I spent all day today working on bins/boxes that I have in my garage.  A friend came over and "encouraged" me to get rid of a lot of my old things.  Cabbage Patch Dolls...I kept one of four.  It's now Gavin's baby.  We have to keep reminding him to be gentle with him.  I hope it helps him learn to be more gentle with his friends at school.  I tossed all of my My Little Ponies, but couldn't part with the Strawberry Shortcake or Rainbow Brite dolls just yet.  Maybe next time!

I got rid of almost all of my stuffed animals and quite a few things that I got from my dad.  However, I also had somebody come and pick up a beautiful teak bar/room divider and some really huge, old Altec speakers.  I'm sure we could have made some pretty good money off of both of those items, but what really matters is that they aren't taking up space in our garage anymore!  I'm glad they have gone to people that will appreciate them.  

15/365 - Bye Bye Alf!  

14/365 - I pass this old barn every day on my home from work.  It's falling apart and covered in graffiti, but there is something about it....I wish I knew its story.  Who owns it?  Is it the original family?  I saw some kids walking toward it not too long ago holding what looked like a small animal carrier.   I still wonder what they were up to!

13/365 - I met my friend Matt at a campground that my family and I used to go to a lot when I was younger.  We met in 1990 when I was in middle school.  He didn't live all that far from me, but in sixth grade it was quite a distance.  We were pen pals all through my middle school and most of my high school years (he was a few years older).  Now we've reconnected through Facebook!

These are all the letters that he wrote to me.  We started writing when stamps cost just 29 cents

12/365 - Some of Gavin's favorite books...it's so cute when he grabs a book and walks up and says "read?"  Then he turns his back to you so that you can pick him up and sit him on your lap to read to him.

As I mentioned a couple weeks ago, I'm going to be working on decluttering.  I thought I had come to terms with getting rid of my old toys.  Taking them out of the box has made me doubt myself.  I have some awesome stuff!

As soon as I got home from work tonight and changed, I grabbed some boxes from the garage and got to work.  I've been filling up the dining room table with stuff that I've decided to let go.  It's hard because some of the items my dad gave me.  I am very sentimental about my things.  I'm hoping that taking pictures will make it easier to part with them.

I posted some items on Freecycle and hope they go quickly (before I change my mind!)  I got a postcard about a charity pickup on January 21.  If they don't go by then, I will put out for pickup.  This is the plan.

11/365 - Childhood friends....My Little Pony, Strawberry Shortcake, Rainbow Brite...my Cabbage Patch dolls must be in another box.

10/365 - It's a bird, it's a plane....it's Captain Undies!  Guess I shouldn't leave the (clean) laundry laying around?

9/365 - Gavin's favorite Christmas present...not just one "tato!" but "two tatos!"  Mr. Tato is missing a few parts, but I'm sure they're under a couch or in a speaker somewhere around here.

And I'm including this picture because I can probably count the number of pictures I have of Gavin and me together on two hands....I guess that's what happens when you're always the one taking the pictures!