I admit it. I have been neglectful...call protective services. I haven't neglected my family. I've been good to them, but I've neglected every other aspect of my life! I have neglected my dogs...they are in need of a major haircut! I've neglected my house. It's clean, don't get me wrong. However, I haven't been picking it up and keeping up with the daily upkeep it needs. I've neglected my oven. I can't tell you the last time I cooked a meal. If we eat here, it is something quick and easy...cereal; cheese, crackers, and fruit; etc. I have neglected school. I work my butt off while I'm there, but I have not taken a bit of work home. Well, that's not even entirely true. I have brought it home. I even brought it inside once rather than leaving it in my car overnight. Last night I even went sofar as to bring it downstairs. I thought I'd be more likely to do it then. I still didn't do it. I have really been neglecting the laundry. If I do some, it's just a load of what we need right then...and putting it away?! It all piles up so quickly. Why do I do that?! It's so much easier to put it away right away!
More than any of those things, though, I have neglected myself. Oh, I did fix myself coffee last weekend, I took the time to read the Sunday paper, and I managed to squeeze in some time to do a LO (thanks T for keeping Madeline). But, I haven't taken care of anything else for me. I wanted to get a pedicure last weekend...I've never had one and my crusty feet deserve it! Do they have salons with belt sanders? :) My eyebrows get bushier by the day. My hair is in desperate need of some intervention. I haven't been to church in months. The list goes on and on. I burn my candles at both ends so often that I don't stop to do things for myself. Why is that? I know busy moms tend to overextend themselves. We have to stop that! It gets too easy to be too busy to take care of yourself. That's not okay. Part of being a good mom, wife, friend, family member, career woman is stopping to do little things for yourself to fill your bucket. Well, I have to tell you the reserves in my bucket are depleting. I need a fill up, and I need one fast. :)
5 things for which I am thankful right now (in no particular order)...
1. My family and friends
2. Candle snuffers (they put out flames on both ends, right?)
3. Music
4. Time (Thank goodness I don't have any less than I do!!)
5. Bucket Fill Stations
Nichols...OUT
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Just When I Needed It...
Life is really funny sometimes...not laugh-out-loud funny, not funny "ha, ha," but funny nonetheless. Maybe it's strange funny, I don't know. Today was not the best day at work. I won't even go into details about what went wrong. That's not really important. What is important is that I left work feeling like a jerk. I left feeling like my month-and-a-half at this new school was a waste of time. I left feeling like I didn't want to go back tomorrow. That's not a good way to leave. It's kind of like the old saying, "Don't go to bed mad." You don't want to leave work for the day with a bad taste in your mouth. You want to leave feeling tired, worn-out, but content...like you really made a difference.
Not only did I NOT make a difference today, I had someone tell everyone I don't make a difference. It was not direct, it was not meant to hurt me, it was said in the nicest way something like that can be said. But, it still crushed me. I don't think I cry easily, but I could barely hold back the tidal wave of tears. I managed to hold them for quite some time until I was in a "safe" environment where I couldn't stop them. Mind you, I still didn't want to cry, but if I didn't get them out then in front of people who care about me, the build up would have only gotten worse.
Hey!! Wait!! Didn't I say I wasn't going to talk about what happened?! I just kind of did. Oops! Well, after leaving school, I went to get Madeline from daycare. She didn't have the best day either. Apparently she wasn't a good listener. She seems to think that the rules really don't apply to her...the teacher must have been talking to all the OTHER kids in the room. So, we headed home, and when we got here, we read her new books she got from the library today. We eventually made our way downstairs. I told Madeline she could watch one episode of "Hannah Ontana" (as she calls it), and I came in to check in on some of my favorite sites.
I messed around on TSR for a bit, I checked my blog for any comments (thanks, T and Stacey!), and I begrudgingly checked my school email. I paused before I clicked the final button to log me in. Do I really want to check this, I asked myself. Am I just setting myself up for further frustration, my mind wondered. I decided on taking my chances, and I am so glad I did. A teacher at school replied to an email I sent mentioning that I'll be in meetings all day tomorrow and won't be able to meet with the language arts teachers for our weekly curriculum time. She said she would miss me and then went on to share some profound thoughts with me.
She wrote, "and I want you to know on professional note that you are very appreciated by me….when I need something that pertains to LA…you find a way to get it to me…ultimately making my job better in service to my students….and I really appreciate that….." First, I sat in shock. There is someone out there that uses triple and quadruple periods (an elipsis) MORE than I do??!! :) Second, I shed a few more tears. How in the world could this teacher have known HOW much I needed to hear those words today? What in the world made her respond the way she did? Is it really possible I read this email just when I needed it? It is amazing to me that a day's worth of feeling unworthy was mostly wiped away by a few sentences...by less than 50 words...by one little email.
So, maybe I am doing what I've been called to do. Maybe my time so far has not been a waste. Maybe I can make a difference in the lives of the teachers and students with whom I work. Maybe...just maybe.
5 things for which I'm thankful right now (in no particular order)...
1. Email
2. The power of words
3. My family and friends
4. Patient Preschool Teachers
5. Small gifts that come just when you need them :)
Nichols...OUT!
Not only did I NOT make a difference today, I had someone tell everyone I don't make a difference. It was not direct, it was not meant to hurt me, it was said in the nicest way something like that can be said. But, it still crushed me. I don't think I cry easily, but I could barely hold back the tidal wave of tears. I managed to hold them for quite some time until I was in a "safe" environment where I couldn't stop them. Mind you, I still didn't want to cry, but if I didn't get them out then in front of people who care about me, the build up would have only gotten worse.
Hey!! Wait!! Didn't I say I wasn't going to talk about what happened?! I just kind of did. Oops! Well, after leaving school, I went to get Madeline from daycare. She didn't have the best day either. Apparently she wasn't a good listener. She seems to think that the rules really don't apply to her...the teacher must have been talking to all the OTHER kids in the room. So, we headed home, and when we got here, we read her new books she got from the library today. We eventually made our way downstairs. I told Madeline she could watch one episode of "Hannah Ontana" (as she calls it), and I came in to check in on some of my favorite sites.
I messed around on TSR for a bit, I checked my blog for any comments (thanks, T and Stacey!), and I begrudgingly checked my school email. I paused before I clicked the final button to log me in. Do I really want to check this, I asked myself. Am I just setting myself up for further frustration, my mind wondered. I decided on taking my chances, and I am so glad I did. A teacher at school replied to an email I sent mentioning that I'll be in meetings all day tomorrow and won't be able to meet with the language arts teachers for our weekly curriculum time. She said she would miss me and then went on to share some profound thoughts with me.
She wrote, "and I want you to know on professional note that you are very appreciated by me….when I need something that pertains to LA…you find a way to get it to me…ultimately making my job better in service to my students….and I really appreciate that….." First, I sat in shock. There is someone out there that uses triple and quadruple periods (an elipsis) MORE than I do??!! :) Second, I shed a few more tears. How in the world could this teacher have known HOW much I needed to hear those words today? What in the world made her respond the way she did? Is it really possible I read this email just when I needed it? It is amazing to me that a day's worth of feeling unworthy was mostly wiped away by a few sentences...by less than 50 words...by one little email.
So, maybe I am doing what I've been called to do. Maybe my time so far has not been a waste. Maybe I can make a difference in the lives of the teachers and students with whom I work. Maybe...just maybe.
5 things for which I'm thankful right now (in no particular order)...
1. Email
2. The power of words
3. My family and friends
4. Patient Preschool Teachers
5. Small gifts that come just when you need them :)
Nichols...OUT!
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Writer's Block?
How can I already have writer's block? It's only my second day of blogging. I almost didn't even open this up because I thought I wouldn't have a thing to write about. I don't feel very well this afternoon, but no one wants to hear about that. My contacts are dry...that's thrilling information! I know you're dying to know that I didn't finish cleaning the basement last week, right?!
Okay, enough with my sarcasm. What do bloggers blog about? What interesting, juicy tidbits from my life are you waiting on pins and needles to read? I suppose I should be thankful I don't have anything of substance to write about. I could be like my BFF, Shawnna, and have TOO much to write about. No, thanks. I'd rather help her through the craziness than experience some of it myself.
I have had some crazy times lately. Jase and I both started new and very different jobs. We moved after struggling to sell our house. Madeline went through three preschool teachers before they finally found one to stay. Jason had some football drama that created some hiccups in our life. The bad thing about all of that is that it happened at the same time. All of those things were going on at once. It was stressful. I would have had TONS of stuff to blog about then. So, I guess this is the bottom of the roller coaster drop...the calm after the storm...the crash after the sugar rush. Now instead of feeling frustrated because I have nothing exciting to write, I'll count my blessings that I don't have anything exciting to write. :)
5 Things I'm thankful for right now (in no particular order)...
1. my family and friends (as always)
2. eye drops
3. Pepto Bismol (YUCK!)
4. more time to clean the basement
5. the calm after the storm
Nichols...OUT
Okay, enough with my sarcasm. What do bloggers blog about? What interesting, juicy tidbits from my life are you waiting on pins and needles to read? I suppose I should be thankful I don't have anything of substance to write about. I could be like my BFF, Shawnna, and have TOO much to write about. No, thanks. I'd rather help her through the craziness than experience some of it myself.
I have had some crazy times lately. Jase and I both started new and very different jobs. We moved after struggling to sell our house. Madeline went through three preschool teachers before they finally found one to stay. Jason had some football drama that created some hiccups in our life. The bad thing about all of that is that it happened at the same time. All of those things were going on at once. It was stressful. I would have had TONS of stuff to blog about then. So, I guess this is the bottom of the roller coaster drop...the calm after the storm...the crash after the sugar rush. Now instead of feeling frustrated because I have nothing exciting to write, I'll count my blessings that I don't have anything exciting to write. :)
5 Things I'm thankful for right now (in no particular order)...
1. my family and friends (as always)
2. eye drops
3. Pepto Bismol (YUCK!)
4. more time to clean the basement
5. the calm after the storm
Nichols...OUT
Monday, September 17, 2007
I think I could really get into this!!
You know the phrase, "Never say never." Well, I think I did. I am almost positive I said I would never blog. I knew what it was. I understood it. But, I didn't get it. I couldn't understand why people would want to blog when they could journal. Now I know. My thoughts are flowing as randomly and quickly as my fingers are flying over these keys. I can't get things out of my head fast enough! It's probably a good thing to clear some of the clutter in there...Lord knows there's enough to go around! ;)
So, now I'll be blogging. I'm a blogger. It's official. One post does count, right? :)
I'm going to end my post with 5 things I'm thankful for right now (in no particular order)...
1. Old friends
2. Family
3. Ice water
4. My high school typing class (thanks, Ms. Swanson ;) )
5. quiet
Until later...Nichols - OUT!
So, now I'll be blogging. I'm a blogger. It's official. One post does count, right? :)
I'm going to end my post with 5 things I'm thankful for right now (in no particular order)...
1. Old friends
2. Family
3. Ice water
4. My high school typing class (thanks, Ms. Swanson ;) )
5. quiet
Until later...Nichols - OUT!
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