The Simple Life at Home

Well, as promised, I've taken some time this week to re-examine my routines. Things obviously had to change once I started working full-time. I haven't gotten much else done this week as I'm still pretty much flat on my back from my trachea/pharynx/whatever infection. I had such great hopes to do so much work in the house during our spring break, but I've been pleased to get a meal on the table, a load or two of laundry done and dishes washed. Hubby and Daniel have been so sweet and helpful.

I've broken the routines down into time frames. It's kind of like little checklists to do at each part of the day. I'm blessed in that, even though I work full-time, I'm still home by 4 pm. I work from 7:30 to 3:30. That gives me plenty of time to get dinner ready and do a little housework, as well as do some homework help, before, say 6 pm.

Morning Routines: (Waking up at 5:30 and leaving the house at 7 am)
Make bed
Do 30 min on treadmill or a 3 min exercise video
Shower and dress
Swish toilets/swipe bathroom sink
Hang laundry washed the night before
Decide what's for dinner and defrost something if needed
Kids: Unload dishwasher, take out garbage, feed dog

Afternoon Routines: (To be done between 4pm and 6 pm)
Fold clothes hung in the morning
Finish cooking dinner
Help with homework
Focus task (explained below)

Evening Routines: (To be done before bed)
Wash dishes
Clean counters, sink and table
Run a load of clothes
Prepare clothes and lunches for morning

Focus Tasks
(A focus task is a job or area that I assign to myself once a week to focus on)

Sunday - Bathrooms and mirrors
Monday - Kitchen
Tuesday - Master bedroom and bathroom
Wednesday - Hubby's room and bathroom (no, we don't have separate bedrooms - he keeps his clothes in the guest room and gets ready for work there in the morning so he doesn't wake me and we each have our space)
Thursday - Organize desk
Friday - Sabbath - rest
Saturday - Grocery shopping, home blessing time, desk work

Home blessing time includes: Dusting, vacuuming, mopping, changing linens, and cleaning the glass doors. The kids help out with these things, as does Hubby when need be. He's the chief mopper around these parts!

So that's the plan. Not everything will get done as often or as well as I'd like it to, but you have to set your priorities, you know? And I'm sure there will be times when I don't get everything done on the list, but at least I'll have a plan to fall back on when I'm feeling lost and rushed.

Today I'm thankful for the sacrifice that Christ made for me on the cross.

24 years ago on Easter Sunday, I finally understood what that sacrifice meant. Even though I had been attending church for several years, I had not truly understood what that meant. Church was more of a social event for me. My life outside of church went pretty much the same as it always did, with the life (and death) of Christ having no real impact on me.

Then, on a bright and sunny Easter morning in the mountains of Arizona, I got it. I realized that His sacrifice had been so tremendous and that He deserved my very best. He deserved all of me, not just that part that I had set aside for Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights. I begged forgiveness and committed to live my life for Him.

The change was instantaneous, and yet has taken all these years. It's still not complete. I still find myself coming to the cross daily to lay down and be changed. I fail miserably every day and yet He never gives up on me. This process of sanctification is a long and challenging one. While we often hear stories of people who accept Christ and are instantly changed, there are those of us who struggle daily with renouncing our sinful nature.

I think I can say that the reason for that is that the closer we come to Christ, the more obvious our sins become. Yes, it's easy to see those big things that we might have been doing before we were Christians. When compared to those things, the "smaller" things (by the worlds standards) seem to be no big deal. But the closer you come to Christ, the more you realize that often those things are a bigger deal than the major "sins" the world considers a bigger deal. Pride, envy, lust, anger - these are all things that the world may make jokes about, but in reality they area bigger problem in the life of a Christian than many of the "big sins." Those big sins are usually just symptoms of these internal, heart attitudes which Christ found so offensive.

Ok, I'm getting off track. My point is that I'm so very thankful that Christ has an unending well of love and mercy for me. As I learn every day, that well is deeper and wider than I could ever imagine.

Ok, ok. I know I'm not actually going to die. It just feels like it and probably would feel better than how I feel right now.

Hubby insisted on taking me for a second opinion this evening. We visited a very close hospital's ER. We were totally impressed by the place and will be going there from now on for our medical needs.

Anyways, the doctor I saw there actually agreed with the other doctor's diagnosis, but did believe that I need antibiotics. Hooray!! So I started on them a few hours ago and hope to be feeling better soon.

Thanks for your prayers and well wishes!!

So, I've just returned from my first ever visit to the doctor's clinic here in Qatar. Apparently I do not have bubonic plague, despite my conviction to the contrary. I have been diagnosed with "tracheitis."

The doctor, a very cute little girl who was maybe 14, said that my lungs are clear (even though I've been coughing up all kinds of stuff which might lead me to believe otherwise) and that it's a viral infection of my trachea. Anti-biotics, she said, were definitely not necessary. Which actually relieved me, because of the huge tendency here to prescribe anti-biotics for everything from the common cold to, oh, I don't know, a sunburn.

I've been given three different remedies - an anti-histamine (though I have no sign of a runny or stuffy nose), a cough syrup, and a mouthwash (I swear I popped a mint right before I went in!!). All this for the grand total price of six riyals - about $1.50.

So here's the problem. Being the naturally curious girl that I am, I went online to look up tracheitis, which I had never heard of. Apparently it is a bacterial infection (which means it DOES require anti-biotics) which most often strikes children. Oh, and it can lead to death. It seems that the windpipe can become so irritated that it can actually close up.

If this is my last post for a while, you may want to send Hubby flowers.

Why can't I catch a break with doctors? I mean, can I just remind y'all of the time I went to the doctor with a shooting pain in my head and the doctor instantly diagnosed me with depression because I was upset he dismissed my pain? That was fun.

Ok, I'm now off to bed. Well, a reasonable facsimile of bed anyways - the couch. I think I'm gonna veg out while I watch Pride and Prejudice. Hubby and I watched Sense and Sensibility last weekend, so it seems that there's a Jane Austen thing going on lately.

Hallelujah!!! This week we are Easter Break (even though it's called Spring Break) and I couldn't be happier! Who would have thought 20 plus years ago that I would be looking forward to Spring Break so I could cook and clean for my family? Wierd how life changes, isn't it?

Unfortunately, the cleaning part hasn't been happening so much. I've been pretty much knocked out by a horrendous cough and sore throat. I'm pretty convinced it's the bubonic plague, but so far no one is believing me. Anyways, it's leaving me sore, achy, and exhausted. Last night I went to bed at 8:30 and that is something I can NEVER remember doing! Unfortunately I woke up at 5:30 am, so that kind of seemed to cancel out the benefits of going to bed early!!

Anyways, I am still determined to do some delicious cooking this week. Since I started working a few weeks ago, dinner has been pretty hit or miss, so this is my week to redeem myself. Here's what I have planned:

Sunday - Well, I had planned lasagna, but I forgot to buy mozzarella so we did Spaghetti with meat sauce. I'll do the lasagna later in the week.

Monday - Pot roast in the crockpot - (Put the roast in the crockpot along with chunked up carrots, potatoes and onions. Combine a can of cream of mushroom soup with a packet of onion soup mix. Add to mix one chopped onion and stir well. Pour over top of roast and vegetables and cook for 7-8 hours on low.)

Tuesday - Lentils & rice with a lemon dressed salad

Wednesday - Lasagna, tossed salad and garlic bread (see, I told you I'd work it back in!!)

Thursday - Shrimp and Sausage Jambalaya over white rice

Friday - Chicken and broccoli casserole with a tossed salad

Saturday - We're having Easter dinner a day early since Sunday is a work day here in Qatar. We've invited over a few guys from our church that are here alone in Doha. I'll be serving a turkey (ham is not sold here), with sausage and apple stuffing, vegetables, mashed potatoes, devilled eggs, spinach and strawberry salad, and some yummy yet-to-be-determined dessert.

So that's what we will be having. For more great menu plans, be sure to visit The Organizing Junkie!!

I know, I know.  Millions of women work full-time jobs every day.