How I Spent My Spring Break ☀️

So, what does a school-based SLP do with all those built-in vacay days?

Well, when your boyfriend works full time and you still haven't solidified a core group of friends in your new city, the answer is relatively simple: not much. And as a do-er, that sucks. With 65 days off, you'd think I would have found a way to spend my time... but I haven't. At least not yet. It's already April -- halfway through April to be exact -- which means there are only 40 more days of school! Thankfully, I am doing ESY (extended school year) for the SDC-I classes, so I am not officially done with the school year until June 28. I'm very excited for summer school because I get to stick to my routine a little bit longer (and other reasons, too, of course!), which helps me not resort to becoming one with my couch (aka my natural state). Too much downtime is oftentimes counterproductive for me because I am such a procrastinator... so, in preparation for an absurd amount of downtime, I am currently overthinking how I will spend all of my idle time in July and early August... Trip to Alaska? Road trip to random areas in the West? I'm open to suggestions.

During school breaks, I turn into a "sleeping housewife" as my boyfriend refers to me. Since we don't have kids or pets, I really don't have a lot to worry about besides doing the household duties and relaxing. Granted, I hate cleaning, so I tend to procrastinate the household duties until the last days of break and spend most of my time relaxing... oops! Personally, I love when my boyfriend calls me his sleeping housewife because it really absolves me from any real expectations. Did I do the laundry? No, I was in sleeping housewife mode. Did I return the Amazon packages? No, but I did spend hours shopping for more clothes. Yes, I do get all of my to-do lists accomplished, but I like having the wiggle room of no one else having these expectations of me while I'm on vacation. So, as someone with 65 days of paid vacation but no one to travel with, here is how I spent my spring break!

Of course, I spend most of my free time deep cleaning the house. It is so hard to keep a house clean that is always in the renovation process, and after work, cleaning in general is the last thing I want to do. So, that is what I do on my breaks. I do get an extreme sense of accomplishment afterward which is a really nice feeling! I like when things are clean and organized, but it is hard for me to get in the right headspace. Once I'm in it though, I am hyper-fixated on cleaning everything. One thing no one tells you about being an adult: you have to clean every. damn. day. And if you live with a boy, you have to clean 2x as much every. damn. day. So, breaks are really advantageous for this sole purpose.

Aside from the typical household duties (i.e. grocery shopping, meal prepping, laundry, dishes, cleaning everything in sight, etc.), I did get to do things that I had been really excited to try! On Sunday, Wesley and I went snowboarding, which was amazing! I had never been before, and it was definitely an experience. I posted a couple of Reels on my Instagram about it. I'll link those below if you're interested. Wesley and I agreed to get season passes for the next ski season, so hopefully I will spend more time shredding and less time sliding down the mountain... And honestly, this spontaneous day trip to Mount Shasta really changed my perspective on Redding. It's amazing that we drove a short hour to a ski park with over 400 inches of real and fresh snow, then headed home to 75 and sunny weather! Maybe I do like it here...

The mountains in the West are truly breathtaking. The Appalachian mountains ain't got nothing on them. I love them so much that I felt inspired to create some artwork for the barren walls in our house! I had been seeing a lot of Pins (yes, I still use Pinterest) of artists creating textured art with spackle and joint compound. Since we are renovating a house, I figured I might as well use some joint compound! Here's how it turned out:

Since Wesley and I are renovating our house to eventually be rented out, it's hard to commit to making it feel homey. I don't want to get too attached, ya know? But, I decided to commit to making just one piece of art. When Wesley came home, he saw it mid-process and his reaction was exactly what I wanted to hear: "We needed some art in here. There are actually a few walls we could hang that." It was fun to rekindle my love of making art over the break, so I will definitely be continuing with this hobby during my breaks!

Aside from some minor house renovations like repainting our front door, touching up the ceiling paint, and trying out gardening -- and that's a big deal for me... I am horrible with plants -- I sat my booty on the couch, caught up on the Vanderpump Rules drama (Scandovol, anyone?), and binged 2 other Netflix series because why not? Honestly, that is the beauty of built-in vacation days! I don't feel like I 'wasted' my time off because I didn't use any of my real vacation days. Truly the best perk of working in the schools!

And while in the future I do hope to take on a PRN or part-time position during breaks, right now, I am starting to appreciate the added relaxation time that allows me to focus on myself... and the house renovations.