Wednesday, September 26, 2007

The simple things.....

Its always one of my biggest goals to simplify life so that i might possibly have more time to enjoy all the simple things that life has to offer.

I read a post http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=8378370156140700010 that really resonated, so i am going to try and answer the questions myself and put the answers into action.
Here are 5......


Make a list of your top 4-5 important things. What’s most important to you? What do you value most? What 4-5 things do you most want to do in your life? Simplifying starts with these priorities, as you are trying to make room in your life so you have more time for these things.

1.My health
2.Health of my children
3. Ouality time w/ the kiddos
4. My home.....a place of warmth, creativity and laughter and love

Evaluate your commitments. Look at everything you’ve got going on in your life. Everything, from work to home to civic to kids’ activities to hobbies to side businesses to other projects. Think about which of these really gives you value, which ones you love doing. Which of these are in line with the 4-5 most important things you listed above? Drop those that aren’t in line with those things. Article here.

I absolutely spend too much time trying to be and do what others expect. I am always late walking out the door from work, the last to take a break...i volunteer for things that i know i won't have the energy for and end up being really resentful.

Evaluate your time. How do you spend your day? What things do you do, from the time you wake up to the time you go to sleep? Make a list, and evaluate whether they’re in line with your priorities. If not, eliminate the things that aren’t, and focus on what’s important. Redesign your day.

Reality-work,clean,make meals, drive around like a crazy lady, yell,errands,laundry, online time

Dream- read, write, cook healthy meals, walks, create, share

Simplify work tasks. Our work day is made up of an endless list of work tasks. If you simply try to knock off all the tasks on your to-do list, you’ll never get everything done, and worse yet, you’ll never get the important stuff done. Focus on the essential tasks and eliminate the rest.

Read more.
um, no comment? nuff said?!

Simplify home tasks. In that vein, think about all the stuff you do at home. Sometimes our home task list is just as long as our work list. And we’ll never get that done either. So focus on the most important, and try to find ways to eliminate the other tasks (automate, eliminate, delegate, or hire help).

Monday, September 24, 2007

baby number 6

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my best shots Monday






















@ a fundraiser for next years relay....






i couldn't pick just one, and since i have not played in awhile i picked a few.....












Sunday, September 23, 2007

happy fall, I've fallen behind.......

Today is the kind of Glorious day sent straight from God. Its clear and crisp and bright. The leaves are tinged with red and gold but still flutter green in the breeze. Today marks the fall equinox, a day of equality for both the sun and the moon!
I sit here with a strong cup of Komodo Dragon, sort of melancholy and morose.....for i am so far behind. Still playing catch up for the hellish month of August.
I have little time, zero patience. little money and lots of needs. 10 mouths to feed in all, hands reaching out for their take. I am stretched thin. paper thin.
I have never been depressed before. Not even when Sam was in the throes in chemotherapy. That required too much strength. But now i find it hurts to wake up. And mindful that waking up at 3 am might play a part i shrug off my feelings of exhaustion for too long. So long now that i find myself as tense and taut as the rubber band i hold everything together with. And i know, if i try to add one more thing to the bundle, the band and myself are going to snap.
I feel tremendous guilt.
Last year we went apple picking and on long hikes. We picked vibrant leaves and brought them home to press. This year i am hard pressed to get the laundry done. Oh the laundry. It towers above me, a virtual mountain of what feels like my life. Something i need to climb, for when i get there is sure to be the most beautiful view.
Because i know, the harder the climb, the uglier the storm; the better the view.
I have sheltered much worse storms, climbed much higher mountains and i have faith this this too shall pass.
Until then i will be more forgiving of myself, more trusting in God that our harvest is coming. I will remember that nothing stays the same forever and i will hold those i love much closer and treat them with more respect.
I will start with the dirty piles of clothes and hopefully with each garment washed clean, so will a piece of my soul and i will fall back, anew with the promise of a better tomorrow.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

checking in

hi,
its my first day off since Tuesday, which was the kids first day of school, effectively making it a wash.
Sorry i have been out of touch. The days are longgggg, ironically as the days shorten and its dark by 7!

I am working a ton, as is Dustin and we are just so behind. I keep coming up with little projects and starting them and not finishing and then moving on.
For instance, the other day i found a covered up brick patio in the back yard. Its pretty decent in size, but after a day of weeding and pulling the inches of dirt and grass off it, i gave up! Then i moved onto putting a few coats of primer on the living room. I think today is the day i finish both projects....come hell or come Finn.
Which these days are one in the same. The boy is a NUT! He is in constant motion and even more constant trouble. He is covered in bumps and scabs and bruises and just as ornery as "all get out" or so the saying goes.
I contacted birth to three and had him evaluated and he does qualify for some services...mainly for his speech and his social skills.
He threw the ladies toys in her face!!
Abby got off to an okay start in school. Aside from the fact that she will only wear summer shoes and dresses. Apparently her feet are sensitive to socks and sneakers or even dress shoes after a summer of freedom, and all her skirts, shorts and pants slide down, driving her....and the rest of the neighborhood crazy!
Maddie is doing pretty well. She has turned into little miss responsible and Dust and i have to keep telling her to let us parent so she can be a kid. I think she sense mine and Dustin high stress and lack of sleep and is trying to compensate :(
Sam got his mouth retainer, to the tune of 500 dollars that insurance did not cover!!!! We had to pay for the whole thing and i cannot even figure out how to get it in. We are going today for a lesson in that.
He is already fighting me about homework and chores and TV and man its going to be a long year i c an already tell.

I'm still thinking a lot about Grandpa O'Brien and oddly missing him, even though we were not even in close contact.
I had a horrible dream it was actually Dustin that died and they placed him in a mass grave and the kids wouldn't come say goodbye. Woke up crying when i remembered someone actually did die.

I don't think i mentioned, but we have a new puppy. Dustin went up to New Hampshire and brought home a Weimeraner!! While i was at work. Yup..... an hunting dog, known for its affection for cats and other small fluffy things. When i say affection i mean its love for hunting them down
For now the cats, renamed pink and purple to match their collars, are alive and well and its the puppy, Kaiser that is afraid of them.
At the end of the day i have worked 8 hours, and taken care of 8 small living creatures. I am not, however, getting a good 8 hours of sleep and for now that's okay. Because its finally fall and i come home to a house that's all mine and well, i drink a lot of good coffee :)
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