Saturday, October 6

Catching up at last on the Smart Habits Saturday.

*Wake up 7:30 - Averaged 8:29 (7:14 to 9:43)
The usual, continuing to weigh in the morning.
*Shower under 5 min - Averaged 4 and a half minutes again.
*Computer off 8:30 - Averaged 9:14 (with two days of not turning it on at all, averaged in at zero)
*Bed 9:30 - Averaged 10:30 (9:37 to 11:12)
*Lights out 10 - Averaged 10:52 (10:13 to 11:21)
121/145=83%; times: two hours, 51 minutes late (excluding the computer)

No movement on the weight-loss front, but the ancient exercise bike may arrive as early as this week, which should speed things along a little better.

I am really enjoying starting my day with the 2007 Daily Lives, Miracles, and Wisdom of the Saints and Fasting Calendar. I have that and my Bible (the beaten-up one from high school) in the bathroom, so as I'm dredging myself out of sleep, I can read about the saints of the day, a quotation from a Church father, and read the Scripture for the day. After that, throughout the day I read a little at a time in the Old Testament, in my goal of reading the Bible through for the first time. I have about a dozen bookmarks in this Bible from previous attempts and haven't caught up to the first bookmark yet.

I realized as I was reading through the description of the Ark of the Covenant in Exodus that it reminds me of the kouvouklion—rats. No orthodoxwiki article yet. Ah, well, I did my best in my Lego rendition, so that'll have to suffice for the nonce. Exodus 25:26-27: "You shall also make four rings of gold for it and fasten them at the four corners, one at each leg, on two opposite sides of the frame as holders for the poles to carry the table."

I think also that the daily reading and prayer is helping me notice other things. For instance, in the prayers of preparation for Holy Communion, it says, "As Thou didst deign to lie in a cavern, in a manger of dumb beasts, so now deign to enter in to the manger of my beastly soul, and into my soiled body." I try to say the prayers each Sunday, and to partake each Sunday, and it's really a struggle to pay attention to the prayers, but I was focused on this segment especially this past Sunday, and realized that this prayer (by St. John Chrysostom) wasn't focusing on the stable or the cave, but on the manger: the place where the animals ate. And this image was in the prayers to prepare me to consume Him, Who from the very first (okay, not the very first, although He was there, but the very first incarnately) was representing Himself as food. And there were shepherds there, suggesting sheep. Peter, feed My sheep. It really doesn't seem at first that this little part of the prayer talks about Christ as food, but it somehow struck me that that's what it refers to. (Not that that might be all it refers to, but still.)

Oh! I had forgotten my other interesting thing. I'm used to hearing Jesus described as "the Paschal Lamb" that I hadn't really thought about it. Okay, so He's the "sacrificial lamb" at "Pascha" which comes from "Passover," but I hadn't thought about the actual sacrificial lamb at the Passover, nor the tradition of roasting a whole lamb at Pascha. From Exodus 12:1 "Tell the whole community of Israel: On the tenth of this month every one of your families must procure for itself a lamb, one apiece for each household. ... The lamb must be a year-old male and without blemish. ... You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, and then, with the whole assembly of Israel present, it shall be slaughtered during the evening twilight. They shall take some of its blood and apply it to the two doorposts and the lintel of every house in which they partake of the lamb. That same night they shall eat its roasted flesh with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. It shall not be eaten raw or boiled, but roasted whole..." When Fr. J.J. came to St. Bernadette's Catholic Church, he gave a memorable sermon, illustrating how Christ was the gate for the sheep by actually lying down to show that's how the shepherds guarded the sheep: they were sleeping on the ground as part of the fence so that the sheep would be safe. In reading the passage from Exodus, I kept thinking about how Christ was the gate: "take some of its blood and apply it to the two doorposts and the lintel of every house."

As I'm writing this, I am recalled to the pre-communion prayers again, to earlier in the same prayer: "I know that I am not worthy nor sufficiently pleasing that Thou shouldst come under the roof of the house of my soul for it is entirely desolate and fallen in ruin..." Again, we are the house and He marks us as the Lamb with His Blood so that we may be spared. I think I will stop now, as I am getting goosebumps.

Saturday, September 29

So I'm a little behind for the Smart Habits Saturday... No complaints, no guilt.

*Wake up 7:30 - Averaged 9:03 (7:40 to 10:47)
The usual, starting to weigh in the morning.
*Shower under 5 min - Averaged 4 and a half minutes!
*Computer off 8:30 - Averaged 8:28 (with three days of not turning it on at all, averaged in at zero)
*Bed 9:30 - Averaged 10:24 (9:41 to 11:37)
*Lights out 10 - Averaged 10:56 (10:05 to 12:01)
120/151=79%; times: three hours, 39 minutes late (now excluding the computer)

In the summer of 2006, I went from 162 to 132 pounds. Now I'm back up to 140, and looking to lose another ten, despite the proximity to Blue Bell ice cream. We'll see.

Saturday, September 22

Smart Habits Saturday:

*Wake up 7:30 - Averaged 8:59 (7:36 to 10:00)
The usual, adding a 15-minute chant practice.
*Shower under 5 min - Averaged 7 and a half minutes again
*Computer off 8:30 - Averaged 7:38 (5:38 to 10:29, with one day of not turning it on at all, averaged in at zero)
*Bed 9:30 - Averaged 10:06 (9:32 to 11:33)
*Lights out 10 - Averaged 11:03 (10:09 to 11:44)
130/149=87%; times: three hours, 39 minutes late (now excluding the computer)

I have been really struggling this past weekend, especially with the rule about not turning on the computer until I have finished the tasks for the day up to lunch.

Also, with the main to-do task being "unpack," the rest of the to-do list gets a little shunted aside. I am thinking about adding a "project" 15 minutes.

In any case, I got quite a bit done today, moving things from one room into another. I think I can qualify as "moved in" now. Although there are still plenty of boxes to sort through, in my life there have *always* been plenty of boxes to sort through. In this case, I have them organized by papers, music*, and stuff. (The books are on the bookcases; one box I thought was music was actually mystery novels. Nevermind that it was correctly labelled.) Then, not necessarily in boxes, but still to be organized in my Grand Scheme of Things, are clothing, books, kitchen things, artwork and art supplies, computer paraphernalia, yardwork, and icons. I am, of course, looking forward more to culling, categorizing, and organizing the books than anything else. The kitchen things will have to wait until the bookcases come from Denver, as our kitchen storage options are currently limited. Hopefully, there will be room also for the books from Denver (Eleven boxes. I couldn't help myself, so I helped myself.), board games (our collection also being added to), folding tables and chairs (likewise from Denver), and office supplies.

*Nine boxes of it, as I can't bear to throw out sheet music and have been playing instruments myself for over 16 years now, which doesn't bear in mind that my father was also collecting on my behalf as well as his own (came across a guitar book which is identical to the one he gave me), as well as the music I had inherited from my mother's and great-grandmother's musical days. I will have to get a move on the latter, as a cousin has requested particular things and I have no idea what I have except that it is old and most definitely quaint.

My husband seems to like the current setup in the pink room** (move-to), whereas I was concerned about the mess in the office (move-from). The six-foot table covered quite a few boxes of ... stuff I really have no idea what to do with. Fortunately I realized I had never actually told my husband that I wanted him to sort through all the computer things, so that stuff will reduce in quantity.

**The two guest rooms are now named for the color of their sheets: green and pink. It was a little odd saying "the guest room" and "the other guest room which was to have been the baby's room but there's not going to be a baby now and my isn't this awkward." But now the pinkness of the sheets has been covered by the green thing (an ancient, decrepit foam futon for which my mother seems to have a fondness and therefore must take with her at the earliest available opportunity), which in turn is piled upon by... um... boxes strategically placed for sorting. (Yes, they're full of Stuff.)

Since we have recently made a trip to the library, I am finding it easy to take breaks between getting things done to read a chapter at a time. That way, I have something to look forward to (Terry Pratchett) when performing a disagreeable task.

Oh! I almost forgot to mention that I am enrolled in Greek school. I have come quite a long way in pronuncimanating modern Greek. I have tried not to show off, but I've been around Greek for about five years now, so I do have a few skills. Such as pronouncing and typing. I can even find certain typographical errors, and in ancient/liturgical Greek. However, my conversational Greek is limited to "Please," "Thank you," "You're welcome," "I'm sorry," "How are you?" "Good," "Good day/evening/night," and, in a desperate conversational gambit, most of the Trisagion prayers. (The Our Father is an excellent thing to learn on long car trips, though I am still working on it in Romanian with all its tricky vowels.) Hopefully tomorrow I will remember to count my sit-ups (nasty things) in Greek. Hmm. Except I only have the numbers one through ten... No, I guess I can't get away with halving that part of my exercise routine.

Saturday, September 15

It's time for another Smart Habits Saturday.

*Wake up 7:30 - Averaged 8:23 (7:35 to 9:28)
*Prayer and Scripture - 7/7
*Make bed - 7/7
*Get dressed - 7/7
*Eyes/teeth/face - 6/7
*Hair and make-up - 7/7
*Vitamin - 7/7
*Laundry check - 7/7
*Flower check - 7/7
*Eat breakfast - 4/4
*Exercise - 7/7
*15 min to-do - 6/7
*15 min declutter - 7/7
*15 min zone - 6/7
*15 min to-do - 7/7
*Eat lunch - 7/7
*Eat snack - 6/6
*Prepare dinner - 5/7
*Dishes check - 7/7
*Lay out clothes - 7/7
*Eyes/teeth/face - 7/7
*Prayer - 7/7
*Shower under 5 min - Averaged 7 and a half minutes
*Computer off 8:30 - Averaged 7:57 (3:28 to 10:20, with one day of not turning it on at all, averaged in at zero)
*Bed 9:30 - Averaged 10:12 (9:24 to 11:46)
*Lights out 10 - Averaged 10:51 (10:14 to 11:51)
138/143=97%; times: one hour, 53 minutes late (now including turning the computer off).

I've had quite a few disruptions in my schedule this week, but managed to struggle through to have four "perfect-score" days, and only one day on which I didn't allow myself to turn on my computer. I am still working on the best order for the morning, and will flip things around some more this coming week. I am also going to add working on Byzantine chant for 15 minutes a day, but put that after my computer time has been earned for the day.

In other news, I have received a standing invitation to join the regular chanter at the chant stand. I have also discovered that there is nothing more frightening than a kindly priest offering to let you sing the next hymn. Also, handwritten Greek. (Note to self: get information on the adult Greek school class already!) I had fun on Friday's feast of the Elevation of the Holy Cross, especially since I knew the festal hymn (being the "fight song" of the seminary, and therefore sung often enough, though I don't know it in English, as there are too many translations floating around and I haven't actually sat down and learned one). So for this coming Sunday, I pestered my husband into hunting down the music for the two hymns for which he could find music for the small entrance (these are variable hymns). Then I further pestered hymn by wrestling with them. It is frustrating to learn new things, when I want to hurry up and already *know* them. Then I pestered him by singing them over and over, making sure I could get into each of the different tones. (I was quite elated by my success until I tried to learn a tiny new hymn this afternoon and it was just as hard as the others were at the beginning.)

I am enjoying myself on goodreads, and have added the requisite 50 books and applied for librarianship status. The latter, mostly so that I can add my ancient "Little Colonel" books to the modern editions. It's rather a challenge to only add the books I have just read (and not go back and add everything I've read, which itself would be quite a daunting task, though tempting). Another challenge is to make myself write at least the briefest review. I always hated writing book reports in school, but practicing writing about what I've read seems wholesome, like celery (eating which is likewise not a favorite).

My dear husband has found the time to complete and move in the bookcases which we bought just over a week ago. One is still empty, waiting for me to open the boxes in the closet and the half-empty (or at least opened and searched-through) boxes in the little guestroom. It's rather important that that room get cleared quickly, so that new boxes may be thrust in to the closet when they come, and all the things currently lurking in the office may be thence relegated to make room for, alas, the furniture when it comes. The coming is likely to be in October.

Please pray for my mother who had toe surgery yesterday and is now wheeling herself around the house. She says she is doing disgustingly well, but who couldn't use extra prayers? No, we're not going to talk about the Notre Dame football team. Evidently they decided not to play this week.

Saturday, September 8

I asked Fr. Peter what we should give the Theotokos for her birthday, and he said we should give her a good Liturgy, so we did. For whatever reason, it was more difficult today than usual. I still need to work on the waking up end of things. In any case, it's time for another Smart Habits Saturday!

*Wake up 7:30 - Averaged 8:39 (7:49 to 9:41)
*Prayer and Scripture - 7/7
*Make bed - 7/7
*Get dressed - 7/7
*Eyes/teeth/face - 7/7
*Hair and make-up - 7/7
*Vitamin - 6/7
*Laundry check - 6/7
*Flower check - 6/7
*Eat breakfast - 6/6
*Exercise - 4/7
*15 min to-do - 4/7
*15 min declutter - 4/7
*15 min zone - 6/7
*15 min to-do - 4/7
*Eat lunch - 7/7
*Eat snack - 7/7
*Prepare dinner - 6/6
*Dishes check - 6/7
*Lay out clothes - 6/7
*Eyes/teeth/face - 6/7
*Prayer - 7/7
*Shower under 5 min - Averaged 8 minutes
*Computer off 8:30 - Averaged 9:11 (8:26 to 11:23)
*Bed 9:30 - Averaged 10:07 (9:19 to 11:39)
*Lights out 10 - Averaged 10:52 (10:21 to 12:02)
126/145=87%; times: 3 hours, 30 minutes late (now including turning the computer off).

After reading on someone else's blog the goal for getting showers under 5 minutes, I decided I would try it. It's not technically a goal yet, because I want to take my times and see what my average time is, for maybe another week.

I also read ... somewhere (I really should mark these things) about someone's habit of making settling her son down to bed easier by turning off electronics an hour before bedtime. So I set the rule for myself not only that I need to turn off the computer at 8:30 at night, but that I'm not allowed to turn it on in the first place until I've completed my list up to eating lunch. So far it's been around lunch time that it gets turned on. I've noticed that I get everything done on those days (on four of the past seven days I've accomplished everything on my list except the timings—which are harder to work on). I get my list started in the morning, and make a conscious effort to be good, allowing myself breaks (reading the Little Colonel books helps in being a break and inspiring me at the same time). Then in the afternoon, I can watch a movie (or the US Open, to which my husband has somehow addicted me) while I eat lunch and relax... and then I'm antsy to keep progressing. So I've actually gotten more done than I intended, including things I've been putting off for at least 5 years: closing a bank account which I hadn't even told my married name...

Ooh. Interception for a touchdown! 'Scuse. Must go cheer on my team some more, even though my throat is a bit hoarse already.

Also, does anyone have ideas (for an auntie on a budget) for a certain five-year-old boy whose birthday is upcoming, with the theme of volcanoes? His mother has been told on no uncertain terms that volcanoes and dinosaurs will not be mixed at the festivities. She is going to make him an actual erupting volcano cake. I need to remember to ask for a cake from her for my birthday. Heh. With an icon on it or something.