Money & Work

Daily Check-In — No Comments
6
Nov 08

Changing my daily format

Shifty Reverse Macro
Creative Commons License photo credit: orangeacid

I’ve slowly been building up more and more resistence to my daily update post (as evidenced by its recently-spotty appearance), so I’m going to try something else for a while.

You’ll notice that there’s a couple of new sections on the sidebar: one is my list (now maintained at my favorite online list site, Remember The Milk), and the other details my reward and progress. The idea is that it will be even easier to update these things (I can even update my RTM list from my iPhone) so maybe I won’t put them off.

We’ll see, but it’s worth a shot. :)

Daily Check-In / Kids — No Comments
5
Nov 08

Quick list and a mini-movie

I’m feeling lazy about posting this week, so I’ll just put up my quick list and leave you with a video I enjoyed. :)

Most Important Tasks

  • Tweaks for one client
  • Write back to theme-creation inquiry
  • Tweaks for another client

The reward

Subscription to All You magazine, which I’ve been tempting myself with for several months.

Daily Check-In / Monday Motivation — No Comments
3
Nov 08

New week, new month, new time

Bills, bills, bills
Creative Commons License photo credit: moonhouse

It’s the dreaded first business day of the month, which means… invoicing day. Oh, well. As much as I hate the paperwork, invoicing (sometimes) means getting payments, so there you have it.

Had a fun weekend, am feeling much better (and hopefully will be sounding good enough to sing this weekend—it’s our band’s “on” week). Just did one of my new yoga DVDs and am happy I purchased it—I think it will help with labor and delivery (assuming I keep doing it! :) ).

Never heard back about the pumpkin contest, so that’s an assumed “no.” Was hoping it would pay off, but in the end it was really just a $7 gamble (well, you know, plus the hours and hours of carving ;) but those were fun).

Most Important Tasks

  • Invoicing
  • Style my small WordPress-based gallery plugin
  • Make a couple of small client-requested tweaks

The reward

Play time with colors, themes, and Twitter backgrounds. Or sewing.

Daily Check-In — No Comments
30
Oct 08

My holiday spirit kind of wandered off…

Things between us should feel fine,
Creative Commons License photo credit: t.e.m|photography|

Every day feeling a little better. Still napping like a… um… cat. Aren’t you glad I just have a cold and not something actually serious? I could be moaning about that for months!

No word yet on the pumpkin contest but they were expecting some entries to come in late last evening and to do the judging this morning. Sounds to be some other entries that are very good, so we’re definitely not a shoo-in.

No big plans for Halloween. I’d thought about wearing basketball clothes and painting my belly as a ball, but after something like 13 consecutive days of having something to do every night, I’m ready to just lay low and do nothing. We have candy to hand out and I’ll just concentrate on not eating that. :)

Most Important Tasks

  • Respond to a particular client email
  • Start to create a small WordPress-based gallery plugin

The reward

Play time with colors, themes, and Twitter backgrounds.

Daily Check-In — No Comments
29
Oct 08

Feeling lucky?

Marginally better today, but still feeling exhausted.

The one potentially exciting thing about today: Leanna and I carved a pumpkin for her apartment’s contest, and it’s being judged today. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place each get a month’s free rent, so we’re really hoping. We went the “kiss-up” route, which is kind of a gamble, but might pay off.

Most Important Tasks

  • Finish front page for client theme (a different one than yesterday)
  • Read an email from a client that I’ve been resisting

The reward

More napping.

Daily Check-In — No Comments
28
Oct 08

Productivity seems unattainable…


Creative Commons License photo credit: sunshinecity

Meh. Still feeling distinctly like I’ve been hit by a bus. Didn’t sleep well at all, so I’ll probably be working between naps.

Most Important Tasks

  • Finish first draft of front page for client theme
  • Clarify color expectations with another client

The reward

Can’t bring myself to care at this point.

Daily Check-In / Monday Motivation — No Comments
27
Oct 08

Work week… huh?

Steve the Sock monkey Zombie
Creative Commons License photo credit: Sappymoosetree

Had a good weekend, but feel like death warmed over this morning. I’m coming down with either a sinus infection or a head cold, and I’m just glad to be working from home. Too bad self-employment doesn’t provide benefits like sick time. :)

Going to keep it light today and see if the brain fog dissipates after a while…

Most Important Tasks

  • Call the City of L.A. and try to figure out why they’re demanding thousands of dollars in taxes from me (despite the fact that I’m, you know, in Idaho)
  • Finish and launch the new theme for TweetStyle
  • Pay my outstanding bill to one of my designers and get him started on/prepared for the next project (depending on whether or not the client got me their materials over the weekend)

The reward

A nap.

Daily Check-In — No Comments
24
Oct 08

Friday, happy Friday

Costurando ♥
Creative Commons License photo credit: Cláudia*~Assad

Still alive despite the carrots (and added them to today’s smoothie, too). I can tell you’re relieved.

You might have noticed from my last few rewards that I’m kind of on a crafty kick. I go through phases, and it seems that I am doing the “nesting” thing that pregnant women do, it’s just manifesting in sewing cute little things rather than, say, house cleaning. ;)

My Amy Butler book arrived yesterday, so I got fabric for a project out of that book instead of the hat and booties pattern (which hadn’t shown up yet, so I didn’t know how much to get). I’ll post pictures somewhere when I’m done with it—and unless I screw it up royally, you’ll probably die of cute overload.

Most Important Tasks

  • Get Leanna going on WordPress upgrades
  • Code the front page for TweetStyle based on the design I created yesterday
  • Do a yoga workout should one arrive by 3pm (expecting three DVDs, one from Netflix, two from Amazon, but need to be clean and at the church by 5:30 to sound-check for our big weekend)

The reward

Free time to work on the sewing project.

Daily Check-In — 1 Comment
23
Oct 08

Tricking myself into healthy-baby-incubating

carrot flat notes
Creative Commons License photo credit: kathryn_rotondo

I’m so brave. I’m sure you’ll all be tremendously impressed to learn that I put some cooked carrot in my protein smoothie this morning, despite being irrationally afraid of veggies. This was my mom’s suggestion, and so far, it hasn’t killed me (should probably consider that statement “pending” for 24 hours or so, though ;) ).

I thought I had found the perfect solution to my non-veggie-eating diet with the V8 v•fusion juice—the one where they mix fruit juice with veggie juice (from sweeter veggies like carrots). But with the high glucose levels, my doc specifically told me to lay off soda (which I rarely drink) and juice. So now I’m being more intentional about eating broccoli (the one veggie I like) and trying things like the carrots in stuff.

Truly, I’m six years old.

Most Important Tasks

  • Be available to help Leanna recover her dead hard drive and reinstall everything on the new one
  • Make any requested quick changes on the client theme I’ve been working on
  • Create a layout (design only, not code) for TweetStyle based on the awesome new bird character Pasquale made me

The reward

Buy the fabric I need to make two sets of the patterns I bought yesterday. :)

Daily Check-In — No Comments
22
Oct 08

Is it seriously Wednesday already?!

Tired pupper
Creative Commons License photo credit: Phil Romans

Tired. Got my MITs done yesterday and spent some of my free time reading a book called Active Birth. It provides a lot of information and specific ideas for healthier delivery, and I like that it’s generally positive, as opposed to some resources on natural childbirth that tend to villanize the (generally well-intentioned) medical establishment.

Today I’m going to have lunch with the general manager at my local Christian radio station, to talk about what inspires younger people (in their 20s and early 30s) to donate money. I’m gathering my stacks of Donors Choose cards. :)

Most Important Tasks

  • Prepare for lunch meeting
  • Finish the non-front-page templates for a client’s theme (this will take most of the day)

The reward

Drawing a blank today… Don’t want anything food- or time-related.

….

Okay, a little pondering later, and I’ve decided on the eskababy boots and animal ears hat. Cute, practical, and relatively inexpensive.

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