A Slow Week

I think the highlights of this week were mainly today!
(Aside from the super awesome Gold Class movie experience on Wednesday night!) We had a slow sort of week for the second week of the school holidays, pottering around the house and not getting much done at all. But in brighter news I have re-discovered my knitting mojo and I've been knitting up a storm in order to finish my Noro patchwork top.
This morning I did a knitting class at Threads and More and learned about the fine of art of putting knitting pieces together. I've sewn up 5 out of 14 sections of one side of the top and I've got 2 1/2 sections to finish knitting before I can assemble the second side. The pieces go every which way as they are joined together so it makes an interesting effect. It would take one good knitting night to get the knitting finished but for the sewing and weaving in of loose ends I'll need some time where I can sit at a table. If I don't get much work this week who knows what could happen! So knitting class was a highlight and tomorrow I'm going to a social knitting group where I might be finishing my top or starting a face washer (wash cloth) knitted in scrumptious cotton yard in teal and cream. That will be the first highlight of next week.
The other high point was this afternoon's Little Athletics meeting which was my first as Chief Recorder in addition to being Registrar. I was kept very busy all afternoon and we got nearly everything right. I just forgot to write times on one lot of 800m tickets but they'll live. One of the new parents was my assistant and we had a great time chatting in between recording times and registering people. I have met some of the nicest people I know at Little Athletics. The boys did alright at their events but they are still getting into the swing of things for the new season. E did his very first 800m this afternoon and ran 3:58.3 min which puts him at red level which is the second achievement level for his age group. I think he goes well over a long distance and if I were to attempt anything similar I'd need an ambulance to be called!

The Week That Was September 19

When I look at my iCal page for the week it is bristling with appointments and things scheduled but I certainly didn't get to all of it. I did get to the medical appointments but not to the gym or Weight Watchers. I did make a big effort though to get things done here at home so that I can enjoys the two week school holidays with the boys and so that I am on the way to being organised for life as a relief teacher which begins in two weeks.
I've also been enjoying some individual time with Eric as we plowed through Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. I was reading him a chapter a night but he's now finished on his own and I have to finish it myself tonight before we start tomorrow on HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban. We also did some craft together this afternoon. I suppose it isn't the most manly thing to be doing - ripping up floral rice paper and gluing it to a ceramic jug and bowl set but it is good for his fine motor skills!
I'm having sleep issues which are making my mornings extremely difficult but I'll be working on getting a good routine going during the holidays.

The Week That Was

I seem to have done a lot of "tail chasing" this week. My motivation levels are really up and down so I seem to have tackled small parts of many tasks without getting a whole lot done. So I've done part of the washing. I've been to the gym only once and I planned and cooked meals for part of the week. I feel a bit guilty about this because I certainly don't have work to get in the way of me getting things done at home but everyone keeps telling me that it will take time to establish a routine.
On Wednesday I went to a social Knitters group at Threads and More. It seems to be a very social group and I got a lot of knitting done. I also got a lot of knitting done last night while I watcher Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone with Eric (who has read the book!). I went to a Trivia Night at school on Friday night where I sat at the Prep parents table. We didn't do particularly well at the trivia but we certainly had a good time.
The biggest task was probably the Little Athletics Sign-On day yesterday where we signed up 77 athletes which is a bit down on last year's numbers but still promising. I was much less stressed this year as I know the registrar job now and I had spent a lot of time getting prepared. Eric came and helped as a "model" for the uniform and to hand out the extra water bottles and ticket books for families with more than one child. He was very useful to have around so I'm hoping to persuade him to do it all again next week when we are likely to be even busier.
We packed about 100 goodie bags to give out at the sign on yesterday and today I went back for a Little A's working bee where I packed about 100 more. It is good to have all of that "stuff" out of my house after only a week. 300 water bottles take up a LOT of room.
My goals for the coming week involve exercise - there's no reason why I can't go to the gym 6 days a week as it is only a 30 minute session and cooking - I've planned meals, something to bake and a salad that I can make and eat over a few days. I hope to be reporting in with some more progress next week!

The Little Things Add Up

I've got a lot of blogs in my Google Reader - probably more than I should try and keep up with but I sit down and read a bit at a time and I really enjoy keeping up with my fellow bloggers. I have my blog organised into categories -
Cross Stitch blogs - some very talented stitchers I've come across who show off their work and inspire me to keep on stitching
Friend Blogs - people that I've met on-line and known for years and in a couple of cases have met in real life as well
Homemaking blogs - there's a wide variety in this category from organizational to decorating to spiritual and almost everything in between. Some of these I keep reading so I can see what people's kids have been up to because they tell such wonderful stories.
GTD blogs - these are based largely on the theory of Getting Things Done which is based on a book of the same name by David Allen. I could also refere to this category as "personal development blogs"
Teacher Blogs - a wide range of blogs from fellow educators.
One blog that I've come across fairly recently is called Home Sanctuary by Rachel Anne Ridge. She focuses on the little things you can do to make you home better. She's not about long lists of jobs to do or complicated schedules to work out - just the little things one can do to make a difference. Rachel regularly issues challenges to her readers and even allocates points to tasks in case you want to keep a tally. She calls the people who join in her challenges and blog about them Company Girls.
I've had a lot of "little things" done for me in the past few weeks that have made a big difference. People have rung me, written e-mails and in one case a handwritten letter. One of my neighbours has had my boys plays with her boys at her house a couple of times. Our former cleaning ladies offered to do 2 hours for free so that I could get back on track. And many of my colleagues at school have offered to "keep an eye on" the boys. In fact the boys had better not do anything naughty at school because there is a large number of people watching.
So I've decided to be a "Company Girl" as well and join in Rachel Anne's challenges whenever I can. Her last challenge was to make a connection with some by letter, e-mail or phone call. I'm too late for points (but it isn't about the points for me) however I've answered 3 or 4 e-mails from people that were sitting in my in-box and I've starting making plans via e-mail for lunch with a former workmate. The social connections are just what I need at the moment because I am a bit lonely now that I'm not working.
I'm not going to get this whole house organised and every running smoothly in one week or even one month but if I keep doing the little things they will all add up.