creative.mother.thinking

Woke up early again, wrote morning pages, meditated and listened to the daily piece of classical music. I had expected to like the Mendelssohn octet more than I did. Maybe I should give it another chance.

My husband got up super-early again so we could make breakfast on the wood stove and then I went out and did a rather sloppy round of snow-shoveling.

Breakfast was had. I read a bit and I crocheted a bit. The boy showed up for breakfast.

When donning shoes and going outside I had found that the nick on my heel from the cupboard falling on me the day before while I was vacuuming chafed when I was wearing shoes and walking. So I decided to not only skip running but also the spinning meeting. I wanted that heel to heal quickly so I can go running again. In my nice new running shoes.

Which meant that I had an unexpected day off. And I enjoyed it very much.

My husband and the boy did some world-class shoveling while I did the dishes and changed the sheets on my bed, and then we had leftover lasagna for lunch:

Laundry, dishes, and I finished watching the book cover design course on Udemy. I was very glad about that. While I did learn some things about doing book covers with GIMP that will come in handy the covers the instructor designed were just, um, not to my taste. At all.

Next up everybody can make fun of me when my delicate taste won’t prevent me making awful covers as well.

My husband had a friend over who brought a bottle of wine so we all tried some. This is one of the exceptions to our January without alcohol.

The boy and I did some strength training (no shoes required so I could do those without hurting my heel) and then settled down to watch the fifth Star Trek movie. I can’t quite decide if this one is the worst or the first one but I thought it would be a good idea to have the boy see it for educational purposes.

Of course I had had planned to do all the writing in the afternoon but then couldn’t be bothered again. Maybe I need a more exciting writing project but then I’m basically at the middle of the middle, as in the middle of the second novel in a trilogy. And everybody knows that the middle is always a slog. Which is a good reason to proceed with speed. Ahem.

I did manage to write a word or two before going to bed on time, though.

Today I have the usual plans, there will be more snow-shoveling, some writing, maybe I’ll draft the yoga pants pattern and I want to do yoga. Also, we’ll be eagerly awaiting the verdict of snow day on Monday or not.

The first time I woke up was 4.38 but I decided that was definitely too early and managed to fall asleep again until the alarm at six. I skipped my morning pages, spent some time on Ravelry and before I could even leave the bed my husband showed up. He had been awake since 4 and decided to start the fire.

Since the boy didn’t have school our whole morning was a little topsy-turvy anyways. Unfortunately, I don’t deal well with topsy-turvy mornings. I didn’t get to meditate at first and my whole morning routine was disrupted. Husband and I were both a little cranky as well.

The boy showed up late-ish and was rather talkative again. Slightly weird but nice. He helped me with the dishes. Then I got started with cleaning and managed to throw my husband off who had just come back from running. Running was no fun with the ongoing snow and slipperiness.

So I starte sulking and locked myself in my studio doing nothing which made me eve crankier while my husband started preparing everything for lasagna.

I ended up cleaning after all (phew), then helped putting the lasagna together. My husband would have preferred to eat earlier but I found the time alright. Lasagna was good:

Did the dishes again, found that my new running shoes had arrived. I think I totally forgot to mention it here but a few days ago my husband and I were talking about running in the winter and I was lamenting the fact that my running shoes let all the water through which makes for somewhat cold toes after a while. He encouraged me to order insulated new shoes. Despite them being quite pricey. They arrived today. I’m rather happy that I ordered them a size bigger than my other pair:

They’re also not waterproof but not all mesh like the others.

Then I started my Friday teaching marathon. And I actually enjoyed it.

After that I helped the boy fry some spaghetti with eggs, we watched some Star Trek while I worked on the Sweet Pea blanket, then I wrote a few words and went to bed.

Today there will be slipping through the snow while pretending to run, a super-early lunch and then I’ll leave for spinning meeting. My husband has a friend over, the boy and I will watch something together and that will probably be it.

Woke up at 5.08 again which was a little too early. Morning pages, and a little writing. My husband showed up when my tea was almost ready, a little disappointed that I had already made breakfast without the wood stove. But breakfast was ready in time.

The boy showed up a little later. After I was finished with breakfast I went and shoveled some snow. For 16 minutes. I only did the sidewalk rather sloppily. I wanted to be back in time to sit with my husband when he had breakfast.

We talked. There were dishes. And I did some laundry. I was actually keeping track of how much time I spent on each. I got myself a new app so I can see where my time goes. Right now the biggest part of my day is housework. I didn’t manage to catch everything, though.Finally, I went to the supermarket. Walking there and back and getting everything we needed. Well, almost. It turned out that I had gotten the completely wrong kind of lasagna. So, after putting all the groceries away I put on my shoes and coat and hat and mittens again and went to two other stores for a different kind of lasagna and a different kind of salad.

My mother-in-law sent me on a quest for a particular kind of khaki but I couldn’t find that kind in any of the stores. The good thing about having to go in the other direction as well was that I could get a bus ticket for Saturday’s spinning meeting.

Then I came back and had put everything away again I helped a little with the salad and setting the table but my husband did all the rest:

The rest of the bolognese sauce will go into lasagna later today. And there will be more salad.

Then the boy had a sudden urge to talk. He got a fabulous grade on a chemistry test and his math teacher had asked him if he had ever thought about taking a class at university after he had asked her something she didn’t know. So we looked into classes for people who are not university students. Though, studying math is a little like studying philosophy, isn’t it, the practical applications aren’t obvious.

Then I talked to the boy about book cover design at length and we compared covers and critiqued them. Poor thing. He wasn’t bored but might have more practical application for math than book cover design. Then he helped me with the dishes.

I made my way over to the annex after applying makeup and changing into a handknitted sweater, did my singing warmup and ten minuted of piano exercises. Well, almost because my first student was five minutes early.

Taught that student, watched the book cover design course while not really paying attention, waited for the boy who forgot about his piano lesson but I think he was out helping his grandmother so that’s alright.

I taught two more students, did strength training with the boy for thirty minutes, changed into pajamas, did more dishes, lounged in bed for an hour and turned out the light.

Today the boy is giddy to start the weekend early. Because of the snow, all schools will be closed. I’m hoping that that won’t confuse my students. There will be lasagna and the next part of the Sweet Pea CAL (can’t wait!) and it will be the start of the „Knitting Seasons“- thing. I will also write like the wind and clean all the things.

So, a lot of things to look forward to. Plus, a bit of snow-shoveling I bet.

In the evening I actually wasn’t quite sure where the day went. I did have a list, though.

Woke up early, wrote morning pages and started reading stuff on the internet. My husband had said he would get up at 6.45 to start the fire but then he didn’t. Which I found a little confusing but then 6.45 is really early for him.

So I made coffee and tea without the wood fire. Husband showed up when I had just eaten my first bite of breakfast and the boy came down shortly after.

Since it was snowing I then went outside to shovel the sidewalk. The snow was so wet that it didn’t fall off the shovel when I turned it so that was fun. Also, I managed to shovel during the time that hordes of children and teenagers walk by our house on their way to school. Good timing.

I did the dishes and finally moved all the plastic recycling to the outside bin. I had been dreading that for, um, weeks now. There was stuff in there from the boy’s birthday, even. Then I finally went for my run. My husband was already back home at this point and told me that it was near impossible to run in the wet snow, I was sinking in over my ankles and every time I pushed forward my feet would keep sliding sideways.

I did manage to run for about 500 meters or so but the rest of the way was a rather bracing walk. My hip was slightly unhappy afterwards.

These are the kind of days where I wish I had snow shoes. Or maybe cross-country skies.

When came home lunch was almost ready but I got to take a shower beforehand. With all hot water, even!

Then lunch:

Didn’t look like much but was really tasty, rice and dal.

Then I did some more dishes, folded a load of laundry, made a bit of music, talked to my mother-in-law, read stuff on the internet and failed to write again.

My first student had canceled but then it was just one after the other until dinnertime.

Then there was some writing and some more reading (I want to read all the books!) and an early bedtime again.

Today I will probably shovel some more snow (mind you, my husband shovels way more than me) walk to the supermarket and teach until late. I am hoping to get some stuff done as well, like writing, the book cover design course and maybe a little work for the music teaching website as well.

The stickies on my improvised Kanban Board keep falling off and so far I haven’t even finished the first task on each bit project. I might be a little behind already…

Woke up around 5.30, wrote morning pages and then started reading. There are so many books I want to read right now, the Urban Fantasy I’m almost through, a novella that came out this morning and „Etiquette & Espionage“ for the read-along and then I’m deeply immersed in some non-fiction as well.

So many interesting things in the world, not quite enough time.

I got up at seven and my husband showed up even before the boy. We had breakfast while my husband was starting the fire. He might get up even earlier starting tomorrow so that we can make water and tea with the heat from the fire instead of electricity. (Of course, I could start the fire but I found that that is just one thing too many in the morning when the boy needs to be at school on time.)

We talked a lot about a conversation I had yesterday and then were a little late again.

I went to one store for toilet paper (they stopped carrying our favorite brand at the supermarket I usually go to) and to the health food store. And then I only helped very little with lunch. Pancakes with spinach and feta:

This time I took a picture before wrapping it because otherwise you only see pancake.

Then I hurried over to the annex for my first student of the day. Or so I thought. I waited for about twenty minutes before I looked into my emails and realized that she wouldn’t be coming. Then I spun a little while watching the book cover design course. I am at a point where you’re just watching the teacher put bad covers together and I couldn’t be bothered to make my own bad covers. I want to watch the videos, though, in case I can learn something from it. You never know.

Then I taught and taught and had a lot of fun.

Then the boy was late for piano practice and strength training. And so exhausted that he just played his piano piece once and then decided not to do strength training. I was okay with that because a) he had had PE at school that day and b) he spent an hour scraping the half-frozen slush from the sidewalk in front of the house. My husband and I both thought that we didn’t need to shovel but my mother-in-law thought otherwise so the boy got the short stick.

I did strength training on my own because I’m a grown-up and don’t need someone to hold me accountable even if I’m tired and hungry and it’s late. Went to bed early-ish.

Today there will be running and teaching and all the usual.

For once I slept until the alarm rang, and then decided to write morning pages instead of the novel. Might have been a mistake because that made me grumpy for most of the morning.

Got up, made breakfast for the boy and me, he was up on time with no problem and got to school alright. He walked because of all the snow and slush.

My husband showed up around eight when I had thought he’d be up an hour earlier. After his breakfast we both got ready to go running but I wrote for fifteen minutes first. Result: instant mode boost, duh.

Went running and realize that it was more slipping and sliding and sinking into slush. My feet were wet five minutes after leaving the house (maybe I should get different running shoes for winter after all) and even my husband walked most of the way because running was just not feasible.

It was great, though. There were almost no people out, I met three cross-country skiers and two people with dogs but that was it.

I’m still amazed how wading through slush while cold can make me happy but apparently it does. Which is one of the reasons I continue doing it.

When I came back home my mother-in-law asked me to get something from the pharmacy for me. No problem but when I came back my toes felt like icicles.

I helped a little with lunch which was really great:

Then I did the dishes right away, found that we’re all out of chocolate put on makeup and grown-up clothes and went over to the annex.

I did my singing warm-up and piano exercises, hung up a load of laundry, watched a TED talk while spinning and then my first student showed up ten minutes early. I taught, started writing this blog post, decided to have something for dinner after all because I was starving, did more dishes, started reading „Etiquette & Espionage“ by Gail Carriger for the read-along and turned the light out early.

Today there will be errands and the health food store and lots and lots of students. Not that much more, I guess. I have a break in between that I’d love to use for watching the book cover design course a bit more. But it’s pretty easy to squander away little breaks like that. I have thought about keeping a list of quick things I can do when I have a few minutes in between but the problem mostly is that I just sit down at the computer, check email, twitter and instagram and then my break is gone.

And as you all know, it’s not really about time management, the me-management is more of a problem but I am rather excited about a few new things that I learned that will make all the difference. Of course they will.