It's Friday and what a week it's been! I've been sick all week. Heck, I've been sick for two weeks. I finally gave in and got some cough medicine and I think it's clearing up! My poor lungs just needed a chance to not cough so that they could start healing. Thank goodness! On top of that, the boys had Monday off (due to Mid-Winter break. I still want to know where that was when I was in school!) and then had 2 snowdays this week. Yes, 2. The first one I couldn't get out to go watch them but I was in sooo much pain from my earlier in the week workout, I got zippo accomplished. Then yesterday, I got up way early and went in and spent the day with them.

So, what does all of this mean? I got absolutely zero accomplished this week. My house still is a disaster zone (like call out the national guard level) and I still have a million and one things on my to do list. I bet you're wondering what this means for Finish It Friday, right?

Well, even if you're not, I'm going to tell you. You ought to know that about me by now. It means nothing more on my to do list will be accomplished today. You see, it's the every other Friday Friday. That means I go get the boys, we go grocery shopping, come home, drag it all into the house, make dinner, eat dinner, maybe watch a movie while eating dinner and then it's bedtime for them and because I'm still a little sick, I collapse on the couch with some water and tv. Holy cow, was that a long sentence or what?

I will be finishing something though. I'm going to finish my bad attitude. All week, I've been sick and once I gave into it, I also gave into the blah/meh feeling that comes along with it. I pretended like it didn't matter what I ate, didn't matter that I couldn't really workout and basically gave into really bad habits. So, enough of that. It ends today. I know it's not going to be easy because well if it were, wouldn't more of us be making huge changes in our lives? Sure we would! It needs to happen though. The mehness needs to go byebye and the back on track (because soon it will be back to the scale) needs to come through.

So that's what I'm doing. What about all of you? Be sure you leave a comment with a link to your Finish It Friday post. I know you won't regret it! Plus, it means I can come by and give you some comment love and support!



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It's Friday! We all made it! Sadly, Ben made it by catching a yucky cold. The poor kid has been curled up on the couch all day with a headache. He did eat dinner though, so that's a good sign that it's just a nasty cold. Hopefully a good night's sleep will help with that.

Today was a good day, though. We were home for the first day in a week which made me happy. I did my radio show, which also made me happy. I also got the shopping list mailed to Rob, the lawn mowed and the coolers brought into this house after I hosed down the outsides of them. I even got one of them packed up with some of the food I bought yesterday! I finally feel as if things are starting to come together for this trip. Of course, I do still have the big things to do, like laundry and cleaning out the van. I still have a week to get them done, though. I'm not giving up. I will get as much done as possible before I go.

So, I wrapped up a lot of stuff today and that makes me feel good. Oh, I didn't mention it before, but I also got the bills paid so that's one less worry and one more thing to cross off of my list. Yay!

Wow, we all made it to Friday and yet again, it's going to be a busy day. I have my show from noon until 3pm (eastern) and then I have to try to tackle that last bit of backyard that is still swaying in the breeze. If I can just get that down, then I can start properly mowing the lawn.  Then, I need to pack up the boys because they're going to Peter's for the weekend. He'll be over around 5pm to pick them up for the weekend. They'll be at his house until Monday morning when I pick them up. Then, they'll be off to film camp for their first day!

So, what am I finishing? Well, my goal is to finish the first round around that backyard. If I can get through that and the heat isn't too unbearable, I might work more on the van. Yesterday, the boys and I went out and cleaned out the front seat area and part of the middle section. Ok, Ben and I did that while Roger played with the hose. My 32 item list of things that has to get done before the trip got a small nibble taken out of it. Not quite a bite, but certainly at least a nibble.

Happy Friday, world! I'd say TGIF but it's been a rocky day around here. I had planned on mowing the lawn but of course, we had a massive downpour which drenched everything all over again. I feel like I'm never going to get this darn lawn done. Then, the boys have been at each other all day. I've finally just made them sit down and be quiet.

Happy Friday, everyone! I hope that everyone out there had a better day than I did here. I swear it was just one darn thing after another. None of them were major but when you're tired and hormonal, they sure seem to be.

Whew! What a busy day. I worked at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore from 9-2pm. I was only supposed to work until 1 but they were busy and the usual 1-5 guy couldn't be there so I said I'd stay over. I really enjoy working there. I'm hoping that I can still work sometimes over the summer. It would really be nice if I could find a job like that where I got paid.

After I picked them up, I did a quick scramble through the grocery store and then, it was time to get the boys. Yay! I love our time together. I know that life hasn't been very fair to them in some areas but they've done so well with the changes and they really are such good kids.

One bonus to me going to Canada was the short shopping trip for groceries. It made unloading the van tons and tons easier and it sure as heck cut down on the fighting about getting it unloaded. The boys and I had chili dogs as a special treat and just enjoyed the evening together until bedtime. Then, it was a couple of chapters of Percy Jackson and bedtime for the boys.

So, what did I finish? Well, the week, I guess. There wasn't really any time to finish off anything else. That's ok, though. I know that there's always plenty of finishing to be done but sometimes you just have to enjoy what you have.

Oh how I would love to tell you that I was so busy finishing things yesterday that I just didn't get a chance to post. Actually, it's not so far off from the truth. Yesterday, I finished off my week with a Friday broadcast of my show, Musically Sunshine. Once I was done with that, I did a bit of work around the house and got on with my big item for the day.

I made a wedding gift for my ex-husband and his now new wife. That's right. I did. Their wedding was today (Saturday) but I wasn't invited. I'm not sure what that's all about, but I can respect that she probably found it a bit uncomfortable to have his ex there. I'm hoping that eventually all of that will end. I honestly like her and don't want him back so there's no reason for the weirdness. Maybe I'm just weird like that. Once a relationship is over, I honestly just want everyone to be happy.

Anyway, enough babbling about that. So, I decided that even though I wasn't invited to the wedding, I still wanted to give them something to show that I'm happy for them. It took a while, but this is what I made:



In other news, Dell finally came through for me. I got a phone call on Thursday night letting me know that after reviewing what happened to me, they're going to fix my laptop free of charge. That's right, it's not costing me a penny! I have to say that it was worth 3 months of total frustration and aggravation to get that news. They're sending me out a box to ship him to Texas in. They're going to replace the motherboard and run tests on everything else to make sure that there's nothing else wrong with it. I'm so excited about this! Once I have that laptop back, I can start doing stuff I've had to put off because I just didn't have the computing power! Yay! Did I mention Yay? Yay!

Ok, it's dinner time so I need to scoot but I just wanted to mention....Yay!

Yesterday was such a great day. The sun was out. It was a balmy, gorgeous 81 outside and it just energized me. I got so much done! I finished sweeping the boys room. I got the stuffed toys that are going to Haiti all bagged up and had them outside for pick up. I tidied and swept the landing. I planted something like 9 different containers of veggies. I uploaded, labeled and grouped a whole bunch of photos on Flickr. I even went out and got my composter started.

What does that mean for today? It means I'm headed into Hastings to go grocery shopping and to get the boys. My Finish It Friday is that I'm stopping by the vets again. Hemi had ear mites and I strongly suspect that the other kitties to too. I'm taking in ear swabs of the two older kitties and taking Sadie in with me because she needs to be weighed. If nobody has guessed, our kitties are spoiled rotten and loved to death. We want them happy and healthy. They're happy so now I'm working on making sure that they're all healthy.

How about all of you, my loyal and loving readers? What are you going to Finish Up so that your weekend has more freedom to it?

Happy Friday, world! Today was a good day around here. The boys and I spent it just relaxing together and playing on Facebook. They did get their homework all finished without any arguments, which was nice. We also read 2 more chapters of Percy Jackson before bed. It's getting really excited and all three of us are a bit bummed that we're not going to get to finish the book this weekend. It will certainly give us all something to look forward to on the weekends that they're here though! I looked at the calendar and it's only about 6 weeks until their summer break. Where has this school year gone to?

So, I guess the question is, what did I finish today? Well, I set a "preview" date for my new radio show on TrainREK Radio. I still need to talk time with him but it's definitely in motion. I also contacted Kloey to see if she wants me to help her out at the show in Novi. I'm hoping she does. It's been ages since I got to hang out with crafty friends plus she's just a hoot to be around. Did I mention that it usually pays and money is always welcome?

So, I guess I didn't finish anything but I did get some stuff in motion that I just hadn't taken the time for before. What did you finish today? Anything fun? Anything exciting? Anything dull and routine? *grins*

Whew! We made it! It's Friday! I wish I could say that I've had a super productive week, but it's just not the case. I did get bits done here and there but not as much as I would have liked. Oh well, sometimes we all have those kinds of weeks. I did have a productive week when it came to some self-realization, though. I haven't decided quite yet if I'll write about that or not.

I will, however, write about what I'm going to finish today. I'm going to be doing something that I'm hoping will relieve some stress for me. Ever since I started having problems with the van, I've been fairly phobic about actually driving it. Well, today, I'm going to confront that fear. I'm actually taking the van into the mechanic's to have them go over it and to tell me what, if anything, needs to be fixed. I say I'm hoping that it will relieve some stress because if the list is too long, I'm going to be fairly freaked out..lol!

After that, I'm going to be running into Grand Ledge to do some quick grocery shopping. I have the boys coming over on Sunday for their Spring break and I have a yummy very kid friendly menu planned but not all of the things I'll need to create it. Plus, I want to pick up some Easter treats for them.

So, wish me luck! I'm so hoping for good news today!

Whew! We made it! It's Friday again and you know what that means. It means we need to wrap things up so that we can enjoy our weekends. I have a long list of things I want to get done today and it starts right here, on the blog. The first thing I want to finish is this post!

After that, I need to:

1. Go to Hastings and drop off empty boxes for Peter/Donna.
2. While there, pick up the boys' things.
3. Pick up the boys.
4. Go to Walmart.
5. Go to Habitat for Humanity to drop off my volunteer form, register for a shift and see what's happening in the ReStore.
6. Go grocery shopping.
7. Put $10 into the gas tank of the van.
8. Drive home and unload everything from the van while ignoring the grumbles from the boys.
   
9. Enjoy a nice night with the boys.

Then, after they're in bed, I need to do some blog work. I have some review information that I need to get out to some Etsy shop owners and companies. All in all, it's going to make for a long day but one that's worth doing.

How about you? What do you need to finish up so you can enjoy your weekend?

Woo! It's Friday again. Ok, I don't know why I'm excited because Friday is really a lot like any other day to me, but I guess I'll be excited for the rest of you. This is going to be just a quick post because I have a busy day ahead of me.

I'm finishing something important today. I'm headed out to Hastings to get a front end alignment and oil change done on the van. This will finish up the latest round of van repairs. I would love to say it's going to end them, but I know better and I wouldn't lie to all of you.

Once I'm done at the mechanic there, I'm going to drive into Ionia. Yep, I know they're nowhere near each other, but sadly the Walmart in Hastings doesn't have the bookshelves I want to pick up. I found some decent ones for a good price and I'm excited to be getting these. I'm going to be putting one in "The Wall" and one (or two) upstairs on the landing. If all goes well, I'll finally be able to get all my books plus some other items put away. Yay!

So, that's what I'm finishing today. If all goes well, I'll be home early enough to write up a couple of posts that are churning around in my head.

Wow, I'm not getting to write this until Friday is nearly finished. I had planned on writing it this morning but had to go into Hastings a few hours earlier than I had planned. Thank goodness Peter texted me and told me that the kids didn't end up having school today. I'm glad that he did because the roads between here and there weren't great and if I'd waited until regular time, they would have been absolutely miserable.

Donna was great and had the boys all ready for us to go when I got there. She's actually really good about that. She seems nice. I haven't gotten to know her super well. I sometimes get the feeling that she's not comfortable being friendly with me. I dunno. Maybe someday we'll all be friends. It would be best for the boys plus it never hurts to have friends, right?

So, the boys and I ran out to Walmart and got what we needed there and then tried to hurry through the grocery store. That didn't quite go as quickly as I'd have liked but we got through pretty quick. The drive back was pretty tense because the roads were just getting worse and worse and I think I've become a bit paranoid about driving the van. I was sure glad when we got back into the driveway. I'm also glad that I spent all that time shoveling over the past two days. Even with all the snow coming down, we pulled right back into the driveway and because of the path I'd shoveled out, we pretty easily got all of the groceries inside and put away.

What did I finish? Well, I'm counting that stressful drive. My other goal is to finish having the tension headache that it gave me. I've popped a couple of tylenol and I'm just waiting for them to kick in. Since it's so late in the day, I'm not going to give you guys an organizing mission. Enjoy your snowday!

I told you I'd be back and here I am! I had a really productive day in "The Wall" today so I'm thinking that my day off from technology was a good thing. Ok, I admit that I played games on Facebook when I would stop to take some breaks. However, I didn't deal with email. I didn't sign into Twitter and I just work work worked. I think the best part was laying under one of the tables, plugging in a power strip and talking to the cats. It was actually kind of peaceful. Plus, did you see what I said? Under one of the tables! Woo! Suddenly, I'm actually looking forward to the pictures that will be posted on Monday. Nope, no sneak peaks this week. We're too close to the end and I'm planning on spending my weekend in "The Wall" to push it towards completion. I have another box of freecycling going out tomorrow and one more that I actually need to post. I'm sure it will get snagged quickly because it's baskets and crafting items. I'm so excited to finally be able to really start to see changes happening!

As for today, I'm going to be out and about, at least for the morning. I'm taking the van in to have the tie rod replaced. I'm so blessed to have someone who is helping me with the cost of the van repairs. I can't afford to have the front end alignment done yet but hey, progress is progress. After that, I need to make a stop off at the IGA to get some emergency food supplies to get me through the next week. I'm hoping that even without the front end alignment, I'll be able to get into Hastings next Friday to pick up the boys and to get some serious groceries.

After that, I need to do my Finish It for this week. My goal is to finish clearing out from under the craft table so that I can start getting the "organizational" units placed under that. If I can do that, I'm going to be so excited. It will make for some really good progress over the past couple of days.

As for all of you, we're going to go someplace that we haven't gone to yet this month. Are you ready? I want you to go to your laundry area/room. Collect up all of the empty soap bottles, empty dryer sheet boxes and any other garbage that may be floating around that area. If you're like me, you empty one out with the intent on taking it to the recycling bin or trash can in the other room and there it remains. While you're in there, take a quick inventory. Are you low on anything? If so, make a note on your shopping list so that you don't forget them when you next go shopping.

And that's it for me, folks. I have a busy day coming. Have a great Friday and I'll see you back here tomorrow for another Saturday tip!

And...it's Friday! Wow, what an adventure Thursday turned out to be. I had this great plan of everything I was going to get done. It all fell by the wayside when the woman who was coming to pick up a round of Freecycling knocked on my front door. It turns out that her transmission burst a seal right in front of my house. She had left her house without a coat, without her phone and without her debit card. I loaned her a jacket and walked with her up to the hardware store and bought her a quart of transmission fluid in the hopes it was just a leak and this would get her home. No suck luck though. It poured right back onto the snow, so all we did was dye the snow pink. I invited her into the house (trust me, I winced doing it but I couldn't leave her out in the cold) and loaned her my phone so she could call her hubby. Well, it turns out she had taken his keys which had the only key to their second vehicle. Luckily, he could borrow a car from a friend and came out to pick her up. We pushed the truck totally off the street and they headed out. The only problem was that this whole thing took about 3 hours. Right after they left, Peter pulled in with the boys and I needed to make dinner and then instead of a movie, we watched the first half of the Survivor premier together.

What does all that mean? Everything that didn't happen yesterday is getting rolled onto today. So, my finish projects for today: rebox the books that got knocked over and get them out to the porch for freecycle pickup, change the cat litter, kgb work and work more on the wall. I also need to study with the boys for upcoming tests and maybe make some cookies.

So, what does all that mean? A busy day for this girl. It's ok though because I have my boys with me and they'll help me out when/where they can. We also did homemade pizza tonight for dinner so tomorrow night we'll be making up a lasagna. They're the official cheese sprinklers when we make pizza or lasagna or anything that requires sprinkled on cheese.

Now, I know you're all anxiously awaiting your challenge. We're going back down to the kitchen. Well, it's down in my house because the two bedrooms are both upstairs. I was talking with Jim tonight and he mentioned boxing up and storing his Kitchenaid stand mixer because he never used it. As I've been telling all of you since Day 1 of the challenge, if you don't love it or use it, set it free. Don't let it take up valuable space in your home that could be used for something you want. So, that's your challenge. I want you to go through all of those small appliances and figure out just which ones you actually use. If you don't use it, let it go! I'm personally going to be looking for a new home for a couple of the appliances that are living in my kitchen. Not only do I never use them, but I need to make room for a stand mixer! I'm a lucky, lucky girl and Jim has decided to give it to me because he knows I will love, love, love it!

I'm off to get some rest before I start finishing up my to do list for today! I can't wait to see what all of you get finished off of your lists!

I'm late getting this posted, but I do hope that y'all will forgive me. I was talking to Jim and discovered that he has memory that will work in my baby. My poor laptop (my main one) has been down and out since June. I ran a memory test on it last weekend (thanks Justin for sending that to me!) and it failed test after test. Poor thing. I'm hoping that putting new memory in it will take care of the problem. So, that's why I'm late. I was busy jumping around and doing a dance that Jim rocks and is going to send me some new memory for poor lappy.

Now that that's all covered, let me fill you in on what I'm going to be doing today. Step one is that I need to take the van into the shop to have the spark plugs replaced. It's step one of the van makeover. That makeover is going to take more than 28 days but it's an important thing to be doing.

Once I'm back, I need to haul all of the recycling out to the curb. Ok, not all of it. My poor recycling guys would freak. I am putting out 4 trash bags full as well as my green tub. Then, in two weeks when they pick up again, I'll put out at least that same amount.

Then, I'll be heading back into "The Wall" for Day 5 of the Challenge. I'm thrilled with how it's coming along and I can't wait until Monday to show you what I got done in week 1 of the Challenge.

I bet you're wondering what it is I'm actually going to finish today, huh? Well, I'm finishing up some Freecycling. In the past week, I've posted 4 different lots of items and 3 of the 4 lots are going to be picked up tomorrow. I have them all boxed up, but before I head to the shop, I have to put them all out on my front porch to be picked up. I also want to bring Roger's red desk chair in off of the porch.

Do you have a plan on what you're going to finish up tomorrow? If not, here's your challenge: This weekend is the Super Bowl. Are you ready? My challenge for you is to go into your kitchen and open up your cupboards. Are they a disaster? If I asked you for something, could you put your hand right on it? Do you have any expired food in there? I want you to take one cupboard, just one and go through it, getting rid of anything you won't eat (freecycle or food pantry is good here) and anything that isn't safe to eat (trash can, please).

Well, I need to scoot or I won't make it to the shop on time. Have a great day all and make sure you stop back in tomorrow!

Woo! We made it, folks. It's Friday. How did all of you do yesterday on taking care of you? I hope that more of you found a way to do something nice for yourselves than those that left messages. Taking care of yourself is seriously important, not just for moms, but for all women out there. Ok, and you men too. ;)

Since it's Friday, it's also the day I get to go get my boys from school to have a weekend with them. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the van doesn't give me a single fit. I'm leaving a bit early because I want to do a quick run into the grocery store. I loved that turkey so much that I want to pick up some more. Plus, I need to pick up some ham for tonight's homemade pizza. Yum!

My Finish It Friday goal is to get this couch cleared off. I started tackling some of the boxes in the wall yesterday (condensed 6 boxes down to 4) and just realized how much random stuff is sitting here on the couch. It was all left out because it can be put away in other rooms, but I just didn't get to doing all of it. So, today I'm going to do it.

How about you? What are you going to get wrapped up? Drop me a note below and let me know!

Woohoo! I did it! I finished cleaning the boys room today even though my back was trying to be naughty. I have to say that I am so proud of me and I am feeling so good right now. I knew I was capable of doing this and I've done it. This just means that the only space still to be done upstairs is the landing and it will get tackled in total next month when this zone rolls around again. Of course, it will also lose about 3 trash bags of papers and cardboard box pieces come the next recycling day. I just know that within a couple of months, this house is going to look fabulous.

Now, I'm pretty sure that I promised everyone before/after pictures of the boys' room. If I didn't, well I'm going to post them here anyway. I'm so darned proud of myself that seriously, I just have to share. So, here is the before..partially this bad because they'd hauled their Christmas presents upstairs and didn't know where to put them, so they just put them down. Usually, they're good about keeping their room tidied.


I don't know if I've mentioned it here before, but the boys don't have a closet in their room and there isn't any room for a dresser, so that giant piece at the end of their beds (left by the owners) serves as their bedding, clothes and toy storage. Maybe one day I'll open up the doors and snap some pictures of what's inside.


And there it is. Doesn't it look great? I'm so proud of it and I cannot wait for the boys to be here next weekend to see it. By then I should have also tackled part of the living room and I'm so excited to see how my house is starting to come together!

So, how did all of you do today? I'm a little disappointed that more people aren't participating but it's not slowing me down! I can't wait for next week!