Typical Monday Night

More often than not, I have no problem listing off all the things I HATE about mine and Sean's split schedules. However, one thing I'll miss when we are finally on the same schedule (in about, oh, 43 years when we might get to retire) is the opportunity to eat whatever the heck I want. On tonight's menu: broccoli & cheese stuffed in a chicken breast (don't get any great ideas that I'm excelling at cooking. They're frozen and you can get them from Sam's), a salad (consisting of lettuce, croutons and dressing) and the condiment every fancy meal requires:

 In other news, I've only done about a million loads of laundry tonight...

 Not to worry, the night started out with a nice walk around the block followed by a deep doggy cleaning. Followed by a deep shower cleaning. It was pretty awful but everything is clean now. 

10:00 p.m. Sunday Night

 After a busy night and morning at work, we spent the evening tonight with Sean's dad & step-mom for super bowl. For the last 2 years, we've sworn we would have a party at our house next year and ended up at their house which has been A-OK with me. And just like the last 2 years, I fell asleep about 20 minutes before the game was over.

Today's POTD is brought to you by America's Favorite Store where we had to stop on the way home to get Sean some insoles for his shoes and some lunch meat. This is where we were at 10:00 pm tonight. 

 

Fabulous February & {30R30M}

This has been an a.w.f.u.l. week. All I have wanted to do at 4:30 each day has been to come home and go to bed, but have ended up working until 9 or after every day this week. Until last night!

Sean started clinicals this week which, to me, feels like school is finally on a roll. He has had to travel to various locations around Springfield this week and the day starts at 7:30 AM. I am not super certain on the number of times Sean has seen 7:30 AM unless he's on the tail end of a long night. We have had FOUR alarms set in an effort not to miss 5:55 AM so we both have time to get ready. It's been rough! But it's been nice to spend a small amount of time together before the day begins and has been the best part of my day more than once this week. Sadly for him, he's at the hospital from 7:30 AM until 11:00 PM on the three days he works during the week. That has to get old so fast.

The after school job has been good. I'm working slightly more because they are so short staffed, but even a few more hours seems like such a load with everything else going on. Thankfully, the people are so great to work with and my sales are improving!

The other job has just been so busy. Remember that week I took off at the beginning of the year? Yep, still not caught up from that time off. This week I have had a deadline for both health systems (along with a name change which is just such a hassle...) and an audit to prepare for. All the work had pretty much been done for the audit but the anxiety was a lot of added stress. I got so little sleep Wednesday night worrying about it. Come to find out, it went great (for me, anyway) and I got some great ideas to improve where I am lacking. The phone call from a friend letting me know of the compliments I had recieved as she drove the auditors to the airport made everything worth it and was so, so appreciated.

Last night was my big night off with Sean. We had dinner at Bairs with some friends and then I "watched" Sean play volleyball while beginning my February read. It was a great night OFF. He works tonight and I work all weekend before the week starts over (and I am pretty sure he is due to work next weekend) so I have to hold on to the night off together for a little while. Meanwhile, I should have plenty of time alone to get into my book!

February {A Friend Request - Book}

The Loch, Steve Alten

According to Amazon, here is a synopsis of the book:

Loch Ness holds secrets, ancient and deadly. Does a monster inhabit its depths, or is it just myth? Why, after thousands of reported sightings and dozens of expeditions, is there still no hard evidence? Marine biologist Zachery Wallace knows, but the shock of his near-drowning as a child on Loch Ness have buried all memories of the incident. Now, a near-death experience suffered while on expedition in the Sargasso Sea has caused these long-forgotten memories to re-surface. Haunted by vivid night terrors, stricken by a sudden fear of the water, Zach finds he can no longer function as a scientist. Unable to cope, his career all but over, he stumbles down a path of self-destruction...until he receives contact from his estranged father...a man he has not seen since his parents' divorced and he left Scotland as a boy.

Angus Wallace, a wily Highlander who never worked an honest day in his life, is on trial for murdering his business partner. Only Zachary can prove his innocence - if he is innocent, but to do so means confronting the nightmare that nearly killed him seventeen years earlier.

This book has been the only read that my good friend Lisa has talked about since, like, day 1 when I met her, I think! It's kind of long book (for me) and I am not totally sure that it's going to be my type of book but I am willing to give it a shot because it's a friend request! Lisa doesn't usually have bad taste in too many things so we'll see.

I was actually really excited to read another book this month (requested by my friend Marri), but then found out it was on the Oprah book club and thought there weren't probably going to be too many other books that I'd find as much enthusiasm to read so I will wait!

Day {Thirteen}

{Day 13  What you would find in my bag }


Ha! After today’s shopping excursion, you won’t be finding any money in there, that’s for sure!

In my purse (because that’s the only bag I carry):

Wallet with about 28 cents in pennies
Chapstick
Phone
Keys
Sunglasses
Rainkissed leaves hand lotion
iPad -most of the time – I have my calendar and some work stuff on it so I can look at it anywhere. Also, I usually have my book on it so I always have something to do even when I am not connected to the internet.
A smaller make-up bag with whatever nail polish I’m wearing that month and assorted lip glosses.
A smaller make-up bag with pens and pencils and a flash drive for when I’m not working in my office
Family video card
Family video cheat card of daily deals
Tums (for Sean)
Pepto (for me)
About 50,000 receipts that I always take to put into our register later and then never do.

Sub-Par Quality

Fear not, I have not forgotten about my blog. I just haven't had anything to share. Sure, I could have found PLENTY of juicy info to share, but it probably would have ended up as cryptic as a 15 year old girl's facebook. My excuse is simple: life right now is {so chaotic} that I don't know which way is up.

Really, though, I feel like that is my problem: I have forgotten which way is up, because I have obviously not been taking too many concerns in that direction. I have been in search for a church since October 2009. Like probably 99.9999999% of folks (excluding, of course, my mother and my brother) meeting new people is just not my forte. There is a reason why my very best friend is the same girl who befriended me in Ms. Peebles' 2nd grade class in 1992. I have tried a handful of different local churches and have instantly found reasons not to like them. However, I was not sure if I felt uncomfortable there simply because I do not like to meet new people in an unfamiliar space, or if I was truly being led elsewhere.

I tried a different church on Sunday I {loved} the experience! An older gentleman sat down next to me in church and struck up a conversation; come to find out, he knew my husband as Sean was growing up and thought the world of him. Afterwards, he introduced me to his wife who responded like we were just old friends. They introduced me to the pastor afterwards and I felt encouraged to ask about Sunday School opportunities. He instantly introduced me to another gal my age and she took me to a "young married's" class, where I felt like I had been going forever. It was exactly what I had been waiting for: a place to feel at home, where the congregants treated each other like family. Because that's what we are, right?! I left feeling vibrant and refueled. It honestly wouldn't have taken a whole lot to feel that way, though, because I hadn't been anywhere in probably over a month. My life was feeling murky. Now, I am excited to go back for more and that's a wonderful feeling.

The feeling couldn't have come at a more perfect time, either. Sean's schedule is particularly chaotic at the moment with school and work. The softball season is winding down (can I get a hallelujah?!) and I think he has realized that perhaps the commitment was a little too much on his plate. Additionally, the kids' extracurricular activities are in full swing and, while I am not taking them to practice and may not go to all the games, we are still all under the same roof and we do well to work around each other's schedules and be aware of where everyone is going to be. So, I have been making a calendar to outline Sean's weekly school schedule and ever-variable work schedule and added to it J's football practices & games, Lex's volleyball practices, the family softball games, and other items we have planned on the weekends. I worked out a menu with Ashley for the week and so far these small gestures have helped everyone to stay on track and know what to expect (I think the kiddos like having their names on the master schedule, too - it makes them feel involved). I like order and the lack has made the quality of our days more than sub-par. I won't say this week has been of the highest quality, but I will say that having that sense of order has certainly improved what we have been lacking over the course of the last month.

Now we just have to get our finances figured out. Going from 2 full time paychecks to 1 1/2 checks is just not fun. There isn't another way to put it.

Things I Love (and Some Things I Don't)

These are some things that I love today:

• A productive weekend full of hard work and sweat.
• Coming home to a clean house, no laundry to do and a spotless fridge.
• Thinking, "I could really go for some bacon," and then smelling bacon, followed by the realization that my sister-in-law is making breakfast for dinner. I believe I'll be over for dinner!
• Getting a text message from my bestie that she is watching the movie that defines our friendship and then texting each other our favorite line. "You look like a girl!" "I am a girl you half-wit!" "Yeah, but today you look it!" Good times.
• Planning summer projects with my husband and doing all of the necessary research.

Now here are the things that I don't like:

• Bradford pear trees in my yard.
• Realizing that it's not my yard.
• Giving in and letting my husband plant cleveland pear trees in our yard.

Ugh. This marriage thing is hard sometimes.

Day 2 Blues

I knew this would happen... I have been on a blogging kick for a day and I am already out of ideas. There was a time when blogging was not an issue - I could write about the color of socks I was wearing and make it somewhat interesting. Now, I have become so far removed from my own sense of humor that I have to wear funny socks to make a statement so that I don't have to think of anything on my own.

A few of the blogs I follow from time to time (read: every day) are from women who have taken on the task of coming up with a word to define what they hope to accomplish in the coming year. These are women whom I have really come to look up to as a woman that I would like to become. The impression they leave on me is that they are wonderful, Godly wives whose primary business is their families.

I have thought about my word all afternoon, through a football nap, folding laundry, vacuuming, and watching television (it has not been a productive day). What I have determined my word should be is quality. These are the definitions of quality that I need to attribute to my own life:

• marked by a concentrated expediture of involvement, concern or commitment. I have plenty of quiet time, but I don't attempt to make it quality quiet time. Watching television when I get home from work is not time well spent to self-growth. By the end of the week I don't feel like I have had any real time to myself and the fault does not lie with my job, my husband, or my household duties. The fault is my own because I never took any of the 4 hours from the time I get home to the time I go to bed to sit in silence & reflect.
• character with respect to fineness, or grade of excellence. I am fairly new to this marriage thing, but that does not mean that I should not put every effort into making our marriage of the best quality at this early stage in the ball game. My fear is that by not putting in the most effort in this fresh, new time our relationship will grow stagnant quickly and the ball game will be over rather quickly. How can I remedy this? The book we read as a part of our marriage counseling was so helpful in opening the lines of communication to better understand our individual "love languages." Starting this week, Sean's schedule is changing and we will see each other even less than we do now. When I start to feel the self-pity setting in, I need to re-evaluate the 5 love languages to see where I can help him to feel more fulfilled. He rarely lets my pail become empty. My love language is easy: quality time!
• an accomplishment or attainment. For example, today I did a very minimal amount of housework. I am hoping for Taco Bell for dinner. I have one load of laundry in the dryer that has been dry for a while now, but as long as the dryer is running I don't have to fold it, right? And they are towels so it doesn't have to be folded tonight, right? Wrong. It would not have killed me today to have cleaned the bathroom (well, maybe). After I publish I am going to get up and fold those clothes. I am still hoping for Taco Bell for dinner, but c'mon. It's Sunday night. I don't want to go to work tomorrow when this time next week we'll be in Mexico. My point is this: I need to strive for quality in my work. I always feel much better about myself afterwards, but am mostly too lazy.

Here I go. I am going to fold those clothes. And it is going to be a job well done.