It appears that my plan needs some tweaking. Or perhaps, more like gutting.

Here it is, another weekend gone, and I have not been able to complete my assigned tasks. It's not that I didn't try. It's just that other things keep popping up unexpectedly that take precedence.

For instance, my fig tree has been producing a bountiful crop, which up until now has been manageable by our own eating and sharing with friends. But it finally reached a point where I had to find some other means of using the figs. There were so many--and I had not been able to deliver any to our friends for a few days--that I ended up throwing away about 25 of them due to mold. I knew something had to be done, and quickly.

So, today, I made homemade fig preserves. Mind you, I've never done anything like that before--and there's still a good chance that whoever consumes the preserves will get botulism poisoning. Nonetheless, I spent a good three hours today on the project, including time running to Walmart to get jelly jars and lids. If I had possessed the right equipment, such as a canner and lifter, it would've been a much easier, faster task. But alas, I had only a huge stockpot and tongs. It seemed to work okay, but it was messy, time-consuming, and hazardous to my health. (I burned my hand with the boiling water as I tried to lower a jar into the bath.)

The second unexpected occurrence today consumed even more time. Just as I was getting ready to do one of my "complete" projects for the weekend, we heard a crashing sound. A picture had fallen off the stairway wall, tumbled down every step, and landed at the bottom on the tile floor. Glass was strewn everywhere, on every step, on the tile floor, even in the adjacent rooms. It took my husband and me at least an hour to sweep, hand-pick, and vacuum the mess.

I was finally able to nearly complete the project, which was simply to remove my daughter's queen-sized bed and replace it with her old daybed. But it seemed to take forever. Bolts stuck, I banged into walls trying to maneuver around the corners, and I had to vacuum the filth left underneath the bed, too. I couldn't find the right sheets, so I ended up running a washload of the old ones. When I tried to attach the daybed head/footboards, the bolts didn't fit. By then, it was time for me to drive to the next town to pick up the daughter from her play performance, so I abandoned the headboard until my husband could help. Which turned out not to be today.

I never even attempted to do the touchup paint in the kitchen, which was the other "complete" project. (Silly me, I thought they were both so easy and quick that I could do TWO this weekend!) And the step project--on which I'm already two weeks behind? Don't even mention it.

Clearly, although my project planning process is well-thought-out, it fails to incorporate the unexpected. Figs, broken glass, and children wait for no one.

It's disappointing, because there's already something I want to add to the 6-month plan. I read this week that our local Habitat for Humanity is having another Women Build project, starting in September. I'd love to do that. It would be a great learning experience as well as a wonderful way to volunteer for others. But it's about a 45-minute drive from home, which only exacerbates the time dilemma. Couple that with the requisite driving the daughter to play performances every Thursday through Sunday, and it seems nearly impossible.

I'll have to ruminate on it.

I almost forgot my "fun" project for the weekend. I don't think I ever scheduled one. I had originally thought I'd get to see some old friends who were going to be in town, but that didn't pan out. I guess I'll have to say my preserves escapade was my "fun" for the weekend. Wow--a burned hand and a sticky stove. Fun!

Whew!

I'm glad I didn't say anything last night about the workshop line because I would've felt badly today. I just found out that the same teacher is being transferred to another school! If I had said something last night, I would've felt mighty guilty.

Too bad that he's leaving. He seemed like a good one. I hope his replacement is equal or better.

Playing catchup

Now that I finally have a working computer (other than my daughter's laptop, which didn't have my software on there), I can get back to updating things fairly regularly. Note the word, "fairly." I never was too regular to begin with.

My plan continues to make progress but needs tweaking, since I've accomplished nothing on the "Step" portion for the first two weeks. I was, however, able to finish last weekend's "Complete" project, which was to reseal the kitchen granite countertops. And I completed another project from start to finish, one that wasn't even on my plan. It wasn't a choice--I had to do it since it was a birthday present for the daughter this week. It was a sewing project--a full-form apron. So while I was able to do it in a long afternoon, it did take time away from working on the step project--that bedroom shelf.

I'm counting on this weekend to get caught up. My "complete" project is shorter this weekend, so that should help.

As an aside, tonight I went to the 7th grade teacher curriculum meeting for parents. The science teacher was discussing projects the kids would be making at home and said, "Of course, not everyone's will look the same. Some kids have dads with workshops and can have access to bolts, screws, and the like. Others have parents who like to sew."

Well, at least he didn't just say "moms" who like to sew. I started to object to the dads' workshop line, but I thought better of it. Not a good way to start off your relationship with your kid's teacher :-0

Wahoo!

It worked--so far, anyway. Today, I was able to finish my "complete" project for this weekend! And I had a little fun, too.

The kitchen valances took longer than expected, of course. I spent over an hour just hanging the two rods! (Nothing in this house is level.) And while I thought I had already cut out all the fabric, I was wrong. (Give me a break; it's been a year since I did anything with this project. How can I remember?) Since I was doing this without a pattern, it took me a while to cut it exactly how I wanted it. But I'm done now, and I think they look just fine.

Unfortunately, completing this task reminded me of something else I had forgotten--I had bought extra fabric in order to make chair cushions for the 4 kitchen chairs. And that project isn't on my 6-month plan--yet. I'll have to make some adjustments to fit it in. Maybe one of my other projects will be done in record time, freeing up some extra hours for the cushions. I can dream, can't I?

Tomorrow, it's the "step" task, which is cutting the shelf ends. In between church and cutting the yard, my husband and I will do that.

Then it's off to shop for school supplies. For some reason, I don't think that will qualify as "fun."

A Plan

Obviously, I have had problems, both with maintaining my blog and with accomplishing anything on my projects. If I don't see progress on a project, I have nothing to blog about.

This week, I finally had enough of myself and decided I needed a "plan." Now, I've always been a great one for making lists. When I was growing up, I started making out my list in January of what to take on vacation in May. I would, of course, rewrite the list a zillion times before vacation arrived, but I had the bones of it completed early.

There's something about putting a task down on paper that makes it real. It's not a pesky idea in the back of your head, it's an assignment. So that is what I realized I needed. The kids are going back to school on Monday, and they'll have assignments. I need a back-to-project assignment.

Here's the rundown on the "plan."

I wrote out every weekend between now and January, and I assigned each one the same three categories:

Complete:
Step:
Fun:

For each weekend, I then filled in the blanks.

"Complete" is a project that is either so easy or takes relatively little time that I can complete it in one weekend. The project cannot be something that will take up the entire weekend--I have to have some time left for Step and Fun. (Not to mention, sleep.) For example, this weekend's "complete" project is to sew and hang the kitchen valances that have been sitting in a drawer for about a year. The fabric is cut, all I have to do is sew it, install the new rods (which have also been sitting in the closet the same amount of time), and hang the blasted things.

"Step" is just what it says--one step in a larger project. This weekend's "step" is to cut the ends of the above-the-window shelf in my daughter's room. The circular saw blade is already set; we spent an entire night last week trying to get the right angle. We just have to cut two ends of two pieces of wood. Everything, including the wood and saw, are already laid out in the garage, just waiting to be used. No wasted time setting up.

"Fun" gives me something to look forward to! It will, hopefully, be a family activity some of the time and an individual activity other times. This weekend, I thought we might drive to the country to pick blueberries at a farm, but I haven't mentioned it yet to the family. Plus, the eldest daughter left today on a church youth camping trip, so she won't even be here. But I'll think of something, even if it's just me browsing through an antique mall by myself. That's fun!

If this plan format sounds familiar, don't be surprised. I based it somewhat loosely on financial guru Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace series. When you're overwhelmed by debt, he says don't try to tackle everything at once. First, you have to quit your excessive spending ways. Cut up your credit cards, etc. Then, he says take the smallest debt and pay as much as you can on it until it's gone, while paying the minimum payments on the others. Then, once the smallest one is paid up, you move on to the next smallest, paying as much as you can there, until it's also gone. And so on. The theory is that with each bill gone, you have more money to put towards the other debts. It also gives you an enormous sense of satisfaction to accomplish something!

And that final point is what I've been desperately missing. I have no sense of accomplishment. Everything is in flux. The desk/hutch/windowseat/shelf project is the worst offender, as it has been in progress nigh over two years. But even little things like the kitchen curtains are driving me crazy! Like cutting up the credit cards, I have to quit beginning new projects until I finish old ones. I think this plan will help.

So, this weekend it's curtains and shelf ends, plus a little fun somewhere.

Next weekend, it's strip and seal the granite counters in the kitchen (complete), get and cut the wood for the shelf support (step), and go for a bike ride (fun).

The following weekend, it's replace the daughter's queen bed with the old daybed from the attic (complete), prime/paint/dry-fit the shelf (step), and celebrate my daughter's 12th birthday (fun).

And so forth. I've filled in about six months of the plan, and just writing it down gives me a sense of hope because I can see light at the end of the tunnel. Heck, I'm even able to fit in getting back to those books my sister and I have been trying to write!

If this works, maybe I should write a book called, The Plan!