Accountability thread for the chronic procrastinator

[cariad]

Oh, that sounds amaaaaazing, MaryD. I am going to have to try it! Thanks for the instructions!

I just finished a scone, so that's done. Have to make new goals for today, but they will be incredibly modest. I must be stressed about something because I could not fall asleep last night until nearly 3AM and I woke up at 6:30 and could not get back to sleep even for a few minutes.

I think I am going to go get cold drinks for the boys for baseball tonight. It is supposed to top 100 degrees. Boys are both at water parks, hope it's not too stupidly crowded for them.

[jbeany]

Figured I'd work on the living room today.  Bleah.  100 degree heat is not conducive to physical labor.  I'm sweating faster than I can rehydrate, which makes me paranoid.  I gave up for now.  Going shopping for different curtains instead, which, I suppose, I can call working on the living room if I'm pushing it.  I bought standard 84" ones at the discount store, figuring they would be fine.  1 inch too short, even with the rods hung right at the top of the window.  I could buy some trim to sew to the bottoms, but by the time I do, it will end up costing as much as the expensive ones that come in longer lengths in the first place, not to mention the effort to sew it all on.  Never mind- off to get the more expensive 95" ones.  I can hang the rod up higher that way, and the window will look better in the long run.

[MaryD]

The lemons got picked but didn't get any further.  The weather was so nice that I had to make the most of it and sweep up the last of the autumn leaves from the common driveway for the garden bed where the corn is to be planted in a month or so.  Then I drove halfway across town to buy some books my 96yo ex-neighbour wanted.  She still has all her marbles - the books were on philosophy, history and for her the first time reading of Catch 22.  The lemons will have to wait till Monday now as the weekend is going to have the first sunny days we have had for weeks.

Tomorrow - gardening and more gardening, and then more gardening.

[cariad]

Oh, MaryD and jbeany, you're way ahead of me.

Yesterday sucked. Sucking, sucky, suckiness! All I got done, and only just, was buying snacks for Aidan's baseball (third time bringing them - why don't the parents of the TWO boys on the team ever sign up for snacks??) and doing dishes. Aidan lost it at the baseball diamond. He had not had enough sleep the night before, he had been on a field trip to a water park all day, he had a headache, he was hit with a pitch, it was hot, and the coach put him on the mound in the last inning for the thankless task of trying to hold the other team at a tie. To his enormous credit, by the way, he was the *only* pitcher that night, the only one from either team, who did not hit at least one batter with a pitch. It was positively terrifying watching my kid continually face these wild pitches.

I must get right back on the horse:

1. sew buttons back on trousers, Elliot's night shirt
2. Recycling. Deal with it! Including old shoes.
3. Speaking of shoes, order crocs for Elliot.
4. Have boys help sort through old clothes strewn everywhere in guest room, bag them up for donation tomorrow.
5. Photograph oversized chair for sale on Craigslist
6. Start list of everything that we cannot bear to part with, list of everything we want to sell.

[jbeany]

Shopped, found curtains on sale, but not in the color I wanted, bought them, brought them home to see, didn't like them, and put them back in the car to take them back tomorrow.  Ah, well, there's another store with the right length curtains at a reasonable price, so will try again.

Did find a lot of thrift store bargains and have only added to the project list.  Found a fabulous round wicker hamper that will replace the ugly plastic one that used to fit in a closet.  Only $5.  It needs to be scrubbed to get the dust off.  Also found the frame for one of those round papasan chairs for $9.  It needs a cushion and a bit of new wrapping at the joints.  Also found the repair wrap for 69 cents, so just need to wrap and glue.  New cushions are $80, but the cute comforter I found for $14 at the discount store will make a fine cushion once I cut out two big puffy circles, add some of the batting I already have, sew it and hold it together with some spare buttons.  Also found 2 blazers in case I have interviews soon - but both need minor alterations like shortened sleeves and darts at the waist line.  I will clearly be using my sewing machine a lot in the next few days.

[MaryD]

Today's gardening is done and so am I.  The garden is fairly small so the rule is 'only edible plants'

The bed for the sunflowers is finished.  The bed for the sweetcorn needs another 20 minutes work, but tomorrow is another fine day.  I might even pull out the last of the celery and put in some spring onion seeds.  The frustrating bit is that the 4 hours work I did today I could have done in less than an hour a few years ago.

Then we're expecting another week of rain.  My kitchen needs a quick blast from a flame thrower.

[lmunchkin]

Stumbled across this Tuesday night, but never got the chance to post.  This thread was not only a great idea, but gave me alot of motivation to doing things on our home too.  Things that I have neglected over the years.   So I got to working on things wed (the 4th). 

#1: Weed Eating (and not outside) Shredding paper work that go back as far as 8 years.  There were papers built up in everyroom of our home, and I did one room at a time, but did some serious cleaning along the way.  John knew not to say a word for fear of being next!!!  Lol.  I managed just our dining room Wed.
Then,Thursday, I started on the living room.  Paper worked stuffed in corners, D. supplies in living room?  I said that would never happen, and it did. Got living room back and it looks marvelous, Thanks Cariad!
Today, I got up in the Bonus Room, rearranged furniture and got rid of a bunch of junk.  Went to some neighbors and gave away alot of stuff that we never needed or used.  I made some happy campers out of the neighbor hood too! Thanks Caraid!!!

This was a great idea, but I think Im going to chill for awhile, cause I need some me time too! But I will make myself stay on top of the rooms Ive done, so I can do some remaining ones another time!  Master bedroom and the kitchen will be the worse, so Im just not ready to tackle them yet. His Dialysis room and supply room are just fine, as Iam always on top of those.  Thanks Cariad!!!!

Awesome thread, Caraid, sign me in & out occasionally!

God Bless,
lmunchkin

[cariad]

It's been a brutal few days - heat and extreme exhaustion hitting the three of us have not helped. Baseball is over for Aidan, their last game ended in a draw which is great because due to time limits, the only other possibility would have been a loss. I have only managed to keep up with the basics at home: dishes, laundry, kitchen counters, that sort of thing.

From my last set of goals, my progress is far from encouraging:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6. (I started this list a week ago.... in my head. That must count for something.)

Our friends who are moving to Colorado end of the month have already started packing!

lmunchkin, I have realized that I won't be able to keep this up every day, either. Join in as often or as little as you like.

OK, starting with a fresh tabula rasa this week:

1. Start on the guest room. Really. Don't just say you'll do it, but do it. Today.
2. Clean all three bathrooms.
3. Attempt to clear desktop of papers, put aside a stack for Gwyn to go through.
4. Consider cooking a real dinner, then talk self out of it around 4:30 as you're running out the door to get Elliot to gymnastics.

[jbeany]

Let's see - scrubbed the hamper and put it in the bedroom.  Used the Dryel cleaner on the suit coats and dress I bought at the thrift store, so they are clean and ready for altering.  Did all the laundry that was in the old hamper and moved it downstairs so I have a trash can by the workbench.  Worked some more on puttying the living room window some more.  I think it might finally be ready for primer.  Hung up the chalkboard I bought at the thrift store on the outside of the garage.  I now have a place to keep score next to the horseshoe pits in the back yard.  Measured the papasan chair and was extra glad I did not buy the cushions at Pier 1 or World Market - their standard 48" size would have been too small.  Mine seems to need a giant 55 inches or more.  Unfortunately, that means the comforter I bought to make the cushion isn't big enough, although I do have it folded in the chair frame right now, which makes the cats happy.  I need to go to the hardware store and get a big canvas drop cloth.  It's cheap, big material that will hold up well.

I also did the dishes and mopped all the floors on the main level, and designed some wall art for the kitchen to paint on the canvas I got at the thrift store.  So much done, and still so little accomplished from the list!

[cariad]

Jbeany, you are so welcome to play along, although I sort of suspect you'll make the rest of us look bad!

Yep. It's going exactly as I feared!
 
Only joking. Well done, jbeany!

1. I have started. I want to finish, possibly not today, but soon. It is just so ghastly hot up there from keeping the vents closed.
2. This is where this thread needs to work its magic. I have done all but the floors (only need to do a steam clean or swiffering on them) and I need to do the shower in the master bath. Mats are downstairs in the wash, so floors are clear and ready for touch-up cleaning.
3. Not yet, but this is a job I can do while the kids are playing tonight.
4.  Ahead of schedule on this one!

Just got email from Gwyn requesting I phone him to avoid 2 pound fifty per minute (!!!!!!) charge. Ta!

[jbeany]

Holy phone bill, Batman!

Jbeany, you are so welcome to play along, although I sort of suspect you'll make the rest of us look bad!

Yep. It's going exactly as I feared!
 
Only joking. Well done, jbeany!

No kids, no husband, no classes, no job, and no dialysis.  I darn well better be getting something done! 

[cariad]

No kids, no husband, no classes, no job, and no dialysis.  I darn well better be getting something done! 

Oh dear, I only have the first two, and one is out of state and the others are shipped off to their summer program 5 days a week. I better buckle down!

I finished the bathrooms - steamed the floors in all 3, and did a quick touch up clean of the shower. My upper back is now quite achey, so I am going to try to do sedentary jobs today. After an ibuprofen. I never did get to those papers on the desk, but that should be a fairly small, quick job. Goals for today:

1. Papers
2. Finish reading The Gift and get it back to the library. This has been called essential reading for my Ph.D by two profs, I just need to tear through it.
3. Register for one credit of dissertation work at the University so I can continue to work on this in the UK or wherever we find ourselves.
4. Search uni library site for articles for prelims.

Taking two children to gymnastics today, but then I have the entire evening of 'Elliot time'. Aidan has beach soccer and then will watch the All-Star game with his friend.

[jbeany]

Let's see if you can guess the right answer:

Today I:
A) Slept late and then blew half the afternoon at lunch with a friend.
B) Blew most the evening at a bar.
C) Blew most of the night shopping.
D)  All of the above.

Whoops, the answer is D.   

Met a friend who works at the pro bono clinic I used to volunteer at for a long lunch.  Went from there to watch one of the law students I help train in court, at trial.  Joined the law students and student paralegals at the bar for 3 hours to rehash the trial, and then ran to the stores to do some shopping.

It's not quite as bad as it sounds.  I also fixed my car tire, dropped off another job application and cover letter, and found some great deals on things I needed - including the material and extra stuffing I need to make my chair cushion, the transformer I need to finish installing my doorbell, an 8 x 12 area rug on sale and with a coupon so it was only $70, and an extension cord to get my treadmill plugged in temporarily until I can finish rewiring the outlets downstairs. 
Oh yeah, and managed to get the 12 foot rug home in a compact car.
That was entertaining!

[cariad]

Gah, I've let this go far too long.

I have not completed one thing from my previous list, that's right, not a thing. I cannot even account for where all of that time went, although Aidan attended a sleepover Friday night which means that I have to take extra care to spend time with Elliot so he does not feel lonely or left out. OK, so I've justified one night of laziness....

I am going to keep this simple today. My parents arrive in a week and they can hopefully help with the larger problems in this house:

1. Finish The Gift and return to library with other book.
2. Finish sorting the guest room.

[jbeany]

Living room is half done - all the trim is painted and all the walls are touched up.  Today is the worst part - I have to scrub the floors on my hands and knees - and attempt to wash the windows inside and out.  That involves taking off the 7 foot tall storm windows off the giant window in the front.  And it's a million degrees outside.  Ugh.

Maybe I'll just try to focus on the inside for now, where at least I'm in the shade.

[jbeany]

Or maybe I'll just focus on researching the company that just sent me an email asking how much notice I needed for an interview, and if their security department could contact me about security pre-screening.   They also wanted to to know if I would accept their non-negotiable salary offer if given the job.  Ummm, it's higher than anything else I've even applied for, so, gee....YES!   

I suppose I better tailor my suit coat while I'm at it, too.

[MooseMom]

Today was gonna be my day to get stuff done.  Hubby is back at work and isn't force feeding me all of the food that HE now gets to eat.  My magnesium is apparently a little low, so he got online and found all of the foods high in Mg.  Of course they are all foods that I have not been able to have in 8 years, so small wonder I'm deficient.  So, he went out and bought a lot of snack foods like nuts and raisins, most of them chocolate covered.   I told him he could have all of the chocolate covered crap and I'd eat the stuff that is unadulterated.  It would take me a year to eat all of the bits he bought.

Anyway, today was my first day driving, so I drove myself to the lab and then dropped off a lot of books and clothing at Goodwill.  I came home, had something to eat, did a bit of filing, and promptly fell asleep.  I woke up, had lunch, made some appointments, took some laundry downstairs, came back upstairs and promptly went back to sleep.  I woke up, brought in the mail, scrubbed some potatoes and am now contemplating another nap.  It just seems to have all caught up with me all of a sudden.

And of course I will have problems falling asleep tonight as usual.

[jbeany]

The insomnia is part and parcel of the meds.  I tend to get a lot done on the nights I have it - which makes up for wanting to sleep the day after.

[cariad]

Or maybe I'll just focus on researching the company that just sent me an email asking how much notice I needed for an interview, and if their security department could contact me about security pre-screening.   They also wanted to to know if I would accept their non-negotiable salary offer if given the job.  Ummm, it's higher than anything else I've even applied for, so, gee....YES!   

I suppose I better tailor my suit coat while I'm at it, too.

Go get 'em, girl! 

[jbeany]

Two interview outfits ready.  Research done on the big company. 

 - I'm so proud of myself today for not procrastinating on something I didn't want to do! 
My prof sent me a message about a commercial real estate lawyer here in town who is in immediate need of help.  She told me to contact them before they had even placed any ads, and to tell them I had her personal recommendation.  She's practiced here for over 30 years and knows EVERYONE, so her recommendation carries a lot of weight.  Applying meant not only composing a cover letter - which I despise and dread doing - but also doing it for a job for which I have no description except Legal Secretary who does substantive legal work.  Yikes.  That's not much to go on, and not having any real estate experience beyond buying a house doesn't help. 

But I sat my fanny in the chair and pounded away at the keyboard and my brain cells until I had one written and I sent it out.  I even spent another hour job hunting online.  I found one more to do tomorrow. 

I finally got a response on one county job - I didn't get an interview, but I'm on the list if the first round of interviews doesn't lead to any results.  Ooookay.  If I do get called, I think I'd rather not have know I was second string, really.  Out of the three county jobs I applied for, it was the job I was least interested in, at least (except for the fact that it was only blocks from my house). 

[cariad]

Gah! Lost my list. I'll try to recreate quickly:

1. Prep for meeting with rental management company tomorrow. Pull various souvenirs and other personal items off all shelves to photograph rooms.
2. Call energy company and landscaper to answer their questions.
3. Pester Gwyn to go to CarMax to price his CA vehicle. Send in forms to replace lost title.
4. Hand wash delicates.
5. Photo and Craigslist bed, chaise
6. Clean kitchen, declutter dining room
7. Inform children's center that I am ignoring their 'healthy snacks only' rule for Aidan's birthday and bringing two cakes. He is turning 10 and leaving the country - fruit popsicles are not enough to mark this occasion.
8. Clean drawing off picture window in playroom. Yes, some perfectly lovely family gave Elliot window crayons for his fifth birthday. This drawing has been on there for months. Hopefully he will not notice that it is gone so he won't replace it with another.
9. Vacuum playroom and tidy up as this is the centerpiece of the house.
10. Hire cleaning help!
11. Probably much more but I'll need to add as I go. I've let this slide too long.

[cattlekid]

I am now home for my first full day after my heart attack on Friday last week so I have to get cracking.

I have made my grocery list and will be off to the store shortly.

When I get home, I have to do the dishes and make some sense out of the laundry. 

We'll see how my energy level is for the rest of the day before I make any other grand plans.

[cariad]

Welcome home, cattlekid!

Progress Report:

1. Prep for meeting with rental management company tomorrow. Pull various souvenirs and other personal items off all shelves to photograph rooms.
2. Call energy company and landscaper to answer their questions.
3. Pester Gwyn to go to CarMax to price his CA vehicle. Send in forms to replace lost title.
4. Hand wash delicates.
5. Photo and Craigslist bed, chaise
6. Clean kitchen, declutter dining room
7. Inform children's center that I am ignoring their 'healthy snacks only' rule for Aidan's birthday and bringing two cakes. He is turning 10 and leaving the country - fruit popsicles are not enough to mark this occasion.
8. Clean drawing off picture window in playroom. Yes, some perfectly lovely family gave Elliot window crayons for his fifth birthday. This drawing has been on there for months. Hopefully he will not notice that it is gone so he won't replace it with another.
9. Vacuum playroom and tidy up as this is the centerpiece of the house.
10. Hire cleaning help!
11. Probably much more but I'll need to add as I go. I've let this slide too long.

[jbeany]

Hmmm....house projects still in flux.  Momentarily stymied on electrical - unsure if something is bad wiring or a bad light fixture.  That meeds to be worked on when I'm home during daylight.  I've been busy volunteering since Friday, so nothing much has gotten done here.

I did work ahead on my craft class project for my next class in two weeks.  I'm teaching a class on homemade, solid perfume, and not only have I made samples and done research so I can explain all about top, base, and middle notes of fragrances, I've even found what I need for double boilers for 8 students.  Still need to buy more wax, but I had to wait until Sunday so I could get another coupon from the paper, and I haven't had time to go shopping since.

Collected two more job leads.  Need to follow up, but since I'm going to my sister's cottage tomorrow, staying the night, and bringing back my nephew to stay overnight so we can go to rock climbing lessons the next day - well, hopefully I have some energy to get more resumes out by Friday.

So, the truth is, I've been procrastinating on posting on this thread!

[kitkatz]

My classroom is decorated thanks to Marilyn and Danielle.  They were wonders with the bulletin board materials!