Maybe I'm procrastinating...

I have a BIG to do list today.

Days off for me are more like 12 hour periods of being awake where I'm doing all that silly stuff that NEEDS to get done that I don't get paid for in cash, but appreciation by Chad. He notices when I do things. I love that about him.
And YES...even though I'm on the path to become the ULTIMATE homemaker...I still want people to tell me I do a good job. So...I digress.

I enjoy lists. I LOVE making long lists where I can check off the things I do. I have cute notepads with roosters all over them- very country and very...me. I don't know why I'm like a rooster, but you get the idea I hope.

Today, I have to:

-mop the kitchen floor
-clean the entire bathroom
-dust the apartment
-go food shopping (that needs its own list...)
-find time for the gym
-continue my now full one-day streak of eating healthy... (After a few days of..you don't WANT to know how good everything was..now I'm paying for it.)
-do the dishes
-lysol/clorox everything! (germ freak...)
-clean 5 stalls at the barn
-drive to someone else's barn and talk about my new summer job
-babysit my niece and nephew from 530-10
-fall asleep, because I'm working 7am-11pm tomorrow

Ps; I realize I enjoy parentheses and italics.
Pps; you do all of that for me, I'll bake you hundreds of your favorite cookie.
Oh, and; it's still raining.

In Case You're Wondering...

I'm BUSY this week!
And I love lists. I list out everything. I even try to list what's most important first (though I usually do the things I WANT to do first, instead...) And, in case you're also wondering, I'm a huuge procrastinator. I like to say I thrive under pressure. (I know that's not the case.)


But, without further procrastination, here's my to-do list, sorted by day of the week.

Monday:
Finish History Paper (yes, it's started. I've got 2/8 pages at the moment.)
Put in one load of laundry.
Vacuum Apartment.
Clean litter box/Delilah's cage.
Make bed.
Make bread!
Get gas before work.
Work 3-11.

Monday update at 1pm: Almost 5 pages done. Bread was going to take too long. Should have started it at 8am like I wanted to. Laundry decision has been made; Thursday is laundromat day. I'll vacuum in a minute.


Tuesday:
Up at 530/6/However long it takes me to finish the paper. (Omit if I actually did something on my list...not counting on this.)
Class 8-2. (Present powerpoint on Hippotherapy in my seminar class! Excited about this!)
Practice for my Acting 2 class until 3:30
Overtime Shift 4-12 ($$$! This is a $400 shift, yes please...)

Wednesday:
Up around 730.
Clean Litterbox/Delilah's cage.
Go riding. (Yay!)
Run. (???)
Work 3-11.

Thursday:
Up around 7:30.
Clean Litterbox/Delilah's cage.
Go riding (AGAIN! No school today!)
Run. (Yes, definitely this time!)
Tidy up, enjoy myself, bring some clothes to Good Will, but no pressure to do ANY of that except the ENJOY part, because it's a day off!

Friday:
Wow! Another day off! Riding again, perhaps a walk at our lovely trails in my area...maybe even date night...

Saturday:
You don't say. I'm off again? Ok, this list is over.

So, I'm a little crazy until Wednesday night- then it's three days to do WHATEVER I want!
And, I'll add in (since you guys were all so kind to inquire about my exhaustion...that I started taking a multi vitamin & a vitamin D supplement- and I'm actually feeling a little better (like, I have some energy again- we won't count at work after 930 or so, I am NOT meant to work 3-11 shifts...)

This post a little all over the place, just like me at the moment, so just read and enjoy, and come back soon for a yummy breakfast recipe that I've found- if you're short on time in the morning but want something nutritious and delicious, head on over on Wednesday!

Fatigue.

This is not going to be some, feel bad for me, I'm tired, waahh post. At least, I don't think so.

I'm tired. And for the past few weeks...I've been tired. I'm so tired I can't sleep sometimes. I have a prescription but I don't like taking it because I feel funny in the morning- like I had an angry sleep or something. So Instead, I try to meditate and clear my mind as much as possible of the usual things I think about before bed:

1. Work.
2. School.
3. Homework I haven't done yet.
4. Homework I did do, but probably not well enough so I should look it over before class.
5. I'm going to have to get up sooo early, what if I sleep through my alarm?
6. Shoot, I have to pay this bill.
7. Crap, I have to clean the litter box in the morning.
8. Did I brush my teeth?
9. Do I have to go to the bathroom?
10. Why can't I stop thinking?!

Meditating does work- for the most part. But sometimes I'm just so...flustered..that I can't fall asleep and it takes me hours.
I wake up the next day feeling like...it took me hours to fall asleep.

This is my normal weekly schedule:

Monday: up @ 730.
Cleaning day!
Mop, dust, vacuum, clean up and straighten for the upcoming week.
Any leftover time: Homework.
3-11: Work.
1145: Return from work. Yes, I drive 45 minutes.

Tuesday: up @ 530.
School day!
Classes 8-5, no breaks in between.
Home. Homework. Perhaps a Bruins game or a movie. Tuesday is usually take-out night. I'm too tired for anything else.

Wednesday: up @ 730.
Barn by 9, Home by 11, workout, homework.
3-11: work.
1145: Return from work.

Thursday: up @ 530.
School day!
8-2 today. No breaks.
Home, workout, homework, Girl's Night. Usually consisting of wine & yummies with my favorite ladies.

Friday: up @ 730.
Barn by 9, home by 1130-12, (no work today!)
Laundry day, tidy up, think of dinner plans, perhaps bake a banana bread. Work out.

There are days that I may pick up a shift- usually Friday or Saturday morning is my weekly extra day. 32 hours a week-ish with work, classes + the insane amount of work this college soon-to-be-grad has to do for classes..= exhausted Janelle.

My professor told me yesterday that I looked "run down." Thanks, professor. I feel run down. My boyfriend told me, "well, yes, you've been looking tired for months now. Not a bad thing. You just need rest."

I was in a seminar/workshop yesterday and couldn't stop nodding my head during the presentation. I'm embarrassed. The poor woman was probably so offended by my rudeness.

I decided to look up the symptoms of fatigue:
I know you're not supposed to believe everything you read on the 'net, but...here's what I found:

E-Medicine Health said:
weakness,
lack of energy
constantly tired or exhausted,
lack of motivation,
difficulty concentrating, and/or difficulty starting and completing tasks,
rapid heartbeat (palpatations),
dizziness,
vertigo

and WebMD said:
Chronic Fatigue symptoms include:
sleep problems,
difficulty concentrating and thinking clearly,
memory problems,
fever,
headaches,
muscle & joint pain,
sore throat,
tender glands in the neck or armpits.


I'm going to get on a big soapbox right now. So forgive me. But, KNOW THE SIGNS, people! Just reading these two websites, I've got almost all of those symptoms and honestly, I'm considering a Doctor's visit.
Life is hard. Life with school, work, & extra responsibilities is harder. I'm not saying that if you don't have a job you can't be fatigued. Or if you don't go to school you can't be fatigued. But...what I AM saying, is that you need to spend as much time as you can listening to your body. Slowing down when it tells you to. Fixing your priorities list so that you are the number one "thing" you need to worry about.
Read a book. Meditate. Do yoga. Work out. Start doing things for you, because you're going to wake up one day and not be able to get out of bed. And then you're going to spend two days in bed, and then you're going to get out of bed and still feel exhausted after that for another week. And you'll be writing a blog post about it and you'll be thinking...wait, I'm STILL exhausted.
Physical health & Mental health, people. Both are important for your well-being.
I don't know when my own personal schedule will change for good. It will probably be in May when I graduate from college with a bachelor's degree. But I do know that I need to make some immediate changes soon or I am not going to be healthy for one of my best friend's wedding, my summer, horse show season, applying for full-time jobs, interviews, or life in general.

Going to enjoy the beautiful New England weather with the dogs I'm taking care of, now. Putting on my running sneakers and moving around. You know why? Because I want to. It makes me feel better. And this is my new goal. Feel better.

Only doing what's important for a little while...and hoping you do the same.
xo- me