raindrops keep falling

Here's a little taste of what this week has been like in these parts.

It's been all wet feet and grey skies, relentless rain and soggy ground.  I've had time to slow down after the past few weeks of excitement and travel.  Even Beulah seems tired and has been extra-cuddly, perhaps because she has no intention whatsoever of stepping foot out into the downpour unless absolutely necessary!  Fires may be raging in other parts of the country, but there is little chance of that here any time soon.  I feel a settling inside, an appreciation for everything that happened over the summer and an emerging readiness for autumn.  Unfortunately, I doubt we will get much fall weather for at least another month or so.  It's these transition periods that are so hard for me.  Apparently I'm really impatient with change; for me it's all or nothing right now.  Perhaps this is a lesson I'm supposed to learn ~ to be gracious about change and to let it happen in its own time.  I'm trying to remember that nothing happens overnight, but it's hard for me to accept that I cannot force change and that it's ok.  As September kicks off with a sense of remembrance and reflection over 9/11 and the holiday season fast approaches, I plan to take this month to recoup and redirect yet again.  Like the seasons, I feel it's necessary to stop at times and think about plans, dreams, aspirations and changes which need to be made.  As the rain falls outside my windows I contemplate life indoors and recharge for all the good awaiting me.

this week

I call this "Still Life of My Kitchen Window."  Witness my new favorite (for still-life purposes) flowers, carnations.  They never die!

• Due to a miscommunication with USAA I am currently debit-card-less as I wait for the mail to deliver it to me.  Therefore, I'm paying for everything with checks.  Like I'm 200 years old.  (It takes about 200 years for each transaction too.)
• The house is a mess and I'm too tired to clean much.  Got to get things on track for next week's visitor.
• It's hot, allowing for only an hour of knitting at a time, tops.
• Beulah is losing her mind.  Because it's hot.  And I'm tired.
• There is not enough beer in the world.
• Since when does good beer cost so much?  I need to move to Germany.
• I plan to make my dining room into a sitting room/study.  By writing checks for my additions to the space.

run for it

I've been running quite a bit lately, trying to whip myself back in shape after my post-Army slump.  My goal for the last two weeks was 10 miles a week and this week it's been upped to 15.  Not really all that much, considering I used to log in about 20-30.  It's always, always hard to get started, but as soon as I get myself out the door and hit the road I feel better.  The goal is to be consistent, and to continue to increase my mileage (and hopefully speed which has been downright embarrassing) until I'm in shape to run a 10-miler, to be followed with a half-marathon and maybe even a full one of these days.  There are a few races I'm keeping in mind for next year, but for now I'm completely content to just make the running and mileage goals a habit again. 

And it might be just about time for a new pair of shoes.  Hmph, too bad they're so expensive!

weekend plans

As the weekend draws closer, my list of things to do gets longer and longer. Simplifying, streamlining and re-configuring all the moving parts of my life certainly can be hard work! However, it's worth it. I feel it's healthy to take a close look at yourself from time to time and re-evaluate what is working and what isn't. As I continue to tweak myself and my life closer and closer to my goals there is one constant theme ~ a need for positive changes and frequent evaluations of where I am and what I am doing. Exciting stuff, really. For me anyhow.

So, I'm off to enjoy Friday evening and look forward to a weekend of clearing out spaces both internally and externally. Have a great weekend!

time to get moving

My holiday weekend can be summed up in one photo:


Not a whole lot of activity, one might say. It was nice, real nice, but after three days of lounging (interspersed with occasional jaunts to the park to wear the pup out) last night I decided it was high time to get myself back into gear.

And so I give you:


This. I like to call it, "A Glimpse of Dorian Gray, Post Destruction of Said Painting." Things aren't too pretty in Chez Emily at 0545.

But, it worked out well. Beulah and I went for a long walk (with coffee in hand) around the neighborhood. I went for a post-walk run, ate breakfast, packed lunch, chased the dog around the house and headed to work, a little muscle soreness paying me back for being lazy for over a week.


So, no more lounging around the house. No more pizza. No more beer. No more not paying attention to the money I spend on crap.

Time to get moving, accomplish some more of this year's goals, keep the momentum up. Even a 0545 wakeup is cool, as long as it gets me closer to where I want to be.

I'll be buying more coffee later today.

time to go to work

Oh Kong Toy, how I love thee! First discovered after listening to my new puppy cry and cry every time I left the house (almost a year ago no), the Kong toy saved my booty - or at last my sanity. You stuff that thing with peanut butter, smooshed up sweet potato or treats, make sure she's interested and beat feet out the door before she realizes I'm gone!! Beulah has actually learned the "time to go to work" routine now. I fill the Kong, she watches and when I'm done runs to the couch and jumps up on it, I offer the treat, she looks at me forlornly and then digs on in, I sneak out the door. Another potentially-neighbor-enraging incident averted.

already tuesday!

Wow! Is Monday already here? Ha! Wait! It's Tuesday! Oh the week just started off on the right foot! The schedule for the week is: work four days, happy hour with the office folk on Thursday evening and lunch out with them on Friday.... Good thing we all like each other!

Also, I get PAID THIS WEEK (!) and so will very likely be in the market for a tent and sleeping bag this weekend.... Gearing up for some camping trips with Beulah here. I've never camped alone and so think it's high time to remedy that. Beulah agrees. Or, rather, she will when she knows what I'm talking about.

I'm actually psyched about this week and really am not even sure why. But hey, that's ok with me. Hope your week is starting off right!

one step at a time

Sometimes it's the little things that make life a pleasure. I've been working hard to try to do all the little things I've always wanted to do and simply never bothered to make a reality. Nothing hard or complicated. Little things. Things like making sure I have plants on the patio, a good mix of flowers and (hopefully) food-bearing plants. Actually attempting to compost my food scraps, running every day, eating a mainly vegetarian diet, burning that incense I love, drinking good coffee, turning off the tv and reading a good book.

None of these things are hard to do, or terribly earth-shattering, but the more I make the decision to do them instead of the alternative the more I find the days are happier somehow. It's really true; you have to live your life one moment at a time and not spend so much of it planning for the future. I'm a planner, always have been. To a certain degree this is a good thing. It keeps me moving and growing, always looking for the next thing. However, when I remember to slow down a bit and not miss all the moments in between plans I am happier and the days are better.

I hope I can keep this up. My goal is to remain mindful of the small things you can do to make every day a little special. It makes a big difference.

abundant blessings

Sometimes life flies by and I have to remind myself to stop and smell the petunias. Life is so full of blessings. Today I am thankful for:

*wet puppy tongue waking me up before sunshine *sunshine on patio petunias *piles of books waiting to be read *surprise packages from my daddy *cuban seashells reminding me of summer *hot coffee burning my tongue *homemade blankets piled in closets *flip-flop weather *prospect of seeing my little sister again soon *regular paycheck *colleagues laughing in the office *learning to like my face without makeup and my hair with curls *actually enjoying humidity *purchasing the year's first bottle of sunscreen *knowing friday is here

"sleeping in"

Most mornings the alarm on my rinkey-dink phone goes off at about 0600, and is promptly changed to 0630 which hardly ever works the way I plan because somebody goes from being quietly asleep on the majority of whatever pillow I'm laying on to not only wide awake, but wide awake and ready to play!! (Or pee, as the case may be) Whatever the reason is, we're up and at 'em before the sun has completely made it into the sky and off on a walk before I've even had a chance for coffee.

For some reason, a few days ago the normal didn't happen and a fuzzy puppy and I slept until the sun hit our faces. Oh, it was nice. So nice. The kind of nice I hope happens again one day. Nice enough to be documented by attempting a portrait of a, by then, wiggly puppy in that sunshine I've been enjoying so much.

self portrait

Since both of us had some work done lately, I thought it was high time for a self portrait. So here we are, cuddling on the couch. At least 50 takes into the photo process... poor Beulah looks like she's being held captive. (she kinda was at that point) Oh well! Good times!

yesterday

Yesterday I went to Arlington National Cemetery. My office was responsible for a remembrance ceremony there for fallen military medical personnel. I hadn't been there before and took the opportunity to take a few shots:




It was beautiful, sad and soothing all at the same time. Like the sign said, they were truly hallowed grounds.

GTMO BFF

"My favorite memories of GTMO involve coffee, wine, pizza roles and you. :-) Happy Wednesday."

Last night I got this text on my phone from my roomie in GTMO. When Maria moved into the adjacent "room" (more like space in the in hooch we inhabited) I was worried. She outranked me, she was Navy and we were going to work together. We ended up the best of friends and every morning we'd open the doors to the bathroom that separated our "rooms" and share a pot of coffee. Every night we'd sit on the boardwalk outside with one of those gallon jugs of cheap Sangria and a bunch of pizza rolls.

Her text message last night made my whole day!

top 'o the mornin

Happy St. Patrick's day! Although I forgot all about it earlier this morning (and was wondering why the heck everyone else in the office was wearing green) I think I'll celebrate with some Irish brew tonight :)

reading through the stack

What's been happening around here these days? A whole lot of what you see in the photo... reading, sipping hot beverages and watching the rain. It suits my mood these days. I love when I can just sit down and get involved in a book and well, just forget about the rest of the world for a bit!

love in the mail

I'm not gonna lie, the past few weeks have been kind of rough here in Emilyland. Seems like 2011 is shaping up to be a year of big changes and hard choices.

Which is why I was so happy to receive this package from my father last night. It made "home" feel just a little closer...

I can't wait to make some of the tons of German goodies he managed to pack in that box, but my very favorite part of the whole thing was this:


My favorite flower!

thursday

Here's a little glimpse of my morning. The rain outdoors meant more time to read and cuddle with Beulah on the couch.

knitting by the fire

It was so nice to have an extra day off today! Although we had big plans here, Beulah and I ended up doing just this. You can't see her, but she's asleep with her head on my lap in this picture... It was rainy and the temps started to drop, so we made the most of it and hunkered down.

Sweater pics coming soon!

making plans

I've decided this year I'm going to plant a garden. Regardless of the fact that I have only a patio at my disposal, I'm going to do it. I'll just load up on pots and soil and make my merry way!

The thing is, I really have very little experience when it comes to the practical sort of gardening I want to do. But really, how hard can it be?? For the last few weeks I've been mulling over what I want to (attempt) to grow. Here's the list so far.... keeping things as reasonable as possible.

• Tomatoes
• Kale (lovelovelove kale)
• Garlic (you can never have enough garlic)
• Morning glories (or some other sort of climbing, flowering plant for the fence)
• Geraniums
• Herbs including, but not limited to: basil, mint, cilantro, parsley, rosemary
  
• Maybe broccoli??
• Hot peppers
  

Any suggestions? I can use all the advice I can get. I'm thinking some of this I'll try from seed and some I'll get the plants already started for me. Maybe I'll start the herbs this weekend, and pick up a farmer's almanac....

new beginnings

This past month or so has marked some new stuff in my life; new place to live, about 15 new knitting projects (started and not completed!), new commitment to living lightly!! This year is shaping up to be yet another set of surprises and challenges. That's life, right?

Anyhow, I set a small goal for myself for the month of Feb. I need to finish this blanket for Afghans for Afghans, as well as the sweater I've undertaken. Both are pretty close. I just have to sit down and do them.

I figure if I keep my projects close to these daffodils (my favorite flower) I will remember to work on them!