Monday, February 27, 2012

Tackle It Tuesday : Clean Life Challenge Week 9

11:56 AM 1 Comments
Wow, week 9. The last time I posted, it may have been week 6. I bet you're wondering what happened to 7 and 8, eh? I know there were really good reasons that they didn't get posted but blast if I can remember now what they were! I do hope you'll forgive me though!

This might be a good time to mention that if the challenges don't go live here, they are going live over at the Facebook group. It is a closed group so nobody outside of the group can see your before/after photos. If you'd like to join, just drop me a line and I'll get you added.

Now, on with the show....Since I didn't post my before and after photos for weeks 6, 7 and 8, I'm going to share them with you now. I don't want any of you thinking that I'm not right in there with you as we do these. Ready? Let's go!


This is my bedside table after I got it cleared off, but clearly before I dusted it. Eww! What I love most about this is the fact that I now have space to put my new table lamp..as soon as I remember where I put it! I do need to take some time and get those stickers off of there. I have no idea how they got there, but they need to go!  (Week 6)



 Week 7 - Before : The bookshelf of doom..Ok, it wasn't that bad but it was pretty ick. The challenge for the week was to tackle just one shelf in the living room. This was my choice. There were books falling off the shelf and about an inch of dust.

Week 7 - After: Far less dust and far less books. I actually pulled a dozen books off of this shelf and posted them to PaperBack Swap. I realized that as much as I love John Grisham, I rarely, if ever go back and read his books again so I kept only a few that really appealed to me and let the others go. Actually, they're still here so if you're a fan, find me over on the site and request them!


 Week 8 - Before: Last week, our goal was to tackle just one side of the kitchen counter. In this case, we started with the left side. This folks, was my left counter before I started. Food that needed to be put away mixed with dirty dishes waiting to be washed and all sorts of things! You see, I haven't had a functioning kitchen sink since before Thanksgiving. We did have a plumber come out but he didn't fix the problem and we haven't really had the money to try again since. What does this lead to? Using up all of the dishes in the house and then being completely overwhelmed with what to do about it. I'll tell you my solution below because I can't wait to show you the after picture!

Look! Clean counter! My favorite part? The labeled containers. This is something I've wanted to do for a while but never had the proper tools. Justin got me a new labeler for Christmas and I had the most fun labeling all of those containers. I still have a couple of empty containers that will get filled soon but for now, seeing the ones that are done puts a big smile on my face! Where did all the dirty dishes go, I'm sure you're asking yourself...Well, they went to my bathroom. That's right..this girl has been kneeling over her bathtub doing dishes. It's a slow process because I only have a small shelf in there that I'm able to use for drying, but bit by bit, I am catching up on all of those dishes. I refuse to let a goofed up drain/vent/whatever it is get in the way of me having an area that I can prepare food for my family. After all, there are those who don't even have running water, how can I complain about a few minutes kneeling on the floor doing dishes?

There we go. I think that has us all caught up until this week. I don't actually have a before picture because this is a task, that for me, is a relatively small one. This week, I challenge you to go into your bathrooms. Find wherever you store medications and check those expiration dates. If it's expired, let it go! That's it. Pretty simple, huh?

See you next week for a new challenge!
Photobucket

If you like what you've read here, please share it with others using these buttons:

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Comic Book Review: Rex Zombie Killer

1:11 PM 0 Comments
Yay, another zombie book! I know that's what you're thinking and honestly, I thought it too. Zombies are the new vampires and honestly, I'd rather have sparkly vampires. Now, before you throw stones or glitter at me, at least let me finish this review.

Rex isn't like any other zombie story out there. It isn't about yet another group of people holed up somewhere shooting zombies in the head in the hopes to survive. Rex is all about a group of animals, including a baseball bat wielding gorilla, making their way across the country. Their goal? Safety and maybe a new home. Their challenges? Zombies (duh!) and the scum of the Earth that somehow always survives these things.

Before you know it, you'll be falling in love with the characters and if you're anything like me, cheering them out loud as they face one challenge after another. It's true. If you'd been in my bedroom while I was reading this, you'd have heard me muttering go Buttercup..go...Of course, after that, I'd probably have screamed to find you standing in my bedroom, but let's move on from that, shall we?


These guys here are the ones you'll be falling for before you know it. You'll be cheering them on and then looking at your own pets just a little bit closer. This double-sized, 56-page one-shot ships in April at a special price of only $3.50, and will be available for pre-order in the February 2012 Diamond PREVIEWS catalog. (Order Code: FEB12 0806)  It is rated TEEN+ for mature themes and violence, however, I can tell you that my 11 year old read the first few pages of this and is just waiting for me to hand over the laptop long enough for him to read the rest. It's one of those books that you need to read for yourself and then decide if your child is ready for it. Additional one shots are planned for the future and I can't wait to get my fingers on them!

Photobucket

I was provided with a digital preview copy of this book. As always, all comments, thoughts, and ramblings are 100% my own. Thank you to Big Dog Ink and Rob Anderson for the use of the photos included in this review.

If you like what you've read here, please share it with others using these buttons:

Monday, February 6, 2012

Tackle It Tuesday : Clean Life Challenge Week 6

12:19 PM 0 Comments
I know I say this practically every week, but where the heck did last week go? Well, for me, it went curled up in bed as much as possible. Yep, I came down with some sort of stomach bug and it laid me out. I did manage to get last week's challenge done though! Ok, it's mostly done. Let me show you the after pictures and then, I'll fill you in.


Doesn't that look so much better? I say it's not done because I have a few more things that I want to do. First, I want to put labels on those two small totes. The bottom one holds spare cables that I keep finding. Eventually, I'll get those matched up to their devices and that will only hold extra cables. The top one holds things for the cats, like combs and such.  I also want to get rid of that second misc bin. Right now, it holds tools that I find laying around the house. I do have a tool box somewhere and as soon as I track that down, it will go into the laundry room and the tools will be placed in that. The only other thing I want to do is add to that grey case there. By add to it, I mean stack other things on top of it. I have a variety of small cases that hold nails, screws, etc and I want them to be all stacked up there. That will happen as I find them.

Now, for this week's challenge..We're going back into our bedrooms and we're going to tackle one of our nightstands. Now, for you overachievers out there who tackled your nightstands when we did the top of the dresser, don't think you get an off week. Nope! Instead, I want you to go back through the 5 areas that we've already covered and make sure that they're still yay locations in your home. Easy enough, right?

Here's what I have to tackle this week..if you're squeamish at all, I suggest you stop reading right now...


Horrible, right? Yes, that's a Halloween pumpkin sitting on the night stand. I have no idea why it's there unless it's there to hold up that cereal bowl. Yeesh!

Ok all, I'm off to tackle the world, but I can't wait to read your posts and see your before/after pictures. Remember to post your links here or pop over to our Facebook group and join us there. :)
Photobucket

If you like what you've read here, please share it with others using these buttons:

Menu Plan Monday

12:06 PM 0 Comments
I hereby announce that I will not be menu planning this week. I actually did manage to cook twice last week. Neither time was it something on my menu. The big part of this was because I came down with a stomach bug that held on most of the week. Cooking a meal for just me wasn't happening, I'm afraid. This week has the feel of chaos already so I'm just going to wing it. I promise I'm not giving up on this forever, just for this week. Next week, Justin will be in town so there will be more winging it as we try to get things done, enjoy our time together and just be a together couple. I do love the together times.

So, for now, sit back, relax and wait for my next post regarding non meal planning topics. ;)

Photobucket

If you like what you've read here, please share it with others using these buttons:

Follow Us @lifewithkatie