Oh my!

It seems like it has been so long since I have seen the sun!!
It turns out that, yes, indeed, I do need to take vacation time before the end of the month or lose it.  So, this afternoon, since it was a manageable day at work, and I worked really hard to get things done quickly, I left work early.  Oh, My!  The sun was shining brightly and the sky was clear and blue.  It was such a lovely walk to downtown to catch the bus, even though the temperature was barely above freezing.  Being outside when the sun was shining was so wonderful!  Last weekend it was rainy and dismal and we didn't see the sun,  and it is dark when I leave and dark when I get home so it was great to see the sun.
I'm going to try to take some time off afternoons next week as well, assuming that things are manageable at work.  If I can leave a few hours early for a couple of days, I'll have it made.  But, I will HAVE to take two days of vacation every month.  Oh, the hardship!  But, I do feel bad about it.  The reason I have so much vacation built up is because it is so hard for us to take vacation.  My co-workers and I always feel guilty taking vacation because we know the pressure it puts on everyone else.  Working in a hospital, I don't have one of those jobs that will wait until I get back from vacation for it to get done.  Someone always has to cover my patients when I'm not there.  All  four of us have trouble taking time off.  We're really good at looking out for each other, but not so good about looking out for ourselves.  Who knows, maybe I'll just end up taking every Monday off- two as my 90% days and two as my vacation days each month.   Now THAT is a schedule I could live with- never working a full week.  Hmmm.... this has possibilities.  Or, I could try to leave early a few days a month.   Either way, I need to use at least 14 to 15 hours of vacation a month to keep up.


Oh, and no sewing for me tonight either.  V has had a stressful day with some legal stuff that has popped up (maybe I'll tell you about it someday when it's resolved).  We had some wine with dinner tonight to unwind so definitely no detail work for me!!  It doesn't take much for me to be not very functional... It's amazing how many times I've had to correct mis-typings now LOL!!

I work tomorrow, and after work, V and I hope to finish our holiday shopping.  Sunday, J17 and I14 have to acolyte at church and the youth group hosts their annual soup and sandwich lunch before going caroling.  I've got Monday off so I'm really hoping to spend some quality time with the sewing machine then.  I'm excited to get V's jacket finished and get started on other things.  Especially since I got a hit here for someone searching for Steampunk Art quilts.  I'd better get the supply up!!