Why I write and why I stay busy

After waking from a catatonic nap post school day, taking the pooch to the park, riding bike 15.5 miles, showering and making dinner, I was finally able to carve out some time to sit down. I am watching "Julie and Julia" and got the sudden urge to blog. I love to write, especially in first person when I don't have to find peer-reviewed journal articles or wait for people to return my call. I miss taking all of the thoughts that swirl in around in my multi-tasking woman brain and putting them on paper (or computer screen.)

On my bike ride today, one of my riding partners said, "You never had a problem being over-committed." Is this what people think of me? The girl who can't say no? But I like to be busy. It's a blessing from my parents. They are hard workers that hardly ever sit down. And I have inherited it. And I am OK with it. When I am in the midst of being busy, I feel busy, but rarely overwhelmed. I have really low blood pressure and rarely feel anxiety. Sometimes I can't sleep because lesson plans are flying past my eyelids and referral slips are haunting me. But overall, I crash when I hit the pillow.

I feel like I am at a good place in life. I love my job most of the time, I love my husband and my small brood of animals. I have a wonderful new nephew Joey (See me and him in the photo) who is going to be raised into a awesome young man because his parents will be sure of it. I am getting my master's degree, something I always aspired to do, and I am finally recommitted to eating healthy again.

So, my next goal is to get back to the blog to share my frugal tips. When you are busy, it's hard to be frugal, let alone blog about it. But, I am going to try to over commit and do it anyway! So, here is to trying to get back to the blog and really exercise one of my passions...writing!

Snowed in

Wow, what a novel idea...staying home an entire day. I just finished up my grad classes for the semester, the program to write IEPs is offline for the weekend and I have been doing a decent job keeping up with the house cleaning. So, what do you do with an entire day to yourself? Well....I cleaned most of the house. I vacuumed up a lot of dog and cat hair. I washed, folded and put away four loads of laundry. I made two lovely pieces of jewelry for Christmas gifts. I got a head start on the library books I picked up for my extended Christmas break. I took Moose out in the snow to play. I did dishes. I put away piles of things that had been sitting around for months. I watched some silly Christmas movies. I shoveled the walk.
I definitely didn't eat very healthy. The neighbor baked cookies and brought them over. I sampled one of each variety. I ate lots of chocolate and candy and sweets today. And, of course, I didn't exercise. It's just one day, right?
What a day!

Outta here

Well, just as the school year is rounding out and I am supposed to be around more to blog, I am being whisked away to Bermuda on a cruise ship. I know, it's horrible. I am running around for last minute errands and trying to find some shorts that fit my curvy self and don't have a 6 inch gap in the back! Horrible, huh? I am packing and cleaning and ahh...how nice it will be to relax on a beach. I'll let you know how it goes! Hopefully I will have lots of time to brainstorm ideas for future blogs. Goodness knows I am coming home to the tasks of purchasing a car and a refrigerator and doing all my little home projects, not to mention training for the triathlon. Lots to write about.

To work or not to work, that is the question

I know it's a terrible dilemma. My paycheck continues to come through the summer, but I don't have to work. I will be writing for the newspaper, but there is always Cracker Barrel, too. But lately, I have been so fed up with working there. My schedule is complicated, since Nate works some weekends and has off others. He doesn't want me to commit to weekends, but I don't want to work weekdays. I have dreams of running errands and doing things on my own when no one else is around.
I want to work on home projects and go to Roots in Lancaster. I want to got to Eastern Market on Fridays and go for long runs and bikes in the middle of the week. These are all activities that aren't possible when you work full time.
I don't want to commit to anything this summer, because once fall rolls around, I am enrolled in two masters' classes and am starting a very demanding job as a full time learning support teacher. It's exciting, but I think I need a break before all the chaos and excitment starts.
Who knows, maybe I will just sit down and talk to Cracker Barrel, then I can make a decision from there.

My piggy bank is emptying

No matter how hard I try lately, saving money seems to be impossible. If it's not one thing, it's another. Our cars have been giving us little problems here and there. Nothing major, just oil changes, a/c charging and air compressor. The refrigerator needed to be repaired and then the lawn mower broke and we needed another one. There went another $300-plus. We started a garden and as happy and excited as I am to see it bloom, the treatment, wheel barrow and other instruments Nate said we needed added up to more than $100. Somehow I spent $179 at BJs a few weeks ago on only a few items. That is why those memberships are BAD. I don't want to complain, because we are so much better off than so many people. We are leaving on a cruise to Bermuda here in a few weeks and when we return, we will be getting a puppy. I have the summer off, which can't be beat. Sometimes I just wish saving were a little easier.

Refrigerator repair

Ah, the joys of being a homeowner. If there is one thing I don't know how to be frugal about, it's appliance repair. A few days ago, we noticed that our refrigerator and freezer were not keeping temperature the way it was supposed to, even when cranked the whole way to the nine setting. Then it was discovered that it was really just the tops of both sides that weren't working, and that the bottoms were doing OK.
Finally on Thursday I made a phone call to Miles Maytag Repair man. He was booked (apparently refrigerator repairs are a big business.) He wasn't able to come out until today. $163 later, our refrigerator is fixed. And do you know how much the part was? $20 or something...the rest labor. And he was at the house for about an hour, Nate said. You do the math.
Nice, huh?
I don't want to complain because at least we didn't have to buy a new fridge, but dang! That is a lot of money for an hour of work. At least we supported a local business in this tough economy.

Summer is motivation

When I walked outside yesterday, there were so many signs of summer. There was the hum of lawn mowers and weed whackers. As well as the muffled laughs of far off gatherings of friends and neighbors. There was the faint chirping of birds.
And I am not ready. Even though I have picked up my exercise routine to 4 to 6 days a week, I am still carrying more winter weight than I ever have. Is this a sign of what is to come? As I age, it's going to be harder and harder to keep off that unsightly cellulite. And it doesn't help that I totally love food.
I am debating joining Weight Watchers again. It's the only thing that really worked for me other than stress and breakups (which I don't really suffer from much anymore). In fact, I think I am so happy that I just eat more and more.
What worries me is that even though I lost 16 pounds last time I did Weight Watchers (which I have gained all and more back), I became kind of obsessed, carrying a lunchbox with me everywhere I went filled with "my food." I hope this time around, I can be more realistic and not expect a ridiculous drop..rather a healthy balance. Who knows? I think I will always suffer this terrible body image problem.
I've tried that whole "I exercise, so I am healthy thing," but it doesn't work when your pants don't fit.
We'll see...my biggest goal is just to be happy.

My sister is married!

I apologize for not posting since, can you believe it, April 6! Time flies so fast. I haven't had much time for crafting and what little I did was in a rush (such as mending the bridesmaid dress.) When I do cook, I only have energy to eat, not take photos and post.
Amy was so well organized with the wedding, that wasn't really what was taking up my time. It's school...and training for the triathlon again. I have picked up the running, biking and swimming bug again. I am signed up for 2 5ks, so that will get my rear in gear. Thanks to my cousin Wendy for this beautiful photo of Amy and I. She has always been so talented capturing Amy and I at our best. I can't wait to frame this photo. I tried to check them all out on Snapfish, but it was SO slow to upload and I don't have the patience. Tomorrrow is another day full of teaching "Animal Farm" and Reading classes to kids who are more ready for summer than I am! I won't be working much this summer...maybe a few nights here and there at Cracker Barrel, so I am hoping to have the blog flourish more this summer. Again, my apologies and I will try to keep it crankin'!

My first night at Cracker Barrel

Last night was my first night at Cracker Barrel in Shrewsbury. Thanks to the weather, I made $14 from 5 to 9 p.m. Pathetic, yes. But for once, I was actually OK with it being slow. It gave me a chance to get acquainted with my new co-workers and learn that they keep straws and sugar in different places and sort the dirty dishes in a unique way.
And of the three tables I waited on, I actually knew one of the couples. And, one of the other waitresses met me when I was doing the Shawna Weil story. She is the mother of Shawna's best friend.
I realized that my time at the York Daily Record introduced me to SO many people in the community. And, I really can't hide!

New Year's Resolution

I never make them. My thought is that you should be the best you can be all year long. But I want to be particularly conscious of a few things in the new year. So I made a list, and I thought I would share it here. I think you'll notice, my resolutions are not selfish, something I think more people should consider.

• Don't obsess about money.
  
• Treat others as I want to be treated.
  
• Always be honest.
• Surround myself with people that build me up, not tear me down.