You know me by now. I make long lists. I beat myself up over them. But I just can't let go of the urge to list-it-all-up. And writing things down on here for the world to see makes me feel guilty when I'm not working hard to get it checked off; even though you, and your busy self could probably care less what I have to get done around here in the Land Of All Chaos.
So without further ado, here is the WAY belated update on my annual to-do list since I haven't had an update for July, August, September, or October. I know I did a LOT of something in those months. It all just seems to be running together these days. It is downright impossible that it was nearly 8 months ago (in 12 days) that the Viking was born. Talk about throwing a bull in a china cabinet. Er, well, maybe we weren't as neat and orderly as a china cabinet to begin with... but we did have some semblance of a routine.
Not so much now.
With baby, my life resembles less of a china cabinet and more of my Tupperware cabinet. It's not pretty. There are functional things in there, but no one can find them. And if you find a part of one, there's a 98% chance that the other part is buried and won't appear until the day AFTER you need it. This is my homeschool and household, people. I'm beginning to get used to it. Wake me from my delusional state of shock when the baby is in Kindergarten.
Until then, I'll just keep beating myself up over the un-done lists...
Here’s what I got done in July, August, September and October (remember, I need to get 12 things done each month to finish by Dec. '09 - of which I really have no hope at this point):
13. took more photos of baby's feet
28. start every day with the Lord (been making real progress here)
37. organized the bookshelves (again)
38. organized the school supply closet (again - looks really good right now!)
49. highlighted my hair
75. buy another must-have book for our homeschool library (YAY! Got my poetry book I've been wanting for years!)
78. lots of give-aways on my blog and a new Blog-Hop Giveaway at the Homeschool Post
93. made progress in cleaning email boxes out (ongoing torture)
113. decluttered (major paper pile overhaul near my desk and my file cabinets)
115. put past school papers in binders (working on this now)
117. Morgan has made cookies, brownies, and enchiladas by herself... Kaden is trying to get me to put down cheese toast, bacon and tomato soup - but those don't count. Sorry, dude.
118. While I didn't freeze it, I did cook all of the sweet potatoes from our garden last night so we can make sweet potato casserole and coffee cake - that's cooking ahead, right?
136. adopted a new book case from a friend, moved book case to my room, reorganized books (now I just need a reading lamp since I doubt I'll move the 'rocker' out of my room)
140. work some on indexing blog (finished tags and now I have to go in and do the images & formatting on older posts)
145. make a mock Thanksgiving meal (doing that again this weekend for our small group - but this time I only have to make stuffing)
152. cleaned off my desk again (and again) - you saw it yesterday, right? My next post will hopefully be an AFTER shot! I hate a messy desk. It makes me feel like a slob.
Not numbered:
started school for the year
back to school breakfast
attended another homeschool convention and a blogging conference
planned history and science co-ops for the year
continue working on my prayer project: Power of a Praying Wife
re-planned virtual history co-op
took Kohen to see his first movie, "Up", at the theater
got a high chair and introduced solids
met my nephew for the first time (born in May)
attended a World Bible School fund raiser
babysat my cousins' kiddos for the weekend
hugged Marshie
learned how to recover lost photos on a corrupt memory stick
helped the kids participate in the science fair
organized the Homeschool Swap
visited with a friend from out of state
had my sister-in-law and niece over to spend the night
took my kids bowling
took the hubby and kids to play practice and watched their VBS play
took the kids to the zoo, the park, and across the United States to North Carolina
toured the Biltmore Estate and North Carolina Arboretum
spent the night with a dear friend in Arkansas
went on a women's retreat
Did PR and admin work for the Homeschool Blog Awards that are ongoing now
met another blogger on my list of "must meet" blog friends (I heart my invisible buddies and my IRL ones.)
learned to shoot at the gun range
more purging of clothes from closets and drawers - a work in progress...
Good for me. I'm going to pat myself on the back by hiring a maid to come deep clean my house. Can I afford it? NO. Am I going to do it anyway? YES. I'm starting the holidays off with some peace of mind. Even if I have to panhandle to get there. Anyone want to donate 5$ towards my sanity? Please see the Tip Jar on my sidebar. Your spare change is appreciated. If I don't use it to pay for the maid, it will go towards paying for the service call from GE as they come out to fix my broken washing machine. A month's worth of wringing out every. stinkin'. item. of. clothing. is ENOUGH to make a woman go mad.
My second reward will be home-baked nutty chocolate chip cookies; made with love by my daughter, Morgan. She promised them to me tonight. I'm counting the minutes. Chocolate goes a long way towards helping start your weekend off right. I'm just sayin'.
Below are my plans for November (some of these may be carried over from above if they aren't done yet):
7. work more on organizing kids' closets and rooms/toys-storage, etc.
8. eat at the Melting Pot
10. read with the kids
15. completely caught up with grading, paperwork, portfolios
18. more organizing of filing cabinets and handles replaced
19. for heaven's sake, write down and type up Ammie's recipes! I keep doing this half way and forgetting to finish!
20. start a postcard project
21. earn some money selling used books/curriculum (maybe that would help me pay for the maid)
23. find good homeschool groove (in my dreams)
25. blog about a procrastination project that I complete (does this post count?)
27. work on bedtimes/getting up earlier (this is hard with baby in the house!)
28. start every day with the Lord (ongoing)
32. birth announcements (HA! More like early Christmas letters)
33. finish reading camera manual
45. work on eating less sweets! (with the holidays coming? Don't think so.)
47. get school schedule written down and re-vamped
48. standardized tests
53. read homeschool books for mom (ongoing)
58. have a homeschool planning day
60. family and baby portraits
65. keeping regular menus and eating at home more
69. use video camera more, learn how to use it for blogging - hoping to get a Flip
78. do a give away on my blog (again)
79. post recipes on my food blog (check the link on the right!)
82. school first - housework second (which explains the need for a maid)
84. nature journals
85. start family devo and reading time
86. start reading book with hubby about marriage
94. Make annual letter for '08 and '09, print next year's calendar pages out
97. have someone over for dinner
102. measure/weigh kids (put the info in their school books)
107. read TO kids every school day
112. make dolmas
113. declutter somewhere
114. help the kids blog
117. set up a meal for each kid to cook without help for Nov/Dec
118. cook and freeze meals
130. get rid of old xbox (sell)
133. kid's book list
136. get a lamp for the bedroom
140. work on blog (old post formatting & replacing photo/graphics)
150. finish baby's mural (paint the stupid. owl. already.) and put the crib up
152. clean off my desk again (because I'm sure it will pile up like the laundry!)
Not numbered:
more thank you cards sent out
finish prayer project: Power of a Praying Wife
take lots of pictures
get school binder organized
finish tweaking goals, lesson plans and assignments in to Tracker
continue Photoshop and photo lessons for me and kids
I can admit it. The list won't get finished this year. I'm OK with it. I'm just going to "do the next thing". Even if it involves poop or spit up. I'm no quitter.
How are you doing on your list for 2009?
Quick Links
2009 LIST
Monthly BREAKDOWN of goals for January
Progress report for January
Progress report for February
March and April Goals
May, June... and the To-Do List Saga
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8 comments:
My you are quite ambitious. If I made a list like that I'm sure I would feel totally overwhelmed and not start it at all. Don't be so hard on yourself. You are doing great!
your lists overwhelm me. but i have a feeling they comfort you somehow. you must need a visual reminder of things you want to get done. to me that just screams EMERGENCY! i make christmas lists and grocery lists and library book lists and that's about it.
and most of the time i lose those lists before i get where i'm going with them.
Heather ~ I completely understand the need to make lists! It helps me clear out the clutter in my brain so I don't just move aimlessly from one task to another without a clear goal. I also frequently plan way more than I can accomplish. I'm working on prioritizing my goals and whittling away the things that detract from what is most important. It's hard!
I hope you'll offer yourself some grace by appreciating what you have accomplished. Really, sit down and read that list slowly, savoring what is done, bask in the glow. I saw several things that are worth celebrating even if that were all you accomplished, like starting your day with the LORD! That's awesome! Good for you!
Run your race, girl, but don't forget the grace...snatch it when you can like a much-needed water break!
~K
Holy cow that's a long list! New blog reader here coming out of lurking to say if you're going to sell some homeschool stuff I'm interested! We're just starting our journey here (1st grader and 2 preschoolers) and I can use all the help I can get! Email me when you're ready: jenn_lynne@hotmail.com
i can't do a big list like that. it would totally stress me out! but it would be fun to see an "accomplishment" list. :) something that would technically already be completely crossed out-- now THAT is my kind of list!
let's go to the Melting Pot together in The Woodlands!!! i get coupons in the mail for it. then i can hug you back. :)
I'm a list maker too; however, mine are more on a daily basis. If I didn't make a list, I'd forget what I was doing!
Amy
NOT rubbing it on or anything but I finished my 89 things by June! It was a great way to SEE progress!
How do you do it all Spritti??? Does your merry go round ever stop? Do you ever just jump off? I asked for God to HALT the one I have been on and when he did it wasn't as I expected, but it was so needed. I'm now enjoying some time off from a hectic schedule, but a battle came with it. :P
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