I think I'm getting the hang of things.
I can only work a few hours at the storage building. It's hot, it's dirty, it's melancholy, it's liberating. I have to load everything I'm letting go of and take it to the room, clean it and then take it to the consignment store.
Somewhere in there today I also had to do two loads of laundry and take a shower. Trust me, the noon shower is vital to move from the morning to the afternoon. Hidden Treasurers would NOT want me showing up down there looking like I do at eleven a.m.
Today I took five boxes of stuff to the store. It's getting easier to let go of so many things. Today's boxes were full of duplicates (and triplicates & more!) so my decision was to eliminate all but my favorites. I'm keeping the spotted rooster that Ashleigh & Aaron gave me, my favorite hurricane, the brown platter that compliments our dishes, the small flower vases that would fit on both sides of our bed. I'm really liking letting of go of the extras.
It feels very good to make positive progress.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Day 3.7
I have a friend who says my life is chaos. I tell her I'm being flexible. This past week has been just that.
My husband's ship finally sailed, several days late and not without 6 more cases of sodas! The silver lining was that we actually got to spend two more nights together. Saturday afternoon, my daughter & I waited for hours at a point along the ship channel where we were at the water's edge. Unfortunately, the departure time was pushed back until it was dark when the ship went by. We could only flash lights at each other and say one last good bye on our phones. I should point out that the afternoon was really pleasant. There was a cool breeze blowing and we were very comfortable waiting for his ship to go by. However, as anyone who lives in Houston knows, the minute the sun sets the sky fills with mosquitos. We attempted, unwisely, to step out of the car to photograph his ship as it slipped by. It was too dark and we were too tempting. We were covered in bites as we scrambled back into the car. We celebrated the ship's horn blasting out and then set about killing the mosquitos trapped in the car with us. My husband will be gone for months so back to my project!
Sunday saw my daughter & I shopping at IKEA and Wal-Mart for her apartment. Monday morning we got everything moved up to her third floor abode. So tomorrow is back to my project!
Tuesday morning saw me shuttling my daughter between her office and apartment twice so repairs could be made to equipment in her work truck. I was more than happy to help her so she could sleep at home instead of at the office! This was following an 18 hour shift. So tomorrow is back to my project!
Wednesday morning and now I'm definitely headed to work. I got my water bottles & gatorade in a bag. I got to the storage building and realized that they were still hanging on the closet door in my room. So, it's already hot, I'm sweating just putting four boxes of paperwork in my truck. I chose to bring the sort/shred boxes back to my room and work on them today. So tomorrow is back to my project! This time with liquids, breakfast, blood pressure medicine and as early as possible!!!!
My husband's ship finally sailed, several days late and not without 6 more cases of sodas! The silver lining was that we actually got to spend two more nights together. Saturday afternoon, my daughter & I waited for hours at a point along the ship channel where we were at the water's edge. Unfortunately, the departure time was pushed back until it was dark when the ship went by. We could only flash lights at each other and say one last good bye on our phones. I should point out that the afternoon was really pleasant. There was a cool breeze blowing and we were very comfortable waiting for his ship to go by. However, as anyone who lives in Houston knows, the minute the sun sets the sky fills with mosquitos. We attempted, unwisely, to step out of the car to photograph his ship as it slipped by. It was too dark and we were too tempting. We were covered in bites as we scrambled back into the car. We celebrated the ship's horn blasting out and then set about killing the mosquitos trapped in the car with us. My husband will be gone for months so back to my project!
Sunday saw my daughter & I shopping at IKEA and Wal-Mart for her apartment. Monday morning we got everything moved up to her third floor abode. So tomorrow is back to my project!
Tuesday morning saw me shuttling my daughter between her office and apartment twice so repairs could be made to equipment in her work truck. I was more than happy to help her so she could sleep at home instead of at the office! This was following an 18 hour shift. So tomorrow is back to my project!
Wednesday morning and now I'm definitely headed to work. I got my water bottles & gatorade in a bag. I got to the storage building and realized that they were still hanging on the closet door in my room. So, it's already hot, I'm sweating just putting four boxes of paperwork in my truck. I chose to bring the sort/shred boxes back to my room and work on them today. So tomorrow is back to my project! This time with liquids, breakfast, blood pressure medicine and as early as possible!!!!
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Day 2
GOD IS GREAT!!!
I drove up to the storage buildings, parked and opened them up. The last one has the most difficult door to open so I was focused on it and not looking at where I was stepping. I felt something between my toes and thought it was a small rock in my sock. I took a step as I continued opening the door and felt something on the bottom of my shoe. I tried scraping it off and as I did I felt a wiggle between my toes. I looked at the bottom of my shoe and saw a plastic disc about the size of a dime on my shoe. I pulled against it and again felt the wiggle between my toes. I had to work it out and expected to see a thumbtack size stick. Instead, as I pulled against it, I realized it was much longer and could feel it slipping out from between my toes. I was stunned to see an inch long, very sharp nail emerge from the rubber on my shoes. I looked heavenward and said thank you, thank you Lord. I knew, if it had been a fraction of an inch in any direction, I would have been impaled by it and would have had to try to remember where to go for help.
So, my morning began with a reminder that Father God loves me and protects me ~ ALWAYS!
I started working on boxes. I moved the ones from the office that were labeled sort/shred out of the way. Looks like I've got a big project to work on in the cool of my room during the hot afternoons!
I opened several boxes of kitchen items. One had plasticware in it that was left over from Ashleigh's baby shower. Her baby shower from April 1988. Yes, that was over 23 years ago. Let me see, that means that we've moved those plastic knives 13 times (if I can count right) from Texas to Colorado to New Mexico back to Colorado and finally back to Texas. I threw them in the trash.
I could just sit here and kick myself for not having done it earlier. I'm choosing to celebrate the freedom of throwing them away.
I have my first two boxes of items to take to the consignment store. I've got to give everything a good dusting since they've been packed for a while but things are headed in the right direction!
I drove up to the storage buildings, parked and opened them up. The last one has the most difficult door to open so I was focused on it and not looking at where I was stepping. I felt something between my toes and thought it was a small rock in my sock. I took a step as I continued opening the door and felt something on the bottom of my shoe. I tried scraping it off and as I did I felt a wiggle between my toes. I looked at the bottom of my shoe and saw a plastic disc about the size of a dime on my shoe. I pulled against it and again felt the wiggle between my toes. I had to work it out and expected to see a thumbtack size stick. Instead, as I pulled against it, I realized it was much longer and could feel it slipping out from between my toes. I was stunned to see an inch long, very sharp nail emerge from the rubber on my shoes. I looked heavenward and said thank you, thank you Lord. I knew, if it had been a fraction of an inch in any direction, I would have been impaled by it and would have had to try to remember where to go for help.
So, my morning began with a reminder that Father God loves me and protects me ~ ALWAYS!
I started working on boxes. I moved the ones from the office that were labeled sort/shred out of the way. Looks like I've got a big project to work on in the cool of my room during the hot afternoons!
I opened several boxes of kitchen items. One had plasticware in it that was left over from Ashleigh's baby shower. Her baby shower from April 1988. Yes, that was over 23 years ago. Let me see, that means that we've moved those plastic knives 13 times (if I can count right) from Texas to Colorado to New Mexico back to Colorado and finally back to Texas. I threw them in the trash.
I could just sit here and kick myself for not having done it earlier. I'm choosing to celebrate the freedom of throwing them away.
I have my first two boxes of items to take to the consignment store. I've got to give everything a good dusting since they've been packed for a while but things are headed in the right direction!
Monday, June 6, 2011
Day 1
Greetings!
I'm so excited about starting this new chapter of my life. The title of this blog is Playing by a Whole New Set of Rules! and that's just what I'm doing. My focus is not me to the exclusion of everyone and everything else ~ but it is me as everyone moves on to new things. Suddenly, I have time to focus on me!
Last year I left my government job of nearly twelve years to start a motorcycle repair shop. The shop is up and running but after nine months in business, it was apparent it wouldn't support all of us. The months leading up to the decision were agonizing. There were many ugly moments. Moments where I questioned my intelligence, my intuition and certainly my sanity.
Timing is everything ~ the day I told our partners of our decision to leave the cycle shop was also the day my mother-in-law sold her home. It had been on the market for a year and a half. The property was large, rural, in a desolate area, held thirty-five years of family memories and was where her husband, the patriarch of our family, went to heaven four years earlier.
May 2011 was amazingly hectic. We had to be out of our apartment by the 20th and my mother-in-law was moving to East Texas on June 2nd. Add to that a trip to Dallas, a trip to Fort Davis and two trips to Houston with stops in Fort Davis as well...6500 miles in all.
A moment of insight about me. If I've counted correctly, I think I've moved 36 times (that I can remember) in my lifetime. I hate moving. I hate packing. I hate carrying everything in boxes. I hate unpacking. I hate having to un-decorate. I hate not being able to cook and having to eat off of paper plates. Are you getting the picture?
More insight about this past eleven months is that our lives have been a huge moving state of flux! We started packing to move to El Paso in July 2010. We lived in boxes for six months before I was finally able to move. The five months I was in El Paso, I had a bed, two folding chairs, two folding tables and two tv's in a 1350 square foot apartment.
Even more insight into me. I love to decorate. I love a comfortable home that is a haven from the world. I love Country French. I love to cook and entertain and share and celebrate life.
We are less than two years away from my husband retiring from his job. With the cycle shop situation looming, we looked at options and avenues we had only dreamed of in the past and in the end have decided to sell 90% of everything we own and move into a motor home.
That means selling almost everything that is now in 600 square feet of storage space. Almost all of our furniture, decorating, kitchen, hobby and outdoor items are headed to consignment and antique stores.
Fortunately, this project and I are not on the same tight timeline as before.
Today, I got a smaller storage unit across from the two we already have. I needed a staging area to start sorting through everything. I opened the first box and inside it were candle sconces and pictures that I really liked. I thought, "Oh, how pretty." I remembered where and when I had gotten them and I knew they would never work in a motor home. I put them in the consignment box. I know I can do this!!!
It's hot here, humid. I think it will help me lose weight! I used to hate sweating too. Not as much as moving though. I thought sweating was unladylike. Now I find it purging and purifying.
I'm calling today, Day 1, a success.
I'm so excited about starting this new chapter of my life. The title of this blog is Playing by a Whole New Set of Rules! and that's just what I'm doing. My focus is not me to the exclusion of everyone and everything else ~ but it is me as everyone moves on to new things. Suddenly, I have time to focus on me!
Last year I left my government job of nearly twelve years to start a motorcycle repair shop. The shop is up and running but after nine months in business, it was apparent it wouldn't support all of us. The months leading up to the decision were agonizing. There were many ugly moments. Moments where I questioned my intelligence, my intuition and certainly my sanity.
Timing is everything ~ the day I told our partners of our decision to leave the cycle shop was also the day my mother-in-law sold her home. It had been on the market for a year and a half. The property was large, rural, in a desolate area, held thirty-five years of family memories and was where her husband, the patriarch of our family, went to heaven four years earlier.
May 2011 was amazingly hectic. We had to be out of our apartment by the 20th and my mother-in-law was moving to East Texas on June 2nd. Add to that a trip to Dallas, a trip to Fort Davis and two trips to Houston with stops in Fort Davis as well...6500 miles in all.
A moment of insight about me. If I've counted correctly, I think I've moved 36 times (that I can remember) in my lifetime. I hate moving. I hate packing. I hate carrying everything in boxes. I hate unpacking. I hate having to un-decorate. I hate not being able to cook and having to eat off of paper plates. Are you getting the picture?
More insight about this past eleven months is that our lives have been a huge moving state of flux! We started packing to move to El Paso in July 2010. We lived in boxes for six months before I was finally able to move. The five months I was in El Paso, I had a bed, two folding chairs, two folding tables and two tv's in a 1350 square foot apartment.
Even more insight into me. I love to decorate. I love a comfortable home that is a haven from the world. I love Country French. I love to cook and entertain and share and celebrate life.
We are less than two years away from my husband retiring from his job. With the cycle shop situation looming, we looked at options and avenues we had only dreamed of in the past and in the end have decided to sell 90% of everything we own and move into a motor home.
That means selling almost everything that is now in 600 square feet of storage space. Almost all of our furniture, decorating, kitchen, hobby and outdoor items are headed to consignment and antique stores.
Fortunately, this project and I are not on the same tight timeline as before.
Today, I got a smaller storage unit across from the two we already have. I needed a staging area to start sorting through everything. I opened the first box and inside it were candle sconces and pictures that I really liked. I thought, "Oh, how pretty." I remembered where and when I had gotten them and I knew they would never work in a motor home. I put them in the consignment box. I know I can do this!!!
It's hot here, humid. I think it will help me lose weight! I used to hate sweating too. Not as much as moving though. I thought sweating was unladylike. Now I find it purging and purifying.
I'm calling today, Day 1, a success.
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