Weekly Update: 12/24 - 12/30
Christmas Morning 2018
reflection
I graduated from my PhD program ~2.5 years ago and am still reveling in the fact that breaks actually mean I take some sort of break (even if it’s not for the entire break), instead of using breaks to play catch up or try to get “more” done. If there’s anything I’ve learned from grad school and also as an assistant professor it’s that working all the time does not lead to better results, personally or professionally (at least not for me!). All that to say, taking this week off from work has been wonderful! Ellie has been on a really bizarre schedule, waking up at 11:00am one day and then 5:30am the next. Luckily there were more days where she slept in, which meant Mike and I also slept in, which felt glorious. The week was a nice balance of time with just the 3 of us, calling/video chatting with family, spending time with friends, and (for me) writing/brainstorming for the blog. Ellie and I made cookies for Santa, which meant that she helped for maybe 5 minutes and then moved on to something else… so really, I made cookies for Santa. Mike and I had a serious discussion about our finances, that resulted in us committing to putting any extra money towards Mike’s loans (I am in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program so even though I have more debt, it makes more sense to focus on him first). I’ve been consistently budgeting since I started my position in 2016. The first year I just tracked expenses to see where it was all going, adjusting if things were out of hand (like a $1000+ grocery bill one month, yikes). The second year we set an actual budget based on our expenses from the previous year. And this year, it just feels like everything is stagnant, we’re not saving, we’re not making any headway on our loans, we’re stuck… so, time for some changes. All that to say… as another part of the accountability process, I’m going to post our budget/student loan info each month, stay tuned if that’s your thing.
research, teaching, Service + admin
NADA!
personal
Workouts: Goal: 3 workouts Goal met: Again, no… I got 2 in. One lifting and one cardio session. With the break, sleeping in, and a lack of structure to our days (and honestly just not wanting to do it!) I wasn’t super motivated this week as far as workouts go.
Toddler on the Tenure Track: Goal: Get 2 posts up on the blog. Goal met? Yes! Plus a short one on Christmas!
Meditation: Goal: 10 minutes every other day Goal met? I didn’t do any meditating this week… My brain is rebelling! I think I’ll need to knock this goal back down to 5 minutes.
Budget: ✓Update December budget, stay tuned for a look at where our money goes each month.