Day Zero: Can I Actually Do It?

So, THIS is Day Zero. Basically, you choose 101 things you'd like to do/experience in 1001 days.

Sounds easy right?

WRONG.

I've got 23 things on my list, and I'm so stuck.

I'm going to figure out some more things and add them on, but for now that's what I've got.

I'm interested to see what the rest of the girls are doing with their lists.

So, I've got this Trunk..

And I think I want to make it into a coffee table. But I'm not quite sure how to do it. It needs to be higher, so I've been looking at legs. But I don't know what would go best with this particular trunk. And legs are so expensive! I found some I liked, but they were $55. Per leg. Seriously.

I cleaned off the top, so it's not as dirty. It originally had the address of the previous owner but it came right off with a little non-acetone nail polish remover. I was thinking of doing something to the top, but I don't know what. Anna at Simply South Dakotan mentioned ModgePodge, but I'm not quite convinced that would be the best, haha. I'm not too crafty.

What do my loyal(?) readers think I should do?

What a busy, busy month...

Man. Things sure have changed since last we 'spoke'.

I started dating the most amazing, incredible, sincere, funny, loving, gorgeous man I've ever met in my life. Seriously, I've never been this happy, or laughed this much, or felt this good in my life. *sigh*

AND I've been obsessed with crafts lately. Like, obsessed. These are some I'm DYING to try.

Diaper Bag/Wipes holder/Changing mat: Even if I don't use it as a Diaper Bag, I would still use it as a purse, or make someone who WOULD use it one.

Fingerprint Jewelry: I LOVE this. Maybe a keychain for a certain someone? Necklace for me? Haha.

Ottoman: I FREAKING LOVE THIS SO HARD.


Quotes: These just make me happy.






This stuff makes me think about my friend at Seven Sleeps. She LOVES Owls/Birds, so when I see stuff I think she'd like, I always bookmark it, or post it on her FB wall. Haha.

Well, Seven, here ya go!

Felted Owl in a tree

Pinecone owls

Candy Bar Wrappers and Brown Paper Lunch Bag

Crocheted Owl

Purse

Calendar

Halloween Costume for this year? You're welcome.

Quick update!

I got the keys today and I should have everything moved in on Friday!

And I am very happy. Truth. With everything.

This is the start to many great things to come. :)

Designing the New Apartment

I want to do these things:

Photo Frames Jewelry Holder : And my AMAZING friend Connie MAKES these. How freaking awesome is she??

Vanity Table in the bedroom (as I probably don't have outlets in the bathroom)

That table (or something like it) should go fairly well with the bed I picked out on Amazon. (I LOVE Amazon Wishlists. Seriously.)

The bedroom will be black, white and yellow. I think it will be a mix of light and bold yellows, as I normally can't stand pastels. (Thank you to Sam for the inspiration)..

I really liked these wall stickers but I'm not sure how I would use them..

And what's a bedroom without awesome paper lanterns?

And curtains (because the windows aren't insulated or double paned.) I LOVE that the circles on the curtains kind of match the circles on the duvet..

I really like weird clocks, and this one was as weird as I could find in yellow. But maybe I should try to get a black or white one?



Entryway:

So, basically, what I'm trying to say is, I have a lot of ideas.. I'm super excited about the bathroom and kitchen too. They'll both me white and turquoise-ish.

Bathroom:

(The leaves are grey, not purple..)

So, this is it..

I'm starting over, and moving on.

I have an appointment to meet with an owner of a low-income subsidized building just a few blocks away from work. *fingers crossed* The price would be incredible, the location amazing, and the apartments are really cute. I would have a soaking, clawfoot tub! (EDIT: I do NOT have a soaking tub. But I have a tub. So, that's a plus.)

I will be taking with me:
Personal Items (clothes, jewelry, makeup, etc..)
Mattress
Bookshelf
TV/Blu-Ray Player
Dresser
Bedroom shelving unit (maybe?)
Some towels/dishes

The only sucky thing about the apartment is that it's pretty far from a grocery store, so I may need to make weekly/bi-weekly trips with a friend/dad.. Or, I could just get a basket for my bike and not buy a lot. Haha.

I will probably be shopping a lot at Plato's Closet for clothes and stuff, and thrift stores and Craigslist for home stuff. My cost of living won't be too much because the apartment is subsidized, so I may actually be able to furnish my apartment within the next month.

God, I hope I get this place..

First step to a better me, CHECK. Done feeling like I'm going to throw up, almost.

I just finished Day One of Level One of 30 Day Shred.

I want to throw up and cry at the same time. I didn't think I was THIS out of shape. It's killing me.

I ended up doing half-assed jumping jacks because my ankle wouldn't allow me to do the regular ones, but I did EVERYTHING else. I can't wait to see how I feel tomorrow. I want to do this everyday, regardless of how I'm feeling.

I'm pretty excited. Tomorrow will be the last day I allow junk food in the house, so Aaron may get a rude awakening when I won't let him buy Reese's ice cream. At least for the first week. I need to know I can do it, and I'll need his help.

Words of encouragement are needed, if you've got any. If anyone actually reads this.

The Master Plan

Goals of Spring Cleaning:
Make new email address for bills/bank accounts: Paperless for EVERYTHING
Donate HALF of all clothes and shoes in drawers/closets/storage space
Find a place for the vacuum
Have a HOME that I don't feel embarrassed inviting people to.

Bedroom: Day One
· Take everything out of closet / dresser
· Get rid of boxes in closet:
· Figure out where they need to go and what we can get rid of.
· Move all furniture and vacuum
· Clean windows, blinds, window sills, and the crevices in the window panes
· Wash all sheets and comforters; pillows if needed.
· Vacuum and flip mattress
· Dust off and clean all furniture
· Get rid of knick knacks or anything that doesn't belong in the bedroom.
· Put furniture back
· Reorganize clothes: Get rid of anything that doesn't fit RIGHT NOW or you haven't worn in 1 year.
· Put all clothing back in closet and dresser, organized by type
· Make bed.

Bathroom: Day Two
· Take everything out of bathroom
· Clean sinks, countertops, toilet
· Scrub bathtub and shower walls
· Clean mirrors and windows
· Toss anything not needed.
· Vacuum / wash rugs
· Buy shower caddy? New showerhead?
· Put everything back

Hall Closet: Day Two
· Take everything out of closet.
· Toss, Donate, Giveaway or Recycle anything that isn't needed or being used.
· Shred all paperwork / receipts / paystubs. YOU DON'T NEED THEM ANYMORE.
· Replace drawers and label accordingly

Kitchen: Day Three
· Take everything out of cabinets
· Clean cabinets and cupboards
· Sweep and mop floors
· Clean appliances
· Take everything out of refrigerator / freezer
· Clean refrigerator / freezer
· Reorganize food in fridge / freezer
· Clean windows, blinds, window sill and crevices in window panes
· Dust walls
· Vacuum and Mop the floor.
· Clean counters and wipe down outside of cabinets
· Reorganize food in cabinets.
· Face everything.
· Toss anything expired or anything you won't eat.
· Take an inventory of food that you have while organzing it for a Master Grocery List.
· May be a good idea to do a list of everything that is in each cabinet and tape to the inside door.

Dining Area: Day Three
· Take everything out of Dining Area
· Fix cabinet drawers.
· Move all furniture and vacuum and mop the floor.
· Organize items in drawers
· Toss / Donate / Giveaway anything not needed or used

Living Room: Day Four
· Take everything out of the Living Room
· Dust furniture and electronics
· Vacuum / dust furniture and floors
· Clean windows
· Reorganize books on shelves
· Toss / Donate / Recycle or Giveaway anything that isn't needed or used

Office Area: Day 5
· Take everything out of office area
· Shred ALL PAPERWORK NOT NEEDED (which is pretty much everything)
· Organize remaining paperwork in binders and folders
· Dust furniture
· Clean computer and keyboard with compressed air
· Vacuum floor

The Bane of my Existence

Warning: These images not for the faint of heart.

The view from the Front Door:

Some of the Living Area. The boxes directly in the center are leftover Christmas decorations and random stuff that have nowhere else to go.

One of our bookshelves with most of the books and the movies shelf. I really want to find another way to store the movies, but I'm NOT willing to put them all in a book and get rid of the cases. That's not happening.

The other bookshelf.

The office area in relation to the Living Room. I wish we had a 2 bedroom apartment.

The "Office": I need to figure out a way to make this more efficient and cleaner. I think a big step will be getting rid of all of Aaron's knick-knacky stuff and all the papers we don't need anymore.

Aah the Dining Room table that we never eat on: That's a car seat from a car we no longer own, a sewing machine, pizza boxes, sewing hat box, and in the back of the table, a GIANT Foster's Beer Bar Mirror. Why? Because we have no where to put it and no one to give it to.

The Dining Room / Kitchen: We're going to fix the drawers in the cabinet there on the right so we can USE the cabinet. I'm going to try to convince Aaron to get rid of a lot of the crap here in the picture. We've gotten rid of a lot of the stuff so far. We also need to figure out somewhere to put the bikes, as we're not allowed to have them outside on our "porch" area, and the storage unit isn't big enough to put them both in there. I would also like to hang the spice racks and tea cabinet we have there to free up room on the surfaces.

The Kitchen: I want to clear out the cabinets and store some of the small appliances, if not all of them. I also want to clear off the fridge so it's a nice clean surface area.

Our Recycling / Garbage area: I think I want to get some cute containers for the recycling and garbage. The garbage can fit under the sink, and I think I would rather having the recycling under there as well. I'm just not sure how we'll be able to do it. We have a lot of our cleaning supplies under the sink right now.

The Pantry: Although we have a pantry, it doesn't have shelves, so I don't think we're utilizing the space to the fullest. I'm hoping to find a way to use all the space in there.

The "Hallway": I'm hoping to get rid of most of the stuff in the closet, and find a way to fit the vacuum in it. That is one of my main goals.

The inside of the closet.

The bathroom: Not much we can do storage wise. I'd just like to utilize the space better. That will be easier once we get rid of a lot of the crap under the sink.

Now, the Pièce de résistance: The bedroom: My least favorite room of the house.

And the closet. I wish I could use it. First off, we're taking all the boxes out of there, and either throwing it away, or finding somewhere else for it.

Well, that's everything. I hope I didn't scare you away. Any tips you have or comments to make, please make them. The only way this is going to work is if I get complete honesty from people..

I Think I Must Be Crazy...

I'm doing it.







I'm taking the plunge.





I'm (cue scary movie music) SPRING CLEANING!


I'm working on my list right now. I'm also going to post pictures of my apartment, so I can get feedback and feel like I'm accountable. So feel free to be honest and give me tips!

Oh, 2011. You'd better be better.

2010 kind of blew. Like, big chunks of 2010 everywhere.

2011, you better step up your game, cuz it's not looking to hawt for you either.

New Year's Resolutions (kinda):

• Lose weight. And by that, I mean not gain anymore. And by that I mean, actually use the gym membership that I'm paying $35 a month for. And by that I mean, get my lazy ass off the couch, and actually do something. I would like to lose all the weight I gained while living with Aaron (50ish lbs).
• I would like to start Christmas shopping in January. By the time the holidays come around, we don't have any money left, and it's very stressful to be the only person in your family who doesn't give gifts.
• I would like to save money. New budget starts today!
• Have more sex, so Aaron won't kill me. :p
• I would like to start loving myself, more than I love others. I'm not sure what exactly that will entail, and I know it will be hard work, but I really really want to start loving myself. I don't think I've ever really done that.

Anyone out there have any good Resolutions? Anyone ever actually do something they resolve to do?