Aside from doing the weekly grocery shopping, straightening up the house, and cooking dinner for eight people Saturday, I also:

• Updated the AAJA-D.C. home page Friday night, including doing some design work.
  
• Showed my mother-in-law this morning how to register a Webkinz toy so she can play with A.J. and me.
  
• Reviewed A.J.’s progress on his book report, which is due at the end of this month.
  
• Finished and e-filed my 2010 federal and state taxes today. (For the first time since college, I don’t owe anything – amazing!)
  
• Took my mother-in-law to the art supply store and the mall, where I bought A.J. a new sweatshirt, a pair of jeans, and some Easter stuff. My mother-in-law and I also did a little shopping for ourselves (hee hee!).
  
• Cooked dinner for five people tonight.

Now I’m trying to finish writing up the minutes of a meeting the AAJA-D.C. board had last weekend and prepare A.J.’s school bag for tomorrow morning. I also need to edit a travel essay my dad sent me a few weeks ago, put together a newsletter listing upcoming AAJA-D.C. events, and do more work on the AAJA-D.C. page, but that’s not happening tonight.

Who was it who said “nature abhors a vacuum”? I seem to have a knack for always finding things to keep me busy!

Democracy Through the Eyes of a Child

Hopefully I’ll be able to carve out more time to blog this year — at work and at home!

Clever ad, but I work for the U.S. Department of State. If my job moved to Shanghai, I would consider it a fun opportunity.

Yesterday morning, after a brief break, I discovered that my badge was no longer allowing me into my office. Upon inquiring at the guard desk, I was told that my building access had been revoked because I was no longer an employee (?!?), whereupon the guards confiscated my work ID.

A few frantic calls later, my supervisor learned that a certain administrator had filed an undated “separation notice” with my name on it. Security then deactivated my badge.

By the time we managed to convince security there had been a mistake and that I really should be allowed into the building — in all likelihood the notice was meant for an intern with the same name — they had sent in my badge for destruction. Now I need to get a piece of paper from the administration person who filed the separation notice saying that, no, I AM a valid employee so I can get a new ID. Oh, joy.

Since we have no idea when this certain administrator will be available — she has been out all week — my supervisor has told me to work from home until we can reach her. Hey, life isn’t all bad ….

It’s a good thing I was already scheduled to be off all this week and that Chris was already scheduled to be off all next week, else we’d be scrambling for child care!

As a bonus, though, the federal government (in the D.C. area) is also closed tomorrow, so Chris doesn’t have to figure out how to get to work. Believe it or not, the federal government rarely gives its workers free leave because it costs so much money. This has been one heck of a snowstorm!

1 p.m. December 20: Driveway and walk are clear, but still no sign of a snowplow.

Successfully Managing the Work/Life Juggling Act

If you have a family, managing work and life can be challenging — and often unpredictable.

Consider the following tips to help you successfully manage the work/life juggling act:

• Make time for fun and relaxation. When you add more leisure to your life, you’ll become a healthier and more effective employee and parent.

• Build and use support systems. People with strong support systems tend to be healthier, happier and better able to tolerate stress.

• Forget perfection. While it’s admirable to put your best efforts into your work and parenting responsibilities, it’s simply impossible to be perfect at everything you do.

• Take care of yourself. It’s easy to focus on your responsibilities to your partner, children and employer and forget about taking care of yourself.

• Be happy. Studies show that happy individuals are successful across different areas, including marriage, friendship, income, work performance, and health.

I’m not exactly sure how one can will oneself to “be happy” — does this newsletter mean “try to think positive”? But otherwise, these tips seem pretty sound.

Hmm, wonder what else I’ll find as I continue decluttering the house ….