More Emotional Clutter than Physical

Coming into this project I knew there would be physical clutter and I was ready to conquer it. I don't think I was completely prepared for the emotional clutter I will face. The hall closet wasn't filled with mementos, just jackets and junk. A lot of jackets and junk. I wasn't expecting a little side table to stump me so badly, but I am still more than a conqueror and I got through it!


This is the little side table area closest to the hall closet. It is almost entirely unusable as a side table because of the "decorations."

This side table has a shelf on the bottom too. It has stuff on it as well. Surprise surprise.












The hidden horrors. Although this junk is clearly visible when you first come into the house, I am able to ignore it because it looks fairly decent from the front. Not anymore.













Not too much in this drawer, but we'll see what truly belongs soon enough.


Time to empty this little area out.









All laid out and categorized. It really helps the process when I can see everything. This stuff was all from the top of the side table and from the drawer.

We need the song books for our bible fellowship, but we don't need them all in the side table. I kept three of each and stored the rest with our other research books.










THIS was what was under the table and behind the table and trying to hide in the table. When taking out the photo albums I came across my big find for the day...








Pittsburgh sports paraphernalia. That's Malkin from the Penguins and Polamalu from the Steelers. My husband will be so surprised when he finds these framed and hanging on the walls of the Man Cave later on. I have to find frames but the wonderful black and gold colors match so well with simple black metal frames.

The Polamalu trading card may have to find its way into my wallet...he's such a cutie!!




These are solar landscape lights my wonderful husband got me for our anniversary last month. I'm not sure what I was waiting for to put them out in the yard. They have now been placed in our flower beds and have inspired some changes to our outdoor spaces.












Under the 50 CDs of very excellent bible teachings, I found a bowl full of change. The money is in my piggy bank and the CDs are making their way into the hands of people who need them since I have listened to them already.







This is where my decluttering took a more emotional turn. I am keeping all our photo albums and I can think of no other place to store them right now. I am hoping to eventually have a place for them in my office. The problem is I don't have an office...yet. This is one of the things I am working toward.

The emotion started when I emptied out my knitting/crochet basket



It is not a very full basket. As a matter of fact, it contains only two WIP's (Works In Progress).

The blanket on the left is what brought the emotions.

It is the blanket I crocheted while we traveled back and forth 4 hours round trip to Pittsburgh for fertility treatments. For 2 years. Without success.

It also almost became a blanket for the adoption of a newborn baby boy, but the birth mother decided to keep the child after it was born. I always intended to finish it and save it for the child we would eventually have.

While we have not given up hope, my wonderful husband and I have decided to focus on loving each other and the life we have.

Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. Philippians 4:11

It was time to give up the blanket. But how and to whom? It has such painful memories I can't bring myself to give it to friends or family. I know there are organizations which take blankets for preemies and new moms and I am sure they would love the blanket.

But that would mean researching it and finding one locally and time and more time and some more time. I can't make this decision more than once, I need it to go, I am taking it to Salvation Army. They will find someone who will love it and I won't have to think about it any more.

Sigh.

It's done now. I can always start another one if and when we ever move toward starting a family again and it will be made with joy and not sadness.

OK, no more tears!!! We'll move on to the other WIP. It is much more fun. I made two of them for a skit we did for our bible fellowship. I had to play the part of Daniel. I'm not a man. I don't have a beard. So, I made one. I made two because we needed a King and the other person performing in the skit was a girl too.


Aren't they fabulous?
Oh, yeah, way too sexy!

I decided this was no longer a WIP, I finished them and they can be stored away for our next skit.

Or for the next occasion I need to make the model "duck face" for my blog.

Thankful Thursday

Wow, this one is going to be tough. I had a rough day yesterday and it has been a difficult few months. I know that writing down those things I'm thankful for will help me handle life in the best way I know how.

I am thankful for:

• A minister with great insight who lets the love of God show through all he does. His sharing last night really hit home;
• A wonderful group of friends and fellow believers to fellowship with and learn with;
• A sweet and loving husband who is willing to hear my fears and address them with the Word, no matter how much I resist (I tend to want to mope);
• Scriptures that are deep inside my heart that only need a quick reminder (from DH or myself) "Romans 8:1, darling;"
• A mother who will take the time to pray with me when DH is in a meeting and God seems so far away;
• Fresh peaches, ripe for eating;
• A cat who, despite his faults, entertains and snuggles when he senses I need it;
• Lungs to take deep breaths;
• A reliable car with a radio that blasts when I need to stay alert and awake;
• Golden Oldies to sing really loud to;
• Thankful Thursday to remind me to breath with those lungs and pray with my understanding and leave the rest in His hands.

Wow, so much deeper than I thought it would be. I think it's just what I needed. Thanks to Sting My Heart for hosting Thankful Thursday.

Menu Plan Monday

I have been away from the blogsphere for a while, but now I'm back. Here's the Menu for this week. It will be a very busy week so some quick meals were in order. DH will be stopping at a very very delicious farmer's stand on Tuesday so many many fresh veggies and fruits are on the menu for the later part of the week. DH loves tomato sandwiches when the tomatoes are in season so he can have those on Wednesday. I'm not wild about them so I have given myself the hot dog option. It's all about what works for my family. :) Thursday we are having company for dinner so a dessert was in order.

I have also been preparing different sweets for DH to take to work with him. I was inspired to do more of this from Meredith over at Merchant Ships. DH has enjoyed taking a treat to the "guys" at the power plant where he works. The benefit of baking something sweet for him to take to work is I get to taste test before it goes out the door. I get to have something sweet without being tempted to eat the whole tray. :P

• Monday: Grilled Chicken Salad, Iced Tea


• Tuesday: Deer & Broccoli Stir-fry (with Mini Corn & Water Chestnuts; DH’s favorite), Rice, Iced Tea


• Wednesday: Hot Dogs (Me) or Tomato Sandwiches (DH), Potato Chips, Iced Tea


• Thursday: BBQ Grilled Chicken, Corn on the Cob, Baked Beans, Brownies or some other dessert, Iced Tea


• Friday: Shepherd’s Pie, Iced Tea


• Saturday: Grilled Chicken, Corn on the Cob, Salad, Iced Tea


• Sunday: Pizza, Salad, Iced Tea

For more wonderful menu plans (some with recipes) head over to I'm an Organizing Junkie and check out the great ideas.

Bacon makes anything taste great!

DH and I had some family and friends over for dinner last weekend. My father-in-love and his girlfriend and his girlfriend’s niece all came to the house on Saturday night for food and fellowship. My FIL loves oysters so my DH wanted to make some oysters wrapped in bacon for an appetizer.

I am not a big fan of oysters. I think they are slimy and gross looking. After confirming that DH would be making that appetizer I put “oysters” on my shopping list.



Don’t they look yummy? You can’t tell from the picture but that oyster on the top of the jar is spinning around uncontrollably! EEWWWW

After DH rinsed out the oysters thoroughly and got the grit out of them he got out the bacon and sliced it in half. Then he took one large oyster or two smallish oysters and placed it like so:


Then he wrapped the bacon around the oyster and put a toothpick through the middle.




The toothpick serves two purposes. One is to hold it all together and the other is to enable easy turning on the grill.



I am proud to say I did the last row of oysters on the cookie sheet! They aren’t so slimy…ok, they are, but I was able to get over it. : )

Then my grill master husband put them all on the grill. That’s a fish pan you see under the majority of the oysters. That comes in handy when we want to grill a nice flaky fish and the grates on the grill are too harsh for the tender fish.



Then when the bacon is fully cooked, the oysters are done too.

Drain them on a paper towel or two and then eat them while they are hot!


I have to admit it, I think I may have been converted! I don’t like them raw and they feel slimy, but they sure taste great wrapped in bacon and grilled!! Of course, everything tastes better with bacon.

Even Spaz the cat thinks so.

Its only half past 12 but I don't care...my DH needs me

Here I am, sitting at my computer waiting until 1AM so I can check my DH's temperature again. He was shivering and burning up earlier tonight. Once we got in bed I tried to stay close to him so I could help regulate his body temperature. I couldn't get to sleep because he was BURNING UP!! It seemed like the longer I lay with my back to his the hotter he got. He was sleeping really hard but whimpering in his sleep. I started to get really concerned. I prayed for him as well as myself. I could tell I was losing it with worry. I got up and did what any "new" wife would do, I called my Mama!

We prayed together and I started getting more peaceful. She gave me some good advice. Get his temperature (which I hadn't done yet, just the hand on the forehead thing) and then give him some Tylenol. Wait 45 minutes to an hour and take his temperature again. If it hasn't gone down even a little bit, call the doctor. After discussing his symptoms we figure he has the flu. He had a filling done last week and his jaw has been aching ever since. He has been so busy at work he hasn't had the opportunity to get it checked out yet. DH and I figure his bite just needs adjusted but Mama said it might be some infection started there and that could be the reason for his symptoms.

She encouraged me to remember that "by his stripes, ye WERE healed." Past tense. God has already put in great guards in our bodies to fight off infection. He has also provided for medications and doctors if our bodies need a little help.

DH has a temperature of 102. He took some Tylenol and now I wait for another 1/2 hour to wake him and take another reading. I am believing for great deliverance. DH needs his rest but a little peace of mind for me will help me rest better and take care of him too.

On the topic of medical care, growing up we always had 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Aid.

1st Aid - Pray for yourself, if you don't feel better within 10 minutes-6 hours (depending on the severity of your injury) go to 2nd Aid. And of course if it is life threatening, go to the HOSPITAL.

2nd Aid - Have someone minister to you. Sometimes someone outside yourself can see things you can't and can give you some words of comfort and encouragement. This can be via telephone (gotta love technology) because even just talking through your symptoms can be helpful. And of course if it is life threatening, go to the HOSPITAL

and last but NOT least

3rd Aid - Seek medical help. A lot of times I skip right to 3rd Aid because I know what is causing my headache (lack of water) or my tummy ache (indigestion, heartburn). The great thing about our bodies is that we have the ability to sense what is wrong and really, if we lift things to God, he can and does give us the guidance we need.

So, off I go to check on DH and maybe then I can get some rest. I should take some Airborne too, so I don't catch whatever this little bug is.

Terra Cotta - Great for Pots, Not for Pipes

DH and I had noticed an "off" smell in our home. As soon as you walked in the door, it smelt as if I had broccoli sitting in the closet, just waiting to be found. After you left the entryway it disappeared and only reappeared as you opened the door to head down to the basement family room and laundry.

I have searched for 2 or more weeks for the source of the smell. I cleaned throughout the house. Found my nephew's lost car and my nieces Christmas gift (don't ask) but no broccoli, no dead animal, no "foreign objects" anywhere.

In deep frustration I spoke to my dearest friend and her family. They suggested the possibility that something had crawled in my heater vent system and died. Eeek! I was going to call the duct cleaners when the smell disappeared last week. I thought we were home free. DH was out of town last week and things were nice and quiet. On Friday I did a load of laundry and left for work. When I arrived home the smell was BACK!!! "Oh for heaven's sake!!" I exclaimed to my befuddled husband who had just arrived home from a loooonnng drive. I had wanted the house nice and fresh with the laundry done when he came home.

Long story longer, we have terra cotta pipes running from our home to the sewer line and they have shifted and collected "gunk" along the way. Doing laundry was the culprit. After $600.00 worth of "Hydroscrubbing" (read pressure washing) we can now do our laundry, take a shower and run the dishwasher among the other normal activities. We cannot, however, leave the terra cotta in the ground the way it is. We have another appointment with the plumber to determine how much time and money it will take to replace the pipe so we aren't seeping into the soil around our home.

I guess I will have to plant my tomatoes in Terra Cotta pots instead of in the ground this year. It's a good thing terra cotta is good for pots!

A Rough Start to A Happy New Year

I know it is a little late, however, I wanted to wish everyone HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

DH and I started our new year with an unfortunate event. DH's Grandmother passed away on 12/31/06. The first week of the new year was spent with family, mourning the loss of a dear dear woman. One of the nicest things said that week was that it didn't matter if you were family, friend, or stranger; Grandma Day was Grandma Day to everyone.

DH and I talked about so many of the fun times and fond memories we have of Grandma. He remembers picking blueberries at her farm to make jam or pie and eating more than he brought back to Grandma. He spent a couple weeks every summer with his Grandparents and he fondly recalls events, meals, stories and love from those times.

It made me realize that it wasn't uncommon for grandchildren to go for a week or two in the summer to visit with grandparents. How times have changed. It seems such a chore to go anywhere anymore, let alone plan a week-long vacation. Children are so involved in activities that they don't have a free weekend to visit an Aunt or Grandmother.

DH and I have decided to put ourselves out there more for our nieces and nephews (and my brothers). We are being much more vocal about our desire to have the kids over for a weekend. I think (in general) many parents view their children as a burden to lay on someone else to handle, when truly they are a JOY!! DH and I spent Thanksgiving with a house FULL of children and we had SO MUCH FUN.

In July my parents are celebrating 30 years of marriage. After the party, DH and I are planning on keeping my brothers for a WHOLE WEEK so my parents can go on a second honeymoon!! I can't wait. I love having my brothers around. In February we are watching our niece and nephew while DH's Brother and Sister-in-law spend some quality time alone. Again, I can't wait.

Hopefully we will be able to convince our family (and friends) that DH and I truly do enjoy "babysitting."