Did you accomplish anything today?

[cariad]

A very accomplished day indeed! Woke way too early this morning considering I could have had a lie-in. Ah, well, I did stay in bed, just didn't sleep. Made it to Dyl's football training a few minutes late all the same - they are starting to divide them into teams for next year when they start playing. They are desperate for refs, and I volunteered Aidan. While he's too young, they need refs so much that they have offered to let him unofficially ref the friendlies that they will host over the next six months. We shall see if he goes through with it.

Then we got home and really attacked the lounge. It was piled with boxes and we are collecting a used couch, chair and ottoman tomorrow off of Preloved. Gwyn is also going to circle round to get a gorgeous second hand leather club chair and a barely used Skylanders starter pack for the Wii to give to Dyl for Christmas (along with the Wii which will be a gift from Santa to all of us). Total cost for a beautiful sofa set plus the game will be £250. Anyhow, in the course of a day, the lounge went from being a disaster filled with boxes to being somewhat organized and clean enough to put the furniture into (though we still have work to do). We have been in this house 10 weeks and we are finally going to have a room where we can all gather and watch videos or play a game. Woohoo!

Finding so much stuff I'd forgot about in going through every last item we own (still much more to do in the garage!)  I found a very expensive watch of mine in the pocket of a coat I've hardly worn. I am thrilled to have recovered the watch, the coat will be headed to Ebay (a friend is going to help me as I've never tried to sell anything on there). Also found a stack of Simpson's comics that a friend gave me that I immediately handed over to the boys who are busy reading them right now (90 minutes past their bedtime!!!)

Earlier in the week I donated the Franklin Mint pewter Harley Davidson model to the charity shop. (Gwyn owns the motorbike so it seemed stupid to also have the model, and he got the thing stupidly cheap from a dealer show or something). The charity shop put it out yesterday (in the window!) for £20 and I was so nervous, because that is pretty pricey for a charity shop, we have no box or papers for the model, and there is minor damage to it. I thought I'd be a bit embarrassed if it didn't sell, so this morning when we were at the open market buying our veg and cheese, I slipped over to the shop to have a look and the model was gone. Gwyn said "Someone's getting it for Christmas."

[MaryD]

My early garlic is trimmed and plaited.  I wouldn't get a prize for plaiting.  My late garlic has been pulled up and is curing on the verandah.  The garlic beds are weeded, mulched and planted with nasturtium, cantaloupe and cucumber seeds, and protected from cats with plastic mesh.  I am full of strawberries and radishes from thinnings and pickings.  Bliss!

[cariad]

I helped my six-year-old write up the text for his school project on the subject of winter. He wrote about the Hotel de Glace in Quebec, and he dictated the most amazing statements to me (which I sadly had to help him edit down because he is so verbose and comes up with these Faulkner-esque sentences). This was much harder to help him with than his report on frilled lizards, but all he has left to do is to draw some pictures and pick some photos to include.

I took the UK test once and failed appallingly; less then 50% if I recall.  I should not have the right to a British passport ... tsk!!

I think I got an 8 out of 24 on my first attempt, and some of those were guesses. I thankfully don't recall my first score on the American citizenship exam.

Speaking of citizenship, we are stuck in Britain for the foreseeable future. We finally completed the boys' UK passport applications and had to surrender their American passports whilst those are reviewed. Bit scary the trust I've put in the Royal Mail.

[Mr Pink]

I've almost completed my 100 point plan for things I wish to accomplish in 2013. As I've today, I've only got three more spots to fill.

[cariad]

Yesterday I forced myself to donate four bags of items to the charity shop. The longer I wait to do this, the more likely it is that I will talk myself out of getting rid of stuff I don't use. I had to take the bags on the bus but it was worth it to have it out of our way.

Today will hopefully be about cleaning, organizing and making scones.

[jbeany]

Volunteered at the clinic this morning.  Home at a reasonable time for a change, which is good since I have a craft class to teach tonight and company coming to stay.  Thankfully, this isn't a "clean the house" type guest.  I've known her far too long for that.  She can ignore the dust, since I already know she has plenty of practice ignoring it at her house!

Yesterday, I got a lot done.  I got lights hung along the fence.  I'd say they were Xmas lights, but since I'm planning on leaving them up until I can afford to hire an electrician to figure out why my side porch and garage lights don't work, not so much on the "holiday" lights....I hate coming home to a dark yard.  I also stripped all the extra cable that was strung around the outside of the house.  I don't pay for cable tv, and I can't picture spending the money on it even when I do get a job and can afford it, so I see no reason to leave the ugly black wires wrapped around the foundation.  Now I just have to remember to fill the holes in the walls when I work on the rest of the winterizing/insulation.  I did a lot of little things on my house projects.  I baked goodies for my craft class and the dinner at the club house, and packed up and organized all my class supplies.

Hopefully, I can be equally productive this afternoon!

[Riki]

I haven't even gotten out of bed yet... and it's dark outside...

[cariad]

Supervised the boys finishing their winter projects. Dyl wrote a "book" on L'Hotel de Glace and Aidan wrote a biography on Neil Armstrong and created a model of Apollo 11. I made Aidan cry. I was a bit too honest about what I thought of his rough draft, but I sat down with him to polish it and now it's much improved.

Also: piles of laundry, raced down to the art shop for supplies, volunteered for 2 hours, cleaned the kitchen, collected the boys, missed the bus by minutes and waited in the bitter cold for the rush hour bus. The boys were wearing their football kit - shorts and Ts - so I made them put their trousers on over their shorts at the bus stop. Gwyn was already home by the time we staggered into the house where he made me tea and the boys hot cocoa.

[kitkatz]

Anyone want to come help me clean/ organize my house???

[kitkatz]

Must be today.  Here is my list:

(Remember I got home from dialysis at 4 a.m.  Did a load of laundry.  Then caught an hour or so of sleep. Up at 6a.m.  And at work by 6:45a.m.)

Contact students to see if parents speak Spanish or English
Calendar IEP dates to translator lady on computer 9 IEP dates
Grade 29 persuasive essays
Fix grade book snafu I made yesterday for period 4
Teach 5 classes, give two classes tests today
Collect math papers from homework

Checked all of it off and walked away from work done with most everything.

Tomorrow-
Update Language Arts grade in computer gradebook
Update all grades in computer gradebook.
Give Language Arts classes test to complete.
Judge writer's showcase contest.
Duck two teachers who are thoroughly pissed off at me.  Yes, I managed to do it again!
Collect articles for a unit I am teaching next quarter.
Take scantrons from test to scanner and get scanned and graded.
Prepare for next week.


Keep my sanity.  One week to the end of Semester 1/Quarter 2.  Test week next week.  We may all cry together!

[Poppylicious]

Went shopping.  Bought beautiful shoes and gorgeous dress (with grateful thanks to Blokey's credit card) plus a few presents. Now completely zoinked.

Oh, and I got a card from galvo in Australia-Land!  They even put their stamps on upside down down-under, the silly beggars.

 

[galvo]

Stand on your head!

[Clara]

I managed to work for 10 hours straight while battling strep throat with a fever and stuffed up nose.  The nose is driving me insane right now.

All emails cleaned up though after missing two days of work.

Christi

[Riki]

My best friend's dad died this morning, so I spent as much time as she'd let me trying to make her laugh, without success, unfortunately.  Mom worked today, and she didn't feel like making supper, so we went out to eat.  A new Toys R Us opened last month, and we hadn't been there yet, so we wandered around that store until our feet hurt.  I took some pictures and video. *L*

[kitkatz]

997 dollars spent on a new water pump for my car. Sigh!  I told it when I dropped it off at the mechanics, I had no extra  money to spend on it!

[jbeany]

I found the Pom-pom Bermuda Triangle!   

My two cats' favorite toys are small pom-poms.  I estimate I've made or bought at least 50 in the 6 months I've lived here.  They vanish on a daily basis.  Poof. Gone. Each day, I get a lecture in Kittenese on how drastic the loss is to their emotional state, but I have rarely been able to reliably locate more than one or two at any given time.

I've been working upstairs on my craft room.  I was scrubbing the floor on my hands and knees when I realized the built-in desk has a gap under the drawers at each end.  I can access it by removing the drawer directly above on each end.  Tada - At least 25 poms have returned from the Triangle!  I've tucked them in a handy box so I can dole them back out each day. 

[jbeany]

3 naps.  Gotta love holiday colds.  I've got a sore throat that no amount of hot tea or broth seems to do much for.  It's not really bad, just persistently annoying.  Bleah. 

I'm still planning on doing my 3 miles on the treadmill today, though.  I've only missed one day since I started back in again on  the 15th.  (Skipped one day for my shin splints to ease up - whoops, back to power walking instead of jogging for a bit.)

[Riki]

I went Christmas shopping with my dad.. got a lot of walking in cuz he forgot to get the disabled parking placard from my mom.. *G*

I got my mom's present, so I'm happy.. that's all I really wanted to do... I won't say what it is, cuz I think she may wander around the site, and I'm not sure what non members are allowed to see, plus she's always saying that she's gonna join..

[Ricksters]

I finished the holiday baking today...got the gingerbread men decorated, and the containers ready to be filled!  This years selection is fruitcake cookies, choc chips, peanut butter reindeer, Russian tea cakes, ginger crackles, and southern pecans.  Will fill the pails and start giving them out tomorrow.  Somehow I always get backed up...I have been working on this project for almost a week!

Ricki

[jbeany]

I finished the holiday baking today...got the gingerbread men decorated, and the containers ready to be filled!  This years selection is fruitcake cookies, choc chips, peanut butter reindeer, Russian tea cakes, ginger crackles, and southern pecans.  Will fill the pails and start giving them out tomorrow.  Somehow I always get backed up...I have been working on this project for almost a week!

Ricki

You need faster recipes!  All I made this year to pass out was bacon pecans (half an hour in the oven, stir every 10 minutes, with only about 3 minutes prep time to start, and a couple minutes at the end to stir them in sugar and salt), microwave caramels (6 minutes, stir every 2 - when they are cool, cut into loooong slices and wrap bon-bon style so people can slice off whatever size bite they want), and fudge in assorted flavors (only about 15 minutes total time from start to finish with my favorite no-thermometer recipe).  Was done in a couple of hours, and mailed it all out the next day.  I will make homemade rolls for the family dinner, but that's it for me!

[kitkatz]

The Christmas presents are wrapped.
We had lunch/dinner with my sister and Mom and gave presents to them today around 2p.m. 

[Kitty Cat]

Today I went to the grocery store, which I swore I wouldn't due because of an incoming Nor'easter, but when I found what I was out of, I really didn't have a choice. It wasn't bad, I went fairly early this morning to avoid the crowds.

I tossed meatballs into the crock pot, so dinner will be yummy, yet simple. I love simple!!

All the chores that I put off during the week are done, so right now, I have waiting for me, both of my books, a comfy blanket on the recliner, a very nice fire in the wood stove and the nor'easter has started so I can still see the snow coming down even though it's getting dark outside. It's really very pretty! All in all, a successful day :-)

[Poppylicious]

I ate too much chocolate.

 

[jbeany]

Dishes done.  Laundry done.  Fish tank cleaned.  Selected material from my stash for several tote bags and have one half done. Planning to make several dozen more over the next few days.  Need a cash infusion after Xmas spending, and since my job interviews aren't panning out yet, I need to get back to crafting!

[cariad]

Accomplishments have been very thin on the ground around here, at least for me.

I slept until 10:30 which never happens, but then I probably did not fall asleep last night until gone 2:30 AM. I have been sick since Christmas day with a tonsil infection and I finally broke down and have started taking ibuprofen, which worked miraculously for days but is suddenly not taking the pain away completely. I had scheduled hair appointments for the three males early afternoon, then since it was chucking down rain most of the day, the boys and I stayed home and did not much of anything while Gwyn played in his rugby game. Gwyn came back quite injured, made dinner because I was too lazy to do it, and then left to meet a friend who was celebrating her birthday at a local pub. I am off alcohol until I can stop taking ibuprofen, which meant I declined the invite. All I've managed to do is the very minimum of laundry, dishes, making lunch for the boys. I hate unproductive days! Hoping for better tomorrow.