For the next 2 weeks...

I won't have to:

• tie shoes that aren't mine
• wipe a nose that isn't mine
• tell anyone to "go potty", or remind them to wash their hands afterwords
• sit in a tiny little chair
• say "put on your listening ears" or "use your words"
• make up answers to the question "why?"
• sing the 'wake up song', the 'clean up song' or the 'line up song'
• empty sand from my shoes or my pockets
• prepare snack

Or

• lay out nap mats

Because I'm on vacation!!! MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Who's That Girl?

Five episodes in, and I am hooked on the new Fox series New Girl. At times, I think this show is partially based on my life. Essentially, it is about a girl who is quirky and weird, and likes being quirky and weird, and through her quirkiness and weirdness ends up being pretty adorable (or in the show's word: 'a-dork-able'). I can totally relate to the main character, Jess, because being adorable is my thing! People are always saying things to me like, "Oh, you're a preschool teacher, that's adorable." "You have a crush on a guy, you're too cute." And yeah, working with 3 and 4 year olds is super cute. Especially when instead of napping (like they're supposed to), they kick you, hit you, laugh at you and make you so frustrated that you cry*. And I'm not sure why but somehow my having a crush on a guy who probably will never feel the same way seems 'cute' to my married friends. Yes, sometimes I think my life is just too cute for me to handle. Doing all the quirky and weird and 'adorable' things I do every day is exhausting. It's actually pretty hard work being this adorable all the time....but I guess someone's gotta do it.

(What can I say?)

*To be fair, that was an isolated incident...I really do love my job

I'm tired

...but not sleepy.
This has been a re-occuring problem for some time now. Part of it is work stress, I'm sure. I can't seem to stop thinking at night. I lie in my bed, listen to my fan and think. I think about things that I can't control, especially not at 1 o'clock in the morning. If I could take my brain out at night, that might help. Other than that, I don't know how to fix this problem. Two nights ago, I was in this same position. In my comfortable bed in my comfortable pajamas with my white noise at a very comfortable level and my comfortably dark, cool room. The conditions couldn't have been more conducive to a good night's sleep. But I couldn't get sleepy. So I decided to get up (at 2 am) make myself a cup of chamomile tea and watch Glee on DVD...I fell asleep on the couch. Maybe I should try sleeping on the couch every night, I mean, any sleep is better than none at all, even if couch sleep is pretty poor quality.
It's almost as if I'm becoming nocturnal, I get so sleepy during the days that I am tempted to take a nap on the sofa in my office, and some days I take a nap when I get home from work. Which just makes sleeping at night just that much harder. Which, in turn, makes getting up in the morning that much harder, which makes me so sleepy during the day that I need to take a nap when I get home...and the vicious cycle continues. I don't know what to do. I can't even talk to my mom about it, because she worries enough about me as it is. I don't need her to lose sleep over my loss of sleep. Her not sleeping isn't going to make it any easier for me, and I don't want to give her any more reasons to stress out about me, since I'm the more gray-hair inducing of my parents' children, they don't need to add my insomnia to the long list of reasons why I can't take care of myself.

I'm just so tired of being tired. I just want to sleep.
I've tried tea and tylenol PMs and if Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep and doesn't know where to find them, it's because I've counted them all, and Mary's Little Lamb, and every other sheep for that matter. So much fleece...

Be True to Your School

I went to college at California Lutheran University, and I loved it. I had experiences at CLU that I wouldn't have had anywhere else. I can talk anyone's ear off about how much I loved my time there. It wasn't all rainbows and unicorns, but the good times far outweighed the bad. If you ask me about CLU, I will be more than happy to answer your questions with glowing honesty. The professors were amazing, and there were a few that I went out of my way to be sure I had a second (and sometimes, third) time.
I made amazing friends at CLU. I received a great education at CLU. I got involved in campus ministry at CLU. I lived on campus for 4 years at CLU. If it wasn't such an ugly color combination I would proudly profess that I bleed violet and gold (which translates into purple and yellow, which translates to gross). If my mascot weren't an adjective, I'd be proud to say that I am (a) Regal. If our NCAA bracket weren't division...40, I'd proudly cheer on our teams. Heck, I'm proud anyway. I love my school. I also love that they use nearly any excuse to give away free stuff. T-shirts mostly. I have probably a month's worth of CLU shirts.
But this month isn't 'shirt shots' (possible theme for next month though). When I graduated I was given what I am going to call an 'alumni starter kit'. It had a license plate frame (which is on my car), a 'class of 2008' water glass, and the obligatory 'take this to your office so everyone knows where you went to school/brag about your alma mater' mug. I love my school. I love mugs. My school loves giving away free stuff. Win-Win-Win!
Except I don't have to brag about my alma mater at work. CLU does that for me. Working at a Lutheran church, we get so many 'hey the students in your congregation should go here' brochures. Plus, my boss's oldest daughter goes there anyway.

That being said, I slept horribly last night, so I'm going to take a nap now.