I wrote a while back that I was going to work on coming up with a schedule for myself so that I get more accomplished.  This is my latest thought.  Instead of trying to stick to a strict timed schedule, I’m breaking my day into 3 segments and listing things I want to accomplish within those time frames…if I’ve got time leftover, it’s mine to do whatever.  My three time frames are 6:45-10, 10-1, 1-5.  This morning my 1st time frame is short on things to do because I had some blogging to catch up and a pile of emails to attend too. As I finish things today, I’ll cross them off.  I’m being daring here going public with my schedule…now I’ll feel utterly compelled to get everything accomplished.

6:45-10:  make breakfast, make Dave’s lunch, eat breakfast with Dave, help Dave get everything ready for his day, check emails, respond to emails, write blog entries, start load of laundry.

10-1:shower, empty dishwasher, clean up kitchen (including filling dishwasher, washing counter tops, washing stove top, & generally straightening the rest of the room), change cat litter, eat lunch, make list of things needed at Family Dollar, talk to mom.

1-5: clear off dining room table, generally straighten dining room, sweep & mop floor in dining room, straighten living room, start dinner, go to Family Dollar, write cards sympathy cards regarding Grandma’s passing, change bedding & make the bed, go to bank, do another load of laundry.

So it isn’t a hectic day or anything, just need to tend to some basic household stuff.  Let’s see how I do getting everything accomplished!!

UPDATE:  Okay, it’s 3:42 and the plan changed some.  Thank God Dave isn’t a task master…cuz I got sidetracked.  It was soooooooooo nice outside that I decided to do some cleaning outside instead of inside.  I actually wanted to work outside and for those of you that know me well you know that I HATE doing outside work like yard stuff.

AND I have a weight update.  I lost another pound!  That’s 16 pounds now!  WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!  My desire is to be down 25 pounds by Thanksgiving.  I might actually have to work at it though so we’ll see how that goes.

I am having a splendid day at home today.

My kitchen is spic & span from top to bottom.  Floor is drying right now, counters are empty, dishwasher is empty, sink is empty, pantry is clean and everything that didn’t belong in there is out.  I was suffocating in there.  There was stuff that belonged in every room in the house sitting in the kitchen for some strange reason.  Mind you, it hasn’t been that long since I did a complete top to bottom scrubbing of the kitchen either.

Dave and I really have a common problem…we don’t put stuff away right away.   And you know that adage about how everything should have a place.  Yeah, right.  Everything in our house seems to just decide to occupy the space in which it was set down.  We have so much stuff that doesn’t have it’s own spot to live.  I keep telling myself I’m going to buy a label maker and put labels all over the house with an attached Polaroid showing what belongs where and how it looks when the item is there.

Not being consistant putting things away isn’t the message though.  The fact that I had a nice day staying-at-home and taking care of my home was the point.  It was quiet, I was relaxed, I was able to do a nice job, and I’m happy with the results.  I get to stay-at-home tomorrow too!  YEAH!

Okay, I have to admit a few character flaws.  I am rampantly undisciplined and yet a perfectionist.  How on earth I cultivated those two characteristics at the same time is beyond me.  I am so much an all or nothing person.  Either I make a detailed list everyday and feel utter worthless if I don’t accomplish every single anal-retentive entry or I make no list and get hardly anything accomplished.

So when I am thinking of making a better schedule for myself, it means listing out everything in 15 minute increments and being totally unrealistic.  I have got to come up with a happy medium.  Some months back, Dave’s solution for me was to just make a list of things that needed to be accomplished daily, it didn’t matter when.  Somehow that didn’t work for me, it was far too lenient.  When I am facing a  deadline, I’m ruthlessly disciplined.   But give me the mundane tasks with no deadline and I’m horrible.

This afternoon while sitting at the Farmer’s Market I made two schedules entitling them Option A and Option B.    Option A, I admitted right at the top that it was my ambitious schedule, the one that lists everything in 15 minute increments and is super anal.  Option B, is probably more realistic, but it feels, how should I say this, ah, not living up to the perfectionist in me.

So I had a thought.  Instead of 15 minute increments, maybe I should divide my day into 3 sections like maybe morning routine, mid-day routine and afternoon routine.  Maybe that will take Dave’s original idea of just making a list to finish everyday and my need to be a little more deadline oriented in order to avoid the terrible undisciplined part of my character.  My need for oversight is kind of desperate.  If I don’t have accountability FORGET IT!  Dave isn’t a task master.  He’s not going to want to check a paper daily to make sure I’ve done all my tasks.  So I have to find the incentive within myself, argh!!  That’s the hard part.

As I have more thoughts on fixing this little dilemma, I will post again.

My hubbie LOVES pork chops with Shake n’ Bake for a coating. The stuff is a bit pricey so I decided to see if I could make something like it from scratch. Last night’s attempt got approval from Dave.

A while back I bought got a Buy 1, Get 2 Free deal on whole wheat loaves of bread. We can’t come close to eating three loaves of bread before they go bad so I turned two loaves into bread crumbs and put them in a bag in the freezer.

To make the “from scratch Shake n’ Bake”, I used about a cup of the bread crumbs seasoned them with a seasoned salt mix from the grocery store. First, I dredged each chop in a beaten egg then took them through the bread crumb mix and baked on 350 for 35 minutes. They turned out pretty yummy and probably a bit more healthy than the store bought stuff. (hopefully)