It's the little things (and some big things too)

So, I know I'm a slacker. All week, I've been thinking, "I need to blog today"...but every day I'm just too flat-out tired. My brain just hurts. This happens to me when research season starts (much like football season except it lasts longer and isn't as fun). Coordinating, smiling, directing, solving problems, talking to a billion people when I don't even really like talking to strangers and small talk, entering data, strategy, recruiting, subject shuffling, and it goes on and on. When research season starts, this is my life. Then we have the rest of my job on top of data collection duties and all it entails. This includes equally painful financial matters and in general, running the show. Being awesome. It's not easy, but someone has got to do it. I graciously accept.

I love my job, but I do get exhausted sometimes. Who doesn't? I get to work early early to check email and possibly blog, but there's just too much work to do. Then it piles up so that after data collection is over, I can't blog, and never mind the fact that by then my head is so far away in la la land that I don't even have the slightest idea what I even want to talk about. Or how to spell correctly.

Then I get home from the gym and eat, and even dinner doesn't give me the strength to type out my thoughts. By this point, I have no thoughts. They says males have a one-track mind, but it seems to me that during research season, I have a one-track mind. It's only driven towards sleep...with some mindless TV shows thrown in for good measure.

Scratch that...I take that back actually. I not only think about bed, but I think about coffee. I wake up thinking about coffee, coffee on the mind during the day and as soon as my cup is empty in the morning (it's time for someone to invent a true bottomless cup of coffee in my opinion...), trudge through my afternoon runs with coffee-on-the-brain, and I probably dream about it too. Can I get an IV of this stuff?

So I have decided that because research season (data collection, specifically) is so mentally tiring, I have to think about the little things that make me happy. You know, when something exciting happens, and you just break into a smile and sparkly eyes and uncontrollably let out a little gasp. It really is the little things in life that make it so sweet. I mean, don't get me wrong, big exciting stuff is off-the-charts-awesome...but I'm talking about those little everyday things.

I made a list of the little things this week that have pulled me through:

1. when I make my PB&J (with Peter Pan Honey Roasted Creamy no less) and my strawberry jam spread has a chunk of strawberry...I love this. It makes me so happy. I love the strawberry chunk.

2. snuggling with Casey every night before we fall asleep

3. when the coffee pot (which has decided to work properly now) gives me a truly perfect cup of coffee

4. getting random pictures of my (new) sweet, little nephew Renn

5. when the treadmill is open directly in front of a tv. And I get the controller. And 'Say Yes to the Dress' is on.

6. when we scoop out our cookies 'n cream fro yo and it's got a big cookie chunk (or 2 or 3 chunks) in my scoop...the chunks are my fav

7. when I get in the car and turn it on to find that the first song is one I've reallllllly been wanting to hear lately


Until next time (and who honestly knows when that will be?)...