Together on Tuesday - A Day in the Life of Me

Hello Everyone!  You caught me...again...writing my Together on Tuesday weekly post on Wednesday.  Well...the truth is, that we had a very busy weekend, Monday was my ONLY chance to get to yoga class this week, and by last night...my house was in complete shambles and getting it cleaned had to be priority numero uno...which, just happens to be a perfect segue into this week's topic...(which was of my choosing, by the way, because I thought it would be a great way for all the Together on Tuesday gals to get to know one another a little better and to give you - our faithful readers - a chance to get to know us better).

What is your typical 'day in the life' like?  Do you feel like you get most things accomplished that you need to in a given day?  Or do you go to bed pondering over the list of things that you didn't get to?  How do weekends differ from weekdays?  How do (or don't) you keep that balance between less fun things like chores, etc...and more fun things?

Monday - Friday
My weekdays pretty much revolve around work, and then whatever little I can fit in between work and sleep.  My day starts around 6:15am, when the alarm first goes off, then several snooze button cycles later, I begrudgingly throw myself out of bed.  My morning effort to get out the door is typical stuff.  Then I have my commute to downtown.  On a good traffic day it is okay, on a bad traffic day, I feel like I am going to die in my car of old age before I get to work.  Tuesday blogger Tish and I work together (in my first job with our company, I worked under her supervision). 

 (this is where fellow ToT blogger Tish and I spend our weekdays)

I am now a Reporting Analyst for the company, so I pretty much spend my days looking at spreadsheets, data system outputs, etc... I do a lot of number cruching and analytical type work. One of my main responsibilities is the reporting of Assets Under Management.  One of the rewarding things about my job is that I regularly get to see my hard work put to use.  Several of the reports that I generate monthly and quarterly are subsequently used in corporate press releases, shareholder reporting, and things like that.  I have also had the opportunity to see reports that I had produced be used in presentations by senior management.  So, while my job may not sound that exciting to some, I am always happy to see my work contribute to the 'big picture' so to speak.  In addition to the reporting, I also have various other responsibilites involving data system maintenance and account transitions. 

Weekday evenings go by way too fast, with not nearly enough time to get everything done.  In addition to my regular work day, our department has a rotation where we provide an hour of evening support to offices in other time zones - so about every third week or so, I leave work an hour earlier, come home and then log in remotely and provide data support until 6:30pm. 

Typically, by the time that dinner is made, eaten, and cleaned up after it seems like the evenings are nearly over (assuming we didn't decide to bypass all of that and free up some time for ourselves by meeting for dinner somewhere).  We also have to make time to play with the dogs and spend up their pent-up energy so they don't drive us crazy all night!  Dinner is an important time for us, because a lot of evenings, there is so much going on that it is the best opportunity for Mark and I to catch up and talk about our day, things we need to get done, and things like that.  Don't get me wrong, its not like we don't talk during the day or at home in the evenings, it just seems like a lot of times, there are a million other things going on in addition to us trying to discuss things.  For dinner, we try and eliminate as much of that as possible - for example, the dogs are NOT ALLOWED in the kitchen when we are eating dinner.  They know the rules, if we are at the table eating, they are not to cross the line from the living room into the kitchen.  This gives us some peace and quiet from them, but also reinforces the rule that they don't get people food...and not to even try for it.  Also, we typically do not take phone calls or read/respond to text messages or things like that during dinner...phones down!

There are still some things that I like to try and fit in whenever I can in the evenings after work...such as Yoga class.  I love going to Yoga and I am doing my best to make it happen at least once a week.  For me, Yoga is a great way to work out some of the stress that builds up AND it also really helps with my neck problems - which is GREAT!  If you are intersted in a Yoga class in Louisville, I really recommend PM Yoga.  It seems like going to Yoga on Monday works best for me, if I try and wait until the Thursday class, inevitably something will come up and derail my plan.  Then of course, I LOVE doing my Together on Tuesday blogs - it is fun and sometimes a nice challenge!  It is just a great workout for my mind - it has kind of become my 'yoga for the brain'.  In addition to gathering my thoughts for you guys, I have an opportunity each week to get to know the other ToT ladies a little better.  You see, most of them I have just met via e-mail, FB, and blog reading (except for Danielle and Tish, who I actually have known in person for some time now).  So each week is like a new piece of the puzzle of getting to know each of them.  Also, from time to time, I have to fit in going to the Chiropractor.  When my neck problems really flare up, I have to make time to go and get it worked out.  Appointments take almost an hour by the time I get the adjustment and then do the rotation through the physical therapy they do on me as well.  An hour doesn't seem like much, but when I am having really bad neck problems, I will have to go 2-3 times per week for several consecutive weeks.  However, I have been doing well lately, so about once a month has been keeping me in good shape in additon to Yoga which is really helping as well.  As I have mentioned before, we don't watch much TV at all, however, there are a couple shows a week that I like to try and catch.  Mostly I try and remember to watch NCIS and Modern Family.  Toward the end of this past TV season, I also got hooked on Revenge so I am also looking forward to that coming back in the fall as well.  Because of my work schedule, I do not watch any daytime TV at all.  I could not even tell you what is on during the day, other than Ellen's talk show.  I have caught that a couple times on days off - but that's about all I have seen of daytime TV since college. 

Weekends

Weekends are great...but you already knew that I'm sure!  It seems like we usually still have alot going on during the weekends, but we have more of an opportunity to fit in quality time together and more fun things than during the week.  I like to sit around on Saturday mornings drinking coffee for a couple hours, but it doesn't always work out that I am able to do so.  Occasionally, we also like to have a big weekend breakfast - sometimes we make it, but a lot of times we go out for it.  Now that it is summer, we are doing our best to get the boat out on the lake as much as possible.  It is one of the few times where we can really just 'be away from it all' without leaving town.  But, being that it is summer, we also have to try and get the yardwork in before the excruciating heat sets in for the day.  Most of the time we usually also have some kind of DIY home improvement project(s) going on.  We also use weekends to spend time with friends and family and do other fun things as well.  We also try and get caught up on things that we didn't get done around the house during the week.  At some point in the weekend, Eli (little dog) DEMANDS that he and I take a nap on the couch together.  On Sundays, we have Church in the morning, and then after church, we typically go out to lunch.  By Sunday evenings, we usually like to settle down from the weekend and relax at the house.  

Fitting it All In...

Like most of you, I don't even come close to fitting everything into a day.  There is never enough time in the day.  Something ALWAYS doesn't get done, and sometimes this can be stressful and overwhelming.  Honestly, I just try and juggle things well enough to make sure I get to the things that would keep me up at night...and that could vary depending on what is going on.  Most of the time, however, that would be certain things at work that cannot be left undone, spending time with Mark and the dogs, family, and friends.  But, then of course, up creeps the housework that I've neglected for a couple days, yardwork, laundry, and the other 'not so fun' things that still have to get done - so then we juggle those things in and so goes the never-ending cycle of trying to keep the right balance of having everything in the air and catching what I need to at the right time. 

(this is how Mark and I feel most days!)

I want to spend as much quality time with Mark and the dogs as I can squeeze in.  I hate going to bed feeling like I didn't spend enough time with them - but sometimes the day is over before I realize it.  But I do my best at that regardless.  To me, those are the things that are most important - Mark, my boys, our family and friends.  Yes, of course the housework and chores are important.  But, ulitmately, a few dirty dishes left in the sink or doggy nose prints left on the windows aren't going to kill me (trust me on that, because I would have been dead LONG ago if that were the case)...and they will CERTAINLY still be there tomorrow...in fact, there will probably even be a few more!