Too much....

Ever feel like taking a vacation from your life?

Work has been very stressful. We have been short-staffed for over a month and even with everyone pitching in and doing their best, things are getting left undone. Today I totaled up my "overtime" (no such thing as I am salaried, just supposed to compensate at some point). I am up to 174 minutes - of the time I have been tracking. And yet I have a lot of "my" work still to do. On a positive note: I have gained an even deeper appreciation for what CMA's do! They rock and I am at best a remedial student of their ways with scheduling and tracking down results and records. I bow to their abilities to get it all done!

To top it all off life at home has had it's own unique stressors (enjoy your kids while they are young - the late teens/early adult years.... yowzer - are they tough times to parent!)

My refuge of late: running,knitting (when I can find the time for that) and reading (if I can stay awake long enough).

Got in a nice trail run Monday before donating blood. Then a day off (from running at least). Wednesday is the usual group run - this time with temperatures in the mid to upper 20's (hardly knew how to dress). Almost didn't make it there because of work - but managed to get out the door and to Canal Park without making the group wait too long. Thursday's are for running to work ;-> Vitally important this week as the stress builds!

Will take Friday off (may get a ski in with a friend) then Saturday is the "long" run. My schedule says 5-6 miles, but since I did 7 last week I may stick with that. Temps are supposed to plummet in the next day, making it another cold one, but if I run the same route I should at least have the wind at my back on the way home.

Sunday's are for skiing and soccer. Start the day with a 4k classical ski at a local trail, then in the afternoon it is indoor soccer. Last week (18th) was the first game of the season. So, what did I do - played two back-to-back. Yup - just about crippled the next day ;-> Had a heck of a bruise from getting hit with the ball (can still see it), prompting a run to the co-op for more arnica gel. This past Sunday I only played one game, but managed to take a ball to the face and get taken down, landing on my chest, left arm and apparently my left shoulder - hard. Bounced right back up, but had more than a few players asking if I was really okay. Felt fine at the time, but have since discovered that I must have hit harder than I thought. Left shoulder by Tuesday was really bugging me and had limited range of motion. Better now, but not back to normal.

Sauna Sunday night did a lot to relax the muscles and the mind. Got to remember to fire the sauna up more often (and a great way to dispose of items that need shredding ;-> )

On the knitting front: Another pair of rather large socks are done and gifted. Took one whole skein of Plymouth Yarn Sockin' Sox (60% superwash wool, 25% bamboo, 15% nylon) plus a little from a second skein (one skein is supposed to make a pair of socks). What to do with the almost full skein? Why a hat of course! Cast on for a ribbed hat (nice, soothing 2x2 ribbing). Once that is done I may be ready to tackle some color knitting in way of a Hartley Hat in fingering weight wool.

Reading: Dana Stabenow - couple of her thrillers. Preceded that with some Anne Lamott. On order: a new (to me) Connie Willis.