I’m taking the next 4 days to simply enjoy the aftermath of Christmas. That translates to starting the decoration removal on Monday. Of course, removing Christmas from the barndo also means cleaning as I go so everything is back in order for the new year.
Treat yourself to a relaxing activity because you’ve earned it!
I know I’ve earned a couple days to simply not get out of my pjs, and I’m sure you have too! From high expectations (preparing food and choosing the right gifts) and tons of social interaction — to traveling (for me it was riding in a car for over 3 hours), late nights, early mornings, and a disrupted sleep schedule — it’s exhausting.
And that’s not even touching on the stressful photo battle I fought and lost…
4 Tips for cleaning up after Christmas:
They say you should break Christmas clean-up down into one room at a time to stay organized.
I never do that… I take down and pack up everything first, and then go to war on the house cleaning.
They say you should declutter as you’re packing decorations.
I never do that… I can’t part with some of my ornaments — even the ones that are too broken/ratty to put on a tree.
They say you should clean decorations, wrap lights carefully, and store everything in plastic totes.
I never do that… I cram everything in boxes (they are labeled for the most part) and figure I’ll untangle the lights next year or buy new.
They say you should make it a team effort and involve the whole family.
No way I could do that! If I waited around for my family’s help, we could just leave everything out for next year.
I’m ZERO for 4. 😬
Some do it early and some wait…
There was a time I had my house totally put back to normal on Christmas night. I don’t do that anymore but I never leave the decorations until after the new year.
While there’s no definitive statistic, a significant number of people take down their Christmas decorations after the first of the year (TYPE “A”) — and many simply aim to have their homes back to normal before 1/1 (TYPE “B”).
So are you an “A” or a “B” — and how many did you score on the 4 tips above?
Now you know: “Project Iceworm” was a top-secret 1958 $2.7 billion U.S. plan to convert part of the Arctic into a launchpad for nuclear missiles, including a nuclear reactor. Due to shifting Greenland ice sheets, the plan was scrapped in 1967, & the massive underground structure thereafter collapsed
Three years ago today, it was gloomy and raining when I awoke in Seymour, Indiana — before the move to rural C’ville. I had 5 tomato plants with no place to put them in the ground to grow. Instead, I planted them in bags and set them in the backyard so my neighbors wouldn’t see them.
Tomato plants are ugly although they produce an amazing fruit!
Yes, tomatoes are fruits (technically berries) that are considered vegetables by nutritionists. That doesn’t make them look any better as they grow.
Fast forward to the present…
I have zero tomato plants and plenty of room to plant them. I even have the spot picked out.
Although I love home-grown tomatoes, I now have Mr. Pesky whose garden is a stone’s throw away. Besides that… I feel like I’m working so very hard just to catch up, and I simply lack the time for yet another outside project this year.
Maybe, when I do a time hop in three years back to today, I’ll be bragging about the tomatoes already planted in my small garden spot, and sharing photos of those ugly plants alongside green onions and cucumbers.
Now you know: John Von Neumann worked on the first atomic bomb and the first computer. He described genetic self-replication before the discovery of DNA — and other things to numerous to mention. He has often been called the smartest man ever.
I read a post on FB and I can only share an overview because I can no longer find it. It pertained to Christmas giving and was written by a Mom trying to think what else she could buy for her kids for Christmas. She felt like what gifts she had weren’t enough.
We’ve all been there, right? Even as a Nana, I’m there right now.
The story continues as she reflects back to Christmas gifts received as a child, and how she couldn’t remember a single thing opened at Christmas. She remembered the food and the magic of Santa. She remembered reading about the birth of Jesus and the excitement she felt leading up to Christmas morning. She remembered the presents… but not what was inside of them.
While I agree with the concept, I do remember a bit more. 🙂
I remember Nanny and Pappa always bought me one gift… but it was a big gift and always the one thing I wanted. It was usually a doll. (As old as I am, if I had them now I’d be rich!) I remember getting a birthstone ring one year. Another year, I got one of those hair dryers you sit under (that Nanny was still using after her 95th birthday). I remember Scott getting a chemistry set and a “high gear” game. I was jealous over both those things.
I remember that my parents owned a grocery store that was open on Christmas Eve — when we opened our gifts. We always got started late and Mom made everyone eat chili before we could open anything. I remember Mom ate soooo slooooow. I also remember many of our presents were in brown bags or whatever bags they came in from the store. Mom would disappear and reappear by the tree with something else she’d purchased and hidden away.
I also remember Christmas Eve nights where Coco got tired of opening her gifts because she had so many… and I’m sure even then I wondered if it was enough.
The story closed with the author’s suggestion to stop worrying about gifts to purchase and instead focus on making memories.
When Christmas is over and years pass… everyone will only remember the way they FELT and not what they GOT.
Now you know: Alabama was the first state to officially recognize Christmas in 1836.
Let’s talk about blogging. Do you do it? If so, did you plan ahead before launch with a purpose and plan?
WhatIfItDid.com will be celebrating a birthday soon!
January 1, 2008 was the date of the first post here and that means the ole’ gal will be 15 years old in a few short days. I’m not sure how many years that is in blog years, but definitely older than dirt. No matter how you plan ahead to select categories to segment what you’ll be sharing, that changes over time. I’ve closed a few categories and added others over the years to reflect changes in my interests and life.
Blogging is still popular but it’s now called content marketing. Tons of folks make tons of money by garnering hits. They collaborate with experts, sell ads and often times sell their own product or service. I make $0 dollars and do none of that. In addition, I don’t plan to do it either.
What categories get the most hits and have most growth potential?
Interesting to note is that dogs rank much higher than cats insofar as visitor interest. Music blogs top the “best categories” list with food coming in a close 2nd. Lifestyle blogs (I guess that’s what WIID is) is 3rd followed by travel and DIY design. Looks like I’ve got a smorgasbord of them all. 🙂
Let’s go back… but not all the way back…
I looked at WIID’s archived results on the way back machine. Although it was indexed in 2008, the platform was different back then so the site’s feed is shown and not the design. In 2011 it’s a different story — the archives show what the site actually LOOKED like. You remember any of these?
2011201320162019
Here’s to 15 more years of content non-marketing for WhatIfItDid!
Blogging is one of my biggest time sinks consisting of not only the time it takes to write each post, but also the time I spend reflecting on what mattered to me over the years. You should try it! I need more reading material. 🙂
TIL (Today I Learned): The Hope Diamond was mailed to the Smithsonian in a $2.33 envelope — normal first class US Mail without delivery confirmation.
100 years ago, Jerilyn and I had a business together and named it ‘Country Cousins.’ We were located in CJ’s old building in the middle of Crothersville and formed said business when Rose Acres ordered 500 craft items from us.
Chickens and eggs…
The items ordered by the egg farm company consisted of a wood frame covered in chicken wire. Behind the frame was a sewn, stuffed cloth chicken (Nanny did this part), sitting on 3 eggs that rested on top of spanish moss.
Sounds easy, but that’s 1500 eggs that had 2 pinholes in them that produced enough egg yuck that we could’ve fed the entire town for years. Yes, we blowed air through one hole in each egg ejecting the egg substance out the other hole of 1500 eggs. Whatever we charged wasn’t enough.
In addition to all the crafty crafted items we offered for sale, we purchased pottery to resell. When we closed up shop, we split what was left.
I still have a few pieces and set them on the kitchen shelf Ben and Perry hung for me. I wonder if Jerilyn has any of her pieces left. Even if she doesn’t… I can promise she remembers the egg duty.
TIL (Today I Learned): Employees at N.A.S.A. smoked on average 29 cigarettes a day before the first moon landing.
