Constant Busy-ness

Do you ever feel as though your days aren't quite long enough?

I have such a noble list of Things To Do, and I genuinely want to do each and every thing on that list (okay, well maybe I'm not dying to call the billing department of my doctor's office to try to fix--for the umpteenth time--a mistake they made which could end up costing us $200! But I want to do everything else.)

I've been doing the Flylady thing with rave reviews from myself and Josh (you really should check it out! http://www.flylady.net/ ), but between that and the other things on my list I feel like my days are jam-packed! Among other things, my To Do List includes:

• Delving Into The World Of Coupons. When Melanie was here, she was very persuasive that "couponing" is the way to go. Melanie is the Queen of Deals! She can walk into a store and check out paying pennies on the dollar, and sometimes getting items free or with overages!! Melanie got Jen started, and I've decided to try it out too. I'm not as gung-ho about it as they are, partly because I'm not completely convinced that it really saves enough money to make it worthwhile or that all the tricks of the trade are completely ethical. I'm looking into it though, and this preliminary stage of doing the research, compiling the coupons, and starting to shop takes LOTS of time. Lots. I'll let you know how it goes and if I decide to keep it going!
• Trying to formulate a workable curriculum for Noah so I can continue to teach him Bible stories, memory verses, and songs as part of our daily routine. We stalled out when all our company came at the end of August, and I haven't gotten back into the groove with this. I had tried the second week we did this to do Adam and Eve, with a new memory verse, but he just wasn't picking it up. I'm rethinking one memory verse per week, and maybe going to shift to one a month....but he really does have a mind like a trap, so I think he should be able to do one a week? And trying to tell the stories so he can get them, and coming up with crafts and baking ideas. It's a lot to think about, and my thinking time is VERY limited.
• Going to do some work at Cellar Circle here and there. There's a lot of dust right now that needs to be swept or vacuumed, and who better to do that than someone like me whose construction skills are nil? I can at least clean up a jobsite! Now when am I supposed to do this? :)
• Marketing some properties to be sold. We have a few on the market needing weekly attention and re-posting of advertisements.
• Making cards. This is still such a fun outlet and ministry tool for me, but finding time to do it is tough.
• Re-organizing my recipes and trying out new ones. Since we live so close to church now, it has become our goal to at least be prepared to have someone over after church for lunch every Sunday. Not that we will always have company, but the goal is to be prepared to have company. This involves making sure the house doesn't look like a tornado hit, and having some decent food hot and ready by noon on Sundays. My crock pot doesn't know what hit it (this last Sunday I made lasagna in it)! Again, though, it takes time to comb through my recipe magazines looking for good Sunday candidates.
• I have several books I'd like to read; some that didn't get completed from my Summer Reading List, and a few new titles I've added. These aren't fiction, but books that would be of serious good to me if I would take the time to read them!
• Photography. I'm still very interested in this, but with all the other things I have going on, it has gotten pushed to the bottom of the list. The Very Bottom.

Add these things to the Dailies that I already do: exercising, devotions, cooking, cleaning, laundry, playing with Noah, grocery shopping, spending time with Josh, and a few church things I help with....

My days are FULL, but happily so! I wouldn't trade my job for any Nine-To-Five you could offer me!