daybook june 12, 2011

Outside my window…
Dark, cool, and birds chattering away. A good morning for a longer walk.

I am thinking…
about cleaning the house top to the bottom after school ends. June 20th can’t come soon enough.

I am thankful for…
tissues. I’ve had a cold about 10 days, including losing my voice. I want to be well again.

I am pondering…
my priorities. I’m going to have to make some difficult decisions soon which recognize my strengths and weaknesses.

Living a green/frugal lifestyle…
Collecting the laundry water at the end of each washing cycle has worked well. I’m able to water all the potted plants every other day using this collected water.

From the kitchen…
I desperately need to do some menu planning. We’ve been so busy we’re coasting along on what I come up with each day. Fortunately, we have only wasted a container of rice so far. I also need to make some snacks and get back into making smoothies on a regular basis.

I am creating…
plans for the summer. We received our oldest son’s schedule for high school next year and his summer reading project. My soon to be second grader has his own summer reading project, packet of worksheets, and a Flat Stanley project.

Our other big project for the summer, besides the vegetable garden, is taking day trips around the area focusing on nature walks and local history.

I am going…
to mass and then to stay home and get ready for the last busy week of the school year, plus 2 parties next weekend.

I am reading…
Agatha Christie’s Murder for Christmas and 3 Other Great Mysteries.

Living A Healthy Lifestyle…
Having a summer cold has affected my desire to eat right plus my walking. My goal this upcoming week is to walk daily, drink lots of water, eat lots of veggies, and do my daily stretching and weight lifting routines.

My healthy project for the summer, besides taking care of my own healthy, is working on my menu plans this summer making sure we get more veggies into our meals and snacks. Deliberate planning is the key to frugal, healthy eating. I also need to develop a list of quick, easy meals for sports seasons during the school year. This list from Mark Bittman, part of his 101 series, had some great ideas.

I am hoping…
for more rain this week and cooler temperatures.

I am hearing…
quiet. The children are still asleep.

Around the house…
Since we have 2 parties next weekend, I’ve been focusing on cleaning the first floor. The toys in the basement need to be cleaned up and sorted, too. The cleaning up will happen this week and the sorting next week.

I never got around to putting up seasonal decorations which will have to wait until next week.

I’m trying out the online program Cozi again. My original impulse was to take advantage of the partnership between the FlyLady and Cozi. My zone cleaning lists have been incredibly helpful in staying on track with cleaning my home, and getting back on track when life gets too busy. Being a visual person that likes to write, I prefer pen and paper. However, I’d love to avoid printing my daily planning pages and keep a big notebook on the calendar. I also have a tendency to tinker with my planning pages. Making a permanent paper planner for even 6 months wouldn’t work for me because inevitably I would change something.

So far, I would say using Cozi is okay. I had to type in my own zone cleaning lists which I’ve tailored over the years for my home. I also miss being able to link a to do list to a particular day. My other complaint is that I can’t see a daily to do list next to my calendar. I haven’t decided if I’ll try the Cozi app for the Droid phone. I may wait until school is done. I also have tried the grocery lists which would only be useful if I had the Cozi app on the phone.

Around the yard…
The mulching has helped the plants survive the temporary drought. I need to finish mulching the vegetable garden, a project that will have to wait until after the end of school.

We’re having some insect issues. The potato beds near our compost pile have been overrun with Colorado potato beetles, plus some are showing up in the potato beds in the main vegetable garden. I’m hoping that several days of insect removal will get the problem under control. I’ve decided that next year the 2 beds near the compost pile will have pole beans.

The vegetable plants in the flower beds are not doing as well as the plants in the main vegetable garden. They did go in a little later, but I think the lack of rain and fewer nutrients in the soil has hampered their growth. I have been adding rings of compost around some of the plants, and I’m making an effort to water the plants more frequently.

One of my favorite things…
my Gap shirt that has strawberries and flowers on it. I wore it to a baby shower yesterday. It reminds me a bit of Carmen Miranda.

A few plans for the rest of the week:
graduation parties, 8th grade graduation, 1st grade class trip to the Academy of Natural Sciences, cooking, cooking, and more cooking, also cleaning, and some gardening.

A picture for thought…