A Little at a Time...

That is my new motto, or mantra.  I keep repeating it to myself in the hopes that I will come to really take it to heart.  Fully embrace the meaning, a little at a time.  Not all at once.  I remember my mother used to try and teach me patience, she didn't have much success with that one.  I have asked God to give me patience, and give it to me right now!  So as you may have guessed, it is something that I have to work on, but I am trying, a little at a time.  In many aspects of my life.  I am a work in progress.
So a while ago I wrote that I needed to loose some weight and get in better shape.  I'm working on it, but the going is slow.  But I'm getting there.  Little by little.  I have lost about 10 pounds in the last seven weeks.  (9 1/2 to be precise, but 10 sounds so much better!)  Each little drop the scales show is a success and I try to see it as such.  Being me, I want it all at once but I know that it doesn't happen that way.  I hang colored paperclips above my computer at work, one for each pound lost to remind me of how far I've come now how far I need to go.  A visual reminder of my little successes.  Week by week I've been plugging along and then the most amazing thing happened this week-people began to notice.  At dance class one of the mom's asked me if I'd lost weight!  I replied that yes, I'd lost a little and she said that it showed, two other moms concurred.  Then at work someone stopped me and asked if I was dieting because it looked like I was loosing weight.  I said yes and she said that it looked like I was going to have to buy some new clothes soon as mine were too big.  I'll take that!  And I'll keep plugging along too!
The weekend also brought some other small successes.  I began work in earnest in the basement.  Jim and I had a frank conversation about what we were going to use the 'little room' (Timmy's old bedroom) for and he was adamantly opposed to putting a bed in there.  Why?  It's against the law!  I can't even begin to try and figure him out any more, but I decided it wasn't worth fighting him over.  So we decided to use it as a playroom for Bella.  I painted the ceiling white and all the trim white and got 2 coats of pink paint on the walls.  There is one casement window in there and below the window we put this:

It is a decal that we picked up at Home Depot and it looks pretty cute.  She loves it!  We also put on one wall a blackboard and have yet to put up these:

We now refer to this room as "The throne room" because as Bella so aptly put is "Every princess needs a throne!"  She just can't quite figure out where her throne is!  Ha!  We may h ave created a monster. She will have to share the room with Timmy's frog and I told her that she is not allowed to kiss him under any circumstances and she just looked at me and said " Why would I kiss it?"  She must just think I'm nuts!

I then started to move into the big room and started with the trim in there.  There is a lot of trim in that room.  There are six doors and door molding, lots of baseboard molding, a very deep double windowsill, the stair railing, the step risers and various other molding.  Did I mention that there is a lot of trim in that room:?!  I got a little less than half way done with the trim before I wore myself out.  I have to finish up the trim, do the ceiling the stairwell, hallway, bathroom and of course the whole large room.  The job is beginning to seem a little daunting to me!  I guess I'll have to see how much I can get done over the weekend and then proceed from there.  Michelle is willing to help and has been helping, but Jim is no  help at all!  He is a terribly sloppy painter and I learned my lesson a long time ago and have not let him near a paint brush since.  So it is up to me for the most part.  The ceiling and the stairwell are what I worry about the most and I may in fact hire someone to do that for me if I can't get it done or if my body doesn't hold out.  Guess I'll have to wait and see.  A little at a time, that's all I can do.  We don't know yet when the carpet will be installed, but I am in a race of sorts to get all the painting done before the carpet is installed.  I'll keep you updated....