Dealing with disappointment

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I have to learn to not be so upset when plans go awry. My disappointment affects my hubby and then he feels bad for something that isn’t his fault. I have no desire to harm him but I don’t know how to accept change. We were planning on going out of town tomorrow morning, driving up to the mountains for a picnic and a hike. Unfortunately, hubby now has work scheduled immediately after sundown. Because there is no guarantee that we can return so early in the evening, we have to stay home.

I’m extremely disappointed because we rarely leave Phoenix and my heart is in the forests, not the city. I love hiking, love the mountains, love picnics, and really wanted to spend the day with hubby away from the city, the noise, the pollution, and worries. The Sabbath is a great day to spend enjoying God’s nature. I haven’t seen the mountains in several years and I long to get away from this city.

My disappointment and tears about canceling our trip made hubby feel really bad. I hate watching him withdraw into sadness and his own disappointment. But I don’t know how to accept change in plans with grace. We’re going to go hiking tomorrow, just on one of the Phoenix “mountains.” It just isn’t the same.

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Sewing – fat quarter bag

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This is my first completed sewing project. The bag only required a fat quarter of fabric and several hours of work. The hardest part was sewing the handles on correctly but I figured it out eventually.

I had hoped to use the bag for taking my Bible and Sabbath school lesson to church but it’s not quite the right size. My original plan was to sew several of these for Christmas presents but I’m not sure the intended recipients would have any use for them. I guess that means I can keep the unused fat quarters for some other project!

Instructions – Part 1
Part 2

Here is hubby modeling the bag for me.

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Fabric!

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The hazards of learning to quilt with the church’s fabric is that you soon want to buy fabric and make your own quilt. I’ve decided to make a quilt for my grandfather and grandmother. They live in Wyoming and I think they’d appreciate having something homemade and warm to cuddle up with. My grandfather’s favorite color is green and my grandmother loves red. Hopefully I can incorporate those colors without making the quilt look too Christmassy.

I haven’t yet finished up the quilt for Bags of Love but I’ll be adding the border this week and the top will be complete. Then I have to wait three more weeks before we meet again so I can receive instruction on finishing the quilt. I can’t wait that long to start another quilt!

Hubby and I made a run to Jo-Ann Fabrics this evening and we purchased most of what I need to start on this quilt. I will be using all cotton fabrics as I don’t yet feel confident enough to branch out into chenille or flannel. I picked out the fabric shown above. The store was almost completely sold out of fat quarters so we’re going to stop by another Jo-Ann’s store tomorrow night to buy those. Once I have the fat quarters, I can start cutting out the squares to piece the top. I’m really excited to start my own quilt, though I won’t be keeping it. Maybe once this quilt is complete, I can make one for myself.

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Preparation day

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On Fridays, I try to make sure the house is clean before sundown. I iron all of our church clothes. I wash my hair. On Sabbath, we leave all of the dirty dishes in the sink or in the dishwasher to be cleaned on Sunday. The only thing I have not yet been able to integrate into our household is pre-cooking.

Sabbaths usually find me in the kitchen for each meal preparing something easy but doing all the work. I have not yet wrapped my mind around the idea of pre-chopping/washing/slicing or pre-making our Sabbath meals. This is not yet a habit but something I desperately need to work on.

Today was a little bit different, though. We have company coming over in an hour to spend some time with us tonight and share dinner with us. Hubby and I made homemade pizzas this morning. We mixed up, kneaded, and let the crust rise. We chopped up all the toppings. Now, when our guests arrive, we just toss toppings on the crusts and bake. Easy.

I also assembled a lasagna for lunch tomorrow. When we get home from church, I will just pull the pan out of the fridge and bake it. Then I’ll toss in the frozen garlic bread and bake that as well. Easy.

Why can’t I make this a habit? It feels good to sit here and know that sundown is in half an hour but I’m ready for it. I’m ready to spend time with family, friends, and God. The house is clean and peaceful. I have the Christian radio station playing on my computer and incense burning on the table. I’m ready for the Lord to visit.

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A bit of randomness

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I just shaved my hubby’s head. He looks great.

Bible study starts up again tomorrow night! I’m really excited.

I haven’t done any sewing this week. But my desk is half clean.

There are several pounds of bananas on my counter but I’m eating apples every day. For some reason, they appeal more right now.

And I’m craving chocolate. Trying desperately to hold on to that feeling of glee when I realized I lost three pounds last week. I can beat the cravings.

I love my husband!!

(How’s that for a bit of randomness?)

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Please, no more.

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I’ve been feeling overwhelmed lately at my awareness of sin and evil. Most entertainment thrives on glorifying some type of sin. The news reports mostly gossip or information designed to shock because of the violence or horrific nature of the crime committed.

Hubby and I recently watched The Accidental Husband. The trailer looked cute. I thought it would be an interesting movie. Unfortunately, the movie glorified lying, premarital sex, and disloyalty. Even though the movie had a “good” ending, I walked away frustrated. Whatever happened to consequences? What about morals?

This afternoon I started reading a new book. I didn’t research the book enough because I was blindsided by one of the characters, a child, being sexually violated. The actual act wasn’t described but the insinuation and the characters dealing with the emotional aftermath was too much for me.

Sometimes I just don’t want to know. Yes, there are horrific acts going on every day. When I can’t do anything about it, should I expose myself to knowledge of what’s happening? I understand that we need compassion, that we shouldn’t become calloused, but it seems to me that sometimes by exposing ourselves to so much we become exactly what we’re trying to avoid – uncaring, callous, unseeing individuals.

I know there is a text in the New Testament about evil and how much of it we should know about. I searched for the text this afternoon but couldn’t locate it.

Enough is enough. I know about human trafficking, sexual immorality, abuse, violence, etc. I can’t take much more before I’m going to spend my days locked in the closet because I can’t stand to see what’s going on. I wish there was something I could do to help. Because I can’t help, I’m going to screen the information I allow in my home. That’s the only thing I can do.

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Fridays – Bathroom

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Friday’s cleaning assignment is the main bathroom. I have to:

  • Sweep floor
  • Mop floor
  • Change towels
  • Wash sink
  • Clean mirrors
  • Scrub the toilet
  • Wipe down shower

This week has been a total success with my cleaning schedule. We have company coming over for lunch tomorrow and I didn’t have to spend the day running around and frantically cleaning the apartment. I still have a few things to do that will take awhile (my desk!) but I’m making progress.

If Jesus came over to visit this evening, I wouldn’t be embarrassed by the state of our home.

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Thursday – Master Bedroom

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Today was all about the master bedroom and bathroom. My weekly chores include:

  • Wash sheets
  • Sweep bathroom floor
  • Wipe down sink/counter top
  • Clean toilet
  • Straighten closet

General tidying is done daily, as is the vacuuming.

This afternoon, I also spent some time sewing my test project. I’m doing a trial run of one of the Christmas presents I’m making. I’ve never attempted this project before and wanted to see how it would it turn out before making the official gifts. I’m still trying to decide if I want to post about the sewing and put up a picture of the gift. The gift recipients don’t usually read my blog but they do have the website address…

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Cleaning schedule

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I’ve been frustrated lately with how our home looks. There are always dirty dishes in the sink, clothes on the floor, and the bathroom is never fully clean (just being honest!). Whenever we invite people over, it’s always a scramble to have everything presentable before they arrive. I knew it was bad when I was embarrassed to let the maintenance guy come in and work on something.

I decided I needed to make a change. Our home should not be this messy. There was really no excuse for it, other than my laziness. When I was first laid off from my job last October, I thought that transitioning into homemaking would be easy. It’s been over a year of trial and error and I still don’t have everything right.

On Sunday, I walked around our apartment and made a list of every single thing that needs to be cleaned. It was a very long list. I broke it down by room and then labeled each item as something that needed to be cleaned daily, weekly, or monthly. Then I assigned each room to one day of the week. Each day, I will concentrate on that specific room while completing a few additional daily chores.

Wednesdays are all about the living room. Each week on Wednesdays, I will:

  • Tidy and wash off the table
  • Dust desks/end tables
  • Straighten the game shelf
  • Water the plants
  • Clean couch cushions
  • Clean off printer shelving

I also have monthly chores for each room, the living room chores assigned to the 2nd Wednesday of every month.

  • Clean light covers
  • Wash patio windows

I also have a few daily chores that have nothing to do with today’s room assignment.

  • Wash/put away dishes
  • One load of laundry – wash, hang, iron, put away
  • Wash and tidy the kitchen counters
  • Sweep kitchen floor
  • Vacuum the apartment
  • Clean the kitties’ litter boxes
  • General pick up around apartment
  • Make bed
  • Personal items (devotional, exercise, reading, etc.)

I started this new system on Monday and it’s worked very well so far. My daily chores don’t take that long and then I work on the room assigned for that day. I estimate I’m spending between 2 and 3 hours each day cleaning. This might get faster as the apartment stays clean instead of doing damage control. The only challenge is working around the times when hubby is working at home. He spends a lot of time doing phone support for clients and I can’t be heard in the background. During those times, I find quiet cleaning to do or I take my breaks and read. Right now he’s on the phone so I’m writing my blog post. Now I’m off to read until he’s finished and then I’ll make dinner.

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