And There Goes the Day...

Since this month’s schedule came out, I’ve been looking forward to today. A day off, during the week, no meetings to attend, no lunches to cover, just a day off where I could get things done. And I had the day planned, I was going to go to the gym, groom the dog, deep clean the upstairs bathroom, catch up on laundry, do my grocery shopping, do a full change on the litter boxes (we have scoopable litter, so I usually just scoop every night and add more litter when necessary, but every once in a while I still need to completely empty the boxes, wash them out, scrub down the litter closet, and put everything back together filled with fresh, clean litter), and get the laptop moved upstairs (putting my laptop upstairs as the house computer was one of the conditions of getting the iPad). Oh yeah, and I needed to go online and order some new bras, I’ve had to toss a couple in the past few weeks.

And yes, I do realize that there was no way all of that was going to get done today under the best of circumstances, especially when you consider that I’m a lazy procrastinator that is way too fond of sitting on the couch, knitting (or playing with my iPad) and watching SportsCenter, I was still optimistic that I would at least get a couple of things done.

So, I still got up at the usual time, let Puppy out, started the coffee and stayed up to have coffee with Husband before he left for work. Then it happened, my phone rang, and the caller id said it was Boss Lady. That is never a good sign, let alone at 7:45 in the morning. And sure enough, someone had called in sick and could I go in to our branch way out in Nowhere Land from one to five. Dammit, of course I could. And, yes I know I could have just said no, but I'm bad at telling people no. Plus, there wasn't really a good reason for me not to come in.

Okay, so the bad news was, no day off. However, the good news was, I didn’t have to be at work until 1, so I could get a couple of things crossed off my list. You know, provided I got moving. And did that happen? Of course not, after an hour of playing on my iPad and watching SportsCenter (in my defense, I did purchase some new bras during that time), I decided that the best use of part of my morning off would be to take a nap, but just a little one. We all know how that goes, another hour later, I forced my lazy ass out of bed and drug myself, complaining the whole while to the gym. By that point, there was only time left to shower, get ready for work, and enjoy half a lunch with Husband.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I do like my job. But I was so looking forward to the day off. My position is limited full time, meaning I can get anywhere from 30 to 39 hours per week. That means, I tend to get some half day shifts (or when I’m covering lunches for our Motor Bank, quarter day) which means I don’t usually get a full day off in exchange for my monthly Saturday. And then couple of times I have gotten a day off, it has been on a day where I still had to go in for a staff meeting or the like. This was going to be a whole day completely off.

Sigh. I had such high hopes for the day too. And please, Department of Health and Human Services, keep in mind that I was planning on cleaning today before you declare my bathroom a health hazard.

Massive Writer's Block

It’s been awhile on here, but to be completely honest, I’ve suffered from a bit of a writer’s block. And by a bit of a writer’s block, I clearly mean one that could encompass the state of Texas in its shadow. Lots has been going on, but nothing to write about. There have been several times that I’ve set down, determined to write a post, only to discover that there was nothing going on in my head but a tumbleweed blowing around, putting words on paper (or in my case, on a laptop screen) seemed to be an impossible task.
But, I figured, the only way to move past this was to sit down and actually write something, anything. Actually get words onto the paper (or screen). So here I am, staring at the screen, waiting for words to come to me, and I’ve got nothing. Zip, zilch, nada. So we’re just going to go with some general life updates and hope that the writing muse comes back to me.

Life at the bank is still going pretty good. I’ve now passed the 90 days of work mark, which means not only to I now get PTO, but I also am able to sign money orders and sell prepaid gift cards. Now there’s a reason to get out of bed in the morning. As time passes, I’m feeling more and more at home with my co-workers. It just takes a while for me to warm up to new people. And every day I feel more and more like maybe I might know what I’m doing (which is usually followed by a moment where I do something so unbelievably stupid that I feel like a complete and total moron). Overall, I’m feeling much more comfortable, and it seems much less likely that I’ll search too terribly hard for a teaching job come fall. I’m content to have a job to fill somewhere between 30 and 40 hours per week, supply Husband and I with decent benefits, and leave me with free time to do things I like to do (you know, like write blog entries).

Most of my free time lately has been absorbed by my latest toy, Husband finally gave in and let me get an iPad. Since its arrival at the house, I’ve spent lots and lots of time getting it set up, learning how to use it, and finding apps to make my life easier (or just apps that do cool stuff). I have found some apps that quickly became indispensable in my life, but that’s most likely a whole separate post (yay, stuff to write about!).

I’m also planning out a garden for this spring. The spot Husband and I have picked out for it was rather low lying, so I think we’re going to put a little extra effort into it and build a raised garden. After my excellent experiences with canning last fall, I’m excited to grow my own stuff to can for next fall. Especially the ingredients for salsa, that turned out super yummy! I’ll also be either digging in or building a flower bed for some lilies in front of our fence, but that should be easy enough to do. I also took a little time to read the Hunger Games trilogy. Despite no longer being a teacher, I haven’t lost my fascination with literature geared toward young adults, just my primary excuse to read it (however, one of the beautiful things about a Kindle, or other e-reader, is that no one has any idea what you’re reading).

Despite being enamored with the iPad, I have, of course made at least a little time for knitting. I have discovered that I’m deeply unhappy with the current socks I’m working on. I intend to frog them, but somehow just haven’t gotten around to it. I’m waiting for inspiration to strike on what socks I’m going to make next, so for the moment, they are just sitting on the needles, waiting. I finally finished the Sheetcote pullover and cast on for the February Lady sweater, which was a personal victory, because I bought the yarn for it a long time ago and it’s been on my Ravelry queue for even longer than that. I’m extremely pleased with how the Sheepcote pullover ended up, and somewhere between pleased and annoyed that it turned out I could have made it at least one size smaller.
Speaking of one size smaller, my new year’s quest to become healthier was going great, but I’ve hit a bit of a stumbling block as of late. I had been consistently making it to the gym, at least three times a week, and doing yoga at home on a less consistent basis. I managed to drop almost 20 pounds and about 2 inches, but then hit a wall. I wasn’t feeling the greatest for a couple of days, compounded with an increased number of evenings where I’m scheduled at work until later, and my gym attendance dropped. I’ve made a promise to myself to get back into the habit of going, however. I’ve just got to grit my teeth and get through it on the days I don’t feel like going and adjust to going later in the evening on days when I work later. I’ve just got to renew my commitment to a healthier lifestyle and stick to it.

That’s pretty much the highlights of what’s going on now. Let’s hope I also get over this writer’s block and back into the habit of regular posts.