And . . . we're back.

I wonder how many people start blogs, only to write a few posts on them and then forget about them . . . or get too busy to update them. I suppose if I had internet at my house I'd be a lot more likely to update a blog, but then again, maybe not. I usually blame my lack of blogging/scrapbooking/crafting on my lack of time. Sometimes I imagine how nice it would be to do some of those fun projects rather than grading multitudes of English papers and projects. Really, though, when I get home from work around 4:00 p.m. I only have time to do some essential things:

1. 4:00: Straighten up/dust/throw laundry in the washer/eat a small snack
   
2. 4:30: Sit down and catch my breath/take some "me" time . . . usually I am answering questions at school all day, and it's nice (not to mention essential!) to have a few minutes of quiet.
   
3. 4:45: Call Hayley and go exercising
   
4. 5:45: Take a shower after exercising
   
5. 6:00: Welcome Stephen home; cook dinner together; eat dinner; clean up dinner
   
6. 7:00: Go to meetings/work on gardens/take a walk with Stephen/do some catch-up grading/read a few chapters in a book/play the piano/clean the apartment
   
7. 9:00: Get ready for bed and go to sleep.

Hmmm. Based on this list, I guess I do have some free time--I have time to exercise, and I choose to use that hour for exercising rather than working on my other projects. And, I usually have an hour or two to spend with my husband or on one of my hobbies. It just seems that there are so many other projects that I'm always wanting to do. For now, I'll just have to prioritize the most important ones as best I can.

And yet--it will be so wonderful when I have the summer off from work. I'm excited to have time to clean my house, design my wedding book (I know, it's been three years . . . ), clean out our "junk" room, and spend more time working on my flower bed. I'm excited to have three months off of grading papers (the stack always seems to be looming over my head . . . ). And I'm excited to have more stress-free time to spend with Stephen.

Two more weeks!