an excellent goal for these times when my energy is low and every day is a struggle.
It served me well for a long time, but right now I’m getting TONS of things done every day! _{It’s fall, baby, and I am uber-productive!}

Interestingly, right now my to-do lists are getting longer, because I’m allowing myself to write down all those little (and BIG) things that I kept in my head but didn’t dare write down before.

I might return to this when the winter solistice runs over me like a herd of stampeding elephants.

For now, it’s DONE! (and definitely worth it!) 3 years ago

On Saturday I played cleaning lady at work:

Our regular cleaning lady showed up only once during the last month:
On Thursdays she would call and make excuses, like she has to get her papers straightened out, or she has an allergy and can’t work.
Then, this Thursday we found a note under the door: I’m moving to Australia and won’t be coming back
Anyway, we were stuck with an extremely filthy shop, since no one from the personnel seemed to give a damn about the situation.

I decided to take the matter into my own hands, and I showed up with my rubebr gloves and my latex gloves on Saturday morning.
I vacuumed, and dusted, and washed the floors, and I even got some half-hearted help.

I’m not finished: I’ve done the ground floor and 1st floor, and I still have the 2nd floor to go for next Tuesday.
But doing this has given me peace of mind. 3 years ago

• Went shopping with my dd (at Marks and Spencer). She bought some clothes, mainly jeans she’s desperately needed since May.
• Also, we cleaned the house together. This was the first thorough house clean in 2 weeks, so there was a lot to be done. dd was really sloppy with her work, and I tried to guid eher without being overly critical. Thankfully we managed to get by without too much bitching. 3 years ago

Wednesday:

• I finally went to the library. (They’re closing on the 31st for the summer, so it was a close call.)
  I picked 3 books (my 4th card seems to be lost – I’m sure it’s buried under a heap of papers somewhere in the home office).
• I found a gift I had bought for my nephew for Easter and had totally forgotten about. To get it out of the way, I took it to my mom: she’ll see my sis on Thurs and can give it to her asap. 3 years ago

Saturday-Tuesday:

• bought a new supplement. Originally was interested in a source of omega-3s like some good-quality cod liver oil, but the pharmacist suggested sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) that has the added property of protecting against radiation, which sounds good for the summer.
• shopped around and bought a set of 6 large water glasses _{will look further at M&S}
• went to the local fair with my mom, little sister, niece, and daughter. _{It was a girls’ night out of sorts, and I went for my mom’s sake, but I’m VERY glad I did it! Could this be the beginning of a new family tradition?}
• made summer vacation plans and hubby booked the hotel rooms _{I’m terribly reluctant to go away this summer; I’m not sure I’ll be able to rest physically or find peace of mind}
• FINALLY got my daughter to finish a chore I delegated to her _{she vacuumed the whole house}
• talked to shop owners and professionals in the neighborhood, and inquired about their vacation plans; stocked up on beef from butcher, and have a clear picture of what needs to be completed by when
• repaired pressure cooker lid _{it must have been about a year since the last time it worked properly}3 years ago

Friday:

I used up all my aubergines by preparing a time-consuming favorite dish.
I have no idea what it’s called, so I’ll tentatively call them eggplant fritters.
I’ll fry one batch and bake another. 3 years ago

Thursday:

My daughter came back home late at night .
Which meant that during the day I had to finish her room, arrange all clothes into the closets, and take some stuff down to the basement.
I also got rid of a bag of holey, torn and unusable clothes and shoes – the kind that even the poor wouldn’t want.

Oh – and another thing! I helped my mom end her procrastination by driving her to a shop and helping her choose tiles for a bathroom remodelling. 3 years ago

Wednesday:

Another day of crippling migraine and other aches and pains.
It was late at night and I still hadn’t really finished anything, so I thought of the email about translation classes, and I sent it out.
It took me 10 minutes to compose, and I decided to write it in Greek not English because my brain was mash, but it’s out of the way! 3 years ago

Tuesday:

I’ve been so tired and frustrated lately, the only thing I could finish was to temporarily “give up” on more than half my goals.
What’s left reflects the very few things I can focus on right now.
It has granted me peace of mind – sort of. 3 years ago

Monday:

Although this was a day where my energy was VERY low, I:

- went to the supermarket
- visited my mom and
- ironed for 1 hour.

These were all things I had been putting off for almost a week.
It felt good to be active again! 3 years ago

Sunday:

I FINALLY made the first application of self-tanner.
Had to overcome a lot of silly fears: That it would be streaky, uneven, that I’d overdo it. All these things will probably turn out to be true.
But I’ve combatted many years of indecision, so it was definitely worth it! 3 years ago

I need to do this again! 3 years ago

Wednesday:

Hubby and I went to see a marble carver for our fireplace.
After countless hours of internet searching and a few unfortunate appointments with technicians and “experts”, we are both absolutely confident that this is the man who will do the job for us.
He’s both an artist and an experienced technician with practical knowledge.
It’s great to be able to trust someone!!! 3 years ago

Monday:
On Monday I went to see David Byrne!!!!!
I had no ticket and didn’t think I’d find one, and I left home half an hour before the show was supposed to begin, but it was DEFINITELY my lucky day!

I ended up sitting at the center of the theater, in the 12th row (someone’s friend didn’t show up at the last minute).

Sometimes it pays to leave things to chance… 3 years ago

Sunday:
Took complete inventory of the contents of the freezer and pantry.
I threw out what was past its shelf life or was of dubious origin, took out what needs to be consumed asap, and neatly arranged the rest.
I posted all the contents, and I’ve already begun using it up.

I wish I was more enthusiastic about it, though!
I guess that’s not a fun way to spend one’s Sunday! 3 years ago

Saturday:

- Consolidated all my lists of birthdays, namesdays, and anniversaries in just one location – @rememberthemilk.com
Trimmed a few that have been weighing me down (of people I’m not likely to contact again). 3 years ago

Friday was a nasty migraine day.
I can do stuff on days like this, but not really finish them! :-( 3 years ago

Thursday:
Today is housecleaning day, so I cleaned out the fireplace, and threw out all the piles of ashes.
I know…. it’s July! And the last time we built a fire was in April!
But it’s finally finished! 3 years ago

Wednesday:
Make a new kind of payment.

Normally, I would have procrastinated about it for at least a week, then paid late payment fees.

But I made the payment on time – yay!! 3 years ago

Tuesday

Gave my sister the gift for my nephew’s christening (which was, I’m embarassed to say, last summer).
One less thing hanging over my head. 3 years ago

Monday:
Transferred ALL information, appointments etc from old moleskine into new moleskine (July 09 – December 10).
The new one is complete, and I can start using it right now!
No need to go back and forth between the two for the next 6 months :) 3 years ago

Sunday:
Finally, I saw the couple of newlyweds to whose the wedding we didn’t go.
I gave them our present, my best wishes and my sincerest apologies, and I feel a liiittle better about it. 3 years ago

Saturday
1. After 2 weeks of looking around, I decided on the gift for my nephew’s 2nd birthday. It’s 3 wonderful books, which I bought from the neighborhood bookstore. I really like those books, and I’m confident he’ll enjoy them, too!

2. I also bought a wedding gift, for a wedding that we didn’t go to. This one has been hanging over me for more than a month. Boy, am I glad it’s over! 3 years ago

Friday:
Consolidated all my old work-related papers in one large box.
Took out a large chunk of printouts and recycled it. 3 years ago

1. Since I had enough bonus points left, I went back to the supermarket again and got more sunscreen for free! I have now a supply that will take me to next summer and possibly beyond.

2. I FINALLY filed a formal complaint, which I’d been putting off for almost a month. There was a deadline to complete the procedure, and I had to muster up all my courage to do it.
Sometime in the fall I will need to present my case in front of a committee, but I’ll cross that bridge when I get there. 3 years ago

- got 2 free bottles of sunscreen (one for the face SPF 50 and one for the body SPF 20).
All I had to do was cash in my credit card bonus points, wait patiently for 5 minutes for the transaction to go through (there was some kind of mixup), and endure the disapproving glares of those who waited in the supermarket line behind me. In return I got 25 Euros worth of sunscreen! Yippie! 3 years ago

6 months worth of data entry done!
I’m ecstatic – I no longer need to go through piles of papers to find what I’m looking for 3 years ago

As we were entertaining friends, I was ‘forced’ to remove all visible clutter from the living room area and the balcony.

If only I can maintain the “clean” appearance… 3 years ago

As embarassing as this is to admit, Friday was the day I had pizza and was done with the immense cravings I experienced the last couple of days.
I was also done with this picture of myself exercising consistently, eating clean and losing half a kilo a week for as long as I want.
My weight is back up, my illusions are gone, and it’s time for new plans. 3 years ago

- Picked up clean curtains from the cleaner’s and hung them.
Next time will be June 2010!

- Taken encyclopedia to basement

- On the shelf space freed up after removing encyclopedia, placed items related to my current projects

- With further shelf re-arranging, grouped all my cooking-related stuff in just one place (separate library) 3 years ago