I just deleted a long, winding post about how I’ve been doing. I do mean to share it, but it isn’t pretty and I’m still thinking my way through it all. So I decided to wait until I could say it more succinctly. Suffice it to say that I think I’ve turned a corner, thankfully, and the feeling of intense internal pressure has found some release. And I’m looking forward to a weekend of relaxing at the farm.

In other news…

1. Erin was really melt-downy for Eric last night. Honestly, I think she missed me. I am super-glad that Eric could handle her tears as well as he did. But I’m also a little glad she likes me that much!

2. I cleaned my bedroom yesterday. I washed sheets, threw out trash, organized piles, put away clothes, remade the bed, vacuumed and washed the (attached) bathroom floor. I also managed to clean the kitchen pretty thoroughly and wash the bathtub. My house is starting to look somewhat kept-up again. It’s making me breathe easier today.

3. Yesterday, I also made myself a chore checklist. Some of my recent struggles have been exacerbated by my unkempt house (which wasn’t THAT bad, but it was enough to cause me some issues). I could see all the cleaning that needed done, but couldn’t seem to get to it. So it was just hanging over me, adding pressure.

So yesterday, I sat down and actually made up (I’ve been thinking it through for many weeks) a chore checklist to go on my fridge. I wrote down all the chores I want to get done regularly and divided them into daily, weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly chores. Then I separated the chores into 4 weeks (weeks 1 & 3 are identical, as are 2 & 4). Each week has a table for each group of chores, so I can check off when I do them.

Being a type-A personality, I’m very excited. Even if I don’t get every chore on the sheet done every day or every week, it will still get done more often than it is now. It feels more organized so I can handle chores in small chunks, rather than trying to do the whole house every time. And maybe it’ll even give Eric a way to see how he can help me out sometimes (if I’m way behind on a week, for example, he could do a chore and check it off for me!). I don’t know how often that will happen, but it’s possible now! SO I’m excited. I know, I’m weird…

EDIT (10:30 am): And I am more than happy to share my “creation”, so if you want it, just message me your email, and I’ll send my chart to you.

4. This article (Carla Barnhill) was really helpful for me yesterday. Feel free to read (or skim) it and tell me what you think of it.

5. And finally, I never win raffle-type things. Last night at Twins Club, I won two different things. A little necklace for Erin (a pink bonnet). And another drawing, too. Which means that, for the first time ever, I am going to do a give-away on my site!

See, I won some scrapbook materials. They are really lovely. But I don’t scrapbook. Not at all. I upload my pics to Shutterfly, order 4×6 prints of each one and stick them in albums. It’s what I can accomplish, and it’s enough for me. BUT, that being said, I am now the owner of some lovely scrapbook materials which I won’t use. So…I’m going to give them away to one of you. If you scrapbook (and want some free materials), let me know in a comment. I’ll put all your names in a hat and pick a winner. Should be fun!

Okay, on to my day…happy Friday and happy weekend!