Category Archives: Uncategorized

Organizing Tip: 100 Item Dash

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by Christie Perkins

So I wake up every morning greeted by the mod podge dumpings just beyond the foot of my bed. Some of it is new stuff that needs new places, some of it old. Hello! The pile is a little more chipper than I am at it’s rude awakening.

Ta-dah!

Hey, I say then run away. I like you and all but my spaces are small, you look comfortable there next to the wall. But, it’s about time I combat my inner brawl.

You (pile of things) have out-stayed your welcome. I keep feeding you more and more things because… because, well, you look hungry. Yeah, that’s it. You eat everything that anyone feeds you, rejecting no offers (Dude! even dilapidated Christmas bows and useless empty boxes that stow… this pile just grows and grows!). You suck my energy then expect me to pick up after you. You are sleeping at the foot of my bed, and though you don’t snore your drooling all over the place. I like you. I do. I just need my own space of sunshine and grace.

And then the solution to the problem I got: you just need your own-grown name-plot spot.

Well. There’s a sunrise moment if you’ve never seen one. (And since I would rather close my eyes to it, it festered like an oozy zit… ok, I’ll stop this rhyming fit.)

Maybe. Continue reading →

Thanksgiving’s More Than Just Giving Thanks

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by Christie Perkins

Thanksgiving habit immediately kicked in. I woke up automatically thinking about what I was most grateful for: my husband, my kids, my extended family, the offering of stuffing but the right to refuse it, and grateful for another day. I’m always thankful for another day (and I always refuse stuffing).

Then it hit me what the true meaning of Thanksgiving was. The why we celebrate came with more force.

thanksgivings-more-than-just-giving-thanks3Thanksgiving isn’t about just shooting off a list of things we are thankful for. Though, yes, it’s a great practice. But, it’s so much more. And since I couldn’t shake it, I thought I would share why my heart appears to be swimming in jacuzzi’s water.

Ah. Feels so nice. (I hope your heart gets all bubbly warm too). The message is simple.

That first Thanksgiving was symbolic of two very different people who learned to get along. Two people who would not have become friends on their own but circumstance brought them together. It was about struggling and depending on one another. Needing one another. Especially the pilgrims needing the experience of the Native Americans. It was about learning from one another and breaking down walls of pride. It was seeing the value of someone different and realizing they, too, have something valuable to offer and share. Continue reading →

It’s Not To Late For a Gratitude Switcheroo

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by Christie PErkins

(Reposted from November 2015. Yep making this easy on me this month.)

Don’t just look for a reason to be grateful, give someone the reason to be.

howperkyworks.com (3)Typically the month of November is a time we focus on all of the things that we are grateful for. I love it. It’s so nice to evaluate the good things in our lives. To recognize all those things that have been squished against our noses but somehow failed to see.

So typically we find reasons to be grateful. We list them on construction paper turkey feathers, die cut leaves, or more permanently- in our journals, etc. We display them somewhere (well, maybe not the journal that could be… intrusive) so we can remember all the goodness that life offers. Regardless, it’s a snazzy little thing that softens our complaint list in the month of November.

It’s nice. It’s needed. Continue reading →

Survival Tips For Shopping With Boys

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Shakes, Deals, and Lizard Tails

by Christie Perkins

(reposted from 7/29/2016)

2014 Horney Toad 008Shakes, and deals, and lizard tails (oops)… that’s what shopping with boys are made of.

Have you ever gone clothing shopping with boys? I don’t know what it is but there’s something mis-wired in their brains that turns them off to shopping. If I allowed it, there would be grown men and boys sitting and a tantrum-fitting on the floor of the store trying to induce a man made clothing tornado.

But, they don’t. They know better.

Me. Well, I could spend hours in a store checking everything out, trying on clothes and making the best selection. But, a major miscalculation occurs when one mom takes four boys shopping. Continue reading →

Are You Up To The Out-y 500 Challenge?

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by Christie Perkins

So I woke up with bags under my eyes. You know when you can feel the droopiness in your muscles and and thighs (yeah, because my thighs are flabby fat not muscles… something like that. Moving on). Well I was in this state when I hit the floor running.

You see, I was so excited the night before that I just couldn’t sleep. I night plotted about all of the things I wanted to purge my house of. It all started with the recent return of a big family vacation. It was a vacation that I lived on 6 outfits (and underwear and socks of course), a dumbed down but sufficient makeup bag, and a deck of cards.

And I was happy. So stinkin’ happy.

Are You Up To TheOUT-Y 500 CHALLENGE_ _Winter is dead.”When I got home the first thing I was repulsed at was the amount of clothes that stood there decorating the vertical space in my closet. They didn’t even look happy to be there. I was suddenly weighed down by all these little things that didn’t matter. I didn’t even miss them a smidge. And I ate half the month in vacation plans on six outfits (which was a very good choice by the way).

Wow. You know, it was time to change some things because I was suddenly tired of all the little insignificant things in life that weighed me down. I suddenly recognized all my energy that pooled into the things that didn’t matter. Things like unhappy vertical decorations on hangers.

Over the course of the last 3 years cancer has taught me this great truth. Things don’t matter. And if it is gobbling your energy and time and it is not building anyone up, it’s time to ditch the task… or item. So, I have started what I call The Out-y 500.

Squeal.

I can’t resist. It’s just too much joy I’m going to burst. Continue reading →

Yawn. My Stage 4 Cancer Update

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by Christie Perkins

YAWN!My Stage 4 Cancer UpdateSo a lot of people are wondering what is going on with my treatments. This will be a highly unexciting post about the details of my life right now. If you want to skip out… I’ll catch you next week.

Wink. (And we can still be friends. I won’t even know that you dropped out.)

First, I need to clarify what stage 4 cancer is. Most people just nod and give me that far off look in their eye. It’s like trying to explain burns to me. Is 1st degree worst or 3rd? All these numbers cause me brain blunders. Continue reading →

5 Tips To Avoid a Boring Lolly-Gag Summer

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by Christie Perkins

Summer is just around the corner. (Squeal!) But it’s not long before the kids slip into a brainless slouchy boredom slump. And all of my entertainment ideas are stumped. We go from bliss to fists in a few short weeks. Yep, it’s true. My kids fight (please send me tips if your kids don’t).

Humph.Avoid a BoringLOLLY- GAG SUMMER(1)

I’m excited for summer anyway. I love hanging with my kids. I love schedule drops, late bedtime flops, and night walks with my guy and the kids. Ah, the sweetness of summer time.

But what to do about the long unplanned days? For me, I love to put a focus on the day. I’ve done it for years and the kids seem to like it (I’ve even been surprised that they liked the organization day- probably because we drop chores that day).  Check out what I did last summer here. Continue reading →

How Dealing with Cancer is Like Building a House

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by Christie Perkins

If you have ever built a house you know the deep ditch neuro pathways you carve from overthinking details.

You even sometimes dream about the process… or have nightmares.

“She turned to the sunlight And shook her yellow head,And whispered to her neighbor_ _Winter is dead.”(1)You have lived in other places and you quickly categorize what you like and don’t like. You adopt and adapt from previous experience the things you should do for the next house. But some things you take for granted, like the placement of plugs. You don’t really think about those details because someone else does the thinking for that.

Unless you’ve had a bad experience with that.

In my last house I had one light switch in a bedroom that was vacationing halfway down the wall. Ok. Maybe not that far. But, you would practically jab your armpit with the door frame before you found the switch… and I always prayed that a spider wasn’t playing boogie man as I felt the wall.

That’s crawly (not to mention creepy). Continue reading →

Gain This Super Power in Just 5 Minutes a Day

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by christie Perkins

You all know people with super powers. We get all googly eyed over their amazing abilities. They are everywhere: Service Sweetheart, Listening Lister, Jammin’ Jamie, Dinner Pro Joe… yadda, yadda.

One Super Power You Don't Want to Go Without How just 5 minutes a day can save the day!Ooh, and I like it when they save the day. I’ve been rescued from overwhelming yard projects, worries and woes, awkward dance moments (lets face it… all my jigging and jiving wrinkles the faces of innoncent bystanders), and drive by dinner drop offs.

I love other people’s talents. What would I do without their strengths? And a little craving enters in and I think to myself, “Hm? What kind of super power do I want?”

The possibilities are endless. So I fine tune my thinking, “What would be one of the greatest super powers I could have? And better yet: What super power could I pass on to my children?” Continue reading →