Confession of Discombobulation
I don't know if it's DH's new schedule, the fact that school has started up again, or if my hormones are just kicking in, but I've been so discombobulated the past few weeks. Maybe a combination of a bunch of things; I don't know. The good news, though, is that I am slowly becoming untangled.
Anyway, I'm finding it hard to keep track of things on my schedule, particularly the daily things like making sure I get things ready for dinner; even my finances seem to be a bit of mess. Not devastating, but not as "together" as I'd like them to be. I'm even having a problem getting all these thoughts in order! Argh!
Perhaps I should resolve anew to journal regularly. I find when I write things down, I gain clarity & remember things better. (Like just now, I remembered I had to do something for my DD before I leave work!)
So, I guess here are some of the issues I'm dealing with & some ideas as to how to deal with them:
DH's new schedule & its impact: I'm starting to get used to the rhythm of the day in general, especially in taking care of the dog. (Thank God for the dog's ramp, by the way!) DH is tired ALL the time & is catnapping ALL the time. Basically, doing less than before; but my load is generally the same. The only difference is that I'm cooking dinner most of the time. So my issue is getting into the habit of thinking about what to make ahead of time. We won't be eating as early as we used to (because starting dinner begins after I get home), but we will definitely be eating better. Another scheduling thing is that I'm losing my grip on the housework. I used to write down all my tasks hardcopy, but I've gotten away from keeping a paper calendar (other than the master calendar in the kitchen). For now anyway, I need to schedule household tasks on Google calendar (I love that it has this feature!) Maybe I should do that with exercising too; I've been getting away from doing it regularly & that's not good.
DD's school schedule: we're back in the swing of things now, especially now that Open House has come & gone (the last one--yay!). I need to remember to regularly give her lunch money (more on money later). Also (about her general schedule), she needs to get her volunteer schedule form so we can fill it out & send it in.
DD & the college process: this is a big one that I feel I can't get a hold of. One good thing is that her English teacher said they'd be working on the college essay in class. The next big thing is registering her for the next SAT (she did bad on the last one) & getting her to really study for this one. We also need to think about any possible remaining college visits. Who can we visit & when? Then there's the application process: decide which schools to apply to. Also a good idea is to check out the "common application" that many schools take. I think if we nail that down, the application process will be relatively simple. Then it's "worry about the tuition money time."
Money: the big one, again. Part of this is due to DH's summer unemployment & underemployment. We're still recovering from that, even with his regular paycheck. But in October, I'll be getting 3 paychecks, so I think that'll get us back on track again. Meanwhile, it looks like we're just treading water. I did start writing down (in Evernote) some of our anticipated expenses--just to have them visible & so I can prioritize them if need be. That's really helped me from being too overwhelmed. And I need to mentally let go of worrying about this belt-tightening time. Another BIG thing is, I need to be much better about regularly recording cash flow: write down receipts as soon as I can in the checkbooks, and regularly (daily?) double-check on-line. I just had an insufficent fund problem because of me not doing this, so I need to get back on the stick. And now that DH is earning a decent amount of money, I need to divide up what funds are paid where. Him: $ for savings (his request), groceries, gas, his student loan, his credit card, the home equity (which he basically incurred), his life insurance, the charities he specifically wants to give to, and any of his misc. expenses. Me: everything else.
My spare time: yes, I do actually have spare time! But I'm really not using it the best way I can. Too much time fiddling around on social media & checking in on other websites. Not that I'll give them up; I just need to limit myself (just like with eating, right?). This way, I'll have more time for everything, especially: reading, genealogy (still need to have that problem fixed!), blogging, exercising, cross-stitch & my favorite shows. Speaking of TV, I realized last night that I need to give up watching Judge Judy with DS. As much as she amuses me & the fact that I'm hanging out with DS, that time is right before bed and I need to de-screen so I can relax my mind so I can sleep!
Well, I've been jumping all around all over this post. But at least I put things in their proper places.
Anyway, I'm finding it hard to keep track of things on my schedule, particularly the daily things like making sure I get things ready for dinner; even my finances seem to be a bit of mess. Not devastating, but not as "together" as I'd like them to be. I'm even having a problem getting all these thoughts in order! Argh!
Perhaps I should resolve anew to journal regularly. I find when I write things down, I gain clarity & remember things better. (Like just now, I remembered I had to do something for my DD before I leave work!)
So, I guess here are some of the issues I'm dealing with & some ideas as to how to deal with them:
DH's new schedule & its impact: I'm starting to get used to the rhythm of the day in general, especially in taking care of the dog. (Thank God for the dog's ramp, by the way!) DH is tired ALL the time & is catnapping ALL the time. Basically, doing less than before; but my load is generally the same. The only difference is that I'm cooking dinner most of the time. So my issue is getting into the habit of thinking about what to make ahead of time. We won't be eating as early as we used to (because starting dinner begins after I get home), but we will definitely be eating better. Another scheduling thing is that I'm losing my grip on the housework. I used to write down all my tasks hardcopy, but I've gotten away from keeping a paper calendar (other than the master calendar in the kitchen). For now anyway, I need to schedule household tasks on Google calendar (I love that it has this feature!) Maybe I should do that with exercising too; I've been getting away from doing it regularly & that's not good.
DD's school schedule: we're back in the swing of things now, especially now that Open House has come & gone (the last one--yay!). I need to remember to regularly give her lunch money (more on money later). Also (about her general schedule), she needs to get her volunteer schedule form so we can fill it out & send it in.
DD & the college process: this is a big one that I feel I can't get a hold of. One good thing is that her English teacher said they'd be working on the college essay in class. The next big thing is registering her for the next SAT (she did bad on the last one) & getting her to really study for this one. We also need to think about any possible remaining college visits. Who can we visit & when? Then there's the application process: decide which schools to apply to. Also a good idea is to check out the "common application" that many schools take. I think if we nail that down, the application process will be relatively simple. Then it's "worry about the tuition money time."
Money: the big one, again. Part of this is due to DH's summer unemployment & underemployment. We're still recovering from that, even with his regular paycheck. But in October, I'll be getting 3 paychecks, so I think that'll get us back on track again. Meanwhile, it looks like we're just treading water. I did start writing down (in Evernote) some of our anticipated expenses--just to have them visible & so I can prioritize them if need be. That's really helped me from being too overwhelmed. And I need to mentally let go of worrying about this belt-tightening time. Another BIG thing is, I need to be much better about regularly recording cash flow: write down receipts as soon as I can in the checkbooks, and regularly (daily?) double-check on-line. I just had an insufficent fund problem because of me not doing this, so I need to get back on the stick. And now that DH is earning a decent amount of money, I need to divide up what funds are paid where. Him: $ for savings (his request), groceries, gas, his student loan, his credit card, the home equity (which he basically incurred), his life insurance, the charities he specifically wants to give to, and any of his misc. expenses. Me: everything else.
My spare time: yes, I do actually have spare time! But I'm really not using it the best way I can. Too much time fiddling around on social media & checking in on other websites. Not that I'll give them up; I just need to limit myself (just like with eating, right?). This way, I'll have more time for everything, especially: reading, genealogy (still need to have that problem fixed!), blogging, exercising, cross-stitch & my favorite shows. Speaking of TV, I realized last night that I need to give up watching Judge Judy with DS. As much as she amuses me & the fact that I'm hanging out with DS, that time is right before bed and I need to de-screen so I can relax my mind so I can sleep!
Well, I've been jumping all around all over this post. But at least I put things in their proper places.
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