Progress Report

This morning I realized that I go back to work exactly six weeks from today. For the past few days I've been getting a little bored just hanging around the house, but knowing I only have six weeks left changes everything. I'm already wishing for more time. With six weeks left, there's still time to work on my goals, though, and it's a good chance to see how I'm doing so far. 

1. Exercise every day - I'll be honest here. This one's not happening. More like exercise a few times a week. Scale reading is the same as it was 3 weeks ago--good news is I'm not gaining, I guess. On a positive note, I rediscovered the wonders of Wii last night. I spent about half an hour bowling and playing tennis, which isn't exactly exercise, but thanks to my competitive nature, I was good and sweaty afterwards. Any physical activity counts.
2. Clean - Definite success here! I dusted, straightened, and vacuumed my bedroom. I cleaned all three bathrooms--tubs, sinks, toilets, shower stall, even the towel racks. I even washed all my trash cans. This morning I vacuumed all the dust and cobwebs out of my basement. I even cleaned the parts of the vacuum cleaner. (Insert Danny Tanner/Monica from Friends joke here.) 
3. Purge and De-clutter - Off to a great start with this one. Thanks to Netflix instant episodes of Family Ties (loved that show!), I spent several hours last Thursday sorting through all the mail that's piled up. I shredded and shredded until my shredder overheated. Now all that's left is to file what I need to keep. Look out file cabinet; you're next!
4. Decorate - Some progress here. Inspired by my aunt's home and garden genius (and my uncle's amazing painting skills), I've got a great idea for how to paint my bedroom wall. I even did a sample board. Once that's done, I can hang the picture I got in Egypt. One room down.
5. Read and Write - Yes and no. Finished The Help--liked it, but didn't love the way a lot of people seemed to. Looking forward to the movie. I read Brave New World because it comes up in one of our AP practice questions, and it's on the long list of classics that I never got around to reading (aka the English teacher's the shameful secret list). Now I'm on to The Guernsey Potato Peel Pie and Literary Society. As for the writing, well, clearly the blogging hasn't quite taken off, but this second one is a start.
6. Tourist in my own town - Not much to report here. I've done quite a bit of looking around online at places downtown plus places like Lurray Caverns and Skyline Drive that are day-trip-able. But July in DC, especially around the 4th of July, isn't exactly the best time to get out and do. Heat + crowds = cranky, so I think I'll take a pass on this one for now.
7. Do Nothing - Rousing success! As evidenced by various facebook games, other computer games, episodes of Gilmore Girls, and Nexflix movies, I'm having no problem whiling away the hours. I even went to the movies twice and saw The Art of Getting By (didn't love it) and Bad Teacher (surprisingly didn't hate it). This week it's marathon Harry Potter.
8. Rejuvenate - Some progress here as well. I had an interesting chat with a family friend at a 4th of July gathering. She taught 3rd grade in a charter school in DC for a year, and did she ever have stories to tell. It made me very grateful for the county I'm in (despite our numerous problems) and the kids and parents I work with (despite their numerous idiosyncrasies). I've also spent a lot of time talking with my mom and my sister about job woes, which helps with the "what now?" question. No answers yet, but the wheels in my head are definitely turning.
9. Family and Friends - Success here as well. Definitely taking advantage of opportunities to spend time with family, working on plans with several friends. Very open to suggestions here!

So I guess things are going fairly well overall. A touch of sweet freedom, a lot of lazy days. There's still plenty I want to do this summer, but I'm definitely making the most of my time. :o)

The now-clean inner workings of my vacuum cleaner. Dust free's the way to be!

A Blogging Adventure

Inspired by all my blogging friends (and there are quite a few of you), I'm giving this a try. I've thought about blogging during the school year, but let's face it, how many "What's the matter with kids today?!" posts will people read? Instead I'll focus something more positive. And what could be more positive for a teacher than summer vacation? 9 weeks of down-time when I can do pretty much anything (ever mindful of my budget, of course, as the 9 weeks are without pay). 


Last summer I did a fair bit of traveling, went to a wedding and a funeral, and discovered the fascinating world of Netflix. This summer I have no travel plans, already went to two funerals, no weddings but one baby shower in the works, and am still exploring the wonder that is Netflix. (For someone who doesn't have cable, it's a big deal.)

In the interest of being productive, here are my goals for the summer:

1. Exercise every day - rather than set myself up for disappointment with a specific weight-loss goal, I'm making it more general, which for me is more do-able; find a way to enjoy exercising so I'll keep doing it once I go back to work
2. Clean - the down and dirty, gloves on, pine sol, windex, bleach where necessary, behind the toilets and under the stove top, vacuum the stairs kind of cleaning that makes my mother and grandmother proud--kitchen and bathrooms, you've been warned
3. Purge and De-clutter - recycle, shred, or file all the old mail and papers lying around; develop a system to avoid or at least minimize this problem in the future; get rid of anything I haven't used/wanted/thought about since I moved two summers ago
4. Decorate - paint powder room, hang pictures, figure out and fix bedroom "accent wall" that somehow went awry
5. Read and Write - finished The Lost Symbol, onto The Help - reading is probably the easiest and most "me" of my goals; writing, not so much, as I don't consider myself a writer--we'll see how this blog goes
6. Tourist in my own town - do those things that as a DC native I'm embarrassed to say I've never done like tour the Capitol and go to the top of the Washington Monument
7. Do Nothing - enjoy a few lazy days to look back on when times get tough during the school year
8. Rejuvenate - rest, refresh, reconnect and rekindle so that come August 22 I'm actually ready to go back to work and have a plan for how to proceed from here
9. Family and Friends - heed recent reminders of their value and importance

So that's it: 9 weeks and 9 goals. I'll enjoy the sweet freedom and work in a few lazy days, and keep everyone posted along the way.