Thank you all so much for your comments on my last Happy Homemaker post! I’m so grateful for the opportunity to join a supportive community of people who love making their homes beautiful.

This last week was a busy one and I didn’t get on the blog like I wanted to, so my apologies for the lack of crafty posts. It is not an indicator of change on this blog; I simply didn’t do any crafting last week because we were so busy with decluttering and summer activities. I’m hoping to do more crafty posts this week, but Rachel’s bedroom declutter is taking longer than I thought it would because that room is a grotto of thingamabobs and whatsits, and…yeah, taking longer than I thought it would. Believe me, I’d much rather be crafting.

Anyhoo, on to this week’s Happy Homemaker post:

The Weather:

I know I shouldn’t complain about the heat because so many other people are posting much warmer temperatures in their parts of the world, but 80s in the Pacific Northwest can be a lot. I just keep saying that I’m thankful for AC and move on with my life. I’ve had to start watching my basil and tomatoes because they’ve been showing some heat stress, and the hydrangea is requiring a lot more water to keep from wilting. But it sure is nice, when compared to rainy and gray February, to have hot sunshine on my skin when I step outside…just need to be careful to not spend too much time in that sunshine!

As I Look Outside My Window:

I cut some daisies for a bouquet this week, but left them outside overnight so I didn’t bring bugs inside the house. And then I liked them on my porch table so much that I just left them there. I love to watch fat lil’ bumblebees in the lavender, and my Parrot Echinacea is getting ready to bloom soon! The poor grass is struggling, even after we increased the amount of water it’s getting each day.

Right Now I am:

Thankful to finally be done with homework, and enjoying a simple day of rest after too many activities last week! I’m also smelling the most delightful smell because Renaissance decided to bake an Almond Maraschino Chiffon Cake. She’s reducing the maraschino juice for the glaze right now and it smells amazing.

Thinking and Pondering:

• I think I need to do less on Sundays. It’s become a catch-all day of the week, which isn’t a big deal, but I got really good at being productive and efficient with my time throughout grad school, and I’ve transferred that work ethic and prowess to regular daily living and I’m getting a lot done each day. To the point that I really do need a day of nothing to balance it all out or I’m going to implode.
• Which means I probably need to un-commit to a few things…you know how you’ll finish something HUGE and then, because you suddenly have a lot more time to give to other things, you just say yes to everything? I’ve done that. Not so much to other people, but definitely to myself about projects and ideas. I need to have a sitdown with myself and make some decisions so I can calmly remind myself that we made a calculated decision to not do that thing because XYZ.
• It is just so nice to be home and busy with house projects and decluttering. We’re just a little hive of activity and things are looking better each day. Love it.

Listening to:

The kids talking excitedly about the last round of GarticPhone that they played.

How am I feeling:

Pretty good. Things are going good right now and I’m thankful!

On my Reading Pile:

Nothing has really changed since last week. Haven’t read much.

On my TV this week:

Hopefully nothing, the weather is too nice to be sitting inside watching television!

On the Menu:

• Saturday: Spaghetti, Garlic Garlic Beans, Summer Salad, French Bread
• Sunday: Citrus Grilled Pork Roast
• Monday: Hot Dogs, Broccoli Slaw, Potato Salad
• Tuesday: Tacos, Beans, Fixin’s, Rice
• Wednesday: Leftovers
• Thursday: Sandwiches, Carrot & Celery Sticks, Green Salad, Chips
• Friday: Chicken Satay, Thai Cucumbers, Rice

Looking Around the House:

The front room is full of Rachel’s things and piles of stuff that people are finding throughout the house to get rid of. I’m getting overwhelmed by it, but I know if I just keep plugging along with this work, it will eventually end and I’ll be so happy with the end result. I did do some cleaning in the craft room because my hands were tied in every direction forward unless it got cleaned. Hopefully I can start sewing again this week.

To-Do List This Week:

• Hopefully finish gutting Rachel’s bedroom, reorganizing it, and putting it all back together. I’m not sure if this can be done in one measly week.
• Keep planning Ren’s birthday party.
• Driving practice sessions for both Ren and Rachel.
• Buy birthday gifts for Renaissance

Devotional:

My word for this last week was “energy.” As I thought more and read more about it, it seemed that the message I needed to get out of it was that wherever my energy goes, that’s what grows. I kind of hijacked the idea of “energy” with the idea of “focus.” Focus takes energy. Putting my energy into gratitude and optimism? I feel more grateful and optimistic. Focusing my energy on worrying and bad memories? I get tenser and more stuck in thinking about those kinds of things. Once I figured that out I would catch myself when I’d start ruminating and switch my thinking to happier topics. It’s weird that it works so well to change your train of thought to a different set of tracks.

I’m thankful that I realized this little trick this week because decluttering forces you to deal with all sorts of stuff that also can trigger some very unwelcome thoughts and memories. It’s been a long week of feeling the burden of past negative interactions, and I could have easily hunkered down in fixation on them, but I kept saying, “Nope!” and moving on to something else that plays an actual role in my life right now, rather than getting into a slurry over things that no longer matter.

This upcoming week’s word is: POWER. What does power mean to you? How can you harness power for good?

Linking up to Sandra’s Happy Homemaker Monday!