The Padres, Granddaughters, and my NaBloPoMo Badge

Today was a long day, and at 8:45 I'm finally sitting down to rest. 

I go into work early on Tuesdays, around 5:45, and by the time I'm home at 4:30, I'm beat!  Today my son and daughter-in-law needed me to take my seven-year-old granddaughter to her "cheer class" so they could both attend the Padres game tonight, so I just now got home.  Go, Padres!

I picked her up on my way home from work at 4:00, shopped, fixed her a quick dinner of scrambled eggs, bagels/cream cheese, grapes, and chocolate milk with ice cream for dessert.  Weird dinner, but she liked it and ate every bite.   She played with the Wii for a little while, then we went to class from 6:30 until 7:30.  

My grandkids are all so great, but seven-year-old girls talk constantly.  You know what I mean?  Even when they don't have anything to say...  I asked her that old question, "Do you know why God gave us two ears and only one mouth?"  I think she got it, but it didn’t work.  Too subtle for a seven-year-old, she didn’t get the hint, and kept on chattering away.  Whew!  

When I was in grammar school the nuns (Catholic School) used to call me "Chatterbox," so I can't complain too much.  My granddaughter probably gets it from me!  : )   And actually, I’m grateful she has so much to tell me, and wants to tell me.  She’s such a happy, bouncy little girl, so bright and self assured.  As only a seven-year-old can be.   

 Thankfully I was only watching – she went non-stop for an hour, and was tired at the end of class. 

Changing gears:  I joined this website, NaBloPoMo, have you seen it?  I saw a link on another blog, and clicked it on it, and ended up at nablopomo.com.  If I’ve got it right, you only have to blog once a day for a month, then you get to put a button for that month on your blog.  Well, I love prizes (doesn’t everybody?) and that seemed like an easy prize to win.

I've gotta tell you, it isn't easy today, I was ready to turn in when I got home. Anyway, if you look at the end of this page, you'll see the "I'm a Member of NaBloPoMo" button.  I assume it's an okay site, I didn't do much looking around when I was there.  I just want the prize!

September’s button is really cool.  Here it is, but I can’t really claim it yet.   

 When I do, it will go on the sidelines or at the bottom of my blog.  It’s only here for informational purposes.  And because I love it.

So...  even if it's only a line or two, I'm posting every day this month.

And that’s it for now.  From Me and My Dog, have a nice night, everyone! : ) 

Katie and I got a lot done today

Well, Katie and I got a lot done today.  It's amazing how much energy you have after spending a day doing absolutely nothing!

First I vacuumed, this is how Katie helps:

 She keeps an ear up and an eye on me until I'm done, then runs back in as soon as the vacuum stops.

You know how you start to do one thing in the house, then end up cleaning for hours?  I started emptying waste baskets in the bathrooms, and ended up cleaning all the drawers and cabinets, throwing away a garbage bag of stuff that was outdated, or I never use.  I also found some treasures for my garage sale. 

Then we went for a walk to the nearby lake - I love walking over to see the ducks there, but there weren't any today.  I did see one crane.  It flew right past us, they look so cool when they fly, but it landed too far away for a good photo.

It was a beautiful day at the lake.  We walked for around 45 minutes.  When we got home I made a peach, blueberry and yogurt smoothie.  I always just put in whatever fruit I have on hand, and they are always good.

I keep my Magic Bullet on the kitchen counter so I'll USE it.   I get points when I use my American Express card, and the first time I got $50 worth, I got a gift card for Linens 'n Things.  Right after that I read they were going out of business.   I went down to cash in my gift card while it was still good, and I couldn't find anything I wanted or needed.  Then I saw the Magic Bullet.  I'd seen it on TV and it looked good, so I got it.  I figured if I didn't like it, at least it didn't cost me anything.   It's one of the best kitchen appliances I have, and it was FREE.  (Well, sort of.)  They have fancier ones now, but this is all I need.  I use it a lot.  This is what I'm talking about in case you haven't seen them:

This is one of the things I have on my list to bring with me in the RV.  Small, light weight, and I use it often.

If you get one, shop around. They have them at Amazon.com and sometimes at COSTCO, too, for a good price.  I went to the Magic Bullet website to check what they have, and you can get a better price elsewhere. 

All the laundry got done, too.  I also took a bunch of new photos of things I want to put on Craig's List.  Too lazy to do it tonight, but at least I've got the photos ready.

Now Katie and I are tired, and we're resting.  Work tomorrow for some of us. : )

Doing nothing to accomplish something...

Doing nothing to accomplish something...
                                                  -- Ancient Chinese Wisdom

I've always loved that saying.  You know when you are in a bind, and don't know what to do, and you're afraid if you make the wrong choice, there will be no going back?  And the other choice will be lost forever?

Usually when I don't know what to do, I think of that saying and do nothing for a while.   Then I revisit the situation at future time. Sometimes things work out and that's the end of it.  Sometimes I still have choices and make a decision.  Sometimes I again decide to do nothing.  For a while.

It might feel like an excuse to do nothing, but I believe it's a valid choice.  You can do A or B or nothing. Sometimes doing nothing is the right choice at that time.

On the other hand, that saying is also valid on a day like today, when I just don't feel like doing anything.  So, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.  I am accomplishing a "rest day."

Doing nothing.  : )

JIC versus JIT

Do you know what JIC and JIT stand for?

I was watching a TV program, probably Oprah, and saw Martha Beck talking about JIC versus JIT.  I’d never heard of those concepts and they really hit home at the time.  I still think about JIC pretty often, usually when I’m shopping.

If you don’t know what those acronyms mean:

JIC – Just in Case   An inventory strategy in which companies keep large inventories on hand. This type of inventory management strategy aims to minimize the probability that a product will sell out of stock. A company practicing this strategy essentially incurs higher inventory holding costs in return for a reduction in the number of sales lost due to sold out inventory.

JIT – Just in Time    An inventory strategy in which companies keep minimal inventories on hand.  This is a newer inventory strategy where companies try to minimize inventory costs by producing the goods after the orders have come in.  A good example would be a car manufacturer that keeps low inventory levels, relying on their supply chain to deliver the parts they need to build cars. The parts needed to manufacture the cars do not arrive before or after they are needed, but just as they are needed.

Martha Beck was using those acronyms to refer to personal buying habits.  “What are you?” she asked.

I am a JIC. 

Those of us who are are JICs and are planning to fulltime in the next few months or years will need to undergo a transition from Just in Case to Just in Time.  RV Fulltimers have to be JITs, you don’t have room to keep large inventories of anything in your rigs.

My kitchen is so stocked with anything I need, might need, and sometimes will never need.  But JIC, I have it on the shelf.  Remember, I live alone.  But still, I always have a large jar of Best Foods Mayonnaise in the fridge and a spare in the cupboard, just in case.  Cereal, rice, soup, spices – so many duplicates (and triplicates).  Just in Case.

I could never understand people “stopping on the way home from work” to pick up something for dinner.  Whatever I wanted, I HAD, either in the freezer, refrigerator, or pantry - and I wanted to get home.  But in the last few months I’ve become a JIT and (pretty much) only buy things as needed.

I was surprised the first time someone said something about how much food I had in my cupboards or fridge. I thought everyone was as well stocked as I was.  Then when I heard Martha’s explanation of JIC versus JIT, I understood why I had so much “inventory.”

So…  Now I am becoming a Just in Time.  I have to admit it IS nice to have extra room in the kitchen when I come home from grocery shopping.  I know exactly what’s where, and can find stuff easily. My fridge isn't this neat, yet, this is from an ad.



But I'm getting there.

And when I’m in my RV, I’ll have so much less space in my fridge and cupboards, I’ve got to get used to having much less available. This is from an ad I found for RV refrigerators.  So Small!  This may be my biggest challenge when fulltiming.  I know some of you have larger units, but I'm going to have a small Class C - I won't have many options.



Look at the difference in the size of these two refrigerators!

The rest of my condo, outside of the kitchen, isn’t too bad.  I used to overshop for clothes, but stopped that a few years ago.  Now I just have a lifetime of accumulating things, but I’ve moved so much, and each move I got rid of things.  So my Craig’s List sales and upcoming garage sale won’t be too bad. 

I like being a Just in Time.  It really is so much easier.  And Cheaper!

Want to see my new office?

WELCOME to my new Follower, Karen!   Thanks for coming along with me on my trip preparing to RV fulltime!  And thank you also for your comment about the bird seed and my dog eating it.  You and Marikay both offered suggestions on what to get instead (either "Sunflower Chips" from Walmart, or Hulled Sunflower Seeds), and I am going to do that.  It looks like I can get either one at Walmart.  I thank you both, and so does Katie!

Well, about work.  We have a new office as of last Monday.  When our lease ended this year, my employer bought property and built it out to work for us.  He's been working on it for months, and isn't done yet, but last Friday we packed up the last of our things, and over the weekend he moved the last bit to the new address.

When we arrived at work on Monday morning, everything was in place.  Our IT guy had all our phones and computers, printers, scanners, etc. set up, the kitchen area was stocked, and we were ready to go.  It's nice to finally be here in this brand new office.  The kitchen and bathroom are beautiful, new carpet, new ceilings, fresh paint on all the walls, new doors, new lighting.  He really did a great job.

This is my work space.

Looks like I need a picture on the wall.  We have lots around the office, I need to snag one.  The bookkeeper is on the other side of the partition.

And this is the kitchen area.

 

Check out the floor.  

Isn't it pretty?  My boss did it himself - first time he's tried a design like this and it turned out really well.

Close up of the floor.

So...this is where I spend my time at work.  Until I'm RETIRED and FULLTIMING it.

Update on Craig's List sales:  I sold my piano today!  It is a Yamaha Portable Grand Piano and was in perfect condition.  I just never learned to play it, and am happy to have the money.  A college student learning to play the piano bought it, and he was really excited about it.  He had money ready for me in his pocket, I think he was going to try to negotiate, but when he saw the piano's condition, he pulled out his wallet and added $50 to make the full asking price.  Nice!

That was a big listing - now I have three more large pieces to sell, dining room table and chairs, baker's rack, and an antique platform rocker.  For now that's all the furniture I'm selling.  I hope the dining room set sells soon.  Then I'm going to put a table in the dining room and put all the smaller things there with prices on them.

Where I live, they have a community garage sale every year in October.  You sign up, they give you the signs and put you on the "map," and on the day of the sale you put your stuff out on your driveway or in your garage or carport.  I've never done it, but this year I SURE AM!  (And probably next year, too, if I'm still here.)

I'm starting to gather things now and marking them with prices so I'll be ready when October comes.  Anything that's left at 3:00, AmVets brings a truck and picks it all up for you, so then you have a tax deduction (and don't have to haul it away.)  That's a pretty nice deal.  For everyone.

My credit card balances are going down, down, down.  This month I'll knock off another large chunk.

Take care, everyone - it's the weekend!  : )