July 03, 2020

June Recap and July To-Do List

I like that I wrote a "to do" list instead of a list of goals last month. For some reason, calling it a "to do" list seemed less intimidating than setting goals. So, if I can manage to remember, I'd like to do this monthly.

For June, my To-Do List was as follows:

  • Finish hanging the drywall in the garage
  • Dye my hair (my grays were horrible!)
  • Spring clean the house
  • Read one book
  • Use up all the meat we have in the freezer
  • Open the box with my new serger and actually try it out!
  • Start the annual Runs for Cookies Summer Run/Walk Challenge
  • Clear out my inbox

I did fairly well with these! I didn't complete them all (or at least entirely) but I did knock a few off.

- I finished hanging the drywall (both walls and ceiling) and I actually got most of the taping and mudding done, too! I didn't expect to get that far with it at all, but I worked on it a LOT. There was a period of about a week where I just didn't want to even look at it, so I didn't; but I made up for that time tenfold once I started the mudding. This is what it looked like while I was hanging the drywall on the ceiling (and the insulation):



- I did color my grays--finally. The box of dye had dust on it because it sat there for three months during the quarantine! Unfortunately, I also decided to cut my hair differently than I usually do, and it was WAY too short for my liking. I just want it to grow back right NOW.



- I did not spring clean the house to my liking, but I did do some things that needed it. I don't feel bad about this, however, because I got a LOT of the garage done. The taping and mudding is done, and now I am ready to sand and paint!

- I've actually been reading two books, and I'm in the middle of both of them. So, this is a yes/no as far as whether I completed it. I'm reading "The Happy Runner" and "Delay, Don't Deny" (Amazon affiliate links) I like them both so far!




- I used up about half of the meat we had in the freezer. I think all I have left is the seafood--salmon, mahi-mahi, and shrimp. The problem is that we all (Jerry, Noah, Eli, and I) have different tastes, and it's hard to make a meal out of one particular item. I like all three of those; Jerry will eat them, regardless; as far as the kids, one of them likes salmon, the other does not (and the same for mahi-mahi and shrimp).

I used some frozen chicken breasts to make some Chicken Taco Soup. (Actually, while I was working the drywall, I told Noah to make it--it's so simple! You just throw everything in the slow cooker. And Noah felt proud that he made it himself.)



- I did open my serger and I tried it out for a short period one day. But today, I actually used it to mend a couple of shirts! The armpit seam came apart in a shirt of Eli's and a shirt of mine, so I used the serger to fix them. I couldn't believe how easy it was and how good it looked! SO much easier than using the sewing machine for that.

I also unthreaded the multi-colored threads (shown below) that came with the machine and I threaded the machine myself with white--which is a big step! With four spools, it's intimidating. This is what it looked like straight out of the box, and I did the practice piece just to keep note of what each color did in the stitches).



- I did start the annual Runs for Cookies Summer Run/Walk Challenge on the day of the summer solstice. I didn't do as many walks/runs as I would have liked so far, but I am still working on them. I feel really determined to complete the list this summer! So far, I have only been walking (no running) and I'm okay with that. As long as I complete it, I will be happy. Here is a photo from my "Penny Pincher" walk yesterday:



- I did not clear out my inbox; nor did I even come close. With making the face masks and then having so many of them get lost in the mail, I was emailing a lot of people about those. But I need to schedule a day that I dedicate solely to working on my inbox. If you've written me and are awaiting a reply, I am SO sorry... I will get to it soon!

I want to say that I don't avoid my inbox for negative reasons; I'm just the type of person who likes to reply individually to people that write me and I tend to get wordy (surprise surprise! My blog posts aren't wordy at ALL, hahaha). So, emails are not a nuisance (except for the spam ones)... I just need to set aside time to dedicate solely for that purpose. If I haven't gotten back to you, I promise that it's not personal.



So, I think of June's list as a success. I'm happy with what I've done, even if it's not "complete". As far as July goes, here is my "to do" list:

Prime and paint the garage

This is the fun part! Now that the mudding is done, I can start making it look like a "finished" garage. And then I'll get to hang trim and do finishing touches. And then FINALLY have my garage back again!

Clear out my inbox

As I said, I didn't do this at all in June. So, I'm going to try to make it a priority in July. Now that Jerry is working nights, it'll be easier. I can use the evenings to work on my blog and emails and all of that. (Not that I couldn't do it when he was working days--but I liked spending time with him in the evenings.)

Touch up paint around the house

This sounds odd, but I've noticed a few nicks and scratches here and there in the paint from moving things around (even from when we installed the flooring) so I want to touch that up. I still have the leftover cans of paint for this purpose.

Make a plan for the front porch

This is SO frustrating! We've had several people come out to give us estimates on how much the porch will cost, and we've asked a couple of them to do it; however, they don't call us back. I really want a concrete porch, but if we can't get someone to give us a definitive date soon, then I might just have to build a porch with wood. Then maybe in a few years we can try again. Our porch is literally falling apart and it's a hazard to even step on! We literally cannot wait another season to do it.

This is horribly embarrassing to post, but this is what it looks like now, so you can see why I am desperate:



My dream was to have a 10x16 concrete slab close to the ground (so we wouldn't need a railing). I wanted to put some chairs out there so I can sit and drink my tea in the mornings. Right now, I just sit on the steps of our porch that is falling apart. The porch itself makes the exterior of the house look shabby.

Pull out the enormous bushes on each side of the house

These things are daunting, but they need to come out. The guy who sprayed the house to keep the spiders away said that these bushes are basically "spider magnets". I also want to pull the weeds from the landscaping. Basically, we need to redo the landscaping altogether, but for now, I just want to take care of those bushes. (Shrubs? Bushes? I don't know the difference, and a Google search wasn't very specific.)



Okay, I'd say that's a pretty big list for July. I might even have to start cross country practices this month! Technically, I can start them whenever I want to, but last year we started in mid-July. Renee is going to coach with me with year(!) and I'm so excited about that. We are going to get together soon and talk about it.

Well, I am going to my brother's tonight to watch his fireworks show (which is amazing--literally, it's better than the city's fireworks). Have a great 4th of July tomorrow! (And if you're doing the Cookies Summer Challenge, I can't wait to see your red, white, and blue running/walking outfits!)

9 comments:

  1. Are you going to do intermittent fasting? It's been fantastic for my husband and I!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jerry's been doing it with great results! I did it for a month last year and while I loved it, I didn't see any results. I'd like to try it again, so I'm reading more about it. I just finished the audiobook of The Obesity Code and it made me want to try again. We'll see! :)

      Delete
    2. I highly recommend it! My husband has lost 20 lbs and I'm 12 down, a few months in. We eat from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m.

      Delete
  2. I can tell you exactly why no one will call you back about your porch, there's no money to be made from such a small job. (we build houses for a living). If I were you, I wouldn't go sinking a ton of money into a concrete patio on that place. Just rip the wood stairs off the trailer, level the ground underneath it, and call a place that makes precast concrete steps (they even come with a railing) and have them place it where it's going to go with their truck crane. Not the most attractive, but it's maintenance free.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't think that a 10x16 feet concrete slab with a sidewalk to the driveway is a "no money" job. The point of it is not to be maintenance free... the point is that it's what I would enjoy the most.

      Delete
    2. You're absolutely right, what would I know, we've been building new residential homes/additions/renovations for over 30 years. Good luck finding someone to do that flatwork.

      Delete
    3. I have no doubt that you could build an AMAZING porch (with your 30+ years of experience). Unfortunately, we don't have that, so we have to make do with what we can. We really love where we live and I'd like a porch that I can sit on to enjoy our beautiful view--so if it takes a little longer to find someone, then I'm okay with that. I'm also okay with building a porch if needed, although I'd prefer the concrete. Thanks for your expertise! :)

      Delete
  3. I've read Obesity Code and haven't ready Delay, Don't Deny but I was on the FB group for awhile. I started 16:8 IF 2 years ago (basically skipping breakfast) and feel like that it greatly benefits my body. I didn't lose any weight from doing it however. I know most people do but for some reason I didn't. I do have about 25-30 lbs to lose so it's not because I don't need to lose any! Just another perspective for you on IF. I do still think it's great for our bodies. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. My neighbor built their own wood porch and it is fantastic. I don't know the dimensions of theirs, but it's probably not much bigger than what you want, they even put planter boxes built into it in the front. They did it in a couple weekends, and it seriously looked so easy, I wish I could do it to my house. (I have a couple bushes that I love where I would put it, and I don't want to tear them out.) I think the wood porches look so much nicer than concrete.

    ReplyDelete

I used to publish ALL comments (even the mean ones) but I recently chose not to publish those. I always welcome constructive comments/criticism, but there is no need for unnecessary rudeness/hate. But please--I love reading what you have to say! (This comment form is super finicky, so I apologize if you're unable to comment)

Featured Posts

Blog Archive