Things I'm Loving.....

1) Anna's healing up like a champ! The skin is almost all fused back together and we've all gotten out on evening walks the last two evenings. Will attempt a run and/or hike in the next few days or on the weekend. So happy with how fast it healed and how quickly we'll be back to our regular routine.

2) I've had several more moments of having the house to myself and it's been LOVE-ly. I love just being comfortable in my own home. I'm hoping to make it through the summer continuing to rent out rooms and then will rent at least the furnished room in the fall...unless I end up moving closer toward the city.

3) We've had amazing sunshine the last few days and it even made it to about 80 yesterday. I couldn't help but throw on that bathing suit and soak up the rays on the back patio for a bit. It feels so great to have that sun kiss my skin. :) The dogs love the moments when we just lounge around out back too. (Although we did get some good yard work/weeding/mowing in too...)

4) Housemates are settled. Current short term gal leaves this weekend. Two new short term ones arrive early May. One will be here until end of July and the other until the end of August. Bills should be covered in full while I'm gone...and there will be cat coverage.

5) Tomorrow is my last pre-travel vaccination. I'll buy my ticket this week or next for Tanzania. And I just started researching my Alberta trip for later this summer.

6) I gave an awesome deep tissue/structural massage to a friend of mine this weekend. He'd just finished up a week of intense physical activity so it was so rewarding to truly help ease his muscles toward relaxation. I also emailed in my resignation from my massage job last night. I plan on continuing to work in that gig for a few more weeks but I'm going to need the extra time because.....

7) I was asked to continue on in this new teaching position into the next academic year :) Seriously, I never could have imagined that this opportunity would happen, let alone that it would all come about the way that it did. I will be developing new courses and have the ability to assist with program development. Both of those are areas I've been missing and I couldn't be more excited by the prospect. I will continue teaching at the institution I've been at as well although probably reduce the credits I teach there slightly....and there's the chance that this new option will present more travel opportunities and become full time within a year or two. Dreams are arriving in ways that I never could have imagined.... When I first started thinking about entering into this field I never thought I could blend ALL my passions together nor that it would take six months to find the perfect fit for me rather than the couple of years that I expected. Still.in.awe.every.day..... and so incredibly thankful for so many answered prayers.

8) This new gig also means that life direction just landed in my lap in some other ways, ie that PhD program needs to happen....

9) Do you ever have those moments when you wake up, sunlight streaming through your windows, dogs jumping all over the bed, coffee soon to be enjoyed....and you're just so grateful and sustained? It's like you know you're not really in a tropical location but in that moment life feels pretty tropical and rewarding....like you just want to lounge and soak it all in and up... That's been life the last few weeks.... and it's been a long time since I've had that sensation and never quite at this level of true satisfaction....

10) There have been several times in the last week or two when I've truly caught myself being surprised by where life has landed. I've always loved the outdoors but I don't know that I ever expected to enjoy them quite at the level that I get to do so. I look at this life I'm living and arriving into...and while it's so different than I really would have imagined, it's rewarding, sustaining, soul-feeding, and truly a better fit for me than I could have dreamed. I'm still working on letting go of the life that I "wanted" and dreamed about, but truly I'm SO.in.awe. by the views I routinely see, the outdoor skills I've developed, the social support that surrounds me, the professional opportunities arriving, and the little moments that I notice every.single.day.

11) Casual skirts. Sandals. Bangs pulled back. Long flowing hair. Tanned skin. Sunglasses.

12) Sparkly lights on the patio. Moments curled in the hammock. Lemon water. Books laying next to me intending to be read. Finished grading.

13) Researching new course options. Moments when curriculum ideas arrive in the kitchen or on trail. Cross comparisons of other programs. Synthesizing information. Passion.

14) Small town coffee shops. Sunrises over mountain tops. High mountain lakes. Country music flowing out of car windows down. More upcoming outdoor fun.

15) Happy hours and outings with friends. Moments and communication with family and new and old friends. Reconnecting with really old pals. An evening out with Reg D over the weekend--as always pretty entertaining and fun :)

Life makes my heart happy lately....and I can't help but keep thinking about that old adage about how it sometimes takes tasting the bitter to truly appreciate the sweet. The bitter was definitely pretty bitter but I can honestly say that this sweet is so incredibly sweet. Fulfilled in so many big ways and trusting that things will continue to fall into place and/or present as they should.