Goals

I've had a break from school this week and it's going by WAY TOO FAST! I had a long list of goals I wanted to accomplish, and I've barely chipped the surface. I wanted to:


-Read , the sequal to . (CHECK). This particular goal was a breeze to accomplish. I came home from school on Friday, cleaned the house, and started reading. In spite of only sleeping from 3:45-6:15 the night before, the book filled me with energy! It was so heavenly to be able to read a book I chose myself! I finished it the next day.

Next goal: Clear out the weeds from the backyard (again). (CHECK).

We accomplished this one last Saturday. In the process I came to a very important conclusion: We really need to get some grass back there. I am sick and tired of all of these weeds!





Next Goal: Finish my stinkin applesauce. (1/2 CHECKED).

I swore yesterday that I will never can applesauce again. Joseph so kindly reminded me that I've made the same pledge every year. He's right, of course. Making the pledge somehow helps to ease the pain, I think.

1st, we picked the apples. I was still optimistic at this point:



Then yesterday, I cleaned the apples, quartered the apples, cooked the apples, ran the apples through the strainer, poured an incredibly tiny amount of applesauce into a surprisingly few amount of jars, processed the applesauce... and tried really hard to hold back the tears when I saw that 3 1/2 hours of hard work had only yeilded 11 jars. Boo-hoo, waaaah. I should add that I did all of this with WAY too many helping hands, 4 to be exact. They belong to a 2 year old and a 4 year old who kept pouring pitchers full of water down the cabinets and onto the floor, climbing all over the sticky counter, and taste-testing the applesauce with their fingers. RAAAR! After a while, I invited them to watch a movie and breathed a sigh of relief.










At this very moment 2 more boxes are awaiting me on my counter. That is precisely why I am blogging right now--to escape. But I know I can't avoid the task forever. Maybe I could give the apples away or something. Any takers?

Next Goal: Paint my stinkin' chairs. (HAVEN'T TOUCHED).

This is a really long and painful story. So, a year and a half ago, we invited my stylin' friend and her family over for dinner. (Krista, remember when you came over way back when?) Times like this help you to realize how junky the furniture truly looks. Two days before they came, I decided that I would refinish our table and chairs to improve our look. I spent hours and hours stripping them. And then I had had enough of the project. I realized it wasn't really my thing. We ate on a card table and folding chairs instead. Every 6-8 months since then, I've put in a token effort of 2-3 hours. They are still taking up 1/2 of the garage, which means Swen has to park his car on the driveway. LAME! I know. They are now stripped, sanded, taped off, and primed. All I have to do is paint them; but I just can't seem to get myself motivated. Maybe in another 6 months I'll tackle it. :)

Next Goal: Get a head start on upcoming reading assignments and papers. (HAVEN'T CRACKED A BOOK THE WHOLE WEEK-BESIDES THE FUN STUFF, OF COURSE).

Next Goal: Organize my office cupboard. (Totally avoided).

Paper flow is my worst household duty. What do I do with endless insurance information, school projects, coupons, mail? It's not a strength. A few weeks ago, I gathered all of the random papers from around the house, and packed them neatly (or not so neatly) in a box. Out of sight, out of mind. I know I need to eventually go through it all, but later is always better. :)

So, that about wraps it up. 50% goal accomplishment rate. That earns me an F. It's okay, though; I had such a great week spending relaxed time with my family. I actually even got to watch a movie or two with Swen! It was heavenly. Back to the grindstone on Monday, though. I think I'm sufficiently rested and ready to tackle another 2 months of school.