Half done… or is it well begun?

Do you ever feel like many things in your daily life are only half done?  =)

I think I have accidentally coined that as my motto…   *sigh**

Mary Poppins says it this way:  “Well begun is half done!”

Bless you Mary Poppins… you make me feel a little better!

I have the Spring itch… to divide and conquer all my half dones…

This is NO SMALL task folks!!

Here is a sneak peek of a FEW of my Many… Well Beguns/Half Dones:

Let’s Start in the kitchen shall we?

last  April (yikes) I started painting my kitchen green

I love the green I choose

but it didn’t work

it was ugly next to my already not so lovely browns

the browns I had painted my living room a year before… and the two rooms join… well three rooms if you count the eating area… so I stopped when I hit the above the cupboards/fridge area… my kitchen/eating area not only has one coat of paint… the wrong color paint… it is well begun… but half done!!  for a whole year!  grrrr…

I quit because my body hurt and I was at a loss b/c I didn’t like the colors together and I knew something had to change… it took me a whole year to figure it out… and find the time and money to conquer it!!  I am ready to conquer… I just need the time … =)

Moving on to the downstairs bathroom

(also painted last April!!):

2-3 years ago I had painted the downstairs bath dark brown

the same time I painted the living room (it was the pop color *ugh*)

I planned to pop the brown bath with white trim, ceilings, mirrors and art…

yeah… once it was up it was awful!! I hated it.. and left it for a year! or two!?

can you see a trend here?  I am NOT good with wall colors!

so I left it… pondered it… cried… etc etc.

Last April when I conquered my colorless kitchen…

I used some of the green paint in there.

and then I painted the white stripe to see what a piece of White wood trim would do to the split colored bathroom… I wasn’t sure I liked it… so I left it… all sloppy and half done… I thought about it… put the paint away a month later… and well… here we are today… a year later… *sigh*

OK… and ..

There are also a few spots like this around my house…

spots where I tried to hang something (in this case coat hooks)

in my really ackward shaped entryway…

WHY… WHY did I buy this house??

it is a pain in the rump to decorate!!

It has ODD  shaped rooms and walls and corners EVERYWHERE!!  **ugh**

anyway… the hooks didn’t work…

so down it came…I  started to putty the holes..

and well… the rest is history… Half done !!  =)

this one I can’t even claim well begun!

ha ha

OK.. moving on to ….um…

OLD puppy trouble:

cheap baseboards

ruined by puppy chewing (which he does not do anymore!!)

between 2 puppies in 3 years (don’t ask) .. we have about 10 of those corners to deal with… **sigh**  HOW do you solve a problem like Maria??  Merlin?  Lewis??  =)   Seriously… How on earth do we repair trim like that??  *UGH**

replacing the trim in the whole house is NOT an option… money, money, money!  I need help with this one folks… how would you fix that??  the trim is not real wood… it is cheap paper like pressed something or another!!  ugh!

really… any ideas would be helpful!!  =)

moving on again…

another puppy mishap:

I set a puppy crate (soft crate) too close to the wall and Lewis (the don’t ask puppy)  scratched the wall trying to get out of the crate… in my living room… on my new UGLY brown that I did not like from day one… **sigh**  point is… I have had this patch of scratched paint on my wall for three years!!

There are Many spots of  puppy related mishaps on my walls… trying to gate the chewing monsters… the  wall chewing… crates too close to the wall… etc. etc.  I have some serious patching of walls to do here folks… in some cases the paint is just chipping off the corners … I hate new homes… cheap cheap cheaply built!!  (don’t get me started… )

Never mind that we have to feed the cat in my window sill **ugh** my poor muddy windowsill will need to be repainted once I figure out what to do with the cat!!  and her blasted muddy cat feet…. sometimes I hate animals!!  =)

*cough, cough… moving on**

I like color.  I need color.  I crave color!!

why am I so bad with walls and color??  =)

Out of 8 rooms I have painted in our house only 3 of them have the second coat and or are finished.  I only like 4 of the 8 rooms.  my gift is NOT decorating a home… =) depressing.

Alrightygoodthen….

Shall we go outside?

before I point out my faults…

doesn’t my freshly cut grass look good?!

I love mowing the lawn … even though I considered it childhood labor as a child… as a grown up… I love mowing the lawn… usually I fight hubby for the task.. but since he sprained his ankle… and the sun was shining enough to dry out our long grass… I Seized the Day yesterday and mowed the lawn guilt free!!  ha ha! =)

anyway… do you see the flower bed off to the right?  along the fence?

its hard to see with all the WEEDS growing in it!!

never mind I did not prune the lilacs or honeysuckle or blueberry shrubs last Fall… they are all blooming now… can I still prune them when they are in bloom …or will I shock them??  I need to look it up!   time.  **ugh**

The end of that bed is in bad shape… it needs dirt, more plants, I need to edge it, prune the lavendar… AND well… ALL my flower beds would love fertilizer, pruned plants, MORE plants & flowers and Oh maybe some bark … after I weed of course!!!  =)

in my defense… I was undergoing A LOT of dental work last year… and well.. regular life is busy… soccer, home school, swim lessons, piano, dentists, doctors, chiropractors, cleaning, cooking, etc etc.  Where does a girl find the time to do things she loves … you know paint and garden?!!  =) Anyway… that flower bed is only one of eight severely overlooked flower gardens … ONE of my flower beds is in FULL shade most of the day… the one that leads to my front door… and I can not keep a plant alive in there to save my life!!!  HELP!!   I need to go to the nursery and ask for help!  and I need to weed, and plant and tend to my gardens!!

hm… I need to weed, plant and tend to the garden of my heart too!!

which leads me to my last point!  =)

The last Half Done in my life…the one that haunts me the most… is reading.

Reading my Bible!!

It is the biggest thing I wish I could find the time to do… daily!! The Bible is the word of God being spoken to me/us… it is one very important way God speaks to us… His Word offers encouragement, wisdom, love, direction, peace, joy… I could go on and on and on…  I desire to have those words in my mind and my heart every hour of every day… to flow naturally out of my mouth… something I seem to have lost over the years… I need that!  =)

Not only would I like to read the Word of God everyday…

finishing a book once in a while would be fabulous  too!!

especially those books that I know will help me grasp the things God is saying to me in his Word!!

Summary:

I desire to read my Bible daily… just like desire to get to those half done things… I daily walk past the unfinished things… the things I desire to finish…the things I desire to do…  painting my house… or hanging pictures on my walls… or planting flowers… or weeding… printing photos from cyberspace… maybe making a photo album for my kids to look through and enjoy!!… Those things I see ALL THE TIME just don’t get around to doing them…  for the record it is WAY more important to me to read the Bible than it is for me to paint…=)   my point is… I desire to finish or do so many things… yet I can’t find the time to do them… =)

I am not writing this post to discourage myself… or others!  =)

Every day I  love on my family, every day I feed my family and care for them, every day I do mountains of laundry and dishes, every day I provide an education to one of my children, every day I manage the schedules of our lives:  doctors, dentists, hair cuts, sports, music, school, friends,dog groomers, oil changes,   etc. etc.  Oh… and we play.  we play hard.  we love to play!  It is no small task to be a mommy, wife and a housekeeper.  =)

Finding the ME time… the time to do the things I desire or NEED to do … is one of the difficult tasks of being a mommy!  =)  and folks… I am NOT very good at that!  finding the me time.  working it into my life.  I grab little bits of me time… like when I blog.   Blogging is in many ways a huge blessing.  it encourages me to pick up my camera more.  it encourages me to craft more, paint more, to cook more… to do those things that I love… but it also takes away from my ME time… you all know what I mean, right?!  =)

My final point.

I am going to take a couple weeks OFF blogging.    **gasp**

I am going to STOP  blogging for 2 or 3 weeks!!  GASP!

no reading.  no writing.  no computer.  well … maybe just email!  =)

no sunday scavenger hunt (sigh)

I will keep up with my 365 picture taking…

just no posting them for 2-3 weeks!

yikes!

I know it will be hard… b/c I really love keeping up with y’all!

and I feel so blessed by those of you who comment =)

Your Comments are little blessings of daily encouragement!!

But I need to get out from under my rock and do those things that haunt me on a regular basis!!  I need to catch up!!  I need to finish a few million  indoor and outdoor projects… my neighbors and family will be oh So grateful!

and  more importantly ….I need/want to set my heart and mind right with God… I need to rekindle my friendship/love for Him… by reading the Bible… God’s Word.  That is who I am… a child of God… and I need/want to surrender myself to that WAY more than I do!!  =)

I am going to be really faithful to this folks.   REALLY faithful.  I need to!

no writing on my blog. no reading blogs. less computer. more life!

I will be back sometime after Spring break… the first week of April!

I will miss y’all!!  Really!! =)

Blessings~

off to Seize My Days!!

Jenn

see you all in  a couple weeks!

18 Responses | Add your Own

  • 1 Dina @ 4 Lettre Words yazmış:

    Love that green! It’s a shame it didn’t work. We painted our master chocolate-brown when we moved in. I love it in there…and hopefully the next owner will, too. 🙂

  • 2 Lori@ Teacher Turned Mommy yazmış:

    hope you find that colors of your life.

  • 3 Catherine yazmış:

    I love this post and understand this more than one may know. Great to stop in. Hope all is well.

  • 4 Jen yazmış:

    I wish I lived closer…I love picking paint colours! As far as outside goes…I can’t help ya there! Have a wonderful break!

  • 5 Kerri yazmış:

    Decorating is not my gift either! Now I don’t feel so alone in the paint picking/deciding colors!

    Good for you for taking some time off from blogging…I am feeling like I might be due for some time off too. I want to get some things done that I have been letting go. I’d love to get them done before school gets out for summer.

    I hope you get LOTS done! We’ll see you when you get back! 🙂

  • 6 Beka yazmış:

    hah, the bathroom on the main floor that we painted raspberry and dark chocolate (YES, those colors;) needs retouching, and desperately.
    ah. well.
    shall get to it someday soon… 🙂

  • 7 Kimberly yazmış:

    You are not alone in your lack of decorating ability. Or in your list of unfinished tasks. I actually just wrote a similar blog post yesterday. LONG to do list; SHORT on time.

    I can offer a little advice on paint colors. Don’t go with dark paints if your walls are drywall. It chips too easily and then you have very noticeable white spots all over your walls. Ask me how I know. 🙂

    Enjoy your blog-free time! I hope you accomplish everything you set out to do. Especially reconnecting with God. That is of utmost importance.

  • 8 LeAnna yazmış:

    Enjoy your bloggy break, girl! And I feel ya on the whole paint thing….

  • 9 Lori yazmış:

    Good for you! I agree that blogging is a blessing, but it’s nice to break free from it every once in a while. Makes you come back fresher! And please, take one look at my bathroom in my recent post and feel better. 😉

  • 10 Pennie at Mom Thoughts yazmış:

    Cheering you on for putting God first…go jenn! And, after having two very good girlfriends tell them god was prompting them to pray for me for insecurity (after I was totally offended and got over it) i ordered that beth moore book in your picture. 🙂 maybe i need it, after all… tee hee… sigh. maybe we can email and tell each other what we think…or what parts hit us the hardest…or have a beth moore bible study with it (once i get it in the mail). 🙂 tell me what you think…if you ever check your blog now. tee hee

  • 11 naomig yazmış:

    🙂 First of all, you shouldn’t be so hard on yourself. I only say this because I feel that same way on an almost daily basis… but guilt for the things you may not be doing well is simply the devil whispering in your ear, and undermining the awesome work you are doing for God in your family’s home.

    I wish I could pick paint colors for you, I think I do well at that. 🙂 I would suggest that you figure out what color you want, and then pick a warm or cool verson of the color… ya know, like if you’re picking tan, decide if you want a more pink tan (warm) or a more yellow tan (cool)… that might get you closer to the idea that you have in your head.

    I have that crappy trim too, I hate it. I would just paint the chewed up stuff–seriously. That way your eye won’t be drawn to it when you walk into the room because it will be camoflaged. It’s a good temporary fix, anyway. 🙂

    And, one thing I do to make myself feel a little more sane is have the kids do just a bit extra school Monday through Thursday, and we take Friday off, so we do a weeks worth of school every week, but just compacted into four days. It really helps me with those bigger projects that I need more than a few hours on. And, it took them about three weeks to get used to it, but now they love it too.

    Also, at the beginning of the day, I sit down with my bible, and my tablet, and read, and write a to do list for the day. It has made a huge difference in my life. I blogged about it a bit ago, but I can send you more info, if you’re interested. Just email me. 🙂 I can’t even say how much it has helped me around here. Is every day perfect? NO! But, I’m happier, my family is happier, things are getting done around here bit by bit, and I have a notepad full of things I’ve accomplished so when I’m feeling this way, I can see all I do!

    Hugs! Good for you taking time off blogging. Hope God helps you accomplish what you want to accomplish during your time off blogging!

  • 12 He & Me + 3 yazmış:

    Girl you will be missed, but I can totally understand why you are taking a break. I think that is why I went to one day a week. I was getting behind on things and just not getting everything I needed to get done done. I love blogging too,but I see now that I can do it in moderation and still enjoy it. I hope that your time off is productive and just what you need.

  • 13 hershey's moma yazmış:

    I understand. It has been 5 years of homeschooling/mothering/homemaking/wife/cooking/Bible Study… followed by blogging for one year and I fell way behind on all the house projects. A lot. That is why I’m posting every Monday about completing those projects. That is holding me accountable But it is also showing me just how slow everything comes together. while I am still doing all of the above… it is oh so hard to balance it all.
    Have a great break!!

  • 14 H-Mama @ Family Team yazmış:

    oh my goodness. your list nearly resembles mine.

    less computer. more life. sounds like a great motto! but i agree with the others… you will be missed!

  • 15 Bringing Pretty Back yazmış:

    Enjoy your time off!!! I have been on a quest to do some of my half done projects. And it feels so great when you do them!!!
    See you when you get back,
    Have a pretty day!
    Kristin

  • 16 Daniele yazmış:

    oh man, I am always in a state of half done. …and your grass looks great! I wish mine did!

    Come back soon!

  • 17 Kerri yazmış:

    Just checking in to see how you’re doing!
    Hope all is well!

  • 18 Raymonde yazmış:

    Enjoy your break! Glad you’re taking time to do others things. xxx

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