Sniff

Well, I have done pretty well this year, but the good health streak has come to an end and I'm sick.

Actually, I've been sick for about a week. That's the worst part of being sick. Now that the virus or whatever has caught up with me, it's not just a 2 or 3 day thing. No, it's an extended aches and pains, snuffy and runny nose (someone explain how that works, please) and cough that includes a high-pitched barking undertone.

In better news, the Saturday Academy is over. For the rest of the year, my Saturdays are free again. Hopefully I will put them to good use and finish de-cluttering and trying to find another place to live.

Also in good news, the State math exam gets graded this week, so they have cancelled student attendence for Thurs and Fri and it's going to just be staff at school. It's always better without the kids!

Well, I think I am going to start getting ready for tomorrow....

Almost break time

Maybe it's too early to be anticipating this, but it's about 16 days until Spring Break. Currently, I have no plans, but that's really fine with me. Things are always so busy around here that I am looking forward to a nice, long break.

This year, thanks to Jewish holidays, Spring Break is 7 school days long. (Passover begins that Wednesday at sundown.)

I have also finished ordering the things to complete my apartment. I have bedside tables coming (for the last..what...3 years, the alarm clock has sat on the floor by my bed.) When those come, I will have all my furniture. It is such a relief to finally have places to put things!

There's not too much to say besides that. I have been working on my babysteps, but have discovered that Saturday is not a great day to try and get things done since work is also an all-day thing. Well, 8:30-3 feels like "all day" to me.

However, Saturday academy ends next week, so after that, it's going to feel like I get an extra day off every week for the rest of the school year. I am excited about the extra time I'll gain to do my own stuff!

Hope everyone is doing well.

Viva

I am sitting at school, in my blissfully quiet classroom. It is about 30 minutes until the bell rings.

Michael and I boarded a plane at 10 pm last night, got into Newark airport at around 5:30 this morning (about 20 minutes earlier than expected) and drove straight to work.

Today is going to be tough.

However, it was well worth it. We had a fabulous time. Michael went to his workshops for fitness training. He learned some things, and has started thinking about sending out proposals to be a speaker at similar conferences.

My Aunt Liz and Uncle Kevin met us for dinner Saturday night, and we had a great evening. Then, Sunday, while Michael was in classes, we walked the strip.

Monday, Micheal skipped a workshop or two and we went and saw more of the city. It was all very exciting, and we are already anxious to go back.

I did gamble, a little bit. I only played slots, and after I lost $40, I quit. So, now I know what it's like to gamble in Vegas, and I know I never need to do it again.... :)

I am really wishing we could have gone home. It would be wonderful to sleep and see the kids. I will be counting down the hours today!

Fabulous Discovery

Wow, I just found the MOST wonderful thing! Warm Delights cake from Betty Crocker...
I don't know how it works, all I care about is that in less than 1 minute in the microwave I get---

CAKE!!!

I don't think it gets better than that!

Things have been less than stellar at work. I can't really go into it at this point. All I can say is that a kid pushed me, and the school wants me to press charges. The last few days have been really stressful, and I want to go to work less than ever.

However, Flylady's steps are going well, so at least I am starting to feel like I have a place I can start to relax. I am looking forward to the short jaunt we have planned for this weekend; I am ready for the break.

Shining

I finally did it! I shined my sink!

I washed two racks of dishes to give me a start, because I didn't know where to put all of the dirty dishes if they couldn't go in my sink, but then put the rest on the countertop. So far, that's okay. If I continue in the same fashion, then they all should be done by tomorrow night. By the way, that's one of the downfalls of having a lot of dishes...if you can go a long time without washing them, you probably will.

Anyway, I did that, then followed the steps for shining, and VIOLA! She is right! Having a shiny sink really does make a difference in how you feel about getting going with your cleaning!

Technically, I only have 2 days of time left before I go out of town, since I have class late tonight, but I am really, really hoping that I can plan well and be energized enought Thursday and Friday to get the apartment into good enough condition that I won't be dismayed when we walk back through the door on Tuesday night.

I have my routines and my checklists, and I don't think I will go grocery shopping until I get back, so there's another thing "crossed off." It's possible the flylady may just change my life!

Control journal

As part of flylady's steps, I have put together a notebook for myself to help keep things going. She calls this a Control Journal. When I was first looking at the steps, I thought there were only 4, and I thought, "This isn't so hard." Hahaha.

Scroll...

Um, yeah, there are 19 steps. It does take a long time. However, I've been working on it on and off all weekend, and, except for my evacuation plan, I am all done.

So, what's in this book, you might wonder. Well, I'll tell you. My steps may not be completely in her order, but my book is done now, so I guess it doesn't matter how I retell it.

For myself, first I had to figure out what needed to be done during the course of the week. This may sound simple, but it's harder than I thought it would be. Then, I had to decide exactly what was going to be done each day to get it all done.

Another thing she has us do is to create routines for ourselves, morning, after work, and bedtime. This keeps the day going and, over time, will keep things from building up and getting out of control again. However, I am still working 15 or more (usually about 45) on decluttering every day. Things are getting better, one babystep at a time.

However, it is now Sunday night, and however much I might not want to go to work tomorrow, that is something I still have to get up and face tomorrow. I kind of just wanted to see it in print that I am actually accomplishing some of the things I've set out to do.

Red eyes

Okay, I was wrong. It's just about impossible for me to just go to bed, as much as I might want to.

However, again, tonight has been a productive night. I've found most of my outstanding bills, even those that aren't credit cards, and wrote checks for them, put them in envelopes,and put stamps and return address labels on the envelopes.

I also did something I've wanted to do for a really long time...I joined the library. I am hoping that it was in time to be added for the guest list for the annual gala. I've wanted a good reason to put on one of the beautiful gowns I bought really, really on sale a few months ago.

Besides that, dinner turned out okay. The meat tasted really good, but it was a little dry. That confuses me because I fixed in the crock pot, so it was simmering in juice the whole time. Maybe I left it in too long?

Anyway, I still have one or two things to do before bed (I'm giving myself until one, then I'm definately out!) so I'll leave you for now. G'night all!

Flapping

So, I am working on my house. I am not FLYing like flylady yet, but I'm giving it a good try.

Last night, I went to class and gave my presentation. All done. Yay!!

Then, I went home and checked in with the furry family members. After that, I went to the grocery store and got stuff for (gasp!) tonight's dinner. Would you believe it, I am currently making a roast with vegetables in my new crock pot? Go, me!!

Then, once the food was put away, I gathered laundry (2 loads) and got them started at the laundrymat around the corner. While the laundry was washing, I took out trash and cleaned the kitty litter. When the timer went off to collect the laundry, I folded it at the store and then brought it home, avoiding the possiblity of just letting it sit and get wrinkly.

That may not sound like too much, but believe me, it's already made a huge difference! I really am going to do this! The only drawback to working last night is that I was already getting home late (9:45) and so doing everything really pushed me past my bedtime. Normally, I wouldn't do that, but I got into the groove and decided to keep going. Next time, I'll make myself leave my project undone in favor of rest!