• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

creative.mother.thinking

explaining my life to strangers

  • About
  • Handgemacht-Podcast
  • Privacy Policy
  • Impressum

Archives for November 2020

Tuesday, November 24: More exhaustion

November 25, 2020 by Susanne Leave a Comment

I tried sleeping a little longer but woke up at 5.30 again. Was too brain-dead to really do anything. Had high hopes of writing between breakfast and lunch but somehow there was no time. Family nerves are high-strung again. I lost an hour to completely unnecessary conflict. The boy is super-tense and stressed because school is really a lot at the moment, husband is just stressed in general and lives in total overwhelm and I don’t sleep enough and don’t write. Those two things are related, of course.

I did have lots of great moments yesterday as well. I sat and crocheted:

IMG 0092

I also ordered the yarn for the next Attic24-CAL. Yes, it is a bit ridiculous to make more acrylic blankets. But they make me very happy at the moment.

I went to the health food store and we had leftover lasagna and red beet salad for lunch:

IMG 1951

I taught, I hung up laundry and taught some more. I ate dinner. I did dishes and talked with the rest of the family and started writing this post.

Since I’m super-exhausted and low on energy I’ll be stepping away from the blog again for a while. Sorry. I’ll try to post pictures on Instagram, I hope that will help.

Filed Under: daily journal

Monday, November 23: Well, sometimes Monday magic is not enough

November 24, 2020 by Susanne 2 Comments

I woke up early after enough sleep and – didn’t get going. I did do yoga and meditated but that was it.

The boy was slow and sluggish, my husband showed up late because he didn’t want to get out of bed, basically we all felt meh.

I did my chores and went running:

IMG 1948

If you can call it running when you stop for a walking break literally every other minute.

IMG 1949

In the second half I gave up and just walked back home all the way.

Since I did get out of the house pretty early because my husband was all stressed out and had so many things on his list for the day I made up for the wasted morning at least in part and wrote for half an hour.

I peeled potatoes, I took a shower, I ate lunch:

IMG 1950

The boy came back from school rather late. First he had an art test and then he met with another student because of his upcoming presentation. About Brexit. So we talked a bit and then I sat and read and ate chocolate and procrastinated about getting ready to teach which is always a fabulous idea.

I taught my students, three online and three in person, had dinner, procrastinated doing the dishes and then surfed the web trying to get going on blogging and writing. I did find some really helpful videos for Chinese pronunciation. Actually, I found it especially instructive to watch Chinese women speak English. It helps me to see how Chinese native speakers shape sounds. I also watched a video of a German woman speaking English and that was instructive as well because it was a perfect example of someone who does a lot of things right but has a pronunciation that’s just – off.

The whole thing is rather fascinating. Bad pronunciation is actually rather off-putting. And surprisingly hard to understand.

And then I procrastinated some more while drinking a beer. I was just that kind of day.

I did put some more words down but that made me late for bed.

So. Today I will walk to the health food store, teach a few students, hopefully write more words and go to bed a little earlier. Wish me luck.

Filed Under: daily journal

Sunday, November 22: Seems like a Sunday slump was inevitable as well

November 23, 2020 by Susanne Leave a Comment

At least I’m pretty well-rested?

I set the alarm for 5.30 but was a bit slow in getting up. Whipped out my phone and spent half an hour on social media. Did yoga and meditated. Moved slow again, had breakfast and managed to not write a single word until 8.30 when my husband came over for breakfast. Why yes, I do have enough time to do all the things I want.

I crocheted a bit, we talked, he had breakfast. The boy had breakfast. I did dishes and the boy helped. I stared some more at screens and social media, I helped with lasagna, I called my mother on the phone, I ate lasagna:

IMG 1946

There was wine with lunch. I did more dishes with the boy’s help. I watched a lot of videos on YouTube. I practiced Chinese for a bit. Watched more YouTube and crocheted.

I planned the week. Of course, this time I’ll get everything done, ahem. I started writing this post, had dinner, watched some TV, wrote a few words and went to bed.

And now we’re almost at the end of November. Today there will be quite a bit of teaching, some running, some crochet, lots of reading and a bit of writing. Isn’t that exciting?

Filed Under: daily journal

Saturday, November 21: Inevitable Saturday slump

November 22, 2020 by Susanne Leave a Comment

I basically started the slump before getting out of bed. (Note to self: no, reading in bed before breakfast is not a good idea these days. You’re welcome.)

I did manage yoga and meditation, so that was good. And ate breakfast before my husband showed up. I like eating alone, it means I can read. My husband thinks we should pretend to be civilized and sociable and pay rapt attention to what we’re eating.

And then I felt like all the energy was drained out of me. You know the feeling when all you want to do is lie down with a blanket over your head or burst into tears. But I prevailed, chose a somewhat easier run than planned and went outside:

IMG 1940

There was more walking than I would have liked but the weather was crisp and sunny and really cold.

IMG 1941

There were lots of people out, many of them running. Before leaving the streets I passed a fire engine, and ambulance and the car of the emergency doctor. It looked like maybe two cars had a crash, it was rather confusing and I didn’t stop to gawk.

Back home my husband was already busy cooking. The boy had lunch with my mother-in-law while we ate chili:

IMG 1942

Yes for comfort food. (I might also point out that all those beers in my lunch photos are alcohol-free. I’m not that German.)

Afterwards I watched another Facebook live, practiced Chinese for a bit and then decided to practice some more by watching a show on Netflix in Mandarin. Unfortunately there were no Chinese subtitles. I thought about watching it with no subtitles at all but was completely sure I wouldn’t understand a word. Okay, apart from ‚Hi‘, ‚eight‘, ‚500‘ and ‚good‘. I’m getting there. Very slowly.

I had a really nice list in my notebook but didn’t even look at it.

Then I started writing this post, ate dinner, watched ‚Enterprise‘, did all the dishes and wrote a few words on the novel.

Today there will be some cleaning (I hope), lasagna for lunch, all the writing, planning out next week and – stuff. Definitely. I will most definitely not sit around all afternoon watching YouTube. Nope.

Filed Under: daily journal

Friday, November 20: Good day despite blowing the to-dos

November 21, 2020 by Susanne Leave a Comment

I woke up at 5.30 but was still so slow that I didn’t get started early enough to write before breakfast. I vastly enjoyed yoga and meditation, though, and am feeling as if I’m slowly getting back into that special meditation head space. Well, for ten seconds at a time.

My husband didn’t want to get up either and the boy looks rather pale and drawn, he had been working on the handout for a presentation all day the day before in between classes and such and only after dinner did he start studying for his chemistry test. He did not get a lot of sleep. And not for the first time this week. I thoroughly disapprove.

The plan was to clean the house but after talking with my husband in the morning and crocheting a bit I spontaneously opened the novel and wrote for half an hour. Then did a few chores, helped my husband peel potatoes and such and wrote some more. Made tsatsiki. Lunch was late but I still had a little time between eating and teaching. Lunch was excellent:

IMG 1938

I taught my first student online, wrapped a few presents, taught the next student in person, put the presents into a package and mailed that. Then two more students, ‚Discovery‘ and ice cream with the boy, then a really huge pile of dishes while the boy was talking about his frustrations with German class in school and then I got ready for bed. And I only went to bed about half an hour too late.

Today there will be the running, the writing and a little cleaning because I can skip cleaning on Friday but I really don’t want to skip it for a whole week. Bonus points for writing lots of words or for cutting out fabric, either would be good at this point.

Filed Under: daily journal

Thursday, November 19: It feels as if I don’t have any time at all

November 20, 2020 by Susanne Leave a Comment

Which isn’t really true, of course. But I’m going to bed too late because I am not content with what I got done that day, then I don’t get enough sleep, have a hard time getting in gear the next morning and move very slowly through the next day while eating too much because I want more energy.

I do get things done like dishes and grocery shopping and teaching but not much else. There’s a lot of that small stuff, though. And the hand-holding for the whole family, myself included.

So, yesterday I got up early enough to do yoga but not early enough to write, went go, go, go all day, got into an after-dinner slump and decided to not write yet again so that I could go to bed at a reasonable time for a change.

Lunch was kale stew (okay, we cook everything separate but traditionally it should be stew because where I grew up it’s always stew). My husband did all the cooking by himself while I was out at the supermarket. And lunch was delicious:

IMG 1936

I bought another book about writing lots of fiction words each day because owning that book will certainly make me write faster. Oh, and my Mandarin Chinese phrasebook arrived. It’s really cute and looks rather useful. And I finally learned why I haven’t been able to find out what ‚yes‘ means in Chinese. Because – there is no word for it at all. They use whatever word was used in the question. Huh.

That also explains why the boy and I thought that ‚yes‘ translated as ‚shì‘ 是. Because that’s what they say most often in ‚Eternal Love‘. ‚Shì‘ means ‚be‘. We were confused because they said other things when they meant ‚yes‘ as well. So now I know. (And I found out how to type Chinese characters! I just hope it will show up on the blog properly as well)

So. Today there will be the cleaning of the house, only a medium amount of teaching, the wasting of time between students (it’s traditional at this point) and the watching of ‚Discovery‘ tonight. And then the weekend.

Filed Under: daily journal

  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to page 3
  • Go to page 4
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to Handgemacht » Podcast

Handgemacht mit iTunes abonnieren

Subscribe to know when Susanne’s next book comes out

* indicates required

Manic Writing & Such

500words-150w

Archives

Categories

  • birthday letter (3)
  • blogging about blogging (21)
  • blogher (1)
  • changing habits (53)
  • crafts (55)
  • creativity (37)
  • daily journal (1,045)
  • family (20)
  • fashion (15)
  • gender (12)
  • green living (8)
  • happiness (5)
  • health (20)
  • hear me sing (7)
  • just post (28)
  • knitting (47)
  • knitting patterns (2)
  • life (212)
  • lists (39)
  • meme (19)
  • mindfulness (1)
  • music (34)
  • NaNoWriMo (12)
  • parenting (39)
  • pictures (33)
  • Podcast (162)
  • procrastination (2)
  • project 365 (14)
  • projects (35)
  • Projekt "Farbe bekennen" (14)
  • reading (9)
  • Rhiannon (5)
  • script frenzy (2)
  • self-help (40)
  • sewing (7)
  • spinning (31)
  • story of the month (13)
  • travel (12)
  • Uncategorized (62)
  • week in review (23)
  • weight loss (8)
  • wordless wednesday (9)
  • writing (24)
  • year of happiness (8)

Subscribe to Handgemacht » Podcast

Handgemacht mit iTunes abonnieren

Subscribe to know when Susanne’s next book comes out

* indicates required

Manic Writing & Such

500words-150w

Archives

Categories

  • birthday letter (3)
  • blogging about blogging (21)
  • blogher (1)
  • changing habits (53)
  • crafts (55)
  • creativity (37)
  • daily journal (1,045)
  • family (20)
  • fashion (15)
  • gender (12)
  • green living (8)
  • happiness (5)
  • health (20)
  • hear me sing (7)
  • just post (28)
  • knitting (47)
  • knitting patterns (2)
  • life (212)
  • lists (39)
  • meme (19)
  • mindfulness (1)
  • music (34)
  • NaNoWriMo (12)
  • parenting (39)
  • pictures (33)
  • Podcast (162)
  • procrastination (2)
  • project 365 (14)
  • projects (35)
  • Projekt "Farbe bekennen" (14)
  • reading (9)
  • Rhiannon (5)
  • script frenzy (2)
  • self-help (40)
  • sewing (7)
  • spinning (31)
  • story of the month (13)
  • travel (12)
  • Uncategorized (62)
  • week in review (23)
  • weight loss (8)
  • wordless wednesday (9)
  • writing (24)
  • year of happiness (8)

Archives

  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
  • November 2008
  • October 2008
  • September 2008
  • August 2008
  • July 2008
  • June 2008
  • May 2008
  • April 2008
  • March 2008
  • February 2008
  • January 2008
  • December 2007
  • November 2007
  • October 2007
  • September 2007
  • August 2007
  • July 2007
  • June 2007
  • May 2007
  • April 2007
  • March 2007
  • February 2007
  • January 2007
  • December 2006
  • November 2006
  • October 2006
  • September 2006
  • August 2006
  • July 2006
  • June 2006
  • May 2006
  • April 2006
  • March 2006
  • February 2006
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

Copyright © 2023 · Author Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in