Half way through the year

Look, it's July 1. Where has this year gone?

I sit here at work with a sinus headache, trying to concentrate. This isn't happening. It will be ok. I am a firm believer in OTC medication, and I've taken Corisidan BP for colds. I don't know if this will help, but I also have chocolate and tea. One way or the other, I'll feel better. Or not.

I am still considering my goals, as I set them last January. It is interesting to me that the least defined goal, the one I was pretty sure wasn't going to happen, is further along than the others. I am organizing my house.

I am usually able to organize one or two areas of my life at a time. My house has always been the lowest priority. That is unwise, since your house is your base, your sanctuary, your home. Its comfort or chaos can affect your whole life.

So now, I am slowly weeding out junk. It isn't being a Junk Junkie, and harder to quit, especially if you have raised your kids to think that some day a broken Star Wars light saber might be fixed and come in handy. If I try to throw out too much (or give it away--- it doesn't matter), I start to hyperventilate. I am convinced I have just handed over something that will show up on Antiques Roadshow. "Yeah, the lady just handed it to me, and it's worth $10,000. All I had to do was clean off the cat poop."

I am not really very far in the junk junkie department, really. But what I have done is organize books on bookshelves and set up a shelf/desk system in my kitchen, which is my work area. What this means is that if I want to pay a bill, I can find the bill, the checkbook, a pen and (and this is a biggy) A STAMP. If I want to pay on-line, I can look in my book and find my user name and password. If I want to write a letter to a friend... oh, wait, what did I do with that address book? Ok, well, I'm working on it.

This weekend, after the July 4th barbecue, after my sinus headache goes away, after I finish this book I'm reading... I will clean my kitchen cabinets, put stuff in these cute glass containers I bought, throw out pieces of blenders I don't have and warranties for telephones with dials I don't think I've ever owned. I will put the three different bottles of chili powder, four bottles of cinnamon, two bottles of something without a label back on a shelf and USE them.

Really.