Accomplishments of 2009

As we approach the last day of 2009, I started to think about what I have accomplished this year.  At first, I thought NOTHING.  Looking back, it seems that all I have done is work.  Don't get me wrong.  I am SO GRATEFUL that I have a job - a good job - especially in this horrible economy.  I just worked A LOT...346 extra hours...for "free."  Because of that, I feel like I wasn't able to do anything at home that I wanted to - project-wise.  I have this roll of fabric still in the closet waiting for drapes to be made out of it:

I have a garage that is a pig-sty.  My scrapbook room is cleaned up but still needs to be organized.  My office still has piles that need to be worked through.  The shredder is still jammed.  The armoire in the bedroom still needs to be painted or stained and pads put on the feet of it.  And, I'm sure there are still a lot of other things still needing to be done that I haven't listed...oh wait...here's the list I've had on the side of my blog all year:

• Spray Paint Frames for Office
• Sell Boat
• Paint Office Shelves
• Paint Chair Rail for Bathroom
• Install Chair Rail in Bathroom
• Organize Plastic Bins in SB Room
• Migrate Linens to New Chest
• Make Drapes for Living Room
• Make Cornice Boxes for Living Room Windows
• Inventory Our Food Storage
• Hang Melon Man's Pictures in Office
• Fix Shredder
• Finish Chair Rail in Office
• Clean Stuff on Top of Kitchen Cabinets

So, I guess I'll leave it there for now since all these things still need to be done.  There is one thing though that I/we have done this year that I am extremely proud of and happy about:

We bought a LOT of food storage this year.  And yes, we finally got it all put away and organized.  The picture with the boxes and bags was just one of a few large shopping trips.  It feels SO good to know that we have this food and that we don't need to shop very often.  In fact, the only time we really buy food is when we need bread or fresh vegetables and fruit.  There are still some things that we need to stock up on more such as body wash, more laundry stuff, and a few other things, but we're doing pretty well.  We got all the water barrels filled finally too.  This is a list of a lot of the storage stuff we bought this year:

1 #10 can 9 Grain Cracked Mix

1 #10 can apple delight drink mix

1 #10 can Banana Chips
1 #10 can BBQ flavored TVP
1 #10 can brownie mix
1 #10 can chicken strips
1 #10 can chicken TVP
1 #10 can Cream of Wheat (Farina)
1 #10 can Creamy Soup Base
1 #10 can Dehydrated Blackberrries
1 #10 can Dehydrated Green Onions
1 #10 can Dough Conditioner
1 #10 can Dry Onions
1 #10 can freeze-dried corn
1 #10 can pepperoni
1 #10 can poppy seed muffin mix
1 #10 can Scrambled Eggs w/Bacon
1 #10 can sour cream powder
1 #10 can sourdough bread mix
1 #10 can Vital Wheat Gluten
1 5 gallon bucket potato slices
1 case (24 cans) Applesauce
1 case (24 cans) Evaporated Milk
1 case (24 cans) peaches
1 case (24 cans) pears
1 case (24 cans) Pork and Beans
1 case (24 containers) Iodized Table Salt
1 case (24) of Chicken Broth
1 case (24/16 oz pkgs) Spaghetti
1 case Purex HE Laundry Detergent (6-50 oz)
1 container Vital Wheat Gluten
1 jar of Hidden Valley Ranch dressing powder
1/2 case of Vegetable Oil
10 bags Potato Pearls
104 count Ziploc gallon size bags
12 boxes of Fudge Brownie Mix
12 cans Dinty Moore Stew
12 oz Red Wheat Bran
12 pkgs large shells pasta
12 pkgs rotini pasta
12 pkgs small shells pasta
124 count Kitchen trash bags
13 oz Sesame Seeds
2 #10 cans Orange Delight
2 #10 cans sausage TVP
2 bags Brown Sugar
2 bags Powdered Sugar
2 bottles Women's body wash
2 cases (48 cans) Corn
2 cases (48 cans) Green Beans
2 pkgs (16 oz each) SAF Yeast
2-63 Load Boxes of Tide
20 oz Flaxseed Meal
24 cans chili
24 cans diced tomatoes
24 packages Taco Seasoning Mix
24 rolls Paper Towels
25 pounds 16-bean soup mix
25 pounds red chili beans
27 oz Sunflower Seeds
3 bottles Men's body wash
3 cases (72 cans) Mushrooms
3 cases (72 pkgs) Top Ramen
3 containers Men's Deoderant
3 month supply of Cascade
3 month supply of Downy
3-55 Gallon Drums for Water Storage
32 oz Yellow Corn Cones
32 pounds of rice
4 lbs Oat Fiber
4.5 pounds Minute Rice
48 cans Cream of Chicken Soup
48 cans Cream of Mushroom Soup
5 lbs of egg noodles
500 count Ziploc sandwich bags
6 #10 cans Country Fresh Farms Milk
6 boxes of Lipton Onion Soup mix
6 cases (288 cans) Tomato Sauce
70 lbs Hamburger
8-15 oz cans of diced tomatoes
800 count Equal sweetener packets
90 pounds flour
90 pounds sugar
96 rolls Toilet Paper
Large container of black pepper

WOW!  That just feel SO good looking at the list!  We also bought a new Kitchen-Aid mixer that will actually knead enough dough to make EIGHT loaves of bread at once!  I haven't tried doing that yet (since I've felt crappy most of the time since we bought it), but I plan on trying it out soon!

I look back at what I wrote about earlier in this entry about the things that I haven't done and then I look at what I have done and there is one glaring difference...I did what I was commanded to do from the LORD.  That's what matters.  The other things are just things that need to be done.  The things I did do were the most important.  And I'm happy with myself that I did them.

Today is a special day...it's our 3 year anniversary of being sealed in the temple for eternity.  I forgot to tell Melon Man happy anniversary.  (I actually forgot altogether!)  I'm so glad that I am married to him.  He's such a good man - a little quirky at times - but he's so good to me and loves me and desires me and is a good and righteous man.  What a blessing he is in my life!