December 23, 2008

FUN! and CHANGES and HOMESTEADING!
Current mood: content
Category: Goals, Plans, Hopes

Hello again all!

This has been the COOLEST month! So much has happened.

Charlotte made it on the Principal's List at school (B average) despite the dyslexia, etc.

I've spent a lot of time sewing lately, too, which has been fun.

I finally got my head pulled out of my buttocks regarding the state of my house. For a long time I thought my house had to be "perfect"... you know... museum clean. And then I would beat myself up over it if it wasn't.... you know... feel inadequate and all that. And I'm a FlyBaby! (For more info on that, go to www.flylady.net.)

Anyhoo, I finally got it through my thick skull that "perfect" does not mean "flawless". "Perfect" means "whole or complete."

My house is not a museum. It is a home. What makes a home whole and complete? Love.

If I can keep up with the laundry, dishes, and trash I've done well in the housekeeping department. Leaves a lot more time for the "love stuff": watching movies with my chibi, taking the dog for a walk, chatting with my family, attending to other hobbies, and just generally enjoying life.

We have also recently discovered the joys of a permanent chore list. Did it with Open Office Calc (free at www.openoffice.org) and it's in a page protector taped to the fridge. I no longer have to keep "who does what" in my head, and there's no room to feel burdened or for thought of "I have to do all of this all by myself."

Sure, there are other things I do every day, but the place certainly doesn't look like a museum. On the other hand, I'm never embarassed to have people stop over unexpectedly, either.

In the other happenings department, the 16th & 17th of December were spent in the Charleston, SC area. We had so much fun! It's been a very long time since we had a little mini-vacation like that. We've decided to make it a yearly tradition to go to someplace about 2 or 3 hours away, spend the night, and "play tourist".

We went to the Festival of Lights on St. James Island, Ft. Sumter, Patriot Point (Yorktown Aircraft Carrier), and then the Glenn Beck Show. We finally got to meet him!!!! The pic on display is Charlotte with Glenn. He was truly kind.

I've also been discovering the world of Urban Homesteading, but I'll post that in another blog along with some web sites and some recipes I've been trying out.