Meet Miss Dixie

Yesterday I got a new dog. Miss Dixie from Tennessee and Chicago Anti Cruelty by way of a kind couple from a Wisconsin rescue group.Thank You!
She is a small medium golden retriever with a very silky coat
Dixie has been on death row twice,a lot for young dog of two years! She spent the last month or so in the slammer.Poor Thing!
We are getting along quite well.She understands me better than I understand her.
The first night with me she slept all night on a dog bed in my room,I had to wake her this am!
She's spending the day gated in the kitchen,so far so good,(I am checking on her during the day.)
I wish I could bottle a puppy's energy! It is endless!
Back to decorating,later.Priorities.

Grateful Thanksgiving Day 2009

So much to be thankful for this year.
Lucky to have a wonderful family.
Grateful that I am healthy.
I am thankful that I have a house to clean.

Thankful for the clothes that I have to wash.
Grateful that I have food to cook.
Glad that I have a job(that I like most of the time.)
Appreciative of all the thoughtful caring people in my life.
Fortunate to be able to make choices.
And the list goes on.....Thank you God.

Decorating A Candy Themed Christmas Tree

Let's have some Fun! I want to share with you some of the work that I do. Decorate Christmas trees. 15 of them. I plan on showing off 1 a week. This week Candy is the theme! Think about ALL the different types of food and candy and put them on a tree. Gingerbread men,popcorn,candy canes,cupcakes,the list goes on and on....
Look for candy and food items in different shapes and sizes. Don't forget the Ribbon!

Insulating the Attic

My son insulated my attic this past weekend which meant I had a mess in my house.Not from the insulation but from all the "stuff" that came out of the attic,and it was almost empty,except for the crib, rocking horses,baby things from the 70's,sleeping bags...all big stuff.
A lot of things got pitched. A few were saved to be cleaned up and... disposed of in one way or another.
Still working on the eBay project...endless.Another thought to rid my home of "things"recycle! The post office has no cost envelopes to recycle items like ink cartridges and cell phones etc...
So I'm going to designate several boxes for things to sell,to give away,to recycle.

Getting organized to sell on eBay

Today was busy!Attended an eBay webinar,which means I had to download a program,Microsoft office live meeting.Whew! It took a while to figure out what I needed to do, but I did it. A double learning experience,the eBay webinar and using Microsoft office live.
To simplify my life and eBay selling I came up with a list of things to do to be more organized.And this weekend,I hope to follow my own advise.

1. Try to put all your items you are selling in one room or location.Having a large shelving unit to place the items on that you are going to sell.
2. Research what the items might sell for on eBay.
3. Make a simple photo booth or table and lights for photographing your items.
4. Learn about different shipping options..I think this is the toughest part.
5. The more different categories you're in,the harder it is to keep track of everything,try just a couple to start.
   

How to Start Downsizing

Ways to get started downsizing your life.

1. Get rid of things you don't need use or want.This is fairly obvious but hard to do.
2. You many want to go room by room or drawer to closet,depending upon how methodical and organized you are.
   
3. Donate items to charities,you'll feel better about parting with your "stuff" if someone else can use it.
4. Start looking at ebay listings and find categories that your "stuff" fits into and start selling.(I kinda liked this because as I sold items I got instant gratification,which made it more fun than work.)Money is a great motivator!
5. Try spending a few hours, a couple of days a week working on downsizing.It is not fast,but its a start.
6. Have a garage,yard or tag sale if you're in a populated area,otherwise follow me as I continue to part with my belongings.
   

Apple Pickers

As I opened my side door to go run some errands,there by my apple trees were four deer.I quickly and quietly went back inside to grab my camera,sneak back outside and start shooting pictures.The best picture was of the one that got away.The deer was looking right at me with an apple in his mouth!We both startled each other and he dropped the apple and disappeared into the corn.