The best way to explain why I haven't posted anything since January is to describe a typical week. We will start on Monday, which is when my week seems to me to begin, in a subjective sense.
note - Dr. C, Shane, and DH are all the same person. :)
Monday
Alarm goes off at 6:10. I don't usually actually get out of bed until 6:45. I tend to hit the snooze and have 9 minute mini-meditations, sleepily chat with my DH, or yell at Bill on RFH to stop yelling (irony is totally lost on me early in the am) until I'm finally awake enough to actually get out of bed. My breakfast generally consists of coffee, maybe some toast. I'm not really supposed to eat anything for an hour or so after I take my thyroid meds anyway, and I don't consider coffee with honey and cream to be "eating." Shane and I do our best to get us all out of the house by 7:30. The boyos go to b-fast at school and I grab a bus to work, or bike, depending on the weather. Dr C goes off to teach his classes at SLCC (both elementary school and SLCC are wonderfully within walking distance).
I start work between 8 and 8:30, depending on how well the morning went and my mode of transportation. I generally work 10 hours straight, with only two 15-minute breaks, three if I don't feel like eating my lunch while writing decisions. For extra weirdness, I often answer emails from students or read books related to the class I teach during breaks, because it is apparently impossible for me to read or work "too much" in a day. I also check the NY Times and Salon for mini mental health break. Anyway, on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays I have hearings scheduled at 9, 10:30, 1:30, 3 and 4:30. In between hearings, I write decisions, prepare for other hearings, and attempt to maintain friendly relationships with my awesome coworkers. I usually leave work by 6:30, unless my 4:30 hearing is a particularly long one.
Shane usually has dinner ready when I get home because he is so totally awesome. We attempt to get the children in bed by 8. Usually Shane takes the lead role in such tasks because I come home pretty tired and I have an unfortunate habit of facebooking and blog surfing when I get home. At 8:30 Dr C and I enjoy Big Bang Theory and at 9 we enjoy Castle. I usually read for a bit before falling asleep by 11. I often write blog posts in my head while falling asleep, then forget them upon awakening.
Tuesday
See Monday, minus TV, plus web surfing and feeble attempts at preparing for class.
Wednesday
Ditto Tuesday.
Thursday
The lovely thing about Thursday is that I only have three hearings scheduled, at 9, 10:30 and 1:30. I use the additional time to catch up on writing decisions, proofing and sending out decisions, and getting ready for the next week. I also spend far more of break time getting ready for class the next day. Depending on how the week has gone, when I get home I either spend my time getting ready for class or surfing the web (sometimes both at the same time).
Friday
I might actually sleep in to 7, depending on how stressed I am about class. My class starts at 9:30 and continues till 12:20. Prior to the class I review power-points and papers. My teaching style is a mix of discussion facilitation and soft pedal lecturing. I use a lot of power-points and video because I want to show my students as much art as possible. Usually one or two students stay after class to chat for a minute or two. I love that. I love my students. I don't write about them more specifically out of respect for their privacy.
The boyos get out of school at 12:30. Dr C usually picks them up, then we meet up at home. Often times all I want to do on Friday is lunch, then nap. The boyos often talk us into doing something fun in the evening and we often go out to eat for dinner - we have many local fave restaurants. Occasionally Shane & I are lucky enough to get a babysitter so we can spend some time together.
Saturday
I try to sleep in, but it's hard for me to sleep later than 9. I start up the laundry in the morning, if I have the energy, then update our financial records for the week. Laundry and money watching are my main contributions to household maintenance. I spend a lot of time reading, surfing the net, grading papers, running errands, and attempting to return the house to a less chaotic state on the weekend. Or worrying about not doing such while trying to take a nap. I also try to remind my children that they have a mom as well as a dad. We also try to see extended family at some point during the weekend at least once a month. There is often more eating out, because Shane and I are total foodies, and have turned our children into foodies, too.
Sunday
See Saturday. Then add a strong sense of desperation as I try to get laundry and grading done before the week starts over.
Conclusion?
So what's so different about this week, that I'm actually blogging? I have no idea. Except I'm blogging while watching Duke in the final four. And I feel a bit guilty that I haven't blogged for awhile. I've started drafting a few serious posts, but haven't posted them yet. This one is far more free-style, as you can no doubt tell. I'm guessing I'll post more come May, when the semester is over, since I won't be teaching this summer and will theoretically have more time for nonessential stuff.
So, what's your week like?
