IKEA Bookshelf story

Some of you (Facebook friends) know that last Saturday we (Matt and I) finally made it to built our IKEA bookshelf! Here is the story behind it.
I decided that it would be a good idea to re-organize the living/office area! Since this move I realize that I left a LOT of furniture back in Iowa, and that I don’t have as much place to put away all the stuff that we have away. So, I decided that I was going to look into buying a bookshelf and a corner desk. (can you see why on the picture?)

I went to IKEA to do my research, brought the catalogue home with me, show it too Matt. Drag Matt to IKEA with the intend to buy the stuff. Got annoyed with husband in IKEA (because he just doesn’t give a crap about the type of furniture that we have). Left IKEA with a very sorry husband. Went to the Custom place here on base, so that I could buy a VAT form, so that I could get the TAX back (you know the little extra that the store charge you for the States Taxes? Well in Germany it is almost 20%, yes you read it right, 20 %) Needless to say that I am going to use those forms as often as I can to order to have a little money back as I can!
So last week, I went back with my friend to the IKEA in Mannheim and we bought the shelf and the desk that attach to it. I was going to buy the extra desk, but they didn’t have it in the color that I wanted. I paid the cashier and gave her my VAT form, she then told me to go to Customer service to get the form filled up. OK then!! 35mn after I got my little “serving ticket #” ticket, I finally got my VAT form filled up. The Customer service send me to the cashier to get my tax money back (ARE YOU INSANE??)!!
So off I go back to the cashier, in line for another 10mn and got my 26Euro back!! Whohooo!! Well, I guess it is good pay for an hour of work/waiting (time that I could have use to unpack at home), right?
Got home, and on Saturday went to unload the shelf from the van, opened the boxes. AH!! One is the right color… the other isn’t!! OH NO!!!! I tell Matt, we need to call IKEA to see if we need to return it to the Mannheim store or if we can just go to the closest one! Call them, any store will do!! OK then, load the black part (wrong color) back in the van, and drive there. Oh the joy of the ticket #. Waited, got the lady to agree to take it back (next time you have an issue like that, go to the Store that you bought it from) ??? What do you mean??? We called, they say go anywhere?? What is the problem??? (Me in my head: OH WHATEVER!!!) ;-)

Got the right color shelf and went to see if they had the desk (they did) bought the desk and went home.

After about 2 ½ hours of putting stuff together, (and a happy Matt as you can see!) this is now what it look like (well almost since I still need to put away all the crap that need to be put away in it! And then, I will take another picture and post it. But this is the “work in progress”

De blog

SHAME SHAME SHAME part2

I am sure some of you are wondering how my cleaning is going, well …
Not so good!
I have tried, and I won’t show pictures since there isn’t a lot of moving going on. I did empty part of my CDs collection that we haven’t used since forever, so at least one full “pillow” box which was full or half full of empty game boxes, is now completely full with game boxes and other CDs that I put in. So this is one step closer to the emptiness of my office.
However, the rest isn’t going too well.
I do have excuses (I am very good at finding excuses, you shall see if it is worse or not) 2 weeks ago when I put up that entry, I didn’t know that I would have an interview a few days later that ended up in with me being hire. So I am now proud employee of a local Nursing home where I am the “PT Assistant Director of Activities” but I am not proud to say that I haven’t done what I was wanted to do before the end of the month. There is always something coming up. I am part time, but I still work 3 days a week, and some weekends and holiday, since Nursing home is after all 24/7/352 so I haven’t been home in a while. I guess you could have guessed that since I haven’t posted for a while.
Anyway… so that is my excuse and believe me I am disappointed with myself. I guess my next day off will see me trying to keep up with the house chores and the organization of my office, and maybe a little sleep. I have forgotten how sleepy one gets by being on one’s feet all day! ;-) But I am happy. I love working with people, and if you really ignore the “urine” smell that you have in the morning. It is pretty fun. I think I am going to like it. I don’t know how difficult it is going to be for me when Matt is half way around the globe, but… I guess there are plenty of women who deal with being the “single” mother, so I am well not: prepare, but aware of the difficulty. I was looking for a seasonal job for at least helping with the Xmas shopping and to be able to give my husband a nice gift from ME and not from the money that he make, so I am looking forward receiving my first pay check, it won’t be too much since I just started last week, but it should be enough to pay for some gift. WHOHOO!!!

Organization etc...

So I am in the process of cleaning up and I found some articles that I thought were very interesting and that I will use the main idea to clean up my office and then.. the rest of the house but right now... one step at a time, one step per day! And hopefully I will get the office done by the 21st.
http://www.redbookmag.com/recipes-home/tips-advice/cleaning-organize/how-to-get-organized

you can also go on to : http://www.first30days.com/ and have tips for every aspect of your life!
Very interesting as well. Great tips and you can even dowload or listen to interview with expert.
Love it!!
Go check it out, you might fall in love and find cool stuff that might help you!

More later when I get something done tomorrow or at least I hope I will. ;-)
I hate it when there is a holiday in the week, cause it screw up my entire week, now I don't have 2 weeks of organizing my office I have not even 10 days!! Yacks!!!

Shame Shame Shame!!!

So yesterday I went down in the “CAVE” as I call it, my basement. My kids use it for their “playroom” but I also have an office with a brain new computer in. I haven’t even used it 10 times yet and it has been in the office for over 2 month now! SHAME!!

I took all my courage then because I have all my scrapbook supplies there, my beading supplies, my craft supplies, my painting supplies and of course my office crap! Anyway… I went down and I started assessing the damages. OH BOY!!! Diane, you know it, you’ve been down there, so it won’t be a surprise to you at looking at the pictures, and YES I did take pictures because she told me so!! Diane told me to do it and post it and then I won’t have any other excuse but to show the work in progress right? AH!! Work in progress it has been since we moved in!! 2003!! SHAME!!

For those of you who have ever seen “Clean House” well I think I NEED clean house to come… Mind you this is one of the only room that look so bad, but still… I AM ASHAMED!!
So here it is those SHAMEFUL pictures of my office. And I am going to clean it, no clean house, no 10 people’s team to come and help… just me and myself! L I told myself, I HAVE to clean it because if we do end up moving like they say all the way in Germany I have to not have that much stuff to take with me, mind you I WILL take most of my supplies, just for the fact that if I am stuck in Europe where the supplies are so expensive I will have to have stuff to feel creative… I will have to have supplies that I don’t feel like I am being ripped off my head to pay for; beside it is already paid for so it isn’t like I will spend money right. I have been good lately, no spending on scrapbooking since …. Gosh.. I think it was before the summer! Even when I go to the scrapbooking store to crop, I don’t buy (well I did have to buy some adhesive but it was because I run out)

So here, I hope I will be able to do it within the next crop which is the 21st of November. I will have everything that I want to keep in the room and the rest will be or given away to a school, craft supplies that is, and all the other goodies, will go to friends or on Freecycle.com or to goodwill. I think I can do it.. NO I HAVE to do it!!