Living the Life of Riley

Livin' the Life of Riley....really I don't think there is a better title for my blog (for so many reasons)... but not the least of which is the fact that my life rocks (in my opinion). My husband, my kids, my family, my friends, my hobbies, my work....just life. Are there downs....of course, but man those downs are fewer and further between when I keep my perspective.

This past week was one of these downers for me. I think it was the combination of sleep deprivation (from running RAGNAR which while be explained in another post) and serious lack of work at the office. One might think a light week at work would be great, but for me, right now, it is possibly the worst thing that could happen to me (perhaps a little exaggeration there). Let me explain why (it took me three days to do some self-reflection on this).  As you may or may not know, my job requirements are "simple".....make my billable hours for the year - which translates into a certain amount of hours each month and then each day. [For those who are not familiar with "billable" hours, it means that I can count time that I spend doing something substantive for a client. In other words, time spent going to the bathroom, copying, printing, checking email, checking anything social media, reading a news article, talking to a co-worker, thinking about my training or plans for the weekend...(I think you get the point) does not count.] So, simply being in the office doesn't cut it. Due to my training schedule and time with kids schedule, I only have between the hours of 7:00am and 5:00pm to make my billable hours (minus a two hour 'lunch' on days that I have more than one workout). Soooooooooooo, if I do not have the work to put in billable hours one day or one week, my schedule is screwed - initiate operation panic. There is little to no time in my schedule to work at night or really even on the weekends much, thus, I must be kept especially busy and productive during the allotted working time :)  [this is sounding a bit Type-A].

Long story short, I was super depressed this week and I couldn't figure out why. Well...that is why. I couldn't enjoy my light week at work because I MUST be super productive each day to make sure I make my hours AND do everything else I have scheduled everyday. Also, I must continue to build a bank of hours to fall back on when my training increases and I have more two hour lunches and finally a week and half off for participation in Ironman and then family vacation. Despite asking the partners numerous times for more work....I got almost nothing...except things that were fires and despite being bored all day, came up at 4:30pm and made me late for my kids at home.....not the kind of work I had in mind :)

Any who, the actual purpose of this post besides my whining, is that life is still good. Today I got up and ran the most beautiful path at Saguaro National Park East with four of my good friends. Then, we all drove over to the Eller's house where a delicious and nutritious breakfast was waiting along with many many many other friends, my boys and lots of adorable kids.  As I was driving across town blaring my radio and taking in the chilly morning air and bright sunshine, nothing could have wiped off the goofy grin plastered across my face - this, my friends, is what life is all about!!