The Kindle 3G with the keyboard is nice. I did have a few complaints. I wished it was touchscreen and the side navigation buttons need to go.

I enjoy reading off a screen much more than reading out of a book. I read more – which is surprising. Now I just need to finish reading the books I have. So much to read.

Thank goodness the groundhog saw his shadow because this winter has just been a time of sickness around our house. Yesterday I ventured onto our Fitbit Aria scale to make myself feel even worse than I have the past few weeks only to discover I was down ten pounds!

Now I never lose weight when I’m sick and this week I’ve had a mysterious fever so naturally I jumped to conclusion that I must have cancer or something really severe. Weightloss which never just happens and fever that never just happens – both in one day. So even though I’m freaking out for the reason for these changes, I’m trying to be positive that maybe those lifestyle cutbacks are actually helping me lose weight. My fever went away by the evening – so then I was just glad to finally weigh less than I have in months! Woo hoo! Ten pounds gone! Or so I thought…

This morning I weighed again – greedy to see the new number that is my weight – only to see the old, ugly, incredibly large number! What the? What happened to my ten pound weight loss? Oh Aria scale, you toy with my emotions.

Maybe the scale knows I want to lose weight so is motivating me by teasing me with a lower weight for a day. That could be it. It is a smart scale after all. Before I step on the scale again, I will have done something to actually lose some weight. Also maybe some fresh batteries for the scale, too.

The only reason we have this little pink tree is that it was mixed in with my daughter’s toys. The tree was given to her by her grandmother last year. Next year we will try to do better. The upside is that putting away the holiday decorations will be a snap this year.

I have a bunch of holiday post ideas that I will not get to but plan to do after Christmas. While they may not be relevant, they will be there for next year – hopefully at the top of a Google search or two. One can dream, right?

Today I plan to finish up some handmade gifts. Tomorrow and the next day I plan to concentrate on writing before we leave town. That is the plan right now. Let’s hope I can get some writing done before the end of the year.

Working from home is really hard. I am distracted the whole day by tasks that must be done around the house. A friend of mine has several business ventures and spends about ten minutes at a time on each project. When he first shared this, I thought this kind of pace would drive me crazy. How can you get anything done in ten minutes? But now – after days of no productivity – I am willing to give this a try.

I have a hard time concentrating for more than ten minutes. Knowing that in ten minutes I will be doing something else allows me to be in the moment of whatever I am doing. I hate sitting in front of the computer but this is how I make money – so I have to do it. On the other hand, I do love my computer but in small doses. A ten minute window means I can get a blog post done, an article half-written, or some other task done. That is the goal anyway – to get stuff done.

This is why I believe in doing household work this way, too. I cannot stand the idea of cleaning for hours but for ten minutes? I can do that. It is also amazing what can be accomplished in ten minutes: a clean kitchen, a clean bathroom, clutter removed from living room, etc. Plus during the holidays, I can wrap a few presents and then move on in ten minutes time.

The ten minute rule also gives me time to work in frequent breaks where I can check on email, water plants, read, crochet, or play games. My ten minutes are almost up, so let me wrap this up by saying that breaking my day up into ten minutes increments will help me get more accomplished and feel less stress.

This week I have begun to wrap Christmas presents since waiting to the last minute (like I have done in the past) is very stressful. I have finished wrapping minutes before time to open presents at family gatherings. A few weeks ago, we bought out wrapping paper and today I rolled it out for the first time. I was delighted to see that there were lines on the back of the paper as this will make it much easier to cut.

I can never cut in a straight line but at least now I have a guide and less excuses. The lines are in a grid – so this will make it easy to cover spots missed by the wrapping paper. Those leftover pieces are always an inch too small to cover one side. Also this year I thought I would let my daughter wrap some gifts – so the lines will be perfect since she can cut big enough pieces. We might even make it a game by measuring the presents and then measure the gift paper. I love when we use math in real life.

Not sure if wrapping paper is marked with this feature. We bought a multi-pack of four rolls. This lined wrapping paper will be really handy this holiday.

Step 1: Suffer with headache for three or so hours before deciding to take some action.

Step 2: Go to drug store and buy a sinus mask.

Step 3: Place sinus mask in freezer and wait two hours.

Step 4: By this time, your headache will be gone. If not, remove sinus mask from freezer and place on forehead. Lay down for at least 30 minutes.

I remember having a sinus mask years ago. It was awesome. 30 minutes on the forehead and headache would be gone. This morning I decided to buy another one since I had been suffering with a headache for a few hours. By the time it was ready to use, my headache was gone. Next time though I will not have to suffer. I picked up mine at Walgreen’s in the section with all the hot/cold packs. I would advise not to leave it in the freezer. That is what I did with my last one. It acted like an odor catcher and began to smell. Also it did finally bust – I guess it couldn’t take it anymore. You can also microwave the mask if your prefer a hot compress to a cold one. For sinuses, the cold works well for me.

But the point of this post is not to complain about a dirty house but to talk about Mondays. I should never make any life-changing experiences on Mondays. Yesterday I was so tired of everything. Of blogging, writing, freelancing that I was all ready to find work outside the home. What was I thinking? I LOVE being home. I LOVE blogging and freelancing. This is where I find peace and purpose. Why would I ever want to give that up? That is the power of Monday. It’s like a black hole but thankfully I can escape from it when Tuesday rolls around.

So I just have to remember not to make any important decisions on a Monday because it may not be what I really want. Tuesdays are always better – better rested, clearer thinking, and overall positive outlook.

As if soap needed another use but I discovered something completely by accident. Recently I bought a four-pack of soap. After using one bar immediately after buying it, I placed the rest of the soap in the linen closet. A couple of days past and I opened the closet and was greeted by a fresh scent. It was the soap.

A partially opened pack of soap was working better as air freshener than an air freshener. Now I enjoy putting away the towels because I will get a whiff of some good-smelling stuff. Also it is cheaper than air freshener since we already buy soap, we can just use it from now on. So keep those bars of soap in your linen closet. It will keep the air smelling good.

Today I am thankful for a thawed turkey. My husband cooked the bird, and it was delicious. Our first turkey was a great success.