This has been one of the least relaxing summers of my life. And yes, I know I am very fortunate to have a job that gives me the summers off, and I could have been working the entire summer, but I am still allowed to feel as if my summer wasn't relaxing. Between graduate school, bathroom renovations, and simply the fact that it was the first summer of being a home owner, time just slipped away from me and now I am looking at a mere two weeks until I have students back in my classroom, papers to grade, and days without naps.
The current graduate school course I am taking is by far the most intensive course I have taken thus far in my program. The assignments are much more time consuming and there are far more of them than in any of the other courses. This is extremely frustrating because I am spending so much time working on my own school work, that I have been seriously neglecting the HUGE list of things I need to get done for actual school (which starts in two weeks remember).
My most recent frustration is the fact that this course has had two MAJOR projects. It feels like I just finished the first one and the second one is already due. Matters are more complicated because now I am having to go into school for training days before the year starts and so my time is becoming even more limited. Additionally, Eric and I are trying very hard to get the bathroom renovation completed (or nearly completed) before the school year starts because we have more time now. I know in a lot of ways my procrastination does not help matters, but I am still feeling frustrated and unable to find any motivation to get work done.
In good news, I did manage to get all of my syllabi written and sent to the copy center. So, at the very least I will have a syllabus to pass out when school starts. I have a training tomorrow at school and I am planning on going in just a bit early and planning out my bulletin board so I know what supplies I need to purchase. My plan is to go into school Friday this week for a few hours before my parents come into town and get that bulletin board completely set up. I will try and remember to take pictures and post them here for you to see.
I need to take Pippin out for his afternoon walk and then seriously buckle down and get some of this project done. I will be in trainings the next two days so I want to get a sizable chunk done today so I have less to stress about the rest of the week. Plus this weekend is shot because my parents will be in town so I really need to try and have everything done by Friday afternoon. Wish me luck!
Until next time,
C
Monday, August 14, 2017
Friday, August 4, 2017
Getting Back on Track
Overall, I was quite successful in accomplishing the items on my to-do list from my last post. I am writing this as a break from graduate school course work. I have found that taking a ten minute break when I feel I need it, often helps me be more successful than trying to push through the feeling and continuously work on the task. The only thing I did not get finished from my list was mowing the lawn. I was able to get it half way done, but then a large hail storm rolled through and with the ground being so wet, I was unable to get the second half mowed. Since then it has rained (down poured) every six to eight hours. I need to find time today to finish mowing, otherwise it will be too long and the portions I just mowed will need mowed again. Today the weather has been quite sunny and so hopefully the ground will dry out enough that I can try and finish mowing this afternoon (provided I finish my school work).
Getting my to-do list accomplished helped me to feel more like myself. It also helped that I baked a new recipe the other day, Lemon Shortbread Cookies. I struggled tremendously with getting the dough stiff enough to roll out, and I ended up baking the cookies in one large sheet and then cutting them at the end, but they taste yummy and that is was matters. I love to bake and be in my kitchen, and with Eric's new job and new work schedule, I have been thrown off and not spending as much time baking and cooking as I need to.
Next week, in addition to continuing with my course work, I NEED to start preparing for the school year. The first student day is three weeks from Monday, and although three weeks seems like a lot of time, I know it is going to fly by. Especially with all of the activities we have planned over the next three weeks, not to mention the summer training days I will be attending at school.
I know it will be hard for me to focus on school work next week though because my maid of honor is coming into town for a few days to see our house and visit/catch up. Hopefully she will be getting engaged soon and so this may be the last time I see her before that happens! We are both getting ready to go through some big life changes and it is always great to catch up. We are both high school math teachers, so we always have plenty to talk about!
The day she is slated to arrive I will be spending the morning visiting with my mentor from my first year of teaching. She has become one of my dearest friends and I do not do a good enough job keeping in touch as I need to. My heart will be full next week, so hopefully that will provide me with the necessary motivation to get myself in gear and start getting ready for this school year. I know a lot will be happening this school year and so I need to find my motivation early and hang on to it for dear life. I have set some professional goals for myself, but I might talk about them in a later post.
For now, it's back to school work. I forgot how time consuming being a student can be.
Until next time,
~C
Getting my to-do list accomplished helped me to feel more like myself. It also helped that I baked a new recipe the other day, Lemon Shortbread Cookies. I struggled tremendously with getting the dough stiff enough to roll out, and I ended up baking the cookies in one large sheet and then cutting them at the end, but they taste yummy and that is was matters. I love to bake and be in my kitchen, and with Eric's new job and new work schedule, I have been thrown off and not spending as much time baking and cooking as I need to.
Next week, in addition to continuing with my course work, I NEED to start preparing for the school year. The first student day is three weeks from Monday, and although three weeks seems like a lot of time, I know it is going to fly by. Especially with all of the activities we have planned over the next three weeks, not to mention the summer training days I will be attending at school.
I know it will be hard for me to focus on school work next week though because my maid of honor is coming into town for a few days to see our house and visit/catch up. Hopefully she will be getting engaged soon and so this may be the last time I see her before that happens! We are both getting ready to go through some big life changes and it is always great to catch up. We are both high school math teachers, so we always have plenty to talk about!
The day she is slated to arrive I will be spending the morning visiting with my mentor from my first year of teaching. She has become one of my dearest friends and I do not do a good enough job keeping in touch as I need to. My heart will be full next week, so hopefully that will provide me with the necessary motivation to get myself in gear and start getting ready for this school year. I know a lot will be happening this school year and so I need to find my motivation early and hang on to it for dear life. I have set some professional goals for myself, but I might talk about them in a later post.
For now, it's back to school work. I forgot how time consuming being a student can be.
Until next time,
~C
Tuesday, August 1, 2017
Out of Sorts
I haven't been feeling myself lately. Usually the summertime is when I am able to get back to my passions. I am less stressed and feeling better than during the throws of the school year. Maybe it is the fact that I am working on course work for my Master's degree, or all of the construction Eric and I have been working on in the house, but this summer does not feel as rejuvenating as past summers have felt.
I often have this overwhelming heaviness that seems to be weighing me down and I can't seem to shake it. Eric is extremely stressed with work. He started a new position in February and is getting ready to open a new clinic for his new company and, in typical Eric fashion, is extremely stressed and constantly worrying about how everything will play out. In addition to worry about our bathroom remodel project, which has taken a turn for the worse over the past week.
Long story short, we tiled the floor, but may have to end up ripping it all out and hiring someone else to come in and re-lay the tile. Needless to say, we have already pour a significant amount of money into this project, and having to buy new tile and pay someone to come in and re-tile something we already tiled was not necessarily in the budget (nor the timeline).
I had actually been feeling more normal about a week ago. I made the decision to get back into meal planning, which I had seriously gotten away from. Trying new recipes in the kitchen was always something that provided me a stress release, and I truly enjoy the process. Just when I was starting to feel back to my normal self, the issue with the floor arose, and that has set me back.
I also feel like I am quickly running out of time. Today is the first of August, which means I got back to work this month, and the students will be back in my classroom in less than thirty days. I have been putting off lesson planning all summer (my graduate work has been keeping me plenty busy), but now that it is crunch time, I have so many activities planned, in addition to my graduate course work that I am beginning to panic about getting everything done in time.
I needed to get these thoughts and feelings out, in hopes that it will help me be more productive with my to-do list for today:
I often have this overwhelming heaviness that seems to be weighing me down and I can't seem to shake it. Eric is extremely stressed with work. He started a new position in February and is getting ready to open a new clinic for his new company and, in typical Eric fashion, is extremely stressed and constantly worrying about how everything will play out. In addition to worry about our bathroom remodel project, which has taken a turn for the worse over the past week.
Long story short, we tiled the floor, but may have to end up ripping it all out and hiring someone else to come in and re-lay the tile. Needless to say, we have already pour a significant amount of money into this project, and having to buy new tile and pay someone to come in and re-tile something we already tiled was not necessarily in the budget (nor the timeline).
I had actually been feeling more normal about a week ago. I made the decision to get back into meal planning, which I had seriously gotten away from. Trying new recipes in the kitchen was always something that provided me a stress release, and I truly enjoy the process. Just when I was starting to feel back to my normal self, the issue with the floor arose, and that has set me back.
I also feel like I am quickly running out of time. Today is the first of August, which means I got back to work this month, and the students will be back in my classroom in less than thirty days. I have been putting off lesson planning all summer (my graduate work has been keeping me plenty busy), but now that it is crunch time, I have so many activities planned, in addition to my graduate course work that I am beginning to panic about getting everything done in time.
I needed to get these thoughts and feelings out, in hopes that it will help me be more productive with my to-do list for today:
TO-DO: August 1st
- Module 2 & 3 Activity Logs
- Clean mortar off tile in bathroom
- Mow lawn
- Feed & Water outdoor plants
- Cut and bundle fallen branches
This list may not seem very long, it's only five items and I am home all day. However, my graduate work this week is very intensive, and after I finish Module 2 & 3, I still have Module 4 AND a 4-5 page paper to write. My negative attitude is not helping, but I am having a very difficult time shaking the weight off my heart.
Perhaps I will take Pippin outside to play with him for a bit to try and lift my spirits. Regardless, I need to get my nose back to the grindstone. Before I go, I want to leave you with the recipe I made for dinner last night. It was delicious and a definite Pinterest win!
The recipe is for an Italian Sausage and Rice Casserole from Well Plated. I used Italian seasoned chicken sausage I had in the freezer, but I am sure any Italian seasoned sausage would work well. One of the other things I have been trying to do is use up the food we have in the house, rather than always buying all new ingredients. The meal also received Eric's vote of approval, which is rare, so it must be good!
Until next time,
~C
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)