Accountability Thread 3/8-3/14

[Critterfixer]

Morning. Yeah, it's early. Had another night where I woke up at two and was just wide awake. The moon seemed so bright through the window. Might be time to think about curtains again.

This week is going to be somewhat relaxed I think. I don't have any deadlines whatsoever at the moment. My literary agent and I decided to part ways over vision differences, which is fine, but does leave me wondering what's next for me in my writing career. So I figured it's probably a good time for me to finish a few things I want to do, and perhaps get around to some spring cleaning and seed starting tasks for spring. 

The garden is almost halfway done with the mulching. The boys have worked hard preparing the place for pumpkins and squash this summer. I have a feeling that most of the summer school schedule is going to revolve around watering, checking for bugs, pollination, more watering, more checking for bugs...

Today's tasks for me:

House-kitchen, grocery list, cat boxes, laundry, dishes, spring work schedule

School-school schedule (We will probably take off Tuesday to go to the lake--weather is supposed to be good)

Cooking-haven't decided yet. Possibly grill something.

Writing-finish the draft I was supposed to finish yesterday before I got broadsided, and then plan out what I'd like to work on next, personal reading, reading the novel I want to revise in April for Camp NaNoWriMo, possibly some sketching and painting.

[serendipitous journey]

@Critterfixer:  I thought the moon was bright last night, too.  Also: hugs & an electronic cuppa as you move forward in your writing.  I hope spring cleaning + seed starting helps give your mind the space it needs to mull productively. 

This week: continue to recover from our recent year (this is for me mostly) and focus on upping piano engagement: the theory work doesn't make sense to the boys, it is time for me to get in there and start working & studying alongside them.  I have some useful leads on resources to better explain the whys, wherefores, and historical context of the theory, so this week I should pick up the theory book that came in to the local bookstore & follow up on my e-mail introduction to a music historian. 

We'll focus strongly on skill work & content reading: writing (writing programs, grammar & spelling/word study), math, languages, logic for elder, and reading across the curriculum: if we hit all of that at some point this week, and complete a week's work in the writing programs, then we will be doing well at progressing toward a full schedule.   ETA: incorporate reading/memory from MP's 3A program for younger, and update memory work.

Exercise: for me daily + the boys' DareBee & RCAF.  I did better at exercising last week & am sleeping better again. 

And housework: I'm making real progress!!!  which is so nice, it will feel wonderful to have things sorted and more-or-less steady state.  The backlog of old papers & homeschooling notes is taking longest to sort out; there is a lot of dross + a few treasures so I need to sort carefully and re-research stuff as I go.  This week the focus is on our main areas + bathrooms & getting elder son's room dustable. 

Today: piano, dabble in languages, hit math, do some reading, exercise all around, housework, I think chicken soup for dinner. 

Edited March 9, 2020 by serendipitous journey

[Critterfixer]

Morning. The time change is kicking my tail section.

Today's goals: Don't lose my temper.

House: laundry, dishes, cat boxes, bedrooms, bathrooms

School: usual (boys started, and they are in better moods than me)

Cooking: stew, maybe a cake. Right now I'm baking dirt for pumpkins. I need to sterilize the potting soil to help prevent rot.

Writing: personal reading, journal, schedule the rest of March for character work and preparation for editing. I also have a cover or two to sketch and one to start painting. I need to finish painting my bookmarks. 

[serendipitous journey]

Afternoon!  It would have been morning two days ago ...

Time change kicking my tushie, too, + migraine wafting in & out of my head.  More in than out.   All this, plus game tonight & DH working from home this afternoon, adds up to a less-productive day than I'd envisioned. 

Piano; writing; math & languages for boys; exercise, AM and PM -- at least a bit of everything.  We knocked out some science reading, hurrah.  Non-school includes: housework, make pizza + salad for dinner in time for us to get out the door to game night.  Migraine treatment interspersed: that is short bouts of aerobic exercise followed by some hard math, it has helped in the past.   ETA: spend some time working on younger's Anki. 

Focus for today: migraine treatment, clean house to help me sane & well-ish, and engage our school.  Plus be a delightful person.  Ha!!!!!   it is a goal, I suppose ....

Edited March 9, 2020 by serendipitous journey

[Critterfixer]

Morning. Not much going on today, hopefully.

Today's tasks:

House: laundry, cat boxes, dishes, bake dirt

School: the usual, then river time

Cooking: baked potato night

Writing: personal reading this morning, then character work, and more reading of my work. I'm preparing to set a schedule for revisions to the novel I want to query, but I need to look at the whole thing one more time, and I'm waiting on a few books that I want to read to go along with it. Painting after writers' meeting tonight, probably.

 

[serendipitous journey]

Morning!  and: thank heaven (and Critterfixer) for this accountability thread.  🙂 

Yesterday went well, all in all, and I'm headache-free this AM-- yay! -- and am starting to come out of burnout/depression -- yay again!   This is the bit where I often overplan, over-commit, and just burn out again.  Since I'm trying to break the cycle, today we will NOT be adding art back in, tempted though I am. 

First: stuff that we didn't get to yesterday.  We're starting school progressively earlier this week so that by Friday we are back to 9:00 AM which is where we were last week.  We'll open with exercise, piano theory, and reading.  15" or so break for boys while I clean, then snack + languages.  The rest of school we can schedule as suits: math, preferably before lunch but could be after, and writing/English. 

For me: today's cooking includes making chicken broth & making dinner: maybe the pizza I didn't get to last night.  I need to exercise, and spend at least 5" working on Anki decks for the boys.

Housecleaning: bathrooms are the focus, and rounds through paperwork/kitchen/food storage/ living area/ school storage as I can, and a round of outside chores. 

Edited March 10, 2020 by serendipitous journey

[Critterfixer]

Morning! It's storming on and off today, and the internet is out more than it's on. But the birds are singing for the moment, and so it's on.

Today's goals: 

House: Clean the kitchen, laundry, dishes, cat boxes

Cooking: Beef stew, biscuits

School: boys doing school, but one is slow and he's off to check his dam on part of the creek after the rain.

Writing: Personal reading, character work, researching small publishers and agents this evening, working on a Beta read for a friend. I'll also be reading the rest of my novel for April revisions, and planning revisions for another at the same time. Staying busy helps.

[serendipitous journey]

Afternoon! 

Migraine again; clearly I need to stay on prevention for a few days, today is treatment. 

School: math, piano, literature, languages, writing/English, exercise all around.

House: rounds of chores, paperwork, garden, have boys work on their rooms + desks.  Would love to catch up on some e-mail + online stuff. 

Dinner: date night!  Lunch is leftovers of last nights soup & rolls. 

Gaming (since this is our major hobby): engage the RPG somehow, set aside a time in the next week or two for the tabletop "escape room" a friend gifted us. 

[Critterfixer]

Morning! Migraines are the worst. I've had a bit of a sinus headache on and off since Sunday. Lots of pollen and weather coming through.

Today's goals: 

Housekeeping: laundry, dishes, cat boxes

School: art (but probably the last art lesson we have in town for a while)

Cooking: pizza

Writing: art today, and I have a book cover to plan and sketch. After that, probably reading, and set a schedule for the other book I want to start revising on the 15th and finish by April 15th. I also need to see if I can get hold of the group leader and discuss suspending our writing group meetings in favor of something else. I don't know what yet. I'll talk with the more tech-savvy writers and see what we want to do.

[serendipitous journey]

@Critterfixer: is the virus shutting down your art class?  and: hoping your sinus headache improves & that the pollen settles out of the air soon.  

Today: no migraine, so prevention.  School should focus on piano.  Then, for everyone, some Greek; some writing; some math; Latin class for elder DS, Latin lesson for younger. 

House: catch up on some cleaning rounds, esp. bathroom & boys' areas. 

Other: we're playing hooky this PM and visiting friends.  !!!!  Elder really wanted to see them this week, and we're still in recovery mode.  Plus, I need to be sure to spend time building up friendships and relationships.  Both the girls we're visiting and their parents are really lovely people and we're fortunate to have them in our lives -- the dad homeschools right now & is part of our gaming group, and one of the girls is starting to sit in on our games too. 

Dinner: pizza, no joke!  I have the dough made.  I'm hoping white pizza for DH & I & elder (who is mostly eating a special diet but is having more and more of the usual food, esp. if it is easy on the tummy), standard red sauce + mozzarella for younger.  Plus some sort of salad. 

ETA: thinking ahead to tomorrow.  I'd like to get up early and do a micro exercise (yoga, bit of ballet, bit of step, maybe bit of strength): if I can start getting up early and exercising, then the world would open up.  Dinner will be breaded pork chops; school, hit piano, math, languages, writing, and some reading.  We have piano lesson, I need to talk to their teacher about changing something in the lessons/practice to be less stressful.  Yoga before DH comes home, chores & garden, and plan to include this stuff from an earlier accountability thread in our next week's work -- I think it got derailed when I got sick one weekend. 

Edited March 13, 2020 by serendipitous journey

[Critterfixer]

Yep, the virus is shutting down the art class. It's just too dangerous as we have older individuals and one with a relative with immune compromise. Because we meet in town in a high-traffic place, it's just safer not to meet. We'll paint at home and share our work via email. Not quite the same, but safer.

[Critterfixer]

Afternoon. I'm having a hard time getting going this morning.

Today's tasks:

House: laundry, dishes, cat boxes

Cooking: none

School: usual

Writing: Beta read for a friend, personal reading, reading my own work prior to revisions in April, plan reading for another novel and start working on revision schedule for it next week through April 15th. So, busy.

[serendipitous journey]

Afternoon.  We were struggling this AM, too; hope your afternoon + evening are pleasant, Critterfixer. 

We hit the basics today, more or less: languages, piano, math, writing; though elder DS didn't get to Greek.  Piano lesson went well, hallelujah, piano has been SO stressful.  Starting next week lessons will be distance-learning format for a bit. 

AND: I actually got my micro-exercise done this AM.  !!!   Just need to keep engaging the process. 

This afternoon & evening: clean, prep dinner, exercise for boys, yoga for me, review the week's work and plan next week's, extra credit for role-playing work.  Boys really need to work on their desks and in their rooms for a few minutes + get their laundry away.  I need to catch up with DH. 

[Critterfixer]

Morning. Work today, which means I'm up early. I'm fighting either a bout of seasonal allergies or a mild cold at the moment. No fever, but I'm hoping I can keep the cough down to a minimum today, and then come home and rest. I didn't sleep much last night.