Hi

My name is Shannon, and I am a procrastinator. They say the first step in fixing a problem is admitting you have a problem. Well, I have a big one. I am slowly starting to realize how this is affecting every aspect of my life, and not in a positive manner. I have always been a procrastinator. I used to lie to myself and believe I did everything last minute because I needed the stress of a deadline to accomplish anything. The sad thing is I truly enjoy being organised and prepared but for some reason rarely am.

Hi, my name is Shannon, and I am LAZY. Not always, but definitely more than I should be. I think this problem is the catalyst for procrastination, in my case anyways. On a positive note, I can be very creative with myself when I am trying to rationalize putting things off. Now if I could use that creativity in a better manner I might actually accomplish something.

Now for the hard part, how to fix this. The truth is I really don't know how, but I am going to try my darnedest to figure it out. ( and here's where my brain goes to hmmmmm I should Google ways to stop procrastinating, but am I doing it because I want to fix this or because there are dishes in the sink that need to be washed, a checkbook that needs to be balanced, and groceries that need to be bought)

Getting Ready to Say Good Bye.....

to 2010, that is. I can not believe it is so close to the end. As usual, it is generally this time of year that I start to look back at the goals I put in place at the beginning of the year and where I am with them now. It's amazing how much has changed. So many things occurred this year that I never would have expected.

I started out the new year with a household of five and have grown to a household of eight (10 on the weekends ). It was an adjustment and its not without its trials but the rewards of having so much family so close is just .....well..... wonderful. I am happy with the outcome of things.

Financially I am in a better place. I did fall of the Dave Ramsey bandwagon, but not completely. We are still in the mindset of not taking on any additional debt, my snowball has melted, but with the cold weather coming I am sure I can get it back on track.

My blog started out strong and then went ca-puts. I had good intentions, but life got in the way. I am hoping to get back on track with the New Year.

I am still smoking. I actually think it is worse to quit and go back and try to quit again. It's not hard to quit, its hard to stay that way. Even now I can go days without one, but eventually the erg over takes me and then comes the justifications.

Schools Back!

I couldn't say where the last month went. It literally flew by. My kids went back to school Monday so I am hoping this gives me an opportunity to get more scheduled. ( and back to blogging) I haven't even had time to read other blogs. So this week I will be playing catch up. My house has been too quiet with the kids gone all day, but it is nice to get something done and have it stay that way even if it is only a few hours.

The back to school shopping experiment failed miserably. It wasn't anyones fault. The problem is, my oldest is short and has a little meat on her bones. We had a very difficult time finding items that fit her. I couldn't really stick with a budget because it came down to necessity. The Gap had pants last year and the year before that fit her great but we had no luck this year. We tried girls, juniors, and woman's petites we found one or two items in each department that fit her. The good news is we had a fantastic saleswoman at JCPenney. She told me to keep the tags from the pants/shorts in my wallet because those brands go on sale often and if I bring the tag in they can scan it and let me know if her size is in stock instead of having to go through the racks.

Another thing I learned from my trip was my grandmother doesn't sign any of her debit/credit cards on the back. This forces the cashiers to ask for I.D. The one cashier said this practice is pretty popular. You can even put C.I.D. where the signature goes for check I.D. After having a friend who had her husbands wallet stolen and seeing everything they went through I think I would prefer to have to pull my ID out when making purchases.

On a final note I hope everyone had a fantastic summer. I however am ready for fall. Fall is by far my favorite season.

Update

`Camping was GREAT as usual. The best thing about the group I go with is everyone is a trooper. Murphy followed us on this vacation, but he didn't stop us from having fun. We had sick kids, leaky tent, malfunctioning air mattress, and I would do it all over again in a heart beat. We won the site decorating contest, the kids got to play bingo, pool bingo, go on trailer rides, bowl for candy, mini golf. They lit Yogi's house with lights accompanied by music and fireworks during a down pour. It was great.

` I meant to get back to blogging earlier but I ended up, for the first time ever getting a full blown migraine. It's not a club I was looking to get into. I have had some bad sinus headaches in my life, but nothing prepared me for this. Over the counter meds didn't even take the edge off. I was completely useless for three days and my house looks it. Back to square one, but that is okay. I'm going forward with the I know I can....I Know I can attitude. I have lots of fun things to look forward too. We are going to a zoo next weekend, then a water park, and then the end of September we are doing our fall camping trip. Fall is actually my favorite season to camp. Yes the cold can be brutal, but there is something about being surrounded by the beautiful colors and the crisp air that makes you feel alive. We usually go in October, but my hubby and I decided to have an adult only weekend in Mystic for our anniversary so we decided to move the camping trip up two weeks.

Rain Rain GOOOOOO AWAY!!!

This post is a part of Focus Check Friday at A Slob Comes Clean.

` I followed through with the KISS method and my house stayed semi clean, but I didn't stress over it. I had a lot of packing to do plus oldest ended up with bronchitis and I have a lovely summer cold. I have little odds and ends left to pack and want to do a quick clean up through out the house before we leave.

`This week according to weather.com I am going to have to focus on staying dry!! Looks like it is going to rain for the next three days. However since it rains EVERY time we go camping, especially for set up, I am not surprised. I know no matter what we will have an awesome time and a little rain never hurt anyone. Kind of funny we will be celebrating Christmas in July, that's the theme for activities, with a 100 degree heat index. I am SO glad we got the sites next to the pool. Be back next Friday.

Monday

`Today I got the kitchen done. Washed, swept mopped, even dusted the ceiling fan and I feel great. I think the kitchen is my anchor room. As long as that room is clean I feel productive and like I can conquer the rest of the house. I would love my bedroom to be my anchor room but somehow I think it would be to easy to just shut the door and live in there so I didn't have to face the rest of the house.

` I am still waiting for Mercedes to collect her clothes so we can wash them. Her consequence will be that she will have to stay home instead of sleeping over my moms with my sister who is her age. I don't think she believes me when I tell her she's not going if the clothes are not done. I have reminded her several times and decided instead of getting mad she will have to learn the hard way. I am not going to lie don't like being this way, but I have also witnessed first hand what happens when you give your children everything without any responsibilities or consequences.

`As a matter of fact I decided this year for shopping I am handing my oldest cash and she will have to figure it out herself. I will take her and assist but she is going to have to decide how she is going to spend the money. I have read about other people doing this and after a trip to the mall where we did nothing but argue over I pair of shoes (I gave her a limit she wanted a pair for twice as much) that I would try it. She will be able to keep whatever is left so I hope that is a good incentive for her to make good choices.

Laundry Schedule

I want to try something new this week. I am going to attempt a laundry schedule and stick to it.

Monday- Mercedes Day- I will wash and dry but she can help get the clothes to the washer, fold, and put away.

Tuesday- Thomas will have the same job Mercedes has on Monday.

Wednesday- Matti's Day- She will be completely responsible for her own laundry.

Thursday- Towels, Towels, and more Towels

Friday- mine and the hubby's

Saturday- Sheets and bedding

Sunday- My washer shall have a day of rest.

I won't be able to get a full week in this week since we leave Friday night for vacation, but I can go all the way through Friday and since we come back on the following Friday I will pick up where I left off. The camp ground we are staying at has a laundry mat so I plan on doing some laundry there to make my life less hectic when we get back. Thanks for the comments on my Focus Check Friday. The more I thought about them the more I realized I am missing out on an opportunity as a mom to help give my children some life skills that they will use the rest of their lives. I can't do it all and at the ages they are at now there is no reason for me to do it all.