Chores @ MindSay

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Mondays are always a chore at college.
I did a little bit of research in media studies - but on the whole, wasted most of the lesson. I'm getting so impatient... I want to get on and film Spieluhr! Hello...? MUSICBOXPLZKTHX.

English had its moment: Angela sodded off for half the lesson to go to a "meeting" - so I amused myself with my stationery slingshot - two pens, a long elastic band, some modelling clay and bits of rubber or paper balls as ammo. Naturally, from the back of the room, Adam was giving me the: "OMG YOU SILLY COW." look.
For some reason though - when she came back, and I'd fired about 25 paper balls around the room - she instantly knew it was me. Adam told me on MSN that I'd looked really guilty though - I'd gone bright red and hung my head. Well, I do remember pretending to read, lmao. Maybe I blushed more than what I thought. :)

Damn, I wish I wasn't so easy to read. :)

My moods have been fluctuating a lot recently - I've been going from feeling relativley sane and neutral to wanting to slit my throat in the space of five minutes. Thus, I've been in this lapsed mood where I just don't DO ANYTHING - just sit at my desk or lay on my bed and literally spend hours doing shite all.
So in order to make myself more productive - to stop myself wasting all this time, today I made myself a "TO DO" list. And I will say, it worked pretty well. :)

In the space of a few hours, I managed to redraft my personal statement, update three empty blogs, wrap up half of my Christmas presents (before the sellotape died a death, of course), I tidied up my room, filmed some filler clips for the Abigail film sequence, charged my iPod, charged some batteries and generally organised my life.

I watched an episode of Desparate Housewives with mam, ate some chicken sandwiches - then spent a few hours on the phone to Shelly - multi-tasking, as I wrote blogs and wrapped gifts at the same time.

Mam and I are going to watch I'm A Celebrity every night together. I'm only really wanting to watch it because Kim Woodburn is a fucking legend. :D
She's so funny, some of the random shite she comes out with. Sam Fox is hot too - and she's a lesbian. I instantly liked her for that one trait. :)

(And Adam did answer the Social Interview question of: 'what excites me?' with the answer: 'lesbians' - which made me instantly piss. :P)

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Summer Accomplishments:
- Finished Harry Potter & The Philosipher's Stone (PS1)
- 100% FC, Monsoon - Expert & Hard (WT)
- 100% FC, Today - Expert & Hard (WT)
- 100% FC, Mountain Song  - Hard (WT)

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So begins my first day of the huuuuuuge Summer break.
Cue boredom.
Cue lonliness.
Cue VERY VERY BORING BLOGS. :)

Honestly, if all the days ahead of me end up like today was - my blog is going to be one massive boring chore.

In all honesty - I've spent 5 hours playing Guitar Hero: World Tour.
I concentrated mainly on finishing off some Medium songs on bass guitar - thus leaving only about 3 or 4 until I've done all of them in the setlist.
Then I went onto Hard, followed by Expert - collected those sexy 100% FCs that I mentioned in my Summer Accomplishments. :D

I spent my morning cleaning my room and hoovering the entire upper floor of the house.
I even did the stairs.
I've decided that every day, I'll complete some menial houshold chore - just to keep my mother happy.

Following yesterday's day's addiction to Harry Potter: COS - I decided to re-complete the PS1 game I have, Harry Potter: & the Philosipher's Stone.
I've made a second save - the story is the same, I can't get a full 100% because of the poxy Wizard Cards.
Only this time I've ended up with like 14/18.

There's a part of the game that if I progress ahead of - I'll miss my chance to get the cards again - so I made a second save.
The story is the same - if I want to change my silver BEATEN medal to a golden COMPLETED medal - I'll have to practice swinging the minecart...
Those fucking bonus gems... *Mutter*

Well, here we are with spring upon us.  My son is enjoying his break from school (is second grade almost over already?!?!) and, though I have mentioned it several times already, is ignoring the chores that have been set aside for this time.  With the enthusiasm of his age, he has promised to do all manner of jobs in order to have more money and freedoms… but when the time comes, chooses to exercise his reward from yesterday and play on the Xbox instead.  At some point he will have passed many levels, defeated many foes, and racked up lots of points, but will have no time to get all his chores done for the day – and not get the other privileges he wants.

 

He has also been asking about making changes to his chore chart.  He’s a big kid of seven now, and wants to buy himself a Nintendo DS.  Most of my family lives in another part of the state we live in.  Too far away to visit often, so when it comes time for presents, they usually send a check to buy a toy.  My son is lucky, and has lots of toys – so when he begged to have a DS (and was very disappointed that Santa had not brought one), I suggested that he save the money he gets from family for his birthday, Christmas, and other holidays.

 

At the beginning of last year, we marched into the bank with checks in hand.  We got him started with a “Youth Goal Savings Account,” and deposited his Christmas hoard.  He is now quite proud that he has over $100 in his account.  We are going to adjust his chore chart to tasks appropriate for him (upon negotiation and agreement by both parties, of course) and come up with a fair amount of money each task is worth.

 

When we first started making a chore chart, I made a template on the computer, and we have been refining it ever since.  Since he was only four when we started, we had items on there like: Get dressed in morning, Brush teeth, Put pajamas on.  There were actual chores on there, however.  Feeding the dog, sweeping, dusting, and picking up his toys, have all been part of his weekly responsibilities.  Since I print out a new sheet every week, we let him mark his own progress.  If he does a chore without being asked, he can put a star in that box; if we have to remind him, but it gets done, then he can put a check.

 

At the end of the week, we would count up all the checks and star and decide on a reward.  A new toy, a trip to the ice cream shop or Chuck E. Cheese, seeing a new movie or something along these lines.

 

I’m thinking that for the more difficult tasks, I will offer fifty cents for completing the task without being asked, twenty-five for reminders.  A quarter for simpler tasks and ten for reminders.  This way, he can still have the same type of system, but also the money that he so desperately wants.  I also appreciate the fact that we make him a part of the process by deciding together what chores he can accomplish and that he can see how much, or how little, effort he has put forth.

I own an ironing board. It is folded up and tucked away in the laundry room as I rarely use it. When I want to iron a bunch of stuff I either use the ironing center I created in my dressing room. Or I schlep the stuff to my studio where I have a pressing table.  Sewing people find a pressing table rather than a board very useful. It's a large work surface. mine is 36 by 60 as that's what the room will take. I also have a larger and higher cutting table with a mat for rotary cutting. When you do home upholstery and window treatments this stuff all comes in very handy. You can take the creases out of large bolts of fabric easily and it's great for piece-work. My rowenta steam pressure iron sits next to it and creates a lot of power. The pressing table itself is interesting. first there is a 48 inch long table on which it sits. Then there is a layer or homosote 60 inches long, covered with cotton batting, three layers of cotton and a printed grid cover for lining things up and measuring. I made it myself. well three times this year I have left the iron on the table and scorched it badly. and today I did it again.


But this time the iron was upright and as Abi jumped from the table to the top of the stash cabinets she must have caused a movement and the iron part fell over onto the plate. 30 minutes later I was aware of a weird smell. and then I saw the smoke from the scorch. Man was I lucky my husband keeps telling me. So the canvas I had bought this week to make liners for the firewood baskets went to recovering the pressing table and it looks good as new. I need to create some arrangement to tell me that the iron is on before I leave the studio for the day. maybe a serge protector with a light in a prominent place?  I really don't need to burn down this amazing home.