1. One of the areas that I have been struggling with getting and keeping the house clean. For the past many years, I have been paying different kids to complete cleaning around the house. But currently, both the girls are working pretty much every day, so no time for cleaning.  One purchase we have made is robot vacuums’. One for the upstairs, main area of the house and a second for the living room which is down a set of steps.  Matt is in charge of emptying these. It is getting easier to remember to turn them on and I think we have been able to remove all the things that they get caught on.
2. Our house projects are getting completed. The bathroom and deck should be completed before the end of August. We have decided that we need to have a couple of additional electrical outlets installed including one dedicated for the camper. We still need to order and install a new front door.  One last project will be once the bathroom is done, we are planning to build shelves in the closet area.
3. I am feeling a bit overwhelmed today. We are heading to me returning to work full time and I still have several things on my personal list that I want to tackle this summer.  I am waking up without an alarm and trying just to do the next right thing. I am actually looking forward to the trip to take Lily as this will force me to just stop and enjoy the ride.
4. My garden has been so crazy this year.  I have been able to harvest and preserve many items but June was extremely dry and July has been the wettest on record.  I am planning to post pictures because I think my garden looks more like beginning of July instead of the beginning of August. That is not a bad think but may mean lots of preserving even after I return to work.
5. I had not planned to participate in August in the “Every Bit Challenge”  I return to work in the middle of the month and with our trip at the first of the month I did not think I would be able to preserve much at all. However, that has not been the case so far. Yesterday, I made 3 bags of grilled chicken, 5 bags of cubed chicken and 6 bags of shredded chicken. Today, I canned 5 quarts of broth and made 6 bags of tomato sauce.

Bonus List of Every Bit Counts Challenge list:
3 chicken and broccoli casseroles
20 pints of salsa
45 quarts and 12 pints of spaghetti sauce
4 quarts of baked beans
4 cheeseburger pizza bags and dough
3 cheeseburger Pies
30 omelet bags
chicken spinach lasagna
2 million Dollar Spaghetti Pies
6 bags of squash casserole mix
Frozen blueberries
Frozen bananas
4 pints of strawberry syrup
15 quarts and 3 pints of beef broth
21# of canned shelf stable ground beef. These are in pint jars so approximately 1# per jar.
4 meals of Sloppy Joes canned in addition to our lunch for Saturday as well.
30 Salisbury steaks cooked and vacuum sealed in the freezer.
30 Cheddar Bacon Hamburger patties
38 Regular plain Hamburger patties!