Restoring order

I recently discovered that there are few things as relaxing (big disclaimer - FOR ME!) than folding laundry.  This came as much as a surprise to me as it might be to all of you who are now wondering if I'm serious and/or sane.  I've always pretty much enjoyed doing laundry (as in, loading the machine - pretty hands-free compared to lots of other homemaking chores).  But for most of my laundry-doing life, I would take everything out of the dryer or off the line and pile up 4 or 5 clean loads in the baskets, which would then sit upstairs for several days until I got really sick of Justin asking me every morning if I had seen the X colored polo shirt.

A few months ago, I realized that I could improve the process by imposing on myself a rule that I must fold things directly out of the dryer.  I am therefore incentivized to fold it because I have natural incentive to empty the laundry machine in order to start the next load (which therefore reduces the dirty pile on the floor).

And somewhere in adopting this practice, I've fallen in love with the folding.  I noticed one evening, as I made neat little stacks of dish towels and cloth napkins (my favorite things to fold are those of which we have many consistently sized things) and a lot of my stress seemed to melt away.  As soon as I noticed, I started analyzing and wondering why such a repetitive task was relaxing.  It's not a particularly rushed (or rush-able) process.  And it restores order.  You start with a smelly, wet pile of dish rags and towels, and a run through two machines and you're making neat little stacks that are clean and fresh-smelling.

It's probably just me who feels a sense of relaxation looking at a nice stack of freshly-laundered t-shirts.
(and teeny-tiny toddler training pants!)

I was also recently struck with the realization that my daily routine (organize/clean something, organize/clean whatever Anna got into while I was organizing the first thing, repeat) fits pretty well with this whole "finding former glory" thing.  But I haven't been treating it that way.  I view "cleaning" as a fairly negative chore that I theoretically want done but don't practically enjoy.  But we all know that I LOVE taking something messy/broken/ugly and making it better.  So I've just stopped calling it "cleaning."  For the past few days, I've gone about my day thinking about my job as "restoring order to our home."  I'm making our rooms beautiful again when I clear away the clutter and the dirt.

Maybe if you're not me (aka, an overly analytical person who spends the majority of her day with someone still learning to speak in multiple word phrases) this just seems like silly semantics, but it has made a big difference to me.  "Restoring order" feels like a less rushed process, and it seems like something that is a more noble goal than focusing on "cleaning."  I can easily connect wanting to have an ordered home with our family goals, but just chasing cleanliness somehow feels more frivolous or worldly.  I'm struggling to find the words to explain the difference, and it probably just has to do with the definitions I conjure up for each of those phrases.  Either way, the point is that calling my work something that is in line with my goals and wishes for our family is a lot more effective in inspiring me to do it, to do it well, and to find the joy in the process.

I've also realized that I (surprisingly) enjoy spending an hour or two picking up and cleaning up - and restoring order - in the evening after Anna goes to bed.  I used to think of this time as my "off time" when I deserved to be doing something relaxing, but I'm often too tired to do the sewing or reading I think I want to do, and instead find myself frustrated at the time I'm spending online.  Somehow, within the last week, an evening of leisurely (light) housework has become my preferred way of spending an evening, and having taken some downtime in the afternoon instead, I'm up for the work (although still not for a more thinking-heavy activity like sewing).  Perhaps its the feeling of having the house back to a (mostly) ordered state when we come downstairs in the morning, but more likely it's the freedom of doing the tasks at a moderate pace, without the knowledge that other work is being created in the meantime.

Example 1: Why laundry is more relaxing at night.

Since we only use the downstairs shower when we have guests, it is a bit of a storage closet otherwise.

Someone found (and discovered how to open) the Easter bin that was stashed there earlier this week.

We can probably chalk this post up to late-night ramblings of an over-thinker, but perhaps there's someone else up there who needs the nudge to know it's OK to redefine your work, to think of it in other terms or in ways that are motivating and inspiring, and to give yourself the freedom to redefine what you consider the "norms" of when and how to do things.  Or maybe you just want to call me crazy for admitting to the Internet how much I like stacks of folded shirts.

Pictures galore

Life is...well, busy.  At the moment, I find it mostly exciting, although I will be honest in saying there have been plenty of days when all of the logistics and planning for the move (not to mention the emotional roller coaster associated with leaving our home) have left me, shall we say, just a bit stressed.

There's plenty of things I've thought about posting, but I obviously haven't gotten there!  I have, however, been taking lots of pictures (and continue to be SO thankful that Justin Claus brought a new camera!)

So since pictures are worth a thousand words, here's the big update of the past few weeks.  We've had plenty of celebration mixed in with the planning and stressing - and we're gearing up for the biggest celebration of all, Justin's PhD graduation this weekend!

Easter Sunday (my favorite part was our hats!)

Pretty excited about hunting for eggs...

Sharing "the farm" (one of Daddy's favorite places on Earth) with Anna

My beautiful sister graduated summa cum laude from nursing school!  

(This was right after her pinning ceremony)

Mother's Day 

(In Anna's mind, Mumsie is obviously preferred over Mom!)

If you thought the whale dress was cool, check out this bunny dress that my mom made (!!)

If I had remembered it was in the "too big" bin earlier, I would have had her wear it for Easter Sunday, although since it's still Easter, it was still appropriate :)  (Aren't you proud, Meg?!)  Anna was pretty pumped about having "dunnies" going "op op op" on her neck.

You can't post just one when it's a little girl in a smocked dress!

This started out as a "What I Wore Sunday" / bump update post...

20 weeks!

....and...

It's a SISTER!

The Good-bye Tour: The Living Room

Maybe I should just rename my blog "Excuses, Excuses" since the bulk of my posts seem to be about why I haven't had time to write any other posts!  This one today has been in the works for over a week now, sidetracked by Holy Week and Easter celebrations, a rush trip to Pennsylvania for a sick family member (who thankfully had a bad case of pneumonia and not the suspected heart attack), and then my own bout with a nasty cold/laryngitis.

Anyway.

I read somewhere [online, which Justin says must make it true] that Catholic families traditionally would do spring housecleaning on the Monday-Wednesday before Easter - both as a sort-of spiritual purge before the Triduum, but also as a practical preparation for the priest's home blessing, which apparently was also a traditional part of Holy Week celebrations.  I thought that this was a really great idea, but then I tempered myself, having just seen my wise sister's find on Pinterest:  "People overestimate what they can do in a single day and underestimate what they can do in their whole lives."  I realized that it wasn't realistic for me to do a deep clean of every room in three days, so I thought I'd do one per day and continue in to the following week.  As a bonus, I realized, I could finally take some good "after" pictures of the house.  This blog, after all, is really about our transformation of the house, and I left off with a lot of the rooms once we stopped tearing down walls.  I want to make sure we have it well-documented, for our own memories, for Anna's future enjoyment, and - well - for you!  Also, now that I have my new camera, I can actually take pictures with which I'm pleased.

So we'll call this the "good-bye tour" of the house.  I"ll try to post each room as I finish the cleaning and get some good shots, and I'll also update the "House Tour" tab as I do each room.  I'm hoping I can pick up the pace a little bit, since at this rate I won't have everything done by the time we move!  Provided I don't try to clean any more heat ducts (and subsequently get large dust bunnies lodged in the vacuum, putting progress at a stand-still until my patient and awesome husband takes it apart and puts it back together), we might be in luck.

Here's the living room / entrance way when we started:

EVERYTHING was saturated with smoke (both visibly, and very clearly by scent) and lots of dust.  That's probably my biggest memory of the "before."  We couldn't wait to get the smelly carpet out of there.  You can't see the peeling ceiling paint in the pictures, but if you look closely, you can get a glimpse of the old kitchen!

We refinished the floors early, and then focused on other projects while I basked in having a house to decorate for our first Christmas (no, seriously, I remember feeling so proud of how this looked - even making sure we had a red blanket over the mattress-on-floor "couch" to be festive!)

Note that this was during the desk-in-the-kitchen period (because we were still sleeping in the den and the upstairs was a major construction zone).

Then we really moved up in the world and got a real couch and I decorated and again couldn't get over how beautiful everything looked (I was so, so proud - no exaggeration):

And THEN, finally, years of little tweaks came together, and we have a room that I'm proud of (again) and call "finished."  Maybe I'll look back on these again someday and laugh at my simplicity in the moment, but at least I've found happiness and satisfaction all through the journey ;)

And now a lot of detail shots because part of this exercise is learning to use my camera:

How can I not include this sweet accessory for any room?  She came up and rested on my knee while I was taking close-up shots and said "cheese!"  Then she proceeded to get her play binoculars and join me in taking more pictures of the room....

For a (not-so) quick overview of what we did in this room (all DIY, except for where we bribed family & friends to help):

- Ripped out the carpets

- Refinished the floors

- Painted the beadboard & walls

- Refinished the heat vents

- Painted the front door

- Added wood slat blinds and a fabric roll-blind for the door

- Refinished the ceiling / replaced the light with a ceiling fan

- Added furnishings, pictures, new pillows, and my miles-of-sewing couch throw

And, just for kicks - one last side-by-side of the transformation!

I honestly often forget what the "before" was like, or even (somehow) all the blood, sweat, and tears (mostly sweat) and the hours upon hours that we put into this house.  It makes me happy to see the progress side by side :)  One of the other reasons I'm taking all of these pictures is so that we can have them printed into a photo book to take with us, as a reminder of our first house and all that went into making it home!

March-April: Top Ten

When I've been away from the blog for so long (almost a month this time! - but you can't say you haven't come to expect it...), once I finally decide to write again, the challenge is figuring out which of the 1,000 things I've thought about or experienced since my last post are worthy of sharing.

^^ I wrote the above paragraph over a week ago, when I meant to participate in the Friday 7 Quick Takes link-up (the idea was to pick 7 things to write about)...and then I got distracted for the rest of that day...the following week...the next Friday went by....and now it's another week!

Our last month has been, undoubtedly, the busiest since our marriage.  And so, I give you, the top 10 things that have happened since my last post:

Let's start with the two biggies first:

(1)

Justin became a doctor!

He keeps reminding me that he's not officially a doctor until he finishes formatting his thesis and graduates in May - but he passed his dissertation defense last Thursday, so that's enough for me to start referring to him as "doctor."  (I always think of the story from Randy Pausch's book "The Last Lecture" in which he shares that his mother would proudly announce that her son was a doctor..."but not the kind that helps people.")  So, yeah, there isn't any medicine or surgery in his future, but Justin will be helping the next generation of engineers learn the discipline in his new professor role, so I'm still a very proud wife.

(2)

We sold the house!

The house was on the market for 5 days, in which time we had 2 open houses, nearly 20 showings, and (this is the crazy part) 10 offers.  We're still in disbelief over the interest that the house generated, and while it made for a couple of really crazy days, the positive response was really rewarding, as sort of external validation that all of the renovations did take it from an ugly old house to a desirable home (inside at least, the outside - see above - has some work left for the next owner!)  Anyway, the success of the sale was primarily due to our awesome realtor and to the really great market conditions (with two universities in town, there's a frequent housing turnover, and the ridiculous rents make home purchasing a pretty desirable option...and apparently our section of town is really "hot" right now).  The renovations would have probably helped in another location, but I'm not kidding myself that it sold in 5 days (or for the price it did) because of anything we did!

The whole process was overwhelming in a lot of ways (primarily, in finding places to go with a toddler during showings department), but it ended up being less emotionally taxing than I had originally anticipated.  It definitely helps that we know the house is going to be loved as much in the future as it has been by us - and that it will continue to be a place that knows love, laughter, and family time.  It feels like we're passing the baton rather than abandoning our beloved home!

(3)

Anna learned that the outside can be something other than "BRR!"

This winter has been so long and so cold that little Anna had forgotten anything other than that.  If she saw a picture in a book of a window, she said "BRR" (even if there were flowers and sunshine drawn outside the window!)  When Daddy left for work, she said "bye bye" and "BRR."  And so now that it's actually possible to go outside again, whenever I mention the possibility to her, she says "BRR."  It's delightful to tell her that it's actually not that cold!  

We've had beautiful weather - especially the last few days, when it's topped 70!  It's lots of fun to take her outside, especially since she appreciates playing outside, and doesn't try to eat grass (which seemed like her primarily outdoor entertainment for most of last summer).

She's finally learning that it's not always cold outside, and mention of going outdoors now more frequently elicits a response of "woof woof...da done"  (dogs, all done; in reference to the two German shepherds next door who aren't really sure what to make of the little pink thing that runs around on the other side of their fence or "BOOPS!" as she runs towards the door and grabs her new rainboots.

We're just ignoring the fact that there's snow on the forecast for later this week.  Ithaca weather is nuts.

(4)

I grew a bump!

I realize that this photo utilizes the most bump-hiding angle (as well as most awkward hand placement) possible, but there's a noticeable bump going on now.  Also, despite what this post suggests, Justin doesn't always wear a 3-piece suit (although I wouldn't complain if he did).

Anyway, I went through a stage in which I realized that I actually did not have any clothes that fit.  I would stand in front of my closet and say "I'm not even being dramatic!!  I literally don't have anything to wear!!"  (Of course, in my least dramatic voice possible.  ahem).  My maternity bin didn't help much because most of what I had was dressy work clothes, or hot weather clothes (Anna was born Sept. 3).  I've since remedied the situation with far more time on Target.com and eBay than a person should spend (especially one who was doing a major Internet cut-back for Lent), but I thought that in the quest for non-nakedness it was a good trade-off.  

So, the bump is noticeable (at the dinner we attended on Saturday (photo above)), someone said cheerfully in the buffet line "So! You'll have a new little one pretty soon!"  And I had to tell him that I still had 6 months to go.  It reminded me of the time on Mother's Day (3+ months from my due date) when someone told me "at least you don't have to make it through the hot summer!"  Plenty of bumpage yet to come.  Thankfully, I'm feeling more energetic now (to the point that I've actually forgotten a few times that I'm pregnant), and I'm very thankful for the blessing of this new life, despite any expansion and discomfort that comes along with it!

(5)

Old habits die hard.

Anyone who thought my absence was due to my incredible Lenten success was thinking too highly of me, I'm afraid.  Although I did start out strong, I fell back pretty quickly to more computer usage than I would like.  Honestly, my need for maternity clothes is what set me back, and then from there the craziness of life meant that I didn't have a lot of energy left, and I ended up clicking on over...and you know the rest.  (tick, tick, tick on the clock!)

I think that the last 40ish days have been fruitful, despite the failure on that front.  I think I still managed to grow spiritually and maybe a little bit in the self-control department (judging by the ice-cream resistance that's going on over here), and I actually plan to return to my more stringent Internet rules - even after Easter - because I know it's the best for me (even if it was unrealistic for me to maintain on top of the other craziness these past few weeks).

(6)

Anna and I took a road trip.

We visited my family in Harrisburg a few weeks ago.  It was a whirlwind trip (and we returned a day or two before the house went on the market).  My grandfather, sadly, fell a few weeks ago, and as a result, he and my grandmother are both moving from their home to a retirement community (he's currently in a nursing care section regaining some strength before he can join her in their little apartment).  It's been a stressful month or so for everyone involved - aside from all of the logistics, there's such an emotional component to seeing someone you love in declining health.  Anna and I made the trip to visit with everyone, and to help out where we could (being the only business major in a family of medical professionals meant that I got tasked with lots of paperwork, etc).  Anna was busy in the entertainment and cheer departments, as you can imagine.

My grandfather has always been a picture of health and energy (I specifically remember that on his 70th birthday, he was showing - not telling - my brother how to properly climb a big tree), and so it's all the more difficult to know that he can't physically do all the things he used to do.

This picture (which was very likely his idea) was taken a few Christmases ago, and should give you a little insight into his personality.

So, while things are definitely settling in their situation, I'm sure it wouldn't hurt if you have some prayers to spare.  As I'm learning first-hand, leaving your home is never easy (and we've been here approximately 1/12 the number of years that they were in their home).

Let's see...other (far less notable) events - so I can make this a full-fledged top ten list

(7)  Justin (finally) shaved his "I'm writing a thesis" beard.  It was a nice experimental look while it lasted, but I for one am not disappointed that it's gone!

(8) We tried corned beef and cabbage for the first time (I mention this mostly because it illustrates how busy we've been - I finally cooked our St. Patty's day meal last Wednesday.  Thankfully the meat's got a long shelf life).  It was a hit - a certain small person had to be given little bits at a time after the first plateful was consumed by the fist-full.

(9) We finally finished (almost all) the projects that have been hanging over our heads.  Having to get the house in perfect showing condition meant that all of the tiny tasks that have been nagging me for months finally are done - and I can walk into rooms of the house without spots needing paint touch-ups starting at me.  It definitely feeds my fire about thinking relaxation is much more relaxing when the work is done properly first.

(10) I learned what matters (to me) and what doesn't when it comes to having a "perfect" house.  For the five days the house was on the market (plus some, if you count the inspection time, etc), the house was absolutely spotless.  There wasn't a (clean) dish sitting on the counter, or a fuzz on the carpet, or a piece of trash in the trash cans.  It was surprisingly easy to keep up with all of the work while we needed to (this was of course helped by the fact that we were barely here to mess anything up, and we ate almost every meal out of the house), which was a good lesson in what I can actually get done if I put my mind to it.  It was nice to come home to a spotless house, but I learned that some of those things that I thought were annoying messes aren't so bad.  It's been wonderful to (almost always) keep up with having the bathroom vanity wiped down and the bed made first thing in the morning, but I don't mind that there's toys sprawled across Anna's room.  The spotless house felt pretty sterile and neutral, and was missing some of that concrete personality that comes from rooms being lived in and loved.  I've sort of mentally redefined what I'm chasing - cleanliness and order - but it's definitely not "perfection."  I'd hate to suggest the stress of a house sale to anyone, but it really was a good teacher for me, of a lesson I might not have otherwise learned.  (And of course, like everything I end up professing on the blog, it will be a long work-in-progress as I continue to remember what I'm learning!)

So - yes - crazy last month.  The upcoming one should be far less eventful - although just as exciting, as we're about one month away from learning the gender of this baby!  :)

Make it Do or Do Without

I've often thought about how one of the concepts we've really lost as a society is the old mantra

"Use it up, Wear it Out, Make it Do, or Do Without"

It's pretty much the opposite of our consumerist culture, where we have disposable-everything at our fingertips.

But (like so many things from the past) there's plenty of wisdom in this.  Figuring out how to make something work is economical, and often the creativity and accomplishment makes it quite satisfying.  (Like last spring, when I challenged myself to make this quilt for Anna using only materials I already owned)

I have a recurring problem of items of clothing being too short.  (I'm beginning to think that even cold water shrinks things little by little).  I realized with the "color block" trend (for all I know the trend actually ended two years ago, but please don't tell me if that's true...), I could start fixing things, and not have to keep donating and replacing my favorite things.

The latest project was one of my favorite tunics from Target.  The average American female would have been fine with its original length, but since I'm 27-going-on-72, I require a bit more coverage in the upper-knee region.

So, I cut off the bottom hem, made a quick band of some coordinating navy fabric, and attached it.  Now I can wear it again (for another...2 weeks?...note it's hanging sort of weird in the picture because of early bumpage - that awkward stage where exactly 0% of my clothing fits comfortably or correctly).

Speaking of making do and doing without - this whole remove the Internet temptation thing has been really great.  I'm not going to list everything I got done yesterday (it's embarrassing, not to mention I'd go over today's allotted time for being online).  The biggest benefit is I find without the easy distraction of clicking around online, I'm either doing something I actually want to do, or doing something that is actually restful (who knew, staring at a bright screen at 10 pm does not have that effect).  So then I have more energy to do productive things with Anna or around the house, or tackle little sewing updates that have been sitting on my to-do pile for months (ahem, above tunic).

It fits with my whole discipline/schedule theme, and makes me realize that bringing your life in line with the virtues (here, self-control) makes your life much better.  All the "rules" of faith can be a turn-off to some people, but I think it's fairly obvious that God made them for a reason.  Certainly, there are challenges of doing the right thing (I'm thinking in bigger pictures than using or not using the Internet), and I don't want to minimize that, but the point is that God really has our own happiness in mind when He directs us in certain ways.

So, yeah, I don't think you're supposed to "enjoy" your Lenten sacrifice as much as I have - it's a good thing this was just part of my overall Lenten observations.  Perhaps it will get harder and more of a "sacrifice" later on when the novelty of "hey, look!  I just finished another random thing I've been meaning to do for months" has worn off, but we'll see.  I'm already finding myself less interested in things online, and - happily - less distracted even when I'm on the computer.  I know I have limited time, so I get in and out and do the things I really want to do (like writing this post) and not the things I don't really care about (like a 10th check of Facebook).

Down-side of a quickie-post, I have no clever way to wrap it up.  So...goodbye?  (until next time, of course)

What took me so long?! (Procrastination Analysis, Part 2)

Apparently in my last post, I didn't adequately impress upon you, dear readers, the dire state of home management that I find myself in many days (judging by the "don't worry about the cheerios on the couch" comments!)

So here's another picture, circa 12:30 this afternoon. For more context, I was wearing pajamas when I took the shot.

Anna was down for her nap, and I was trying to finish up a meal plan and grocery list (which absolutely has to be done early in the day, or else I will lose energy and it won't get done and I'll put off the shopping for another day).  

There are all sorts of excuses (many legitimate) for the state of the kitchen, including how awful I felt while cooking dinner the previous evening, how quickly I had to run out after said dinner (thankfully feeling much better!) for a church meeting, the fact that Anna was apparently making a pre-nap soup snack (main ingredient: winter boots) on the steps, etc, etc.  Not to mention that I still haven't gotten out from under this first trimester exhaustion.

I try to cut myself some slack (and appreciate those of you who encourage me in that direction), but the truth is, I know I can do better, and I know I should do better.

In fact, this afternoon, I did do better.  I cleaned one important object out of the kitchen, and the rest of it got tidied in record time (actually, twice, because once it was cleaned up and we grocery shopped, I managed to make another mess making dinner - including Anna's contribution of finding, opening, and distributing a whole new box of freezer bags allllll over the kitchen).

Can you guess what I moved first?

It's not hard - look front and center.

I had grabbed the computer to look up a recipe while working on the meal plan, but (like pretty much every time anyone in the history of the Internet logged on) I found myself clicking on far more than the recipe.  (Each click taking at least the time and some of the energy I needed to pick up just one dish from the piles on every flat surface).  Incidentally, I recall reading Ellen's post during this time, about how part of her Lenten observance is going to be reading the Keeping House book she won in my giveaway this fall (hey Ellen - maybe set aside time to read it twice - a once through clearly wasn't effective enough over here!)

The Internet can be such a challenge - there are so many benefits, but I daresay that most of us haven't figured out how to keep it in check.

In years past, I've given up blogs/Facebook/some combination thereof for Lent.  The problem, though, is it's tough to delineate when I need to go on a site for a legitimate reason (contacting someone for a church project I'm working on, or looking up a favorite recipe I've saved on Pinterest) and when I'm just looking.   And, even so, a moderate amount of just looking can be a good thing, too - especially when it's in keeping or making connections with people.  The all-or-nothing approach also didn't really help after Easter - once I was "free" to check in on things again, I was, well, like the kid who eats every piece of chocolate out of the Easter basket.  I didn't exactly develop lasting habits.

So this year, I've realized that the importance is in moderation.  I've set myself limits for both where and when I can use the computer.  In a few test days (like this afternoon), I've already seen the amount of work I can get done, the amount of extra time I have, the calmness that pervades our home, how much better I feel as a mom and as a wife, etc.

I started this procrastination analysis with things in mind like "I wait on projects that require me to make a decision..." (which is absolutely true, and - don't worry - still coming in part 3), but it hit me squarely the other day that I can think of as many reasons as I want, and none of them will compare to the temptation of the little glowing screen.  There's always one more post to read, one more link to click, one more time to check the email....(and I'm willing to bet I'm preaching to the choir here!)

At our church's playgroup the other week, some of us were talking about raising our kids in our technology-filled world.  As we talked about setting examples for our kids, and about giving full attention to things (instead of one eye on screen, one eye on toddler), I realized I'm not living the life I want to be living, or accomplishing the things I want to accomplish, or - I daresay - being the person God wants me to be.

It's not just about accomplishing more - it's about being intentional about time, working and resting when it's time for each, being fully in each moment as they come, and allowing myself the quiet for the thinking and praying I should do more.  

I'll still be the pregnant mother of a 18-month-old tornado toddler, so you're "don't worry about the cheerios on the couch" comments will still be necessary - but let's all be honest about assigning the blame - it's not all her (or the little one zapping my energy!).  It's all about balance, and having reasonable expectations.  I'll still be tired and probably not accomplishing all that I would like - but that's not an excuse for not keeping up with basic tasks.  I should be resting, yes, but rest implies that it's a break from work - not blatant disregard for responsibility!

If you happen to be joining me in bringing Internet-time in check this Lent, check out this article "Email and the Holy Spirit," which includes this poignant quote:

"When the question “what should I be doing right now?” arises, it is much easier to turn to a simple reactionary activity where we can assume a passive role. Why think about what you should actually do, when you can easily check your email and taste a little bit of artificial efficiency and self-importance?"

I've never gotten to the end of the day and thought "gee, I wish I had spent more time with the computer today."  I'm looking forward to not having the constant nagging of wishing the opposite.

P.S. I finally remedied the shower/sewage situation, so visitors are welcome (hey - between an Internet fast and visitors coming, this place will be pristine! - which (YIKES!) it needs to be in a few short weeks for house showings!)