downsizing

Just after New Year's I stumbled upon a blog that was offering a cleaning and organizing challenge - purge two items a day for a year. My initial reaction was "sign me up!" Purging is one of my favorite pastimes, but then I contemplated the things in our small apartment. Do we have 730 items to sell, donate, or trash? It is an ambitious goal, but what would a goal be if it not almost unattainable. I am going to accept the challenge. I will be happy if we can purge 365 items - one a day - though ultimately I will always be striving to hit that 730 mark.

We have made a bit of a dent without even trying this first month. Mr. Fitz unloaded an old gaming system and several games, we cleaned out our closet and have a pile of clothing items to list on Ebay, I have thrown away several things that are worn out and useless. In all, we have probably purged 30 items. I will find one more thing today to keep us on track with one a day for January.

The flip side of this is monitoring how much stuff we are bringing in to our house. January has been a bad month. We bought a new gaming system with one game (so far), two bedside tables and one side table for the upstairs, a few books, and random other house stuff. I can say that everything we bought is used regularly and that is my ultimate goal in purchasing. I do not want random stuff piling up only to make a mark in my purging list in a few months.

updates

I went a solid week without so much as a swallow of pop. This was a huge accomplishment! It had been weeks, maybe months, since I'd gone a single DAY without my sugary carbonated addiction. On Sunday night I had a sip of Matt's Pepsi and was pleasantly surprised to find that I did not like the taste. Even with his bottle still in the refrigerator, I have no interest in pouring a glass for myself. My ultimate goal was to break the daily dependency and that has been accomplished. 

Ebay sales brought in a whopping $8 this week. I listed a pair of jeans and a pair of dress pants, both brand new with the tags still attached. The jeans didn't get so much as one watcher, but I was able to recoup my original purchase price for the dress pants so no complaints here. I have a pile of clothes that will go up in the next few days; hopefully next week will bring in a few more dollars!

trash to treasure

In college I developed an obsession with Ebay. I cleaned out my closet, I cleaned out Mr. Fitz's closet, and we made money. Over $500 worth of random items - useless to us, but valuable to someone else. After digging through my closet and finding clothes I will never wear, I decided to give Ebay a try again. Hopefully I will be a few dollars richer at the end of the week!

Updating the break up: I have not had one swallow of pop since Sunday night. 48 hours and going strong!

we are breaking up

I'm calling it quits with Diet Dr. Pepper and all the other sugary, fizzy goodness in a bottle.

The more I considered what I was putting into my body and started avoiding processed and preserved foods,  the more I couldn't ignore the nutrient and contents label on my favorite drink. Cola can eat rust off metal, it is used to clean asphalt after a traffic accident, and it is heralded as a great toilet bowl cleaner - do I really want to drink something that doubles as a heavy duty cleaning agent? After much consideration, my answer is no. I have made weak resolutions in that past, only to cave and buy a bottle of DDP on the next sale, but today my answer is final.

I WILL STOP DRINKING POP.

One day at a time.... I can kick this habit once and for all!

home sweet home

Six months ago we packed our little car and a 5'x8' trailer with (almost) all of our earthly possessions and moved north. We were excited to find a little apartment and set up house, but the first few days of looking were underwhelming. Anxious to get moved in, we settled on a two floor, two bedroom apartment in the very top of a building. It was tolerable, but it was not my dream.

A few weeks went by; we suffered through some 100F day with no air conditioning, then we got a call from a friend. He would be vacating his apartment in September and thought we might like it. While the idea of packing and moving again was less than appealing, Mr. Fitz and I decided to take a look anyway. We were committed to the move the moment we walked in the door. This was a place we could relax and enjoy; a place we could truly call home.

Living Room

Kitchen and Dining Room

(And Mr. Fitz doing dishes!)

Bedroom

Mr. Fitz in his favorite chair.

We have one more room (besides the bathroom), but it is not anything special. Actually, with the holidays just over and all of our coming and going, it is a hot mess. Everything got dumped in there until I have time to sort and organize. Someday.

homemade bread

I find baking to be therapeutic. There is something about mixing and measuring and creating a delightful treat that is just fantastic. I also like cooking from scratch because I have more control over the ingredients; I like know what exactly is in my food.

Mr. Fitz and I love love love the loaves of fresh bread from Superstore. Maybe once a month we buy a loaf as a treat and devour it within a day or two. I knew I could make my own bread, but never bothered looking for a recipe until yesterday. I planned to make lasagna for supper and had a free afternoon, so why not?!

A quick Google search for "homemade bread" brought up a recipe on one of my favorite blogs. After checking the list of ingredients against the contents of my cupboards I was ready to go.

I could summarize the process here, but you can find pictures and detailed instructions by visiting The Simple Dollar.

After three hours (don't worry - 2.5 of that is rising and baking), this was my final product.

It was delicious!

you've gotta be known for something

New Brunswick claims to be the "Covered Bridge Capital of the World"... or something to that affect. The myriad of old covered bridges attracts thousands of tourists every summer, but there is one particular bridge on everyone's "must see" list. The longest covered bridge in the world - 1282 feet, spanning the Saint John River.

Put this hot spot on your Top Ten vacations!

The river is barely warm enough for a swim in the peak of summer so winter is frighteningly cold. By November there is a layer of ice skimming the top of the water and as temperatures plummet, the ice and snow keep building up. We may get some ice fishing in if the cold weather keeps up for several weeks.

And by "we" I mean the fools who are willing to wander out, cut a hole, and drop a line. There isn't a chance in the world you'll find me among them, but I would love a picture for posterity.

Someday I'll look back and remember the happening times we had in this tiny town.