Ok, maybe these are not so little! But the pictures included in this post are ones where I just realized the simple beauty that is always around me. I love cloudy days (good thing I want to move to the pacific northwest, huh?)
Sunset in St. Lucia – loved the clouds down there over the ocean
When I was in St. Lucia, if I sat still enough, I was treated to the sight of so many sand crabs digging out their homes, and I marveled at how efficiently they worked, plus how well they blended in with their surroundings. And finally, the last photo of the sky through the trees – my ex-boyfriend got me into noticing the leaves on trees a lot more. I took this last photo below while on our field trip in St. Lucia. Because it’s so humid, the climate is basically like a rain forest. Read more →
A good online friend of mine recently joked that my “Done” column was getting pretty long and I might need to start a new page. I’m cool with that! Read more →
Well, it was my first week back after the conference, and it was a busy one. Sorry I have not been writing much lately but I’ve been extremely busy and there just don’t seem to be enough hours in the day, sometimes. I know I’m not alone in thinking this way. Anyway, I hope that will change after this weekend. It’ll be my second attempt at passing the CES (corrective exercise science) certification exam. You need 70 points to pass, and on my first attempt, well, I got 69. My chiropractor said that’s pretty good considering I have not gone to an actual school to learn all of this. Self-learning anatomy and physiology is really hard, trust me. I also know that I sometimes freak out when a test is timed, as this one is. (So, if I normally read your blog and make comments and haven’t done so this past week or two, I plan on catching up!) Read more →
Just a very quick post before I head down to the beach to take a walk along the water’s edge… (btw, I had meant to take this bird’s photo while he was stationary but as I got closer, he took to the air. I think the picture came out even better that way!)
sunset on St. Lucia
I’m very thankful to have spent the time with friends again in the Caribbean, and that my presentation (seemed) to go well earlier this week. It was cool to see all these librarians who usually work in a formal setting getting up and stretching and laughing amongst each other.
I met a librarian who my school really wanted to interview, but because of timing and other circumstances, it didn’t work out and she got hired elsewhere. She was really cool and she said I inspired her to start working out again. 🙂
I’ve been worried about my furballs, and one in particular, this week, Bonkers, because he was sick. But my roommate (and her boyfriend especially) took care of him and he seems to be recovering well. I am so glad that he was not alone when he got sick and that someone who really cared about him was there to help him out, get him all cleaned up, made sure he was eating enough canned pumpkin, etc.
I’ve been able to swim in the near-bathwater-temperature of the Caribbean every day this week. Many of the people around here take it for granted but I never would.
There have been a family of cats that live at the hotel area where I am staying – they’ve been super cute and a lot of people here have been feeding them (although they still look a bit on the skinny side), so they’ve made me feel a bit less like I am so far from home.
I am thankful to be returning home to my furballs. I have really missed them.
I realized by being down here that I think the pacific northwest will definitely be a good match for me. It was very overcast here in St. Lucia yesterday, and I loved it. I’m definitely ok with some grey days as long as I know it won’t be raining nonstop and also that the sun will eventually come back. As long as I won’t be freezing to death on all of those really grey days, I’m good to go. That’s the difference between the northwest and the northeast. In the northeast, it can just become absolutely miserable.
I will write more over the next few days, and add in lots of pictures of St. Lucia. I put a few on facebook but that doesn’t begin to scratch the surface of how many I took! (The little guy below was pretty friendly – we met him on our tour on Wednesday afternoon and he even let me pick him up and hold him!)
She melts my heart every day. Those eyes…”how can you NOT love me??!!”
Hi folks, sorry to not have published this on Friday like I normally do. I was then going to publish it over the weekend but to be honest, I was in one of those “bleck bleh blah” moods yesterday and I like to publish posts that reflect my mood at the time. So, I’m a few days late. But I hope you can enjoy the picture of my little Osito above. Everyone remarks on her eyes being blue. That’s because she’s blind. But she is a gorgeous almost 13 year old girl, isn’t she??
I found out last week I have been approved to attend a conference again this year in the Caribbean! In St. Lucia, to be exact!!
1. I’m going to St. Lucia in July, baby!!
2. I’m going to St. Lucia in July, baby!!
3. I’m going to St. Lucia in July, baby!!
4. Anyone noticing a theme here yet? Ok, another thing I am thankful for is that I had a gum graft done last week. While I’m not happy for the pain and discomfort it caused when the novacaine wore off, and the Percocet hadn’t yet had time to kick in, at least I have really good insurance and a flexible spending plan, so when it’s all said and done, it doesn’t cost me as much as it would cost others to get the same procedure done.
5. Last weekend we had spring-like weather. We’re talking temps in the high 40s. For us this winter, that’s like tropical weather. I wish I could say I was kidding.
6. I saw a doctor for my back last week (I’ve been dealing with back pain for over a year now; the first doctor said it was just a “Strain”…yeah, right) and some days it really hurts to bend over, etc. I’m going to have xrays taken this week and am also setting up an appointment with a chiropractor. The doctor that I saw last week also suggested some trigger point injections to manage the pain. Unfortunately, I didn’t get one last week because of the fact that I had literally had gum work done, oh, 3 hours before and was under the influence of the aforementioned Percocet. (Yes, I’m a wimp when it comes to pain. You offer me painkillers – I’ll take them. I feel no shame in doing that.)
7. I took the day off on which I had both the dentist and back doctor appointments. So grateful to have as much sick time as I do, because honestly, I couldn’t have imagined going into work that day.
8. Over the weekend I read through my Muscle and Fitness Hers magazine and felt inspired. Granted, the fitness models pictured in it are at their peaks, but it just got me thinking of when I had six pack abs just two years ago, and I really want them back. I’m working on it – right now, it’s about a 3-4ish pack? When I suck it in, that is. 🙂
9. Following up on number 8 above, I’ve decided to get one of the multiple meal cooler bags packs so that I can start measuring out my servings better and get more into eating 5-6 small meals per day rather than 3 decent sized ones and then occasionally snacking in between. I’m deciding between the 6-pack bags and those made by Isobag. If anyone has any thoughts on either, good or bad, please let me know. (And yes, I know it’s a lot of money for a cooler. The key for me is the organization it will help me to have, and organization is key when you start riding your bike to work and everything needs to be in its own special place.)
10. Got an email from the author with whom I’m working over the weekend and she was “delighted” with the work I had done and sent to her most recently. I LOVE working with this woman!
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Chasing Simple Dreams 