October To Do List

This is mostly for my own edification, but if I have to be tortured with guilt over this list I figured I might as well include you in my angst. I figure if I have to suffer, so do you.

1. In the name of all that's holy, I need to go buy a freaking dress for the wedding already. It's less than 3 weeks away! Halleluia! I found a dress Sunday er...maybe it was Saturday. Anyway it was a total fluke, on sale and can I just say I'm soooo relieved? Well, I am. Relieved.

2. Update TBB and UBS book lists. Long overdue for a rehaul and an update. Kristie's post on her book cataloging was inspirational. I'm thinking Library Thing may be my next project. Well maybe not 'next' next. See number 9.

3. Update the sidebar on blog. Delete Twitter posts and replace with???? I did this. Sort of. On Saturday. I updated my links. Debated eliminating them entirely. Left them. I like looking at them. My blog. My blog. My lovely blog.

4. Re-do the blog page? Find someone to re-design it for me? What? I can't make up my mind. What do you guys think? I need help with this decision. I found out at RWA that there are people that identify my blog with the yoga lady. But how important is that? Aren't we all mostly stream readers? How much does blog design matter? It's not that I hate the design, I just can't decide if it's time for a change.

5. Twitter or not twitter. You can't be half in. This is another decision I can't seem to make. I like Twitter so much when I'm doing it, but most of the time I try to ignore it because I get sucked into the conversations and then... Zap! My day is lost. Also, I'll get fired and I'd like to keep my job. Put that way this decision seems like a no brainer. No?

6. Re-commit to swimming. I started walking again two weeks ago. I do my walking outside with Luann a friend from work. I'm not a big treadmill fan. I like being outside. So when it's a gazillion degrees outside walking 3 1/2 miles is killer. I was swimming a lot during the summer so we cut out the walking until it cooled off a bit.

Anyway, I only swam once this week and once last week. The goal is on alternate days walk or swim. That would be 6 days a week of exercise with only Sundays off. I was doing this last Spring. It was great for weight loss, good health and I want to get in the groove again. It's always hard getting started and back in the routine of things. (ETA: Swam Tuesday night!)

7. THE QUEST. Yes Kristie is at it again and we all have something new to consider in our lives. BROKEN WING by Judith James. I ordered mine and hope to have it by the weekend. I'll keep you posted.

8. Mail pressies to new nevvy and his big sister. Gotta celebrate the new baby. Pressies purchased, just got to them wrapped and boxed and mailed. Soon.

9. Last but not least, the photo project. Last year at this time my Dad dumped all the old family photo albums on me and asked me to go through them all and divvy up pictures to all the sibs. I've neatly boxed them all up and they are under my bed. I've purchased albums for the individual sibs to give them their share of the photos, but haven't gone through the laborious process of reviewing and dividing. Ugh! I'd like to get this done before Christmas.

So there it is. My Fall 'to do' list. Yes, I know I called it the "October" to do list, but I'm thinking a few of these may go on past the end of the month. At least I have them in writing and now I'm committed.

Committed.

Funny no?

As in I need to be committed? *ba dum bum* *cymbal crash*

I'm Busy Damn It!

No really, I have lots of stuff to do. Remember me mentioning how I have lists? Well, I started the week gangbusters but somewhere around Wednesday I lost steam. I'm not going to say this never happens to me because January 2007 was an all time "just doing the basics" period for me. Stuff happens.

This week I just have my average To Do list and I'm ignoring it and pretending I don't have to do those things. One of the items on the list is to finish an application for an administrative job with our local fire department. Yes, I'm looking for work again.

Lucky me my temp job was over in early December and I've been slowly looking for a "real" job again. Fortunately, I have the luxury of taking my time because except for the two months in the Fall working the temp job I've been unemployed since last June.

I've really enjoyed living life at a slower pace. I've never had a problem being home either. I was a stay-at-home Mom when my boys were very young. When I did return to work they were in junior high and high school. Even then, I went back part time at first so I was home when they were home.

Recently, I've been reading about so many of you having killer work weeks of 50 and 60 hours. Ugh! That takes me right back to where I was when I left my last job. I was putting in those kind of hours for six months and I was fried to a crisp by the time I left. Good job, good money, great boss, but too demanding for me to have a life outside of work. I kept hoping the hours would improve as time went on. I worked at that place for almost four years and if you can't figure out in that time what will and what won't change, then you are in real trouble.

Anyway, I'm feeling good right now. The rheumatoid arthritis seems to be in some sort of remission, my boys are older and needing me less. (Which as my mother used to say translates to "so I can worry more") So here I am. Looking for a good paying job, with good benefits and a benign work environment. No high stress and demanding stuff for me. Quiet, peace...that's what I'm looking for.

However, it's pretty interesting to see where my ambition is when I have been sitting on the application for the fire department for three days. The window for accepting applications closes next Tuesday at 5 p.m., so I have time. Right? I'm not really procrastinating yet am I? Doesn't it have to be something like Tuesday at noon with an incomplete application for it to be officially called procrastination?

Of course, I do have an interview for an admin job at our local junior college on April 30th. Maybe that's why I'm not hurrying up to apply for this other job. Nah...that's not it. Maybe the fact that the application is four freakin' pages and has to be done by hand. That might have something to do with it. (Who doesn't have their applications on line? Really!)

This morning I vowed to tackle the application first thing. No cleaning the kitchen first, blog hopping, leaving to do errands, reading, laundry...nope. Just do the application. So what have I done so far this morning? Made coffee, blog hopped, two loads of laundry, conversation with Beanie Boy about his job hunting and telephone conversation with GG.

This blog post wasn't on the list either. Guess I better finish it so I can continue NOT completing the application and go fix myself something to eat instead.

Ah-CHOO!

I've been laid low by a cold my husband brought home. That's what I get for sleeping with a sneezy, runny nose, stuffy head guy. Of course for the last four days I've sweetly and gently reminded him that he brought home the vicious germ that laid me low. It seems like I always get what he had times two. Anyway, I'm much better now and no longer threatening to lay waste to any and all who disturb the cranky lady in her flannel jammies with the red nose and chapped lips.

The panting you hear isn't from my cold. It's me running around like a crazy person trying to get organized again and catch up with stuff. I'm making lists so I can actually see all the things I need to do like still go back and label my posts prior to beta and update links on my page and list all the books I've read in January on my spread sheet. I'm a masochist that way. On the other hand, it is very enjoyable to cross through something and see the list dwindle and disappear.

Wow! What a fabulously thrilling life I lead, huh? I'm working on an incentive to get myself to do all this stuff. In the nick of time Steadman called. There's a wedding in June. So my first trip to Minnesota is in the offing. Also, my sister in Georgia would like a visit. Yeah, I admit it, I bribe myself to get stuff done and use trips, meals, books as bribes to get motivated. It an act of desperation to slingshot myself back into the swing of things when for whatever reason I get behind.

Right now I'm contemplating chocolate for breakfast. No not hot cocoa...chocolate of the Godiva variety. No more soup or tea for a while. For suffering and sneezing through two boxes of tissue surely God has rewarded me with a few lost pounds, so chocolate for breakfast isn't such a bad thing. Am I right?