Cleaning and decluttering this weekend

I read an interesting article earlier today that suggests that there is a direct link between your stress level and the amount of clutter in your home. The more clutter that you have in your home, the more likely you are to struggle with stress and in many cases depression. It makes a ton of sense to me.

I have been feeling VERY stressed lately and have been fighting depression. I have also noticed that the piles are forming in our home and that there is "stuff" everywhere. When I walk in our house, in our mud room, the first thing I see is stuff and piles on top of shelves and things on the floor and so really there is no way to relax. At the same time, I have been spending more time in our bedroom, and I think that that is because it has been decluttered for the most part and I feel calm in there. So, I decided that this weekend I am going to try to tackle some cleaning projects that have been weighing on my mind.

I kind of started this project this past Monday when I bought a new cubby unit for our living room so that we could organize the kids' toys better in our living room. So I decluttered that area and it looks so nice and neat now.

I also have an ulterior motive in that it looks like we might be having Benjamin's get together for his birthday at our house. We are just doing cake and ice cream, but we were hoping to do it at the park, but the weather has been raining here all week and I think it may be too muddy. I think the only ones who are coming over for Ben's birthday are my parents and my sister and brother but still, I would love to have a clean, somewhat organized house.

Earlier today, I made a to-do list for the main floor of our home. Bill said he would help me clean and this way we can just mark off what we have done and work on things as we go. It is a big list, but completely doable I think.

We started on the mud room this afternoon. It was a disaster. I started by taking taking everything off shelves, moving the shelves, fixing the backing on the shelves, sweeping and mopping under the shelves. I also got rid of some old mops and things that were in the corner and took the shovel, salt and ladder out to the garage. Bill helped me move the freezer and swept and mopped under it. It looks so much better in there. I still need to go through the coat closet, but I smile now when I enter that room. It was a great start! Now just to keep up with it tomorrow....

Books read for fun in March 2017

Over the last 2.5  years, I have been documenting the books that I read for fun (and not just for review purposes).  I have decided that I need to continue that as reading is important part of how I relax. Books that I read for fun are books that I have not been asked to review and that I have chosen to read, well because I like to read. In 2015, I read a total of 49 books! In 2016, I read 58 books. While I don't have a goal in mind for this year, I will continue reading as it is something that I love to do and I like to document the books that I read.  (Please note that if a book looks interesting to you, you can click on the picture of the book and it should take you to it's page on Amazon.com. I am an associate through them.)

So....What did I read in March:  

Well, I didn't do a ton of fun reading this month. I did read 2 young adult books this month. I read:

I had never read Ramona's World by Beverly Cleary when I was young as it was originally published 2 years after I graduated from high school. One of my 4th grade students was working on a book report for this book, so I took an hour one morning and read it from cover to cover. It was nice to get lost in a world of innocence and not worry about bills and other issues. It is fun sometimes to get lost in the books that our kids are reading.

I also read Wonder by R.J. Palacio. After having this book recommended to me by several people, I took the plunge and borrowed it from my local library. Wow! It was a great read and really made you think am I choosing kindness in all that I am doing? Am I being kind? I would highly recommend that you check this book out!



 
Here are the books I read for fun in:
February 2017
January 2017
Books from 2016
Books from 2015
Books from 2014

                                                 Have you read any good books lately?

Any books you would recommend for me to read in 2017? 

Weigh In Wednesday #13 of 2017

So one of my 2017 goals is to lose 40 pounds by the end of the year. This is a necessity for me, as in the last few months I have gained 15 pounds. That is not good. I want to be healthier and feel better about myself. 

In order to keep me accountable, I am hoping to come back each Wednesday to share my weigh in and my successes and failures from the previous week. So let's hop to it and see how I did this past week, shall we?

SO HOW DID THIS WEEK GO??? 

My official starting weight (on 1/1/2017) was: 242.0 pounds!

My weight last week was: 235.4 pounds.

My weight this week is: 233.4 pounds. 

So a loss of 2.0 pounds! :-)
Total loss from 1/1/17: 8.6 pounds 

I am down another 2 pounds! Yay! I am just 1.5 pounds from being down the first 10 pounds! This past week, I just tried to control portions and tried to eat clean when I could. That meant adding fruits and veggies to each meal that I ate and trying not to snack as I had been doing. Not having my favorite chocolates in the house has definitely helped. I do keep m&ms here for Bill, but I find after I eat a couple I don't want anymore as they are not my favorite. So it was a good week diet wise. However, I just have lost all mojo for exercising. I really need to get back to it....Maybe this week?

If you are trying to lose weight in 2017, how is your progress going?

Happy Homemaker Monday---err...Tuesday (3/28/2017)

Happy Tuesday! So sorry I didn't get this up yesterday. I was busy all day long with errands, an organizing project, tutoring, and doing household stuff and then it was after 9pm and I was exhausted. So we shall hop onto it today and I will join in (albeit a day late) with the lovely Sandra over at "Diary of a Stay at Home Mom" in her Happy Homemaker Monday meme.


So let's get started: 

THE WEATHER:::
It is rainy and overcast this morning. Not sure if it is supposed to stop raining later or not. It is also supposed to be in the low 60s. Personally, I am loving not having the heat on during the day at home.

ON MY READING PILE:::
I finally finished "Wonder," which turned out to be a wonderful book. Need to figure out what to read next.

ON MY TV:::

On Friday nights, we typically do pizza and a movie for the kids. This year I would like to try to remember what movies we have watched, so I will be recapping here. This past Friday night, we watched "Finding Dory." On Saturday night, I took Rebecca out to for a mother/daughter date and we went to see "Beauty and the Beast." I thought Disney did a wonderful job with the movie and would highly recommend it!

ON THE MENU FOR THIS WEEK:::

MONDAY: hot dogs, baked beans, and cantaloupe
TUESDAY: tacos, cheesy rice, and pineapple

WEDNESDAY: Pot roast (in the crockpot), mashed potatoes, corn

THURSDAY: chicken and cheese casserole, green beans

FRIDAY: 

SATURDAY:
SUNDAY:

ON MY TO-DO LIST FOR THIS WEEK:::
Monday: Go to the grocery store, Ben speech and OT, tutor, trash and recycling to curb

Tuesday: kids to school, tutor,

Wednesday: kids to school, tutor

Thursday: kids to school, tutor

Friday: kids to school,
Saturday:

Sunday: PSR, church, Ben's birthday

And each day has the daily housework that needs to be done and I have some deeper cleaning to do as we are having cake and ice cream at our house on Sunday for Ben's birthday. 

LOOKING AROUND THE HOUSE:::

It doesn't look too bad considering we were home all weekend. I need to mop the downstairs and clean the bathrooms. I also need to clean up the office/computer area as it is a disaster.  


FROM THE CAMERA:::

WHAT I'M WEARING TODAY:::

khakis, a black sweater and black flats

 

SIMPLE PLEASURE:::
Having a nice clean room to be in. I spent some time yesterday cleaning and organizing the toys in our living room. It looks so much better and is so much more peaceful in there.

DEVOTIONAL OR QUOTE:::

So there you have it. A little peek into my life on this Tuesday. Hope everyone has had a great day and let's see what the rest of this week will bring! 

 

Coffee table, bras, Scentsy, road work, and books

This week has been weird as I have been battling a head cold that caused me not to be able to breathe through my nose at all. On Thursday night, my dear Hubby told me that I looked terrible and I should go to bed. So I did. Basically, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, I felt like crap. Today I don't feel as stuffy in the head, and I can kind of breathe through my nose so hopefully I have turned the corner on this cold or whatever it is.

What else has been going on?.....

I got a new coffee table! The one that we had was a hand-me-down from my husband's parents. We were given it several years ago (when we were still speaking with them). I liked it at the time, but I have changed and it really was not our style anymore (it was black metal, with dark grey tiles that you placed throughout the table and could be taken out). Also it was impossible to keep clean as dirt and crumbs would get down in the tiles. Also it was another reminder of a relationship that is over. I have been looking for one for the last couple of months. Finally, last week I found one on Target's website on sale and took the plunge.  I had thought that I would spend around $150 for a table, but ended up spending $93. I love it! It is a little smaller than the one we were replacing, but that is okay. (The old one we put a free sign on and placed it in our front yard, it was picked up by someone within 20 minutes of our putting it out there.) The color goes with our TV stand and there is a drawer to place all the remotes in so they don't get lost. There is also a shelf on the bottom that hold an extra blanket, the tissue box and books. And best of all, it is easy to wipe off the top when kids get crumbs on it! (I am hoping to save up to replace our living room furniture within the next year!)

I ordered new bras! I was down to my last 2 bras and I am well-endowed and there is one particular type of bra that I like to wear. No one in my town carries them, so I have to order them online. I try to find a sale when I order. I was able to get 4 bras, regular retail was $39.00 each, for a little over $14 each by pairing a sale, coupon code and free shipping! Yay! Love when that works out.

Scentsy brought back the "Amazon Rain" scent! Before Christmas I attended a craft fair and my mom had bought me a block of "Amazon Rain" scensty bars. I fell in love with the scent. It really is the most amazing smell. Well I was disappointed to find out that it was a promotional scent from last Summer and they didn't carry it. Well, last week, Rebecca's AHG leader (who sells Scentsy) posted their new Spring/Summer catalog online and I was excited to see that they were selling it again. So I ordered 3 packages of it! I am burning it today and my house smells amazing!

We have been dealing with road work right behind our house. I think they are replacing a sewer line. They had our road closed Thursday and Friday and it was a mess. They were digging up a yard and then part of the road. The positive was that Ben loved watching the machines and what they were doing. The negative, it was a pain to park and get in and out. They were out working until almost 11 pm last night and although they had said that they were going to try to be done by Friday, they left a huge hole in the yard, so looks like it will go into next week.

Finally, I totally scored at Goodwill this week. On Thursday, I decided to just stay out of the house all morning since they were starting the road work. So, I headed over to Goodwill to see if I could find Rebecca some jeans and capris. I was able to get her 2 pairs of capris and 1 pair of jeans. But I was so excited to also score almost the entire "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" series for just $0.59 a book! I was able to pick up books #1-8 (all but 2 were hardback books) and they were all in great condition. Rebecca already had books 10 and 11 at home, and I ordered her book 9 from Amazon. Love when I get deals like this!

This weekend, I am really hoping to get some things done around the house. I have had the kids clean their rooms already and I have started laundry. I am seriously behind in laundry due to not feeling well. The weather is cooperating as we have the windows open in some rooms to air out the house. I still need to straighten up the kitchen, clean out the litter boxes and maybe get some reading time in! I also am wanting to take Rebecca to see "Beauty and the Beast" at the theater later.

So with that, I should get off and do something! What are you up to this weekend?  

Pro Football Hall of Fame visit

After having adventures in Cleveland and Beachwood, we headed south to our final destination of our mini getaway.

We were heading out to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Jacob is a huge NFL fan, and Bill is as well. The last time we were at the Hall of Fame was years ago back when we were dating. Let me tell you, it has changed so much and for the better.

It was a wonderful experience and the hall is definitely more family friendly with interactive exhibits for kids and adults. Even for just the average fan, the hall kept you engaged and interested.

Jacob LOVED the whole thing. Ben was mesmerized with the large statues and Rebecca enjoyed the interactive exhibits.

Ben even got to design a Super Bowl championship ring for his dad as he chose to design a Cleveland Browns ring. LOL (If you are not a fan of football, the Cleveland Browns are a very BAD team in the NFL and are far from being anywhere near the top of winning the Super Bowl.)

When we were done, we decided to stop at their café for a late lunch before we headed home. I had a tuna sub, as it was Friday, and it was tasty.

After stopping off at the gift shop, where I got our obligatory magnet for our fridge and my husband got the program for this year's Super Bowl to add to his collection, we headed out to head back home. The weather was quite nasty when we headed out--- snowing and ice pellets coming down. Thankfully, the salt trucks were out and the roads were okay the whole way home.

So after a whirlwind 2 day trip, we have lots of memories and we will definitely be trying to make it back to Cleveland sooner rather than later.

Meeting up with my sister, the Winking Lizard Tavern, and swimming

After our adventures at the Great Lakes Science Center, we headed south about 20 minutes to surprise the kiddos with a visit with my sister who is a junior at Ursuline College. The kids had no idea that we were heading there until we pulled into the parking lot right next to a big Ursuline College sign.

Mary showed us all around campus and showed us her dorm room. The kids liked seeing where Aunt Mary goes to school.

Then we decided that it was still a little early to get dinner, so we headed to a nearby mall to walk around. It has been years since I have been in a mall and we literally just walked through each floor window shopping.

We decided to head to the Winking Lizard Tavern for dinner. I looked on tripadvisor and it got good reviews. I checked their menu and they had a kids menu, some dishes for vegetarians (my sister), and regular food for my hubby and I. When we got there, we got the last spot in their parking lot and expected a wait. However, we were seated right away. We had great service and the food was yummy.

I had a fiesta chicken sandwich that was really yummy! If we are ever in the area again, we will definitely be making a return trip there.

After dinner, we dropped my sister off back at college and headed to our hotel. We stayed at the Hampton Inn and Suites in Beachwood. We chose the Hampton Inn as we have had good experiences with them in the past. Check in was great.

The hostess gave our kids cookies with green sprinkles (for St. Patrick's Day) and was in the process of refilling the complimentary coffee/tea/hot cocoa area and encouraged us to come back down to get some. I did have to ask for our room keys as she told us to enjoy our stay, but hadn't given us the keys yet. Our room was clean and well maintained. After settling in, we got our swimsuits on and headed down to the indoor pool.

The pool area was clean with music playing lightly in the background which was a nice touch. The kids loved swimming!  

That night though we had a bump. Around 11 pm someone was given keys to our room and was trying to come in. After calling the front desk, they had apparently given us the keys to the room even though the computer had us in the room across the hall. There was no apology given, just that they had fixed it. My children were asleep and thankfully we had the extra lock on the door. Not a pleasant situation. The beds were comfortable and the comforters were nice and warm, considering that I couldn't get the room very warm. The blackout curtains worked wonderfully.

The following morning, we went down to the complimentary breakfast. There was a good variety and the staff kept most things well supplied. My only complaint was that the room where the food was was fairly cramped and it was hard to move around if there were more than 3 or 4 people in there. There was plenty of seating though.

After eating, I had to take Benjamin to our room and when we tried to enter using our key card it wouldn't work. Neither would Bill's. So I had to go back down to the front desk and after I told the host what was going on, he didn't say a thing and just took my cards and re-authorized them, handing them back to me with not a word. I was not very impressed with the customer service in the morning.

After breakfast, we packed up, checked out and then headed out on the road to our final destination of our quick getaway....