Still Flying!

Yes, I'm still here & I'm still flying! Oh dearie, dearie me though - I'm terribly naughty when it comes to writing about it. Do I need to place blogging on my CJ? Hmmm, maybe I do. Maybe my inner brat is just not allowing me to proceed further than Day 6. Let's see what is on Day 7: Oh - it's Pick Out Your Clothes - I already did that last night! Hooray, another babystep under my belt.

Perhaps I need to do some form of written CJ until I'm done with the babysteps - electronic just isn't cutting it at the moment!

But thanks to a Twitter buddy, I now have a menu for the week. Tonight we are having ..... quiche! I didn't get around to making my BBQ sauce for tomorrow's crockpot meal, so I'll need to do that this evening. I'm sure I can Twitter & sauce at the same time :)

Gah!

Forgot to start the dishwasher last night. Again. If my babysteps get any smaller I shall have to revert to crawling!

Impromptu Picnic Day

My sister and nephew did indeed come to visit us this afternoon, and it was decided that as it was such a lovely day we should get picnic goodies and take Turtle to the park. It was a glorious evening! Turtle ran nonstop for an hour and a half before we headed home. After a quick bath, she fell asleep which left me with extra time to myself. It took me approximately 15 minutes to re-rescue the living room, tidy the kitchen & MBR. That left me with 4 hours to myself! I was giddy with excitement at the prospect of so much time. Of course, I used that time to catch up on writing and other web-based fun. I managed two of my hot spots today, but only completed two out of three loads of laundry. Oh well, there is always tomorrow. Plus I have the tantalizing reality that school is done in five weeks! What will I do with all that time then?

Tomorrow's goals: hot spots, two loads of laundry, lesson prep, gardening

Tomorrow's menu: Pasta surprise (as in I will surprise myself with the recipe at the last minute:)

Still off our regular routine

DH usually has Thursdays off, but of course this Thursday, he didn't. I try to do my WHB on Thursdays, but without him to Turtlewrangle, I didn't quite make it all the way through. Still, not much left to do - just change sheets, hit the floors & the littlest room in the house I will be done. DD had a long, late nap so bedtime won't be anytime soon. Oh well, at least I was able to get to the gym and get in two miles on the track! Third workout day this week. I'm going to try and be a grown up and hit the gym BEFORE work (like I used to do before DD). I have to come straight home after work on Fridays so DH can go to work. My gym clothes are all ready to go in my bacg even:)

Tomorrow's goals: Finish WHB, 3 loads laundry, get to store to buy compost for the garden.

Menu: Whoops, forgot to plan one. Sister usually comes over on Fridays, so maybe a yummy take out (still celebrating the anniversary after all!)

Oops I did it again....

Still stuck on Day 6 of BabySteps. I refuse to go on until I have this step conquered! My usual routine has been off the last week, which makes it trickier to develop my good habits. I know, I know - excuses. But even if I haven't conquered my hot spots yet, I did manage to enjoy a lovely dinner date with DH last night! We are celebrating 10 years of marriage this week and decided to splash out on a meal. It was our first meal out without DD. I was concerned that one of us would need to climb on the table in order for it to feel like a meal for us, but it never came to that! (I'm sure that the restaurant is glad for our discretion as well.)

But my poor kitchen has suffered after two days of neglect. I tried batting my eyelashes at DH hoping that would give him the impetus to tidy up for me. I think we stayed up too late last night because that tactic failed. Kitchen is happier now, but I'm sure it will be back in shape after tomorrow's WHB.

Tomorrow's goals: Go to the gym after work, start WHB

Tomorrow's menu: leftover leg of lamb (DH cooked tonight - it was FABULOUS!)

Day 6

Today's BabyStep: Hot Spots

Goodness, time certainly seems to get away from me! All the more reason I need to develop good habits to get me through the busy times of my week. As I mentioned in the last post, I haven't been writing down my negative thoughts. But I have been writing my successes - via Twitter! Quite honestly, I wouldn't get nearly as much done as I do without Twitter. I can shout to the world what I will be doing or what I have done, and some dear kind flybaby will chime in with kudos and/or encouragement. Now, getting back to the last babystep, I would rather push the bad things right out of my head and go straight to the good stuff. Now, as for tackling hot spots - that will happen TOMORROW!

Goals for tomorrow: Start doing hot spot treatments, Weekly Home Blessing
Tomorrow's menu: chicken prepared in whichever manner strikes me as good at the time of preparation

Day 5

Today's BabyStep: Write down what you hear

This is to be an exercise is banishing negative self-talk. Well, I won't write down my negative thoughts! That's my inner brat speaking. I do try to make fun of my negative thoughts, or at least I am able to tell myself that I'm being unreasonable. It helps take the edge of the words. I do find that I say worse things about myself than I do about others. I wonder what it is that makes us treat ourselves so badly? Is it a remnant from Calvinistic beliefs? Why are we so hard on ourselves? I'll leave those questions to others to answer. Right now, I have a home to rescue!

Tomorrow's goals: It's Monday, a tough day in this house. My goal is to maintain what I have accomplished so far!

Tomorrow's menu: leftovers

Pasta Margherita Recipe

1 lb pasta (fettucine, linguine, or even wide egg noodles)
4 Tbsp olive oil
12 oz sliced mushrooms (fresh is great, canned works too)
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup wine or broth
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. Cook pasta according to package directions
2. Heat olive oil in large skillet on medium-high. Add mushrooms and saute (1 - 2 minutes for canned, 7 minutes for fresh)
3. Add the garlic and pepper flakes and cook 2 minutes more, stirring frequently. Add the tomatoes and wine/broth and boil 2 more minutes, stirring often. Add the milk and salt, cook 1 minute more.
4. Thoroughly drain pasta. Return pasta to cooking pot or large serving bowl. Pour on sauce and sprinkle on cheese. Toss and serve immediately.
   

Day 4, Take 2

Today's BabyStep: Write these things down

I have to admit it, I needed to take an extra day for this babystep! DD has croup and on top my pneumonia, it just wasn't a pretty day yesterday. Poor thing was so tired this afternoon, she couldn't help being crabby. And as I have been awake since 2am with her, I can certainly sympathize. The house suffered from my little break. I was able to complete my WHB and by the time DH & DD returned from grocery shopping, I was ready to hang out in the yard with them. It is a good feeling knowing that although my home is far from being clutter free, it is at least in "good enough" condition.

Tomorrow's goals: 2 loads of laundry, plan menu for the week

Tomorrow's menu: Pasta margherita

Day 4

Today's BabyStep: Write these things down

Does starting a blog count as writing things down? Hmm, probably not. I did start a digital control journal using the web-based program Remember the Milk. I love making lists, but paper and I have a dysfunctional relationship. I can make a list and within an hour, lose that list. I figure that a website would have a more difficult time losing my lists. So far it seems to be working. I only have two lists right now : am routine and pm routine. I am slowly adding items to each list, but I don't want to rush things (again). When I am brave enough I will add an RSS feed from my list to the blog, but I am not that brave yet!

It was tough today: the antibiotics appear to be working, I am just enormously tired. I haven't been this tired since I was pregnant! All I really wanted was to crawl into bed and have a nice long nap. But it wasn't to be. I have already used my sick days for the school year, and my school is small enough that I am not covered by FMLA. Not really in danger for losing my job for being sick, but why take that chance? As I was so tired, I didn't actually make my planned meal for this evening (mac-n-cheese). Maybe I will attempt it tomorrow. But by following my simple am and pm routines, my house is under control and looking fairly decent. By the time I am back to feeling normal, I won't have to waste energy digging out, but be able to continue on with decluttering.

Tomorrow's goals: Thursdays are my usual Weekly Home Blessing (WHB) time - DH usually has Thursdays off, so he keeps track of DD while I blitz the house. But why should everything go according to my plan? DH has to work tomorrow (evening shift so no help w/DD) plus we have a walk-thru of our former school building in the late afternoon (very important as it looks like we will be able to move back in as soon as post-flood renovations are completed!). I will be getting home much later than usual, plus I have a conference to prepare for on Friday. I will attempt as much of the WHB as I have energy for so that on Friday, I will have as little to finish so that I can enjoy rare time off w/DH & DD.

Tomorrow's menu: leftovers!