Forced time off

I work an insane schedule. No surprise there. For almost a year, I've basically given up my day off each week to help out at another clinic. Yes, the extra money has been nice, but it's catching up to me in a big way. I'm on my second go round of strep throat in 4 months. So I'm spending today and tomorrow at home until the antibiotics can kick in and I'm no longer contagious. Damn, my throat is sore. I alternate between hot tea and ice cream or popsicles. Haven't decided which one works better to help with the discomfort.

Prior to these two episodes, I'd taken one sick day in 5 years. Not counting pregnancy related issues, which I'm considering a whole different ball of wax. Though maybe less stress and more down time would have warded off preeclampsia as well. Last Saturday was my first day off in 3 weeks. I guess I'm having a bit of personal crisis here. Is this really how I want my life to be? I'm killing myself for a job that is frustrating more often than not. I would love to cut back at work, but don't really have the financial wiggle room to do so right now. We're getting there, but it'll be a year or two before I can really comfortably cut back my hours.

There's no easy solution, just wanted to try and work this out. Every few months, I go through this. Still haven't come up with a fix. Which is annoying. I'm apparently one of those people who complain and never do anything to change. The kind of person that drives me insane. I feel stuck. I know I'd work hard as a physician. It's not the working hard part that bothers me. It's the lack of personal time, that there's nothing else besides the hard work. At least I get a couple days at home to knit, read, and sleep with this little bug. A blessing in disguise?

In honor of the new year, I feel the need to post on the blog. Happens every year, then drops off. I don't know why I bother, but I guess this is a good place to at least keep track of my New Year's resolutions. I reviewed the list from last year. I did okay. Lost 20 lbs instead of 40. Better than gaining, though, right? We did grow and preserve more food. We're composting again, complete with a worm bin. We did pay down some debt. Overall, not a bad showing, I think.

And so, in honor of 2011, here we go...

1. Continue with the weight loss. I'll shoot for 40 again, but may miss the mark. I'm getting closer to my goal though.
2. Keep de-cluttering.
3. Eat more veggies.
4. Try a new recipe a week.
5. Keep up with paperwork at the office better. This includes dictations. The bane of my existence.
6. Renew some old friendships. We just get busy and forget to keep in touch. Amy, Mark and Ann, Erica...that's you I'm talking to.
7. Knit a pair of socks a month.
8. Knit myself a sweater this year. Complete with steeks.
9. Make the family finances more of a shared responsibility and work to set up and follow a reasonable budget together.
10. Read more classics. Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, and Thoreau are what I have planned so far.
11. Expand the garden.
12. Finally get my craft room organized and set up so it's a comfortable place to be.
13. Bake bread each week.
14. Be kinder, more patient, and more understanding.
15. Start selling my fiber/wool.
16. Get up 30 minutes earlier each day for some "me" time. Meditate, yoga, knit, spin.
17. Keep up the blog. Not for anyone else but me. Just to use it as a journal of sorts, more than anything.
18. Spend less time on Facebook. And online in general. Which sounds counter-intuitive given the above resolution, but I can just surf for hours. Which is time I could be actually LIVING life instead of reading about it.
19. Actually put away the laundry after it's folded.
20. Keep the car cleaned out.
21. Read to the kids more. I get tired and busy and say "tomorrow". Is that really the message I want to send them?
22. Continue the journey towards a simpler life. It's the goal I'll forever be reaching for.

So with those lofty goals, Happy 2011!