

Today, we will be doing some "dorm room" shopping....so fun, but just makes the reality of my daughter leaving for college even closer!  You can imagine my excitement for her, but it's going to be bittersweet for sure!  It does sound so fun, though, doesn't it???

In other news, I did get home from my weekend with my son and his wife.  We got the window seat cushion made, the glider cushions finished, and the bedding put on the crib.  Hopefully, we will have a picture soon.  I will post a picture once the window seat /built-ins are finished.  Baby Catherine is one lucky little girl!

I hope to resume Friday Fives tomorrow....my schedule this summer has been so off; a few more weeks of hectic schedules and a little more travel, then get kids to college, and things will be slowing down.  I hope to get some projects done this fall, so I'll be posting about those!  I don't know where the summer went, but it has flown by.
Right now, I am waiting to see Pioneer Woman on the Today Show......did you know she is supposed to be on today?
Talk to you soon!!!

The Baby Shower.....

It was amazing.  The friends that hosted it did a great job, and there were so many friends there to help celebrate!  This baby girl has a fabulous start with all the things people have blessed them with.

Here is a picture of the diaper cake one of the girls made for the centerpiece.  Heather has some amazingly talented friends!
In my visit here this time, I have helped them finish recovering a glider that she bought on Craigslist.  I will try to get a picture of that today.  The nursery is not quite ready to totally be put together since she is waiting for Russell to make a window seat and bookcase unit.  I think she has all the necessary elements to go in there, once he has finished the unit.  Ten weeks to go before baby Catherine is due to arrive!  Now I head home to get MY "baby" ready to head off to college.....so many exciting changes coming our way!!!