impromptu list

I had intended to write and publish the post about our trip to the Adirondacks tonight, since, you know, it’s Tuesday and the trip was this past weekend.

Well, I’m making the executive decision to go get ready for bed since it’s 10 p.m. and I. NEED. REST.

Adirondacks post coming tomorrow. In the meantime, highlights of the past few days:

1. After much anxiety and stress (and prep!), I scored a 92 on my Chemistry quiz. Hallelujah!

2. Spring Break is exactly two days and 50 minutes away…but who’s counting?

3. I have not one, not two, but THREE articles on the docket for the paper… Hello more fun money 🙂

4. I’ve been asking for a GREEN Penn State sweatshirt for a little while now (ever since I saw Abigail’s in pink). She’s home on her spring break and brought one in GREEN back for me. So excited.

5. I roasted beets tonight. (And other veggies.) I’ll let you know how they turned out when I actually eat them, perhaps tomorrow.

6. Swim practice was intense this morning. How do I know? (Other than the obvious huffing and puffing and gasping for air while swimming…) I was STARVING this afternoon. Yup, swimming will do that to you.

7. My little brother, Aaron, will be 17 tomorrow. SEVENTEEN. Where did the time go?

8. I’m going to accompany Andrew and his friend Bart to the gym tomorrow evening to get some new ideas to revamp my lifting routine. Should be interesting…

9. Did I mention spring break was coming up?

10. Wrote another blog for the co-op today about salads. Check it out!

a list

…because, yet again, it’s that kind of week.

1. I should be studying Micro or starting my Chem homework, but my brain is going a million miles a minute. And it’s only 5:31 a.m.

2. The trouble is, those things (see above) take TIME. Like, more than an hour. If I don’t have more than an hour, I feel like I can’t start them. So I do other things, like blog. Hey, they all gotta get done!

3. I have my first swim practice today. Did I tell you I joined the Master’s team at the Y? I can’t remember… It’s been making me anxious. The old Holly would be sweating bullets by now, worried to death she wouldn’t be able to hack it. The new and improved, best-shape-of-her-life, more mature and self-confident Holly is only the slightest bit anxious (hey, I’m still me) but realizes it might be a rude awakening in the pool, and maybe it won’t be. Either way, I’ll get through.

4. I have a Micro test tomorrow morning. I am not prepared. The teacher is kind enough to allow us to take it with any of her sections throughout the day, the last being at 5 p.m. Seeing as I have her lab directly before the 5 p.m. lecture, (my real section is 10 a.m.), I just might take her up on it. I hate doing that, but I just might need the extra study time.

5. I have my second Chem quiz this weekend.

6. We’re going out of town this week–as in, leaving Thursday night. We’re going to Gore, which is in the Adirondacks, for skiing. Well, I don’t think I’ll be skiing. I just want to get away with my school books and magazines and not be on a schedule and just ready and study and bake. Repeat.

7. Did I mention we’ll be in a cabin with a bunch of other people with no internet and that I have a Chem quiz to do ONLINE? Just a little stressed about this…

8. My next chapter of Chem homework is due Friday, but since I’m leaving Thursday (see #6 above), I have to finish it before. I haven’t started yet. Did I mention the last homework took something in the ballpark of 6+ hours?

9. I’ve been fighting a cold now for a week and a half. Go away already! My poor, red nose can’t take any more!

10. In an email recently to a friend I confessed that if I didn’t love school (and the thought of being an RD) THIS MUCH, I would quit in a heartbeat because the schedule (with only 12.5 credits and a 10-minute commute!) right now is insane. This must be what having children is like…

Say an extra prayer for me this week!

a list

…because I need to get it all out of my head and onto the page.

1. I have become a first-rate procrastinator on certain things: Chem homework, test studying and article-writing. I blame Andrew for this.

2. I have my first Microbiology test this week and EVERYONE is freaked out. There is a ton of material and while the best way for me to study is to re-write my notes, I couldn’t bring myself to make a study sheet. I think all my note-writing from last semester burned me out.

3. I have been playing WAY TOO MUCH and not doing enough studying. I mean, do I still do more than the average student? Maybe, but it’s not nearly enough to keep me comfortable with the material, which is stressing me out. Big time. I had such good intentions going into this semester–that I would keep up with Chem–and alll I’ve done is put everything off to do other things.

4. “Other things” have included baking, cleaning, blogging, cooking, baking, exercising, walking the dog and more baking. Ever since I discovered what I’d been doing wrong this whole time, I just want to bake! Bread! Muffins! Cookies! Oatmeal! Yes, baked oatmeal–I have a recipe on the fridge that’s calling my name.

5. So, let’s just say this week is already stressing me out (a Micro test, two Chem homeworks due, all Stats due…) and it’s only Tuesday morning.

6. Add to that a new responsibility with the co-op (sending monthly emails to our member-owners–exciting, but there is a learning curve involved and the timing was such that it’s a bit more rushed than normal), prep for another article for the paper, our new Bible study started last night and we’re having friends over for dinner Thursday night. Whew!

7. Oh, and Andrew’s truck wouldn’t start yesterday. It took me to the gym and back (thankfully!) but pooped out on Andrew when he was warming it up. A friend of his brought him home last night and they think they diagnosed the problem–the fuel pump. FANTASTIC. Fuel pumps are expensive, and whether it’s a DIY or professional job, it isn’t going to be finished today, or tomorrow probably. The fact that the Layers happen to have an extra vehicle for Andrew to borrow is nothing short of miraculous–the thought of having to add “carting Andrew to and from work” to my schedule this week would send me for a tailspin.

8. I think I might start swimming again. Like, swimming for real, on a team. I’ve always known about Master’s swim teams–they’re usually run through gyms and universities and are for the 18+ crowd–and always kind of thought I’d eventually end up on one. They attract former high-school and college swimmers and while not terribly competitive, can be pretty hard-core, depending on the ages and abilities of the group. I joined one, briefly, in Ohio just after getting into the Air Force and was FLOORED by how fast some of the people were (it was a pretty young crowd) and how out of shape I felt in comparison. I didn’t end up doing much with the team (the practice time didn’t work well with my schedule), but it always nagged at me that I was secretly relieved to not have to push myself. Well, I think I’m ripe for a workout change and after seeing a flier for the Master’s team forming at the Y, I’m excited at the prospect of doing more swimming. I swim once a week for 30 minutes and do 1 mile (a 1650, or 66 laps), but I get bored easily and don’t vary the routine a lot. Swimming is kind of like riding a bike; you don’t “lose” your ability, and age doesn’t really change your performance as long as you’re continuing to work out. OK, this is getting long. Bottom line: I think I’m going to join the team (yay!), but that means I have to re-work my whole schedule to fit it all in (running, swimming, weights and some yoga/pilates) while allowing time for school, studying and walking the dog, and being the most efficient use of time and driving, which is seriously stressing me out. Thankfully, I don’t have to figure it out this week.

9. I have now moved past the “Oh, I’ll just throw a quick post together before studying” into “Crap! I’m running out of time to study!” because blogging is a form of procrastination. But, I can’t study with a million thoughts running through my head, either.

10. As I said, we started a new Bible Study last night. I don’t have enough time to go into it right now (got to study!), but I’m excited (I went solo since Andrew was working on his car) and can’t wait for our taco night next Monday! For now, check out what we’re doing at 40 Days in the Word.