I heat up canned cat food over hot water (no microwave) in the mornings and evenings, set a timer for seven minutes, and empty the drain board and do dishes. I still have to do another 10-15 minutes of dishes, but it's helpful to tie it into something I have to wait on.

Puppy boy was hella late (2 hrs) and so I wrote him up. Sorry you're having a suck day; set an alarm on your phone.

Y'all have me terrified of the FlyLady. I am afraid she'd just make me feel guilty and awful on top of my inability to keep everything clean.

Actually, she's been the opposite of guilt-making for me. She has all these little catchphrases like, it didn't get dirty in a day, it's not going to get clean in a day, that let me let go enough to say, okay, it'll get a little bit cleaner today, and screw the rest. But I realize I've drunk the koolaid on this one, so I may not be a reliable source.

I get the individual emails, which are indeed ridiculous in volume. But I have set up mail filters that pick out, for example, the daily mission. I filter out the product testimonials as much as possible. So then I only have a few each day that are relevant to me, and I read those, unless I'm needing some more motivation. And I delete them all regularly. Because Flylady told me to.

I load/empty the dishwasher while waiting for coffee to brew...mostly. Some days, I just stare blankly at the coffee pot and heat milk for cafe au lait.

Deena, it's been good to see you! I hope you have more better days than other.

I'm contemplating flylady. I need something to kick me in the ass right now, I've been letting things slide while I work on my big bang in the evening. Perfect excuse to avoid chores. "Oh, dishes? Oh, I need another 6000 words, dishes can wait."

There's also the free Cozi app option, for those who don't want to clog their inboxes. I've used it a bit.

I think I can feel two of my sacral vertebrae grinding against each other. Not a good feeling. Must lie on balls tonight (not a euphemism).

I'm confused as to why FlyLady needs to be sending me emails at all. Are they like "Go wash the dishes now!"-- because those I don't want -- or are they more like "Dear FlyLady, can you help me get cat vomit out of my favorite linen pillow cases?" --because those I don't want either.

Huh. Maybe I don't want FlyLady. But then my house will always be a pigsty and I will never know the pleasure of her inspirational ways.

I think you get a, "Focus on this today, in the grand, manageable scheme that we've got going on here..." It's not pushy at all from what I've seen. Like I said, I haven't started yet. But, I mean, I value the option of not having to think about it too much and just checking an e-mail to see what the plan is. Or ignoring it, as I choose.

So! I cleaned up the sink and wiped counters down while I waited for my coffee to heat up this morning. And then left it in the microwave, but whatever. I cleaned for two minutes, and it did some good. Excellent tip.

I'm one of 4 possibles for a freelance editing/copyeditor position to be decided today or tomorrow. I just got major flop sweat, and icy hands answering an email pertaining to it.

-ma, please. (How am I to go calmly back to the resume I'm working on?! I guess by switching back to the window. Deep breath.)

All kinds of ~ma, Erin!

HOLY SHIT, I GOT IT!

I'm a copy editor for Carina Press!

I AM SO JAZZED!