Mr. & Mrs. No Longer

We have filed for divorce and in a couple days it will be final.

This will not come to a surprise to my close friends and family that I have reached out to. Why the need/want to share it publicly? Because I have people in my life, and Chris's, that feel the need to speak into our lives about things they do not know about or understand. No one truly knows what happens in a marriage that ends. Can you really point to one thing that made everything else change? I would say yes, if he abused me in some way. That's not the case. Chris and I have been together for 17 years. We both want different things and we have known that for a very long time. 

We grew up and grew apart. 

We have been talking about it for a while now. Well maybe I have been talking about it for a while and he has just listened to it. We have been to a counselor to try to work out some of our issues. One of the earlier appointments, she told me that I needed to figure out what makes me happy, that I HAD to pick something. "You can no longer look to him to make you happy". That really was a light bulb moment for me. I couldn't ignore it. I had to listen to her. For my marriage and more importantly, myself. I started to do things that I had been wanting to do but didn't because he never wanted to do them. I made plans with friends and kept them. I started a class online. I refocused on my Type 2. I found a new place to live that was closer to the girls schools, closer to family, with three bedrooms and a dish washer! That first week I ran five times. My bike was even dusted off! I started to sing again.

What happened wasn't planned. 

I really did go into this with hope that we could figure this out. I took my vows very seriously and was trying to do everything I could to make it work. We worked on the budget together. We even had date nights. We continued going to see the counselor, we still are. There just comes a time in life that you know that what ever you do, nothing is going to fix it. That doesn't mean that we don't have love for each other. It just means that it's just not enough to stay together. I found a part of myself that I lost a lot of years ago. That part of me isn't ok with going through life not happy. I want a chance to stand on my own two feet and do life the way I want to. That means without being married. 

All that being said. This is not going to be the typical divorce. We don't hate each other. We are trying to make this co-parenting thing work. We made these kids together and we are going to do the best to still raise them together. So you might see us together as a family still. No that doesn't mean we are back together or working on it. It means we have enough respect for each other to hang out as a family. 

I'm not and with the help of Chris, wanting to tell everyone this so more people can tell us what they think we should do. Right or wrong, we are doing what is right for us. I really hope everyone can respect that. 




Starts With Goodbye by Carrie Underwood

I guess it's gonna have to hurt,
I guess I'm gonna have to cry,
And let go of some things I've loved,
To get to the other side,
I guess it's gonna break me down,
Like falling when you try to fly,
It's sad, but sometimes moving on with the rest of your life,
Starts with goodbye.

Kim Possible: Hall Closet

Another project DONE!! 

I don't know, have I told you how much I LOVE doing this? 

So I forgot to take a before picture of the top of the closet. Which is sad because it was a mess!! Here they are as close to the before as I can get. 

So this is what is looks like now.
I went through the games and we put the rest of them in another closet.
Something about them being collectors items.....

Bubbles and a lot of summer items.
Laundry soap and drier balls.

Norwex body cloths.
Wash cloths and hand towels. 

Pool and bath towels. 

Toilet paper, paper towels, that bucket doesn't belong there. :/
Pop and my love, my Shark!! Don't look to close, he needs a bath! 

This is the other side. See I told you I started before taking a picture!!
Darn my excitement!! 

A couple coats, my backpack, (my love),
reusable bags and my gift wrap/birthday decorations cart.
 

These were also in the closet.
On the top left before the games got moved there. 

I will tell you this took me a lot longer than I thought it was going to. It's such a small area but has so much going on with it. I really want to take the doors off. Although I'm pretty sure I would be killed in my sleep if I asked Chris to put one, well two more things in storage. I have a couple small projects to take care of before going to bed tonight. I might have taken a basket that was being used for something else for this area. :) So I either find a new home for the stuff or I sleep on top of extra sheets and blankets and a shower curtain. :/ 

Here is the AFTER:

Not sure what is going on with the top of the picture.
I have the games up there and my camera stand.
Left orange tub, all the summer stuff, right tub pool towels.
The white one has light bulbs and extension cords.  
These work out so much better!

The brown baskets are holding all of my Norwex cloths, wash cloths, and hand towels. 
I might add, with plenty of room! Next shelf, the basket is holding my laundry soap and drier balls. My bath towels, I promise we have more. They are just in the bathroom.
Yes, that's a lot of pop. No it doesn't make me happy.
The two blue buckets are holding plastic bags and reusable bags.
I MIGHT have a lot more reusable bags in my car......

As you can see I have my gift wrap/birthday decorations on the top shelf. With a basket in front of the drawers. I have toilet paper and paper towels in there. So when I do need to get to the cart it will not be an issue. A few coats and a few extra hangers for friends and family. 


Chris took my vacuum to clean Avery's room so I didn't take a picture of it in there. Just know there is a lot of room for him now. I even have a couple of floor mats in there ready when we have wet shoes. I am so happy how this turned out.

Like really, really happy!

 It's hard to move into a new space and get everything in working order. We have been here since the middle of May. This is the second time I have done this closet. Now my question to you is, how long have you lived in your home? Do you have areas that just do not work for you? What frustrates you about them? Do you think you need a little help getting them to work for you and your family?  I can help. :D 

Nerd Cry

Does this make me a nerd if I cry over a good grade? 

I have been putting off one of my last assignments because it's been by far the hardest lesson over all. It's about marketing and a lot of other "stuff". I really didn't understand it but I went along and took notes. (More like copied the whole lesson down and hoped for the best) When it came time to do one of the assignments I felt like my head was going to explode. I emailed the teacher, which I hadn't needed to do before this. She told me to fill out what I could. Well ok, thanks. Did she forget that I have been getting 100% on almost everything that I had submitted? I really didn't want to do bad on this assignment! I even reached out to a friend for help. I told her that I love her! I finally stopped stalling and just took it bite by bite. It wasn't easy for me. After re-reading it a couple times and making Chris listen to it also. 

I finally hit SUBMIT ASSIGNMENT 

And then prayed. I started to work on the very last assignment, which has been fairly easy. I just need a few more ideas and I can type it up. Then I will need to study for the final. This morning I went onto my class website and just thought to myself, "I will just check. I've never gotten a grade back this soon anyway." 

OH. MY. GOSH!!!! 25/25 I got a 100%!!!!! 

No way! I want to kiss my teacher, if I knew who she was!! Well I know who she is, I just don't know where she lives. So yup, I started to cry. I am so close to being done with this class that even if, IF I fail the final I would still pass. Now that I shared with you. It's time to get back to work!! 

Kimberly Palo 
(Soon to be)
Professional Organizer 

EEK!!! 

I'm Not Offended....Much

Now that the girls are in school, I might, miss them a little. Yesterday Avery asked me for more pickles.

**(Off Ramp Warning)**

 Yes my kid LOVES pickles. She, at one point could eat a whole jar of Milwaukee's Best pickles in one day. Now I have to limit her to three a day. She gets mad when I don't pack any in her lunch bag. No Kidding. 

So when she asked for them yesterday I got them for her. She however did not ask for them very nicely so I made her do it again then say sorry. Then I told her that I also needed kiss-E-ss. That's Kim speak for a whole lot of kisses all at once. She said no, and well I kissed her anyway. The kid started to CRY!! Yes, you read that correctly. She didn't want kisses from me so much that she started to cry. I was so sad. So I got her the pickles. 

Then I went to Whitney's room to kiss her instead. I was met with, 
"What are you doing?" 
"Get off of me!"
"Stop!"
"I don't want you to kiss me!!"
"I was watching a movie!!"
"Stop Mom!!!" 
Then there might have been some flipping of the Mommy off the bed.....Not my proudest moment. 
We have always said, if you tickle us we are not responsible for your injuries!! So I pushed her off the bed and tickled her!! HA! I was able to get two kisses on her check. I told her that she owed me at least three more. That was met with the "that's never going to happen" face. (I did get them later!!)

Now every time I come close to either of them they hide behind pillows. 

I'm not offended, much. 

My beautiful girls, that hate Mommy kisses. :(

Organizing- Avery's Closet

I love going through Avery's closet!! 

Getting the small clothes out and putting the seasonal clothes in. 

NO REALLY!! 

This is one of the many things about being a parent that is so much fun. Whitney and Avery have been my little dolls that I get to dress up and play with. Now that they are both older it's getting a lot harder to get them to wear what I want though. 

This is how I start going through her closet. She is now 5 years old so anything that is smaller than a 5T gets put in a pile right away. I got a little crazy when we first moved in. Avery had her very own closet so I hung up sizes that really didn't fit yet. So back out those go! Once I got through every piece of clothing. I ended up with four piles, size five outfits and summer clothes. Size six outfits and dresses. Size six tops and bottoms that didn't match. Size four clothes going to my favorite children's consignment store. 

HA! At this point I was almost done!! 

Next I went through the baskets that hold the off season clothes, and bigger sizes. I hung up all that would fit her now. I put the clothes that I had piled into the baskets and made new labels. 

I have high hopes that this kid will wear pants this year!! 

As Avery gets older the less I buy bigger. Just in case she doesn't like what I pick out. :(

These I still held onto just in case next summer she can still fit into some of it. 

Once all that was done, it was time to go through her dresser. Avery wanted to help with that, so everything was in a nice big pile for me! In her dresser I have, well ok at this point HAD, three baskets. One for underwear, one for socks and one for tights. Her PJ's fit nicely behind the baskets. Again I went through every piece and got rid of anything that was smaller than what would fit her now. She had a couple pairs of tights, a lot of underwear and pj's that needed to go. I do not consign underwear, so those went right into the garbage. All the rest I checked for stains and holes. If they were good to go, they went into the pile for the consignment store.

Time to get more underwear! I wonder which ones she will pick this time? 

It didn't take long to do and I love doing it!! Now she is already for the 40-50 degree days we have had the last couple of days. She even got a couple new pairs of shoes. No new pink cowgirl boots. Maybe we can get another pair of those around Halloween again? ;)

I hope this helps you organize your kid(s) closets or even your own. If you want any help let me know!!! 

Plans for Saturday Night, 4PM-Trip to the ER!

Well those were really not my plans. 

I met some really fun ladies at the garage sale that was being held by my apartment complex and I was going to do some Facebook stalking. I also wanted to check this "Color Aloft Balloon Festival" being held in Grayslake, IL. I've never seen a hot air balloon up close and this sounded like a great thing to do with the girls. It was really foggy and it had started to rain before the garage sale was over so I wasn't sure if they even still had it. Maybe next year!!

Let's start at the being of the morning. I set my alarm for 7AM thinking I would have plenty of time to get out there, set up and price my "treasures". I didn't know that it started at 8AM and ran until 4PM. Oops, so much for breakfast! We haul all the stuff out there and start to set up. I even had a few customers buy things before all of it was out and priced. I told everyone that if it didn't have a price yet, make me an offer and go low! I wanted all of this gone!! 

My "treasures" I had someone looking so I cut off the picture a little on the left.

The day went by pretty quick. By noon I was having a half price sale. Around 2:20PM it started to get really dark. I figured it was time to pack up. It didn't start to rain until we were on the way to Goodwill to drop off everything that didn't sell. 

Here is where I need to tell on myself. 

I wasn't lying when I said, so much for breakfast. I really didn't have time to grab anything other than coffee before heading out there. Chris went to the bank for me to get change and brought me back blueberry donut holes. My favorite! Hey at least I was eating antioxidants!! Yes, I know still not good for me. There were women at the garage sale, selling tamales. I got two of those and nibbled on one. So by the time we stopped to get something to eat I was a little hungry. Once we got home I counted the money first to see how much we made. 

Drum roll please? 59.50!! Woot! Woot!

Then I sat down to eat. Second bite and it got stuck. I tried to take a drink, bad idea. It felt like I was drowning. I got sick, a lot. I calmed down enough to tell Chris that he had to take me to the ER. I wasn't able to get it out myself and my throat was starting to really hurt. We got to the ER, blue bucket and all. Chris said we couldn't have been there three minutes when they called me back. A nurse came in and did all the things nurses do. She told me they were going to do an IV and give me something to help me calm down more. Let's call her Dimples. She told me that I was breathing just fine and that she was going to be there for me. I might have freaked out a little bit once we got there?? I was trying to tell the guy nurse, let's call him Superman, who was about to put the needle in me that I was sorry. That I hadn't been drinking enough today and he might have a problem finding a vein. Chris told me later that Superman found it just fine and I guess I shot blood. Enough that the floor had to be cleaned. I was pretty proud of myself! HA, my veins never do that! 

I got a chest x-ray, then a group of three people came in with a couple big machines. Chris and I knew one of the people, he is a member of our church. He reminded me how I knew him and I asked him if his wife is blonde. He said yes, and I told him she needs to eat more. He chuckled and got the rest of the machines set up for the Dr. One of the ladies with him told me that the Dr. was going to put a camera down my throat to see where the food was. Then he was going to put something else down there to get it out. It didn't sound like fun to me. So I was glad when she told me I was going to be given meds to put me into this "twilight" state. Yup, so happy to have no memory of what the Dr. did. After it was all done Chris was allowed back in my room. He was told that I should wake up in about a half an hour. It took me twice as long, and even then I wasn't really ready to be awake. 

There was another guy we know from church that was working at the hospital. He came in and checked on us. Chris said that I woke up and asked if they were done. He told me yes, and I guess I went back to sleep. He said that I did that twice. He also said that when he came back into the room I looked like my Mom, and that scared him a little. 

I was sad that I didn't get to see the piece of food that scared the crap out of me. I don't want to ever go through this again. That was why I wanted to see it. I will be going to a follow up appointment in about a week with the Dr. that got it out for me though. I know that this could have been just that I need to take smaller bites. On the other hand I have been having issues with my throat getting tight after eating certain things. So I am really looking forward to talking to the Dr. to try to get this figured out. 

In the mean time, my throat still hurts a little. I can't laugh without my sides hurting, and I'm eating soft foods and taking baby bites. :D 

What Do I Want to Be When I Grow Up

I thought that I wanted to be a teacher. 

I can remember a time when I lived in Florida. There was an assembly where kids got to go up on stage and tell everyone what they wanted to be. Everyone was saying a teacher. Lame. Well not lame if you are a teacher. Just that everyone was saying it. I can remember raising my hand to go up and all the way thinking "do not say a teacher". I went up there I was smiling, then it was my turn to be asked. 
"What do you want to be when you grow up?" 
A microphone got put in my face, I froze!
Then I said, "A teacher" Ahhh!!! 
The power of the microphone and all those people staring at me!

Now I know that I could go back to school and become a teacher, but I figured out a while ago, that's not for me. So then what? What am I good at? I've been asked, and I always say, "I don't know". It's sad I know. I have been what ever I needed to be at the time. Let's see I have been a shampoo girl, blue jean sales girl, a beauty advisor. I have worked in the men's department of a big box store. I have signed up with a few direct sales companies. I've been a photographer, a cashier for a car dealership, and a barista. 

I'm all over the place right? 

So let's get back to what I love to do. I do love being around people until, well they start to annoy me. Then I have to be alone for a while to get back to my happy place! I like helping people anyway I can. I like it when my home is clean and everything is where it belongs. In fact it drives me a little, (some people would say more than a little) crazy when there are things being "displayed" that shouldn't be. I won't name names, but when dishes get put away there always seem to be a few that don't get homes. Then when groceries get put away, some of those hang out on the counter for a couple days also. I don't know if I got this way because I lived with my grandparents. My grandfather was a Realtor, and my Gram would always have the house "model home" ready at all times. Saturdays were always chore day and as much as I hated it once I became a teenager. I love doing it now. 

Is this something I can do and make money doing? Cleaning? 
Ahh do I really want to clean someone else's bathroom. No. 
So that idea was down the drain! (See what I did there? I crack myself up!) But wait I still love cleaning, helping people and I am a little (again some people might say more than a little) OCD about having things in their place. 

What about a Professional Organizer? 

Now I know you probably came to that conclusion before I did. I had been throwing around the idea for a while now. If you have read any of my older posts, I wrote about taking an online class. It so happens the class is to become a professional organizer. In a couple more weeks I will have a fancy certificate saying that I have completed the course. In the mean time I need to get a portfolio together. Anyone want some help with your house, office and/or busy schedule? :D 

I'm your girl!!