Done for the Week: Back in the Saddle

This past week was busy, but not too busy to prevent my backslide into Bejeweled Blitz addiction.  Too many hours went down that not-so-productive drain.  A little down time can be a good thing, but the lure of those lovely little explosions of light and sound occasionally proves too much for me.  I think it's time to go cold turkey again.


Besides becoming a "Jewel Scavenger" (Level 12!), here's some of the other stuff that I got done last week:


Done List--Week of Aug. 30 - Sept. 5

1. Continued off-season triathlon training--ran twice, biked once, swam once
2. Finished Life on the Refrigerator Door:  Notes Between a Mother and Daughter, by Alice Kuipers; David Letterman's Book of Top Ten Lists and Zesty Lo-Cal Chicken Recipes, by David Letterman; U is for Undertow, by Sue Grafton
3. Continued significant support to transitioning nonprofit organization
4. Worked my two part-time jobs
5. Published 5 blog posts
6. Meditated 4 times
7. Wrote 6 Gratitude Journal entries
8. Wrote 6 Morning Pages
9. Cleaned kitchen
10. Shopped for groceries three times (Did I mention I live with two teenaged males?)
11. Had very pleasant Friday night fish fry at home with my sons
12. Got reluctant teenager enrolled in final year of on-line high school
13. Learned a lot about hip hop music, thanks to same
14. Attended water communion and church picnic
15. Made progress on novel
16. Attended 1 yoga class
17. Went out with my husband for Happy Hour; continued reading aloud Elizabeth George's In the Presence of the Enemy
18. Called my Mom
19. Arranged travel for upcoming New Orleans trip
20. Continued repairing sleep
21. Took dog to dog park
22. Resumed to-do list

In red above is what I consider last week's most important accomplishment.  When my husband and I attended an orientation session for our new gym membership back in January, we were told that a good number of our fellow members crowding into the fitness room were what the staff referred to as "the New Year's people."  Most would, we were informed, fall away by March, leaving the equipment to the stalwarts who would still be at it.  I made it past that challenge this year, and through the illness that stymied my 5K training; I made it through the injuries and mental challenges that complicated my triathlon training, and through the race itself.  Now the goal is to continue exercising at a level that will provide a base for next season's training while keeping me sane and calm through the coming midwest winter.  So getting back on the horse/bike/track, and back in the pool was critical this week.  

Last week's focus was to "develop a training plan for writing, and to spend at least 6 hours on my novel."  In green above is my claim of "progress" toward this goal.  I'm afraid that the "training plan" for writing is going to have to be as sketchy, and as flexible, as was my triathlon training schedule, given the vagaries of my work and family life.  I was able to write for small portions of three afternoons this last week, for a total of three hours, producing 5 pages.  Not what I had hoped, but not nothing either.  This week and the next two will present unusual scheduling difficulties, with unusual work hours preceding a new semester's schedule, and a weeklong trip to New Orleans where writing will have to be sandwiched in between visiting with family and helping my mom with the tasks that are usually saved for me.  For the coming week, I will continue to focus on trying to write for 6 hours, and attempting to plan that writing time as if it were athletic training.

If I spend just half of the time on writing that I will save by giving up the blinking, chiming drug that is Bejeweled Blitz, I should be able to crank out my version of War and Peace in no time.