Balance?

I'm stuck at home sick this week with ginger ale, tea, tamiflu, and TV.  Sometimes it takes the flu to make me stop and take a break and consider the idea of balance.  I am involved in conversations everywhere I go about balance. This year, more than ever before, I am constantly forced to choose how to invest my energy and time.  My busiest days of the week include a full day teaching middle schoolers, sometimes 1-2 hours spent in meetings, 3 hours in grad class, leaving 5 total hours to spend with my husband, eat dinner, let the dog out,... the list goes on.  Every teacher I know asks, "How do I balance my obligations at school and my personal life?"

I tried to achieve such balance using several tactics.  First, I tried to schedule my week down to the minute of every obligation, want, and desire for my day.  I believe the schedule itself became more stressful than the potential outcome.  Next, I tried having someone else hold me accountable, encouraging me to leave at a certain time, asking if I spent quality time with my husband, etc.  That works for awhile, but then when I fall short, I felt like a failure.  Like I not only let down myself, but also this other person.  Both of these attempts fed into my perfectionism.  The thought that everything must be just so for my life to work out.  Most recently, I believe I found the way that works best for me.  I make a goal time to go to work, to leave work, to eat dinner, and then I have a goal of nothing time.  Time to not plan the second, to just enjoy life on my own or with Sam.  With a goal instead of a strict schedule, if it doesn't happen, the world doesn't end.  This is my way to bump up against my perfectionism.  To let go of the strenuous schedule and enjoy day by day.  And if my schedule doesn't work out, I just try better the next day.  

Lately, my goals look something like this:

-spend 10 hours max a day at my work place

-Get at least 7 hours of sleep, even if the work is not done

-approach of grad school work one week at a time and finish it well

-allow about 2-3 hours of school work at home (life of a teacher)

-make dinner 3 nights a week

-spend at least 1 hour of uninterrupted, quality time with my husband every day

-have one date night a week, solely devoted to Sam

-have at least 1 afternoon or night spent with friends (usually this overlaps with teachery/grad school, hello there social capital!)

-spend an hour a day reflecting, in prayer, and thanking my God for this precious life

-Go to the gym or sweat 3 times a week

Again, these are goals! I don't think I have ever reached all of my goals within one week.  That's what makes it work.  Do I have this balance thing perfected? Of course not.  What I have learned is that I allow myself grace when it comes to my schedule and doing this phase of life just right.  I do the best I can, come home to my husband, and enjoy life. It's as if finding balance is a constant choice, constant forgiveness, and continuous change.  

So I ask you, how do you find your balance?

*photo credits: various blogs, Pinterest

Dinner: healthy, quick, a hit!

The first semester of living in Nashville, teaching middle school, and tackling grad school lead to neglected dinners at the Nelson home!  My poor husband suffered many nights of cereal, box mac & cheese, and frozen pizzas for the past 6 months.  


Among my many new 2012 beginnings, I added eating fresh dinners with my husband as frequently as possible. 


I found this great blog from Pinterest (I told you it has all things great!) 
http://mamaandbabylove.blogspot.com/2011/04/freezer-cooking-with-slow-cooker.html 

photo credit: mamaandbabylove.blogspot.com

The premise is bake ahead for the month.  Except you're not actually baking, you just combine and freeze!  The freezer bags are portioned and ready for the crock pot.  The slow cooker liner bags make clean up simple and quick.  The best part is everything is fresh.  It does take time on the front end, but it is so worth it!


My favorite meal so far is the BBQ chicken from the mama and baby love blog.  

Healthy Mama Barbecue Chicken

3 medium unpeeled sweet potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

2 large green pepper, cut into strips

1 large red pepper, cut into strips

1 zucchini, chopped

1 medium onion, sliced

1 tablespoon quick cooking tapioca

2 pounds chicken thighs or drumsticks

1 8-ounce can of tomato sauce

2 tablespoons packed brown sugar

1 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon yellow mustard (I wasn't sure if this meant actual mustard or the spice so I did a little of both)

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon salt

Dump everything into two gallon freezer bags, shake it up, seal, label and put in the freezer.

Tonight, I made a modified Teriyaki chicken: (By made I mean cut up, threw in a bag, and put in the freezer)


1 red onion
1 squash
1 zucchini
1 green pepper
minced garlic
5 chicken tenderloins
Dump in a freezer bag, label/date, pour Teriyaki sauce generously on top of everything at the end
Ta da! 


I plan on preparing meals ahead of time and using my crockpot often this year!  Let me know if you find any other successful freezer/crockpot meals to add to my recipe list. :) 

Fig Lang !

For our 6th grade figurative language scholars! 

Lyrics

Chorus
Sometimes what you mean is not exactly what you say
That’s figurative language, using words in different ways
Personification, alliteration, assonance, hyperbole
Onomatopoeia, metaphor, and simile

Verse I
When Sally seems to sit somewhere separate from Sonia,
Or Caleb calls Chris ‘cause he’s coming to California
It’s called alliteration: that’s what occurs
When you got the same sound at the start of every word
But when you’ve got a vowel sound that keeps sounding the same
That’s a figure called assonance, yeah, that’s its name
It’s what I’m trying to define by providing this example
But I cannot deny that assonance can be a handful

Chorus

Verse II
A simile is something that you use to compare
Two unrelated things with an element that’s shared
My mind is like an ocean; it’s as smooth as jazz
But it’s only a simile if it uses “like” or “as”
A metaphor is similar, but watch out!
Be careful ’cause you’ve got to leave “like” and “as” out
My mind is an ocean; my words are a river,
So keep your ears open as I continue to deliver

Chorus

Verse III
Now if the sun’s smiling down, or the boat hugged the shore
That’s personification, nothing less, nothing more
But with a buzz or a ding or a hiss or a roar
That’s onomatopoeia that we’re using for sure
Hyperbole: man, that’s like a million times harder!
Take something true, then exaggerate it way farther
Now you’ve heard this song from beginning to the finish
Now you’ve got some tools to draw your literary image