Monthly Archives: May 2013

May28

Slowly Adding Things Back In

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Slowly Adding Things Back In

Imagine a juggler. He doesn’t start with five or six balls in the air – he starts with one, or two. Slowly he adds more, getting them into the air, increasing the smoothness of the flow, until he has five, six or more sailing through the air.

That’s what I’m doing right now.

I was overwhelmed by all of the stuff – so I took it down to bare bones and started with two main things – a cleaning plan and a basic homeschool plan. And that is what I did for the first week (in addition to running my cleaning biz, which doesn’t get any breaks).

Week 1 – Regain control of cleaning (and decluttering) my own house and establish a basic homeschool schedule

Now that I’ve got that in place, this is what Week 2 is looking like:

Week 2 – Maintain cleaning and basic homeschool plan, and add regular writing back in, along with re-introducing additional homeschool activities (such as educational videos).

I’ve already spent an hour working on Book 2 of War’s End. I finally figured out a chapter that had me boondoggled for a while and now I’m at nearly 60,000 words and into Part Two of the book.

This was my latest update in May. I’ve now completed 20 chapters, with just 15 in various stages of completion. This will definitely exceed 100,000 words by the time I’m done.

This week is my “easy” week – only two cleanings, one of which I did yesterday. Today I plan on doing my Tuesday cleaning (upstairs decluttering minus the bathroom), finishing painting my office walls in chalkboard paint, homeschooling, and working on my new old library ladder. I need to wash it thoroughly, then let it dry before covering it with a varnish. I also have ironing to do while we watch some educational videos, some ice cream mix to get ready, and plenty of laundry to finish washing, folding and putting away.

All of this, plus a ton of other little stuff along the way, and I’ll be rewarded by dinner with friends tonight.

Life is good!

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May16

Focus On…What?

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Focus On…What?

Every few months or so, I get completely and totally stressed out. All of a sudden, all that I am doing seems to overwhelm me and I lose the ability to even talk about it, much less do anything about it.

It hit on Monday, then escalated to a peak frenzy on Tuesday. So yesterday, I wrote it all down on my new blackboard wall…

I literally had to break out Home and Lawn & Garden into two sections because there is so much there.

What’s particularly bugging me is my duties to E as her “learning facilitator” (I don’t think of myself as her teacher, honestly) in the Homeschool section and my need to write – something I have been doing far too little of, yet again.

I can’t see a way out of working – we need my income – and it would be the same if we still lived in the house in Belton. So it isn’t the act of moving into an old Victorian that necessitates this income, our costs have actually gone down a small amount.

I really struggle with a schedule – for my writing and Emily’s education in particular – and that is really pushing things into a realm I cannot seem to control. How do I juggle it all?

Yesterday, Dave stayed home, absolutely miserable until mid-afternoon from some sawdust he managed to get in his eye. His presence, which he likens to the dog and cheetah, IS calming to me. Although considering he is a cat person and I am a dog person, being told I’m a cheetah doesn’t seem to sit completely right!

We were able to knock off “Finish Planting” from the list of priorities. And we worked some more on the fence that evening. Two important steps towards projects that have been needling at my subconscious.

I guess my biggest problem is this – I don’t see anything on the list of priorities that I can dismiss, or hand off. I have to do them. I have to find time, and I have to do them, because they are all important.

So I guess my goal for each day is to focus on at least one aspect of my list (or a small handful) and stop sweating the rest of them. Easier said than done…but I’ll just keep working on them.

Tomorrow I’ll be 43 years old. Part of me is completely boondoggled at that number. I guess I’m surprised – I’ve done a lot of living in those 43 years, but it is still completely unreal to me. How different my life has been at different stages, how much I have changed (mostly for the good), and how much living I still have left to do.

May9

Well…Maybe Not

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Well…Maybe Not

From time to time I find myself in a bit of a quandary. “I’ll do this,” I say, and then this really isn’t a good fit.

But I’ve said it, publicly, and so what do I do then?

Immobility typically follows. That, and a lot of sporadic tv watching and spontaneous book collecting. Which is probably why I have so many books.

I looked at Quit Your Job, Change Your Life and although it truly is 2/3 of the way done, I’m just not into it right now. Logical thinking is all good and wonderful, but in the end, it is the creative mind that is in charge around here.

So…

At the moment I’m reviewing Book 2 of War’s End, which should make most people happy. However, I’m not 100% committed to that. If I get stuck, I’ll run back to either Gliese 581/Plague Tales series or The Chronicles of Liv Rowan. Anything but stop writing – that’s never good.

I’ve also decided I’m going to paint my house any damned color I want, my husband’s (or friends or my own mother’s) contrary opinions notwithstanding. I decided this after getting mixed reviews on some of the colors I have chosen for the different walls – many of them rather vibrant colors. I told Dave, “I’m going to try these colors and if you don’t like them, in six months, you can choose the color they are going to be.” He sighed wearily to that and said nothing.

And while most of the painting will be waiting until fall and winter since this is planting season – I decided I simply had to have this wall done in chalkboard paint…

This wall faces my desk. I’ve decided it will be perfect for keeping track of my working notes on writing projects. Ignore the messy desk – they say its a sign of an organized mind.

I need to go buy white and multi-colored chalk now.