One of the things I love about my job is being able to bring some of mine and others crazy ideas to life.  A couple of years ago the greenhouse on campus was transferred back to the care of the Science Department.  After being used as a sustainable garden for the Culinary Department, it became overgrown and out of control.  As we don’t currently offer any botany courses we needed to find a new use for the space.  A couple of failed attempts led to one of my faculty suggesting a butterfly habitat.  Of course I loved the idea and rallied my staff to get working. My staff put in…

One of my favorite genres to read are self help books.  I am the type of person who always wants to improve myself and the things around me.  So far this year I have read two books that have really helped my mindset.  The 5AM Club by Robin Sharma and You are a Badass by Jen Sincero.  As the year started I set a challenge for myself to get up a bit early so I could stretch each morning.  In the 5AM Club, Robin Sharma speaks about setting an hour to prepare for your day using the 20/20/20 rule. 20 minutes of exercise, 20 minutes for reflection/meditation, and 20 minutes…

When I wrote my blog, Missing Blog Posts in May I thought that would be the start to get me back on track.  Little did I know I would only write one post in June and then nothing.  My year started off strong, I made improvements to my diet by eliminating sugar, exercising, and doing things that I enjoyed.  Looking back, I see a decrease in my productivity as I allowed more processed carbohydrates back in my life.  The other hindrance was the change in my work hours.  The lure of a 4 day work week was very appealing, putting it into play was another thing all together.  By shortening…

I was hoping on my recent trip to Lancaster to partake in some creative art.  I was not able to schedule anything on such short notice but I was able to find the Bead Shop.  Without time to plan for a class I shopped for some items to bring home and make a necklace.  I found a natural cut of fluorite and some cut stones that were similar in color to the purple in the fluorite. My first attempt at wire wrapping the fluorite was frustrating and I put the project aside for a few days.  I decided the wire I was trying to use was too thick and picked…

I try not to talk about work on my blog but I feel the need to get this out.  Over the years like many companies, cutbacks have led to increased workloads. My employer is no different. At first you are happy to still be employed but as time goes by the compounding effect of the additional work and stress take its toll.  The worst part is you don’t even notice it until you feel completely broken.  My First clue came during our covid shut down when I worked from home for a month or so, without my hour commute each way I gained 2 hours of time each day, it…