Updates

It's been a while since my last post. I know. I have been really busy and have not had the time to just sit and write to my heart's content. I don't know where the time goes but it just never seems to be enough. My sister-in-law was laughing with me the other day about this very topic. She knew exactly what I meant when I said, I know I have 24 hours in a day (just like everyone else) but it seems when I get going, my days get much shorter and the hours just fly right on by! To think I don't even have kids yet and already it seems like I am juggling a whole boatload of stuff!

I don't mean to complain about this. I am sure everyone else in the world feels this way at some point. And I don't think I am taking on much more than I can chew. But I just want to get so many things done and I have so many things planned that I just wish I had an extra 4 or 5 hours a day (or that I could run on less than 7 hours of sleep a night!). Oh well. Prioritizing is pretty much the name of the game ... and compromising, I guess.

What have I been up to? Well, of course the largest chunk of my day goes to work. There is a lot to do and thankfully I enjoy my job - otherwise it would be torture to have to go to work and count the hours till it's time to go home. I am also considering the possibility of teaching a few courses in the evenings. I know I should think about this carefully since it is going to be extra work - but I think I'll enjoy it and I am being considered for it. Most likely though (if everything can be worked out), it will be some time in September (when the Fall Semester starts). Our dean has discussed my possibly handling some introduction business classes or one of our senior professional portfolio classes. I guess we'll see.

Other than work, it's pretty much running the household. Just making sure all the chores are done (not often but regularly). I used to do laundry every couple of days when I was not working. Now we try to do it every other weekend. Last weekend, we were so busy running around that we realized it was already Sunday night and it had been 2 weeks since we did any laundry. I know that laundry is overrated since it's really just throwing stuff into the machine. But there's the sorting before the loading into the machine, then the transfering to the dryer, then the sorting after the dryer, then the folding of clothes and hanging of suits, then putting everything away, and then the ironing of those pieces that are way too wrinkled. Anyway, long story short, we were too lazy to load up the washing machine. Jojo didn't have any decent work socks for the coming week, so our solution was to buy a 6-pack of black tube socks at Target. (Please DON'T judge us ... to be fair, Jojo needed to get new socks anyway!). Haha.

Also, there's preparing meals. In an effort to be healthier, we try to eat most meals at home. But that requires first of all, having the ingredients on hand. Which requires going to the supermarket. After that, there's making sure meats are defrosted at least a couple of hours before. Slicing, dicing, chopping, mincing of veggies. Boiling, steaming, frying, sauteing, and broiling homemade creations. And waiting endless minutes till the brown rice is ready or using multi-grain bread as a quick and easy alternative. Then there's the washing of dishes! Not only the dishes we ate out of, but the dishes and utensils used for prepping and cooking. I've solved a little bit of the problem and have eliminated serving dishes. I just serve the food in the pans or woks I used to cook them. I know Ina Garten would be cringing at my lack of domestic skills right about now. But hey, you gotta do, what you gotta do!

Where else does my time go? Well, I try to find time with family and friends ... spend time with my husband (we did watch The A-Team last Sunday - which was pretty good). I still try to go to the gym (which is down to 2 times a week instead of 5 times a week). I have given up volunteer work but am looking at doing something where I can maybe go every other week or some evenings. I don't watch a lot of tv anymore but there are some shows I absolutely can not miss - but I'm probably avergaing about 5-6 hours of tv a week (so it's not much but not something I can give up altogether either). We have a few household projects we're working on. We need to get our home fumigated for termites (it's more of a precaution really). We are also planning to get the exterior of the house painted. And there's still my dream of a kitchen renovation. So we've been meeting with a couple of contractors. I've been trying to blog and write in my spare time. I've been quite horrible at getting back to people via email and I plan to rectify that as soon as I have some time to sit down and just devote time to replying to everyone I owe a reply to! I am thinking of taking online classes at Cal State to see if I could get certified as a career counselor. Maybe in the Fall but am still working that out. I've been babysitting a few days here and there. Just my nieces and nephews. Jojo and I have started working on our garden. Now that it's almost summer, we don't want to be the only house on our block growing weeds! We are planning another garage sale soon so I've been sorting through our stuff and setting aside the ones that can still be considered as "sellable".

I have been taking time to read and just relax too. Ironically I've been quite busy finding time to relax. I think that's just the way things work these days. You have to add "find time to relax" to your to-do list ... otherwise, you just never have the time to get that done!

P.S. BY THE WAY, TODAY IS ALSO MY MOM'S BIRTHDAY. HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the best mom anyone could ever be blessed to have =) I love you, mom. And I hope that you have an awesome birthday. Wish you were here or I was there ... or that we could meet half-way (like maybe in Hawaii) and celebrate together! But know, that I send my love and prayers for you ... and your box of delish olive oils are en route to Manila =)