'08 Simple Things Revisited

Over at my other blog I have this label called Dummies at Blogging I use the label when I write about things I am learning or my mistakes. I don't know how they would tally up.
Most of the time I think the "duh" moments out weigh the Look what I learned how to do moments.

This morning I had a Look what I learned how to do! moment.

I figured out how to use labels. I know some of you reading this are thinking
oh how dumb is this girl! Sorry.

Here's what I figured out how to do.

Since I didn't join Company Girls till July I missed half the year.
And some days I have missed writing about the Simple Things challenges daily. So I am going to have a label here called '08 Simple Things Revisited so when you see that label. It is a post about a challenge that I either missed or forgot or didn't have time to write about.

I think it is a cool way to go back and do all the amazing challenges that Rachel offers.

It is so Simple to make your Home a Sanctuary. Come on an join us!

Making our Home a Fall Sanctuary . . .

Well August ended and points are being tallied. I wonder how good I did point wise.
I did much better in August than I did in July because I didn't even do my points.
But Rachel does some really cool give aways.

It isn't too late to become a Company Girl so check out
Rachel's blog. Over at Homesanctuary.com It is a fun
daily meme.

I am looking forward to the inspiration she will share with us for September and the fall.

This will be the heading for all my posts. It's Rachel's button for Home Sanctuary and her theme.



See ya Monday. I bet she has something really creative since it is Labor Day.

Making My Home a Sanctuary

Smiles,
Sherry

Paper and Laundry

I haven't had a chance to post in a couple of days because I have been doing a lot of De-cluttering.
I was inspired by Rachel and by Marcia and Beth. M&B are doing a Declutter Challenge.
One of the things I've worked on this week is paper. Rachel even suggested dealing with paper too and offered some points for that.
Here's what our files look like.

This really is a bit of an exaggeration. . . these are really photos from Dreamstime but our files are similar. At least they were. I am getting a handle on them. The biggest challenge is my Cowboy he is really bad about filling is wallet, or the console of the vehicle, or the dresser or bathroom drawer. Any place he can find to put receipts. And most are a bit crumpled from having been stuffed in a pocket.
I have managed to go through the most recent ones and get them filed.
So these challenges have helped me a lot.
Home Sanctuary is my favorite meme. And it is cool because Rachel challenges us everyday and even does a cool giveway at the end of the month.
Todays challenges was the laundry room. The challenge was to clean the washer.
As in, wipe down, scrub whatever is needed to get the washer and dryer looking all new again. I wiped down both. It was pretty easier because one of my declutter
challenges for last week was to clean off the dryer. And keep it clean. So all the socks etc. are put away. As soon as the dryer is done I have been folding and sorting the load and right away taking them to put away. This is easy for me because it is only me and cowboy. So it is simple.
I am still pretty new blogging. And so I am not real savvy on how to do some things. Rachel my inspiration is at homesanctuary@typepad.com. I don't know how to link. Go by and visit and get some inspiration.

Home Sanctuary Thursday Challenge

Brown Baggin' it . . . what a simple challenge and healthy too. Rachael puts out the challenge today to look at brown baggin' it.
I sort of beat her to it because I had already planned to take my lunch today.
On Tuesday and Thursdays I get to keep my new grandson.
I had this wonderful salad left from Wednesday nights dinner so instead of letting it go to waste I packaged it up in an Olive Garden sack (that made me hungry) and took it for my lunch. It was a nice little treat. Plus my daughter had baked a cake on Wednesday so I had a slice of cake. It was yummy and a special treat!

So since I took my lunch I am giving myself 40 points. And I shared some of Racheal's ideas to my daughter. So I think that counts too.

Below are some links Racheal added check them out!


"POINTS: 40 for planning some brown-bag goodness. Give your man a sack lunch and a kiss as he leaves for work and tell him his Sonic days are over. Think about how to make your home lunches or school lunches a little more spectacular this year.


Here are some quick links to get you excited about the possibilities!"


http://www.webmd.com/diet/guide/brown-bag-lunches-that-make-grade



http://busycooks.about.com/od/breakfastrecipes/a/brownbaglunch.htm



http://www.stretcher.com/stories/05/05apr04a.cfm



"Share your ideas! I'm looking for inspiration!" Racheal at Home Sanctuary.

Easy Peasy 100 Points!

I thought it would be easy.
I went over to Racheal Ann's and saw her Simple Thing suggestion.

And really it was but it took a lot of time and thought just as she said.

Friday her suggestion was to Get Some Backbone!
What you ask? Racheal is very clever and makes all her suggestions simple and fun to do.
This weekend I took her suggestion and worked on my calendar. The concept is if things in your life are pulling you in a million different directions and your pulling your hair out trying to keep up how can your home be a sanctuary? She's right. I know it. You know it. But what do we do to change all that? Well here's an idea make a schdule. Get out a calendar and write down all your activities.

Here's Racheal's Backbone Principles:
1 Don't volunteer for everything on the spot.
2 Talk to your spouce about each activity before you commit.
3 Get a grip (you can't do it all)
4 Leave time for boredom
5 Set a limit on how many activities each child and each parent are allowed.
You have to go over to Racheal's blog and read about each of these principles. They really make sense and will help you alot. Here's how you get there.
http:homesanctuary.typepad.com This isn't a link because I don't know how to do that but you can cut and paste the above or you I learned that you can google it.
That is what I do now I just think of the name of the blog I want to visit and google it and it pops up. Easy Peasy!

I have a lot more to write about my own calendar task and I'll probably write about it on my other blog. I don't know. Right now I am thinking I have written a lot and I don't want you to get bored with me. But how can you do that? I haven't told anyone about this blog yet. And so if your here it is by accident? Coincidence?
Hmmm.
Do you believe in coincidence?

Maintaining a Healthy Body and 40 points!

Body by God. . . Rachael reminds us today how important it is to take care of ourselves. Here are her thoughts.

"Today's Small Thing is to do something that's good for you. When you think about it, with all that is required us daily, maintaining a healthy body shouldn't just be a fantasy, it's a necessity. I am among the world's WORST when it comes to taking vitamins and exercising regularly, but I notice a very real difference when I take just a few moments to do what I know I should do for myself."

Her challenge is to actively do something today that is good for your body.

I know that eating vegetables is important. And as a matter of fact I love veggies.
Especially fresh picked green beans, okra oh man give me a pan of fried okra. Or fried yellow squash. Well maybe that isn't the best or healthiest way to eat it. But my point is I love all veggies. Cooked or raw I'll eat them. And salad. Oh give me a chilled plate filled with romaine and some salad dressing maybe a few croutons and some Parmesan cheese.
But my problem is my Cowboy (husband) isn't a veggie fan. Give him meat; (red meat preferably, or anything wild that he has shot in some way)and potatoes and he is happy as a lark!

And fruit well neither one of us are real fruit eaters. But I try. Yesterday we had fresh strawberries. He asked for 5 to eat before taking pain meds, not 4, not 6,just 5. That was in his mind, his quota for the day.

I served a romaine salad with 4 strawberries on the side for dinner to go along with one of my favorites my recipe of Mexican Chicken and Rice (I try copy the dish from my favorite restaurant.
Well as you might have guessed. When I went to clear the plates. There were 4 lovely little red things left. Remember he ate 5 earlier in the day. I ate two off his plate. Plus mine.

I do try to do healthy things. One of the things Rachael suggested was walking to the mailbox. I do that. I think she mentioned drinking water. I love bottled water. I will drink a bottle every time I am in the car and all day long I am sipping on a bottle of water. I think I do drink enough water.

One thing I do is I try to think of how I can accomplish a daily task and add a little exercise to that task but I am like Rachael I end up feeling like I don't have enough energy sometimes. Like at the end of the night when I know that I need to go wash the dishes or at least load the dishwasher. (unload first) But I don't have the energy. That was one of those simple things from yesterdays challenge that I am trying to accomplish.

So I realize that I need to do more healthier things. And maybe instead of eating a large piece of red meat and a big baked potato maybe I should eat a smaller portion and go ahead and eat more of the veggies I love. That is a simple thing for me.

So it will be easy for me to get those points Rachael offered today by eating better.

Here's what she is offering . . . POINTS: 40 (HUH? Rach, why so many?) for doing something, anything, that's good for you today. Be conscious of being healthy today by doing just one small thing, and you probably already know what you should do. Easy.
(And don't beat yourself up over the fries you ate at lunch.)

See it was so simple. And she even gives us a break on the fries. Did I say I love french fries. Yummy yum.

My challenge is getting my Cowboy to follow suit.

I am really glad that you stopped in to visit and please go over to Rachael's and join us Company girls.

Smiles,
Sherry

Making my Home a Sanctuary with my Dancin' Shoes

This morning Rachael inspired us to put on our dancin' shoes and sweep and mop the kitchen.
You'll have to go by and see her at http:homesanctuary.typepad.com to see her inspiration. She always posts a song to get us in the mood and a lovely photo.


Here's my song just to get ya' goin'. . . . I hope you enjoy the flashback.




I'll be adding a photo later and an update on my progress getting the mopping project done today.

Have a Blessed Day and enjoy the tunes.
Sherry

Home Sanctuary Tuesday Challenge

Welcome to my Home Sanctuary Challenge blog. I am a "Company Girl" hosted by Rachealanne at Home Sanctuary.com.

I just love this everyday meme and so decided to do a whole blog dedicated to it.

Every month Racheal gives us a verse to focus on. We can print it and use it anyway we want.

Here is this months verse.

Each day Racheal suggests something to work on to make our house a Sanctuary.

Today she suggested that we concentrate on those tasks that we start and don't finish around the house.

I know you have some. Here is a list of mine.

Trash I am talking trash...yes like the photo at the top of the page (I got it at Dreamstime.com)

1. Taking out the trash...just yesterday I gathered the trash and put it into the can and took the big garbage can to the curb. Then I found a couple of other items that I needed to throw away and there was of course stuff from the kitchen last night. And well by the end of the night I was too tired or distracted to make another jaunt out to the curb. So the trash sat in the kitchen overnight. But this morning after being encouraged by Racheal I took it on out to the curb.

See in my normal routine I would have just waited and put it in the trash can later today.

There is more to the list. But I have been called away from this post now. Please come back and read more about how to make your Home a Sanctuary. And don't forget to visit over at

Racheal Ann's

Have a Blessed Day

Welcome to My Home Sanctuary

Welcome . . .