Note to self:

Try to relax more.

Also, try to go here someday.

Looks seriously amazing.

Progress and Patience

I didn't get much from my to-do list this weekend.


I did have an amazing time for about 95% of the time, however, and that's more important than most to-do list tasks. I'm not beating myself up for it. And that's progress. But that stuff isn't going to get done on it's own. And the real list is even longer, I am still struggling to figure out a routine without having school in the mix - it's a great thing but I've taken the "have lots of fun" part to the extreme and ignored the whole "be a productive responsible 30 year old" bits. Here's where it stands.


1. Complete the mound of paperwork that I volunteered to sort out and which is currently holding my lovely dining table hostage. Finished it tonight.

2. Stop living in squalor. I haven't kept up with cleaning all semester and my place is GROSS. Deep cleaning would be nice but heck, some sweeping/dusting/vacuuming would go a long way. And then there's the bathroom - my true nemesis (ick!). Sort of made the bathroom presentable and tidied up some stuff, but precious little cleaning has yet to take place. Tomorrow night.

3. Manage to cook something. And also end up on Monday night with food in the fridge/pantry to bring for work lunches. It's been too long since I prepared anything ahead of time and my waistline is bearing the brunt. Note to self: the pot of black beans you just pulled from the oven, while lovely, does not count as cooking. Keep going. Made someone else's family recipe for baked spaghetti. They all agreed it was good - and not a bit was left. Though I didn't have anything made for lunch and need to drag myself into the kitchen right now to remedy that.


4. Buy some clothes for work. The sales abound this weekend and my closet is in terrible shape. This really needs to happen. Got a few things. Need a lot more. Have a plan. Have a little spare cash after payday.

Fun stuff is on the agenda as well - including a trip to the grand opening of the Chinese Lantern Festival at the Botanical Garden, the requisite Memorial Day BBQ and family time here and there too. Definitely done.

Oh, and one more thing - I MUST acquire and then consume a glass (or several) of Rose'. Must. Done.

Long weekend

This long weekend has been much-anticipated. While I'd love to travel or just sit around with nothing to do and nowhere to be, that is not exactly a priority or realistic statement of my life right now. I'm still in the process of getting into a new groove and am grateful for the extra time to buckle down at home.

My goals:

1. Complete the mound of paperwork that I volunteered to sort out and which is currently holding my lovely dining table hostage.

2. Stop living in squalor. I haven't kept up with cleaning all semester and my place is GROSS. Deep cleaning would be nice but heck, some sweeping/dusting/vacuuming would go a long way. And then there's the bathroom - my true nemesis (ick!).

3. Manage to cook something. And also end up on Monday night with food in the fridge/pantry to bring for work lunches. It's been too long since I prepared anything ahead of time and my waistline is bearing the brunt. Note to self: the pot of black beans you just pulled from the oven, while lovely, does not count as cooking. Keep going.

4. Buy some clothes for work. The sales abound this weekend and my closet is in terrible shape. This really needs to happen.

Fun stuff is on the agenda as well - including a trip to the grand opening of the Chinese Lantern Festival at the Botanical Garden, the requisite Memorial Day BBQ and family time here and there too.

Oh, and one more thing - I MUST acquire and then consume a glass (or several) of Rose'. Must.

Not so fast

Just when I thought I was going to be getting a huge bump in my free-time allocation (aka the ability to get my life in order, do things like clean the house and buy groceries/cook dinner), the universe seems to have had other plans.

I feel as though I have LESS free time now that I'm done with school. This entire year has sped by and my post-graduate days are no exception. My workload at the office has spiked and I'm treading water each day - working late, coming in on weekends, and hoping for a light at the end of the tunnel.

I'm teetering on the brink of a full-on panic attack looking at the messy house I live in, my flabby stomach (apparently I'm now allergic to running since the half marathon) and the steady balance on my very last credit card.

I wish I had a pause button where I could get everything back into some semblance of order and then hit play again on the hectic (though quite good) parts of life. Or hire a cleaning service and personal chef. That would help too.

Enough whining, I know. I don't have it bad. I just wish for a tiny little bit more control.

Self imposed deadlines

Don't work on me.

I need to remedy this. I also need to finish my school work so I can enjoy the heck out of the beer fest tomorrow. I am oh so very close to being done with all of my grad school stuff but the "real" deadlines aren't until later next week so apparently my brain won't get it together.

I can't wait to completely shut down "academically" for a tiny bit, re-energize, clean my house top to bottom, purge the closets and cupboards and get a fresh start. Soon.

Until then, back to the books.