Make Bed

* Strip and change the sheets every Monday.
* Tuck the sheet in at the foot of the bed and pull the top edge of the sheet flush with the head of the mattress.
* Lay the comforter on the top of the bed, top edge flush with the head of the mattress and the bottom edge as far as it will hang down without touching the floor.
* Place the maroon or cream smooth pillow cased pillows at the head of the bed, leaning against the window sill.
* Place the maroon body pillow in front of the propped pillows.
* Place the pillows matching the comforter in the front, pillows touching in the center with the extra casing draping toward the edges of the bed.

Wake Up / Take Temperature

Ideally, I should be waking up at 5am. That's the goal, at least. It doesn't always happen.

The temperature part is kind of sketchy, too, because I'm not tracking my temperature right now. When I am, though, I track it on Fertility Friend.

I also have a paper form I can use to track, but I'd have to find it. Right now FF is better...

Systems....

Right now I am participating in a weekly challenge and accountability group with my director. It has really been eye opening for me! This week we wrote out Frustrations / Solutions lists for our businesses and personal lives. In doing that I realized that my most basic frustrations come down to not having systems in place for getting things done. My frustrations are not with the special things that pop up, but with the every day items that I can't seem to keep up on. Things like...

Laundry
Writing Thank You Notes
Dishes
Cleaning the house
Bible Study
Exercise
Meal Planning

... see where I'm going with this?

So... I need to build some systems. I say "build" because they will take time. They will grow into what I need them to be, but I need to get them into place first. So... back to flylady, methinks. I'm going to pick the 3 most important things to do every morning, day, and night and do them. Just 3 things, I think. Let's see...

Morning Routine:
1. Make bed
2. Empty dishwasher
3. Bible Study

Daytime Routine:
1. Exercise
2. 15 minutes of cleaning / decluttering
3. Laundry

Evening Routine:
1. Skin care
2. Dishes / Shine sink
3. Items for tomorrow in the car / ready to go

I'm fighting with myself over a physical notebook or this blog again... I get sucked into the computer when I try to use the blog, but a notebook is large and gets in the way and drives Leif crazy. So... I need to have a solution one way or the other. Perhaps I'll put it out here, then shrink the routine list and just have a copy of it in my MK binder to go off each day. Maybe that's a good solution...

Canning....

I spent the day canning apples today. ALL DAY. Tiny tart apples I got off freecycle. 75 lbs of them. And I only got through about half of them today! I was hoping to get through all of them, but it didn't happen. Here's what DID happen...

3 quarts Apple Jam
4 half-pints Cranapple Butter
7 pints Red Hot Apples
4 quarts Apples in Light Syrup (for making Apples Pie at Thanksgiving!)
2 pints Red Hot Cider Mix
3 quarts Apple Sauce

I tried 5 recipes from my new canning cookbook. I love it! Now to do the rest of the apples... (and I had already done a batch of apple butter and a batch of jam before this. Sheesh!)

A month later...

... and I'm much more organized!

- I had a garage sale.
- We have new bedroom furniture.
- I'm working on some routines.
- I'm saying no to things that are not priorities.
- We put Eliana in morning pre-school two days a week.
- I refilled my hormone prescription.
- I have been scrapbooking regularly.
- I am taking care of things that have been hanging over my head for a long time.

Things are going better.