All the Things

There are so many things that I want to talk about but I do not have the energy for it this evening. I want to write more and I really do not want to use social media. I like the idea of short posts on social media and photos but the type of writing I want to do is much longer and probably less social media friendly. All that being said, I need to get ready for tomorrow. Until we meet again.

Summer Schedule

So, I am awake and it is after midnight. This is how I truly know it is Summer. As far back in my marriage as I can remember Summer is the season of no sleeping. When we were on a mission trip in Croatia, I did not follow my usual Summer schedule. We are home now and the Summer schedule has taken over. I would really like to go to bed but my brain says, "stay up, you have no where to be." Staying up this late also happened when I was in college. Mind you, I am not a typical college student and not remotely close to a typical college student's age. I was hoping becoming an adult and having a career would mean "normal" hours and more sleep. I guess I misunderstood what it means to be an adult. My husband is however sleeping on the couch with not a worry in the world. I keep thinking about cleaning the house, cleaning up the yard, and other household things. I am also thinking about the next school year and what I can do to improve on last year. I do not wish to change myself but I wish that my brain could get off this weird Summer schedule. Is there anyone else out there that has a brain that likes to stay up late in the Summer? What to you do to "shut it down?"

Life

In general, I believe I am a happy go lucky kind of gal but these last few days have worn me out. We have just returned from a six week mission trip to Croatia. I had a great time and met so many wonderful people. I can tell you though that I am almost ready to give up on flying completely. It is definitely for the birds. The delays and rude people alone made me want to be the unhealthy person I am trying not to be. I tried to remain calm and just go with the situation. I did not do anything I regretted but I do think I could have had a better attitude. Today was also not my friend. The commissary and the Exchange were "closed." There was a power outage in Midwest City. That also means we were unable to go to the bank. It was not my day. I hope tomorrow we can accomplish all the things we missed today. I think I may go to bed early and hopefully get rid myself of some of this negative "mojo" I feel.

Catching Up

I have not been able to write in a long time. My last post was October of last year. I dare say a few things have changed since that day. I am now in my third semester of teaching, Karl is still working on his Master's degree and we have a teenager living with us. He came to us from Brazil as a foreign exchange student. It has been a great experience. He is learning a lot and so are we. There also has been many changes in the world. The current situation is Oklahoma is tense with Oklahoma educators on the verge of a walk out. I feel called to my job but I not sure what that means in the long run for me. I want to go back to school but I am not sure what for anymore. It has been a very befuddling thing for me. I am indecisive to begin with and having many options does not help me. Well, I would love to drone on and on about everything I see happening but I think I will get work done.

Until we meet again!

October

I really did not have a catchy title for today's post as I do not have anything really catchy to say. It has been a good break so far. I have not gotten anything done minus moving some paper around and the same things I would have done if it were any other weekend. We still have not cleaned out the garage and I doubt we will get any of it done tomorrow. I am not sure we will ever get it done. I do know that we need to get it done if we plan on staying here forever. I think that we decided that moving is really not for us. We like stability and we like our home. I think we both have had more moving as adults than we ever did as children and we really do not like it. I know where we go to church or where we shop may change over time but I think we have found our forever home. I am content with that decision and I am looking forward to traveling.


Until we meet again,

Michele

Making Time

I have come to the conclusion that I have the worst time management skills of any person that I know. I have gone so far as to rewrite a famous line to fit my lack of ability to plan. "The best laid plans of mice and Michele . . ." Some times I do not even try to plan and even that can go awry. I hope and pray everyday that this will be the day I get things done but alas that is not the case. I may have to put myself on a hourly planner rather than a daily or weekly planner. Of course, I always have time for the Internet and things that do not move me forward in my career or life in general. I think I would be better off without ten thousand planners but I have a google calendar and my iCal application on my mac, I even have a "to do" list on my notability application. It all seems like a great idea at the time but then nothing gets done. It is a real struggle for me. I have watched videos and subscribed to services to help. I am beginning to think that all the time I spent researching time management was an ill advised use of time. Until I can say, "TODAY IS THE DAY!" I do not think anything will change. I am currently on Fall break hoping to get my office, library, and garage cleaned up but I am not sure how to start or how to manage the project once we (my husband and I)  get started.

Anyway, enough about my struggle to be an adult. There are some good things that we are doing. We have not gone out to eat since October 1st. We did go out for the husband's birthday but we do not count that because it is a special occasion. Also, I am down nineteen pounds since January of last year without any super changes to my lifestyle but I will talk about that on thecookiestoppedworking.blogspot.com. It is one of the many things I want to make time for in the future.

Until we find time to meet again.

Michele

What is Happiness

I am not really sure why I am thinking about this question so much today. As I listen to the Latin work out station on Pandora, I am wondering what is happiness and where does it come from. You would think that I would post such a question on my devotional blog but I am sure it is a theological question. I am sure I would have more than a few pastors argue that point with me. I think the theological question is more about contentment, which to me is a more permanent happiness. I am thinking more on a short term level. An example, I ordered a pin today that reads "just peachy." And I can say I am over the moon about it. Just peachy is what I say when people ask me how I am doing. I know this happiness will not last but man it feels good. I am also excited to listen to Latin music and dance like a fool in the privacy of my own home. I hope everyone can find a little happiness in their day.

Nothing to Say

Have you ever known a person who keep stalking even when they have nothing to say? I feel like that a lot. I keep talking and I have nothing to say. I ramble on and most of the time make no sense to myself or anyone else. Today is one of those days. So, I will not bore you with the details. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day for ideas.

Thoughts for a New Year

I have been a party to many stops and starts in my life. I am working to make some more permanent changes. Hopefully, those changes will be for the better. I found this quote while reading an article on Pocket and I really like it. I hope to make the quote a part of my daily routine as I strive to be the person I know I am.

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." -Theodore Roosevelt

A Good Time

So, I read a comment today and I wanted to make a comment. I have chosen to comment here on my blog to avoid a firestorm on Facebook. The comment was "It is not good time to talk about it." I can honestly say that there is not a good time for anything. I know people think that when they get a new job it is good time for it or if they find they are going to have a child. I think the timing is not necessarily the good thing but our willingness to adapt to the new situation that makes it good. So, when there is an issue that needs to be talked about there is no good time. But there is a time when all parties are more willing to give the issue the attention it needs. This particular issue was the number of police shootings and a poem from the 1930's talking about a shooting and the officer that shot the black man running. The person felt that it was not a good time to use this poem in an English class. I wondered when will it be a good time? I do not have a good answer but I know that it must be addressed or the problem will just keep escalating. And that is all I have to say about that. Until we meet again.