on being organized

There was a time in my life that I spent a lot of energy researching how to be organized. I was looking through magazines, books, tv shows trying to find the perfect system that would make my life organized. And clean. Clean and organized.
I tried a few different things.
I finally realized that I wasn't just looking for a system to put things in order, what I really wanted was something that would stay organized without any effort from me. I wanted to clean up once and then never have to clean up that spot again. What I was looking for was something or someone to do the work for me. And then I knew that there is no magic wand to being organized. No matter what system I decide to use, I would still have to put in the work. You know, the whole 'keep up, don't catch up."
Alas.
Anyway, I came across a few articles today about being organized that seem to ring true with what I have decided is the Reality of organization in my life. here. here. and here.

It's Awesome, Jellyman

The kids have been trying out different sports the last few years. This summer we signed up Cuddles for baseball and tennis. He has a pretty good swing and of course he’s got the lefty advantage. It’s been great to see the improvement that they make as the season progresses. I just laughed through the first baseball game. The boys were so cute, but let’s just say that a good strategy was to just keep running, because the chances of you making it to the base were way higher than the chances of the kid on base catching it…

And since we have an ice rink really close by, we decided to take advantage and get Easy in some skating lessons. The first day, I really questioned whether it was a good idea. She did pretty much nothing but fall down. But she was so determined, she kept getting back up. About halfway through the first session she really biffed it and landed on her head. That was the only time she came off the ice. She had a good cry with Daddy and then got back out there. The next lesson she came prepared with a helmet and extra padding in her “trunk.” Hilarious. And look at her now! She’s passed the first two levels.

Mmmm, Zebra

Yesterday when we were at Sam’s Club they had a big fancy popcorn company giving out free samples for their super expensive popcorn. I promised the kids that I could make them popcorn just like that for a fraction of the cost. So this afternoon we made some of what they called “zebra” flavor.

And in celebration of the fact that I’ve lost 8 pounds this month I let myself taste some. But it’s back to the 60 calorie fudgsicles for me until I drop another 5.

This is the recipe for the caramel corn. Then we just drizzled melted chocolate chips and melted white chocolate on top for the zebra stripes.

Easy Caramel Corn

2 bags microwave pop corn*

(recipe calls for Jolly Time Blast o Butter)

Non stick cooking spray

1 cup butter or margarine

2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup corn syrup

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 250º. Coat the bottom of a large roasting pan with cooking spray. Pop the pop corn, discard any unpopped corn.
2. In a heavy pan, melt the butter. Stir in brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. Heat to a boil, stirring constantly. Then let boil for five minutes without stirring. Remove from heat, stir in baking soda and vanilla. Gradually pour over popped corn in roasting pan and stir.
3. Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Remove from oven, cool completely, store in airtight containers.

* I made one batch of popcorn {1/3 cup} in my Whirleypop {love it!} on the stove.

Oh, The Flowers, The Flowers

I love having flowers in our yard. Really, isn't that the whole point of having a yard?

I’m so glad that my roses survived the deers’ thanksgiving feast last fall…They’re still ticking. {Thriving might be too strong a word.} Hopefully they will keep growing and blooming.

Luckily Peonies repel the deer. That’s awesome. Unfortunately one of my peonies didn’t survive the snow on Easter. I’m wondering if it will come back next year or if it’s lost forever?See that fabulous birdbath? I put it together from a platter and candlestick I found at a garage sale.

A crazy wind storm this week knocked it over onto the rocks and shattered it. sniff.
Well, it is in the place where a peony should be, so maybe next year it will return...

And I’m quickly becoming a daffodil fan. I think mixing my tulips in with the daffodils is helpful in keeping the deer from decapitating them. They seemed to eat the ones that were on their own and leave the ones that were scattered in with the daffodils. And I’m learning quickly the virtues of other flowers that are unappetizing to deer {hyacinth, begonias, allium, iris, day lilies, bleeding hearts, clematis etc.}.

A Long Time Coming

I can pretty much count on my fingers the times when I have gone in to have my hair done. My hair grows relatively fast and I let it go from short to long before venturing back to a salon. The hairdressers usually double check a few times before taking the first cut just to be sure I really want to change things that drastically.

This time I knew I was overdue for a few reasons. My hair was getting so long that it hurt to put it in a ponytail since it was so heavy. Heavy and hot. Not exactly conducive to cooling me down on a summer afternoon. And then there was the hair catching on fire while making dinner incident. {I tried to get a picture of the melted hair, but it wouldn’t focus correctly that close up…} Yeah, it was time.

I have also been planning for a while to take Easy in to get her hair cut. As much as I want her hair to stay long and luscious, she loathes anyone brushing/combing it and it pretty much only would get brushed after a bath. And forget about styling. You know I’ve tried. As a result, her dreadlocks have been anything but luscious.

So, after much unintentional procrastination, we made our way this morning to the neighborhood beauty school. Since it was Easy’s first visit to a “beauty salon” I had them capture our before and afters:

She of course kept everyone entertained while she was there. And, while it wasn’t exactly the look I was going for, {they never seem to give me enough layers} I think it is a decent summer do. And I was able to donate the leftovers.