Seven Rooms, Seven Days - The Laundry Room

Let the excitement begin!

So, I decided to tackle the laundry room first. Although it is the smallest room in the house, it is also the most neglected. I figured I'd start fast and easy to really boost my motivation. Easy? Yes. Fast? Not so much. When I sketched out my Seven Days plan, I forgot to factor in the ninety-seven kajillion interuptions that have landed me here in the first place.

It took me the better part of the morning to do this one small room. Oy vey. Let me tell you - I have adjusted my expectations for the remaining rooms. This will not be a total declutter, but rather a surface declutter. That which is on countertops, tabletops, bedside tables, and bedroom floors - look out! That which lurks in drawers, under beds, and in the cracks of the couches - hang tight. I'll get to you later.

So here we go. Prepare to be amazed at the junky state of affairs of my home!

Not entirely awful here. I mean, doesn't everyone keep their wedding china in a big green plastic storage bin on the top shelf of the laundry room? And by the way, evidently when houses were being built in the late seventies/early eighties, people must have eaten less. Or maybe there used to be a legitimate pantry around here and I haven't found it yet. Either way, most of our dry goods get stored in the laundry room, because nothing says I Love You like Downy-scented rice.


AFTER: Not hugely different . . .


This is where things get ugly:


AFTER: So much better!


I'm embarrassed


AFTER: Much TIDE-ier! Get it? You know you were going to say it if I didn't!


This side of the room, the one with all the cleaning supplies? Yeah, it doesn't get much attention.


AFTER: Bettah.


Have I ever mentioned I hate ironing? Because oh yes I do.


AFTER: Wondering where The Coach's pants went? I IRONED THEM.


If anyone is looking for me, I'll be drinking tea on the floor of my laundry room - enjoying the neatness and trying to gear up for tomorrow's work - the kitchen.

Seven Rooms, Seven Days Challenge!

The packing, the unpacking, the travel, the being at home with no schedule . . . it's all taken it's toll on my SortaCrunchy home.  

Plus, there's something about the start of the new year that makes me want to mend broken relationships.  I've been thinking about it for a while now, and I think I'm ready.  I want to get back together with Fly Lady.

Fly Lady and I have had a sometimes happy, sometimes rocky, on-and-off again relationship for about six years now.  When it's good, it's very, very good.  When it's bad . . . well, it's ugly.  I broke up with her sometime around September 1st and we haven't been on speaking terms since then.  The thing is, I really need someone to tell me what to do on a daily basis so my home is the warm, welcoming, organized, happy nest that I so desire for it to be.  But, I also have these complex authority issues, and when I feel like Fly Lady gets a little bossy, I turn into a five year old with her fingers in her ears chanting, "You're not the boss of me!  You can't tell me what to do!"

And that's when things around here get bad.  It's shameful, really.

Now, I know Fly Lady well enough to know what she's going to want me to do to get back together with her.  Baby Steps.  But she doesn't know the depths of clutter and junk that have joined forces to overthrow this house.  So I am doing my own little kick-start challenge before I go crawling back to seek her good graces and helpful (but bossy) guidance.

I am giving myself SEVEN DAYS to tackle the SEVEN ROOMS of my house.  And if I learned nothing else from NaBloPoMo, I learned that there's something about public accountability to motivate me to follow through on an idea.  Now, I know this is all going to be terribly exciting, dangerously fascinating stuff.  Reading and watching a woman declutter her house - I mean, really, it's why you started reading blogs in the first place, right?

Just bear with me.  Stay after me.  Pray for me.  

I start today.

Big Bloggy Giveaway Winner!

Good morning all!

Thanks so much to all who entered our Big Bloggy Move Giveaways, and thank you again to Jennisa to donating this great prize! I am thrilled to announce the winner of the Jennisa's Bloggie Designs makeover - Carrington of Capri by the Lake. Anyone up for some delicious newborn baby goodness? Go over to Carrington's place and see her sweet, sweet, sweet new baby girl. (Baby fever, anyone? Stacey? hee hee . . .)

Christy will be announcing her winners later today (she did, afterall, have three giveaways to manage), so be sure to stop by her place later to see if you won.

I hope each of you who are looking for a new design (whether for your existing blog or for your soon-to-be-rolled-out new blog) will consider hiring one of the generous ladies who participated in our giveaways - Jennisa, Blue Yonder Designs ($10 off for giveaway entrants who didn't win!), RS Designs, and Betty of Simply Southern.

Thanks again to all who played. We look forward to seeing you back on February 11th for The Big Bloggy Move!

Been a long time since I been carded!

Missy at It's Almost Naptime has carded me with this. (I'm not sure what carded means here? *scratches head*) I am so sorry, sweet friend, that it has taken me so long to get it done!

Ronie Kendig altered this CARDED meme to include a Spiritual Wish list so we can know how to pray for each other, both spiritually and physically. Isn’t that a great idea?

THE RULES:
1. Each player starts with 5 gifts that they would want for Christmas (I'll say the New Year, since Christmas is over!)
2. People who are “CARDED” need to write their own Blog about their 5 things & post these rules.
3. At the end of your Blog, you need to choose 5 people to get “CARDED” and list their names.
4. Don’t forget to leave them a COMMENT telling them they’re “CARDED”, and to read your Blog.

My Materialistic Gift/Wish List:
1. Clothes that fit my hey-this-baby-weight-isn't-coming-off-quite-as-quickly-as-it-did-the-first-time post-partum body.
2. A new car seat for AJ.
3. Heck, why not? A new vehicle. (For what it's worth, SortaCrunchy Mama is currently driving a trusty 1996 Avalon with over 200,000 miles on it. I am delighted to test and prove the reliability of Toyota vehicles, but part of me fears that the end is in sight.)
4. The services of a professional organizer to come in and completely declutter my home since evidently I am incapable of doing it myself.
5. You wanna know what I really, really want? A personal assistant. Just an extra set of hands, that's all. Can someone explain to me the algebraic formula wherein the number of children I care for has doubled but somehow I am only one-quarter as efficient as I used to be?

My Spiritual Gift/Wish List:
1. DISCIPLINE. I need discipline in all areas of my life, but particularly the discipline to spend quiet time each morning in the Word and in prayer.
2. Discernment and direction in our ongoing "is this the church we are being led to?" journey.
3. Willingness and opportunity to use my gifts for the furthering of the Kingdom.
4. To be daily reminded that this world, this life, is not. about. me.
5. As my friend Melissa recently wrote, I want to live more like Whole Foods.

The People I have Carded:
1. The above mentioned Melissa of how 'bout the etheredge fam
2. Laura of Sweet Awakenings.
3. shoeaddict of Diary of a Shoe Addict (when she feels better!)
4. Amanda of ohamanda!
5. Sheila of the day of small things

Enjoy!

One year ago

On January 5th, 2007, The Coach and I were shocked, thrilled, excited, and not just a little terrified to discover that I was pregnant. Thinking back on that afternoon . . . that feeling of seeing the two pink lines affirming what I could scarcely believe to be true . . . amazing.

It's funny. December had been our first month to sorta try for the next babe. When we were in Oklahoma over Christmas, I started getting "I'm pregnant" vibes, but then my sister-in-law told us they were expecting again so I figured my vibes were just a little off-target. Hence, the shocking, thrilling excitement of discovering that for once, my intuition was spot-on!

Aliza Joy is four months old today. In spite of the occasional "my teeth are killing me, can someone please help me?" cranky episodes, she continues to be the most joyful, happy, talkative, and engaging baby I've ever known. Every day, she discovers something new - rolling back and forth from her tummy to her back to her tummy again, making baby bear growly sounds, catching someone's eye so she can delight them with the most brilliant smile . . . Maybe that's what she only sleeps for thirty minutes top at a stretch during the day. She needs more awake time to think up new ways to keep us entertained.

One year ago today - so much unknown. Four months ago today - so much to discover. Today - so much joy.








(Today is the last day to enter the Big Bloggy Design Giveaway! Winners announced tomorrow!)

Happy Blogiversary to me!

As Miss D would say, "Hit! Hit! HOORAY!"

Today is SortaCrunchy's big ol' two year blogiversary.

Can't believe it's been two whole years since I nestled into this little corner of the blogosphere. I am not going to link back to my very first post because it's quite anti-climatic. Sure, look it up from my archives if you want to, but personally, I wouldn't bother.

If you read my posts directly from the SortaCrunchy homepage, you may have seen the note at the top of my sidebar inviting you to be here on January 2nd. Curious? Here's why!

I don't think I can ever quite express how much my readers mean to me. Within this little group are very dear, very wonderful friends from my community; there are friends I have known for over three years via mommy message boards (including Meghan to whom I owe all my inspiration to blog to begin with); and there are friends who have happened my way quite unexpectedly from points near and far through the wide world of blogging.

I wanted to celebrate my readers today with two surprise prizes. (We are just all about the giveaways these days, huh!)

The first prize I am awarding goes to the reader who has left the most comments in the past year. Calculating these was no small task, let me assure you! You sweet friends are so generous with your feedback around here. I genuinely would love to give each and every one of you a token of thanks for making blogging so delightful for me! But that might mean my family going without groceries for the month, and The Coach prefers a menu that stretches beyond ramen noodles and celery sticks, so I must restrain my gift-giving.

The reader with the most comments from January 2007 to today is my dear friend LORI of Fairytales and Margaritas! Lori, please go over to Just Being Notesy and pick out what you would like on a set of custom cards made just for you. Email me what you want and I will take care of ordering a set for you. Love you, mama!

Since I am celebrating TWO years of blogging today, I wanted to give away TWO gifts. The second gift is a random selection. I figured I have posted about 168 times this year. I took out the three giveaway posts and my blogroll post and went to random.org for help in randomly picking a post. Funnily enough, it picked one of my favorite posts from the past year - See the Fine Lady Upon the High Horse. That little entry gathered nine comments, and so again, random.org chose a number for me. Number eight - my dear and delightful friend Megan at FriedOkra! How fun it was to pick out a thanks-for-commenting gift for newly with-child-number-two Megan! Here's what I found from one of my verrrrrrrry fave handmade soap makers - Frost Fish Cove Soaps: a Body Worship Butter Blend stick to ward off stretch marks and cure cold skin blues AND some relaxing massage oil so hubby can take care of your child-bearing self! Email me your address, mama, and I will get these sent to you.

What I had really wanted to do was what Gretchen at Lifenut did recently in her Thank you Thanksgiving post and link to every person who commented here in the last year. Alas, that plan did not come to fruition, but maybe next year. Next January, I plan to offer THREE little thank you prizes to my dear friends who take a minute away from their busy lives to hang out with me here.

Really, ya'll. Thank you. I can't say it enough.

The Big Bloggy Move Blog Design GIVEAWAY!

Happy New Year, friends!

Christy and I are thrilled to be able to showcase two fabulous blog designers as part of our Big Bloggy Move blogging event. These two lovely ladies have offered completely free blog makeovers to get the new year started out right.

For those who are looking to give their Blogger blogs a face-lift OR for those who have been wanting to start up a beautiful blog of their own on Blogger, let me introduce you to Jennisa of Jennisa's Bloggie Designs! As I looked through Jennisa's work, I kept saying to myself, "Precious! So cute! Just DARLING!" Go browse through some of her work and see if you don't agree.

Jennisa is offering a free blog makeover for a Blogger blog. To enter, all you have to do is leave a little comment on this post. (If you don't have a blog yet, just make sure I know where to find you if you win.) Though not a requirement, it would be really, really awesome if you could link to our giveaways and The Big Bloggy Move on your blog as well! (Check Christy's blog for a design giveaway from Blue Yonder Designs.)

This giveaway will run from January 1st through January 6th. Winner will be announced on January 7th! And even if you don't win the giveaway, Jennisa's prices are so reasonable and her work is so cute, who wouldn't hire her for a sprucing up of your bloggy home?

Sorta Reflective

Thank you, my sweet, sweet friends for the holiday greetings. What a delight to return home to such warmth!

We had a delightful, albeit it chilly, time up in Oklahoma. It was impressed upon me just how very spoiled to my mild south(ish) Texas weather I have become. Yes, I have grown quite fond of seventy degree winter days, and I am not one bit ashamed to say it. Like a plaintive but hopeful stray cat, the cold has followed us down here and my nose and fingertips are not the least bit appreciative of all this Arctic air!

I know there are those who don't really care for the end-of-the-year countdowns and look-backs that run so rampant in the days between Christmas and New Year's Day. As for me and my household, well, I can't help myself - I love them! A sentimentalist to a fault, there are few things as comforting to me at the close of another year than to think back on all the year has accomplished.

I mean, really, who IS this Santa Baby?



Oh, the difference a year makes. Miss Thang had no idea at the time that the coming year would crown her Big Sister. Her mom and dad hadn't a clue either, but just a few short days into 2007, Little Sister would make her presence known via two pink lines on a peed-on stick.

The beginning of the year also delivered to us a lesson learned the hard way about putting our trust in man rather than in God. That painful situation gave way to a rewarding outcome that included a long-anticipated promotion for The Coach.

Two thousand seven . . . the year in which I survived morning all-day-long sickness, terrible two-dom, turning thirty, and a move. D found her voice while Dad found the confidence to lead in a difficult season. God saw fit to once again deliver perfection wrapped in pink into our arms.

And then there's ya'll! What fun I have had this year getting to know so many amazing women. What blessings you have been to me - each and every one of you. I value your comments here and love reading about your lives in your internetty homes. Thank you, thank you, and thank you for sharing yourself with me this year. I esteem each of you highly and so look forward to getting to know more of you in two thousand eight!

Home for Christmas

Soon the SortaCrunchy fam will be packed and loaded and headed north for our annual pilgrimage home for Christmas.

Merry, merry Christmas to you and yours. See you soon!

On being known

Last week, my mother-in-law, whom I love and admire very much, called to ask about a possible gift idea for AJ. She had found a really neat swing with all the lights and sounds and stuff that Fisher Price is convinced babies need on swings.

The thing is, we already have two swings. A simple one and a lights/sounds/overstimulation contraption. I sorta had to scratch my head a bit because my mother-in-law has been in our home very recently and had to become quite familiar with our ridiculous amount of baby gear. And honestly, I am just not a swing kind of mama. Granted, I have two of them, so it would be hard to guess that swings aren't my thing. It's just that I would rather tuck a baby in a sling rather than buckle her in a swing - and I find that most often, the desired outcome is still the same. Sleeping baby.

I was telling my sister later that day that I felt just a little bothered by this gift idea. I have a very close relationship with my mother-in-law, but her very generous, very thoughtful idea of getting AJ a new swing made me feel a little bit like she doesn't really know me as a mother. Know what I mean?

Juxtaposed against the swing suggestion was the arrival yesterday evening of my husband's gift to me. Our new camera.

I quite literally had butterflies in my stomach as we excavated the camera from its layer upon layer of packaging and protection. As we tinkered and toyed with our newest baby, I couldn't help but to reflect on what a meaningful gift this is for me. Not only did the man devote all of his share of the money given to us by our parents for Christmas presents toward the camera purchase, he also spent hours and hours researching what the perfect choice would be.

It made me wonder . . . Could it be that on all those road trips of our youth, when we would just talk and talk our way down the flat highways that cut through grassy plains of Oklahoma, could it be that he was really listening as I talked about the things I loved as a child? Did he remember how I had told him once how I so treasured the back issues of National Geographic my aunt would save for me? That I would drink in the power and mystery and beauty captured by those lenses?

And did he know that it was always the photography exhibits that called to me from the corridors of museums? That, yes, Botticellis and Jackson Pollacks make for amazing art, but what really moved me were the photographs. A hummingbird caught mid-sip. A new baby cradled in the arms of a new daddy. A village unconcerned with the advances of modernity. A brilliant diamond wedding ring on the finger of a hand dulled and weathered by time.

Eleven years ago tonight, a good-lookin' football player from Small Town, Oklahoma, slipped a diamond engagement ring onto the finger of his sorority girl girlfriend from Another Small Town, Oklahoma. Eleven years ago. Having dated for ten whole months prior to our official engagement, we thought we knew each other so well. I don't think my nineteen year old self could quite have conceived how much there was still to be discovered in that man.

This camera . . . it's extravagant. It is way, way more than I would have asked for or ever felt I deserved. But for me, it quite unexpectedly became a concrete fulfillment of that abstract desire I think every person shares . . . that longing to be known.

A BIG Bloggy Move!

It's certainly that time of year. Amidst the twinkle lights and silver bells, all your favorite tabloids and their TV counterparts are doing their yearly wrap-up of the Top! Ten! Biggest! Stories! of 2007! And there's something garishly inspiring about the year-end wrap-ups that speaks of a fresh start for the new year.

Are you looking forward to a fresh blogging start in 2008? Then Christy and I cordially invite you to our Big Bloggy Move party! I am going to send you over to Christy's place to read all about it today because even in the midst of welcoming her hubby home from a six-month deployment (!!!) she has still managed to eek out the time to line out the details and qualifications of participating in shin-dig. I bow to you, Christy. (Ya'll go on over. If you are going to play along, grab the code for the button while you're there! I'll wait.)

Okay! So. Let me just say, by way of clarification, that I don't think there is anything inherently wrong with Blogger. I have been perfectly happy here for two years! I am just ready for some change and ready for the features other platforms can provide. Namely - the ability to have conversations via email with all of my commenters, not just the ones who check the box. And yeah, I am looking for a three column layout, too.

Thanks so much for everyone's feedback and recommendations! At the moment, I am leaning heavily toward TypePad, but we'll see. Note that Christy and I are giving you until mid-February to get your new home all spiffied up for company!

Looking forward to partying with you, and even if you aren't making a bloggy move in February, I hope you'll still join in the fun. There will be, after all, prizes involved.

Who doesn't love Lands End?

I am knee deep in photog books and blogging platform research which lends itself to being drained dry of creative thought. As I was breezing through my G Reader, I saw that super cute, super chic dcrmom over at Musings of a Housewife is hosting a super cool giveaway! And really, who does not love Lands End? I hear their diaper bags are amongst the best.

If yourself or someone like you (yeah baby, vintage Matchbox Twenty) is in need or want of a new Lands End bag to add the bag stash, pop over to Musings to enter her Lands End Giveaway!

Go do the tour!

Some of my fondest Christmastime memories from childhood are of my parents bundling us up, buckling us into various car seats, boosters, and finally - when you knew you were really a "big kid" - just the lap belt, and taking us to tour Christmas lights around town.

As most of you already know, delightful BooMama is hosting her Christmas Tour of Homes today! Although I am camera-less at the moment and therefore having nothing to show off, I do look forward to touring around today and enjoying the sights!

(And hopefully I will find some great inspiration for the Big Bloggy Move. I cannot for the life of me decide if I want to go WordPress.com or TypePad. It shouldn't be this hard to make up my mind, right?)

(By the by, do you know of you any up-and-coming blog designers who have openings after the first of the year? All my faves seem to be booked up.)

Move it! And Hoopla, too!

Oh yes we are!

Now, is that not just the cutest little button you have ever seen? Christy just whipped it up last night! So yeah! We are doing it. We are leaving our Blogger homes for some wide open spaces elsewhere. (yes, yes, it's true that Blogger has fixed the commenting issues . . . I still feel the need for a new start though!) Anyone else wanna make a fresh bloggy start in 2008? Make sure you swing by Christy's Big Bloggy Move post to pick up the button code. Details to follow!

We have decided on a camera (more on that to come), so while I await its arrival, let me entertain you with this hoopla which Stacey at the truest thing has tagged me to play . . .

The Random Christmas Hoopla!
Here goes:


1. List 12 random things about yourself that have to do with Christmas

2. Please refer to it as a 'hoopla' and not the dreaded 'm'-word (which, for you bloggy newbies, is meme)

3. You have to specifically tag people when you're done. None of this "if you're reading this, consider yourself tagged" stuff is allowed...then nobody ends up actually doing it. The number of people who you tag is really up to you -- but the more, the merrier to get this 'hoopla' circulating through the blogosphere.

4. Please try and do it as quickly as possible. The Christmas season will be over before we know it and I'd like to get as many people involved as possible.


12 Random Christmas Things About Megan:


1. When I was in the fifth grade, our librarian read us The Polar Express. It was the first time I had heard it and when she got to the end, I cried with delight. It captured my heart and put words to my belief in the power and spirit of Christmas.


2. Like Stacey, we also don't have a nativity set, and I am deeply saddened by that. It's weird. I am not normally perfectionistic, but for some reason I have never found just the "perfect" nativity, and therefore remain paralyzed in my inability to buy one that is simply okay.

3. I think eggnog is disgusting.

4. My first Christmas home from college, my (then junior in high school) sister and I were horsing around when we were supposed to be clearing off the dishes after Christmas dinner. The details are kinda blurry now, but I somehow fell against a dining room chair and busted my eyebrow open. There is nothing like shopping the post-Christmas sales with a big ol' butterfly bandage across your eyebrow to garnish the stares of strangers. I wonder if they thought I had maybe been in a bar fight?

5. Another Christmas story involving Sis and I . . . one Christmas we spent taking turns heaving in the bathroom with a nasty, nasty tummy bug. It was glorious.

6. I mentioned this in an earlier post, but we have a tree up this year for the first time since our first Christmas together nine years ago. It's so much easier to have a Christmas tree in a cat-free home!

7. Fave Christmas movie: Christmas Vacation

8. Fave Christmas song: O Holy Night . . . but I love O Come, O Come Emmanuel, too

9. Fave Christmas food: Houska

10. Other Christmastime favorites: cheesy Christmas commercials (remember the Maxwell House one where the grown son arrives home a little earlier than expected? "Oh, Peter! You're home!" Yeah, getting all teary just thinking about it!); sharing Christmas with family; halls and stores and cars all decked in holiday cheer

11. Christmastime bummers: crowded parking lots and miserable check-out lanes

12. Top Three Christmas presents from my man (in no particular order): diamond engagement and wedding ring set, diamond stud earrings, and on its merry way to me - a Nikon D40!!

Now let's see . . . Melissa, Missy, Keara, Lori, Corey, Sheila, Melanie, Julie, and Julie - ya'll are tagged. And so is anyone else who wants to play! (I hate tagging.)

chapped thoughts and new cameras and maybe moving

Short and sweet today, ladies!

As usual, I called upon random.org to help me choose a winner for my lip balm drawing. The winner of the tube of lip balm of her choice from Clear Hills Honey Company is Gretchen from Lifenut! Gretchen's comment (My thoughts are kinda chapped, so I will play along.) was concise and witty, just like her amazing writing over at Lifenut. And for those of you wrestling with some "what should I blog about? why am I even blogging, anyway?" thoughts right now, I highly recommend you check out her "Bravery" post over at Mile High Mamas. Heck, go read it even if you aren't a blogger. It's good stuff.

Okay, gush over.

On with the show.

Thank you to everyone for the feedback! I haven't quite decided what I need to do about managing my blogging time. I am sorta afraid the answer is to pare back on the blogs I am following. In fact, that seems the only realistic thing to do, unless of course as a special Christmas gift just to me, God creates an extra two hours in my day so I can sit and do nothing but read and comment . . .

* * * * * * * * * *
I am sad to report there will be a dearth of D and AJ photos for a bit. Our camera bit the dust yesterday. I am currently camera shopping which is overwhelming with a capital Yikes! Hence the short, blathery post today.

Do you have a camera you just love, love, love? I will never be a pro, I just need something that shoots non-blurry pictures that I don't have to photoshop the life out of to get the lighting and color halfway decent. Recommendations? I am all ears.

* * * * * * * * * *
Finally, I am thinking about moving. Oh, not moving away from my sweet house under the shady trees! But I think the time has come to move away from Blogger. Christy at After a Cup of Coffee . . . or Two and I are toying with a big moving party. Is anyone else entertaining the idea of leaving Blogger?

Also, if you left Blogger, where are you now and do you like it there?

Obviously, I am in need of lots of hand-holding today. Thanks for tolerating my neediness!