#Microblog Mondays 22

I am at a mediation today with an actual client.  Believe it or not, this is a fairly rare occurrence for me; at most, I generally attend mediations with an insurance company representative, and more often, the insurance company representative is just available on the phone.

It is actually quite refreshing to spend time with a real business owner and talk about legal issues with a non-lawyer.

Happy Monday!

On a random Tuesday

I am (pleasantly) surprised to report that I actually exercised before work today (it was just a 20-minute walk with the dog, but that's better than the usual "nothing" I do most days) and did two loads of laundry before leaving for the office.  (I had intended to do 20 minutes of yoga but couldn't find the DVD remote, so the dog lucked out.)

I've been at work for over an hour and am feeling motivated, rested and alert.  I am contemplating the project(s) I can tackle tonight after the boys go to bed.

Meanwhile, I have a full work day ahead of me.  I hope this energy and motivation last. . . .

#Microblog Mondays 21

Happy Third Birthday, AJ & MJ!

[PHOTOS REMOVED AS OF 2/17/2015]

I can hardly believe it's already been three years since they were born. . . .

2014 Recap

I realized I never wrote one of these last month, and I really should because I enjoy looking back on them. . . here it goes.

1. What did you do in 2014 that you’d never done before?

Found a new job in less than two weeks after being unexpectedly let go from my last one.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I didn't make any new year's resolutions for 2014 and don't intend to make any for next year.  I've come to believe that, for me, all resolutions do is set me up to fail.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Yes, my friend Jay, who blogs here.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

Hmm.  I don't think so.

5. What countries did you visit?

None.

6. What would you like to have in 2015 that you lacked in 2014?

Same answer as last year: I need to exercise more so I can have more energy and better health

7. What dates from 2014 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

No particular date stands out.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

I think MM and I did a lot of important work on our relationship this year.

9. What was your biggest failure?

I'm not sure.  I feel like I am failing at *something* nearly every day. . . .

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

No.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

I bought the family a streaming DVD player for Christmas.

12. Where did most of your money go?

Once again, to child care expenses.

13. What did you get really excited about?

No particular thing excited me, but it has been exciting watching my sons grow and mature.  Over the course of this year, they have ceased to be babies in any way and have become little boys (sniff!).

14. What song will always remind you of 2014?

All About That Bass

15. Compared to this time last year, are you:

– happier or sadder? about the same
– thinner or fatter?  about the same
– richer or poorer? about the same

16. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Exercising

17. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Complaining

18. How did you spend Christmas?

At home with my family--first time spending the holiday with both my parents since before their divorce in 1980!

19. What was your favorite TV program?

I don't have one.

20. What were your favorite books of the year?

I read the first four books of the Outlander series, all three Divergent books, all three Maze Runner books and The Willpower Instinct

21. What was your favorite music from this year?

I don't remember

22. What was your favorite film of the year?

I don't think I saw any first-run movies

23. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I honestly don't remember what I did.  I turned 43.

24. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

A vacation.

25. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2014?

Basic

26. What kept you sane?

Not sure. . . some days I was hanging on by a slim thread. . . .

27. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2014.

No one is coming to save me.  I have to pull myself out of any mess I get into.

#Microblog Mondays 20

I made a little progress on my backlog this weekend, insofar as I got Chri.stm.as put away.  The tree and all decorations are down and put away; cards have been appropriately dealt with; and no trace of the holiday remains in our home.

In order to make this a reality, as well as get my other necessary household chores done, I had to give up my usual Saturday outing alone, but it was worth it to me for this week.  I did not even start on going through the boys' clothing; I left that for another day (again).

I still feel behind at home, but perhaps not as far behind as I felt at the end of last week.

Work is another story.  Lots to do, so nose to the grindstone. . . .

Behind

Given the pace of my job and my life, once I get behind on things at home, it seems nearly impossible to catch up.  I just have so many things that MUST be done on a daily/weekly basis that there is no "extra" time for catch-up.

Plus, I won't lie: I am usually very tired by the end of the day, just in the usual course of things, and I need to relax and unwind for a little while after my sons go to bed.  I also go to bed early compared to most people because my body needs eight hours of sleep a night.  On the rare occasions when I look at things on pin.ter.est, I know that the moms who've made those creations don't go to bed by 9:30 or lie on the couch exhausted reading a book for a half-hour after putting their kids to bed. .  . because if they did, they wouldn't have time to be so crafty/organized/healthy.

Add in the fact that up until today, I had been even more tired than usual due to being sick for over a week, and things are particularly bad at the moment.  I am so far behind, I may never catch up.

Right now, my house is a total mess, my Chr.istm.as tree is still up, my holiday cards and wrapping supplies are still out, and I don't know when I am going to get around to taking care of any of this. This weekend will be the usual flurry of activity: keeping the boys entertained, laundry, groceries, meals, etc.

I could pay for an extra housecleaners' visit, but I would have to spend at least an hour clearing up clutter before the housecleaners could even do their job, plus arrange to be home during the day so that someone could let them in and out.

Besides, all the housecleaners can do is clean.  They can't pack away my Chr.istm.as things, or update my address list from the holiday cards I received, or decide which of my sons' outgrown clothing should be taken to the consignment store for resale.

OK, enough whining.  I have to find a way to have more energy because there is no way to create more hours in the day. . . .

#Microblog Mondays 19

In addition to this virus I cannot seem to shake, which has settled into mostly a cough that has kept me up a good portion of the past three nights and has now made me lose most of my voice, I also woke up with a severe migraine at 5:00 this morning.  Coughing with a migraine is a misery.

My home is a mess, and I have accomplished nothing beyond the barest essentials in my life for over a week.

I am sick and tired of being sick and tired.

Happy(?) New Year

I hope there is no truth to the notion that how you spend New Year's Day is an indicator of how the new year will go.  I went to bed at 9:00 p.m. on New Year's Eve, feeling like crap and angry at my husband.  I then slept fitfully, due to cough and congestion and to my neighbor setting off fireworks until nearly 11:00 p.m. which frightened our poor dog, who has a major phobia of fireworks.  Needless to say, after a poor night's sleep and being ill, I didn't wake up feeling very good, and I continued to feel poorly most of the day.

In addition to feeling poorly myself, AJ was still sick (although much improved--he was VERY sick earlier in the week and was diagnosed with bronchitis and bilateral ear infections on Tuesday).  As a result of not being 100%, he was very whiny and clinging to me a lot.  MJ is usually the one who is more attached to Mamma, so he was not very happy to find his brother in my lap more often than not.  One of the more difficult parts of having twins, IMO, is not being able to give either child your undivided attention when they want/need it; I hate that.

It was also much, much colder than usual here in Phoe.nix--we actually had a dusting of snow on the surrounding mountain peaks--precluding all outdoor activities, so I couldn't even get a little of our signature sunshine to lift my mood.  The one bright spot was that my mom spent the day with us, and she was happy that Ohio State beat Alabama.

So yeah. . . not one of my better days.  I am at the office today and feeling improved (though still not well), and the boys are back at day care.  I am hoping that things look up from here for 2015.

I have not been at work since December 23, and I have a lot of loose ends to tie up, so I'd better get to it.  Hope everyone else had a better New Year's than mine.  (Judging by my Fac.ebo.ok news feed, they did.  HA!)