Does Your Ambition Match Your Energy Level?

17 years ago

Ron and the kids are backpacking in the Wyoming wilderness this week, sooooooo. I decided to tackle a kitchen project. I was hoping to be finished by Sunday night, when they get back, but here it is, Saturday morning and I'm only about 1/4 of the way through it. It takes a lot of muscle, which I don't have! Now I'm stuck because I bit off more than I could chew and I'm having motivational issues! And my kitchen is a total wreck! That's me, though. Ron is usually the one that brings me back to earth!!!! I keep forgetting that I'm 52 years old now and not 25. This kind of wild hair was no problem in my 20's!

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Comments (42)

lindaohnowga
17 years ago
No, my energy level isn't what it used to be and it sure is frustrating. The mind is willing, but the body says "forget it".
Marilyn Sue
17 years ago
You are kidding right! I have lots of things I wish I could do but don't get them done. Surely it isn't my age :)

Sue
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Yes if you can afford to do your units with a good color thermal camera and have someone come and do properties with a blower door, it would be better but you can come pretty close to finding out a lot about your property without them. We still have half the heating season to go,..and they seem to come around again pretty fast esp if you are paying for heat. I find that tenants appreciate units that are not energy inefficient and EZer to heat,and a selling point tp prospective tenants these days. Go to my picture page and see pics of the way we add another layer of "glass" (plexi) to windows.The upper sashes,if they can't easily be accessed from the outside, we fit them in by holding them in with spaces made from foam 1/2 inch weather striping and then further holding them in with Daps clear Alex Plus. (so that you can still raise the windows up) We also add "pulls to the bottom sashes so that you have someplace to lift up same,.. 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pris
17 years ago
I wish!! So many projects started, so many unfinished. If I could only get the energy to finish just one maybe I would be on a roll and be able to finish the others. Dream on!!!
tammyms
17 years ago
Oh, my! You sound exactly like me! lol

Tammy
jannie
17 years ago
I don't have the energy I had when I was younger. In my twenties, I could clean my entire apartment, even washing the phone, in one evening after working a full day. In my forties, I could quick-clean the whole house, stripping beds, vacuuming or sweeping all floors, ,etc, in a day . Now I can only dream about my old self!
bigack
17 years ago
Yes, my feet can't keep up with what's to do, in my head!
Chemocurl zn5b/6a Indiana
17 years ago
I have always said that I was an A personality (on top of everything) in a B personality (on top of very little, maybe just the most important things)body.

So many projects started, so many unfinished.
I'm that way too. I have thought I might have AADD for several years now, but just have not looked into it. I just keep chugging slowly along, pleased with what I do manage to get done. BF said not long ago, "You might not get a lot done, but what you do get done, is done really well." I took that a a nice compliment, and am trying me best to stay on top of a couple more things....the kitchen mainly.

And my kitchen is a total wreck! That's me, though. Ron is usually the one that brings me back to earth!!!!

That's great. Good luck with the kitchen, and don't sweat the petty stuff.

S
Marilyn Sue
17 years ago
Don't pet the sweaty stuff either!

Sue
bigbaby
Original Author
17 years ago
Thanks for all your validating messages. I can only do a little at a time then take a break. Slow progress is better than none, I guess!
hayjud_mn
17 years ago
Oh You are such a BIGBABY!!! ;o)
Now get up and get going. You have all that stuff pulled out, so get at it. Here's the plan, what is your favorite scent in all purpose cleaner, lemon, citrus, or pine? Put a good dose of that in a small bucket of water. Then wipe out the bottom of that cabinet that you emptied. Make it smell great! It's a good thing it is Saturday! If you did this on Monday it would be worn off by now.

Put that stuff back in the cabinet and leave the bucket with all that lovely scent in the middle of the kitchen floor.

Now you need to get all that energy back before they get home. I suggest a nice book and a comfy recliner, and remember chocolate gives you energy too!

Another last minute prep.... shortly before they are expected to arrive, bake something (easy like a mix) so it will take his mind off anything else.

Besides, isn't this your vacation time too!
Chemocurl zn5b/6a Indiana
17 years ago
I can only do a little at a time then take a break.

I slowed down intentionally I think after I retired. It was no longer necessary to be frantic about getting stuff done. I used being retired as an excuse that I no longer had to work long and hard.

I'm just happy with any progress I make, whether it can be seen by anyone else or not. My bills are always paid on time, the guest bath is always shining and smelling good, my bed is made, and the picture window is clean. Maybe sometime later I can add that my kitchen is always shining, unless I am cooking or baking.

Bit by bit I am getting some very woolly areas outside weeded, and/or sprayed, and under control.

Rome was not built in a day, you know.
trishaw
17 years ago
I can't do what I would like- I am like you bigbaby and tend to bite off more than I can chew too! My kids are always coming to my rescue thank goodness! Just plug away a little at a time and it will get done.

Hugs,

Trish
bigbaby
Original Author
17 years ago
Okay Hayjud!!!!! Two of three light fixtures are in place. Waiting for the first coat of drywall mud to dry. Whew!
clubm
17 years ago
No way. The old grey mare just ain't what she use to be. lol!!
bigbaby
Original Author
17 years ago
I'm finding a whole new level of sympathy for my patients. They tell me how frustrating it is to not be able to do what they used to do and I always teach them some kind of coping skill...but when it's me, well, that's a different story!!!!!!! My problem, Chemocurl, is that I have a retirement body but I'm still working! Hahahhaa
hayjud_mn
17 years ago
Whew! That does shed a little different light on the subject. That was a BIG bite! And were you working on this alone???? You have a lot more enegry and muscle then I do.

I understand what you mean about having more sympathy for older peeps. I wish I knew then, what I know now about it, when my MIL was stilll with us. I now know ways I could have been a help to her.

It sounds like you have done a lot this week and will enjoy the help and togetherness of working on it when Ron gets home.

It sure is nice that they can get away and have this special adventure each year.
irishdancersgram
17 years ago
I'm glad to hear I'm not alone...I usually start out in the morning with so many ideas and plans for the day but come 10:00, forget it.....AND I'm sure it's not my age!

BigBaby, What in the world are you doing? Light fixtures, dry wall mud??????This sounds serious!
bigbaby
Original Author
17 years ago
Lol, now it's confirmed, I'm crazy! I got tired of just thinking about my kitchen and decided to go ahead and fix it. The walls in back of my counters is this ugly green, swirly plastic tile. I'm ripping that out and covering all that adhesive with drywall compound. I got three pendent lights realy cheap at the local hardware store and am replacing one light in the kitchen and two in the hallway. Those are relatively easy compared to the danged back splashes. That job just plain stinks! Also, I knocked down some ugy wooden valences and shelving around the two windows. I should have taken some before pictures. See, I told you I was too ambitious! I've been working on this since Wednesday! Mostly after work until today.
kayjones
17 years ago
I think I do very well for 59! I try not to think too far ahead and I try to finish what I start before entertaining a new ambitious thought - ie I take it SLOW since I lost my husband, in part due to stress - I just don't entertain stress anymore.
bigbaby
Original Author
17 years ago
Is someone on this thread praying for me? All at once things are going much easier! The second coat of drywall went on so easily and quickly! Or, was it the chocolate that Hayjud prescribed? Thanks everyone!
Chemocurl zn5b/6a Indiana
17 years ago
Maybe you felt encouraged that you are not alone in your ambition matching your energy. Oftentimes part way through a big job, I start feeling good about what I have gotten done, and feel encouraged to get it all done.

I think one's frame of mind has a lot to do with how things go, or at least with how we cope with things that go awry.

I admire you for hanging lights, and tearing out tile and shelving. A lot of women would never consider tackling such a chore.

Are you just going to seal and then paint your drywall mud or are you maybe going to paper or something?

Keep chuggin!

Sue
susanjf_gw
17 years ago
sad to say i've had to learn to pace myself...just get as much done as you can to get things functional and work at your leisure...
caflowerluver
17 years ago
It takes me twice as long to get half as much done. I hate it! I want the kind of energy I had in my 20's or even 30's. Heck, I would even settle for my 40's!
Clare
bigbaby
Original Author
17 years ago
I'm just going to paint it for now. The main thing was to get that awful tile off! It didn't even match anything! The third light fixture is up, holes in ceiling spackled and now to take off the ugly tiles off the second wall. Can you believe those horrible things? I'll have to take a picture when I slow down and show you what they look like.
Vique_Pa
17 years ago
I lay on the sofa in the afternoon my mind going a mile a minute with things I want to do as I doze off for my nap. Vique.
loggerbaby123
17 years ago
oh my..i just read this..im slow catching up, as ive been busy and have my neice with me....im laughing my butt off because i thing one of his last posts were for us to keep an eye on you....guess we dropped the ball!! and no i have no energy either. my mind thinks of a gazillion things to do but my body just wont keep up lol good luck on youre kitchen! its saturday night you have plenty of time! insert big smiley here.
irishdancersgram
17 years ago
Years ago, my DH would take long weekend football trips and boy that's when I'd tear the house apart...He would come home and not know what to think...I think that's why he quit going away...Now I try to behave myself, well, I have to, just can't do it any more....
I think it's wonderful....You're going to feel so good when it's done...Great accomplishment!
rthummer
17 years ago
You have more energy than you think you have BigBaby, I could never try anything like that, even before I was like I am now. LOL. I might have the energy back then, but when it comes to refinishing something by myself I just don't think so...I better call DH or experts. I am a BIGCHICKEN.
hayjud_mn
17 years ago
I just realized what kind of tile you are removing. It sounds like the kind DH and I removed from out bathroom in our old house. Ours was yucky pink! We wore off 2 screwdrivers to get all the adheisive off the plastered wall. I know, -- we never do anything the right way.

In the process we ended up with a lot of little digs in the plaster (this was an old house so it was real plaster.) We were going to smooth it out with patching plaster, but decided not to.

We gave it a coat of primer and then did a marblized look with two colors of paint. It was fun to do, and I love the way it turned out. The little digs actually give it a great effect.
kgal_2008
17 years ago
I'm with Aptosca. At 70 slow as a turtle getting things done. I've learned not to tackle more than I can handle in small doses. On the other hand I have more tolerance for what I don't get done!
dibby
17 years ago
I think mine is pretty well matched. I have very little ambition and NO energy!
bigbaby
Original Author
17 years ago
I'm not even trying to scrape off all that adhesive, Hayjud. I'm just covering over it with the wallboard compound. It's a trick I learned from a maintenance man at a nursing home I worked at once. He used it to cover over a cinder-block wall and it looked great afterward.

Dibby, you are funny!

Well, this morning I'm about to put the first coat of paint on the first wall I finished and finish popping off the tiles on the second wall and start spreading the compound on that wall.
heather_on
17 years ago
Well reading everyone's answers I now know I am normal. I haven't got nearly the energy I once had.
Chemocurl zn5b/6a Indiana
17 years ago
Well, this morning I'm about to put the first coat of paint on the first wall I finished

Shouldn't you prime it first maybe over the new mud? I guess though if you are painting 2 coats it might be fine without it.

I see now that they can tint the primer to match the paint that will be going over it...a good thing.

Sue
hayjud_mn
17 years ago
LOL LOL LOL I just have to laugh at Heather thinking the KT as NORMAL! "snicker"

Bigbaby, That sounds much easier! I do hope you will at least take a picture when it is done. Maybe even one now, so we can really appreciate it all.
trinitytx
17 years ago
I don't nearly do what I used to, but then we are talking about 20+ years later. All the kids are gone so it is just me and DH. We pile things up, and then I knock them down from time to time. That is about it. I have really no desire to clean from top to bottom at any time.
Although I do have to say, thank goodness for company, because that is the only time I realy spic and span the house.

Trin
patti43
17 years ago
Thank you ladies. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I feel soooo much better now that I know I'm not alone. I feel just like Trin said. I thought I was becoming a real slacker. House looks clean--no clutter, but it needs a good cleaning. I used to clean the baseboards once a month--now they're lucky to get it twice a year!!
ronf_gw
17 years ago
Ladies, ladies, ladies; this is just the sort of thing I was talking about. I leave home for a week only to return to find the kitchen all tore up!
Seriously, I'm really impressed with what bigbaby has accomplished this week. Some before pictures may still be possible in the areas she hasn't gotten to yet. And when it's finished it will be fantastic. This house was built in 1965 and much of it looks just like the day it was built. But not all of it. The shag carpeting covering the oak hardwood floors was one of the first things to go when we bought it from Dad and Mom 8 years ago.
Thanks to all of you for giving Bigbaby moral support while I was gone.

Ron

PS I'll try and share some backpacking pictures in the next few days.
breenthumb
17 years ago
Agree with Sue (Chemocurl) about using primer first. New drywall paste sucks paint right in and looks like it was never there without it. Primer saves time and money in the long run.

Learned that lesson when a professional painter who should have known better painted a newly pasted spot without priming it first. Still have a square shaped like an electrical outlet that stands out like a sore thumb.

I admire your ambition and energy. I used to love tackling projects like that--especially when DH was gone! Not anymore.
bulldinkie
17 years ago
No energy is at 1 ,ambition is at 10..on scale of 1-10
bigbaby
Original Author
17 years ago
It's coming along. I took some pictures this morning but am too pooped right now to hawl my hiney out of this chair to get my camera and the cord to download the pics!

Does anyone know the best way to get paint out of a paint roller? No matter what I try, I still can't get all the paint out of a roller and it usually comes out all stiff and unuseable.
gwanny2three
17 years ago
Used to match up...but not any more!

Does Your Ambition Match Your Energy Level?

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