Monday 14 May 2012

How Do You Find The Time To . . . .

A Meme about time and not having enough of it!



   
Have you ever wondered how other people organise their day? How they manage to get it all done? Well The Fabulous Moms Guide  tagged me in this meme that asked the question ‘How and when do you find the time to…’ It was originally started by Ms Dolly Daydream of Sex, drugs, rocker and stroller, baby fame and is a sneak peek into the lives of other people and how they manage their days. Thank you for tagging me. I enjoyed reading yours and hope you like mine.
As with all memes (subjects that a group of bloggers write about) there are a few rules:

Rules:


- Please post the rules.
- When answering the questions, please give as much detail as possible!
Leave a comment on Sex, drugs, rocker and stroller, baby so we can keep track of the meme and I can totally steal your routine tips to make my world a happier place.
- Tag 3 or more people and link to them on your blog.
Here goes. . . .
How and when do you find the time to…
….do your laundry?
Doing the washing is a pain with this wet weather as I do not own a tumble dryer nor want to own one. Generally I do the washing on Friday, Saturday and Sunday as by Friday the laundry basket is over flowing and bursting at the seams especially as the teenage son wears something once. I try to do a load Thurs night so I have time to hang it out before trundling off to work Friday morning. If the weather is rubbish and I can’t hang my washing out then I try to wash it on days that look like the sun is going to shine. So it’s a bit of a gamble and when it does rain, there are a few tantrums thrown in. On top of that, I have to find time to wash the cooking club aprons and wash all the Teen’s Hollister gear separately as it needs a cold wash! The ironing is piling up as I hate doing it and if I can hang it straight in the wardrobe, then I do. The pile of ironing is mainly Hubby’s white work shirts which are a pain and the sooner he leaves that place the better. However, I have to get up earlier than needed to make sure son is up for paper round so I choose to iron one or 2 shirts. This keeps Hubby happy, the pile not so frightening and a difficult task fairly bearable. 
 . . . . .write a blog post      
There is always time for a blog post! Or so I thought. I only started blogging in Feb and was whizzing them out weekly as well as writing flash fiction pieces. I thought as long as I have something to say which has never been a problem, I will always have something to blog about. And then one day, I lost the motivation, the creativity, the knowhow, the confidence and I guess my mojo. I tweeted I’d lost my mojo and received some lovely responses which did the trick . . . . for about a day. I then had some cakes to make which were very time consuming and a teen’s birthday to celebrate and then I came down with a cold. I had no get up and go . . . it had long gone. But then something wonderful happened. . . .the sun came out this weekend and I was smiling! I was energised and wanted to write. So here we are. I’ve never let the weather bother me as it seems futile to let it drag you down when you can’t control it but obviously it was making me rather blah. Anyway, back to the point. I generally blog/write when Hubby and son are watching American Sci Fi rubbish or when I have an idea and just need to get it down. I’m always with laptop in evening once everything is done so there is no excuse to blog/write away to my hearts content :-))..
 ….look after yourself…i.e. wash your hair, paint your nails, take a bubble bath etc.?
I don’t. This will be the shortest entry of this blog! I am not a girly girl so I am pretty minimalist in this department.  I don’t own a hair dryer. I don’t wear makeup unless going out for the evening. I wash my hair either in the morning when I shower or evening after a sweaty Zumba class. I let it dry naturally. I do my own waxing so to save money but it also saves time now I’ve got the knack. I am now in the habit of one swim a week, one Zumba a week and a visit to the gym 2 to 3 times a week. That is my down time, my me time. I get so many things sorted in my head whilst running nowhere on the treadmill. I haven't had a bath for a gazillion years as much prefer the shower which is used daily. In fact when we renovate our bathroom , we're getting rid of the bath completely. I do enjoy my Heat magazine and Esssentials magazine but they are bought occassionally now. I love to read books and need to do this at night before sleep so to switch off and relax.  
….spend time with your other half?
This one is tricky too and at times I need reminding that Hubby is there as I can get carried away with everything else. But Hubby does work very long hours and spends 4 hours a day commuting as well as shifts so sometimes we are ships that do pass in the night.  Sometimes we don’t see each other for a week as he leaves for work before I get home and vise versa. It’s not ideal and it’s not good. So when he is off, we tend to go for walks over Ashdown forest, the beach or mooch, around Lewes. We always talk to each other on the phone (very rarely text) as talking is so important. I hate being a rat bag because I am too tired but work does get in the way.
….do fun stuff with your LO?
I assume LO is loved ones? Well I have one child who is now 14 so he is pretty much always out with friends or on his Xbox in his room. Occasionally we’ll go out as a family but they are getting rarer as son likes his time doing what he wants and we like adult time; going to the pub for lunch etc. However we always sit to eat dinner together when hubby is off.  Hubby and son have a cinema night which is cute and that leaves me at home with the cat and the laptop and the TV remote. Woo hoo! Occassionally son and I will catch up with a DVD which is cute but don't tell him I said that.
  ….socialise with friends?
‘Words with friends’ on Facebook is a tad addictive and I seem to be on there with my friends quite a bit. During half term we meet round each other houses for lunch, each bringing something for the lunch. Once a month we all attend the pub quiz for a humorous evening. I am lucky that I do work with my friends so see them on  a daily basis. Those I don’t work with are more tricky! I recently met up with a friend a few weeks ago and we both realised we hadn’t seen each other for about 6 years! Shocking! But it seemed only like yesterday which is the mark of true friendship. And we won't leave it that long next time!
 ….prepare an evening meal juggling a baby/toddler bedtime routine?
N/A (no toddler anymore) and I am the Undomesticated Devil so evening meal is not set in stone unless Hubby cooking. If I do cook, it’s pasta which is 20 minutes or a one pot casserole all in the oven and it’s done. I am not a bad cook, I just don’t like doing it most of the time. I am lucky I have a Hubby who enjoys cooking and can cook!
….deep clean your house? ….do the food shopping?
I’ve put these 2 together otherwise it would be embarrassingly short! I’m rubbish at cleaning. I hate it. However, I am a bit evil in that my Hubby is a bit OCD when it comes to cleanliness and I do take advantage of that. I’ll do the hoovering and blitz the kitchen and that’s as deep as it goes  . . . . for me anyway. Hubby does it most of the time.  Anyway, when I’ve hovered and then he comes along and does it like an hour later, then what’s the point? As for the shopping. Hubby does it when he’s off in the week as there are less people around, he has the car and I take too long. Apparently my brain implodes in the cereal aisle let alone trying to manage all the other aisles. Hubby gets it done in half the time if I don’t go and spends a lot less!!
 ….bulk ironing
Oops, have answered that earlier.
Well that’s it. A little peek into my world . . . some of you may want to hire my Hubby; rates negotiable. I am not too bad but there is room for improvement but I do work in a very demanding job and my Hubby does the cleaning so much better than I ever could ;-). It's funny, but my hubby has been requesting I salute him, award him with all that he does so I guess this blog goes someway to doing that so I dedicate this blog to him. xxxx
Now I tag 3 others in this rather tricky but fun meme . . . .

And don't worry about having to complete now; it is a time management meme after all and it's taken me 4 weeks ;-) xxxx,








3 comments:

  1. Very good and hubby should feel honoured that he has a blog dedicated to him!!! I love the cleaning mention. The same thing happens in this house but I am the one who recleans what everyone else already did. They also say, 'what's the point? It is hard to find time to do everything. My sundays are taken up with the cleaning, ironing etc. The washing is done daily as there are 5 of us so it needs to be done like that. But that's life. Going by way too quickly. Well done chickadee, I go to bed soon after reading your second blog and realise that I woke up this morning to your first one today. xxxxx

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    1. Don't get too used to your early morning blog reads and bed time blog reads. I don't usually write them this close together but this one has been waiting for sometime. And Ralph has wanted a dedication too. Glad you enjoyed it and I too am one of those peeps who mutter 'what's the point' . . . . xxx

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  2. I perked up when you mentioned Lewes...I'm from Brighton originally, so remember Lewes. Is the open air swimming pool still going in the summer? Hubby used to deliver there when he had a delivery job (and I used to accompany him when I was heavily pregnant many years ago!).
    I think these days we're all becoming less domestic! I only iron if I really, really have to...we invested in a couple of 'non-iron' white shirts from M&S, (I say invested as they are expensive!) but once through the washing machine and dryer and they're good to go, I do like my dryer and with three kids I rather need it, living in Wales now, it's a bit wet to rely on a washing line!
    I get side-tracked from cleaning...by anything!

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