tired heart...(a.k.a. boring post)

I feel tired and worn out. As a result, I'm cranky and irritable. Doesn't that sound like fun? The last few weeks have been full of fun, but the pace of it all is catching up to me now.

Are any of you "yes" people? When someone asks you to do something, you respond with an eager and enthusiastic, "Yes"? For so long, I struggled with taking on too much. Obviously, I still do. Sometimes I need to remember and realize that it's okay to spend time at home - with nothing specific on the agenda.

Ben and I were talking about the chaos that is currently surrounding life at school/work/home. In and of themselves, the events that keep us busy are nothing bad. In fact, we have gained so much...

• Our trip to Vegas was a blast! I loved spending time with the Hamlins...they're a bunch of fun! The only downside? I missed last Monday due to that trip. Not a big deal - and worth every minute!
• Then, I came back to work on Tuesday - only to be gone at a conference the rest of the week. Thankfully, my mom got to come with me and it was so nice to have her all to myself. :) I learned a ton of great stuff and it has made me excited and eager to tackle next year's Leadership Class. I also had the opportunity to talk to my mom about her life growing up. Poor thing, I asked a million questions. It's just so interesting - her story is incredible!
• It's tough to be away from work. As a teacher, it's far more work to be gone than it is to just be here.
• Did I mention that last Friday was a half-day for teachers to input report cards? Yeah, I wasn't here for that. Needless to say, I should be entering late work and submitting comment codes. Instead, I sit here typing.
• Upon returning from the conference, our weekend was spent grading (mine), dinner with some of the folks from our church, and an early morning in the nursery.
• From there, Hillary and I were lucky enough to see Hello Dolly at the 5th Ave. It was fun to see Kasey, Mo, Jadd do their thing up on stage. What a talented group! Another highlight to my time with Hillary was the fact that we got to eat lunch/dinner at Umi's in Belltown. They have the most amazing selection of Sushi! So good. It was also such a treat to spend some time with Hillary. I always enjoy our adventures. She's a great friend who listens well and seems to brighten my life! :)
• Last night I was planning to stay late and get the report card thing finished up. I had forgotten about our parent meeting. You see, the 7th graders are taking a trip to the Seattle Underground Tour later this spring and we had a meeting last night for potential chaperones. Alas, I am still sitting here with papers to grade. My fault, completely!
• That brings us to today. It's been a bit crazy with snow this morning and half of my students absent. However, we laughed a lot and took joy in the new trimester and the fact that it's St. Patrick's Day.

So, when you look at the list of items individually, it's nothing worth losing sleep over (which apparently I do...I average about 3.5 hours of sleep on work days). However, when it all starts to pile on top of each other, it gets to be a bit much.

Did I mention that I agreed to help out with the church's sleep-over this weekend? I need to be reminded that it's okay to say, "No."

What do you do when you find that your schedule becomes a bit too cluttered? How do you say no?

Those of you with kids probably look at my list and think I'm nuts...it's nothing in comparison to what you deal with on a regular/daily basis. I guess it's all about perspective. Right now I'm just feeling tired and overwhelmed. You're a trooper if you continued to read this far. :)

Maybe it has something to do with this crazy weather?