Perhaps you’ve noticed a distinct lack of activity from us lately. Or worse, you haven’t. 😦 It just seems as if the past couple of weeks have gotten completely out of hand in our household. I am not even sure I can pinpoint the exact source of the problem, but I think a lot of it has to do with my work right now. If you’re here in the states, then you can’t help but be well aware of the Affordable Care Act. As an actuarial analyst in the health insurance field, this means a lot to me. I have had to work on plan designs and pricing for plans effective on or after January 1, 2014 as well as financial forecasting for 2014. Although it’s not like we didn’t know this was coming, a lot of what I do just could not be started until recently. This means I have a very short time to get a lot done. This also means, for the past several weeks, I have been working at a furious pace. While I have always strived for a good work-life balance and get my work done during regular business hours, this doesn’t mean that it’s business as usual when I walk out of the office at the end of the day when things are as busy as they are now. All this means is my brain keeps thinking of things I need to do the next day. I am mentally exhausted when I get home. My body recognizes the stress it’s under and reacts almost the same as if I’d run a half marathon that day (that’s not so far fetched some days when I do get in a 6 or 7 mile run after work).  At the end of the day, I’ve just found it too easy to say, “I’ll do it tomorrow,” when it comes to the whole college thing. But I can’t keep doing that. I know, it’s only her sophomore year, but soon it will be junior year, then senior year, then it will be too late. At the same time, things are getting any easier for MM. She’s found a few activities to add to marching band, including signing up for the community service club. Although band is the only activity that’s actually going on right now, by the end of the week, MM is absolutely worn out. She gets home from football games and can barely keep her eyes open. So, between the two of us, there hasn’t been a lot of movement on the scholarship front. In other news, I did start planning our first official college visit. We will be going to California in January to visit UCLA’s campus. While the campus tours calendar does not have January dates available yet, I have booked our hotel room and am working on the plane tickets. In the meantime, my goal is to have MM complete an essay this weekend and submit a scholarship application. How do you find the balance in your life? ~Mom