Do you ever take on more than you can handle?

Hi everyone! Hope this post finds you in good health. I am writing this time because I feel as if I have been neglecting this site a bit, but it is not because I am being lazy or otherwise. I believe that I have taken on too much lately. Basically biting more than I can chew.

Let me explain. Six weeks ago I asked my boss to pay for a Social Media Marketing Boot camp at Media Bistro (Which I highly recommend to all of you, please check it out) in order for me to help him promote the Mini Mall that we currently manage. So for the past 6 weeks I have been studying online, not only I have to listen to about 3 hours of webcast a week, I also have to do research and homework. I must say I really love it. I have always had a passion for learning, so I decided to embark in another thing as well.

I recently acquired this program called the Total Transformation System. It gives parents the tools to teach your children to behave better. The program costs roughly $300, however they have a promotion that if you finish the program in 3 months, and submit a feedback questionnaire then you get the whole program for free. I think this is a great deal. My only complaint is that the program comes in several CD's which considering that I don't have a CD player anymore I find it to be inconvenient to have to wait for the computer to be completely accessible, which is usually after the girls go to bed. So I came up with a solution and it is to listen to the CD's on my car on the way to work.

It seems however that taking two courses about different topics isn't quite enough to satisfy my thirst for knowledge so I decided to Join the Facebook Marketing Bootcamp which is free, but it has 2 webcasts a week and a weekly checklist of things to do before the following week's webcast. They also have incentives by giving you $25 credit on FB advertizing.

Doing all of this has left me all feeling as if I am not using my time effectively as I have been neglecting my Blog and I really want to be able to make more time to include my Blog in this, so I decided to buy a Kindle Book called The Skinny on Time Management to see if I can figure out how to divide myself between my desire to learn things and my responsibilities as a mom and wife. So now I just have to figure out how to introduce some time to read this wonderful book.

If this seems like a lot, don't think that this is all the projects I am engaging in this past month, as I am still involved in a Women's Writing Workshop in Brooklyn which I have to write a short story to be critiqued every 2 weeks and critique short stories from my fellow group members, so that's another thing I have to find time to do, which this week I had to write a short story and I wrote it on my phone on my commute by train.

But this is not all, I am also trying to declutter my home and I am bringing things to the local Salvation Army and trying to sell some other things through local Classified Groups and through selling some other things at the local Vintage Store. To help with decluttering I am trying to squeeze some time to read the book called Sink Reflections by Marla Cilley aka Fly Lady. I highly recommend this book and website too.

Tired yet? Well, this is not all because I am also trying to follow a food program that is based on the books by Chef Jeff. He also lets you have his books for free if you take before and after pictures for him to use on his website. You will get reimbursed by the book purchase when you loose weight and send him the pictures.

To wrap it up, lets say that I am not only doing a part time job as an executive assistant/ accountant in a Real estate Management Company, I am also a mom, of two girls ages 5 and 10, who need help with homework, and need guidance and supervision, who need to be fed and need clean clothes and sheets. I also do Social Media Marketing for my job in the off hours, and take a few online courses, one CD course, and learn from 3 other books how to make my life more effective while still also needing down time to snuggle in bed and watch some TV, and take care of the bills and the cooking and ... you know, taking care of everything.

Do you ever feel like you sometimes take on too much? How do you deal? Tips welcome! :)

What makes a landmark constantly amazing?

I have lived in NYC for 11 years. For the past 2 years I have been taking the train to work. On my way, I pass by an area where I can see the statue of liberty from afar. Every day for years I sit in the perfect chair that gives me the best view of he statue of liberty. I see this like I'm going to see a special show and it amazes me how I seem to be the only one that looks at it as we pass by. Is it that people don't know it's there? or is it that people just don't care anymore? At what moment does the statue of liberty becomes such a common sight that people dismiss it?

Yet in another way I can relate. I can see the empire state building out my window, yet I don't go over and look at it everyday. Is it that when you can see something anytime you want, does it loose its value? What is the difference between the empire state building and the statue of liberty? Is it the Historical Significance? Tallest Building versus a sign of freedom? How about the Brooklyn Bridge? I see it often and it still amazes me, especially at night. But the things that amaze me the most are the ones I don't have access to see them at all times of day or night as it is like with the empire state building. What makes a landmark constantly amazing? Is it over all significance or the accesibility of view?
If you lived in Paris and could view the Eiffel Tower through your window. Would you ever get tired of it? Would it loose its power? How about the great Pyramids? Or the Sphinx?

Do you live near a famous landmark? Does it still amaze you after many years? Why do you think is that?

Household - Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel

This last week has been an incredible success for me, not only was I able to broom and mop the house, I was able to get rid of an incredible amount of paper clutter, and I was able to organize all the school supplies that I had laying all over the house. Now everything has it's place and I am so proud. The living room seems so spacious now! When I need scissors or paper, or glue sticks or pencils I know where to find them. We went from not having enough pencils, or markers, or crayons or coloring pencils, or even pens, to having a whole drawer of coloring items and a whole drawer of additional school supplies. We have 5 scissors! more than 20 pencils, and countless other things. So now when one of us needs something, we know where to find it, and where to put it back soon after.
Today Elsie was able to finish her homework and choose some art supplies make some paintings, find the tape to put it up in the wall and then put everything back where it belongs. And that to me is priceless!
Have you had any breakthroughs recently dealing with clutter?

Household - How do you keep up with it all?

Lately I've been feeling like it has been hard to keep up with it all. It seems like I have not mopped in 3 weeks and I sweep whenever I see something in the floor, at least once a week, and I have been culling through paper and other clutter and while I am creating a dent on it all, it still seems like there's much more than I can handle.
The dishes have been staying half way done, as it seems like I do the dishes and 20 minutes later the sink is full again, so I just do enough dishes so I can see the bottom of the sink partially and I feel like at least Ive done something. I am behind in chores, and I struggle thinking about which is more important? Spending time with the hubby or Putting away the laundry? And it seems the hubby is winning because the laundry is still untouched since Thursday. But then it's so hard to find underwear or socks when all the clothes are still in the laundry bad, and then after being there for so many days the clothes get all wrinkly and then I have to iron it and I truly don't want to do that. So how do you set priorities on what to do next? How do you choose what to do when the list of things to do is too much to do in one day?
I need help in this area? All tips are welcome!

Household - Chores and Routines

About a week ago, Amy the Expert Organizer came to my home and helped me declutter a section of my living room. And while I must say that it took 3 hours to clear out about 3 sqft of my apt. Amy did more that just help me figure out what to throw, and what to keep and what to do with what I keep, but she also gave me advice on things to do with my kids.
Amy advised me to give my daughters some kind of job, like sharpening all the pencils every Sunday. Each girl has to sharpen all the pencils in the pencil cup on alternating Sundays. We bought a calendar and wrote down the names when each of them have to sharpen the pencils, bought them an electric sharpener and let them have fun.
Another job that the girls have is setting and clearing the table, they also alternate between them, one sets the table, the other clears it out and they switch out the next day.
Since we have incorporated these new strategies we all sit at the table to have dinner, we spend more time together, the girls are helping me out, and I believe things are going very good and I am very happy with the results.
What little things you do at home to keep the order? What chores do you give your kids if you have any?
I want to hear from you.

Also if you live in NYC and would like to contact Amy, please email me and I will send you her info.

Have you started your spring cleaning?

I decided to use once again the writing prompts of Social Moms and answer the question Have you started Spring Cleaning yet? I never grew up with the term spring cleaning as in Puerto Rico the seasons don't have such a drastic impact as in NYC. Here we have to start thinking about changing the seasonal stuff, like the clothes, switched and getting rid of the things we no longer need. This time I decided to take the time to hire a professional organizer that's going to help us clear out clutter and organize ourselves. I must say that I have a tendency to get frustrated and quit once I feel I have spent a lot of time and effort clearing out stuff and it looks like I have barely made a dent. So I feel that having someone by your side helping you out, someone who is good at it, it will make a huge difference. She already came to our house to review the situation and will be returning on March 22nd to start off with my home office area. She gave me as a homework to give away the exercise bike that I do not use, and move the 3 bikes down from the living room into the bike racks outside and to buy them bike covers so I don't feel worried about them getting ruined in the rain.
So I have to buy these covers and some good locks and start off. Once Amy comes back I will continue to let you know of my progress.
So, what about you? Have you started your Spring cleaning yet? Do you have a specific plan, or method? Please share.

TV or No TV, That is the Question

It's been two weeks since I have no Direct TV, one day it just suddenly stopped working, as it constantly searched for a non existent signal. I called Direct TV and they sent over a technician who said that he could not fix it because the Satellite was owned by my landlord who is using a private contractor for his service and legally they cannot touch it as it is private property. They told me I should call the private contractor to get him to fix it. Well, the private contractor said he can come over right away and fix it, for $92 and he will give me a receipt so I can get credit from Direct TV. This sounds really fishy, so I tell the guy that I am going to call Direct TV and find out if it's true that they give credit for that. I call Direct TV and they say that they do not give credit for that kind of thing. So here I am back and forth with Direct TV and the private contractor and nothing is getting resolved. I don't feel comfortable paying $92 to get some guy to upgrade my Direct TV service so that I can use it. The thing is that instead of having individual satellites for each apartment, the landlord is using one big satellite and splitting it, and it has been overloaded and cannot accept any more people, so in order for me to see TV, I need the upgrade. So I am left with one question, TV or No TV.
With today's technology and the help of the ability to watch TV in the computer and devices that allow you to see the computer on your TV screen and the wonderful invention of Netflix and their instant view movies and TV shows I must say that in 2 weeks I haven't really missed having TV. And what I have noticed is that the girls now play more, draw more, paint more, talk more. And life seems a little bit better. There are periods of quiet when the TV stays still and the girls go about their days as if the TV didn't matter and it makes me realize that No TV has been a blessing. We have to carefully select what we watch and we don't have to worry about watching something at a specific time, we watch whatever we want, when we want it. And that is great.
So today I called to cancel service on my Direct TV and after a long talk with the Direct TV people they told me that they were going to investigate this private contractor because the story I told them did not sound like something that it is legal as my service is not set up as a multiple dwelling service. So while they investigate I will enjoy my TV-less time and the quietness that comes along with it.

Dealing With Clutter Part 2 - Not Giving Up

Last week I talked about how my lack of Security led me to accumulate clutter. Trying to hold on to things that only gave me a false sense of security, and realizing that I had given up on having nice things because I didn't feel worthy. I must say that there are days when you see the mountain of stuff and can't imagine how you are ever going to do it. But you must not give up.
Today I went into my daughter's room and cleared out a large garbage back the 30 gal black one. I threw away a lot of stuff and organized others into the closet. I saw so many other things that need to be dealt with. Things that should get donated, others shredded, or thrown. I didn't want to overwhelm myself so I took care of the things I could in the 2 hours I gave myself to do this project.
Continuing to clear out things and seeing improvements keeps me all excited to continue on my task one day at a time.

How do you deal with clutter in your home? Do you get help or do it by yourself?
I want to hear what you have to say.

Dealing with Clutter: Sense of Security

For the most part of my life I have lived with clutter. I remember growing up and having one room of the house to be the "cachibache" room. In there we threw everything we didn't use often. And when I say threw, I mean literally threw. That room was a mess. Random stuff piled over everything. Now that I think about it, it was basically a storage room but with no organization what so ever. We moved fairly often and this messy room of stuff would get packed over and over and over, unused, unchecked. Only on the rare occasion when we would have a flood would we weed through the stuff, and mourn the once forgotten stuff we had not seen since our last move.
And here I am now as an adult finding myself with the same problem, except here in NYC, we don't have the luxury of an extra room unless we rent a storage space. So all my "cachibaches" are spread around all over the house creating a chaotic mess. I always blamed it on being tired to clean, on not having enough space, or a good shredder (you know, identity theft and all). The girls are too little, they need my attention, I can't possibly spend the day cleaning. But these are all excuses, like the one I have used the most often "we are going to move soon anyway so why bother". But soon has been five years and we are still at the same house, and this takes me to another thing, sense of security. What I have come to learn is that throughout my life I've moved so much and my situation has been so random that I lost the sense of security that I should have had since I was a child and with this I developed and attitude of indifference. I never considered anything to have the ability to be mine long term, so I never found the need to care and keep anything in nice condition, because to me there was no point in making an effort for temporary things. But even life is temporary, why not make it the best, right? So now as I find myself weeding through clutter, getting rid of stuff, one room at a time. I propose to make my soroundings nice, and with this my family gets happy in return too.