Food poisoning sucks!

 Well, Friday a bunch from my office went to our favorite Mexican place.  I ordered chicken tacos and boy did I pay for it.  Mind you we go to this place frequently so I'm pretty disappointed.  I spent the weekend in bed or the bathroom.  I'm at work today, but very tired and my stomach is still pretty tender.  I think I will stick to ground beef from now on and maybe skip this place all together for awhile.  

One of the guys from my office announced he is leaving before I retire.  It's going to be strange to be here without him.  He's big part of what is good that is happening around here.  I'm trying slowly step back and now it won't be so easy.  I'm not offering to pick up anything.  It just wouldn't be fair to the business for him to leave and me 4 weeks later.  I'm just trying to finish out what I'm working on right now.  The department won't be the same by the end of the year.  

  

The count down has begun.

 Since school is almost out I have been getting more and more questions about when my last day is at work.  Some days I think I'm ready and some days I'm not.  I have a list of things I want to do at the house before school starts up again and it keeps growing and growing.  The first is to get my garden planted.  The potatoes are in but nothing else is.  It just has turned off warm enough to plant here and I'm itching to get to the green house and get plants.  

Other days I'm not sure I will have enough to keep my mind sharp.  I've been offered some consulting work that I probably will do once school starts up again.  FarmBoy is a little hesitant about me not having some sort of job to keep me busy as well.  I'm not worried.  I think I will have enough.  There are things I just don't have time to do at home that don't get done that will more back on my list.  Sewing is one of them.  I've been wanting to do more lap quilts for gifts and I just don't have time.  I've got most of the fabric so I'm ready to get moving.  I've been creating a list lately.  I want to get my home organization book going too so that things won't fall off my little lists.  Meal planning more is also on my list.  I could go on and on, but maybe those should be other posts.  

Where is the warmth???

 Spring just isn't staying around where I live yet.  It has been a cool kind of wet spring.  FarmBoy has planted potatoes, but it's too cool to plant anything else.  He bought some seeds but we haven't even tried to go to the greenhouse to get plants.  My little greenhouse is starting to take shape.  I'm hoping he gets it done this week so I can start some seeds there.  

I'm continuing to clean out my office.  I'm left with books and a few things that I will be taking home that I'm still actively using so it will be last minute.  The word has gotten around and there are loads of people asking loads of questions on who will be doing my job, what am I going to do, etc.  It's a bit overwhelming.  I'm really ready for it to be done and onto the next thing, but I have to be patient and work the process.  One last company picnic in June and that will be my last official company event.  Sprout is looking forward to it.  She's getting really excited.

I'm starting to plan my days and figure out what the new routine will be.  I've started looking at new recipes and cleaning schedules, etc.  I think the kid and I will be setting up an online store to sell off things that we declutter out of the house.  She's grown out of some expensive clothes and shoes that we could turn a good profit.  If that goes well then we might consider thrifting and yard selling to keep the store going.  It could provide some extra money when needed.  I've been thinking about it for awhile now and we just need to pull the trigger and get going.  

I've got several sewing things to do already and I can't wait to have the time to do them.  I have owed FarmBoy  a quilt for a longgggg time.  It's cut but I just haven't had time to sit and sew it.  It's one of the first things I'll be doing when it's too hot to do things outside in July.  There's other things coming like blogging more often. 

Cleaning out the office...

 I've been in the same office for more than 10 years.  Slowly over the last few weeks I've been taking things down and taking them home.  I never realized how much stuff was in my office.  The usual pictures and dishes, but there were lots of little things too. Things that the company had given us that I had on display, some Christmas decorations, and technical books.  Some of these books are for old systems that I have supported in the past and still do.  All of them will eventually go home with me.  It's policy at work that we get to keep our books.  I still have several months left before I go so I have just been slowly taking things home.  The books will be the last to go.  

The walls are almost bare and the top of my desk area is pretty much empty (I'm not taking all the stuff that work has given us. ) and the drawers are much lighter on things.  Some stuff I trashed and some stuff is still in a box at home and I'm deciding what to do with it.  The sentimental value is there and I'm not quite ready to let it go.  Maybe this summer I will be able to do this.

It's closing a chapter in my life that has been a bit hard, but I'm so looking forward to the next one.  The green house has part of it's film on it and I'm ready to start planting seeds, but the freezing temps just won't stay gone here.  The purge of the house is still happening too.  The 4H sale is the weekend after Easter so I've got to get myself in gear and get stuff gathered up to take.  My pantry area and closet are next.  There are definitely clothes I just don't see myself wearing much if ever again that need to go go go.

Purging

 Well I've started cleaning out and decluttering the house.  I have wanted to do this for some time, but just couldn't convince myself to do it.  Now that I will be home more I find that I want to enjoy the peace and having too much in a room is not peaceful to me.  I also want to paint the house this summer and to do that I need less stuff.  Fortunately 4H will be having a garage sale this spring so I can donate things there and not feel a bit bad about it.  

I started in the kitchen because I had a mouse get in my lower dish cabinets.  As I was cleaning them out to clean I sorted before I put thing back.  It's inspiring me to get more done.  I'm almost done moving the Christmas I'm keeping back to the attic.  After that I need to go through what is remaining in the basement and get it donated.  4H has a fall garage sale that other things will go to if I miss this one.  I'm excited to get this done.

I have been a bit off my game this week since my dad has been in the hospital.  He has been stressful, but at his age (87) it's not totally unexpected.  Hopefully the remaining tests will tell us a few things and we won't have a repeat of this last weekend.

Sprout is really trying this semester and her grades are really showing it.  I'm so proud.  She's smart but unless she wants to do it there isn't much to motivate her.  The joys of a strong willed child.