Crazy things make me happy

My spice cupboard makes me happy. 
Happy because it's all lined up.
Happy because it's labelled.
All is in order.  It's easy to find.  It's organized.
When I open the cupboard, this truly makes me feel all is right with the world.
Weird.

This makes me a bit happy too.  Not totally over-the-moon happy, but definitely grin-generating.
I'd smile wider if the lasagne noodles were in containers, not their boxes.  And I'd be absolutely giddy if the lids were all the same colour.
But I'm pretty-okay-happy because I can find everything and the labels are all the same font.

I know.  Weird.  But that's the way I roll (and smile).

NO PHOTO AVAILABLE

I tried to get a photo.  I even had the camera ready, but by the time I got to the playroom to take a picture of the CLEAN floor, it wasn't clean anymore.  Girl had been there.  'nough said.  Picture "PigPen" from Charlie Brown fame.

Last night DH and I were flipping through channels.  We came upon the reality show "Buried Alive" the stories of hoarders.  It was fascinating in a train-wreck sort of way.  The lady they featured  had a beautiful home that was stuffed to the roof with stuff, junk.  Her husband had left the house 3 years before because he couldn't live in the chaos.  For the episode he was coming back into the house for the first time.  I said to DH "if that were me, I'd open the door and then turn around and leave.  I couldn't do it."  And I couldn't.

I recognize hoarders have serious mental health issues.  And I don't make light of that. I just recognize my own MHI (mental health issues) and clutter/chaos trigger near breakdown in me.  Hence my aversion to the playroom after Girl has let loose.  It is best for me to avoid that room.  All I have to do is walk in the room and my crazy sets in.  Piles, mess, stuff on the floor (anyplace, not just the playroom) send me to lou-lou land and I have to get out.

Girl hangs on to "stuff."  Every piece of paper and craft ever made is held in a special place in her  heart.  It literally causes pain to throw things out.  She's too sentimental.  Me, I am the opposite.  There are very, very few things I feel that kind of attachment to -- my internal organs, and the organs and souls of my peeps would be about it.

If I had to choose actual items to save from a fire I'd say I'd pick my wedding ring, the Royal Doulton that was my grandma's, and the first painting DH gave me.  I'd have to say Rocky too (even if he started the fire, 'cause I wouldn't put it past the punk.)  That's it.  Everything else can be replaced.  It's just stuff. 

That's why I could never relate to the hoarding thing.  I can't imagine surviving in such chaos. 

I need my peeps, and I need tidy.  Now if I could just train the peeps to be tidy.....

bathroom reno

It's amazing to me how small, ordinary things bring joy. These are photos of my new bathroom. We did the work ourselves (except for the mudding 'cause neither DH nor I have the patience for such a tedious job) in the spring. My bathroom makes me happy.

To understand why you need to know what I had before.
When we first moved in 1996 my bathroom had peach and black tiles on the walls, a brown shag carpet, BUBBLE GUM PINK countertop, and large lime, pink and peach peony wallpaper. It was not a place in which one could relax.

I lived with the garden-gone-wrong look for about a year, then in rebellion I painted everything white. I'd already torn out the carpet (on moving day). I was quite happy with the white institutional look -- mostly because it wasn't lime, pink, peach and black anymore. What I couldn't live with was the bathtub. It had been installed when the previous owner did the room over -- in 1957 so there was no finish left in the tub. If I scrubbed too hard with a coloured sponge I stained the porcelain. In April I issued the ultimatum "we get a new tub or I will NEVER clean that bathroom again." I got the go ahead for the bathroom remodel the following week.

So now I have all the elements I required -- new tub, huge linen closet, new toilet, vanity with 6 drawers, new everything really. DH got his request -- a hotel shower curtain rod so the shower curtain doesn't stick to him (in the photo above you can see that the rod bends out to give more room in the shower).

It's been 3 1/2 months since our project was finished and I still smile whenever I walk in. It's (easy to) clean, and organized. And that small thing brings me great joy.

It's always a little celebration (little party in my head) when I find something my whole family likes to eat. I've been warned to not try to "sneak" more than one new recipe in a week. We are a family of habits and pickiness. I really don't like to cook, and what I like to cook is either not very healthy (ie desserts!) or my fam won't like it. New recipes are a treat for me.
I organized my collection of "to try" recipes last week. I got a binder and filled it with page protectors, the pocket kind. Then I labelled each pocket with a recipe category -- beef, crockpot, chicken, pork, pasta, breakfast, salads, soups, cookies, cakes, pastry, squares (notice the heavy emphasis on desserts....) Whenever I cut out a recipe I think might go over, I place it in the appropriate pocket. Then once a week I go through the binder to find the recipe worthy of this week's "new try."
Last night's new try was Italian Pot Roast on the BBQ. It was originally intended for the crockpot, but you know I don't always like to follow instructions. It's from Simple and Delicious magazine May/June 2009.

Italian Pot Roast
1 boneless beef chuck (3-4 lbs) -- I used a 2 1/2 lb frozen short rib roast, cause that's what was handy in the freezer
1 can diced tomatoes
3/4 chopped onion
3/4 cup beef broth
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder (or minced garlic)
1/4 tsp pepper

BBQ instructions -- I put the roast in a tinfoil baking pan, added the tomatoes, onion, beef broth and spices. Then I put a second tinfoil baking pan (same size) over top for a lid. Wrap the whole thing in tinfoil to help seal in the steam. Roast on low heat for 3 1/2 to 4 hours. (I kept 2 burners on low and turned the other one off.) The temp gauge stayed about 300F.

When roast is done remove meat. I strained out the juices from the tomatoes (knew that tomato chunks wouldn't go over with the fam). Then put the juices in a saucepan with cornstarch to make gravy.

Crockpot instructions are the same except it suggests cutting the roast in half and cooking on low for 5 - 5 1/2 hours. (If I was doing it from frozen I'd do 8-10 hours.) If you don't have a picky family you could include the tomatoes in the gravy.

DH claims I have ADHD. I am kind of an expert on the issue, and I don't think so. BUT, I can maybe see where he gets that diagnosis, and I am working on tackling my focus issues. I believe I am not alone.
How many times have you worked at straightening up the house and on the way to somewhere, say with a load of laundry, you notice something out of place. So you move that about, head back for the laundry and get side-tracked by some other duty. I have, on occasion, been very, very busy all day, and at the end of it discovered that it really looks like I got nothing done. Flylady refers to this syndrome as being SHE (side-tracked home executive.) Imagine if aliens were spying on my house -- they would see me busy as a bee but they'd never be able to figure out what my original task/goal was.
I used to pride myself on often doing 2 things at once-- eat breakfast and make the grocery list; answer email and balance cheque book; fold laundry and talk on the phone etc. I thought I was being productive. I think not so much productive as side-tracked and probably less effective (my apologies to those who were on the phone while I focused on a load of whites!)
Solution? I am concentrating on only doing one thing at a time. If I'm loading the dishwasher then I don't wipe down the counter until the dishwasher is loaded. If I'm gathering laundry then I just make a note to come back to the bathroom when the load is in. I've been at my One-thing-at-a-time for about 2 weeks and I really have no idea if anyone else in the house has noticed (or the aliens for that matter) but I have noticed a difference. Less hurried, less stressed, more accomplished off the to-do list and faster.
Yeah me...although I've heard that Ritalin can be a wonder drug....

There are only 4 people who live in my house. 3 of those people would like me to be a short-order cook. DH is a picky eater, but he thinks he is easy to please -- meat and potatoes; but no chicken, pork (except sausage), roast beef, steak, fish, lamb, vegetarian anything and as little pasta and rice as possible. In my book that pretty much leaves hamburger. When DS was little he had a severe milk allergy. DD would be happy to survive on yogurt, pickles, crackers, grapes and popcorn. And somehow I have to come up with a single meal (because I'm NOT running a restaurant) to satisfy everyone. Maybe "satisfy" isn't the word, maybe just "feed so they aren't malnourished and I don't go crazy" is more accurate.

My solution? I have created a "Boyd Family Favourites" binder. Each week I try one new recipe. Everyone has to vote on whether or not it is worthy of the title "Favourite." Sometimes I have to make it again another week just to be sure about it. Once voted a favourite I type it out on the computer and it goes into our binder. When I'm looking for something to make I just pull out the binder because everything in there has been agreed upon by everyone. If I hear any complaints I tell them "it was in the Favourites Binder." That ends the discussion. I've saved all of these recipes to disk. When the kiddies are ready to fly my coop, they'll get a copy of the disk so they can feed themselves on favourites.

I have spent much time reading and searching other blogs to figure out how to do things. In the process I have learned a lot (not just about blogging) and been inspired by moving stories and beautiful pictures. One blog I especially like is zenhabits which led me to 43folders.com. Both of these come under the category of "productivity blogs." To help with productivity one suggestion is to make your "systems" more efficient, or to develop "systems" for work and home if you don't already have them.

Systems. I have systems. Difficulty is getting the other people, big and little, to follow MY systems. I have a laundry system -- one load per day. It's taken to the machine in the evening after I've put the kids to bed. It goes on the line or in the dryer in the morning. It's put away when I get home from work. Simple. Not simple, if you are one of the other people in the house and you cannot find the laundry hamper. I've considered signage with a big arrow, but I fear that the arrow will only lead to the floor beside the hamper because it seems aim is a problem.
I have a dirty dishes system. Put dirty dishes in the dishwasher. When it is full, turn it on. When they are clean put them away. Apparently this is also complicated and that the other system in the house that runs counter to mine means leave dishes wherever you are -- beside a chair or on the floor in the playroom. I consider myself blessed if they make it to the sink (beside the dishwasher!)
I have a system for groceries. When we are out of something, or almost out, write it on the list beside the frig. I even have TWO pens there in case one goes missing. Invariably I hear "did you get___" and I always respond with "was it on the list?" One would think that if you wanted something bad enough you would write it on the list the next time. Nope. Different system -- yell at mom and maybe she'll remember in 7 days!
Sigh.

Systems for productivity? I have systems. What I lack is either the ability to motivate, or the ability to instill enough fear to make others follow them. It's a toss up.