Finding Structure

Over the past couple of months, I have been struggling with this whole "stay at home" concept.  I definitely appreciate the opportunity that I have and that T has given me but I have always had a job my entire life...a career.  I have always been very career driven and measured success off of meeting or exceeding my career goals.  Being a "stay at home" reduces, if not eliminates, any success factors.  Anyone can clean and anyone can cook.  At least that's the way I see it. 

Everyone I mention this to, including my Mom who paid for my hefty college education, continue to tell me to hang tight.  I will be more than busy with new responsibilities come the first of the year.  I guess that's where patience - which I don't have too much of - comes into play.

In order to formulate some sort of structure into my day, I have decided to truly treat my new "stay at home" job as a true job outside of the home.  Giving myself timelines and deadlines, to do lists and success measures (afternoon projects to accomplish), etc.  How am I doing this?

I am utilizing my Outlook calendar on the computer and plugging in my daily chores, the hours of which to do them, afternoon projects which are anything from organizing Tay's room (which is tomorrow) to Christmas presents to cleaning the blinds.  I am inputting everything including personal time, email/computer time, lunch and dinner.  I also include any lunches with friends, doctor appointments, etc. so that I am sure to work my "work" around my play.

Every Sunday I will put together my calendar and print it out.  It will hang on my bulletin board in the office.  Each day I will take down the sheet for that day and follow it verbatim.  My success measures will be accomplishing everything on that page for that day.  This is the best I can do to take me one step closer to the real world. 

This week's schedule:
Today:
7-8 AM: Personal time, emails, breakfast
8 - 9 AM: Clean kitchen, sweep, mop, water front plants
9 - 11 AM: Dust upstairs, downstairs, ceiling fans, vacuum, laundry (which was already done yesterday)
11 AM - 3 PM: Lunch with friends, run errands
3 PM - 6 PM: Emails, blog, personal time (I need to run the vacuum upstairs because T had a ton of conference calls today)
6 PM - 8 PM: Dinner

Wednesday:
7 - 8 AM: Personal time, emails, breakfast
8 - 9 AM: Clean kitchen, sweep, water front plants
9 - 11 AM: Bathrooms, tubs, scour toilets, sweep, mop, etc
11 A - 1 P: Lunch/shower
1 P - 4 P: Organize Tay's room
5 P - ??: Meet Amy at The Loop (YAY)

Thursday:
7 - 8 A: Personal time, emails, breakfast
8 - 9 A: Clean kitchen, sweep, water front plants
9 - 1 P: Shower, create grocery list, grocery, bring lunch back
1 P - 5 P: Afternoon project - Christmas gifts
5 P - 8 P: Dinner

Friday:
7 - 8 A: Personal time, emails, breakfast
8 - 9 A: Clean kitchen, sweep, water front plants
9 A - 11 A: Shower, dust/vacuum
12 P - 2 P: Lunch with Amber
2 P - ??: Personal time, dinner, Tay

Anyway, that's the plan.

On a stranger note, we had some visitors over the weekend.  A swarm of bees decided that our Mesquite tree was a perfect place to rest along their migration trail.  It was so cool!  They weren't hanging on a comb...they were hanging on each other!  We called the exterminator guy that we always use and he said to let them be (or bee...haha) to see if they move on.  He said that they migrate and sometimes just need a resting place while on their journey.  He said that, if they weren't gone by Monday, to get a beekeeper person out to handle them.  Sure enough, Sunday they took off.  They stayed at our lovely resort for the weekend and then headed on their way.  We really wish we could have seen them either land all together or take off all together.  Here is a pic:



If you have any other ideas on how to measure success when you are a "stay at home", I would love to hear them.  Or any tips, advice or feedback you may have.