Sept goals update

So these were my goals for September

Personal

1. Register for e-filing and submit tax return. Of course I still have to go change my bank details...
2. Colour hair
3. Go for massage
   
4. Read 5 books Finished 3, let's see how much I can get through tonight of book 4 :)
   
5. Do 8 random acts of kindness
6. Go to gym/ exercise 8 times (I think I went 3 times)
   
7. Meet Louisa :)
8. Lunch with Natalie
9. Book December holiday. We are closer... a job for my non-existent personal assistant
   
10. Sort out children's summer clothes. 
11. Finish July photos (remember my complicated system :))
    
12. Finish August photos not even started
    
13. Get at least 10 signed up to this month's virtual craft day on 29 September we have 5 signed up so far, I need to link mine, so I need 4 more - are you it???

Business

1. Spring into Organising workshop. 
2. Finish product revamp. 
3. Write article for a guest blog on effective delegating.
4. Send next 6 guest blogs to ____.
5. Do church talk on the 3 P's of time management
6. Book and pay deposit for my book's design.
7. Get book proof-read
8. Write at least 10 posts for 1 - 10 Oct.
9. Do two hours of next product revamp.
10. Two hours of tidying up organising blog's sidebars
11.  Wrote piece for another book which will be published later this year

How did you do on your goals for Sept?

Five on Friday

Okay, I just typed about half the post and blogger ate it so this version's going to be short.

I did 6  mini-projects last night which all turned out exactly as I planned (actually, slightly less cute, except for my year in review book) and then I did some cards which were soooo not cute.

I have ideas on how to cutify them tbough and I'll be attempting the new ones this weekend - have to get them done as they are gifts for some special people ;)

Interestingly enough, I got overwhelmed by all the washi tape goodness and didn't do a single one.

Confession - I took an inventory of all my stuff and I bought some more washi tape in colours I don't have (and want) like yellows and oranges, and I have two unused rolls to sell. I have a green one with white dots and a bright pink. Any takers? They're going for $3 each (I paid $4 plus shipping) - otherwise we can swop? I'm looking for chalkboard paint pens if anyone's keen...

Don't forget to link up!

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I've just had a call from a publisher in the US to talk about my book. I had to say, "it's not a good time as it's the middle of the night here" LOL

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I decided that the stress of all the personal admin is not good so today I left work at 3:15 and tackled 3 things on my to-do list.

I went to Hi-Q to buy a tyre, get them swopped around and wheels balanced (R665 = peace of mind, finally), then went to FNB to get my stuff for SARS, and then went to swipe my card at the gym.

Felt super-productive because I also paid Telkom and Jhb Connect (wanted me to pay R4000-odd and the girl figured out that they had problems on my account so I actually paid R1611 - SCORE!)

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Tomorrow a cousin is getting married (very informally) and we're supposed to be going, except I have no idea how to get there and she hasn't given me directions. These things stress me out, big time.

Still, her gift is ready (and looks beautiful with one of the macaroon tags and some washi tape!) so if worse comes to worse, I'll meet her for lunch somewhere next week.

The only reason I'm really keen to go is to see her mom (one of my favourite aunties)

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Tomorrow is 1 Oct and I'm supposed to be starting a series on the Organising Blog, one post a day. I can do it if I've planned out the topics but of course I haven't done that. I should have followed my gut earlier this month and asked a dear friend, J (yes, you!) to help me organise the content. 

And for me?

I was forced to take it easy from Tuesday due to The Back.

I said to a friend today that it felt worse than after my C-section, and I'm not exaggerating. At least then if I lay still, I had relief. 

With this bad back I could not get comfortable and the meds were doing zip!

I did almost nothing this week but I believe that my body needed it to regroup.

On the children side, I've had a BALL with them because I came home, lay on my bed and they played around me, we chatted, kissed, hugged, etc. Adorable-ness. The cuteness is way, way too much at the moment.

I'm going to start scheduling 30 mins a day in the gym - 5 mins warm-up and then some work on my upper body one day, and then lower body the next day. I have a programme from my previous favourite PT, Sara.

And it's not like I have all this time, but it's an investment in my health.

So what did you do for yourself this week?

Virtual craft day link-up

Thanks for all your well wishes yesterday - I swear you guys are better to me than real life people, which is sad, but that's another story.

I got really sick at work and had to phone D to come fetch me.

Of course it was like a freak show as people kept coming by my desk to see me impersonating a drunk!!!

I only started being more myself last night at about 8pm. Commented on a few blogs and then went right back to bed. It was lovely.

I'm well aware that I won't finish things on my Sept list but the good thing about drug-induced laziness is you just don't care :)

 

Onto other things though.... today is our virtual craft day!

I've been waiting for this day for 5 whole weeks.

Yes, really.

Tonight I have big plans which I'll show you later.

Here's what I started last time - my year in review book.

This is taking way too long for my liking but I'm holding my impatience in check because I am LOVING the final result.

Washi tape, photos, Monika Wright's journalling papers and a pink gel pen - what's not to love?!

Are you inspired yet?

In the meanwhile, if you've done a project in the last week, link up. It doesn't have to be done today.

Our goal is to have 10 people participating - the linky will be up for a week.

Are you in?

The Back... part 2

Last night my back was killing me, so much so I didn't even blog.

Did any of you even notice? :)

I think I worked a total of 50 minutes - one blog and my newsletter.

Took 2 Norflex at 9 pm, slept for an hour and was up again at 11:30 in pain.

The Norflex instructions are 2 tablets every 3 - 4 hours, so I forced myself to wait til 12 and then took 2 Synap Forte.

It didn't even impact the pain but I eventually fell asleep at about 3 am and was awoken by Connor's screaming at 6:30.

He was throwing a tantrum so not the best way to wake up from drug-induced sleep.

Anyway, I phoned this morning at 8 am, found out the first available appt was at 10:30 so came to work for a meeting and then went to the doctor.

Muscle spasms. That's all that's wrong.

I have 3 sets of meds. I took two after lunch and am a zombie right now.

It wasn't supposed to make me drowsy but clearly I'm a lightweight....because I'm about ready to collapse now.

Over and out

Never-ending personal admin

I made it without the computer for 30 hours (I even lasted one hour after I got home this afternoon). Hayley, you were right, after the first few hours you get used to it.

Will tell you more about conference another time as I have only a few minutes to write except to say that the service was exceptionally shocking at Sun City.

Yes, I am passionate about customer service but for goodness sake, put a smile on your face and simply just do your job. I'm not even talking "extra mile" activities. *sigh*


This week I have the following things on my personal to-do list:

1. somehow find the time to visit SARS (SA Revenue Services) to change my bank details as I've already had a rude email from them
2. go to gym twice
3. fax all insurance papers to my bank and then hound them til they tell me it's all in order
4.  get massage (I have back issues again today probably from lugging around my luggage and am about to take my 2nd Norflex. I need to start working on my back muscles again because this is not on).

There are tons on my business list which are not going to get done and so I'm thinking of scaling back on my expectations even more. That's what an early night and a lazy morning will do to you.

I actually decided that I need an assistant to do my personal admin like book holidays (still not done for Dec!!!), sort out my pool, find a painter to come paint my cupboard, get the photo man to come collect the prints he has to put into jpgs, post the box of clothes to my sister, take my car to Hi-Q as that tyre is still not sorted, return some things and I'm sure there's a few other things I've forgotten (that list is all off the top of my head)!

Any takers?

If only Trisha (my virtual assistant) could come do a couple of hours for me on a weekly basis, I'd be a happy woman. Except she lives in the Philippines.

What do other people do about all this personal admin? It's never-ending!


What do you do?

"It's just one day"

So in about 45 minutes I leave for our work conference.

It's also the first one I'll attend in 3 years (bad!).

2009 - I was having babies (I think my babies were two weeks old)

2010 - I was doing a talk out of Joburg that day so again missed it

2011 - I'll be there in my flip flops, beach wear, CHEERING for our team member to win the group award in her category :)

They gave us a list of things to bring and what NOT to bring (no valuables like IPads, laptops or alcohol).

Well, friends, I think I may have a teensy problem.

I haven't been without a computer for 29 long hours for a long, long time (I think Ireland 2009 might have been the last time and then my virtual assistant was attending to emails).

I don't do internet on cell phones and all that jazz (this may be the one and only time I regret it).

Worse thing is when the email was sent I seemed to be the only person who had a problem with this.

I mentioned it to one person who said, "it's only a day".

Um, yes, but I do have my set times to go on the internet and check emails (and blog comments if I'm to be 100% honest). I could happily not go on FB and the real internet but I need to check emails :)

But I'll not break the rules because if my laptop gets stolen I'll have far bigger problems than just internet withdrawal.

It would probably send me right over the edge.

I'm debating between taking a real book or my Kindle.

Anyway, my time's up and I have to do the last minute things here at home.

See you on the flip side.


How addicted are you to the internet?
Are you doing anything about it?

PS that's my gorgeous RED bag. They were both ridiculously expensive but I tell myself since they're genuine leather I won't need more!

One of the worst nights of my life

I'm going to be away from home for 29 hours and this didn't bother me one bit.

However, D has been stressing. He says he can't remember everything (yes, I've made notes) and what if he does things wrong and what if the kids won't go sleep.

Granted, the kids take little to no chances with me but they do give him a 30-minute runaround at bedtime on my gym days.

Moving on.

I think because of this (D!) I've been a wee bit anxious.

On my gym days I prep the kids too because the first time I went after months had elapsed, they would not settle and kept saying, "where's Mummy?" over and over again.

So these days I tell them, "tonight I'm going to gym and Daddy will put you to bed. Okay?" and of course they say it's okay.

D asked me today if I told the kids I"m going away.

I mentioned it but they can't remember the detail, can they?

So he gives them this long talk this morning about how Mummy's going to work tomorrow and they must say good-bye nicely, tell me they love me and give hugs and kisses (they are not as into the hugs and kisses as he and I are).

I said, "the way you're talking it sounds like I'm going to die".

!

Anyway, all that was to set the scene.

So I had slight feelings of anxiety (very slight, mind) but I tend to read blogs and indulge in the internet when I need some escapism.

I spent slightly too much time on the computer last night and felt some twinges in my back.

Also, because of the party, I was hauling my kids in and out of cars, and in and out of the little car and airplane at the party, etc. and the last time I did that I also needed to take a Norflex for back pain.

That, coupled with sitting at the computer too long, was me overdoing it.

I took a Norflex about an hour before I went to bed.

By the time I was in bed my back was throbbing and I tossed and turned so much I woke D.

Went to take another Norflex and it's like it just wouldn't take effect.

That pain was excruciating.

I eventually fell asleep at about 2:30 (thank God) because I was THIS close to getting in my car and driving to the hospital so someone could jab a needle in me and relieve me of the pain.

Those who know my needle phobia (yes, despite two IVFs) will understand how bad that pain must have been.

D left me to sleep til 9:15 this morning so I missed gym again...

I took it relatively easy and only got dressed at 2 pm.

When I emerged, dressed and cute again, Connor said, "Mummy going to work". I hope that doesn't mean he thinks I only look decent when I'm going to work. LOL

But I'm determined to get to bed by 11 tonight... that's in one hour's time. And I'm going to take a Norflex now just to make sure there's no preventing me from sleeping because I was hauling kids around again today.

We went to church tonight (same service as the two tomorrow morning) and we were about to drop ours in their class at children's church when I heard one teacher say to the other, "has that child stopped vomiting?" D and I looked at one another and hightailed it out of there to the family room :)

As D said, if one gets sick it ends up being R2000 because of consults and meds and number of kids/ parents.

How well do you sleep, on average? Do you get enough sleep?

I'd say 10 out of 10 because I fall asleep within seconds (sometimes I don't even finish my thought) and I sleep like a log for 7.5 - 8 uninterrupted hours a night.

Five on Friday

There's a video of me talking (eek!) here if you haven't had a look yet.


Thank you for the fantastic comments on the potty training post. Truly awesome content in the comments.

1. This week has been crazy and sadly, it's not over yet. I have one day with my babies and then it's my work conference on Sunday and Monday. Let's just say it's going to be interesting.

2. I almost hope the music at the event on Sunday night is boring so I don't feel tempted to stay up dancing and instead can go to bed and recharge. Right there I'm showing my age.

The mothers in the office have been debating whether we'll sleep or dance - my vote is to read since I feel very behind on my reading (I haven't even finished 2 books for the month yet and it would be nice to finish with 3).

3. Today I took time off work to go to my friend, K's boy's first birthday party. Here is the baby shower we threw for her last year. I raced home, fetched V and the kids (so glad I took V with me so she could run after one baby) and raced there. Arrived only 10 minutes late.

It was an animal party and she had bunnies, a tortoise, a sheep, goat and pony there. Of course, my kids ate the bunnies' carrots instead of feeding it to them. We fed them a good lunch before the party so they weren't hungry (chicken, potatoes, butternut and spinach) but carrot sticks are their snacks...

I learned that I need to teach Connor to share...my one friend's daughter came to fetch me to "tell Connor to give me a chance" - too sweet!


4. This crafting thing is getting out of hand. I don't know how you guys with tons of "supplies" do it. I have one drawer, about 4 scrapbook paper pads of 30 pages (of course I've used LOTS of the paper) and another small basket and already I'm feeling like it's too much.

After I publish this post, I'm going to make a list of projects I have "supplies" for (do I annoy you when I keep using ""?) and choose which will get done on Thursday. I feel like this is such a novelty for me hence the "".

Are you ready?

5. This week I received two random acts of kindness - two BIG bags of Pampers. Worth R350. I am blown away. And I just remembered that another friend gave me an envelope at the party. I love my gift, Roz, and now I have to do a project in my study for a magnetic board.




And what did I do for me?

Zip!

Except getting through this week :)

And ordering a programme from my old personal trainer because I recognise that I need to make time for exercise again.

And I suppose taking off the afternoon. My kids were LOVELY today - we chatted all the way there and home.

One conversation happened in the traffic just outside the Rosebank Gautrain Station.

Connor (shouting) Mummy! DRIVE! (hates that we have to wait at stop streets and traffic lights)

Me Connor, I can't drive yet. These are the rules of the road.

Connor (thinking I'm talking about our house rules) Please, Mummy, drive. (in a nice, pleasant, non-screamy voice)

Me Aaawww, you're asking me so nicely, boy, but I'm afraid I still can't go (we're jammed in by buses, cars, etc - all in a day's driving in Jhb)

Kendra We're STUCK

V and I laughed

Me Yes, baby, we're stuck!

On Tuesday I have a massage planned and I can't wait! I'm going to need it because I have an A4 page full of tasks ready for me at work. Somehow I feel better because it's a neat and consolidated list. Isn't that crazy?

What did you do for you this week?

Potty training 1 - my thoughts and where we're at

I remember when I was still pregnant reading somewhere on a blog (if you know where this comes from, tell me so I can link up) that if you start potty training when they're 2, you train the whole year, but if you start when they're 3, you take 3 days.

Can you guess which of those options most appealed to me?

Of course you can.

I'm Mrs Impatience herself.

Also, I really don't like a mess and will happily (HAPPILY!) pay money for nappies instead of having a mess.

It really is no issue to me to change a million poo nappies daily. After a while it becomes part of life, right?

So I was planning to have the oldest non-potty trained kids around.


Next ...

Last year I went to the ToddlerSense seminar and the lady said a couple of things about potty training:

They will show you when they're ready (I agree) but from 18 months you should let them watch you use the toilet. No big issue but just let them see this is how these things happen.

Um, no thanks.

I enjoy my uninterruped time on the loo, thank you very much.

Apparently they'll start telling you they want to pee or poo and will then go in their nappies, or with poo, she said they often go behind a couch/ curtains, etc.

At this point you know they have the sensations down and can start letting them sit on the potty.

Another thing...

I don't like mess. Oh, I've said that already?

So my very loose plan was to get the potties that fit on top of the toilet so that with one flush, it's all gone and there are no additional things to clean.


Now, as we know, my kids like to do things in their own time (remember my plan to keep the babies in cots til 5? well, Connor was in a toddler bed at 20 months because of the climbing out) and so some time ago, they started taking an interest in toilets and such.

I often run in from the car when I get home from work straight to the loo and they follow me. Connor has said, "Mummy, wipe your bum".

Charming.

I've had to tell him that we don't talk about bums to other people!!!

D asked Dr S what he thought the best time was to do the potty training.

Dr S said, "The best time to start is 2 years 3 months and then they'll definitely be potty trained by 3".

I don't know if that was supposed to be encouraging but 9 months is not my idea of a short time.

When we left his rooms I told D my 3-day potty training blog story :)

That's all the background.


What's actually been happening...


We'd already bought the potty in the pic above (doesn't K look adorable!) at about 21 - 22 months and D would ask them before baths on the weekend if they wanted to pee.

Connor was absolutely NOT interested but Kendra would happily sit for what seemed like hours on end, with no result ever.

One day about a month ago V told me Kendra's scared of the potty so we put it far, far away.

And then I happened to see a small plastic one on Sunday. It stands on the floor and the kids can lift the lid and sit like ours.

R29,99! (Julia, it doesn't fold down and is quite clumsy so I didn't get you one)

That's been standing in the bathroom and today when I got home, I checked The Notebook and V wrote, "Connor peed in the potty".

Can you believe it?!

Apparently all 3 of them were very excited, hurrayed and clapped hands.

I tried to have a conversation with Connor but he was not interested. Instead, he ran off to climb on things, shouting over his shoulder, "Connor peed in potty" as if it's nothing.

So that's where we are.

I have no plan whatsoever but if V's prepared to potty train them, then how can I object? ;)

I found this excellent post in my Reader yesterday with a free printable potty chart (I am a SUCKER for free printables!). And then I also saw one of my favourite blogs also had a potty training post. Have a read.

Oy, this was a lot longer than I intended. Somehow I lack the ability to keep things short.


What are your thoughts on potty training - long version or short version? Best time to do? When were your kids potty trained, etc, etc?


PS new post here

A good day and gratitude

Today was a good day.

I think from now onwards, any non-Vaseline day is going to be good :)

I had my first mentoring session this morning and got some cool personal insights from the facilitator. It was not all sunshine and roses though as there were some who were very negative, not about me, but about parts of the process.

That session ended 40 minutes early - bliss since I desperately need some desk time at work because my to-do list is growing daily.

We had our divisional awards event this afternoon - again, fantastic. Short and to the point, with yummy food, dancing and connecting with team members. And home by 5:30 pm :)

There are only 7 awards up for grabs out of 350 ppl. One of our own won an award and the other 3 of us at the table all burst into happy tears.

I was and am so proud, it's like I won the darn thing. I do feel a little bit guilty that I didn't nominate a single person - I was feeling stroppy at the time of nominations. Apparently my boss and another senior person nominated me which is a really nice pat on the back but adds to the guilt.

Moving on...

I re-recorded the section of my workshop tonight and my heart nearly stopped when after 50 minutes I checked and didn't see anything in my folder... but it had saved in another folder. I seriously would have FLIPPED out. How I hate technology when it doesn't work.

As for the babies... Connor's new trick is climbing onto the back of the couch and perching there. My heart stopped the first time I saw this and I had to refrain from screaming and surprising him.

V tells me that he got even more creative today by holding onto the security gate (trellidor-type thing) and walking along the bottom section of horizontal bars. I am DONE!


Do you have a climber? Do you let them? How do you create some safety?

Mine spur one another on. I already see Kendra trying to climb things...

And then, my parcel full of cuteness arrived today. I am beyond excited to start making stuff. She also sent me extra things not pictured - so nice of her.

I also have another parcel full of crafty goodness arriving tomorrow. I couldn't resist ordering some stuff from Scrapadoodles and since I email them so often (!), I've even asked the lady to please get some washi tape in :)


By the way, do you consider yourself a grateful person?


If yes, how do you stay grateful?

PS the photos just make me happy; they have sweet nothing to do with this post :)

Keeping it real

You know how I've been raving about how much I love this stage?

Well, let's keep it real.

This morning D says to me in that tone, "Marcia, please come see the kids" and when I went to their bedroom, they were COVERED in vaseline.

They'd got into the bag inside their nappy bag, Connor opened the container and they smeared the Vaseline on their hair, babygrows and Friday (Connor's teddy).

All I can say is that it's a good thing I wasn't properly awake because I would have flipped properly.

I tried to scrape some blobs back into the jar and then gave up.

I eventually took those cloth nappies and tried to get as much as I could out of their hair and off their hands and faces.

It was terrible.

Terrible.

All through this Connor keeps insisting that he's a good boy and I said, "no, you're a naughty boy".

Then he says, "Connor and Kenna very naughty" which is what D had been saying.

I know I'm going against the parenting books and whatnot (the lady from the course too) by calling them naughty but they are naughty!

Even my boss said, "no, Marsh, they did naughty things" and I said, "NO! they are naughty!" LOL

Do you call your kids naughty?

Oy! So when V arrived we bathed them and washed their hair about 3 times each and it's STILL oily.

Anyway, eventually I get dressed and leave for work.

I'm about a minute from home when I hear this sound to the left of my car.

I thought the passenger door wasn't closed properly so pulled over, opened and closed that door.

Set off again and still hear, "clunk clunk".

Stopped again and this time there were two policemen parked at the side of the road who said, "come look here" pointing to the front of my car.

I had a flat tyre.

Let me stop and say I have never in all my years of driving had ANYTHING go wrong (not even a traffic fine).

Of course I know ZIP about changing tyres so the one guy said they'd do it if I had a spare tyre.

I did and it was flat, so they changed it in 5 minutes and I drove straight to the nearest petrol station.

Can you believe it?!

First, I don't even want to think about what might have been if this had happened anywhere else but a quiet street in the suburbs. I was supposed to take my car to do my church talk last night but took D's because I was running a little late. If this had happened on the highway, I would have missed the talk and maybe even had an accident (we drive fast in Jhb and there's very little time to react to sudden stops). So I agree totally with the one policeman who said, "God blessed you today". Amen to that!

Second, two of this kind of nonsense in one day! Thankfully the rest of the day was good - I ran a meeting well (by accident because the real meeting organiser was late), and felt I added real value in two other meetings.

Oy!

And then...

I just ran my virtual organising workshop. Nearly half way through I suddenly thought to do a separate recording using my own software, not the fancy one I pay for! And I just clicked through and the proper recording's quality is not good. Thank goodness for the 1 hour 8 minutes I recorded but I'll have to record the first bit again to stay in integrity. Uggghhhhhhh - what a waste of time. I'll have to skip gym tomorrow to record it.

Overall score for the day - 6.

Largely due to these two. When I arrived home this evening, this is what I saw.

What was your score for the day?

PS I've been trying and trying and I can't seem to get into a sentence a day journal or even more. But what is working (only for 2 days now) is to rate the day and make a list of a few bullets to justify the rating. Do you journal?

Halfway to Zen

So on Saturday D went to a workshop and remember I said I was trying to organise a playdate.

Well, I invited a friend, didn't get a definite yes or no so I phoned (!) on Thursday to check if they were coming or not (do you think that's too much?).

After much to-ing and fro-ing (the two of us both talking to each others' voicemails), she got hold of me and said YES they were coming and what should she bring (nothing - btw, is it me but I always say "nothing" except for one set of very fussy friends who change what they drink every few months and I can't keep up, so I say "bring what you currently drink" :)).

Well, Sat morning she phones and says the weather's looking horrible (funny, it was LOVELY and GRAY :)) and she's not sure. We South Africans are nothing if not fickle about the weather.

Two hours later she phones and says the sun's out so they are definitely coming.

Can you guess where this is going?

That's right... she didn't pitch.

I practised my Happiness Project learnings (I'm not even joking), stayed present and in the moment, and decided to enjoy the time with my kids.

We PAINTED!


Outside, of course. I'm halfway to Zen but not mad.

(I was inspired by my post the other day)

 

They were adorable in their little aprons (my sister gave them an art set plus aprons for their birthday - she knows I don't like mess!!!).




Kendra got into the painting in a big way but she only likes to use one colour at a time?!



Connor was more interested in painting my walls, his sister's face and the table than anything else.

 

 They both had jars of paint but Connor wanted to use her jar, not the ones on the table.

It was a really fun time - I loved seeing my little artists :)

I really want to just toss all their masterpieces but am I being too practical?

How much of the kid clutter do you keep?

(Natalie laughed at me the other day because I said I throw all their artwork away - I'm still waiting for the "art" in artwork)

PS. I made liquid hand soap and found a fabric softener substitute :)

PPS.
Paintbrushes - Crazy Store
Paint jars - old Purity prunes bottles, the same ones I used for some of the party stuff.

Working like a slave and overcoming procrastination

I've been working like a slave the past couple of nights:

Thursday - prepped my talk for tomorrow night

Friday - did the handout

Saturday - completely prepped my workshop for Tues and did the handbook and emailed the people who have registered thus far. Another mailing goes out tomorrow so there will be a last couple of stragglers, there always is.

I must say, even though it felt like a lot of pressure, I love this new way I'm doing things because it's actually saving me time.

Before I used to put together all the content, do the handbook and THEN start marketing (and hope I had enough people to make the time spent worthwhile).

This time I wrote out about 5 - 6 lines of what I wanted to cover, put up a sales page and waited for the people to register.


And of course only then churned the content and handbook out last night.

It felt a bit overwhelming when I first started but I did my procrastination trick (I tell myself I only need to work for 15 minutes and if it's really not coming together, if I'm not "flowing", then I can put it off til another day) and sure enough, the writing flowed (it always does) and now it's done.

It's about 7 pages longer than I was aiming for (23 instead of about 16 - I just thought 8 pages in an hour... 16 pages in 2 hours...) but it is nice and comprehensive and one person already emailed me back to say she's very excited for Tuesday.

And now I need to write some blog posts for Mon and Tues, because I'll be out on Mon til 9:30 and then busy on Tues til 9 pm again.

What are your tricks to overcome procrastination?

PS I feel like a genius and also a bit of a fool - you are going to be AMAZED at my post tomorrow about how I'm saving lots of money :) (I also spent R1100 today on plastics so don't get jealous yet :))

PPS finished the Happiness Project - loved it (8 out of 10) and want to start putting up some blog posts

Computer crafting on a Friday afternoon

Thanks for all your well wishes yesterday - I was home at 4:15, took a tablet and slept from 5 - 7 pm. Of course I was then up til 1:30......

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So I've had a day of meetings and I'm all vegged out.

I decided to play around a bit and make draft 1 of our baby rules :)

What do you think?

My main rule is "keep calm and stop crying" :) Either that or "keep calm and stop whining". I don't do the crying or whining.

Okay, this was my first attempt at playing with headers...

And of course, this is the one I'm most proud of, because it took me about 30 minutes (and lots of frustration) the other day :)

Don't forget - get your list ready.

What are your baby rules? :)

7 random thoughts

1. Listening to Michael Buble in the car at the moment. When I hear "the way you look tonight" I instantly think of Julia Roberts in My Best Friend's Wedding (my favourite movie) and I want to start crying. Oh, how I love that scene.
2. There was a headline in the paper this morning, something about "neighbours from hell". Neighbours are one of those things in life where if they're good, you hardly notice them but if they're bad ones, they can make your life a living hell. I am SOOO thankful we currently have good ones on both sides. Previous house we had bad neighbours on the one side so the whole street became forced friends in order to deal with the problem. Yip, didn't happen - we eventually moved.
3. Am feeling ill as I type this. I sincerely hope it's just a headache and not the salmon quiche a colleague brought for their birthday...
4. A family was killed this morning. Mother with 1-year-old on lap was driving, father and 3-year-old were also in the car. One child was decapitated when the car collided with a bus. I cried immediately when I heard that on the news.
5. I had a late meeting here yesterday and on my way back to my side of the building, ran into a friend and we caught up in the passage, as you do. I am SO thankful for my boss after hearing her stories about her bad boss. I think Wonderful Boss has spoiled it for other bosses. How could I ever leave him?!
6. I moved my homeowner's insurance yesterday. When I phoned current insurer to cancel was told I have to phone the bank. And... it is a SCHLEP and a half. So much so I'm seriously reconsidering.. Do you think they make you fill in 3 pages of forms on purpose?! And send 4 additional documents.
7. I'll be a single parent on Saturday as D is going to a workshop. Trying to organise a playdate/ mommy date to use up at least some of the time :)

What's happening with you today?

PS I think I'm going to go home - my head is THROBBING and I feel a bit ill in the tummy.

A first around these parts - playdough

I'm afraid I'm not one of those ultra-fun mothers who let their kids paint and "mess" in the house.

No way.

This is one time I fully embrace my J.

I don't mind contained messing though.

If my kids don't respond well to something, I put it away and try again in a few months time.

Like with the playdough.

We got it at our Fertility Babies Christmas party hosted by Mandy - some of you may remember D and I were very impressed by her thoughtfulness.

Our kids weren't too interested for a good few months and then it was winter and too cold because

we'd stored the playdough in the fridge.

On this particular day I needed to organise some things in the kitchen (you know when you just HAVE to sort out that cupboard because it's driving you batty???? It can't only be me!) and I needed the kids out of the way.

So I piled them in the highchairs and took out the playdough.

They were very keen on the shapes and the rolling pin - thankfully Mandy included all the props too :) LOVE it!

That kept them busy with me occasionally stepping in to demonstrate and play with the squishiness. I'm VERRRRRY tactile so I had tons of fun too.

And when they've shown me they can sit still and not fling it all over my house, I also have little pastry boards I bought at the plastics shop for them to use.

Where are you on the scale? 1 is absolutely no mess in the house; 10 is kids are kids, we can always paint over scribbled walls.


I'm a 4 - I allow some mess in only some parts of the house under the right conditions - clothes protected, tables protected, etc.



P.S. I'm loving some of the new blogger features like how I can upload tons of pics all at one time. Is it just me - I can't seem to upload more than 1 pic at a time in Wordpress... or am I doing it wrong?

P.P.S. These were taken on 13 Aug.