Time Management and a Blogging Adventure

Lately I've been thinking a lot about time management.

As a first year teacher, I frequently feel like I can't breathe or as though I'm doggy paddling in a deep ocean as quickly as I can so that the next wave won't completely drown me.  It's not always that bad, but sometimes it is.  Okay, most of the time it is.  There's just tons to do and more to learn.  It's been a wonderful experience, but that doesn't make it any easier.

I've been thinking about all of the different things I need to make time for in my life:
reading, spending time with Hub, having friends, breathing, writing, working, church, etc.

All of these things are valuable, and I want to do all of them more.  I just always struggle to find the time, and believe me, I am a professional time waster as well as a time finder.  I sort of have a split personality that way.  I am procrastinator, too.  I work really well under pressure because there isn't any more time left to waste, but I don't want to live that way.  Not anymore.

I'm slowly starting to realize that I'll only have time for the things I make time for. So, I'm going to start by making time for writing.

I've heard that it takes 21 days to truly form a habit, so here's the adventure part of this post's title.  You know; the one you forgot about already because of my ramblings.

I'm challenging myself to 21 days of blogging...daily.  As in, one post per day for twenty-one days.  Yes, hold the phone; turn off the television.  I'm going to try for ONE POST PER DAY FOR TWENTY-ONE DAYS.  (oh, brother, why'd I say that...)

I don't know if it'll work, but if it doesn't, I'll try again.  I'll keep on trying until I've made time for the writing that I want to do, the writing that I need to do, because the truth is I don't want to wake up when I'm eighty and wish that I had written more or loved more or appreciated more.  I want to wake up when I'm eighty and feel happy that I took advantage of every opportunity and blessing that came my way and that I tried new things and discovered joy at every turn.

Here's to Day One,

Wildflower Honey, The Finished Product

I would like to take this time to point out that I did participate in the actual painting.  I begged my husband about a million times to take a picture of me painting, but he didn't.  (Don't be surprised at this; I wasn't :). 

 

Once we finished taping, we got started on the first coat, and we let it dry over night.  We tackled the second coat the next day, and when it was good and dry, we put it all back together.  The entire project took us about 3 1/2 hours of actually working.  I didn't include dry time because we got to sit on the couch and watch t.v. or sleep, so it doesn't really count as "project time."  I have to admit, I was pretty impressed; I was afraid it would take us more like 3 1/2 years.

Here are pictures of the finished product!

Now, if only I could do something about those cabinets. . . 

Wildflower Honey

A too-long while ago I told you about how in one weekend Hub and I turned our tiny little home into Project City.  One of our projects was painting our kitchen. The other two were organizing my closet and painting a canvas to hang above our bed, but today is all about the kitchen, so let's get back to that.

When we moved in, our apartment was two colors.  A very light taupe, which had a little too much pink in it until all of our furniture calmed it down, and a bright, glossy white.  The kitchen and bathrooms are white, and taupe runs throughout the rest of the apartment.  

From the moment he laid eyes on the place, Hub knew he wanted to paint. He's an ambitious little devil.  We talked about painting all the time.  What colors would we choose?  Which rooms did we for sure want to paint?  Which rooms would it be better to leave alone?  How much would this endeavor cost?  Could we even paint a room?  These questions and many of the like creeped into our conversations for weeks, months I tell you.  It was getting ridiculous.

I think the good Lord knew I couldn't take all this paint talk without action anymore because one day we randomly went to Home Depot and found the perfect color for our kitchen, Wildflower Honey.  We chose it, bought it, and were on our way home within about thirty minutes. 

When we got home, we tore everything out of the kitchen and started taping.  

These pictures really don't capture how bright and terribly glossy the white walls were, but, let me just tell you, it was not the best choice.

Come back tomorrow to see some in-progress photos and the finished product!