Tuesday To Do 8.7.18

Yesterday was so HOT!  My one-year-old air conditioning system could not cool down this double wide.  The bay windows in the living room are like a solar oven regardless of the thermal blackout curtains.  After 3 pm, when the sun had been hitting those windows for a good two hours, I could not do much in the living room, or kitchen for that matter.  It wasn't until after 7 when cloud cover and a cooler breeze helped to cool it down that I could do much for any length of time.  By then, I was exhausted just from the heat.  My inside thermometer read 98 degrees at about 5pm.  

Yesterday I also went to the gym for my personal training session.  Leg, back and biceps day.  Probably gone feel that today!  

What is on the agenda today? 

My morning routine for this Tuesday: 

Same as it is every morning.  Rise and shine, take care of me, swish and swipe the bathroom.  I stripped the bed this morning.  I was supposed to do that yesterday but had the bed made before I realized it was Weekly Home Blessing Hour-day...wow, does that make any sense.  Mondays are Weekly Home Blessing Hour where I spend one hour dusting and vacuuming and just cleaning the major areas of the house.  I did not do the sheets or the kitchen mopping yesterday so that will have to be done today. My dishwasher quit on me again, so I have to take them all out and hand wash them this morning.  

I am not walking this morning because we are going swimming today and I have to push mow the back yard.  I know, I am wrecking my morning routine today.  

The rest of the day:

1. Declutter/tidy up the kitchen x 15 mins.  It is Zone 2/ Kitchen Week and I have plenty to do in here.  I cleaned the oven yesterday, so now I need to move on to the bottom cabinets, especially under the sink.  This does not include the washing of dishes that will be another 1/2 hour probably. 

2. Get all the laundry done today.  I am going to go ahead and wash the blankets and mattress pad today while I am doing the sheets.

3. As mentioned, I will be mowing the back yard.  Mom used her new John Deere riding mower yesterday, but it is not a rider-mower friendly yard.  Raised bed, clothesline, laundry washing system, firewood, shepherd's hooks x 4.  At least we did get the kennel panels moved to the upper pasture. Lots of trim work to do.  But I am very thankful she got the majority of it!  Have to get that done early before it gets too hot. 

4. Swim...We three ladies (me, mom, daughter) going to head to the lake with our air mattresses and relax on the lake for a couple of hours. 

5.  I feel like I still need to do a heavy duty declutter in the living room.  I have a lot of planner and devotional items still nested around the couch that need to be put back and cleaned up.  

With my training I have my Ultrafit diet.  Basically, no sugar, no fat, no salt.  Eat 1 serving of protein and 1 serving of carb per meal every 4 hours.  I MISS AVOCADOS!  I only have 6 weeks to do this, so might as well go full on right? 

I am not going to lie.  It can boring to look at. A breakfast from this weekend.   

Two egg whites with pepper, cream of wheat made with water, and water.  I did have my vitamins too. This meal really is an exception.  I add veggies and berries to most of the meals, including the egg whites and porridges.  

Meals for today:  oatmeal with strawberries, egg whites with onion and spinach, leftover chicken fried rice that I made up last night (cooked chicken breast, one small carrot (these are to be limited on the diet), diced onion and minced garlic to taste, egg whites and 1/2 cup rice), grilled London broil, sweet potato fries, broccoli and sliced tomato from the garden, grilled chicken on a slice of Ezekiel bread with lettuce, tomato and mustard. Water throughout the day and a LaCroix with steak meal.  

Tonight, I want to make sure the laundry is complete, the dishes are done and my "nest" is put away. I will double check my planner, but I do have training at the gym at 2:00 tomorrow, so I will get my clothes lined out for that. I will make sure that Sarah has her to-do list done for the day as well as plans for tomorrow.  

Other than when we are swimming, I will be checking on the animals to make sure their water is fresh and clean.  Although it is advantageous to have the ducks in with the goats for their protection, it is not good for the goats.  Ducks dirty every clean source of water they can find.  I have a 5-gallon bucket, 2.5 gallon bucket, a dishwashing tub and their little kiddie pool that are constantly needing rinsing and refilled.  The rest of the day is free to do with what I choose.  CVS?  No, just kidding, not today!  Home and play today! 

What is on your agenda today?

Have a blessed and productive day! 

Creating a Routine with Work

So I have had an outside-job for over a year.  As I mentioned, I was extremely blessed to have found this position-again. I am so thankful.  But I cannot lie, it is very hard to not do the things I used to have time for and that gave me pleasure (hand washing clothes in the heat of the summer morning, gardening large).  I do, however, have extra cash to do the things I couldn't afford before (fence paddocks, build building additions).  Time and money - that famous balancing game.

I have not done a good job at home.  There is SO MUCH that I need to do.  Honestly, I can do it if I change my routine up a bit.  I figured up in the past that I had 62 hours a week to mange.  I have wasted it away for quite some time.  It is time to get into a routine and stick to it!

I have ordered a planner-you know one of those fancy ones that you can use stickers and washi tape on.  NOT that popular expensive one.  I don't do popular.  I was able to customize it a bit too!

My first custom category is DAILY.  I know, this is the mundane that shouldn't have to be categorized.  I am hoping that by next year/new planner, this customization will be changed.  This is a new beginning and I am taking baby steps.  I want this to cross off things.  Bed, dishes, trash, vacuum, etc.  I want to put my daily laundry list on there.  This is more of a motivational category for right now-seeing those things crossed out will make me feel like I can do this.  A little psychological fame for my brain.  There will be certain things on certain days as well.  Friday, probably shopping day (I am still debating if I would rather figure out the "mark down" days for the stores I frequent), Saturday is project day, and Sunday is the Sabbath.  No work, only rest, leisure, planning in my planner and crockpot.

The next category is ROOM.  Every day I am going to focus on 1 or 2 different rooms.  For example, Monday is bedroom.  Tuesday is bathroom and yard.  Wednesday is living room and office.  You get the idea.  Everyday I take a little extra time to go a little deeper into cleaning these areas.  I will make a permanent assignment once I give it some trial and error.

The last customized area is ANIMAL.  Just like rooms, I have an animal of the day.  Right now it is fairly simple.  Monday is rabbit, Tuesday and Thursday is goat, Wednesday is chicken.  I am hoping to get turkeys, ducks, pigs, sheep and maybe someday a cow.  Every day I focus on the animals: check feet and nails, ears and eyes, clean out their homes and feeders.  Make sure they have all the extras like vinegar in the water, mineral salts, etc.

I also got some add on pages to help with meal planning, budgeting and making sure I am taking care of myself too.  I feel confident that this planner will help me to hammer out my chores efficiently and have a little fun to plan them.  Fingers crossed.