Busy but really good!

The past two weeks have just flown by. Most of it has been a bunch of typical stuff, nothing out of the ordinary, some of it has been just unexpected and really great!

The first few days back to work after break were rough. I went from being on a total high from break to emotionally crashing a bit. I spent a little too much time thinking and stressing out about things that I'd like to have control over but don't always. Not to mention I worked a little over 55 hours that week and had to finish the project that my whole grade was based on for my grad class. This was overly stressful. I started working on the project Tuesday when we normally would have had class (it was cancelled since my professor was out of town). I spent 3 1/2 hours in the library trying to figure out what was expected and how to put that into some logical form. The expectations and directions for the project were vague and almost non-existent making all of us feel pretty clueless. Long story short, I spent another 7 hours in the library on the following Sunday finishing the project. It was a really long, hard day, but it was done, and I handed it in at class on Tuesday and I just found out I got an A!! I'm not sure how but I'll take it. 

This week was significantly less stressful but just as busy as usual. Still 50+ hours of work and my last grad class to fill that time but a couple good meals with friends added to the joy factor. I also got a call on Thursday about a job interview about a full time teaching position for next school year which will happen Monday afternoon. That got me super nervous but also excited! 

I'm looking forward to having my Tuesday evenings more free and hopefully regaining a little bit of my sanity. 

Amazing Break!! Happiest Days!

The beginning of break flew by and was packed with necessities but also with some fun. The end of break was full of travel, good friends, and honestly it is the happiest I've been in a long time!

Monday had an oil change, attempting to do some homework, some relaxing, and working a 4 hour shift. Then I went out and saw a movie and got drinks with friends. Yes I was social on a weekday!! It happens when I don't have to get up the next morning, and it was a blast!!

Tuesday I had another car appointment for a weird recalled part, did some grocery shopping, and then cooked dinner for friends! Taco and daiquiri night was a lot of fun! It was a little stressful to get everything ready at once and make sure there was enough food for 12 or so people but it all seemed to work out okay. Everyone was happy and we ate and played games well into the night!

Wednesday was coffee with a friend, cleaning up the apartment after the party, and then working a 4 hour shift that was cut short by an hour. On my way home I even saw a rainbow, it was just a good omen for what was to come!

Thursday is when the joy began. I packed in the morning and then headed to Michigan. Minus having to sit at the border to get into Michigan for an hour the drive was easy. I got to my friends place a little after 10pm and we just talked and caught up!! It was so nice to just talk!

Friday I had coffee with my professor from freshman seminar. He led a lot of the programs I was involved with throughout freshman year and was my adviser for my first year and a half of school so it was really great to catch up with him. Then I got lunch with one of my education professors. She taught my mother when she was at school there so there is a lot of history there. She is one of my favorite professors! It was so nice to see her and just talk about life and hear how her and her husband are doing. I also got to see some of my other professors and talk with them briefly! It's amazing how they can remember little details and be so supportive.

Before heading to see a friend I stopped and read for a while in a local park. Holland is known for it's tulips. I was lucky enough to be in town while they were in bloom. Here is a taste of what they looked like.

After a relaxing break by myself I headed over to my friends house and caught up with her and then played with her gorgeous daughter! I forget how much fun babies are until I play with them again! I also forget how awesome girl talk can be. It was a blessing.

Then on to dinner with two wonderful camp friends! The beauty of my friends from camp is that they are spread across the country. A handful of them are in Michigan and I was lucky enough to see a few of them. We shared a delicious dinner and great conversation full of many laughs, and joyous memories.

But my day wasn't done yet!! A trip to Holland isn't complete without drinks at some of the great establishments! I met a few good friends for martini night at the local Italian restaurant. On Friday and Saturday nights they serve martinis for $3.50 and the list is crazy long! They are delicious and you just can't pass up a deal like that! I sampled a Peach Cream Pie martini and a Watermelon Jolly Rancher one (featured below). A few of the others that were enjoyed that night were called the Electric, and Melon. I don't think I have tried one there that I haven't liked!! Then we headed next door to the New Holland Brewery! They make cider too, which is why I was excited. I had their Pear Cider, which wasn't as good as their Berry Cider but still pretty good!

That brings us to Saturday! It was just as packed as Friday! Breakfast at the lovely Windmill Restaurant in downtown Holland. Complete with a line out the door and everything. It is the best place to get a good home-cooked breakfast. Yum! Then a bunch of us walked around the shops of downtown. We went to Lemonjellos the local coffee shop. We walked through Hope's campus and stopped in a bunch of our favorite shops and were introduced to some of the new ones. We even took a picture with the Dutch costume cutouts! It was a great morning!

Then I drove to Kalamazoo and did some shopping with some other friends. We all found some great stuff and got awesome deals. Then we had dinner and drinks in downtown KZoo. We went to the Kalamazoo Beer Exchange, which was like a stock exchange of beer (and cider)! It was so cool. The prices would change every 15 minutes of so depending on peoples buying habits. And then every so often throughout the night the market would crash and everything would be super cheap. It was an awesome experience. Here is a picture of us girls.

Today I just got up and drove home. The borders were super easy. I drove right into Canada, just 3 questions, and only a 12 minute wait to get into NY, that might be a new record!! I'm a little tired and a little apprehensive about the week to come but honestly I haven't been this happy in a long time. I just had a wonderful weekend and I don't think I have smiled and openly and honestly talked about myself with true friends this much in a really long time. It was the best decision I could have made and I'm so glad I did it. So that is definitely one to cross of my 25 before 25 list!! Take a vacation- just for fun, is totally done!! 

This coming week is going to be a kick right back into reality. I've got a 52 hour work week. Thankfully no grad class but our giant project is due next week and I haven't done much work on it and it is our whole grade so I need to get it done!! Work, plus that project will be enough to stress me out for sure!

Happy Easter! Finally Made it to Break!

Another long week, but at least it ended with a day off and the beginning of spring break! I only worked about 45 hours this week so it wasn't quite as bad as the past few weeks.

Sometimes the weeks I work less end up being more emotionally stressful. Knowing there is a light at the end of the tunnel helps but also makes it feel as if the week is dragging on. Most of what was wearing me down this week I brought upon myself but that doesn't make it any easier to deal with. Of course it all happened at the beginning of the week too which meant that I was struggling to catch up on sleep throughout the week as well.

Everything at work, all of the jobs, went well. It actually was a pretty "typical" week. School was busy because it was the end of the quarter and most of the teachers were trying to give tests before break, which meant that students were freaking out trying to learn the material the period before their test was given.

Grad class was rather amusing. We walked in and were handed a penny, a cup of water, and a dropper and asked "how my drops of water will stay on the penny before overflowing onto the table?" Well we were all pretty shocked. After discussing why the results occur, our professor put a drop of soap on a penny that had water on it and we discussed those results. Then he made a simple bubble mixture of soap and water, blew a bubble on the table, asked how we would measure it (based on the diameter) and said "using soap, water, and glycerin, make the best bubble mixture based on time and size and be able to prove it is the best." So we spent almost 2 hours mixing and blowing bubbles! Then we talked about meta-cognition and were totally tired and brain-dead by the end of class!

Friday was one of the healthiest days I've had in a while. I wasn't in too much pain, which in and of itself was a blessing. I slept in until 8am, which was about 9 hours of sleep for me! I relaxed most of the morning and then had coffee with a good friend who I hadn't seen in about a month and a half. It was really good to talk, and actually talk. This is one of the few friends in my life that I truly open up with about certain topics, and most of the time I don't even realize I'm doing it, which makes it easier, at least after the fact when I'm thinking about it. We talked about friendships and relationships and how people interact in community in general. It was life-giving! After that I did a little shopping. Retail therapy (for things I needed anyways) is always beneficial. Then I decided to get a manicure. While my students tease me about changing my nail polish once a week (which I do because it makes me feel good) actually getting my nails done is one treat that I will give myself occasionally because it is relatively cheap and just feels good! Then I had a girls night with a friend who I hadn't seen in way too long! It had been almost 2 months since we had seen each other in person I think. We both just needed to talk and hang out! So we had wine, jelly beans, and ice cream, and just talked for 3 hours! I know I felt better afterwards and I think she did too. If for nothing else the sugar! It really just was a good night. Had a few twists that I didn't see coming that will play out in a few days that I'm curious/terrified about, but we'll see what happens.

Saturday was just filled with work and a quick nap in between. Today I'm trying to relax and not think about my family too much. I've got to work tomorrow which meant I couldn't go home and I didn't want to request the whole week off so I'm going to do my best to have a productive Easter. So far my morning has been frustrating. It's a situation that I don't have much control over, there is only so much I can do in order to be a good friend but there is so much I'd like to say in order to speak my mind and actually say how I feel in the situation but I know it isn't the time. So for now I just have to ignore my frustration and sweep it under the rug. I miss being with family on days like Easter and Thanksgiving, but I'm trying to get used to it. I'm also realizing that it is significantly easier to be alone instead of with other peoples families because that is just a lot harder. So I will work on homework, possibly do a little shopping, and maybe make something yummy for dinner.

My break is turning out to be pretty full! Monday and Tuesday I have appointments for my car, little things in the morning, but stuff I have to get up for. Which will hopefully motivate me to stay awake afterwards and do homework!! I need to get this project done! Monday and Wednesday I work 3:30-8pm but that's it for the week. Tuesday night I'm cooking dinner for some friends which should be a good time! Then on Thursday I'm driving to Michigan and spending the long weekend with friends! I'm determined to be happy, get out of town,  and see people who I haven't seen in a year (some more than that). I'm really excited!

Wow, so close to break yet so far away!

The running theme of my past few posts have been how long my weeks are, and this one was no exception. I worked another 51 hours this week between the 3 jobs. It was stressful and tiring and at a few points I honestly felt like I was going to burst.

Grad class is starting to add stress to my life. There is one month left, but because of spring break and my professor being gone the week after that we only have 2 more classes, and he just assigned the details of our huge project which will be what our whole grade is based on. Yep, that'll be great! I'm hoping to get as much done over spring break before I leave for vacation as possible but I'm not sure how much that will really be.

All three jobs are going well overall. School is typical. Depending on the kids moods and how they are acting the day can go fine or I can be annoyed from the get go. It all depends. Things at Sylvan centers are going well. Things at the city school have calmed down since I switched groups with the other teacher. It's obvious that even the younger kids are trying to pull things over on me but they are easier to handle. It was a hard switch for me to make because I felt like a huge failure but it is what is best for the students so it needed to happen. Old Navy is easy and enjoyable as always.

This week I was both annoyed by, and very grateful for, friends. Annoyed because I once again realized how secluded I am because of my schedule and how selective they can be. Many times it is my choice about what I can and cannot do, especially during the week, and it sucks knowing that I can't be social when I'd like to be because of the time I have to get up in the morning. It's also hard being alone after a hard day at work when I could use a friend or two to be around. With a good friend moving this weekend, I made sure to have time to spend with my friends being social. There was the 80's party on Friday night and a going away party for Saturday night. Both were a lot of fun and I was really glad to have the time to go. It's good to be surrounded by people, but even then I'm realizing how much the majority of people I call friends here are acquaintances. Which really is my fault because of my schedule and my lack of letting people in. At the same time, I can be at a party and at times still feel alone. It is a really odd feeling. Don't get me wrong I had a good time and I'm grateful for the experiences. I'm also thankful for the few friends in my life who know when to push me to talk and can actually get me to do it. I've needed to truly talk for a while now and I finally did a little bit this week, and it helped a little.

This coming week will again be long, only a little over 40 hours of work, and I have Friday completely off! But then spring break starts. One more week!!

I did finish another book this week though! I read Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. It's the second book in the Hunger Games Trilogy and it was pretty good. I had read the majority of it over last weekend and then just couldn't find the time to finish it until this weekend which was really hard because I just wanted to know how it ended. It had a nice amount of suspense and action in it while moving pretty quickly. I'm hoping to start the third book today or sometime this week.