Walah

It's a bird...it's a plane...

No...it's just my week flying by me.

Yep, the week is at its end and time of rest and relaxation are at hand.  Yee-haw!

It was my first week home again.

Yep.  I resigned from my new job after only 2 months.  I actually resigned about three weeks ago.  

It wasn't a decision I took lightly, especially when I considered how hard it would be to explain on my resume.  But after careful consideration I finally accepted it just was not a good fit for me.  It's hard to explain.  

Strangely enough, I found myself a little sad on the last day.  All I thought about over that weekend were the faces of my favorite patients that I would no longer be seeing.  I went to get my paycheck and I almost felt homesick. 

It's uncomfortable when you want so badly for something to be right, but it just isn't.  I made the right decision, though, and I am so grateful they gave me the opportunity to be a part of their team.

So that's that.  Bah.

"What does a week without work look like?", you ask.  

Kinda like this....

Mom came and ate with us a couple of times early in the week.

Haha, she would spank me if she knew I put that picture of her out there on the world wide web.  I was trying to tell her I was taking her picture and she couldn't hear me.  She was like, "Hmm?".  

Haha, I just love her so much.

After we eat we watch my DVR's of Mad Hungry with Lucinda Scala Quinn... 

or of the Pioneer Woman, or The Chew, or Martha Stewart...did I already mention the Pioneer Woman?  

Moving right along. 

Ronnie closed in the space in the fence where the gate will someday go so the dogs could go ahead and get out and run.  That was a blast to watch.  

No, this isn't them running, but aren't they so cute???  Maggie is always blurry because she is never still.

Please ignore the dirty floor.  Or don't.  I'm ok with it.

On Wednesday I had lunch with my longest childhood friend. 

Notice I did not say "oldest" :D  You're welcome, Glo, hehe. Instead of sounding old, she sounds tall.

It was a blast.  We always try to go to a resale shop and we had been wanting to go to a new one that had just opened up.  

I am so glad we did!  

Look what we found!

It has four drawers, all of which can be used for files or whatever.  It's all wood and it only cost $60!  

I always read about finds like this, but I never find anything for a steal.  Every time I find something I like it usually costs $200 - $300 bucks.  

Until today, that is!

I love it, even though it has already started collecting stuff on top.

We went to Mass on Wednesday, too.  

I gotta say, it seems almost every time we go to church lately, my gratitude just wants to flow out of my eyes in the form of tears.  I have just been so aware of the many blessings in this life.  And even still, I know there is even more to be grateful for.  

Something that never ceases to amaze me is that people gather to worship.  I don't know why that amazes me, but it does.

And the thing that really touches my soul is the lines of people going up to receive Communion.  It reminds me of Palm Sunday.  We want to be close to Him.  We want to give praise and glory and thanks.

We all gather so that we can receive Jesus.  We are all one Body.  Wow.  

Deep huh?  I feel like I should be asking someone to pass the doobie.  Juuuust kidding.

Seriously, though.  I am not especially prayerful.  I do pray but I often fall short of the mark.  But one day a few weeks ago I actually woke up repeating, "Oh Sacrament most Holy, O Sacrament Divine, all praise and all thanksgiving be ever moment Thine".  What a beautiful way to wake up.

Anyhoo....

Our week culminated with a trip to Lowes.

We had some fence panels that we did not use on our newly built fence, so we took them back for a credit.

I love credits, don't you?

I love credit, too! But, thankfully, we don't use too much of that anymore.

I must admit, though, I would use it a lot if I was single and didnt have someone else's credit score to think about. (Insert a picture of me with a dream bubble above my head with stores like Lowes and Target and Home Goods in it).

Oh yeah, like I was saying...we went to Lowes in Lake Jackson, which meant lunch at Brian's! 

That is my favorite Bar-b-que ever!!  It is so mouth watering good.  The ribs are my favorite.

Well...they don't look so appetizing in the picture, but they really are.

I love the atmosphere.

"Howdy, Pardner"

 

There was a time when I wouldn't even look at a man if he didn't have a cowboy hat, Wranglers and cowboy boots. 

Lucky for me, that stuff didn't matter when I met this guy...

 

Not even the red bandana he usually wears can drive me away.

Smile, Boy!  I wish I knew why he doesn't smile.  There are pictures from his childhood of him and his sisters and his parents not one of them was smiling.  I just don't know. 

It's a mystery. 

So anyway...typical week at Casa Causpanic.  Nothing fancy, just good 'ol life. =) 

If anyone is out there I hope you have a great week full of love, hope and happiness!

Deck the Halls...or the Mantel

Hey You!  Hope everything is going well over in your part of the world!  All is well here, but we have been such busy bees or poor time managers.  In our defense, though, we have been on the road some, also.   

It's funny.  In October we were very optimistic about selling our house...like "dream on, baby" optimistic.  We were so sure we would be in BC by Christmas we even went ahead and took the Christmas decorations over there.  As I posted previously, Ronnie grabbed them on one of his trips to BC.  But, once we took everything out there was still a few things missing.  Just some glittery poinsettias and glittered eucalyptus leaves and other accessories, but we just could not think back to last year and where we put those few things or even in what we put them away.  We knew they would be in a little box because it was just a few items, but put our finger on it...we could not.  Of course, once we gave up looking for them, they appeared...in the garage...somewhere.  

I digress.  Okay, now the results of our little projects.  Crafting really is fun!  And, it really doesn't have to be expensive!  I was very happy that we did would not have to spend a dime on the tree decorations.  I had spent about five bucks on Dollar Tree 2/$1 tree embellishments to use to dress up our green garland, but did use them for the tree when our other embellishments went AWOL.  Thanks to my sweet hubby for all his help with the tree.  His choosing to decorate the bottom part on the tree was a little questionable, though, since I am 4' 6" and he is 6' 1", but I'm definitely not complaining!

Don't you love digging into the Christmas decoration boxes and re-discovering all the junk decorations that have accumulated over the years?  A lot of times one might get into those boxes and think, "Goodwill...trash...Goodwill...".  But sometimes if you look at them with an open mind you can change them up as your tastes change.  I was happy to find these decorations and decided I could make them fit into our red and gold theme with a can of gold spray paint: 

My favorite way to decorate is with garland everywhere...on the mantel, surrounding the fireplace, in the windows....   But, when I tried that in this house, it just didn't feel right.  So this year I tried something a little different.  First, we changed out mirrors.  Rae, you may recognize this mirror...it is the one you gave us but we painted it all gold.  The Martha Stewart inspired poinsettia wreath looks nice with it and it really "lightened" up the mantel, weight wise and color wise.  The Gold Nutcrackers helped lighten it up some too.  Those guys really added a lot of bang for very little buck!  I love the sparkle in the little gold trees, especially at night.  The little bit of light in the room reflects off the glitter.  It's like having my own stash of diamonds and gold.

 

 

Well, that's it for our decking the halls!  We had a good time getting things together and a differing opinion here and there, but it's done.  Now, we can concentrate more on enjoying the Reason for the Season!

What about you all?  Are you all done decorating?  Any favorite decorations you just cant let go?  Doing ok with holiday stress?  We sure hope so, but if not, come back tomorrow or the day after with a cup of hot chocolate and check out our post on the Christmas program we attended at the First Pentecostal Church in BC.  Hint:  there will be videos of precious little children singing.  Once you see those you will say, "Stress who?"  It is a program you will surely want to check out next year if you live in the area and/or seek out something similar in your area.  Looking forward to seeing you then!

Christmas Crafts

We have been trying really hard to get our Christmas decorations up.  My hat is off to those of you who actually get your decorations up the week of Thanksgiving.  Oh, how I aspire.  But, here it is December 11th and we are just now finalizing our decorations.  Which, that is actually ok since we wait until the Epiphany to take them down. 

The web is chock full of inspiration for Christmas crafts.  The first place I usually look to is MarthaStewart.com.

Love this Ribbon Poinsettia Wreath 

 So I made this one...

Now, I went to one of the major craft stores to buy the materials necessary to make this wreath.  The Styrofoam wreath forms were $3.99 and up. 

Normally, I wouldn't care, but we are really trying to find the best deals possible now-a-days, so I went to the trusty Dollar Tree and they had a plain, wood wreath for $1.00! Ok, it IS a little different, but it is workable.  Not only that, but I am making some glitter trees and the cones at the craft store were $3.99!  Dollar Tree...yep...$1.00.  Yes, they are a little shorter and smaller, but I can make it work.  Take the four bucks you saved and go get ya a latte or a Peppermint Chocolate Chip Milk Shake from Chick Fil A (stay tuned and maybe we will have a homemade version that will save you some calories.  We sure are going to try!) 

It worked fine.  I went there tonight to get a few more things and they had Styrofoam wreath forms also for a buck which they did not have the other day.  Save yourself some money and time and check out the Dollar Tree first. 

Next, I so loved this blue spruce wreath trio, also inspired by Martha Stewart 

Which led to this:

I had some old Dollar Store wreaths we had used at our house in BC.  I am so glad I found a way to put them to use here in Dickinson.  And then there is the nutcracker idea I found at House of Hepworths.  I bought these at the Dollar Tree.  I had actually been there the day before I read HOH's post, but I did not remember seeing any nutcrackers.  So, of course I went back.  This is them before:

 

Then I stripped them of their hair.

Don't they look much younger??  At first, I painted them white, like Allison's, because I really love them white. 

But it didn't really go with my Christmas colors so I took a chance and tried painting one gold.  I like it. I did not think it would be as pretty as the silver one Allison did, but I think it is.  Now, I just have to finish them.

 

And this garland we have had for years.  I am the type that likes everything.  Aren't multi-colored lights so awesome? But white lights are beautiful and elegant.  But, blue or green or red lights are unique and always look great.  Same thing with Christmas trees.  I like a multi-colored tree, I like monochromatic trees with white lights.  I like it all...which makes it very hard for me to pin down an exact "style" for myself.  Anyway, these are from my multi-colored decor days. 

I am going to transform them to fit into our golden decor of today.  Me and my friend, Can o' Krylon paint! 

For real, folks.  Final Christmas decor pics between now and Monday.  I know, I know...I said that a week ago, but like I said...For Real!

House Showing

Whoop!  We got another call to show the house!  Outstanding!  Actually, we also got a call Friday afternoon, but I had gone to BC to take Mom to the doctor and left the house a mess.  I dont know why I dont learn, but here is one thing anyone selling a house can take from this post.  ALWAYS, leave your house "show" ready.  NEVER leave it even a little messy.  Even if you haven't had a call in days or weeks, ALWAYS assume you will get a call from from the one person willing to pay $20 thousand more than your asking price on the day you think it is ok to leave it a little messy.

That is what our house is right now...just a little messy.  A little clutter here and there and it needs the cleaning fairy to come make a pass with the dust rag, vacuum and broom.  Actually, we call that person Houdini. 

It is no secret that I do not like to clean.  It really is just laziness.  I can admit it.  But, I like the feel of a clean, uncluttered space.  So, I have recently employed a new cleaning routine that might work for you or might not.  Most forty-somethings have everything all figured out on their own, but maybe it can help someone.  I'm a slow learner.  For me, this little routine makes all the difference in the world.  I used to go room by room--deep clean one room at a time.  It seemed to take forever because I did it all at once.  It may not have, I never timed it, but it seemed to.  Now, its seems much easier and quicker.  And maybe even more of a challenge.  That may be the reason for the change in my attitude.  Everybody loves a challenge, no? 

So tell us already! 

Cleaning Rotation

• Mon/Wed/Fri -- Declutter, Sweep and Mop, Dust/Clean Surfaces
• Tues/Thurs/Saturday -- Bathrooms, Kitchen, Vacuum Floors and Sofa

Cleaning Intervals

Ok, what I do now...I have three sets of cleaning intervals for every other day, listed above.  So, every two days the whole house is deep cleaned within an hour and a half each day.  Here's how it goes.  I set the timer on the stove for twenty minute intervals:

• First twenty minute interval is to declutter the whole house.  Granted the two spares and the guest bath usually don't have any clutter, so for us, this includes kitchen, living room, wash room, master bedroom, bath and closet.  If Houdini has been keeping up with his job, most times it doesnt even take the whole twenty minutes. 
• Second twenty minute interval is for cleaning all surfaces.  This includes kitchen/counters, coffee tables, nik-naks, bedside tables and so on.   
• Third twenty minutes is for sweeping and mopping.  I usually use the broom to keep the baseboards clean during this time also.  Sometimes our dogs find it necessary to leave their paw print on the moulding and wall and I have to give it a wipe with a towel, but otherwise a pass with the broom every other day keeps the dust at bay.  This interval does take the whole twenty minutes for me.  Our house is 1760 sq. ft. and is about 70% carpet, 30 percent hard floors and all baseboards.  Trying to beat the clock is what makes this part fun.

Now, the second day, the intervals are a little more work intensive, but quick, non the less.

• First twenty minutes on these days start with a good bathroom cleaning for both the master and guest bath.  Now, I have already swept and mopped and cleaned surfaces, so basically its just toilets/showers and sinks/faucets.  We have a garden tub also, but I usually wipe that down with a wash rag after a good long soak in the tub.  This can all be done in twenty minutes, because it was just done two days before. 
• Second twenty minute interval, hit the kitchen.  it's time to unload that dishwasher, deep clean the stove/oven and every other time, the refrigerator. 
• Third twenty minute interval is for vacuming all carpets and sofas!  This is another challenging interval.  But if I stay focused I can get it done.

Hmmmm...did I forget anything?  I am sure I did.

The good news is, when this is done every day, many of the intervals dont take all twenty minutes.  I like to do it before bed so we wake up to a clean house with a clean start.  It doesnt seem like it would, but it does make a difference.

Obviously, I dont stick to this every day or I wouldnt have had to turn down a request to show the house.  But, I can say it is becoming more of a habit. As for our showings, we haven't heard anything yet, but we still have our fingers crossed.

Did You Pay Verizon?

Of course I did!!  Maybe...hmmm...maybe not.

I don't know why we do it.  It is so easy for others to separate the important stuff from the non-important stuff at the time it comes in.  Not for us.  I could try to blame it on the fact that we don't have a shredder right now.  Yep, can't just throw it in the trash...it MUST be shredded.  Nope, that isn't the reason for this mess we go through every other week.  It is just being so busy lazy.  There, I said it.  According to Dr. Phil you can't change it if you don't own it.  Whatever, Dr. Phil.  But, in my defense, it really would be easier if we went ahead and got another shredder. I like this one.  Originally, $49.99 down to $24.99 after rebate at Staples.  Not bad.

It took us about 15 minutes to sort through that mess.  It was mostly credit card offers (if they only knew) and sale flyers.  But there was some important stuff that we divided into the categories of ACTION NEEDED, FILE, PAY and PURSE (department store coupons and a coupon for a free birthday adjustment from my favorite chiropractor.  See...there is some good stuff in all that mess).

There really was a time that I had a very good filing system.  Even so, I am kind of hit and miss.  Sometimes I file, sometimes I stack all the stuff to be filed.  But, honestly, I really don't like filing.  I disliked it even when I got paid to do it!  I'm surely not interested in doing it for free.

So, from now on what needs to be paid will be paid right then, what needs to be shredded will be shredded right then and what needs to be filed will be placed in a basket and, hopefully, Ronnie will have mercy on me and file it! 

By the way, I DID pay the Verizon bill.  I knew I had...ok, ok, I was pretty sure (alright already! I had no idea).  Here's hoping you have better luck with your paper piles and wishing you a very happy, blessed day!!