I seem to have caused some confusion by hosting the beach parties with a shared linky here and also at my food blog Seaside Simplicity. The parties have been all about the food there for the most part - food for the party is great, in fact that was and is still part of the party plans, but the main idea of these parties is to catch up with what's been going on in each others lives just as we would if we were really getting together for a real beach party. So this week I'm only hosting the party here at Menagerie, we'll see how things go, maybe I'll alternate - any other suggestions?
~ What's been going on in my world lately ~
Last week I was back to the 10 hour workday schedule, almost 12 if you count my commute. It's been so tiring, but only one more week to go on that schedule, and then finally a couple weeks off!
Besides work my world has been filled with construction. We've been doing renovations at both homes going on 6 months now, and doing it all ourselves. We have tons of different projects going at once and living in such a huge mess! Here's a little peek at the latest photos taken today...
This was my mother's house which we are planning to move into this summer if we can ever get things finished up! We refer to this house at "The Mansion" since it's so much larger than our house. We call our house "The Beach House" now. Yes, we are pretending we are rich people - Dahling shall we spend the weekend at the mansion or the beach house? Hey, we have to do something to keep our sense of humor!
Today I had to get the POD storage unit (photo above) emptied by myself after getting a notice from the homeowners association that it had been there too long - gotta love deed restricted communities. The guys were busy with bigger things, so the POD was my baby to handle in the scorching Florida heat. I'm totally exhausted!
I had to do just what I swore I wouldn't do and move all that stuff back into the house. It was supposed to go from the storage to the garage until I could sort through it and deal with it, but as you can see the garage is still construction central. I had to take one room that was completed to use for a storage area for now. The hardest part is that so many things will have to be moved again and again and again by the time everything at both homes is completed!
I had to do just what I swore I wouldn't do and move all that stuff back into the house. It was supposed to go from the storage to the garage until I could sort through it and deal with it, but as you can see the garage is still construction central. I had to take one room that was completed to use for a storage area for now. The hardest part is that so many things will have to be moved again and again and again by the time everything at both homes is completed!
I am dealing with renovating two homes at once, trying to move from one to the other, trying to set one up as a furnished vacation rental, and dealing with sorting and storing the contents of my daughters apartment, a huge amount of my mother's belongings that I wasn't able to donate in the original clean out, and our own stuff that has gotten totally out of control compliments of my pack rat husband - love him dearly but sure don't love the stuff.
Right now I don't feel like I'll ever have things in order again. Realistically I know I will eventually, it's just not going to happen anywhere near as quickly as I'd like. I hate to say it but it could literally take years - very frustrating!
~ What's been going on in my blogging world lately ~
At Seaside Simplicity I have a Theme of the Month Recipe Round Up going on. This month's theme is salads. At last count there were 59 different salads linked up! Be sure to pop over to link up if you have a great salad posted or just to get some great ideas.
Other than the food I have posted for the Beach Parties, the only other recipe I have up this month at Seaside Simplicity is my Lime Herb Chicken with Garlic Parsley Potatoes...
Other than the food I have posted for the Beach Parties, the only other recipe I have up this month at Seaside Simplicity is my Lime Herb Chicken with Garlic Parsley Potatoes...
Then over at MM's Missions I posted my June Mission - Focus on Fitness only to be followed up by my Murphy's Law post - It really figures!
Speaking of MM's Missions, I'm closing up shop there. Any of my usual content there will be brought over here including my participation in Laura's 52 Weeks of Organizing! Hey, it's not called a "Menagerie" here for nothing you know!
Now I want to hear what's been going on in your world!
20 comments:
((((Martha))) I bet you worked off some pounds though in that heat! Too bad I didn't live closer, I would have come and helped you! Poor you to have to take the stuff back inside, I know that was hard to do because I know deep down you wanted not to see it again in the house (I get this, I truly do). It is a work in progress and one day it will all come together! And then you can write a book of what you have learned and it will make millions and then you can lunge around the mansion all day long sipping beer around the pool :)
hang in there!! I truly do understand!!!
glad you have a few weeks off coming up, do something fun one day for yourself! Don't work the whole time, okay????????
betty
Thanks Betty! I know you have your hands full too and know if anyone can relate to what I'm going through now it's you!
Its funny that you mentioned working pounds off today - the first thing I pulled out of the POD was a scale, of course I jumped on. The scale was somehow the last thing to get moved into the room with the boxes, I jumped on again and I was 3 pounds lighter than I had been 5 hours earlier, LOL!
I'm so glad to hear that very soon you'll be having a few weeks off. If anyone deserves it you sure do.
Thanks so much Ma - believe me, I can't wait!!
Wow I'm tired after reading this but you're so much younger and I have forgotten how it is to be young. I know you will get it done.
Wow you have been busy, and in all that heat too. time to relax now.
Have a peaceful Sunday.
Yvonne,
Wow Martha, those photos really tell your story. I don't know how you do it....it's got to be NUTS! You amaze me girl!
Going to go check out all the salads. It's that time of year when turning on the heat in the kitchen is to be avoided if at all possible.
I tried to put up a link here but I don't see it coming up. Let me know if I need to do it again. My Beach Party entry for the week is here.
http://sunflowerkat.blogspot.com/2011/06/iphonography.html
Have a great week!
Paula - Thanks but I sure don't feel young lately, I'm worn out!!
Yvonne - Thanks, planning to stay inside in the air conditioning today! I hope you have a peaceful Sunday too :-)
Kat - Thanks, believe me, it is nuts! So glad to have you playing along this week!
Such a busy, busy week for you! I'm so glad you'll get a bit of time off soon. I would have said rest, but honestly, I know you will not rest, but fill it with more and more tasks. I hope you have a great week.
Wow, Martha! You have a ton going on right now. You'll get it. Maybe a piece at a time. But you'll get it done!
Sounds like you need a break and I'm so glad that you have one coming up! That is way too much to do, on top of working! Plus, I had no idea that you had this blog, and another one, too?! You are amazing! I am bringing a batch of Cajun Margaritas to the Beach Party, so I hope you will relax and have one or two! Cheers!
Damn, & you still find time to post? So glad you will be getting some time off...but you will be awful busy anyway. Get some relaxation in if you can. ~Mary
Just goes to show you the "joys of home ownership" isn't everything its cracked up to be...
:) But I know then this huge project (hello Ty Pennington?) is complete - you will have two fantasic looking homes.
I would have lent a hand too - in trade for some iced drinks!
That's a lot of construction and hard work and then 10-12 hour days too! Good for you that you can handle it so well.
Tamy - Thanks but you know how it goes, no rest for the weary!
MM - thanks for having faith in me, I'm sure I will get it all done, just not soon enough for me!
Iggy - What time can you be here? I'd gladly provide iced drinks and pizza too :-)
Canyon Girl - Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving a comment. I'm only handling it well because I don't have any other choice! Running away screaming is sounding more and more appealing lately ;-)
Wow...that looks like a lot of work! The chicken looks amazing. Hope your enjoying the summer so far.
Thanks Sylvia. Not enjoying quite yet but tomorrow is my last day of work for a few weeks - definitely planning to find a little time to relax and enjoy along the way!
When I emptied our our pod, nine months after the remodel project started, I realized I hadn't missed any of it and took it directly to the thrift store for donation or to the dump! I didn't even let the stuff make it into the house because my "maybe we can use that someday" husband would have tried to find it a permanent home in the newly built garage.
But a remodel is like having a baby, you enjoy your new home so much that you forget the mess and confusion it caused. Enjoy!
Jaykaym - Thanks for stopping by. I agree with you 100% but unfortunately not one thing in that POD was mine. I have a bad, bad case of other people's stuff! I wish I could afford to just send the POD to storage for a few years because I'm sure nobody else would miss all the stuff they are so unwilling to part with right now either! UGH!!
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