Hello everyone:
We all know someone who seems to accomplish a whole lot in her 24 hours. Maybe she is your college professor who teaches 6 different classes at three different colleges, all of which have different starting dates. Perhaps she also writes two blogs twice a week while writing a novel and making presentations on the topic of her dissertation. Perchance she is also keeping her family fed, clothed, and the house clean while also running 8 miles a day, biking 3 miles a day, and walking 4 miles a day.
What in the world? Is this woman nuts? Does she ever sleep? Is she Superwoman? Nope. None of the above (I hope). She is simply organized.
So how is this done while not losing one’s sanity? For starters, she keeps a “to-do” list and crosses things off as they are accomplished. She makes a daily list of what must be done and also has a list on the same page of what it would be nice to do that day. If something is vitally important, it needs to be done FIRST so that the rest of the day will not be spent fretting about having not gotten it completed.
Let’s follow her through a typical day. She keeps her exercise clothes in the bathroom and puts them on before she is totally awake. By the time the fog clears, she is already dressed to exercise, so she might as well do it. Three miles on the bike, eight miles on the treadmill and that is done. BTW, if she was taking a class right then, she would have a study guide for one of her classes blown up into 16 point font and displayed on her bulletin board in front of the treadmill so she could study while running. If she was not taking a class, she would pray for her students and the folks on her church prayer list (again, posted on her bulletin board, filling otherwise non-productive time). Ninety minutes later, she is done and it is only 7 am.
Next, she gets ready for her day, studying while blow drying her hair or reading a current magazine in the 7 minutes it takes to get her hair dry. That way, she is keeping up with the world in general while using otherwise non-productive time. She does her makeup without distraction because telemarketers haven’t figured out that she is up and at ’em by 7 am. She dresses in an outfit suitable for the entire day (when possible) so that she only has to dress once.
Breakfast means Bible study time and/or catch up with the family. She is out the door by 8:30, to walk 4 miles, grocery shop, or run errands. Home by lunchtime means no fast food (that adds pounds very quickly) and on to her online classes.
She can check in on 6 classes within a couple of hours, if there are not many assignments due. She grades on a daily basis, so that there are very few marathon grading sessions and so that her students can get immediate feedback on every assignment. They appreciate knowing how to improve their grades for the next assignment by following her in-depth feedback on this one. She keeps a month-at-a-glance calendar next to her computer so that she can track which week each of the three colleges is in, which students will have assignments due that week, and when her discussion boards open to students.
During the online class time, she makes a point of getting up and moving every 45 minutes by setting an oven timer. She also has a Varidesk, which allows her to fluff her pillow as need be. Classes are usually completely done by 2:30 or 3, so she can take a few minutes to fold the two loads of laundry she did while teaching (the 45 minutes between breaks is enough time to transfer washing into the dryer and then take it out when it is dry).
She can spend the rest of the time until dinner preparation time to blog or write her novel. To remain faithful to writing, she sets her oven timer for 45 minute increments. After visiting with the family during dinner, she can spend more time writing until Jeopardy is on. Following the game show, there is time to watch a little bit of Doc Martin before an early bedtime.
Do you think she is nuts or just well-organized? I hope you think the later, instead of the former!
Best,
Dr. Sheri
P.S. Welcome to my life!
Hello everyone:
Here are some tips for moving to a new location if you have small children:
When I was in the process of becoming a suddenly single mom, my small son had an interesting comment as we prepared to move out of the apartment I had shared with my soon-to-be-ex-husband and into our new condo.
His father had left for greener pastures when our son was two; he was now three years old and I told him it was time to move on. He remarked, “But Mommy, if you move, who’s going to live with me?” It crushed my heart to think he was afraid that I was leaving him, as well.
Although I had planned on putting him with a sitter while we moved, I immediately changed my mind and had him become a part of the moving process. It would have been easier to let someone else keep an eye on him that day, but I realized that he needed to be involved.
His behavior could not have been better on the day of our relocation, as I let him “direct” the loading of his toys into the moving van and then had him tell our helpful friends where to put his boxes of toys in the new condo. He had “bought” into the idea of having a new bedroom and did not have any new-home anxieties as we changed our place of residence.
What moving tips can you share with everyone? I would love to hear your ideas for “moving house” as they say in England, when you have little ones to bring with you.
Best,
Dr. Sheri
Hello everyone:
I got a church newsletter from my great aunt’s church of many years and I was struck by how a few people can make a huge difference in the lives of others.
The last time I visited her church, the normal attendance on a Sunday morning was 271 people over two services. Not a huge group, but faithful folks who regularly met together.
These folks have a ministry to their community all year round but they go out of their way to minister to others at Christmastime. They take homemade cookies to people who have to work on Christmas day, such as firemen and women, hospital workers, and police.
Their newsletter that arrived at my home today has numerous thank you notes from folks who they have helped in the last month: for some, the church paid their gas or electric bill; to others, food was brought in during a time of someone’s difficulty; for those unable to get out and about, small Christmas trees (apparently full-decorated) were given to cheer the stay-at-home invalids.
What a wonderful way to go out of their way to help those unable to help themselves! What experiences have you had with being blessed by the actions of a few?
Best,
Dr. Sheri
Hello everyone:
The holidays can be very difficult as we navigate seldom-seen relatives amidst a flurry of activity. We can find tempers frayed as we become sleep-deprived as a result of increasing responsibilities. Too much to do in too little time can add to our holiday stress, and a limited income in addition to holiday bills can add to those challenges.
Put in a liberal dose of illness or infirmity, too much togetherness in too tight a space, and you have a disaster waiting to happen.
So what can we do? Ask for help. Don’t take all of the jobs on yourself. Pray. Take time to read your Bible. Try to stay on as normal a schedule as possible. Respect others’ need for privacy and ask that they acknowledge your need. Reach out the to person who seems determined to give you the hardest time, if you can. Take a walk when things seem overwhelming.
Depend on God to help you make it through. And, yes, it can be helpful to have a personal countdown of how many days you have left in this season. Give yourself something to look forward to, such as lunch out with a friend, and do not let anyone talk you out of this personal time that you need.
I pray that you will make it through successfully, and that you will have a blessed holiday!
Best,
Dr. Sheri
P.S. Now excuse me while I go make the family dinner, set up for it, and do the laundry while everyone else is at the beach. Oh, well….. I love my family and this is the way that I serve God.
Hi everyone:
I was talking to a widow friend on Sunday and she told me that it was the fifth anniversary of her husband’s passing that very day. Everyone was running around, getting ready for Christmas and she was preparing for her fifth Christmas without her precious hubby.
This man was the light of her life. He was one of the kindest people to ever walk the face of the earth and, even though she has a very sweet man friend in her life now, she still misses her hubby. I knew him well and miss him also.
What can be done for people in this situation? Hug on them. Make them realize that you care and that you did care for their loved one. Just let them talk. Be a friend in need. Be there for them.
I am getting ready to go see my dad soon. I will arrive on the 69th anniversary of his marriage to my mother. That is on purpose, so that I can spend some time with him on a day that has been special to him for 69 years. Mom has been gone for three of those years, but she is not forgotten.
What do you do for those who are mourning, like perhaps you have done yourself?
Best,
Dr. Sheri
Hello everyone:
In honor of the snow that we are having in Maryland right now, here are some tips on shoveling snow:
If you live in Florida or some other southern state, this will not be a problem. If you live in an area where there is snowfall, you may be required by local ordinances to remove snowfall from your sidewalk within 24 hours of the end of the storm, so you better learn how to do it. If a large amount of snow is predicted, you may find it helpful to go out several times and shovel a few inches of snow, rather than waiting for it to stop.
One caveat: if the wind is blowing around, you might as well wait. Drifting snow would make your early efforts somewhat useless. If you have young people in the neighborhood that would enjoy earning a little extra pocket money, you may find it worthwhile to hire one or two of them to do this task. If that is not in your budget, let’s go outside and get to work, after making sure that you are dressed properly.
Make sure that you are dressed warmly enough. Dress in layers, with loose clothing on the top. Wear a hat (this is not a fashion show here, so don’t worry what your hair looks like), gloves, thick socks, boots, and a jacket over your long-sleeves and long pants. Although it will be mentioned it again at the end of this section, you will be taking a shower when you are done and changing every bit of clothing you have on, so don’t worry about what your hair or what your outfit looks like during this task.
It is more important to keep your head covered than that you not muss your hair. A lot of heat will escape from an uncovered head, which could lead to illness, so cover up!
Take something to drink outside with you, such as orange juice (which will keep your blood-sugar level from going nuts as you expend all this energy). Also, make sure that you have the physical ability to do this job; if you have chronic health problems or are out of shape, shoveling can literally kill you. Everyone should do some stretchy moves before starting; this will get your muscles ready for the job facing you.
do you have any helpful tips on shoveling snow?
Best,
Dr. Sheri
Hello everyone:
Bugs are not a fun visitor to have in your home. If you chose to use a professional exterminator, there are a few things you need to know.
The spray guy (or gal) who comes to exterminate at your home will normally just spray the outside of the house. Let him or her know if you are having a specific problem.
Service does include killing bugs but does not include the death of termites. That requires a separate contract. Depending on the area where you live, your traditional service contract covers cockroaches, ants, and spiders.
There are two different types of termites, dry wood and subterranean. The dry wood termites have fewer termites in their colonies and they are less destructive. They fly into your home in warmer seasons.
Subterranean termites, on the other hand, are underground, they do more damages because there are more of them, and they come up through a dirt tunnel. They like the dark. Once your exterminator gets rid of them, it is worthwhile to protect your home through a yearly contract where the exterminator returns to re-inspect your house annually and to rid your home of any termites that might have returned.
Best,
Dr. Sheri
Hello everyone:
Most of the time, using a dryer sheet is the easiest way to utilize fabric softener. Some towels have an absorbency that is ruined by them, so make sure your towel is not one of them (read the label). [Note: Some exercise clothes cannot be placed in the dryer, so check that out as well. The wicking quality of the clothes is destroyed when they are exposed to heat, so you will need to hang them up to dry.]
Do not put an entire load of laundry in the dryer at the same time unless you don’t want to get your clothes dry anytime soon. Dry the things that have to be hung up first, so that you can take them out while the dryer is still going (before it stops and cools off, that is).
Take the shirts out a couple at a time and hang them up immediately. Remove pants next and hang them up. After these items are out of the dryer, put the rest of the load in and dry it; socks and underwear do not need to be hung up, so you can leave them alone until the dryer is done.
I actually set a portable timer when I have something in the washer and dryer, to remind me to transfer the laundry either into the dryer or onto hangers. I find that 45 minutes is usually enough for my dryer to get things dry; test your machine to see how long it takes to dry items and then set your timer accordingly. Using a timer will save you from having many wrinkles in your clothes.
Best,
Dr. Sheri
Hello everyone:
A friend of mine had a small child who locked herself in the bathroom when we had gone over to another friend’s house for craft time. We did not realize the child was missing until we took a break for snacks.
The recently-potty trained child had tried to take care of business herself but the house and its locks were old and the little girl did not know how to get out of the bathroom once she was inside. We knew nothing about tools and had to call 911 to extricate the child from her dilemma.
If you would like to avoid having fire trucks show up at your place, I will guide you through the tools you need to have on hand and will end with how to remove a locked door.
You need to have the following items in your tool box: two screwdrivers (Phillips head and flat head), pliers, wire cutters, picture hangers, wrenches, a hammer, and duct tape.
My sister-in-law also finds that a retraceable exacto-type knife comes in handy because when the blade gets dull, you can break it off and a new one appears.
Here’s the thing about tools: you get what you pay for. If you buy cheap tools, they will not last and you will end up frustrated when they cannot do what you need them to do. If you buy Sears Craftsman tools, they come with a lifetime warranty and Sears will replace them if they break.
Your toddler or grandchild has just locked him or herself in your bathroom. Short of calling 911, how do you get the child out? It depends on the type of doorknob that you have (and how old it is). If it is a relatively new doorknob, you should have a small hole in the center of the handle. These locks usually came with a key-type piece of metal. It is recommended that you keep this metal key on top of your door frame, in case of emergency. Rub your hand over the top of the door, to see if your key is there. If it is, poke the piece of metal into the door knob until you hear a “click.” The door should now be unlocked. If you have a flat-sided key, then you may have to poke it into the handle and turn the key in order to get the door to unlock.
With some older doors, there is no hole to poke into the handle. Grab a Phillips head screwdriver (the one that looks like a starburst on the tip) and head towards the door. Remove the screws on the side of the handle that are visible from your side of the door. [Note: Keep the screws local- you will need them after you get the child out of the room.] Reach into the lock mechanism and unlock the door. Plan on putting the handle back on the door after the child is freed. You will do this by putting the screws you took out a few minutes ago, putting them back on the handle area, and screwing them back into place.
Best,
Dr. Sheri
Hello everyone:
Women should also keep in mind the need to have a marketable skill, even if their plan is to get married and live happily ever after with their husband supporting them.
My sister-in-law has had a ministry to recent widows and she tells the story of many older women who, after they get over the shock of losing their husband, suddenly realize that he had little or no life insurance and that they do not have any income.
One of the women she ministered to was so unfamiliar with the ways of the business world that she started to work for someone, only to learn later that the person was paying her poverty-level wages. She was unable to maintain even a small house on her income and had to turn to her church for help.
She is in better financial shape these days, yet she has no money for anything except the bare necessities of life. If she had not been involved with a widows group, who knows where she would be today, since no one would have been aware of her extreme situation.
While we are on the topic of marketable skills, one of the smartest women I know is a gal with a boatload of little kids who decided she, as a stay-at-home mom of five, needed to have something to fall back on when her kids were grown or if something should happen to her husband.
She loved to tell stories and enjoyed romantic fiction, so she took some classes in how to write and launched a new career after the kids were in bed for the night. She has written more than 30 books of inspirational fiction and definitely has a career that can support her, should the unthinkable happen. It did.
What ideas do you have for possessing marketable skills that will protect you from financial disaster?
Best,
Dr. Sheri