Piles of Paper, Continued

Dear Friends and Family,

I spent another hour today compiling P's binder and there's still a pile left to add to the binder that is bigger than the binder itself. I've come to conclude she's got too much stuff and we're going to have to cull some of it. My goal is to have one large binder for kindergarten. That feels like it's more than fair. It'll give her a keepsake which is the real goal of keeping any of it. I keep telling myself the goal is to have something any of us can look through in the future to remember kindergarten and we don't need every sheet of paper to accomplish that goal. I'll spend another hour tomorrow and hopefully feel like I make some more progress. Realistically, it should be 45 sheets per month to fit. That's my new goal.


Cheers!
mouse

Piles of Papers

Dear Friends and Family,

I spent an hour of my morning trying to get P's kindergarten papers under control. And, after an hour, I'll be honest, the pile doesn't look any smaller. I guess tomorrow morning I can try spending another hour and see if it's any better. On the one hand, I love having her creations, but on the other hand, I wish she'd generate less of it. So far, first grade is under control. I'm really trying to stay on top of first grade. Otherwise, it'll just be another pile of papers I need to work through next fall.


Cheers!
mouse

Shifting Gears

Dear Friends and Family,

For a couple of months now I've been whittling away at getting the living room under control. And, yesterday I decided to switch gears and move on to our bedroom.

Our bedroom is a rat's nest of stuff that we moved up there "temporarily" in January for our party. Well, it's July and it's still all there and it's beginning to drive me batty. Only me. Apparently it doesn't bother anyone else in the house.

Yesterday, I spent about 10 minutes putting away P's winter clothes from 2013-2014. The bench at the foot of our bed is now clear.

I AM SO HAPPY.


Cheers!
mouse

Precious Time Before P Wakes Up

Dear Friends and Family,

I've gotten through my usual morning odds and ends and have some time before P wakes up. How much time? I don't know.

I can either finish reading through a magazine of summer activities, go through my email or try and spend a little more time on the living room. I think I'll do that.


Cheers!
mouse

"Home Theater" Update and Retirement Update

Dear Friends and Family,

Well, we made all of the changes last night. And, if I'm going to be 100% honest, it doesn't look all that much different from before we made the changes. I take that back. I looked at a photograph before and after and it does look different. I guess it'll just take some getting used to. The funny thing about clutter is that sometimes you get so used to it that when you get rid of it your eye misses the change. Once you get used to the new space, you don't want to go back, but the transition is odd.

Onto retirement update. We do that every month end. I'm not sure what metric I should be using. I guess there's three that I really care about. Goal 1: what we need for our retirement, best case scenario. Goal 2: what we need for retirement, worst case scenario. Goal 3: what we need if we want an annuity that will eventually become P's inheritance.

1. Goal 1: 95%
2. Goal 2: 86%
3. Goal 3: 67%

Some months we make money. Some months we lose money. In a way, I think of this as "my" money. No, I don't think I own the money. I know it's money I share with Mr. mouse. I think of it as my money because the money we earn on it replaces my former income. My paycheck always went towards deleveraging. First it went towards student debt. Then it went towards the house. Most recently it went towards retirement savings. Now, it grows enough by itself that I don't feel guilty taking the time to be with P and to work on my own business. Mr. mouse's money is what puts food on the table, clothes on our back and the heat turned on. It doesn't put a roof over our head, because I was able to provide that. We're a good team.

Anyways, hopefully, one day in the far future all three numbers will be 100%. I'll feel like we accomplished something then. But, if we never hit those numbers that's okay too. I know we accomplished something just by measuring our progress.


Cheers!
mouse

mouse "Home Theater" Plan

Dear Friends and Family,

Remember when I wrote a couple of weeks ago about replacing our TiVO? Well, in the process we swapped out the TV in the living room for a smaller TV we had in the basement because the outputs on the TiVO are not compatible with the inputs on the TV and I wasn't willing to buy a new TV to make this all work. Well, Mr. mouse found an $8 cable that theoretically will enable us to connect the TV we had with the TiVO we bought.

Now seems like a good time to make Mr. mouse get rid of a lot of stuff in the living room. Let's start with the DVD player. It's over 10 years old. We never use it. And, when we try to use it, it doesn't recognize the DVD half the time and won't play. Inevitably we end up hooking up a portable DVD player for the 1-2 times a year we need a DVD player. I'm all for getting rid of it.

The wooden ledge. We bought it a long time ago when people still had cathode ray tube monitors hooked up to their desktops. It too is over 10 years old. I'm not sure if it really serves a purpose. It does raise the TV 2-3 inches and the TV does not need to be raised 2-3 inches. So, I think we should find another home for it somewhere else.

Ideally, I'd like something really simple on the credenza:

1. the TV
2. the tuner
3. the TiVO
4. the center channel speaker
5. the right speaker
6. the left speaker
7. a telephone
8. a power strip

Looking at the list, that doesn't sound simple at all. Still, it'd be a giant improvement over what we have now.

I'd like to empty out a drawer in the credenza and put all of the miscellaneous stuff in there, like:

1. the remote controls
2. the portable DVD player
3. the four DVDs we own
4. Mr. mouse's list of channel guides

And, then I need to find a new home for some random decorations we have hanging around the TV for no good reason.

No time like the present.


Cheers!
mouse

Paper Purge

Dear Friends and Family,

Yesterday and Monday I did something only an OCD person would enjoy. I spent my days going through old papers and purging all of the things we really don't need. I'm nowhere near close to done. I've only tackled a half dozen files out of a credenza that holds close to a hundred files. But, still, it's progress and it felt so good.

Depending upon my day today, I may go through more papers today. I've even begun thinking ahead to what papers I could shift into the credenza once I free up space because, of course, we have papers everywhere. But, for now, I won't go there. I'll focus simply on going through what's in the credenza. Then, I can begin to tackle the paper that's elsewhere. Because, if I started with the papers lying around the house first, I wouldn't have anywhere to put the papers I wanted to keep. I would have gone to the credenza and it would have been full.


Cheers!
mouse

Busy Bee Day

Dear Friends and Family,

Lots to do today. Let's see if I can wrap my head around it all. That'll help me get motivated.

1. get ready for day
2. eat breakfast
3. throw out two things in the house I am not in love with
4. empty dishwasher
5. clean cups
6. organize the house
7. work on website
8. eat lunch
9. order chopsticks for P
10. order books for P
11. check bills
12. one thing from my to do list

Wow. No wonder I'm having trouble wrapping my head around it all. My list today is huge. Well. I guess I should get started since it's not going to go away or get done otherwise.


Cheers!
mouse

Task Crossed Off List

Dear Friends and Family,

It looked like a luxuriously slow day so I decided to tackle a monster task of dating 130 photos from 2010 and 2011. Check. Then, I decided to update the firmware on our NAS. In progress. And, now, I've realized I didn't really get done the things I needed to get done. So, I'll run payroll later tonight. I'll write an email recap later tonight. And, I'll go eat breakfast now. I think that gets me caught up with today.

Fingers crossed my NAS boots up okay after the firmware update. We started the process at 12:30. I rebooted it at about 1 o'clock. It's going through a file system check. It's 4% done. 4% every 30 minutes means... a little over 12 hours to complete the file system check? Wow. Perhaps I should have done payroll before I updated the NAS firmware. Fingers crossed it's not much more than 12 hours to complete.


Cheers!
mouse

Semi-Successful Day Yesterday

Dear Friends and Family,

I was cruising on my to do list until I hit a pothole. I ended up in an hour long discussion with my employee about a client and I didn't get anything done after that until I had pick up. I had planned on working on the photos. Then, I forgot my reading material so I couldn't do that either. But, on a positive note, Mr. mouse's dinner got cancelled so my evening was a lot easier than I originally anticipated.

Today? Well.

1. start water for coffee
2. complete expense reports
3. reconcile checks
4. get ready for day
5. ***eat breakfast***
6. 9am client visit
7. come up with plans for tomorrow's play date
8. come up with questions for the teacher conference
9. send photo book email
10. send two referral emails
11. upload weekend photos
12. upload Halloween photos
13. eat lunch
14. write one new client email
15. pick up groceries: dinner and milk
16. catch up on emails in general
17. 3:15pm teacher conference
18. pick up P
19. go to book fair with P

Not as long a list as yesterday, but each task on this list takes longer. On the other hand, I shouldn't have as many distractions today.


Cheers!
mouse

Another Day in the Life of Mouse

Dear Friends and Family,

It was super productive having my list yesterday so I think I'll make another one for today which promises to be a monster of a day.

1. get ready for day
2. write housekeeper
3. pick books for book drive
4. pack my bag (books, lunch, P's snacks, reading material)
5. pack P's school bag
6. pack P's swim bag
7. ***eat breakfast***
8. wake P
9. dress P
10. feed P breakfast
11. brush P's teeth
12. take P to school
13. drop off books at book drive
14. go to book fair, budget: $40
15. come home
16. get gas, budget: $35
17. get mail
18. come home, if time allows
19. eat lunch, now or when P is napping
20. pick P up from school
21. take P to swim class
22. catch up on facebook
23. catch up on reading
24. feed P dinner
25. bathe P
26. read to P
27. put P to bed
28. upload photos from weekend for friends
29. recap budget for day

Phew. That's my day today. Wish me luck!


Cheers!
mouse

Odds and Ends Day

Dear Friends and Family,

It's a day of odds and ends. Let me see if I can organize it into a plan of action. There's payroll, download voting research, vote, check credit card statement, eat breakfast, shower, pick up pumpkin, pick up milk, bring milk to school, return library book, delete photos from shared folder, write parents about Friday play date, post photos from play date, and dance registration. Okay. Now, let's try to organize this into a plan:

1. write parents about Friday play date
2. shower
3. ***eat breakfast***
4. delete photos from shared folder
5. post photos from play date
6. check credit card statement
7. run payroll
8. download voting research
9. call studio for dance registration
10. vote
11. return library book
12. pick up milk
13. eat lunch
14. fold laundry, as time allows
15. pick up P
16. bring milk to school
17. return library book - school library
18. pick up pumpkin

Yep. That's my day today.


Cheers!
mouse

Ambitious Week Update

Dear Friends and Family,

It's Friday. And, since we had swim on Wednesday, we get to come home after dance class. Woot!

I've continued to make progress, but I'm slowly petering out on my list. I want to try and get four to eight more things crossed off of my list, but I don't think that's realistic - four, maybe, but eight definitely not.

Mr. mouse and I can finalize a photo book. We have a free coupon that expires next Friday. That can be one.

I can check on soap ingredients. That can be two.

I can write an email I have been putting off. That can be three.

I can clear through my inbox. That can be four.

I don't think I can do much more beyond that. Even that looks ambitious for today. Sad but true since I only have one free hour today between drop off and pick up.


Cheers!
mouse

PS: I think I sprained my ankle on Wednesday, October 22. I know I sprained in sometime this week. October 22 is my best guess.

Addictions and Habits and How They Work

Dear Friends and Family,

I'm almost embarrassed to admit it, but I think I'm not alone. I spend WAY too much unproductive time on the computer doing things that ultimately are a waste of time. I think I need to confine my time to the morning. Once my morning time is done, I need to walk away from my computer unless there's a specific purpose for being on it.

That means I can send an email to check on something, but I can't randomly checking Facebook or stocks. It means I can go through photos for a book I'm making but I can't read the news.

I think in a way it's easier to sometimes avoid the situation altogether than it is to limit consumption. I learned that lesson on Weight Watchers. It's easier to skip cake altogether than it is to have a bite and throw the rest away. I know other people learn the reverse lesson. It's easier for them to allow themselves the bite of cake. But, I've learned to recognize my addictions and skip them altogether.

So, for now I'm going to skip random time sinks on the computer by limiting my time on it to specific activities. I'll still get my free form time. But, after that time, it's time to move on. I think 8:30 seems like a reasonable time. Before 8:30 I can do whatever junk I want on the computer. After 8:30 I'm going to put the computer aside and focus.

I think I'll set up my phone to ring every day at 8:30 to remind me.


Cheers!
mouse

Losing the Kitchen Island Battle, Winning the Bedroom One

Dear Friends and Family,

We're definitely making progress on the master bedroom. There was a pile of stuff there that had been lingering from January. I got through all of it yesterday. And, now, I'm ready to tackle the next pile of stuff. It feels so nice walking into the master bedroom and seeing sections that look like a calm oasis. It's funny, you can see exactly how far I've gotten, because there's a line. To the left of the line, it's organized and clean. To the right of the line, it's a hoarder's delight.

We're definitely losing the kitchen island battle. I blame this 100% on P's camp. We signed her up for a two week camp. And, every day she comes home with 3-4 three dimensional craft projects. Yesterday, she brought home a well that winds up, an aquifer and a water filter. Yep. That's one day's worth of projects. Multiply that by ten for the ten days she's in camp, and you can see why the island is overrun. There's no "home" for these in the house. P wants to keep them. So, we need to find a home. I might try to clear out two bins in the living room. Then, we can try to fit this stuff in two bins for keeping. Perhaps that's a solution.


Cheers!
mouse

Dull as Beige Paint

Dear Friends and Family,

Sometimes I feel like my life is as dull as beige paint. I'm cleaning the house. I'm watching the budget. I'm clearing through old files. Yep. It's about as dull as you can get.

I think for now, though, I'll continue to clear through the house and the files. I think I'm overwhelmed because P's in camp for two weeks and the amount of stuff they generate in camp is astounding. It's a good thing we only signed up for two weeks. I'm thoroughly overwhelmed.

And, just now, Mr. mouse vetoed giving away P's boat from childhood. Yep. Overwhelmed.


Cheers!
mouse

Cleaning Up the NAS

Dear Friends and Family,

I've been making some progress on the house and on the NAS.

Yesterday, I spent 20 minutes on a pile of stuff in the master bedroom. The pile's not gone. But, it's smaller. And, I know what's in it now. And, I'll spend 20 more minutes working on it today. Sooner or later it'll be gone.

I also spent some time working on the NAS. I've been going through my files and deleting duplicates, because there's no good reason to keep multiple copies of the exact same file. I've also been going through and deleting work files. I kept copies of a lot of my work. But, I realized I kept too much. I wanted a portfolio of files in case P ever wondered what her mom worked on. But, there's no way she'll sift through what I kept. So, I'm curating to a smaller list.


Cheers!
mouse

More Progress!

Dear Friends and Family,

Last night, Mr. mouse and I were able to agree to a plan:

1. break iphoto library into smaller libraries
2. clean up the NAS
3. format external hard drive to Mac format
4. create copy of everything on external hard drive
5. create copy of everything on cloud
6. expand NAS
7. copy everything from external hard drive to NAS
8. set up maintenance

Wait. I just realized a hiccup in the plan. We can't copy everything to the cloud if the external drive is in the Mac format. Sigh.

The other area of progress? There's definitely less stuff in the basement. Definitely.


Cheers!
mouse

Progress!

Dear Friends and Family,

After cornering Mr. mouse, we have a proposed solution for our IT problems.

For now, we will break the iPhoto library into smaller libraries that cover 3-5 years. This will solve the iPhoto too big problem. Then, we will copy all of our data to the cloud. This will solve the environmental redundancy problem. Then we will expand the NAS which will solve the NAS is running out of space problem.

I think.

There's probably 1,000,000 and 1 intermediate steps we'll need to take. But, at least, for now, we have a proposed solution. After trying to do this by myself for a month now, that's a giant step forward.

There's nothing more frustrating than working on something while your spouse is coming up with "issue" after "issue" on why the solution won't work. I'm fine with issues. But, I'm not fine with someone who just identifies issues. They need to be part of the solution.

Well, today, I feel like we finally crossed that bridge.


Cheers!
mouse

07.28.14: Last Weekend in July

Dear Friends and Family,

We had a fun weekend enjoying what I love about summer. P rode her bike. We met with friends for dinner. We went to the lake and played in the sand.

At church, the homily was about treasure and false treasure.

And, my first thought was about Mr. mouse and all of the stuff he insists on keeping in the house. He finds safety and comfort in all of the stuff. I don't think it provides any safety or comfort. In fact, for me, it's false treasure. It weighs me down and keeps the house weighed down and hides the house and the state of the house from me.

But, then I looked inward and realized I have my own example.

I've been focused on the budget for July. We have four days left to July and $151 left for the month. But, the budget by itself is a false treasure. The real treasure is teaching P about money. And, teaching P and reminding me that we can have fun without always spending money. We can have picnics in the park and go swimming at the park pool and play in the park playground. And, it's as much fun as eating lunch at a restaurant near the park or cooling down at a water park with an admission fee or playing at a place with an admission fee.

We can have fun by being creative instead of buying things to entertain us. I think that's the real treasure I've unearthed in having a budget. We'll continue on this experiment for August. August will be tougher because we need to buy P clothes and shoes for school. But, that might be a learning exercise too. It's not like clothes aren't for sale in September and October. We can assess what we need and buy over a three month period instead of picking up everything that strikes our fancy in August.


Cheers!
mouse