The To-Do List....November Edition

First here is a photo of my rosebush from Dec.4th........

Still blooming into Winter.  This is going to take getting use to. ;-)

Here is the list of everything that I needed to get done in November and how it all panned out.........

*  Pay Bills--DONE  Everything got paid.

*  Move Into House--DONE  We moved into the house, emptied the POD, emptied the U-Haul Truck mostly into the garage and we've been slowly going through all the boxes/tubs in the garage.  We are far from finished going through it all.

*  Clean and Organize stuff in House--Working on it.  This is going to take months.

*  Buy Stuff for House--Working on it.  So far we've bought shelving units, a bed, replacement parts for the ginormous fridge, curtain rods, a night stand,  2 chairs for the kitchen island, 

*  Close on PA House--DONE.  While the people who bought the house had aid they wanted to close before Thanksgiving, they left town for the holiday so that didn't happen.  The closing happened on Nov 29th and our check got overnighted the next day.  So glad to have that headache off our hands!

*  Clean out Inserts/Coupon Envie--DONE  I small chore I get done every month, sometimes twice in a month.

*  Editing More Photos--Working on it.  I haven't taken many photos since we got back from the beach so not much to edit.

*  Post about Old Trips--FAIL  Nope, didn't work on any of those posts.  Been busy moving and putting the house in order.

*  Work on Genealogy--FAIL  Haven't felt like working on this, see above.

*  Change All Addresses/Contact Info--DONE except for SwagBucks.  SB is being an asshat about changing my email addy so I can't cash any of my $$ out of that account.  I'll have to phone them after the trip.

*  Celebrate Thanksgiving--DONE  We actually had two Turkey Day celebrations.

*  Change Driver's Licenses--DONE  Went to a rural town North of here as they had appointments available sooner.

*  Register Cars in LA--DONE  After we got the driver's licenses changed, Hubs took the paperwork into the OMV and got the cars registered here and inspected too.

*  Get new Auto Insurance--DONE  We renewed our old insurance but in LA as we were in the midst of changing licenses and car registration.  After the new year we'll look into changing companies perhaps.

*  Set Up New Bank Acount in LA--DONE  This has been a royal pain to get done.  Seems none of the banks or credit unions down here would take our money until we had LA driver's licenses and at least 2 bills addressed to us at this address which meant we had to be here long enough to generate bills. lolz  None of the local banks have national or even widespread regional presence(mostly state banks).  Then we realized one of the banks I had money in that I dealt with only online has actual branches here(at least 4 in the area)so instead of setting up yet another bank account we'll get checks for the until-now online bank and use it as our primary bank.

*  Pack for Cruise--DONE  And we are outta here!  See y'all later! 8-)))

Sluggy

To-Do List.....November Edition

Let's check out how our November To-Do List turned out......


NOVEMBER

* Pay Bills  DONE  Everything paid off this month that was due.  Top of the list, Always!

* Read 1, 2 Books  DONE

First off I read this one..........

Magruder's Cruiosity Cabinet by H.P. Wood

This story revolves around an abandoned English girl involved with a disgruntled menage of circus freaks during a plague outbreak in turn-of-the-20th century Coney Island.
How could this not be enjoyable, right?? lolz

It held my attention from the first page to the end. A GREAT light escapist read!  It had everything--action, very interesting characters, suspense, fantasy, drama, pathos, comedy.

I also read.............

"9 Presidents Who Screwed Up America...and four who tried to save her"  by Brion McClanahan

Keep in mind that this author is a conservative as far as "politics" go.  I think every American should pick this book up and give it a read with an open mind.  He's not just some political hack talking through his hat here.  
He challenges the current though of most Americans on what makes a President "Great".  Using the Constitution as a yardstick many(if not all)of the POTUS that folks look up to as the Great Ones are not. 
 They are men who have expanded the role of the POTUS to something it was NOT meant to be and have grown government to the epic proportions it has amassed today.  It all began to go wrong back during George Washington's second term according to Mr. McClanahan--from the rise of political parties to populism to imperialistic Presidents.
The author has a small section on 4 of the Presidents who tried to get our system back on track, though none of these 4 are more current than the 30th POTUS.

This book will challenge most peoples thoughts on the true role of POTUS and how the 9 talked about have taken us from the Founding Fathers and our Republic to the sad state of affairs this country is currently experiencing.

* List items on eBay  FAIL  I just couldn't bring myself to pull the trigger on eBay this month.  Too much going on I guess.  I will try to sell a few things on our local FB site in December.

* Get out/Wash Holiday Dishes  DONE  Washed and used and have been put away again.

* Make Turkey Day menu  DONE  The menu turned out to be turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, Lula rolls, cranberry "glop", as well as whole berry sauce, green bean casserole, honey glazed carrots, pumpkin pie w/whipped cream.  Nom Nom Nom

* finish Turkey Day shopping  DONE  Got all the food bought plus some extra cheap items with my Weis Points....a turkey breast, a ham and a huge Stouffer's lasagna(now all residing in the freezer).

* Cook Thanksgiving Meal  DONE  And everyone ate well.

The nephew even brought flowers and wine for dinner! 

* Hold Giveaways  DONE

Giveaway #1

Giveaway #2

* Mail Giveaways  DONE  Both were mailed and received and I thank both Janet and Angie for letting me know their boxes of goodies arrived safely.  8-)))

* Clean the House for Company  DONE  Most of what needed doing got done.  Hubs even scrubbed the kitchen floor for me, on his hands and knees(which is something I can no longer do).

* Put together Food Bank Donation  DONE

* Take Food Bank Donation to FB  DONE   Mid month Hubs helped me take a car load of toiletries, laundry detergent and dog/cat food up to the local food bank at a church in town.

* Buy and Hang Bathroom Blinds  DONE  This is something Hubs got a bee in his bonnet about in November, though we've needed new blinds on the master bath window since we had the room redone 2 years ago.  ;-)  He finally went up to Lowe's and bought blinds and put them up.

* Buy and Hang Kitchen Blinds  DONE  While Hubs was buying blinds I suggested we replace the old blind in the kitchen window too.  We've had the same ratty old bamboo shade on the window since moving here over 18 years ago.  It was beginning to show it's age and get moldy(bleck!)so it had to go!

We got white faux woods blinds and they are much better than what they replaced!

* Arrange Secret Santa Exchange  DONE  While Elder son was home for 2 days we did the drawing of names.  I nagged the 4 of them to get their wish lists to me and send a master list to everyone by email this past Sunday.  Now it's outta my hands!lolz

* Fix Doorbells  DONE  Another long deferred home repair.  Our doorbells haven't worked for 10 years or so.  While Hubs was up at Lowe's he picked up parts to replace both doorbells.
It was a small and quick fix and had I know it was so easy I would have handled that long before now!

* Finish Saving Seeds  DONE sort of......

I got the bulk of the Morning Glory seed pods picked, dried, crumbled so I can blow off the hulls and clean seeds saved.
But with all the rain and then a foot of snow early in mid-November a still have a big clump of vines/pods on the deck table to pick through but with the weather that isn't going to happen until early Spring.
I still got quite a bit of seed saved anyway.

* Purge Inserts  DONE  

You can see I only have about 10 inserts now.  I'll go through them again in December to get ready for the January inserts which are usually copious and thick at the beginning of the new year.

* Clean my Desk (EEK!)  FAIL

What.
A. 
Mess.
It's been a min-mess for months.  So many things going on where I need paperwork handy.  I'll get a few paper issues dealt with and filed away in December so the condition can be upgraded to "Fair" on this patient. lolz

* Host Eldest and GF for 2 Days  DONE

Son's GF had to work on Thanksgiving Day(Thank you Mount Vernon!)so son took off a coule days of work and they came to visit us the weekend before Thanksgiving and then to GF's parent's house in NJ for 2 days and then back to VA.  A quick visit but it was enjoyable.
I have to say that this GF is a much better fit for our son.  ;-)

* Go Through Xmas Gift Box  FAIL
With everything going on here and company before Thanksgiving I really didn't have the room or brain cells to pull out the Xmas gift box yet and contemplate all that entails. I pretty much know what has been bought this year and hiding in that box so this didn't put me behind of Xmas shopping to let that box stay put for a couple extra weeks.
The box is, as of this writing, in the dining room awaiting sorting and wrapping of it's contents.  


The only think I wish I gotten to that I didn't was to launch a few eBay listings. A little extra cash coming from selling items would have been nice but not at the expense of trying to do too much and stress myself out so I have made peace with my list and what got done/didn't get done.

Did you have a To-Do List in November?
Tell us how you did knocking off the items on your list! 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