decluttering. our. lives.

Obviously the clutter thing has been an issue my entire life. And, by me talking so much about it doesn't mean that I have conquered it, by any stretch. It is a battle I face every day (hA, I'm making this sound so serious, like I have a major illness...).

I guess what I am trying to say is this, when you come to my house, don't have great expectations. Like I said, always a WORK in PROGRESS. ok. thanks for that disclaimer.

My point in writing this morning (yes, it is 5:34 a.m. and I can't sleep, so I thought I'd do something rather than just laying uncomfortably in bed)---is because I stumbled upon this FABULOUS article taken from The Happiness Project blog (thank you, Krista!). Apparently, it is all about finding out what makes your life happier. She is putting out a book too, which I might just have to buy.

I remember our art history professor (Aaron and I took the class together) told us, "Truth is truth, no matter where you find it." I love that statement and think about it all the time.

Well, she has some mighty truths over there. I love something she wrote that will be in her book,

'I said to him, “Someday, we’ll look back, and it will be hard to remember that we ever had
such little kids. We’ll say, ‘Remember when Eleanor still used her purple sippy cup, or when
Eliza wore ruby slippers all the time?’”
He squeezed my hand. “We’ll say, ‘That was such a happy time.’”
The days are long, but the years are short.'

Another great truth.

Anyway, she did a post about de-cluttering. I'll let you read it on her blog in it's full form, but some gems I found are these:

"I believe it’s easier to put things away in an exact place, rather than a general place ('the third shelf of the coat closet,' not 'a closet.')" ---SO true! that is the KEY for me being able to stay organized! no wonder my mom has me use so many little storage bins...

"I can’t get rid of anything that I might possibly need one day." ...Do you have gigantic stores of things like rubber bands or ketchup packets? How many coffee mugs does one family use?

"If you lose a bunch of weight, you’ll want to buy a new pair of jeans, not a pair you bought seven years ago. ----such a great point!


---like I said, find it in it's full form here.

All I can say, is at this point, I feel a lot happier getting rid of things that I thought "defined" me, or clearing out things that didn't hold much value anymore.

And while we're on the topic, why did I have so many MUGS? I mean, I love hot chocolate, but honestly... what was I thinking holding onto so many all these years??

So, I guess what I am trying to say is this, THANK YOU, MOM. I love that she already knew all this stuff. No wonder people have had her come into their homes and help them all these years! How lucky for me.

Now if I can just finish the assignments she gave me to go through those last few boxes that I'm tripping over in my bedroom... oh, but making felt flowers is much more fun. :)

it's about that time...

Well, it seems like all signs point to Christmas... and soon!

Yes, yes, we still have Thanksgiving next week (which we're pretty excited about around here), but I must admit, I MAJORLY LOVE CHRISTMAS. all of it. the music (especially love this), the shopping, the decorating, the parties, the reflection, the wrapping... all of it. it's all heaven.

So, my mom was in town this past weekend, and we got some GREAT organizing done. She and Aaron are both SO proud of all the things that I was able to get RID of! I'll take pictures later, b/c I want to show it all in it's FINISHED form. I still have to take down old pictures and put up new frames with cowboy images in them... b/c yes, we now have a spot for our little Texas cowBOY. Not just a spot, pretty much a ROOM too.

Remember what it USED to look like (see below)? Well, get excited for new pictures soon.


We completely moved out my desk (which is currently listed on Craigslist) and folding table and found a big stash of cowboy print fabric that I happened to have in my box (no idea when I got it or WHERE I got it)... but we're transforming the room into a little cowboy's retreat.

---Anyway, back to Christmas fun. My mom and I were at the UPS store the other day and while she was inside I saw a lady come out of the store with a bright red christmas sweat-shirt and beautiful silvery-white-bob-length hair. I thought, wow, she looks like a modern day Mrs. Claus. Intrigued, I watched her get into a big TEXAS sized edition of a Chevy truck. Which just so happened to be GREEN. Looking over to see who the driver was, I opened my mouth and gasped! The man who I assumed to be her husband had a MEGA long white beard and long white hair----with a RED PLAID shirt on, no less! THEN! I saw a little stuffed Santa Claus in their front window above the dashboard....

At this point my mind was racing! Could this really be Mr. and Mrs. CLAUS... in the flesh!?! I mean, they WERE, afterall, leaving the UPS store!?!

Then, the ultimate happened. As they were pulling away I glanced at their license plate. TOY MAKR !!!! Seriously. True story. I saw Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus. It was awesome. I was totally freaking out and poor Matilda had no idea why!! I can't believe my mom was IN the store the whole time! She would have died too!!!

So, there you have it. You may have THOUGHT that they lived in the North Pole... and maybe they normally do, but it looks like they are staying in Texas. San Antonio to be exact. Maybe they are here for Thanksgiving?? Who knows. All I know is I AM EXCITED!!! :)

What to do with all this excitement? Spend FAR too long on this site, "elf-ing" ourselves. Tillie practiced LONG and HARD doing these moves. And, unfortunately, Aaron got a big crick in his neck. But, kept a smile on the WHOLE time. What a big boy! So proud. Feel free to watch the show.

Ahhh... good times at the Wood house.

another find!

Okay, as you all know, I'm knee deep in old stuff from yesteryear.

Well, I happened upon a scrap piece of paper that read:

MY HOROSCOPE TODAY:
A recent inability to accomplish anything tangible is about to change.
Someone who is along to help might be fascinated with your approach to work.

Obviously it's a good one for me. No wonder I saved it.
That's why I'm going to immortalize it on the blog-o-sphere.
Hopefully it comes true for me.

And that special "someone who is along to help" aka Denise? I'm sure she'll be fascinated with my work approach. Oh, yeah. Fascinated is definitely the word.

as of late...

So, I'm curious, why I haven't been on the Cinnamon Toast Crunch train for the last few years? Hello? Weird. Because it is SO delicious.

It re-entered my life via a sale at the local grocery store. And, at this very moment in time, I'm enjoying my first bowl. Ice cold milk to accompany = perfection.

Life is good, even though my front room is a total disaster.

Why is it a mess? I decided to finally go through The Box.

Now, you may wonder how many years I've packed this infamous box around? And, I'll tell you 7 years. Seriously, it hasn't been opened for a LOOOONG time. Do you want to know what is written on the side? Okay, I'll tell. Some people don't use the word I'm about to write, but because it's on the box, I have to disclose:
"Melissa's CRAP box (to organize)". That's the title.

You can see why I've waited so long.

Why did I decide that TODAY was finally the day? Well, my mom comes into town on Friday, and we are determined to make room in our home ready for a family of FOUR. Meaning, I gotta get rid of a lot of stuff in order to do so. Hence, why I am going through old stuff that hasn't been looked at for years. I even had to call some of my BFFs (Sarah and Melissa) to talk me through WHICH things to keep and which things to chuck. Thanks, ladies.

Keep the journal, chuck the notes from Humanities. Keep the jewelry, chuck the broken flashlights and guitar picks. And so on.

Hopefully I'll be ready for our CLEAN SWEEP/ORGANIZE EXTRAVAGANZA this weekend.

In other news, I mentioned the journal I found. It just happens to be from early elementary school years, picked it back up a few times in jr. high, and finished it during high school days. I've spent the evening reading a few gems to Aaron.

I've now determined that my life is chronicled by which boy I liked at the time. I must admit, I look a little bit boy crazy as I'm reading past entries. I asked Aaron, "How am I going to keep track of time now, because I'll have you as my favorite for SO long??" Somehow I'll manage. One can only hope.

And, I've decided that maybe, as some of you parents highlight the darling things your children say on the side of your blog (which I think are truly great and love to read. honestly, i do)---I was thinking maybe I'd put up a few snippets from entries I wrote as a darling little teenager.

What's the vote?

Okay, fine. I'll do it. And, better yet, I'll start now.

Nov. 3, 1991 (seven years old):
"Now we have an new baby sister. She is 3 years old. oh, is she a pane in the neck. but she will grow out of it. Let's go on to Jesse, he is now 10 years old. He is a pane in the neke [neck] sometimes."

April 26, 1998 (13 years old):
"Whitney is sick. I feel so bad. Her throat is like swollen. It started yesterday at play practice... Ms. Shelton said stay off carbonation and sugar so we can do our best. Ha! I had a huge glass of root beer on Friday and I still load sugar on my cereal and scrape it off with my spoon at the end."---note to the reader, I still enjoy doing that from time to time with my cereal.

March 14, 2000 (16 years old):
--talking about one of my sister's friends coming to visit (he was a cute boy). '[As he was leaving] Jesse shook hands with him and I was about to do the same--when he pulled in and put his arms around me and... I wish I could write he KISSED me--but he didn't. He just said, "See ya later, Miss." All I could say was, 'Bye.' I'm such a freak. But really, what would I have said--'I love you. Kiss me you fool!'---I think not."


Ahh, there's more where that came from. A whole bunch of treasures. I don't want to list TOO many right now, though. You understand.

I'm glad I kept a journal. It funny how you forget so many things that happened so long ago, but when you read past entries, you can remember so many details about it all.

Anyway, that's all for now. Let's all hope Tillie doesn't choke on my past Young Womanhood Medallions or trip over the old textbooks bound for the recycle bin. Cross your fingers for us over here.

we have a winner!!

Instead of putting your names into a hat, I decided to go ahead and use this dandy little device on Random.org. Don't worry, for you who did Facebook and Blog posts, I made sure to assign you specific numbers at the end of the comment section---so we were definitely fair. And, looky looky. It looks like it was LUCKY NUMBER 7!

Come on down, Patrice, you are the winner!

Patrice said...

My favorite is the Walt Whitman...I love the flowers!!! My 2nd fav is the Merry Christmas. You are amazing and I want your printer!!!

November 2, 2009 9:30:00 AM CST

Okay, you don't need to COME anywhere! I'll get the print to YOU! You have won your favorite print, the Walt Whitman quote. Nice pick, girl.

To the rest of you who entered and gave me some feedback---GRACIAS!! That is so great to hear your thoughts. I'm definitely going to be doing more of these give-aways in the future, because I think it is SO much fun!! I feel like Santa Claus in NOVEMBER! :)

Anyway, congrats. And, thanks again to everyone else who helped spread the word. Hope you all have a WACKY WEDNESDAY!




Speaking of Wacky... We pretended like it was Wacky Hair Day at school---wait, I mean, at home. Tillie's hair is getting longer and I've been trying to decide whether or not to trim it or pull it back out of her eyes each day. Here's what she looked like. Maybe a little TOO wacky. But, darling, none-the-less.








is it me, or when her hair is pulled back doesn't she look like she if FOUR years old? Oh my.





I just love her cute little rear-end. And, how great are these jeans? Man, little clothes on little bums. Too cute.





Cheers to you all! Thanks again!

last call on give away...

okay ladies and gents,

This is just a reminder that you have till TOMORROW at NOON (my time=central) to enter in the give-away for a free print.

here are the details from that post.

Good luck! I'm so excited! It feels like Christmas!

new prints = GIVE AWAY!

okay, team.

Let me introduce to you the prints that have been swimming around in my head for FAR too long. But, when I finally got my NEW super rad Epson photo r1900 printer, I could FINALLY get these prints out of my mind and onto pretty paper. The thing I'm most excited about is the Ultachrome PIGMENT inks (translation=beautiful color, smudge proof, humidity resistant, and let's hear it for the color lasting 150 + years if you take care of it (meaning don't put it in the sun and keep in a dry place)). Here's a picture of the beaut:


Did I mention that I'll be able to print large format prints too (meaning 13" wide?!).

Sigh. I'm so happy. Dreams do come true.

Here are a few photographs of the delights which are now, finally, available in my shop.
















and remember how I talked about this one so much? Here's the print I designed for it. What do we think?






So, there you go. There are the prints available for NOW (a few more are on the way). If you'd like to see more detail of the ones shown above, again, head over to the shop.

Give away? You bet ya.

Here's what you have to do to enter:
1) comment on which is your favorite by this Wednesday, Nov. 4th (by noon central time).
then I'll do the drawing to see who is picked and send you your favorite in the mail.

You'd like MORE chances to win? Feel free to do your OWN blog post or FACEBOOK post about the give away, AND let me know you did, then you get TWO chances to win.

Pretty fancy pants, I know.

Good luck! Let the fun begin!