Too long away

Goodness. I don't know why I even try to blog during the semester. Especially this past semester, which really knocked me on my rear end. I wasn't teaching, which was nice, but I was taking three classes and two of them were fairly intensive. One was well-organized and well-run, with helpful TA's, reasonable assignments, and an excellent instructor. The other, well...let's just say it was not well-organized, the coordinator (most of the lectures were by experts in the field) did not attend all of the lectures (he probably attended...half? maybe a little less than that?), and it was tiny (6 people + random people who would come for some of the lectures...oh, and 3 TAs...for 6 students). Guess which class did not have an evaluation? Yeah.

Anyway - I'm over that! I think. :) And I am so, so glad that summer is (almost) here, that my workload is significantly lighter, and that I will have the chance to not only get some of my work done, but also clear out some of the mental clutter remaining after a long and stressful academic year.

I also hope to do something about the excessive physical clutter in our house...but that is a story for another day.

There are so many things I want to blog about, so many things that have popped into my brain over the last 6+ weeks...it will take me a while to work through them, and prioritize them, and get them out onto the screen. I've been doing better with the whole childless thing...but not spectacularly. I've been really pleased with my weight loss / fitness improvement...but still have some issues / triggers. I feel like I'm doing better with my attitude, particularly in my personal life...but still have *days*. So, plenty to talk about, lots to work through, and I'm so glad I have this space to use for that.

One (new) thing that I started just yesterday, that I'll mention briefly, is Happy Rambles. It's a website - you have to register - that sends an email once a day, usually at the end of the day (however you define that; for me, it's 4:30 pm ;>), that asks you to reply to the email with what you are grateful / thankful for or happy about that day. What a wonderful way to highlight the positive that hides in every day, no matter how stressful or annoying. I am hoping it helps me maintain the attitude adjustment that I have been working on for the last 3 weeks or so.