All of the socializing over the holidays capped off by the fabulous trip to visit my folks apparently left me more wiped out than I thought.  Somewhere in the midst of my torn apart office is the list of items in and out for the past week or so.   Hopefully I'll find it this weekend and get everything updated.

Last weekend was fabulous though, was running errands with my Sweetie and ended up in a consignment store where he bought me a most fantastic present.  Which is why my office is now completely torn apart.  Pictures of the awesomeness will be coming once it's reached once  a semblance of order is reached.

Back from AZ

It was just lovely, the temperature was in the high 70's to low 80's.  I was planning on sending a gloating email to a friend, but was thwarted by the lovely weather that Denver was having as well.

We had a blast going to the Casa Grande National Monument, which while small is still pretty awesome.  The buildings and irrigation systems were amazing considering the tools they had to work with.

We had a wonderful time sitting around the fire pit in my parents back yard and watching the feral cats bounce around and play.  Went thrifting with Mom one day while Dad and Sweetie worked on a storage bench.  And of course there was the traditional trips to Ikea and Fry's Electronics.

Meatballs from Ikea were substituted for the Grandma's traditional Norwegian meatball recipe.  It was getting late and we had a 45 minute drive before we made it home and we didn't want Mom killing herself making meatballs.  They were a very good substitute even if they were lacking the nutmeg we're used to.  If and when the Ikea in Denver becomes a reality I'm so stocking up and I think a sprinkling of nutmeg on top would be stellar.

Much stuff was purchased and given to the folks and many presents came home.  

IN:  46

Christmas and other Pressies from Mom and Dad:  32

   Snippit Bag Opener

   2 Chinese Boxes

   Package of Hello Kitty pens

   Book Light

   LED wind up flashlight

   Sewing pattern that Mom had used for a present last year and that I really wanted to try out

   3 small notebooks - Hello Kitty of Course

   7 handmade gnomes - Mom is so cool!

   Martha Stewart Tablecloth - technically christmas but we decided it could be used year round

   Snowmen Coasters

   Table Runner - very fall, all microsuede and appliqued leaves

   2 mini Owl Paintings done by Mom's Aunt Helma

   Amber Pendant and Earring Set - just gorgeous

   Kokeshi Ornament

   4 jewelry charms - featuring Hindu gods - so much fun

   can opener 

   Hello Kitty book bag

   gift wrap slicer

   Rachel Ray cookbook

   Silver Buddha statue - this is so awesome

Stuff I bought for me:  14

  Everyday Food Mag

  4 Scrub brushes from Ikea

  3 small plush rats, also from Ikea - they go nicely with Lemmy, the large plush rat from a previous trip to Ikea

  1 book - One of the Cat Who... mysteries

  Owl plate

  Nova documentary about Vikings

  2 round rugs off of ebay for under the living room recliners

  1 used cookbook from alibris

In and Right Back Out Again:  16 

Stuff I bought for Mom and Dad - (separate from what I sent down there earlier) and one silly thing for Sweetie!

    3 Books - 2 Romance for Mom and GoldFinger for Dad - from the thrift visit

    2 pirate action figure things for Dad

    1 moose action figure for Mom

    2 dust cloths for Mom

    red Norwegian sardine dish for Mom

    Cat toys for the indoor cats

    sparkly pom-poms for the outdoor cats

    2 christmassy rubber duckies for Dad

   Pedi-Egg for Mom - and she saw it and thought it was cool before I bought it

   Blanket for the outdoor cats - odd and fantastically ugly and from the thrift

   Static Charge eliminator keychain weird thing - Because Sweetie is alway zapping me but good - I'm hoping that this helps with that.  

Shake it all about:

January Totals:

In:  93

Total out as of today:  327

Net total out for January:  234 - I so need to clean out a closet this weekend, and maybe tackle the tupperware drawer in the kitchen.  But then it's double xp weekend in COH and.....

Puppies!

 

 Here's Esme hiding out in her sofa fort and Freya in her comfy chair.  Such cute sweeties.

Had a lovely dinner with our friend L., she's going to be watching the crazy puppies and Ping the Merciless while the sweetie and I are in Phoenix.  This is the 3rd or 4th time she's house-sat for us and the puppies just love her.  They snuggled up to her all evening, it makes it much easier to go out of town. 

Out:  5

  3 books - to a friend

  1 little tin box - thrift

  1 magazine - thrift

  1 old vhs tape - binned

Went to dinner and a movie with Sweetie's other Sister and her husband.  Saw Bolt - which was much fun, and the animation was amazing.  Then had dinner at Annie's cafe, which was super yummy like always.

In:  1

 New Suitcase for the trip to Phoenix as our old carry-on smells like cats - while I do love our kitty Ping, I am rather tired of her peeing on things when she's mad.  The Sweetie also bought a new suitcase, but I'm making an executive decision that his incoming stuff doesn't count because he buys very little.

Out:  5

 Magazines - added to the giant mound of stuff that needs to be dropped off or set out for charity pickup.

Visited the same SIL and family that came down last week, Sweetie finished nephew's computer while I went shopping with the girls again.  Apparently the ARC down here spoiled my SIL for all the thrifts in her town.  But we were able to find a few things.

Out:  28

Niece:  18

  5 crochet hooks

  padded hook cover

  hawaiian print wrap

  ball of cotton yarn

  project bag

  2 erasers

  packet of kawaii paper

  Hello Kitty Lollipop Cover

  Butterfly loom

  pencil lead

  2 packets of stickers

  Hello Kitty Notebook

  Japanese Pouch

SIL:  1

  Tea Wallet

BIL:  9

  5 Nero Wolfe Season 2 DVDs

  4 Mythbusters DVDs

  Baen Universe CD

In:  14

Thrift/Antique store:  2

  Japanese stacked dish that looks like a person

  Drive-In car speaker

Target:  11

  4 dish scrubbers

  1 back scrubber

  4 Magazine holders

  2 paper trays

  

Etsy:  1

  Vintage Danish Dish

In:

3 Books

1 bag of lucky stars off of Etsy

1 vintage danish dish

Out:

Not a thing - there were plans to go through the coat closet, but they were derailed by this cold

In:  1

  2009 Ikea Catalogue

Out: 5

  2 yes we did stickers and 2 discworld bookmarks to friends.

  2008 Ikea Catalogue - recycled.

got orange juice, good friends who are in town before leaving for a 5 month sabatical in Costa Rica and Spain, was fun but am afraid Sweetie and I weren't the best company, what with the colds and he having a nasty headache from the monthly 2 hour "Quality" training session he had to endure at work.  Bleh.  Also managed to throw together a pot of red turkey chili for a potluck at work tomorrow.  Washed my hands about 3000 times while making it, was being insanely paranoid about spreading the germs.  

Totals later when I'm awake enough to do the maths.

Orange Juice....Orange Juice....Orange Juice.....

Read the first volume of the Runaways last night, stayed up a bit late even, and it totally rocks!   Writing and art are awesome, and I want Gertie's hair!

....

I'm craving orange juice and feeling all thick headed so it seems that I'm coming down with Sweetie's cold.  Couples shouldn't be sick at the same time, someone needs to be well enough to fetch the OJ (or potato chips for the Sweetie).

Like pretty much everyone else I hate being sick and hope that it clears up before we head up to see the SIL and family on Saturday.  I'm looking forward to the visit but know that if this crud isn't cleared up I'll be all antisocial and unfit for human companionship.  And on Sunday we've planned dinner and a movie with the Sweetie's other sister and her husband.   

...

Next week we're heading to AZ to visit my parents for a delayed Christmas so today I went to UPS and mailed off a box full of presents and such.  This way our luggage won't be overloaded and we can avoid airline weight charges.  And yet another reason that I hope to shake this cold quickly.

...

So tonight I was planning on clearing out the coat closet, but it doesn't seem like that'll be happening now.  Maybe by the end of the week - it really needs it, two people just don't need that many coats.

...

Out:   25

Mom and Dad - (Things originally purchased as gifts aren't listed)

  Purse Holder

  2 Magazines

  Leather Purse

  3 strands of beads

  Package of skull beads

  2 pair earrings

  Book - Agnes and the Hitman

  J. Jill Shirt

  Paper Mache pear

  8 vintage hankerchiefs

Friend at Work

  Obama "Yes We Did" Sticker

IN:  1

Coraline movie promotional key - ebay

Shake it all About:

Total in for January:  28

Total out for January: 268

Net total out for January:  240

Had a nice quiet day that included brunch with friends and cleaning out the craft closet that is no longer full of doom.  My Sweetie spent the day in bed trying to fight off a cold, and at least one of the dogs was with him at all times, napping is so much more inviting that watching mom clean out the closet and listen to Pandora all day long.

It was so much easier to let go of things now that I'm keeping a list - of course that's very me.  I do so much better when goals are written down.  All the books I read a year are tracked on LJ, weight loss on Weight Watchers online and now this.  No one even needs to read it, I just feel accountable to the listing process and get a huge thrill from seeing the concrete progress.

Now off to do a little laundry - want to wear one of my new thrift finds to work tomorrow.

Cleaning out the craft storage closet

In:  3 

 Belated Christmas pressies - Bedlam, Bath and Beyond and Vol. 1 & 2 of the Runaways - Very excited about the Runaways and the title of the other one just cracks me up!

Out:  231

Tossed or Recycled: 73

  50 backup DVDs

  horrible manicure kit

  Broken Flashlight

  3 dead markers

  1 weird bottle of glue

  bundle of junk papers from catchall basked

  partial iPod screen protector kit for a iPod I no longer own

  3 con badges

  3 shelf brackets

  chewed up roll of freezer paper

  Files from an event I volunteered for

  Doll jewelry

  broken pedometer

  4 catalogues

  tea towel 

  

To Charity:  158

  12 art cards

  Car air freshener

  Measuring tape

  Packet of ribbon flowers

  12 rolls of ribbon

  Bag of felt hearts

  bag of glue sticks

  glue gun

  bag of marbles

  18 ping pong balls

  oil pastels

  over door closet organizer

  tip card

  circle punch

  2 rolls of feathery trim

  16 magazines

  expanding file

  naruto folder

  bookmark

  car organizer

  3 posters

  Pack of Q Cards

  16 Anime Sampler DVDs

  1 old pc game

  2 dvds

  9 old playstation games

  Promo Incredibles Lithograph from Best Buy

  pack of card stock

  glass frosting spray

  plush hello kitty

  4 naruto pins

  3 cloth napkins

  1 doily

  pucca pillow

  7 books

  2 cases for an iPod I no longer own

  embroidery hoop

  vintage sunglasses

  usb cable

  umd case

  3 tote bags

  yellow wig

  3 dressy wraps 

  3 funky edged scissors

  2 packs of scrapbook paper

  2 foam brushes

  2 decks of playing cards

  2 pocket knives

  keychain

  4 packs of stickers

  naruto notebook

Shake it all About:  

Total in for January:  27

Total out January:  243

Net Items out for January:  216

In:  24

Books:  

Suzy, Led Zeppelin and Me by Martin Millar

Charmed & Ready by Candace Havens

 Charmed & Deadly by Candace Havens

Karma Girl by Jennifer Estep

Re-Creative by Steve Dodds

Suzunari!, Vol. 1 by Shoko Iwami

Unusual Suspects edited by Dana Stabenow

Misc:  

2 gb thumb drive

computer speakers

packet of dvd envelopes

Thrift Store Mania:

2 Shirts                                              

3 Books, one Diana Wynne Jones, 2 cookbooks

Small wooden box

Small George Foreman grill for traveling

Bamboo Wall Scroll

Gaiam water bottle

Check Book Cover

Zippered Pouch for my purse

  Pencil Set

Asian Grocery Store:  

2 jars of rice seasoning

Out:  12

Nephew:  

Wok

thumb drive 

Computer Speakers

Stir-Fry Cookbook

toy skateboard

rice seasoning

Niece:

3 Erasers

Play Foam

Diana Wynne Jones book

Sister in Law:

Vase 

Shake it all about:  24-12= +12 - ooh looks like I need to do some sorting, donating and trashing of stuff!

And a wonderful time was had thrifting with my Sister-in-Law and Niece while the husband, Brother-in-Law and Nephew put together the Nephew's new computer.  Only had one - "oh no how do I fix this error" phone call which was awesome - the guys did a really good job!  They did run out of time at the end so we're finishing up the software install and will deliver it next weekend - and my SIL has already suggested a tour of the thrift stores on her end of town while the guys get their geek on.  Glee!

What the heck is this then

Inspired by various simplification ideas on the web, I'm going to keep track of all of my non-consumable purchases over the course of the year with the plan that more stuff leaves my house than comes in.  This should keep me inspired to not fill up every nook and cranny with things that I have no use for but other people might and to go through what I already own and de-clutter.  Just because I have space doesn't mean that every square inch needs to be filled.  

Craft projects and bits and bobs of my day to day life may or may not show up - who knows :)