When I was a senior in high school I had to give rides to this really annoying sophomore kid named Sam H. Whenever I gave him rides I had to child lock the windows so he wouldn't roll them down and yell obscene things out the window. The first time I gave him a ride, it was a red light at an intersection. There was a pedestrian waiting at the crosswalk. So what does Sam do? He rolls down the window and yells something rude at the pedestrian. The light turned green and I drove away as quickly as possible. Sam's all "It's okay, I know that guy." Great, but I still don't want people to associate my car with your foul mouth.
Another thing I did when I had to give Sam rides is blast my Christian rock music. During Sam's first ride, he said something to me that made me worry for his soul, and the direction it was headed. Playing Skillet and Sanctus Real was my solution.
The reason I had to give Sam rides was because I was the president of the community service club, and I had organized after school tutoring twice a week at the local elementary school. Most of the other tutors had cars and could get there on their own, but Sam didn't. I wasn't about to let a volunteer slip away--you know, because it was for the children and all that--so I offered Sam a ride. This was before I found out how annoying he was. He talked all the time, always trying to convince me of something new. This made sense, as he was on the speech and debate team.
One time I had to drive him home afterward. He failed to mention to me that he lived out in the countryside, so we passed cattle and chicken coops on our way there. I had to drive up and down all these hills, listening to Sam blather on about who knows what. I've tried to block most of it from my memory, but I can still picture that face, his mouth talking away in the passenger seat of my car.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Saturday, January 2, 2010
The ways I spend money
I originally wanted to name this post "Dolla Dolla Bill Psychology," but I thought my casual gangster slang might ruin my credibility. Plus, I took the silver grill out of my mouth when I edited. Thus, the responsible (yet boring) "The ways I spend money."
Let me preface this post by saying that while I typically consider myself good at managing my money, I will be honest and admit I practically fell off a financial cliff during December, so I am glad it is a new month and a new year so I can start fresh again. I basically felt like December didn't count, so I was spending loads December 28th-31st, thinking that I could just wipe it from my brain in January. But I'm usually never like that, really.
I've been reading a plethora of new blogs over the break, and a lot of them have New Year Resolution/goal posts (but not the kind you find in football). I admit, I will likely post a bit of something on such a topic in the near future. What I find interesting is the number of people who are aiming toward debt-free goals, and one of the ways they try to achieve this is through "the envelope system".
Don't get me wrong. I think a debt-free goal is fabulous. I wish my mortgage was all paid for. But this envelope system, it would never work for me. The whole concept is that you plan a budget, then take out all the cash you would need and put it in an envelope. For example, you have your grocery envelope with all the cash you plan to spend, your gas envelope, your entertainment envelope, etc. The people that do this say that it works because then they can't spend more than what they budgeted for. Makes sense, I guess.
I would fail at this. It's reverse psychology for me. I feel like cash is free money. I purposely try not to keep more than twenty bucks in my wallet because I don't feel guilty about spending the cash in my wallet. I feel like it is extra money. I feel like cash spent is money unaccounted for. Unless you are awesome at keeping receipts (I'm not), then you don't know where your money went. It's like "Okay, I know I started the week with fifty bucks, but now I only have 17 and I can't remember what I bought." Because, oh darn, the receipts were in my pocket that just went through the wash.
This is what I do:
I always use my credit card to pay for gas, and I always pay off the full amount at the end of the month so I never pay interest.
I try to pay for everything else on my debit card. The reason I do this is because it's all recorded for me on-line. I can't forget where I spent that thirty bucks, because I can log in to my on-line banking and see that I spent it at Target. I am compulsive about checking my on-line account. I do it at least twice a week. I am reminded week after week, month after month, of where I spent my money. I can't forget it, like I would if I just paid cash. For me, there's more accountability. Plus, it's easier to keep track of one debit card than it is to keep track of six envelopes or whatever. Plus, I like that my on-line spending report automatically categorizes for me. I can see how much I spent on gas, groceries, utilities, clothes, office supplies, health care, insurance, etc. etc.
If you are concerned about spending what you don't have, then just make sure there's not more money than what you want to spend in your checking account. Keep the extra in your savings account. But this is just me. I know the envelope system works great for some people. I just know I could never get it to work for me.
Interesting blogs:
Man Vs. Debt This guy and his wife (and daughter) barely own anything and are traveling around the world.
Samantha over at Mama Notes just posted this link to Enemy of Debt.
Let me preface this post by saying that while I typically consider myself good at managing my money, I will be honest and admit I practically fell off a financial cliff during December, so I am glad it is a new month and a new year so I can start fresh again. I basically felt like December didn't count, so I was spending loads December 28th-31st, thinking that I could just wipe it from my brain in January. But I'm usually never like that, really.
Don't get me wrong. I think a debt-free goal is fabulous. I wish my mortgage was all paid for. But this envelope system, it would never work for me. The whole concept is that you plan a budget, then take out all the cash you would need and put it in an envelope. For example, you have your grocery envelope with all the cash you plan to spend, your gas envelope, your entertainment envelope, etc. The people that do this say that it works because then they can't spend more than what they budgeted for. Makes sense, I guess.
I would fail at this. It's reverse psychology for me. I feel like cash is free money. I purposely try not to keep more than twenty bucks in my wallet because I don't feel guilty about spending the cash in my wallet. I feel like it is extra money. I feel like cash spent is money unaccounted for. Unless you are awesome at keeping receipts (I'm not), then you don't know where your money went. It's like "Okay, I know I started the week with fifty bucks, but now I only have 17 and I can't remember what I bought." Because, oh darn, the receipts were in my pocket that just went through the wash.
This is what I do:
I always use my credit card to pay for gas, and I always pay off the full amount at the end of the month so I never pay interest.
I try to pay for everything else on my debit card. The reason I do this is because it's all recorded for me on-line. I can't forget where I spent that thirty bucks, because I can log in to my on-line banking and see that I spent it at Target. I am compulsive about checking my on-line account. I do it at least twice a week. I am reminded week after week, month after month, of where I spent my money. I can't forget it, like I would if I just paid cash. For me, there's more accountability. Plus, it's easier to keep track of one debit card than it is to keep track of six envelopes or whatever. Plus, I like that my on-line spending report automatically categorizes for me. I can see how much I spent on gas, groceries, utilities, clothes, office supplies, health care, insurance, etc. etc.
If you are concerned about spending what you don't have, then just make sure there's not more money than what you want to spend in your checking account. Keep the extra in your savings account. But this is just me. I know the envelope system works great for some people. I just know I could never get it to work for me.
Interesting blogs:
Man Vs. Debt This guy and his wife (and daughter) barely own anything and are traveling around the world.
Samantha over at Mama Notes just posted this link to Enemy of Debt.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Strike
Due to the conditions of my work, I am going on a Writer's Strike. You won't get to read a word more until next year, after negotiations.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Chinese water torture
The amount of torture I put myself through is ridiculous. I had 26 writing samples to grade. My kids had written fairy tales, each about 4.5 pages long, double spaced. I had to grade them all for voice, ideas and content, organization, conventions, word choice, and sentence fluency. My students turned them in the last day of school, before break. I should have gotten them graded by December 22nd. Ha! I just finished them today. It was agonizing. And now to torture myself further, I am typing up all their stories, because I said I would. We are making a class book. Why do I come up with these great ideas?
Monday, December 28, 2009
Time to pop a Xanax
Today was a horrible dose of reality. It is winter break and I don't have to go back to work until January 4th, but for some reason I have decided to torture myself. This is how it went down.
I woke up at 9:10, only because I actually set an alarm. If I hadn't set an alarm, I am almost 98% positive I would have slept until 11:30. And I know what you are thinking, "Really? 9:10? Come on Joelle." And I totally agree with you. 9:10 is really late. It's also really early when you only have two weeks out of the year until summer to sleep in. It's also really early when you love sleep and are deprived.
I went to Costco on an errand for my mother, then I battled, and I mean BATTLED downtown traffic so that I could go to a certain fabric store. I had to drive around the same block collectively four times. Parking was a nightmare, so I ended up walking a bit. Also, I get lost quite often, so the circling of the same block may have been half the traffic, half my brain on freeze dry.
After the battle with down town, I went to the Dollar Tree for all my teacher needs. It was about 2:30 at this time. I spent four bucks then drove to my school. I don't think you understand the gravity of what I just said there. I drove to my school, during break--during a time when I should be at home watching Gary Hobson on Early Edition and eating pie--so that I could go to work and not get paid for it. I am a martyr, I know.
There were no cars in the parking lot, so I used my badge to get in, and looked at the alarm. It was disarmed, which made sense because I figured the custodians would be working. They usually do deep cleaning during breaks. Sure enough, I yelled "hello?" and they yelled back.
I went to my classroom and took it all in. I stared for a while. All of the chairs and half of the desks were out of place, because they had been moved so that the carpet could be washed. I could tell the carpet was cleaner, and that they were finished. I started arranging everything back the way it was supposed to be, thankful that I hadn't waited to come back next Monday morning at eight AM to a disorganized room. That happened last year.
I was at school primarily to organize and clean, not to actually do any intellectual thinking about what I might teach the little munchkins next week. I had four things on my list to accomplish:
1) make name tags and place on desks according to the new seating chart
2) organize my storage closet
3) organize the math cupboard
4) take books back to the book room
It took me from 2:45 until 5:15 to do all of this. I thought the organizing of the closet and math cupboard would take a half hour, tops. Ha! You should have seen it. All sorts of weird things were crammed in there. I pulled everything out and just put back what I needed/wanted. Ugh. I had to leave at 5:15 so I could get to the gym on time, but I wasn't done yet. There's that feeling again. Never done. You are never done if you are a teacher. I left things in piles, things on tables, things sprawled out everywhere. It's not finished yet. And sure, I did the four things I really wanted to get done, but I still have 12 more things on my list. And they're all the hard stuff I was putting off. I left thinking I would go back in the morning tomorrow, but now I doubt that will happen, mostly because I feel like I need to take some Xanax to face it all.
Anxiety. That's the feeling you get. If you're a teacher, you know. You feel like you never have enough time, that your room is a mess, that there are all these great ideas you have, but you can never put them into place because you don't have enough time to make it happen. You work on it, little by little, but it never seems to be put all together.
I went to the gym to my weights class from 5:30 to 6:30, which was essentially pure torture. I hate the gym. I really do. But I go because I am paying for it and I know I need to go. It felt like I had worked all day long.
I don't want this to happen. I don't want work to start again. I don't want to wake up early and be at work at eight. Ugh.
I'll let you know what happens tomorrow. Will Joelle go to school and work? Or will she stay home, sleep in, read, and watch TV?
I woke up at 9:10, only because I actually set an alarm. If I hadn't set an alarm, I am almost 98% positive I would have slept until 11:30. And I know what you are thinking, "Really? 9:10? Come on Joelle." And I totally agree with you. 9:10 is really late. It's also really early when you only have two weeks out of the year until summer to sleep in. It's also really early when you love sleep and are deprived.
I went to Costco on an errand for my mother, then I battled, and I mean BATTLED downtown traffic so that I could go to a certain fabric store. I had to drive around the same block collectively four times. Parking was a nightmare, so I ended up walking a bit. Also, I get lost quite often, so the circling of the same block may have been half the traffic, half my brain on freeze dry.
After the battle with down town, I went to the Dollar Tree for all my teacher needs. It was about 2:30 at this time. I spent four bucks then drove to my school. I don't think you understand the gravity of what I just said there. I drove to my school, during break--during a time when I should be at home watching Gary Hobson on Early Edition and eating pie--so that I could go to work and not get paid for it. I am a martyr, I know.
There were no cars in the parking lot, so I used my badge to get in, and looked at the alarm. It was disarmed, which made sense because I figured the custodians would be working. They usually do deep cleaning during breaks. Sure enough, I yelled "hello?" and they yelled back.
I went to my classroom and took it all in. I stared for a while. All of the chairs and half of the desks were out of place, because they had been moved so that the carpet could be washed. I could tell the carpet was cleaner, and that they were finished. I started arranging everything back the way it was supposed to be, thankful that I hadn't waited to come back next Monday morning at eight AM to a disorganized room. That happened last year.
I was at school primarily to organize and clean, not to actually do any intellectual thinking about what I might teach the little munchkins next week. I had four things on my list to accomplish:
1) make name tags and place on desks according to the new seating chart
2) organize my storage closet
3) organize the math cupboard
4) take books back to the book room
It took me from 2:45 until 5:15 to do all of this. I thought the organizing of the closet and math cupboard would take a half hour, tops. Ha! You should have seen it. All sorts of weird things were crammed in there. I pulled everything out and just put back what I needed/wanted. Ugh. I had to leave at 5:15 so I could get to the gym on time, but I wasn't done yet. There's that feeling again. Never done. You are never done if you are a teacher. I left things in piles, things on tables, things sprawled out everywhere. It's not finished yet. And sure, I did the four things I really wanted to get done, but I still have 12 more things on my list. And they're all the hard stuff I was putting off. I left thinking I would go back in the morning tomorrow, but now I doubt that will happen, mostly because I feel like I need to take some Xanax to face it all.
Anxiety. That's the feeling you get. If you're a teacher, you know. You feel like you never have enough time, that your room is a mess, that there are all these great ideas you have, but you can never put them into place because you don't have enough time to make it happen. You work on it, little by little, but it never seems to be put all together.
I went to the gym to my weights class from 5:30 to 6:30, which was essentially pure torture. I hate the gym. I really do. But I go because I am paying for it and I know I need to go. It felt like I had worked all day long.
I don't want this to happen. I don't want work to start again. I don't want to wake up early and be at work at eight. Ugh.
I'll let you know what happens tomorrow. Will Joelle go to school and work? Or will she stay home, sleep in, read, and watch TV?
Sunday, December 27, 2009
My battle with bathroom hardware
I got this wrapping paper the week after Thanksgiving at the Dollar Tree. I was way excited about it because I thought it was too cute. Then I was very proud of my wrapping job on this present. If you don't think it's cute, then keep your thoughts to yourself.
Inside said present was some office supplies, including, but not limited to the following file folder.
I got all of this snarky stuff at Pier 1, or you can order it online at www.knockknock.biz. You should check out the website because it has some really funny stuff on it.
Today I went to Craft Warehouse, bought a frame, some stickers, and paper so that I could craft this for my classroom. I'm going to hang it right outside my door. I made one for my sister and brother-in-law for Christmas, only theirs said "Love is spoken here."
I have like a million things to do during winter break, and I've only started (not finished) a few of them. I've realized that I have guilt issues. I feel like I should be getting stuff done and not laying around watching nine episodes of Early Edition on DVD. But I shouldn't feel guilty. On January 4th I'll have to go to work again, and then there will be more late nights working, extra hours spent at home grading papers, and un-paid Saturday mornings in my classroom. Really, I should feel guilty for trying to get anything done.
Still, I feel the need to justify myself. So this is what I did today. I went to the Craft Warehouse (explained above) and then I went to Home Depot to get foam blocks for the vents under my house, but I'm pretty sure I'll have to shove them in and break off the edges to make them fit, even though I measured the dimensions before I went. It's because they don't sell 7.75 by 7 inch vent blocks. Whatever.
Then I came home, made dinner, talked to Kaitlynn, and FINALLY HUNG UP MY TP DISPENSER! This is a big thing for me. I don't really want to get into it, because it makes me so mad. Long story short is that I hung it up, it fell down, I hung it up again, it stayed up for a while but you had to be very careful, then it fell down, then I hung it up, then it fell down. The screw kept coming out of the wall. Well, I fixed the problem by hammering a big ol' nail in there. Hah! That sucker's never coming out. You really have no idea. I've probably spent a collective five hours on that stupid thing. Tip: Don't buy your bathroom hardware at Wal-Mart. Basically, I feel I have validated the 12 hours I've spent reading/watching TV/looking at websites today just because I hung up that stupid toilet paper dispenser.
Tomorrow I plan on going in to school to get stuff done. We'll see if that actually happens. Ha!
I got all of this snarky stuff at Pier 1, or you can order it online at www.knockknock.biz. You should check out the website because it has some really funny stuff on it.
Today I went to Craft Warehouse, bought a frame, some stickers, and paper so that I could craft this for my classroom. I'm going to hang it right outside my door. I made one for my sister and brother-in-law for Christmas, only theirs said "Love is spoken here."
I have like a million things to do during winter break, and I've only started (not finished) a few of them. I've realized that I have guilt issues. I feel like I should be getting stuff done and not laying around watching nine episodes of Early Edition on DVD. But I shouldn't feel guilty. On January 4th I'll have to go to work again, and then there will be more late nights working, extra hours spent at home grading papers, and un-paid Saturday mornings in my classroom. Really, I should feel guilty for trying to get anything done.
Still, I feel the need to justify myself. So this is what I did today. I went to the Craft Warehouse (explained above) and then I went to Home Depot to get foam blocks for the vents under my house, but I'm pretty sure I'll have to shove them in and break off the edges to make them fit, even though I measured the dimensions before I went. It's because they don't sell 7.75 by 7 inch vent blocks. Whatever.
Then I came home, made dinner, talked to Kaitlynn, and FINALLY HUNG UP MY TP DISPENSER! This is a big thing for me. I don't really want to get into it, because it makes me so mad. Long story short is that I hung it up, it fell down, I hung it up again, it stayed up for a while but you had to be very careful, then it fell down, then I hung it up, then it fell down. The screw kept coming out of the wall. Well, I fixed the problem by hammering a big ol' nail in there. Hah! That sucker's never coming out. You really have no idea. I've probably spent a collective five hours on that stupid thing. Tip: Don't buy your bathroom hardware at Wal-Mart. Basically, I feel I have validated the 12 hours I've spent reading/watching TV/looking at websites today just because I hung up that stupid toilet paper dispenser.
Tomorrow I plan on going in to school to get stuff done. We'll see if that actually happens. Ha!
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Christmas Wishes
On the last day of school before break, I had my 4th grade students write wish lists. On the front side of the paper they wrote down everything they wanted for Christmas. Besides iPods, cell phones, and video games, the top item requested was new shoes and new clothes. After the kids had fun talking about what they really wanted, I had them flip their paper over and make a list of all the things they wished for that cannot be bought with money. When they were done with their lists, they sealed them in an envelope and I put a pinch of magic Christmas powder (silver glitter) in them. The students had an option of giving the envelope to their parent, me, or to address it to Santa.
Below is a compilation of their lists, boys and girls mixed. Seeing their secret wishes scrawled out in nine-year-old penmanship was a very strong experience for me. I expected some answers from certain kids, other ones surprised me.
Below is a compilation of their lists, boys and girls mixed. Seeing their secret wishes scrawled out in nine-year-old penmanship was a very strong experience for me. I expected some answers from certain kids, other ones surprised me.
The Lists
I wish the stray black cat could live with me.
I wish my grandma and my dad could be nice to my grandpa.
I wish my mom was alive and healthy.
I wish I had more friends.
I wish I could see King Kong.
I wish I had super powers.
I wish I could be skinnier.
I wish to see my dad.
I can spend more time with my mom.
I wish my family to have a good year.
I wish my grandma was alive.
I wish my uncle was alive.
I wish my mom and dad never got a divorce.
I wish my dad never met Tara .
I wish for my dad home.
I wish for my mom better.
I wish my brother to be nice.
I wish for my mother to be happy when her baby comes out.
I wish for me and my family to have a Happy Christmas.
I wish to have a better family.
I wish my cousin got closer to her family.
I wish I got closer to my brother.
I wish for:
Snow
Family
Friends
My mom to be home on Christmas Eve
I wish my sister’s dad was alive
I wish my sister was not so mad all the time
I wish I could see my aunt Maggi
I wish for my brother to live with me.
I wish to see my dad more.
I wish for:
Happy family
Spend more time with Dad
I wish my brother wouldn’t be mean to me.
I get better at writing.
I get better at math.
I wish for:
Less school
More family time
No more bad polluters
Go to college early
To not go to 212
Stop cutting trees down so we have more oxygen
For more friends and bros.
Curious a little? Heart break a little? I'm doing my best to remember what is most important this Christmas, and I hope you can too.
Merry Christmas!
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Day 3
Today I finally finished my Christmas shopping. It took like, six hours. I also finished my craft (not as cute as I had hoped), and schedules my eye exam for January. Presents are wrapped and are sitting under the tree.
As far as the 12 Days of Productivity go, I rate today a 4, with 0 being I did nothing but lay in bed and watch MTV online while eating chocolate chips, and with 10 being I accomplished everything on my before-I-die list. Let's face it--I slept for 13 hours (thanks to NyQuil), and I didn't do anything that required elbow grease, though the stress of shopping is a fair trade I think. Also, I did not go to the gym.
Tomorrow is Christmas Eve-Eve! I may or may not be working on a special Christmas Eve post.
As far as the 12 Days of Productivity go, I rate today a 4, with 0 being I did nothing but lay in bed and watch MTV online while eating chocolate chips, and with 10 being I accomplished everything on my before-I-die list. Let's face it--I slept for 13 hours (thanks to NyQuil), and I didn't do anything that required elbow grease, though the stress of shopping is a fair trade I think. Also, I did not go to the gym.
Tomorrow is Christmas Eve-Eve! I may or may not be working on a special Christmas Eve post.
Meet me in the parking lot
Let me know if this sounds suspicious or not to you. I get a voice mail message saying "go to the backdoor, which is located by the parking lot. You will find a bell on the back wall. Ring the bell there and someone will come out. Have your card ready for them, and they will give you what you need...."
I requested some books to be sent to a certain library, and that library is going to be closed until January 2nd. But if I want to pick up my books I can dress all in black, hand over my library card to the mystery man who emerges from the back door, and then do a back hand spring to my car. But I have to do it during very limited hours.
I am trying to pick up Blink: the power of thinking without thinking by Malcolm Gladwell, and The Tipping Point: how little things can make a big difference, which is also my Malcolm Gladwell. I read Outliers: the story of success by him and it was really fascinating. I don't really know what to expect in the other books, but it should be interesting.
I need to go dig up my ninja costume, though, because not only do I need to go to a mysterious parking lot, but I also need to do my Christmas shopping, which will require ninja-like moves.
I requested some books to be sent to a certain library, and that library is going to be closed until January 2nd. But if I want to pick up my books I can dress all in black, hand over my library card to the mystery man who emerges from the back door, and then do a back hand spring to my car. But I have to do it during very limited hours.
I am trying to pick up Blink: the power of thinking without thinking by Malcolm Gladwell, and The Tipping Point: how little things can make a big difference, which is also my Malcolm Gladwell. I read Outliers: the story of success by him and it was really fascinating. I don't really know what to expect in the other books, but it should be interesting.
I need to go dig up my ninja costume, though, because not only do I need to go to a mysterious parking lot, but I also need to do my Christmas shopping, which will require ninja-like moves.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Brett almost wins Survivor
It's 1pm on Monday morning. Okay, so it's not morning since it's one pm, but it feels like it because 1) I'm still in my pjs, 2) I am still tired, and 3) it's dreary and dark outside.
We went to The Ram last night after the season finale of Survivor, where Brett did not win. But he did win immunity three times in a row, which was cool. I think the last immunity challenge was stupid. I mean really? Balancing a wooden statue on a pole? If they had to do a balancing act, they should have made the survivors balance on a plank on one foot or something. So evil Russell won and they voted Brett out, and that was that. We were all pretty sad. Natalie and I even dressed up in purple shirts and rocked some tribal jewelry. Alas, it was not meant to be.
My neck is killing me, I am still sneezing uncontrollably, and I absolutely must do Christmas shopping today. But I think I might go back to bed for an hour first. The problem is that I am not sleeping very well. It might be because I had a dream last night that I was teaching, and those dreams never go well. They just make your mind run, and then you wake up and think you should be at work.
My calendar says today is the Winter Solstice, FYI. Which means you should probably get naked and dance under the moon or something. I'll see you later.
We went to The Ram last night after the season finale of Survivor, where Brett did not win. But he did win immunity three times in a row, which was cool. I think the last immunity challenge was stupid. I mean really? Balancing a wooden statue on a pole? If they had to do a balancing act, they should have made the survivors balance on a plank on one foot or something. So evil Russell won and they voted Brett out, and that was that. We were all pretty sad. Natalie and I even dressed up in purple shirts and rocked some tribal jewelry. Alas, it was not meant to be.
My neck is killing me, I am still sneezing uncontrollably, and I absolutely must do Christmas shopping today. But I think I might go back to bed for an hour first. The problem is that I am not sleeping very well. It might be because I had a dream last night that I was teaching, and those dreams never go well. They just make your mind run, and then you wake up and think you should be at work.
My calendar says today is the Winter Solstice, FYI. Which means you should probably get naked and dance under the moon or something. I'll see you later.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Day 1
The only things I did that were productive today were: clean my bathroom, wash laundry, call my Gram, start a Christmas craft, and return my library books. This all took a lot of effort because I can hardly breathe, I keep sneezing, and my throat hurts. Of course I would be sick on the first day of Winter Break. After I put my clean sheets on my bed I had to lay down because I felt like I was going to pass out.
Oh, I forgot. I watched The Office on-line and the clips of Ponderosa: Shambo for Survivor. The Survivor finale is on tomorrow and Brett is totally going to win. He's in the final five and won the last two immunities. In case you are wondering why I care about Survivor, it is because Brett went to high school with my roommate, Natalie, so I pretend like I know him.
Oh, I forgot. I watched The Office on-line and the clips of Ponderosa: Shambo for Survivor. The Survivor finale is on tomorrow and Brett is totally going to win. He's in the final five and won the last two immunities. In case you are wondering why I care about Survivor, it is because Brett went to high school with my roommate, Natalie, so I pretend like I know him.
The 12 days of Productivity
Today marks the first day of The 12 Days of Productivity. Work ended yesterday, and now I have two weeks off. Being productive during your vacation seems almost a sin, like playing cards in church. This is how I am looking at it: I want to go into the new year with no loose ends. And you have to understand, a lot of the things on my To Do list have been on there since August. I tried not to make my list longer than 12 things, because who really wants to do more than one productive thing a day? I plan on sleeping in till at least ten everyday, staying in my PJs for another hour, and then finally getting something done around 3pm.
Here's my list, in no particular order:
*seal tile in the bathrooms. I bought the sealant the second week I moved into my house, but I just never did it. Probably because it involves scrubbing.
*sealing the showers. I never did this because I have to clean them quite thoroughly first, or else I'll seal in grime.
*get bookshelves for my living room. This is one of the things that has been on my list since August. I have books stacked up in the garage, around the floor of my desk, in the trunk of my car, under my bed, sitting in kitchen cupboards, growing out my ears, you get the idea. They need to be shelved.
*finish reading The Time Traveler's Wife. I got the book for my birthday and haven't finished it, not because it's not good, just because I lack time. This will be an easy one to accomplish.
*buy/craft Christmas presents for my family.
*buy new gym shoes, because mine are falling apart.
*organize the garage and take a car load of stuff to Goodwill
*get my eyes checked, because I might be going blind and I just don't know it. I realized that I should get my eyes checked when I was at the gym on the elliptical and couldn't read. Granted, I was moving up and down, but still. I used to be able to do that.
*get a massage. Again, easy one to accomplish. It's making the appointment that is hard for me to do. But I love how they answer the phone "Good morning! It's a fantastic day at Massage Envy. How can I help you?" or something like that. I'll write it down word for word next time. But Jeanna is always very chipper.
*go to Home Depot and buy Styrofoam block vent things for under my house to hold the heat in better. I have to measure them first though.
*and a partridge in a pear treeeeeeee!
I am not counting on being productive on the following days, so I eliminated them from the possible dates: Christmas Eve (duh), Christmas Day (duh), New Year's Day (hangover), or January 2nd (family stuff).
I'm fascinating, I know.
Here's my list, in no particular order:
*seal tile in the bathrooms. I bought the sealant the second week I moved into my house, but I just never did it. Probably because it involves scrubbing.
*sealing the showers. I never did this because I have to clean them quite thoroughly first, or else I'll seal in grime.
*get bookshelves for my living room. This is one of the things that has been on my list since August. I have books stacked up in the garage, around the floor of my desk, in the trunk of my car, under my bed, sitting in kitchen cupboards, growing out my ears, you get the idea. They need to be shelved.
*finish reading The Time Traveler's Wife. I got the book for my birthday and haven't finished it, not because it's not good, just because I lack time. This will be an easy one to accomplish.
*buy/craft Christmas presents for my family.
*buy new gym shoes, because mine are falling apart.
*organize the garage and take a car load of stuff to Goodwill
*get my eyes checked, because I might be going blind and I just don't know it. I realized that I should get my eyes checked when I was at the gym on the elliptical and couldn't read. Granted, I was moving up and down, but still. I used to be able to do that.
*get a massage. Again, easy one to accomplish. It's making the appointment that is hard for me to do. But I love how they answer the phone "Good morning! It's a fantastic day at Massage Envy. How can I help you?" or something like that. I'll write it down word for word next time. But Jeanna is always very chipper.
*go to Home Depot and buy Styrofoam block vent things for under my house to hold the heat in better. I have to measure them first though.
*and a partridge in a pear treeeeeeee!
I am not counting on being productive on the following days, so I eliminated them from the possible dates: Christmas Eve (duh), Christmas Day (duh), New Year's Day (hangover), or January 2nd (family stuff).
I'm fascinating, I know.
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