Pests

I’m learning a lot owning a house. … I’m learning that I don’t know a lot about owning a house. Well, maybe it’s more like ‘maintaining’ a house. Today new challenge is Pests.

I work up this morning with a plan.

Get some work done, drop off the kiddo to grandma’s, tea time at a SMWTO (Social Media Week Toronto) gathering and then finally ending my day with dinner with a client. That plan quickly derailed by little black dropping in my kitchen (and they were not from my dogs). Black specs on my stovetop that I hoped was burn pieces of spices that I forgot to clean up last night. But who’s kidding who? It came from a mouse/mice! ARGH! The thing that I haven’t had to deal with since the last time I lived in a house. That was over 12 years ago. Suddenly I missed living in a condo.

So after speaking to my good friend, who talked me off the ledge [of selling my house], I realized that it’s not the end of the world. And that it really isn’t the end of my day either. So… I take the time to clean the kitchen (which I probably should have kept clean in the first place – as my mother would say), and lay some traps out and hope that I have someone to dispose of anything it catches.

*Sigh*

I think that it was easier for me to jump into parenthood as a single parent than owning this house. I think that someone should write a book “What to Expect When You’re a Home Owner” (okay… I know that there probably is a book out there like that already, but probably isn’t a best seller like What to Expect When Your Expecting). Looks like I found a new topic to write about. Keep an eye out on more postings from me…learning all about Ownership of a House

Feeling Settled

I’ve moved far too many times in my lifetime (thanks to my father), and no, I wasn’t and Army Brat or we weren’t fugitives. He just moved us on average every two year all around the GTA (mostly Scarborough). But, back then, it was easy, he and my mother would take care of everything while my brother and I stayed with family or friends for a weekend. When it was all done, we’d go back to a new bedroom, that was all unpacked and we were all set to goto school.

While in University and College, I moved around just about the same frequency as my father had us moving. But I did it the college style: futon, dresser, suitcase of clothes and CD collection. Took less than a couple of hours to pack move and unpack with the help of a couple of friends.

Since having my kid, I’ve moved 3 times. But this is the 2nd place I’ve owned on my own. With all my furniture, stuff, and kid & dogs in tow and the added stress of buying a selling my place(s), it’s taken me until now to feel settled. Almost back to my old self. This last move started just after Victoria Day Weekend 2011. I think that is a long time to be in limbo.

Now my house feel really lived in (especially after the water leak) and I have a sense of routine with everyone in the house. I can finally breathe again.

I’m looking forward to writing more in my blog. And maybe, just maybe, it will be interesting…

So much to do, so little time

Are you like me? Do you have the longest to-do list in the world and even less time to accomplish anything? I’ve been trying to find the best [iPhone/iPad] app to help me check off my list.

Here are some that I like (based on design, function, and usability)

TeuxDeux $2.99 (by SwissMiss) It’s simple and it’s browser based. So if you’re used to working in the ‘cloud’ then you’ll like this app. The app connects to your free TeuxDeux Web account

Do it (Tomorrow) Free  (by Adylitica,Inc) Again another simple design. The icon and app looks like a Moleskine notebook with only two pages – ‘Today” and “Tomorrow”. Basically you enter your list on either today or tomorrow. And what ever you don’t accomplish it will automatically carry over.

Remember the Milk Free (by Remember the Milk) Also a web based site that has both a free and paid accounts. There you can manage all your tasks. It’s a type of “Set it, and forget it” principle by David Allen book Getting Things Done There you put all your task that you repeat on a regular basis, and it will send you timely reminders. You can also create different folders from individual family tasks/reminders to personal projects or work tasks.

Reminders Free included in iOS (by Apple) With iPhone 4S and Siri, this app is where Siri puts all your reminders that you, with or without a specific time. You can create different lists and you can check it off as you complete them. Those lists, other than the one titled “On My iPhone” will sync to your iCloud account, which should update all your devices and computers.

TouchBase $2.99 (by Tomo) This app works with you iCal appointments (or you can add them into the app directly) and your address book. Here you can keep in touch with the people that will be at your meetings/appointments. With quick keys text people that you’ve arrived, or that your running late by 5, 10 or 20+

Contact Journal – Personal CRM $4.99 (by zaal LLC) This app allows you to track and take notes after speaking to clients between meetings. You can also sync the data between your iPhone and iPad through Dropbox. After you’ve entered all your notes, you can read them all easily through the Logs tab that gives you a quick view in order of entry date/time. This can be an indispensable app if you’re in sales.

Lemon Free (by Lemon Inc) A web based app, this allows you to track your expenses or all your purchases. You can “scan” your receipts with your iPhone camera, then Lemon will help store your receipts and generate summary reports. The web account is also free at Lemon.com, but for an upgrade at a cost of a couple of lattes a month, it will give you details on every line item and show you how you’re spending your money.