Beach Weekend

We spent some relaxing days on the beach this past weekend. The wind was wild and the rain heavy, but we picked up some waterproof gear. The place we stayed had an indoor pool, hot tub, and sauna. I felt really blessed because a Native American man and a teenage boy arrived to do some kind of sweat ritual. The older man played beautiful flute music that kind of pierced right into my soul. I've been feeling calmer and more connected after the experience.

I like graduate school, although there's a ton of reading and we are delving into some heavy material. I try to balance things out by taking breaks where I can and doing little things to reward myself for completed assignments. On our trip I bought this really soft frog stuffed animal and a white candle that smells wonderful. Here at home, I try to schedule in a TV show and ice cream with Hubby after I've finished my homework. Tonight, I let myself go to yoga.

Even though there is a ton of work ahead, I feel good about the program I'm in. I really hope I can make a difference somehow.

Last Day of September

It's been raining since yesterday and it's damn cold. I couldn't sleep this morning, so I got up and wrote in one of my notebooks. Hubby and I both had head aches last night, so I hope we aren't getting ill with colds or something.

I started decorating for Halloween yesterday. Just a few paper decorations for the window and door. We plan to get a pumpkin soon. I'm happy to be doing this after most of the clutter is gone. There are still a few things I'd like to store away or get rid of. It never ends!

The bookstore at school was total chaos this past week. I still have a couple titles to pick up, but I have most of what I need for this semester. I have a couple short papers due right off the bat. It sucks because we are planning a short anniversary vacation. I'll have to squeeze in the home work at the motel and stay up late with it the night we get home. Oh well. That's what coffee is for.

I tried some gluten free beers (made with sorghum) this past week and they were pretty good. I've been off wheat for eight years and off gluten for the past year. I feel so much better, but I did miss beer.

My husband bought me the last watermelon of the season yesterday. I tried it earlier this morning and it was quite tasty. Not too mushy.

I have to work later today, so I'd best try to nap.

I had insomnia early this morning and got up to watch the sunrise. We are pet-sitting in this place across town where the view of the mountains is amazing. I ate Panda Puffs from a bowl with blue and white Asian designs on it.

My mind is so full with the new adventure of graduate school. There's excitement mixed with stress and all the questions about whether I'm doing the right thing. Already, I met a new friend at the orientation. I'll call her Sara here. Sara and her boyfriend moved here from a small town in Illinois. She wanted to go to an author reading at a local bookstore. We had fun and I was left feeling inspired to write fiction and poetry again. But then I wonder how I'll have time for writing or dance or work or anything else with graduate school underway soon. I think I'm nervous about the transition and trying to balance everything. It's not like all the little responsibilities go away just because I'm in school either. There are bills to pay, home and car upkeep, appointments to keep. Always something.

When I was younger I used to give up at the first sign of stress, so I never completed my studies in Psychology. I jumped around with various majors (mostly artsy stuff) until I had enough credits to graduate. I want to finish what I've begun this time. But I still want time for creative stuff.

Cool Day

It's cool outside today and feels like it could rain. It's kind of a bummer because we've had several amazing late summer days. I am up early because of a meeting at school, so I guess there's still time for the sun to burn through the damp and cloud cover.

I'm feeling kind of stressed because Hubby and I have a busy couple of weeks ahead and then school starts. I hope I can find some free moments to just be. I am worried that my grad school classes may cut into this adult ballet class I like to take once a week. I'm going to try not to schedule anything else that night, but I can't predict how that is going to go. I have also been taking a fantastic yoga class lately. I love my teacher because she has great energy and is vegetarian (something we have in common). I think I could still find another yoga class at the gym pretty easily if I had to though. It's harder to find the right ballet class. I feel I am in the right one and it would be hard to find another just like it. I've been going on and off for about three years and know the regulars. The teacher is fun and lets us have a good time with it. Ballet is so different than yoga. There have been times in the past (especially with other dance teachers) when I really didn't like ballet at all. I quit doing it for years before I found this most recent class.

Busy Day

We jumped into more cleaning today and I feel we are pretty caught up. There's still stuff to haul to the clothing drop and thrift store, but our place looks much better. We talked about setting up a regular maintenance schedule so things don't get so messy again.

I made spaghetti tonight with a homemade sauce. I didn't use a recipe, but I think it turned out OK. I also made a huge salad with butter lettuce and various veggies. We were both hungry after a long day's cleaning and I had to walk dogs. We also went to the gym for about 45 minutes to lift weights. We haven't been there in weeks, so it was tough to get started. Normally, we wouldn't have squeezed that in, but there won't be much time to do it over the next couple of weeks.

I hope I sleep well tonight. I have had insomnia the last few nights. I wake up early and can't seem to go back to sleep. I think it's nerves about starting school soon. I hope we can take a short vacation in early October. I'd love to go somewhere beautiful and calming where there's lots of fun outdoor stuff to do. I know I slept like a rock after I went hiking with a friend last week.

End of Summer Cleaning

We got home from doing some pet-sitting last week and decided it was time to clean our apartment. Hubby was slow to get started, but once I got the ball rolling he became quite involved. We cleared out the "junk room", swept, dusted, and mopped. The windows had inches of grime on the sills and panes. I can't believe we let it get that bad! We sifted through all of our papers and junk and wound up taking lots of items to a local thrift store. As much as I don't like to throw things away, I admit a few things just ended up in the garbage. It was worth it in the end, because now we have this airy and sunny little art and study space. It's like a deep relaxing breath for my mind when I see it each morning. When we finished that project, we moved on to mopping the kitchen and bathroom floors. I washed all the kitchen surfaces because we'd had a few bird families living in our vent over the summer. I waited for all the little critters to grow up and move on before I called the landlord in to remove the sticks, twigs, and dirt a couple weeks ago. After she got the worst of it out I was able to scrub the dingy wall and table beneath. I know I'll feel so much better baking cookies this fall, knowing all that dusty debris is gone. I am sure our feathered friends will return in the spring and we'll go through this process all over again.



Next up, I have a living room shelf and corner to dust and organize. After that, I'll hit the junk table in our bedroom. Hopefully, Hubby will pitch in again. It's amazing how fast we can get all this done when we stop procrastinating. I think the two of us danced around it for months and it seemed monumental. I also have to admit I can really let things go, especially when I'm busy or the weather is great.



School registration is coming up this week and classes start in October. I am feeling nervous about balancing everything, but I think I can just work part-time and stay fairly sane. In my spare moments, I'll try to write a little bit. I've decided I might be able to finish a fiction story I started a few weeks ago if I jot down a few paragraphs a day in a notebook or on the computer. My husband writes, so I might share some of it with him as I go. So many times I say there isn't time, but I think a lot of people who write must fit it in where they can.