Social Life

It amazes me how Todd and I can have NOTHING planned for the next 8 weeks to having nearly every weekend Todd has off jam-packed within a 12 hour time-frame. 

The only thing we had planned for the next few months was our vacation the first weekend in May.  Now, all of a sudden, we have a birthday party to go to April 9^th, I am going out of town to visit my mom for the weekend of the 16^th, we are going away the weekend of May 6^th for a 4 day weekend and now the weekend of May 20^th for a 4-day weekend. 

It seems like when the weather turns, there is so much to do, and not enough weekends to do it in!

Realizations

This weekend, Todd worked his 12 hour shift on Saturday and Sunday, which left my all by my lonesome.  While spending some nice, quiet time to myself, I made several realizations.  They include:

• When the TV & Internet are not turned on, the day goes by slower (a good thing!)
• When the day goes by slower, I get more work done
• It is not difficult to pick up the house in 5 minute spurts
• When the house is picked up, I feel a great sense of accomplishment
• There really is no need to procrastinate! Just do it NOW!
• When the house is picked up, there is more time for play (outside in the garden & with puppy)
• When the house is picked up, I do not feel guilty for relaxing with a good book and a cup 'o coffee (I will admit, for several hours)!
• When the house is in order, I am much more content and ENJOY my surroundings and all we have
• When the house is in order, I have more time to do chores that Todd usually does but has not gotten to due to working his 12 hour shifts and being sick
• I am not rushing around to do things last minute, like dinner on the table.  I was ready to put everything ont he table 5 minutes before Todd turned into the driveway (instead of rushing around last minute like a chicken with my head cut off:  sorry chicks.)
• I dont get as tired - no need for a nap, even though I've done more activity than I have all week! It's amazing what sitting in front of the boob tube does to me!  Movie marathons are NOT my friend.  They make me LAZY (and eat out of boredom, which makes me tired)!
• Hubbies are happier when they get home and see that there is nothing to be done but spend time with their loved one.

All in all, it was a great weekend with me and the critters for most of it, but it was nice to get alot of things done. 

Quick Sweep

A couple of weeks ago, my father, step-mom, brother and two nieces came over to our house for dinner after work during the week.  My brother had just gotten into town from Camp Lejeune and it was the first time we’ve seen him since he left for Afghanistan last year.  It was great to have everyone over for dinner; however, Todd worked on his two days off to clean the house from top to bottom.  He did a great job, but was exhausted the whole rest of the week!  His joke is that he goes to work to “relax” from all the stuff I “make” him do.

I wanted to keep the house picked up.  It has been difficult.  I come in and out of the house several times in the morning and also in the evening when I get home from work because of taking Lana out to go potty.  So there ALWAYS seems to be a coat hung out on a chair.  Add to that when Todd takes her out, there is another coat (or 3) on chairs because sometimes it’s really cold when he takes her out in the morning, and then it will warm up a little, so he’ll wear a lighter jacket, and then a hoodie!

I decided that I wanted to do a “quick sweep” of the house a couple of times a week.  This means to put everything away.  On Sunday, Todd went to the hardware store down the street, and I wanted to see how much I could get done in the time he was gone.  He was only gone for 15 minutes, and in that time, I picked up the kitchen counter, put away 3 jackets that were hanging on the backs of chairs, put all the dirty laundry (Todd likes to leave a pile on the floor next to the tub when he gets in the shower, and it accumulates) into the laundry basket and threw a load in the wash of Todd’s work clothes, made the bed and put away some towels that were folded on the dresser from the laundry the week before.  I was miserably sick on this particular Sunday and was exhausted when I was done, but one side of the house looked so good!  The house looks so much more cozy and inviting when it is picked up.

A few days later, it was looking pretty rough again.  I asked Todd if we could both take 10 minutes out of our evening and do a “quick sweep” again.  That night, after work, we both got to it and did another quick sweep, put things in their places and picked up.  It is amazing what can be done in just 10 minutes with 2 people working on it!

On the weekend, I plan on going over the bathroom to keep it clean, along with sweep the floors.  I figure if we do it little by little, the house will be kept up and there will be a lot less stress for BOTH of us during the week and when we invite someone over.  It really is a lot less stressful to come home to a clean house or to even wake up to a clean house. 

What Am I Going To Do With Myself?

For the next two weeks of the Holidays, I have 4 day weekends.  Todd is working at least one of those 4 days each weekend. 

I have off Christmas Eve - Eve (the 23^rd,) Christmas Eve, Christmas Day & the day after Christmas.  Todd has off Christmas Eve-Eve with me, but I have a feeling that I will be preparing for company.  I plan on playing with the “granimals” (as we call Lana & Squiggy now-a-days,) helping Todd out with cleaning up the rest of the house as needed (we are already ahead of the game with this!) and then a little bit of cooking.  I am going to prepare the artisan bread dough for rolls, the blueberry coffee cake and hash-browns  for brunch on Christmas Eve and peel the potatoes to have ready to cook for mashed potatoes for lunner (late lunch – early dinner) on Christmas Eve. Oh, and the apple crisp. 

Even though that sounds like a lot of work, I should be done with the preparing for Christmas Eve within an hour or two.  And the animals, they will be around with me. 

For the New Year, I am taking the 30^th off using my last vacation day of the year.  Todd will be working that day.  Then we have the 31^st through the 2^nd off together.  We will have company the evening of New Years Eve staying the night.  But I have the 30^th all to myself. 

So…I am contemplating what to do on my days of relaxation.  I really don’t want to plop my butt in front of the TV and get sucked into it all day.  The same goes with the internet.  I tend to get “carried away” in the many blog sites I enjoy reading.  This may be a great opportunity to get started on my Christmas 2011 gifts (cross stitch) and possibly start reading a book from my Book List. 

What do you enjoy doing on your “relaxation days?”

I have no hobbies.  Well, that’s not true.  My hobbies are eating and wine.  Both of which I enjoy doing with my husband. 

Quote:

"You will never 'find' time for anything. If you want time, you must make it"

- Charles Buxton

From All Things Frugal.com

What Can You Do In 10 Minutes?

I will be the first to admit, I dont like to clean.  It isnt so bad when the house is already clean and I have to put things where they are supposed to go, but our house never stays that way for more than a few days.  Todd is the main cleaner in the house, and I pick up when the mood strikes.

I am part of a message board and one of the ladies asked, "What can you do in 10 minutes?"  The premise is cleaning up in spurts when you have just 5-10 minutes instead of taking a half hour or 45 minutes to pick up.
Well, I tried it this morning.

On weekends that Todd works (every other weekend) and I'm at home, I normally sit around and am lazy all day.  I piddle around in the garden, pick berries, take the puppy for a walk and sit outside in the sun with the animals as they play for several hours while reading a book or thinking. I also enjoy taking naps on the weekend and watching movies.

This morning, I got all of the posts for the blog done through Friday.  I was proud of myself.  I wanted to watch a movie that I have from the library.  I put the movie in, and decided to go unload the dishwasher while the previews were playing.  I cant stand unloading the dishwasher.  Todd loads it (because I dont like to do that either), and I unload.  Well, I got it done in less than 5 minutes!  Previews were still playing, so I decided to go put some laundry in the washing machine.

When the movie is over, I'll have some lunch and hang the clothes from the washer on the line outside while playing with the animals. 

This may be just the thing for me!  Take 2-3 10 minute breaks throughout the day and get some things from the "to do" list done!

What can YOU do in 10 minutes?

I Love Blogger!

Moving my blog from Blog to Blogger has made such a huge difference.
I love the features on Blogger and how easy it is to use!  My favorite feature - setting up blogs to post at a later time/date!  I have set up posts twice a day through Friday.  It gives me time to come up with some other things I'd like to post and allows me to carry on with my life throughout the week without worrying about posting.  This way, I can get more done around the house in the mornings and evenings after work.
Win-Win! I love it!

Quote: Time Is Money

This quote is from Jeff Yeager in his book, The Ultimate CHEAPSKATE'S ROAD MAP TO RICHES.

"...if time is money, then money is time. Ergo, spend less money and you'll have more time.  More time to do more, see more, be more.  More time to have more experiences."

I couldnt agree more!