Some more resolutions for 2011:
5. Get a job. I haven't had a full time teaching job since we moved. I'm tired of subbing, tired of tutoring. I miss having a classroom of my own, students of my own, lessons to plan, papers to grade. Plus, we really need the money that only a full time job can give us. Heck, even a part time one!
6. Work harder at the subbing and tutoring until I GET that job. I need to check into daycare so I can find out if subbing will even be a viable option. I mean, subbing only makes about $75 a day. Is it really worth it if daycare costs $50 a day? Would it be better to just try to float as a tutor during Brendan's naps as much as possible? It would be less stress for him, certainly. But there's no guarantee of hours unless I schedule for them, and I can't count on Brendan to be reliable as far as the times of day he's willing to sleep. Some days I might get plenty of sessions, and some days I might not get any at all. And what if Brendan starts screaming during a session? I'm not supposed to bail out of a session, but how can I let Brendan scream for an unknown length of time while I finish the session? This will really be a challenge.
7. Keep in better touch with my family. I need to make sure I speak with my dad and brother every week. I put too much stock in their efforts, and not enough into my own.
Well, I'm sure there are plenty more resolutions I can make. I may update the list if I think of more.
Regardless, I hope 2011 is full of nothing but good things for you and yours. Happy New Year!
Friday, December 31, 2010
Thursday, December 30, 2010
New Year's Resolutions, Part One:
1. Get more organized. I received a couple of organizers for Christmas (I'd have thought it was a hint, but I asked for them), so I need to use them. Keep track of bills, baby stuff, medical stuff, coupons...you know, that sort of thing. I need to get some more inserts for my DayRunner, as well, and then use them.
2. Eat better and exercise more. I'm about ten pounds away from my weight when I found out I was pregnant, and then about, oh, sixty pounds away from the weight that someone my height and build SHOULD be. Oh, this will be a joy. I'm making no predictions about how much weight I will lose in a particular amount of time, because it's going to be really, really hard to guarantee exercise time with the baby. I haven't done anything physical since last July. No, seriously. Labor doesn't count.
3. Read more. Thanks to my husband and the wonders of technology, I have nearly 500 books on my Kindle to read. I have always loved reading, and I read really fast. However, I haven't read more than a chapter or two a day recently, because of the baby. Instead of parking in front of the TV or the computer while I feed Brendan, I should have my Kindle with me. Again, I can't guarantee a timeframe to plow through all my e-books (plus a couple in paper form), but I need to pick it up for sure.
4. Make more effort to keep the house in order. I've test-driven the baby in his front-carrier, so I should be able to walk around the house with him without having to have a hand on him at all times. It'll make loading the dishwasher and doing the laundry a lot easier. I know he won't want to be in there all the time, but even brief periods will help.
I'll add more resolutions tomorrow. Gotta start getting ready for bed!
1. Get more organized. I received a couple of organizers for Christmas (I'd have thought it was a hint, but I asked for them), so I need to use them. Keep track of bills, baby stuff, medical stuff, coupons...you know, that sort of thing. I need to get some more inserts for my DayRunner, as well, and then use them.
2. Eat better and exercise more. I'm about ten pounds away from my weight when I found out I was pregnant, and then about, oh, sixty pounds away from the weight that someone my height and build SHOULD be. Oh, this will be a joy. I'm making no predictions about how much weight I will lose in a particular amount of time, because it's going to be really, really hard to guarantee exercise time with the baby. I haven't done anything physical since last July. No, seriously. Labor doesn't count.
3. Read more. Thanks to my husband and the wonders of technology, I have nearly 500 books on my Kindle to read. I have always loved reading, and I read really fast. However, I haven't read more than a chapter or two a day recently, because of the baby. Instead of parking in front of the TV or the computer while I feed Brendan, I should have my Kindle with me. Again, I can't guarantee a timeframe to plow through all my e-books (plus a couple in paper form), but I need to pick it up for sure.
4. Make more effort to keep the house in order. I've test-driven the baby in his front-carrier, so I should be able to walk around the house with him without having to have a hand on him at all times. It'll make loading the dishwasher and doing the laundry a lot easier. I know he won't want to be in there all the time, but even brief periods will help.
I'll add more resolutions tomorrow. Gotta start getting ready for bed!
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Is it weird that I'm so bothered by the fact that my church, as well as many others, don't have a church service on Christmas Day?
My church growing up did. It was certainly not as well-attended as Christmas Eve services were, but they did have one, and the "regulars" (as I would call them) always attended. I pretty much always went. My dad (and I) sometimes had to sing with the choir, but even when we didn't at least my mom and I went, and usually my brother too, and my dad most of the time. So it seems normal in my mind to have church on Christmas Day. After all, that IS the holiday. I always thought of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day as two different holidays, one about the promise, and one about the fulfillment.
Now, I know the reasons most churches don't have a Christmas Day service. First of all, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are pretty much the same holiday, and so people go on Christmas Eve just like many people go to church on Saturday evening instead of Sunday morning--it fulfills the same purpose. Christmas Day services aren't very well attended because people have all their other activities that day--presents, parties, dinners, etc.--and they schedule their time around the church services the night before. And pretty much everyone opens presents on Christmas morning, and who would be cruel enough to make little kids wait to open their presents until after church? Lastly, it gives the pastors and other church officials a chance to spend the holiday with their families after what is usually a pretty time-consuming and maximum-effort to produce the Christmas Eve services, since most churches have more than one.
But it just seems to me that part of the family holiday on Christmas Day should be spend at church. I mean, Jesus IS the reason for the season, and all that. If we spend Christmas Eve in anticipation of His arrival, shouldn't we be back in church on Christmas morning to celebrate the arrival?
My church growing up did. It was certainly not as well-attended as Christmas Eve services were, but they did have one, and the "regulars" (as I would call them) always attended. I pretty much always went. My dad (and I) sometimes had to sing with the choir, but even when we didn't at least my mom and I went, and usually my brother too, and my dad most of the time. So it seems normal in my mind to have church on Christmas Day. After all, that IS the holiday. I always thought of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day as two different holidays, one about the promise, and one about the fulfillment.
Now, I know the reasons most churches don't have a Christmas Day service. First of all, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are pretty much the same holiday, and so people go on Christmas Eve just like many people go to church on Saturday evening instead of Sunday morning--it fulfills the same purpose. Christmas Day services aren't very well attended because people have all their other activities that day--presents, parties, dinners, etc.--and they schedule their time around the church services the night before. And pretty much everyone opens presents on Christmas morning, and who would be cruel enough to make little kids wait to open their presents until after church? Lastly, it gives the pastors and other church officials a chance to spend the holiday with their families after what is usually a pretty time-consuming and maximum-effort to produce the Christmas Eve services, since most churches have more than one.
But it just seems to me that part of the family holiday on Christmas Day should be spend at church. I mean, Jesus IS the reason for the season, and all that. If we spend Christmas Eve in anticipation of His arrival, shouldn't we be back in church on Christmas morning to celebrate the arrival?
Thursday, December 23, 2010
I'm feeling oddly lonely as the holiday draws nigh.
For the first time since, well, since we started dating, my husband and I are celebrating Christmas in our own home instead of traveling to one of our family members' houses. We've always alternated between going to San Diego to my parents' house or to Wyoming to his parents' house. Traveling wasn't really ever a problem because we didn't have kids. We either packed the dog into the car with us or found someone to watch him for the week or so that we'd be gone.
It was kind of fun, because it gave both of us the chance to experience each other's childhood Christmas traditions and compare our experiences. "My" Santa wrapped presents; "his" Santa didn't. "My" Santa put all the stocking stuffers into the stockings; if it didn't fit, it got given as a regular present. "His" Santa arranged the stocking stuffers that didn't fit into a display around the stockings (this is where the Santa gifts were also placed, rather than under the tree). Our moms made some of the same dishes for Christmas dinner, and some very different dishes as well. My family usually attended multiple Christmas eve church services (thanks to my dad and I singing in the choir) and a Christmas morning service; my husband's family went to their church's only service on Christmas eve and that was it. It was a great insight into each other's upbringing and childhood.
Since my mom passed away a few years ago, my own family stopped doing the family Christmas in San Diego. My brother had his own Christmas with his girlfriend and her family, and my dad came out to visit my inlaws a couple of years and then stayed in his new home in Nevada (and spent Christmas day with his cousins who live an hour away). And we simply went to Wyoming each year.
But now we have our own little family unit. This year, my inlaws went to St. Louis to my sister-in-law's house. We could have gone as well, but the two travel options--20+hours in a car or two airplane flights--did not seem particularly pleasant with a 2-month-old baby. Heck, the five hours to my inlaws' house in Wyoming seems a lot longer with the baby in the car. My dad is staying in Nevada again. My brother is currently in Afghanistan, having his own weird holiday. So we decided that this would be our opportunity to start our own family Christmas traditions, combining traditions from both of our upbringings. Also, it would be a nice, quiet, no-stress event, not worrying about going out anywhere, playing any games, going sledding or skiing, having company over, or anything like that.
But now that everyone is elsewhere, I'm feeling a little let-down. Some of the build-up and excitement that comes with the holiday seems to be lacking. We didn't decorate as much as usual, we haven't baked any Christmas cookies yet, and we didn't put a lot of effort into our presents (money being tight, and the spudster being a little too young to really participate in the holiday). So this Christmas just seems a little, I don't know, less Christmasy than other years. I'm sure next year will be different; Brendan will be old enough to help open presents and put an ornament or two on the tree. But for this year, I'm just not feeling the spirit.
I need to remember that the holiday has nothing to do with my family traditions and everything to do with the Son of God. That's what I need to focus on...
For the first time since, well, since we started dating, my husband and I are celebrating Christmas in our own home instead of traveling to one of our family members' houses. We've always alternated between going to San Diego to my parents' house or to Wyoming to his parents' house. Traveling wasn't really ever a problem because we didn't have kids. We either packed the dog into the car with us or found someone to watch him for the week or so that we'd be gone.
It was kind of fun, because it gave both of us the chance to experience each other's childhood Christmas traditions and compare our experiences. "My" Santa wrapped presents; "his" Santa didn't. "My" Santa put all the stocking stuffers into the stockings; if it didn't fit, it got given as a regular present. "His" Santa arranged the stocking stuffers that didn't fit into a display around the stockings (this is where the Santa gifts were also placed, rather than under the tree). Our moms made some of the same dishes for Christmas dinner, and some very different dishes as well. My family usually attended multiple Christmas eve church services (thanks to my dad and I singing in the choir) and a Christmas morning service; my husband's family went to their church's only service on Christmas eve and that was it. It was a great insight into each other's upbringing and childhood.
Since my mom passed away a few years ago, my own family stopped doing the family Christmas in San Diego. My brother had his own Christmas with his girlfriend and her family, and my dad came out to visit my inlaws a couple of years and then stayed in his new home in Nevada (and spent Christmas day with his cousins who live an hour away). And we simply went to Wyoming each year.
But now we have our own little family unit. This year, my inlaws went to St. Louis to my sister-in-law's house. We could have gone as well, but the two travel options--20+hours in a car or two airplane flights--did not seem particularly pleasant with a 2-month-old baby. Heck, the five hours to my inlaws' house in Wyoming seems a lot longer with the baby in the car. My dad is staying in Nevada again. My brother is currently in Afghanistan, having his own weird holiday. So we decided that this would be our opportunity to start our own family Christmas traditions, combining traditions from both of our upbringings. Also, it would be a nice, quiet, no-stress event, not worrying about going out anywhere, playing any games, going sledding or skiing, having company over, or anything like that.
But now that everyone is elsewhere, I'm feeling a little let-down. Some of the build-up and excitement that comes with the holiday seems to be lacking. We didn't decorate as much as usual, we haven't baked any Christmas cookies yet, and we didn't put a lot of effort into our presents (money being tight, and the spudster being a little too young to really participate in the holiday). So this Christmas just seems a little, I don't know, less Christmasy than other years. I'm sure next year will be different; Brendan will be old enough to help open presents and put an ornament or two on the tree. But for this year, I'm just not feeling the spirit.
I need to remember that the holiday has nothing to do with my family traditions and everything to do with the Son of God. That's what I need to focus on...
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