We all have them

Admittedly, some have more than others.  Some have 1, or 2 and then there are those of us with a number in the double digits.  I'm talking about PHDs. 

Projects Half Done. 

 They are nothing to be ashamed of, right?  I mean, who hasn't started something and not finished it?  All during the March Madness Challenge, I kept noticing just how many of them I had.  And it really irked me.  Because a lot of my March Madness had to do with cleaning up and getting rid of stuff, and here's all this precious space being wasted by...PHDs.  And so, an idea for May.  May in Indiana is the 500 race.  There's also the Mini Marathon.  And all sorts of other race-themed stuff. 

So lets race.  Lets see how many PHDs we can finish in a month.  Most of mine will be sewing, but I've got a trunk I started to refinish and didn't, plus some home-improvement stuff that I didn't finish, but what I really want is to free up space in the sewing room, so I'll probably work on those.  I'll start up a Facebook page and a Pinterest board, and if you've got PHDs you'd like to finish, or get encouragement to finish, jump in.  Let's do this together, and again, the point would be to get as much done as we can, while enjoying the race.  I'll call it the PHD 500. 

First time to Eagle Creek

We took the kids hiking for the first time today.  I've taken them for long walks through the woods, but this was real, actual hiking.  Like Bry-D and I did before we had kids.  We found deer tracks, which Lex didn't understand; he kept asking where we saw a deer at.

This is the hill we climbed- it was very steep, and of course had a creek bed with a foot of water and slime to break our fall.  Lex started out in a carrier, then started walking.  I'm proud of both kids, they did really well.  There aren't al ot of pictures, but we were there for a few hours, letting the kids roam and play.

Why, yes, yes they did pee outside.  And for the record, the big guy in khakis started it!

I had to help Eliz alot with her *restroom break*.  There wasn't much she could do to stop me from taking the picture.  She's not a Grizzly Jane, but we'll give her time.

Little man with his walking stick - just like Daddy!  Before we left for home, we stopped and ate the snacks I had brought, drank the last of our water, then got into the car.

What I will never understand is how my hunka-hunka-burnin' love was able to go off the trail for most of the afternoon and still end up back at the car in the allotted amount of time.  That's a very keen sense of direction.  The only things to add to our arsenal - kid sized gaiters.  It was too warm for them to have pants, but then, of course they had the prickles and twigs and such attacking their legs. 

Yet another sewing project added to the list!  Which reminds me, all this pinning and doing - I know I haven't posted pictures, but I've been doing my best with March Madness Challenge - I have an idea for the month of May, another Challenge, one that will appeal to everyone, whether they get in Pinterest or not.  I'll wait until April to tell you, though!

Closet Cleanup!

I have two closets that really work my nerves - the Hall closet and my Sewing Room closet.  They are cramped and cluttered and unorganized, I just don't like them.  They were one of the first things I thought of doing for the March Madness Challenge.  Here's the after pictures.

 No, no I didn't take pictures of the before, because I just sort of attacked these things like shopaholic at a shoe sale.  I need some kind of storage for the things that belong in the Hall closet, but I haven't found anything that fuels my engine.

 I'm going to fill the containers in the Sewing Room closet with fabric from the attic, so I'll have more of my stash within easy reach.  The thought is that with it in easy reach, I'll use it up!  If I can find some more of the plastic drawer storage for cheap, that would complete this closet.  But the end of April and possible strike is ever closer, so unless I make a point of hitting Goodwill, I'll have to make do with what I already have.

***Update***

4-1-12

I went to Goodwill on a whim, and got two 3-drawer plastic storage units, and one 2-drawer plastic storage unit for $5 each!!!! Jesus LOVES me!  I could only cram three units into the closet, so one is kind of under/next to my cutting table.  This also opens up the possibility for some changes in other rooms, believe it or not.  I'm not going to get to it for another week, but I'm really excited about it!

Daily Tree

Meg had a post about this, and I've been wanting to order/make one for awhile.  Here's the link to buy one - they are well priced, I just knew I had the materials, so I made it.  Also, I didn't know exactly what I wanted the magnets to say, which ended up being the most difficult part.

 I found a cookie sheet at Goodwill, cut a paper template of the inside of the cookie sheet.  I already had construction paper and magnetic printer paper.  I freehand drew a tree the way I wanted it, then cut and Mod-Podged it onto the cookie sheet.  I knew the magnets wouldn't be very strong, so I used thin paper and minimal adhesive.

 It turned out really nicely, if I do say so myself!  A Kid's Day has several other styles to choose from, and it's probably somewhat higher quality magnets.  In all, I really like it, though I have an oopsie-daisy.  The cookie sheet has a hole on one of the short ends, and I meant for that to be the top, so I could hang it from the hole.  The hole is at the bottom, which put a kink in my placement of the Daily Tree plans.

So, another Pinterest March Madness Challenge Done.  I think I'm at 4, but the month is still young!

Update - We put the magnets on during breakfast, and usually 3-5 cover the entire day.  I'm considering printing out some others, but I haven't decided if that would be to much.  I'd like to add clip art pictures to the labels I have, since Tater Tot & Lex are pre-reading.

Painted Toast!

My first day of The Pinterest March Madness Challenge!  Milk with food coloring.

 Lex kind of stabbed his toast with the paint, so we had to try again.

 I discovered that it was easy to burn the toast - b/c of the milk, it takes longer for it to toast, so one side can end up burnt, or just the edges if you paint both sides.

It was still fun, and the kids had ideas for the next time we do it. 

My goal is to do 15 things from Pinterest this month.  1 down, 14 to go!

Answering March Madness Challenge Questions

I'm glad people are asking questions, because I don't want you to think this is really rigid. 

To answer the #1 most asked Question-

Yes, absolutely, you can focus on one single, BIG change.  Let's say you want to turn this-

Into This-

Have at it, honey, and enjoy it!  Break it into simple tasks, pin the goal picture for each day and in the notes, put what single small thing you're going to do to.  You don't have to pin something that shows exactly what you're going to do for it, like buy paint or empty a drawer. 

The 2nd most asked Question-  I choose doing something each day because I'd like to be able to say I did 15 things from Pinterest in one month.  It's called March Madness because it is crazy to try and do something from Pinterest each day.  I'm someone that thinks you should

   Shoot for the Stars, don't worry if you miss, you'll land on the Moon!

No one is going to be hovering around saying, you didn't finish today!  

If it seems overwhelming, but you're interested, pick things you normally do, just do something different with it.  Wear that scarf you love, but never put on.  Always wear your hair up?   Try it down.  In an exercise rut, do a new workout.  Take the scenic route to work - just leave early.  always wanted to try coupons - try it!

Think of it as small changes to what you already do everyday, you're just planning them in advance, and letting other people in on the excitement.  I'm still working on the button for the Facebook page, which I plan on using to post updates on how I'm doing (or not) and if I feel particularly proud of myself, a picture.  Do the same, let's encourage each other and talk as we challenge ourselves to being radically different for 31 days.

Pinterest March Madness Challenge!

I really hope you join me! Because I'm excited to do this. The Pinterest March Madness Challenge is to do one thing from Pinterest each day for the month of March. 31 days. 31 projects. That's the goal.
I know, you're saying,
  "What?! How? That's crazy impossible!"
PLEASE, DON'T STOP THERE! Keep reading, this is actually doable! I've come up with some rules and guidelines. After you read them, you'll see why this is doable. Also, to answer the other Frequently Asked Question, no I don't have a great prize for the person that does the most. You're just going to have a lot of finished projects, and hopefully(since it's my main objective) the motivation to continue doing Pinterest-inspired projects.  I'm not one of those Bloggers that has Sponsors and people begging me to talk about their stuff, though sometimes, it would be cool. 

Rules-
1.  Keep the projects SIMPLE! 
2.  Has to be things that can be done in one day. 
3.  If you miss a day, you pick up with the next day.  No starting over, going back, just keep moving forward, no matter what happens!
4.  You can do cumulative projects- paint the bathroom on day #1, hang the new shelves in the bathroom on Day #2, though that isn't quite the idea I had. 

Guidelines-
 Here are the categories for you to use. 

House- decor, fix-up
Adventure- do something that scares you
Hair & Beauty- an excuse to wear sparkly makeup!
Inspiring or Spiritual- for others or yourself
Food- new recipes!
Activity- with kids, with your friends, your spouse, or by yourself!
Crafty- DIY, paint, sculpt, sew, photograph, whatever, just do something that requires thinking outside the box!

Pick a day of the week for each category. If these categories don't work for you, make your own.  What if you have something that would fit into multiple places?  Let's say you're thinking of getting a  tattoo-could be Activity, could be Adventure.  If you already have a tattoo then I'd say Activity.  If you've always wanted one, but never done it, then Adventure. 


Check the Pinterest board(the link is below) to see my Pins for the first week-those are what I mean by simple-I already have everything I need for them.  They won't take more than a few minutes, let alone hours.  As the month progresses, however, I'm going to work towards more difficult tasks.  They will still be things that can be done in a day, but I'm already eyeing a few things I've really wanted to do, and just haven't.


The nitty-gritty of how it works:  I've created a board on Pinterest called March Madness Challenge.   I've already pinned what I'm doing for the first week- in the notes for each pin I've put the day(Day #1, Day #2, etc)that I'm doing it.  To be able to put your pins on there so we know what everyone is planning on doing, you have to leave a comment or send me an email with your user name for Pinterest, and within 24 hours I'll add you as a contributor.  Once that happens, you can start repinning what you'll be doing.  I'm only going to plan a week at time, to keep it from being overwhelming.  Then, on March 1st, we'll all start our once a day projects, and keep it up until March 31st.  At that point we can all sit back and bask in the glow of our hard work. 

I've also made a Facebook page for posting progress pictures, updates, and discussion.  I'm working on figuring out how to add buttons and the like on here, which will make it much easier to find everything.  My head feels close to exploding from the effort, so I'm going to take a few days off from that part and come back refreshed.  Anyone that knows how to do that stuff and either wants to do it for me, or explain it me, please, for the love of my sanity, help a girl out!