Right now, I am...
Back in the early days of blogging, we used to do, "Right now" posts...but I haven't done one in a really long time.
However, I think I'm out of Meet a Reader submissions (if I missed your submission, let me know and I will go digging for it!) and I have 20 minutes before I need to leave for class.
So, right now, I am...
so tired
Lisey is flying to and from Texas today for a $5000 scholarship opportunity with American Airlines (flight is complimentary, of course) and we had to get up pretty early to get her to the airport.
It's gonna be a long day.
(But not as long as it'll be for Lisey!)
happy I got a bag of hazelnut coffee
Everyone seems to be out of my usual Starbucks mocha-flavored grounds...so I tried a bag of hazelnut today and I really like it.
And since I have my bottle of heavy cream from Safeway, I felt extra happy with my coffee situation.
looking forward to December 14th
Finals will be ALL DONE by then. One week and two more days left.
enjoying a little Christmas decor
We haven't gotten a tree yet, and I doubt I will bother with any outdoor lights.
But I do have some Christmas-y stuff up inside, so my living room feels a bit festive.
almost done with my microbiology study guide
Tomorrow we have an exam that covers three modules, and I've been steadily working through the extra credit worksheet/study guide, one module at a time.
I'm also doing lots of Quizlet review. And I re-listen to lecture recordings as I cook and clean and fold laundry.
Here's hoping this helps me hold onto all the info!
so very happy to have gotten a 50/50 on my chemistry exam
I still hate chemistry. But I am working hard at it anyway, and it's paying off.
You know how I tell my kids, "You don't have to like it. You just have to do it."?
That's me to myself right now! I don't have to like chemistry; I just have to do it.
relieved we have leftovers for dinner
It'll just be Zoe and me here, so I have plenty of leftovers for the two of us.
It's good timing for leftovers, because if I feel this tired at 10:30 am, I knowwwwww I am not going to feel energized about cooking dinner at 5:30 pm.
looking forward to bedtime tonight
I'd like it to be 9:00 pm already, please. 😉
not looking forward to a group project
I think our whole last week in psychology class will be devoted to a group project.
I do not like group projects.
____________
Annnnnd now it's class time for me, which means it is now officially the end of this blog post. 😉
Wanna join me? You can do a little "right now" list in the comments.
P.S. If you want to do a Meet a Reader post, just email me (thefrugalgirl@gmail.com) and I will send you the questions!
Joining you in the do not like of group projects. They were always just extra work for me being the most organized person.
Right now I am enjoying a quiet house. My guys have gone to their offices this morning, it's raining, and I am watching the dogs sleep. Got some laundry to go pull off the racks and fold, but that can wait a minute.
I love the candles in your fireplace! I am hoping to do something similar with mine soon and am grateful for the inspiration!
@Lauren, me too! I love the look Kristen, can you tell us more? I've been looking for a solution that doesn't have me switching little things off /on, or using a ton of batteries....
I think I got those tiny lantern lights on a post-Christmas clearance at Target a few years back! They do need to be switch on, but it's just one switch for the whole set, so I don't mind doing that every day when it gets dark.
And they're LEDs so they do not use batteries quickly at all.
Right now
I am at work. Morning break. Eating blueberries. Getting ready to make copies.
I get up at 445 every day. Which is brutal. I would probably teach longer if my wake-up time could be later but my school starts at 7 am. Retirement date June 7 2024.
I hope to work parttime in a public library or tutoring with a later start time!
You sound exhausted Kristen....
Right now: I am back from a walk with my dog - and he finally did make up his mind where to settle for his nap. He decided on cuddling with Alina, the Ukrainian lady. Both are on her bed. She is studying for her upcoming exam in German.
The dog really took to Alina - the result being that he keeps switching between our rooms and beds - every time jumping on the bed and licking our ears etc....no point in keeping the doors shut as he will keep scratching at them.....
I join you in exhaustion for a different reason, 2 year old was up vomiting last night from 3:30-5! She seems fine now at least, and I’m now starting on the mountain of laundry. Hoping for a good nights sleep for both of us tonight!
@LB, Momma of five here and I just want to send a hug, lots of hugs, many hugs!!!! This too shall pass, but oh wow, it can feel like icky illness is forever. Hoping you survive the laundry and that you can sleep a bit tonight!
@LB, oof… no fun. Hang in there.
4:30 AM is normal around here thanks to our shelter cats. They are adamant that THAT is breakfast time and will not budge. The small no-kill shelter they came from is completely run by volunteers, so our guess is that 4:30 was when someone swung by to feed the cats before heading to their day job.
Also, I concur with group project disdain. Somehow “we” becomes “me and/or me and the one other person who wants this not just done, but done well.”
Right now, I am reading your blog instead of napping like I should for my afternoon work shift—ha! 🙂
Right now I am...
- Hungry; I need to take a break to get lunch.
- Happy that my very thorough annual physical showed no endocrinological problems. I am exhibiting a cluster of issues that might have indicated an underlying problem. I need to do more of the right exercise and get PT but at least I don't have any new medical conditions.
- Wondering how I'm going to fit 2/week PT into my schedule.
- Amazed that certain people in certain departments never learn. I made the same corrections to their last year, and the year before, and I'm sure the person I replaced made the same corrections the year before that.
- Grateful that someone else volunteered to deal with certain people's persistent mistakes.
- Looking forward to short work trip this week and that someone is willing to carpool, and to my nephew and new wife visiting this weekend, and visiting my father next weekend.
- Still hungry.
Right now it is foggy & damp in NWA so no playground for our 2 year granddaughter we watch. Wishing I could get our mail from NEMO as there are 4 letters I'd really like to read but that won't happen till Dec. 22 when we go back.
Group projects are the pits as everyone benefits or loses on the amount of work done. Worst idea ever.
Ooh I like this kind of post, and hope a nap/mind break can be fit in for ya.
Right now, I am…
-Taking a little break from homeschool, and reading my fav blogs
-thinking through the errands of the day & what needs to go in the car later
-feeling sad for my Mom after the loss of her last cat (17 years old); she’s a widow, and that makes it especially hard to lose her buddy Boots
-am thankful for cozy blankets & a kitchen full of nourishing food & soup I’m the fridge (we had been feeling almost sick this weekend, but now feel healthier)
-procrastinating working on the laundry (folding)
-wishing things were different/healed in some extended family situations
-thinking I should go heat up some soup for lunch
Hope everyone finds some peace this Monday, during the holiday season.
Right now I am keeping my fingers crossed for Lisey while I am enjoying a short break before dinner needs to get started.
Am thinking over Xmas dinner options that are easy and healthy and will be liked by all.
Am considering "outsourcing" the dinner to my adult kiddos entirely, if only to see what they would choose to prepare.
Am content that I went for two short walks today during previous breaks, and content that I finished writing a card in Spanish to my pen pal/in law. It feels so awkward because I do not master past tenses yet and I am resolved to practise what I know and not use Google translate.
Right now I'm feeling embarrassed and frustrated that I fell for a scam. I ordered an expensive product online (on a good warehouse price), which turned out to be a scam. I received confirmation of my order on Nov 2, but nothing else since then. Per their customer service, the product is on back order, but there was no indication about this until I contacted them a few weeks after the order. I have now contacted them for a refund, and pondering next steps if that does not materialize.
At the same time, I'm glad I went to check on the order on my back account instead of letting it linger any longer.
@Kristina M., I guess you paid with a credit card? If so, you can always challenge the transaction with your credit card issuer.
@Isa, I will try, thanks.
First, Kristen, I hope that more sleep and happy holidays are in your near future!
Right now, I am...
Resting in my recliner in the living room, after a long walk this morning in a nearby park with a friend--who is, I hope, on the mend after a really rough last 3 years. (Her late husband was a "classmate" of DH's in the cognitive care programs DH used to attend.) I've just discovered that she already has a membership in the small nearby gym I'm thinking of joining, so perhaps we can meet up for winter workouts. We were very lucky in our weather today.
Watching the birds at the feeders outside my living room windows--a constant source of joy to me in winter.
Preparing to heat up the last of a beef barley soup I made over the weekend. (And looking forward to some sheet-pan chicken drumsticks for dinner, since I've had a lot of soup lately.)
After lunch, planning another run-through of the Zoom presentation I'm giving for our local JASNA region on Saturday. I discovered on my first trial run yesterday that I need to cut it down by about 10 minutes, and I need as usual to work on my delivery.
Finally, in solidarity with other commenters who (a) detest group projects because they invariably get stuck with most of the work, and (b) routinely get awakened at 4:45 or so by cats. (When Betty thinks I'm not getting out of bed fast enough to feed her, she gets the zoomies--and a 14-pound cat getting the zoomies sounds like a herd of elephants.)
Right now, I am
very grateful we have power again. A neighbor's dead tree got blown down on Saturday morning, and it blew a transformer, knocked down a pole, and the live wires set the tree on fire. The power company kept telling us it would be restored by 10:30, then kept pushing it back every few hours until, by the time we went to bed at 11, they were saying 3:30 a.m. Sunday. My husband was up around 5 and noticed that all the work activity seemed to have ceased, and the neighbors' porch lights were back on, so he tried it and our power was back. I will save the details of how we survived for Five Frugal Things.
listening to Advent music, making pies for our Saint Nicholas Day dinner tomorrow, and mildly dreading the rush to wrap presents tonight.
hoping we have enough wrapping paper in the garage somewhere.
Best wishes to Lisey on her competition! Do you suppose they will ask her to comment on things she saw or heard on her flight? Like a secret observation test?
Glad you have the end of the semester in sight.
And the only thing worse than a group project is a group project in an online class. Those are even more vile than live ones.
I was told as a child that selling Camp Fire Girls candy would build social skills and responsibility. It didn't. It just made me and my mother miserable. College group projects, I was told, would help me learn to work in the real world. They didn't.
@Heidi Louise,
Yes, about online groups. One of my daughter's classes for her master's degree had her doing group projects online. She was in a group of five for one project - four members were in California and she was in Florida. After a period of them all emailing each other when she really needed to be in bed so she could work her demanding full-time job during the days, she finally got them to understand that they needed to find a time when they were all normally awake. She also asked the professor to please only group her with east-coasters in the future, or at the least, students living in the central time zone.
I HAAAAAATE group projects! Does anyone actually enjoy them???
Right now I am...
* Extra pissed at my husband for an issue related to our puppy, on which I won't elaborate...
* On my lunch break and wanting everyone to stop coming to my work space to warm up their lunch! Yes, the microwave is just beside my (open) desk. Yes, I'm pissy.
* Craving and binging on sweets and debating cutting them out altogether instead of always trying to "have them in moderation ", since this never seems successful for long. There's moderators and then there's abstainers out there. For some reasons I'm an abstainer that always wishes she was a moderator...
* Reading an interesting book: "Notes on an execution" by Danya Kukafka.
* Wanting to go home to cuddle my puppy
@Isa, I'm so sorry you're having such a rough day. Hoping by now you're home snuggling that puppy and reading your book!
@Kate, thanks! I was having a really bad day....... The puppy has been cuddled 🙂
Let's see, right now I am:
Sitting alone in my office. ALL of the guys took a weekend to go to an away game together and won't return until tomorrow, so I'm all that's left here. I am not put out at all - I didn't want to go with them and they've promised to do something just for me to make up for me "missing out." I'm enjoying the quiet and will leave early to get some errands done.
Enjoying the lights and Christmas decoration in the office, since I have zero decorating done at home yet. My family always waited until just before Christmas to decorate, in order to observe at least most of Advent, and I tend to stay with that as much as I can.
Getting ready for my first-ever phone meeting with the planning department at the City today, standing in for my boss. I just have to listen and take notes - no one expects me to offer any engineering information. I was an English lit major, ha.
Doing some bill-paying, including the annual home insurance - which ended up going up more ( I'm sure Bee is saying "yep!") than had originally been forecast. I now pay $1100 more per year than I did two years ago. I also paid the six-month payment for the car insurance. How these ended up being scheduled in already-expensive December, I don't know.
Winding down the last Christmas gift purchases. It feels good to be all but done. It also feels good to have a Christmas fund from which I can pay for it. I set money aside every week, all year long, on auto-transfer from checking to a savings account.
@JD,
I find those December bills interesting, too. I checked the mail the other day and was hopeful that there would be some Christmas cards... Nope! Just a bill from the city that our winter taxes are due. Merry Christmas - give us $500. Ha! (At least the winter one is way less than the August one.)
Enjoy your quiet today!!
@Ruth T, all of our property tax is due in December, so it's more like "Have a Merry Christmas after you send us $2,400." We make a payment every month to a tax savings account to take the sti g out of writing that check.
@Ruby,
That's what I do for both home and car insurance (and property taxes) but it still stings to see those large chunks go out of savings at the same time so much is trying to sneak out of my checking, what with all the gifts, charities, special meals and events at the holidays.
Right now I am eating chili over cornbread waffles. My cat Prissy is asleep in my lap. I'm listening to the radio( a little vintage one I got at a thrift store) playing Christmas carols while I catch up on my favorite blogs.
That sounds positively lovely!
@Peggy,
Cornbread waffles sound amazing! I usually make cornbread with chili, but putting the chili on a waffle made of cornbread sounds yummier,
I'm not a fan of group projects either. During one business class in college the three other people I was grouped with just sat there and waited for me to initiate everything. My professor couldn't switch me, but I carefully made it known I was doing most of the work and was not penalized for their lack of performance.
Right now I am finishing up my lunch break before returning to work. It's a nice day, although a bit chilly. I am grateful to be able to work from home right now, physical issues are making it hard to get around to go to the office. They hopefully will be resolved soon. I miss my co-workers.
Right now....I am extremely grateful for the sirloin tip roast I made yesterday that will feed us dinner tonight. All I have to do is saute some veggies and bake a potato to go along side. I am also equally thankful that we devoted a whole Sunday to make the famous family fruitcake, actually 6 cakes total, ahead of the week of Christmas. They were a lot of work, dishes, etc. and I am tired. I dislike being this tired close to Christmas...makes me grumpy. I am enjoying the smell from a Frasier fir scented candle that I bought from a local shop, makes my house smell like Christmas. Thinking about gifts for the folks o my Christmas list. Grateful for the laundry that was completed this weekend & for the soft sound of rain on my window today.
I hope her scholarship interview goes well and that you can get a good night of sleep tonight! Also, the cat stocking is adorable. 🙂
Right now I am:
* happy that I still have one child young enough to enjoy watching shows like Boz and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. My other two kids are past that stage.
* feeling accomplished because this morning I cranked out a good portion of the photo calendar I make for my in-laws every year. I noticed that I'm fitting more and more pictures on pages in the second half of the year, though, because there are so many good ones and I can't fit them all in!
* looking forward to cleaning my living room today. My least favorite part of decorating for Christmas is when it looks like boxes have thrown up everywhere and that's what my living room is like right now. I'm optimistic that I can get it cleaned up before my kids need picked up from school.
* drinking all the echinacea tea with honey that I can. I'm acting in an outdoor Christmas thing this weekend and my throat was sore after Saturday's rehearsal. We have two nights of rehearsal this week and performances for 2 hours on Friday and 3 hours on Saturday. I've gotta stay healthy and able to talk!!
Right now I am in the office, just finishing lunch, and realizing that most of my career has been spent on “group projects”. I actually enjoy it but it does differ from school group projects in that there is a clear “lead” and (performance assessment) consequences if participation is lacking.
@kj, I agree- I had some significant group projects when I was working.
However, I can't really say that I learned much in class projects that I took to my career.
Right now, I am waiting for the first online writing consultation with a student happening today. I have spent the morning prepping for them. I have several which will last me until 6 pm.
It is end of the semester for me too. Teachers are working hard along with their students (sometimes, frankly, I feel harder). Can not WAIT for the last day of instruction/consulting. But then there is the reading and grading. And then the "let's get ready feeling for next semester. It just never ends. It reminds me of the ebb and flow of kitchen clean up that Frugal Girl has talked about in past posts.
Hi Kristen - I am interested in submitting a meet the reader. I tried sending this previously via email as suggested on your site. But did not hear back. Thank you for your time. Maureen
I am so sorry I missed your email! I am so so so behind on emails. But I searched for yours and wrote you back so check your email now. 🙂
Right now, I am working on a massively long study guide for psychology. Like you, I am sooo ready for finals to be over and be on winter break. However, I am also grateful for my A's so far and knowing that I can slowly plod through all the prep work.
Christie
Right now: I'm drinking a cold chai latte, still in pjs after getting up at 12n, also in new slippers that came this morning. I'm recovering from having my five immediate family members for Merry Thanksmas Dinner this past Saturday. It took a week to clean house, two days to cook, but it was worth it! I washed the china and sterling silver last night. I'll start back to work tonight after having the past week off. (I work three nights a week, just enough to be confused about what time of the day it is or even what day it is.)
Also contemplating how much to decorate for Christmas. The more I put out, the more I have to put away. My house looks so cute when decorated. Last year, I didn't get anything down or put away until February.
Right now, I am listening to Handel’s Messiah (London Symphony version), making a pot of chili and also a pot of minestrone soup. My dog is looking up at me hopefully, waiting for a kale stem.
I will work on some cornbread later (Anna Thomas recipe, highly recommend) and also a cherry oat snack bar.
It is cool outside, alternating between rain and sun.
Dog got a kale stem and promptly took it away to savor in peace.
@Hadilly, great musical taste!
This is fun!
Right now I'm . . .
On my lunch break at work and eating tater tots. I forgot my lunch from home today, and was very happy to see the cafeteria lunch included tater tots.
Wearing a green shirt with sparkly little fake rhinestone thingies around the neckline, and every little girl in the elementary has told me today how much they love my shirt. 🙂
Wishing I could be outside today working on cleaning up my garden. It's about 65 degrees with sun and very little wind and it's really too nice a day to be sitting inside a school. The kids agree.
About to run back to the cafeteria to help the school cook with dishes. See ya!
Right now I am sitting at the Costco pharmacy waiting for my flu shot. Like chemistry, don’t like it but am just doing it.
Love your gray!
Fingers crossed for Lisey!
Right now I'm:
-Deciding what I'll make for lunch. I'm thinking a breakfast wrap. I had soup for breakfast, because I'm all out of sorts today, so this swap works.
-Tired from a few hard workout classes over the weekend/this morning.
-Irritated with Fidelity. I've attempted to open up a teen account four times. So many fails, customer chat fail, phone call fail. I eventually just gave up. Maybe another day, from another laptop or something.
-So, so, so ready for finals to be done at our house as well. I have two teens, one who has a learning disorder, and one who is just super busy & getting the time together to study is hard. There is a lot of stress on everyone right now, & I'll be grateful for it to be over. For another semester, at least.
Right now I am getting ready to ride my exercise bike. I think it's good for my knees and I use the time to also read a book or the news or to make phone calls. All things that would be difficult on a regular bike.
I will make GF chicken soup for dinner. Since we are out of rice noodles I will use long grain and wild rice instead.
I am listening to the dishwasher run and feeling thankful for living in such a time.
I need to work on some crocheted scarves. A friend asked me, at the last minute, to make some for her to give as Christmas gifts. She's an older person with a heart of gold, how could I say no?
All the best to Lisey! That sounds like a great opportunity.
I remember these "right now" posts, as well as the 365 posts - love 'em both.
Right now..
I am so happy I put that pork roast into the crock pot this morning and planned boxed scalloped potatoes and frozen veggies to go with it for supper.
I am so grateful to have snagged one of the last appointments of the day to get my girl checked out at the Dr....
I am grateful that my kids do not get sick that often and do not make a fuss about going to school b/c that really helps me determine when they are VERY ill.
I am going to flip the laundry before we leave the house so all I will have to do when I return later is fold....
But I am going to leave the kitchen for the boys to tackle while we girls are gone or after supper.
Right now I am on my lunch break at work, eating lasagna I packed from home, after having run out and picked up a Christmas present and a graduation card. I am also thinking of the million personal things I need to do after work and prioritizing what really needs to get done.
I am with you on group projects. Ugh. When I was finishing my degree, some kind of study or survey had just come out saying employers wanted graduates to be better at working on collaborative projects and so almost every dang class I had involved at least one group project.
Right now I am...
...happy to still be married to a supportive man after 55 years
...happy to live in an apartment complex that offers so many services on site
...happy to have enough money to give freely to charities in which I believe
...happy to have good medical care available to me
...happy that I do not have to go outside in this very cold weather
...happy that a couple years ago our daughter finally married a good man she truly loves.
I could go on but that's enough for now. Life is good!
Frugal find. We have a church that is in a strip mall with a thrift store attached. The items that are donated are sold and proceeds go to their mission fund. I found a really nice pair of Grey Keds with floral inside for $4.10 I tried them and they fit.
Right now I am resting/reading after several busy days. We recently arrived in Florida and have been working non-stop on hurricane cleanup/repairs. 2 months later there is still standing water in the strangest places (in dishes in the kitchen cupboards and in the dryer vent hose!) a result of my area getting 26 inches of rain. My biggest dilemma is deciding what task or area to tackle next. The options are endless. Debris piles of demo materials and landscape debris still line the roads and are at least 4 ft or more high. Grateful that compared to many the height of our piles are lower and the house is habitable even though it feels like “glamping” and will take months to complete repairs. We have a wonderful builder who has been helping with the demo and has started the most critical repairs (think taking walls down to studs and slowly rebuilding). Very quiet here (no tourists) and weather is nice. So lots to be grateful for -especially that we are still able to do a lot of the work ourselves.
About to open a small gift. A friend gave me an Advent basket (like an Advent calendar) full of her favorite small things. Each day I open a new package (each has a date and a little message). So with all the work occupying my days this small thoughtful holiday treat is something to look forward to.
Oh wow, I can imagine that that might feel overwhelming!
@Jean, I love the Advent basket idea. When I wanted to get a calendar, I could not find any. The basket idea can be more personal. Maybe I will do that next year.
Right now I am...
Stressing over whether the teen gifts I ordered for the local food pantry toy drive (I feel like teens, especially boys, get short shrifted in the holidays) and the candy ornaments I ordered for my friends' Cookie Day will arrive on time. When I order them, seems fine. Then shipping dates shift! ARGH.
Fighting with my sister about Christmas.
Appreciating my sweet hounds after they spent the weekend with Son at his grandmother's house in Connecticut with her and his father.
Desperately worried about BFF's health.
eating a crummy scratched together dinner because I'm too tired for anything else.
Wishing I ever had any energy left for anything else on work days.
Right now, I am sitting in my chair with a glass of iced tea, listening to my husband on the phone with Frigidaire customer service, trying to troubleshoot our water filter situation, lol. Real life problems. Pot roast in the crock pot, and I’m admiring my decorating handiwork while at the same time, seeing some things that need a little tweaking.
I too, love the candles in the fireplace. My fireplace looks like a big black hole compared the the decorated and lit mantle above it.
Right now I am just done with refreshing the holiday garlands on the kitchen cabinets. They are pretty frugal I think. I got the garland some years ago at a post Christmas clearance sale, along with the ribbon. The bits and bobs of ornaments and glittery festive accents were thrifted. Then I assembled it all with new but inexpensive white lights. I love how it turned out!
Right now I am sitting at the computer wasting time instead of reconciling my checkbook. I can hear two different cds of Brian Jacques' audio books playing in two different bedrooms for two different little ones who like listening to things while going to bed PLUS I can hear Bluey on the tv. I will be going to bed as soon as I submit this comment because my face muscles are tired, even if my mind and the rest of my body aren't yet ready for bed. (I will also quickly message my college boy with "Good night, my son. Sweet dreams" because I miss him so very much and because he's homesick.) And good night to each of you. Rest well.
Right now I am
-so tired. Many nights of broken sleep with my son who doesn’t need very much sleep at all.
-thankful that my husband knows how to fix the electrical wiring in our gutted bedroom. (Also thankful that we’re in the “put it back together” stage of gutting”)
-hopeful for more snow tomorrow. I need more snow for cross country skiing!
-regretting eating cookies to try to keep me awake a few hours ago. It never works well and I feel lousy because of it.
-all done with my day and ready for bed. I made it.
I majored in chemistry because all the people in my section of the dorm were, seemingly, chemistry and/or chem/bio and/or premed/prepharm and EVERYONE WAS IN CHEMISTRY ALL THE TIME.
As a math major, I was like, oh, I can just double major with chem, no biggie.
Yep, I did it, but do I remember anything at all whatsoever? Nope. Good challenge. Good times with good friends. Don't need it, don't use it. lol.
Curious to read about Kristin@going country. Her name makes me want to learn about her on Meet A Reader!
@Jana,
She did one a while ago. I think she was first: https://www.thefrugalgirl.com/meet-a-frugal-girl-reader-kristin-from-going-country/
Sharing your UGH in group projects! Apathy, anyone???
Right now...I am settling into the evening after raking up leaves for 6 hours! Thankful for an extra long heating pad.
Dinner is a very easy leftover night, we will get cozy and watch a silly holiday movie.
You don't have to like it, you just have to do it...t-shirt! That is how I felt cleaning the stalls in the barn (lol).
Right now I'm...
-Hoping Lisey wins that scholarship!
-Happy to realize that lack of quality sleep is causing my severe sadness/thoughts and will take measures to get more rest. Even if it means sacrificing other things. I never knew sleep deprivation would do that.
-Glad that I invested in warm clothing, flannel sheets and that my sis sent me a very heavy bed set that will help if we can't keep the house warm.
- Hoping that a herbal supplement will help improve my labs.
- Ecstatic that I can pay some of my credit cards and hopeful that I can pay them off in a month or two.
Many have commented on also hating group projects. Yes, they are indeed challenging and for a variety of reasons. They need to be set up carefully and thoughtfully. They often don't work as well as they could. But in secondary and postsecondary education contexts, I view them as opportunities to practice working with others to address larger, more complex problems, which many problems are these days (at the UMN we call them the "grand challenges.") For example, addressing COVID has been a world wide group project. Dealing with inflation. Etc. The minds of many from so many fields (interdisciplinary) working together have been needed. And it seems to me that there will be more rather than less of this kind of collaborative work in the future.
Right now I am...
Feeling tired as I try to get myself acclimated to a much earlier wake up time for my new full time position that will start on Thursday.
Feeling overwhelmed with the to-do list I need to knock out in the next two days.
Feeling grateful for the opportunity to switch mid-year and for a boss who is letting me go.
Feeling thankful for my coworkers who are understanding and supportive, sad to see me go and so hard to leave.
Feeling excited and nervous for a new career chapter.
Feeling worried about gracefully navigating everyone else's emotions about the change.
Feeling heartbroken at leaving my 4th and 5th graders so suddenly.
Feeling so relieved to be soon making a lot more money.
Feeling thrilled to soon be with my dear small people again.
Basically just riding the rollercoaster of feels this week!
Those lanterns are so cute! Those might become a gift for my oldest son who loves to decorate for Christmas. I think they are Kurt Adler ones.
I am worried about all the unexpected bills we have had, mostly car repairs.
I am worried about cleaning out my dads house. My sister lives there and there is so.much.stuff.so.much. My mom n sis were/are hoarders. I seriously wonder where the energy will come from...
Right now I am...drinking tea, looking out the window at my wintry front yard and making plans for next spring. I'm so glad it's damp and raining after quite a few dry days! I am so grateful that today feels normal after a week of health-related not normal stuff around here. And I'm making a list of things I want to make more time for in 2023 including: reading, yoga, golf and the yard. Hence the spring plans...I'm realizing it's only 7:18 and I've already had two cups of tea. At this rate I'll be running to my appointments later today!
Right now I am:
Hoping that there are no more mice coming into my house. There have been 10 mice in 8 days that have been caught. The last 2 days there were no mice caught. I am hopeful but realistically, not really, as I still don't know where they are coming in. They seem to be only in the cabinet under the kitchen sink and the one next to it that houses my storage containers and mixing bowls (pipe runs through both cabinets so mice can get through the hole). I have to tackle (again) the cleaning and sanitizing of both cabinets, take everything out, clean, sanitize.... sigh.
Pretty cheery, considering the above.
Your house looks very cozy and festive, Kristen!
Right now, I am sorting through my grandma’s collection of vintage Christmas decorations and attempting to display them in a way which won’t overwhelm my little cabin. I only have a 3 ft wrought iron tree, so I think these will be mostly arranged in glass bowls, vases and maybe an unused plant cloche and terrarium. The woman had a SERIOUS decorating habit, and would only buy holiday items when they were on the clearance rack. And yes, I tried to divide these up amongst my kids. They all said it would be better to wait until my grandkids are less hazardous to fragile things!
Right now I am
home with our three year old who started with a fever in the middle of the night. I am thankful that I could cancel everything I had today to nurse him because he really seems uncomfortable. I am also anxious that now the rest of the family will get it. I leave tomorrow for my last eight-hour commute, and then I interview Thursday morning for a very prestigious post. I really don't want to attempt all that with a fever. I also don't want my husband to have to nurse sick kids in my absence knowing all the work he has on him right now.
working on my presentation for Thursday. I am determined to give this all I've got. This thing I'm interviewing for is so far out of my league, I'm not even nervous about it. That feels so freeing. Now I can just walk in and be myself and talk about my passion for my research.
wondering when on earth we are going to decorate the Christmas tree that is sitting bare across from me. I still have presents to buy, and I have no idea what they are going to be. Meanwhile my mom is dropping all her usual hints for me to decide on and order all of her presents to my family. Every year I refuse to do the work for her, and every year she tries seventeen different ways to get me to do it. It's infuriating.
glad my third (and hopefully final) breast biopsy of the year is over with. I am so thankful to be cancer-free and so deeply tired of needles and incisions and almost passing out every single time.
excited for my last class of the semester on Thursday. My students are presenting the research they've undertaken over the last six weeks. As the professor I usually do 99% of the prep work for class, so I am really looking forward to letting them sit in the hot seat and teach me some interesting things.
Are you kidding?!? I LOVE Chemistry! And this is coming from someone who had trouble in school with math and other science classes. (I did just fine in English.) But I had a high school teacher who was passionate about it...and his enthusiasm just rubbed off. I am fascinated how these little bits and pieces add up to our wonderfully complicated world.
Right now I'm...
*Putting off the appraisal reports I'm supposed to be finishing off -- while writing here.
*Listening to the dishwasher. (The Brick got up early, and finished off a task he'd been putting off for days...it was getting hard to even see the kitchen counter. His anniversary gift to me one year was to do the dishes -- and he mostly does, though I help out, too.)
*Also listening to Christmas music.
*Not many decorations are put up; we apparently left our decor in the storage trailer we left back in Michigan. (A long story. We live in Colorado, 'caretaking' for friends who have a ranch here. They're in Phoenix for the winter.) I found a ceramic village from our friends' decorations, and put it on the mantelpiece. I also bought two Christmas stockings from the thrift shop; those are also up. I'll make a wreath; hopefully we'll get a tree, but it will probably just be lights and tinsel (that make a 'brave show,' just like A Christmas Carol talks about.)
Sigh...back to work.
Right now I am home from the grocery store and getting a quick lunch-hurray for leftovers. Then to my daughter and son-in-law’s to fix our weekly supper there and have fun with the 3 grandkids. Very thankful to live close by! ♥️