We'll call him "K"

Ok, for all of you wanting to know "The rest of the story" as Paul Harvey would say, or for whomever would like to understand what REALLY went on, I would be happy to field questions or comments pertaining to my actions of simply shoving the bag of groceries into the VERY organized cabinets. I came home from work INCREDIBLY impressed at all the organizing Jacqui did. It was in this vein that I wanted to continue, so as such, I slapped what looked like a bag of pasta in the Pasta part of the pantry (say that 5 times fast). So anyway, the following morning, after receiving tongue lashings from Mrs. Cleaning the pantry (not complaining here), I went into the cabinet where the bag in question was and lo and behold there were 2 bags of pasta and a canister of bread crumbs. Knowing now what was inside, I simply extracted the bread crumbs (the fancy Italian kind, if anyone is interested), slapped the pasta back into the pasta part of the pantry, put the bread crumbs in the baking side of the, once again, FINELY organized cabinets, and that was that.

I'm not quite sure the "we'll call him "K" post was necessary. Just for the record, I try and pull my weight when it comes to general cleaning--dishes, a different story, BUT general cleaning is TOTALLY my ball park.

That off my chest, I can rest easier.

Less than an hour

This week I've felt a strong urge to get my home in better order. I signed up for a daily cleaning reminder (not that I really need a reminder to clean everyday, but she gives good hints). I haven't actually cleaned anything she's suggested, but I was finally inspired and motivated to get this daunting task done.

At 2:01 I took these photos of my pantry:

I unloaded everything to my counters and separated all the food into piles: Snacks, Baking, Cooking, Storage/Bulk, Cookbooks/recipes, and Misc. I seem to have an amazing amount of processed cheese that ended up in the Misc. category.

Then I proceeded to put it all back in the pantry after wiping down the shelf liner. So at 2:57 I snapped these finished project photos.

I suppose if you're not standing right in front of it, you might not be able to tell exactly how much work was done. The cupboards are really deep and I tend to stack things right on the edge making any food that's further back unusable because I don't want to knock down the piles in the front. I added some wire shelves (That I bought for $.25 at a yard sale--once again, who gets rid of organizational shelving? Probably that person who says to herself, "That's it! I'm tired of knowing where things are!"). With the added shelving, I was able to better use the otherwise unusable space between the shelves. I'm pleased it's done.

Now I just have to retrain my family. An unnamed person, we'll call him 'K', set an entire bag of groceries inside the cupboard just this morning--no sorting or anything. I watched him do it and realized I'm not the only one to blame for it's disorganization.

Wanted: Dishwasher

Local Denver family currently accepting applications for dishwasher. Experience preferred. References required. Direct all inquiries to Jacqui in Human Resources.

Jacqui needs...

Warnick tagged me. I don't generally respond to the tags, but this was SO funny!

Type your name into Google followed by the word "needs" i.e. "Jacqui needs". List the Top 10 hits. Here are mine:

1. Jacqui needs to ensure that she has saved enough during the first twenty years (oh, ... Jacqui needs eye drops to help her vision
2. Hapless Jacqui needs to talk to the sisters
3. Jacqui needs maximum friend time
4. Jacqueline needs Vitamin D Just One Pill Away It’s difficult for most people to get optimal amounts of vitamin D.
5. Jacqueline Needs is on Facebook, a social utility that connects people with friends and others who work, study and live around them
6. The Labour Home Secretary Jacqui Smith recently remarked that she would not feel safe walking round the ... Jacqui needs to get out more
7. Jacqui needs to take a long hard look at herself in the mirror and personally it looks to me like she isn't up to even seeing the problems
8. In her case all Jacqui needs to do is open her mouth and sing, no marketing needed. She is a force in Jazz! What in store for Jacqui’s in the future?
9. Carl and Jacqui Alban welcome you to I Need A Holiday Too, the new concept in accessible wheelchair holidays for disabled people
10. Without her left eyelid, Jacqui needs eye drops to help her vision. Now 20 year old, he cannot forgive himself for driving on that night

I thought it was interesting that even though I googled "Jacqui" it returned hits for "Jacqueline" spelled just like I do.

So, play along if you want. You'll laugh, I promise!

I shouldn't be in charge of making decisions

So I had a brilliant idea. I found this shelf at a yard sale for $1.75. I saw some potential.

I bought a mis-cut board from Home Depot and had it recut to the size I wanted for $.50. I added a few screws to make this:

I also bought some "oops" paint at Home Depot for $1.00. Unfortunately it was extremely peachy. Blech.

I was hoping for something a little closer to my tangerine colored dishes, so I mixed my own color. Go Broncos! Bad decision.

So I went to go buy some new paint to cover up the mistake and came across some textured paint to make it look like stone. Another BAD idea.

Cut to 90 minutes of sanding the mistake off.

Sigh. So I went back to basic white. It took a few coats to cover up the ugly, but with the hooks, I think it turned out pretty darn cute.

So my inexpensive home improvement project turned out a little more expensive than I planned, but I'm so pleased with the results.

Pay It Forward

So, here's how it works-the first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive, at some point during the year, a handmade gift from me. What it will be and when it will arrive is a total surprise! The catch is that you must participate as well. Before you leave your comment, write up a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going (or be lazy and copy and past like I did). Then come back, let me know you're going to play and sit back and anticipate the arrival of your gift! Please submit in an e-mail or on the comment, your address, if I don't have it already (My email address is to the right). Remember that only the first 3 comments will receive a gift from me, so be quick!

Ode to Cruising down the slopes

They felt the wind in their hair, the sun on their faces, the rush beneath their feet.

They swooshed, they swasched, they tumbled and fell

They came home happy, exhilarated, and renewed

Time Out For Women

(I cut and pasted this from Brenda's Blog. Thanks for the update, Brenny!)

Just a shout out for TOFW -- It is coming to Denver the first week in March and have some really neat speakers lined up:

Michael McLean
Chieko Okazaki
Mark Mabry
Mary Ellen Edmonds
S. Michael Wilcox
Kenneth Cope
DeAnne Flynn
Wendy Ulrich

I like quite a few of these speakers (and song writers), and I'm very interested to see some of the photographs that Mark Mabry will show. The theme for this year is awesome, especially considering how uncertain the economy, jobs, etc, may seem right now. What a great time to focus on truths. I'm excited to attend this year. I know I need a bit of a lift! If you get a group together of 5 or more, you get a discount. Click here for more information. Just FYI, registration ends this week!

Just One Word

So the "25 things about me" and this "One Word" game have been floating around facebook. Since I have no idea how do post it on facebook, I thought I'd play the game here. Feel free to play along. Although I won't tag anyone, I'd love to see your creative answers.

1. Where is your cell phone? microwave
2. Your significant other? cooking
3. Your hair? greasy
4. Your mother? treats
5. Your father? napping
6. Your favorite? Kraig
7. Your dream last night? stealth
8. Your favorite drink? sno-cone
9. Your dream/goal? healthy
10. What room you are in? main
11. Your hobby? sewing
12. Your fear? money
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Colorado
14. Where were you last night? mom's
15. Something that you aren't? healthy
16. Muffins? large
17. Wish list item? Hawaii
18. Where you grew up? here
19. Last thing you did? nap
20. What are you wearing? coat
21. Your TV? Zenith
22. Your pets? never
23. Friends? delightful
24. Your life? blessed
25. Your mood? cranky
26. Missing someone? Kraig
27. Car? Caravan
28. Something you're not wearing? makeup
29. Your favorite store? Joann's
30. Your favorite color? Orange
33. When is the last time you laughed? Slushies
34. Last time you cried? Sunday
35. Dinner tonight? Soup
36. One place that I go to over and over? Bank
37. One person who emails me regularly? BHG
38. My favorite place to eat?