September To-Do List Update

SEPTEMBER

* Pay Bills  DONE  Everything got paid on time and no interest fees were accessed.  Go me.  Nothing fancy here, rather boring. blah blah blah

* Read 1,2 Books  DONE

The first book, "Doc" by Mary Doria Russell was very interesting.  It was a psuedo-biography of John Henry "Doc" Holiday.  Basically it followed Doc Holiday from his childhood in Georgia(as a series of flashbacks)up to his life lived in Dodge, Kansas and the people he knew both unknown and famous.  After his time in Dodge he moved to Tombstone Arizona as became embroiled in the notorious shoot-out at the OK Corral there, which is how most of the world remembers or knows him.  Doc knew some famous folks....the Earp Brothers, the Masterson Brothers as well as early entertainer and vaudevillian Eddie Foy.  One of the most interesting people Doc knew in real life was his on again/off again longtime companion/ common-law wife, Mary Katherine Horony, known to the world as "Big Nose Kate".  You can read about her HERE.
This book was very entertaining and informative and "meaty".  Very highly recommended for those of you who like American history and a good story.

This is a book that Kim leant me when I was visiting her in Idaho called "Escape" by Carolyn Jessop.  It's about a woman born into the FLDS(Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints sect), who married within that group and had children with her polygamist huusband, before realizing this wasn't the life she wanted for herself or her children and found a way to get them all out once Warren Jeffs came to power.
It was a real page turner and a harrowing(at times)account of her life.  Very sad but uplifting, she is a strong woman of faith.

* Repair LA House  DONE  The work finally was finished and we paid.  Now we just have to get this thing sold. ugh.

* Can Veggies  FAIL  Well not my fault really why I didn't get to this.  The tomatoes at the farm were ready the weekend we needed to go down to help Eldest in VA.  So no canning or relish making this Fall for me.  At least all my jars are gathered and ready to go once the harvest comes around next year.

* Declutter Spare Room  DONE  Hubs got his room organized, we got rid of 4 boxes of books plus I decluttered the hallway book shelf too.

* Donation to Sallie's  DONE  The 4 boxes of books mentioned above went bye-bye!

More stuff is slated to be donated as we clean out the garage in October.

* Paint Porch Posts  DONE

Hubs did this all by himself without my assistance.  Looks much better as they were in need of repainting.

* Seal Coat Driveway  DONE  Though we didn't do this ourselves, we arranged to have it done and paid for it.  The driveway is now good to go for another 3 years.

* Smoke Meats for Freezer  DONE

Three pork shoulders/butts were bought(at a discount of course)and I got them smoked last Friday.  Then into the crock pots and cooked down oovernight Saturday/Sunday and "pulled" when cooled off.  I ended up with 7+ quarts of meat.  6 of those went into the freezer(pictured above)-2 quart freezer bags inside a gallon freezer bag each.  Now when we get the "yen" for bbq this Winter all I have to do is thaw a bag out and whip up my famous Carolina vinegar sauce and simmer the meat in that and we be eatin' fine! 8-)

* Clean and Seal Deck  DONE   Though my contribution to this project was minimal the dog and I supervised Hubs and thanks to some stellar weather conditions it got done quickly and thoroughly.  Now the deck will be protected through another severe Northeastern PA Winter season.

* Put Garden to Bed  DONE  The garden(including my beautiful morning glories)had to be pulled up and the garden bed turned over and readied for Winter before the deck could be sealed.
I miss my morning glory vines......

* Clean Garage  FAIL  We ran out of time and energy(and enough good weather)to get this project even started in September.  This chore has moved to October's list and we have started in on the job as of Oct. 2nd.  Stay tuned for updates this month.

* Sell Stuff  DONE  I got on the stick and sold $89 worth of toiletries in September.

* Sew Stuff  DONE  I hemmed two pairs of jeans for Hubs and I started in on completing a shirt for myself that has been sitting around for ages.  Didn't get to as much as I wanted to sew but a start was made and I'll try to keep it going in October.

* Hold Giveaway  DONE  I got a giveaway up in September, drew a winner, mailed the box of goodies and said winner is happily enjoying them now(especially the tweezers it seems!lol).

* Pick Winner  DONE

* Mail Giveaway Prizes  DONE

* Go to Virginia  DONE  Life events necessitated that we travel down to visit Eldest son and lend him support and a hand in getting a few things accomplished.
We brought down 4 boxes of his "stuff" to him now that he has room for it in his apartment.  

It was fun watching him go through his junk, including old keepsakes from his childhood, and all those papers I saved from his early school years.

Though I can be a sentimental old sot I no longer feel the need to hold onto all this junk and every paper he colored on in pre-school and old birthday cards, etc.

Eldest is about as far away from being sentimental about all this stuff so we took a few photos and he pitched most of it in the garbage.(Don't look Val!)

I did however rescue a small token to keep.............

So all in all a good month for getting things done with only one major job not started in September.

I must say that one of the perks of having Hubs retired I am realizing is that not only is he home and has time to do all those little(and big)jobs I have wanted him to do around the house but he now takes his time on them(what else does he have to do since he isn't rushing off to work, right?)and tries to do a much more thorough job of it, rather than half-assing it and then me trying to fix it or complain about it. lolz

That's one of the great perks of having a retired spouse.
I knew there had to be a perk somewhere......hehehehe

So did you get your September chores accomplished?
Tell us all about it. 8-)

Sluggy

Monthly To-Do List....November Update

Let's see how we did on our monthly TO DO LIST for November.

NOVEMBER

* Pay Bills  DONE and Done.  As always. ;-)

* Bike Something  FAIL  Let me confess that I did nothing on the bike. sigh.  I have so fallen out of this habit.  I WILL make an effort to get back into it in December despite it being the month of Holiday Madness.

* Read 1 Book  DONE.  A tome called "California Romance".   It's really 3 interconnected historical romance stories.  Not my cup of tea usually(except for the history angle)and I almost put it down as the religious overtones were offputting so I just skimmed over those parts.   Funny to combine a "bodice ripper" with religion and history.....not too much sex detail given the religious overtones which suited me fine.  A true escape type book which is what I required last month.

* Sew a Shirt  FAIL  Just no time/no desire.  I am taking this one off the lists until further notice because with the craziness that IS December, this isn't happening anytime soon. 8-)

* List Items on eBay  FAIL  I did do some research on selling prices and then decided it wasn't worth the effort.  eBay has changed again(for the worse)in the last few years while I have been away from it.  I may put a few things up on my town's Facebook tag sale site instead in December.  I am thinking I'll have better luck and less work doing that.

* Shred Papers  FAIL  Boy, this is turning into a stellar FAIL month isn't it? lolz  Just didn't get around to it in November.  Leaving on the list for December as it needs to be done.

* Hold Giveaway  DONE  Yep it got offered up.....

* Mail Giveaway  DONE  After a little difficulty contacting the winner(it was Thanksgiving after all)the box was shipped out promptly and received.  It was also nice that the winner emailed me that it had arrived and thanked me.  This doesn't always happen but it very good manners. ;-)

* Finish SA Donation  DONE

Among the goodies sent to Salvation Army were new in the box Christmas ornaments.  Perfect time of the year to let these things go. 8-)

* Take Donation In  DONE  A nice sized load was taken in Thanksgiving weekend.

* Scrub Kitchen Cabinets  DONE sort of.  I didn't get all of them finished so will work on the rest in December.

* Get Blood Work  DONE  Ouch.

* Go to 1 Dr. Appointment  DONE  My biannual appointment with my primary doctor.  Went over test results and medication changes. I got 2 count 'em 2 High Fives for my stellar test results and my work on my diet and my clean living.  Sluggy is an old fart stick-in-the-mud lately. ;-)

* Plan Turkey Day Meal  DONE  And I didn't break the bank buying the ingredients(though I did go over budget for the month).

* Cook Turkey Day Meal  DONE

And it seemed to be enjoyed by all.

* Clean Dining Room  DONE  This had to be done so we could eat on Turkey.  It has since been taken over by wrapping paper, bows, scissors, tape and mysterious bags holding gifts yet to be wrapped. (This is my Xmas wrapping staging area.)

* Clean Living Room  DONE  The living room was tidied and cleaned more than fully cleared out.  This clear out will happen in December to make room for the Xmas tree.

* Take Food Bank donation In  DONE
Here's the rest of what I gathered to take in before the month was out in addition to what I showed y'all last month......

Don't forget to add paper goods, laundry needs and toiletries to your Food Bank donation. 

Folks in financial straits many who are on SNAP benefits can't pay for those non-food items with SNAP funds so buying laundry detergent, TP and toothpaste, needs for most people, empty wallets quickly.

I also like to include condiments when I can because besides canned meats and peanut butter, condiments are a most requested need here.  At least locally, the charity funds used to buy bulk food to stock the food banks either aren't allowed or just don't buy condiments.(I guess ketchup, relish, mustard, barbecue sauce and mayo aren't considered nutritionally adequate or healthy enough to relegate the institutional monies to their purchase.)  Sometimes a bit of a condiment type item can make a bland meal a bit more appetizing. ;-)

So there you have it, my November To-Do List outcome.
A real mixed bag really.

How did you do with your Things to Accomplish in November?

Sluggy

October To-Do List.....Update

Well let's see how the To-Do List went for October, shall we?


* Pay Bills  DONE  Well if nothing else gets accomplished in my month paying all the bills is the one I want to do! 8-)))

* Bike Something   DONE   While I didn't do much I did get 15 miles in.  I feel good about this even if it's not a lot.

* Read 2 Books   DONE   I read Daisy and the Miracle Man by Fannie Flagg(Fried Green Tomatoes author) and another book which title escapes me at the moment.  I also read some more of that massive Katherine Anne Porter tome.
"Daisy" is an early work of Flagg's that was re-released(previous title was "Coming Attractions"). It's not as good as FGTs but worth a read if you find it at your library.

* Sew a Shirt  FAIL  Still don't have an sewing mojo going.  Maybe I'll try something simpler in November.

* List Items on eBay  FAIL  Didn't get to this in October and I just don't feel like expending all that time and energy on selling stuff online.  Maybe I'll do the FB local yard sale site instead?

* Shred Papers  FAIL  Didn't get to this yet.  Maybe this week?

* Put Deck Furniture Away  DONE  All got put away into the shed/garage.

* Put Garden to Bed  DONE  But still need to pull up the morning glory vines and put the tomato cages away.

* Go to CB's Concert  DONE  And they sounded marvelous!

* Mail Giveaway Box  DONE  New Giveaway is up too.

* Start another Donation to SA  DONE  Just a couple items that are in the boxes waiting to go to Sallie's.

* Take Daughter to Procedure  CANCELLED  Insurance didn't approve this in time so it's been rescheduled

* Scrub Kitchen Cabinets  FAIL  Well I didn't get to this yet so it goes on November's list

* Go to 3 Dr. Appointments  DONE  Started out as 1 appointment and morphed into 3 as the month went on.  Add in a trip to Urgent Care and 2 x trips to the Emergency Room and it's been a hell of a medical month and NOT in a good way!

* Take CB back to School  A short teachers' strike meant College Boy came home for 4 days.  I got him deposited back at college in time for classes to start back up.  I don't want to have to do THAT again!! ugh.

October was a mixed bag of results for me.  I felt like I was coasting along more than not.  Let's hope I can get more items crossed off my list in November.

How did you do accomplishing items on your To-Do List in October?

Sluggy

September To-Do List......Update

Here's the update on my September To-Do List.  I post a To-Do list on the side bar of my blog's homepage every month.
Let's see how ol' Sluggy did this month on her list, shall we? ;-)

This Update has to be reconstsructed as I blew away my To-Do List before copying it to post my October list. sigh
I hope I remember most of it.

* Pay Bills  DONE  
Everything got paid and on time, as per usual.

* Bike Something  FAIL  
Well I did do 4 mile. lolz  Must get back on this in October.

* Read 2 Books  DONE
Finished the first book, "Growing Up" by Russell Baker, then Lena Dunham's "Not That Kind of Girl" second and resumed a biography of Katherine Anne Porter by Joy Givner(which is slow going and massive in length).

* Pick Produce and Use it  DONE  We hit 39.775 lbs. of tomatoes picked and used by September, among them this interesting little fellow. lol

I've frozen all the tomatoes we haven't eaten fresh or used in the relish making.
Since I didn't get a massive amount of tomatoes to can I've been putting them whole into the freezer........

This is a super great way to keep them for the short term until you are ready to use them.
Don't boil and peel, just pop them after cleaning off into the freezer.
Then you take them out to thaw when you have enough to make sauce or use in a recipe.  When they have thawed they slip easily out of their skins, just squeeze them out. You might have to cut the core out with a small knife after squeezing but it beats heating water and your kitchen up, boiling them to skin them.  Less energy used if you have the freezer space to park them for awhile.  8-)

* Get Farm Veggies  DONE  I even ended up picking most of the peppers myself when I stumbled onto a PYO farm down the road from the Farm Stand I go to.

* Can Produce/Make Relish  DONE

5 quarts and 18 pints done!  I had picked so many peppers I could have made/canned another batch(if not another double batch).  This is just too much work to do alone anymore so I don't know if/when I'll make relish again.  Next year I do want to get to that PYO farm in time to pick tomatoes to put up.

* 1 Doctor's Appointment  DONE
Went to a medical nutritionist type educator as directed by my new dr.  Diet changes will be ensuing shortly.

* Go to Family Reunion  DONE
Yep, we went and came home.  The weather was good and as a bonus I got to spend time with my oldest son too.  Win/Win!  We are finished traveling in 2016 now.  Hubs has time off in October but between things going on plus money issues(I just can't see spending any more on travel this year with our increased expenses this year).  We may go on a few day trips in October and there may be a quickie during the Holidays to Virginia but that is it for the year.

*  List items on eBay FAIL
I didn't get around to doing this yet.  If it's going to happen it must happen in October to catch the Holiday Selling Season as most of what I have left to unload is new in the package merchandise.

* Shred Papers  FAIL
I just didn't get the time to drag out the shredding and do this.  Mostly because the pile of shredding isn't very large yet so why drag all that out and do it? lolz

* Sew Something  FAIL
Nope didn't have the urge to sew in August.  Perhaps September will see me pull out the supplies and have a go at making a shirt.  I really need to.....

4 items I didn't get to.  It was another low energy month for me(plus it was still hot here which is unusual)plus I've been fighting a touch of depression which I always seem to catch this time of year.

Onward and upward to October!  I am still compiling a To-Do List for this month so it may grow a bit longer as we go through October.

How did you do with your To-Do list for September?

Sluggy

June To-Do List Update

Here's the update on my June To-Do List.  I post a To-Do list on the side bar of my blog's homepage every month.
Let's see how ol' Sluggy did this month on her list, shall we? ;-)

* Pay Bills  DONE  
Everything got paid and on time, as per usual.

* Bike Something DONE
Well it was something.  The bike finally got set-up on June 30th and I think I biked 1 mile total for the month. lolz  I need to get use to this bike AND get my knees use to using it again as it's been 2 months. bleck.

* Declutter DONE
I used June and having Daughter and the BF here with all their stuff as an excuse to to pitch more of my own things.  Decluttering will continue into the near future as well.

* 1 Load to Salvation Army DONE

Hubs and I took 1 car load to Sallie's.  Some was Daughter's stuff too. 

Plus all that large furniture type stuff Sallie's was suppose to pick-up, we otherwise got rid of in town by giving it away to those who wanted/needed it.

* Read 1 Book DONE
I didn't finish the book yet as I only read at night before bed and it's a thick book.  I am more than halfway done with it so will have to find another one to read by next month.

*  Plant Something DONE

We finally got a dozen tomato plants and 2 zucchini plants mid June into the ground.  That's the extent of our garden for this season.  I just put in stuff that the chipmunks and rabbits will leave alone as we couldn't come up with a way to keep them out of this area without going to Herculean efforts and spending a large sum of cash.
This is how the plants are doing as of June 30th.....still smallish but looking healthy and they all have blooms on them already.  Perhaps we will get some veggies from them eventually.

* 1 Doc Appointment DONE
Had my every 3 year pap smear done in June.  All my lady parts are well and in good working order.  Yes, I felt you needed that critical update. lolz

* Vacuum and Shampoo Bedroom Carpet DONE

Cobwebs also cleaned up, room cleared out and a/c unit put into window.  The room was ready with days to spare.

* Clean Ceiling Fans in Bedrooms DONE
With assistance from College Boy we got this done.  He is taller......

* Put Shelving in Bathroom DONE

Got the shelving moved to the bathroom, scrubbed down and vinyl liner  sheets put into it.  It is now filled up to the brim with their personal care products so it's not all just piled under the sink cabinet in the dark.

* Buy/Replace Ceiling Fan/Light in Kitchen PARTIALLY DONE

It has been purchased but is still in a box sitting in the kitchen waiting for the weekend when the menfolk will be here and available to install it.  It will be so nice to again have lights over the kitchen table. 8-)
It has been soooo long!

* Clean and Seal Deck DONE

It finally got done the weekend before July 4th! rah!!!  Though I didn't personally do this chore I did have a large hand in the nagging/pleading/begging for it to be done.

* Clean Out Shed FAIL
I DID drag out two old bicycles to give away and a bike helmet to toss while Hubs was at work but the bulk of the shed still needs cleaning/clearing out.  The shed is Hubs "kingdom" and I dare not go there, so I am left with begging/pleading/nagging about it.  Besides just finally getting it cleared out of all the junk in there we need a place to put a large car jack and other car type items the BF brought with him so we aren't tripping over them in the garage.  If for no other reason, making space for BF's "manly" stuff is a reason to tackle this job.
I don't know.....if Hubs isn't careful Daughter and I might just decide to get in the shed and "have at it" one of these days.......

So there you have it an almost perfectly completed June To-Do list.  But then again, it wasn't very extensive or strenuous, was it?
And I had help with some of the items on it.

I think the fact that I stayed sane in June and am not a stark raving lunatic at this point indicates I survived June well and am doing AOK.
On ward and upward to July!

How did you do with your To-Do list for June?

Sluggy

May To-Do List Update

So how did I do with my May To-Do List?

* Pay Bills  PASS This is and everything paid on time even though we were gone about half the month.

* Bike Something  FAIL  The bike got moved(and dismantled)for the impending house re-org so not able to use it in May.  I did however do a lot of swimming on our trip at various hotels.

* Declutter  PASS Piling up more to get rid of this month too.

* 1 Load to Salvation Army  PASS  1 Load gone and another one or two looks to be going in June.

* Read 1 Book PASS  I finished the Immigrant Bride stories book.  A little too heavy on the overt religious aspect(as it was put out by one of those Christian publishing companies)for my taste but most of it was interesting even so.

* Finish Moving toiletries and fabric PASS  All the toiletries and fabrics have been relocated, what wasn't giving away and/or used for another Giveaway(stay tuned for the giveaway to start on Sunday).  I still have waaaay more toiletries than we currently need but with 5 people in the house(2 of which are notorious in these parts for going through product)we will be needing the better part of it.  Even so, I am still on a Rite-Aid moratorium. 8-(

* Go to Dr. Appointments  PASS  All appointments were attended and/or cancelled when I decided against having that HS surgery.

* Visit Friends PASS Not only was I able to fit in ONE visit but I accomplished THREE!  Two were folks I met online(and have visited with in person before)and One was a "in real life" visit with someone who was only known to me through her blog.  And yes, these three visits were the BEST THING about our road trip! 8-)))

* Eat Well while traveling PASS  The only time we ventured into a fast food(Micky D's/BK/Wendy's/etc.)was to get Hubs coffee.  Ok, we did stop in a local donut shop for donuts but we tried to eat better on the road this trip.

Not much of a list last month and not many "hard" tasks.  With being away for almost half of May I didn't see the need to put a ton of items on this list that I wouldn't be able to do since we weren't home. Except for the biking thing(which was physically impossible to accomplish)I got it all done.
Go me.

Now I am off to figure out what to put onto June's To-Do List.  Not sure at this point with so much up in the air how June will go.

How about you?  Did you get everything accomplished in May that you set out to do?
Tell us about your month.

Sluggy 

April To-Do List.....Update

So how did I do with my April To-Do List?

APRIL

*  Pay Bills  PASS  Got it all paid. go me.

*  Bike 50 Miles  FAIL  With everything else going on here(plus a foot injury thrown in to the mix), I didn't get much bike time in. sigh.  I may have done 20 miles this month but not sure as the batteries in the bike crapped out so I don't even have photographic proof. sigh again.

*  Sew and Complete 1 Item  FAIL  I did some sewing but didn't get anything completed.  Does moving piles of fabric around count with this one? lol

*  Purge Coupon Inserts  PASS  Got all the old inserts gone through for stray Qs that are still in date and the inserts pitched.

*  Read 1 Book  IN PROGRESS  I am still reading it.  Will be done with this one in the next few days.  I just don't spend a lot of time reading these days.

*  Vinyl under sink and put stuff away  PASS  

Vinyl down and stuff all put away.

*  Seal Grout in new Bathroom  PASS  Does it count if I had Hubs do this? lolz

*  Go to CB's concert  PASS

*  Sell Toiletries & Stuff  PASS  This is slow going but I've made $94 so far on selling excess stuff.  I don't think I'll try to sell much more.  I've earmarked some of the excess for future giveaways and I'm finding room for the rest in the house.

*  Hang Curtain  PASS  I changed out the curtain in the laundry room from a too-long sheer purple with white polka dots one to a white lace with butterflies curtain.  Whoopee, right?

*  Begin moving stuff out of Purple Room  PASS  I've got the closet in there emptied and all but 2 drawers in the dressers.  Now I just have to go through a pile of fabric left to move and another pile of my clothes to go through and decide what to do with.  Most of this is stuff that needs altering/repairing or is old or doesn't fit.  About half of it can go to Sallie's once I get around to it.  I am on a deadline for clearing out this room by the end of May so it will get done.

All in all, April was pretty mediocre for getting things done, even though my list was not aggressive.
Being in a funk and stressing out over other things tends to not lend much help to getting To-Do lists "To-Done".
The Biking Fail was partly on me and my May bking won't be much better due to circumstances but I will be getting other kinds of exercise this month.
The sewing will pick up in June though as I have a gigantic pile of stuff to sew now.

How about you?  Did you get everything accomplished in April that you set out to do?
Tell us about your month.

Sluggy 

March To-Do List....Update

So how did I do with my March To-Do List?


MARCH

*  Pick up CB from School  DONE
Duly picked up and fed for a week while on Spring Break.

*  Take CB back to School  DONE
Hubs actually took him back.  My contribution was baking CB cookies to take back with him so he doesn't starve between end of break and the end of the semester.

*  Pay Bills  DONE
I done paid them all.  Go. Me.

*  Bike 65 Miles  FAIL

As you can see I only got in 46.18 miles.  I was falling off the mark mid month but still progressing and then I got a stomach flu.  8-(  No more bike at that point......

*  Paint 2 Items  FAIL
Nope.  Didn't do it.  But I did get my paints out.  Baby steps here people, baby steps.....

*  Sew and Complete 1 Item  IN PROGRESS
I decided to make canvas grocery bags.  I have a few rolls of canvas fabric and webbing/strapping I bought on eBay about 10 years ago.  I have cut out 2 bags so far.  I'll cut all of them out before production sewing them all at the same time.  I may not finish this project before the month is out however.

*  Mail CB's Taxes  DONE
CB came home, signed the forms and off they went to the IRS and State Revenue Departments.  He has already gotten his refund as well.
Boy, my kids never appreciate me until they leave home and have to do this shit on their own! lolz

*  Finish Book DONE
Was I ever glad to finish that one....what a snoozefest! lol

*  Nag Hubs about doing Local Taxes  DONE
He was duly nagged and last weekend he got around to doing them. ugh.

*  Buy Stuff for new Bathroom  DONE
We hit Ollies(Good Stuff Cheap!) a couple of weeks ago and picked up a new bath rug and a wastebasket that is smaller and fits in the space we have for one in the room now and spent about $12 total on those 2 things.
We also hit K-Mart the week before Ollie's and I got 2 nice white hand towels and a toothbrush holder for FREE, using my Shop Your Way Points.
Nice. 8-)

*  Seal Grout in new Bathroom  FAIL  
Despite my nagging efforts this didn't get done but will happen this coming weekend if I have to get down on the floor myself and do it.

*  Get Construction Binder from Tony  DONE
Finally had the post construction inspection and product/job binder is now in the house.
rah.

*  Plan trip to LA  IN PROGRESS
I've got the route there figured out and hotels booked for the "going" and the stay in LA.  Just have to figure out what route to take home, what to see, and where to sleep.  I hope to get this finished by next week.

Now it's time to work on my April To-Do List.

How did y'all do getting stuff on your list in March knocked off?

Sluggy

To-Do List....February Update

So how did we do on February's goals?
Let's take a look.....

FEBRUARY

* Inventory Stockpile  DONE  We had a couple of days of warmer weather near the end of the month so I took advantage and got out into the garage and tidied up the stockpile and stock took.  We are at "capacity" with a few categories of foods and that was noted and we'll not be buying certain items for some time to come.  Other categories we are winnowing down the supplies and some of these we won't be restocking while others we will.

* Pick Giveaway Winner  DONE

* Mail out Giveaway Box  DONE  As I haven't heard back from her on whether it arrived safely I've emailed her to follow up and everything is fine.

* Pay Bills  DONE  Everything billed in February has been paid(except for 1 medical bill I am still waiting on).

* Bike 60 Miles  DONE--61 miles

Even though I didn't realize at the time when I set this mileage goal that it was a short month and then I didn't bike for 4 whole days because I was sick(making Feb. only 25 days long for my purposes)I still hit the 60 mile target.
Go me.....lolz

* Paint and Complete 1 Item  FAIL  Nope, didn't do this.  My paints and brushes are still sitting on a shelf in the garage.  I did however go down into the basement and dig out something to paint......

And I hope to get the paints out and complete these by the end of the month.

* Sew & Complete Something  FAIL  Well, what can I say?  I was set to finish another nightgown(once I found all the cut-out pieces for it in the pile in the bedroom)but then the bathroom renovation actually HAPPENED......so I haven't been able to use my sewing machine as the bedroom is a construction zone staging area by day. ;-)

* File Federal Taxes  DONE  Got 'em done and mailed off to the criminals in Washington.

* Do FAFSA  DONE  I was so NOT going to even fill out this crap for College Boy's junior year coming up since we don't take aid from the government so there is no point.  Except that CB got a job this semester on campus and even though the funds to pay him do NOT come out of federal Work Study monies in order to keep this job next year we have to fill out this insanity.
sigh.

I love how the FAFSA eggheads inform us that due to our income we are expected to contribute over $52THOUSAND to CB's education each year. 
Ok....but his costs are "only" $22K a year for school. It's so nice to know that someone considers us "rich".

BTW-Daughter was told when she filled out FAFSA this year(considering a return to college), as an adult without parental financial support and living on her own for 3 years now, making approx. $32K gross and with little cash assets in the bank, that she is expected to contribute over $9K to her educational costs next year.  Now just where is she suppose to come up with $9K, especially since she'll have to quit her job to go to school? 
They.
Are.
Insane.

* Do State Taxes  DONE  We always owe a little bit of money to the great fiscal bastion of PA, so I am never in a hurry to do this set of taxes.....but it's done and off my plate now.

* Do CB's Taxes  DONE  Well they are done but not mailed because he has to come home next week on break and sign the forms.

* Take Food Bank Donation in  DONE

Got my bags of food/toiletries taken up mid month.

* Sign Contract on Renovation  DONE  Committed to the work at the beginning of the month and when 1 of the contractor's other jobs ahead of us was pushed back into March we got onto the contractor's schedule lickety-split.
The work is coming along....

There is now a ceiling in the bathroom again! rah.

*  Buy Reno Supplies  DONE  I signed up for a Lowe's card to put the purchase of supplies and labor onto and got a 5% discount on said supplies and labor.  The bill will be paid off fully in March once the job is completed.

* Read 1 Book  IN PROGRESS  I've been reading a biography of actor Henry Fonda.  Progress is going much slower than expected as this tome is reading like someone's half-assed  educational dissertation that they thought would be a good idea to turn into a book and make some money off of it.  I think the writer was a candidate for a joint Pyschology and Cinema Arts degree.  I am having to go view many Fonda flicks to keep up with and grasp the literary noodlings of this author.  The amateur psychoanalysis of the man and his roles by this writer makes me keep a barf bag nearby as well.  It's a long slow slog through this book yet I persevere.
One thing is for certain, Fonda was one f*cked up piece of humanity!  As are his kids.

* File State Taxes  DONE  Sent off and the check written and I can wash my hands of this chore for another year.  Looking forward to moving to a state without state income taxes......

* Plan Travel for 2016  ON HOLD  Due to life issues that are still up in the air at this point in 2016, our/my travel plans are on hold until certain things are settled so I am removing this from the To-Do list for now.   Still working on at least 1 trip for the year with my eldest when he is on his Summer break from teaching.  And I might be heading to Boston area with Hubs for his Springtime conference, but other than those trips no plans are shaping up yet.

* Have a Date w/Hubs  DONE  We went out for lunch together last weekend and then I sat and watched him pick out beer to take home(fun, fun).

Living the dream folks......

So we did pretty well on the February Goals with only 2 Fails.  I confess that my goals this past month weren't too strenuous but there were some important one(taxes/fafsa)to get off my plate.

I am still thinking on what to try to get done around here in March.

What are you working on in your life?
Tell us what plans are taking up your time and energy lately.

Sluggy

To-Do List.....December Update

Let's take a look at how I did crossing off the To-Do List in December.

Have Car Tuned Up  PASS!  Got it done the first week in December.  Everything on the car was AOK. 8-)

Clean out Basement  PASS!  We got decomposing cardboard boxes cleaned out and old junk that needed throwing away tossed.  We also removed old wooden pallets that were down there when we moved in and Hubs cleaned up some mold on the floor/walls.
Now I just need to decide what to do with all my ceramic molds down there and all my bisqueware still unpainted from when I had my ceramic studio.

Pick up College Boy  PASS!  Got him early December.  The weather was good so no worries getting this done safely.

Put up Xmas Lights(outside)  PASS!  Hubs got it all up while the weather was unseasonably warm.

Put up Xmas Tree & Decorate  PASS!  Tree went up and we slowly decorated it and the house(what little I do)after College Boy came home.

Mail Daughter's Bday Gift  PASS!  Mailed and received well before the birthday.

Write Xmas Cards  PASS! Done in plenty of time to.....

Mail Xmas Cards  PASS!  Mailed out and they all arrived as far as I know well before Dec. 25th.

Finish Xmas Shopping  PASS!  Except for Hubs it was all done long ago.  He waits until the last minute to give me his wishlist but it was all stuff I could run out locally and get without going to a big box store or the mall so it's all good.  8-)

Wrap Xmas Presents  PASS!  Done well ahead of Dec. 25th.

Mail out Xmas Presents  PASS!  Only a couple of things needed to be mailed and went out 2 weeks before Xmas.  Daughter's Xmas presents were mailed earlier in the month when I sent her birthday presents.....about the only advantage of having a Dec. birthday is combined shipping costs. lolz

Have a December Giveaway  PASS!  Yep.

Pick a Giveaway Winner  PASS!  Yep again.

Mail out Giveaway Box  PASS!  Mailed out the day after winner contacted me and received well before the end of December.

Bike 45 Miles  PASS!  Even with being away for a week at the end of December I got in a few miles past my goal........

Pay Bills  PASS!  All paid and on time as per usual.....

Gather Salvation Army Donations #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6  PASS!  I was on a roll in December and made 6 trips with no longer needed items to charity.

A sampling of what left the house in December...........

Take in Salvation Army Donations #1-#6  PASS!  6 Loads gathered AND taken up within a day or two of getting the loads gathered.
Even with this flurry of donations we might not have enough deductions to itemize this year on our tax return, when added to our cash donations and taxes paid, etc.  Oh well....that's not the main reason to donate but it would be nice to see a financial benefit too.

Take Xmas Trip  PASS!  It was a quick trip to see family in Virginia.  A bit of a ride but worth it and the weather cooperated until the last hour driving home.

                          Hubs snuck a photo of me stirring fudge.

Bake Xmas Goodies  PASS!  I don't usually bake many Xmas goodies but I do make a few....mostly pies and a couple of kinds of cookies and my bourbon fudge.
This year since we were going to be leaving 2 days after Xmas and I wasn't about to drag pies, cookies and fudge along for the ride, I only made 1 type of cookie and that was mostly for College Boy as it's his favorite cookie.  I did also make the fudge for gift giving but I bought desserts for Xmas dinner instead of making pies.  There were modest amounts of treats and I think I struck the proper balance on that this Season.

Inventory Stockpile  FAIL!  Yep, 1 big old red fail this month.  There was a lot of food/toiletries/HBA/paper goods coming in this month but with all the other demands on my time I barely got things put away let alone inventoried.  Oh well......this gives me something to do in January, right?  Not like I have much on my plate this month--just TAXES and FAFSA and all that entails.  yuck.  8-(

So we got through December with practically everything on my list taken care of.
Now THAT'S the way I like to end the year!  8-)))

Off I go to write up the January To-Do List.....ok, maybe that can wait until tomorrow since I have some shopping to do today.

How did you do with your To-Do List for December?

Sluggy