So Ready for a Weekend

I am really starting to treasure my weekends.   I will be the first to admit that I could be a little more productive on most weekends and I will have some approaching that need to be spent on grading when more assignments are turned in for both institutions.   I am excited to see some family this weekend and have fun.   The week was better than last due to my workload but there was some drama with the after school program.   I've never had a child act so awful so I'm working through that situation with parents.  

I anxious to hear about my tax preparation as I am very dependent on a refund to help me with summer survival.   I need a solid amount of money in my savings account.   I do know that I need to pay into the state so it would be nice to know that total soon as well.   The only thing I want to splurge on with my refund is a nice new pair of tennis shoes.  

Our family schedule will be changing a bit next week as Gavin starts track.   On some days he needs to lift at 6am since he'll have track practice after school.    As soon as it's nice outside, all lifting will move to 6am.   We'll definitely need to work on getting up earlier so he's on time and diligent.   He's also working with an elementary student on Thursday mornings in a tutor/mentor situation.    We actually talked about the irony in that as he had a mentor in elementary school too.   The student was pretty funny I guess.   Gavin introduced himself to the boy yesterday and the boys response was "Gavin?  That's the name of my bully."   Small world.

It's been fun lately being more social.   I've reconnected with past friends and am making new connections.   I don't know why I felt like such a social slug in the past years.    I always tend to focus on the boyfriend and let other relationships slide which isn't fair to other people and isn't fair to myself.   Luckily a lot of my past friends have been understanding.   I still have absolutely no interest in dating.   I wouldn't say I'm jaded but it's nice being independent again. 

Time to prep some more for teaching.  

Here Comes February...the Month of Love

My intentions to blog regularly have failed.   In my defense, life is always busy.   I should be sleeping right now but I figured I'd update this before hitting the hay.

The new semester has started off decently.   Unfortunately I often feel like I'm scrambling to stay ahead.   I attribute this to the following:

• DMACC has been more work than I anticipated; converting my usual Monday night class to an online class has been more tricky than I anticipated
• It's been difficult to balance all my duties at ISU...I wear way too many hats and there is always something pulling me away from a task 

The after-school program started today and it started off well.   We have more than 35 kids enrolled which is the most we've ever had in the program ever.   I've had to hire extra staff which is fine but it feels like our gym and pool are way too small.    I need to get on the ball and apply for a grant related to the after-school program.   I want to get some $$ to buy some health-related props and equipment.
I procrastinated badly and turned in my yearly evaluation a day late.   Many knew I was sick but I had a month to work on it.   Embarrassing but it is what it is.    I didn't really have much to rave about in the process either.    I need to start researching the process for becoming a senior lecturer.  

Health-wise I could be doing better.    I've been sleeping better but some of that was induced by the recent use of OTC medicines due to my throat and respiratory issues.   We've curbed the eating out in the last couple weeks.    Like usual, I need to boost my physical activity levels.   Broken record there.
I also need to get on the ball and finish unpacking and settling in the apartment.  We don't have the funds to spruce it up but it could be more "homey" if I finished unpacking the remaining boxes.   A lot of the remaining tasks will require me to sort through paperwork and organize some files.    It's not very appealing which is why I keep putting it off.  

As for the title, I'm not as bitter as I anticipated as Valentine's Day approaches.   I'd rather be single and content than in my previous situation.  

Life's not very exciting.;..that's about it for now.

Spring Semester 2015

Tomorrow has approached much too quickly as the spring semester begins for both ISU and DMACC.    I was informed last week that one of my DMACC classes had been cancelled due to low enrollment.   In past semesters, I've usually taught two classes.   Fortunately I was slotted to teach three classes this semester so the fact that one was cancelled doesn't change my income.    I admit it would be nice to earn some extra money.    But it's also nice to know that I don't have to work on Monday nights.  

Both my DMACC classes are online classes.   One is my usual Sport Diversity class.   The other class is the same class I was going to teach Monday nights but its online only and is for a select population.  Apparently only high school students are enrolled in the class.   It should be interesting.

My load at ISU is lighter this semester, thank God.  I am teaching one health course for two sections.   The grading will be heavy but at least the prep is identical for each section.   The other course I'm teaching is for PE majors and I haven't taught it for a few years.    I'm still trying to figure out how I exactly want to teach the information so my syllabus isn't done yet.   Shame on me.   I am also supervising student teachers this semester but I only have one during the first half of the semester and only one during the second half.   The first is placed in a town very close to Ames and the other is student teaching in the Ames district.   

I think the lightening of my schedules is a sign or an indicator that focusing on my social life and having more fun should be a priority this year.   It can also help me with including exercise and physical activity in my life and making it more of a routine.   I had blood drawn last week (ick) and got my results.   I was happy to see my cholesterol had improved and my triglycerides are lower.   Now mind you, my triglycerides need to be much lower but at least they are lower.   My LDL cholesterol can also decrease too.    I'm in no rush to get my blood work checked again any time soon.   I also forgot to have them type my blood.   Sorry LeAnn!

I am also happy to report that I am sleeping better.  The first week of the new year was very rough in terms of quality, restorative sleep.   I even had a few rough days last week.   The last couple nights haven't been perfect but an improvement nonetheless.   My main issue is with falling asleep.  

The new living situation has been pretty decent too.   The set-up makes it look like I'm a college student again.   Our living room is still kind of haphazard.   I haven't hung anything up yet.   I still have a few random boxes in some rooms.   It's been nice to just having Gavin and myself in the apartment.   It feels normal for us to be the only ones in the residence.   A sad realization but a true one that I cannot deny.  His birthday is next week and luckily he is happy with having friends over to spend the night so that the cost can stay low.   We'll order some pizzas and they will play video games.   I will hide in my room.   It will be a wonderful Saturday night.    Hard to believe years ago I was organizing birthday parties at bowling alleys.   He didn't seem thrilled to do try that next weekend.

Anyway...time to wind down so the morning starts of well.

Happy New Year!

Well 2015 is upon us...I am more than happy to start a new year.   In a sense, I am happy that all my personal drama happened toward the end of 2014 rather than in the beginning or in the middle.   We've been back in Ankeny for a few days and I haven't been as productive as I had planned.   I still need to organize my "office area" but sorting through file cabinets hasn't been appealing.   Gavin and I have been fairly lazy but it's been nice to read for pleasure and watch TV/movies.  

I have been up and down but the valleys have been less common, which is nice.   The holidays were very nice and I was happy to spend a week up north.   I had been a little worried about how I'd be around Christmas and in all honesty, I was just fine.   I was a little bummed on New Year's Eve but it could have been worse.   I also go between being fine/relieved, a little sad, and angry still.  I'm sure the variance with my moods will continue for awhile but it gets annoying at times.   I can safely say that I have no motivation to date and I'm sure that will be the case for awhile.  It feels defeating to have put so many YEARS into a relationship and have someone just discard all that time and effort.  He has successfully ruined my trust in men, kudos to him.  

I need to crank out more tasks for work.   I need to work on my syllabi for my ISU classes and my DMACC classes.   One of my DMACC classes is new in a sense.   It's the same class I teach on Monday nights but it will be offered online with no in-person contact.  I need to start putting the class together...at least the first weeks.

Over break, I finally went to the Wellness Center in Waukon and did really enjoy it.  It was fun to play tennis during December.   I racked up a lot of fitness points with my tracker that day.   I need to figure out if and how I can use my treadmill in the apartment.   Whenever I try to use it, it trips the breaker in the living room.   I'm not sure if using a power strip will help or if the machine is too much for the electrical set-up in the apartment.   Sigh.   It's set up perfectly so I could watch TV while I use it...if only it would work.   Nevertheless I want to be more active.   And our eating choices need to improve too.    Luckily our strict grocery budget will help with eating out and poor dietary choices.  

Happy New Year!

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.    

Happy Birthday to Me

Well I'm another year older.   The cool thing is that I don't feel older.   The other distractions in life really didn't let me focus on my birthday.   I hope I don't associate recent events with my birthday in upcoming years.   It was a good trip home.   It can be summed up with:

• A fun pre-Thanksgiving party that led to me drinking too much and not feeling so great.   However it was nice to see a cousin and his family from Oklahoma.   I saw them last at a wedding in Oklahoma and don't remember talking to them much at all back then.
• A wonderful Thanksgiving day with family.   I ate too much food.   It was nice to have a normal appetite again. 
• A Black Friday that involved no crazy shopping.   No interest in that whatsover.    We did some shopping in a local community and got some much needed things for my apartment.   Also had cake, a few gifts, and a game night.  

I made the mistake of checking Facebook on my birthday (mainly to see my birthday greetings) and noticed that HE deleted me from Facebook.   So much for the "we can stay civil and likely be friends" plan.   I was naive for thinking that would work in the first place.   When I say "friends", I didn't expect anything super chummy in the near future but I would like to know how his parents are doing and see updates about the dog.   He must think it's best to just cut ties which is sad but I guess if that makes it easier for him, oh well.   It goes back to him being a "black and white" person.   There is no gray or middle area.   It's apparent that everything he said to me on the night of the break-up and the days after was a lie.   He was saying things to appease me so he could get me out of the house.   I thought that dating an older guy would ensure maturity but I was mistaken.   I feel like I was an inconvenience in his life and the last five years were a complete waste.