Saved image

I went back to an earlier saved image and started working on hair instead. I wasn't happy with the freckles, or the lips, or the eyes.

Lists

1. I'm tired of this cold. I'm feeling much, much better today and yesterday than I have been in a while, but I'm *still* conjested and *still* not sleeping well at night because of it.

2. Christoper Robin is abbreviated CR. We have decided that this can also stand for Corruptive Rascal.

3. I've had the song First of May stuck in my head this morning. I'm blaming CR. I've been very, very careful not to sing it out loud with the Sweetling around.

4. I have a tablet PC. The Jedi has spent last week updating it and upgrading it. He's going to install art rage on it for me.

5. I have a tendancy to get myself over-involved. VBS committee has just started up. (I went to the VBS curriculum fair on Thursday, which I thoroughly enjoyed.) I want to be involved with crafts, decorating, kids dance team, and preschool lesson. That's FOUR areas. My eyes are bigger than my stomach (or certainly bigger than my schedule).

6. We had a phone consultation with a therapist from Children's Hospital last night. In November, E is for Energy had been moved from his orphanage home to a new orphanage. He hasn't been happy with the move and separation, and has been throwing temper tantrums. While this is a totally natural and understandable response, I'm anticipating more temper tantrums when he comes home with us. I want to have some plans in place, some tools, some well-thought out responses, for how to best cope with and help him handle his anger and frustrations.

7. I journaled about that this morning. I know, from past experience, several things.
a) I am *capable* of handling this in a very positive constructive way. I did a wonderful job with some situations as a preschool teacher with two of my students who were prone to huge, violent tantrums.
b) At home, I tend to avoid any form of confrontation. Its very, very difficult for me to be firm.
c) When I was growing up, any and all types of behavior from any male family member, regardless of age, was either excused, appeased, rationalized, or ignored. I need to make a conscious choice not to follow that example.
d) I can NOT turtle out on this. I WILL NOT turtle out on this. I WILL have a healthy approach already in place before E is for Energy comes home.

8. We have an appointment in early February for an office visit with the therapist. Me, Sweetling, and the Jedi are all going. We'll see her at least twice in the office before E is for Energy comes home. She's helping us put into place a family plan for E is for Energy's grief and fear based tantrums.

9. I need to look up P.C.I.T and see what that's all about.

10. I haven't gotten back to any art. I'm really unhappy with how Fawn is looking. I'm really pleased with how Richard looks. This is the time at which I'm tempted to give up the project. I need to make a commitment to finishing it.

11. I thought there was a scripture, a promise that God will equip you to handle any good work for which he has called you. But, I can't find it. I found three verses that were close, but not the specific encouragement that I really need right now.

12. This is from my journal this morning:

E is going to need me.
He is going to need my strength.
He is going to need my confidence.
He is going to need my consistancy.
He is going to need my presence.
He is going to need my love.
He is going to need my guidance.
He is going to need my boundaries.
He is going to need my discipline.
He is going to need my acceptence.
He is going to need my comfort.
He is going to need my understanding.
He is going to need my tenderness.
He is going to need my steadfastness.
He is going to need me to follow through.
He is going to need me to uphold consequences.
He is going to need my praises.
He is going to need me to stay engaged.
He is going to need to hear my voice.
He is going to need my embrace.
He is going to need me to provide structure.
He is going to need my bravery.
He is going to need my softness.
He is going to need my firmness.
He is going to need me to be his mother.

Still Freckleless

The key words here are "work in progress."

Freckleless Fawn

Some evil, evil person (smurf) convinced me that I could "totally do freckles." The evil person lied to me. Deceived me. Lured me with false hope only to laugh when my fragile little spirit was crushed.

Freckles are HARD.

The good news is ... a) I'm feeling more like a human being and less like a miserable zombie, and b) I have new *tablet* PC cause the Jedi *loves* me.

The Jedi Council

It has been decreed that today is a sick day. There is not to be any school. There is not to be any errands. There is not to be any housework. There is to be rest. And naps. In fact, the official instructions were "You should both take some benedryl and sleep a lot."

Remember how Saturday morning I felt like I had been hit by a pick up truck driven by good ol boys with a dead dear strapped to the roof? Well, I've just been getting worse over the weekend. And, cause we were candidating a children's pastor, I've not gotten the rest I needed. I slept in Saturday, sewed hair on a frog, watched Gideon with Susan, then went to a planning meeting with our new Children's Pastor Saturday night. Sunday morning I dragged my sorry self out of bed, and was at church, smiling active, busy, leading preschool for 3 hours then hosting a luncheon for 1 hour and cleaning up afterwards. I came home and slept soundly for 2 hours then went back to church for the annual business meeting where the congregation was voting on the candidate. Then I came home, and crashed. (Well, I watched EMHE then crashed.) That's when the Jedi Council ruling got put into effect.

It occurs to me that laundry list of my weekend aren't the best reading, but I'm sick, so I don't have to produce quality writing.

I whined to the Jedi last night that my schedule was too full. I whined to CR this morning that my schedule was too full. Now I'm whining again on my blog.

And at CR's instructions, I'm posting what my schedule *is* for the next week. CR told me to triage. I whined. CR told me to post, and she'd triage. That's why she's called Christopher Robin.

Monday (today):

I was supposed to take Honey Bee to the dr this morning. I totally forgot. Honey Bee and the Jedi both called to remind me. I told Honey Bee that I couldn't, 'cause Sweetling and I are both sick. Honey Bee gets sick at the drop of a hat, and she totally doesn't need this right now.

I was supposed to go to the library to get books for tonight's AHG meeting. I mentioned to Sweetling that we were going to the library (a dearly loved trip by her). She sad "no library, no library". Let me tell you, if Sweetling doesn't want to go the the *library* then she is sicker than sick. (This discussion happened before the Jedi Council decree was made for the day.)

I AM going to AHG tonight. The other Tenderfoot leader is even sicker than me, so I don't have a decent sub. I would call Telephone and see if she would take over for me, cause she'd totally love what we're doing tonight, but Telephone is also even worse off physically than me right now. Maybe we'll get hit with an ice storm and the meeting will get cancelled.

Tuesday:

Sweetling is signed up to participate in a regional spelling bee held up in Middletown. If we're still as sick tomorrow as we are today, we prolly won't go.

HoneyBee needs a ride to another dr tomorrow. They're doing a urinary track thing with a camera. They told her she wouldn't be able to drive. I need to call some other church women and line up a ride for her. (Not Telephone, cause she's having her own health issues.)

Dance is at night. The Jedi has said *IF* I go to dance, I shouldn't practice, I should just watch.

Wednesday:

Wow is in the morning. We won't be going if we're still sick.

I'm supposed to take a meal to a family. The mom just had open chest surgery. I think I'll ask the Jedi to pick up a gift certificate or order them a pizza. Recovering from open chest surgery and being exposed to germs don't mix well.

Choir is at night. I can't sing. I could go and listen. But I think I'll stay home with Sweetling.

Thursday

Conference call in the afternoon. No biggie.

VBS curriculum fair at night. I'm totally going to this. I love seeing the different curriculums. Plus they have cool door prizes. And I'll get a vote in which VBS we do this summer.

Friday

Gaming at night

Saturday

Skype game session at night

Sunday

preschool sunday school
preschool church

first meeting for children's choir at night

Monday

AHG Tenderfoot mom's meeting at my house

Tuesday

dance

Wednesday

wow
choir

Thursday

free

Friday

movie night at CR's

Saturday

Skype game session

Sunday

preschool sunday school
regular church

Superbowl

There ya go Christopher Robin. That's the next two weeks of my life ;)

Colds, guilt, motherhood, and art

Monday was MLK day. We didn't have school. No one had school. Most schools were closed in honor of a great man who desired justice, fairness, who struggled peacefully and at great cost to have these ideals realized in a nation which *claimed* equality, but who victimized and oppressed many of its citizens. But that's not why we didn't have school. We didn't have school because Smurf didn't have school and said "come over and pick me up. We'll go hang out at Christopher Robin's house and make Vaxia characters."

Tuesday we did some school in the morning, then we left at 10 to pick up Honey Bee. Honey Bee had a doctor appointment that we drove her too. (I packed a school bag, and sweetling did some assignments in the waiting room, some.) We got back to our house a little before 2. We ate lunch (that hadn't happened yet). And did some more school. At 3:25, we attempted a math semester assessment. (which means i gave sweetling her assessment and left the room to go do laundry and sweep and mop the kitchen floor.) I came back in at 4 and sweetling had gotten 4 problems finished. I was a bit frustrated. A bit. CR can tell you all about it. At any rate, we didn't get nearly the amount of school accomplished that day as I had hoped for. Sweetling wound up sitting in the schoolroom at her desk with her math until it was dinner time. Still wasn't finished.

Wednesday. Wednesday is my WOW meetings. Sweetling lost her morning free time and worked before we left on the math that she didn't get finished yesterday. So, we went to wow in the morning, took a Christmas tree back to CR's house. Then came home and got a nice solid afternoon of schooling in. I was pleased.

Thursday was a great school day. Got everything on our list done, but we're still behind for the week. We did take time to do some cool math mind bender puzzles, because we came across them and she was so excited about them. Thursday night Sweetling starts complaining about a sore throat. We give her some cold meds before bed.

Friday. Sweetling wakes up sick. I also wake up with a sore throat and a headache. Sweetling is moaning and carrying on and refusing to speak. I decide, based on how I feel, that we probably have the same thing, and she's just being over dramatic. I give her some cold meds, and set her at the school list for the day. She takes a nap during lunch break, something that she never ever does. But we had a really productive morning, and we only have a *few* things to finish up. So, in the afternoon, I have her work some more. Now, most of her afternoon work is things that she can do on her own, with a minimum of supervision from me. So, not only do I set her back on her school work, but I refuse to give up the school room computer for her to use. (Two of her assignments are on line activities). Instead, I bring up the laptop and set it up at her desk, cause i want to use my computer to play on vaxia and continue to work on the character portraits I've been doing the past few days. (see the 12 previous posts.) Sweetling sits at her little desk with the lap top and works while Mommy plays. Sweetling gets done with her school work early, watches a couple tv shows, then goes back to bed and falls asleep for the second time that day.

Last night we had Family Night at church which is part of the planned activities for candidating a new children's pastor this weekend. Sweetling wakes up from her nap, and really wants to go. By the end of the night, I'm starting to feel worse. I still come home and play on vaxia and mess with my drawing more...even though i can tell i should just take cold meds and go to bed. Eventually I do just that.

I wake up at 4:50 this morning cause i can't breathe and i feel like crap. I take a second dose of antihistimines and go back to bed. I wake up at 10:30 this morning feeling like I've been hit by a pick up truck. I drag myself up to the bathroom, take more meds. Make hot chocolate and immediately feel that horrible, sinking, mother guilt that I made Sweetling do school yesterday even though she didn't feel well.

Now i'm going to make a second cup of hot chocolate. I wish I could say my confession makes me feel a little better, but it doesn't really.

Horrible sinking mother guilt is the pits for which there is no cure.

The pox.

My freckles look like the pox. This entry could also be titled "I should take some cold meds and go to bed".

too much?

I think I need to finish coloring fawn and both hair. then i can go back and tweak shading values. otherwise its rather difficult to judge relative darkness and lightness.

Now?

Comment. You know who you are.

Getting worse before it gets better

I could also title this "it can only get better from here." I tried editing before reading Smurf's suggestions. Now its worse. Why am i sharing? for *sympathy* and *encouragement.* Did you hear that? Only sympathetic and encouraging comments need to be made.

Background

Wooly Willy

I was working hard on getting the hint of a mustache and a beard on Richard. Not full growth..but a pencil line mustache and a little scruff on the chin. I'm zoomed up at 300% and am nearly editing by pixels. I zoom back out to see what I've got. And I immediately recognize the effect. Its just like Wooly Willy.

In progress...still...

Trying to give Richard a more 'rugged' look as I'm working on his skin tones.

In progress

Hopeless Adict

But I don't want to be cured. Anyway, don't be too impressed by this. I cheated and traced an image I liked, while modifying the woman to look more like Fawn. Who's Fawn? Yeah, that's where the hopeless adict part comes in. Fawn is a new character of mine. The man in the sketch is Richard, played by Christopher Robin.

I am pleased that Richard still looks like the tortured love-struck soul he is. And Fawn has freckles, her own hair style, and is the eternal optimist that she is. I'll color it later.

What's in a Name

I understand now why some modern art pieces are simply Untitled. It isn't because the artist couldn't come up with a name. Its because in naming their piece, do they take away from what the viewer might see in their piece? Once the art has a name, will the viewer only look at it through that label? If it doesn't have a name, is the viewer more free to see, to seek, to find, to imagine?

My little art rage work has a name. But if I tell it to you, will that lock you into an image? If I don't tell you, what will you see?

Incomplete

Showed up on my college grades more often than I care to count. I have a few interesting things that have occupied my attention. None of them, of course, are finished. (Well, ok, one is.) But I'm going to share them anyway.

First the finished one, with a shout out to Lushgirl for her input.

The number one sign you have a Blog addiction...

You ONLY blog when-- you are --bored, lonely, happy, tired, angry, silly, up early in the morning, up late at night --OR when you -- got too much sleep, didn't get enough sleep, have to much to do, don't have anything to do, --OR when --the kids are occupied, the kids are driving you crazy, the kids are gone, what kids?-- OR when--life is terrible, life is great, the husband's gone to bed, the husband's still awake, what husband?, it's the weekend, it's a weekday, what day is it anyway?...

Now the unfinished one.

Darkness stalks the waters deep

And trade winds blow no longer fair

It makes the stoutest sailor weep

What hunts upon the mere

Empty ships with blood soaked boards

On sails from spar to spar a tear

Empty cabins, empty holds…

And not a body anywhere.

And another, nearly finished one....which I shall manipulate to be read AFTER this by some cleverly timed posting. See, I CAN outsmart the comptuer. Fear me, O Computer. Fear me and tremble.

ETA: (The computer won.)

Free Plastic Bag

Driving home today and I saw a sign in front of the Sprint phone store that read "Free plastic bag with every purchase."

Its the sort of thing others need to experience. Somehow sharing these sorts of things takes away the sting of how pathetic we, as a culture, often are.

And of course, there's no better way to share such a sign than on my blog. Which brings me to my second thought of the drive:

Top Ten Signs You Have a Blog Addiction

10. You no longer call, or even email, your friends because they should've already read the most important parts of your days.
9. Its more natural to refer to your friends by their blog screen names than by their real names.
8. You can use phrases like "The Magic 8 Ball" in reference to a person, and no one gets confused.
7. Being called a self-absorbed exhibitionist is a compliment.
6. You don't even *know* the first names of many of the people you are sharing your deepest thoughts and feelings with.
5. You immediately begin to mentally compose a blog entry whenever something funny, profound, or unusual happens to you.
4. You're biggest complaint about your husband/best friend/significant other is that the person doesn't read your blog. If they really loved you, they'd read it...
3. You know more about the daily life of strangers you've never met than you do about your sister/best friend/husband/etc.
2. Being one of the first few to reply to a "meme" is worth bragging rights.

And the number one sign you have a Blog addiction is....


Tum Dum Dum....you decide.

That's right. I'm throwing this out as a meme. Just what is the number one sign you have a blog addiction?

Almost finished

I'm almost happy with this sketch. Almost. I think I know what needs tweaked, but I need some outside critiquing. I'm emailing Smurf a copy for her comments. Would anyone else give me some specific feedback please? (And I added specific so that the Magic 8 Ball might take a hint ;) I love you Magic 8 Ball.)

Not finished

This isn't finished, but I'm excited about it and wanted to share what I'm working on.

Why I call her Sweetling

In November, we (meaning the Jedi and Sweetling with no real involvement from me) cleaned and reorganized Sweetling's room. We (Jedi and Sweetling, not me) thinned out quite a few of her toys in the process.

(For the record, I wasn't even in town. I had gone on a women's retreat held at Clifty Falls. Technically, I wasn't even in the same state. I came back from my weekend and not only had Sweetling's room been totally cleaned and organized, but so had the downstairs rec room, the shelves in the living room, the laundry room, our master bedroom...pretty much the whole house was amazingly decluttered, clean, and neat. Other women came back to find their husbands and children had destroyed all order in the kitchens and left laundry and dishes everywhere. So....who's the messy one in our family, hmmmm?)

Sweetling decided that she didn't really use her doll house anymore and was trying to think of someone to give it to. In the church bulletin, there had been a notice about collected for holiday food baskets. I (yes, i really did get involved at this point) suggested that we could call the secretary/office manager at church and ask her if she knew of a family in need that would appreciate the doll house. Sweetling agreed.

Sweetling helped me wrap the furniture and put a large bow on the dollhouse. The Jedi took it to church. Here was the email the secretary sent to us today:

Just wanted to let you know that the doll house went to a single mom that didn’t know how she was going to buy something for her daughter for Christmas. She started crying when I took the house and furniture back to her.

God provides!

Be blessed through your blessing of others.

I called Sweetling in to share the email with her. I'm so, so proud of her.

Just sing a happy song

I sing. I sing a lot. I frequently don't know more than one or two lines from a song, so I just sing those same lines over and over. My family and friends love me for this quality.

This morning I happened to be singing:
"All we want to do is it your brains,
we're not unreasonable...
I mean no one wants to eat your eyes."

I turned around and saw Sweetling with her pretty little hazel eyes watching me, obviously trying to figure out what sort of lunacy had taken over Mommy this time...and, more importantly, was it the sort of lunacy that might get her out of doing schoolwork today.

To explain, I said, "Its a zombie song." And went back to putting away the school supplies we purchased yesterday. She seemed satisfied with that, though I'm sure a bit disappointed that school was still on. A few minutes later she asks...

"Mommy, if zombies eat brains, what do they drink?"

Me (being the gamer that I am, I'm pretty sure zombies don't really eat brains, but I give the easiest cop out answer I can think of): "I don't know, Sweetheart."

Sweetling: "Maybe they drink blood."

Me: "No, that would be a vampire."

Sweetling: "Maybe they drink brain juice."

Me (still trying to cop out of the conversation): "Maybe they do."

Sweetling: "Mommy, do you know what brain juice is?"

Me (terrified that Sweetling probably *does* know *exactly* what brain juice is and is about to describe it in gorrily graphic and precise detail): "No, Honey, and Mommy really doesn't even want to know."

Sweetling (delighted with herself): "It's what makes brains SQUISHY!!!"

When she's older I'm telling her she can send her therapy bills to Christopher Robin.

Green Isn't a Color & Gerbils Don't Like to Be Vacuumed

No. The gerbil did not meet a terrible fate involving a vacuum cleaner. Its all right. Breathe. There ya go.

Yes, to the Sweetling reading over my shoulder. I'm well aware that green *is* in fact a color, and not only that, but its your *favorite* color. (for now).

Let me tell my story. And then everything will make sense.

Long, long ago in the land of yore.... Well, at least long, long ago during my fresmen year of college a large group of us were up at all hours of the night sitting on someone's dorm room floor. We had played a game or two of Uno (maybe). We were bored and restless and rather than do the sensible thing of either our classwork or sleeping, someone suggested we play Fizzbin Uno. After the concept and story had been explained to the unenlighted among us, we proceeded to do so. It turned out to be surprisingly fun. To make the game playable, we decided that each hand, the dealer could make whatever rules s/he felt like, and all would have to follow those rules for that hand. The night wore on, the rules got sillier and more complex, and the freshmen got more slaphappy. (Only slaphappy, no other substances were involved.) In one game, I had at least thirty cards in my hand. Green kept coming up. Not a single one of my thirty plus cards were ever green. My hand kept growing at a seemingly expodential rate. I was extrodinarily vocal about this profound injustice. The next hand was my deal. I immediately proclaimed that green wasn't a color (my deal, my rules), and proceeded to deal out the cards.

For a little while after that statements of "Green isn't a color" made by the friends in that group were sort of taken to mean "I don't like this, and wish I could alter reality to my bidding."

Having explain that, let me just say-- Green isn't a color, and Wednesday's don't count.

There. I feel much better now.

I was making chili this afternoon. I put tomato sauce in this time, so it did have a chance. I realized after I had started the chili, that the chili took more time to simmer and sit than we actually *had* between the time the chili went on the stove, and the time we were meant to go to church. I then realized that the kitchen floor never got swept or mopped yesterday. How, I wondered, had that happened? I was so proud of getting *all* my routines done, *all* of Susan's school done, a blog posted, Christmas clutter put away, etc etc etc. Then I realized, the kitchen floor never got done, cause I streamlined my morning routine. The problem with streamlining is, once you take something out...it doesn't get done unless you put it in somewhere else. Ding ding. Light bulb moment.

New thing. The housework that got nixed from the morning rountine, has to be done sometime. I can do it at 3, while Sweetling does her "homework". Then I should still have an hour of freetime between 4 and 5. Except on Wednesdays.

Nothing goes according to plan on Wednesdays. Ergo, Wednesdays don't count. But I still need to vacuum. Wednesdays are my vacuum days. So now the motto is, Wednesdays don't count, except for vacuuming.

The gerbil? I know you're wondering where the gerbil comes into this story.

Its not that exciting (lucky for the gerbil). Only that I did vacuum, and there was gerbil fluff all over the school room floor, the gerbil stand, my desk, the printer...pretty much anything within three feet of the gerbil cage. Gerbils like to *dig* you see. They are burrowing creatures. Being the loving person I am, our gerbil has a custom cage. The bottom half of the cage is an aquarium filled with fluff for a burrowing gerbil. The top half is a multi level wire platform cage that the Jedi rigged together. Not because he loves the gerbil mind you, but because he loves me. But, the gerbil, in his enthusiastic digging, throws fluff from the bottom half of the cage. It scatters and disperses out of the open wire top half of the cage. I vacuumed the outside of the cage, the stand, the desk, the printer, the floor. The gerbil wasn't pleased when the vacuum tube was going over the wire bars of its cage.

See. Told you it wasn't that exciting.

I should have just left the title stand on its own.

My something for the day:
bought a new devotional. bought a pair of navy blue pants for AHG. bought a pair of chocolate cordoroy pants for fun. bought a pink Bengals jersey for Sweetling. bought 5 polo shirts for the Jedi. ie--my something was going shopping.

January 1st is the Promised Land of all Dates

January 1st is the Promised Land of all Dates. It's the beginning of the beginning. The alpha point of the year. The clean slate promise of what's to come.

Now, I don't usually make New Year's Resolutions. I call that being a realist. I *NEVER* manage to keep them past oh, um, January, so years ago I decided making resolutions were a pointless tradition for me.

You know why? Because I wasn't being a realist at *all* when I made the resolutions. My resolutions would be a mile long list of skyhigh dreams and no real clear path to achieve any of them. I wasn't keeping them. I was standing and watching them as they swiftly sailed past, lovely, admirable, and completely unobtainable.

I'm not making a list of New Year's Resolutions this year either. Why? Because once I start thinking "New Year's Resolutions" the old habits kick in. My mind starts whirling with wonderful dreams of what I'd like to be, achieve, create. I know where that path leads. It leads to another impractical, impossible list that will eventually be frustrating and discouraging. And of course, when I can't be the wonder woman I want to be, I'll feel like a failure and not do *anything*. That's always been my greatest struggle. This all or nothing pit. I jump for the *all* with neither ladder or safety net and then plummet into this defeatist pit of "do nothing".

So my goal is just to do *something* each day. A small, reachable, doable something each day.

I might post with my somethings. I might not. I like the idea of having a nice little log of my somethings, so I can look back and remember I'm doing something on the days I feel the pit yawning beneath me. (Do pits yawn exactly?) On the other hand, if I say, "I'm going to do something every day and post each day", then I'm actually setting myself up for a fall. Because what will happen is that a week will go by where I'll not post my somethings...and then I might as well give up, even though its only March 1st, and there will be another year that I've failed, so I might as well give up on everything (house, school, etc) and just go read a book for the next couple days. See the vicious cycle?

Lets just leave it with, I might post with my somethings. Even if they are unfinished.

Two notes on Christmas in Canton that are almost relevent:
1) Window Artist has no compuctions against haning up her unfinished paintings on the walls of their home. I think that's awesome.
2) Buna gave me a set of dishtowels for Christmas. My first thought was, "I can use these to shine my sink." I haven't been doing any of the routines that I was so proud of this summer. You know why? Because, during the summer, it didn't really matter how long my morning routine took. I had all day. And I worked on my "morning" routine, off and on all through the day. The house looked great. Even the Jedi said so. School started. I no longer had all day to do my "morning" routine. But, instead of changing my morning routine, simplifying it, paring it down...I added MORE little routines to be done during short breaks in school. Then, of course, I couldn't get any of them actually finished, so I totally gave up. By Novemeber, the house was in chaos, school felt like it was dragging, and I didn't even want to get out of bed in the morning.

So, I got dishtowels, and that started a thinking process that got me back to small, doable steps. I got out a new sheet of paper, and made a new morning routine. Here they are for comparison, and cause I know Christopher Robin is reading all this and shaking her head at me. Or rolling her eyes. Or both. Don't make yourself dizzy there.

Old routine:
Get up and make bed. Fill water bottle.
Shower, hair and face. Start scent machine.
Excercise (m, w, f). Stretch and shoes.
Transfer laundry. Fold and Hang. Weigh self (m, th)
Shine kitchen sink. Swish and swipe bathroom.
Check email 5 minutes.
Clear clutter Hot spots 5 minutes.
Weekly housework 10 minutes (m: tub, waterplants, calendar, t: sweep n mop kitchen, w: vacuum, th: dust, gather laundry, f: windows, mirrors, sweep kitchen)
Zone work(decluttering and organizing) 15 min
Put phone and PDA in purse. Pack for outings.
Breakfast and devotions at 8:30. Give Sweetling vitamin.

See why this wasn't happening?

So, here's my new list. It worked really well this morning.

Smile. Sit up. Sing a happy song.
Put on some comfy clothes.
Turn on the computer. Drink a glass of water. Start scent machine.
Bathroom. Brush hair and put in quick ponytail.
Excercise/stretch.
Shower, hair and face.
Check on Sweetling's progress.
Shine kitchen sink.
Swish and swipe bathroom.
Make breakfast.
Devotions. Give Sweetling vitamin.
Send Sweetling to brush teeth.
Transfer laundry.
School time.