It's finally friday! Woohoo!
Maybe the fact that there is a long weekend coming up has thrown me off but this week has completely dragged on. Last night I worked the evening shift at work too so today I am pretty much a zombie. It's not a pretty sight.
The good thing about last night was that 1) I still got a hot, yummy home made dinner even though I never left my desk and 2) I didn't have to deal with rush hour traffic.
Steve brought me some of the apple bacon BBQ chicken I made in the crockpot for my dinner last night and I was incredibly grateful. That, my friends, is why my husband rocks this week. :)
Friday, January 15, 2010
Thursday, January 14, 2010
trying something new
I've read a lot of articles and posts on friends' blogs about the benefits of waking up early. Not just waking early out of necessity for work/ school etc., but making a choice to wake up early every day whether you have somewhere to be or not.
I haven't found any health benefits directly related to this but there seem to be several practical benefits. It's time where the house is generally quiet, most people aren't awake yet so they won't distract you with a million calls or emails. There is no rush to get out the door so you have time for a good breakfast and a calm morning routine... that right there will help keep your daily stress level down. In general, you have more uninterrupted time to put to productive use whether that is working towards your goals or fitting in a little "me time".
There are several other benefits and very few negatives. You'll have to go to bed earlier and you might miss the second half of American Idol but really.... that's the point of Tivo and DVR.
With all of this in mind, I've decided to try waking up early on a daily basis and see how I feel. Maybe if I get in the habit of waking up early I can re-introduce running to my morning routine and it won't feel like punishment. :)
Ben Franklin once said: "early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise". I guess we are about to find out!
I haven't found any health benefits directly related to this but there seem to be several practical benefits. It's time where the house is generally quiet, most people aren't awake yet so they won't distract you with a million calls or emails. There is no rush to get out the door so you have time for a good breakfast and a calm morning routine... that right there will help keep your daily stress level down. In general, you have more uninterrupted time to put to productive use whether that is working towards your goals or fitting in a little "me time".
There are several other benefits and very few negatives. You'll have to go to bed earlier and you might miss the second half of American Idol but really.... that's the point of Tivo and DVR.
With all of this in mind, I've decided to try waking up early on a daily basis and see how I feel. Maybe if I get in the habit of waking up early I can re-introduce running to my morning routine and it won't feel like punishment. :)
Ben Franklin once said: "early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise". I guess we are about to find out!
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
change of plans
As most of you know, the plan for this semester was that I would be going back to school part time to finish my degree. I was actually really looking forward to making some forward progress on that goal. However, school is being postponed another semester due to the fact that I'm not elligible for any financial aid. None. zip. nada.
I'm pretty bummed about it. The worst part is that all I can do to resolve the matter is meet with a financial aid counselor after I fill out my FAFSA for next year to make sure it doesn't happen again.
On a much lighter note, I'm really excited about the recipes I found in my new crockpot cook book and have instituted Thursday night as "crockpot dinner" night. Since I work the night shift that night each week fixing something in the crock pot before I head out to work means that Steve and I still get something warm and yummy (and healthy) for dinner! It's a win-win situation.
Here is our meal plan for the week:
Sun: pulled pork (with a new BBQ sauce I got as a Christmas gift! It was delicious!)
Mon: spaghetti with garlic bread
Tues: breakfast (eggs, bacon and rye toast) - for dessert we had emergency chocolate cake and I think this recipe is somethign every chocolate lover should have on hand.
Wed: Greek Chicken
Thurs: apple bacon chicken in the crockpot
Fri: tacos/ taco salad
Sat: leftovers
I'm pretty bummed about it. The worst part is that all I can do to resolve the matter is meet with a financial aid counselor after I fill out my FAFSA for next year to make sure it doesn't happen again.
On a much lighter note, I'm really excited about the recipes I found in my new crockpot cook book and have instituted Thursday night as "crockpot dinner" night. Since I work the night shift that night each week fixing something in the crock pot before I head out to work means that Steve and I still get something warm and yummy (and healthy) for dinner! It's a win-win situation.
Here is our meal plan for the week:
Sun: pulled pork (with a new BBQ sauce I got as a Christmas gift! It was delicious!)
Mon: spaghetti with garlic bread
Tues: breakfast (eggs, bacon and rye toast) - for dessert we had emergency chocolate cake and I think this recipe is somethign every chocolate lover should have on hand.
Wed: Greek Chicken
Thurs: apple bacon chicken in the crockpot
Fri: tacos/ taco salad
Sat: leftovers
Sunday, January 10, 2010
hooray for the weekend!
Being unemployed has the unintentionmal side effect of draining part of the thrill of the weekend. The concept of Saturday and Sunday isn't quite as fun and exciting when you could relax at home any day of the week.
Now that I have a full week of work under my belt and a week of class and work waiting for me tomorrow morning I think I fully appreciate the beauty of a lazy Sunday once more.
We woke up this morning without an alarm and got breakfast. Then, I started the boston butt in the slow cooker for dinner. Now we are just hanging out in our pajamas not doing anything of any consequence. It's wonderful. :)
Now that I have a full week of work under my belt and a week of class and work waiting for me tomorrow morning I think I fully appreciate the beauty of a lazy Sunday once more.
We woke up this morning without an alarm and got breakfast. Then, I started the boston butt in the slow cooker for dinner. Now we are just hanging out in our pajamas not doing anything of any consequence. It's wonderful. :)
Friday, January 8, 2010
hitting the ground running
This week I started my new job and let me tell you, I have hit the ground running on this one! Who knew libraries were such busy places?
Just as a quick recap, I am now working as the assistant to the information literacy coordinator at Savannah State University's Gordon Library. I'm going to be doing everything from putting together information packets to working the circulation desk and all the little details in between.
So many people think of libraries as big buildings full of books... and to some extent they are. However, libraries all over the country are working hard to keep up with the digital age as well as provide as many different research resources as possible. My entire department is devoted to helping people learn about resources available at the library and how to properly conduct academic research.
These are some big tasks. Luckily all of the people I have met so far are very dedicated to what they do.
I think one of my favorite things about my last job, the reason I didn't mind the occasional tedious or frustrating task, was that I felt like each thing I did had a purpose. I felt like my showing up to work and getting it done made an impact. Just in the short amount of time I have been at my new job I have gotten the same feeling. It feels like I am a part of something good and worthwhile. Hopefully that feeling will continue through my time there.
In addition to my new job, I am also starting back to school this semester. I have my advisement session today and Monday classes start. I've got 16 classes left until I finish my degree. If I go only part time (2 classes) spring, summer and fall then I will graduate in 2 and a half years. Let's all keep our fingers crossed and pray that I can knock these classes out within that time frame!
Finally.... as it is Friday, I would just like to say that my husband rocks because he happily eats dinner even when I burn the bacon and the toast. He also scores major brownie points for not making fun of me for burning dinner for the first time ever.
Just as a quick recap, I am now working as the assistant to the information literacy coordinator at Savannah State University's Gordon Library. I'm going to be doing everything from putting together information packets to working the circulation desk and all the little details in between.
So many people think of libraries as big buildings full of books... and to some extent they are. However, libraries all over the country are working hard to keep up with the digital age as well as provide as many different research resources as possible. My entire department is devoted to helping people learn about resources available at the library and how to properly conduct academic research.
These are some big tasks. Luckily all of the people I have met so far are very dedicated to what they do.
I think one of my favorite things about my last job, the reason I didn't mind the occasional tedious or frustrating task, was that I felt like each thing I did had a purpose. I felt like my showing up to work and getting it done made an impact. Just in the short amount of time I have been at my new job I have gotten the same feeling. It feels like I am a part of something good and worthwhile. Hopefully that feeling will continue through my time there.
In addition to my new job, I am also starting back to school this semester. I have my advisement session today and Monday classes start. I've got 16 classes left until I finish my degree. If I go only part time (2 classes) spring, summer and fall then I will graduate in 2 and a half years. Let's all keep our fingers crossed and pray that I can knock these classes out within that time frame!
Finally.... as it is Friday, I would just like to say that my husband rocks because he happily eats dinner even when I burn the bacon and the toast. He also scores major brownie points for not making fun of me for burning dinner for the first time ever.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
It may not be Friday but....
my husband rocks! I missed posting it yesterday so I thought I'd sqeeze it in now. :)
He ran to the store today to pick up a few things we needed for dinner tonight and about 15 minutes after he left I realized I forgot to ask him to grab some sugar while he was out. When I called him to add it to his list he had already picked some up on his own. He said that he remembered me mentioning it in passing a couple days ago and figured he might as well grab some since he was already at the store.
It's great to know that he pays attention to little things like that.
He ran to the store today to pick up a few things we needed for dinner tonight and about 15 minutes after he left I realized I forgot to ask him to grab some sugar while he was out. When I called him to add it to his list he had already picked some up on his own. He said that he remembered me mentioning it in passing a couple days ago and figured he might as well grab some since he was already at the store.
It's great to know that he pays attention to little things like that.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Happy New Year!
As exciting as 2009 was, I'm very much looking forward to 2010 and the new opportunities coming our way.
At the same time it's a bit surreal for me to think about this being the year 2010.
Back in the day I was in Girl Scouts and our troop number from the time I was 8 years old was 2010. I remember a couple of times talking with my mom about what it might be like in the year 2010 and how different things might be. Now that it's actually here and I look around my life I'm amazed to see how closely my real life resembles the dreams I had back then. It is strange to realize that I am living the life I had imagined.... just like my favorite Thoreau quote encourages.
Although it hasn't been an easy and many times downright hard I am really thankful for where I'm at and the possibilities that still lay before me. I've got many more dreams and hopes for the coming years and maybe if I keep at it I'll get to have more strange New Year's Day realizations.
At the same time it's a bit surreal for me to think about this being the year 2010.
Back in the day I was in Girl Scouts and our troop number from the time I was 8 years old was 2010. I remember a couple of times talking with my mom about what it might be like in the year 2010 and how different things might be. Now that it's actually here and I look around my life I'm amazed to see how closely my real life resembles the dreams I had back then. It is strange to realize that I am living the life I had imagined.... just like my favorite Thoreau quote encourages.
Although it hasn't been an easy and many times downright hard I am really thankful for where I'm at and the possibilities that still lay before me. I've got many more dreams and hopes for the coming years and maybe if I keep at it I'll get to have more strange New Year's Day realizations.
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