Too Much Fun?

I have somehow managed to get myself caught up in too many fun activities. Do you ever do that? I enjoy so many things in life that I can find balance difficult to achieve, especially when LIFE HAPPENS. All it took was an illness, family problems and an unexpected tragedy to throw me off course. See what I'm talking about:

MOVING: The big, top-priority is moving households over the next few weeks! I don't have ONE BOX packed and am mired down in the sorting of clutter. Why oh why didn't I stay on track with FlyLady's decluttering system?!? So, my scatter-brainedness is catching up with me. sigh We got a lot done in the well house yesterday but I have a lot more to complete.

Hostess of the Lucy Apron Swap: This is the sixth Flirty Apron Swap that I've hosted online. I just LOVE this theme and cannot believe that the mailing window begins next week! I still have have several giveaways to offer my gals and hope I can pull myself together to really enjoy my Flirty Apron Swap. PLUS, I need to make my own creation!

OASIS Crochet Class Instructor: Our church offers a time of relaxation and learning for the ladies of our church and their non-churched friends; this is my fifth year as an instructor. This summer, it's a four-week series and I'm teaching crochet. I've felt behind the whole session, and have two weeks left. My class has seven people enrolled and only one gal made it last week. I'll call everyone tomorrow and decide what the last two classes will look like.

Weight Loss Bible Study Team Leader: SparkPeople.com is the website that's helping me in my weight loss journey, and First Place 4 Health has a six-week bible study that I love. So, I started a SparkTeam and have almost 20 gals who are participating in a six-week challenge to help us meet our spiritual and physical goals while going through the Healthy Summer Living bible study book. Again, I'm behind and haven't been the leader I need to be as we're heading in to Week 3. Perhaps my timing on this one was bad??

HP Swap: I enjoy Harry Potter and crafting, so when I found a swap for a Harry Potter Summer Camp yarn swap, I joined in. Again, the fun attracted me without completly weighing the time commitment. This swap requires that I blog weekly, contact my partner weekly, they offer fun games to earn "house points" (so I let down my team if I don't participate). I'm struggling to keep up here and am not enjoying it like I could have had I been able to focus.

Nursery Community Builder: Every other month, I assist in the church nursery coordinating/hostessing the classroom leaders. Such an easy and fun volunteer position, but I don't feel as connected as in years past. July is my "month on" and it's been hectic with lots of vacations to work around.

Overdue Commitments: I have a handful of items that I need to send off to people -- I haven't forgotten but they're not out the door either! If you're waiting for something from me, IT'S COMING!

Family Needs: In the midst of the fun/chaos I've caused, my family needs me. My youngest is struggling with losing her puppy. We really miss having a pet to cuddle and love on. My next daughter will be home soon from a California trip and I can't wait to have some time with her. My oldest daughter got back from Africa and had some sort of reaction to meds or bug bites or something, and has been in a bit of a crisis so we've been spending extra time together. My son has a birthday tomorrow(!) and I can't wait to celebrate. My dear hubby is also in the middle of a weight loss program, and doing just great. His birthday is in a few weeks. Lastly, our 24th anniversary is also in a few weeks and deserving a celebration, too.

So, what's my plan? Well, SIMPLICITY is the key. To get me through the rest of July, I will start my days in prayer, 10 minutes of bible study and then half-hour exercise. After giving my day to God and taking care of his temple, it's all focus-focus-focus to get my family moved. I will set aside one hour for my outside commitments and just make it work. I also promise to not sign up for any more fun swaps or groups.

My August is going to be all about wrapping up prior commitments and setting a clean slate for the fall. Lots of prayer will go into what my new schedule will look like. I can't give away too much of myself or my family suffers, no matter how good something sounds. I am excited for a new town, new routine and new possibilities.

TMI - Expensive Car Trouble

Hi dear friends,

I'm home again today with laryngitis and feeling icky. Plus, I've had bad money news so am scrambling trying to figure out how to earn extra funds. I've sent out a few emails to try and get some meal sessions scheduled since that works best. I definitely need to slow down on the swaps, or Christmas will be slim pickin's!

My 2003 VW Passat wagon had to go for repair on Tuesday. We had a recall to address and then the clutch/transmission has been going downhill quickly ... no power on hills, revving instead of engaging properly, and I asked them to check out a funny noise that I hear when turning right. What a doozy that turned out to be. The dealership called back to say the clutch repair would be $1200 to $1500, plus they found a leak into something-or-other that would be another $500 - and didn't even address the steering noise yet. After we picked up our jaws (Mike and I were both home on Tuesday), he started calling around for a better price on the clutch repair. Within a couple of hours, we had a $650 quote so we picked our car up in Gladstone and v-e-r-y c-a-r-e-f-u-l-l-y drove it to Clackamas. The gal in the Service Dept must work on commission, because she was not happy with us. So, Clutch Doctors worked on the Passat yesterday and also found my noise problem ... two cracked wheel hubs with all the grease leaked out, so those had to be replaced along with both axles! Yuck!! It ended up costing almost $1100 and just makes me sick. Mike is right, though, I can't be without a safe car. I hate money and I hate cars -- both necessary evils!

Thanks for letting me vent.