Domestic Geek

With Mother's Day right around the corner, this time of year always makes me think about my mom. It's been 11 years since she passed away. I remember my mother always loved getting carnations for Mother's Day. She thought that they were less pretentious than roses and they lasted longer. They also have a lighter smell and there are no thorns. It turns out that they were the appropriate flower for her as carnations are the flower of her birthday month (she was born in January). I guess since she loved them so much that's why carnations are one of my favorite flowers, as well. I really love mixed flower bouquets, though; especially arrangements with lilies and irises in them. I love variety and color.

I keep seeing ads for ProFlowers and wish that she was still around so that I could send her some. Since the flowers are delivered fresh from the fields, they would last even longer than those I used to bring home from the grocery store for her. Did you know that you can support breast cancer research when you order certain floral arrangements from ProFlowers? They have a line called The Pink Ribbon Collection, 10% of the sale price going to The Komen Foundation.

Speaking of flowers, the lilac bushes outside should be blooming soon. I love how the smell of fresh lilacs just fills the house.

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Laura over at I'm an Organizing Junkie! threw down a 30 Day Organizational Challenge:

Your challenge is to organize one room and/or one area in your home over the next 30 days and at the end of the 30 days post "before" and "after" pictures on your blog with a brief description of how you got from point A to point B.

In typical Queen of Procrastination® style, the challenge began on April 3rd, but I'm just now getting around to posting about it and getting started. It ends at 11:59 pm on Wednesday, May 2, 2007, so I've got to get cracking. I've decided to tackle the old craft room.


I have a whole set of before pictures over at my Organizational Challenge Photo Gallery. I'll upload progress pictures during the next couple of weeks and finished project pictures the beginning of May.

This room is intended to be my creative space. With all the clutter, creativity is the last thing that wants to blossom there. I've gotten lots of storage for the area, but I don't utilize it well. The biggest problem is that I try to have too many projects going at once and then I don't put things away that aren't currently being used. I've decided to implement a couple of new rules for myself to help keep this space organized: 1) I'm not going to allow myself to eat in there anymore so that dishes and stuff don't pile up back there. Also, 2) no more taking off socks. I get a whole week's worth piled up back there before laundry day. The biggest challenge with this room is it is where stuff gets stashed that doesn't have any other home since it's the farthest room towards the back of the house. When we expect guests, it's one of two rooms where stuff gets "hidden" behind a closed door. That stops immediately. The plan is to find that stuff a home or get rid of it. Also, my desk really sucks. Marcus has promised to help me get a better desk solution in there. We're going to Home Depot tomorrow to get supplies. I then need to find a way to better use the closet space I have. At the moment, there are just boxes thrown in.

So, this whole project begins the minute I publish this post by taking my dishes and socks out of here and putting them where they belong. Wish me luck!

So, the weather people have been salivating all week over a storm we were going to get hit with Thursday into Friday of this week. "We're getting a foot of snow," they said. Yeah, a little flurry action yesterday around 1 pm and then nothing. I am glad (even though I skipped the shower this morning to be able to leave early since I'm sure the drive will be a little more crowded than usual). I know Marcus was really looking forward to getting dumped on, but I just wasn't in the mood for it. Thank you for tracking to the South, April Snowstorm, it is much appreciated!

Renting movies through the mail has worked so well that I think I'm ready to try renting books that way, as well. Booksfree is an online rental service that allows you to rent paperback and audio books. For plans starting at as little as $8.49 a month, you can have unlimited book rentals with no due dates or late fees. I noticed that you can also purchase gift memberships for others.

I have really missed reading, as I used to devour at least one new book a week. I have been hesitant lately, however, to waste $8 to $10 on a paperback book that I'll probably read once or twice. I have been trying to avoid adding further clutter to my house. I've already gotten rid of a ton of books and still have a bookcase full. I've thought about borrowing from the library, but ours is so crowded and the books I want always seem to be checked out.

This program makes so much sense. The books are mailed to me and I can send them back postage paid as soon as I'm done. With over 88,000 titles (fiction and non-fiction both), I'm sure they have plenty of material to keep my entertained. I think I'll start with the Stephen King books I have fallen behind on reading. They also have Orson Scott Card books. I fell in love with his writing in college, but haven't read anything in years. I love the Alvin Maker series and didn't know there were at least two that I haven't read. Looks like I've got a lot of reading in my future!

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I was still on the computer doing some work when one of the guys from 2nd shift sat down to work next to me. He had a cup of Starbucks in tow. I was interrupted by another coworker that needed to access the program I was using to archive DVDs (only one person can access the database at a time), so I spent my little impromptu break reading the "The Way I See It" quote on his cup. I was intrigued because it's a topic with which I have been struggling so much lately. I didn't take the time to write what it said, but fortunatley Starbucks had some of the sayings on their site, including #204:

The Way I See It #204

Remember your dreams and fight for them. You must know what you want from life. There is just one thing that makes your dream become impossible: the fear of failure. Never forget your Personal Legend. Never forget your dreams. Your silent heart will guide you. Be silent now. It is the possibility of a dream that makes life interesting. You can choose between being a victim of destiny or an adventurer who is fighting for something important.

-- Paulo Coelho
Novelist. His works include The Alchemist, The Zahir and The Devil and Miss Prym.