Plan the plans …

not the results.

Church was cancelled due to weather/bad roads yesterday.

Plan B
Go shopping. We're slowly moving our bulk staple purchases to Amazon's "subscribe and save" feature, but we still have a Sam's Club membership and we need a few things from there. Plus my husband needs a new phone, and there was a huge clearance sale advertised at Christopher & Banks. And we'd planned to eat out, as well.

However … we ended up with

Plan C
Spend the morning and much of the afternoon at the hospital with a family member. The issue isn't life-threatening, but an admission through the Emergency Department was deemed necessary. Fortunately I had a knitting project ready to go (you saw it if you saw yesterday's photo post), as my role was mostly chauffeur.

We left too late in the day to make it to the phone store, so we'll try again this morning. My husband will be able to make a hospital visit later while I … get ready … I'm almost afraid to say it … GO FOR A WALK! It's only 20° as I type, but by 2:30 this afternoon it should be in the mid-30s. Whoop-whoop!

You know it's been a bad winter when the mid-30s is worth a whoop-whoop.

Yesterday I blocked the socks I've been working on for a month and they are now dry and packaged and ready to pop in the mail. And pretty soon a special little girl will be getting a new outfit for her doll. Doll clothes really don't take much time to knit or sew. The outfit is a throwback to before my time, even – a poodle skirt and blouse, topped by a handknit cardigan. But she saw a photo and loved it. I think she just likes the idea of a skirt with a dog on it.

I do like knitting doll clothes. I use tiny needles and fine yarn, just as I do for most socks, but a doll-sized sweater doesn't take nearly as much time as a pair of adult socks. Not instant gratification, but close.

I guess I need to begin a knitting list, because I almost forgot about the mug cozy I promised a friend – another small needle/fine yarn project that won't take long. A couple other friends would love fingerless mitts to make typing a bit more comfortable in their too-cold offices. I'm more than happy to oblige.

This week is shaping up to be awfully busy. My daily walk will be a top priority as outdoor temperatures continue to climb. I'm more than ready for improved weather conditions, but hate that the snow melt + rain = flooding of the Greenbrier River. It won't affect us, but will most certainly create problems for the garden center along the river.

Nature, taking its course. It's a good thing to be prepared. Like I said earlier … plan the plans.

Back to work

Sometimes I feel like a kid again. Like when I leave later this morning for my part-time summer job. Heh.

And sometimes I feel like such an old lady. Like when I didn't sleep well and need to get a lot of stuff done today. Beginning with a four-mile walk.

Blog, walk, work, bank, grocery, home, pack, make dinner, sleep-sleep-sleep (hopefully better than last night!), wake up tomorrow and boogie on down the road.

That's the plan anyway. AA suggests that you plan the plans, not the results. That's worked out pretty well for me over the years. Cuts down dramatically on the disappointment factor.

I've no great pearls of wisdom to share this morning, and may or may not write while I'm gone.

I'm not even planning that plan!

Aaaaaand … we're off

Skipped the bloodwork yesterday morning in favor of breakfast before work. I'd planned to go when I got off work at 1 p.m., but after Wednesday's crash-and-burn, decided I wouldn't be able to fast AND work AND drive.

(I probably could have, but it was no problem to rearrange things.) The nurses at the clinic begin sticking at 7:30 a.m., and I plan to be first in line. I'll have a banana in my purse and look forward to eggs AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. Which might mean following a short trip to Tiny Kroger.

When you live in the Middle of Nowhere, you don't just go to town. You do go, of course, to take care of whatever pressing business takes you there. But you also run an errand or two because you don't drive 12 miles one way and NOT run an additional errand or two.

In the same vein, I'm heading to the Nash later this month and will most definitely hit Trader Joe's while I'm there. And maybe even a Target!

You guys who live in urban sprawl don't know how good you have it. Heh.

Then again, you guys who live in urban sprawl don't have the neighbor's horses lining your walking route, either. Not sure which route I'll be walking today, but THERE WILL BE A WALK. A long one, since I'm a couple miles short of the weekly target.

Have a great Friday, y'all. Plan the plan, not the results. Life always works out better that way.

Plan the plans

A saying I've heard in the rooms of AA goes like this:

Plan the plans, not the results.

So helpful, this week and, actually, in all things where one's expectations get in the way of one's serenity.

As I've gotten, ahem, older, I've found my stamina to be somewhat less than greatly reduced from years past. Planning to stretch the housecleaning project over several days seemed like a good idea when I started, but yesterday was the perfect day to just do it all at once.

Well, perfect in one way: My husband was gone most of the day and, thus, not in my way. He's most unhelpful when it comes to housework. Not his fault: He was a doted-upon only child whose family did him no favors by not teaching him how to cook, clean, do laundry, etc.

In order to vacuum, mop, dust, clean bathrooms, do laundry and fix dinner by 5:45 (when I leave for my volunteer gig on Tuesdays) I had to give up my walk. I got a good workout in, including some heavy lifting, but doing housework doesn't feel like a workout to me.

It just feels like work. Heh. And I sure was tired when I was done.

So, back to expectations. And I've written about this before, many times before, I'm sure you're both tired of reading it. If I eat healthful meals and get about an hour of intentional exercise daily, I would hope to drop a few avoirdupois. I don't think I should drop a few overnight. I'd be happy with a few a month, one a week, even two a month would be progress.

There's no progress. I guess the plan will be to continue eating healthful meals and getting an hour of intentional exercise daily just because. The result could be anything: I could ward off disease or I could drop over with a heart attack. I could lose a few pounds or I could pull a Dudley and get fatter and fatter.

The plan for today is to clean the stove and refrigerator, the mirrors and the sliding-glass doors (all seven of them). Also, to take a walk. It's a good plan, it'll keep me busy and out of trouble. The result should be shiny appliances and clear views. No promises, though.