I'm a week ahead of myself. Tonight I told Mother that Daylight Savings Time starts tomorrow, but tomorrow is the 1st, not the 8th.
Giving up late nights is certainly a challenge. I've done my daily word search games already & checked my blogs & one message board, cleaned off the bed & cleaned my CPAP humidifier & mask. I noticed I have a tear on my mask. Just what I don't need. I know the mask is almost 2 years old, but instead of getting a new mask like my old one, I listened to what they said at my sleep study AND they said I needed a full face mask. I got the full face mask & I HATE the full face mask.
Anyway, last night I got to bed at 1 a.m. Yes, you read that right, 1 a.m. I slept until 12:35 today. Almost slept the clock around. My headache was at a 1 or 2 today instead of 5 or 6 like yesterday.
As far as decluttering, that didn't happen either.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
Lent, Day 3
Who would have thought that giving up something for Lent would be so hard!! Last night, I got off the computer at 11 p.m. So far, so good. But ... I didn't turn the computer off because I wanted a picture of MIL's gorgeous towels. All that handwork on TOWELS!!! I swear they must have come out of her cedar chest.
I got to bed at 12:30, still earlier than I have been getting to bed, but I didn't meet my goal of 11:30 p.m. I didn't declutter today either, but, on a positive note, I did take the mail basket over to Mother's & we went through the mail together. I threw away a lot of junk mail. Sorted through Mother's mail & put it away. Opened mail & put stuff back in the basket to bring home to either pay or file.
I also took the clothes out of the dryer & folded every single one of them, whether they were mine, Nick's or Don's. They, of course, are still on the bed, but ... it shouldn't take long to put them where they belong. Nick's clothes will have to wait until morning. He gets to bed at a decent hour, usually before 10:30. Tonight when I got home a little after 10, he was already in bed & asleep.
I got to bed at 12:30, still earlier than I have been getting to bed, but I didn't meet my goal of 11:30 p.m. I didn't declutter today either, but, on a positive note, I did take the mail basket over to Mother's & we went through the mail together. I threw away a lot of junk mail. Sorted through Mother's mail & put it away. Opened mail & put stuff back in the basket to bring home to either pay or file.
I also took the clothes out of the dryer & folded every single one of them, whether they were mine, Nick's or Don's. They, of course, are still on the bed, but ... it shouldn't take long to put them where they belong. Nick's clothes will have to wait until morning. He gets to bed at a decent hour, usually before 10:30. Tonight when I got home a little after 10, he was already in bed & asleep.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Lent, Day 2
Ok, last night I turned the computer off at 11:30. The idea is to be in bed by 11:30, not start getting ready for bed at 11:30. I turned off the light & crawled into bed at 11:50. I had to take my meds, get my pajamas on.
I had to FIND the bed before I could crawl into it. Remember my Lent project is 2-pronged. I will declutter, give up junk, AND get to bed earlier, give up late nights. In this first part of my project, cleaning & decluttering the end of the bed is supposed to help me get to bed easier.
Yesterday morning I pulled out a box & put it on the bed. I didn't do much with it, & then needed to get it off the bed so we could go to bed. As I put the box back, I took the clothes that I had found beneath it & put them in the dirty clothes. They were clean when they were tossed there, but who knows how long they've been there & whether cats have laid on them or spiders have crawled in them. They were on the floor, therefore they are dirty.
This morning, I pulled the same box back on the bed, only this time I emptied it. I'm almost afraid to tell you how long I think it's been there. The box has fancy embroidered towels from Don's mother's house. She died in August of 2007.
This is the fanciest, but they all have some sort of crocheting on them. It has crocheting on the bottom of the towel & that is a wash cloth tucked in the basket. It also has some of her plastic canvas things from her front room, still with pens & stuff in one of them that hasn't been looked at or cleaned out.
FlyLady says you can't organize clutter, but I think you can at least give it a home. I have a lot of homeless stuff. Some of that stuff needs to find a home in the landfill, but not all of it. And you need to know what you have before you can find a home for it.
So, I got off the computer at 11 tonight, but when I went in to clean off the end of the bed again, this is what I found. Sammy had found the empty box & was giving himself a bath.
Two of the girls, Jae & Marsha, were on the bed. Jae still sleeping & Marsha had sat up to see what was going on.
So, it is now 11:20, but I'll finish this entry & try again. This morning, I didn't wake up until 9:30 & finally crawled out of bed at 10. I have to work tomorrow, so I hope I'm up before then. I have to be to work by 9.
I had to FIND the bed before I could crawl into it. Remember my Lent project is 2-pronged. I will declutter, give up junk, AND get to bed earlier, give up late nights. In this first part of my project, cleaning & decluttering the end of the bed is supposed to help me get to bed easier.
Yesterday morning I pulled out a box & put it on the bed. I didn't do much with it, & then needed to get it off the bed so we could go to bed. As I put the box back, I took the clothes that I had found beneath it & put them in the dirty clothes. They were clean when they were tossed there, but who knows how long they've been there & whether cats have laid on them or spiders have crawled in them. They were on the floor, therefore they are dirty.
This morning, I pulled the same box back on the bed, only this time I emptied it. I'm almost afraid to tell you how long I think it's been there. The box has fancy embroidered towels from Don's mother's house. She died in August of 2007.
This is the fanciest, but they all have some sort of crocheting on them. It has crocheting on the bottom of the towel & that is a wash cloth tucked in the basket. It also has some of her plastic canvas things from her front room, still with pens & stuff in one of them that hasn't been looked at or cleaned out.FlyLady says you can't organize clutter, but I think you can at least give it a home. I have a lot of homeless stuff. Some of that stuff needs to find a home in the landfill, but not all of it. And you need to know what you have before you can find a home for it.
So, I got off the computer at 11 tonight, but when I went in to clean off the end of the bed again, this is what I found. Sammy had found the empty box & was giving himself a bath.Two of the girls, Jae & Marsha, were on the bed. Jae still sleeping & Marsha had sat up to see what was going on.
So, it is now 11:20, but I'll finish this entry & try again. This morning, I didn't wake up until 9:30 & finally crawled out of bed at 10. I have to work tomorrow, so I hope I'm up before then. I have to be to work by 9.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Lent, Day 1
Ash Wednesday begins the Lenten season. It is 46 days (40 days not counting Sundays) before Easter.
This morning, one of the first things I did was take a picture of the clutter I intend to tackle first. This is the end of the bed. Notice the box lid is right against the end of the bed, I have to navigate this every night (usually in the dark) & morning. My closet is where the blue blob is over by the curtains. Every time I want to get to my closet, I fight this, so ........ this is my beginning.
I put the box on the end of the bed & lo & behold I found some of my clothes beneath it, not sure what is in the box yet. I'll take my timer in there & set it for 15 minutes.
Last night wasn't a good night as far as early to bed. I was thinking that it was my last night before Lent, so I stayed up til 1:30 a.m., actually I think it was more like 1:45 :(
In talking to my visiting teacher today, we decided that I am giving up something for Lent. I'm giving up late nights, LOL. I prefer to think that I'm doing something for myself, establishing a healthy habit. If it takes 21 days to change a habit, by doing it for 46 days, it should cement it, right?
Stay tuned ......
Ash Wednesday gets its name from the practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of the faithful as a sign of repentance. The ashes used are gathered after the Palm Crosses from the previous year's Palm Sunday are burnedI'm not celebrating Ash Wednesday, but just curious as to why it is called Ash Wednesday & what it is.~ Wikipedia
This morning, one of the first things I did was take a picture of the clutter I intend to tackle first. This is the end of the bed. Notice the box lid is right against the end of the bed, I have to navigate this every night (usually in the dark) & morning. My closet is where the blue blob is over by the curtains. Every time I want to get to my closet, I fight this, so ........ this is my beginning.I put the box on the end of the bed & lo & behold I found some of my clothes beneath it, not sure what is in the box yet. I'll take my timer in there & set it for 15 minutes.
Last night wasn't a good night as far as early to bed. I was thinking that it was my last night before Lent, so I stayed up til 1:30 a.m., actually I think it was more like 1:45 :(
In talking to my visiting teacher today, we decided that I am giving up something for Lent. I'm giving up late nights, LOL. I prefer to think that I'm doing something for myself, establishing a healthy habit. If it takes 21 days to change a habit, by doing it for 46 days, it should cement it, right?
Stay tuned ......
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Another busy day
Today was another Gingerbread Man Syndrome day. Another killer headache. It wasn't a migraine, but I can almost handle a migraine better than one that hurts all over the head. I was up at 7, but my head hurt so bad, I went back to bed. I knew I had to be to work by 9, & I also knew that if I went back to bed I wouldn't be to work at 9. I wasn't, but made it by 10. I'll have to go back in tomorrow or Thursday & finish today's work. Probably Thursday because tomorrow is doctor day in Logan.
I went to the home health/hospice conference again today. I made it in time for the first workshop. Last week I was an hour and a half late on Tuesday & Thursday & didn't even make the Wednesday evening session. The first workshop was on pain management. Mother's been having lots of pain & I thought that particular workshop would give me some help. I headed for the love seat as soon as I walked in the classroom because I knew I could lean my head back against the cushions. They kept asking me to sit up at the table. Since we were talking about pain management, I said my pain level was at a 4 & I had chosen to sit on the love seat. The presenter was one of the pharmacists in town & he FORGOT he was supposed to come. Now, I know they try not to play favorites, but they should have got someone besides this guy. He's not my pharmacist & I'm glad.
After the session was over at 4, I went to the library to renew a magazine that was due. I spent quite a bit of time talking about some opportunities for Nick with one of the librarians who has a severely handicapped daughter.
Then to the pharmacy & then to Mother's. She said she had sat in the recliner all day. I thought she was complaining that she had sat there all day & had no company. I guess I was still thinking about the conference. The second workshop was on food. Nikki, the hospital dietitian, was the presenter. She told how one woman was bedridden & had lain in bed for 11 hours with no human companionship & no food. Nikki had brought food with her. She brought soup, crackers, cookies, fruit cups & one parfait. She brought the parfait to show how you can make food look appetizing. The parfait was given to different people, but no one wanted to eat it in front of the other participants. Finally I said I would take it for my mother. My headache got quite a bit better after the delicious chicken noodle soup with homemade noodles.
I went back over to Mother's & took her a fruit cup, most of a cookie, I'd eaten part of it, & the parfait. For lunch I had run out to Burger King & bought us each a hamburger. I didn't get onion on it. I cut Mother's sandwich in half. She ate half for lunch & the rest for supper along with the fruit & part of the parfait. I have to admit I took the granola that was in a separate container on top of the parfait & ate it like cereal. I knew she wouldn't eat the granola. She didn't care for the parfait. It was plain yogurt & raspberries. The raspberries have seeds that get under her false teeth & she likes flavored yogurt.
Sammy got left out all night & came scurrying in this morning as soon as the door was opened with a black nose which I'm sure is dried blood, a ripped ear & blood on his throat. I tell you, the cat he fights with goes for the jugular. One time he just missed Sammy's jugular. I took him to the vet for that one because he was so sick. The vet told me to keep Sammy in at night. We've started locking the cat door & keeping them in. But last night, at 7, I let Sammy out. They usually come back in. I was in bed by midnight & Don must not have realized Sammy was out.
So, my plan for the Lenton season is to be in bed by 11:30. I'm afraid I'm setting myself up for failure, but I'll give it a valiant effort.
I went to the home health/hospice conference again today. I made it in time for the first workshop. Last week I was an hour and a half late on Tuesday & Thursday & didn't even make the Wednesday evening session. The first workshop was on pain management. Mother's been having lots of pain & I thought that particular workshop would give me some help. I headed for the love seat as soon as I walked in the classroom because I knew I could lean my head back against the cushions. They kept asking me to sit up at the table. Since we were talking about pain management, I said my pain level was at a 4 & I had chosen to sit on the love seat. The presenter was one of the pharmacists in town & he FORGOT he was supposed to come. Now, I know they try not to play favorites, but they should have got someone besides this guy. He's not my pharmacist & I'm glad.
After the session was over at 4, I went to the library to renew a magazine that was due. I spent quite a bit of time talking about some opportunities for Nick with one of the librarians who has a severely handicapped daughter.
Then to the pharmacy & then to Mother's. She said she had sat in the recliner all day. I thought she was complaining that she had sat there all day & had no company. I guess I was still thinking about the conference. The second workshop was on food. Nikki, the hospital dietitian, was the presenter. She told how one woman was bedridden & had lain in bed for 11 hours with no human companionship & no food. Nikki had brought food with her. She brought soup, crackers, cookies, fruit cups & one parfait. She brought the parfait to show how you can make food look appetizing. The parfait was given to different people, but no one wanted to eat it in front of the other participants. Finally I said I would take it for my mother. My headache got quite a bit better after the delicious chicken noodle soup with homemade noodles.
I went back over to Mother's & took her a fruit cup, most of a cookie, I'd eaten part of it, & the parfait. For lunch I had run out to Burger King & bought us each a hamburger. I didn't get onion on it. I cut Mother's sandwich in half. She ate half for lunch & the rest for supper along with the fruit & part of the parfait. I have to admit I took the granola that was in a separate container on top of the parfait & ate it like cereal. I knew she wouldn't eat the granola. She didn't care for the parfait. It was plain yogurt & raspberries. The raspberries have seeds that get under her false teeth & she likes flavored yogurt.
Sammy got left out all night & came scurrying in this morning as soon as the door was opened with a black nose which I'm sure is dried blood, a ripped ear & blood on his throat. I tell you, the cat he fights with goes for the jugular. One time he just missed Sammy's jugular. I took him to the vet for that one because he was so sick. The vet told me to keep Sammy in at night. We've started locking the cat door & keeping them in. But last night, at 7, I let Sammy out. They usually come back in. I was in bed by midnight & Don must not have realized Sammy was out.
So, my plan for the Lenton season is to be in bed by 11:30. I'm afraid I'm setting myself up for failure, but I'll give it a valiant effort.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Counting down
So, I've thought a lot about the reason for Lent & had 2-3 good discussions today. I miss Sunday School, but not enough to want to be released from the library. Sitting in the library gives me time to read the Church News, the church magazines & the newspaper, MormonTimes. If you haven't heard of it, check it out online. It also gives Don & I time to talk, which we desperately need. It's a wonderful 2 hour break.
I love being able to help the teachers find the visual aids they want for their classes. I get frustrated when our library doesn't have the latest DVDs or pictures or supplies.
So, I've been thinking of a bedtime routine today, not just a bedtime.
I've also decided I'm going to start at the foot of our bed on my decluttering. It's so bad, I can't walk around the end of the bed to get to bed. My side of the bed is against the wall. I think there have only been a couple of houses where my side of the bed hasn't been against the wall.
It was a busy day today & I didn't get home until almost 8 p.m. I didn't take time to go to the bank or the pharmacy, but there's always tomorrow.
I love being able to help the teachers find the visual aids they want for their classes. I get frustrated when our library doesn't have the latest DVDs or pictures or supplies.
So, I've been thinking of a bedtime routine today, not just a bedtime.
I've also decided I'm going to start at the foot of our bed on my decluttering. It's so bad, I can't walk around the end of the bed to get to bed. My side of the bed is against the wall. I think there have only been a couple of houses where my side of the bed hasn't been against the wall.
It was a busy day today & I didn't get home until almost 8 p.m. I didn't take time to go to the bank or the pharmacy, but there's always tomorrow.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
The Lenten season
One of my favorite sites is FlyLady.net I have subscribed to her emails for years. Before FlyLady I tried the Sidetracked Home Executive (SHE) card file system. Some of the things make sense. I've used the menu system for almost 20 years. But we still live in CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome).
FlyLady seldom sends out anything Christian in nature. Last year she sent out an email about Lent & she did again this year. As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we do not celebrate the Lenten season.
I have always thought Easter was way overdone. We, our family, haven't celebrated Easter for years as the rest of the world does. We don't do the Easter eggs or the fancy Easter dinner. I did not want to lie to my children about the so-called Easter bunny like we did for Santa Claus. I figured one stressful holiday was enough.
I've always liked the Advent calendar & the 12 days of Christmas. Maybe it fits in with my OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder). I can do things for a certain amount of time, but to do it for any length of time is just incomprehensible to me.
I'm doing pretty good on my morning routine. I get up, make my side of the bed (Don's already made his side of the bed), fill my CPAP humidifier with water so I don't have to do it just before I go to bed, get dressed to my shoes, comb my hair, feed & water the cats & take my meds.
Bedtime is another story, sigh.
Anyway, I digress, as usual. She sent out an email from a lady that had just come from church & was thanking FlyLady & saying she was going to declutter for Lent. FlyLady emailed her back & said she had written a book about decluttering. The FlyBaby replied:
So, FlyLady sent out a request for FlyBabies to send their ideas for things to give up for Lent. She's not saying you have to give up anything for Lent, but she planted a seed.
Instead of giving UP something for Lent, one lady said:
Again, I digress. I've decided I'm going to add something to my life for the next 46 days & I'm going to sacrifice something for the traditional 40 days of Lent.
I'm going to set a bedtime & stick to it. Now, that's a novel idea, go to bed at the same time. Me, go to bed at the same time? I haven't decided when I'm going to bed, after all, I've still got 2-3 days to think about it. But it should be at a decent hour & before midnight.
Now, the sacrifice. I liked this:
Stay tuned ..........
FlyLady seldom sends out anything Christian in nature. Last year she sent out an email about Lent & she did again this year. As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we do not celebrate the Lenten season.
I have always thought Easter was way overdone. We, our family, haven't celebrated Easter for years as the rest of the world does. We don't do the Easter eggs or the fancy Easter dinner. I did not want to lie to my children about the so-called Easter bunny like we did for Santa Claus. I figured one stressful holiday was enough.
I've always liked the Advent calendar & the 12 days of Christmas. Maybe it fits in with my OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder). I can do things for a certain amount of time, but to do it for any length of time is just incomprehensible to me.
I'm doing pretty good on my morning routine. I get up, make my side of the bed (Don's already made his side of the bed), fill my CPAP humidifier with water so I don't have to do it just before I go to bed, get dressed to my shoes, comb my hair, feed & water the cats & take my meds.
Bedtime is another story, sigh.
Anyway, I digress, as usual. She sent out an email from a lady that had just come from church & was thanking FlyLady & saying she was going to declutter for Lent. FlyLady emailed her back & said she had written a book about decluttering. The FlyBaby replied:
I have it and have partly read it .. its lost in my clutter LoLShe could be describing me. I have it, have partly read it & it is lost in my clutter, or my storage unit, or Mother's storage unit, or maybe it is in Don-Mike's storage unit, or did I mention it might just be lost in my clutter??
So, FlyLady sent out a request for FlyBabies to send their ideas for things to give up for Lent. She's not saying you have to give up anything for Lent, but she planted a seed.
Instead of giving UP something for Lent, one lady said:
I decided that instead of giving up something for Lent, I would ADD something healthy to my life.Ok, the Lenten season is to commemorate the time Christ spent in the wilderness & was tempted by Satan, I thought. Another interesting thing that I just found out as I searched the Internet for Lent is that it depends on where you live & what denomination you belong to as to how Lent is calculated!! Western Christianity calculates Lent as starting on Ash Wednesday & goes to Holy Saturday (btw, I've never even heard of Holy Saturday), leaving Sunday out! So, Lent is actually 46 days, not just 40.
Again, I digress. I've decided I'm going to add something to my life for the next 46 days & I'm going to sacrifice something for the traditional 40 days of Lent.
I'm going to set a bedtime & stick to it. Now, that's a novel idea, go to bed at the same time. Me, go to bed at the same time? I haven't decided when I'm going to bed, after all, I've still got 2-3 days to think about it. But it should be at a decent hour & before midnight.
Now, the sacrifice. I liked this:
Dear FlyLady,So, I am publicly posting this on my blog so that I will be accountable. I will make an entry each day to report my success and/or my failure on my endeavor(s).
I picked up this handout at church recently: The Forty Trash Bag Challenge. It looked like a great idea, and it fit right in with the Decluttering for Lent email I just got in my inbox. Here is the Forty Trash Bag Challenge:
Every day during Lent this year, empty one bag of 'stuff' that is no longer needed from your house, totaling a loss of forty bags of stuff!
Then there were 5 ideas & it ended with this paragraph:
As the family accepts this challenge together, bonds will be created that will last a lifetime. Lessons are also learned not just by saying, but by putting it into practice. Here, the simple lesson will last throughout life that having fewer things can lead to a greater contentment in life.
(Credit due to the Archdiocese of Cincinnati for this handout on vocations and family faith formation)
Stay tuned ..........
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