I woke up with a migraine in the making...

so I took some Excedrin Migraine pills which are about the only thing that usually helps my migraines. I RARELY get them now so I am thankful.......and after I put something in my stomach and take a couple of Excedrin migraine pills......I usually am okay. IF the headache persists I follow up with 3 Extra Strength Tylenol and that usually kicks it. My headache cleared pretty fast this morning but now it is trying to return. SO I guess it is Tylenol time. Soon to be bedtime soon as 4:00 a.m. comes mighty early....

I did get all my work done today again......yeah! I can do full-time workload now. It's about time.

Feeling very strange tonight. I cleaned some more today. I am now tackling my office area. I imagine I can have it organized and functional by tomorrow or Monday. I am thrilled.

I have some things to go through but basically it will be moving stuff around and making the room more aesthetically pleasing and functional for now.

I am tired. Cookies are baked and iced....more later.

REVELATION.......I'm not just a collector but a hoarder...packrat......something! OH NO!!!

At least of certain things.....some making no sense at all. AND I realize while this
came somewhat as a revelation to me....it is doubtful it is anything new to my family....as I am sure they knew this all along.

My motto for years was one is nice but 2 is better and 3 well....you have a spare in case you need it!

I have been setting some new goals for myself....and I am filled with such determination finally....FINALLY.....did I say F-I-N-A-L-L-Y????......I am actually accomplishing things I have put off for years.

I set a new goal for me for work as I need to increase my income and reduce my monthly monetary outflow.....and I actually met my goal and pretty easily I might add even with some downtime from work. THIS IS HUGE FOR ME!

I ran some errands during the downtime from work saving me time doing it later....

After work and making Noah some supper I decided to start tackling the hall closet...a project I had never entirely finished. This is a fairly large walk-in closet....and I could not believe all the stuff I had shoved in there. I have to say I have enough candles for a lifetime. WHAT WAS I THINKING??????? And this is after giving away a ton of them last Thanksgiving to my sisters when they came over for dinner. We all sat around after dinner and went through the closet that day too and I let them all take BOXES of candles home with them. NEW candles too.

Tonight when I was looking at some of them I had to wonder what I was thinking when I bought them?? I love candles and occasionally burn a couple.....but the MAGNITUDE of candles I have BOUGHT over the past few years has been incredible to say the least. Now I want to keep a few but just get rid of the others. Especially if I think I will not burn them. I mean I have not burned some of them now. I could probably light up the entire block along the curb with my candles. Somewhere I think I went out of control....duh Melinda do you think??? SELLING the next batch is probably the best idea since they are all very new and nice sets.....yeah....keep the "few" I want and sell the rest.

CONTROL......DISCIPLINE.....new words for me I thought I new the meanings of but I am finding out I did not. I have to admit I LIKE this newly rediscovered sense of control and discipline. I can accomplish ANYTHING when I make up my mind anyway.....anyone who knows me knows this to be true. BUT adding control and discipline in the mix has given me incredible results!

SO....after I pulled all the crap and boxes out of the closet I realized my closet would be basically empty once I go through the closet again and pick out the candles to part with. I had debated on a garage sale but this time of year might not be favorable. I am not sure I would want to mess with EBAY although I could let someone else do it for me for a small fee. SO until the holidays are over or I decide what I am doing for sure.....I sorted and put the boxes back into the closet.

Guess what I discovered??? I had BAGS of BRAND NEW Christmas tins and boxes for gift giving I bought last year after Christmas. This would be great if I ran a gift basket shop or something like that. I mean I have MANY......I did not stop at 1 or 2....I apparently felt the need to buy a FEW of EACH kind they had. And we are talking dozens of different kinds. Holy crap! I apparently lost my mind last year!

Don't get me wrong. I am thankful for my blessings and abundance......but in a way this type of abundance can become very stagnating. SO.....I am going to let some of this stuff go. Guess what my family will be getting gifts in this year??? I have to admit part of me does not want to give them away they are so gorgeous.......but why not? Isn't that what I bought them for?

I think there is something wrong with me! Apparently at that time in my life I was trying to fill a void with THINGS. So NOW what do I do?? haha

I have already taken BAGS of stuff to Goodwill the other day. My bedroom actually looks like a bedroom again! I love that.

Next will be this office area. I may lose my mind for a bit on that project. I am limited in what I can do and there is no sense unpacking more stuff as I will be moving again soon. SO it will call for sorting and deciding what to get rid of and then creative storage and cleaning so I can make this space more functional and appealing to my body, mind, and spirit.

I looked at some of the boxes of crap I moved across country and now I wonder why. SOME of it made no sense. I guess I never took the time with the last few boxes to really sort the stuff figuring I would do it later.

ALSO......I am a catalog freak. While that is okay if you TOSS the catalogs once finished with them.....I NEVER seem to be finished with my catalogs. I have stacks of crap to sort through.

This is exhausting and stifling to my soul and freedom......as all this stuff has been hanging over my head for so long.

PURGING is another new word I have added to my vocabulary. I have to admit it feels good to PURGE and make more space to stretch! This also opens the door for NEW things to fall into my life.

Okay....back to it. My break is over!


AND after talking with someone I love very much.....I have decided to DONATE all this stuff.......to the needy....shelters.....anyplace that have people in need who can use anything I have. After all.....this time of year especially is about giving.....and I love to give.....RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS I love....

This makes me very excited....like a kid all over again....to be able to be in a position where I CAN give these types of things away. Christmas feels very much like Christmas again!

well......another day and it will be December already...

this year has flown past so quickly although at times not all that fast it seemed.

I stopped by Kroger's today to do pick up a few things and they had some fresh turkeys all marked down. OF COURSE I grabbed another one for 6.00 who could refuse? I have him roasting in my oven now! This one is a Honeysuckle White.

I am finally much more focused....I just hope not too late. I know this makes no sense to anyone other than me reading it but that is okay.

Have to get back to work.

Thanksgiving .......

has come and gone again already. It won't be long before Christmas will do the same. At this time of year sometimes it seems like a button gets pushed to fast forward and life can easily become a blur. AND at the same time in other cases it does not seem to pass fast enough. BOTH of these can actually occur at the same time....and what the crap am I talking about?

It is to drop to 27 degrees tonight. I have my Christmas tree up and the outside decorated a little bit. Nothing too drastic and only candles in the windows this year. I will add some lights in Noah's room and my room.......and I have a few little things around.......and other lights...but that is is. I have to admit it has been a lot less stress this year already for some reason. Even putting the tree up was stress-free. I cannot remember the last time that happened.

I have been enjoying watching Christmas movies on the Hallmark Channel and other channels at night and in between I listen to Christmas music or old radio shows. This time of year I think we all become a bit nostalgic.

I have much to do tonight so I need to get off here for now.

More of the tree......a little CLOSER look...video 2

Our Christmas Tree 2007