I'm going on sabbatical

I wish I were going on a real sabbatical, but I'm just going on a blog sabbatical. Summer has started and it is proving to be a VERY busy time at work and will be for the next two months. I'm afraid if I blog it will be about how stressed out I am at work and I don't think anyone wants to read about that on an ongoing basis. I do have some fun trips planned this summer, one to New York with some friends in a few weeks, and a work trip to Chicago next month, so maybe I can find some fun things to write about when those trips happen. OR, maybe I will write about how irritated I am that I have to take my laptop to New York and do work in the evenings because we will have online classes going on.

So instead of blogging, this is what I'm working on instead:

• We just submitted our grant proposal for the second year of the Pilot Pre K program in Sedgwick county and should hear back next week as to how much $$$ we are awarded. Once that happens we'll starting planning for the next school year. We had 10 classrooms this year and are hoping to add three more with the expansion money. Part of my job is to oversee this grant - a project that is a lot of fun for me!
• We have another big grant due in two weeks and my boss decided to break her shoulder over the weekend, so I have a feeling I may be doing more writing of that grant than I originally thought, but that's okay. I like grant writing. This grant will include the eLearning online classes that I help teach.
• Starting July 1 my boss has asked me to take over managing out eLearning program. I will continue teaching classes, but will take on some oversight too. I'm excited about this and will be working with our contractor to brainstorm new ideas and try to think outside the box on how to expand the program more in the next year.
• My last big project (there are a million little ones!) for the summer is that they just put me in charge of our training charter which is supposed to be pulling together a staff development plan for all of our employees statewide. We've done some work, but there is lots left to do and I'm a little overwhelmed with how we are going to get it done. Anyone know of any good ethics or customer service trainings we can provide???
• Oops, I forgot one. Or two. My work trip in July is to go audit a child abuse prevention program in Illinois and I just got all of their pre site stuff this week. It will involve about 20 hours of prep time to get ready for the audit, and then I just found out that they changed our standards and I have to go through a 15 hour online training before I can start going through their presite stuff. I started the training today but it gave me a headache so I finally gave up and went home early. I also have a two day training to give in Kansas City the first week of August, so sometime over the summer, I need to prepare that curriculum.

See, I was right. All I am able to focus on is how overwhelmed I am work. The problem is that i love my job and all the projects they give me. There just isn't enough time in the week to do them all!!!

I promise my next post (it will be weeks away) will be more positive. And funny.