i just spent 3 hours in my craft room.  and i’m still not ready to show you the progress.  there’s just TOO MUCH stuff, that’s all there is to it.  all the wall space is filled, the cabinets are packed, there are still stacks on the floor.  too much stuff.  and it’s not pretty.  AND i remembered that i invited a little friend to come over and play after school tomorrow.  the overflow from the craftroom is still in the diningroom so we are very much NOT presentable for company.  i’ve gotta kick it into high gear.  i’ll tell you about the progress in the meantime =).  there are 3 xl bags going to the trash, the recycling bin is filled with scraps and old paper, and i have a nice pile of stuff that’s going to the store next time we have a crafty tagsale.  i sorted through and found papers for 4 or 5 perpetual calendars that i am excited to make, and i cleared out enough space to add a bookcase that’s been in the middle of my diningroom into the craft room.  and it’s filled with stuff now.  i’m not quite ready for the show HOARDERS yet, but i might be close.  you may want to check back on my next year and see if i’ve changed my mind about that.  and now, a sneak peek of tomorrow:

spare bedroom. *ugh*

i’m scattered, i have a hard time settling in, i’m distracted, i don’t follow though… on my housework.  for the most part, my house is clean, but it’s not tidy.  there’s a lot left undone and lots to get done around here.  so at the suggestion of this sweet lady, i decided it was time to try and take action.  this would be a great week for it.  hunny was going to be out of town on trash day.  he’d never see what was leaving the house.  there was gonna be a lot leaving the house.  now his trip’s been cancelled, but i’m still inspired to pitch a whole lot and get rid of stuff that’s dragging me down.

kitchen before:

it doesn’t look so bad, but there’s just *stuff* and *things* all over the place.  and a light fixture that doesn’t work.  and dust all over.

and after:

hunny filled in a hole in the floor tile grout that’s been missing since we moved in, and changed the broken and CHEAP (and b00bshaped) light fixture.  now the one over the sink is driving me crazy because it doesn’t match… but i’ll get over it or change it soon, i’m not sure which.  some of the *stuff* is gone, the floor is clean and the counters are clear.  makes me wanna bake something from scratch and mess it all up again.

and one housekeeping hint i have for everyone:  if you’re prone to nightmares, don’t look under your toaster oven.  don’t move your toaster oven.  hire someone to do that if you don’t do it yourself on a regular basis.  yuck. and eww. and dust bunnies and cereal pieces. omy!

we had a visitor tonight while we were playing at work – this sweet girl is 9 months old now, and this is her 2nd appearance on my blog.  the first time was here when she was just days old…  she is so sweet and smile-y, just like her mama!  but we wonder – her parents have what some of us consider to be fairly heavy accents from a land far away… will she speak with a brogue when she starts to talk, if that is what she hears the most??

she sure knows how to turn on the charm when the camera comes out! =D

(pic taken by babycakes)

seems like we don’t get enough of them lately… we had a quiet morning at home, then went to have lunch with grandma and “crampa” for his birthday.  then somehow i ended up at work, and they all travelled on for more celebration with the grandparents.  we’ll try again next saturday for some time lunging in our jammies…

what do your kitchen lights look like?  i got on a KRAY-ZEE kick this week cleaning my house.  part of it was that i’ve visited a few houses lately and they were all well put together… and these were people who had the same amount (or more) kids than i have, so i can’t use the excuse that the kids trash my house… and they really don’t.  and christy moved into her house again this week, and since then i’ve been thinking about moving all my stuff into my front yard and starting over.  we’ve been there 3 years, it’s time to find something to hang on the walls in the livingroom.  and fixing things that we have neglected far too long.

the thing that’s been driving me the most crazy is my kitchen lighting situation.  the main light in the center of the room hisses and twitches and flutters and blinks.  and not in a cool/fun/discolight/rave kind of way.  AND it’s shaped like a female mammery.  i’ve always hated those b00blights.  and 45 comments on my facebook page confirm that many people that i know do not like them either.  i was so fired up that i fired hunny up, (or maybe he didn’t want to hear about the faulty b00blight any more), and he went today and bought a new light and installed it.  now those are some results.  i haven’t seen it yet, but i will in a few hours when i get home from work… as long as it isn’t sputtering or inducing seizures in perfectly healthy people, it’ll be a winner….  and it’s a pluss that it’s not a b00blight.  but now the new problem is that hunny says the light over the sink doesn’t match now.  i’ve always hated that light…

i was never a coffee drinker, i was always a tea girl.  and then i had the baby that never slept.  after 4 months, i turned to coffee for assistance.  and the baby didn’t sleep for the next 2 years.  so i drank more coffee.  lots and lots more coffee.  i’m a busy lady, i’ve gotta keep moving!! 

she’s 3 years old now, and the “baby” sleeps a little more.  and when she doesn’t sleep, she usually entertains herself quite well.  (i am not lying when i tell you this story:  i came home one friday night from work a few months ago and went to check them.  it was 1:30 a.m. and she was lying in her bed, on her back, legs crossed, “reading” a book by nightlight.  i told her goodnight and that mama was going to bed.  she answered “ok, mama,” and went back to looking at pictures.)  it takes a lot of energy to keep up with that silly little girl!!

i’ve noticed that since i’ve been sleeping through the night more and more lately, i’m not demanding coffee at all hours of the day and night.  this morning, i didn’t even drink 1 full cup!  tonight i ran to the grocery store to pick up the few odds and ends on our list and swung through the tea aisle…  my old-time favorite was on sale, like a sign.  perhaps i’m going back to my old ways…  as long as the baby continues to let me sleep through the night.

(plantation mint)

aaaand, wa-la!!  muffin tin calendars in progress:

since these pictures were taken, they have gotten their numbers and a few more embellishments – i’ve gotta say they’re so. cute!!  the one on the left is spoken for, but the one on the right will be on etsy in the next few days.

i’m back at work tonight for the first time in more than a week, and i’ve gotta say, i am worn out from standing here!  i could get used to staying home very easily… i think i need to step up my game…

so the big question of the day – how often are we supposed to have our fire extinguishers checked?  not at home, at school… you’d think it’d be easy to find that answer…  but no. 

tonight once the girls are in bed i have to get cranking on a muffin tin advent calendar – a special order from a nice lady on etsy.  and tomorrow, i have to go buy muffin tins.  =)  i’m not sure how realistic my goal of reaching 1000 etsy sales by new years is, but i’m gonna make an all-out effort.  only 262 more sales to go!  pbbbbt, i better get to work…  and sell 131 items this month.  yeah, no.  *sigh*  i know i make this look good, but even *i* can’t make it look THAT good! =D

tomorrow i’ll show you what i have been up to, cuz it really *is* a whole lot.

i took a boatload of pictures this a.m. of all the new products i’ve been making for etsy.  i listed a handful of new christmas countdown calendars, i’m very pleased with the way they turned out.  the sugar cookie one is by far my favorite:

i might have to make one for myself!  i’m on the lookout for fun new christmas papers, and once my pile of cut paper has dwindled, i’m moving on to big clothespins/ photo holders…  so much to do!

(national blog posting month) again.

1 post a day for the entire month. 

i had a little “procedure” on thursday, and i’ve been sitting around recouperating ever since.  i overdid it trick-or-treating last night, but it was worth it.  we were heroes to the girls – we went to 15 whole houses.  beanie counted.

she enjoyed the counting, but she does not enjoy the candy… she’s picky.  some is too chewy, some is too crunchy, and when she bit into a 3 musketeers bar, the said this inside was “absolutely disgusting!”  that’s ok though, babycakes likes candy enough for both of them.  it’s funny to see the differences in 2 children that are so close in age, living pretty much the same lives.  when we got home, beanie took each piece out one by one commenting on its size or color or shape, and little babycakes was chomping on a bag of peanut m&ms before i even got in the house and turned on the lights.  she would’ve eaten it all in one sitting if we let her…  and beanie would still be sorting hers by its nutritional content…

hope you had a happy halloween!