(Thursday and) Friday Update 8.26.16

Thursday, I ran the dishwasher three times.  That's what happens when we host family two nights in a row.  It always seems that I cannot get all the dishes in the one load and some carries over into the second night and then, of course, there's almost two loads by the time you add the nightly dishes.  I also tried to get the cast iron griddle and stovetop clean but that only lasts a day or two.

I washed some clothes and put them away.

I was also home to meet with the Direct Tv technician while he replaced our receiver.

I ran some errands in the most efficient method: first to the auto parts store to dispose of some old and unneeded oil, then to the grocery store to pick up a few things, then by Goodwill to make a weekly drop off and finally back home - a full circle.

Dinner was a beef pot pie made from the leftovers of Tuesday's dinner

Friday, I ran over to BJs to pick up a television bracket DH needs for work.  While I was there, I picked up a few items - pastries, cucumbers, bell peppers, beef for pepper steak, dried basil, and bananas.  I rather inexpensive trip to the wholesale club.

I mopped the very dirty kitchen floor (wow - was it dirty), hall floor and bathroom floor.  After that, I threw all the mop heads into the washer and ran them with hot water and a little bleach.

My project of the day was to change the lightbulb in the photoelectric fixture outside our garage.  I found a bulb we already had (it's a special fluorescent bulb) and set up the ladder.  I could not manage to get the cover unscrewed.  I ended up using some WD40 and after trying several gloves, finally got it off.  Then, when I tried to pull the bulb out, the glass part pulled away from the base.  I managed to pry it out of the socket by VERY carefully using a small screwdriver and a fine pair of pliers.  Next time this bulb goes out, we will replace the entire fixture with a led fixture.  Cost to repair $0.

For dinner, I prepared pepper steak of rice with a side of stir fried broccoli with water chestnuts.

(Tuesday and) Wednesday 8.23.16

Tuesday and Wednesday I worked to revise my resume slightly.  There were lots of dishwasher loads, laundry and th grass got mowed.  

I went with DH to the ortho Doctor Tuesday.  We have an MRI scheduled to find out what is causing the problem.  

Wednesday, I met a friend for breakfast and sent over to the bank to ensure that our CD will automatically renew.  

I've also been working on the baseball quilt - problem solving, sewing, and assembly.

Monday, Monday (8.22.16)

I was up early today and had a long list.  The long and short of it was that I got about 2/3 of the list done and added as I went.

I washed a load of clothes and ran the dishwasher.  Final undates to the website prior to it being presented to the client.  (I will not be presenting.)

I got several strips of the quilt put together and now just have to add the final pieces to get the size right.  I started working on the baseball stitching.  I was unable to make my own 1/4" bias tape so I bought some from Joann's and I bought a 1" bias maker.  I will be able to use the 1" bias maker to make the red stitching.  I will simply fold the 1" to make a 1/2" stitch.  

I clipped oregano again to dry and trimmed up the dead plants.  The house plants (on the front porch) also got watered.  I think the orchid may be sending out a shoot that will eventually bloom.  

I washed several item that we pulled from the garage while we cleaned up over the weekend.  

I may have one of the items listed on the Yardsale site sold, we'll see tomorrow.

Weekend Update 8.21.16

YSaturday, after breakfast, DH and I rode (in the car) up to the Harley Dealership to pick up a part he ordered.  On the way home we stopped at a farm stand I have been wanting to go to.  We got two pint jars of tomato jam and two pints of fruit jam.  

Taking the car turned out to be a great idea since it rained on us coming home,  I fixed us a grilled cheese for lunch then we went downstairs to work on the basement.  While I painted the next section on the wall, DH started putting things back into the relocated and washed cabinets.  As a side note, we've had these things at least 15 years and they are still in great shape.  Thankfully, I was able to get the wall section painted with the paint I had left.  (It was very close and I used every bit of paint.)

After spending a couple of hours on this, we went looking again for workbench options,  we found a couple in the $150 range but they weren't quite the size and quality we were looking for.  We ended up back at Sam's wholesale but we decided to get the work table and one rolling cart instead of the larger cart with the cabinets and drawers built in.  In the long run, this provides more options.  

We had help loading the boxes into the truck but getting them out was a different story.  We ended up having to tear the largest box open and taking the pieces out one at a time.  It took me less than an hour to assemble the table and it is very high quality.

Enough for tonight, more tomorrow..

Sunday after breakfast, we went right back to work.  While I assembled the rolling six drawer cart, DH put items back into the cabinets - purging and organizing as he went.  Surprisingly, it took nearly 3 hours to get this thing assembled but it's really nice.  Afterwards, we cleaned up (cardboard, styrofoam and garbage to the trash cans), swept the floor and moved the lawnmower and motorcycle back in place.

DH also ran to Home Depot and picked up two boards to use as a shelf over the two tall cabinets and some 2x4s we will use to top the concede wall.  I need to find or get some construction adhesive to get this accomplished.  

I was able to get a little bit of work done on the baseball quilt.  Tomorrow, I will stitch up the rows I have and see what size we are at.  I also need to find or secure some black fabric to use as the seams on the baseball and maybe a bias tape maker.  I will try to use a cardboard form first to see if I can get by with that.

(Thursday and) Friday Update 8.19.16

I goofed up by not keeping track of what I did these two days.  I know that I did not accomplish much on Thursday except to get a free sandwich at Chick-fil-a.  I bought lunch on Monday and completed a survey for a free sandwich.  When I went back to get it (my lunch was just $3 and change), I got another receipt with a survey.  I've already filled that out and have another free sandwich coming my way.  Three sandwiches for the cost of one!

I also tried to redeem a survey for Office Depot but I think I waited too long.  I need ink for the printer but I'm waiting on a good coupon to come along.

I got a bit tired of the mess downstairs and got creative about how to unload the two remaining cabinets.  I used a box, the wheel barrow and a clothes hamper to make it work.  Friday morning, I washed those two out and got them back in place.  We're ready for painting again.

I also got more aggressive working on the baseball quilt.  I have about 3/4 of the chevron done (just need to verify mattress size).  I was also able to pre-wash some white fabric and cut a 24 inch circle for the actual baseball.  I used some freezer paper as a stencil and then used fabric starts here (sizing) to help fold down the edges.  I will probably base these down as well since I will need to add some tiny black bias tape as steams and red pieces as stitches.

(Tuesday and) Wednesday Update 8.17.16

MTuesday was a little slower pace than Monday.  My first task was to clean up those last items on the website and format the mobile version to format correctly.  This went much more quickly than I anticipated.  At this point, I am done until we get feedback or issues/changes.

I also received a letter in the mail regarding the registration on the car I no longer own.  I had sent them the apporipriate form weeks ago but apparently, they never received.  Instead of mailing it again, I took it to the local tag office and took care of it in person.  Issue resolved and I didn't have to pay any money, certainly not the $85 they wanted.

While I was on that side of town, I stopped at Sprouts - primarily for baking potatoes.  Unfortunately, they didn't have any so I picked up some random salad item instead.  I spent $14 and got a small melon, a red bell pepper, hello bell pepper, red and white cabbage, carrots, two avacados, two sweet potatoes, and half a dozen Roma tomatoes.  Dinner tomorrow night will be a chef style salad.  I will have to get some deli meat tomorrow and a loaf of Italian bread.

Dinner tonight was out of the freezer; smoked pork chops, baked sweet potatoes and fresh corn on the cob.  I also served some mashed potatoes leftover from Sunday.

Today/tonight I sewed more strips and set out the blocks as a test run to estimate how many blocks I need.  I would say that I have about half already and have five strips to sew and trim tomorrow.

DH and I cleaned out two of our plastic storage cabinets in the garage.  I will wash those off in the morning and have them dry during the day tomorrow.  Thursday, I hope to wash out the other two.  I would also like to paint another section Thursday if possible.

Wednesday morning, I scrubbed down the two garage cabinets.  Mostly, a good scrubbing with soapy water did the trick but there were a few places that need a squirt of bleach.  I left them outside to dry a few hours but pulled them in about 2pm because it was getting cloudy.  I dried them off with an old towel and left them open in the garage with a fan to finish the drying process.  

I went to the grocery store just before noon to pick up some things I needed for dinner (salad bar) and a few sale items.  I also got a cheap pizza to put into the vein for lunch.

Honestly, that's about all I did all day.  I didn't feel like it was very productive.  

Monday Update 8.15.16

Monday was a busy day.  It started with accompanying DH to his cardio appointment.  All was well and they have reduced one of his medicines.  I am hopeful that this will improve his tiredness after work.  

Once he was off to work, I got busy on my project of the day.  I painted about a 10-12 foot section of the basement/garage walls.  It took about 2 1/2 hours to get done which was much faster than I anticipated.  I cleaned up and ran an errand to Walgreens to pick up prescriptions (we're moving all our prescriptions to them) and over to Chick-fil-a to get some lunch,

Back at home, I finished up most of the items I had to do on the website.  (We took it live over the weekend). Later that evening, DH and I discussed the website and came up with a few more items to fix tomorrow,

I did two loads of laundry today and ran the dishwasher. I ran some items I had for the boys (leftover from their spend the night) over to DD.  I finished up the binding my whole cloth quilt and got it washed - more on that later.  I also did a test run on the strips for the baseball quilt.  They worked well and I have a 6.5 inch square that will make trimming easier.  I sewed up three strips today.

DH had a very busy day and we did not eat until after 8.  Fortunately, I knew this was a possibility so we had a quick fix dinner of Tortilini and salad.  

Weekend Update 8.14.16

Saturday after breakfast, DH and I pulled everything out of one corner in our garage.  It's part of the garage that we have never addressed.  First task is to paint the walls and reorganize there, then move to the left and back to the right.  We'll be working on the garage as part of an on-going project, at least three to four phases.  I sprayed down the corner with a bleach solution (as a precaution) and set up the fan to dry it thoroughly.

We ran a few errands (DH got a replacement batter for his weed eater for free!) and when we returned home, we worked on the website together a few minutes.

Saturday night, we had three little boys come spend the night with us.  They were very good except for the little one who took a nap then decided to stay up until 2am!  Thankfully, I was not as tired as usual.

Sunday morning, I made us breakfast: waffles, eggs, hash browns, and bacon.  Each of the boys got a quick bath and before long, their Mom came to pick them up.  I had two loads of clothes to wash after they left (their dirty clothes, towels and the sheets I slept on - I like to keep clean sheets on the guest bed).  I got the laundry done.  DH and I went to Home Depot to get our paint  for the garage and then we went to the grocery store.  

While I got dinner together, DH took a stab at the website to figure out what I could not.

(Thursday and) Friday Update 8.12.16

I was asked to pitch-in Thursday and help DH by shipping off a piece of equipment (business/job related).  This would help him enormously since he could devote his time to his workload while I trekked down to the Fed Ex office and shipped the package out.  I was over there by 11:00 am and got the package sent off without issue.

From there, I stopped by the dollar store and picked up a package of ponytail (elastic) holders.  I used these to complete six additional door sleeves for DD to use at school.  It was a quick and easy project once we knew what size would work.  I used some black corduroy I had in my stash, the ponytail elastics and thread I had on hand.  My total cost was $1 for the elastics.

I also worked on the website project a good bit today trying to get some issues resolved.  Dinner was a chef salad with crescent rolls.  After dinner, I made us a few sugar cookies from a break and bake package.

Friday, I had my second workshop (this time on resumes) from 9-11:30 am.  Afterwards, I stopped by CFA on the way home and picked up a sandwich for lunch.  I got a couple of ideas about my resume and I plan to email the instructor to see if he will give feedback on my resume.  The next two sessions are on interviewing.  I generally think that I have decent interviewing skills so I'm not sure how much I will get out of it.  At this point, I might as well go to the last two sessions - unless something comes up.

Immediately after eating my sandwich, I started working on the website again.  There are still a few things unresolved but it is looking better.  By the time DH got home, we quickly looked at it, made a few changes and took it live.  Over the weekend, we will look at it one more time and fill in any blanks and clean up any formatting issues.  The only remaining item will be the mobile version which will be streamlined.

We went over to Wallmart afte dinner (BBQ sandwiches and potato salad at home) and I got a new broom and a wider quilting ruler.  I have a 3 inch and a 15" square.  This one is five inches wide.  It will  be very helpful in cutting strips that are more than three inches wide as will the strips for Ryan's quilt.

I only have about 24 inches of border left to quilt on my whole cloth.  I should be finished tomorrow night or Sunday at the latest.  Then I just have to trim, make a binding and sew it on.  I'm excited to see what this will look like after it is washed.

(Tuesday and) Wednesday Update 8.10.16

It was mostly routine house items on Tuesday, laundry to wash, dishes to run.  Today I had some "personal assistant" issues to deal with: making medical appointments, etc.

I was able to get strips cut for the door handle project I am working on.  I need to find 12 ponytail holders so I can finish this project.  

I reinstalled the toddler car seat and headed out about 3:30 to pick up the boys.  Its parent orientation at school tonight.  We got back home and rested a few minutes,  (It's quite a chore to wrangle three little boys!). They all (including the 11 month old) wanted peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for dinner. Easy and fast enough.

Wednesday, I had two medical appointments back to back.  They were in the same complex so it worked out well.  

The website I have been working on has become a priority and a draft/first pass is due Monday.  Our garage/painting project is on hold for now.  Tomorrow, I will revisit the site and see what I can do.  I want to make a list of what I think needs to be done and what I need assistance with.

Monday Update 8.8.16

Our day got off to a rough start.  I went with DH to his cardio appointment only to find out that it had been rescheduled for next Monday.  We just grabbed a quick breakfast and he headed to work.

I had a fairly long list for the day and managed to get most of it done.  I applied for two jobs.  Not much to do on the website.  Need to set aside some time to sit with DH to get information in the photos.

I mowed the grass early Monday morning because the weather people were saying we would get rain all week.  It looked like it could be the only opportunity but we really haven't had much rain.

I pulled some more items for Goodwill from my closet.  My methodology is to pull 4-6 similar things to check out just after I've had my shower.  I can quickly slip on and if it's too small, it automatically goes in the give away pile.  Usually about 80% of what I pull gets given away.  

I ironed my new fabric and it is ready to start cutting.   I also ironed a couple of shirts while I had it out.

Weekend Update 8.7.16

We spent most of Saturday going around to different shops looking at televisions.  Not for us, but for DH's conference room at work.  Surprisingly, it took us most of the day - we ate lunch out, just a quick sandwich. We finished up the day with a trip to BJ's.  Along with a few normal kind of things, we got a rotisserie chicken that we ate for dinner.  Our movie night was courtesy of RedBox - Criminal.  It was very interesting.

Sunday, while DH took a ride up to the motorcycle dealership, I ran over to Joann's primarily to pickup a small quilting hoop.  They did not have a small quilting hoop but I picked up a wooden embroidery hoop that is working.  While I was there, I realized that I could use four coupons I had to get the material for Ryan's quilt (Christmas gift).  Half of my coupons did not work but the cashier worked with my purchases to give me the same discount I would have received with them.  It was frustrating for her and for me but it all worked out.  When I studied the receipt, I noticed that one of my coupons did not get used but my purchase was within a dollar of what it should have been.  

I got 2 3/4 yards of a light gray, 1 1/2 yards of a medium royal blue and a yard of red 100% cotton.  I also stocked up on thread (2 spools of gray all purpose and 4 spools of quilting glazed cotton thread). since I had a 50% coupon.

(Thursday and) Friday Update 8.5.16

OThursday was a much better day - they always seem better (and more productive) if I get up early and stay up.  I was able to get breakfast early and put in a few minutes of quilting before I colored my hair.  Gasp!  You didn't know?  Really.

Afterwards, I did a quick search for newly listed jobs and again, found nothing.  It is very disappointing.

Then, I moved on to some miscellaneous items I needed to do on the website.  I uploaded 50+ pictures to the website and put them on the gallery page.  Later in the day, I got 10 more but these came in as .bmp files so I had to do a two step process on these.

I cleared out 6 dresses from my closet, all of the graduation gowns I had, some miscellaneous clothing items and a toy and bagged it up for Goodwill.  While I was out, I returned the library books I checked out yesterday.

I managed two small loads of laundry and, by the end of the evening, two loads in the dishwasher.  I decided to re-imagine our leftovers so I headed over to the store and picked up a really big green pepper and some jambulia mix.  I turned our leftover smoked sausage into stuffed green peppers and served it with a can of green beans cooked with sauted onions.  DH said it was delicious.  

I had a busy day Friday.  It started with a job workshop where the instructor provided some insight into what HR departments look for in applicants.  I decided to sign up for the following three workshops as well.  Afterward, I met a couple of former coworkers for lunch,  I always enjoy getting together with them.  We had a lovely, if not brief, visit and caught up with what was going on with each of us.

I returned home and did a few small things around the house.  Dinner was chicken fajitas with all the fixings including margaritas.  

(Tuesday and) Wednesday Update 8.3.16

ROne down side of having a really productive day is that the following day tends to be a dud.  Today got off to a slow start thanks to a migraine that hit even before I got out of bed.  I decided to just sleep in a bit to coast my way through.  I was able to get up and move through the day without migraine medicine but I did require a couple of Advil.

I found it difficult to stay on task today especially after looking at job postings.  They appear to be many jobs, just not what I'm qualified to do.  So, no resumes sent today.  I did register for a workshop being held Friday that should give some insights into what HR departments are looking for.

I did get a few things done today including vacuuming out my car.  It does look so much better.  I just need to wipe down the dash tomorrow and I'm done.  I cleaned out another drawer today - small steps.  I threw away a small trash can full of old items that I no longer wear.  (My goal is to do one drawer a day until my dresser is done.  Then I will move to my closet.  That may take a few days and may be more difficult to make decisions about what can go.). I will be making a trip to Goodwil on Thursday.

Well, if Tuesday was a bummer, then Wednesday was a bust.  I got up early and prepped breakfast for DH but I was so tired, I laid back down and went to sleep.  Needless to say, that blew my morning.  I got breakfast and a quick shower, then proceeded to look quickly at the job boards - nothing.  Then, I moved on to the website.  I was able to capture 75 photos off the new Facebook page.  (This was the most productive thing I did all day.)

I don't think I did anything on my to do list for the day.  I did head over to Sam's and wandered through the store for a while just to improve my outlook.  I picked up the bacon I went for and only added a package of fresh green beans and a head of cauliflower.  

Back home, I piddled at a few things including loading the dishwasher but really accomplished nothing.  Before I knew it, it was time to prepare dinner.  We had smoked sausage, baked macaroni and cheese, and broccoli.  After dinner, I unloaded the dishwasher and reloaded it with the dinner dishes. 

That was it.  Then, I sat down and worked on my whole cloth quilt.

Monday Update 8.1.16

I started the day off with a very long "to do" list.  I now I'm not likely to get it all done but I will do as much as possible and continue tomorrow.  It's two o'clock and I've run the dishwasher once and the washing machine just finished its third load - one more to go.  That's a lot of clothes to fold and put away.

I found a coupon for two boxes of DD Kcups for $12.99.  I went immediately over and bought them since we are out and that is a $5 savings!  

I did get most of the things on my list done, what a surprise.

Here's the menu for the week:

Sunday - hamburgers and three bean salad

Monday - brisket and gravy over whole wheat noodles, green beans (freezer)

Tuesday - salad

Wednesday - smoked sausage, baked macaroni and cheese, broccoli

Thursday - Manwich, tater tots, three bean salad

Friday - chicken fajitas