Time flies when you're swamped!

By the time I finished my work last week, I had worked about 60 hours. This included working until about midnight Friday, although that day was much better than the previous days, since the majority of Friday was spent waiting on other people to sign off on what I'd done through the week. I was able to step away for a bit that night to go to the gym and get in a decent workout, which felt awesome. I had missed my gym. And my sleep.

Saturday, I slept in until 10:15-ish. When I woke up, I looked at the clock, rolled over and made myself go back to sleep. I knew I needed it. At around 11:15, I got up. I sent K a care package and ran a few errands. I went to the gym in the afternoon, and then I cleaned up around my apartment. That night, I went to dinner with Brit (work friend), Jeremy, a couple other friends, and Brit's friend from high school, who we're trying to fix up with Jeremy. Their first meeting went pretty well. It wound up being a nice, relaxing night.

Sunday morning, I wanted to sleep in again, but I made myself get up and go to church. I'm so glad I did. It was a nice sermon, and we sang lots of really good hymns. The whole service for me just really had a good, positive feel, and I really enjoyed it. When church was over, the choir director approached me about playing with the orchestra in a couple weeks! I really want to, but I haven't played my clarinet since May of 2005. I'm pretty sure I'm going to sound awful. I'm excited about the thought of playing again, but I'll probably be out of town the weekend they play in church. I told the director that I'm really interested, but I'll have to let him know. He said if I can't this month, I can keep it in mind for March. Yay!

Later that afternoon, I went running with Jeremy and a couple of his friends. We ran 4 miles. That's the longest I've ever run at one time in my life. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but if I'd been by myself, I'd have stopped WAY before we did.

I really just need to get used to running. I don't think my posture is quite right when I run because I don't feel like I get enough air, and sometimes (although not quite so much Sunday) my back hurts a little too. My ankles were definitely sore from running outside since I'm not used to it, but I was proud of myself for finishing. Even if I did announce to my three running buddies at about mile 3.25 that I hated them all. (I told them when we were finished that I didn't really hate them.)

Jeremy and I decided we hadn't tortured ourselves enough for the day, so we went to the gym that night to do a shoulder circuit. It was nice to just be in there for weights and the sauna, since we'd already done our cardio.

My day at work today was good. The workload is looking MUCH more manageable this week, which is not really a major feat, since last week's workload was absolutely impossible. It feels good to know that I made it through that hell week and that we probably won't have to one like it again. I can handle it from time to time, but it really starts to wear you down working such long days day after day. It was just so exhausting!

By the end of the week, I was starting to feel like I was trying to get sick. That was frustrating, since I'd managed to be around plenty of people who were sick over the last month and a half, but I'd managed to stay healthy. Completely steering clear of work and even my computer for the entire weekend, though, left me feeling so refreshed this morning.

We were also having a blood drive in the building, so I donated blood. It always feels good to do something like that. Today was also my one-year anniversary at work, so my supervisor celebrated by surprising me with some yummy brownies she made. They were very cake-like, complete with chocolate sprinkles. They were really rich -- and delicious!

After work, I went over to Jeremy's, where we watched one of our friends kick butt on Amer!can Glad!ator!!! It was so cool to see her on TV! I've never gotten so excited before watching a reality show!

Another cool thing about the past few days -- and a good part about them being so hectic -- is that the time has gone by faster. Sunday (the 27th) was the two-month marker of the deployment. That means it's now 13 months until K is home for good, although it's only seven before his R&R. Obviously there's still so much more to go, but these two months have gone by faster than I thought they would, which is a pleasant surprise. Plus, the second month proved to be easier overall than the first.

I've done well with sending K a care package every week. I'm getting his Valentine's Day care package ready now, though, so I can send it out Saturday and be sure he has it in plenty of time for the holiday. Just because he's deployed doesn't mean he gets to miss out on the mushiness!