Day #58...weather delayed

Yesterday was a long, busy, productive day at work. I got to spend the day at a high school on the White Mountain Apache reservation in east central Arizona, up in the beautiful mountains...ahhhh! I accomplished a lot and made some great contacts at the school. The day started with an expression of disappointment that I had arrived, and not my boss, but ended with a request for ME (not my boss) to return in a couple weeks for more assistance.

As the day was drawing to a close, the clouds outside were looking pretty dark and threatening. (HUGE understatement!)

I drove 175 miles home, three-quarters of which was through what today has been described as the worst storm to pass through AZ in memory. We had hurricane strength winds of 80-100 mph! Thankfully, the most treacherous part of the drive, through the Salt River Canyon, was the one part of the drive where the storm gave me a break.

The path of yesterday's storm was the same route I had to take home, so I certainly got a workout. Thank goodness for a heavy, low-profile car. My Maxima may have almost 200,000 miles on it, but it was a ROCK on the drive! It earned itself a reprieve from the trade-in lot for the time being. It's old, it's ugly, it's got a zillion miles on it, but after yesterday I can't bear to let it go!

Driving my girls to school this morning we saw scores of trees that had been torn up by the winds last night. Many had branches torn off, and some were simply uprooted. I even saw one huge tree that had not only been ripped out by the roots, it had been flung into the middle of the road by the storm!

I am truly grateful for arriving home safely last night. I knew it was a rough drive, but only now do I realize how extreme yesterday's weather was.

Day #57

Still loving the new job!

Tomorrow is a loooooong day. I leave my house before 5AM to head up to the White Mountains for the day. It's so nice to get paid to spend some time in a place that looks more like this:

...than like this:

No, that's not my house up there, but I think that photo really captures the ugliness that is Phoenix in my mind. I'm just not desert girl at heart.

Day #56

When my daughters were both toddlers, throwing temper tantrums and making day-to-day life, er...challenging, people would tell me that things only get harder.

They were right.

Fortunately the tantrums are much fewer and farther-between, but a whole new set of challenges arose when they got older. I have two daughters, eighteen months apart, both approaching middle school age. The hormones are starting to kick up. Emotions are running high. Friends are becoming more important in the grand scheme of things. I'm getting scared.

Right now the biggest challenge for me is trying to navigate my way through the maze of girl diplomacy.

I love the friends my older daughter has chosen. This is a group of sweet, sensitive girls with great values. She spent Saturday volunteering at a local shelter, preparing meals and serving food to the homeless alongside her friend Mariah's family. There is no drama in this group of friends. All the families are so nice, and the girls get along wonderfully.

My younger daughter, however, is another story. She has some nice friends, but this group has a lot of drama going on. Again, the families are nice enough, but there are some discrepancies in values here. I'm not sure how to address this. I don't want to be the mom who tells her nine year old, "You can't play with so-and-so anymore!", but I am trying to passively discourage certain friendships. Is that bad?

I clearly see certain friendships leading to some very hurt feelings in the future. There are some mean-girls-in-training in this group, and my younger daughter tends to be more of a follower. She is already so concerned with what her friends think. As we tried to plan her birthday party, she was most concerned with when it would be convenient for her friends, and what her friends would like to do most. I kept telling her it was supposed to be her day to choose an activity that would be special to her, not a time to try and please her friends. She didn't get it.

How can I help her become more of a leader and less of a follower? How do I guide her toward friends who will lift her up, not drag her down?

Those folks who said it only gets harder weren't kidding. At least we're done with tears in the checkout line at the market when Mommy says no to candy.

Oh wait, I have an almost-toddler on my hands...

Here we go again!

Day #55...Huh?

If you ever want to feel better about yourself and what you've eaten, check out this website.

Personally, I don't get it. I realize there are some who would accuse bloggers of having "nothing better to do", but FoodFeed just makes no sense to me whatsoever!

I guess it's useful if you're having regrets about that extra brownie you had this morning. Yeah, I had brownies for breakfast. Have I mentioned I'm going to lose 25 pounds before my 100th day of blogging is up?

Day #54

There are babies in the air!

No, I am not pregnant. Following the birth of our son last fall, my husband and I made absolutely certain there would be no more. I was a little sad about that. Saying a permanent goodbye to one's childbearing phase is bittersweet. Sometimes more bitter than sweet. In a way it's an acknowledgement of one's mortality, as in, "I am getting too old to carry another pregnancy". I don't like addressing that reality one bit!

It was also a little sad because I realized our son would be somewhat of an only child. The age difference (8+ years) between him and our next-youngest child is so great that in many ways he'll always be on his own. Our daughters were so close in age, they were practically twins. They always had a companion (and sparring partner), but our little guy will never have that. I feel kind of bad about it.

However, my friends and family have unknowingly stepped into the gap and are providing my little boy with some age-compatible playmates! I have recently learned that I am going to be an aunt for the first time (so excited!), and one of my oldest friends here in AZ (one of my grad school roommates, actually) is expecting as well. Come spring, there will be new babies buzzing around the periphery of my life. I can't wait! I'll get my itty-bitty baby fix, AND, a little later on, my son will have some playmates at family functions and social get-togethers.

There are a few other friends out there who I know are working on joining the "Mommy to Be" club (you know who you are, ladies). Here's hoping the Baby Magic comes your way soon!

Day #53

Next week I will be spending three days in Yuma for work. If Phoenix is Hell, then Yuma is the lowest level of Hell. I was amused by a quote from the Yuma tourism website:

"Mild winters and temperate summers make Yuma an ideal destination for all your vacation needs."

I'm trying to figure out in which parallel universe regular temperatures in excess of 110 degrees is considered "temperate".

My dad once shared with me the fact that Yuma is often used as a test site for aircraft (he's an aerospace engineer). Apparently Yuma is a good location for testing hot takeoff and landing conditions. Notice, it's not utilized for its "temperate" climate.

I can't stand temperatures above 72 degrees, personally. I know, what am I doing living in Phoenix, right? You know a city is hot when someone from Phoenix is nervous about going there due to the heat...

Day #52

Just in case you were wondering...

I spent most of my life in Southern California, often considered home to some of the nuttiest folks on the planet. I've lived in Phoenix for a little over two years and can now say, with authority and absolute certainty, that THIS is the center of the kooky universe.

If you doubt the above statement, check this out:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/25949118#25949118

Day #51

I'm not sure what bothers me most about this article...

Is it the blatant disregard for property and the law exhibited by the woman in the story?

Or is it the glaring typos?

Someone got paid to write this article...and someone was paid to proof and edit it, for goodness sake!!!

http://www.azcentral.com/offbeat/articles/2008/08/21/20080821library-CR.html

Day #50...Halfway There!

Wish I could say the same about my weight loss goal...but that's another post altogether.

After the air conditioning fiasco, our house was left smelling less-than-rosy. In fact, something about heating the house to a toasty 100+ degrees seems to have activated the lovely aroma of musty dog. I steam-cleaned the carpet today (don't get me started on carpet...I detest carpet!!!), but now the odor is even worse. It's not a urine smell, or anything like that. Our sweet German Shepherd is too good for that.

It just smells like...dog!

I don't want to put any perfume-y powder crap in the carpet, since my son is crawling everywhere. I just want something safe and nontoxic that will get rid of the smell!

I plan to get a fresh box of plain baking soda to sprinkle on the carpet tomorrow before I leave the house, then vaccuum as soon as I get home a couple hours later.

Anyone have any better ideas?

Seriously, dog lovers, help me out here!

Day #49...still hot, with falling trees!

**************This post was started on Friday, but couldn't be completed until today due to circumstances beyond my control. Keep reading, you'll see why...*******************

Ok, just ONE tree is falling, but talk about a complicated evening!

In the midst of the AC drama, we had a big monsoon storm roll through. During the peak of the wind and soaking rain, my husband arrived home from work and informed me that one of the 30 foot trees alongside our house was about to fall over onto our neighbor's roof! This was the same sweet neighbor who was preparing to have us stay over while our AC is awaiting replacement.

The fire department was called out and offered some sage advice along the lines of, "Ummm, yeah you should probably have someone come out and take out that tree."

Ya think??!!

Try finding someone to come out at 9pm in the middle of a summer monsoon to take out a massive palo verde. It ain't gonna happen.

So, our other sweet neighbors then volunteered their house for my family and the next door neighbor with the tree about to fall on her living room...

SLUMBER PARTY!

My husband did his best to fashion a makeshift prop/tie line to hold the tree up until morning. The worst of the wind had passed, thankfully, so the tree actually held. We all slept, cool and safe, at our neighbors' house.

By morning, we were well into the 90 degree+ range, and the smell of a hot and stuffy house was getting pretty bad. My husband was on the neighbor's roof, taking down the leaning tree, the girls were at school, and I had all but given up on getting anything accomplished as far as work from home. I frantically packed things we'd need over the weekend, as it became obvious that we'd need to relocate temporarily.

Our landlord generously offered to put us up in a vacation condo nearby that is owned by her in-laws. We tried to put a positive spin on things and think of it as a little "staycation" (I know, I hate that word too...). The condo was in a new brownstone development close to ASU. It was beautiful! I wish I'd taken my camera, because this three story, two bedroom condo had everything...a huge, flat screen tv (hubby liked that), a basement playroom, a sunken garden tub, a reading loft, ohhhhhh...it was so nice!


There was just one little problem...

The owners live in Michigan and had not been out in a few months. They also had apparently overlooked the water bill, because after relaxing for a few hours and enjoying CNN on that huge tv (who knew Manhattan could be under a tornado warning, by the way...sorry, ADD moment), I went to wash one of my son's sippy cups and discovered there was no running water!

Phone calls were made, the bill was paid electronically, but being that it was after 2 PM on a Friday, those hard working City of Tempe folks decided it was too late to have someone come over and flip whatever switch needs to be flipped to restore water service. So, we packed up (again) and headed for a hotel.



It had been a long couple of days and the kids had been such troopers in the midst of discomfort and chaos. We decided to splurge a little and stay at one of the local resorts. Truthfully, it wasn't really a splurge, because no tourists in their right minds come to Phoenix in August anyway, so there are lots of deals to be had. Rooms at the place we stayed run in the same price range as any decent motel this time of year. We were able to let the kids enjoy some fun in a beautiful pool and waterslide while we gave thanks for the miracle that is modern air conditioning.



We got the call on Saturday morning that our AC would be fixed that day, so my husband raced home to let the repairmen in while the rest of us continued to enjoy that beautiful pool. When checkout time rolled around at noon, we discovered that our wonderful landlord had called in a gift certificate for the cost of our room.

WE LOVE HER!

So, by Sunday our house was back to being livable as far as temperature goes. Sunday and Monday were devoted to the tasks of cleaning up the mess left by the installation of a new AC unit and trying to catch up on housework and the multitude of things I was supposed to get done for my job on Thursday and Friday.

Here it is, Tuesday morning, and things are settling down.

I am sitting in a Starbucks, munching on a fruit plate and sipping my iced coffee. It's not even 9:30 yet, but I've already conducted a training this morning and finished a big chunk of a project that's deadline is tomorrow. I'm waiting for traffic to die down a bit before hopping on the freeway to head home. I'm trying to decide what feels best about today. Is it the fact that when I get back to my house, it will be a comfortable 78 degrees? Maybe. I suspect the best thing about today is that I am here, and not in a classroom. My boss is confident enough in me to have me doing trainings solo now, I am earning money again, and I am content.

Things aren't perfect, but they sure are better!

By the way, a HUGE thank you to MICHELLE for your offer of a place to flee the heat on Thursday! I didn't see your comment until yesterday, but thank you for thinking of us!

Day #48...hot, Hot, HOT!!!

Our air conditioning took another nosedive today. It has been sounding like a giant metal grinder for weeks, but after the last repair they assured us it was as good as new. We had hoped then that they'd go ahead and replace it, as it's an older unit and costs a mint ot run here in the Phoenix summer. They opted for the temporary fix. You get what you pay for...

I was so excited to be working from home today in a quiet house (now that the girls are back in school). Instead, I'm sitting here sweating as I watch the thermometer creep upward. Actually, I think it's sprinting rather than creeping.

I can't go anywhere because I have to wait for the repairmen, who are unable to give me even a rough estimation of their arrival time. Of course, it will probably fall somewhere within the 15 minute window in which I must pick up my girls from school.

I imagine they will arrive, look at the AC unit, tell us it needs a major repair or replacement, and being that it's almost the weekend we''ll probably be stuck sweating it out until Monday or Tuesday.

It's only supposed to hit 108 tomorrow.

Here's one of those things I often ponder...
Why don't AC repair companies seem to stock any of the parts they need to actually DO repairs? I can't understand why this is one business where every fix takes a number of days because one must wait on parts.

It's not yet 2:00 PM and my house has already reached 85 degrees inside. I don't think this is going to be pretty. Time to gather up my candles and other meltables and get them into the garage fridge!

***UPDATE: At 7:50 PM we have an indoor temperature of 94 degrees. The AC needs to be totally replaced and won't be done until Saturday at the earliest, and possibly not until Monday or Tuesday. I had to make rush arrangements to kennel our dog to spare her the heat. This stinks!***

Day #47

Like a deer in the headlights...

My boss had me run my first training today. He dropped this bomb on me once I arrived at the school where we were scheduled. I was a wreck. Fortunately I was working with a small group of very easygoing and flexble teachers who were eager to get the software up and running for their school. My boss occasionally jumped in with comments or suggestions to guide our training, but for the most part it was all me.

We accomplished our goals and got everything covered.

All I can say is whew!

Day #46

Your soul is worth more than diamonds...



I'm such a hippie at heart (without the weed, of course).

I don't care who you vote for this fall, just please VOTE!

Day #45

Jury duty is an interesting study in human nature. Today I witnessed all kinds of interesting and curious behavior on the part of prospective jurors as well as a defendant. Strange stuff!

Nobody wants to be on a jury

Ok, maybe I’m generalizing here, but I think most folks can come up with a thousand other things they would rather do besides sit on a jury. It’s inconvenient, the pay stinks, it’s boring, and the responsibility is huge. I get it! Still, it always amazes me the lengths people will go to in order to be excused from service.

Prospective jurors are instructed to answer all questions honestly. The idea is to weed out bias, prejudice, and life experiences that may prevent one from being fair and impartial. Makes sense to me. The judge today was very clear on many occasions that we were to answer honestly, but if there was sensitive information we would rather not share publicly, we could indicated a “yes” answer, then state that we’d rather discuss details privately with the judge and attorneys. Sounds fair, right?

Well, I was horrified by the number of individuals who openly answered questions about extremely personal information almost gleefully. What the heck??!! Your dad is locked up and awaiting trial for ten counts of exploitation of a minor? Uh, I’d probably want to discuss that privately, thank you very much. Oh, you were raped? Well, thanks for sharing!

Don’t get me wrong…I’m in no way suggesting these folks should be ashamed of things that happened to them, or that were perpetrated by friends or family. I’m all for owning your experiences and moving forward in a good way. But still, I found it really uncomfortable in such a public setting. If your goal is to get out of jury duty, please take the confidential disclosure option. In my humble opinion, anything else is just some weird exhibitionism. This was not a support group or therapy session. It was jury selection!

A man who defends himself has a fool for a client

The jury selection process I participated in today was for a criminal case. The defendant was an older man who had elected to defend himself. I suspect he was a doctor or other highly educated professional. He has been charged with a pretty nasty offense involving physical violence and law enforcement. Sounds messy!

During the entire questioning process, I was having this internal dialog. Yeah, I wanted to get out of service as much as anyone else in the room, but I kept hearing this little voice in my head say “I can be fair, unbiased, and impartial!” I was in full Girl Scout mode, answering questions directly and honestly. It was time to perform my civic duty, and I was stepping up to the plate, by golly! I was totally convinced I could be a great juror (ok, I was having fantasies of being elected foreman and being the one interviewed on 60 Minutes…), right up until we reached the part of the process where the judge allowed the attorneys to ask questions of individual jurors.

Keep in mind, the defendant was representing himself…

When it was his turn to interview jurors, he stood up and addressed a middle aged woman who was employed by a local law enforcement agency. In a harsh, abrasive, loud, and confrontational tone he barked, “Juror number 15, am I innocent or guilty?” She sat in stunned silence for a moment before he repeated his demand. This time the startled woman replied that she didn’t know. His angry response was a monologue about the fact that in a court of law, he was innocent until proven guilty and nobody had the right to presume otherwise. I guess he had a point, but it was not the time or place to be making that point. At that moment I made up my mind that there was no way I could now be fair and impartial. This guy was definitely guilty…of being a jerk with a big ol’ chip on his shoulder!

Fortunately I was not selected for service and was dismissed in the late afternoon. Whew!

And I didn’t even have to publicly confess any deep, dark family secrets.

Day #44...Why I Heart CVS

Today was a very good day for me in CVS land. It would have been even better if I'd been more organized and less generous. Ok, I don't feel too bad about the generous part, but the disorganized thing...very disappointed in myself.

In short, I purchased $32.70 in merchandise for a total of $3.63 out of pocket. That should have been $$0.13 out of pocket, but I misplaced a $2.50 coupon that I 'd have used on my first transaction, and I ended up donating $1.00 to the Phoenix Children's Hospital. More on the unexpected bonus from that little bit of giving later.

My CVS trip today involved two transactions:

Transaction#1:

2 Children's Advil @ $5.79 each = $11.58

used 2 $1 coupons, a $2/$10, a coupon for $3.08, and $4.50 ECBs

Total OOP: $0.17
ECBs earned: $11.58

(I had a CVS coupon for $2.50 off any $10 pain reliever purchase that I should have used here, which would have reduced my ECB cost to $2...I'm so bummed I missed that one!)

Transaction #2:

Alavert 12 ct. = $5.99 (used $4 coupon)
2 Kotex Lightdays @ $3.99 each = $7.98 (used 2 $1 coupons)
CVS Aloe Vera Gel = $0.59
CVS 30 SPF Sunscreen = $0.19
CVS Ibuprofen 20 ct. = $3.39 (used CVS coupon for free item)
Johnson's Buddies Soap = $0.99 (used $0.99 coupon)
Vasoline Intensive Care Lotion 1 oz. = $0.99
$1 donation to PCH

used $4/20 coupon, $2 CVS coupon, and $2 ECBs

Total OOP: $3.46
ECBs earned: $7

I didn't know this beforehand, but my donation to PCH got me a sheet of coupons to some local business and a $3/$15 CVS coupon. SO, I guess my donation earned me $2. I love it when that happens

Once again, I got a bunch of stuff we need and use regularly for pennies on the dollar. I so love my CVS!

Day #43

I have to get a new car. There is simply no way around it. We have not had to worry about a car payment in more than three years, which has been nice, but both our vehicles are pushing 200,000 miles. It's only a matter of time before one or both of them go belly up. With three kids, an extreme climate where we live, and a new job that requires occasional long distance driving (by myself in some pretty remote areas), we need a reliable car. Actually, we need two.

Our plan is to save up some cash as quickly as possible to pay up front for a good, preowned minivan (yes, my husband has finally decided he'll still have testicles even if there's a minivan in the garage). Since it would probably take us a couple years to save enough for a second car as well, we're going to break one of Dave Ramsey's cardinal rules and go ahead and finance the purchase of a second vehicle. This one should be something economical. We intend for the economy car to be used by me when I'm on travel in state, then used by my husband on all other days for his 40 mile round trip commute to work. Whoever is not using the economy car will be the one dealing with the kids that day anyway, so it makes sense for that person to have the minivan.

My husband is a fairly big guy. He is convinced it's impossible for him to drive anything smaller that a full size truck or luxury sedan...this kind of defeats the idea of an economical car. I'm trying to convince him he could learn to be happy with something more along the lines of this:


I hope I can get him over to my side!

Day #42

I am in heaven watching the parade of nations in the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games. It's like a full-color, live action world geography trivia game. Totally up my alley!

Now what was up with those Hungarian outfits?

Day #41

It's after midnight and I'm putting the finishing touches on a project for work tomorrow. Amazingly, I don't really mind the late hour. I'm sure some of it is the novelty of a new job, but I think it's mostly because I'm so glad to not be teaching!

As I dropped my daughters off at school this morning, one of the teachers who was on duty in the parking lot asked me if I missed being there. Mmmmm...nope! Not at all. Not even for a second. I get plenty of "kid" attention from my own children and their friends. Maybe in a few years, when my children are grown and I'm not as eager to explore life's possibilities, I'll long for my days in the classroom. Who knows, perhaps I'll return to the classroom eventually. I won't rule it out entirely.

I just know that with each day that passes, I am more and more grateful for finding the courage to take a few steps back and change direction. I feel productive, useful, appreciated, and encouraged to believe in my abilities and talents.

Love it!

Day #40

I love these things!

There's something oh-so-George Jetson about ice cream flash frozen in liquid nitrogen. I don't know if it's any healthier than the traditional stuff, but it's just so cool (no pun intended)!

By the way, I am still planning on losing 25 lbs. by the time this whole 100 days is over. Really, I am...

Day #39

Random Snack recipe:
1 Red Delicious or Gala apple, sliced
2 heaping spoonfuls of creamy peanut butter
1 cup of miniature marshmallows

Dip apple slice in peanut butter, then add a couple mini marshmallows... soooooo yummy!

My kids love this, and I can eat it every day. Ok, maybe I shouldn't eat it every day, but if not this then we're talking Baskin Robbins or DQ and neither one of them is good for my butt right now. At least we're talking protein & fiber here, right? Then again, Baskin Robbins and DQ do win when it comes to calcium...

Day #38

So much for my fantasy of maternal non-teacherness on the first day of school...

My younger daughter woke up at 1:00 AM vomiting and feverish. She missed her first day of 4th grade. I raced my older daughter to school this morning, then raced home again to pick up my son for an early doctor's appointment. He has another ear infection. Yup, we finished the antibiotics last Wednesday and another case popped up in less than a week.

We're seeing the ENT specialist on Friday.

He will be getting tubes.

I raced back home with my feverish, cranky baby and another prescription for stronger antibiotics in order to relieve my husband so he could go to work. I got to stay home, nursing two sick kids instead of baking brownies and preparing a perfect first-day-of-school dinner a la June Cleaver.

My older daughter came home from school and promptly fell asleep on the living room floor (thank goodness I'd vaccuumed), and didn't move for almost four hours. She finally got up and headed straight to the bathroom. Now she's sick with a stomach bug too. Looks like I'll have three sick kiddos home tomorrow.

Oh, and now my stomach is feeling a little iffy...

Day #37

Tomorrow is the first day of school...and I'm not going to be in the classroom! It was such a treat to go shopping for supplies with my daughters, and not have to worry about what I needed for my class. I got to just focus on their needs and get excited along with them about stuff like new backpacks and binders and pencil cases. Instead of snapping at them to wait because Mommy has to find something for her class, I just followed their lead and watched with glee as they checked off each item on the lists their teachers gave them. I was not especially thrilled when it was time to pay the guy at the register, but the process of hunting down the items was more fun than I'd imagined.

Day #36

I love it when I get a chance to do something well.

One of my goals with my new job is to excel to such a degree that I make myself indispensable to my employer. I want to be "that person", the one that a company can't function without.

In teaching, there is no extrinsic reward for excellence. As long as you can get through the school year without getting fired or reprimanded for gross negligence, you are guaranteed the same pay next year as a teacher with identical education and experience who has devoted hundreds of hours to being great. It is a system that encourages mediocrity in so many teachers. It takes a very rare kind of character for a teacher to continue, year after year, to challenge herself to be fantastic. As much as I would like to think I possess that kind of intrinsic motivation, I know deep down that I don't (at least not at this point in my life). I'm glad I recognized it in time and walked away from teaching when I did. The only thing worse than a bad teacher is a burned out teacher. I was burning out.

With this new job, I feel invigorated and challenged. I look forward to the change of pace and the opportunity to grow in new directions. I also like knowing that if I work hard, do a great job, and produce results, there will be a tangible reward. After years of living on the knife's edge of a paycheck-to-paycheck existence, it's nice to know I have a chance to directly affect the income I earn.

My boss gave my a task to do from home. This is a big job, something they have allotted several months to complete. It's not especially difficult, just time-consuming and requiring a lot of attention to detail. It's something I can do on my own schedule which means I can do it while the girls are in school and the baby is napping, or after the kids are in bed for the night. My goal is to hammer out a huge chunk of the task this week, so that when I meet with my boss on Thursday, I can blow him away with what I accomplished. I'd like to position myself in such a way that I can more or less choose my assignments and work from home as much as I want. I'd also like to be able to name my terms when it's time for my first professional review.

It's very exciting for me to find myself in this position. I had forgotten that there were jobs out there in the "real world" that allowed one these kinds of opportunities.

Day #35...Tired

Looking back at many of my recent posts I realize I'm frequently using the word "tired". Well, I have been (and currently am) tired, but I think it's a good tired. For the most part it's a tired that comes from being busy and engaged in things that feel productive and forward-moving. It's no longer a tired that results from spinning my wheels in the same rut, day after day. It's a tired that feels more like I've completed an intense, invigorating yoga class, as opposed to being in the midst of a grueling marathon.

Tired...and heading to bed!