Killing Time

I will admit that I can be the queen of procrastination. I don't do a lot of things because I don't "have the time". Its a question of managing the time that I do have. Yesterday I had an unexpected day off due to the little man still being sick. In the span of my average day at work, I did 5 loads of laundry, ironed, rearranged my linen closet, made a very yummy dinner (as well as dinner for tonight), most of all taking care of my little guy. I also took care of some other things that I had been procrastinating on that will make my life sweeter and better in the long run. The Little Man and I had some wonderful conversations about Hot Wheels cars and Indiana Jones. He's such a good kid and I am truly blessed to be his mommy.
Strep throat is not very nice to him. He doesn't get sick very often, but when he does-look out! We are on our third antibiotic (first one had an allergic reaction to, second one didn't really work, third time is the charm) as well as prednisone to soothe his angry tonsils. He had a bit more of an appetite, which is on the positive side-he hasn't had an appetite for "food" (other than popsicles) for the past week-since he started getting sick. But now that he's on the mend...we are hungry!
I put off a lot of things because I dread the task or think that there are more important things...but its so nice to walk into my kitchen and see it relatively neat & tidy. Its nice to not have clutter every where. I even told the Big Man last night that I didn't know what to do after dinner since every thing was done (including making lunches and coffee for today)and I wasn't struggling to get stuff done. I even did my before bed beauty routine (something that has been rather hit or miss for me for a long time). I brush my teeth but the whole neti treatment before bed as well as taking care of my face with the night cream etc. plus putting lotion on me-that gets skipped regularly because I don't have the time. Last night I made the time, and it felt really good. I know that there won't be a huge different immediately, but things will improve over time. I know just like with everything else in life, if I am proactive (in this case taking care of my skin)I will prevent things before they happen. A few years ago, I read in one of the beauty magazines that if you shave your legs every day, you get all the spots that you miss. Since I've been doing that I don't have that itchy stubble either, so life is good that way. One beauty item I have struggled with over the years are my eyebrows. I have not had much luck other than getting them waxed professionally since they are quite unruly, but this is my new beauty project for February.
I tell myself that I don't have the time to do lots of things-but these are things that make my life easier. For example, putting together outfits for the week for me and the little man over the weekend, so I know that we have clean clothes and be able to get out the door relatively stress free. Emptying the dishwasher at night, if I run it after dinner. It takes at the most 5 minutes, and it frees up precious morning time. Running the swifter around the kitchen, foyer and bathrooms just makes the house look tidier. Again, no more than 5 minutes. Packing lunches the night before-making sure we have healthy foods for lunch-again 5 minutes. Doing my yoga daily dozen every morning-it stretches out my body and calms my mind and gets me ready for the day-again 5 minutes that I don't take out of my incredibly busy schedule to get something done.
Next up to add to things-the treadmill and the bowflex/pilates. 15 minutes of each daily and I will be unstoppable. The hardest part is just getting on them and getting going. I can even multitask-listen to music, have the laundry going at the same time and get my body super healthy. I have 15 minutes every day at lunch time to scrap, rather than zone out, and I can get a lot done in those 15 minutes (that's ONE layout a day). I can always be caught up on my scrapping and never have to struggle to play catch up (which then makes me less likely to scrap). I have time at night to stitch or crochet, which is how I like to unwind. I can have my sleepytime tea and do my before bed yoga stretches. Its a nice feeling to know that I truly do have the time.
However, if I don't get going right now, I won't have the time to get out the door to work & school. :)