Busy Weekend

Yesterday was Thanksgiving holiday; today was a day that I didn't have to work, but I was able to get some chores and errands done. It's never enough time, and I'm hoping I'll still be able to do cleaning and organization of my house. I also need to mow my lawn. And bake some pastries. And go to a party.

I'm kind of exhausted just thinking about everything I need to do, actually.

Update on To-Do List (aka I'm So Boring)

True to form, I've accomplished some of the items on my to-do list, but they've been replaced by multiple other items, so I'm never going to come out ahead till I die, I think.

Things to do today and tomorrow:
Make dinner
Make lunches for tomorrow
Grocery store (again)
Call plumber
Home inspection to home warranty company
Call home warranty company
Call Dor-Mar
Call Dolores
Financial aid forms
Call school (again)
Aetna paperwork
Bank
Mow/rake
Compost bins
Recycling (again)
Scoop cat litter
Clean floors
Clean bathrooms
Clean car
Install booster seat
Empty vacuum cleaner
Best Buy – bill and card
Home Depot – receipt
Microwave warranty
Black & Decker – blender
Sort/file paperwork
Thank you cards
Other?

Done:
Bake bread
Bake cookies
Dentist
Pay daycare
School paperwork
Call school
Recycling
Laundry
Grocery story

To-Do, mostly still undone

I was going to clean today, but some things came up that were essentially low-level emergencies. So my to-do list is mostly undone, and I'm not sure how it will get all done by Monday. Lots of interesting, important, maybe fun stuff coming down the pipeline, but it does tire me out just thinking about it. It's hard being a grown-up sometimes.

Tackle-it Sunday

Lunches
Laundry
Clean kitchen
Scoop litter
Take out trash
Set out clothes
Put stuff in car
Upload pics
Post on blog
Clean front room
Return stuff to Target
Shower

To-Do: Airport Countdown

Store – Buy quart plastic bag, travel size eye stuff
Go to bank
Check mail
Pack bags
Dependent care forms
Clean carpet spots
Vacuum
Take out trash, recycling, compost
Clean bathroom
Dishes
Clean kitchen, fridge
Laundry
Clean out purse
Clean porch
Send out non-resident mail
Feed & water cats
Pack car
Go to Spencer’s place
Go to airport

Weekend to-do

I know this is boring, but as Mia has noted, sometimes it helps to post to-do lists online, to provide an imaginary sense of accountability.

• Go to bank - Done!
  
• Sort mail
• Check e-mail
• Take N to park
• Grocery shopping
• Heath city forms
• County forms
• ADP dependent care
• Advertise Acura
• Post on blogs
• Make phone calls
• Send e-mails
• Send in support donations
• Post pictures on Picasa and Facebook
• Clean fridge
• Do dishes
• Clean cat box - Done!
  
• Clean bathroom - Done!
  
• Hand-washed laundry
• Fold and put away all other laundry
• Clean and organize bedroom closet
• Go through one box
• File N's daycare papers
• Make dr appts (do on Monday)
• Pediatrician - bill and insurance (do on Monday)
• Passport paperwork (do next week - finally)
• Send in for diploma (finally)

Tackle-it Tuesday

To Do:

Work on getting Ohio driver license and car registration.

Oh, joy.

Still More Status on To-Do

After dinner, I continued in the same productive vein:

• Watched part of NCIS.
• Spoke on the phone with the mother of one of the students I've helped in geometry.
• Continued running laundry through the dryer or hanging it to dry on a rack, and folding it when it was done drying.
• Changed Nathan's diaper and then put him in his pajamas.
• Read to Nathan and put him down to sleep for the night (always a major task, even when he's so exhausted he can't crawl straight).
• Checked the diaper bag to ensure it is adequately stocked for tomorrow.
• Got on WoW to check mail, do a fishing quest, chat with a friend, and take a boat over to Northrend. I am half of a bar into level 70. 80 is a long way away yet.
• Went through a stack of miscellaneous papers, put them into appropriate groupings, and filed them in labeled manila folders. [I actually did one of the tasks allotted for Tackle-It Tuesday!]
• Realized I didn't have the paperwork immediately available for the passport applications, so I'll do that another day.
• Put at least 20 items in the recycle or trash.
• Made my to-do list for tomorrow.

Summary for today's to-do list, as set forth at the bottom of this post:
The things I DIDN'T do were my homework for my career class, Facebook, and cleaning and organizing my bookshelf. And I didn't do my passport paperwork for my Tackle-It Tuesday project.

I'm pretty happy with all I managed to accomplish today. However, success and productivity should not be anomalies; they should be the hallmark of every day. I'd like to be this organized, disciplined, and motivated on a daily basis. At the same time, I must retain a realistic view of what I can and cannot do with the time I have at my disposal. One thing I need to incorporate into my schedule is regular exercise. I guess I'll work on it.

For tomorrow:

• Put together new car seat.
• Career class homework.
• Facebook.
• Get paperwork for passport applications.
• Post on blog.
• Phone calls and e-mails, as per usual.

Further Status on To-Do

I felt as if my afternoon was less productive than the morning. However, in retrospect, I really did accomplish a lot, including stuff both on and off my to-do list.

• Folded laundry from dryer.
• Ate lunch and fed Nathan.
• Engaged in a battle of wills with Nathan, regarding whether or not he was going to take a nap. This took a long time, but eventually, I won.
• Spent some quality time with Sara (though virtual, as she is in France).
• Unloaded clean dishes from the dishwasher, and loaded dirty dishes in after that.
• Made a few important phone calls.
• Went to AAA and got my membership (a Christmas gift from Debbie and Jerry).
• Hosted a little videoconference for Nathan and his daddy (who is doing work in Baltimore).
• Drove a small load of stuff over to the storage unit to keep until I am ready to deal with it.
• Took out the trash from my bathroom.
• Fed the cats and cleaned up their litter.

Now, I've eaten dinner, fed Nathan, and updated my blog. I'm off to do more.

Status on To-Do

It is noon, and so far, I have accomplished the following:

• Gotten Nathan and me ready for the day.
• Flossed my teeth. I don't do this often enough.
• Gotten at least a little food into Nathan and me.
• Run one load of laundry through washer and dryer, have one load in the dryer, and one in the washer.
• Called the engine service place about taking my car in. As it turns out, they are booked solid today and tomorrow, so I have an appointment on Thursday morning. Technically, I didn't actually complete that task on my to-do list, but I think I can cross it off anyway, as I addressed the issue and did as much as I can about it today.
• Restocked Nathan's diaper bag. I do that almost daily, of course, as I like to have it sitting ready to go at a moment's notice. In addition to plenty of diapers and wipes, I always pack a blanket, a burp cloth (which I actually seldom if ever use for burping, but they're great for so many things, such as an emergency changing pad), an extra onesie, and a pair of socks. In the winter, add sweater/jacket and booties for warmth. Then there are the consumables: snack-sized portions of applesauce and/or Cheerios, and the essential Orajel and teething tablets. Oh, and a toy or book.
• Washed Nathan's diaper bag's changing pad.
• Changed Nathan's diaper three times and his outfit once.
• Recycled two papers.

Tackle-It Tuesday

This Tuesday, I'll be tackling: Papers and paperwork!
In this society, one of the banes of existence is the preponderance of papers that threaten to overwhelm our homes and our lives. Even if we just get rid of it, as with junk mail, it still requires some of our resources to look at each piece of paper, evaluate it, and then put it in a recycling container. If the papers are worth keeping, we then expend even more energy deciding how to keep it, and where, and with what other papers. And with bills, bank statements, Christmas newsletters, information from businesses, and more, all building up, it seems as though even good papers become negative when they sap so many of our resources.
Anyway, I'll go through papers that have been in my room, some of them for weeks, some of them as recently arrived as today.
I will also apply for passports for Nathan and me.

My Day

In an effort to keep the blog posts coming and even increasing, I thought I'd start trying to write about minutiae such as what I did today or what I need to do tomorrow.

This was a very busy day, and I accomplished a lot. It made me wonder how anyone handles it when she is working fulltime in addition to being a mom. The errands and appointments must happen miraculously, or perhaps she borrows Hermione's time-turner. I'll find out soon enough, I guess.

After getting up and getting ready (not only myself, but Nathan too, of course), I was prepared to face my day. I went to:

• Doctor's office - Check-up appointments for Nathan and me. The doctor was very encouraging about Nathan's health and development; he is healthy, alert, intelligent, all those things a parent desires to hear. She was also encouraging about my continued breast-feeding. In fact, she is completely pro-lactation, and refuses to take as patients any infants who are not breast-fed. Now, there's someone who puts her money where her mouth is. I am also in decent health, thank you very much.
• Bank - Depositing some checks, and all that happy stuff. One of the checks I deposited was a rebate from State Farm.
• Gas station - Filled my tank for slightly over $30. The price of gas is creeping upward, unfortunately.
• State Farm office - I had to pay a premium for some insurance. I had a question about the bill, so I stopped in to see my friendly State Farm agent (or rather, to see his office manager), had my question answered, and then paid my bill. The premium I paid was actually about a dollar less than the rebate check I had just deposited. If only State Farm would sort out its Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable, there would be much less juggling of paying this versus getting back a portion of that. But their left hand does not seem to know what their right hand is doing.
• Oxnard College Job and Career Center - I drove over to Oxnard to drop off some important paperwork for my county job search program eligibility worker. I'm telling you, the local government is probably single-handedly responsible for the razing of at least one third of the Amazonian rainforest. I don't mind shuffling papers and sending in all my info for them; the county programs are being helpful to me and I appreciate it. However, a lot of times, they get their signals crossed or get caught up in the proverbial red tape. For example, they asked me to send in my completed quarterly report by January 5. But... I didn't even receive the paperwork in the mail until January 5! The mail delivery was probably slowed up due to the holiday and weekend. Technically, the quarterly report was already late by the time I got my hands on the empty form. I've pretty much gotten that one sorted out now, but it's a regular pain.
• Trader Joe's - Grocery shopping! We patronize Trader Joe's because they have, overall, great prices, high quality merchandise, and a corporate philosophy that we can whole-heartedly support. [Speaking of their merchandise, I have stumbled upon a revelation that has transformed my life (being as how I own cats): Silica litter! None of the dust or smell of clay litter, and much less of a mess, as the silica gel crystals do not adhere as much to paws and get scattered around the litter pan. There is also a lot less waste than with regular clay litter. So far, I'm really liking it.] And yes, I brought my own reusable shopping bag in which I carried home my groceries.
• Starbucks - After several hours out and about, doing useful and important things, I decided I needed a little boost and treat as a reward, so I picked up a frappuccino on my home. By the way, Nathan behaved beautifully all day. He is such a darling little boy.

And for tomorrow, my to-do list includes:

• Take my car in to get the engine serviced.
• Go to AAA.
• Take a load of stuff to the storage unit.
• Sort, organize, and file papers.
• Recycle or throw away at least 10 items.
• Do my homework for my career class.
• Make several telephone calls.
• Send a few e-mails.
• Actually get onto Facebook and update and respond to people. I'm so bad about Facebook.
• Two loads of laundry.
• Clean and organize my bookshelf.