Skip to main content

Swamped

I usually work from 7 p.m. until 2 a.m. before I go to bed, and split the time between work and quilting. Work comes first, of course, and once I reach my quota I feel okay to play. About an hour before I go to sleep I try to mentally prepare for bed by clearing my thoughts. A busy mind makes falling asleep more difficult, and I always need more headspace before I can settle down.

Lately it's been tough to do that. Professionally and financially things are shifting again. My last project is proving to be quite successful, which is great but more pressure, too. I'm reaching the end of my first phase of the current project, which I want to do as well or better. That corner of my head is constant thinking and rethinking different aspects of the work. Meanwhile, I'm trying to stretch our budget to deal with the rising prices at the market every week. If they go much higher I'll have to find a cheaper place to shop, or shop at a bunch of different places to find prices we can afford. In March I have to do the taxes, which will add even more stress.

Personally I have similar worries. My guy has been having minor surgery, and now it looks like he needs a bigger surgery for an ongoing issue, so I'm worried about him. I'm almost finished hand-quilting the koi project, and still not sure how I'm going to embroider the center panel. I want to be bold, but I don't want to ruin the quilt after doing so much work on it. I want to blog every day, and try to post something new on Twitter every week, so I'm also thinking about my social media. Am I interesting enough? Should I even be worried about that? I answered a friend's e-mail four days late last night because I haven't been keeping up with my pals, either.

Basically I'm swamped. There just doesn't seem to be enough time anymore to do everything I want and deal with everything I must. Which means I need to simplify and clear out my head and deal with one thing at a time -- and focus just on that one thing. That's the only way I can drain the swamp and get back on steadier ground.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Make It Yourself

As we head into December, here are ten ideas for easy handmade gifts: Cookie Exchange: If you live close to your friends invite them over for a cookie exchange. Basically everyone bakes a set amount of their favorite cookies, and these are exchanged at the gathering by lottery, sharing a little from each batch with everyone, or however you want to do it. You can also exchange recipes, too. My neighbor did this once and it was wonderful. Favorite Recipe Cookbook : For my favorite person I found a copy of my favorite cookbook from a vintage bookseller (yes, I am that old) and went through it making notes on all the recipes I used, how I tweaked them, etc. Ornament: There are probably a million free tutorials on how to make your own holiday ornaments, so do some research online. I like to make hanging pomanders , which smell heavenly and are biodegradable after the holidays. Mug Rugs: If you sew, making up a set of mug rugs is simple and easy; I add these every year to my ...

Better than Fried

I cut some chives from the kitchen garden to make garlic-chive baked fries for dinner. This is a great side dish for veggie burgers. Click here for the recipe from Taste of Home.com.

Fasten Your Seatbelt

Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds is an epic, dazzling film that hurls you into the Korean version of the afterlife while showcasing some of the most impressive special effects I've ever seen in any movie. The story begins with the death of firefighter Kim Ja-Hong (Cha Tae-hyun) who jumps out of a burning building with a child in his arms. The kid lives, but he dies at the scene. Two strangers inform him that he has passed away right on schedule, and toss him into a vortex that takes him to the world of the afterlife, where he meets his three guardians: Gang-rim (Ha Jung-woo), Haewonmak (Ju Ji-hoon) and Lee Deok-choon (Kim Hyang-gi). At the gates of the afterlife Ja-Hong learns that he is considered a paragon (an exemplary person who lived a noble and self-sacrificing life) and is eligible to be reincarnated -- but there's a catch. First he has 49 days to make it through seven hells in which he will be judged on his sins. His three guardians will help and defend...