Day 201

Well, I have counted down from 300 to 201, which means I have officially completed the 100-day blogging challenge for this semester! I succeeded in fall 2018, missed the mark in spring 2019, and now I have achieved the goal for fall 2019.

Despite counting down the days and getting closer to 201, the end of this challenge definitely snuck up on me. I have been wrapped up in everything that's been due this semester, and a lot of my daily posts were short ones about how I was tired, busy, or both. This was definitely the hardest semester of my PhD program thus far, but let's be honest: I wasn't expecting it to get easier as I progressed. I implemented a 1:00 bedtime in October that really helped

To wrap up the challenge, I thought I would mention a few of the high points of the hardest semester of my program thus far. Here are ten highlights from these 100 days (in chronological order):

1. Day 297: I set a new marathon PR of  5:18:58! I'm hoping to beat that in the next year or so. (Bonuses: I set a new 50K PR on Day 241 and a new 10K PR on Day 234.)
2. Day 293: I got an ice cream cone from McDonald's
3. Day 271: I got glasses
4. Day 263: I made Vegetables Galore for a family dinner
5. Day 256: I voted! (And then I did it again in November!)
6. Day 251: I felt THE PUMP at Lunchtime Lifts
7. Day 235: I made some really delicious gumbo
8. Day 230: I presented some research at the MSERA annual meeting
9. Day 229: One of several knitting days with Ellen, but this one involved wine, so I picked this one to include.
10. Day 219: I made a reference to The Office in my statistics homework.

It's been a ride this semester. I might keep going for a few days here and there so I can document how this all shakes out...but that's still to be determined. 

Found this photo at: https://emojiterra.com/hundred-points/

Something that made today great: I turned in two assignments, and Blake and I made meaningful progress on our literature review that's due next week.
Time I woke up: I rolled over at 8:00 but decided to sleep in...and ended up sleeping until 10:30.

Day 202

I allowed today to be the calm before the [next] storm, and it felt good. My workday was not stressful, and Sandra and I ran the lakes at LSU after work.

The real treat of the day, however, was that my sister-in-law Maryanne was in town, and we had dinner together at Elsie's Plate and Pie...YUM! A full meal (cocktail, appetizer, burger, and dessert) with people I love was a lovely way to spend a chunk of this evening.

Weekend madness commences tomorrow when I meet with Blake to work on our paper that's due next week. I'm looking forward to the running events for some fun and stress relief...plus, they'll make me get out of bed earlier, which means I will either (a) get to take a nap or (b) be awake all day, which means I have more waking hours to work. Win-win.

Another stock photo from Pixabay

Something that made today great: Sandra and I had a good run after work.
Time I woke up: 8:00 am

Day 203

Yesterday after work, I went for a run/walk with Ellen, then I met Richard and some of his coworkers at Olive or Twist to celebrate the end of their workweek. (Also, Tuesday is $5 Burger Night! Boom.) Toward the end of dinner, the combination of life stress, school stress, stress, being tired, and being cold (should've worn more clothes for my run) culminated in me completely freaking out and crying about how I was tired, stressed, and cold. I ended up taking a shower to get warm. Richard put my pajamas in the dryer for me so they would be warm. Then, I wrote my blog post about how I wanted a brownie sundae and went to sleep around 9:30.

Since I had a major project that still had work to finish, set an alarm for 1:30 am. I snoozed it once but eventually got up to complete the project. Something that is happening more lately (even more than before) is that no matter how little or how much time I have, that's how much time I am going to spend on a project, paper, or another task. My project was due at noon, and I submitted it at 11:45 am. I was planted at my desk for the better part of ten hours. If it had been due at 10:00 am, I would have submitted it just before 10:00; it would not have been as good, but it would have been a complete project. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I am not doing well striving for a slightly lower grade in exchange for significantly less stress. There is still time to improve, though, as I have two papers and a final remaining.

Some good news is that I managed to have a really good day even though I woke up literally in the middle of the night. I am rewarding myself by knitting a few rows on my shawl and making my way to bed by 11:00 tonight so I don't crash tomorrow!

Another fabulous free photo from Pixabay

Something that made today great: I feel pretty good about my statistics project!
Time I woke up: 1:45 am-ish

Day 204

Sometimes when I’m stressed, I start yearning for things even if they won’t do anything to solve my current problems. Take today, for instance. I wanted a chocolate cake and a mountain of spaghetti. Eating all of that wouldn’t help me. It might even create more problems for me. 

But that doesn’t stop me from wanting those things...except I think I’d actually rather have a giant brownie sundae instead of the chocolate cake. 

Photo from Taste of Home. Here’s the recipe: https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/homemade-brownie-sundaes/ (The homemade sauce sounds awesome!) 

Something that made today great: I had a lovely coffee walk with Jo this morning. 

Time I woke up: 8:15 am?

Day 205

Well, the last Monday of classes is done for the semester.  I'm plugging along, but there's still so much to do! I am keeping a close watch on my 1 am bedtime this week. I'm excited about having two races this weekend (Baton Rouge Beach Half Marathon and Tiger 10K) and using the races as motivation to do as much as I can before the weekend.

Nine more days.

Appropriate stock photo from Pixabay.

Something that made today great: Scooter hung out in bed while I slept in today instead of barking at stuff.
Time I woke up: 8:45 am

Day 206

Thanksgiving Break has ended, and I can say with confidence that I am not as well-rested after this break as I expected/hoped to be. A late night of football, karaoke, and beer before an early flight this morning certainly didn't help my situation, but I am giving myself a break on that and say that it was good to let loose for a bit. (I was also able to sleep for three hours once I made it home, and that was pretty wonderful.)

Once I started thinking about everything coming up in the next ten days, I started feeling overwhelmed about the last week of classes and finals week. When Richard and I went to pick up Scooter from Tim and Emily's house, I must have looked extra tired. She finally asked me, "Would it be better for you to just make a B in something this semester?"

It's no secret that I'm somewhat obsessed with my grades. I (mostly) deny being a perfectionist, but I do like to do well in school. At this point, though, I am wearing thin and am ready to be done with this semester. I have learned a lot and had some incredible experiences (both personally and professionally), but I am really wearing down. Maybe a B wouldn't be so bad, especially in exchange for some extra sleep and/or sanity...but I am going to try to rally. Ten more days. Just ten more days.

Something that made today great: Seeing Richard and Scooter again!
Time I woke up: 4:30 am