Dirty Little Secrets

A few times this week I've said or done things that I knew were going directly into a dirty little secrets post.

One afternoon I was really hungry and couldn't find the perfect snack. Finally I decided on bacon. I love bacon. And I ate bacon all by myself.

Sweetie Pie woke up from her nap and asked me if I had made bacon because she could smell it. I denied all knowledge and told her it must have been my bacon candle. Please don't tell her those don't exist... even though they should totally exist.

I justify buying a bunch of fun stuff at Joann Fabrics because I'm going to start a shop on Etsy.com. Except I haven't started one, and I'm kind of scared too.

I found the two little outfits that I had to order and go through the whole 'shipping to Alaska' fiasco sitting right at my local Walmart. I almost cried.

Little Man hasn't gone to the doctor in so long that I'm scared to take him in and see how many shots he needs. He's already terrified of everything and I don't want to make him never ever leave the house again.

My library books that I already renewed for a second month are late again.

I don't want to bring the kids back to the library because I forgot to bring them in for the last week of the reading program and they're going to want their prize.

I have at least 5 loads of laundry that are washed and dried, but not folded.

Sweetie Pie saw a drag queen on tv with green hair and reminded me that I told her people's hair turns green when they don't brush it.

There was a good candy sale so I stocked up. When I was checking out the cashier said "Wow. You must really like candy." I instinctively lied and told her it was a gift for someone. She stared at me blankly and said "Wow. They must really like candy." Judgmental *$&%#.

Share your dirty little secrets in the comments, and as always you can post your GOOD dirty little secrets anonymously.

Family Fishing

I don't like fishing. I like catching. I'm definitely not a fan of sitting in a boat and dragging a string through the water hoping that something that I don't even want bites my string. It really is a bit odd when you think about it that way, isn't it? Boat fishing is bad enough, but shore fishing really sucks... unless you bring a chair (which I didn't) and it's sunny (which it wasn't).

Normally I wouldn't even go on these outings with Mr. Wright, but remembering the discussion in church I decided that some family time could be just what we needed. We packed the kids in the car, I talked Mr. Wright into feeding me Arby's first (yum :P) and we headed up to the water. It rained on and off on the way up but once we got there it was almost sunny. The kids immediately found rocks to throw, sticks to drag, birds to watch and all that other earthy crap to do. I was bored. And had no where to sit. And it started raining.

Family time. Family time. Family time. I was trying to have fun but I don't really like to get wet, and apparently neither does my camera since it stopped working for a few minutes in the heavy rain despite my high tech ziplock back that I brought as camera protection. We all came home soaking wet and dirty, but we did indeed have a great evening as a family... even me.













The kids stayed up way past bedtime, but they all had a blast! That's why actually leaving my hosue and doing something as a family works for me!!

Motivation

So this is what it feels like... yesterday I left my computer (and best friend) downstairs and tackled some housework instead of hitting refresh a million times waiting for something to happen in my e-mail or on Farm Town. When the kids start asking who's coming over you know the house is looking better! In typical selective OCD I made a huge list of things that I wanted to accomplish, then got frustrated when I wasn't immediately crossing things off left and right.

I wrote 'empty dishwasher', did it, then crossed it out. Then I was working on 'load dishwasher' when I realized that I had way more dishes than could fit in one load and I am NOT one of those weirdos that just finishes them by hand. I ran the dishwasher and started on some other chores but was still a little peeved that I hadn't been able to cross 'load dishwasher' off the list. Sure, I could have written it again for the second load, but I was out of lines on my list and my selective OCD doesn't allow me to write across used lines *shudder*.

I only took one internet break around 1 after I had done a bunch of laundry, dishes, vacuuming, DUSTING! ( I spent 10 minutes trying to find my duster for this one. It hasn't seen the light of day in a while...) and some decluttering. After my break I put the kids down for a nap and vacuumed the stairs, 'windex mopped' the entryway floor, finally wiped that crusty stuff of the handrail on the stairs, and jackhammered the dried food off the dining room table.

I collapsed onto the couch the moment Mr. Wright came home and I gleefully awaited his reaction. In typical husband fashion he didn't say a word about the sparkling (and smelling good) house and started talking about something else while I was subtly running my hands over the clean counters. Finally I just had to blurt out "I CLEANED THE WHOLE HOUSE AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN NOTICE!!!" So, maybe subtle isn't my thing...

He said he noticed and it looked like we were moving out. That made me feel better, but after working my tail off for almost 6 hours I was envisioning a better reaction from him. Maybe one with balloons. And flowers. And a huge 'thanks for getting off the couch and finding that smell' banner. I didn't think that I was asking too much...

{Blog} Hop 2009

I found this awesome blog party where you can swap links with bloggers all over the county. I love finding new blogs with all new ideas, and I love to party in my jammie pants, so I was all over this. Click here to see the blog roll and find some new bloggers to stalk follow.

If your joining me from the Blog Hop then Welcome. I'm Mrs. Wright and I suck at housework... and pretty much life in general. Take a look around and stay as long as you'd like. Just don't look under the rugs :)

My Favorite Things

The I'm running super late edition!

Skirts a plenty!
http://thirtyhandmadedays.blogspot.com/2009/07/can-you-ever-have-too-many-skirts.html

My favorite, favorite, favorite thing from the week! The wedding video that's sweeping the nation!
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheKheinz#play/all/uploads-all/0/4-94JhLEiN0

Cooking frozen pizza on the grill!!
http://controllingmychaos.blogspot.com/2009/07/pizza-on-grill-fresh-or-frozen.html

Pink popcorn balls!
http://www.frugalfamilyfunblog.com/2009/07/pink-popcorn-balls.html

My new favorite blog!
http://handmadegonewrong.blogspot.com/

Make an arm band for an iPod for those weird running people!
http://makeitandloveit.blogspot.com/2009/07/arm-band-pouch.html

The best housewarming gift ever! I've actually given this before...
http://www.mommysideabook.com/money-matters/a-very-practical-yet-inexpensive-housewarming-gift/

I hope you enjoyed my favorite things!

Dirty Little Secrets

Once again Friday is here and it's time to let it all out. My secrets that is, not my muffin top...

-I wish more people would share their own secrets so I wouldn't look AS lazy and horrible.

-I just sent this nice note to Walmart.com's customer service department. I sure hope it makes their day on Monday...

I live in Alaska, and since the selection is limited I thought I'd try out shopping online. I did find a lot more selection and put 2 outfits for my daughter in my cart. The total? $24 I proceeded to go through all the bs of starting an account, practically giving a dna sample to use my own credit card, then see my total. $43 something. There must be a mistake. I must have ordered 4 outfits instead of 2. Nope. Shipping. $19+ for shipping. I made sure everyone on my Facebook saw what a scam that is. Ridiculous.

Instead I had it sent to my friend in Nevada. The shipping? $1.94. Now she has to help me (out of the kindness of her heart) repackage it and send it up to me the way it should have been done the first time. If it costs more than $3 I'll be shocked. But that's not price gouging or anything. Say goodbye to this online customer...

-My house is TRASHED (like more than normal) and we're having people over tonight. I also have sewing stuff all over the poker table that they'll need to use later.

-I'm going to Mr. Wright's family reunion tomorrow and I ate the broccoli salad that I was supposed to bring for the potluck. I also have nothing for the chinese auction or for my kids to open.

-I bawled through that video of the wedding dance on my Facebook/Yahoo's home page/everywhere else on the internet. It wasn't sad, but I'm a crybaby.

-I heard Sweetie Pie tell her friend today "Don't talk about kindergarten in front of my mom or she'll start crying"...

-And then I cried again that she was so sweet to be so sensitive to her overly weepy mother.

-My house is so messy that my niece lost her shoes when she was here on Wednesday. Her shoes... not her tiny ring or something. Shoes.

-I needed vinegar for the broccoli salad and had to ask my mom for some since I used all mine trying to get the stinks out of clothes that I repeatedly leave mildewing in the washing machine.

-I really really need to have my carpets cleaned... that, or just tell people that Polka Dotted carpet is all the rage in Europe and that they're lame for questioning my awesome taste. Still deciding...

Please share your dirty little secrets in the comments, and as always you can chose the anonymous option. Please share... don't make me cry :P

2 A.M.

I was up until 2 o'clock in the morning last night... er, today, redoing my blog. It was like blogger crack- I just kept going and going and going until finally I lost consciousness and went to sleep. But at least my blog is cute! And now I'm tired, and cranky, and not looking forward to running of 5 hours of sleep when I usually get 10, especially since I have a bonus kid today. *Yawn* At least I have a good reason to stay in my jammies, not clean my house, and continue to leave the garbage can at the end of the driveway AGAIN. Too bad kids don't adjust their energy level to Mama's tiredness level...

The Walk Of Shame

This morning I had to do the walk of shame AGAIN. No, I didn't sleep with someone and have to sneak out in yesterday's clothes, but I did have to get my trash can at the end of my driveway from last Thursday's trash pickup, fill it up with new trash, and walk it out there again. And of course it was 8am so everyone was leaving for work, and of course it makes this horrible clunky noise all the way down my long driveway to provide ample time and reason for everyone to check out what I'm doing. At least yesterday when they saw my trash can at the end of the driveway I appeared to be simply ahead ahead of the game by having my trash out early.

Not like having my trash can at the end of my driveway really affects our curb appeal that much anyway. The 6 feet tall fireweed and million kid toys strewn about really draw your eye away from the garbage can and that shredded diaper that my hellion precious family pet kindly brought over from the neighbor's house. We were already 'that house' in the neighborhood anyway since the "Potomac Blue" that we chose to paint our house looked perfect on the color swatch, but really should be named "Extreme Electric Aqua" to properly disclose the actually color. All I know is if the Potomac was that color it would be declared a radioactive hazard.

Luckily the house has faded in the last 5 years and now it's a 'beachy blue' that still sticks out like a sore thumb with all the cream, brown, tan, and all other colors of boring that inhabit the street. I'm just wondering when the neighbors will start collecting money to move us somewhere else to rid them of color and this killer.



I'm just going to rest up and conserve energy so I can get that trash can at least by next Wednesday.

Letting Go

Sweetie Pie has been getting more and more excited about going to kindergarten in the fall. I'm her Mama, and I'm excited for her, but I'm also stocking up on clearance tissues for the first 3 months. I started crying even telling her what she was going to do at kindergarten, and I'm tearing up now telling you what I was telling her about kindergarten. She's VERY independent and won't have a single problem with spending 5 days a week away from home, but I'm going to miss her like crazy.

This is what I was waiting for ALL those mornings when she was colicky and screaming all night long. I'd get though those tough times with the help of Tylenol (for me), some cookies, and the promise that it was only 5 more years until kindergarten. When she hit her terrible twos (and threes) I bleached and vacuumed up after her while whispering "three more years, three more years" to myself like the crazy lady that I am. When she started lying, and taking my things and hiding them I reminded myself that I only had one more year to be the only person showing her the way in life.

What you see:


What I see:


Today when we had our talk about kindergarten my little angel had to wipe the tears from my cheeks and remind me that she will indeed be coming home everyday after school. She's just so little... too little to ride a bus and get herself ready for recess. Too little to be alone with the meanie 5th graders on the playground and to find her own classroom. She's just too little.

And now it's hit me like a ton of bricks. My baby isn't a baby anymore, and almost a third of her life as a child is over... and now I'm crying. And she thinks I'm nuts. Where's the tylenol and cookies!?

Cinnamon Banana Bread

It may be July, but today sure felt like Fall to me. The wind was blowing, it was overcast and yucky outside, and it gave me a hankering for some warm banana bread. Because I'm Mrs. Wright I had some squishy bananas just begging to be squashed and baked, so the kids pulled up some chairs and we started baking. I never really think of cinnamon with bananas, but there was cinnamon in the recipes, so I decided to coat the bread in the cool Cinnamon Crumbles that Pampered Chef makes. I sold Pampered Chef way back in the day and those crumbles must have come with my samples at one point. They may be two years old, but those crumbles were the perfect addition to my warm, buttery banana bread.




As soon as the *maid* shows up (I guess that would be me) and does the banana bread dishes I've got a zucchini that's giving me "bake me in bread" eyes. Can Mama live on bread alone?? I can sure try!

My Favorite Things

I'm entirely too lazy today to hijack everyone's pictures and upload them again to show these links, so think of them more as a present that you have to open to see...

Playing and learning in one! Let your kids draw, write letters and make a huge mess with shaving cream!
http://www.livinglocurto.com/index.php/2009/07/learning-with-shaving-cream/

If I ever used the thing it might be in need of a little boost- here's a great article on how to clean your vacuum!
http://smallnotebook.org/2009/04/29/spring-clean-how-to-put-the-voom-back-in-your-vacuum/

An easy and adorable solution if you run out of cupcake papers!
http://bedifferentactnormal.blogspot.com/2009/06/parchment-cupcake-wrappers.html

An adorable way to simply alter the look of any lampshade to match any decor!
http://makeitandloveit.blogspot.com/2009/06/ribbon-lamp.html

Peanut Butter Fudge Brownies... need I say more?
http://bedifferentactnormal.blogspot.com/2009/07/peanut-butter-fudge-brownies.html

I hope you enjoy them!!

Car Poop Lane

Yesterday I ran to the consignment store in hopes of finding a potty to carry around in my car for potty emergencies and I struck gold since not having to stop and ask a stranger to use their toilet is worth way more than $5.50 in my book. I threw it in the back of the car and didn't realize how useful that little baby was about to be...

I ignored my to do list again today to spend some time with my mom while she is in town. She only lives an hour away, but I feel like I hardly see her since she only comes to Wasilla for work, then usually heads straight home. We packed the kids into her car since my van is currently a bit under the weather and decided to hit some garage sales.

We followed endless signs leading to nowhere, drove by a few sales that weren't worth getting out for, and walked around a few sales that looked promising but led to no purchases. After almost an hour we finally caught a sale that has a few interesting items including a new backpack for little man, some 'new' VHS tapes, and a few items for my mom. As we were walking out of the sale Boo started the MJ crotch grab and I knew it was potty time.

I potty trained all my kids on the regular toilet without an insert or anything, so I was interested to see what would happen when I offered this foreign plastic seat as a place to do her business. Without even blinking she sat on it and peed all in the back hatch of my mom's car. And I wonder why people look at me like I'm nuts... I didn't want the pee sloshing around in the potty obviously, so I had no choice but to dump the pee in the woods outside their driveway. Sorry nice garage sale people!!

Boo actually thought that peeing in a plastic seat in the back of a car was pretty freeing and repeatedly asked to go. I didn't want to deny her and I was even starting to get used to the funny look that people give you when they realize what your adorable toddler is doing in the back of the car, but I was fearing what would happen if she decided to do more than pee.

I got the chance pretty quickly after that, but it wasn't very much and I could just collect it in a baby wipe for disposal. Plus she did it at these pissy ladies' house where they wanted 50% off the cover price for books- at a GARAGE SALE. Please... even my toddler knows what to 'say' to that.

I didn't get a ton of stuff and we seemed to be those people that cleared out the free box and didn't buy anything at a few of the sales, but overall the day went well. The kids and I had a blast and we got some cheap items to boot.

Next time you see a crazy lady with unbrushed hair with a cute toddler pooping in the back of her van pull over and say hi- I love talking with my adoring fans!

Dirty Little Secrets Friday!

I missed last week's edition since I was too busy doing God knows what, but I'm back now with two weeks worth of juiciness to spill... if only I could remember anything but today!

Leave a comment with your dirty little secrets and remember, you can ALWAYS post anonymously so I can re-read it ten times looking for clues about who it could be. I have no life, remember?

I'm scared to share these because I'm link on Facebook now, and I'm only used to sharing my DLS's with my bloggy friends. (That was itself a dirty little secret!)

We went to lunch with my mom today and a huge lady with her fat hanging out of her shirt sat down right next to us. I could tell Sweetie Pie wanted to say something or ask about her and I was PRAYING that she would keep her mouth shut.

My kids had cookies and beef sticks for 'lunch' then refused to eat their real lunch.

I bought a tiny kiddie potty today to carry in my van for emergencies. I'd MUCH rather have Boo poo in the potty in my van than have her hang onto a public potty, especially one we used today. Nasty!

My kids are so deprived of clean toilet experiences that they asked really loudly why the water was blue. In my defense the toilet we used was so gross that they probably use the blue stuff to cover the stains.

I haven't made my bed in 2 weeks.

I stapled Boo's curtain (really just a thick blanket to block the 24 hour Alaskan light) to the wall because she kept pulling it down. Mr. Wright's going to be thrilled when he sees all the holes in her wall.

Somedays I want to sell Little Man on Craigslist. And throw in the dog free with purchase. I bet he wants to sell me on Craigslist too so I'm thinking we're even.

I haven't worn jammie pants in weeks! It's been too hot... I sure miss them though.

I need a shower. And to shave. And probably a haircut and brow waxing. Basically I feel like a stinky swamp monster.

There you go... now it's your turn!

My New Craftopia!

I've been so caught up in actually using my craft area that I had totally forgotten to share my awesome space! I'm back to reality now (only for a few minutes of course) and I'm so excited to show off my new favorite corner of the house.

Here's the before picture in case you missed it, and it was actually worse than that before I actually got around to organizing it:



And here's the after!



What a change! These are the awesome cabinets that my sis gave me FREE because she rocks and I've packed them full of fun sewing goodies.



Here's my felt in the left cabinet, and all my cottons and flannels and fleeces in the right. I didn't really realize what I had even though it was organized before just because I couldn't really get to where it was. It was like a shopping spree once I saw all my fun stuff that's been MIA for a few months.



Here's my giant drawer full of patterns I'll probably never use. I'm addicted to buying patterns at those $.99 sales that Joann's has and I've only hit one or two of those to collect this stash!



And my notions boxes for all my velcro, elastic and other sewing junk. I haven't gotten around to labeling them yet, but I stuck some cute scrap paper in there for right now just to spruce them up a bit. These were on sale at Joann's for $2 each, and the $12 I spent on them was the only money I put into this makeover!!



Thanks for stopping by my craft nook- I hope you like it! All I needed was one more thing to distract me from all those dishes!! :P

Apron Me Crazy!

I'm finally able to share my secret project that I was working on for an embarrassingly long time! I made my sister (Senorita Snarkalicious) a cupcake apron for her birthday. She picked out the fabric a long time ago, but she knows me well and never really expected me to actually produce something out it. I've never made an apron before and it was hardly the pattern to start on, but I'm so proud of it and may need to make my own to hang in my kitchen and never use.



The saying on my wall is actually there (except for the apron part, of course!) and this is the future home of my photo wall in my dining room. I was so jealous of my friend Linsay's impressive photo wall (take a peek here) that I had to make my own. My photos will make a border around the saying instead of making a square like hers though.

I'm unsure of what my next crafty project is going to be, but I think I'm going to take an apron break for a month or two! Maybe one of these days I'll even share the 'after' picture of my new craft area!

Clean Sweep

I've finally gotten around to cleaning up my craft area in the hopes that I will cross a few million projects off my crafty to do list. For some reason I haven't been able to get motivated with 3 square inches of open table to work on. I took before pictures over a month ago in hopes that I would do it right away, but better late than never, right? I don't have after pictures yet since I'm not 100% done but I thought I'd share what I've been working on. It's fun to organize all my stuff and see what I have! Plus folding all my fabric and stacking it together makes my OCD smile.

Anyway, here's what I'm working with... scary!



I can't wait to get off my butt and take the after so I can share my new space!

The Three Little Bigs

The other day my friend Linsay linked me to an article by Camille Roskelley, 3 Things = Happy Me. Basically the idea behind the article is to ditch giant to do lists that will never get finished and simplify with a 3 item list. Every night before bed you chose 3 things that you want to accomplish the next day. Unfortunately she already put the kibosh on putting 'feed kids' on the list but she never said I couldn't put "change out of and preferably wash skeezy jammies" or "seriously find out where that smell is coming from" on there. You aim to complete the three things, and you'll feel much more satisfied than if you had made a list with 50 items on it and complete 'only' three. I'm guilty of this, and even typed and printed my never-ending to do list, but she may have a point seeing as how I haven't even seen that list in a few weeks, much less accomplished anything on there.

I also seem to have a problem with selective overachieving, so hopefully I'll be able to do four things and be proud that I did something even though I didn't "have to". Actually I kinda do "have to" do a bunch of laundry tomorrow since the family is picky and demanding clean underwear and socks. I on the other hand don't need socks since it's summer, and it too hot to run the dryer... and the, er, washing machine because of the hot water. Just to be safe I'd better not run the vacuum either- it tends to get warm....

This is quite a rambling post, but I guess that's what I get for blogging at 1am after a warm shower. If you made it through the sleep-drunk post then I thank you, and if you're just skipping to the end because you're dying to know what kind of jammie pants I'm wearing then I'll just give you the cliff's notes:

1. Pick three things you want to accomplish today
2. Do those three things (I'm hoping mine don't involve the heat inducing chores listed above)
3. Invent cool summer pajama pants since I'm stuck in a skanky nightgown until we have a night that isn't a billion degrees.

That last one doesn't have to be done today of course, but you can make your own rules with it. What a great way to accomplish something without really doing a whole lot- Isn't that what Mrs. Wright is all about anyway??

Day 100- The First (And Last) 100 Days

Day 100... are you kidding me? In some ways I feel like I've been blogging forever, and then I look around my house and realize that I'm not quite as far into this journey as I though I would be. I can't say I'm surprised since old habits die hard, but I would have hoped to have made SOME kind of progress.

At the moment my dishes are caught up and have been for 10 days, but I'm sure like the cycles of cleaning before it will fall by the wayside and I'll be back to square one. I have an entire couch filled with clean laundry to fold, no one can find anything to wear since it's all piled there getting wrinkled, and I'm constantly battling with mildew from leaving clothes in the washing machine. I tried a chore box with no real luck, I tried daily lists, I tried a schedule- nothing really clicked with me. Unfortunately I'm going to do my 'chores' around the house when I feel like doing them, which that also has to mesh with what the kids are doing and who's biting whom at that moment, so it's no surprise that I don't get a lot done.

The OCD side of me wants to wake up at 5am every day, shower and read or sew until the family gets up when I naturally would make them a fancy (this means cooked) breakfast. The Mrs. Wright side of me knows that most days would be like today where I peeled myself out of bed at 8am and put some Hostess powdered mini donuts in a bowl for my kids while I checked my email though. Hey, my kids wouldn't even know what to do with an omelet! At least I'm not wearing jammies pants these days due to the wacky Alaskan heat wave. 85 degrees, no air conditioning and jammies just don't mix, much to my chagrin.

As I mentioned once before I'm giving up the 'Day whatever' format to relieve a little pressure on my blogging since it's turned into one more thing I have to do everyday instead of an outlet to whine about my lack of progress and tell everyone about what strange substance I sat in that day. I'm sure I'll lose readers if I don't post everyday, which I struggle with since I strive to be liked by everyone, but it is something that I have to do for my sanity.

I want to thank all my readers who have followed these first 100 days, anyone who stopped by even just for a second, anyone who ever left me a comment reminding me that I'm not just talking to myself, and my kids, husband, and sister for creating so many funny stories and situations for me to blog about. Without them I'd be giving everyone my take on the day's Regis and Kelly lineup... at least my blog is more interesting than that. Unless they have Brad Pitt on that day.

I still plan to blog 4-5 times a week and participate in blog carnivals, but the 7-9 posts a week are starting to wear on me and my unwashed hair. I feel much better even from just posting this, and today I'm going to enjoy the warm temperatures and polish off the rest of the powdered donuts. Right after I fold all that laundry of course...

Day 99- Today, Volume II

Today I'm too hot to blog. It's 85 degrees and no one in Alaska has air conditioning.

Today I wore a skanky skirt from high school because I was so hot.

Today I longed to look like I did in high school in it.

Today we drove over the top of a mountain, played in the river, and almost overheated my van about 10 times.

Today I was told that Boo is in the 5th percentile for weight.

Today I ate my weight in starbursts.

Today I hit level 17 on Farm Town. Sick... sick, sick, sick.

Today I did NOTHING around my house.

Today I was really hot... did I mention that I'm hot?

Day 98- Zombies or Spiders?

I'm so behind on blogging today, but Farm Town called! Nothing starts a day off right like fake farming. I was smirking too until I got my own farm... now I close my eyes and see farms! Scary...

Today was actually quite productive thanks to my sister Senorita Snarkalicious. She came to make sure I didn't get murdered in my crawlspace, and to save me from giant spiders. I always think that in an emergency we could stay under the house since our giant water 'bladder' is down there, but I'd rather be eaten by the rabid vampire zombies that get spider webs on me. Anyway, I finally put all my Christmas decorations, Halloween stuff, and all the other crap that I don't need out but can't get rid of under the house to free up some space under my stairs. I've lived here 5 years and never gotten around to doing it, so hurray!

If only I could hide all our other crap we need to sell down there so I could avoid the dreaded garage sale... I'm hoping that with the extra space I can get my sewing area set up and organized. Wouldn't that be nice?? Ehhh, maybe tomorrow...

Day 97- My Favorite Things

My favorite things I found in blogland this week...

Turn a garbage bag into an art smock!



You'll never guess what's in this chic do-it-yourself container!!

Make a beanbag toss game!

A wonderful charity project to do with even the youngest kids!

The best way EVER to pack kids for a trip!


I hope you enjoy this small slice of my bookmarks, and come back next Sunday for an all new edition of My Favorite Things!

Day 96- Farmed Out

Happy Independence Day! In honor of the 4th I'd like to declare my independence from diet food, exercise, leg hair stubble, and Sportscenter. Since that is just a dream I'll have to give the rundown on the housekeeping front instead. I do feel a revolution brewing though!! Viva no Sportscenter!!

I've been doing a GREAT job at keeping up with my dishes, and I even fit some laundry in there once I got the mildew-y mess out of my washing machine! The kids' room is also sparkling and for the first time in months the kids' beds were made too. The basics have been covered, but my vacuum isn't really getting used as much as I would hope.

Really the biggest issue I have these days is Farm Town on Facebook. It's addicting. Basically it's cyber farming, and I never knew it could be so fun... in fact, I have it open in another window and I'm checking back every 2 minutes. Mr. Wright thinks I have a problem (which I probably do) but now that I'm started up I can plant some stuff that takes a few days and I won't have to check as often. I'm not really sure if that is really going to solve the vacuuming problem or not unfortunately.

I have quite the to do list going, and I haven't gotten as many crafty projects done as I would have liked, but I have a whole field of wheat and corn and grapes. I know you think I'm lame now, because I thought it was lame before I tried it, but it really just sucks you in. If only I could grow real food and then my family might appreciate it more.

My goal for today is to vacuum at least the living room and stairs, and grow some more crap on my farm. Hey, at least I'm motivated to do SOMETHING! That's progress, right!?

Day 95- Dirty Little Secrets

I recorded Princess Protection Program on the Disney channel for Sweetie Pie and then watched it all by myself after they went to bed.

I may have made some brownies to go along with my movie fest... maybe.

I freaking love the Jonas Brother's music... I labeled their cd 'punk rock' so no one would know.

I may have a second copy for emergencies labeled JB.

I am scary addicted to Farm Town on Facebook.

I left laundry in my washing machine for 4 days and it smelled up my whole downstairs.

I wish that I had a million dollars just so I could put up a fence to keep all my neighbors out of my life.

I haven't washed my jeans in a week.

I panicked at dinner time yesterday and ordered pizza which I never do.

I ate three slices of that pizza, and they weren't tiny.

I totally forgot to wash a load of Mr. Wright's stuff that he had asked me to and I don't even know why I forgot.

I hate taking my kids to the park since it's always drenched in judgy moms and kids that push.

What's your dirty little secret? Leave me a comment, and remember that you can post anonymously!

Day 94- Organizing Roundup!

It that time of the month again... no, not that. It's Org Junkie's Monthly Organizing Roundup! This month focuses on our vehicles. I have to say that I was dreading this challenge as my van normally looks (and smells) like someone just fished it out of a dump... and then sprayed it with flower deodorizer, and then a nearby french fry factory exploded.

Here's the scary before... note Boo screaming at the top of her lungs, the happy meal collection, and hey- there's that roll of paper towels I've been looking for! It's like an Ispy! I spy a goldfish cracker bag, a sock, 345 french fry stubs...



Here's the nifty organizer thingy in the back that I didn't even KNOW I had! It already had the tools and crap in it (Mr. Wright must have known all along!) but I put our 'emergency' Capri Suns and DVD player in and got rid of the bag that use to hold that stuff. I left the right compartment empty so I can put snacks, wipes and other stuff in there.



Airing out the clutter free van!



Boo looking for all the snacks that she had previously shoved down the side of the seat...



My minivan... 10 pounds lighter, and smelling a whole lot better!



I sprayed half a can of smellies and shut all the doors- hopefully I'll be able to drive it in a few days without passing out from the fumes. On second thought the fumes of the dirty van weren't that great either... thanks for joining me for another edition of Org Junkie's Monthly Round Up, and check out what everyone else did with their vehicles on the I'm An Organizing Junkie Website. I always find great ideas there! Next up I'll be tackling hair and makeup supplies. I guess I should get mine out of the garage in preparation :P

To see more of Mrs. Wright's before and after posts click here!

Day 93- Does This Bag Make My Bag Look Wide?

I've stayed up the last few nights to finish what I thought would be the coolest purse/camera bag/ diaper bag ever. Unfortunately I'm still Mrs. Wright and I didn't think the measurements through so I made it too wide and too short. I still really like it, but it just isn't what I wanted. It was actually a lot easier than I thought it would be, so I'm wondering if I should jump on the bandwagon and start a shop on Etsy. I'm so intimidated, but what's the worst that can happen?

For now, I'll just dream that people are knocking down my door to buy a bag that was sewn with Boo peeing on my leg and Spongebob blaring in the background. If they only knew...





I'm going to start over and make a smaller version with pockets now... that is after I finish the other 20 things on my crafty to do list!