My Life This Week....Stepping Back

It felt nice the last two days not to be pressured into posting something when I had nothing that was "publish ready" yet and I just didn't feel like producing reading material.

Sometimes we all need a little me time, right?
I'm not an introvert but I do have times when "I vant to be alone".
 

These blog posts aren't something I just pull outta my ass(though on occasion they do seem like it).  I do actually edit and rewrite and add photos, video clips, links.
And all that my dears takes time, sometimes more time than I can find.

So here are the last few days here at Chez Sluggy---

After getting College Boy back to school I went up into his room Sunday and started digging out........

Thank your lucky stars this photo is a distance shot and there is no "smell-o-vision" on your computer. 8-)

There is just a whisp of a black garbage bag at the bottom of the photo.  It was already pretty full when I got into his room and by the time I was done that day it was bulging. 

I took all his clothes that he left in his dresser, sorted, folded and put them back in NEATLY.

I also had to go through a mountain of unmatched socks and discovered that the boy has a dislike for throwing unusable socks out.

This is the pile of 15 holey sox that I culled from the herd.

I washed the bed linens, changed the sheets and emptied numerous half full water bottles.  I still need to vacuum the floor, clean off all horizontal surfaces, pick up garbage all over the floor and clean out whatever is lurking under the bed.
I may be done by the time he comes home in November.  8-P
Not because it's THAT BIG of a job but because I just don't want to do it.
Would you?

Sunday evening I made a "To-Do" List before I went to bed...........

I posted my Monday regular menu post and went to my eye appointment.

It went well though I did wait almost until noon to be seen. My left eye is great and the right one is on target and almost fully healed up.  After a check my vision is now somewhere between 20/10 and 20/15.
Better than 20/20 and I don't need glasses to drive anymore?
Yes, Please!!

Of course the eye doc tried her darndest to sell me on getting a pair of prescription bifocal glasses since I still need glasses to see up close now.  The lower part of the lens would be the magnification part and the upper would just be clear glass.  We have a "Cadillac" eye care plan so I'd not have to pay anything out of pocket for a prescription pair(if these sort of glasses qualify for reimbursement)but then I'd be back to glasses on my face all. the. time.

Maybe I'll just get a chain and be one of those little old ladies who wears her glasses around her neck....

For now wearing my readers on my head is working out fine.

After the eye doc I went to Maine Source since it is right down the street.

$21.28 later and I was out of the store.
I bought a watermelon, a few Roma tomatoes(for BLT making-not traditional for this purpose but they looked nicer and were cheaper than the reg. tomatoes), a 2lb. bag of mozzarella(CB ate all I had at the house before leaving) and 2 x 4lb. bags of assorted veggie blends.  The frozen veggies came out to $1.50 lb. on sale so I couldn't pass that up!

Then I stopped in at Sam's Club to return a stapler we bought last week for College Boy before we realized that I had a spare one in my school supplies stockpile under the bed.
Doh!

Remind me NOT to return stuff anymore because before getting out of there I spent another $82.15 on groceries.
Geez!

2 large bags of pecans, a massive bag of prunes(the prune-so under rated! lol), 2 tubs of cream cheese, a package of steaks, a package of ground beef($3.28 lb never happens at the grocery stores here anymore!!)and a large tub of deli meats.

My August food spending now stands at $401.29.
Yeah, I suck sometimes at staying on budget.......

I stopped and paid the car insurance bill at the agent's office before arriving home.  We are now down to 3 cars on our insurance as Eldest son's car is now in HIS name and he has his own policy.
This change didn't save us anything(well, maybe the registration fee each year which we were still paying)because Eldest has been reimbursing us for his part of that bill for 2 years now.

His car insurance(he's not 25 yet)went up having his own policy, which he knew would happen, but he wasn't prepared to pay personal property tax on the car when he registered it in VA(they don't charge that here in PA).

Finally got home unloaded the car and put everything away......put on the a/c and collapsed.
It was one of the hottest day of the year in these parts on Monday.

I threw a couple of steaks on the grill and made fried zucchini for dinner that evening.
After that I put my feet up in the recline and just vegged out the rest of the night.

Tuesday morning I checked out the garden and picked 2 more yellow squash......

Garden Harvest is up to 7.48 lbs. with over 7lbs. of that being yellow squash. lolz

I considered clearing/cleaning out the pantry(also on my "To-Do" list).......

It's such a mess in there!  Once I pull out all the opened bags of goldfish crackers and Doritos College Boy left it will still mean work.

But I sat outside instead and did nothing for a long while.

Came inside to face all these squash.......

So I started in on making squash casserole for dinner.  I also made a cornbread and heated up the leftover rotisserie chicken pieces later that evening and called it a meal.

I had a mini-meltdown Tuesday afternoon and posted on the blog.  After dinner and clean-up I either vegged in the recliner or disappeared down that suck hole that is genealogy/find a grave research.

Wednesday found me up early again(couldn't sleep)and dreading doing anything on my list.
So I didn't do anything on it.

I disappeared down that familiar suck hole of "you know what" instead.
I listened to music.
I rode the exercise bike.
I did laundry.
I sat outside in the heat(under shade).
I let my mind wander and thankfully it didn't leave altogether. '-)

I guess I just needed some down time with no expectations for awhile.
A lull after the craziness that has been this Spring/Summer around here--2 eye surgeries, 1 kid home from school to deal with, assisting another kid with a life change, absorbing the drama in the daughter's life, trying to get projects done around the house, trying to maintain the house, cooking at home(mostly)for Hubs, traveling for fun and not-so-fun and trying to live a healthier lifestyle(exercise, changing food habits, etc.).

It all gets to be too much keeping all the plates spinning sometimes.
I think the answer is to put less pressure on myself....be kinder to myself.
Don't feel it's a race to get stuff done.

It will all get done eventually.

To-Do Lists are a double edged implement.
They can be great helpers to get and keep you organized.
But they can also put pressure on you to perform.

How many times have I looked at my To-Do List and not seen enough or ANY items crossed off of it and felt anxiety over this?
Too many.

Life is not a competition with others or with yourself.
I need to lessen the expectations I have on myself.
I ain't 25 anymore and I can't expect physically to do what I once was able to do.
Well I CAN do it but who wants to maintain a frantic pace at my age?
Not me!

What this all means is that I might not be posting quite so much as before.
Or my posts will be more "pop-in quickies" and thankfully brief(hahaha, like I can do that!)and now and again I'll churn out a big mega-sized post(hahaha I know how you all love THOSE!!).

So I am off for now to either go clean a bathroom or the pantry.
Maybe I'll flip a coin.
And if I don't finish it today......who cares.

And I WILL have an adult beverage at some point later today.
Maybe that's my problem....I haven't had anything to drink in over a week! 8-)

Sluggy