VACATION! Also known as "catch-up on life" time!

So as most people know, teachers get at least 2 weeks off for the winter holidays.

I should be excited. I should be relaxing for this entire break.

But instead I will only have "off" through Xmas day, and then I'm kicking in on all the catch-up work I have to do for work. That's right, a working vacation. (Although to be fair, I'm planning on working on all the stuff I LIKE to do as a teacher, which is mainly unit planning; the part I don't like, grading, is waiting until next week when school re-opens and I can go in to work to do it as well as prep for the first week back.)

Although I will be working through most of my break (giving myself the 4-day weekends that The Hubs have off as my own so I force myself to relax a LITTLE), I plan to use it to catch up on real life stuff as well, mostly of the housewife variety but some personal pursuits as well.

It's frustrating to me to feel so out of balance, which makes sense as I am a Libra. I get overwhelmed very easily by own inadequacies, and when I feel I'm lacking in an area it makes me beat myself up a LOT. The focus has been on work, and to be honest it felt like every other area of my life was suffering as a consequence, which just fed my own self-hatred. I'm trying to even things out a little, and the last few weeks as school was winding down to finals I was actually able to get stuff done, including Xmas-related stuff. Turns out the trick is to stop making work the only priority and make a little wiggle room for other stuff to climb up the ranks - go fig!

Anyway, the intent of this is not to complain, esp. because for the most part I still love my job and I'm so happy to be back in the classroom with a (mostly) awesome group of 9th and 10th graders.

The intent is to list all the things I want to get done over break! OMG so much to catch up on!
Here's my self-imposed Honey Do list:

• Treat the bathtub drain and clean the tub - it is so gross, you guys, it's so embarrassing. The reason neither of us clean it with any frequency is because we both have bad backs and it's a sh**** chore, but I'm tired of looking at how gross it is. Plus I'm tired of the bathtub not draining fast again. (It's actually pretty easy - you heat up a cup of white vinegar and pour a 1/2 cup [I think] of baking soda down the drain, followed by the vinegar and it cleans it out fairly well - you can repeat it until it's draining as you like it. Man, baking soda is the best for cleaning stuff.)
• Fix all the clothes that need sewing fixes. 
• WASH ALL THE LAUNDRY!
• Start working out. Yeah, I said it. I REALLY want to get healthier, and since eating is hit or miss, I gotta put the exercise element in. Volleyball once a week is helping and I feel GREAT afterwards, but I want that feeling more often. I have a beginner's walking program I found on sparkpeople that I plan to use.
•  COOK (and meal plan!). I'm thinking of making big meals or easily-doubled recipes that I can freeze. I also need to clean out the fridge and freezer, so I have room for all this food. 
• Clean out the pantry!
• A bunch of little housewife-y projects (all via Pinterest, my internet crack) - all natural cleaner, non-processed cream of whatever-soup mix, clean my dishwasher
• Make stuff just for the sake of making stuff! Man, I miss crafting. 

So yeah, it's a pretty long to-do list, but I know I will feel SO much better if I get this crap done, esp. if I get in the work-out habit NOW and get it on its way to becoming a habit before I go back to work.

Man, being an adult is exhausting.