Autumn

Hello. Yes, I'm still alive. Here's a summary of what's been happening:

~Sibling visits and apple pie baking

 ~Pig watching

 ~Oops, got caught taking pictures lol.

 ~Sold the tractor. This is the newest farm edition: Timber Jack Skidder

 ~Cups of herbal tea

                                      
 ~Bugaboo the baby goat

 ~Mamma Ivy

 ~Nursery in progress, testing out the green

 ~Cuddling and watching Veggie Tales; The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything

Also:

Washing and sorting baby clothes

Boxing and labeling the larger sizes

Cleaning 

Cooking

Menu/meal planning

Organizing the "pantry"

Putting together a Christmas binder

Organizing all my recipes

Day dreaming about wearing "real" clothes again lol

I hope to follow up with some posts on my organizing projects, and of course the nursery. I sometimes forget to take "before" pictures of what I'm working on. Which I kick myself for because I think one of the coolest things about seeing what someone else does is the "before" and "after". So, I'm going to try to get better at grabbing the camera first. He,he. Also, declaring war on clutter. And so far the kitchen is staying pretty clear of it. My biggest problem is that I don't yet have a place for everything-so I'm doing just that. If I can't find a place for it, and/or I know I wouldn't use it even if it had one, it's out of here. Storage is another culprit. We do have decent space to store what we need, but are lacking shelving, in my opinion. We have no shelving in the basement yet, one shelf in the "guest room" closet (that is being used to full capacity) and two small book cases downstairs. Hopefully soon we can put some more shelving in. The process of de-cluttering is simple enough: 

1. downsize, get rid of unneeded/unused items 

2. contain "loose" items 

3. organize for easy access/clean up

Simple, yes-in idea. But it can be a lengthy process, takes time, money and some creativity(ha!). And some where to put all the stuff you want to keep when you're done! (Like shelves!) Not to mention, that in reality, you will never be completely done! You will always have the well meaning(?) friends, family and neighbors who feel like you really need all of their purged stuff too. And the fact that the longer you live, the bigger your family gets, the more material things your home will accumulate. But with out a plan, and place to keep these "treasures", you can quickly become overwhelmed with stuff.

     I'm not talking about spending a fortune on fancy gizmos, Elfa storage units from the Container Store, adding on to the house, etc. I'm into simple. I want to find things when I need them, know what I have/ what I need (like kitchen inventory) and be able to keep things some-what neat so I can relax and invest in what matters most in this life-people, family, friends, neighbors, loved ones etc.Our lives weren't meant to revolve around material things. 

 Any way, sorry about the rant lol. 

Other news.... I've had a cold for over three weeks now, I think it's finally on its way out! Up all night most nights with heartburn, a kicking baby, leg cramps, hip pain and just plain insomnia. I'll be honest: I'm sick of being pregnant!!!! Yes, of course I love baby Jackson, and I'm excited to meet him! It's just after 8 months of this pregnancy thing, I'm ready to carry this kid in my ARMS, not seemingly with every muscle in my back! 8 Weeks to go.....Bring it on! lol.

 I hope you have a great evening! "See" you soon!