My Horoscope, Scorpio, Says "Get Out Of Town Soon"

My Horoscope, Scorpio, Says "Get Out Of Town Soon"

Photo Credit:  www.abovetopsecret.com

"You may be drawn to a romantic notion of getting away from it all, yet this kind of escape might sound better than it really is. Nevertheless, a well-planned trip makes sense now. There's no need to be impulsive about it, but the sooner you get out of town for some rest and relaxation, the better. If possible, invite someone else along on your adventure, since the energy you receive from others on your upcoming excursion can fuel your enthusiasm."

Horoscope by Rick Levine, Tarot.com, on www.HuffingtonPost.com February 10, 2014

     Although I am proud to have Scorpio as my birth sign, I rarely check my horoscope these days.  However, today I took a peek and realized that I must get out of town very soon!

     Sooooooooooo, tomorrow I will make the effort to decide just when I will actually make travel plans and purchase that plane ticket to London. 

     According to the Orlando Sentinel, our local newspaper, either crime or a traffic accident will mow me down before I get my suitcase packed. 

     I've had my new passport for many, many months, so what am I waiting for?  Nothing.  I seem to be permanently in a state of suspended animation since I retired.  Even my horoscope is tired of me sitting around, so I guess I will definitely get out of town soon!

Photo Credit:  www.uscis.gov

     Although I hate cold weather, I love London, so I'll just have to pack clothes suitable for the frigid and damp English winter weather.  Wish me luck.  But wait...aren't all the Brits spending their winter holidays in Orlando? 

Why don't you check out my organizational blog here? You might get some ideas for downsizing your "stuff."

Click this link to see my latest pinterest interests. 

If you can believe this, I'm even on Facebook now. No. Really. Click here.

Surprise! Click here to see my twitter madness.

 







I'm Retired--And Not Working Is Exhausting!

I'm Retired--And Not Working Is Exhausting!

November 8, 2013

 

This is what I thought I would look like after being retired for a whole week!

Photo Credit:  www.alzsmiles.com

 

This is what I actually look like now, after being retired for a whole week!

Photo Credit:  Unknown, Google Images

 

     Yes, it's been 7 whole days of no work, no alarm clock, no driving to work, no stress, and no problems.  This blog is titled, "Idle At Last," but I haven't been idle yet!

 

     Here is the list of my retirement activities, some fun, some not:

1.      Finished loading my car on my last day of work last Thursday.
2.      Unpacked my car after getting home on my last day of work, then put everything away.
3.      Spent my first day of retirement, last Friday, going through all of my unwanted possessions, cleaning them, pricing them, making signs, putting out the signs, and preparing for a neighborhood yard sale.
4.      Saturday, 7am, put all of the stuff in my carport for the 8am yard sale.  Enjoyed 4 hours of meeting people and selling some stuff.  Fun!
5.      Put all of the yard sale stuff that didn't sell back in the house.
6.      Drove around and took down all the signs, then returned the sign holders to the owner.
7.      Hauled home 4 heavy antique dining chairs, unloading them, and cleaning/polishing them.
8.      Put all of the yard sale stuff back in various rooms, but there are still boxes of stuff to put away in the den.
9.      Spent lots of time online searching for the perfect pedestal table to go with the 4 antique chairs.  Found one at Pier 1 site.
10.      Drove to Pier 1 Imports to purchase/order the new table.
11.      Organized my kitchen drawers and shelves Saturday evening since I had no room for all the stuff that needed to be put away.
12.      Sunday enjoyed (yay!) a lovely day at Disney World's EPCOT with all of my family to celebrate my retirement.  Lunch at the Rose and Crown Pub and lovely gifts!  Wonderful!
13.      Monday, went to work at my son's office, 9:30am, to be a kind of Personal Assistant, which included 4 hours of intense thinking.
14.      Continued to organize my kitchen, which involved 3 hours of cleaning and problem-solving (and decluttering).  Watch the video at the end of my post on how to organize your kitchen drawers easily.
15.      Tuesday went to work as a Personal Assistant for 4 more hours.
16.      Waited for the Air Conditioner technician to give my AC it's tune up on Tuesday.
17.      Wednesday, 7am, went for a root canal.
18.      Wednesday, 9:30, went for a crown fitting at my other dentist.  (And on my birthday, too!)
19.      Worked 2 more hours as a Personal Assistant, mind numbing and amazing at the same time.
20.      Thursday, took trip to the Dollar Tree store to get organizing supplies for my neighbor's kitchen makeover.
21.       5 hours organizing/clearing/cleaning my neighbor's kitchen, and hauling out heavy bags of trash.  (I love the organizing part, though.)  Watch the video at the end of my post on how to organize your kitchen drawers easily.
22.      Friday, went grocery shopping for myself and my neighbor, clearing out her refrigerator, and stocking it with her new food supply, including more garbage hauling...Bless her as she waits to come home from the hospital.

     So there you have the real deal on what a retiree does during the first week of not going to work.  Who knew, after all of my research on fun retirement activities, that I would be working harder than when I had a full-time job?

 

Watch this great video on how to simply and economically organize your kitchen drawers.

 

Click this link to my other website on organizing your lifestyle.

(It's called www.simplifyyourlifestyle.wordpress.com)

 

Click this link to see my pinterest interests. Check out my "Thanksgiving" and "Christmas" boards for great ideas.

    

 

 



Getting Rid of Clutter

Getting Rid of Clutter

September 26, 2013

Does this pile of "clutter" look familiar?
Photo Credit:  www.better.tv
 

 

     Here's a great video for getting rid of clutter.  Youtube.com is a super resource for helping anyone start to declutter any room or office.

 

Click this link to see how to get rid of clutter.

Why Work After Retirement?

Why Work After Retirement?

August 31, 2013

 

I'm at the corner of retirement and work...and I'm going to stay on the "work" path.

Photo Credit:  www.foxbusiness.com

 

      In the past month, I have come up with at least 15 great and odd ideas for my retirement future.  Let's see, buying a house in Ireland, moving to Key West, opening a bakery, flying to Australia, and other ideas too strange to mention, have popped into my mind almost every morning.

 

     Yes, I am still going to pursue some sort of Private Investigator internship/shadowing career, or at least try it out for a bit.  Yes, I am still going to write a mystery novel or autobiography, probably self-published.  Yes, I am still going to get that country home, horse, dog, and acreage.  However, all of this won't happen at the same time.  "Ain't nobody got time for that!"

 



Photo Credit:  www.123rf.com

 

     However, not too long ago, a friend complimented my ability to help others plow through their piles of possessions, helping them sort and purge them.  This has remained quietly tucked into the far recesses of my brain.  So, this week, I took my first step towards opening my own business as a personal organizing consultant.

 

     Reactions (to my idea of helping others improve their lives and living spaces with some kind of gentle assistance) have been positive, neutral, and downright negative. 

 

     Take today, for example, I spent a nice friendly breakfast defending the idea of my working after retirement.  "Why would you want to work after you've worked for so long already?"  This discussion went from cynical to obstreperous in less than 5 minutes.  Let's just call it a draw. 

 

 

Photo Credit:  www.telegraph.co.uk

 

      So I have included a link here to a great article listing 10 reasons for continuing to work after retirement.  I am concerned primarily with the first 5 reasons, because I believe I will be comfortable financially now.  I will work after I retire because I want and need to continue working.  Period.

 

Ten Reasons To Consider Working After Retirement by Kira Botkin 

 

       If you absolutely and positively need someone besides yourself to help you simplify your lifestyle, hang on for about two months while I retire from the teaching job I have right now.  By that time, in November, I'll have a website just for you, one where you can contact me, and I'll come assess your panic level and measure the height of your clutter.  The name of my new enterprise is "Simplify Your Lifestyle." 

 

       Of course, I won't be able to help all of my readers in Russia, Great Britain, Australia, and India, but if you're in the Orlando area, leave a comment and/or some way to contact you in the very near future. 

 

Click here to watch Cyndi Lauper sing "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun," just for fun this holiday weekend!!

 

 

Click here to see my latest pinterest interests. My new board is "Simplify Your Lifestyle."