Today would have been Michael Jackson’s 55th birthday. It’s a hot topic today, and so just for fun I went to YouTube to check out some videos of early performances of the Jackson 5. Every time I hear “ABC” on the radio it makes me smile.
I found this performance of “Rockin’ Robin,” a song that both my daughters loved when they were growing up. Not that they watched or heard Michael Jackson sing it, but they just loved the song in general. Gotta say, it’s pretty cute! 
I passed the Criticall Exam! (insert the sounds of the hallelujah Chorus being sung right here.)
What a relief! I have had this on the fringes of my mind for the last week, ever since I took the test last Wednesday. Having the thought recur and swirl through my mind at odd times during each day, “I wonder how I did. Did I type fast enough when entering the data? How was my accuracy? Did I read the maps correctly during that part of the test? Did I make any stupid mistakes, and check one box when I meant to check the other?”
There has been lots of prayer for the past 6 or so days, and lots of checking my email to see if I had passed.
And then this morning, just 10 minutes ago, up pops the email notification – I have a new email in my inbox. And there it was – “Congratulations, you have passed the Criticall phase of testing. You will be contacted in September for an oral interview.”
I think dinner at Olive Garden to celebrate with my daughters is in my future.
What has been a milestone or achievement for you lately? Leave a comment so we can share.
I have a large, walk-in closet that is mine – all mine. Most women would be doing backflips with a large closet all to themselves, but it makes me a little sad. That’s because the only reason the closet is mine, all mine is due to my husband’s death two years ago. But it is what it is.
So I decided this weekend that I need to clean out the closet and make it “more my own.” It’s time.
We went through and sorted out all my husband’s stuff shortly after the memorial service. The girls both took things of his that have special meaning to them, and the rest we either boxed up (his Marine Corps stuff) to save or donated (his clothes) to charity. So that left a big hole in the closet. And that hole has been filled over the past two years with stuff. My closet has become a storage room. It’s where the Christmas decorations spend 10 months of the year, where all my husband’s Marine Corps stuff resides, etc.
All that is well and good – we have no basement and no attic, so there is no other storage location in our home – but I need to organize things better, and make sure that there is appropriate space to keep my clothes organized.
So here we begin – I started sorting through and cleaning out the closet. There has been one trip to Goodwill already, and I feel there will be more in the near future.
Here are a few tips I came across when reading a book about organizing your home, from the chapter on organizing closets:
Hope this has helped a little. Next week – more culling of unwanted clothes and items from the closet. Stay tuned!
Well, this is awkward. Last week didn’t go as I planned – and I have to ‘fess up, because it’s Motivation Monday.
This was just another example of how I can get derailed when things get hectic and I haven’t planned ahead.
Yes, I gained back the two pounds I lost the week before – thank goodness I didn’t gain back more!
So we begin again … or like the blog says, “Starting Over … Again.”
And with a new mindset – to not let the week overwhelm me again!
This is an example of one of those household repairs that you know needs to be done, but you keep putting off. The longer you see something the less you really “see” it – that’s what I think. This stupid toilet seat (or more appropriately, the lid to the toilet seat) has been broken for about a year now. Yes, I know – pathetic, right!?!?
It happened when my youngest daughter was taking a shower in my bathroom. The dogs were outside barking, and when she got out of the shower she wanted to see why they were barking. There is a little window above the toilet, so she closed the lid and stepped up onto the lid. What she didn’t realize is that the lid already had a crack in it. It was one of those cheap plastic ones, and for whatever reason had sustained a crack sometime earlier. Well, the lid gave way and broke into several pieces. She’s lucky she didn’t cut her foot badly on the jagged edges.
So for the past year I have had a toilet seat with (essentially) no lid – just a jagged piece of plastic near the hinge of the lid and the seat. Finally, I decided today that it’s time for that to be fixed. So after a quick trip to Walmart, I got a new toilet seat.
It was much easier than I thought it would be. Not sure why I thought it would be more difficult than it was – but I did. But just a few minutes later, and I had a new toilet seat.
So my “take away” from this? Don’t be afraid to tackle the household repairs. Most of the time, they are not as difficult as I might think. I am more resourceful and handy than I think I am. Next week – I’m fixing the doorknob on the bathroom door!
Yup, weighed myself this a.m. – and 2 pounds are history! Whoop whoop!
I didn’t do anything really that drastic this week. Just watched what I ate, and ate less of it. I think that was the key – eating smaller portions. It’s surprising how that can make such a difference. I really didn’t think I was eating that large of portions before, but just adjusting things a little has really made a difference.
Of course, it doesn’t hurt that our garden and my mom’s garden are starting to really produce some great veggies now. So we have had more greens to eat over the past week than before.
I didn’t get to hiking at the state park as often as I wanted to over the past week. But the daughters and I went on a great hike yesterday afternoon. And thank you to my oldest daughter for setting the pace and then basically daring youngest daughter and I to keep up with her!
Overall a good week – oh, and when I took my measurements this a.m. I had lost 1/2 inch in my waist. Another whoop whoop!
Now to keep up the good work for this week as well.
