Things I Am Happy About

Before I go on a week-long bender of prescription pill-fueled emotional hijinks, hysterical crying, and morbid ice cream consumption, I thought I would take a minute to list a few things that are going right in my life.

1. Finding better work/life balance.  I’ve been working with a small business coach and the process has been really amazing.  I’ve gotten much clearer on what needs to be done, what is extraneous, and how to measure success.  The greatest result is that I find myself working a lot less.  I’m even trying an experiment where I take Fridays completely off.  (It turned out that I was getting nothing done on Fridays anyway…now I’ve just given myself permission not to sit at my desk the whole day, pretending to work.)
2. Our garden is AMAZING.  The extraordinary hot weather and daily thunderstorm is the perfect recipe for lush vegetables and herbs.  We picked our first squash today, and there are tomatoes popping up everywhere (although they won’t be ripe for another couple weeks.)  We had a bunch of Swiss chard from the garden tonight in our pasta, and I’m going to be overrun with basil in a day or two.  The cayenne pepper plant is already shooting off peppers larger than the plant itself, making Bill VERY excited indeed.
3. A very happy birthday.  I have been single for almost all of my birthdays, and Bill’s been away on business the past three years.  But this year he made up for it by planning and perfectly executing a weekend trip to Charlottesville.  We dropped the puppies off at their “grandparents”, stayed in a charming B&B, ate cake from our favorite bakery before and after each meal (and sometimes in between), listened to live music, got caught in a thunderstorm, had a picnic at a local winery, and generally had an amazing time.  I even got a Kindle from Bill (including a “Bindle” – that’s short for a “Bill-built Kindle”), a cookbook for vegetables from Bill’s parents, a spa gift certificate from my sister, and a kimono stand from my parents.  Very, very satisfactory.
4. Books!  Since Bill got me the Kindle for my birthday, I’ve been reading up a storm.  I also discovered that I can download audiobooks to my iPod from the library, which has opened up a whole new world of options.  I forgot how much I enjoy reading – and how lovely it is to meet with my girlfriends every few weeks to chat about them.

And though I hesitate to write it down lest I ruin the trend, the dogs have been behaving themselves for the most part.  Yes, I’ve had Maya at the vet SIX times in the last two weeks for her hurt paw, they have been playing very nicely together and not destroying anything more valuable than a used Kleenex.

Comments

[JM]

It's good to hear about the blessings in your life and I love how you appreciate IN SPITE of the prescription induced ickyness. Can Bill call my husband so I can get a birthday weekend like that?
In case you do need ice cream, my favorite is New York Super Fudge Chunk...mmm

[Mom]

And, a really cool purse!!