The Light at the End of the Tunnel

Sleep
I have not been sleeping enough the past few nights, again. This time was a different story, though. I had a lot going on yesterday, Jan. 22, so I lost some sleep Sunday and Monday preparing for the day. Because of that, I was really tired yesterday and drank a lot more caffeine than usual, which caused me not to sleep well last night! Aargh! I'm being more conscientious of my caffeine intake today so that I can sleep well tonight.

Water
Like I said above, I drank a lot of caffeine yesterday, three drinks instead of my usual one to two. I did, also, drink ample water though.

Eating
I'm trying to be more conscientious about eating a healthy balance; some days I don't know if I eat enough veggies. We ate both salad and snap peas for dinner last night, so that helped.

Exercise
I forced myself to exercise today, despite being tired, because I had skipped both Monday and Tuesday. I don't like to skip two days in a row, and I certainly do everything possible not to skip three days in a row. So I did an easy cardio workout while half-asleep at the gym. And some abs; I always need to do abs.

Tranquility
Yesterday was Zoe's 2nd b-day, so after my busy morning and before my busy evening, I had a fun, relaxing afternoon with Zoe, Maya and Nick. Of course, Zoe was napping for part of that time, which gave me a chance to check email and the like.

How did I do, and how do I feel?
Yesterday, I had a _ WE_T Life.
There were three things that I'd been working towards all month, and they all took place yesterday. I had a Moms In Business meeting, and I wanted to have my website online for it (livingthesweetlife.net). I started teaching an ESL (English as a Second Language) class at Chabot College, so I needed to prepare for it. And it was Zoe's 2nd birthday, which meant that I wanted to be fully prepared for the other things so that I could enjoy her birthday without being distracted. They all took place and everything went very smoothly because I was well prepared. I'm very excited and motivated about all three things, in fact. Now, I can get around to doing everything I've left to the wayside for the past week or so!

Returning to Work

Sleep
Let's see, if I saw part of Letterman (a very old one at that), and I woke up to my 6:30 alarm, then I couldn't have slept 7 hours. But I was close, perhaps 6 1/2 to 6 3/4 hours, which I think I do often.

Water
I donated blood yesterday, so I had to drink extra water to make up for the loss of blood, or is it to help produce more blood?

Eating
I ate really healthy yesterday too because I donated blood and didn't want to pass out from lack of energy.

Exercise
I couldn't exercise after donating blood, and I didn't have time to do it beforehand, so I took the day off. Now I'm taking advantage of my girls' nap time, but I've decided to exercise after work at the health club tonight. I'll already be there, surrounded by exercise equipment. Too bad I can't exercise during work.

Tranquility
I got tranquility in the form of organization. I don't live well in chaos, though others do. I'm organizing my time and reprioritizing my daily things to do. Hopefully, I'll feel more satisfied with this reorganization of my time.

How do I feel?
Next year I'm going to embark on a grand adventure, so I'm a bit nervous about it but also excited. Well, no, it's not a really adventurous type of adventure, it's just uncharted territory for me. I'm going to work more than I ever have since becoming a mother. I definitely feel the need to have intellectual stimulation, and I'll be happy to earn some more income on my own. I think that's a big difference between today's Home Executive (a.k.a. stay-at-home-mom) and those of the past: In the past women might have gone to college, then married, had kids and raised them. Today, it's much more common for women to have careers, not just jobs, but careers of their choosing where they have built up a reputation and standing, before having kids. I think it's a great and difficult choice for mothers to change careers, mid-career, and decide to raise their children instead of earn an income. At the same time, I feel that the most important "career" I could have is to raise my own children and not have a nanny or daycare do it for me. So why am I going to work more? Because, sadly, mothering doesn't pay the bills. I'm trying to keep the most positive spin on this that I can: intellectual stimulation, income; those are good things. Spending less time with my kids will make me treasure the time we spend together more, right? Fortunately, it's only for 18 weeks; I can re-evaulate the situation after that. I tend to get more done when I have more to do, so I'm hoping that'll work for me.