On the First Day of Spring

Three crocuses managed to escape the hungry mouths of bunnies. The last couple years the bunnies have nipped off these same crocuses just above the ground. I'm glad they found their meals elsewhere this year so that I could enjoy these happy little flowers, in an otherwise brown landscape. I'm definitely ready to put away the boots and heavy coats. Hello spring, and welcome!

On the Mend

Little Pup had knee surgery on Tuesday. She was out of it and in a great deal of pain when I picked her up that afternoon. I made her a nest in this blanket (it's one I made) and there she stayed. She had a pain patch on her neck and two other types of pain meds that I've been administering, as well as an antibiotic. She was shaved in three spots for the surgery, the pain patch, and the IV. She looks pretty pathetic. She's starting to be a bit more alert now. She's jumping on and off the couch and climbing stairs, using her three good legs to maneuver. I had to take her in this morning to get three new staples because as the swelling went down they became too loose. Doc says she's doing well and had me bump up staple removal four days. I can't wait until she's all healed and feeling better!

Good Weather Guilt

I have experienced good weather guilt for as long as I can remember. I'm not sure where it originated, but anytime the weather is nice I feel a constant sense of guilt if I do not get outside to take advantage of it. Perhaps it is related to the fact that our weather in these parts is rather foul- cold & snowy or hot & humid. Good days are sometimes few and far between.

Fortunately, today was another gorgeous day with sunshine and abnormally mild temperatures. After I dropped the little puppy off at the vet for her surgery tomorrow and picked up my car from the mechanic (am I made of money, people?), I took Older Dog for our normal neighborhood walk. Lots of people were out walking their dogs, washing their cars, and doing yard work. It felt great to get out and stretch my legs.

And yet, the guilt is returning. I really ought to be outside picking up sticks or trash from the yard instead of blogging. Sigh.

Back to Reality

I'm back from California. I had a nice time. It's beautiful there. Flowers are in bloom. We went to several parks and the aquarium. We watched three movies and I read three books. We also watched three great basketball games at a sportsbar.

I've returned home to sunshine and temperatures that rival (or best?) those I enjoyed in California. Unfortunately I haven't been able to walk or do any much-needed yard work. I spent most of the afternoon taking care of my car. I discovered, much to my horror, that my car was brakeless when I retrieved it from the parking garage at the airport last night. Now it's at the garage to be fixed tomorrow, and I've got my dad's sporty version of the same vehicle. He might even ride his bike to work tomorrow it's so nice out.

There's no food in the house and lots of dirty laundry. So that's what I'll be doing for the rest of the day...

A Good Trade Was Made

The last time I got my hair professionally cut was in mid-December. I wasn't exactly impressed, and parts of the cut have been irking me ever since. I didn't want to go to California with my hair the way it was, but I'm not having a lot of disposable income at the moment. When one of my temps offered to cut it for me, I decided to take her up on it. I know she would've done it for free, but I felt better giving her something in trade. So I got a haircut and she got my like-new corduroy blazer. I didn't like the fit or the color, but she'd admired it the one time I wore it this winter. Better to give it to her in exchange for a haircut than to donate it to strangers.

Taking a Step Back

I've been getting to work at 7:30 in the morning and leaving at 5:30 at night. My commute on each end is half an hour. Each day I have class sometime during work for either an hour or an hour and a half (plus about 15 minutes on each end for driving and walking to class). All in all, I'm out of the house at least 11 hours a day, assuming I don't need to go anywhere after work. I'm not getting enough sleep, I'm eating poorly, and both work and school are suffering. The only social life I have is talking to my boyfriend on the phone every couple days.

Something had to give. I've decided to cut off half hour on each end of my work day and use vacation hours to cover the balance. After I get back from my trip to California, I may take Fridays off for the remainder of March and all of April. I get a lot of vacation time, but I have problems letting go and stepping back.

I have to get over that though, or I'll be losing it soon. So that's my plan, and I'm sticking to it. (Maybe.)

Here and Not Here

I don't cope well with stress. This is not new information (remember the eye twitch?). My sister could confirm that even overtime at a basketball game is just about more than I can handle right now.

After spending the last two days obsessively surfing the internet for a new hairstyle that will work with my baby-fine, super-straight, limp-ass hair, I decided a glass of wine was in order. As it is a school/work night I will only have the one, but maybe it will slow down the anxious worrywart that is occupying my brain.

Saturday I take two of my three teacher certification exams. On Monday I have a test in one of my two classes. The week after that I have a mid-term and a 10 minute oral presentation. Don't count on seeing too much of me for the foreseeable future, unless I have more than one glass of wine on Saturday night and start drunk commenting. If I do that, please cut me some slack.