If Only I Had Actually Been Lounging Poolside…
(A shot from our new back porch, where I plan to spend a lot of time this summer lounging, reading, etc…)
Cannot believe it’s already May! If you look at the date of my last blog entry, you might guess that, much like Julia Roberts, Lindsay Lohan, Carrie Underwood, and many other celebrities of varying talent levels, I’ve recently taken a bit of a hiatus. We’ve had a very overwhelming 2012 so far. House-hunting, two moves, whirlwind trips, becoming more involved in our church, training for a 5K, and a new semester have kept me busier than I’ve been in quite some time. The good news, however, is that I’ve read a ton of excellent books lately, and I’m looking forward to spending more quality time with this little website. To review the last several months, I’ve put together some lists for quick reflection.
Non-celebrity things I’ve done during my hiatus:
- Read lots of great books, including three from my Christmas wish list (reviews to come)!
- Moved from a big house to a small rent house to a perfectly-sized home to stay for a while.
- Started a new semester with some of the greatest students ever.
- Reunited with some precious former students from my first years of teaching, attending their musical and celebrating their graduation.
- Helped my husband transition to a new job with longer hours and fantastic potential for growth.
- Started a new lifegroup with two other couples (and currently anticipating how God will work through it!).
- Nursed one of my sweet puppies through recovery from dental surgery (he lost 14 teeth, poor baby!).
- Enjoyed a few trips to Missouri, including one for some fun with friends in the tourist trap we all know and love, Branson.
- Started the Couch to 5K training program to prepare for a 5K in June.
- Learned running is not nearly as easy as it was when I was a sprightly 16 years of age.
- Enjoyed the C25K training immensely more once “splurging” on a 45 dollar iPod Shuffle.
- Promptly downloaded a huge amount of *NSync, Britney Spears, Incubus, Nelly, the Verve, and more peppy late ’90s-early 2000s favorites to remind my body how it used to be back in the day I could run a half-marathon.
Celebrity-like things I have not done during my hiatus:
- Lounged poolside, sipping on a margarita.
- Been discussed in the tabloids (I’d be fairly boring, I’m afraid).
- Toured the globe to attend my glamorous movie premieres, sold-out concerts, glitzy gallery openings, etc.
- Yachted (that can be a verb, right)?
- Given an interview to a magazine and then pouted because the author “took my words out of context”.
Vaguely-celebrity-like things I have done during my hiatus:
- Sipped on a margarita on my couch while watching my DVR after a long week at work.
- Been discussed by my students after I (gasp) cut several inches off my hair (it’s summer, people)!
- Toured the Ozark mountains and attended a premiere performance of Chilean scissor-dancers in glitzy and glamorous Silver Dollar City.
- Browsed boats at Springfield’s Bass Pro and dreamed of yachting one day.
- Given an interview to the newspaper students to appear in the last edition of the year (I’m desperately hoping my words aren’t “taken out of context”, or I predict a major scandal! Not.)
Here’s hoping that YOU will get some time this summer to relax, whether it’s in the harsh glare of the spotlight or the beautiful quiet of obscurity. Whatever the case, check back here for far more regular entries, some new blog features, and of course, reviews of great literature like The Book Thief right alongside some awesome, guilty-pleasure summer reads! Happy summer!
