Spring Break List

As I contemplated a title for this post, I almost called it "Spring Break Goals," but then it occurred to me that I'm not really much of a goal setter. I like to make plans. I like to have a vision. And I dearly love to make lists. Hardly anything brings me more joy than crossing off items from my lists. In fact, sometimes I add things I've already done, just so I can cross them off. How utterly stupid, right? It's true, though.

So instead of focusing on goals, I titled this post "Spring Break List," and I'm getting pretty excited just thinking about it. Oh, how I love to cross things off!

Okay, here goes. Two hours ago, at exactly 12:30 p.m., I finished teaching my final class of the week, and my spring break officially began. Now typically, I would go to Salt Lake City over spring break, but considering I've been there three times in the past six weeks, and the newlyweds deserve some time to themselves, I will remain here in Billings and visit Salt Lake again the last weekend in March. How will I spend the upcoming week? Let's make a list! Yay!

1. First and foremost, I will sleep late every morning. Why? Because I LOVE mornings. I am truly a "morning person." I love the wee hours of the early mornings. It's just that what I like to do in those wee hours is SLEEP. And sleep I will. All nine mornings of my spring break. Can't wait!

2. Next, I will bask in some much-needed R & R, in hopes of regaining some sort of emotional stability. The alternative is medication or hospitalization (yes, I'm kidding), and since neither of those sounds appealing, I'm going to see if some R & R might do the trick. As most of you know, I've been a bit of a wreck this past week. I really do need to stop crying...over nothing...with no warning...so frequently. Because it's ridiculous. Totally.

3. In addition, I plan to do P90X DOUBLES. Yep, I'm going all out this week. I've been doing the "lean" program for just over a year now, but I've never tried to do doubles. I've always thought that one hour of self-imposed torture daily was sufficient. However, Lindsey has been doing doubles for just a few weeks, and already she is wearing clothes she hasn't worn since before Hanna was born over a year ago. Yay, Lindsey! My turn.

4. Along that same line, I will get outside and resume my walking regimen. I have missed it so during this never-ending winter. As much as I love to walk, when it's below zero outside with ice and snow covering the streets, walking becomes impossible, even for a die-hard like me. This week, though, the temperature has reached a sweltering 40 degrees every single day. YES! And while that hasn't been enough to wipe out all the stupid snow, most of the streets are clear.

5. I will go see the two movies I have missed because of wedding preparation and festivities: Dear John and Valentine's Day. Shulamith and Matt somehow managed to see both already, and as expected, Matt hated them and Shulamith loved them. She says I'll love them too, and I expect she is right.

6. I will take one day out of the following nine to do once-a-month cooking. We haven't done it in a few months, and as a result, Seth and I eat fast food nearly every night. I eat healthy low-fat fast food, yes, but still... I can't seem to find the motivation to cook, especially for just Seth and me, after teaching classes during the day. Back when we had meals in the freezer, we used to eat at home at least 4 - 5 nights a week. It makes such a big difference. AND... LISTEN TO THIS: It means I get to make another list, a list of frozen meals we will prepare. And I get to cross things off!

7. Last, I hope to read ahead and study for our upcoming Gospel Doctrine lessons, rather than asking Gerald what the topic is on Saturday night and then preparing my part of the lesson Sunday morning before church at 11:00. The class is totally fun no matter what, but I, myself, would get more out of it if I read the lessons a little further in advance.

So there you have it: my spring break list. It looks so exciting that I don't even have to feel nostalgic about last year at this time when we were getting on a plane to Disney World. Well, maybe a little.