Monica made a gorgeous necklace yesterday at
Grandma's house. I'll make some stuff too later, then maybe tomorrow we can
photo and list.
Mon finally gets to go to a bead show with Alex,
Patrice and I. Usually these seem to fall on her dad's weekend.
I'd like to thank Jessica for adding an entry in
my guestbook. Can't wait to have a few mins
to check out your website.
Rebecca, thanks for the VERY
kind words.
Pat, ditto! Thanks!
Okay, chicas… I have
to go back to work… I'll be back later!
So… in order not to be overwhelmed (and it’s so
easy nowadays), I’m going to select two things and focus on them.
One will be happiness. I will realize I am happy
right now. Although I may look forward to things in the future, I’m not LIVING
for them. I’m living for right now, today, and that’s where my energies and
thoughts are.
Two will be creative visualization. I want to
attract the good in life, not the bad; so I must stop worry about all the
negative things that can happen to me/us. I will realize that the universe can
provide what I need and want and all I have to do is believe it. We’ll start
with creative visualization, though. I need to set aside some quiet time for
myself. Maybe I’ll take a relaxing bath tonight.
Mon and I torched on Sunday. Here’s my first
picture of Monica torching…
I haven’t done much more with the beads than
take them off the mandrels, though. Nothing of mine came out spectacular but it
was nice getting my feet wet again in the world of lampworking. I made a
bracelet last night out of one of the beads I made. I thought it came out
nicely. Haven’t photo’d it… maybe tomorrow (not worth
setting up all the camera stuff for
Monica’s been making hammered clasps for the
past two days. She loves it. Here are her first efforts…
The second set is listed on eBay at auction. The
first ones she’s keeping.
Went to the bead show in
Hm… sorry this was such a
droll entry. I’m a little tired… need to start falling asleep earlier. Hmph! It’s so nice staying up… just hanging out in relaxed
mode. But … oy!... I pay for
it in the morning.
TTYL!
Now, as far as the “forgetting” thing goes…
sigh… Yes, I’ve become quite forgetful lately. When I start to freak out about
it (for obvious reasons), Mike tries to tell me it’s most likely because I’m
just overwhelmed and have too much I’m supposed to remember anyway. No matter
the cause, I guess it really comes off as rude. I apologize. I will try to
focus more on each task at hand and not allow myself so many distractions.
I’d like to send good thoughts to a friend of
mine who’s going through some really tough times, physically. I wish her a
speedy recovery and good health for the coming years (and her dog too).
We’re caught up with the membership applications
for SRAJD. A couple more and we hit the 700 mark.
It's Saturday morning and I'm sitting here
messing around on the internet, checking email and reading discussion groups,
and I'm thinking, a cup of coffee would be nice while I'm sitting here
relaxing.
So I go into the kitchen to make a cup of
coffee. It's extremely simple (I use instant)… all I have to do is add water to
the kettle and plug it in. But first, I see that one of the cats left me a barf
present on the kitchen floor. Well, at least it's linoleum (the carpet is
already riddled with cat food dye stains). I reach for the paper towels to
clean it up, but… oh, they're not there. Oh yeah, we took them to the living
room last night while we were eating dinner while watching the Sharks win round
1.
Okay, so I head to the living room. But on my
way, I pass the front door and see Bear at the bottom of the stairs whining.
Sigh… I go outside. Yep, just as I figured, he got his rope tangled and
couldn't get back to the porch to say he wanted to come in.
Okay, I go out and untangle him. But then I'm
bombarded by the ferals (or at least the ones that
bombard… the others sit from a distance and stare and meow). They want their
breakfast. Sheesh!
Okay, I go back inside, into the kitchen for
some cat food, am reminded there's still puke on the
floor. Oh yeah. Scoop some cat food, take it outside, feed them, and promise
them I'll give them water later.
Back to the kitchen. D'oh!
Back to the living room, grab the paper towels, back
to the kitchen, clean up the puke, oh man! Can't throw it away 'cause I forgot
that Mike took the garbage out last night and I was supposed to put a new bag
in the can. Argh!
Okay, one hand, get a new bag from under the
sink and try to open it and place it around the rim of the garbage can, and
throw the cat puke away. Grab a couple more overdue items from the counter and
get them in the garbage too. BTW, "overdue" means garbage that's been
sitting around because the can was full.
Okay, back to the computer, sit down… ARGH! Forgot to start the hot water. Oh, but then my phone rings.
It's my son. Their dad won't let M go the Bantam end of season party (where all
the players get their awards and the coaches get their gifts and the families
are all having a big BBQ). No, he says it will be boring for her, so he's
making her sit at home alone from
Now my relaxing time won't be so relaxing. Darn!
Do I only procrastinate on the stuff I am
uncomfortable doing or do I procrastinate on everything?
Sometimes I want to say, “I’m not
procrastinating. There just aren’t enough hours in the day for me to do
everything.” And as true as that may be (and it is!), I know that I put off
things I don’t want to do. Put them all the way at the bottom of the list.
Sigh…
Maybe if I looked at each one individually and
tried to figure out why I hate it so much and just try to overcome that.
Bills
Excuse: Why am I consistently late paying the bills?
Granted we don’t have a lot of money and mostly live paycheck-to-paycheck (or
worse), but they bills still get paid. So if they can get paid, then I need to
work on them getting paid ON TIME. Hm…
Real Reason: I think a big part of the problem with
bills is that I get the mail and put it in a pile somewhere in the house to
“deal with later”. But they get buried and forgotten, until I get a late
notice. Also, sometimes I’m afraid to open the bill. I know that once I see the
amount (and occasionally they are outrageous), I’ll have a little panic attack
from the stress of knowing how much I/we owe versus how much is in the bank.
Possible Solution: Keep a folder RIGHT BY
THE DOOR so that when I check the mail as soon as I get home, I can put the
bills into a designated place with easy access. Then I can go about my evening
(making dinner, doing laundry, listing, etc), and the next day I can take the
contents of the Bills Folder to work with me and pay them on my lunch hour.
Taxes
Excuse: Shrug
Real Reason: Again with the fact that all the papers
I need are never in the right place at the right time. And… sigh… I’m afraid of
actually KNOWING what our amount will be. Oh yeah. There’s also that whole “my
own business” thing to deal with.
Possible Solution: The folder thing again.
Just a file folder that I can access easily (meaning not have to move a bunch
of crappola that’s in front of the bow-flex and act
like Olga Korbet to get to the file cabinet) and
store
The Court Thing
Excuse: There always seems to be one… but they’re all a
façade.
Real Reason: Many, the biggest being stress. The
whole thing makes me physically ill. I loathe confrontation. I loathe bullies.
I loathe being put on the spot by someone’s lawyer while I sit there without
one. I loathe when my eyes leak in public and they invariably do because it’s
just not a body function I have physical control over. And, Monica is scared to
death for her dad to “see the court papers”. (That’s the effect bullies have on
our emotions.) She desperately wants full custody with me, but doesn’t want her
dad to see the court papers. That’s a tricky one. Also, I don’t like
responsibility… and there’s SO much responsibility in this, in doing it right,
in not saying the wrong thing. Two children are depending on me.
Possible Solution: I have to just do it…
while saying a mantra about things turning out for the best of the children,
however that may be.
Having a Clean House
Excuse: Tons, starting with “I don’t have time”, “I
can’t do it all myself”, “It’s too overwhelming”.
Real Reason: Those are all true, but that doesn’t
change the fact that we NEED a clean living environment. And when I say “clean”
that includes not just sanitary, but clutter-free. I know the others in my
family (well, Mike and Gabe at least) are shaking their head right now ‘cause
they think it’s an impossibility. Those of us, however, of the rose-tinted
glasses persuasion beg to differ. I believe a clean room is easier to keep
clean than a dirty room is to
Possible Solution: Delegate (and
follow-up!). Be ruthless with throwing stuff out. Quit saying, “I might need it
someday.” Should “someday” ever arrive, I can buy a new one. Put all donation
items into a LARGE box and have Goodwill pick it up. Put only awesome stuff in
a box for consignment. Get s’more of those extra,
pre-paid garbage bags from WM. Arrange a WM bulk pick-up day. Use closet space!
Get rid of clothes that don’t fit or are otherwise superfluous and then wash
and put away all other clothes (which entails cleaning M’s closet so we can
hang things up again). Rinse dishes after eating. Make sure sink is empty
before bed (that means someone is responsible for putting them in the
dishwasher… which means the dishwasher had better have already been emptied).
Teach the kids not to wait to be told what to do… they can empty the garbage
whenever it needs emptying, rather than waiting for Mom to nag them. Ggggrrr!
Keeping up with Email
Excuse: No time to respond to everyone.
Real Reason: I’m usually reading email while I’m
eating (multi-tasking) or doing something else where I can READ, but I can’t
type. And then I say, “Oh, I’ll respond to that later.” But
out of sight, out of mind. Then I also never remember whom I responded
to and whom I didn’t because the thought of their email is in my head as well
as whatever thoughts I came up with while reading their email, and it’s hard
for me to remember if I just THOUGHT a response or actually typed it.
Possible Solution: Do not open and read
email unless my hands are free for typing. Respond IMMEDIATELY upon reading an
email. Keep notes somewhere if an email contains a task I must complete (a
request, for example).
Meals (Healthy Eating)
Excuse: No time.
Real Reason: We’re not organized. You can’t get kids
from hockey at
Possible Solution: Plan ahead: menus,
shopping, cooking, delegating.
Okay, that should do it for now.
I’m also making an involved affirmation bracelet
for myself (and one for one of my good friends) as assistance and reminders.
First, I’d like to thank Patricia for the
wonderful, touching entry in my guestbook. How awful to have your (and your
family’s) jewelry stolen, not so much because of the value but because jewelry,
for most women, is a very personal and emotional thing. Each piece has a story
and/or a feeling, memories and emotional triggers. I’ve only had one piece of
jewelry stolen in my life (that I know of), but the sentimental value was
priceless (the piece itself was probably only worth a couple of dollars).
Hearing what you said makes me feel so special I
can’t tell you. Thanks!
Oh, Monica and I found another tiny kitten
(about 3-4 weeks old) in the street last night when we got home from work.
ARGH! I can’t turn my back; we feel responsible. But we can’t take in another
kitten either and none of the agencies will take one so small. (Update, we
ended up finding a home for him... yay!)
Okay, now onto my final muse for the morning…