Good things in bold

I made it to another Friday. It's been an interesting week with Shan away and the kids also away. I've felt like I had SO much time inside my own head! Maybe too much? I've had (and still have) lots of writing projects at work, which keeps me occupied, and keeps the earbuds in constantly to drown out the Customer Service chatter all around me.... which makes things feel kind-of lonely, to be honest. But I'll stop right there; this post is an attempt to list all the good things. 

Yesterday, I was having a real writer's block about some ad copy. I'd written something, but Shan sent me a message that derailed it, and I had to start over. I could NOT come up with another angle to save my life. And it's hard, sometimes, to force an idea. I went outside, stared into the space of nature for a while, tried to let my thoughts wander, printed out the page instead of trying to write it on the computer, finally I had to go into an empty office and I came up with something. Not sure how. I know I asked for Divine Help! Begged, really. It made me wonder if I'm actually "creative" at all. That's a question I may not want to answer. Maybe my gift is clear communicating, or informational organization, or project planning/execution instead, and not idea-generating. I really want to explore that. It might mean finding work that makes my heart sing, mightn't it? 

I've had such a great run of reading lately! At the beach I finished three books! I read Remarkable Creatures, by Tracy Chevalier (historical fiction), then Room, by Emma Donaghue (modern-day fiction), and then a pretty fluffy romance called The Arsonist, by Sue Miller. Every one was enjoyable, although the first was hard to get into, the second rather disturbing, and the third, as mentioned, a fluffy romance. Still, I recommend them all. Over the July 4th holiday I read Chains, by Laurie Halse Anderson, which is one Alex had to read last year for school and recommended. That kid knows me. Another historical fiction. I loved it, and loved reading about the Revolutionary War on July 4! It's about the only patriotic thing I did, other than watching some fireworks from our front porch... on the 3rd. Ha. What will I read next?? Probably a Helen Fielding sequel to the Bridget Jones series, Mad About the Boy. I won it at a baby shower recently. 

The WLC is almost done! ONE MORE WEEK. I'm glad I did it again, but glad it's nearly over. It has been difficult. I don't want to do the next one. I do want to keep up the good habit of not eating so much bread and sugar, and of stretching EVERY DAMN DAY. Sorry about the profanity, my friend Nataly says that about yoga and I think it's funny. I'm enjoying this week's Lifestyle Practice, of throwing away (or getting rid of) one thing every day. Might have to keep that up, too, for a while. I threw out some beat-up shoes yesterday. All they've been doing is cluttering up my closet for the last year. I got good use from them, and now it's time to say goodbye. 

Last night Shawn did yoga with me. (Thank you, Shawn!) I could talk all day about stretching and breathing and yoga, and how good it is for health and ease and pain relief; I really loved sharing it with him (like we did wayyyy back in 1999 when we were dating, and took a class together). I hope we'll be able to do more of it together, although it might be harder with the kids back home. Then again, maybe Kate would join us, too, while Alex is probably playing video games online. LOL. Or maybe we could get Alex to join in the fun. Only thing is, we need a bigger room and 2 more yoga mats. ;)