Showing posts with label to-do list. Show all posts
Showing posts with label to-do list. Show all posts

November 25, 2011

Holidays Officially on the Horizon

Well, I'm not sure where the year has gone, but we are officially one month from Christmas Day. Around here, for us that usually means the clock speeds up even more. Between shopping, wrapping, decorating, entertaining, visiting, crafting and just plain chilling by the fire, New Year's Eve will be here bringing with it a brand new year.   Knowing that the next few weeks will be flying by, I'm making a to-do list and checking it twice, so far it looks a little like this:

1. Help Hudson write up his Santa Letter
2. Finish up the holiday gift shopping
3. Sip wine by the fire with my family
4. Pull out the holiday decorations and spread the love throughout the house
5. Bake a few cakes and cookies
6. Sip wine by the fire with my family
7. Schedule in a few runs, hikes and walks (to counteract those cakes & cookies!)
8. Write, address and mail the holiday cards
9. Sip wine by the fire with my family
10. Squeeze in a few holiday gatherings with friends
11. Squeeze in some time in the scrapbook nook and get my craft on
12. Sip wine by the fire with my family.

As you can see, my lists strike a healthy balance between errands, food, and fun :) That`s the only way I know to get it done! Of course, there will also be plenty of red cup love over the next few weeks.



What about you, do you have your holiday to-do list done?

November 10, 2011

Balancing To-Do Lists and Time

This week has been a flurry of activity around our house. Nothing exciting, just the everyday busy-ness that goes with getting things done.

Cleaning out our attic/crawl space has been on the to-do list for months and months. Needing the real estate to temporarily stuff stuff in a few weeks time when we're doing some minor renos on the bedroom and hobby room, we finally got at it on Monday. We worked around a fussy boy, a napping boy, a feeding boy and we got 'er done. Nothing like an upcoming redecorating opportunity to get the nitty gritty off the list! Of course, we were then left with a pile of stuff to toss, donate, and burn, which we attended to on Tuesday. To the dump, the Salvation Army and the backyard fire pit we went. Family road trip anyone?

Wednesday was crossing off the other household to-do's, including groceries, getting gas, and a trip to Costco. I actually managed to get away to do that without the boy in tow and was reminded about how efficiently productive I once was and will be again... someday. The house was also due for a cleaning. Nothing like your mother coming to visit on the weekend to get that done! Not that she'd mind the dust, more that she'd probably dust it while she's here and I much prefer she be preoccupied with relaxing and enjoying her grandson than helping me clean the cobwebs from the corners. So dusting, scrubbing, sweeping, mopping, washing and folding was the order of the afternoon. Phew.

In between all that, I also managed to pack for my weekend away. You see, tomorrow I'm off to a three-day weekend scrapbook retreat with a group of like-minded fabulous ladies and I am so looking forward to it. Stealing a few minutes here and a few minute there I packed paper, scissors, tape into my crop bag. I sorted, edited and printed oodles of photos. I packaged up ink and stamps, ribbons and buttons, assorted embellishments and tools, snacks and {most importantly} wine into a few other bags. I even packed up my printer and paper. Yes, I'm bringing my computer and printer and I assure you, even with my four bags of gear and a small suitcase, I will probably be one of the ladies with the least amount of stuff in tow. I actually tried to take only what I use the most and will likely reach for first. I'm also hoping that if I've forgotten something, someone will share.

With all of the gutting and donating, the cleaning and clearing, the packing and preparing, I really enjoyed this post by Soule Mama. It was a great reminder to pause, breathe, and just be in the present. As I prepare to take on yet another day with a to-do list a mile long, I will keep this top of mind. Especially since there's a stuffy, sniffly, runny-nosed little monster who will probably be reaching for a few extra cuddles today. I'm sure the last bit of housework, the paperwork and other odds and ends can't wait another minute, hour or day.

What can you press pause on today, even if for just a moment?

September 26, 2011

hello {Fall}

Oh, why hello {fall}, it is so very nice to see you again.

Friday past marked the official start of fall on the calendar and I couldn't be happier (though I had thought it was two days earlier, jumping the gun I guess!). Tis my favourite season of all. I love summer and her wonderful warmth, I enjoy winter with her holiday spirit and I welcome the new life that spring brings, but fall, oh wonderful fall is the best of them all.

fall pumpkins in massachusetts
Fall brings the perfect balance of warm and cool. The air crisp and refreshing after the summer sun. The colours warm and golden. The mix of green, red, orange and yellow is perhaps nature's most perfect palette. The rich smell of woodsmoke curling from chimneys calms the senses and makes me want to pull on my coziest sweater to curl up next to my fireplace, wine in hand. The slow change from summer to the first frost makes fall my favourite season of all.

fall creeping in around the Harvard campus, so lovely
As much as I loved summer and taking in all she had to offer, I simply can't wait to enjoy fall once again. I have a few things I hope to enjoy over the next couple of months:
  1. Take Hudson to the pumpkin patch. Oh so cliche, but how can I not? He's the cutest pumpkin I know!
  2. Sip many pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks. Mmmm. 
  3. Walk in the park, breathe in that fresh fall air.
  4. Clean out my closet and attic. Some people spring clean, I fall clean.
  5. Enjoy one last fire in the pit, bundled warm.
  6. Enjoy a fire or two in our fireplace, cozied up.
  7. Trick or treating. For the first time in years and years!
  8. Enjoy the glistening of the first real frost.
  9. Take in a fall sunset with my family.
  10. Make a good dent in the holiday shopping. I vow, vow, vow to not leave most of it until December this year. I swear!
  11. Pull out my fall decor. Sooner rather than later. Hmmm, a good way to kick start cleaning the attic.
  12. Run consistently. I need to rebuild my running base after a few months of not running followed by a few more months of sporadic running.
  13. Scrapbook a few layouts of my ever growing list. I'm sure there'll be a cold day or two in there somewhere fit for nothing but a fire, scissors and glue.
That should do it for now. Bring it on fall!

What about you, what's on your fall bucket list?