Chasing the Elusive Balance

Today with Sarah over at Cozy Little Joys, we are talking about how we try and attain a work life balance, especially since we are both teachers!

Sarah is an elementary teacher, and I am a middle school teacher with a specific content area, so we definitely have different takes on it. Check out her blog post for her three strategies on how to set boundaries between work and home here.

Being a mom - be it stay at home, work from home, work part time, work full time - is no joke. There are so many different perspectives and strategies out there, it can get overwhelming.

When someone asked me how I tried to maintain that work and life balance, it made me step back and think, "How do I keep from going insane? How do I keep on top of it?" 

This is pretty much me on afternoons after school when I do have to get things for work done - I am on the couch working, and Julian will be playing here or in his room - I can still be nearby and get things done. 

Tote: Crab & Cleek (I had mine customized to say DEN on the other side! Perfect teacher bag) • Fleece: Dudley Stephens via Tuckernuck • Leggings: Nordstrom • Slippers: LL Bean. 

Hello February

Everyone is right about January feeling like a year; one comes down from that post-holidays high (or haze), and right into the gray of the month.

I actually call the months between January and March the "dark months" - I come back to work all energized, only to succumb to the gray and the slog. It affects me work wise (the grading just piles up) and home wise (I just end up on the couch not doing much).

Image via Rifle Paper Co.

Maybe it is SAD, but I know myself now, and try to prevent that from happening because when it comes to work, I have to admit, I would be doing the bare minimum and enter survival mode.

The same thing happened home wise as well: I started strong with using the Peloton app for my workouts (and LOVE it), make a list of things to blog about, get all excited about the new year and then...things happened.

These past two weeks in particular were pretty rough - I won't go into much detail, other than there were a few things that happened that were affecting me personally, and contributed to being in more of a funk. Thankfully, things are on the up for the most part.

Maria 2020: Commitment

Happy New Year everyone!

Everyone is posting about their intents and resolutions and non-resolutions on Instagram, but there is also another thing that people talk about in regards to the new year: themes. Pick a word, and use that as your theme for the year.

As a teacher I am all about S.M.A.R.T. goals, but that is because I only have a specific period of time - ten months - with my kids. Timelines and deadlines when it comes to my personal goals have always been my downfall and I never really accomplish my resolutions. Last year, I even tried to break it down month by month and make smaller goals, but that failed spectacularly.

This year, I am definitely going to try the word as theme tactic. This year, my word is:

Thirty-Five: Year in Review

Today I turn 35 and so I am a little older, and maybe a little wiser? What I can definitely say is that there are a few more gray hairs at my temple that weren't there before, which I find interesting, to say the least.

I remember once a makeup artist told me at a makeup counter back in my 20s that I need to change my skincare routine when I turn 35; well here I am and I definitely added sunscreen to the list of unguents. In the new year, I definitely want to try out the new Olay retinol system I keep hearing about.

Welcome to Cables and Crewnecks!

Hello there!

My name is Maria, and welcome to Cables & Crewnecks, my little corner of the internet.

If you have come across this blog in the past, welcome back!

A little bit about me: I was born and raised in New York City, and currently live in the suburbs of Denver, having moved here in 2016. I am happily married to my husband of 10 years, Mel and have a 3 year old son named Julian. We had the opportunity custom-build our home, and one of my favorite things is working to get a Williams-Sonoma/Pottery Barn look on a DIY budget.

By day, I am a 7th grade Social Studies teacher; while that offers me plenty of creative opportunities to make history applicable and realistic for my middle schoolers, I use blogging as a way to exercise creativity outside of school (I love making interactive graphic organizers, but also seasonal floral arrangements for my ginger jars).

This is not my first blog, but rather a reiteration of blogs I have done in the past; I used to have a blog about knitting (also called "Cables and Crewnecks") and while that is a major part of my life, I also have other interests such as style, home decor and travel, to name a few. This is a space for me to put all those interests in one place and talk with you, which I am definitely looking forward to.