New Leaf, day - {gulp} - 9

Aaaah!! I don't think I'm going to finish!!

All the time I had for it today went towards clearing out that bugaboo of a top drawer in our file cabinet!

Here's what I have left to do (made a list this morning):

 

Tomorrow I can spend most of the day on it once the boys leave for school, minus a short commitment in the morning. (I'll be performing with DC for our neighbors. He's getting ready for an upcoming recital, so we're playing Bartok's Romanian Dances for them. So fun!)

Tell me I can do it! Maybe with some crazy music and a marathon day tomorrow. . . . .

The Great Paper Purge of '09 - New Leaf, day 8

Only two days left! I'm in the home stretch! But I'm starting to worry that this is ending up to be more than a 10-hour job. . . .

So tomorrow and Friday I'm going to hit it hard and Do This Thing!!

Only two days left to enter the giveaway, too. I've decided that for each comment you have made on a new leaf post, you get an entry into the drawing. I may do more than one prize, because I just wish I could send chocolate to all of you beloved friends, so we'll see how it ends up. :)

Today I spent an hour and a half on the top drawer of the file cabinet, throwing away almost a whole kitchen garbage bag full. And it's not even done yet! Crazy-ness. I can't believe how long some of that useless stuff sat in there and kept me from using the file cabinet.

I have realized something about myself. Maybe you're like this too, but I actually kind of LIKE filing stuff. It makes me feel happy when something has a designated home, and I put it there, and kiss it good night and close the door and feel all cozy. But if its designated home is SO CLUTTERED AND STUFFED FULL OF JUNK that I can't put it there, so I put it somewhere else and it becomes homeless and I can't find it when I need it, well, then I DON'T like filing stuff. In fact, then it's right up there with getting an IV or unclogging a toilet.

So the key is to keep my file cabinet useable!!

That's for stuff that has to be filed, like bills and bank statements and other joys.

Memorabilia stuff, well, that's actually turning out to be more fun than I thought. Now that I have been freed from the idea of having to save every. little. cute. thing ever created by one of my children--because I can take pictures of it, and because there are so many that I can just pick my favorites--there will hopefully be room to store those treasures in their individual totes.

Fluffy is so excited about his tote (hot pink and all) that he wants to look through it with me for his Super Kid date this Saturday. Awesome.

 

Gotta run pick up these cuties. . . .:)

 

Made me feel Heavenly Father's love today:

My wonderful visiting teacher Linda came and listened to me and taught me and we both cried.

 

Made me smile today:

PW says that rosemary is her "favorite herb on the face of God’s green earth."

New Leaf, day 6

Can I just say that ya'll are awesome? Your sweet comments have helped me SO MUCH!!! This morning I woke up feeling very unmotivated and "tired" and my first thought was, "Today's going to be a computer/blah day."

But then I remembered this New Leaf giveaway and my goal to finish conquering the Paper by Friday and I knew that I needed to get my toosh in gear. I couldn't stand the thought of having to report a wasted day.

So I spent AN HOUR AND A HALF today (to make up for Friday), and made it through this. . . . .

(Lest you think we live in complete squalor, that is NOT the floor in my house. We keep the file cabinet in the garage. I know it's a bit unorthodox, but it's better than having it in the living room, where it was before! :)

Now instead of being crammed so tight nothing else will fit, it is only about 2/5ths full!! YIPPEE!!! Now there will be room for what is currently stacked in the dining room and in the downstairs hall closet.

Only 4 days to go. . . .Thank you so much for every single little word of encouragement!

 

Bonus: A collection of paper-organizing tips :)

Here are some of the great tips that were left in the comments last week. I love these!!!

Amanda T - You do this! Have you heard of flylady? I have incorporated some of her ideas into our home with success.

I LOVE FlyLady! I use a lot of her ideas, including the morning and after-dinner routines and the zones. I think she is brilliant and such a generous person.

Mary D - I am very proud of you! Take it 15 minutes at a time and you will be amazed at your progress. For 15 minutes you work hard and then take a break, it really does help keep you motivated.

Becky Rose - Have you heard of Houseoforder.com She's LDS and has great systems and books on how to get organized. She'll even send you weekly news letters via Email. You Can do it!

I had never heard of this! Sounds great!

Stephanie Johnson - One thing I've done is create a notebook for each kid for each grade. I have tabs like: Report Cards, Artwork, Class Info, About Me, etc. Whatever artwork doesn't have a foot or handprint or something sentimental, then I take a digital picture of it, file it on the computer under their school year, and then throw the artwork away. Hopefully that's a way you can "declutter". Good luck! :)

This is nifty! I will probably use this later this week, when I attempt to condense papers from all the boys into their individual totes. It is torture for me to throw away paper that is in the least bit sentimental, so I love the idea of digitizing some of it!

Amy Kay - . . . . And yes piles of paper...hate them, and need to get them organized too. I am going to strive to work with you on this. And YES MUSIC is wonderful. Good luck! Love and Hugs, Amy.

Chris (he has to be blue :) - Hey, maybe we could go through papers for a date some time. We could have a big bon-fire with the trash and roast marshmallows for a treat!

awesome :)

llamitanan - I like Stephanie's idea of having a folder on the computer for your children's papers. It would be fun to put the best ones in one folder and have that as your digital scrapbook for your children to watch. They would LOVE seeing their favorites going across the screen. Just take a picture of them with your camera.

Amanda T - I don't know if the idea works for you or not, but I once read a suggestion to take good photos of the artwork your children create and then only save a FEW pieces. You have the photos to preserve the memory, but make room for new pieces and more prominent displays.

llamitanan - Good job, Michelle! I remember Daryl Hoole suggesting filing ten papers a night back before computer days. A few bites a day consumes the huge elephant. :)

Malauna - I do hope that your fair city has a paper recycling program and instead of putting the paper in the garbage it is going in the recycle bin ;) However, if it doesn't, throwing away is better than piling up!

It doesn't--can you believe it? We have had the biggest hassles when we've tried to find ways to recycle our phone books! Hopefully it decomposes quickly. . . .

Andre - I like cleaning the girls room and going through their papers when they are at school. It's easier when they have no idea that I threw anything away. I just went through Savannah's papers from last school year, too. They had been residing in her closet. Most went in the garbage, the ones I kept I put in a tupperware box that is just for her special school papers. I have one just for Dakotah, too.

Mary D - You are doing a super job, keep it up! I got a tote for each one of the kids and have stuff in there from birth all the way through graduation and now am putting college things in it. They love to go in there and see what they did when they were younger. As Bailey makes her own milestones Jeremy asks - when did I start doing that? And then I go into his box and find out and tell him. It is special. When it started getting full I would go through it and have to throw away things that were similar but that I only needed one of, not one each year. That way I keep it to one tote each.

I'm so glad to see how many people use the tote idea with success. That is what I'm switching to this week--although unfortunately the only ones Walmart had at the time were HOT PINK. So my boys will have their treasures forevermore in HOT PINK file totes! ha

llamitanan - Good for you--you took time out for the Temple! Now you will definitely meet your goal. I find I accomplish a lot more in my week if going to the Temple is one of the activities.

Becky - Just kick your trash! Hee hee. I mean, don't be afraid to throw things away. The trash can is YOUR friend!

Day 37 - { beloved Rosy }

 

If you guessed that I was going to announce the name of our daughter, you were right! (I'm just so subtle and discreet. :)

Our daughter will be named for three very special women in our life:

DC's Mom = Mary Catherine

My Mom = Nancy Jane

and . . . .

my beloved friend Rosy Wright

 

Let me introduce you! :)

 

This is Rosy and Tommie Wright. Our friendship with them is one of the greatest blessings that came from our time in graduate school. We have countless precious memories of time spent together in Tallahassee.

 

I served as one of Rosy's counselors in the Relief Society presidency, and she was like my sister, my mother-away-from-home, and my best friend all in one.

 

How can I describe Rosy?

 

She was born in Cuba, and emigrated to Florida as a teenager, having to leave her parents behind. She overcame incredible challenges, including earning a graduate degree while a single parent.

Her husband Tommie is a pianist and master teacher. He is legendary at FSU for writing the fight song and providing the profile for the Seminole mascot, and yet he is the most cheerful, humble, likeable man you will ever meet.

They have three beautiful daughters, who are just as lovely inside as out, and incredibly talented.

 

Their family life is Dickensian in its peacefulness and harmony (think the Cratchit family from A Christmas Carol). They just have a spirit of love and acceptance in their home that is magnetic. I loved every minute I ever spent with them, and DC and I have often talked about how their family life is an example for how we want ours to be.

Rosy is. . .

. . . .generous beyond belief, in every sense. Not only is she giving in the traditional way but she also is one to always give someone the benefit of the doubt. You want to be what she believes you are!

. . . .brilliant but Christlike - she's department head at a major college, but I have seen her serving in the humblest of circumstances - cleaning cupboards of someone about to move, taking dinner to someone when she herself is ill

. . . .fun to be around - she has the most amazing stories to tell, and has an ever-present sense of humor, but is a great listener, too, and very sensitive 

. . . .thoughtful to the point that she gives new meaning to the word - she gave a shower for me and Fluffy just after he was born - she brought a beautiful cake in honor of Hummer's blessing day - when she couldn't come to Exacto's BD party she sent a gift and also money for me to buy balloons for the party - I could keep listing examples for pages. . . .

. . . .beautiful - I still remember when I first met Rosy. I was sitting alone, waiting for Relief Society to begin on our first Sunday in Tallahassee. I was 20 years old and had our two-month-old Exacto. She was Relief Society president at the time, and when she saw me she immediately came over and introduced herself. From the moment I saw her first smile at me, I felt this amazing love from her, and a feeling almost like we had always known each other. She is truly one of the most beautiful people I have ever known -- her spirit is positive and radiant, yet because she has undergone such significant challenges in her life she has this incredible depth as well.

 

I have always wanted to name a daughter after her since I first was blessed to become her friend. Fluffy, Hyrum, and Benjamin were all in the running to be our "Rosy" until we found out they were boys. :)

 

This being our first daughter after so many sons, we also definitely wanted to include both our mothers as well (don't know if we'll get another chance :)!) I was so excited when we hit on just the right name that incorporates all three.

And so her name is . . .

We love 'Rosemary' because it is old-fashioned, and also because it is the herb of remembrance. When Benjamin died, his Aunt Ginger sent a beautiful rosemary wreath, which still hangs on our door. This baby is a precious ray of hope after the painful loss of her big brother.

 

We already call her Rosemary (perhaps a few of you have heard the beans spill :), and on this blog, she will be known as Rosebud.

Day 36 - { my mother }

 

"All that I am, or hope to be,

I owe to my angel mother."

~ Abraham Lincoln

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have thought and thought about how to write this post. How do you write your feelings about a person who is most precious to you and so close that you can't even think about yourself without thinking about her, too?

How do you write about the one who first taught you who you really are and who you are meant to become?

How can words ever express a love so strong and a gratitude so deep as what I feel for my mother?

I decided prose just can't cut it here. And so, a poem. This, to me, tells the sacred work that my mother has done in my life.

 

 

Out of all the blessings that I feel to thank Heavenly Father for, this is perhaps the greatest. Her influence on me for good for eternity is truly immeasurable.

 

New Leaf, day 5

<with downcast face, and voice lowering at the end of each sentence>

I had an off day.

I only did 20 minutes' worth of paper cleanup. And then I went to Hobby Lobby and had fun.

<lower lip poking out>

I need a spanking.

New Leaf, day 4

Hi, again!

Yesterday DC and I made a quick trip to Memphis to worship in the temple. It was so wonderful! Like a Super Date. :) It barely fit into a school day for the boys. Sweet. I hope we can do it again sometime if DC has the day off during the week. . . .

Anyway, so I missed day 3 of attacking the Monster. It got one more day to sit in smug contemplation of the frenzied efforts that had as yet been futile.

But today I was Back.

I spent my allotted hour on this little beauty. . . .

 

To my happy amazement, I was able to throw away a lot of it!! I thought for sure that all of it would be painstaking home-finding for each little paper. I had forgotten that when school got out last May <ahem> and the boys brought home full backpacks after cleaning out their desks, I had never gone through the piles. We had left immediately for AZ and when I got back all nauseated and cranky I stuffed all of it into the bags depicted above. Yeehaw, it felt good to throw away so much paper!!!

The rest of it was more difficult. There was even a stash of Christmas letters and cards from. . . gulp. . . .2006.

In a later post, I'll explain what my intentions are regarding the dreading Memorabilia stack. I do have a Plan! :)

 

P.S. In your wonderful drill-sergeant comments, will you please state your favorite TYPE of chocolate? (imported, dark, Hershey's, with filling, etc.) I am a dark, European chocolate sort of gal myself, but I know that not everyone shares that taste and I want to know better how to shop for the GIVEAWAY. :)