I finish reading the book “The Passion Test” many weeks ago. Ok, I didn’t read line by line the 2nd part of the book because I was busy and reading other books at the same time but I got the basic idea of it. One awaken moment for me was when the book mentioned about living your passion while you are home with your baby (children) and husband. It said my passion could be my family and then another one could be my interest so while I put my family as my priority/top passion, I can still work part-time on my other interest/passion. It never occurs to me that my family is my passion. I always thought of them as my family and they are important to me.
Well, that’s it. The book served its purpose for me. It woke me up and I found out what my passion is at the moment and I believe this passion will continue to be my first passion. I am aligned with my passion and value. My other part time passion – I am in the process of working on it or still figuring out if it is indeed my passion or is it just a hallucination.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Friday, September 18, 2009
Our Vacation
After 2 ½ years, we finally took a vacation. We decided to go locally for 2 days and 1 night but at the last minute, we decided on 3 days and 2 nights instead. We went upstate NY, the Mohonk Preserve and Mohonk Mountain House for hiking and just relaxing. It’s a 2 hour drive. I’ve checked out the Mohonk Mountain Hotel. It’s $200 per person per night which included hotel and 3 meals. That would be $800 if we stay for 2 nights. That is way over our budget. So I decided we go to a motel about 20 miles away after reading all the reviews online. Our trip turns out to be less than half the cost if we were to stay in the Mohonk Mountain Resort.
The first day we got there, we hiked in the preserves which is not the same as the Mohonk Mountain House (it is privately own). It was a nice, quiet 5 miles hike round trip except at the end. We took the West Trapps Trail and started off with the Overcliff road. The trail was dry and easy but when we got to the Undercliff Road towards the last quarter of the trail, there were a lot of millipedes. I hate anything that crawls on the floor like snakes, worms etc.. The Millipedes were disgusting. I held my husband tight and screamed all the way till the end of the trail. There were a few people on the trail and they were wondering what I was screaming about. Sure, my husband was a little embarrassed by me. I couldn’t help it. I told him that I’ll never go back to this trail ever again.
On the 2nd day of our vacation, we had lunch first, and then drove to the Mohonk Mountain House. Admission was $18 per person. And if you want to park closer to the house, it’s an additional $10. There is a trail which we can hiked up to the house so we figure we would hike since this is the main purpose of our vacation. At the end of the day, I would say it was a mistake to hike the additional 2-3 miles just to get to the Mohonk Mountain house. When we got to the Mohonk Mountain House, I was amazed with the beauty of the resort. We had to hike some more toward the Sky Top Tower. In additional to that, we walked around one section of the garden outside the Mohonk Mountain House. At the end of the day, we still have to hike back to our car. Our shins were sore. We wished we had paid the extra $10 so that we parked closer to the hotel rather than hiking another 1.5 miles back.
On our 3rd day, we planned on doing more (going to the Storm King Art Center, Apple Picking or something else). We ended up driving across the bridge to Poughkeepsie and then drive around Newburgh and came home before rush hour.
I was glad to be back to see my baby. It was a nice get away with no cooking, cleaning or baby sitting for a couple of days. We won’t have another vacation for a while.
Friday, September 4, 2009
De-clutter update 3
I’ve read a few de-clutter books that I took out from the library. Many of them teach you to get rid of a lot of things at home. And when you need them, you buy them.
While I am cleaning/de-cluttering our apartment, I find it hard to get rid of stuff and then buy new ones when I need them. That is just simply wasteful. I come to the conclusion that I am not de-cluttering my apartment. I am simply organizing it in a way that it is very easy for me to locate anything and I make sure I don’t buy any that I already have in my inventory. I keep an inventory list (in every closet, in the refrigerator, in the cabinets, in my bankers’ boxes) of what I have inside. I keep it up to date and whenever I am looking for something, I look through the inventory list before I buy anything.
So far it works most of the time except once when I forget to check if we have more 13 gallon garbage bags in our inventory list (in the closet) at home before buying more in Costco. No, I did not return it. I kept it because we always need garbage bags. I’ll just make sure I’ll check my inventory before buying anything.
While I am cleaning/de-cluttering our apartment, I find it hard to get rid of stuff and then buy new ones when I need them. That is just simply wasteful. I come to the conclusion that I am not de-cluttering my apartment. I am simply organizing it in a way that it is very easy for me to locate anything and I make sure I don’t buy any that I already have in my inventory. I keep an inventory list (in every closet, in the refrigerator, in the cabinets, in my bankers’ boxes) of what I have inside. I keep it up to date and whenever I am looking for something, I look through the inventory list before I buy anything.
So far it works most of the time except once when I forget to check if we have more 13 gallon garbage bags in our inventory list (in the closet) at home before buying more in Costco. No, I did not return it. I kept it because we always need garbage bags. I’ll just make sure I’ll check my inventory before buying anything.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
To do list
I used to write down a to-do list on a little notebook and carry it with me. Actually I took a lot of notes on that little notebook because I am somewhat forgetful.
Today, I still carry a little notebook with me because I take notes when I see something interesting on the subway or I thought of something important while I am doing laundry. I write my thoughts down so I won’t forget. Sometimes, while I am doing something, I remember I have to do something else so I write it down in my little notebook. When I go grocery shopping, I write down the prices for certain items and compare with wholesale costs. This little notebook is becoming very handy and useful for me.
I no longer use this notebook to write down my to-do list. My to-do list is kept in a spreadsheet and I update/add more to it each day. Since I rather type than write, I type it up and arrange in any order I like on the spreadsheet and print it out for the day. When an item is done, I cross it off in the spreadsheet. Whatever is not done today will carry (cut and paste) on to the next day. I don’t delete the prior day’s activities off. I simply cross them off and leave the dates as well. I like to keep that for future reference. It’s sort of like my to-do-list diary.
Today, I still carry a little notebook with me because I take notes when I see something interesting on the subway or I thought of something important while I am doing laundry. I write my thoughts down so I won’t forget. Sometimes, while I am doing something, I remember I have to do something else so I write it down in my little notebook. When I go grocery shopping, I write down the prices for certain items and compare with wholesale costs. This little notebook is becoming very handy and useful for me.
I no longer use this notebook to write down my to-do list. My to-do list is kept in a spreadsheet and I update/add more to it each day. Since I rather type than write, I type it up and arrange in any order I like on the spreadsheet and print it out for the day. When an item is done, I cross it off in the spreadsheet. Whatever is not done today will carry (cut and paste) on to the next day. I don’t delete the prior day’s activities off. I simply cross them off and leave the dates as well. I like to keep that for future reference. It’s sort of like my to-do-list diary.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Women and shoes
It took me a few hours to take an inventory and organized all my shoes in the closet (and some from my parents’ place). Living in a small (well not that small) apartment in NYC, I have to store 95% of my shoes in the closet.
First I took them down from the shelf in the closet. Then I took 1-2 pictures of them. I downloaded the pictures onto my hard drive and create different folders for different season shoes. I was totally shocked I have over 40 pairs of shoes (boots, casual shoes, working shoes, formal shoes, sandals etc…all included). I know I have a lot of shoes but over 40 pairs was just not what I thought I have. I asked my husband how many pairs of shoes did he thinks I have. His answer was around 20. I told him, how about double that.
It is mostly summer sandals that I have accumulated. I have a totally good reason for this shoes madness when I was younger. I have small feet (I am a petite woman). I wear size 5 shoes. It is extremely hard to find size 5 shoes and it’s especially hard to find size 5 shoes that fit me and I that I like. I complain to my friends and family that sometimes even if I am willing to pay a higher price for a pair of shoes, there is none in the market for me to buy. So when I find a pair of shoes that I love, I would buy 2 (sometimes). Thus, my craziness of accumulating this many pairs of shoes. Did I mention that some of the shoes I have are still new (haven’t worn yet).
After separating my shoes by season, I assigned each pair of shoes a number on the downloaded pictures. I put them back into the shoe box and have the numbers label on the shoe box as well. I do not have all 40 shoes boxes but I do have more than half of them. For the rest of the shoes without a shoe box, I put them in a bigger box or a big plastic bag and label them with the shoe’s numbers. I put the out-of- the-season shoes (winter boots and shoes) all the way in the back/inside of the shelf in the closet. I have the summer and more casual shoes in the front which I can easily reach when I needed. When the seasons change, I will rotate.
My goal is to check which shoes I want to wear by the computer picture before going to the closet and look for that number in the shoes box. This way I don’t have to waste a lot of time opening each shoe box to what is inside and then have to put everything back. This project took me a few hours but I felt relief when it was done.
First I took them down from the shelf in the closet. Then I took 1-2 pictures of them. I downloaded the pictures onto my hard drive and create different folders for different season shoes. I was totally shocked I have over 40 pairs of shoes (boots, casual shoes, working shoes, formal shoes, sandals etc…all included). I know I have a lot of shoes but over 40 pairs was just not what I thought I have. I asked my husband how many pairs of shoes did he thinks I have. His answer was around 20. I told him, how about double that.
It is mostly summer sandals that I have accumulated. I have a totally good reason for this shoes madness when I was younger. I have small feet (I am a petite woman). I wear size 5 shoes. It is extremely hard to find size 5 shoes and it’s especially hard to find size 5 shoes that fit me and I that I like. I complain to my friends and family that sometimes even if I am willing to pay a higher price for a pair of shoes, there is none in the market for me to buy. So when I find a pair of shoes that I love, I would buy 2 (sometimes). Thus, my craziness of accumulating this many pairs of shoes. Did I mention that some of the shoes I have are still new (haven’t worn yet).
After separating my shoes by season, I assigned each pair of shoes a number on the downloaded pictures. I put them back into the shoe box and have the numbers label on the shoe box as well. I do not have all 40 shoes boxes but I do have more than half of them. For the rest of the shoes without a shoe box, I put them in a bigger box or a big plastic bag and label them with the shoe’s numbers. I put the out-of- the-season shoes (winter boots and shoes) all the way in the back/inside of the shelf in the closet. I have the summer and more casual shoes in the front which I can easily reach when I needed. When the seasons change, I will rotate.
My goal is to check which shoes I want to wear by the computer picture before going to the closet and look for that number in the shoes box. This way I don’t have to waste a lot of time opening each shoe box to what is inside and then have to put everything back. This project took me a few hours but I felt relief when it was done.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Baby proof your place
Now that our baby is starting to learn to stand and walk, we have to baby proof our place. It is not as easy as it sounds.
Here are steps we take for the baby safety products we purchase.
1 do research and make measurements around the home
2 decided on the brand to purchase
3 buy it
4 find time to install it
5 if item doesn’t fit properly or not working properly as it should
6 find time to return it
7 go back to step 1 again
These are the items we bought so far to baby proof our place.
Window gates
Cushions for our coffee table edges
Circuit protector
Gates for our hallway
Drawer locks for our drawers
Crib tent
Finger guards
Locks sets to change our locks in bathroom, bedrooms in case baby locks herself in there, we can open from outside with screw driver
Before we have a baby, we calculated that it would costs roughly three thousands dollars for basic necessity for the baby. We haven’t taken into consideration baby proof the apt and all the time that is require to install all the stuff.
From 9am – 5pm a full time job, after that is another job at home waiting (the baby) and in addition to that, have to find time to baby proof everything and make sure the baby is fed, my husband find it exhausting.
All of the headache and time constrain, it’s all worth it when you see your baby’s first everything (roll over, take first step, say da da and ma ma).
Here are steps we take for the baby safety products we purchase.
1 do research and make measurements around the home
2 decided on the brand to purchase
3 buy it
4 find time to install it
5 if item doesn’t fit properly or not working properly as it should
6 find time to return it
7 go back to step 1 again
These are the items we bought so far to baby proof our place.
Window gates
Cushions for our coffee table edges
Circuit protector
Gates for our hallway
Drawer locks for our drawers
Crib tent
Finger guards
Locks sets to change our locks in bathroom, bedrooms in case baby locks herself in there, we can open from outside with screw driver
Before we have a baby, we calculated that it would costs roughly three thousands dollars for basic necessity for the baby. We haven’t taken into consideration baby proof the apt and all the time that is require to install all the stuff.
From 9am – 5pm a full time job, after that is another job at home waiting (the baby) and in addition to that, have to find time to baby proof everything and make sure the baby is fed, my husband find it exhausting.
All of the headache and time constrain, it’s all worth it when you see your baby’s first everything (roll over, take first step, say da da and ma ma).
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
De-clutter update 2
I took a walk to Staples to get my binder clips with the $3 coupon (expire on 8/31/2009) I received from recycling my HP ink cartridge. We find the medium binder clips and sometimes the small binder clips very useful at home. Besides using the binder clips to clip papers, we use them to clip onto the chip bags and cereal bags. They work wonders. My husband loves them. There is no need to buy special clips for bags. We find the small binder clips are useful for receipts & letters.
I noticed there were a lot of people in Staples on a Tuesday morning at 9:30am. I was thinking to myself. Shouldn’t they be at work at this time of the hour? Then I realized people are shopping for going back to school supplies. The 3 holes ruled papers are a penny per pack and each customer is limited to 5 packs per day. And a lot of other school items are on sale as well. Normally I would buy some just because they are on SALE. I did take a glance at what is on sale but didn’t even touch anything at all. I’m very proud of myself. From cleaning up (still in progress) our apt, we have total of 5 boxes (4 banker’s boxes and 1 plastic container) of supplies. It’s ridiculous. We have different types of paper, different sizes of binders, different types of folders, pens, pencils, leads, sticky pads, rulers, 1 subject notebooks, college ruled 3-holes papers, index cards and etc… I have so much supplies that they will last a few years. Since I recycle our printed papers (if there are no personal information) for shopping list, I believe our paper supply and notebooks will last more than just a few years. I normally cut the 8x10 printed papers into quarters or halves and use the back (blank side) for shopping list.
I am now realizing I was somewhat addicted to buying office supplies just because they were on SALE (big discounts like a penny for something or a dime for a pencil case). My logic was, we always need supplies, why not buy them and store them for when we need them. I know now that office supplies will always go on sale before school starts. And there is no need to stock up all the supplies at home. We definitely need to keep some extras but it’s not necessary to have excess taking up space at home.
I believe there are a lot of people who have the BUYING JUST BECAUSE IT’S ON SALE addiction. In order to control your clutter at home, you have to find out what it is/they are that you are addicted to buying. Then stop buying just because it’s on SALE and start dumping / giving away / donating the excess.
This is just the beginning of a de clutter mind set.
I noticed there were a lot of people in Staples on a Tuesday morning at 9:30am. I was thinking to myself. Shouldn’t they be at work at this time of the hour? Then I realized people are shopping for going back to school supplies. The 3 holes ruled papers are a penny per pack and each customer is limited to 5 packs per day. And a lot of other school items are on sale as well. Normally I would buy some just because they are on SALE. I did take a glance at what is on sale but didn’t even touch anything at all. I’m very proud of myself. From cleaning up (still in progress) our apt, we have total of 5 boxes (4 banker’s boxes and 1 plastic container) of supplies. It’s ridiculous. We have different types of paper, different sizes of binders, different types of folders, pens, pencils, leads, sticky pads, rulers, 1 subject notebooks, college ruled 3-holes papers, index cards and etc… I have so much supplies that they will last a few years. Since I recycle our printed papers (if there are no personal information) for shopping list, I believe our paper supply and notebooks will last more than just a few years. I normally cut the 8x10 printed papers into quarters or halves and use the back (blank side) for shopping list.
I am now realizing I was somewhat addicted to buying office supplies just because they were on SALE (big discounts like a penny for something or a dime for a pencil case). My logic was, we always need supplies, why not buy them and store them for when we need them. I know now that office supplies will always go on sale before school starts. And there is no need to stock up all the supplies at home. We definitely need to keep some extras but it’s not necessary to have excess taking up space at home.
I believe there are a lot of people who have the BUYING JUST BECAUSE IT’S ON SALE addiction. In order to control your clutter at home, you have to find out what it is/they are that you are addicted to buying. Then stop buying just because it’s on SALE and start dumping / giving away / donating the excess.
This is just the beginning of a de clutter mind set.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)