Thursday, December 13, 2012

Lights Please


Lately, my "to-do" list seems never ending with each new day bringing one more "to-do" to the party.

It all started in late October when a burglar (or two) spent time in our home turning the place upside down in search of, what I'm assuming they thought-- based on the ransacked mess, was buried treasure.  Every stitch of clothing and personal items in our bedroom were thrown about in such a mess that I'm STILL sorting, cleaning and washing trying to get their disgusting sweaty palms off our stuff.

Along the way I've learned a lot, and I've become a little too freaked out about the whole thing...

-Take photos of ALL your possessions and your entire home, room by room, closet by closet-- Literally, use your fancy cell phone camera and start taking pictures.  Gawd forbid you ever need them, but if you do, you'll be glad you did.

-Then make time to take "good" photos of your most cherished items (like jewelry?).  Place them on a solid colored surface so they show up well and take photos at different angles and with a ruler in the shot so the size is noted.

-Make a note of the serial numbers for anything that has them-- like your computer, and keep copies in few different places not just on your computer.

-And, turn on the outside lights, at least at your front door, at night.  The police said to turn the radio on when I leave the house during the day too.  The more you do the greater the chance burglars will go elsewhere.

I'm all about lights these days.  All.  About.  LIGHTS!

Yes, I now have 6 sets of exterior floodlight-- 2 lights per set-- 120 watts per bulb.  They automatically turn on from dusk til dawn with a 50 watt light.  Not huge but enough to "glow".  But, if a leaf falls, a hummingbird passes by or a car drives down the street, the yard is lit up like a maximum security prison.  I love it!

At night when we watch TV, we can see three sets of the lights though the windows-- front yard and two on the side yard.  All night long it's as if a child were flicking the light switches on and off, on and off, on and off, every three minutes.  I've never gotten such a workout because every time the light comes on I'm up and checking out the windows.  I can only imagine what our electric bill will be and, um, how long the senor lights last before husband unscrews the bulbs.

In other news..

The "mouse" and by "mouse" I mean it's much larger and significantly uglier "cousin" who took up residence in our master bathroom days before a big dinner party is now history.  He was as unwelcome as the burglars and cost me...

-4 trips to the hardware store, each time getting bigger, and bigger, and bigger traps to catch him
-1 trip to the grocery for more apples-- which seemed to be our "guests" food of choic
-1 trip to garage for a shovel to scoop up the "guest" (trap attached) 24 hours before dinner party
-20 minutes to get the nerve to actually go near the deceased "guest" with shovel
-5 hours of scrubbing the "mouse motel" from top to bottom.

The fund-raiser dinner party was certainly the highlight of the last several weeks and thank gawd the "mouse" was gone well before any guests arrived.  Husband and I agreed that this was probably the nicest gathering of people we've ever had at out home.   (No offense to family and friends.) Of course we didn't know a single person but by the end of the evening, we'd made many new friends.  It was really a treat.

And the best news of all-- You can still enter my giveaway for one of these beautiful ornaments.  Just leave a comment below and you're entered!  Easy peasy.  For more chances to enter CLICK HERE!  Giveaway ends at midnight PT, December 15th. 

Is your house "lit up" for the holidays?
Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com  -  Joanna Jenkins  
Photo Credit: © VRD - Fotolia.com



26 comments:

  1. we do have lights on the porch rails...both in the front and back...ack that you had to go through the burglary, it will def set you on edge...glad the fundraiser went well and you got your mouse...

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  2. Glad you caught that little visitor!
    You have lots of good advice here. I need to take some pictures and get serial numbers. We do have floodlights in front and back.

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  3. I know that feeling of having your home violated. This is the first house we've had since the burglary that hasn't been completed wired with alarms (something that is going to be remedied very soon!)! We do have lights front, back and side that light this place up lie the White House! Congrats on the varmit capture and even more on the successful fund-raiser! xo

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  4. I got in the habit of leaving the TV on in hotel rooms when I travel. Too many inside jobs for my liking.
    I think the security lights being too sensitive would drive me nuts. Have you set-up the laser beams yet?

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  5. Lots of work to get rid of a mouse. We once had an infestation... not fun.

    And so sorry still about your burglary. It makes me angry on your behalf.

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  6. I've had cars broken into, and that in itself felt like a terrible violation. I can't imagine what having my home invaded would feel like. My heart goes out to you and your husband. Extra good, then, that you filled your home with the fabulous vibes of new friends at your fundraiser! Helps drive away the bad juju.

    Hope you find some time to relax this season! I highly recommend it.

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  7. Eeek!
    A mouse.

    That would do me in. I mean it.

    So sorry about your burglary. Scary stuff. I will insist on lights on from now on.

    So nice to see you, lady.

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  8. I knew it was a rat. I just knew it -- mice don't eat that much. Anyway - I am very glad you caught it, and before your dinner party.

    As for the lights, no, there are none t my house. My hubs is depressed, and I am disabled, so no light get put up.

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  9. I'm glad your unwanted visitor is gone. A rat, eh? Ugh! I hope your new lights make you feel secure. A burglary is a horrible violation.

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  10. am glad your lights are on...and nobody unwanted is home!!

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  11. am glad your lights are on...and nobody unwanted is home!!

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  12. Next year just has to be a better one for you!

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  13. Yes we do lights at the front door and the garage door all evening long. And whenever I leave the house..I leave TV on...LOUD...!! Ha
    We were burgled too! Sucks
    Hugs
    SueAnn

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  14. The thought of burglars is so awful, glad you are moving on and taking good precautions.

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  15. So sorry that this happened. I know just how attacked this can make you feel. we had this same thing happen several years ago and aside from the mess, it makes you feel so violated!
    Sounds like you are taking all the steps needed to prevent this from happening again. Thinking of you!
    Shug

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  16. I had to laugh at the 20 minutes it took you to get up the nerve to shovel up the critter....you were brave to do it at all. I'm glad he was gone before the party and that the party was such a success.

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  17. What an awful thing to have happen to you, and that comment covers BOTH the break in and the "guest." Fortunately it is now history, and any burglar would be crazy to try to break into your house now.

    I know how I felt when the window was smashed in my car last Christmas Eve and my purse stolen, with my credit cards and personal items gone. It was awful, but now I am happy to say that my life has returned to normal once again. I hope your home will never be burgled ever again.

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  18. That has grown into a mighty large to do list. Whew.

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  19. The most valuable thing a thief steals is one's sense of security.
    The loss of things may be forgivable, but the lasting damage to one's psyche is not!

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  20. After our most recent bout with vandalism on our property I totally understand how you feel. I usually take extra pro caution it's my nature I'd be freaked out if someone made it in my house uninvited. I happy the mouse is gone....maybe time to get a cat!!
    Have a great weekend!

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  21. The mouse was a lot of work, so glad you don't have that problem any longer.

    The dinner party must have been a loving and fun evening.

    I know how you feel when you go through your clothes and want to get anything to do with the burglars washed out of your belongings.

    I hope the rest of the holiday season is kind and fun for you.

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  22. glad you caught the culprit! I'm still hoping for one of those beautiful ornaments!

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  23. One of my best friends was robbed this year and she had such a time overcoming it. She is a single mom, so its just her and her son. She was afraid to sleep for ages even though it happened while she was at work. I think about the only thing she was able to recover was her son's ps3 but she was very grateful for that.

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  24. I have never experienced a break in in the house, but we have had our car broken into after we barely had it for a week. The feeling is the one of utter intrusion and violation, so I can totally understand how you must feel.
    My Father in law had a break in his house this Monday and luckily, this was not the first time, so he had pictures of everything. Sadly, lot of it will not be replaced by any kind of money, as it was more of a sentimental value...
    Hope you can enjoy the Holidays despite all that cleaning.;)
    xoxo

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  25. I am just looking at this very thing at the moment in my mother's house. Thanks for the tips. I like the idea about leaving a radio on as I had not thought of that. Also taking photos of everything particulalry your most treasured possessions. It is hard to remember everything. It is a terrible violation having someone break into your home. I am glad you are taking all precautions necessary. And I imagine you will be hyperviligant for some time to come and on high alert. Things will hopefully settle down soon including your exterior lighting.

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  26. Yes it is all about the lights. My Mom would text us every night to double lock the doors, turn on the outside lights and turn on the alarm. And we live in the jungle, the entire clan of the m,o,u,s,e lives next door with visits to our ceiling space. Thank you for the tips on what we should do with our possessions.

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