Friday, January 21, 2011

Organizing our home - The Storage Room

Don't ask me how this area got so unorganized.... All I can tell you is from the moment we moved in, the storage room became a dumping ground. And the more stuff that was added...the more out of control it became. So, as a part of one of my resolutions, I have set out to make our home more organized. I started with the storage room because I plan on using it for storing other things that are located throughout the house.....and adding more to an already chaotic room would just make it more chaotic!

And with Andy's help, I even completed this first organization project on time! (I also wanted to get the laundry room done, but it didn't work out with all the sickness floating around our house this week).

Just so you know.... this was THE MESSIEST room in the house. The rest of our house is not this messy!!

Here are the "Before and After" pictures!!

Before...
After...
Before...
After...
Before....
(The door isn't as blocked as it looks....but there was only a small pathway before)
After...
Before...
After...
(the trash bags are clothes to donate...going to Goodwill tomorrow!)
Well that's it!! Better by leaps and bounds!!
I have now officially checked this room off my list!!

Monday, January 17, 2011

New Years Resolutions

I've been thinking a lot about resolutions or basically things I want to do differently starting this year, and I think I have finally buckled down a list of what I want to focus on the most....

1. Get Organized.
- Going room by room I'm going to organize each space. I'm going to be posting pictures here of "before" and "after". I've already started in the storage room, and plan to move through the house starting from there. I figured I better do the storage area first...that away if I have more to add to that space, I'm not continuing to junk it up. (That would make it even MORE of a headache!) Dates for completion will be posted here. Starting with the completion date for the storage room and laundry room is this Friday 1-21-11.

2. Work on getting in shape. (This one's for Andy and me)
-Starting today Andy and I are starting up Tony Horton's P90 again. I've told Andy I'm going to be posting our stats here. I'm also going to be focusing on preparing healthier meals for our family. I'll be posting any successful new recipes here too!

3. Read my Bible everyday.
-We're doing this with our church. Andy and I are both using YouVersion to keep up with our daily readings. YouVersion is really a great resource, and it has multiple reading plans...so you can find the one that's perfect for you!

4. Get back to reading.
-And more than just children's books! :o) I'd like to read at least 6 new books this year. That may not sound like much to some, but I think I read three books total last year. I love reading....I always have....and I'd really love to start reading regularly again.

5. Sew something new each week.
-I might be biting off more than I can chew here, but I really want to try this. It's not that I'm looking for new things to sell....(although if I really like something it might end up on SweetSamantha)....it's more that I just want to try new things. These projects will be posted here and over at my Simply Sweet Samantha blog.

Well, that's about it for now!! Time to get started! :o)

Monday, January 10, 2011

Snow day

Slightly more snow than last time...

Ice on top of the snow



Gizmo was so cold! I think he would have enjoyed his own mittens and little sweater.
Building a snow man
Like mother, like daughter....notice her tongue sticking out and mine was sticking out in the pic before!
Gathering up snow
Finishing touches
With our snow man
Love them!
Picking up ice



This is his mommy-you-have-taken-too-many-pictures face
A little snow ball fight

Today was the best snow day ever!

Christmas (part 3) and our new Art Easel

The day after Christmas we traveled to visit with our parents and share a few days with them. It had snowed on Christmas day and we were worried about the roads being messy and being able to travel, but thankfully the roads were completely clear when it was time for us to leave. We had a great time visiting with family and they blessed us with a lot of gifts!

Over at Mama and Papa's house:
Cousins (Samantha, Brianna, James, and Blake)
Samantha opening her puppy dog from Mama and Papa
Then we went to Gigi and Grandpa's house:
Me and My Nana
4 generations (My mom, Me, Samantha, and my Nana)

Gigi and Grandpa got the kiddos an art easel for Christmas. We put it together as soon as we got home, and even though it was time for bed they just had to draw on it a little. They were so cute playing on it. They absolutely love it!

They each can have a side!
James took to the chalk side first
A rainbow!
Samantha took to the white board/ paper side. Here she is "concentrating".
She is very precise....it only looks like she's scribbling back and forth, but really she carefully considers each mark!

The artists in action...



Thank you to all of our family who made this Christmas great!! We had such a good time being with our family, and we've really been enjoying all our gifts ....we could not have asked for a better Christmas!

What we woke up to this morning....

4 1/2 inches of white stuff :o)


Last night before we went to bed...


This morning...
Our bird feeder
Gizmo trying to navigate the snow without using all his paws
Paw prints
Down our street
Staying warm inside!
We'll get out and play in it after breakfast!

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Christmas 2010 (part two - SNOW)

On Christmas day we got an extra special treat this year.... a snowy, white Christmas! I can't remember exactly what the news said about how many years it had been since Georgia had seen a white Christmas, but I can tell you it was definitely a first for me! Here are some pictures from playing in the snow...
James being cute
Trying to catch snow flakes
Samantha is not so sure she likes the cold
Running in the yard
Samantha already cold and asking to go inside (she actually went inside with Andy for a few minutes, but when James didn't come in she wanted to come back out)
Giz isn't sure if he likes the snow either
But James is definitely loving it!
My handsome little man
I love this picture

The best part was catching on video how excited James was about the snow, and how NOT excited Samantha was...

When we came back inside, Samantha fell asleep in my lap. Absolutely a priceless moment, and a wonderful end to a wonderful day!