Is it OK to vacuum today?

Cleaning has never been my strong suit. Over the years I've gotten better at continually purging stuff to make it easier to clean, but still, cleaning itself is definitley not going to win me any awards.

I was watching Hoarding, Buried Alive, and I panicked. I thought, am I a hoarder? I mean, I step on toys all the time. Then I realized, no, I'm not a hoarder for I actually rejoice in both throwing stuff out and donating items. I am, however, a mom w/ toys and little socks found constantly around the house which I need to be better at getting picked up. Me, I'm simply messy.

Years ago I started to realize, too much unused stuff can overwhelm me, but my issue was I needed to not assign memories to every single item. This realization has made getting rid of stuff much easier for me. This and the fact if I have a perfectly good item I'm simply storing when someone else may actually need it, I ask myself, shouldn't I let it go of it. If I really struggle with items such as with the kids continal abundance of artwork, I take a picture of the piece which is much easier to keep. The amazing part to my great surprise is my kids are actually ok with this. It tells me fortunately I have made sure not to pass on attachment to stuff issues to my kids, so that does my heart good. When I catch myself about to question my kids giving something away, I stop myself now. For I am glad they have giving hearts. Don't get me wrong, I'm not heartless. I don't get rid of everything. Far from it. I simply choose my favorites, often items the kids love, too, and those are the ones I keep and enjoy. My house is in fact a gallery for my kids artwork. It is their artwork I happily frame and place on my walls.

I want to be clear, I'm not making fun of hoarding as I know it is a very real issue for people, but I just wanted you to know this show helped set me into action mostly where cleaning is concerned. Knowing it bothered me so much not to be organized I knew I needed to get better at weekly cleaning and redding up instead of just worrying about it. Yes, I said redding up, I'm a Pennsylvanian through and through. Redding up, the act of picking stuff up and putting it in its place especially before you have company. :)

But back to the main point I want to make today. To hear me talk you'd think perhaps it's completely messy around here, which it is not, still the daily clutter around the house makes me a little this side of crazy. There's also the constant paper trail which follows the mail, school handouts, medical bills and on and on. This is what made me realize, it's time. Like all organized areas of life, I must get a plan. If you do deal w/ some of the having too much stuff areas I mentioned above, you might want to work on those areas of your life first because ultimately this will make the cleaning steps easier to do, but one step at a time. Start where you are. Me, I'm at the cleaning step.

With the help of my friend, April, who suggested she had a daily chore schedule she follows, I got myself organized in this area. For two weeks now I have followed the attached plan. This plan was adapted from April's personal family schedule. I changed it to meet the needs of my own family's schedule.

What does this have to do w/ getting healthier. Well, a lot. For one, there's less dust and dirt around here. That has to be healthier. But that's not all. When I am organized in any area of my life it seems to help the other areas as well. Makes more time for other things I enjoy which are also good for me. When I go out for a nice walk, I don't feel guilty. I'm not letting the house go, for I know what I have to get done and it's do-able. OK, you got me, I never feel guilty about going on a nice walk, but it does make me feel more relaxed as a whole. I feel relaxed knowing my house is in order and not going to overwhelm me when I return.

You see my biggest fear w/ feeling God is finally putting down some roots for our family is if you aren't moving often, things can get messy and fast. Now if only I could get Jesse and Lilly completely on board. Josh, he's amazing in this area and a role model for me. Scott, he's got a lot of books and has a "clirty" pile, clothes that aren't clean, but aren't quite dirty, yet either. Only Scott. He's also the one who came up w/ the term "De-Crap-ifying," getting rid of your crap. But all in all, Scott does ok. With the little ones I just want to try and model better cleaning behavior and teaching good lifelong habits and hope and pray for the best w/ them as they grow.

I will tell you as w/ all things Graubard, this, too, brought humor to our household. Josh loves to tease me about the list which is posted for all to see in the Kitchen. "Um, Julie, did you mop today? Today is mopping day. Ah, I'd take the trash out, but it's not trash day. Oh, I see Lilly cleaned up her toys today. Is that why they are still everywhere?" You get the point. This, however, has served as a motivating factor for me to prove to him that we can and will do it! Jesse is a little harder to motivate, but he likes lists and rules, so this is in my favor. Lilly, likes to clean, but also likes to drop things all over the house wherever she goes. But as I said, time and discipline on my part will help as Lilly does like to copy mommy and Jesse does ultimately like to please and dislikes being given other chores to make up for the ones he forgets to do. So pray for us. We're a work in progress, but all in all, we're doing it!

Yesterday, we had a close call, however. I had my back turned and Lilly picked up a bowl and promptly dropped it on the kitchen floor breaking it in pieces. But it was ok! It was Vacuum & Mop Day! So all is well in our world and nobody had to step on broken dish pieces.

Just in case you want to get better organized, too, and want a starting schedule I've posted mine below:

Weekly Cleaning Goals:

Monday - Laundry, clean bathrooms, Josh take garbage out, Jesse pick up Jesse & Lilly laundry items in living room

Tuesday – Vacuum, Mop floors, Lilly pick up her toys

Wednesday – Dust, Clean kitchen counters and refrigerator door really well, Jesse pick up laundry in living room

Thursday - Laundry, Josh take out Garbage

Friday – Vaccum, Wash towels and bedding, Lilly pick up her toys

Saturday – Sort mail on counters, Sort school flyers

Sunday – Josh & Jesse all laundry in the laundry bin, Lilly pick up her toys

Here's a few other side notes. It may seem I went easy on the kids, but their rooms are still to be cleaned regularly and when I need to I say so or help. I also let Lilly or Jesse help whenever they want no matter how their performance is at a job. It's the only way they'll learn. This one is hard for me. Actually both of those areas I just spoke of are challenges for me.

It's also important to know dishes are a good one to schedule different kids for daily as April did, but this is one of my sanity jobs. I like doing them, so I didn't schedule kids here. Counters and dishes should be done daily, I simply decided I should do a more thorough cleaning once a week to get under the toaster, clean sticky hands off of refrigerator door handles and the like.

Another great tip came from my sister. She told me touch things once, meaning put papers where papers go as you get them as much as you can or hang coats up or whatever. Do not make it so you have to go back and move things due to laziness the first time. Still I felt I needed the paper trail to be on my schedule to make sure it doesn't get out of hand. You get the point.

Lastly, if you do in fact break a bowl on a day that is not Vacuum Day . . . You should still vacuum.

God Can Part Your Red Sea

Today I read a really great message from my daily devotional. I knew I needed to share it w/ you as it's full of great stuff, so here are a few excerpts from it. Keep this in mind when the seas seem too big to cross. He is in it w/ you:

Glady's Aylward, missionary to China more than fifty years ago, was forced to flee when the Japanese invaded Yuncheng. With only one assistant, she lead a hundred orphans over the mountains toward free China. During the journey she grappled with fear. After passing a sleepless night she faced the morning with no hope of reaching safety. A thirteen-year-old girl in the group reminded her of their much-loved story of Moses and the Red Sea. "But I am not Moses," Glady's sighed in despair. "Of course you aren't," the girl said, "but God is still God!" When Glady's and the orphans made it through they proved once again that no matter how inadequate we feel, God is still God, and we can still trust Him.

Sometimes God calms the storm, other times He lets the storm rage and calms us. Either way, He sustains us and brings us through. We always have a choice: either we give the burden to God or we try to carry it ourselves. "Give your burdens to the Lord, and He will take care of you." - Psalm 55:22 (NLT)

I loved all of this for my family and I have crossed what has felt like our share of Red Seas. Anyone in their 40's, like myself, has most likely not only crossed their share of Red Seas, but has also watched many of their friends and family do it, too.

Sometimes I cross them w/ grace trusting Him most of the way. Other times I have in the midst of them hysterically cried out "I feel so alone, I want to know you're here in a very real way, because I know you're out there somewhere." And other times angrily I have pushed everyone including my husband away and said, "Look, I know this is my problem, for I don't feel anything. I'm not even letting myself feel. And I'm angry for I don't think God has forsaken me, it's me who has forsaken Him." During those times I pray desparately to get back in touch w/ Him.

All these emotions are called living life. It's a fallen world, we're a fallen people, so the emotions are real and they are strong, but He is out there and He will take care of you and me, too. Sometimes not in our timing. But as my husband said to Jesse, my little boy, once when he was praying to make a soccer goal, "God always hears your prayers. Sometimes He says, 'yes.' Sometimes he says,'no.' And sometimes he says, 'not yet.' But He always hears your prayers." So simple, yet so true my friends.

A really important message you need to take away from this is He is always there. Of course, we all love the times when we're walking through life and we feel His grace all over us. It's not quite as fun when we are crying out to Him and yet we can't feel Him. And it's definitely not fun to walk through times when we go into protective mode not letting anything or anyone, including God, in. But in all three instances, no matter how we feel. He is there. As my friend, Denise reminded me the other day during a conversation, the reason I know He's always there is because it's not about a feeling. It's about a truth. The Bible speaks the truth. I rest in that truth.


I want to leave you w/ this. I love Moses. When I was walking through breast cancer the first time in the midst of it I felt this annointing on me. I knew God wanted me to touch others on this journey. That others were watching to see how our family would go through it. Would we still hold God's hand. During that time, this scripture spoke to me:

11But Moses said, " Who am I to go to the king and lead your people out of Egypt?"

12God replied, " I will be with you. And you will know that I am the one who sent you, when you worship me on this mountain after you have led my people out of Egypt." - Exodus 3:11-12

You aren't parting the Red Sea yourselves, my friends. If He has a Red Sea for you to part. I assure you, He is there w/ you. All you have to do is let Him in. But remember it's not always about a feeling . . . it's about the truth.

Can a Ho Ho curb your appetite?

Dinner conversation is always amusing at my house. I try to talk. Scott and Josh try not to take me seriously and point out my faulty thinking. Jesse laughs. Lilly steals my food while all this is going on. Last night was no different as I brought up the interesting topic of eating a piece of fruit before dinner.

Scott and I have been trying to eat healthier. Scott tends to eat few carbohydrates. I tend to cut calories as a whole. But either way this theory I learned from an article my friend shared with me seemed to be a win. She showed me an article which suggests if you eat a piece of fruit before each meal there is something that goes on in your body causing you to be full and thus eat less at the meal. Now I realize at this point my scientific reasons for this were vague and there in lies the problem when sharing the new found information. I guess you could say I went in unarmed w/ good information. My mistake.

I brought this information up as dinner conversation with Scott. I said, "Scott, I don't remember the reason why this works, but in an article, April, shared w/ me it stated if you eat a piece of fruit before each meal, you will then for some chemical reason eat less at the meal because you will feel satisfied sooner." At that point I should have just said, "Let the bantering begin!" for it did.

Josh, who never misses anything I say with flaws, instantly replied, "If you eat anything before your meal you'll be fuller and eat less!" Scott agreed, "He's got you there. Could you eat Ho Ho's before the meal? That would fill you up." The joking went on quite a bit from that point. I finally tried to end the conversation with an exasperated, "Fine, eat Ho Ho's!" still on it went. I think, however, my favorite moment in this conversation was when Lilly ran into her playroom and came running back in delight w/ her stuffed monkey saying "here's Hoho! Her Hoho is a little white monkey character on one of her favorite shows, Ni Hao, Kai-lan. Isn't it obvious, the fun never ends at our dinner table.

So it seems if you have a good tip to share w/ your family and your family likes to point out where there might be flaws in that tip, come prepared w/ the reasoning behind the tip as well. I'm not sure it would have mattered in this family where I, believe it or not, play the straight man to their humor, but it might help my credibility just a bit.

For now, I say eat a piece of fruit before your meal, because that sounds better for you than eat a HoHo or a Hoho before mealtime. But if it's snacktime, I suppose I say eat responsibly and don't over do it. I have no scientific backup information to go with this advice. It's just my theory.

Sunshine!

Is it me or does the sunshine bring a little feeling of hope? I've always felt I was one of those people who had a little seasonal disorder as overcast winters can be hard on me. It truly was my greatest fear moving back north since winters in the south are generally good. I love the sun. So today it does my heart good to see the sunshining outside after a dreary sunshineless day yesterday where I found myself having a case of the blahs.

When I first moved to Florida I thought it was the beach that was calling me loudest of all. That I would feel life would be wonderful living near a beach. "The water calls me," I would say. "I see God all over the water." And that was and is still true for me. I took many strolls w/ Jesse at the beach in the very same jogging stroller I now tote Lilly in today through the snow. It was glorious. Make no mistake, while I've always said a lake is not the beach, I have changed my view and will find my way to various lakes this year. Perhaps not to swim after swimming in Caribbean waters, but definitely to walk w/ that stroller through the beautiful parks of Western Pennsylvania.

At some point I thought it was the heat I loved. I would say, "we all have a choice where we want to live, so why not choose to live in a warm climate year round." I know this isn't for everyone, but it certainly had been a dream for me. As an adult in my twenties and thirties I could hardly enjoy the Fall for I couldn't get past the fact that it meant Winter was near. Even though I love the continent of Antartica for I feel it's often the forgotten underdog of the seven, I've never been a fan of freezing. And I have a problem in the winter. It seems at a time when you should move your body the fastest of all, you can't. Everything slows down. All I can say is since I've moved north . . . Praise God for hot flashes for I've actually been ok with the cooler temperatures. I will say since being back I have not had the issue of the ol' nose hairs freezing, but man, I can't wait for that. Can you hear the sarcasm? But overall the heat in Florida was nice and winters became my favorite time of year.

But oneday I realized it. It wasn't the beach. It wasn't the heat. It was the sunshine that I loved about Florida. I knew it was the sunshine for one Sunshiney Fall Day in Philadelphia while visiting up north I thought how beautiful it is here! I asked, "Is it always sunny here, for if it is, I could take the cold." Hands down, it's definitely the sun that I loved about living in Florida. I must admit, while I loved it in Grand Cayman, it was so hot in Grand Cayman I did find myself looking for shade. Particularly w/ the hot flashes mentioned above. I'm no longer a suntan kind of girl after 8 years in the sun and freckles on my lip line I fear look like a mustache. I no longer lay out like I did in my teens and early adult years, but I so love the sun. It feels happy to me.

I now know I loved Florida and Grand Cayman for at the time it is where God wanted me. I feel so blessed for they were both desires of my heart. But today I am in Greenville looking outside at that same sunshine. And I'm seeing the beauty in the locale. It tells me I can see there's always hope for that sunshine when it's where the Lord wants me to be at any given time. With that brings more than happiness, but rather joy. Joy that prevails even when it's overcasts and I have to pick myself up by my bootstraps to go out for a walk in the fresh air even though the sun is lacking. Still I enjoy every sunny day that comes and I go back to my rule quite appropriate here "Never clean on a sunny day. Go out and play." I don't care how warm it is outside. The sun is shining!

So today if you see it. Open your shades. Enjoy it. It brings with it a bit of happy.

Sometimes you've got to eat "The Steak Salad"

I didn't blog earlier today because honestly I felt I had nothing blog worthy. I didn't get out for a workout. I didn't eat spectacular. I didn't eat poorly, but I was coming off a night of not feeling as strong in my resolve to eat better. I didn't really even blow it. I just didn't feel like I did anything worth writing about. But then again, some days are like that. Those are the days you need to cowboy up and keep on keeping on with the goals anyway.

Tonight after eating very little all day mostly due to being busy, but also planning ahead due to dinner plans, Scott and I went out to eat. I'd decided w/ my kids away w/ my Mom for the weekend, I was not going to waste this dinner date w/ my husband by eating soup and a salad. Nope. I went for it. I ate The Steak Salad . . . Western Pennsylvania style. Now if you've never lived in Western PA I'm pretty sure you don't know The Steak Salad I speak of. Perhaps this bad boy has made it's way slightly beyond Youngstown and into Northeastern Ohio, but The Steak Salad I speak of is the one and only in my book. It's sort of what the Philly Cheesesteak is to Philadelphia. No matter how much a restaurant brags on it in other areas of the country, it's not the same unless you get the real deal in Philadelphia. And so it is w/ The Steak Salad of Western PA.

On the other end of the spectrum, if you've never lived anywhere but Western Pennsylvania, you probably aren't even aware of the fact that it's not the same elsewhere. So you see tonight at dinner, I was definitely planning to enjoy The Steak Salad.

So often we decide we'll diet and we take all the fun out of life. It usually works for awhile, but is it really a lifestyle you want to live. One you can maintain. I'm not talking go out and eat wrecklessly. I'll always say choose wisely. Do you really enjoy it or are you just mindlessly eating. Is it worth it. But I really believe to be a success in eating healthier as a whole and getting yourself in the best shape for your particular body, thus helping you to feel your best, you need to allow yourself times where you enjoy your favorites now and again. Give yourself some wiggle room. Everyone likes to wiggle.

So tonight I did that. I enjoyed The Steak Salad that Western PA does so well. Real steak not steak-ums. Who came up with those anyway. Really?! Explain please. Real steak, cheese, hardboiled eggs slices, and the french fries, yes, the french fries on top. Ahhhhh, a dream come true. Totally worth it. Welcome Back, Kotter. It's good to be home.

My Legs Hurt, My Legs Hurt . . . Woo-Hoo!

What a great week it's been. The sun has been shining, the snow has been melting and the weather is just right for starting to work out again.

Greenville is a beautiful place w/ a beautiful park in walking distance from our house. The only issue for someone slightly out of shape, is it's not flat terrain. After several years in Ohio, Florida and then Grand Cayman, other than a short stint in the very hilly Wooster, Ohio during my single days, I haven't spent great amounts of time walking and running on hills like this since I was in high school living in Beaver County. In high school I always thought these hills were to our benefit making us that much more fit for the crosscountry courses we'd run in competitions. Of course, the issue there was everyone else in Western Pennsylvania was training on the same hills. Still I always knew it was some sort of secret weapon of strength building.

Well, I'm back in Western, PA again and the hills are plentiful. Did I mention our home is at the top of a big ol' hill? A big enough hill that sometimes in the winter not only did the busses need to enter our neighborhood from the other flatter entrance, but so did we even in our four wheel drive Sportage. You heard me, right. We are the king and queen of cool owning a Kia Sportage that usually can weather the hills. But seriously people, the hill is a climb. So this must be taken into consideration when not only running, but also walking while pushing a jogging stroller w/ what I thought was a light Lilly, of which now I question.

After several days now walking from our home to the park about a half mile away, then around the park and back, I've learned to prepare mentally for the climb home. It's fine going to the park, downhill all the way. A little hard on the shins and feet, but not bad. But coming back, you can't help but feel the burn! I actually have stopped, relaxed my muscles, taken a drink of water, and a breath of fresh air and continued. Not once, but twice, during the last stretch up our hill. I'm not a wimp! This is not an easy walk. But it's great!!!!! My muscles are sore and my smile is large! I am walking my way back into shape. As a college friend used to say if you told her you hurt after a workout, "good." She knew that meant I'd worked out hard. By that standard, I'm doing good as my legs and hiney are feeling it. Not to mention my arms, who are pushing Lilly up and down those hills.

I have another skill out there on the path I've acquired after years of training which still seem to be intact. Twice, once in 2005 and once in 2006 I walked in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day Breast Cancer Walk. That's walking 60 miles in 3 days. A hard, but incredible journey of a walk. You know what hurt me at the end of the walk. One guess. My throat! Most people had blisters. I had a sore throat from talking! Surprise!

Well, my cousin helped me get in shape vocally yet again, yesterday. I was on a speedy little walk trying to get more mileage in before returning home quickly to feed everyone and get them on their ways for different activities. In the middle of the walk my cousin called. I can't pass up a call from one of my favorite cousins! No way! So I answered the phone and try as she did to get off the phone several times so I could concentrate my walk, and lets be honest, so she could get back to what she was doing, I just kept proving I could still do both. Just like in high school when I could talk through a race and still place in the event! I don't believe there's anyone who knows me who would have questioned this skill of mine. But just in case. Never fear. I can still walk and talk w/ the best of them.

So if you're working out and it hurts. Good. Eventually it will hurt less. Then you will work out harder and before you know it, perhaps you, too, will be training to enter the new Olympic Sport I am going to recommend called "Talking through a Run!" Train hard, because I'm going for Gold, baby!

A Most Unconventional Workout . . . Cleaning up Dog Poop

You heard me right. Yesterday my workout came in a most unusual package. I had planned to go out for a walk, but that plan got botched when I realized we needed an early dinner due to an early evening meeting for Scott. Seeing there was not enough time to go out for a walk yet still wanting to get Lilly and I outside for a bit, I decided we would go outside to try out a new present Scott brought home for the family, a pooper scooper. A very nice one I might add. Yep. My workout was scooping poop.

If you say this isn't a workout, you're wrong. You've obviously not seen a spring thaw after a winter w/ lots of snow on the ground. I don't know what I thought was happening out there. Perhaps on some level I thought the snow was causing the dog waste to disintegrate into the ground and would be gone by spring. Well, just in case you're unaware and have a dog and the snow hasn't melted yet, that is not what happens. I deserve some kind of break for my confused thinking because for the last 8 years dog waste has simply dried out and gone away. Not the case here. Apparently what happens is it is kept on ice until the big thaw so we don't have to miss out on the clean up job. But enough about that and more about the workout.

Lilly and I both felt the need to get outside and breath in the fresh air and so I decided it was a good time to be the first one to use the new deluxe pooper scooper. It's so deluxe for half a second I thought maybe I could be the new neighborhood Pet Valet. In Westerville, Ohio we had a man called the Pet Valet, a retired man who used to come once a week and scoop our dog poop for money. No worries, early into the job that thought passed, for I preferred paying the Pet Valet much more than being the Pet Valet. But alas, I'm a stay at home mom now so I will continue to do this job myself.

This job took a half hour, involved a lot of lifting (arms) and going back and forth to the trash can (endurance training), jumping out of the way of flying poop when I flung too hard (aerobic) and yelling Lilly "don't walk in the dog poop", much like a mom saying "don't touch anything!" in the public restroom (vocal strengthening). So it may be unconventional. It may be slighty unusual. And it may not be my favorite type of workout. But I assure you, it was a workout.