Positive
Guys,
My cold got a lot worse and I pretty much had a horrible day at work (part-time employees don’t get sick days). I’m trying to stay positive, so I’m just gonna leave you with some of my favorite memories in pictures. Enjoy.
On Stress
Sometimes, I get tired of people (and Doctors) telling me that I’m stressed. I mean, I went to school – stress is that feeling when you have a million exams and tests piled up, right? I haven’t had that school-stressed-out feeling in a while, so I just assumed that I don’t get stressed much anymore. But lately, I’ve been re-thinking that. Perhaps stress just feels different now, especially because I stress about different types of things? I think I can finally identify adult stress as that ‘worked-up’ adrenaline feeling I get when I’m rushing and doing a million things at once. I used to think that that feeling of adrenaline was good because it motivated me to push past tiredness and get more things done. But if I’m not mistaken, adrenaline was designed for real fight or flight responses back in the day, not me attempting to shave five minutes off of my morning routine or speeding to get to a spinning class before its full.
So, the point of this rant? I’m just trying to slow down. Matt’s been telling me for years that rushing is bad for my health and yet I continue to rush to try to do it all. I obviously read a lot of lifestyle blogs with topics about ‘how to squeeze in a workout when you have 20 minutes’ and ‘how save time and money at the grocery store.’ I love the internet, but it stresses me out. I’m trying NOT to feel like I have to squeeze in that 20 minute workout and take a walk instead. I do a lot of passive relaxation (aka time on the couch), but I want to do more active relaxation, like making sure I have time to wind down at night before going to bed, getting massages every once in a while, listening to more calming music on my drive to work, and taking time to breathe.
And I need to use the time I save microwaving instead of cooking dinner to eat more slowly rather than woofing things down!
How do you de-stress?
Read MoreProtest
Does the monotony of everyday life ever make you feel like a boring person? I’m not very spontaneous anymore because the self discipline that comes with being an adult has taken over. I once read that self discipline is a limited resource… Since graduation I feel like, as an adult, I’m supposed to just work, exercise, eat healthy meals, and save money during the week. I think the thing I miss most about college is the feeling that the only thing I’m really supposed to be doing is learning.
Anyway, I got home from work and decided to protest being an adult. I skipped my workout, ate cookies that arrived in the mail (thanks to Matt’s mom!!), fell asleep on the couch at 5 o’clock, avoided my to-do list with five episodes of House Hunters, and ate cereal for dinner.
Sometimes, ya just want to feel like a college kid!
I called Matt and asked him to pick up a movie.
The Next Step
I didn’t mean to leave you guys hanging about my new job, but the holidays got the best of me! So without further adieu: I’m going to be a school psychologist!
I’m sure no one is really surprised, seeing as I just graduated with a school psychology degree in May. But for many months, I struggled with the decision of whether or not I really wanted to be a school psychologist. You see, I became very disenchanted with all of the testing, and since the role of the psychologist varies by state, I decided to try something new after moving to assessment-focused NC. Looking back, I think I was blinded after being completely burnt out from 3 years of intense school psychology. In some ways, I see the past six months as a blessing in disguise though, because my experience working in a desk job has helped me come to appreciate many awesome aspects of school psychology:
1. Shorter work day.
2. Decent pay.
3. SUMMERS OFF (and winter + spring breaks)!!
4. More interaction with people and less staring at a computer screen.
5. Even though it’s sometimes boring writing, the job does involve writing, which is something I like. And I get to use my brain!
6. Working with energetic and sometimes cute kids.
7. And most importantly, helping children and their families is a much more satisfying way to spend my time.
I think my generation likes to believe that there’s a perfect job out there for all of us. And while I certainly believe that there’s a job for me that’s very, very close to perfect, I do need to be reminded that there are parts of every job that I’m not going to like. There are still many aspects of school psychology that I don’t like and that I’m not looking forward to. But, for now, there are more things I don’t like in this job than in that job, and that’s the best I can do at my age and with my experience. I also cringe at the thought that I slaved through graduate school (and spent lots and lots of dollars) for nothing. I know many believe that no degree is ever wasted, but it sure feels that way – I have all this specific information in my brain that can help children and I’m not using it! People have always told me that there are lots of different things you can do with a school psychology degree. What they failed to mention though, is that you have to have quite a few years in the schools under your belt first! Perhaps paying my dues in the schools will lead me to my dream job.
The job I took is part-time, so it will allow me to get my foot back in the door while giving me some time to explore other interests. I’m proud to have landed a job in an incredible district and I’m excited to have my own school and my own kids! I’m extremely future-oriented, so I’m trying to to focus on the present and not next year or the next ten. More free time in my life, a more meaningful work day, my own office (!), bullets on my resume in a field that I generally like – that’s enough for right now.
110 Balls
Tiring night number five, but hopefully it’s the last! Tonight was supposed to consist of just little cooking and cleaning and a whole lot of relaxin. But it didn’t turn out that way.
I got started on the right foot with a quick Indian meal and a beer. This beer was perfect! One of my favorite holiday beers of 2011!
After dinner, the plan was to make peanut butter buckeyes, one of my favorite holiday treats. If you’re not familiar with buckeyes, they are basically big balls of sweet peanut butter dipped in chocolate. I made them last year and they were perfect, but I don’t remember which recipe I used, so I just googled a new one. I followed a recipe that was supposed to make roughly 36 balls. As soon as I started mixing though, I realized something was majorly wrong. The portions were way off and I basically had a big bowl of powdered sugar and only a few clumps of peanut butter (and that was after adding over a jar). So I had to drop everything and go to the grocery store for more peanut butter. Not necessarily a bad thing, but since I had no idea what the right portions were, I just added more peanut butter until it tasted right. Although it tasted great, the consistency was then too moist, so they didn’t hold up that well when I dipped them in the chocolate. That, and adding more peanut butter means more batter and more buckeyes. I now have 110 balls chillin in my fridge. I hope people like peanut butter.
Bedtime.
Read MoreAn Update
Dinner, the highlight of my day since 2011.
I got home late this evening, so I threw together a box of butternut squash risotto that I picked up a whole foods, as well as some brussels roasted in garlic olive oil. Simple, but awesome.
Even more awesome, was this homemade peanut butter cup that I dug out of my suitcase. Ashley gave it to me at Foodbuzz and I completely forgot about it. Oh my goodness, was it tasty and there was a surprise rice crunch in the middle!
So about that whole taking back my twenties thing. I met quite a few bloggers this weekend, and after hearing the premise behind TBT, many people asked, Well, how’s it going? I thought about sugar coating my answer, but decided to be honest. With a smile, I said I’m totally failing at it.
You see, I’m not adjusting well to working 9 hour days and I’m totally wishing away the weeks (something I vowed not to do). As you know from my almost daily complaints, I’m tired and never feel like doing much (despite 8+ hours). I’m just assuming this is a normal part of the transition to full-time work? I don’t know how people can spend so many waking hours in an office and feel fulfilled. I went to regular spinning today (I’ve been doing SYNC Cycle), and during an awesome song, I realized I haven’t felt energized or inspired by exercise in weeks. Because exercise either occurs at the crack of down, when I’m a zombie, or not at all. In the past, when I’ve felt overwhelmed or unhappy in my daily life , whether it be because of a test, a school project, or lots of things to be done around the house, I just dream of the summer or a time when I’ll be free to just be. But with only ten days off a year, there is no extended time to just be. And that feeling is suffocating. I keep thinking to myself I miss my life - it’s been taken away from me, and I need to take it back!
I’d also like to have Matt back. That is all.
Read More
Welcome to TBT!
I've created this blog because I'm in a bit of a quarter life crisis. Since graduating from college in 2008 and earning an advanced degree in school psychology in May, I still don't know what career path to follow. All I know is that time is moving way too fast and I find myself living only for the weekends. Bear with me as I attempt to reclaim my twenties by finding pleasure and balance in the work week and incorporating my passions of food, fashion, fitness, and fun into everyday life. 
She said what?