It’s been a rough summer, not terrible, by any means, but…long? I don’t know. Let’s start with what I can’t control. It’s hot. I don’t have air conditioning. I’m carrying 10 pounds too many and I feel like I’m constantly overheating. When I left work today it was 97 degrees.
My face just made an involuntary cringe.
Next up… We refinanced our home in June in the hope of getting quite a few house projects done. First up? Finishing the basement (to escape some of the heat). We painted. We cleaned. We bought carpet. We had it installed Friday afternoon. Sometime between Friday night and Saturday morning, a pipe broke in our basement (behind the drywall), flooding a large portion of our new carpet. It’s fixed now.
So the things I’ve been working on lately have not fallen into the “fun” category, but they certainly have to be completed. And I’m on a bit of a deadline to get my tasks done. The point of this post is to remind myself of what I want (and need) to do. If I publish it, it means I’ll be obligated to complete it, right? RIGHT.
(Side note: Did anyone else ever follow Young House Love in their heyday? I did, and I was always liked their Listy McListerson posts.)
- Swimming. I’m starting with an easy one (and a sanity savor). It’s cool and floating is one of the few ways I feel comfortable these days (and I have at least 12 weeks to go).
- Organize two closets. My closet is organized, actually, so this only applies to the closets of my kids. I need to pull clothes that don’t fit them and figure out the clothing situation for the new baby (I donated almost all of the infant clothes I had, because no more babies…(eyeroll)).
- Paint. I don’t even know where to start, but there are plenty of rooms that need it. So…make a plan and then execute.
- Monitor Craigslist like a stalker. I need to replace my dining room table, but I’m cheap.
- Read four books this month. One a week seems like an accomplishable task.
- Hem the curtains I bought a year ago. This one is just embarrassing.
- Exercise (beyond a brisk walk) twice a week.
- Create one literary mixtape. I’m building in blog writing to the list, because it might be the only way I fit it in.
- Finish watching Stranger Things. There aren’t even that many episodes. Does anyone else find it difficult to watch television (but enjoy it when you do)? I don’t sit still easily, so this is actually a tough one for me.
- Print some of my Instagram pictures (and create our family travel book). I like to make books that show where we’ve been. I need to catch up on our trips to the Outer Banks, Big Bend National Park, Lake Tahoe, Big Sur, Devils Tower, and Crater Lake. Someday my children will appreciate everywhere I make them go (and that I’ve documented it), right?
- Finish building my fauxdenza. I’m working on one like this one (from Yellow Brick Home).
So my August goals are totally doable, right? I think so. Feel free to point out what I don’t finish (I imagine I will post an update).
Also, to close out the post on a positive note and to make you feel old, 30 years ago today Kristy’s Great Idea was published (and The Babysitter’s Club was launched).
What’s on your to-do list?
(Image found here)
flannel and folklore 
OH. I’m sorry to hear about your renovation ‘disaster’. It seems that nothing ever goes smoothly in extreme weather. I can see that getting basement finished would be a priority. Me, the first reno money I had I spent on central air. đŸ™‚
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I wish that was the case. We actually did get a quote for central air, but because we have hot water heat (a boiler), it was well over 20k! Unfortunately, that means I have to stay hot! The basement is coming along though, and it’s a nice respite from the mid-80s of the main floor.
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ugh, I know exactly what you mean about TV! I blog hop and I am like how do people watch that much, read that much, listen to that many podcasts, and still accomplish other things! lol We started Stranger Things and people basically watched it in one sitting. I will be lucky to finish it before August is over. lol
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Me too! I’m on episode one of Stranger Things. That I watched last week. At this rate, I’ll be done by Thanksgiving!
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Oh gosh, you reminded me that I haven’t hemmed my curtains since we moved in either! (They’re behind our sofa, so “technically” don’t need to be hemmed, but…I really should). You’re a saint for surviving the weather with no A/C – I need to stop complaining!
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July (generally the hottest month) is over, so there’s hope!
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I hate it when I let fairly small projects linger, like your curtains. They just… suck. And I feel the same way about TV; I have to be doing something else at the same time, or it just isn’t going to happen. My husband has considered leaving me over this, I think… My August goals will be up on my blog soon, but basically I just want to stay alive as we start the school year.
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For a little bit, I blogged and tried to watch TV, but discovered that I wasn’t really catching enough to stay current on the more “intelligent” shows I try to watch (I’m thinking of The Americans, specifically, as it helps to actually read those Russian subtitles…). Now it is any number of things instead. If I’m not doing something, I either fall asleep if it’s late or I fidget to the point my husband gets up and moves to a different piece of furniture.
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Holy crap, Murphy and his Law just kicked your ass on that whole carpet/basement deal. What an ahole. It’s hard enough to go through those things when you’re feeling up to snuff, but when you’re pregnant and it’s 97 degrees that’s just uncalled for.
Your list looks much like mine, particularly with respect to the Besta building and the painting. After my Great Construction Disaster of September 2015, I’m still getting things in shape, but (re)painting over the new paint I hate and getting a unit on the family room wall are now at the top of the list since my bed is built. Why is it these things sound so great when we think of them, but sometimes execution is a drag?
I hope you have some fun with your list and get those books in to boot!
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The fauxdenza is on the wall! It is the only thing on the list I’ve done (besides no. 1, which was go to the pool). There is possibly nothing worse than repainting over new paint because of the color – but when you hate it, it’s important!
I’m 1.5 books in, so it’s looking good, as least for reading.
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Congratulations! That’s a big job. I can’t decide between hanging them or getting nice legs for them. Did you get the taller units?
And yes to painting. Got most of it done this weekend, but more to go. As someone who loves color, I never hate color more than when I paint or try to pick a paint. It really is a nightmare.
Hope you have a great week!
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We have the 47 by 15 by 25 and another 24 inch, it works well for having three shelves inside. We just finished staining the top this morning and it should be completely installed tomorrow! I am totally nailing this list…
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Just use that sticky-iron-hem stuff… no judgement! Maybe some uber-nesting-frenzy will hit you this month and you can fly through this list like no one’s biz! I got a HUGE rush of energy towards the end of my pregnancy, so here’s to hoping đŸ™‚
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I might! And I hope it does, because right now even the easy things (making dinner, etc.) take up more energy than I seem to have.
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Oh God, I am so sorry that you don’t have air-conditioning. I am so, so sorry. Even if it were twenty degrees cooler than 97 degrees, it would still be greatly preferable to have air conditioning. I hope you are finding cool places to go to keep your sanity. Ugh. Ugh. Ugh.
Your list is incredibly ambitious, and I am in awe. I DO have air conditioning, and I can barely get it together to, like, dust the blinds in my apartment. I mostly just lie on my couch messing about on the internet and complaining about the heat. :p
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I live in one of those places that is super hot in the summer and cold and snowy in the winter and I spend ALL WINTER pining for warmer weather. Apparently I cannot be pleased, though I did once read about a 70 degree year long road trip – where everywhere you drive over the course of a year is 70 degrees. Basically…take me there.
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A lot of these things can be out-sourced… That said, I do recall bullying a handyman into building me a shed two days before my fourth baby was born. I’m quite sure he thought I was MENTAL but at the time I was convinced that I couldn’t have the baby until I had a new shed. I held up walls while the handyman worked the drill. So really, I understand about curtain hems…
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Why don’t I have the curtains hemmed? Honestly, why?! It’s going to take about 10 minutes, but then I think of the ironing and measuring and I just pass by them yet again.
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The curtains aren’t going anywhere…
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Totally doable!
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I hope so! I haven’t made much progress yet, but I have made some!
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