Day 1

I did it. I completed a project that isn't due until Wednesday. I worked on it too much while the kids were awake and needing interaction, but this is an important first step. Tomorrow I have another project to complete a huge chunk of as well as spend one hour researching. I should be able to get it done without impacting the kids as much.

Tomorrow:

Log

One hour research

PTO

let's try this again...

regular posting to resume shortly.

i enjoy having record of the thoughts and plans i've made. some have been successful; others not so much.

i am having some of the same thoughts i had in May. This means that it is time for action---i've got to hold myself accountable for the things I want and plan to do.

I have divided my life into 4 major areas:
school and work
family and community
home and earth
body and soul
and I am going to create challenges and plans that will enable me to support each of them.

SCHOOL and WORK

Decision #1: I will continue to work at WCC for the remainder of the academic year. I will not continue on there during 08-09. I don't want to leave them in a lurch; I want to honor my commitment. I want to continue earning $$ to pay for school.
Decision #2: I will take one class each term, with a graduation date of May 2009. This will have the least impact on my family, and enable me to finish what I've started.
Decision #3: I will not take a particular class Winter term because it meets on Saturday and I must have one weekend day to spend with my family. Part of my discontent comes from feeling disconnected from my entire, immediate and extended, family.
Decision #4: I will spend 2-3 hours daily on schoolwork. This will enable me to complete course work without getting into panic or catastrophe mode. It is going to be difficult, and will mean working when I really don't want to, but it will ultimately make my life easier.

I will post weekly about my progress with decision 4. This is going to be hard! I am not naturally a planner or scheduler. But to finish this degree without causing my family undue stress, I have to do it. Also my mom is going to be working full-time now, which means that she can't watch M while I study. I can also use those hours (if I finish studying) to work on my house.

July Challenges

CHALLENGE #1

There is a new challenge in the blogosphere that I am peripherally participating in. It is the Eat Local Challenge. See crunchychicken.blogspot.com for the details and more info.

Here is what I am committing to:

• visiting the farmer's market at least 4 times
• purchasing local eggs and butter from co-op (we already get local milk)
• purchasing bread from local bakeries

CHALLENGE #2: "Say Cheese!"

This challenge involves taking and organizing pictures and home movies. While I am by no means a scrapbooker, I would like to have albums for each of my children.

Goals:

• to upload, burn to cd, and print pictures
• to take at least 5 pictures of the kids weekly
• to label and organize home movies
• to gather supplies for albums for kids (by year?)

Homecaring Challenge Update

Challenge update:

One week in, and progress has been made. It won't be done by Wednesday morning, but I feel good about what I have done so far.



clean desk in kitchen
clean counter in kitchen/dining room
clean windows
organize kitchen cabinets and pantry
clean office
organize master closet and drawers
frame and hang pictures and artwork
vacuum couches
clean stairs
change camp schedules and fill out forms
fill out preschool forms
clean cobwebs in basement
take rug to reuse center
organize toys and books
purchase and assemble bookshelf
purchase and use power strip for living room
clean front porch
paint and decorate bookcase for M's room
clean oven
organize linen closet
upload, organize, print pictures
clean van
sweep and mop entire upstairs
sweep and mop downstairs
redecorate seasonal table
organize cds

time to redirect

So, our utilities have gone through the roof this month. Our total gas usage is almost where it was last year, and it's only June. Our electricity is higher too. I really need to figure out what is going on and how to change it. I am frustrated that things are not changing in my house. Part of that is feeling that I am the only one who's trying. I don't know how to get the rest of my family involved.

Today we spent about 60.00 on eating out and things for the house.
On Friday we spent $11 on a b-day gift for L's friend.
Yesterday, I spent $3 on food and R spent $10 on food.

I am feeling very discouraged and not sure where to turn. I want to make a difference, but I am stuck. Emotionally and physically stuck. I hope this is a temporary blip and that I can get back on track. Actually, I know this is a temporary blip; I will get back on track.

Just when I thought things were getting better, they are going in the opposite direction. What the %&^$ ?! This really took the wind out of my sails. I am redoubling my efforts because I don't want to be a failure at this too.

CHALLENGE: 12 days of homemaking

In twelve days, we leave for our family vacation. In 17 days, we return home. I cannot and will not return to my home in its current state. There is literally not ONE room in the house that is clean and/or organized. Well, ok the garage is both clean and organized, but I just did that last week.

There are many things that need to be done, including:

1. clean desk in kitchen
2. clean counter in kitchen/dining room
3. clean windows
4. organize kitchen cabinets and pantry
5. clean office
6. organize master closet and drawers
7. frame and hang pictures and artwork
8. vacuum couches
9. clean stairs
10. change camp schedules and fill out forms
11. fill out preschool forms
12. clean cobwebs in basement
13. take rug to reuse center
14. organize toys and books
15. purchase and assemble bookshelf
16. purchase and use power strip for living room
17. clean front porch
18. paint and decorate bookcase for M's room
19. clean oven
20. organize linen closet
21. upload, organize, print pictures
22. clean van
23. sweep and mop entire upstairs
24. sweep and mop downstairs
25. redecorate seasonal table
26. organize cds

So, working approx. 2 hours per day on homecaring, I expect to have a much cleaner, brighter, more welcoming home. I will do this with minimal expense; it really just requires time and commitment.

car-free #4

Wed
--walked home from Y

Fri
--walked to playdate

Low Impact Week Days 5-7

overall, fairly successful. i would give myself a B-.
I did not drive to the Y specifically for exercise.
I did not watch tv and use computer at the same time. (I did not reduce my computer usage enough, though.)
I did end up shopping at Salvation Army. Baseball pants for L and clothes for M. Spent $10.55.
I did better limiting her tv time, but she still watched more than she should because of my schoolwork and need for naps.
L slept without pull-ups. He had three accidents out of 7 days, which isn't great, but it's better than pull-ups. We are applying no pressure, and he is starting to get invested in it as well.


another thing not on list, but related to lowering our impact...
we did not eat out at all this week (m-f). this is huge for us.

Low Impact Week Day 4

completed opt-out forms for credit cards, etc.
Woke L up; dry morning
combined all errands and activities
shopped at locally owned stores
joined my local co-op (Spent money on something other than food or gas, but this is really a long term investment.)
M had tv time only in the afternoon--one video and done!

Low Impact Week Days 2 & 3

ate at local restaurants
walked outside
have not used computer while watching tv (or vice versa)
no pullups for L (only one accident so far)
have not purchased anything except food (this means I have had no need to drive anywhere, thus using less gas)
removed name from another catalog


tomorrow: I will call the ALA; 1-800-545-2433, press option 5 for a Member & Customer Service representative.

Low Impact Week Day 1

no tv
removed my name from 3 catalogs

Low Impact week

Low impact week begins tomorrow, June 1 and continues through June 7.

Here's what I am committing to:

1. I will walk outside this week for exercise. I will not drive to the Y for the sole purpose of exercising.
2. I will not watch tv and use computer at the same time.
3. I will not purchase anything other than food or gas.
4. I will limit M's tv time to either morning or afternoon, not both!
5. L will sleep without pull-ups. I will wake him up to go potty. (those are a huge percentage of our weekly trash.)
6. I will purchase groceries from locally owned stores and individuals as much as possible. (Without having to drive across town for them.)

car-free #3

Tuesday
walked to library

Wednesday
walked to pool

Thursday
walked in neighborhood instead of driving to Y

UPDATE: end of May--10 car-free errands, 90 more to go.

transformation, or how 85 minutes on a treadmill can change your life

I completed a 10K this morning on the treadmill at the Y. My time was 85:10. I didn't go all out because I didn't want to be exhausted all day. In fact, it worked out really well because my legs were sore, but not too sore to play some tennis with R and L at the park.

I realized that going back to school is no longer a goal of mine. I am going to finish the MLS program, but I have put the thought of a doctorate out of my mind. I enjoyed spending the evening at the park with my family and want to be able to give them more attention and actively participate in their lives. I realize how much I miss by working on weekends. I will be doing it for at least the next year, and then who knows. I don't want it to be a permanent thing; I enjoy all of us being together!

I have grown in the 2 years since I started thinking about school and doing something with my life. I now realize that I can make homemaking as intellectually challenging as I want it to be. All the things I am learning about (or wanting to learn about)--cooking, gardening (ha!), reducing our eco-footprint, housekeeping--are just as challenging if not more so than school.

I still want to work; it is good for my mind and soul. I like being a part of a community. Seeing people in the grocery store or at L's school that I 'know' from the library makes me happy. It is a small way of building community.

What I have realized is that life is what you make it and school was always it for me because that was all I had to concentrate on and I was good at it. Now that I have other things that need my attention and other things I want to spend time doing, there is no longer room for school. Or, a need for that matter.

To that end, I have decided that a happy family is more important than a 4.0 (which is impossible now, anyway, but that's not a story worth telling). I am striving for a 3.0. This is no longer my life; my kids and my family are my life and they are worth more to me than the satisfaction of an A. School is no longer my calling; that ship has sailed. I am looking for a new calling; one that combines my family and my needs, not separate them.

stepping out of the box

Today at the indoor playplace I inquired about their recycling procedures. I felt weird doing it, but I am glad I did. It turns out that they do recycle and are waiting for the plastic recycling container. In the meantime, the workers recycle any plastic bottles they see sitting around. The manager made a point to mention that they also recycle all their cardboard and she showed me the sign showing that their cups are made of corn.

car-free #2

Monday
Walked home from Y (3.5 miles)
Walked to upper el school for field day.

Thursday
Walked to the post office to mail a package.
Rode bike to video store.

Friday
Walked to library.

Saturday
Walked to the mall.

starbursts of progress

*I rode R's bike to the video store tonight. I definitely will not be getting a bike trailer any time soon. I have to get much more comfortable on a bike first.

*I cooked dinner tonight. Salmon cakes, rice, and salad. I cooked enough rice for tomorrow's mean as well. Advance planning! WooHoo!

*I haven't eaten after dinner 8 days out of the last 10.

*I was at the Y at 5:30 this morning.

*Today was a buy-nothing day.

you can't know where you're going...

unless you know where you are!
so, I downloaded our monthly electric and gas usage stats to see where we are.

the good news is, we are below average for electricity, and right at average for gas.

the bad news is, we are using way more electricity this year than last. I am going to spend the next two weeks really looking at where we can cut back. I have already started unplugging the toaster. Our tv and dvd are connected to a light switch.

My goal for the next year is to decrease our electricity usage each month from the previous year. I would like to have our yearly total for 2007 come in at 5000 or less. Unfortunately, we have already used over 50% of our total.

What to do?
electricity
--unplug radio in living room
--turn off kids' cd players
--switch one cordless phone to a regular phone
--watch less tv (L's idea)
--have more stove/oven-free meals
--unplug computer
gas
--install shower start and valve
--do laundry all in one day (to use residual heat from dryer)
--hang more clothes (25% of each load)

I am also going to begin saving gas receipts so I can figure out how many times we fill up and calculate how much we spend over the next three months. Then, we will attempt to curb our driving so that we fill up one less time per month. This may mean me being without a car so R can drive the one with gas.

car-free #1

Today I walked to the mall with M to get her 4 year old pictures taken. I can't believe that was my first time. The mall is literally a 25 minute walk with her in the stroller. The longest part is waiting to cross a major street.

I not only got in 3 miles walking, but we both got fresh air, she got a chance to relax and think, I got a chance to relax and think, and she spent less time in front of the tv because we didn't have an much time when we got home before school.

The major challenge for me in learning to use my car less is going to be planning. I need to think ahead about what needs to be done, and plan accordingly. I also need to slow down and minimize the things I need to do on car-free days. It will take more time, and I need to remember that so I don't end up frazzled and stressed.

My goal is to complete 100 car-free errands between now and Aug. 31. It shouldn't be hard. Walking to the library
Walking to the pool
Riding the bus downtown
Walking to the grocery store (Yes, this means doing some shopping at a store I really don't like, but I can at least get the basics there.)
Riding the bus to other places of interest
Walking to the mall
Use the local post office (plan ahead to avoid needing express mail)

points to ponder

If I didn't wait until the last minute to get things done, the 30 minutes each day I spend would be enough. Because I have waited, however, I need to do 3 hours in one day which just isn't practical.

In some moments, I see great progress being made. In other moments, it all seems very overwhelming.

I have to eliminate the fantasy of having an entire week to get everything done in my house. It is crippling for three reasons: 1. it won't happen anytime soon (if ever), 2. if I had an entire week to myself, I would not spend it all working on the house, 3. I don't want to feel rushed; this is a process that will take time.