Do!

Do you have a never-ending to-do list?
There are of course the chores that are in and of themselves never ending such as dishes and laundry as we continually eat and dirty more dishes and wear our clothes and create more laundry to be done.  Needless to say, we therefore all have these kinds of tasks on our daily to-do lists.

But how about things that are not 'in the norm'?  Do you have an exhaustive list of things you'd like to get done and yet there never seems to be the time to get these tasks/projects done?  I guess it is more acurrate to say that we do not take the time to get them done.  We all make time for what is important to us.

I had an idea.  I thought maybe if I were to put my 'to-do' list out here into the blogosphere maybe that would be incentive for me to get off my seriously well padded butt and stop making excuses.  Maybe it would entice me to make the time to get these things done.

So here it goes!
My not-the-normal-day-to-day  to-do list.
(not in any particular order)

1. Boys Room: Buy, paint (if needed) and hang shelves.  Go through toys and sort out ones they don't play with/outgrown. Go through dressers..again.

2. Craft Room/Office:  SERIOUSLY need to clean!  This has become the 'catch-all' room. Boo to me for allowing it.  Get everything out that doesn't belong in there!  Sort through craft supplies and give away whatever I don't need and organize the items I wish to keep.  Create files.  Need to create spaces for Women's Ministry and Nominating Committee.

3. Bedroom:  Go through lengerie chest.  Chest in bad shape.  Empty, get rid of everything I no longer use.  See if it can be fixed up into usable condition.  If not, get rid of it!  Buy, paint (if needed) shelves for John's books.  Throw away clutter.

4. Entry way:  Goodness.. something needs to happen here.  I've wanted to paint an accent wall ever since we moved in 6 years ago.  Need to convince the hubs.

5. Playroom:  Ok, this is a toughy.  It is currently set up for daycare and yet I do not have any kids in my daycare.  I need to wait until I know for sure and for certain that I'm closing my business.  I will then need to go over this room and turn it from a classroom back to a playroom for our boys and suitable for our Cub Scout Den.

6. Ministry:  I met with my pastor back in the fall about the prospects of me going into ministry.  He was 110% in support of this, said it seemed exactly what God was calling me to do, seemed only natural.  He suggested I begin working on a 'packet'.  I need to make business cards, informational 'post cards', pamphlet.  I need to tweak my talks I already have written and continue to work on those the Lord has put on my heart.  Work on devotions and talk to a gal at our church who used to work for 'Our Daily Bread' publication to see what I can do to be published.  Start sending out packets and talking to local churches to get the word out.  Study, pray, study, pray!!!  This could be what God is calling me to as a way to meet our financial needs too.

7. Get a job!!!

Ok, that's enough for now.  This is plenty to work on!!

Now, if there's anyone out there reading, I could use your help keeping me accountable to these tasks.  I'd greatly appriciate your kicking me in the butt encouragement and checking in time and again to make sure I'm working on these things.  This all falls into my "ACTION" theme for the year too.

How about you?  Do you have some out-of-the-usual to-do's you need getting to?

You've Got A Job - Get To It!

So there I was two nights ago sitting on my couch watching heavens knows what, for it really didn't matter what was on the screen as I was so wrapped up in my thoughts.  I was consumed with thoughts of worry and self-l.. no, not that extream.. not feeling very productive.

I began to pray and ask God to give me a job or some more kids for my day care. "Please help me to provide for my family Lord.  The cars aren't in great shape, the house needs some repairs, we are barely scraping by and I'm just so tired of job hunting and sending out applications and resumes with nothing in return."  Then God spoke to me (yes, God is still in the business of speaking to us if we are quiet enough to listen).  He reminded me that I already have a job.  Several actually.  I am to care for my husband, my children and my home.  He impressed on me that those are the jobs that I am to see to at this point in time and that I need to do them to the best of my ability.  He also reminded me that the second point of the talk I'll be giving in just over a week is how we can trust God's word.  So am I going to trust His word, or not?  The Bible says if He cares for the little sparrow, how much more does He care for us?  If He sees to their needs won't He see to mine?  Of course He will!! And how many times in the Bible does He tell us to "fear not"?  Over 300 times!!  I can't just say I trust, I've got to live it!

So up I got off of the couch and began to iron the clothes I had piled waiting for pressing.  Then as the dryer buzzed I pulled out the next batch in need of de-wrinklization!
Next I headed up stairs (it's now about midnight) and made everyone's lunches for the next day and had hubbys breakfast out and ready for him in the a.m.
The next morning I got up and went right downstairs to get in my 2 mile workout before tackeling the morning routine with the boys.  Once my little cherubs were out and on their way to school I then decided to tackle a project that I've wanted to get to and was inspired between last nights prayer jam with God and having read a great post by the Domestic Engineer.  I cleaned my cabinets!
This was seriously labor intensive and not pretty.  Below you will see what I was dealing with and what the end results were.

These are the cabinets above the stove and microwave.  As you can see, this is a hodge-podge of market goods.  Exactly why do I have sugar and salad dressing and rice and Rice Crispy Treats and Vinegar and... in the same cabinet?

Now this space is used for side dishes (mostly).  I had found a box in this cupboard with approximately 3 grains of rice.  And I was keeping that for...????

Unfortunately I did not snag a 'before' shot of this one.  But let me assure you the spices were in sad shape.  I found a bottle of celery salt that had expired in 2006!  Better yet, my husband asked me why I threw it out?!!! Men!  Please note the little bowl of meds on the top shelf.  The Domestic Engineer had suggested keeping those meds you take at meal time in the kitchen. Brilliant!

Wow!  This cluttered disaster is otherwise known as my baking cupboard.  I am a baker.  Love to bake.  I am amazed looking at this now that I was ever able to find what I needed.  I was expecting to find Whitey Bulger behind the light corn syrup (too much of a Boston reference?), but alas, the coast was clear and in code.

SWEET!  Now I can easily access my numerous flavorings, theres a spot for my chocolate chips and a seperate container for nuts.  My boys were super impressed by the extensive array of sprinkles!

DANGER!  Enter this cabinet at your own risk!

I was frequently pelted with tea bags, overcome by an avalanch of snack crackers and occassionally knocked into dizziness (more than normal) by Pam!

Sniff sniff.. It's a thing of beauty, is it not?

Look at how elegantly the tea bags are displayed in the glass jar!  Look at how the healthy cereals are lined up ever so neatly.  It's been a day and still nothing has tried to assault me from this cabinet.  Amazing!

My oldest son came home from school and noticed the neatened cabinets and then looked at the bottom ones. "Hugh.  So when are you going to get to these?"  Seriously?!  I had best set this boy straight withing the next 15 years or so if he plans on getting married some day.  Geesh!

The bottom cabinets will be next week.

So thank you again to the Domestic Engineer!!  Please go visit her blog - she has some really wonderful posts!!