The best-laid plans...and lots of baked treats

I started blogging with the intent of posting something every day for the last two weeks of October. That lasted exactly 3 days. Here I am again, almost a week after my last post, and I can't figure out where the last week has gone.

Well, I take that back. Monday night I worked at the bookstore; Tuesday night I got together with C; Wednesday I had a chiropractor appointment and then baked and did laundry; Thursday I had a chiropractor appointment and spent time with L, for a much-needed and long-overdue tune-up; and last night was yet another chiropractor appointment (thank you, guy who rear-ended me in July) and then hung out with C again. It was a busy week, but generally a good one. All week long I've been looking forward to today - partially because I would have some time to relax and to do all the stuff that I didn't get done during the week (like the rest of my laundry, shopping for the rest of my Halloween costume), but mostly because I was planning to go to a party this afternoon, and to another one this evening. Tomorrow I need to go to the office for a while, and I'll probably hang out with my big sis in the evening. Today was the more "off'" days of the weekend. The coming week will be similar to the past week, with time at the bookstore, lots of chiropractor appointments, time with different friends, a play, my birthday, and finally another party next weekend. Oh yeah, and my job.

Anyway, I made it through my crazy busy week to Saturday. I slept in, had some cat-snuggling time, ran a few quick errands, made my dish to share at the first party (cranberry-apple crisp) and got ready to leave the house...when I realized I had no idea where the party was. The host's address wasn't in the e-mail invitation...which I didn't notice until I tried to walk out the door. I sent the host an e-mail and a text message to a mutual friend to try to get the address. But an hour and a half later, the host of the party is (I assume) doing party-host things rather than checking her messages, and our mutual friend (who lives in another city and wouldn't be at the party, or even necessarily checking his phone) hasn't gotten back to me yet. Really, I think it's pretty funny.

Instead of using the time between now and my next party (a birthday dinner for a friend) to do anything that I really should get done (oh, laundry, how you vex me), I started baking again - cranberry chocolate chip cookies this time.

I just read over what I've written so far and noticed three things: One, I have a lot of good intentions. Two, I overschedule myself in a big way, and I think perhaps I should plan an "Amy-night" (or two) every week. Three, I really don't manage my time as well as I should.

I'm not sure if the poor time management is a function of the over-scheduling, or the over-scheduling is a function of poor time management. The good intentions result from wanting to do everything. Life's too short to spend it sitting around, and since I'm blessed with so many amazing people in my life, of course I want to spend my precious "free" time with them.

In any case, as much as I would have loved to see the people at the first party, maybe not going is what I needed today. Baking is my therapy - I do it when I'm crabby, tired, or emotionally worked over, or just when I feel like baking. It's calming, and it lets me focus on something that is orderly - which the rest of my life sometimes is not. Plus, I have something to show for the time I've spent. Most of the time I feel like I do a lot of running around. It's great and I'm generally pretty happy, but I have to wonder where my time goes. Today I know: I have cookies and apple-cranberry crisp to share with some lucky person(s).

I'm going to be realistic and acknowledge that I probably won't make the time to post every day between now and the end of October. I do enjoy it, but there have been days in the past week when it would have been one more thing to check off the list.  Next week will be similar, if not worse. But it's my own doing, and I'm grateful for everything (except for perhaps being rear-ended...but whatever).