Ways to immediately improve your life

Continuing on with January plans: I will be super busy this week! The front rooms are getting a deep clean (hence the missing cushion covers on the couch, as well as some curtains), all the holes in the walls are filled in prep for all walls and columns to be painted (same-ish color), floors and windows cleaned, and everything dusted.  I'm so glad I have a new ladder, ha ha.

Here is a snippet I printed and tucked into my co-worker's stockings with a treat.  Because who couldn't use some encouragement and life improvement, myself included?

Ways to Immediately Improve Your Life

wake up 15 minutes earlier

take some deep breaths

listen to music

stretch throughout the day

read a chapter or two in a book

make a three item to do list

journal 

meditate

get off social media

go to bed earlier

spend time in conversation with a friend

spend time in nature

text your family to say I love you

eat more veg and protein

give more compliments

practice good posture

declutter your space

make your bed

smile as often as you can

take a shower or a nap

do something for someone else

clean off your desk

take one photo

practice a hobby

watch the sunrise or sunset

unplug from your phone or laptop

practice gratitude

acknowledge your neighbors

do a word game or puzzle

leave work at work

pray

use sunscreen

wear comfy clothes and shoes

give yourself grace

I got a late start on January goals and plans due to the dishwasher issue, but that's behind me now so its time to move forward!

Gina

5 thing Friday - TV mount, dishwasher repair, art station, reading, skillet

Last week I bought myself an inexpensive TV for the bedroom.  Got it home, set it up on top of the chest of drawers, and thought wow this is super unstable.  So, I picked up a mount for it, thinking it wouldn't be too difficult to install myself.

But for various reasons, it was, and adding onto the stress of the dishwasher issue was not a good idea.  After wasting a couple of hours on it, I admitted (temporary) defeat, boxed it up, stowed it away in an empty drawer, and put my bedroom back together.

At the end of the day I need a calm and cozy place to sleep, without the mayhem from a frustrating and half-completed project.  Who knows if the TV will get mounted any time soon.  In the meantime, I used hair elastics to stabilize the "feet" on the TV, then added a bit of tape to the back of the dresser to secure the cord. 

Tuesday was my Saturday, so I got some errands done, then as I was stuck in traffic I decided to just zip into a nearby strip center to my favorite Chinese restaurant for lunch.  Aside from it not being busy, it was warm, the food was great, and I had enough leftover food for another meal.  Plus no dirty dishes for me to do when the repairman did his thing later that afternoon.

Bless you, repairman.  I went for 2 weeks with no water in the kitchen because the valve assembly had to be replaced.  I might have had an anxiety attack when he left, because I guess I was holding in a lot of stress and tension for all kinds of reasons.  January needs to shape up already.

Anyway, its fixed.  Back to cooking.

I created a better system for organizing my art supplies, and added twistable crayons, tempera paint sticks, and metallic Sharpies.  It looks like something you would set up for a child, but I don't care.  The purpose is to give me a space to calmly think while I work on drawing/coloring/painting and to relieve stress.  I am not an artist - just a person who loves creating.

I showed up at the right time, on the right day, to the right place...and no one else from the library's book club showed.  I sat and enjoyed my beer and the cool night air anyway.  Next week I have book club #3 at a local library, during the day, so hopefully I will not be the only one who attends!  I have been reading lots lately and it's been a calm pastime - along with jigsaw puzzling.

Last week I did the January clean-out of all of my kitchen cabinets and some things got recycled/donated/trashed.  I took stock of what I needed and realized that one of the things was a decent 10 inch non-stick skillet for making an omelet.  Have you ever bought yourself something and thought "why didn't I do that sooner?".  So now I am back in omelet business.  Also, I am thinking that it makes more sense for me to stay off Amazon and shop in person, as long as I am able to do so!

Gina

The January vibe - better days ahead

The last 12 days have been what Mark would have called a "pisser".  Between waiting for the dishwasher part on order having no water in the kitchen, and wrangling with the bracket that I bought to mount my bedroom TV, as well as other smallish stressful things, I was doing good to get out and buy food, do some home purging and organizing, and not lose my mind. The year is not starting out on quite the optimistic foot I thought it would, but I know that things will get resolved.

Not to fret - there were some OKish things.  I did manage to finish up the puzzle I started in November, fully restocked my groceries, organized my Christmas storage, purchased a TV and some more art supplies, ordered myself some new walking tennies, uprooted all of the landscape lights to clean them and check out their batteries, picked up white lights to hang in my bedroom for a cozy vibe, started a new book and puzzle, worked on the photo project (an hour at a time), cleaned out allll of my kitchen cabinets, and backed up my computer, among other things like washing the dishes in the bathtub.  Daily. 

A good way to wait is to stay busy.  Also I cooked! And you'll just have to take my word for it that I will cook this week, too.  The weekend was spent at work - a welcome break from the grind - and the dishwasher should be back in business by Tuesday afternoon, at which point I shall go drink beer with my book club.

Better days are ahead!

Gina

Big Projects for 2026

One last glimpse at Christmas before I put it all away...

One of my favorite things about January is the sense of  a fresh new start .  I love getting the Christmas stuff put away, the leftovers sorted, the house clean and organized.  In lieu of a menu post today I am posting the new master list of things I want to work on. Admittedly, some of these were on my overly ambitious list for 2025.  I will update them as I complete them:

get the Christmas stuff better organized - DONE

finish the photo album project

paint the front rooms

touch up paint in hallway

repaint baseboard trim in carpeted areas

get rid of the rest of the items stored in the attic

seal and repaint front door

replace carpet throughout house

buy a new fridge (smaller)

work on backyard landscaping

get garage door opener replaced on one side, lock replaced on the other 

fix den ceiling 

repaint all ceilings

repair the jet tub

paint my desk and printer table

empty the stereo cabinet for real?

But also: 

continue to live debt free

keep expenses low as possible

find free things to do

find a hobby

socialize more

take a vacation

Welcome to a new year, new list.  Time to get started!

Gina

5 thing Friday - treats management, dishwasher, handling things, corn casserole, new purse

 The title of this post should be "Thank God December is Over".  Because try as I might, I cannot seem to escape the Cannary tradition on ending the year in disaster. And it usually involves plumbing of some kind.

I made it through the weekend just fine, even after the push of Christmas and working extra hours.  On Saturday I took a bunch of sweets to the breakroom at work to clear them out of my kitchen.  Apparently a lot of other people had that same idea.  By Monday, myself and another person were just throwing the rest of the uneaten stuff away.  But I did manage to save a baggie of some stollen Bubbie brought over.

On Tuesday, I was showered and dressed, ready to tackle the week, heading out the door to grocery shop, I noticed that the KITCHEN WAS FLOODED.

In a mild panic I grabbed the shop vac and started sucking water out of the dishwasher and realized the water was still flowing INTO it.  So I got under the sink and shut the water off.

I gotta admit, I did shed tear or two.  This was not on my short list of ways to celebrate the end of the year.  There was so much water, it was leaking outside of the house, onto the patio. Thank GOD I hadn't yet left the house to grocery shop!

After waiting most of a day to hear back from a plumber, I reasoned out to myself  "I bet its an issue with the dishwasher, as the water pouring into it was still hot.  If the water was flowing, it must not be a water issue. Let me contact the appliance repair guy".  A short phone call and text with the model number followed, and hopefully he will be here today to replace a valve assembly.*

New Year's Eve was quiet.  I made myself a steak and some broccoli with a twice baked potato.  I washed my dishes in the guest bathtub.  I read a book with my feet up.  I was in bed at 8 p.m.

As I have stated before, the year may end badly, but it will not begin badly.  I enjoyed a lunch yesterday of roast pork, corn casserole, coleslaw, and this delightful Moscato from a co-worker.  I mostly putseyed around the house and read and napped and did whatever I wanted to.  So I really have no complaints.  But I would enjoy having running water in the kitchen.

Corn casserole has been a craving for me since Thanksgiving.  I will freeze it in portions and feel the love all of January and probably into February.  Ha!

Merry Christmas to me, the hard-working mom who is single-handedly figuring out her shit and getting things done.  She will not be deterred from moving forward into the New Year and has plans.  And she needs a good purse for that, so she ordered herself one that she can sling over her body as she leaves her house to take over the world - in style!

Happy New Year,

Gina

*Thank goodness I followed up with him today because no, he had not ordered the part yet, and it may be Wednesday before I have both water and a dishwasher in the kitchen.  A few more tears were shed. I'm still going to take over the world, dammit.