WordGirl week 41 #47 and #36

For the week 41 "slip draw," I got #47 which says "Turn off extra lights or unplug unused small appliances or music devices - in general, conserve energy as much as you can this week." Since this is another one that we do regularly, I drew a second slip of paper.

Side note - Louie used to get on my case and the kids' cases about leaving lights on in rooms we had left. He asked if we wanted to pay the electric bill. We were all trained. When his octogenarian dad came to live with us in 2013, he regularly left lights on in three or four rooms . . . all the time. Ever the snarky girl, I asked Louie if he was going to have his dad pay the electric bill.

I had also counted how many slips of paper I had left and how many weeks were left . . . and I got off by one somehow, so this should make me 52 for 52 by the end of December.

Slip number two was #36: "Wear a funky hat for part of 1 day this week." I didn't. It isn't that I'm not willing to be weird or have fun, but it simply wasn't on my radar enough. The week went fast. To be honest, I have so many "to do" lists and items that I'm trying to prioritize that which is important to me. My funky hat moment was going to a women's retreat in St. Cloud with two friends from church - that was very fun!

I also did not do my "One Thing" but I am super excited that I will be able to focus on it next week! I plan to get completely caught up on my Mystery Quilt. I have been working on helping my father-in-law transition to his apartment living, getting the guest room ready for guests, and starting to put my quilting studio back to rights. It has been seriously trashed lately . . .

Have a great week everyone! Remember to celebrate your successes instead of lamenting all the things you didn't get done. It feels much more fun to celebrate and it motivates you to do more!

WordGirl week 40 Item #35

Oh my! My first week at home without a job or my father-in-law living here! It was a busy week - three trips to Northfield (for f-i-l stuff), my first ever colonoscopy (went almost 48 hours without caffeine - per directions - only to be told it would have been okay if I'd had my morning java . . . ahhhh!), and got lots of stuff done to boot.

Item #35 said "Do something out of the ordinary this week - even if it's only taking a different route to work, etc. Take time to contemplate your life this week. Reflect on all the good things that make you seem lucky compared to others." I think those were supposed to be two different things, but they were numbered as item #35, so that's what I tried to do.

My out of the ordinary thing was stopping by an interesting shop with my sister Louise. We had left our quilt meeting on Saturday because she'd heard the speaker before. We drove by the Center for Lost Objects Showcase and Gallery in St. Paul. Here's their webpage: www.centerforlostobjects.com/ It was full of funky old stuff (furniture, clothes, etc.) and creative new stuff (cards, t-shirts, art, etc.). I laughed at the t-shirt that said "The Bible talks about St. Paul but doesn't even mention Minneapolis." They have a facebook page, too. I'm glad we stopped. I bought a cute bee image on an old wooden board for Louise.

Taking time to contemplate my life / reflecting on good things . . . that's something I try to be cognizant of on a regular basis. I am very blessed!

My One Thing was a huge priority for me! There are things I still want to do to get the guest room truly guest ready, but here's where it's at now:

Adding a bedside table, decor, etc. will come . . . but at least it's ready now for guests who come to stay the night.

Lou had left a *lot* of papers here, so I need to deal with those boxes soon. For right now, they're out in my living room. He told me today that most of those papers need to be "trashed" - i.e. recycled - but it definitely takes time to go through them and sort the proverbial wheat from chaff. I'm trying to be helpful without making it the focus of my time and energy. Right now, i have a puppy who needs to be entertained. I'll deal with all this later:

WordGirl week 39 Item #46

Item #46 "Turn off the water while brushing your teeth - already do? Good for you!"

This was an easy one. I already do. When I worked in District 112, our 8th grade earth science teachers did an entire unit on water. We did water quality testing in the nearby creek, tracked our water use for a week, and raised money for H2O for Life. Sometimes I am wasteful of water (long, hot baths in a full tub or an extra-long shower because it feels so good), but most of the time I'm cognizant of the fact that water is a precious resource that must be used wisely. We're spoiled in Minnesota with our rich water sources!

I love the work done by www.h2oforlifeschools.org/ in getting drinkable water and sanitary facilities to communities throughout the world who desperately need them!

 My "One Thing" was much more fun! October is Pastor Appreciation Month and I love to do goofy things to show people my appreciation. My crazy idea last year kind of made my pastor uncomfortable because of how big of a deal we made of him. This year, I made a BINGO card for everyone. I hope people enjoy it and draw closer to God.

I grabbed a screen shot of part of it . . . but can't figure out how to embed a pdf this morning . . .