The List is your Limit

Have you ever been to the grocery store with 4 things on your list, and left with 40 things in your basket, and $200 drafted from your bank account? Well, not today! The task of the day is a dare. I dare you to make the list your limit. Today's task is to limit ourselves to buying only what is on the list. We will not grab random stuff and add to our cart. We will only go to the aisles needed for the items on our list. No browsing. No loitering. In and Out. We won’t add something on a whim to find out we have three just like it at home. We will not grab! We are only going to get the items on our list. (Hint: tomorrow we will be using these items for a meal). "Sure", you say "that’s easy"! Just wait until the sample lady serves you some really great brisket sandwiches. No brisket today. What about all the eye-catching, magnetizing, "I want now" stuff waiting in the checkout line? We will have to pass today.  No Coke, no candy bar, no Nutella, no beef jerky, no People magazine, and no 5 hour energy drink. Today we will prove to ourselves that we have self-control, or should I say store-control. We will have store control! The grocery store does not own our bank account, and the last time I checked, we do not have the grocery store set up on auto-pay. We only pay for what we get, and today we are only going to get what’s on our list. The list is our limit. ;)


Post your receipts when done! I Double Dog Dare you to make the list your limit. ;)

List: 

* If you have these ingredients already, no need to buy more. Make your own list and have store-control using it! Post your list with your receipt. ;)

I dare you to have store-control? I can’t wait to see those receipts!

1 Year Anniversary and Win a Task Mama's shirt!

 Friday is a very special day for Task Mama’s. We are going to be celebrating our 1 year anniversary! That’s right! It will be one year since the very first post, April 11th, 2013. This past year has been so much fun. I have enjoyed every one of you Task Mama's! As I look back over the past year, scrolling and scrolling through the face book group, I feel accomplished and I think you should too. We all need a Task Mama punch, because Whoa! Mama…it was a really long year. Look at all the tasks that were accomplished! 

As a special thank you from me to you, I will be holding a drawing for a Task Mama shirt from our Task Mama store! Thursday will be the last day to enter the drawing for the Task Mama shirt, before 6:00 pm!  I will announce the winner of the Task Mama shirt on Friday, our anniversary day! (Make sure you are entered into the drawing)


Here’s what you need to do to be entered into the "TASK MAMA'S 1 Year Anniversary" drawing.  Make sure you do it before 6:00 pm on Thursday. 

Here’s what you need to do to be entered in the drawing before 6:00 pm on Thursday.

1) Subscribe to Task Mama’s Blog: http://taskmamas.blogspot.com/
 (Facebook limits the amount of pictures I can put on a post and the format is getting hard to work with. I am only able to post a shortened version of the posts so I will start having the full post on the blog.) 

2) Comment on the blog: Name the task that has helped you the most this past year.

Tagxedo

"Tagxedo turns words -- famous speeches, news articles, slogans and themes, even your love letters -- into a visually stunning word cloud."

Today we are going to make a Tagxedo!  I have written the how-to steps to make your Tagxedo below. When your done you will have a one of a kind creation to print-out,  hang up, and to share with us!  ;). This will be a great way for us to get to know each other. Add your favorite things to do or words from your favorite song. Remember that famous speech? What about slogans, or themes? How about that motivational phrase, or spiritually uplifting verse/passage from the Bible that you would like on your refrigerator. Anything! ;) 

Have fun with this, and don’t forget to post your Tagxedo on the Task Mama's facebook group page so we can get to know you better.

Check (I had to say that) out these Tagxedo's Check marks I made using the Task Mama’s group description. One more thing I can check of my list :) 

I made both Task Mama's Tagxedo check marks in under two minutes:

How to make a Tagxedo:

• Go to: http://www.tagxedo.com/
• Click on the word "Create" on the top right corner of  page.
• Click on the word “Load”
• Copy your words, a favorite quote, poem or song and paste into the “enter text” box. (Copy by highlighting. Next, click inside the “enter text” box. Then use the Ctrl and V keys on the keyboard to paste)
• Now just make it your own. Change the color, theme, font orientation, layout and/or shape (all of these options are on the left hand column).
• When it’s just perfect click on save/share.
•  Download your Tagxedo to your computer. (I saved mine as a 16mb jpg version)

    Don't Forget the Last Step:

• Upload your very own Tagxedo to Task Mama’s so we can all see what's unique about you! * https://www.facebook.com/groups/TaskMamas/ (Task Mama's is a closed group, but we would love for you to join!)

This is my Tagxedo...

This is just too much fun!

Flower here, Flower there

Flowers are Everywhere!

Find your flower anywhere.

Braid a flower in your hair.

Hold a flower in your mouth.

Sew a flower North and South.

Smell a flower on a gate.

Give a flower to one who will appreciate.

Plant a flower in a box.

Iron a flower on your socks.

Donate your flower to Good Will.

Send some flowers to Cousin Gill.

Pull up a flower that’s a weed,

Have fun while you blow the seeds.

Paint a flower on a craft,

View a flower from a raft.

Read about a flower in a book,

Give back the flower that he took.

Jump on a flower if you wish

Eat on a lovely flower dish

Put some flour in a cake

Plate a flower beside the steak

Bake a flower if you dare

Treat your flower with care

Plant your flower in the ground

Give your flowers to the hound.

Flower here, Flower there

Spring is in the air.

Flower this, Flower that.

Pull a flower from your hat.

Share your flower with us all.

Even if it’s very small.

We want to see that spring has sprung,

And give it our warm, Task Mama welcome.

Go Fish

                 Elijah's  favorite activity is to play in the kitchen sink, my almost two-year old. You might remember my post about Landon (my oldest, now 10) loving this when he was two.  Elijah started out wanting cups, and spoons to play with as the water flowed out of the faucet. The fact that he is so entertained made me happy, but it does bother me that he wants to keep the water running during the whole “play session”.  He didn't like my new idea to plug the sink, and was on the brinks of throwing a fit, until I added the bubbles. Wow! A whole new substance to explore. He played in the sink the whole time I was cleaning the kitchen and getting our dinner in the crock-pot. I thought I would add something else for him to explore by throwing one of my clean stainless steel scrubbers in the bubbles. He was having so much fun dipping, squeezing and “cleaning” the bubbles. I heard sweet baby laughter and singing while I continued with my cleaning. Then I got this wise idea to tell him the scrubber was a fish, “Look, Elijah it’s a fish, let’s go fishing!” He was mesmerized and I could tell he really believed me. His mouth opened up wide and looked up at me, “Go Fish”. I went fishing, pulling up “fish” making it wiggle and squirm at the end of the fork (fishing pole). All was good until I said, “Elijah, now you go fish!” I immediately got a very definite, “NO!” He made this grossed out face and moved his body back letting me know he wanted nothing to do with the scrubber now that it is a fish. I tried everything to get him to fish. He would not, could not, catch that fish! After that, he was done playing in the sink.

              

             Today’s task is to “Go Fish”. Think back to something you used to love to do. Something that you wanted to do every day, and really enjoyed doing it. Somewhere along the way this love was left to the side or forgotten. Did your time became too full of more important things, or like Elijah did a fish get thrown in your bubbles? This post is mainly for me. Task Mama’s was something I used to do every day, and really enjoyed. I miss all of you, Task Mama’s. It has been too long! I can’t post daily, but I plan to post more often than once a year. :) I am a full time student, mother to four children, wife, friend, maid, teacher, sometimes a judge or lawyer and my list goes on. I know everyone has a list miles long and it is hard to find time to do the things we once loved to do. Was a fish thrown in your bubbles?  I don’t know your personal life, but I do know, everyone has something that they no longer do that they sometimes wish would do, could do. Did you sing in the shower, help random people, smile at others, wear your hair in a side ponytail, clean the bathroom, organize, exercise, study, cherish, visit, or love? Choose something today that you did once did quite often and do it today, “Go Fish”. Remove the fish from the bubbles and bring back that old love.

When you accomplish your task please share it with us on our facebook group page or comment below. We enjoy hearing from you, and really love to see the pictures of your accomplished tasks! Feel free to share those pictures and/or posts anytime even if it is not the “task of the day”. If you need ideas or some of the previous Task Mama’s posts visit our blog: http://taskmamas.blogspot.com/

Clean the inside of the refrigerator

Task of the Day: Clean the inside of the refrigerator

This task is to not only make your refrigerator look clean, but it needs to be clean. E.coli, salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes are just some of the 8,000 bacteria lurking in your refrigerator and happily contaminating your food. The temperatures between 40 degrees and 140 degrees are the breeding ground for most bacteria. Make sure your refrigerator is set cooler that 40 degrees. These bacteria are ready for battle, contaminating your food and they want you to be sick.

When Joshua and Hannah were younger they were like little tornado's running through the house demolishing everything. We were not sure how we would make it past that very long stage. WE know now that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger! During this very difficult time, they thought the refrigerator was such a fun place and I was constantly trying to keep them out of it. We tried taping the refrigerator door shut after the alarms, buckles, straps and many other things had failed. They all just bought us about two seconds. Joshua would ALWAYS figure these things out. During this challenging time, Joshua was four and Hannah was two years old. I felt like I was always running in catching them in the refrigerator, pulling stuff out. I quickly became Mom-Commando when I heard the sound of their little feet, sneaky laughs and then the sound of that door opening. This time I was a little too late, ok, a lot too late! As I walked into the kitchen, I saw the smorgasbord, the feast, the picnic! Food was all over the gray carpeted kitchen floor! They had orange juice poured out onto the floor (trying to make it into the glasses they climbed up on the cabinet to get). This orange juice, and its pulp, was liberally layered with grated cheddar cheese, ice cream and of course cherries on top of it all! That's not all, what do most Americans need with every meal? That's right, MEAT! They were sitting in the middle of this horrible mess, with their little mouths opened up, as big as they could be, ready to devour a fork full of raw ground beef! This meat had been taken out of the big 5 lb package and had been added to their floor "artwork". I am not, and have never been one of those mom's that puts a pretty picture frame around their children's messes to call it art, and I sure didn't become one this time. Me, mad, that is a HUGE understatement. I love all my children, but they sure know how to push my Mom-Commando button. 

Post your before and after pictures, or comment when task is accomplished!

Task Mama's, or should I say, Refrigerator-Commandos?... it's time to kill those refrigerator germs.

Dust your Ceiling Fans (or light fixtures)

Task of the day: Dust your Ceiling Fans (or light fixtures)

I know, I know, that is probably enough to make you cry, "Not today, too much for me!" I know where you are, and believe me, my ceiling fans are horrible (wait until you see the before pictures). My ceiling fans are so dusty that they are a completely different color than what they should be! Don't give up on me, I know this is a Monday, but lets punch out the task of dusting those fans (or light fixtures)! I have a fun (as fun as cleaning can be) and very easy way to dust those hard to reach, allergy starting, dust blowing ceiling fans. Use a pillowcase! Yes, that's right, an old pillowcase will do just fine. Put the dusty fan blade into the pillowcase, then pull the pillowcase toward you, gathering and trapping all the dust inside the pillow case. When you are finished dusting all your fans, turn your pillowcase inside out, and shake out the dust (outside) then wash the pillowcase. It is so easy, there is no excuse for my ceiling fans to look the way they do...or yours. After today, they will all be beautifully clean and I won't be cringing every time someone wants to turn one on. No dust blowing in the air, no sneezing attacks, we will all breath easier and just in time for the summer weather. So grab that old pillowcase, and a mask if you need it, then get to work! Today we will win the war against ceiling fan dust!

Oh, one more thing, turn the fan off first, the blades will fight back...