In With the New

I spent the first five days of 2014 either traveling, or blogging about traveling. I'm not complaining, mind you, but putting up a more mundane post as my life drifts back into normal mode is actually kind of nice. Here goes.

Intentions for 2014

Normally I'd do a whole post for my intentions, but as I just finally finished them this morning, they'll have to blend into this one. I'm keeping them simple this year, because resolutions ought to be achievable.

1. Continue my forward progress with running. I want to run a race every month (there aren't many options in January so I'm running one on February 2nd, and another on February 15th and calling it even). I also want to be more consistent in my running, especially on week days. Weekends have been okay, but I need to get my runs done on non-gym days. All of this will, of course, lead me to that sub-thirty 5K that I am so close to achieving.
2. Work on my professional development. I want to attend conferences and trainings to continue developing as a choir teacher, as well as reading up on vocal development in adolescents.
3. Improve some lapsed eating habits. If 2013 was the year of learning how to live at goal weight, then 2014 will be the year of proving I can keep it off (and lose that extra 10-12 pounds I let creep back on). I need to ix-nay the bread eating, and I have been considering some changes to my dairy eating. Cow's milk doesn't seem to sit well with me, so I'm moving over to goat cheese (I love the stuff) and trying to find creative ways to lessen the dairy in my life.
4. Go on more adventures. When I get busy in life, my sense of adventure tends to suffer as I opt to sleep on Saturdays instead of getting out into this big, wide world. I hope to spend more time making an effort to explore my state this year, and I'd love to take a chance on new activities I can do locally.

Monday, Monday, Can't Trust...Heh. Wait.

So tomorrow it's back to work after two weeks off. Those two weeks were very much needed for my mental and physical health (December was exhausting!) but to be honest, I'm actually looking forward to going back to it tomorrow. I actually did not have a To Do List this past week because of my trip, and it was liberating, but now that I have things I need to get done, I'm back on the program.

Monday this week is a teacher day, and because my boss is bloomin' awesome, we have no meetings, no staff development, just time to work in our classrooms. I got a lot done before the break--my syllabus, picking out music, etc.--but I still want time to find some new warm-up exercises, to get a little more organized, and to get ready for Semester 2. 


On Tuesday, I'll meet my new students, welcome back the returners, and hit the ground running in what is sure to be another Wild and Absolutely True semester of teaching high school choir. I can't wait.

In With the New...Laptop!

My Christmas present from Mom and Dad this year was a new laptop computer. Dad wandered by my bedroom about six or seven weeks ago, watched me typing away on my computer, and said, "How long have you had that computer?"


I leaned back and did the math. "Well, I got it when I moved to Antioch in 2006, so...over seven years."

I've been typing away on this Dell desktop since July 2006, and while it is still a serviceable and adequate computer, it's showing its age. So Dad said, "Maybe Santa will bring you a laptop." After much hemming and hawing--Meg will move to England to teach without hesitation but takes weeks to figure out if she's ready to go from desktop to laptop (it's the flippin' 21st Century!!)--I figured I'd bite the bullet and make the change. This weekend, I found myself the proud owner of a Dell Inspiron. It's not fancy, it won't make breakfast, but it's faster than my desktop and...taking some getting used to. I'm making the transition slow and as painless as possible. For some reason, this is terrifying to me.

I'll get there. ; )

Time To Sign Off

And look at the time! My Niners are about to play Green Bay in the NFC Wildcard playoff game, and I've got some hooting and hollering to do. My trip blogs are posted, my To Do List is ready for a new week, and all I need is a cup of tea.

Happy 2014!