Skip to main content

I'm Still Getting Up at the Usual Time

When I go to bed tonight, I'm still setting my alarm clock for 5:15 a.m. For one thing, June 2 means no more to the dogs in this house than October 15. For another, just because I'm not driving 24 miles to my classroom, doesn't mean I don't have work to do.

No one tells you when you go into teaching that you have no real life from August to June. None. Being gone from 6:20-6:00 each day doesn't leave much time for scrubbing the kitchen sink (sorry Flylady) or putting away clothes. And let's just stay away from the topic of closet space.

Rest assured that I'm not a clean freak or anything (far from it). It's just that I won't be able to cook a full meal or critique Einstein's theory of relativity until I've moved the assorted boxes and crates filled with young adult novels and paper trays to somewhere other than the middle of my guest room.

So even though I'm on "vacation", I already have a schedule for the week that includes time for freelance writing, house organizing, fun writing/business junk, and exercise. I'll cram the spare time I have with various doctor and dentist appointments that I have no time to take care of during the school year.

Hopefully, I'll be able to at least log 30 miles of walking/running this week, prepare for my niece's visit, and start fading my "tan" again after my day at the beach. I also want to update my website and cook some real meals for a change. I have some pictures and other items of not-so-much interest to share.

Of course, I'm already behind schedule. I have 25 short articles that have to be done by Tuesday. I'm not even finished with half of the outlines. There goes my Monday.
Labels:

Comments

Christy said…
Ha! Sometimes, real life seems like it's the easy part and "time off" seems like so much work! I tried the Flylady once. She didn't work for me. But I know some for whom she is a real inspiration. I don't know.....something about lists and routines makes me want to rebel against them.
5:20 PM
frabjouspoet said…
I know what you mean. I'm a Flylady dropout, too. I can't keep up with the constant lists, either, but I did use the idea of 15 minutes of cleaning each day.
5:42 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Restless Soul

Someone recently told me that I have an impulsive streak. ("Just an observation, not a criticism.") My initial reaction was to vehemently deny that statement despite the fact that I had just confessed to walking into Total Wine and buying $200 worth of wine just because it seemed like a good idea at 11:00 on a Thursday morning. Me? Impulsive? Don't answer that, especially if you know the truth. I shared this with my therapist yesterday and his eyes lit up when I said, "I think I have a restless soul." The fact that his eyes lit up is significant since we spend most of my sessions arguing with each other about ideas like whether or not a book he recommended is filled with psychobabble bullsh*t or why I should do a bit more thinking with my heart instead of my head. For once, he agreed with me and quickly pointed out that this is not necessarily a bad trait. In fact, it's what stirs my needs to explore and to write. It's also the reason why I don't, by...
5 comments
Read more

So Not the Party Girl

In an effort to be more social, I agreed to participate in the first annual cookie exchange at work this morning. I've never done an cookie exchange before, and that fact alone didn't bode well for my social phobia, perfectionist tendencies, and leeriness about eating food from other people's kitchens. But I persevered. My grandmother recommended her favorite cookie recipe (which is actually a cake recipe--cut into bars). Last night I whipped up a delightful batch and licked the icing bowl clean...after I spread the bulk of it on the cookies. I wrapped everything in some plastic bowls and topped them with a Christmas bow. All was well until I was 1 dozen cookies short. At 10:45 last night I drove 7 miles to the nearest store (Walgreens) and then drove another mile to the Winn-Dixie for powdered sugar. I washed dishes as I listened to Letterman, and I was finally in bed around 12:30. And up again at 4:45. The cookie exchange was DELIGHTFUL. I laughed as I sipped black coffee...
6 comments
Read more

Gators and Bees and Snakes...Oh My!

Let me preface this by pointing out that we have a deaf, epileptic Great Dane, a one-eyed cat, and a slew of young cats outside that we just haven't been able to part with. Love for animals abounds here. It seems we have a critter fest going on around here lately. In mid-September there was the Great Goose Massacre courtesy of a visiting alligator. Two weeks ago we had the Invasion of the Bees that left nearly 100 dead bees in its wake. Last week was the Demise of the Rattler. Alan heard a strange sound when he walked out on the porch last Sunday. He thought at first that it was a large dragonfly caught in the screen. It turns out that it was a rattle snake, coiled up and ready to strike. He says that he will never get the rattling sound out of his head, but I think he was a bit more freaked out at the thought of watching one of the kittens get struck by the snake. (Bonsai was apparently completely willing to risk his life to investigate the snake.) His first words to me when he pi...
5 comments
Read more