I don’t talk much about fashion. That’s not what this blog is about. It’s not that I don’t LIKE fashion or don’t CARE about fashion.. I like trendy things. I don’t want to be a SLAVE to fashion, I don’t NEED to be in the height of fashion, and I should NOT care so much about fashion that it takes priority over other things or is a cause of financial stress. Over the years I have gone back and forth about how much attention to pay to stuff like that. I mean, obviously I don’t want to be overly concerned about it but I don’t think I should ignore it completely, either. It can be a fine line to walk.

Ever wonder if you stopped walking that line completely? Like you don’t really know what your style is anymore, or better yet, your current style could be summed up as a cross between a hobo and a bag lady?

At one point in time, I really couldn’t afford to buy a lot of clothes.. but even then I tended to wear things well beyond the point I should have and I didn’t really make it a priority to go out of my way to find things that suited me well. These days I still don’t have bunches o’ bucks to spend on clothes (and even if I did I don’t think I SHOULD) but I still have kept a very small and sparse, mostly well worn, wardrobe. I guess old habits die hard.

Recently I was talking with another homeschooling mom friend and we decided, “You know what? We almost take better care of our husbands and children than we do ourselves! We need to start taking better care of US, too. And part of that includes clothes that fit WELL, look attractive, and suit our style, without breaking the bank.” Think about it: when we leave our homes we’re representing our family, our husbands, and if you’re a Christian you’re representing your faith, if you’re a homeschooler you’re representing homeschooling, and so on. Does your look say “I’m a mess and frazzled” or does it say “I’m not perfect but I feel good about my life.” I don’t know about you, but I feel good about the decisions I’ve made to follow after God, to marry James, to homeschool our children… I don’t want to give any other impression than that I’m happy with that.

Thinking that through and taking the decision to start dressing myself better seriously.. I started doing some “research.” Also known as “Online window shopping.”  It’s sad but I really wouldn’t have been able to describe my “style.” I just started looking and finding things I liked that went together. There are actually a *few* things I already own that I really like and that I kept in mind while I was looking. I wanted to keep things really mix and match.. and I wanted to keep things as affordable as possible so I kept both of those goals in mind. Online shopping carts are awesome because you can take things in and out of your cart a bazillion times while you change your mind. ; )

So anyway… after settling on a certain number of items that I’d ideally like to purchase over the next few weeks, I sat down and put it all together like this:

Click to embiggen.

There you go, my ideal fall mix & match wardrobe. I figure the jewelry and scarves will be the last and least likely to acquire but I threw them in for finishing touches. You like? I LOVE. Here’s what I’ve got so far:

• The tapered jeans above are Old Navy plus-sized “skinny” jeans –those and some Old Navy black leggings arrived today! I recently bought a well fitting pair of very dark wash straight leg jeans and I also have a pair of dark gray “yoga” capri pants for warmer days.
• I just bought one black and one blue long sleeve tee – actually cuter than the tees pictured here because they have a little gather at the neckline. With a long sleeved dark gray sweater, a short sleeved silvery gray sweater “jacket” and a handful of short sleeved graphic tees and semi-nice shirts that I already have, I won’t be nekkid while I slowly collect the rest of the things on my list.
• I haven’t bought any of the sweater dresses or the skirt yet. I have ONE skirt that I really like- a knee length, straight lined, black satiny skirt. No dresses. So I’ll be wearing mostly pants until I can get to the sweater dresses, etc. = p
• I recently bought the red flats. (On clearance! LOVE THEM.) I already have a pair of black ankle boots similar to the ones above, and today I tried to buy the gray boots but they didn’t have them at the store that I went to. I have my fingers crossed for Thursday!
• Accessories: I just bought a lovely turquoise blue scarf and I recently bought some jewelry at a Park Lane party my sister in law hosted. I can’t wait to get the dangly earrings and the wide, bangly bracelet that I ordered. = )

It’s one in the morning; I should be sleeping.

I am not.

Instead I’m sitting here sipping a giant mug of hot sleepytime tea, hoping it doesn’t further aggravate the indigestion and acid reflux that has plagued me all evening. I wonder how in the world I ended up with indigestion. I digress..

My thoughts often keep me awake at night, making it difficult to fall asleep until I’ve gotten up and jotted them down in a to do list. The pretty, clean, tidy To Do list I made before bed sits here on the arm of the chair, mocking me. It didn’t work tonight, did it?

Tonight, words whirl on spin cycle in my head, ready to be plucked out and hung out to dry. Tonight, thoughts beckon to be pieced together in coherent sentences. Tonight, I can’t stop thinking about… failure.

I hate to fail. If I don’t think I’m going to be able to succeed at something, I’m likely not to try. Sometimes, even if I’m getting a task done, if I’m not getting it done the way I want it done, I get frustrated and actually bring about the failure that I despise so much. I am the QUEEN of unfinished tasks and so you would not know it, my strong detest of failure. But you cannot see the weight, the burden I bear from these unfinished tasks, the way they gnaw at the back of my mind. There are too many things to be done, I cannot get them all done, I cannot get them all done THE WAY I WANT THEM DONE.

And I think that’s the key, really.

Most of the time, it’s better to do the job right. But I think sometimes,.. it’s better to get the job DONE whether it’s perfect or not. Don’t you think? Especially if the other option is not getting it done at all.

I know all this vagueness is a bit.. vague. I have an example, I can show you what I mean.

One of the things I wanted to get done this month was my home management binder. Which I used regularly for almost a year, but haven’t used in a couple of years. I needed to update the pages to be able to use it again, and I spent the first week of January working on the files on my computer. Tweaking, tweaking, tweaking, printing, printing, printing.

And then…

I opened the home management binder.

And I looked inside.

And there were COMPLETELY different sheets, in page protectors, that I had written by hand when the printer was out, that I had forgotten about, that looked nothing like the ones I had before, or the ones I held in my hand.

And they were better.

And my mouth hung open. And I stared. And I thought of all the time and paper. And I couldn’t decide which one I liked better – the old way? Or the new way? And so I tucked the new pages in the binder, closed it, and put it down.
For a week I didn’t even open it. Not only was I not using it, I wasn’t working on it so I could use it.

I know, I know. I know what you’re thinking.. Did it really matter? What’s the difference? You’ll just have to trust me that they were very different approaches to how I would tackle my day. And they both have merit. And if it helps any, I think I’ve settled it and moved on. But I still need to type up or write up something and just start using the darn thing. I’m the kind of person that does really well with checklists and tasksheets. And if I have reusable lists that’s even better because I don’t have to spend the time writing or thinking about it each day (or each night before bed as the case may be.) So we’re back at the “Just do something even if it’s not ‘perfect’” part.

Just do it.

But as you see, sometimes when I hit a bump in the road, get confused, am not sure what to do, or it gets too hard.. I just kinda put it down. For a while. Maybe a looong while. Maybe even long enough to forget about it. And then I end up with this running list of things in my head that I never did finish, that I still want to finish or maybe even NEED to finish. “Some day.”

And these are the things that keep me awake at night.

“I didn’t complete any of my goals for January.”
“I’m not keeping up with the housework the way I want to.”
“I’m not school started each day as early I want/need to.”
“I’m not getting enough sleep at night.”
“I’m still not using the home management binder.”
“I haven’t fully fleshed out a better chore system.”
“I’m behind on my bible reading.”
“I haven’t been finding time to write.”
“I never finished reading that book.”
“I’m not counting my calories.”
“I’m not going to the gym.”
“MY CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS ARE STILL UP FOR CRYING OUT LOUD.”

I never, I haven’t, I didn’t. Fail, fail, fail.

But I’m here now, to point out to myself (and you) all the things I DID do this month.

I did get school started back up at the beginning of January.
I did keep it going through sickness, allergies, and cold days with frozen water pipes (or just frozen toes.)
I did establish a GOOD, earlier, successful bedtime routine for the kids.
I did re-establish bedtime stories as a part of that routine.
I did re-establish a routine of praying with/over my kids at bedtime.
I did reorganize and revitalize our workboxes for school.
I did add more language arts studies to our lessons.
I did lesson plan all of January at the beginning of the month.
I AM still reading my bible even if I’m grossly behind the Bible in 90 Days group.
I did establish a new habit I call “20 minute clean-up” which is working well with the kids.

And there’s more. There are a lot of things I haven’t done, plenty I still need to do. But there are a lot of really good things I have done this month. Some of the others, I guess I just need to get them done and stop worrying about the details. Some of them can wait until next month. Some of them I just need to make time for and do them right.

And if I still fail? Isn’t it through failure that we learn how to do it better? If I make a chore chart and it doesn’t work, then I’ll know what NOT to do. If I set a new bedtime for myself and it just isn’t right – well, I’ll know what time NOT to go to sleep. If I overplan and my brain fries and I end up failing at everything I planned.. I’ve learned I need to break things up a bit, yeah?

Perhaps taking on the Bible in 90 Days with the particular 3 goals I picked for January (in addition to getting back into the school habit and trying to get back in a good daily routine) was just a bit more than I could chew all at once. I failed to really create these habits during January, and so I’ll have to learn from it and try again next month. Perhaps for the month of February, I need to swap one or two of those goals out while I’m still working on B90Days. I’m not giving up on that. I’m not going to fail it. I will see it through.

And now that I have reached the end of my troublesome thoughts and the bottom of my tea mug.. my eyes finally feel heavy with sleep. I can finally lay my head upon my pillow, resting up for all the potential successes and failures of tomorrow. Sweet dreams..

Photo credit: Some rights reserved by Peter Kaminski

I’m not one for “New Year’s Resolutions.”

I’m always resolving to do one thing or another, make a tweak here, work on that there. I’m more of a “continual edification” kind of gal… constantly changing and growing and refining. Hopefully, for the better. Always seeking God’s will for my life.

There are plenty of things that I need to improve on in the coming year, things I need to keep working on, and new things I want to try.

I’m really good at making ambitious lists. I mean, I don’t want to brag or anything but DUDE, I can make impossible To Do lists like nobody’s business. It’s a skill.

And not just for the new year, either, but I pretty much do it on a day to day basis, too. I rarely ever get everything done. Shucks, I don’t even get most of it done. But I always a have list to look at when I want to find something to do next and next and next.

Last year I made a sort of “bucket” list of things I wanted to do for 2010. As I looked it over the other day, I realized that I’d forgotten about it at some point and I stopped thinking about those “goals.” Other things I never really forgot about, but I just didn’t see them through.

I want to do a list for 2011, but first let’s take a look at 2010′s list to see what needs to carry over. No sense wasting those good list ideas. The more the merrier, right?

2010′s Bucket List

1. Write, complete and sell an e-book.  Ummm, nope! Started. Several.
2. Grow and harvest and not kill at least one tomato plant. Not this one either! Tried. Killed. Several.
3. Learn how to can something. Anything I can do on the stovetop. Strawberry jam perhaps? I DID this one! I made grape jelly!
4. Lose 55 lbs – and keep it off for the rest of the year. BWAHAHA! (I lost about 10 pounds. Twice. Gained it back. Does that count for anything?)
5. Move out of this really old rental house. Most likely going to happen this spring. <—— DIDN’T HAPPEN. Delayed. To March. (I hope.)
6. After we move, paint my kitchen in a coffee theme again — and this time finish it!! Obviously, this one didn’t get to happen.
7. Replace one of our vehicles with a “new” used car so we have two reliable vehicles again. Hey! We did this one, too!
8. Meet up with Heather@Sprittibee again – that was fun! I didn’t even TRY. =( Heather, next time I go to my mom’s house I WILL let you know!
9. Finish [reading] a non-fiction book. Any non-fiction book. Just to prove it can be done. By me, I mean. Um, I read Treasure Island. I’m sure that counts... (I also read several non fiction books.)
10. Read the bible in 90 Days, just not starting in January. And it doesn’t count for number nine! Ooh, another one I STARTED. I made it through Deuteronomy. *sigh*

Hm. I guess I didn’t score so well, huh? I guess it’s a good thing I only listed ten! Well, so what?! I’ll just try again in 2011! That’s what we list makers do best. Start a new list and carry things over. So with that said…

A Really Long List for 2011

1. Write an ebook. The first one I’m going to work on and complete is the Unit Study I started writing. And no starting new projects with unfinished projects on the plate.
2. Write a book. I started one a few years ago, I started one in 2010. I’m going to finish one of them at least.
3. Move. One way or another. I’m leaving that one in God’s hands.
4. Keep going to the new church with James. Make sure we get there on time, lay out clothes the night before.
5. Start working out. Hmm. I notice that one has “start” in it but no “finish.” Truth is, my sister in law and I already agreed to start working out together.
6. Read through the bible. ALL THE WAY. There’s another Bible in 90 Days beginning January 3rd.. I haven’t decided if I’m going to join in or not.
7. Establish a morning routine – again – for reading & praying. I had one. Then I didn’t. Then I did. Regardless of whether or not I join in Bible in 90 Days, this is a must!
8. More canning. Can something in the summer (strawberry jam?) and something in the fall (applesauce?) That will DOUBLE my canning successes of 2010. =p
9. Paint a painting. I enjoyed painting in high school. I had a dream about painting recently. My oldest would like to learn to paint. Maybe we’ll incorporate it into school somehow.
10. Organize photos and make at least one scrapbook. I’ve already ordered a scrapbook and set of “Family” embellishments/papers!
11. Organize/Purge/BackUp digital photos.
12. Frame and hang unframed professional family photos.
13. Reupholster the couch and chair. I’ve been wanting to do this for YEARS! It’s just so intimidating!
14. Read at least 6 books. Fiction and non-fiction, I just need to increase my face-to-page reading time.
15. Start using my home management binder again. It helps to keep things like lists *ahem* handy for frequent review.
16. Get back in the habit of using the homeschool planner again. It helped a lot, I just got out of the habit.
17. Do the taxes. Before April 1.
18. Establish a regular bill paying, checkbook reconciling routine.
19. Pay off newly purchased car early.
20. Thoroughly purge, organize and set up a working “utility” cabinet over the washer & dryer. This means purging odd tools, properly stocking and storing consumables like light bulbs and batteries and using appropriate storage to make it accessible.
21. Sew curtains for the cabinets in the kitchen.
22. Take good (professional?) family photos.
23. Replace the net and cover for the springs on the trampoline. Fix it up for the spring.
24. Build my own shelf for the living room wall. And a letter/word art piece to go on it.
25. Get the piano tuned. Encourage Princess to start learning/practicing scales and basics.
26. Find & download basic recorder lessons. Encourage Drama Queen to begin practicing/learning scales and basics.
27. Try to teach Little Prince to read (you know, should he be willing to learn.)
28. Continue journaling daily gifts until the journal is full.
29. Pay library fine. And get back in the habit of going to the library regularly.
30. Take the kids to the park regularly. Shoot for once a week? Weather permitting.
31. Re-think menu planning habits. Add new menus. Organize. Involve kids.
32. Develop a habit of fixing face and hair in the morning. Not fancy, just clean and tidy.
33. Re-string the guitar. And start practicing again.
34. Re-paint Little Prince’s dresser.
35. Encourage Princess to blog each week. Teaching her how to take & edit photos, write, & “design” her blog.
36. Teach Princess to cook.
37. Get the crowns/bridge I need for my teeth.
38. Make 2 or 3 more DIY Hurricane Vases.
39. Re-hang the shelf in the bathroom.
40. De-clutter files on laptop. Organize. Delete & organize the bookmarks.

I could probably keep thinking of more but that seems like plenty to aim for already, doesn’t it? I’m really excited about a lot of those. I also need to add #41 Organize list into smaller groups by season and #42 to post the front of my home management binder so I can see and check it often. I also have a list of “important things” that I review frequently and I’ll post the two together.

So 2011 is already shaping up to be a busy year! And January is looking like it’s going to be one of the busiest!

If I could sum it all up in one word I would say, “Well-Functioning.” (That counts as one word, right?) I want my home to be smooth running, I want our school to be smooth and functional, I want the things in my home to be maintained and functional, I want my personal life and my spiritual life to be well-functioning and maintained. I’m not looking for perfect — just a well oiled machine, a sense of order, a regular flow to our day. DOESN’T THAT SOUND NICE? Yeah. I thought so, too.

What about you? What do you hope for 2011? Do you make lists or do you wing it?

{Updated: I broke it up by season and gave it a page!}

This post is linked up to:

Sprittibee’s Big Fat Annual List Tradition

5 Minutes for Mom

Other good posts to read:

Goal Setting, Parts 1 and 2 @ Boasting In My Weakness.

When Tasks Consume All The Time You Allot Them – Just something to think about when setting goals.

3 in 30 : Making Goals Reality 3 at a Time. (Something ELSE I’m going to be doing in January.)

24 hours left in 2010! Yikes!

It’s not that I’m sad to see 2010 go, it’s just that I can’t believe it has flown by this quickly. Again, YIKES!

I guess the older you get the faster the years fly. Not that,  ya know, I’m getting OLD or anything. Moving on…

As I look back on 2010, I really can’t complain or find much fault with it. It’s not like years past where I yelled at the year as it passed “And don’t let the door hit you on your way out!” I know that we are very blessed to be able to say “2010 was a good year” in an economy like this. Believe me, I know.

To continue in last year’s tradition, here’s a few high’s and low’s from 2010:

The Good

• No major illnesses or broken bones!
• Princess turned 10! Double digits!
• Had a great visit from my Father-In-Law & his wife (whom we hadn’t seen in about 4 years)
• Drama Queen finally got the hang of swimming
• Started going to a new church, with Hubs, as a family!! (That’s a biggie!)
• Princess got glasses – she can see better now, all the better to do her schoolwork with, mwahaha!
• We discovered the beauty of doing school in a real school room (as opposed to at the dining table or couch)
• I learned to make and can jelly. =)
• Bought a “new” used car – finally!
• Little Prince finally took an interest in reading & writing letters
• Finally found a math curriculum that clicked for Princess

The Not So Good

• Our “good” car became not so good — but that’s okay because we bought the “new” used car and we needed that!
• We didn’t get to move out of this old rent house. BOO. =(
• We discovered Princess needs glasses, which I wish she didn’t need, but hey she sure picked out some cute frames.
• I didn’t finish reading the bible all the way through – AGAIN.
• I bailed on exercising and failed to lose my excess weight – AGAIN.
• There were a lot of other projects I started and never finished, too.
• None of my container garden survived (but hey, two baby oak trees did!)

Some of my favorite photos from 2010:

So goodbye 2010, you’ve been good to us. Hello, 2011!! What do you have in store for us this new year?

Pictures, posts, memories, to-do lists and reasons to be thankful swirl in my brain, a whirlpool of words and wonderful things rushing to break out and organize themselves into coherent thoughts to be read.

The month of December has been so busy (as usual) but all in really good ways! And now here we are only days away from January — where did the time go?

Earlier this month I began reading Ann Voskamp’s “One Thousand Gifts” for review. With all the busy-busy going on I have not yet finished it, but that’s one of my goals for this week. I’ve already begun keeping my own list of gifts and soon I’ll share more about that. For now, I’ve enjoyed taking the time to dwell on the many gifts I am blessed with each day.

We’ve been celebrating Advent through our Advent candle wreath and our Jesse Tree. Doing the readings for this year was more difficult and frustrating than in the past. It was hard to get and keep my children’s attention. After frustration after frustration, our special Advent moment Christmas morning was near perfect. It was sweet, intentional and.. EVERYBODY PAID ATTENTION. It was like a special Christmas gift to me! It was amazingly wonderful.

All month I’ve been busy-busy de-cluttering, purging and organizing. I’ve worked and worked and worked! I have a little bit more that I’d like to get done before the end of the year. And at the beginning of the year, I’ll be taking on 3 in 30 – a goal to set three goals and turn them into habits in 30 days. One of my goals is to master the habit of going to bed without any dirty dishes or laundry each night. Days where I wake up with no dirty dishes or laundry to tend to just seem to run so much smoother!

At the beginning of December I got to spend a long weekend down at my parents and then I got to see them again and most of the rest of my mom’s side of the family on Christmas weekend. We had a good time celebrating Christmas together and eating lots of good food. It was good to spend time together.

All in all it was a really good month. A good way to end 2010! I’m still surprised that 2011 is just a few days away but at least 2010 is going out with a smile. =)

How was YOUR Christmas holiday season?

I love my state. It’s a part of who I am and I take pride in my heritage. But I have a confession to make.

I don’t like EVERYTHING about Texas.

I don’t like cowboy boots. For shame! I know! But I’d much rather trade them for something trendier, like this:

And the cowboy hats? Sorry, but I don’t wear cowboy hats, either. I won’t judge YOU for wearing them, but I would much rather wear something like this:

Or maybe just skip the hat and go for a really cute headband instead:

And while we’re talking about our heads, let’s talk about BIG. HAIR. First of all, I love my flat iron. But if I am going to go big, it will be like this (no Morgan Fairchild hairdo’s over here):

I also don’t like the heat, country music, rodeos, westerns or Wranglers. I wish our fall lasted longer and it would be awesome if we would get a little bit more snow a little bit more often.

On the other hand, I do love living in the country, I appreciate the beauty of a field of bluebonnets, we have amazing pink sunsets, our Spring is gorgeous and long and I LUV the word “y’all.” My FAVORITE pie is the pecan pie (puh-CAHN not pee-CAN,) and I do think that horses are magnificent animals (it’s just that I’m scared of them.) So maybe I do make a lousy Texan in some ways, but maybe I can redeem myself in others?

In the end, it’s all good, and I don’t mind living in the middle of all this “cowboy western stuff.” After all, there’s no place like home.

Photo Credits: Each photo is linked to it’s source. That cute headband is from an adorable Etsy store – go check out her shop. =)