Processing ... On Paper.

 

Does your life ever feel like the photo above?
It was an accidental photo, I didn't even know I had taken it until the other day.
But my life totally feels like that sometimes.
Like I'm just hanging on for dear life so I don't go flying off this spinning planet!!

There are a few things I find helpful when it does start to feel like this.
Or even ... before this, but to keep me from getting to this.
That is where I am now.  Feeling like if I don't get
things under control, it will all start to spin!

I'm am external processor.
I need to talk to process.  But sometimes
I can't.  I don't have a large group of people I feel
comfortable 'processing' with.  In fact, it's quite a small, very
select group containing less than a handful of people.

Sure, there are levels of processing. And if we're talking about what I'm going to cook for dinner,
I'm probably happy to chat to a stranger in the supermarket.

I have found, over the years, though, that with lots of things, I can 'process' my
thoughts on paper just as well as in a conversation.  It's almost like I need
to hear (or see) my thoughts to before I can decide if they make
sense.   If you are an external processor, you may know
what I'm talking about.  

Here's what one of my "processing" lists looks like.
It's simple.  Nothing complicated.
But so helpful. 

My next step is to put those thoughts on to a schedule.
I don't want to "fit" these things into my day, I want them to be priority. 
Having that in my mind helps as I go about looking at what other things take up my
time and thinking about if they should be cut back on or eliminated all together.

Hangin' On {For} The Ride ...

I want to post ... sooooo much ... but I've got so little time at the moment. I'll get myself sorted and be back to posting regularly soon !! Who knew having two children in school, swimming, tennis, working five days a week, organizing stuff for the missions month at church, taking on a new job, training and setting up a new system for checking people in, training people to help me, doing my current job, having a husband go overseas for a week and taking care of a home would leave so little time to blog !!!

Be back soon.

PS ... it's hard, very hard, to eat unprocessed at the moment. We're doing our best but have made some great realizations. I'll write about them soon !! (over at the beans blog ...)

Why My Shredder Hates Me ...

I've had a busy yet surprisingly relaxing Monday...

Want to see my to do list ?

These are just the things I listed ... not the normal, everyday things that also got done.

1. Feed Neighbor's Cat
2. Go to Shop ... get $ for cleaning lady, spending money &
something for Jono to take to class to celebrate his birthday.
Oh ... and ice too.
3. Show Jono e-cards that have arrived
4. Fix fairy lights out on back patio
5. Do one page in cookbook
6. Do one sidebar link on beans blog
7. Dust entire house
8. Quick tidy of disaster area toy room (long story)
9. Alia's new desk ... arrange
10. Photos of desk/bed (another long story) !!
11. Plant garlic
12. Send email re: meeting
13. Go through work box
14. Do a big ole' load of shredding
15. Exercise ~ walk around park. Was supposed to be 30 minutes but
ended up getting rained out after 20 !
16. Change sheets
17. Wash, Hang, Fold, Put away four loads of laundry
18. Add garlic to lentil recipe on beans blog
19. Make yogurt
20. Research cookbook/recipe copyright laws
21. Add Andrea's photo to beans
blog sidebar.

Phew !!
I can't believe I got that much done !
(Especially since I got to facebook a bit too.)
As well ~ the lady who comes and does cleaning came
today so the house is pretty darn clean !!

I sure love days that end like this !

I have 30 minutes before my 9:30 bedtime.
I need to pack lunches yet so I'd
better skedaddle !

go go go

Today has been quite busy. Go go go !! It started early. I'm so thankful that my husband brings me a cup of coffee at 5:30am to get my going each morning ! I don't think I could do it without him ...

I spent most of the morning preparing the week's menu and writing up the grocery list, before dropping Jono off at school. Alia didn't go. We've had her at the doctor a few times over the past few weeks with (minor) concerns about her hearing. Today he was supposed to flush her ears out but didn't end up needing to since the wax softener had done a good enough job. Next week we will see a specialist who will do a hearing test.

Anyway ... Alia came to art with me this morning which was a treat for her !! And for me. It was lovely to have her there again. We did half the shopping before art. First stop, my favorite organic store for all the produce and beans. Second stop, Woolies for toiletries etc ... After the art lesson, we hurried up to the doctor and then over to my all time favorite store where we get the best loose baby spinach, rocket and stone ground corn chips. I really do travel all over the place to get what we love. I picked up some triple sec so we can make margarita's tonight for the "Happy Father's Day Party" the kids and I are throwing for Rory ! We're having hot wings. Playing the Wii. Massaging his feet. Watching football. All stuff he loves. The kids are busy right now making a sign to hang with balloons !!

I had to rush home to meet with a lady who is going to come and do some cleaning here on Monday's ! I'm so excited about it. She is really friendly and professional ! I can't wait to see how she does with the cleaning. I will be cleaning/organizing/sorting at the same time so this place should shine after the two of us get finished on Monday mornings !!

Anyway ...

I'd better get out there and help ...

beautiful {silence}

Needing to be quiet this morning ...

busy

I've got pumpkin soup boiling over on the stove, a son who can't sleep because his sister is snoring, a few hours of work filing to do TONIGHT, a husband at church, a bed full of laundry that has been folded and needs to be put away before I can go to bed, partially packed lunches to be finished, dinner to be eaten (but not til husband gets home) and no time to blog !

I had to come tell you about a challenge I'm going to be starting tomorrow ... you can go read about it on my cooking blog !! And maybe you'll join me ...

Tomorrow was going to be a busy(ish) day but my morning has now cleared, thanks to a cancellation so I should actually have a bit of computer time ...

{one very wordy post}

During my much needed rest on Friday, I did a lot of thinking. I love my life. I love all of the things that we are each involved in. I love being a wife, and a mom, and taking care of our home. I love planning and preparing great meals. I love that my husband plays sport, and that our son does too. I love watching Jono as he develops that passion. I love having special mommy-daughter nights with Alia when Jono sometimes goes to watch Rory play. I love managing Jono's soccer team (ok, I don't love it, but I do it because he loves soccer!!) I love where I work three days a week. I love that I don't have to work there but that I can. I love that I feel like I am contributing to something great. I love that the kids are big enough now that Rory and I can both be involved in the music team at church again. I love taking the kids to swimming lessons. And watching Alia develop a special friendship after school while Jono plays AFL each week. I love all of the extra bits and pieces that happen each week. The coffee's with friends, the occassional having someone over or going to someone's place for dinner. I love re-connecting with old (like, from the first grade old !) friends on facebook, and blogging, and playing the Wii with my family.

But sometimes ... and last week, was one of those sometimes ... it all gets too much. I start to feeling overwhelmed and just need to stop. I am glad that I am able to do that from time to time. Of course, it meant that my cleaning schedule didn't get finished. My bathroom sinks won't be cleaned until tomorrow which means they didn't get done last week. I didn't do the mopping ... and that only happens every TWO weeks ! But ... I'm not going to beat myself up about it. I'm not going to try and kill myself to get it all done just so I can tick it off on my chart ! I'm just going to start this new week and two weeks of my cleaning schedule a fresh. (and yeah, those will be the first things I do !!)

During these days that I spend thinking and refreshing and recharging and ensuring that I am able to continue on with all of these things that we love, I always wonder if there is something I need to change. Maybe something we need to stop doing. This time, I didn't feel like it was something we needed to stop doing but rather something I need to change.

I've been feeling lately like I've been neglecting my most important relationship. In the business of life, I can sometimes forget to spend time with the One who gave me life ! And that is never good.

So anyway ... on Friday, I was contemplating this. I was reading some blog and I was struck by the similarity of two post. Two posts written by two of my friends. To my knowledge, these guys don't know each other. I knew one of them in high school in Spain and the other one after high school in Japan. They both live in the States now but with one of them in Alaska, I doubt their paths have crossed.

Both of their posts hit me right where I'm at ! I have their permision to share them with you ...

Here's the first one, written by my friend Alex ...

During our visit to Richmond last weekend I was perpetually trying to connect with people that we were trying to meet up with. So my cell phone was constantly buzzing with text messages and calls.

At one point my wife looked at me as I again glanced at my phone and said, "You've been looking at that thing all weekend long!"

That's made me think this week about my eyes, my thoughts, how I can so easily get fixed on something that makes me look down, that narrows my perspective.

I so easily get caught up in small annoyances or inconveniences in my life and think that they're major catastrophes.

Or maybe you'll resonate with me on this: I get so focused on scheduling for tomorrow that I miss what's happening right in front of me. I spent all day yesterday scheduling for the today that I'm now mentally dis-engaged with because I'm so focused on looking ahead to tomorrow! What a fool I am to never actually get around to living because I'm so busy planning on living in the future!

So I've been thinking off and on all week: where are my eyes fixed? what does this tell me about my heart, my thoughts, the things that shape me most?

Then this morning I was reading Psalm 25 and came across this line: "My eyes are ever toward the Lord."

When there's the convergence of a comment from my wife and a word from Scripture, that generally means that there's something here for me to pay attention to.

So I'm thinking about this today, thought I'd invite you in. Where are your eyes fixed? What does that tell you about your heart, your thoughts, the things that are shaping you most right now?

And the second one, written by my friend Khrista ... (and Oswald Chambers!)

While reading this morning, this really struck me...it is relevant to all, maybe some in particular, more now, than ever...

Keep Recognizing Jesus
. . . Peter . . . walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid . . . —Matthew 14:29-30

The wind really was boisterous and the waves really were high, but Peter didn’t see them at first. He didn’t consider them at all; he simply recognized his Lord, stepped out in recognition of Him, and "walked on the water." Then he began to take those things around him into account, and instantly, down he went. Why couldn’t our Lord have enabled him to walk at the bottom of the waves, as well as on top of them? He could have, yet neither could be done without Peter’s continuing recognition of the Lord Jesus.

We step right out with recognition of God in some things, then self-consideration enters our lives and down we go. If you are truly recognizing your Lord, you have no business being concerned about how and where He engineers your circumstances. The things surrounding you are real, but when you look at them you are immediately overwhelmed, and even unable to recognize Jesus. Then comes His rebuke, ". . . why did you doubt?" ( Matthew 14:31 ). Let your actual circumstances be what they may, but keep recognizing Jesus, maintaining complete reliance upon Him.

If you debate for even one second when God has spoken, it is all over for you. Never start to say, "Well, I wonder if He really did speak to me?" Be reckless immediately— totally unrestrained and willing to risk everything— by casting your all upon Him. You do not know when His voice will come to you, but whenever the realization of God comes, even in the faintest way imaginable, be determined to recklessly abandon yourself, surrendering everything to Him. It is only through abandonment of yourself and your circumstances that you will recognize Him. You will only recognize His voice more clearly through recklessness— being willing to risk your all.

-My Utmost For His Highest, Oswald Chambers...emphasis added

And then this morning at church ... the sermon was about knowing Jesus. About getting back to basics. All the fluff and nonsense of 'religion' needs to be ignored. It's just about Jesus and becoming like Him.

Where are my eyes ?
Where is my focus ?

How do I live life ... in all of it's business ... and keep my eyes focused where they should be ?

This is what I'm thinking about ...

Of Banana Bread, Dishcloths, and Angels ...

I have been one busy lady today and it's only noon !
This morning I woke to the sound of pouring rain and my husband still home !
It's his Saturday to work but he didn't have to because of the rain !!
Jono's soccer game was cancelled too.
Disappointing for Jono but it's timely for us to have a Saturday at home !
After enjoying a delicious breakfast of banana bread, baked by my amazing husband,
and various hot drinks*, Rory took the kids out shopping.
Don't know what they're shopping for but I'll give you a little hint ...
Monday is my birthday !!
While they've been out, I've been packing like a crazy lady !
Seriously.
Busy and Crazy.
All in one half a day !

~~

* Rory makes the kids little 'coffees' that are just frothed milk with chocolate on top ...
that is the drink you see in the photo !
Cute, eh ?
Have I mentioned lately that this man is amazing ?

~~

I've got to show you my quickie little project that I've whipped up in the past two days !
I think the next one I do will be quicker and can probably be done in one sitting.
I think this took me about 2 - 3 hours total.



It's a dishcloth.
Not that I'm going to use something so pretty on dishes !
It will probably hang somewhere near my sink in our new kitchen ...
but for decoration purposes only.
At least for now.
I'll probably start using them once I've made a few !



It is a really basic knitting pattern.
Great for a beginning knitter like myself.
Great because it's easy and great because I feel like a professional
being able to make holes around the edges like that !!
ha ha.

You can find the pattern on my Ravelry page.



Do you like my angel ?
Isn't she the prettiest thing ?
I just love her.
Not because she is pretty, although that is good too.
I love the memories she brings.
She was a gift to me from my friend Kristine.
She, so very thoughtfully, gave her to me years ago when my Mom was diagnosed with cancer.
The diagnosis was hard enough but to be in Australia while Mom was in Colorado ...
Even harder.
When I look at this angel now, I think of so many things.
I think of Kris.
I think of Mom and the miracle of her being cancer free.
I think of angels, which makes me think of heaven, which makes me think of God.
An of how thankful I am that He holds it all together ...
I think of these things, all of them, and I smile.

What makes you smile ??

Sharing Tiny Teapots

A few days ago I mentioned feeling like I needed to make some changes.
I've been doing lots of thinking.
Processing.
Planning.
Yesterday I got the kids involved.
I'll post about that later in the week ...

One of the things I've really been feeling is the need to SLOW DOWN.

Life is busy.
That probably won't change.
But do I need to be running around at a hectic pace ?
Constantly frantic ?
I don't think so.

In the midst of the busyness, I'm scheduling in slow times.

One of the things I have decided is that I will walk the children to and from school everyday.
They ride their bikes. I walk.
The weather will be cooling soon so it will become quite pleasant.

It's not a long walk.
Probably takes us 10/15 minutes to get there.
That makes a 30 minute walk for me ... twice a day.
And half of that walk, I'm on my own.

This morning, I just looked at all the flowers

and birds

and clouds

and blue sky ...

It was nice.
Cleared my head.
Got my blood pumpin'.
A perfect way to start the morning.
Slowly ...

I've got more to share but it's time to head out to the school !
We'll talk more tomorrow.

For now though, why don't you tell me how you handle the busyness ?
Do you have intentionally slow times during your day or do you just go go go ?