Jumbled Sunshine Review: "Once Upon a Time" TV series

I thought I'd start a series with my take on various shows, movies, books, etc. I'll just do it as they come up in my life, no rhyme or reason in particular. It's more surprising that way! ;) So - here's my take on the ABC TV series, "Once Upon a Time" which premiered on ABC TV in 2011. Season Two is currently being aired on ABC TV (as of 1/31/13), and all of season one is available HERE on Netflix.

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Official Rating: TV-PG
Jumbled Sunshine Rating: TV-12 (for disturbing themes, intense fantasy violence, and mild/rare suggestive content). 

Plot Synopsis (by imdb.com): 
"Emma Swan gets the surprise of her life when Henry, the son she gave up 10 years ago, arrives on her doorstep. Returning the boy to his adoptive mother becomes complicated when Henry reveals a stunning theory to Emma. Everyone in Storybrooke, Maine is a fairytale character under a curse, and Emma - as the long lost daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming - is the one who can save them all. The story unfolds; interweaving scenes of the drama in the sleepy New England town and the inhabitants' past lives in the world of fairy tales. The timeless battle of good vs evil is ready to begin again." 

Jumbled Sunshine Review & Parents Guide: 
This sounds like a kids show, but it is NOT. It's like a fairy tale story for grown-ups. I really enjoy the plot and the twists and turns, but I would recommend it only for adults and teenagers and perhaps some tweens, depending on their maturity level. There are intense scenes of fantasy violence and some disturbing twisted plotlines that, in my opinion, make it inappropriate for younger audiences. I would suggest that parents preview several episodes before deciding which of your children can handle a show like this, taking into account your child's understanding of the difference between fantasy and reality and whether or not they have a tendency to nightmares. That said, one of the main characters, Henry, is a boy about 11-ish who is a big part of the storyline and a pretty good hero-character. The show has a lot of happy charming moments, but it really is a plotline intended for mature audiences. At our home, my 8-year-old son is not allowed to watch it, and my very mature 11-year-old daughter is watching it while supervised by me so we can discuss anything as needed. The older teens watch it on their own and they all love it. Me too. :)

Day 11: Home Office (Part 1)

I'm here! Really truly, I am! I bet you all thought I had given up and QUIT on you, didn't you? Well, you are WRONG! Unless of course you had faith in me that I would be back to finish, because then you were RIGHT!

I have gotten WAY BEHIND on my 30-Day Power Purge challenge! But I have a long list of really great excuses. . . do you want to hear them? Yeah, I didn't think so. Alright then, let's just say that I actually HAVE decluttered quite a bit since the last time I wrote. But it's ALL been on the HOME OFFICE!!! And the reason it's taking me so long is because this past weekend, we started cleaning out our office so we could turn it in to a bedroom for my nephew, Evan, who is living here with us. So - OUT with all that accumulated clutter, and IN with Evan's stuff!

It was really fun because Evan was gone with my husband Lonny for the afternoon on Saturday, so my daughter Christianna decided we should surprise them by getting the bedroom put together while they were gone. She just started going at it and pretty much "cracked the whip" on the rest of us so we would jump in and help. Hahaha. I was glad because I wanted to get it done. Plus it sounded like fun to make it a surprise. BUT - it wasn't such a great idea as far as moving around furniture because the two oldest men in the house were not here! So it was a bit crazy with the rest of us trying to move a big computer desk down the stairs, get all the stuff in boxes and transferred to the other room, bring in the extra bed, and get everything done "enough" that it could at least feel somewhat like a real bedroom before they got back. Plus we had to move several large pieces of furniture, boxes & computer equipment to the downstairs family room into the new "office" area.

Here's our new office space in the downstairs family room! Can you believe we moved that computer desk down the stairs by ourselves without the men home? It was insane! Especially when we almost dropped the whole thing on top of Christianna as we went down the stairs! And then, just as we saved it, Jessica got hit in the forehead with the upper cabinet door as it swung open! Whew! Thank goodness for strong teenage daughters and my buff 13yo son Joshua. You kids are the best ever!!

Time Management for the Jumbled Mind

So I've spent the last several weeks experimenting with various different time management apps for my new HTC Inspire phone. Ironically, I wanted to do this so I could keep better track of the project I've been working on, which is Hannah Keeley's 30-Day Power Purge. It's ironic because I've spent so much time setting up various systems and experimenting with their various features & etc, that I didn't do the power purge challenge for a couple of days now. OUCH! Is that crazy or what?

Image Courtesy of  clipsahoy.com

For the past couple of days I've gotten so hyper-focused getting my day organized, that it was suddenly noon before I had gotten much done! Don't get me wrong, I did accomplish things, but I let my intense focus on getting my time organized distract me from my main project right now, which is getting my home organized! So crazy. Do you ever find yourself doing something like that? I have a very strong feeling that I am NOT alone! Haha.

It's been a really interesting ride, not just this past few weeks, but over the years. You see, when I choose a new time management app, program, or system, I am really picky about wanting to understand it completely, apply it to my own scheduling needs, learn how everything works in theory as well as in practice, and of course I have to make sure it does everything that I need it to do for me. So not only do I have to completely immerse myself in learning how to use the tool, I have to also "live with it" for at least a  day or two before I know if it will work for me. Seriously, I have reviewed so many different time management systems over the years that I am probably an expert on what works and what doesn't and why! My husband has gotten smart and he never starts implementing something new I'm trying until I've done it for at least a few weeks. Otherwise, he will find himself just getting used to it when I abandon it. haha!

Day 6: Kitchen Cabinets

Day Six of Hannah Keeley's 30-Day Power Purge was a biggie for me! It was finishing up the rest of the kitchen cabinets. And in reality, I still have several cabinets left to do. But wow, we've made some progress! The kitchen is the most-used place in the house, so there was an awful lot that really needed some help, all leftover from several years of poor health. But, luckily for me, it was A HOLIDAY thanks to the wonderful Martin Luther King, Jr. So. . . guess who was home to help me? The kids!! Yay!

So I put them to work by asking each of them to pick one cabinet to empty, wipe out, put the rarely-used stuff in a pile for me to look over so we could decide what to give away, and then put everything else back. We put on some fun music and everyone pitched in, so we got a lot done.

So. . . drumroll please. . . here are the photo results of our kitchen cabinet clean-outs!

The spices were organized by my 19-year-old daughter, Jessica.
Thanks Jess!

Day 5: Dining Room

So, day five of Hannah Keeley's 30-Day Power Purge was. . . drumroll please. . . the dining room! And what did I do? NOTHING! Absolutely nothing!

Why? Because my dining room already looked great! haha! So - day off for me. . . but if your dining room is a mess, or you haven't seen the top of your table for weeks, or months, go ahead and read about the challenge here: http://hannahkeeley.com/blog/30-day-power-purge-day-five 

Then, get crackin' on it! You go girl! (or guy. . . )

Day 4: Kitchen Drawers & Counters

Yesterday was Day Four of Hannah Keeley's 30-Day Power Purge! This one was soooo needed in my kitchen! I started late last night (again) so I did the drawers but not the counters. The counters get pretty regular de-cluttering in my kitchen, so I'm not worried about them. But the drawers? I'm so glad that I did them - they really really needed it! 

I keep forgetting to take "before" pictures, but here's my after pictures! Not much to say except - YAY! So proud of me! Oh, and thank you to Lonny and Evan for your help. :)

My newly decluttered silverware drawer!

Day 3: Bakeware & Plasticware

Day Three of the 30-Day Power Purge: Declutter Bakeware & Plasticware! Okay, well, I didn't get to the bakeware because I decided to start with the plastics first since they were the worst. (Well, and because I didn't start until 11:40pm. . . ahem. . .) 

I am so excited to have all these lids and containers matched up! On Thanksgiving I had been fairly frustrated when I was looking for containers to split up all the leftovers with my sister-in-law and realized that I seriously could not find a large container and lid that matched! It took me like 5 minutes just to find one that would work. . . . silly. Look at all those lovely containers!

 My favorite set are the ones I purchased a few years ago on "Black Friday" They are seen in the picture above on the bottom right shelf and they are so awesome because the lids all stack up together underneath the containers, so I can actually keep them together! The containers various heights all have the same size lid, so it's really great. I also have a bunch of older and cheaper containers that I just stacked with the lids on. If I had a bunch of matching, I might do the lids separately on the side, but I think this will work for me.

Another great little gadget is the turn-around container holder on the bottom left shelf. There are 3 different sized containers all with the same little blue lids, and it pulls forward plus rotates. Pretty nice. For some reason quite a few of these are missing, so. . . hmmmm. . . . 

Day 2: Declutter the Pantry!

I was sooooo excited about this challenge (and not so excited, depending on the moment's thoughts!) because my food storage room has been badly in need of fixing for months. No wait, I have to be honest and say YEARS! Ever since our move to California and back in 2008-2009, I have not had my food storage organized and it drives me NUTS!

Here's what I wish my food storage room looked like!
Hey - quit laughing! It's possible.
For at least a few days. . . right?

I think it all started because of my health issues that pretty much limited me for a very long time to hardly ever going downstairs. It sounds really crazy now that I'm in a high-energy time of my life, but for months, no years, going down the stairs was just too hard so I avoided it much of the time. And so you can imagine what happened to my downstairs - especially since it's mainly the kid-zone! Yeah.

Now I will give some credit here to my wonderful children. They are all jumbled like me, so that means that while they are perfectly capable of making messes and making them well, they are also extremely good at digging in and getting a job done well when the mood hits them. So the downstairs has gone through it's up's and downs over the years. Right now it's teetering somewhere in the middle. The public rooms are doing fairly well considering that I don't spend a lot of time cleaning and organizing down there, but the bedrooms - well, they are pretty much unmentionable!! 

SO - now to get back on the topic. . . Food Storage Room, Day Two, right. 

Day 1: Declutter the Fridges and Freezers!

My fridge AFTER I finished with it!
(I forgot to take a "before" picture)

Today I was busy with Day One of the 30-Day Power Purge, so when my kids arrived home from school, I was cleaning out the refrigerator. When 8 year old Steven came in and saw what I was doing, he said, "Can I help?!?" (much to my delight!)

"Sure!" I said. So I had him help me re-assemble the drawers and gave him a cloth to wipe down the last few shelves. As he got busy cleaning, I heard him having a little conversation with himself, and here's how it went:

Steven: "You think you're really tough, but I'm stronger than you!"

Me: "Steven, are you talking to the fridge?"

Steven: "Nope, I'm talking to this stain!"

Me: ♥ LOL ♥

My fridge and freezer -
All clean & organized!

30 Day Power Purge is Starting Soon!

Wow, there's a lot going on right now! I have really gotten into the swing of the new year, and probably gotten myself into too much again. haha. Oh well, so far so good! The biggest thing I am working on right now is that I have taken the plunge to do Hannah Keeley's "30 Day Power Purge" and I am so excited!

I can't write much about it now because all the kids just walked in the door (of course, because I was distracted chatting with a friend on Facebook instead of writing this blog post!) SO - go read her blog entry about it to see what I'm getting into. I'd love to have as many jumbled friends join with me as possible!

Click on the picture to go to Hannah Keeley's blog and read about the power purge challenge of 2013!

Here's the link if the picture above doesn't work for you for some reason: http://hannahkeeley.com/blog/30-day-power-purge Read up on it and let me know if you want to join! We can chat about our progress on here and maybe on Facebook too. I will have to start a Jumbled Sunshine Facebook page!

One important thing: Don't wait until Monday to do anything, there are a few assignments that we need to do this week first! So check it out soon if you want in. Talk to you soon!

Do It (Tomorrow)

I just came across this app called "Do It (Tomorrow)" in the Chrome Web Store when I was looking at productivity apps (one of my pastimes. . . haha). It isn't going to fit in to my current time management strategy just now, but but it may be the perfect solution for some of my other jumbled friends!

If not, you will at least get a kick out of reading through the app description and playing around with it a bit. Read what the developers say about it and prepare for a chuckle!

Do It (Tomorrow) - The to-do App for procrastinators:
"Why do today what you can put off till tomorrow? Do you love procrastinating? Why do today what you can put off till tomorrow? That's the spirit! Do It (Tomorrow) is the Todo app for you. Planning out your entire week is a bummer - Do It Tomorrow lets you give yourself reminders for today, but makes it really easy to push things off to tomorrow. Party today, do tasks tomorrow!"

Features: 
-- Full virtual todo notebook experience 
-- Fastest todo entry 
-- Simple interface - just todo and just today and tomorrow 
-- Easily check off tasks as completed or delete them altogether 
-- Edit todos in-place
-- Companion extension to quickly add tasks via a browser button: http://bit.ly/addTasks

Sync options
-- Cloud syncs with the iPhone / iPad / Android Apps
-- Google Task Sync is also available (in-app)
-- Everyday Notes for iPhone: http://bit.ly/todayAppFree can sync with your task history.

Visit the Do It (Tomorrow) website here: tomorrow.do