March 20, 2022

My Spring "Wishful Thinking" List


Happy Spring! Today marks the first official day of spring and I couldn't be happier that winter is over. Although, Michigan always surprises us with a big snow storm in March and we still have 11 days left in the month, so we'll see. But I'm hoping that the gorgeous weather we have today is going to stick around.

This was from 2017:


I've been trying to think of things that I want to get done this spring--something that I do every year, even though I usually only knock a couple of items off the (very ambitious) list. So, I figured that I'd write my list out here on the first day of the new season and then take another look at it on the last day of spring.

1) Get a new roof. We fought with the insurance company after a storm destroyed parts of our roof, but they said they'd only cover the parts that need to be fixed--they'll pay to replace a few pieces of siding on the house and the shingles that were damaged. How ridiculous is that?! We've been paying homeowners insurance for 19 years. You can't get a contractor to replace just some of the roof or some of the siding.

So, we're using our tax refund + some of our savings for a roof. No fun at all! But at least it'll be done; one less thing to worry about. The siding is going to have to wait; that is going to cost $35,000!!! And we need new windows. But... one thing at a time. And this spring, we're getting a new roof. We've already signed a contract and they'll get started as soon as the materials are in.

2) DO SOMETHING WITH THE LANDSCAPING. Right now, there is nothing there. It looks terrible. If I ever have an "after" picture to show, I'll post the "before". But it's embarrassing.

3) Go through the house and touch up any spots that need paint, caulk, etc. The house settles differently during the winter and some things need touching up.

4) Paint Noah's bedroom. I was supposed to do this last week but time got away from me.

5) Clean out all of the kitchen cabinets, the pantry, the fridge and freezer, and the oven.

6) Clean the windows, inside and out. Clean the blinds.

7) Paint a couple of pieces of furniture that I bought on Facebook Marketplace to refinish, but couldn't work on because my carpal tunnel flared up big time. I'll have to do this a small bit at a time to keep it from flaring again.

8) Possibly extend our front porch. The price of lumber has gone way up again, so this may not happen.

9) If money allows, I'd like to replace our exterior doors. I just finished reframing the side door but we need new doors themselves.

10) Start summer at my goal weight. I'm not going to be a total freak about the number, but I'd like to aim for 133 and work really hard to get there.

11) Have a game night with friends. Jerry and I used to do this frequently, but it's been two years.

12) Plan a family vacation for late summer.

13) Fix loose boards on the back deck and then power wash and stain the whole thing (Jerry will help).

14) Make appointments for my "old age" tests: a mammogram and a colonoscopy (most people don't need one until age 45, but my mom had something abnormal on hers and the doctors told her that her kids should have one at 40). I also need to schedule my regular check-ups with my primary care doctor and gynecologist.

15) Catch up on email. I feel so guilty every time I look at my inbox, and I think it'll feel great to finally reply to personal emails. I love reading email! But since I am so wordy all the time, I always wait until I can sit down and write a thoughtful response rather than a brief reply... and then I just forget to go back until it's been an awkward length of time!

Okay, I think that's it. See? Ambitious! But if I can knock at least a few of these off the list in the next three months, I'll be thrilled.

I'll end with the random fact of the day:


I don't remember the last time I had a Toblerone bar (I think I've only had a couple of them in my life--they make me think of airports. And Joey from 'Friends' when he was obsessed.) This fact didn't actually surprise me; I'm curious how many they sell. I'd rather have a ton of smaller bars that an enormous one. How would you even eat that? But I do love chocolate :)

4 comments:

  1. I love making a spring cleaning list! You have some great things to cross off! I actually started mine this last weekend, it was SO gorgeous out! 60 degrees and sunny! So I pulled everything out of the fridge and scrubbed the whole thing down. And threw out an embarrassing amount of expired food lol. Next weekend I'm going to tackle the guest bedroom! It became a clutter room again lol. I figure one project at a time and we'll get it done eventually!

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  2. $35,000 for vinyl siding? On our latest build we paid just under $20,000 for labor and materials for a high quality vinyl with some vinyl shakes on a 2500 s.f. ranch.

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  3. Good luck with your list!

    My feedback on DO SOMETHING WITH THE LANDSCAPING - tread carefully! When I moved into my home, they had put in a lot of large landscape beds that were empty.

    I filled them (hired a company to do it).

    Taking care of it is SO MUCH WORK! My advice to you is think about paring back as little as necessary. Every bed needs weeding, then whatever care the plants need (trimming bushes, cutting back at season end, etc.). I wish I had less so there was less to stay on top of.

    Maybe you should rip out of some of what you have, fill in with grass/sod, be done. Then it won't always feel like 'one more thing to do.'

    Good luck!!

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  4. We are getting new windows for the whole house and exterior doors - really excited about the finished product but had to put off replacing my 10 year old car for another few years to get this done. The joys of home ownership, amIright?

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