Begin Again!

I have been thoroughly lax in attending to this blog. I do not know whether anyone reads this or not, but I am going to start writing again for myself, to talk about my days, and maintain my sanity. It has been a stressful year, but I am in a much better place mentally, physically and emotionally. Stressful job has ended, health is now wonderful, and I am ready to start anew!

The remainder of my school year was long and challenging. I was happy to have wrapped up the interim Special ed program head position...I enjoyed it and learned many things. One thing I did learn was the role that politics plays in applying for and obtaining a new position. It would be highly unprofessional to go into details. Suffice to say, I am still not 100% certain what my role with be in the fall. I would like to be in a leadership position, but the cards have not all been played yet. Stay tuned...

Through all the craziness of this year, I have maintained my grain-free eating…I just haven’t put a lot of effort into it. My goal as summer winds down, and school begins again is to cook/create a primal/paleo/grain-free item every day, and eat it. More cooking of food, and less relying on almond butter/green apples night after night for dinner!

I am happy to be back. I look forward to blogging as the spirit moves me...my intention is to be moved every day!

Day Seventy - Sunset

obsessive SLP

The summer is setting behind me. It has been relaxing, exciting, serene and beautiful. I worked part time, took some great vacations, spent tons of time at the beach, caught up on reading, and finished house projects. I feel rejuvenated, and I am ready to tackle the next phase of my career. I start my Program Head position tomorrow. I have enjoyed this summer immensely, and I look forward to the new school year.

If you have been reading this blog, I thank you for your time. I hope you have enjoyed your summer as well, and I wish you a happy fall season!

A bientot!

Day Forty-Nine - Scrumptious

Decided to make an easy, low-key dinner on this hot, humid evening. Nothing like a salad to accomplish that!

This one has arugula, baby lettuce, mint, cucumbers, watermelon, avocado slices and grilled scallops, topped with extra virgin olive oil and lime juice.

It was excellent!

Last Day at the Beach

Columbus Weekend at the beach! It was a magnificent weekend – truly appreciated after the deluge of rain we have had in the past weeks.  We relaxed, barbecued, walked the dog, and just relaxed together. I caught up on tons of reading and sleep. It was a perfect ending to an excellent summer.

What would a weekend away be without a crazy story? I was fairly wired Sunday night – too much coffee too late in the day. It was about 1:30 in the morning; Dearly Beloved was asleep, and I was reading a book on my iPad, hoping I would fade off quickly. As I read, my eyes drifted out the window towards the illuminated street, when I saw the most peculiar thing - the tail end of what appeared to be a horse running up the street past the house, with a police car in hot pursuit. Five minutes later, there is a DONKEY running back down the street towards the beach with the police still tailing along behind! Not something you see around here... I called the police the next day to see if they caught the runner. They did, but all I could hear in the background was wild laughter - the poor cops who took the donkey in custody will probably never live it down!

Day Seventy - Richness

Seventy days. I have accomplished many things during this time, most of which I didn't plan. I have rested and relaxed. I feel that I have recovered my health, even while I discovered a minor health condition. I have taken time to reflect on what I want my life to be in the next few years - prosperous, doing the work that I love, being with the love of my life while we travel and enjoy ourselves together. I have written this blog every day; sometimes it was challenging, and sometimes I didn't have much to say, but I have loved doing it. I have worked, vacationed,exercised, and taken time for myself.

As I watch the white squirrels run back and forth across the top of my fence while they gather and prepare for the winter, I am gathering myself together in thought and in action. I am ready to get back into the busy flow of the rest of my year. I will work doing the job that I love in two or three different venues, but I will be more thoughtful about taking time for myself. I will continue to write in this blog weekly, and enjoy each day of the next forty-two weeks, until time rolls into The Seventy Days of next summer. A bientot!

Day Sixty-nine - Receptive

It is winding down. One more day. I am grateful for the time. I feel healthier, happy, and more relaxed. Nice lunch with a friend today, then off to the trainer for some warrior moves.

Day Sixty - Return

Traveled home today. Saw a crazy goose flying right beside us as we drove along. Mum seems better. I had a wonderful, relaxing week!

Day Fifty-eight - Ray

It was a lovely day. The sun danced among the clouds, the west wind gently blew, the temperature was perfect, and I enjoyed my second to last day at the beach. It has been perfect - we rested, relaxed, made a great dinner, chatted. I did some writing, we shopped, and slept. We were very lazy, and it was delightful!

Day Fifty-seven - Relief

Car is fixed...Back to cruisin' and enjoyin'!

Day Fifty-four - Reptilian

My mother has a brother who has a wife who might be the single most annoying person on the planet. She is nosy, pushy, and toxic. She is probably where J.P. Rowling got the idea for the Dementors in Harry Potter  - your soul is gone in a heartbeat. You may get the idea that I do not enjoy being around her. She truly is the only person in my life about whom I feel this way. She called last night, and invited herself to the beach for the day tomorrow. On my vacation. I immediately had to revert to being a 12 year old, stomped my feet, and made a huge deal of how I didn't want her coming, how she ruins everything, how my mother never stands up to her, blahblahblah. DB thinks I am insane, but being the wonderful human being that he is, will whisk me away tomorrow to a place of fun and happiness!

Day Fifty-two - Roundabout

In and out the roundabout... We did lots of traveling around rotaries last night and today. Dearly Beloved had a hard time getting going yesterday; we had several false starts - a forgotten suitcase being ONE of the reasons for returning home. DB was also mixing business with pleasure. He restores grills as a hobby, and we had two to drop off on the way to the beach. Thank the Universe  for GPS devices; it saves our relationship! There is something so comforting about hearing British Nuvi's voice droning, "In point two miles, enter roundabout, and take third exit..." Of course, when DB ignores her, and we hear, "RECALCULATING...", then there are two of us to gang up on him about his lack of directional attentiveness...

Day Thirty-one - Rebuffed

We had great plans for a spur-of-the-moment, beat-the-hideous-heat, overnight getaway to the beach today. I threw a few things in a bag, gathered all my technology, packed up the Grind-N-Brew, along with some Starbucks beans, and hit the road. We had a great afternoon and evening - coastal driving, outlet shopping, stopping for an internet break when we wanted - it was lovely! We had dinner at one of my favorite beach restaurants, with a view of the lighthouse right in front of us. The calamari, Cobb Salad, and the company were delightful. The waves pounding rhythmically on the shore and the fog slowly seeping in around us made for a lovely backdrop to our dinner.

Then we decided to find a place to stay for the night. We called several places at the beach, and as expected, they were full. Called eight or nine places inland, to no avail. We even called hotels in our home town, hoping for some air conditioned delight around the corner. Full! So we drove the hour home, cranked up the cranky bedroom A/C, and called it a day.

Day Thirty - Rotisserie

The heat has officially won. I was forced to install the A/C today, because it was 110 degrees in my bedroom. Yuck! Somewhere in the middle between 5 feet of snow and over 100F is where I would like the weather to be. I am going to visualize that perfect day from last week... Aahhh! Maybe Monday? More ice tea please!

Day Twenty-seven - Resurrect

My front porch wall is falling down, falling down, falling down....

The landscape contractor who did the work on my back stairs, patio, and walkway was back yesterday to look at the next potential project (been savin' up...!) - repairs to the field stone front porch, and greatly needed landscape updates. Sometimes you have to give in and say, "I just can't do this by myself!". This would be one of those times!

Day Twenty- Five - Rhythmic

The days have a rhythmic pattern to them, particularly at the beach. I have gone to this beach every summer since I have been a small child. It looks exactly the same now as it did then - the same sweeping curve of sand, the same Tequila Sunrise sunsets, the same undulating waves inching up the shore. It is one of my favorite places in the world. It has hidden me, shielded me and celebrated me. I have had some of my most joyous times here, engaged in bad behavior here, and soothed my stressed and wounded soul here.

Today I was just so happy to be here again.

Day Twenty-two - Reminisce

DB and I decided to have the SILs over for dinner, before the ladies traveled back to Nevada on Saturday. The three of them have been working feverishly at Mother's house trying to tame, organize, and donate her vast quantity of books, dolls, craft supplies and clothing. They have made remarkable progress, and are totally exhausted. I am more emotionally exhausted. With more evidence of synchronicity everywhere around me, my two final students of the day at summer school cancelled. When I returned home, basking in the extra 90 minutes, my personal trainer messaged me to say that she had double-booked my make-up session, and would have to reschedule! Glorious! Lots of extra time not only to get ready for dinner, but to relax for a bit. The weather was perfect today; it was the kind of day that you long for all winter, and most of the summer in New England - 70s, low humidity, blue skies, nice breeze.

We had a really nice time tonight.  DB cooked the steaks and corn I had bought. The SILs each had a nice glass of wine, which relaxed them. We finished up with wonderful strawberry shortcake. We had many laughs remembering Mother and her jokester ways. Another wonderful day!