Let the Break Begin

It has been a goal to blog in the past weeks but I decided to be a professional and stick to my work duties.   As with most semesters, I had piles of grading but I have to admit I did much better with the workload this time around.   In past years, I've procrastinated or fell behind which resulted in late nights and a sense of panic during final's week.   I like to hand back major assignments on the date of the final exam.    So the date of a final exam governs when I have to have grading tasks completed for each class.   I had grading done a couple days before the final exams so that helped with the pace and sanity.  

We've lived in the apartment long enough now that we need to start up a cleaning schedule.   It's kind of a treat that the place is so new.   It takes awhile for dirt to show up.    Depending on gift cards given at Christmas or money from the next pay check, I need to get a wet and dry Swiffer.   I think that will work best for cleaning the tile in many rooms as well as the wood laminate flooring.    I don't think we need a vacuum or least not a huge vacuum.   I really wish I hadn't sold the small I had for years at our garage sale in the summer.   It would be perfect for vacuuming the bedrooms.  

I honestly thought I would feel lonely by now.    I really don't and I don't know what to make of that. It's probably a good sign that I like having my own place again.   It's nice to have my own routine and to a certain extent, I can do what I want, when I want to do it.   I'm interested in picking up a hobby of some sort.    Or rekindling a hobby from the past.   I've considered joining a book club.   I may be doing a bible study in January.   I don't see myself doing anything super creative because I'm not artsy.   I may need to do more research to see what I can fit into my schedule.   And of course, I've also considered adding a fitness class or something to my life to see if that would be a good choice for filling time.  

I did turn my grades in today and have a list of domestic things I want to get done before we depart for Waukon.    I still have boxes sitting around that need to either be stored away or fully unpacked.   I am trying to figure out how to best organize my desk area.   A lot of the remaining boxes pertain to papers and work documents.   I need to reorganize my filing cabinets and my motivation to go through all that stuff is lacking.   I should be able to throw away a lot of things though.  I have a huge pile of clothes that need to be donated, especially this year so I can use the donation for my taxes.   I still need to wrap presents too.   I made a huge dent in my Christmas cards last night.   The list of those receiving cards has been reduced again.   I am pretty happy with my choice of Christmas presents as Gavin and I spent an equal amount on each person.   I still need to get a couple things for Gavin though.   He's been difficult to buy for and I will likely need to make-up for a lack of gifts at his birthday.    I guess another way to look at it though is that he has everything he needs, which isn't a problem either.   

I guess that's it for now, hopefully I'll blog more over break.  

Settling In

I should be grading at this moment...working away at a huge stack of student projects.   That isn't appealing though so I figured I would write another entry here and do some other small tasks at work.  I am stuck in Ames today because I also teach for DMACC tonight at their Ames site.   It didn't make a lot of sense to drive home for a bit and drive back to Ames.    I don't have the gas money to waste.  

The apartment is coming together nicely.   The area that I will call my "desk" or work area still needs a lot of work.   It's also our dining room table area.   It's starting to feel more natural to use the kitchen and laundry room.   We rarely use the living room because of the TV not being connected yet to Direct TV.   I was motivated this week and bought a flat screen TV.   I was aiming for a 32" screen but Sam's Club had a 39" close to the same price.   The sales person was funny because they kept saying it was "only HDTV" because I think they wanted me to buy a Smart TV or something.   No thank you.   I think when the TV actually works we'll be more likely to sit in that room.   It will be cozy to watch TV or a movie and use the fire place too.    I envision grading a lot in the recliner.  

I'm trying to find more ways to be social and get out (after the semester) so I don't become a homebody.   You'd think in such a heavily populated area I'd find oodles of activities but I'm not yet.   I'd rather do things that are free or very low priced.    I've considered book clubs and am trying to pay attention to what is offered at our church.  I'm also considering some yoga experiences too.

The more we are settling in to the apartment the more I'm realizing how lucky I am to find that apartment in the first place.   I've still looked around Ankeny to see what my other options would be and I truly did get lucky with the monthly rent fee.   The location doesn't feel as odd to me anymore either.   I will admit the traffic is worse though.   I need to be sure to leave 10-15 earlier than usual, whether it be taking Gavin to school or during other errands.   I do like having so much space too.  We need to better organize what we keep in our downstairs storage space but we have decent closet space up in the apartment too.   I haven't spoken or met anyone in the apartment yet.   It was the same way when I lived in my last apartment in Ames too.   

I think people have been surprised by how well I'm doing.   I really don't get upset anymore but do have periods of sadness.   It seems odd not going out to cut down a Christmas tree like we've done in past years.   We have a couple small Christmas trees we'll use and I told Gavin we'll see about getting a larger fake tree when they are on clearance after Christmas.   

I guess that's enough of an update for now.