Craffice is finished but…

Now it is in complete shambles!!!! After arranging and organizing everything, I decided it was time to start preparing for our cruise!!! It doesn’t matter that our cruise is months away. This cruise is going to be different and special. It is a family cruise!!! But what will make this cruise so special is that my mother will be going and it will likely be her last trip. You see, my mother has dementia. Our goal, as a family, is to go on one last family trip so, hopefully, she will make some special memories that will last in her memory.

Going on this trip will be my mother, myself, my husband, my daughter, her husband, and their 3 kids and one family friend. My grandchildren and our family friend have never been on a cruise before. I cannot wait to see their faces when they first set foot on the ship!!! I have never planned a cruise for 9 people before so this may or may not be a challenge for me. But, I’m up for the challenge.

The planning process actually began last year on July 23rd. The itinerary was selected first (by my daughter). Leaving Galveston going to Mahogany Bay, Belize, and Cozumel. Next was the ship. Freedom or Vista? Vista it is!!! Now we wait!!!!

Part of the fun of waiting is starting to think about what we want to do at the port of call. Thinking about what clothes we will need to pack, what we need to buy, do we need new swimsuits or will butts be hanging out??? Then we need to make lists… lots of lists!!! I have made lists for each person to know what the should pack, what is allowed to bring on-board and what is prohibited. I even have a Dollar Tree shopping list for some things we need to get.

During this waiting period, we have decorated our lanyards, working on decorating our luggage tags (for carry-on stuff). We are trying to decide on shirts… Maybe the one we have seen that says “Oh Ship, It’s A Family Trip” or something along those lines.

And since I have decided to be productive during this wait period, I have finished my scrapbook for our 2010 Carnival Conquest cruise and I have started on our 2011 Carnival Magic cruise. And after I finish that one, I will start on our 2014 Carnival Triumph cruise. Then I will be caught up on those and will start on the scrapbooks for our many vacations to Cozumel. Plus various family events like my daughter’s wedding, and my oldest son’s wedding, other family weddings, family birthdays, and so many other things. But I have an end goal, that might take a very long time to complete, but I have a goal!!!

At this time, I plan to blog about the scrapbook I will be making for my 2011 Magic cruise. It will be a large scrapbook as there was a TON of stuff going on. But for now, I must work.

Thanks for reading and please come back to read about my upcoming cruise adventures and to see the scrapbook’s I will be working on.

The Craffice Project – Almost finished.

When I embarked on this project, I knew it would be a real challenge. There were many times I felt like the room was winning. But now that I’m almost finished, I will like I have almost accomplished my goal. The before pictures I took are far too embarrassing to share, but I will share the pictures I took today. I realize there is still a lot to do but I do plan on rewarding myself with some new curtains and maybe a new rug. I also want to find a new chair for my desk.

But before I can reward myself, I have a to-do list that must be completed first. Luckily, it’s not major. Just a bunch of going thru a container which is mostly trash I’m sure and organizing my scrapbook stuff a little better. I would also like to paint my big desk so it will look better. I also want to do some rearranging (again).

I hope my next post will be the finished project!

Project Craffice Update

This is turning into a very long process. I guess that is what happens when you let stuff pile up and you accumulate supplies to last an eternity. And it doesn’t help when you have a parent with vascular dementia. I’m fortunate that my mother is able to care for herself at this point. But I do know that will not be the case forever. Right now, she has an upcoming family cruise to focus on and she is really using that as motivation to do everything she can to maintain herself to the best of her ability. And I make sure she does this!!!

But I will conquer the craffice chaos.

Project Craffice – Day 1

When you craffice spills out into the hall, you know you might have a slight organization issue. Plus, your space is in complete and total chaos! Since this was the case, I decided to start my craffice project there. Not just because of the disaster and likely health hazards, but to make sure I had an easy escape access should I decide to bail, LOL.

But I didn’t bail. And most of the stuff in the hall was either Christmas paper/gift bags, on box of dolls I inherited when my grandmother passed away, and in all honestly, a bunch of other junk. I have always had a problem of letting go of things, but I’m trying to improve. I really am.

For now, I do feel accomplished in getting the hall completed with little help and absolutely no breathing issues! I compl

Everything in baby steps. One day at a time, one section at a time.

Craft Room + Home Office = Craffice

My craffice is where I spend most of my day and night. I guess that is mostly due to the fact that I am able to work from home. But now I feel overwhelmed! It’s almost like the walls are closing in on me. But they’re not. I just need to find a better way to make this space more user friendly, multi-functional if you will.

The room itself is about 12′ x 12′ which theoretically should be enough space. The purpose of this room is to work my job as a Transcription Coordinator, a place to organize all my scrapbook tools, paper, photos, and everything else that has caught my eye, plus keep track of travel plans. But I’m struggling. At the moment, the room looks like a dumping ground. The resting place for everything that cannot find a place somewhere else in the house.

So my goal for the month of February will be to get rid of the clutter and chaos and turn this room into the space I need, want, and desire. I know I can do it, but it will take time. Probably more time that the average person. COPD has a way of limiting things. But I will power thru this. My craffice will truly become my happy place, one small section at a time.

Coming up next… Day 1, Project Craffice.